Phillipa Fioretti's Blog

Over three and a half million Syrians have been driven from their homes by violence since the war in Syria started. And, as usual when there is a war, women and children make up three quarters of the refugee population. If someone was bombing my home and shooting my children in the street I’d leave too. It’s only the luck of the draw that saw me born into a stable democracy and I’m grateful for that random lottery win. So I’m going to lend a hand to the refugees in these camps, and try to raise some money to help keep them warm this Northern winter. $10 buys five blankets so click here if you can give.

photograph by Charles Freger

See more in Charles Freger’s book Wilder Mann

Cassandra Samuels is my final guest in the Virtual Kitchen series and she’s brought a bowl of chocolate mousse with her, a fitting end to the fictional feast. Cassandra writes Regency romance and her first book, A Scandalous Wager was published by Escape on November 7.

What are your memories of your mothers cooking as a child?

Mum was a pretty good cook but not very adventurous. She really enjoyed it when my sisters and I started trying our hand at cooking and introduced new meals.

What was your favourite dish as a child?

Like most kids it was spaghetti for a long time but I always liked pancake night the best. My father is Dutch and I don’t know if this is a European thing or not but we always rolled them up and then cut them into bite-sized bits to eat. I’d never had a pancake with lemon and sugar until I met my English born husband.

Do you like to cook?

I love my slow cooker. When you are a busy with the day job, being a mother and trying to write a book, the humble slow cooker quickly becomes your most trusted kitchen appliance.

What are some of your favourite books about food?

I write Regency Historicals so Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management is a Victorian guide that has been an eye opener into how food was thought about at that time. Not only about how to make food but how to serve it and present it.

Is the food in your stories important?



It isn’t central to the story but they do eat. Aunt Petunia in my debut book is quite partial to a sandwich or two.

Your favourite snack?

If I am being good it is usually a nice nut mix, if I am not being good it is usually chocolate – any type of chocolate 

What’s your latest book?

My debut novel is called A Scandalous Wager and will be available for download from Amazon and other good e-book retailers on November 8th, 2014 through Escape Publishing.

What do you love most about this book?

I had so much fun writing this book. Lisbeth and Oliver are both very strong people who have had a lot of hard times between them. I enjoyed helping them through their journey so they could find a home for their wayward hearts – in each other.

Share one of your favourite recipes – anything you like, cake, martini, Peking Duck, cheese on toast …

Easy-peasy Chocolate Mousse.

All you need is:

1 egg

600mls of thickened cream

1 packet of Cadbury dark chocolate buds (you could also use milk if you like a milder flavour)

Firstly put the chocolate buds into a blender and add just the yoke of the egg.

In another bowl wisk the egg white until it forms soft peaks.

Warm the cream on the stove until hot (don’t boil) stirring the whole time.

Then add the warm cream to the blender with chocolate and egg and blend. The hot cream should melt the chocolate.

Then add a little of the chocolate mixture to the egg white and fold gradually adding more of the chocolate mixture until it is all blended.

Separate into nice glass cups for serving and chill for a few hours.

I’m walking down the street with a dog on a leash tightly held by one hand and a small bag of warm dog poo in the other hand and I’m experiencing acute dissonance. I should be proud that I have been a ‘responsible’ dog owner and demonstrated my civic pride. But I’m also carrying a bag of shit.

Now I have the bag, what am I to do with it? It’s a long walk and I’d like to be rid of this odorous package. I see somebody’s wheelie bin and head toward it. I have a friend who is appalled by the idea of putting a small bag of dog turd in somebody else’s bin. He sees it as an outrageous assault on private property, akin to leaving it in a letter box. But … but it’s a waste bin. It’s not mine, yes, but the offending item is wrapped and cannot pollute the bin, and I would never place it in a recycling bin. But I find the bin has just been emptied so would I saddle my neighbour with a weeks worth of smelly dog poo? No, perhaps a step too far.

