28 June, 2011

It’s a long way from Bellata…

It takes 13 years, 36 hours and eight pairs of hands to make a loaf of Sonoma sourdough bread. Plus a good dose of passion and hard work. When Kerry Connole set out to fulfill his dream of baking great quality Italian bread at his grandparents’ general store and bakery in Bellata, north-western NSW, he … Continue reading →
21 June, 2011

Gone Troppo with Le Ping Wong at Buck’s Farm

Have you ever seen a Buddha’s hand? (and I don’t mean one of those long elegant bronze hands on sale in Thai and Cambodian gift shops). Have you ever used one in cooking?  Perhaps you think I’m being sacreligious, but what I’m referring to is one of the oldest member of the citrus family. Respected … Continue reading →
14 June, 2011

Know Your Onions

For me, the smell of chopped onions gently frying in oil is one of the great cooking smells. No matter where I am, this warm enticing smell is instantly recognisable and very inviting. Indeed, where would chefs and cooks be without onions? In her book O, For An Onion, Denise Greig points out that the … Continue reading →
7 June, 2011

Sydney’s 21st Century Food Court

“Wow!” That was the overwhelming sensation I felt as I ascended the escalators to Westfield’s brand spanking new food court in Sydney’s CBD. Everywhere I looked were gleaming surfaces, glass and mirrors. And that was just as I ascended. On arrival in the food court, I felt like a child in a lolly shop.  Everywhere … Continue reading →
31 May, 2011

Stuff It and win a prize…

Our baby red capsicum sampling packs are now arriving on the desks of food media across Australia – and we’ve set 20 packs aside for YOU as part of our Stuff It serving suggestion competition.To get yours, be one of the first 20 people to post your stuffing suggestion – using beautiful baby red capsicums … Continue reading →
31 May, 2011

Fabulous Figs

Do you have a fig tree in your garden? “Ancient, mysterious and delicious, the fig should be more widely grown than it is,” writes David Stuart in The Kitchen Garden.  He points out that if you plant a fig tree in your garden, you will have something that grew in the earliest gardens of all. … Continue reading →
24 May, 2011

Cheeky Pumpkins

It would be hard to beat the pumpkin for cheekiness, though admittedly the chayote (choko) is a close rival.  In barren back lanes, I’ve spied a pumpkin tentatively putting out its tendrils through the grey slats of a wooden fence. Its very presence dispelled the surrounding gloom. I remember a story my mother once told … Continue reading →