A Pan-Fried Cheese & Ham Toastie – With an Egg!

Robin BoyleAustralian, Cheese, Lunch, Snack, Supper

One great aspect of lockdown is having the time and inclination to try old-favourite recipes. Recently The Melbourne Age ran an article on How to make the perfect toasted cheese sandwich. It provides heaps of ideas and options. So recently we have been cooking our version. It derives from a visit to Dallas, Texas, some years ago. The Lumen Hotel …

Shortbread – With Vanilla Bean Sugar!

Robin BoyleAustralian, Cakes & Biscuits, Morning or Afternoon Tea, Snack, Traditions-Feasts

When the term ‘vanilla version’ is used in general, it means the simplest, least complicated version of what we are talking about. Thus, vanilla ice cream is considered to be the simplest flavour of all. However, when it comes to shortbread, the ‘vanilla version’ has no actual vanilla in it. Thus, the key ingredients for the typical shortbread made in …

Hoi An Banh Mi – The World’s Best Sandwich?

Robin BoyleHerbs and Spices, International Travel & Photos, Snack, South East Asian, Travel

  This post about banh mi is a continuation from Hoi An: The Food! A ‘sandwich’ that is distinctly Vietnamese Later in this post we will give our method for making a banh mi (pronounced ‘barn mee’) that is truly yummy and clearly in the Vietnamese style. It isn’t a traditional recipe, but it encapsulates the key characteristics from our …

Mont Saint-Michel – The home of a very famous omelette!

Robin BoyleBreakfast, Eggs, France, From the Archives, International Travel & Photos, Recipe, Snack

This post is from an article we wrote for Club Marine magazine in 1998. Except for the food shots, the photos date from that period too. (Use the Print button at the top of this page for a hard copy or pdf of the recipe in this post.) Remarkable site Mont Saint-Michel is one of France’s most famous landmarks and …

Bruny Island – An isolated but idyllic foodie destination

Robin BoyleAustralian, Breakfast, Cakes & Biscuits, Cheese maker, Fish & Seafood, Morning or Afternoon Tea, Recipe, Snack, Travel

Bruny Island is developing into a brand within a brand, being a subset of the clean and green Tasmanian gourmet image. With two Melbourne friends we recently spent three days on the island but still didn’t have the chance to sample all the food offerings nor experience all the activities. Activities Bruny is surprisingly large, the fourth biggest Tassie island …

Made At Home – No. 3

Robin BoyleAustralian, Herbs and Spices, Home-Made, Nibbles & Hors d'oeuvres, Preserves: Savoury, Recipe, Snack, Vegetables

In reading the contents of this post, also check: Food Safety Is Paramount It makes sense that dill pickles should involve dill. However, the key ingredient is the seed, not the herb part. While green dill is relatively easy to find, the seeds can be difficult to track down. You might have more luck finding a packet of pickling spices …