Monthly Archives: October 2011

I say Crab, You Say Lobster. Caution: Recipe Heavy!

Posted on October 30, 2011 by patric

For those of you who follow a pescatarian diet I’ll have one or two pieces on sustainable fish in the near future. When I arrived in sunny Sydney in mid-December 1969, fresh from snow-covered Paris, I was taken the next … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Fun, Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 63 Comments

Glorious Mussels!

Posted on October 27, 2011 by patric

If there’s a shellfish I am passionate about besides the sea-urchin it’s the delectable mussel. You can cook mussels in a multitude of ways: soup, bisque, stir-fry, stew, stuffed, velouté, clafoutis, terrine & paté, salad, omelet, pasta & rice dishes … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Recipes | Tagged , , | 67 Comments

The Amazing charity: water, in Photos

Posted on October 23, 2011 by patric

A couple of years ago I wrote a little noticed diary about a man who is bringing clean, potable water to thousands of folks in parts of the world where it’s badly needed. Read about Scott Harrison’s charity: water. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Desertification, Ecology, Environmental Issue, Water | Tagged , , , , | 86 Comments

The (not so) Secret Art of Making Japanese Sushi

Posted on October 20, 2011 by patric

I know what you’re thinking! Why make sushi at home when I can easily order it from the nearby Japanese eatery or from the local supermarket? Well, it’s fun to make and not that hard to do. And it’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Environmental Issue, Food, Fun, Health, Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 55 Comments

Our Greatest Enemy: Refined Salt

Posted on October 17, 2011 by patric

It is closely followed by sucrose (another incoming post) and its derivatives. My very first post from the Tales from the Larder series was about, you guessed it, Salt, and it is time to revisit it as “The War on … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Health | Tagged , | 85 Comments

The Splendor of Risotto

Posted on October 14, 2011 by patric

During my heydays as a chef/restaurateur in Sydney, some of us young turks would meet in a late-late night place on a Saturday night (read Chinese restaurant), eat & drink till dawn because most of us would be off on … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Health, Memoirs, Recipes | Tagged , , | 77 Comments

Sausages, Snags & Bangers

Posted on October 11, 2011 by patric

The origin of sausage making is lost in antiquity but probably began when mankind realized that salt is an effective preservative. Sausage making then evolved as an effort to economize and preserve meat that could not be consumed fresh at … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Recipes | Tagged , , | 64 Comments

The Powers of Ginger

Posted on October 8, 2011 by patric

Ever noticed this when you cut into ginger: the exposed flesh, if left for as little as a couple of hours grows a thin layer. Leave it for a day and you have a thick, rough surface, almost as tough … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Memoirs, Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 59 Comments

Sibelius: a Musical Confession

Posted on October 6, 2011 by patric

With the constant stream of bad news we are inundated with on a daily basis, I thought I would write about music and one of my favorite composers. I have to confess that I am an ardent admirer of Jean … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Memoirs, Music | Tagged , , | 74 Comments

The Odd Couple: Brie & Roquefort

Posted on October 4, 2011 by patric

My introduction to cheese was recalled to me by my great grandmother: aged two, I had discovered my father’s cache of Corsican goat cheese and apparently quickly scampered onto the flat roof and ate the lot. To this day my … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Health, Memoirs, Recipes | Tagged , , | 55 Comments