We all have that one mate who effortlessly throws together a man’s shirt, some buttons she turned into earrings & a jaunty bowler hat and looks fabulous. I am not that mate. Similarly, I know there are people with immaculate Better-Homes-and-Gardens-ready living rooms. People who’s homes are always within a cashmere throw of being magazine [...]
pumpkin barley risotto + a little help from the little sister
June 13, 2013 by · 12 Comments
It was so wet this weekend that Bearhands bucked the status quo and didn’t disappear into the paddock or the shed. I spent some time experimenting in the kitchen while he watched documentaries about people from the southern states of America catching, finding, shooting or brewing things. I’ve wanted to try making risotto using barley [...]
(almost) banged up abroad + a recipe for what you want
June 10, 2013 by · 25 Comments
I was very nearly locked up in the early hours of my third day in Japan. It was about 4am when the cops pounded on our door and I was groggy from jet lag and learning to sleep on a futon. I opened the door and three policemen stepped into our tiny rented flat, shouting [...]
fat rascals, purple leopard skin + a time-share cardigan
June 7, 2013 by · 7 Comments
During our uni years, my mate Chantal and I had a Friday night ritual. When we weren’t working for a functions company, we’d get tarted up and head into town. We’d start the night with one drink at a fancy establishment – the Hilton Piano Bar was a favourite destination. We’d swan in and pretend [...]
spicy soup + loaded lyrics
June 4, 2013 by · 10 Comments
You can’t help but be influenced by your parents taste in music. I sing along whenever Anne Murray tells sleepy Jean to cheer up, and there’s no stopping me if Billy Joel gets in a New York state of mind. When Bearhand’s sister gave him a Toby Keith CD a few years back, it got a [...]
Advancing Australian fare – not your average tuck shop lamingtons
May 31, 2013 by · 9 Comments
My Nanna’s a world traveller. As a girl I had a collection of dolls she’d bought on her travels, displayed safely out of reach and admired from a distance. The doll from China had a carefully painted face and a blue silk dress. The doll from Scotland wore a kilt and a furry hat. Nanna’s [...]
choose your own adventure – Voices of 2013
May 28, 2013 by · 37 Comments
Remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books of the eighties? What happened in the story was up to you. A fork in the road? Left or right? You’d turn to the page and the story would unfold based on your selection. I invariably made choices that saw me dead or imprisoned within three pages. Last [...]
mock chicken + flattery | time-worn tucker
May 25, 2013 by · 17 Comments
If you have siblings, there’s a very good chance that at some point you’ve played the annoying I’m-going-to-copy-everything-you-say game. I’ll offer similar odds that at some point you drove your parents to the gin bottle up the wall complaining about it. If your’s were anything like my folks, they would have told you, in between medicinal sips, ”Imitation [...]
parsley, sage, rosemary and having a great time – the Gourmet Garden Cook Off
May 23, 2013 by · 13 Comments
Day 2 of the Gourmet Garden Bloggers Conference started with a bus ride from Noosa to Woodford via Beerwah. I was within a few hundred meters of the Sisters for a few moments there – luckily I’d only been away from them for twenty-five hours at that point – any longer and I may have [...]
parsley, sage, rosemary and having a great time. Gourmet Garden Bloggers Conference
May 21, 2013 by · 18 Comments
Day 1 of the Gourmet Garden Bloggers Conference started before the sparrow farted. Casa de Cooker was a flurry of activity until the girls were out the door and I started randomly applying paint to my face and shoes to my feet. I was ready with seven minutes to spare – just enough time to [...]
