I’ve recently been enjoying recipes from his book “Jamie at Home“.

One of the things that makes this book special is his passion for ingredients, with each chapter showcasing an individual ingredient. He’s a lucky guy to have the vegie patch that he has, and he’s got some great tips on growing vegetables and preparing food.

Did you know that you shouldn’t peel carrots? According to Jamie much of the flavour and nutrients in them sits just under their skin, so the best way to prepare carrots is to scrape the skin off with the back of a knife.

I’v also stumbled upon his website at jamieoliver.com and it’s great. There are loads of free recipes up and even more great food tips from the man.

Marmite and other alternatives just don’t cut it, no matter what any Pom tells you!

Apparently Vegemite is actually a good hangover cure. I wouldn’t know because I’ve never had a hangover, but the Vitamin B and Salt content in it helps you return to normal faster.

So if you’ve had you’re lamb and enjoyed a little too much to drink on Australia day this recipe is for you!

Ingredients:
2 slices of bread
Tub of margarine
Vegemite

Instructions:
1. Put the toast in the toaster
2. When browned remove and butter with margarine while still hot
3. Spread a small amount of Vegemite on the buttered toast
4. Slice however you please and enjoy

Assuming the BBQ is all ready and the coals are warm, why not cook up some Australian Lamb this Aussie day?

From the mouth of Sam Kekovich “You don’t need to be an overpaid pinstripe parasite from a millionares factory, to be truly happy you just need a chop and a cold one”!

c00king6ynum6er5 is a great website. Basically you select what food you do have in your cupboard and then it lists recipes based on a % of ingredients you have and also suggests new recipes that require just a few more ingredients.

It’s a great idea, and perfect for when you want to try something new!

Throughout the Festival between 12noon and 1pm and/or 6pm and 7pm you can turn up to these restaurants and treat your tastebuds :-)

If you’ve already enjoyed a fast feast let us all know which restaurants you enjoyed!

And I’ll be doing some reviews through the festival too.

Enter Honibe Honey Drops, 100% real honey, but without the mess.

Good luck!

This morning I decided to mix it up and replace bacon with smoked speck. Speck is similar to Bacon but differs in taste due to a juniper curing process.

You can cook it the same as you like your bacon, and it tastes great!

It’s also really nice in a meat lasagna, it adds a tasty sweetness to other flavours.

I haven’t tasted it myself, has anyone tried it? What does it taste like?

One tip I can give you though, best not to eat city birds, like the ones you see on George St eating Maccas off the ground.

Below is a humorous home video guide to hunting pigeons :-)

I’ll be on the hunt to try pigeon soon and will find a nice recipe to share.

Ingredients
Bacon 100g
Onion 1
Peeled tomatoes 2 cans
Clove garlic 1
Caraway seeds 1/2 Teaspoon
Sweet Paprika 1&1/2 Tablespoo
Lamb Fillet 1kg (you can also use other types of lamb or beef)
Bay leaf 1
Vegetable stock 1 cup (250mL)
Chat Potatoes 450g
Peas 100g (can use frozen peas)
Sour Cream 3 Tablespoon

Preparation
1. Cut the bacon and onion into small peices and the lamb and potatoes into 2cm cubes.
2. Cook the bacon in a big pot with some oil and after brown add the onion and cook for another few minutes.
3. Add the lamb and cook until slightly braised (around 1 minute).
4. Add all other ingredients except for potatoes, peas & sour cream and bring to the boil.
5. Once boiling return the heat to low and simmer covered for around 40 minutes.
6. Add the potatoes and cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until tender.
7. Add the peas (frozen or not) and cook for 5 minutes
8. Stir in the sour cream and cook without boiling
9. Garnish with a little paprika and serve with rye bread.

It’s Tuesday 12:30pm and I have arrived in Potts Point for a meeting. After wandering down the leafy Victoria St looking for a bite to eat I land at the quaint Nest, a small café sprawling onto the street.

