Miscellaneous

You’d be hard pressed not to find some Asian ingredients in most people’s pantries and fridges. We’ve come a long way since the days when there was only the red topped Kikkoman soy sauce bottle in the cupboard. These days, almost everyone would have rice and dried noodles as well as a variety of sauces… Read more

Well that’s the first time I’ve written 2017 on the blog and it makes you pause for thought. This year is full of promise and excitement as I hurtle towards a milestone birthday. ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like 50’. As we had such a huge Exteno Unveil house party with family and friends… Read more

Life is never dull. Since finishing work, I’ve been out and about getting up to all kinds of bite sized adventures. Here’s a taste. A Choko By Any Other Name.. I posted a photo on Instagram of a box of chokos for sale at the Farmers Market on Norfolk Island. For reasons I can’t fathom… Read more

So here we are, the end of another year. Quite an eventful year for me with the completion of our renovation and finishing a 28 year career in the Australian Public Service. I’m on a bit of a sabbatical at the moment – I will eventually need to go back to work but I’m in… Read more

I was all set to write a post about ‘Great Gifts for Foodies’. I’d done the research and had some fun suggestions beyond the usual books and gift hampers. I may publish that post at a later date but today I decided to write about something that’s a lot more critical and urgent. Today I re-watched… Read more

November is here and I find myself cooking up a storm. All of those recipes that I couldn’t fit in on weekends because they were too time consuming, I now have plenty of time for. It’s brilliant. So, let’s take a look In My Kitchen and see what’s contributing to the storm. In my November Kitchen…… Read more

In my kitchen this month finds me in a very different world to last month. When I wrote the September post, I was working for the Australian Public Service. A month on, I have left my employer of 28 years and am footloose and fancy free. Unexpected but not unwelcome. Eventually I will need to… Read more

We have recently come back from a short holiday in Bargara, a coastal town outside Bundaberg. Bargara is just over 4 hours north of Brisbane and the drive takes you through the communities of the Wide Bay-Burnett Region of Queensland.  The red volcanic soil means is perfect for growing  a wide variety of produce. This month… Read more

If you have watched even the smallest amount of the Rio Olympics on television, you can’t have failed to see the ad for ‘The Durrells – coming after the Olympics’. To say that I’m more than a little bit excited about their imminent arrival is an understatement. You see, I’m a Durrellphile. A complete Durrell tragic… Read more

July just flew past. Between our Exteno Unveil Party and several birthdays, there was a lot of cooking and socialising and many Champagne corks popped. The party was a great success and true to my word, there was nary a paper or plastic plate, cup or piece of cutlery in sight. I nailed the catering… Read more

It’s July and it’s cold. We had the longest summer ever in Brisbane but in the past week, winter has arrived. Sure, it’s not snowing like it is in some parts of Australia but when you live in a wooden house without central heating, 8c is a pretty frosty start to the morning. On Monday… Read more

It’s been a while so here’s a round up of the what’s happening in TIFFIN’s wider world and a head’s up on things that would have other got away. The Art of Skins Exhibition The State Library of Qld has opened a new exhibition, The Art Of Skins, tracing the traditional practice of possum skin… Read more

Can it be? Has autumn arrived in Brisbane? Say it isn’t so! It may be winter in the rest of the country but we’re a little slow in this part of the world. Finally though, it is at least cool enough to have a blanket at night and contemplate some low, slow cooking. In My… Read more

Last month I said that autumn had arrived. It did arrive and it has since departed however, we are back to summer rather than winter. May is the last month of autumn and all across Australia, temperatures remain as hot as they were during summer. We had little rain over the summer (traditionally when we… Read more

There’s quite a lot in the Tiffin Box so best not to waste time and share what’s happening. Date Claimer! Paniyiri 2016 This year is a biggie for Paniyiri, the Brisbane Greek Festival, as it’s their 40th anniversary. They’ve come a long way from a small celebration within the Greek community to a huge festival… Read more

If you are reading this post, chances are that you’re a subscriber or have visited via social media. Thank you for visiting, reading and commenting. The reality is, whilst I love to write and share my stories, recipes and reviews with you, the bulk of my traffic comes via the unreliable and erratic world of… Read more

What a time it’s been. After a log period of renovating, we went on a short holiday to Bali to recharge the batteries. Whilst we were re-charging, the batteries in our smoke alarms were going flat. We returned home at 3am on a Friday morning to find the alarms chirping. Who doesn’t love to be… Read more

February gave us an extra day this year but here we are again, March . Our renovations are finished and the builders are gone. Now comes the task of unpacking and restoring order. I’m asking myself about every item as I return it to a new cupboard. Do I really need it? When was the last… Read more

In my kitchen, the builders are still hanging around. Finishing off this and that which is all well and good but I just want them gone. We have been waiting for the muggy weather to arrive and it did so this week. We have gotten off very lightly weather wise in Brisbane this year but… Read more