I travel on and look for a public bin, but the lids only open an inch and I don’t want to push the package through with a stick in case I break said package. I could leave it behind a shrub or a tree. A cop out … but as a cop out it has merit. There are worse evasions of civic responsibility, like when your dog decides it’s time to have another go and you have already filled your one and only bag. What do you do? Walk on, after covering the deposit with soil and leaves?

What else can you do? Wave down the nearest car and ask if they have a plastic bag handy? Call home and ask if someone can drive up with a bag? Take off my shirt and wrap the turd up and carry it home? Put it in my pocket? And what if I’m seen walking away from the offensive substance? Hell hath no fury like another law abiding dog owner witnessing another shirking their responsibilities. The stench of self righteousness is so overpowering I prefer my little bag of shit.

By this stage I’m really not enjoying my walk.

Human and dog interactions can be fraught, particularly when there are multiples of each. Some dog owners don’t seem to understand their dogs are dogs and have their own codes and practices and telling them to ‘play nicely’ is not going to cut it. But dog owners can and do police other dog owners and often conflate dog with owner. I have a German Shepherd so I have an inner longing to chase innocent Jews through the forests of Poland. The owner of the small white yappy thing wants to be a Hollywood movie starlet, the lad with the Staffy is a fascist brute when not throwing balls at the dog park.

Ahhh …the dog park. There is a large oval down the hill near my home which has been designated a lead free dog zone. The council provide black waste bags and everybody knows the drill. Nobody wants to lose open space for their dog so picking up after them is scrupulously monitored. One day I was the only person there with my dog, she’s running around having a fine old time and I’m strolling after her, enjoying the moment when I see an older man walking toward me holding up a black plastic bag, a full one by the looks of it.

‘It’s still warm,’ he shouts.

I really don’t know what to say to this. ‘Great!’ or ‘what a lucky find!’ He repeats himself and then I understand. He’s accusing me of leaving my plastic bag full of my dog’s business for somebody else to deal with. Outraged, I hold up the bag of poo I am already carrying. I dare not speak as I quiver with injured civic pride. When I think of all the mental anguish and brain time wasted on the topic of what to do with my dog waste I feel like jamming this bag into his hand and saying, ‘there, now you have two.’

But I don’t. He apologises. I’ve seen him around the place. Has two lovely old standard poodles. Now he wants to show me a picture on his phone. It’s of his dog mounting another dog. He’s chuckling about something to do with his dog. But I wondered at his grasp of etiquette. Lone man in isolated park approaches lone woman at sunset and shows her a picture of his dog shagging another dog. There’s a whiff of wrong to this and so after a lifetime of Female Safety Drill I head toward my car a little faster than usual. He no doubt meant nothing more than to share a dog joke. He certainly knows the dog defecation code backwards, but maybe he should brush up on the etiquette of dog owner conversations.

I’ve taken to avoiding all the social and physical complexities of dog exercising by simply letting somebody else walk the dog. Or I take her lead free in the bush where she can crap where she likes, when she likes and I’m not left holding the bag.

Before I introduce this morning’s visitor to the virtual kitchen I’d like to announce that this is the second to last post from the VK. It’s been very interesting and has attracted eyeballs for all the guest authors and myself. There’s been some great recipes and at the close of the series I’ll announce my favourite three recipes and those lucky souls will win a copy of my latest book, For One Night Only.

Sasha Cottman with a plate of curried prawns, (and a minimalist recipe for said prawns) joins me today. Sasha writes Regency romance, a genre that never seems to fall out of favour, and on her blog she’s constructed a Regency period kitchen where she reconstructs the food of that era.

What was your favourite dish as a child?

I can’t remember ever having a favourite dish as a child. My favourite food was the egg and lettuce sandwiches the school canteen sold. I think I ate egg and lettuce sandwiches every day for six years at high school.

Do you like to cook?

I like to cook if I have time (and a glass of chardonnay) but most days it is a case of how fast I can get a hot meal prepared and served when I get home from work.

What do you like to eat?

My favourite food these days is sushi. We have a great Japanese restaurant in the village near my house and it has a sushi boat. Sitting at the bar choosing the fresh sushi and sashimi as it floats past on the little boats is my idea of heaven. Of course I enjoy a great pasta dish, angel hair pasta is brilliant.

