

Boy kibble - so sad
"a ruthlessly efficient male-coded rejoinder to the extemporaneous charms of 'girl dinner'." Max Berlinger/AFR I found the illustration above heading an article in the AFR at the weekend, about the latest TikTok sensation Boy kibble - sometimes called - in a nod to not being sexist - human kibble. What is kibble? I actually thought it sounded like some kind of Middle-Eastern grainy something, but no. Kibble is: "a popular, cost-effective, and convenient dry pet food made
3 days ago


Things that scare me in the kitchen
"The fact is that cookery is not risk free. It involves fire and knives. While the possibility of injury may decrease with experience, the likelihood of it happening increases because of repetition." Jay Rayner/The Guardian This is actually a piece of street art but I've edited out the walls around it - an interesting picture for the street - but it's actually the best I've found so far to illustrate my theme of the day I think. I'm pretty sure that Jay Rayner's observation
Jan 15


Healing rice
"I had forgotten the pleasures of cooking rice properly ... In the rush to get something on the table, it is all too easy to forget that there is something infinitely calming about cooking rice." Nigel Slater And healing too. On Friday I was not feeling too well - a mildly upset stomach - which is why there was no blog that day - and yesterday we had guests. I didn't eat much, tried to drink more water, and basically just lay around feeling somewhat drained, and needing to
Dec 15, 2025


Invalid food - something with pasta?
"Fanny Cradock tells us to smash up some chicken, put it in a jar, cover with cheap brandy and simmer (a slow cooker will do it) for 24 hours before straining. As she says – it's miraculous." Catherine Phipps/The Guardian My husband has a mildly upset stomach, so I'm trying to think of appropriate foods for dinner. Yesterday we had a very bland greens and potato soup which was not greeted with much enthusiasm I have to say. I admit it didn't have a lot of taste - he added
Nov 30, 2025


Bananas and butter - a surprise ramble
"Yes!! Why? Because bread is tasty, butter is tasty and bananas are tasty!" Neat_Expression 5380/reddit I've really enjoyed this little ramble around the net, which just started out with bananas and butter and ended up with all sorts of weird and wonderful sandwiches via America's deep south in the Depression, New Orleans, Japan, the Minions, Hitler and Elvis. Perhaps I should stick to the route I took, which began with bananas and butter, inspired by my fairly regular open
Nov 23, 2025


In praise of bland
“You can't smell a hug. You can't hear a cuddle. But if you could, I reckon it would smell and sound of warm bread-and-butter pudding.” Nigel Slater This week I have had a couple of bouts of a stomach upset. No big deal - we all have these from time to time, and this time at least there was no vomiting. But it occurred on a couple of separate days, so I took myself to the doctor just in case - who confirmed what I thought - just a mild viral infection that would go away.
Nov 22, 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


Sugarless desserts
My sister and her husband have regular lunch dates with friends. They take it in turns. However, the male half of the other couple is a...
Jul 21, 2025


Fear in the kitchen
"The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude." Julia Child I was looking...
Jun 17, 2025


Bread and butter
"Perhaps the most beautiful and uncomplicated thing you can put into your face." Joy the Baker During the night I did not feel that well....
Mar 27, 2025


A dessert problem - vegan
First problem - what picture to choose to attract you to read? I shall be mostly talking about vegan desserts and the difficulties...
Nov 12, 2024


Cookies are NOT good for you
"Every cookie is a sugar cookie. A cookie without sugar is a cracker." Gary Gulman These are my 14 year old grandson's favourite cookies,...
Oct 29, 2024


You've got to eat a peck of dirt before you die
"there isn’t enough hand sanitiser in the world to keep a small child clean" Homa Khaleeli/The Guardian I continue to be uninspired so...
Sep 27, 2024


Sport, food, the curriculum - extremes
"Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you've got a kingdom." Jack LaLanne It's a particularly pertinent time to...
Jul 27, 2024


Nooch - new word but new ingredient?
Why would you? I wrote this down as a potential idea a while back, because it seemed to me that it popped up here and there in my reading...
Jul 25, 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


"Tears and light"
"That gracious thing, made up of tears and light." Samuel Taylor Coleridge On Mondays I usually fast unless something - like a book...
Apr 30, 2024


"A gentle hum of happiness" Dessert
"a dessert must feel familiar, yet somehow improved." Yotam Ottolenghi Another day, another quote, this time from Yotam Ottolenghi - yes...
Mar 15, 2024


Swifties
"Swifty - Australian - a deceptive trick" An alcoholic drink consumed quickly" Oxford Languages "Not a valid Scrabble word" Wordnik "A...
Mar 2, 2024


Almost 50 years post Cuisine Minceur
"This was far and away the most influential cookery book of the latter half of the last century. It affected almost everything we eat...
Feb 17, 2024

