The Ways of Kedgeree. A survey covering 100 years of recipes 1870 – 1970
4 October 2025

October 2025 Kedgeree. Take some cold boiled fish of any kind, five eggs boiled hard, a cupful of boiled rice, some butter, a cupful of cream, plenty of seasoning, and some …

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Small Mulch


Simply a handy-book for boys. Donald Macdonald  and The Bush Boy’s Book
2 October 2025

In October 1911 newspapers in Sydney and Melbourne carried reviews of The Bush Boy’s Book (from hereon Bush Boy’s) by Donald Macdonald. Under this title Mr. Donald Macdonald, the well-known member …

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Bread and Butter Pudding: An Unacknowledged Australian Classic
29 September 2025

September 2025 I was looking through Australian Geographics’ The Classic Australian Cookbook looking for a recipe for Bread and Butter Pudding  and was dismayed to find no recipe for It. If …

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Not just an outcome of personal preferences. A response to the National Food Security Strategy: Discussion Paper
23 September 2025

September 2025  This paper is a response to the National Food Security Strategy: Discussion Paper. Note: This is a compilation from the various texts cited with little editorialising from me. Why …

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Gin, Pasta and Lamingtons. Entomophagy (eating Insects) in Australia
16 September 2025

September 2025 In 2021 the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) published Edible insects: A roadmap for the strategic growth of an emerging Australian industry. ‘With the global population predicted …

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Mi, Kima, and Whitebait Souffle. Embassy Recipes 1964-65
13 September 2025

August 2025 The idea was simple. Ask the wives of the many Ambassadors/ High Commissioners/ Charge d'Affaires/ Counsellors living in Canberra to contribute a recipe to a new weekly feature in …

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It’s Not Just Using The FOGO: Reducing Household Food Waste
8 September 2025

September 2025 The figures are shocking. Each year Australians waste around 7.6 million tonnes of food across the food supply chain. This equates to about 312kg per person. Food waste costs the Australian …

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A Highly Spiced Stew. The Australian Women’s Weekly and Curry
4 September 2025

2025 On the 7th of June 1933 a new magazine hit newsstands across Australia  – the Australian Women‘s Weekly (called the Weekly from hereon).  Lauren Samuelson writes of the Weekly: It’s hard to …

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Weaponised food. The Gaza Famine
28 August 2025

2025 I see them every night on the news. Gazan children literally skin and bones, bloated stomachs, mouths stretched, huge eyes that look uncomprehendingly at the camera and their carers. I’ve …

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The Recipe Book of Ada de la Harpe
23 August 2025

This is my grandmother Ada de la Harpe's recipe book. I did a version over a decade ago and have finally gotten around to posting it. There's an introduction to …

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Stone Bottles, ‘Tinny’ Thomas’, and Ginger Pop. A Miscellany of Ginger Beer 1856 – 1956
23 August 2025

August 2025 In this article I don’t trace the history of ginger beer in Australia. Instead I get together a grab bag of items on ginger beer over the course of …

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Anything and Everything. Doris Ady and ‘Curries from the Sultan’s Kitchen’
17 August 2025

2025 This book is an important milestone in the publication of cookery books in Australia and New Zealand, for it is written by a newcomer who has brought her skills and …

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One may eat sausage in many languages. Smallgoods  in Australia 1828 – 1965
10 August 2025

August 2025 In March 1965 the Australian Women’s Weekly (AWW from hereon) published ‘Continental Sausages’ a four page ‘dictionary’ of 59 of the eponymous food items. Each entry gave the name …

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