Pavlova

Monday January 26 2009 was special for two reasons: it was the first day of Year 4706 in the Chinese Calendar (Gōngxi fācái!) and it commemorates the dumping of the first convicts in Australia, aka Australia Day. As we couldn’t pick between these two cultural celebrations, we settled on dim sum, mapo tofu and green vegetables for the Chinese part – and for the Australian part, well, what are our national foods?

Pavlova

Pasta alla Carbonara

One of the best things about having friends stay is that you learn new ways to cook old things. Spaghetti alla carbonara was one of the first main meals I learnt to cook. And I was very proud that it wasn’t done in the usual Australian style, with each strand coated with gluggy, heart-attack-inducing cream. Most recipes I’d tried felt as though something was missing. And as I learnt last night, what better way to fix a dish, than to add masses of heart-attack-inducing cheese.

Pasta alla Carbonara

Billingsgate Market

What on earth would possess someone to get up at 4:45am on a Saturday morning? The answer is cheap, fresh fish – particularly tempting if you live in land-locked London. Sleepy-eyed and with a new partner in crime (the boy slept through the whole episode), I caught a bus to Billingsgate Market armed with garbage bags and plastic bags.