Pause, reflect and enjoy.

Just a word or two about dining etiquette.
This is not a feature about which fork to use when, or how to observe established protocols of dress, conversation or procedure when dining with officers of the mess or members of the nobility.
No, I believe it is actually quite important to eat with some degree of reverence. Such an attitude may appear somewhat archaic, but I am convinced that since we are not savages we should actually take some degree of composure and reverence while eating.
To eat is a profound event after all. We consume organic lifeforms to gain nutrients and succor to strengthen and improve our wellbeing. Whether it is a vegetable, a fruit, nut, fungi, a fish, bird or mammal, we owe a degree of respect to honour what has been sacrificed for our development.

Look at aboriginal people for instance: they have a healthy respect for the land and the Earth (often seen as our mother) who provides for our needs, they choose not to take more than they need - aware that tomorrow shouldn't be taken for granted, they see our food as a gift - not as an inexaustable supply to be taken for granted and that in the end we all return to the earth so this must be respected and treated as the most precious resource we have.
Anyone who has tried to grow veggies and failed will know how much energy, care and well...luck is involved in gaining a harvest. How much more do you enjoy those lovely little cherry tomatoes? How much better do those raspberries taste? How painful is it to care for and nurture those exotic lettuces only to find them munched by slimy midnight raiders ahead of your proud Sunday lunch with your friends? Yes, we've all been there.
The Chinese eat a mouthful of plain rice before tucking into the tasty morsels as a way of reminding themselves of the humility we should remember. We are only a couple of meals away from going hungry after all.
And what about a Christian viewpoint on food? Consuming bread and wine is a symbol of Christ's body and blood which was given as a sacrifice for us. Pretty powerful don't you think!

I worked on a banana plantation in Queensland and we had to run barefoot through the plantation with a 50kg bunch of bananas on our swollen, sore shoulders to deposit our precious cargo in the trailer to be processed and shipped overseas. It was dangerous (on several occasions I barely avoided skidding under the wheels of the tractor), painful and a poorly paid job constantly accompanied by verbal abuse and with the ever-present threat of swinging cane knives, poisonous snakes, spiders and scorpions. Now, whenever I eat a banana, whether from Queensland, Puerto Rico or the Philippines I always think of where it came from and I'm grateful for all that it's taken to get that banana.
But anyway, I reckon we should all remember what we have when we eat. Cherish those quiet moments when we eat.
Even if you have your dinner while watching the tele, care about what you eat and how you eat. Put your knife and fork down every now and then while you become aware of the food you are eating, the taste you enjoy, the contribution it will add to your life. Your digestion will be better too.
The opposite of such an attitude is to see people smoking outside office buildings in the rain while stuffing a plastic sandwich into their mouths. This can't be good for your digestion or happiness. It upsets me even to see such uncivilised sights!
No, to eat our choice every day is a real privilege and we should never forget how lucky we are.

Lemon Curd

My problem with making a colossal pavlova was that I was left with a bucket full of egg yolks.
Options? Well I could have used them to make egg-tempera - the classical form of paint used for illuminated manuscripts or murals such as the Sistine Chapel ceiling, or I could make something yummy such as Lemon Curd. Many recipes require the use of whole eggs, but I have one that involves just egg yolks. It makes a decadently rich, golden orange, sizzlingly zingy and dangerously moreish spread that is great in jam tarts, on cakes or commonly spread on buttered toast (not margarine please, we'll forget you ever suggested that, thank you very much!).



OK, team, here's what you'll need to do:
Zest a couple of lemons with a fine grater. (I really do mean the fine one, it takes no longer than the chunky one and makes the zest a million times better. My mum believes that she can save time using the chunky grater, but it means you spend ages chewing your way through great toenail sized chunks of lemon peel and it just shouldn't be that kind of eating experience! Sorry mum).
Liberate 4 large lemons of their juice and whisk with
1 Tablespoon of Cornflour.
Add 1 cup of sugar and whisk together.
Add the fine zest that you made so carefully.
Beat 6 egg yolks and combine with the lemon juice mixture.
Place in a glass bowl ontop of a gently simmering saucepan of water, known as a Bain Marie. (This is accredited to Mary the Jewess, a third century alchemist but I like to think of her using her Bain Marie (Marie's Bath) to make lemon curd.
Gently stir the lemon curd with a wooden spoon as it heats up. Keep stirring it and don't let it get too hot otherwise you'll get sweet, lemony scrambled eggs.
As it cooks, gradually add chunks of butter (half a cup in total) and when it has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon, hey zingo - you'll have a batch of home made lemon curd.
Pour into sterile jam jars and store in the fridge.
It makes an excellent gift for someone, but make sure they are the calibre of person who'd really appreciate homemade lemon curd :)

Pavlova

The Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova is now probably more famous for the eponymous pudding that was named after her when she toured Australia and New Zealand in 1926 than for her undoubtedly proficient balletic prowess. Well, maybe, but probably more people eat pudding than watch ballet so I reckon the pudding club just about pip the dying swans. But calling such a light and elegant dessert a pudding. in my opinion, is an inadequate description. It's akin to calling a lacey tutu a 'frock'. Pudding is also a less than flattering adjective given to slightly dense, thickset, dumpy people who a rather more familiar with a poorly sprung sofa than advanced ballet techniques.
The other issue with pavlovas (or is pavlovae the plural?) is that there is much discussion whether it was invented in Australia or New Zealand. The already fierce rivalry between the two south Pacific nations is heightened by such contentious issues as the origin of ANZAC cookies, the racehorse Farlap, Crowded House, Split Endz etc. Such Trans-Tasman rivalry is already very strong and the understandable arguments as to which country originated this fluffy dessert can only add to the tension. We can only hope that such conflict can be settled peacefully through compromise and diplomacy than through out-and-out warfare.

OK, here's how to make one of these babies.
Separate 4 eggs very carefully and place the whites in a scrupulously clean bowl. To separate; crack the eggs over a cup and let the white pour out while holding the yolk in the shell. Tip the yolk back and forth between the shell halves to make sure all of the white drops into the cup. (I don't do it over the beating bowl incase I muck it up and contaminate all the bowl and egg whites with a broken yolk). Start whisking and once it starts foaming add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of Cornflour and gradually add 1 cup of Caster Sugar. I've used two forks back to back when I haven't got a whisk - it takes more arm power, but it does work. - When you want a pavlova badly, you must be willing to adapt and use your skills. It's worth it.
When the egg whites are beaten to a firm peak dollop onto a baking tray that's got greased baking paper ontop. Start baking at 150'C and immediately turn down to 140'C for the next 15 minutes then turn own to 120'C. The recipe says bake for 1 hour 20 minutes but I tend to leave it in the oven for ages to get nice and crispy. I even turn it upside-down to let the bottom get crispy too. Leave it in the oven for 6 hours if you like.
For the topping - whisk cream and spread this ontop of the cooled meringue.
I dice about a punnet of strawberries and saute then adding some balsamic vinegar, maybe a bit of red wine and some sugar to get a nice jammy sauce. Slice fresh strawberries ontop and garnish with a sprig of mint. Serve to a chorus of oo's and ahh's.