“Audrey Gordon’s Tuscan Summer is essentially a practical guide that will help you plan and carry off everything from a lazy Sunday brunch with friends to a formal sit-down banquet for 300 lactose-intolerant, diabetic vegans with severe peanut allergies”.
 
I love winter. It’s a time for lazing by the fire enjoying rich, roast dinners and decadent chocolate-based desserts while contemplating what gymnasium to join in October. Speaking of exercise (and it won’t happen again on this website), let me recommend a wonderful new program called Aqua-Zumba®. It’s basically underwater Latin dancing and wonderful for burning off those unwanted kilos. Apart from relaxing indoors, I find winter a marvellous time for baking bread. As well as the usual wheat, rye and barley varieties I’ve been experimenting with unusual grains such as spelt and flaxseed. What these loaves lack in lightness and texture they more than make up for as paper-weights. I’ll post some recipes shortly. Winter Tip. Slow cooking is an excellent way of turning cheaper cuts of meat into sumptuous dishes. Non-aged eye fillet, or grain-fed wagyu beef can both be made quite palatable with a little extra time in a very low oven. I do, however, draw the line at certain types of meat. Lamb shanks and stewing steak have no place in a decent kitchen and even our cat Mr Darcy will refuse to touch them. Welcome This month at Fernview Cottage I’ll be: * Experimenting with friandes * De-clogging our grease trap * Separating the irises * Having a group of single mothers over for morning tea and a lecture *Giving up on quinoa For more information go to my Facebook page. You can also follow me on Twitter and something called “Grindr” which I believe is a website hosted by the Australian Pepper Board.
 
AUDREY ON TV!
Yes, dear readers, I have finally been given my very own series on ABC TV.
It’s called Audrey’s Kitchen and will be seen on Saturday and Sunday nights (starting July 14).  Here’s a sneak peak....
“Do you ever have one of those days when you simply don’t feel like cooking, and even the thought of getting out the frypan seems all too much? I don’t...”