'The famous, very sweet, mint tea is a symbol of hospitality: it is served [with pastries] as soon as guests arrive at a house and at all times of the day'. 'Wouldn't it be great if some day we could rent a farmhouse, stock it with supplies and cook all week! We'd invite our nearest and dearest, and food-enthusiast friends... ah... the calories,' my friend and fellow cook, Tina, mused recently. Shortly afterwards there's an email from Tina asking me to send the link to a New York cheesecake that I'd shared on Facebook. It was a rather stupendous specimen, I must say, and Tina says she wants to bake it at the weekend, actually so do I. To which we plan a Saturday #bakedate via Skype, Tina baking in her Sydney kitchen and me in Canberra, some 250 kilometres away. What a hoot! A family of wrens is darting back and forth from the old bird bath in the courtyard just off our kitchen to the Manchurian pear tree in the front garden. To our delight, there are a few bees on the lavender bushes too. They disappeared en masse last summer and I can't wait till they bring a few more friends to visit. It's a warm day and somewhere in the distance someone is using a whipper-snipper. Fortunately, the noise is carried in the other direction by a gentle breeze. After a winter that seemed to go on and on, finally there are sunny days, blue skies (and hopefully, better health) to look forward to. My beautiful daughter is coming to visit tomorrow and I wanted to create something fresh and delicious to celebrate our get together, which will be the first time we have seen each other since the changing of the seasons to Spring. We plan to drop in to Floriade in the morning and then back to my place for a bite to eat. With new season strawberries and asparagus in plentiful supply, this simple dish of asparagus and strawberries as a salad looks special, tastes exquisite, and fits the bill perfectly for our Sunday luncheon. An eggplant or aubergine 'little plates' number on the menu at Soju Girl in the city took my fancy when dining with lovely friends recently. The dish featured a row of baby Japanese eggplants stuffed with spiced pork mince, sesame and pepitas, or pumpkin seeds. They were such tasty little morsels that I knew on first bite that I would like to recreate them at home. 'eton mess 'You are creating some really outstanding wines here, so keep doing what you've been doing.' 'Eat your beans, pipike,' my mother would say - 'pipike' being a term of endearment meaning 'little chicken' in Magyar. I would pout and slump my shoulders, for my mother's green beans cooked as zöldbabfőzelék (or green bean stew) were not a favourite of mine. In fact, I disliked that dish (and it's spinach counterpart) so much that I can still recall gagging with every mouthful. Zsa Zsa, the family's little black dachshund (and my very best friend for many years), would look on from her red and white basket, ears pricked, eyes wide, and I could tell that she was pleased it was someone other than her naughty self being scolded (albeit gently). Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things turned three in August and to mark the occasion I ate cake for breakfast this morning, and I think I might just eat some more for lunch and dinner. My friend, Pierre Issa, a.k.a. Pepe Saya, has partnered with me in the celebration and, thanks to his generosity, I have a delicious competition and prize giveaway for my readers. |
Welcome...Üdvözölöm
Cooking and writing have been a lifelong passion. Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes; postcards and morsels from my travels; conversations with cookery writers and chefs; and news on food, cookbooks and cooking. - Liz Posmyk
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NB: I use Australian standard measuring cups and spoons in my recipes.
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