Moules Marinière is one of the best-known classic French mussel dishes. The recipe hails from the wives of French sailors living along the northwest coast of Brittany, where most of France’s mussel catch is harvested. It is a typical French provincial bistro dish, in that these Bretagne sailors’ wives could afford to make a [...]
Some mussels you buy are cultivated in protected areas of the sea bed, or grown on poles, fixed in clean saltwater. Others, because of their habitat, are often sandy and need to be scrubbed; mussels also ingest sand and grit as they feed. Buy good quality, local mussels and they are well cleaned and very [...]
In preparation for the Cook Real Food Cooking Classes, some clients ask for a few recommended books on the Low Carb Healthy Fat lifestyle, so I compiled list of a few of my favourites. Once you have decided this way of eating is what you want, and is good for you, it becomes your way [...]
Whether you are cooking the Italian Chicken Cacciatore or the French Chicken Chasseur, it is the same slowly braised sauce and luscious tender chicken with the vegetables that make this a great nutri-dense, LCHF dish. Regional variations of Chicken Cacciatore or hunter’s wife’s chicken are made throughout Italy, and while most are cooked with [...]
At Cooking on the Bay Cooking School, I always stress to the class that we are cooking for FLAVOUR! We aim to bring out the best in the marvellous ingredients we are using. It is the flavour that makes our food taste so good and it is what differentiates good cooks from poor ones. [...]
Years ago, as a small child in the May school holidays, my mother and I always drove to visit my grandparents at their farm in central Victoria. May meant it was mushroom time and so we would 'go mushrooming', usually on Sunday afternoons. Armed with a big bucket and small knife, we would drive out [...]
This is a perfect dish for leisurely, relaxed entertaining in the summertime. It can be made a day ahead and it will keep well refrigerated for a few days afterward; that is, if there is any left-over! We have been making this for years in the Cooking School and, although it is reminiscent of [...]
When we cook at Cooking on the Bay Cooking School, I always stress to the class that we are cooking for FLAVOUR! We aim to bring out the best in the marvellous ingredients we are using. It is the flavour which makes our food taste so good and it is what differentiates good cooks [...]
Murray River Salt is my favourite salt, and I use it as both a finishing salt and in my cooking. We use it in the cooking classes at Cooking on the Bay and so all students have a chance to savour and enjoy it’s taste and flavour. I also especially love the fact that the [...]
Skordalia is the Greek version of the French ‘aïoli’ and the Spanish, ‘allïoli, and is a luscious garlic mayonnaise, sauce, or dip. It is usually based on potato and flavoured with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley. Elizabeth David in her ‘Book of Mediterranean Food’ gives her recipe with egg yolks, ground almonds [...]
