Entries by Debbie Worgan

Lentil and bean stew with gremolata

This is a wonderful, hearty, vegan stew for cooler evenings

Ingredients:

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 medium-sized brown onion, chopped (about 2 cups)

5 medium carrots, cut into 12 mm pieces (about 2 cups)

5 celery stalks, cut into 12 mm pieces (about 2 cups)

1 400 gm can diced tomatoes, undrained

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped, divided

1/2 cups dried French green lentils

2 fresh or dried bay leaves

2 rosemary sprigs

5 cups water, plus more … Read more »

Coconut-Miso Salmon Curry

This delicious dish from the New YorkTimes is quick and easy to prepare.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, halved and thickly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 (25 mm) piece fresh ginger, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and black pepper
¼ cup white miso
½ cup unsweetened, full-fat canned coconut milk
1 (450-680 grams) salmon fillet, cut into 5 cm pieces
140 grams baby spinach leaves … Read more »

Cobargo creative, Ivan Hollins

by Flick Ruby      

Among the most successful presents I have given to family and friends are special wooden boxes, hand crafted by Ivan Hollins. Maybe you have also been tempted by them when browsing in Cobargo Creators, or by his river redgum tables with antique sewing machine bases. I invited myself over to Ivan’s place for morning tea to hear the story of how he brought his remarkable woodworking skills to the Triangle … Read more »

All the words we know

reviewed by Wendy Tucker
written by Bruce Nash
This is the third novel from local author, Bruce Nash, and it has, deservedly, found a respected commercial publisher with all the advantages of overseas publishing and audio books.
Rose, who is our unreliable narrator throughout, is in her 80s, in a nursing home and has dementia. When Rose finds that her Scrabble partner has died by apparently falling from her window, she remembers other strange deaths … Read more »

Shining a light on bulbs

by Mark Evans

Believe it or not, now is an important time to think ahead to spring, particularly when it comes to flowering bulbs.

To enjoy daffodils, jonquils, tulips, freesia, anemones, ranunculus and other late winter- and spring-flowering plants, the bulbs are planted in autumn, usually between April and early May. Several weeks of cold temperatures are needed to break dormancy and maximise full flowering potential. After flowering, many bulbs … Read more »

Chilli con carne

By Steve Williams

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
150 to 200 grams diced bacon or chorizo sausage
1 large onion, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 fresh red capsicum
1.5 tsps whole cumin seed
1 or 2 large dried red chillies
500 grams 4/5 star minced beef, diced beef or plant-based mince
1 tbsp smoky chipotle sauce (optional)
1 tbsp each ground coriander, cumin and sweet paprika
1 … Read more »