What are some of your favourite books about food?

I like cook books, but I have thrown out quite a few in the past few years as I wasn’t using them. I have quite a few of the Jamie Oliver cookbooks and like his approach to food. He believes in waste not want not, as well as putting a healthy meal on the table for your family each night. I am looking to buy his new 15- minute meals cook book and try some more of his recipes.

Is the food in your stories important?

I am surprised to read how much food actually creeps into my books. My new book has roasted potato, ginger sweets, and chicken. The Regency period has lots of great recipes. I cook Regency recipes and share the, sometimes mixed results on my website.

What’s your latest book?

My new release is An Unsuitable Match, the next in the Duke of Strathmore series, released by Destiny Romance. The book is a Regency Historical Romance.

What do you love most about this book?

Being able to take two secondary characters from my first book and give them their own story has been an amazing experience. Working to weave the two stories together, while making them stand alone books has been a challenge. I love a book series and to now have my own series is fantastic.

Where can readers find it?

An Unsuitable Match is available from all good e-book stores.

Six Minute Curried Prawns.

• 300g of peeled garlic prawns

• 1 packet of pre-cut Asian greens (most supermarkets have these in the fresh produce section).

• 1 jar of Thai Green Curry paste

• 1 medium can of coconut cream (or coconut milk).

• 90 second packet brown rice (serves 2-3).

Cut the packet of brown rice open and put it in the microwave, set the timer, but don’t turn it on.

Put a little oil in a frying pan and heat it. Put two heaped teaspoons of curry paste in the pan. Add the prawns and cook them for a minute.

Cook the rice in the microwave.

Add the Asian greens to the frying pan and stir them through. After 2 minutes add the coconut cream and stir through.

Cook the greens and prawns on a medium heat for another 1 minute.

Serve them over the rice. Enjoy.

I’m thrilled to have, as my morning companion in the Virtual Kitchen, Steve P. Vincent, thriller writer and stablemate from Momentum Books – ‘genre fiction providers to the stars’.

Steve has a plate of gumbo and a generous impulse in his heart, but I’ve never eaten gumbo before and I’m taking a little time to make it’s acquaintance. The southern states of American food are an unknown. I’m much more familiar with Mexican, Tex Mex, Californian and West Coast foods, but I think I’ll have to move my wagons down south.

Steve’s new book, The Foundation, a political thriller where the US and China are manipulated to the brink of global war, is described in Amazon reviews as a ‘thrilling read’, ‘fast paced’ and ‘scary’.

What are your memories of your mother’s cooking as a child?

My mum is a great cook. Her cooking is this wild mix of traditional British/Australian fare with some European flair. She always worked long hours, so she mastered throwing together good food quickly. Mum really did beat Jamie Oliver to the 15 minute meal thing. She’s been doing it for years. Unfortunately, Jamie cashed in first.

What was your favourite dish as a child?

Mum’s comfort food was pretty impressive. Lasagna, soups, stews, pudding, pie. A lot of people can do this stuff, but she had it perfected. Top of the list was probably osso bucco. I was always pretty mad for pasta as well, though at one point I did go through a phase of only eating bolognese sauce, though.

My least favourite dish was paella. As a kid I hated the Sundays when she’d cook it all day. I hated the smell. I hated the taste. I didn’t particularly like seafood very much. Now that I can’t get enough of the stuff she never cooks it anymore!

Do you like to cook?

I do. Unfortunately my wife thinks what I cook is rubbish. Given she’s vegetarian, it’s probably not a surprise that she doesn’t find my repertoire of griddle cooked meat very accessible. I can make a passable effort at vegetarian food, but generally she cooks and I clean up. It works for us.

I do venture into the kitchen on the odd occasion, though. Lately I’ve been smashing out some Cambodian food since we spent a couple of weeks there in January, including a cooking class! Fresh spring rolls, fish amok, spicy mango salad…heaven on a plate.

Who do you enjoy cooking for? If you don’t enjoy cooking, then what do you like to eat?

