Introduction: My grandma was an absolute card. A cheeky scallywag from Liverpool, she was a real bag of fun that would tell you how it was. I used to love going to the grocers with her where she would pick up a vegetable or piece of fruit push her thumb into it and then throw [...]
I have always prided myself on the ability, desire and, more to the point, the patience to cook from scratch; to take raw ingredients and turn them in to something delightfully edible. I also have a real inclination to avoid processed foods where I can, or so I thought. If you think about it a [...]
Introduction: It’s currently summer here in Melbourne, averaging 30+ degrees C this week, which means it’s an ideal time for salads, charcoal flamed meat and glasses of the old jumping grape, or the fizzy hops. So, in a crazy contradiction to the ambience I decided to make one of my favourites, and indeed one of [...]
Physically I am back in Melbourne. The rest of me is still twisting and turning, smelling and eating, listening and chatting, and sipping Vietnamese ca phe at my local. Hanoi has been an eye opening time that has left me both saddened and inspired. I have loved the simplicity and camaraderie of the Hanoians, and [...]
…a very difficult one to call. Before I give the final answer, a subjective one of course, it’s important to define what actually makes a good pho (in case you haven’t read my other Vietnam posts, pho is the general name for the thick rice noodles served in broth). Here is my take on it: [...]