Entries by Debbie Worgan

The Headlands Writers Festival – A collection of books and authors

by Wendy Tucker

Is this one of the best Writers Festivals in Australia? I think so. An amazing selection of disparate authors, easy to access venues, not too crowded and a whale frolicking at the lunch hour, stretch-the-legs walk.
The big names are in the bigger hall and these sessions are livestreamed to wider audiences in libraries so bookworms who are further away from Tathra can enjoy some of the festival. I’m not sure who decides which authors go … Read more »

Smashed potatoes

by Deb Worgan

Ingredients
½ cup of medium or robust olive oil
1 kg potatoes, peeled
Salt and fresh black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 220º C.
Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water for about 15 minutes, or until your knife slides easily through them. Drain and leave for 5 minutes.
Drizzle a roasting tray with a little olive oil. Put the potatoes in the pan and push down on each with … Read more »

Aïoli

by Deb Worgan

Ingredients
¾ cup mild or delicate olive oil
2 or 3 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
A large pinch of salt
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
Juice of half a lemon
½ tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper

Method

Place garlic, a dash of oil and salt in a food processor or a blender. Pulse for 2 seconds.
Add the egg yolk and pulse on … Read more »

Tomato & olive oil starter

by Deb Worgan

Ingredients
½ cup medium or robust olive oil
3 very ripe tomatoes
salt and pepper
bread stick

Method

Grate the tomatoes into a bowl (it tastes better grated rather than blitzed).
Mix in the olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Cut the bread stick into diagonal, thin slices and toast very gently.
Spread a generous serving of the
tomatoes on the toast to serve.

Grow your garden for less

by Mark Evans

Propagating plants from cuttings is one of the easiest and most common methods of plant reproduction. It’s also the quickest way to produce an exact clone of the parent plant.
Cuttings rely on the fact that plant cells are totipotent, meaning each cell has the potential to develop into a complete plant. A single plant cell can become either a root or a shoot, which is … Read more »

What I’d rather not think about

by Jente Posthuma

translated by Sarah Timmer Harvey

reviewed by Wendy Tucker

This is the second novel from Jente Posthuma, a Dutch writer, and was among the six novels shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2024. The Booker Prize has had a few name changes and this has resulted in some confusion. The Booker Prize (now the new/old name) is for a novel published in English from writers in Commonwealth countries and Ireland. In 2005, the International Booker Prize was inaugurated for novels worldwide, that were published in English, including books translated into English, with the aim of promoting global literature. … Read more »