I like cooking for my wife, from time to time. It’s a lot of fun seeing her gears grind while I measure out ingredients into individual bowls, creating far more washing up than necessary. A more common occurrence is getting my caveman on and putting on a BBQ for a group of friends.

Eating? Now you’re talking! Cheese is my nickname. Beyond that, I’m also a huge fan of grazing. Tapas, mini food – it all just feels a little bit more awesome the tinier it is. My friend Kylie is the champion of this movement amongst my friends, and we’re all the richer for it. I’ll give anything a go, though. Except cucumber. Vile substance.

What are some of your favourite books about food?

River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a favourite cookbook in our house. It proves that vegetarian food doesn’t have to suck.

One of my favourite scenes involving food is from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, when the man and boy are on the verge of starvation and come across the doomsday bunker full of tinned awesomeness. Who knew an author could make SPAM and tinned peaches sound so appealing?

And Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss. Classic. A staple of my childhood that I’ll be glad to pass on to my niece when I can. She’s ace.

Your favourite snack?

Cold cuts straight from the fridge. Yeah, I put the awe in awesome. Beyond that? Fresh fruit, dark chocolate and savoury things.

What’s your latest book?

The Foundation. It’s a political thriller about a think tank with some pretty crazy plans to start a war between the United States and China and to take over America. It’s really the most fun you can have with your pants on.

What foods do the characters eat?

I had to think long and hard about this one. There’s definitely a lot of drinking… One character is a recovering alcoholic and another has a passing obsession with whisky, but nobody seems to do much eating. Maybe beer nuts?

In fact, I did a search on the manuscript for ‘eating’. It turned up eight results: seven ‘beating’ and one ‘eating’. I guess food isn’t on your mind when you’re in the middle of all those explosions and all that intrigue!

What do you love most about this book?

I love a few things about it.

Firstly, the pace of it. It was fast when I submitted it, but my editor has helped to turn it from a Volvo into a Lamborghini. It was a lot of fun to write in such a rhythm. I’m about a quarter finished on the sequel, and it’s even better.

Secondly, I love that the characters have such fun arcs. A lot of thrillers have cardboard cutouts. My point of view goodies (Jack, Ernest) and baddies (Chen, Michelle) all have their own story, personality, joy and despair.

Finally, in terms of themes, I achieved what I wanted to, which was to tackle the consequences of the shift in political power away from elected representatives and towards think tanks, media barons and multinational corporations.

Where can readers find it?

The Foundation was released on September 11 where all good ebooks are sold.

Amazon, iBooks, Momentum and other e platforms

Recipe: Gumbo!

Ingredients – ‘Rub’ for seafood

-2 tsp paprika, salt, garlic powder


-1 tsp black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme

Ingredients – Gumbo

-500g salmon (plus whatever other seafood you like… prawns, crab…)

-500g okra (chopped with tip and head removed)

-2 medium tomatos (chopped)

-2 celery sticks (chopped)

-1 small green capsicum (chopped)

-1 large onion (diced)

-2 cloves garlic

-1 litre stock (I use vegetable)

-2 cups white rice

-Chilli sauce

-Bay leaves

-Salt

-Pepper

-Cayenne pepper

-Oil

Steps:

Get oil hot at medium heat

1. Add okra, salt, cayenne pepper

2. Stir constantly for about 10 minutes

3. Add onion, tomato, capsicum, celery, more salt, more cayenne pepper

4. Stir pretty often for 20 minutes

5. Season any fish

6. Add fish, garlic and a few bay leaves

7. Stir it around a bit for 2 minutes

8. Add stock, bring to boil, then simmer

9. Stir occasionally and simmer for about 15 minutes

10. Season any prawns and other seafood then add to pan, cook for another 5 mins (skip step if only using fish)

11. Stir in chilli sauce, remove bay leaves, serve with rice.

Steve is on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads

Australian romance writer Iris Blobel is with me today with a bowl of German Marrow Dumpling Soup. Bone marrow is something you don’t see too often in these parts but the only reason for that is squeamishness and a First World lack of familiarity with offal. My parents used to cook brains, tripe, kidneys and all those things that made my sister and I gag and run screaming from the kitchen. I remember my father sucking marrow from bones just to stir us up and lamb shanks were something you gave to the dog. But less of me and more of Iris…

What are your memories of your mothers cooking as a child?

