…swim the warm waters of sins of the flesh. So begins the opening refrain of ‘Don’t Dream It, Be It’ from that camp classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Never have the lines of a song so aptly described the state of mind and even being when you commit to making Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Peanut… Read more

Moorish charm at the Alhambra Palace – Granada, SpainIn 2010 I spent two separate months in Spain, travelling from north to south, east to west, avoiding a lot of the coast and spending a considerable amount of time in interior.  In that time, we encountered only one place where Tapas was still served in the… Read more

OK – last post for the year so I want it to reflect holiday spirit and Summer fun.  Here we go….I love chips.  Love, love, love them.  So, I never buy them because they wouldn’t stay in the cupboard long and they’re just so bad for you (but delicious!).  I made a rare impulse buy… Read more

*** THIS VENUE HAS NOW CLOSED *** Newstead’s a funny old place.  It’s past the Valley, not quite in Bowen Hills and just beside the newly minted suburb of Teneriffe.  Geographically, culturally and gastronomically, it’s a bit of a wasteland.  It’s striving for edgy, urban renewal chic but hasn’t quite made it yet.  That’s why… 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

You know how it is. You meet your friends at 3pm for a quick drink to catch up and the next thing you know, it’s 7pm and your starving.  After a blazing Sunday afternoon, sitting on squat stools on the balcony of the Powerhouse to catch and shoot the breeze, talk turned to food. Maria… Read more