Category Archives: Cooking
Peaches hit the high notes
In Melbourne, as in many other parts of the world, the summer months bring an abundance of fruits which can be enjoyed as the basis of a light and refreshing dessert. Think strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, nectarines and peaches. Of … Continue reading
Valentine’s Day mass….
… of meat. No Al Capone, no bone. No South Side, no North Side. Just a lovely piece of topside. No ugly pools of blood on the floor; a pleasing little puddle on the plate. About 80 years after the … Continue reading
As cool as a cucumber soup
Our Greek neighbours, Nik and Sula, have been sharing some of the seasonal produce from their vegetable garden with us. Nik, now in his 70s, is very accomplished at working his soil to produce bountiful crops from a small area … Continue reading
In digest: week ending 7 February 2016
It was a rare week in our kitchen – all the main-meal dishes of food we prepared were tried and true favourites. No recipe discoveries. No experiments. No radical departures. Just a series of palate-pleasing, reliable regulars. Think barbecued beef … Continue reading
Further French forays, a food faux pas or five, and fresh fritters …
… following a fraught fortnight. Maggie and I have just been through two weeks of anxiety and stress involving a health scare. Thankfully, an investigative procedure has found no evidence of anything life-threatening and, as of Saturday evening, we have … Continue reading
At the base of the J-curve
So, as of Christmas Day 2015, I am the happy owner of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Happy, despite the fact that this book was first published in 1961 and has not been updated since 1983. Happy, because watching Julie … Continue reading
Christmas seafood recipes
As promised in my previous post, here are the recipes for the seafood dishes that we prepared to share with our family at Christmas. Crayfish salad Well, this wasn’t too difficult. The folks at Eat Fish had already cooked our … Continue reading
Our seasonal seafood saga
In the lead-up to Christmas, my father requested a meal of crayfish, and my son, Julian and his wife, Sara simply said they would like a variety of seafood. That suited Maggie and me just fine – we like many … Continue reading
Rick and Maggie's food and travel adventures 