Pappardelle with Porcini Mushrooms

Semester 1 of my degree is now behind me.  Just another five to go!  It ended with five exams then three weeks of clinical experience.  I finished my final exam at 4pm on a Friday and 6.45am Monday morning I was in the lock-up dementia unit of an aged care facility where I spent the […]

Pasta with Asparagus and Bacon

Last week I was up at the swim centre watching the little guy pound up and down the black line as usual.  While he did his laps I was thinking about the meal I was going to cook for dinner.  And I was totally prepared and organised as I knew I had an organic free-range […]

Happy As Larry

In 2011, the City of Sydney asked the people what they would like for their city.  The overwhelming response was that they’d like better food options after dark.  A two-year trial was put in place and gave birth to the Sydney Food Truck scene serving a terrific variety of cuisine from around the world. Launching […]

A Hearty Ragu

It was all as you said it would be.  ‘They’ll be fine’, you said, ‘they will rise to the occasion’.  And I can tell you that is exactly what happened even though when it came to looking after the little guy and caring for the home, one rose a lot higher than the other. Of […]

Fig, Prosciutto and Bocconcini Salad

My sister, Lou, is now living in Oz after 10 years in Beijing.  Two of her children have birthdays within a couple of days of each other.  For the past decade I have only seen my niece and nephew’s combined birthday parties through a screen but now, everything’s changed. We were invited to a barbecue […]

Barilla Gluten-Free Pasta

There are a few people in my family who are gluten-free and one of their biggest complaints is that finding a decent gluten-free pasta is difficult and costly.  Since removing gluten from their diets, they say the food item they miss most is bread but enjoying a decent pasta dish is a very close second. […]

BRITA 3-Way Water Filter Tap and…Ricotta and Lemon Tortellini

This post is sponsored by BRITA. It is time to choose discountfilterstore.com/honeywell-air-filters.html.About a decade ago I became concerned about our drinking water and while not understanding completely what exactly is in the mix, I just knew I could have a cleaner form of water if the amount of additives were reduced.  I bought a water filtration […]

Stuffed Pork Loin with Primavera Salad

Yesterday we had close friends coming over for lunch.  We normally catch up quite regularly but this year has been more frantic than usual and these friends have also done some traveling so it’s been almost 12 months since we last enjoyed each other’s company. Sunday was a beautiful warm day and just perfect for […]

Pressed Brick Sandwich and…The Disappearing Ham

Around a decade ago and before my youngest child was born, I used to host Christmas Dinner for everyone in Carl’s family.  And I didn’t mind.  It was something I loved to do and not least because it spared me from going to his parents’ house and (I say in the nicest possible way), suffering […]

How to Make Gluten-Free Pasta with Truffle Butter Sauce

A few weeks ago I attended a cooking course on how to make gluten-free pasta and gnocchi.  Gabriele Taddeucci who is Italian and a coeliac and the head-chef of Balla, ran the course and has allowed me to share his recipes. Gabriele has two different recipes for making pasta by either hand or machine.  I […]