'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! 'eton mess 'You are creating some really outstanding wines here, so keep doing what you've been doing.' Every so often I surprise Peter with another recipe resurrected from the culinary archives in my head. These recipes have to meet certain criteria, in that I will have made the dish many times in my life, but haven't yet prepared it for Peter; and I know that it's delicious enough to make him raise his eyebrows, nod his head and emit that low 'Mmmoaning' sound on first bite. Chef Christophe Gregoire was born and raised in Les Vosges – one of the most pristine rural regions in France. He says Australian truffles have a superb quality and beautiful aroma... largely due to cold winters, frosts and dry soil in growing regions Over the years my taste buds have come to prefer desserts which are more on the exotic side as opposed to rich, gooey indulgences. Don't get me wrong, I love well made Crème brûlée or Chocolate Pots de Crème, but would sooner indulge in a serving of Shrikhand or Gula melaka. In the late 1970s it was très chic to have Dartington Crystal avocado dishes in one's trousseau. As a young bride, I always coveted a set... heaven knows why, for it wasn't until the last decade or two that my taste buds came to really enjoy avocado. I didn't like the texture nor the flavour, and, besides, it always seemed curious to me that a dish as elegant as a prawn cocktail should be served in half of an avocado! Time changes most things and, as you will see by the surprisingly delicious and decadent little number above, the grown up me now fully appreciates the versatility of avocado in all forms. 'I remember poffertjes from my childhood. My aunts made these golden balls of dough and served them with a lightly rose-scented sugar syrup as a special treat.' Every season presents us with a fresh opportunity to celebrate delicious fruit. Just think stone fruits and berries in summer; apples, oranges and lemons in winter; tamarillos and blood oranges in spring; and pears and figs in autumn. Autumn is one of the loveliest seasons in Canberra and I recently made a pact with myself that I must get away from my desk at lunchtime to savour some fresh air and sunshine. Last week, I took the opportunity to walk to Acton, an old part of Canberra just 15 minutes from the office where I work. It's the area where my family lived around the time that I was born and I was delighted to discover that the little 'buggy shed' we once called home has recently been renovated. More on that in an upcoming post.
There's a fig tree on that old property and I couldn't help but forage for ripe fruit, especially seeing nectar-hungry wrens flitting back and forth from the tree, and also knowing that our landlady in the 1960s had 'banned' my siblings and I from touching her figs. Forbidden fruit is somehow always sweeter, isn't it! The sight of figs en masse is enough to make some folk go weak at the knees (myself included), so when my Twitter friend, Eucale Stanes, a dietitian, fellow cook, fresh produce fancier and gardener, invited me to collect some figs from the tree in her back garden, I was only too happy to barter with some of my home grown bok choy and tarragon. We had a good chat about gardening and cooking, and I know that Eucale enjoyed cooking with my tarragon as much I enjoyed preserving her beautiful little figs. We're catching up again in a day or two for another swap and I'm really looking forward to it! Eucale, this recipe is for you. Affogato [a-fa-ga-to]: Noun. A delicious beverage comprising a large scoop of premium quality vanilla bean ice cream with a freshly extracted shot of espresso coffee poured over it. On our travels here and there, Peter and I will often seek out cafes on a quest for good coffee. My caffè of choice is a double shot macchiato with a splash of extra milk. There are times, however, when I'm craving an affogato. More often than not, Peter will order me an affogato, but (dependent on the cafe and our location) there are occasions when he says 'Don't be silly, they're not going to know what that is here!'. My somewhat indignant response to this is usually, 'Well then, I'll explain to them how easy it is to make one.'
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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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