

Hawaij, spice mixes and marketing
The other day I bought this expensive jar of Ottolenghi hawaij paste. It was on a special, I was just filling in time waiting for David for some reason I cannot now remember, wandering around Woolworths when I spied it. I had noticed Hawaij a lot here and there, or so I thought, and I was feeling a bit down, and so I thought 'why not?' and put it in my trolley. I feel a tiny bit cross at myself, because there are lots of recipes online for a hawaij spice mix, and it's not
Oct 23, 2025


Food for celebrities - a book
"Staying in really is the new going out." Nisha Parmar The pile of books on my desk is not getting any smaller because I keep on adding to it. It's becoming a bit of an addiction which is a somewhat worrying thought. So today I decided to tackle yet one more - a birthday gift from my son and his ex, so it dates back to June. I did look at it pretty much straightaway, but then it ended up in the dreaded pile. So a quick summary - a beautiful cover - well done designers. Go
Oct 16, 2025


Acai bros come to Eltham
“We want to be a one-stop health food café and the inter-section between health food stores and restaurants, making unbelievably...
Sep 14, 2025


A supermarket label
A comment from my sister sort of inspired this post. Well I suppose it was barely a comment, just a statement that she hated shopping in...
Sep 7, 2025


Mushrooms and Chinese costermongers
This is a first recipe post - one from Beverley Sutherland Smith in her book simply called Vegetables . In this case, however, I first...
Aug 12, 2025


Lessons from a recipe
Yesterday we celebrated my older son's birthday here with the now almost traditional and compulsory spaghetti and meatballs - and a cake...
Aug 4, 2025


Wensleydale and cranberries - why?
"It's okay to like wensleydale and cranberries" reddit - Is it? Wensleydale cheese - the pure kind, is one of my favourite cheeses, but...
Jul 29, 2025


Samples
"a small amount of something that shows you what the rest is or should be like" Cambridge Dictionary Samples is perhaps particularly...
Jul 19, 2025


Coles' new look
As with almost every topic I choose to write about on this blog, I discovered bits about today's topic that hadn't occurred to me. Even...
Jun 8, 2025


Tartiflette
"That alpine dish of tartiflette, whose layers of potatoes, onions, smoked bacon and reblochon cheese helps to thaw out skiers and...
May 19, 2025


Home brands - the controversy
"don't be too harsh on yourself if you fall for a phantom brand – you might just be getting yourself a decent product for less." Choice...
Feb 26, 2025


The fish question(s)
"When customers ask for sustainable seafood, restaurants and retailers begin to seek and demand sustainable options from their suppliers....
Jan 2, 2025


A gallimaufry
Gallimaufry: "a confused jumble or medley of things" Oxford Langauges "a meat stew called galimafrée" Merriam-Webster There's your new...
Dec 2, 2024


Free, $15, $30 or $600?
"really what the supermarket is trying to do is ensure that for every shop you're trying to go there and spend your money rather than...
Nov 9, 2024


Hospital food
"I ended up going to the canteen and getting a curry and rice for $13!" Last week my youngest grandchild was in hospital for a week, with...
Nov 7, 2024


An Italian day out in the city
It's Italian Film festival time and my friend Clare proposed going to see something with a lunch beforehand. I, of course, agreed and so...
Oct 1, 2024


Who owns our food, especially milk?
I'm probably not telling you anything you haven't read somewhere or heard on the radio or TV, but there is currently a bit of publicity...
Sep 28, 2024


The comfort of Heinz tomato soup
"I can still remember the taste of those Scottish rolls and butter and the warm, tangy tomato soup, a real childhood treat." Man Has a...
Sep 4, 2024


That Choice survey
"When you have limited financial means you can only buy items you need. You have to shop by necessity and this means you may not be...
Jul 13, 2024


Ruminations on what we eat - a project?
"Writer's block is having too much time on your hands." Jodi Picoult I have now been writing this blog for almost eight years, so...
Jun 4, 2024

