Category Archives: Cooking
Delicious lemons, fresh from the tree
Many of you will be too young to remember the song with the chorus line “Lemon tree, very pretty, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat”, written in the 1950s and recorded by several well-known artists, … Continue reading
How to please your palate prior to, ahem, a procedure
A mild ‘gross-out’ alert applies to what follows. However, if you or someone you care about is scheduled to have a c****oscopy, as I did recently, I might be able to help you get through the preparations without your palate … Continue reading
A veal dish for hollow legs
I can still remember the first time I ate my own home-cooked meal of the famous Italian dish Osso Buco, literal meaning ‘hollow bone’. It was 1983 and I had recently bought a Crock Pot, a type of slow cooker … Continue reading
Corned beef with a citrus twist and a hot potato
Corned beef. Nice in a sandwich. Very appealing after a hard day’s work on a Kimberley cattle station, according to some Aboriginal friends of long ago. But, not exactly gourmet food, is it? Well actually, it IS served as a … Continue reading
Real men make their own quiche
With its relatively high fat-content, a quiche is not everyone’s idea of good food. And a poorly-made quiche is not my idea of good food either. But four decades on from the first time I cooked one, I still find … Continue reading
Awesome foursome: duck, fig, walnut and pinot
Here in Victoria, we are only now nearing the end of the most wonderful black fig season that Maggie and I have experienced together. And for all of the second half of the season, the supply has been plentiful, quality … Continue reading
Classic crustacean cocktail
In a previous post, I wrote about the rather retro festive lunch we shared with my father a few days before last Christmas. The first course was a prawn cocktail, which is a long-established festive season tradition here in Australia. … Continue reading
Tasty sandwich for a growing girl
In Melbourne, chicken and mayonnaise sandwiches, cut into ‘ribbons’, have long been part of the standard light lunch or afternoon tea served at social functions, from christenings to funerals and much that occurs between those two bookends-of-a-life. We’re pretty fond … Continue reading
Indian summer quail
So, to finish posting about our weekend of late-summer cooking, here is the story of what we did with the two quail that we brought home from Donati’s. Many of the world’s cuisines include dishes made with quail. Until now, … Continue reading
Late summer seasonal saucery
We’re into the last official month of summer here in Melbourne and we’ve been told to expect a very warm end to the season. That’s not unusual; it’s just that this summer has been un-seasonally mild, yet irritatingly dry (if … Continue reading
Rick and Maggie's food and travel adventures 