This week, as I was leaving the Collingwood Farmers’ Market, I spied an interesting sign promising vanilla pods from Papua New Guinea. Turns out it was a fundraiser for a small community off the coast of PNG which is being forced to move off their coral atoll, Carteret.  This atoll is about 80km from the […]

The first time I can remember coming across Clafoutis was in the early 1990’s and I had a housemate who knew a lot about food, and who tried lots of new dishes and loved to bake.  One afternoon we decided to try a cherry clafoutis recipe, which I think was from her Maggie Beer book. […]

I had spied the cumquat tree in a friend’s back yard a week ago, and had been craving the preserved cumquats I had eaten at The Hardware Societe one morning on their famous brioche.  There was also a thought about making mustard fruits and cumquat mustard fruits are my favourite, and so a plan was […]

There are times when I am very grateful for my mother’s approach to feeding my family as I was growing up.  Alhough Dad’s parents were British and Australian (4th or 5th gen); and my Mum was 6th Gen White Australian, we rarely ate the kind of food my friends often complain about – “English Style […]

It felt like a dinner made specifically for me … my favourite independent wine seller, Cloudwine, was joining forces with one of my favourite haunts, Gerald’s to serve me back vintages of my favourite wine variety, Pinot Noir.   I didn’t know a lot about Eastern Peake wines, except that they are supposed to be one […]

Ultimately, I cook for others because I want to be liked.  If you bring the cake, someone will always be your friend.  So I like to have a few standby, easy to make, crowd pleasing recipes on hand. Tonight we had a gathering to celebrate my neighbours 86th birthday.  No small occasion I’m sure you’ll […]

I’m not sure why I’m surprised really… For those of us with memories of a George Calombaris with more hair, practically having to beg us to eat his food (in the days of Reserve); it’s a bit of a hard ask to ignore the elephant in the room.

Winter well-and-truly struck Melbourne last week.  It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a “proper” winter, cold and drizzly, requiring stew and stodge to keep the inner fires burning. Last Sunday I wanted a cup of tea and a pikelet or  two.  Warm liquid, and delicious stodge! While I was mixing up a batch, […]

A couple of weeks ago I went to the markets with friend Mellie, half of Tummyrumbles. We spied “tamed nettles” lovingly picked off their stems and bagged for us by one of the stall holder’s sons as his “pin money” job.  I quietly suggested that nettle gnocchi may have to be in order to Mellie. […]

Gasworks Park: Pickles Street Port Melbourne .. South Melbourne .. Albert Park? Middle Park?  I dunno! Another of the four Melbourne Community Farmer’s Markets, accredited, friendly and as one I only occasionally visit, a few stalls that are less familiar to me.  Here’s my haul.