I’ve been trying my hand at fiction lately and am very excited about winning the YWCA Canberra Frugal Feast Writing Prize. You can read my short story about eating and farming insects at the ACT Writers Centre Blog (here – http://actwritersblog.com/2016/01/11/how-hungry/).* The content… Read More ›
food
Superficial – Don’t judge these Italian cakes by their looks
The sign in this food store near the Campo De’ Fiori in Rome reads ‘Ugly but good’. I regret not tasting one of these cakes while I was there. It’s great that some suppliers are now taking a similar approach with odd-shaped… Read More ›
Supercibo – Superfood Italian-style
I have no idea if this cafe in Trastevere, Rome sells healthy ‘superfood’ or unhealthy ‘fastfood’ as it was closed. I suspect the latter given the speed at which Superman appears to be shovelling down this mountain of (lentil?) burgers. ************* This is… Read More ›
Using warm drinks to break the ice
Most of us are aware that drinking alcohol helps to encourage interaction between strangers, but did you know that any beverage that makes you feel ‘warm’ inside can have a similar effect? This is because we generally equate ‘warmth’ with emotions like affection, love and comfort. As… Read More ›
Wartime austerity – a time when recycling was not optional
I’ve just finished reading about Australia, Singapore and the Malay Peninsula during the Second World War in a novel called ‘To Love a Sunburnt Country’.(1) The story provided a fascinating insight into life at the time and how Australians responded when war… Read More ›
Can chopsticks help to solve global obesity?
The other day I ordered ‘Fuh’ in a vietnamese restaurant. As delicious as it was, I struggled to eat this broth (full of beef slices, noodles, bean shoots and thai basil) with only a spoon and a pair of chopsticks. It suddenly… Read More ›
Our planet is not a magic pudding
‘The Magic Pudding’ is a classic Australian children’s book that was written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay – supposedly as an alternative to stories about fairies. It was first published in 1918 and tells the story of the Noble Society of Pudding… Read More ›
Not sweet at all – Australia’s sugar slaves (Part 1)
Many Australians are unaware of the key role that ‘sugar slaves’ played in establishing the Australian sugar industry that is now worth around $1.5 – $2.5 billion to our country’s economy. Throughout the last half of the 19th Century, South Sea Islanders (so-called ‘kanakas’) cleared the bush and… Read More ›
Decadent desserts, chocolate treats & goal setting
While dining at a restaurant the other day, I was initially delighted when a large portion of tiramisù was placed before me. However, I soon realised that this rich dessert was likely to test my commitment to avoiding and minimising waste. Should I… Read More ›
Dandelions – weed or feed?
I was gardening the other day and pulled out a whole lot of dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), planning to give them to the neighbour’s chooks. Next I was going to re-establish the vege patch and start growing my own spinach and other greens again. Then it occurred… Read More ›
A cruel irony – When comfort food & pets make you feel guilty
If faith is where you turn when there seems to be no place to turn (to paraphrase Zig Ziglar), then comfort food is what you eat at that time. So what happens if you already feel bad and then you feel worse because… Read More ›
Why not celebrate Easter with green eggs, chocolate bilbies & protein balls?
Once again Australians are being encouraged to buy chocolate bilbies instead of Easter (feral) bunnies. (To learn more about bilbies, an endangered Australian marsupial that looks a bit like a rabbit with a long nose and tail and a pouch, check out this Radio… Read More ›
Edible versus Fit to eat – Are insects the answer to global food security?
For fans of ‘Charlotte’s Web’, imagine if Wilbur (the pig) had instead watched Charlotte (the spider) being taken away to be slaughtered and eaten? Would animal welfare groups such as PETA and the RSPCA have objected and fought for spiders’ rights… Read More ›
Bush tucker 2 – How do you prefer your witchetty grubs & bogong moths?
Moths, grubs, ants and other insects were important sources of energy for indigenous Australians whose traditional bush tucker diet was high in carbohydrates, protein and nutrients, and relatively low in fat and sugars. Witchetty grubs, for example, were a staple… Read More ›
Bush tucker – I say potato, others say yarla
Apart from macadamia nuts, most people (including many Australians) know very little about Aussie bush tucker – despite the fact that we have an amazing variety of edible plants, such as lilly pilly, quandong, wattle seed and lemon myrtle, on… Read More ›