To me, good cooking is not about the most expensive ingredients, secret combinations of spices, or lengthy preparation. Cooking should be fun, fit your schedule, and be creative! In my recipes at Bali Silent Retreat, I may ask you to use sterilized jars, throw in a splash of vinegar or crushed garlic.
I realize this may not always be very clear so the following is a mini manual, in case you need a bit more clarity. Read more
The evolution of recipes
Embrace the local ingredients when they are at their peak and combine them in a non fuss way to create tasty dishes.
I find Italian cooking a bit scary. I mean, I’m not Italian, nor have I spent more than a few weeks at a time in that glorious country, so I’m not sure if I’m even qualified to practice the art of Italian cooking. However I roll onto a strange and bittersweet Italian vibe every now and then and I walk down memory lane. Submerged in piles of sweet, bright red tomatoes, sprigs of rosemary and one hand on my broken artichoke heart, I find myself weeping over a pot of sorry-for-myself-soup, seasoning this bubbling concoction with salty tears of sorrow. The opera is blasting from the radio, the beans are nearly tender, the aromas are peaking. This could be the minestrone we’ve all been waiting for. Ok, one last taste, one final pinch of cinnamon. WHAT? Cinnamon? I turn around. Italian Mamma is standing behind me. Her face is red like pommidore. Her heart is pounding, her legs are shaking. She’s too quick, 3 hard bashes with her cast iron soup ladle are enough to knock me to the ground. I hear the words, never (!), cinnamon, minestrone before I pass out. Read more
Herbs and spices. What’s the difference?
Herbs: aromatic leaves of plants and trees.
Spices: aromatic roots, bark and berries and seeds.
Feel free to argue.
Dry or fresh: Usually determined by use. Fresh is often, but certainly not always best. Read more
Taste? Aroma? Flavour? What’s the difference?
Let’s assume you are beginning to enjoy creating magic in the kitchen from the top of your head, (the crown chakra, for the yogis amongst us). When you are one of those people who loves to toss some fresh ingredients on the bench and somehow, 30 minutes later find yourself full and satisfied, you might resonate with this perspective. Read more
Sour Dough Bread – my favorite!
It was a grey, rainy Sunday morning in 1991, as a kid, I was hanging out with my mum in the kitchen because that’s where we have the most fun. There was something going this morning though, mum didn’t seem as happy as usual when we are cooking up stuff in the kitchen. I spotted an odd smelling piece of dough on the counter and it felt to me as the reason why mum was acting a bit off. Read more
All-Day-Grazing Table. . . yummy and healthy. A typical sampling:
