

Ombre - from Monet to cakes
"To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment." Jane Austen Once again I am trying out a new technique to combat lack of inspiration. The idea is to randomly pick a photograph, a picture, an object ... and extemporise upon it, hoping that in some way there will be a connection to food. I find this kind of thing makes you think a little, explore a little and look at things in a different way perhaps with an eye to detail, perhaps t
Jan 4


Semillon and Brachetto - unloved and unknown
"I find Semillon to be one of a few dry white wines that can age for decades" Dan Berger/Napa Valley Features Last night was our annual trek to our local fine diner Mercer's for 'diner à deux' but I have talked about Mercer's before, and yes the food was gorgeous - this is dessert - a kind of pavlova, but the thing that struck me most perhaps about the meal were two of the wines. We had decided to go with the wine matching options and they were all really, really nice - whi
Dec 21, 2025


Some party time recipes
I've spent the morning, no - most of yesterday afternoon as well, making marmalade from a gift of home-grown mandarins, from friends, and a whole lot of lemons that I had in the fridge - 12 assorted jars seen here being the result. It's very satisfying when you get to this point, although there's always the worry it won't set, although this time I think I marginally worry about the opposite - too set. Anyway it's left me feeling lazy, so I thought I would just provide a few
Nov 17, 2025


Bagatelles
Bagatelle: "a thing regarded as too unimportant or easy to be worth much consideration." Oxford Languages So yes 'bagatelle' is a French word for a trifle: "The French word bagatelle , from the Italian word bagatella , means a trifle or little decorative nothing." Wikipedia And this is an oddments post - full of trifles. A bagatelle trifle is also a specific French Canadian dish of which the magazine Saveur says "The typical bagatelle in La Beauce is a child's delight o
Oct 27, 2025


Un mélange
Mélange: a mixture, or a group of different things or people" Cambridge English Dictionary time for some oddments, and it's amazing how...
Aug 25, 2025


The lesser-known cabernet - franc
"a vegetarian's best friend" Dracaena Wines We have been drinking an Aldi rosé recently - well it won a couple of awards in some obscure...
Aug 18, 2025


Pinot gris or grigio?
"And why do Aussie winemakers not just call it ‘grey pinot’? Well, that one’s obvious – ‘a glass of the grey stuff’ doesn’t sound quite...
Jul 26, 2025


An earl, history and recipes
"Tea, Earl Grey, hot" Picard/StarTrek Well the above quote has nothing to do with this post really, but not being a Star Trek follower I...
Jul 23, 2025


Shrubs of the non-bushy kind
"It starts with a syrup that’s a combination of vinegar, fruit, and sugar. The fruit tastes like its truest self and the vinegar cuts...
Dec 31, 2024


Sundries
"various items not important enough to be mentioned individually." Oxford Languages Christmas approaches and begins to dominate, so life...
Dec 21, 2024


A Moscato dilemma
"it's the wine world's equivalent of milk chocolate or soggy white bread, a sneakily guilty pleasure." Fiona Beckett/The Guardian...
Dec 3, 2024


The rule of 1-2-3 - spritz
"It’s classy and delicious. It’s also extremely lucrative." Liam Broom I have been dimly aware that the current drink craze is spritz -...
Nov 3, 2024


Party time in the wilds of Nillumbik
Nillumbik is our local council area. It calls itself 'The Green Wedge Shire' - because over 90% of it's 431.94 square kilometres of land...
Oct 21, 2024


75 years ago - the food view from here
"We're Keele and we're different. Founded 75 years ago to meet the demands of a new kind of society, economy and world, our principles...
Jun 29, 2024


Itty-bitty/itsy-bitsy
"itty-bitty - extremely small (see also itsy-bitsy)" - Cambridge Dictionary Remember the nursery rhyme Itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the...
Jun 19, 2024


Omelette at the Savoy
"There is no reason why this dish should ever change. I can’t improve it" Tom Kerridge On the other hand Felicity Cloake says that it's...
May 1, 2024


Day for it - a sign from below
"Day for it - Weather conducive for the activity currently being undertaken, common phrase in Australia" Urban Dictionary As I was...
Apr 18, 2024


Fermented herring to taco Fridays - Sweden
"The backbone of Nordic cuisine comes from dealing with challenges" Rachel Khoo Back to my foodie tour around the world with the third...
Apr 7, 2024


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


The common kettle - not so common
"We overlook what we take for granted. Billions of tea drinkers observed the force of steam escaping from water boiling in a kettle...
Feb 8, 2024