A friendly and genuine waiter helps me choose a small dish. Pears poached in ginger and cinnamon with mascarpone on sour cherry toast, accompanied by a pot of fresh earl grey tea. A drizzling of maple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar complete the pear dish sensationally.

Seated around me there aren’t many, however they are an eclectic mix; the young trendy male with horse fur loafers scribbling in a recycled paper diary, the real estate agent in a ‘this means business’ suit, and the heritage listed ladies of Potts Point enjoying a cup of tea, darling.

The sour cherry toast is well balanced with the mascarpone, and the pears and syrup kick in a naturally sweet taste with plenty of bite. Finishing up I am asked if I would care for more, however taken by the quaint but comforting decor I rather enter into a conversation about the creative music endeavors of my waiter and discuss the community feeling behind the feature wall spotted with children’s drawings and local talent.

Pears poached in ginger and cinnamon with mascarpone on sour cherry toast $10

Victoria St Potts Point
Phone: (02) 8356 9505

Chef: Prue Myers

This is the most delicious Red Curry I have every made. The key is using a fresh, plump, juicy pineapple. Stay away from tinned.

Ingredients
20 large green (raw) prawns, shelled and deveined
Two-thirds of a small pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
100g snow peas, trimmed and halved on the diagonal
1-2 large red chillies, finely sliced
2-3 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded (not essential)
Boiled rice, to serve
1 cup coconut cream
3 tbsp red curry paste
2 tsp palm sugar (or raw)
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp tamarind puree (not essential)
2 cups coconut milk

Instructions
1. Heat coconut cream in a wok over medium heat and stir for 1-2 minutes
2. Add red curry paste and stir over low heat for 2-3 minutes until fragrant
3. Add sugar, fish sauce and tamarind and stir well
4. Gradually add coconut milk and stir; then add prawns and simmer until prawns just change colour
5. Add pineapple and snow peas and simmer for 1-2 minutes until heated through
6. Remove from heat and serve topped with red chilli and kaffir lime leaves. Accompany with rice

I’ve just left my lemonade stall to go and make myself a tasty homemade lemonade spider, back in 5…

Ingredients
Homemade Lemonade
Vanilla Ice Cream (For spiders I prefer Blue Ribbon because it’s so creamy)

Preparation
Easy, Pour a glass of homemade lemonade and add a scoop or two of ice cream.

More like a mild sweet curry, this recipe is a Fowler family favourite.

Ingredients:
30 g butter
375 g chicken thigh cutlets
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 green apple, finely chopped
1 tabs curry paste
2 tabs plain flour
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup basmati rice
1 tabs chutney
1 tabs lemon juice
1/4 cup cream (optional)
salt & pepper

Instructions:
1. Heat butter in large heavy based pan & brown chicken for 5 min and then remove
2. Add onion, apple & curry paste and cook for 5 min until onion is soft
3. Stir in flour, then cook for 2 min
4. Add half the stock and stir until mixture boils and thickens
5. Add chicken and remaining stock to pan and stir until boiling
6. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 1 hour
7. Add rice for the last 15 min
8. Remove chicken, bone and dice meat finely and return to pan
9. Add chutney, lemon juice, cream and seasoning

Enjoy. I usually multiple ingredients by 3 - without the cream will keep in fridge for 3 days or can be frozen

It’s a mexican eat-in/takeaway similar to Guzmen Y Gomez, but so much better.

You choose a wrap, a meat and a salsa as well as an authentic Mexican beer and your own your way.

A little bit more expensive than a regular takeaway joint but less expensive than a restaurant and just as tasty.

Watch this franchise, it comes highly recommended.

We did the usual and headed to the shops on the way to buy some dinner. Initially it was going to be a bbq affair but the weather was overcast and we all quickly agreed to go with pizzas instead. We parted ways and joined again at the checkout with an assortment of ingredients and some supermarket banter.

