I was pulling this out of the oven tonight when Timbo got the phone call from his mum; his grandma Lyn had sadly passed away. Lyn, more commonly known as ‘Nin’ to her 6 grandkids, 10 great grandkids (and counting), was an absolute larger than life character. Always with a huge smile on her face, […]
Is there anything better than some good old fashioned country hospitality? Nothing says ” I love you” more than a thoughtful display of home cooking. And with covid restrictions lifting and regional travel opening back up again – we’ve got family coming to stay. Who cares if the house is a mess; the washing pile […]
In some ways I feel a little funny writing about ‘Armah’s Caramel Cake’ as I never met her myself; I never met Armah. I never met the lady who was famous for her caramel cake. So famous in fact, my friend Em (one of Armah’s many beloved grandchildren) tells me that her recipe was shared […]
In times like these… drink coffee. I’ve been drinking lots of coffee. I’ve been feeling helpless;I’ve been laughing at memes;I’ve been picking flowers from the garden;I’ve been browsing through my cookbooks, my endless number of cookbooks;I’ve been doing anything to try and take my mind off what’s happening in the world right now. I’ve been […]
When I started the blog over a year ago, the ladies over at Tambea Kitchen in Wagga sent me this recipe for their great aunt Lorna’s caramel pudding. And boy oh boy is this my kind of cooking. Talk about easy! Its old school, home cooking at its best – just the way a family […]
I saw something on Facebook the other day that said “Find out what Donna Hay’s favourite kitchen utensil for under $20 is!” Of course I couldn’t help but click on it and for some unknown reason, the page didn’t load. Bugger. Anyway, I then got distracted doing something else and annoyingly, I still don’t know […]
They say less is more? Not true! Especially in the case of a five year old’s birthday cake. I’m still recovering from little Miss Charlotte’s birthday party yesterday. It wasn’t the preparation and cooking that took it out of me – but instead trying to entertain the 35 kiddies! It probably didn’t help that they’d […]
I bet you’ve all eaten apple crumble before; a dish of humble origin, some of you probably make it all the time. I love a good apple crumble – choosing to use sultanas, brown sugar and cinnamon in mine. I do however think that there’s something special about this nectarine and plum version. Using almonds and […]
Cork Daddy’s home town of Boorowa is located right near Young; the cherry capital of Australia. Pop keeps us all going in cherries throughout the summer months and they’re always a highlight come Chrissie time. The Hall Family Orchard cherries are the best! Of export quality, they’re absolutely out of this world! Plump, delicious and the […]
Both the Aussie’s and Kiwi’s claim to own the pavlova – a simple dessert consisting of a meringue base, topped off with whipped cream and fresh fruit. They’ve been fighting over this title ever since the dish was named after Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, when she visited both countries back in the 1920’s. In my […]
Christmas decorations are in the shops – already! They seem to be creeping in earlier and earlier each year. At the beach for the school holidays, Mum and I’ve been discussing how exciting it is to have Elles Belles and Jez home for Chrissie. Which got me thinking about our Thomas family Christmas. Mum’ll have presents […]
I’m sitting here with a boiling hot cuppa enjoying some cold leftover bread and butter pudding. WOW! I don’t think there could be any better ‘special treat’ afternoon tea. My grandma Mim used to make this pudding often and I loved helping her butter the bread. I used to pick out the sultanas then, and […]
This dish is inspired by a lovely dessert Mim used to make using homegrown peaches and oranges from her trees on the farm. She used to cover the freshly picked peaches with a sprinkling of sugar, some freshly squeezed orange juice and a generous amount of Cointreau. Oh my gosh- talk about heaven on a […]
If you haven’t heard of Yotam Ottolenghi before – go and check out one of his cookbooks. He’s an Israeli-British chef and cooks some amazing food drawing heavily from middle eastern flavours. He writes cookbooks, has a tv show and owns a heap of deli’s and restaurants across London. This apple and olive oil cake […]
A ‘Nanny’s chocolate cake’ has stood proudly at many a Thomas family gathering. More candles have been blown out over this cake than any other and to this day my dad and his brothers still fight over the corner piece. I can remember sitting in the red booth seat at Nanny and Bull’s in Strathfield, […]
Are you lucky enough to have a surplus of pears growing on a fruit tree in your garden? I’m not.. but Corks’ Aunty, Ingrid is and some of these little beauties have made their way in to my fruit bowl. My dad grew up on a vineyard and stone fruit orchard so growing up, I […]
The perfect end to our Italian dinner party, this recipe is based on Jamie Oliver’s two nut torte from The Naked Chef. I have added fresh raspberries and my raspberry coulis that I usually make with my Eton mess cups at our annual Christmas party. Meemar also bought me a bottle of raspberry liquor from Distillery […]
