

Cassata - history on a plate
"'the sum' – of all Sicilian culinary adventures, a culinary palimpsest in which you can see the layers of influence – Phoenician, Greek,...
Aug 3, 2021


The shape of a week- a lucky dip
"To know what to expect, every single day, is priceless: it keeps you sound and sensible; it gives purpose and focus." Yotam Ottolenghi...
Aug 1, 2021


Bastille day - salade de tomatoes
"Vive la France" Today is Bastille Day. A massive day of patriotic celebration in France. Which is interesting really because in spite...
Jul 14, 2021


Malt
"Through all of these centuries, malt as a finished product has changed very little, probably only to the extent that better grades of...
Jul 7, 2021


Monkey bread - a return to the primitive?
"It’s basically a giant bundt pan of gooey cinnamon rolls! " Sally's Baking Addiction And to me this looks marginally repulsive, though I...
Jun 26, 2021


Takeaway food - a brief history
"Since the dawn of time, the human race has always looked for ways to make their lives better. Most of these improvements revolve around...
Jun 23, 2021


Pesto today
Somewhere on its path to global ubiquity, pesto became a catchall name for any random herby sauce thrown in a blender." Lesley Pariseau...
Jun 22, 2021


Toothpicks
"the time when pickles on toothpicks were still the height of sophistication." Renee Zellweger That quote is sort of appropriate for the...
Jun 9, 2021


Ancient is modern
"The rise of ancient grains is, above all, a feat of marketing." New York Times This is not going to be a post about what you can do with...
Jun 8, 2021


Making your own cheese
"You're definitely, definitely better off buying cheese from people who know what they're doing, But, it is fun". Juliet Harbutt This...
Jun 1, 2021


Ordinary and exceptional
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. C. S. Lewis I consider myself to be an ordinary person. Indeed a...
May 30, 2021


Roast dinners
"It’s wrong to pop a roast dinner on your lap in front of the TV. It deserves a full presentation, and your full attention. A vast wedge...
May 5, 2021


May Day
"As full of spirit as the month of May". William Shakespeare It's May 1st. May Day. The heralder of Spring. Well not here in Australia....
May 1, 2021


"The past is always present"
Alan Garner wrote those words - the title of today's piece - in a wonderful very short children's book called The Stone Book. The...
Apr 20, 2021


Bring a plate
"Yes, bring a plate is an Aussie thing, but what does it mean? According to the Australian National University’s ‘Meanings and origins of...
Mar 30, 2021


Pork pies - uniquely English
"The thing I can't resist is a pork pie. That's my idea of a lovely treat." Delia Smith My granddaughter and grandson, who both go to the...
Mar 16, 2021


High tea and other in between meals
"The high tea is a meal that must be eaten and the afternoon tea is one we have because we can." Helen Razer That picture above is sort...
Feb 25, 2021


The spice loving English - first recipe
"these oriental and Arabian and Mediterranean flavourings are no longer status symbols; they no longer possess the charm of the...
Feb 24, 2021


A wonderful incongruity = dinner tomorrow
"Ingenuity and incongruity always cheer me up." Terry Pratchett So there I was sitting in the doctor's waiting room, not exactly feeling...
Feb 23, 2021


New is old, old is new
and sometimes old is old and new is new and what do old and new mean anyway? I was very struck by Elizabeth David's quote about food...
Feb 7, 2021

