Tag Archives: cooking
Sweet As A Pea
As a kid, I hated green peas. Firstly because they where green and secondly because they where a vegetable (although they’re botanically a fruit). Nowadays I don’t mind them, especially if they are garden fresh. Peas are a small, spherical … Continue reading
Mean and Green
Kiwifruit may be commonplace nowadays; however when I first started cooking in the mid 1980’s, it was still considered by many people as an exotic fruit. Kiwifruit has a long and interesting history. It was originally referred to as ‘Chinese Gooseberry’ … Continue reading
Cool As A Cucumber
It’s not only the most refreshing of all vegetables, cucumber is also one of the first vegetables to be cultivated – in fact it is believed that humans have grown them for several thousand years. Cucumbers can contain over 90 percent … Continue reading
Off The Cobb
Corn has been eaten by humans for thousands of years. It was cultivated by the Inca, Mayan and Aztec. Corn is still a very prominent staple in South and Central America. In North America, the words ‘corn and maize’ describe a … Continue reading
Capsicums or Peppers?
As an Australian, I personally don’t feel comfortable with ‘Capsicums’ being referred to as ‘Peppers’, its un-Australian by Crikey! However, it’s completely normal to call them bell peppers (or just peppers) in many other countries. Christopher Columbus purposefully misnamed the small … Continue reading
The Accidental Tomato
As much as I’d like to think of myself as a green-thumb, the truth is I’m not. My latest tomato vine grew randomly out of some chicken manure I used as fertilizer. With no TLC whatsoever, the vine produced the … Continue reading
Go Nuts For Peanuts
Did you know that peanuts are not nuts at all? Peanuts are legumes – I know that you knew! Peanuts are also known as earthnuts, goobers, goober peas, pindas, pinders, manila nuts and monkey nuts (referring to the two nuts … Continue reading
Pointy End Of The Pineapple
Originally named after its resemblance to the ‘Pine Cone’, pineapple is a cylindrical shaped tropical fruit with a thick, prickly, diamond-patterned skin with a crown of green spiky leaves. The pineapple plant can bloom hundreds of spectacular, spiral shaped flowers which … Continue reading
Mushrooms Go With Everything
Shimeji, Shitake, Oyster, Pink Salmon, Golden Oyster, White Coral, Wood Ear, Swiss Brown, Portobello, Field, Flat, Horn of Plenty, Straw, Cep, Chanterelle, Morel and Enoki. Some of these mushrooms are as hard to pronounce, as they are to spell. How … Continue reading
Humble Pumpkin
A well-known food identity once told me “Pumpkin doesn’t belong in desserts”. Ironically I had a pumpkin cake as a dessert only two days later in an acclaimed restaurant – and I loved it. Think about pumpkin pie or pumpkin … Continue reading
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