We used the new self checkout but had a little trouble wrestling the technology. I have to admit I think we got the rocket for free, oops! The whole deal cost about $50 which ended up over-feeding 5 of us.

And then we were on our way. When we arrived at George’s we poured ourselves an ale, pre-heated the oven to 180C and chopped, diced and sliced all of our ingredients and placed them in bowls.

Then the fun began with each of us styling our own pizza to share. It wasn’t long until it turned into a competition to see who could make the tastiest slice, and we all became instant food critics.

About 6 pizzas in the alcohol had taken it’s toll and we were all finding it hard to remember what the 1st pizza tasted like.

About 10 pizzas in we were all already full but decided to make dessert pizzas in between poker rounds.

I went about making the worst pizza imaginable and ended up adding sherry, cornflour and soya sauce. It didn’t taste to bad but still, don’t try this at home!

The winner was Ryan, and he got my vote not just for the taste of his dessert pizza but also for the way he made it sound so unbelievably tasty even before it had hit the oven!

Below are some photos (Thanks Timmy)…

Tim's Banana & Top Deck Chocolate Dessert Pizza

Ryan Eldridge - Reigning Pizza Champion 2008

We’re going to make pizza parties a more regular event. They’re a great way to enjoy good company and experiment with good (and not so good) food!

I went to the local greenery and picked up a selection of already growing potted herbs:

• Mint
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Rocket (although this is not a herb)
• Parsley
• Coriander
• Chives
• Thyme

All of these cost $40 in total (an average of $4.44 per herb and equal to the prices you can pay at woolies). I also bought 2 27cm pots ($20 each) and 2 bags of suitable potting mix ($20 dollars each). All up it cost me $120, which means that you would only have to use each herb 3 times to be cheaper than buying herbs from woolies.

I went home and planted them a few days later after work. I watered them 2 times a day for the first few weeks and then once a day since, although I have forgotten to water them a few days here and there! Two months later and I have a very healthy herb garden.

The sites slogan is “ideas worth spreading”, so I thought I would share this video on the environmental effects of our eating habits.

“In this fiery and funny talk, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman weighs in on what’s wrong with the way we eat now (too much meat, too few plants; too much fast food, too little home cooking), and why it’s putting the entire planet at risk.”-ted.com

Ingredients
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup milk
1 egg

Preparation
1. Mix them all up, wait for bubbles to appear on the surface and you know the rest!

There are a thousand variations on this recipe, but my favourite is just a touch of cinnamon or vanilla.

So I thought I might try to make some homemade lemonade…

Ingredients
Lemons (300mL squeezed)
Caster Sugar (270mG)
Lime (Half)
Sparkling Mineral Water (900mL)
Mint

Preparation
1. Squeeze the lemons and lime and pour into pot
2. Heat the pot and stir in the caster sugar
3. Let the mixture boil and turn off heat once the sugar has dissolved
4. Pour this mixture into a container and place in the freezer to cool
5. Once cool pour in a jug with the mineral water
6. Pour into glasses and add some mint and ice

I was really impressed with how easy and quick it was to make, I’m going to make a big batch and never need to buy cordial again!

Instructions:
1. Fry laksa paste until fragrant
2. Add prawns or whatever and galangal
3. Add liquids
4. Top with bean shoots and fresh coriander leaves

This recipe makes a really nice Laksa!

Ingredients:
5 stalks lemon grass
1 TBs ground tumeric
12 dried chillies soaked in walm H2o OR 3tsp Sambal oelec
20 eshalots pealed and sliced
apiece of walnut sized palm sugar
1TBs shrimp paste (Balkan) roasted in foil at 200 for 15 mins
2 cloves garlic pealed and sliced
1 TBs dried shrimp
roots from 2 bunched coriander chopped
2 TBs peanut oil

food.alltop.com is a great site for new cooking ideas. Basically it aggregates a long list of popular food sites and shows a list of their recent articles. You can also customize the page to include any sites that you want to and exclude any that you don’t.

