vegetarian

Good Friday is the last Friday in Lent, when Catholics abstain from eating meat. Many non Catholics also follow this tradition, if only for Good Friday. Once upon a time, the idea of entertaining without meat would have been unthinkable. These days, with many who eat less or no meat and, the whole of the globe… Read more

Yes, you read that title correctly. Black Bean Brownies. A friend sent a link to me some time ago but it took me a while to check it out. Black Bean Brownies are a clever gluten-free bake that uses black beans for moisture and texture and, cocoa powder as a flour replacer and chocolate flavouring. Most… Read more

When I was researching dishes to cook for my South American themed Gastronauts Supper Club dinner, I came across a recipe on About.com for Galletas Saladas de Quinoa or, Quinoa Crackers. The idea of a nutty biscuit made from quinoa appealed so whilst it didn’t make it onto the menu that night, I held on… Read more

Winter is well and truly here and whilst the Winter Solstice has passed, there are a few more dark nights ahead of us. I thought I’d share a recipe that’s ticks all the boxes as far as hearty, comforting fare. A bowl of braised lentils with some crusty bread will stick to your ribs and you’ll… Read more

I’m very excited to see the first flowers on my eggplant (aubergine) bush.  I lovingly tended this plant from seed, to seedling, to small bush. Now, the first flowers!  Let’s hope the fruit sets. These eggplants are an heirloom variety that I bought when I went along to an Heirloom Vegetable workshop late last year. … Read more

It’s funny how we copy down recipes for meals we have enjoyed or tear out pages surreptitiously in waiting rooms yet, we often don’t get around to making the dishes.  Before you know it, you’ve got a veritable library stashed away.  You edit and tidy but the pile grows again.  When I was travelling in… Read more

My friend Maria told me about some cooking demonstrations she went to regularly.  She talked about how interesting they were and how amusing the presenter was.  Early in the new year, she sent an email with a list of up coming demonstrations so I chose a topic I thought we’d both be interested in and… Read more

The enormous McWhirters Building in Fortitude Valley has been around since 1898 and has housed departments stores, markets, shops and fast food joints that have all come and gone.  They chart the rise and fall and rise and fall of the Valley as a shopping destination and the faddish nature of consumers, always looking for the… Read more

Whether you’re shivering through wintry blasts or baking under the blazing sun, Christmas is a time that has an enduring sense memory linked to food.  I always wonder why we only ever buy a leg ham at Christmas when it’s available all year round?  The same for petticoat shortbread, Danish butter cookies and pfeffernusse.  Once, they… Read more

I love eggplant in all its glorious guises. In Asian style stir fries, baked or grilled with toppings and fillings, Moroccan tagines, Middle Eastern dips, barbecued, in Moussaka and in one of my favourites discoveries of the year in Bali, thin slices dipped in batter and fried to crispy puffs served with caramelised onions and… Read more

I love zucchini fritters but there’s quite an art to making a decent one. If the mix is too wet, they can be soggy or doughy. Too much oil and they can be greasy. Not enough oil and they won’t be crispy (and who doesn’t love crispy?). Somewhere in the whirl of social networking, internet… Read more

The very first real tingle of Autumn arrived in Brisbane last weekend. Gloriously sunny days, temperatures in the mid 20s with the mercury creeping down to below 15 at night. Now to many of you, this wouldn’t count as Autumn and to some, it would be positively balmy but to Brisbanites (for that is what… Read more

I always buy eggplants, full of good intentions and at the end of the week, they are often still sitting in the crisper. Eggplants are one of my faves but they do take some time to cook.  Most Mediterranean or Middle Eastern dishes need a longer cooking time to bring out their best. I don’t… Read more

In Pedro Almodovar’s 1988 black comedy ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown‘, the plot revolves around Pepa and her fraught relationship with Ivan and his extended family. Pepa’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown!  Swallowing sleeping pills hand over fist as she tries to work out how to deal with Ivan, she… Read more

I scored a couple of fantastic gifts when I recently left my long time employer.  One was a whizz bang blender (no doubt the subject of another post, soon) and, a copy of Greg & Lucy Malouf’s ‘Turquoise’. I’m a bit obsessive when I get a new cookbook – I like to sit down and… Read more

Cherries and Summer are interchangeable words. They remind us that Christmas is on the way and that there are plenty of long, hot, lazy days ahead to enjoy these sweet, juicy treats.  I have fond memories of Summer 2010 in France, buying a kilo of cherries from the front door of a local and heading… Read more

Pumpkins are funny old things.  In the USA, they are relegated to carving at Halloween, overly sweetened pie at Thanksgiving and for decoration on front porches throughout New England. In the UK, the only time you ever see pumpkin is in insipid ‘Butternut Squash’ soup that always tastes like water or when someone such as… Read more

It’s been a busy week in the Camp Hill kitchen. I have had lots of unexpected guests and on Tuesday, I was casting around, looking at what was left in the fridge and cupboard that could feed six on short notice. One thing I did have was a grove of lemons. It’s like that with… Read more

Do you know what Koshari (or Kushari or Koshary) is?  No, I didn’t either.  Apparently it’s one of the most popular dishes in Egypt but until I visited there, I’d never heard of it.  After I arrived in Egypt, I saw lots of shwarma and felafel stands and even a KFC run by the deaf… Read more