Lightweight

Everyone should have a favourite cookbook. Mine are almost entirely from the 1980s (not forgetting the Women’s Weekly birthday cake book), and obviously a reminder of my parents’ flair for entertaining when I was growing up.

Epicurean, Vogue Entertaining and the Women’s Weekly dinner party series inspired many nights of cheese soufflé, poached chicken with white sauce and hand-rolled chocolate truffles. All washed down with endless glasses of chardonnay in the 1980s.

But cookbooks from the 1970s have an appeal all of their own.

Continue reading "Lost but not forgotten: top ten retro food fads" »

Are you 32 years of age or over? Are you having trouble sleeping and starting to worry more? Are your grocery bills getting bigger? Do you find yourself tuning into to daytime soaps with alarming regularity? Or turning in early so you’re fresh for the morning? Are you scolding people around you for leaving socks on the floor? Do you write thank you notes? 

Don’t panic. You are not losing your mind. You’re just entering the stage of life Hallmark calls “mum-metamorphosis.” 

By definition: an “inescapable stage of life” starting at 32 years of age where people are most likely to start inheriting maternal mannerisms, behaviour and in many cases, repeating their mum’s most favourite spoken lines.

Continue reading "The mum-metamorphosis. It will happen to you too." »

First things first. Let us pause to salute the salty goodness of crispy rashers a-fryin’ in the pan. As my naughty Jewish friends no doubt say before hoeing into their bacon and eggs, “Mmmm… sacrilicious.”

Second point of order. Let’s recognise Australian Bacon Week, and in particular the push by Australian Pork Limited for us all to consume more of the Aussie stuff. Did you know that 80 per cent of our bacon is imported? Or that some iconic Aussie bacon brands have that sneaky “made from imported and local ingredients” label on the side which MP Amanda Rishworth wrote about so eloquently on The Punch last week?

The answer, according to APL, is to make sure you buy pork products with their somewhat unimaginative pink square logo. This will ensure you are not buying imported pork, most of which comes from the EU, and most of which is Danish. APL say that the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service does not test imported pork for chemical residues and other nasties. The EU also has some pretty dodgy pig farms. And while it is is one of several worldwide jurisdictions phasing out inhumane treatment of farmed pigs, conditions at many Danish farms are still far from pleasant, as this disturbing video shows. The question is: are things much different in Australia?

Continue reading "A sizzling, crispy salute to bacon, without the porkies" »

Readers, as we’re sure you’re well aware, The Punch is Nigeria’s main national newspaper. It is also, you may be interested to learn, an Australian news and opinion website of considerable standing.

Many of you may mistakenly believe you’ve arrived at the website of your national newspaper. No doubt, then, you’re bewildered by the lack of coverage of the trial of Judge Salami, who is charged with some very serious crimes, possibly against smallgoods. Some say he once put Spanish olives in a Greek salad. Don’t you hate that? String him up, we say.

Let us, however, be clear. This is not the online presence of said Nigerian newspaper. This is The Punch in Australia, where our coverage of the Salami trial has been minimal, to say the least. You will excuse us, we trust. And to those of you who have become our Facebook friends – you will stay friendly with us, yes? We love having you as part of our big, happy family. Truly we do.

Continue reading "Welcome, Nigerian Facebook friends. Please send money." »

This is a worthwhile little fund raising video for victims of the Christchurch earthquake from the same guys who brought us the imbeachedaz whale.

If you’d like to donate visit the Red Cross Australian and New Zealand websites.

Star Trek. Object of slavish devotion, of cult-like following. And now, site of homo-erotic fantasy.

In this news.com.au article, Peter Farquhar explores the ins and outs of slash fiction, where fans have had their way with reinterpreting the relationship between Captain Kirk and Spock.

It’s the sort of discussion that ranges from puerile and immature cock jokes to seriously in-depth and creative fan freakery. 

Continue reading "It’s Star Trek, but not as we know it" »

In the tonnes of coverage on the Brisbane floods, nobody seems to have filmed or photographed this rather ironic sculpture. The “Flood” sculpture, by artist Richard Tipping, is on the river’s edge at the Brisbane Powerhouse in New Farm. Perhaps because it’s already underwater? Do you know?

Update: 3:10 PM

Well thanks to social media now we do know. The Flood sculpture now neatly marks the flood water line on the Brisbane River.

Going

Gone.

This is a picture of two snakes getting married. As they do. Well, in Cambodia anyway.

Depending which side of the fence you sit when it comes to huge, scaly, slimy creatures this photograph will either make you laugh, or completely freak you out.

If you’re Cambodian and especially from the Kandal province, 20 kilometers south of Phnom Penh where the marriage ceremony is taking place, you’ll be rejoicing.

Continue reading "Snakes alive, they’re getting hitched" »

This is the best thing we’ve seen in a while. Extreme language warning, not even close to safe for work. Enjoy.

Let’s sack the economists and put this bloke in charge.

This comes courtesy of Alison Piotrowski on Twitter. The gold is at 40 second mark when Virginia Trioli either has an on-air identity crisis or falls victim to dodgy auto-cue text.