It’s rainy and cold today so I decided to cook a simple pumpkin soup.

Ingredients
Pumpkin
Garlic
Onion
Cream or milk
H2o
Salt

Preparation
1. Chop up an onion and a few cloves of garlic
2. Sautee in butter with a pinch of salt
3. Chop up the pumpkin and bake in the oven
4. Add milk or cream to the onions
5. Add the pumpkin when soft
6. Blend
7. S&P to taste

You can also garnish it with chives or parsley and swirl in some cream.

Thanks for the recipe Nicole!

It’s fast, tasty, and apparently pretty healthy.

Ingredients
Shallots
Garlic
Tuna in Olive Oil (1 tin)
Lemons (3)
Capers
S&P
Rocket
Spaghetti
Fresh Chilli

Preparation
1. Cook up a bunch of shallots, fresh chilli and some garlic
2. Add a tin of tuna in olive oil (don’t drain the oil just chuck it all in) and the juice of 3 lemons
3. Simmer for a tiny bit and throw in some capers and S&P to taste
4. At the last minute throw in a bunch of rocket and serve with spaghetti

Ingredients
A glass
A supply of water

Preparation
1) With either hand, pick up the glass
2) With the other hand, activate the water supply
3) With the first hand, place the glass under the water suply until it is approx 1cm from the top
4) Turn off water supply
5) Enjoy

Ingredients
Shortcrust Pastry (Defrosted)
Eggs (4)
Bacon (4 rashers diced)
Cheese (Gruyere is best)
Cherry tomatoes (halved)
Onion (1 large)
Pure Cream
Olive Oil
Cooking Butter
S&P
Chives

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 180° C
2. Heat up a frying pan with a dash of olive oil, then chop the bacon and onion and fry them at medium heat.
3. While they’re cooking, mix the eggs and cream and add S&P.
4. When the bacon and onion is fried add this to the egg mix.
5. Melt some butter and cover your baking dish, then spread the shortcrust over the bottom and sides making sure the pastry is consistent and there are no holes
6. Slice the cheese and cover the bottom of the dish, then add the halved cherry tomatoes
7. Pour in the egg mix making sure ingredients are consistently spread. Add a dash of S&P
8. Place in the oven and bake for around 40-45 minutes. You can test to see whether it’s cooked by using a skewer to test the moisture of the quiche. If it’s not cooked it will be too runny and if it’s over cooked it will be too dry and hard

Below is a recipe for Hendrick’s Tonic which is the best g&t in town.

Ingredients
2 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
Tonic Water

Preparation
Pour Hendrick’s Gin into highball glass over ice cubes
and fill with tonic water. Stir. Garnish with cucumber.

Hendrick’s has won a stack of awards including Wall Street “Best Gin” (2003) and Time Magazine “Best new breed of gin, Hendrick’s a small batch cult favourite” (2004)

The gin is brewed in Scotland and the taste is due to a rare distilling process and unusual ingredients including rose and cucumber. The Hendrick’s website is worth a visit and has more information about all things Hendricks including more cocktail recipes.

You can pick up a bottle for about $60, which is expensive but worth every penny.

A while ago I went to my mate Tim’s house for a bbq. He’d whipped up this easy marinade which tasted great with lamb kebabs and was really simple and quick to make.

Ingregients
1/4 cup Water
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
dash lemon juice
small diced chili
1/2 cup chopped mint

Preparation
1. Add water, sugar and vinegar into a bowl and heat in microwave for 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved
2. Add mint, chili and lemon juice
3. Mash all together and leave for a couple of hours
4. You may have to strain some water out depending how strong you want the mint flavours
5. Marinate your selected meat and leave covered in the fridge for 15 mins to 1 day

You can also subscribe and receive new articles via email or rss, and if you know anyone who enjoys good food they’re in good company here.

As my dad used to say “2..4..6..8 bog in don’t wait” and, “don’t play with your food”.