I don’t think mum was, possibly still is not that fond of cooking, but boy do I miss her meals. Mum grew up in Germany after the war and was able to create a nice dish with few ingredients… and her cheese cake! Or the “Weincreme Pudding”. Yup, I miss mum’s cooking and always send a big wish list before we come for a visit.

What was your favourite dish as a child?

I’ve never been much of a food lover, but I loved most of mum’s cooking. Yes, I do have to admit, my favourite dish as a child was a Spaghetti Bolognese.

Do you like to cook?

I’ve never been one to enjoy my time in the kitchen, but since I had to change my diet about half a year ago, watching of what I can and what I can’t eat, I have learnt to appreciate the idea of ‘creating’ a nice dinner.

Who do you enjoy cooking for? If you don’t enjoy cooking, then what do you like to eat?

I basically cook only for my little family, but I make sure that my two girls get a yummy, but healthy meal. I can still remember the days when I didn’t like something. Mum didn’t make me eat it and I’m really grateful for it. I like my daughters to try the food at least, if they still don’t like it, that’s okay. When we have friends over, we usually opt for the typical Australian barbeque with a few nice salads.

Your favourite snack?

As mentioned above, until I had to change my diet, I often sat in front of the telly with a few biscuits, or a salada with some nutella. Nowadays, it’s mainly sliced apples or when I have the ingredients, I make some waffles – YUM!

What’s your latest book?

My latest book is “Fresh Beginnings” the 3rd book in the Beginnings series

What do you love most about this book?

We took our girls to the US last year and travelled through five states in a motorhome. We had so much fun and learnt so much about the country. The book is kind of our travel diary turned into a romance novel. It mentions the little things we came across, like the “PedXing” sign, or the difference in the language, which was even more obvious to me with English as my second language. It was heaps of fun to write.

Where can readers find it?

At Amazon,iBooks and all ebook platforms

Share one of your favourite recipes – anything you like, cake, martini, Peking Duck, cheese on toast…

Aha… the favourite recipe question . I suppose the simple Spaghetti Bolognese recipe won’t do the trick.

My (or I should really say, mum’s) recipe for you all will be for a Marrow Dumpling Soup. It’s definitely one of my favourite meals, especially at the moment during this cold weather. And a nice traditional German dish!

Ingredients:

1 piece of Osso Buco Meat (that’s what I’ve found is best to use here in Oz)

Carrots, Celery, and Leek

Salt

Butter

Breadcrumbs

1 – 2 eggs

Parsley

Nutmeg

Flour

Remove the bone marrow from the meat and place it in a separate bowl.

Place the meat, with the carrots, celery, and leek into a pot with water, add some salt and pepper. Let the soup simmer for about an hour.

To finish off the soup, add the dumplings.

Take the bone marrow and place it into a little saucepan with some butter. Melt all until golden brown and then take off the heat.

Add some breadcrumbs until all the melted marrow and butter is soaked up.

Depending on the amount of bone marrow, add one or two eggs and a ladle full of soup. Add some chopped parsley, salt and nutmeg, and mix in some flour until you have a nice mix, not too tight, but just enough to hold it together.

Roll the mix into small dumplings and add to the simmering soup.

The Marrow Dumplings are ready when they “surface”.

Guten Appetit!

I hope it makes sense, but the “hand-me-down” recipes don’t come with exact measurements.

