Birthday picnic for twins – with cake!

twinbirthdaypicnic (4 of 5)

Last year, my husband and I went to a talk about parenting twins, given by a child psychologist, himself an identical twin. One of the tips that stuck in my mind was that he advised making two birthday cakes and singing “Happy Birthday” twice. Back then, this seemed like a concern for the far distant [...]

Recipe: Pastry for mince tarts and other treats

Christmas baking - tidy tart

I am not a stickler for doing everything from scratch but I much prefer to make my own mince pies. I am inevitably disappointed by shop-bought mince pies. The problem is the pastry. Even with the fancy brands, I don’t enjoy the pastry nearly as much as when I make it myself. I also find [...]

Passports with Purpose: Cookery class at Freestyle Escape

Freestyle Escape cookery class

Do you remember the photo of that delectable dessert in my post about the Sunshine Coast hinterland? I bought it from the Freestyle Escape stall at the Real Food Festival in Maleny. Guess what? You could win a cookery class at Freestyle Escape and raise money to build libraries in Zambia at the same time! It’s [...]

Avocado dip from Bill’s Everyday Asian

Asian avocado dip

I won a signed copy of Bill Granger’s new cookbook Bill’s Everyday Asian in a competition that Riverbend Books ran on its Facebook page. Riverbend is in Bulimba in Brisbane so my cousin Kim, who lives and works nearby, picked it up and sent it to me. These days you can find a lot of [...]

Thai cookery class at the Spirit House

Crispy prawns at Spirit House

I have been wanting to eat at the Spirit House for years. It is a Thai restaurant in Yandina, near Noosa on the Queensland Sunshine Coast, and everyone says it is amazing. To reach the dining hall, you take a winding path through a lush rainforest garden and past a pond. There are Buddha statues [...]

Italian sauce: Pesto, Bolognese and Puttanesca

Robin Locker

This is a guest post from Robin Locker Lacey, a travel consultant for Italy and France, freelance writer, photographer and foodie. Her blog, My Mélange, features info on her favorite European cities,  travel essays, photos, restaurant and hotel recommendations, recipes and budget travel tips.  You can follow her on Twitter @MyMelange or join her community on Facebook. One of [...]

Weddings, old lace and scones with jam and cream

Caitlin on her wedding day

My mother-in-law rang my husband on Saturday to deliver this message: “Tell Caitlin the dress was beautiful but not as nice as hers.” I doubt very much that the new Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton as was, would be bothered by this highly biased declaration, but it made me smile. The royal wedding dress WAS [...]

Halloween baking: Brain and blood clot cupcakes

Brain and blood clot cupcake

Close readers of this blog will know that I’m not a fan of cupcakes. Yet not even I could resist the idea of making brain and blood clot cupcakes for Halloween. I came across the idea via my friend Jessica who blogs at FushMush. She linked to this recipe on Not Quite Nigella on Facebook or Twitter and [...]

Recipe Road Test: Chocolate-Caramel Macadamia Nut Tart

Chocolate-macadamia-caramel-pie

A decadent chocolate-caramel dessert for impressing guests As a I cook I’m usually drawn to the simple and I rarely make something that requires multiple steps. So this tart was a departure for me, since it involved blind-baking pastry, making caramel, making chocolate ganache, assembling it all before the chocolate and caramel set, and piping [...]

Buffalo meat is healthy, tasty and eco-friendly

Buffalo-meat

I am a convert to eating buffalo. Oh my. This time last year I penned an article for EcoSalon about the environmental arguments for Americans to eat buffalo. The main point is that rearing buffalo promotes the restoration of native grasslands in the prairies of the American West. However, as I was living in Britain [...]

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