Whilst at Kureelpa, over January, my friend Margaret McCaughey, gave me a lovely book called ‘The Shed: the cookbook’, written by Richard, Oliver and Gregory Gladwin, and is all about the foraging, growing and cooking of local and seasonal food, right in the heart of London, at their restaurant in Notting Hill. It is a [...]
I meet so many wonderful people in the cooking classes at Cooking on the Bay. My work is a delight and brings me such joy. One such joy was the recent invitation from a class attendee, Cheryl Hassett, to visit her property at Lara, to meet their bees, to collect some honey, to be followed [...]
Pineapple, Ananas comosus, is a wonderful tropical fruit belonging to the Bromeliad family. Originally from Brazil and parts of tropical South America, they have been growing for thousands of years. Two popular varieties are McGregor’s Queen Pineapple Ananas comosus ‘Queen’, which has prickly leaves and serrated edge leaves that indicate its wild pineapple ancestry. The [...]
This dessert has been inspired from a Gordon Ramsay pineapple dessert recipe. It is a refreshing, fruity dessert which may be prepared hours ahead of serving. 200ml of stock syrup 200ml water 30ml light rum, such as Bacardi juice of ½ a lemon 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed 1 large ripe pineapple fresh [...]
What a wonderful fruit, with their great aroma, wonderful flavours, so many colours, shapes and sizes. Yes, the tomato is botanically a fruit, a berry to be precise, but as they are mostly used as a vegetable they are classed as a vegetable. Tomatoes are probably the most popular of all home grown vegetables. When [...]
I look forward to Spring and the beginning of our Australian asparagus season. These beautiful, bright-green spears are now in the markets, and hopefully will stay some weeks. About 95 per cent of our national crop is produced here in Victoria, with the vast majority coming from the area around Koo Wee Rup and Dalmore; [...]
Serves 8 – 10 in petit pots 2 bunches asparagus about 400 grams 400 ml cream 15g butter 1 tsp olive oil salt and pepper 3 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tbsp finely grated parmigiana reggiano cheese 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic chives vegetable oil for greasing baking dish extra virgin olive oil Preheat oven to [...]
I love my back balcony herb garden. It is a joy for me to pick my fresh herbs for the cooking classes. Now, my young, spring garlic is about to be harvested. I planted the cloves last April, so you need to be patient; it takes a while to grow, and mine still needs a couple of [...]
Travelling in France is one of my wonderful joys in life. I love the beautiful countryside, the delightful and interesting people, the history of the places we visit, plus of course French food and wine. On each visit I look forward to a few special dinners or lunches at some wonderful restaurants and brasseries, both [...]
One of the world’s most expensive foods is the truffle. Truffle hunting – called le cavage - was always one part of our week’s program at la Combe en Périgord. Nearby to our village of Les Eyzies, is a tiny village called Pechalifour, where Edouard Aynaud, the trufficulteur, lives on his truffle farm, Truffe en [...]
