

Sicily - too much for a lucky dip
"dinners for the rich and food for the poor" Guiseppe Pitrè It's time I dealt with my Claudia Roden The Food of Italy lucky dip. It's...
Jun 26, 2022


Too easy? Can it possibly be good?
Via his two boys my son gave me a copy of one of The Big Issue magazines, which I confess I never buy. Anyway I flicked through it and...
Jun 25, 2022


There's no such thing as Brown Windsor soup
"Colour fades as flavour deepens." Nigella Lawson This is Jamie Oliver's interpretation of Brown Windsor soup (with pearl barley). The...
Jun 24, 2022


Too many Italian cookbooks
“While she loved the whole idea of cooking elaborate meals, her forte was in the reading of cookbooks.” Linda Wiken Yesterday I talked...
Jun 23, 2022


David just can't resist
"The croissant is only acceptable as a breakfast food and, unless you live a life of gilded luxury, only at weekends. It is a matter of...
Jun 21, 2022


Affagato in the Yarra Valley
"a yin-yang culinary affair, resulting in a moment of instant bliss. It’s easy to marvel at the sheer effortlessness of it all with that...
Jun 20, 2022


Some leftovers
"Leftovers - something, especially food, remaining after the rest has been used." No this is not a blog about how to use up leftovers but...
Jun 18, 2022


Orange peel
"Orange peel has a thousand uses, from marmalade and tea to scented firelighters and DIY kitchen spray" Tom Hunt David has been...
Jun 15, 2022


Vindaloo - sweet and sour, not hot
"A Goan vindaloo is not the mind-blowingly spicy curry as it has come to be known in the UK, but a rich, hot, slightly sweet and sour...
Jun 14, 2022


Carrots and parsnips - but grated
"A latticework of grated carrots and parsnips." Nigel Slater I was rather taken by Nigel Slater's words about a latticework of grated...
Jun 9, 2022


Clafoutis
"This seemingly simple recipe baffled me for many years, as I endlessly ended up with a leaden duffer of a pud, so much so that I quite...
Jun 5, 2022


Duxelles - a first recipe
"A few spoonfuls can be used to cut out the early stages of those many recipes which begin with onion and mushrooms sweated slowly...
Jun 4, 2022


Cream - a guilty necessity
"Cream is milk's soul: the sweet, luscious top-of-the-bottle treat." Nikki Duffy/River Cottage Years ago now I made yet another cookbook...
Jun 3, 2022


La daube provençal - so very, very good
"I have executed, with loyal respect, printed formulas for daubes in the interest of analysis and comparison but, left to my own devices...
May 30, 2022


Coffee and a chocolate biscuit
"when the going gets tough the tough take a coffee break" I don't often take a coffee break, not like I did when working, when it was a...
May 29, 2022


Full marks for concept, middling for taste - an Ottolenghi recipe
"Whatever adaptations you may be making to the dish, follow the methodology" Ever Open Sauce Two days ago in my post about an ordinary...
May 28, 2022


Plain is yummy - two tarts
“Plain fare gives as much pleasure as a costly diet" Epicurus (341?-270 BC) A few Guardian newsletters ago there were two recipes for...
May 27, 2022


Devilled eggs
"a culinary amalgam of history and taste" Food Timeline Continuing with the retro thing which has been appearing here and there in...
May 25, 2022


Scraps
"a small piece or amount of something, especially one that is left over after the greater part has been used." Oxford Languages It's...
May 22, 2022


Blasts from the past in the Dandenongs
Yesterday I wrote no post - the one I posted was really from the day before - because I spent the afternoon up in the Dandenongs meeting...
May 21, 2022