I’m in the kitchen this morning with Eva Scott and a dish of Tiramisu, one of my favourite desserts. It’s a dish that has endless variations depending on the cook and the tastes of those who will eat the finished product. Too sweet and it’s disgusting, not enough sweet and it’s just bitter stodge. The best Tiramisu I have ever had is that made by my sister-in-law in America. I could and did eat bowl after bowl of her semi-sweet Tiramisu and grieved when it was all gone. Eva’s Tiramisu, (recipe below), is made with the hazelnut liquor Frangelico and real hazelnuts and I’ve never met a hazelnut I didn’t like, so I think I’ll be having a go at this recipe. Eva is an Australian author and you an find out more about her and her books on her website. Eva loves to cook and it’s been remarkable to discover while doing this series how many authors don’t like cooking. I do, so Eva is very welcome in the somewhat messy kitchen this morning.

What are your memories of your mothers cooking as a child?

Curiously it’s my grandmothers I remember best. Both cooked very traditionally. One Nanna famous for her roast lamb and the other for her dumpling stew.

What was your favourite dish as a child?

Do you like to cook?

Love it. Currently having a romance with Yottam Ottolenghi. http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/

The flavours from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking are sublime. A girlfriend who is Moroccan/Israeli put me on to him. Divine! I like experiencing flavour combinations completely new to me.

Who do you enjoy cooking for? If you don’t enjoy cooking, then what do you like to eat?

I enjoy cooking for my husband who is an enthusiastic sampler. He’ll give anything a try and offer honest opinion. It’s wonderful having someone who appreciates the food you make.

What are some of your favourite books about food?

Two categories here. Number one = cooking books. Number two = novels about food or with food.

Cooking books include Nigella Lawson’s Kitchen, Yottam Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem and Adam Liaw’s Asian After Work. These three are my current go-to in the kitchen.

As to novels I love anything by Barbara O’Neal (The Secret of Everything, Lost Receipe for Happiness) http://www.barbaraoneal.com/ and Isabel Allende’s Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses. http://isabelallende.com/ia/en/home/5

Is the food in your stories important?

So far food has never been central to the plot I have enjoyed researching food for my novels set in Ancient Rome. And the Tiramisu in Marriage Makeover is to die for! I make it for dinner parties and special occasions. It’s got quite a kick.

Your favourite snack?

It’s a revolving door. This week I’m in love with homemade hummus – the spicy kind.

What’s your latest book?

The Marriage Makeover – Nick and Talia Carmichael were childhood sweethearts. Grief over the death of their baby daughter from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome crushed their marriage. Talia moved to a new city, with a new career and life. Now it’s time to close the door on the past and ask Nick for a divorce.

Nick has other ideas. Once his wife, always his wife. He has no intention of letting Talia off so lightly and proposes terms and conditions to his agreement. It will mean moving back into their marital home, and force her to face long buried grief. Can she do as he asks?

Being with Nick causes her to question everything she thought was true. Has she made a mistake thinking her love for Nick is dead? Can he still love her? More importantly, can he again trust after everything they’ve been through?

What foods do the characters eat?

Talia and her best friend share a delicious Tiramisu made on Frangelico liqueur.

What do you love most about this book?

This is a second chances romance which I adore.

Where can readers find it?

Musa Publishing

Share one of your favourite recipes – anything you like, cake, martini, Peking Duck, cheese on toast …

Talia and her best friend Davan have this for dessert at their favourite restaurant. Tiramisu means “pick me up” which refers to the shot of espresso but I like to add Frangelico to give it a real kick. You can add any liqueur that takes your fancy. Frangelico gives the dish a lovely nutty flavour. Enjoy!

FRANGELICO TIRAMISU

I like to make this dish in a foil tray (roughly 24cm square-ish). Foil bbq trays are exactly the right depth and there’s no washing up later! Alternatively any dish the same size will do fine.

Ingredients

• 250ml espresso coffee. If you don’t have the real deal you can dissolve 15g of espresso powder into 250ml of boiling water and it will do the trick.

• 250ml of Frangelico. I always find the savoiardi biscuits soak up the liqueur quickly so keep the bottle on hand for top ups.

• 30 savoiardi biscuits. There are two sizes so you may need less if you purchase the large biscuits.

For the filling:

• 2 eggs, separated

• 75g castor sugar

• 60ml Frangelico hazelnut liqueur

• 500g mascarpone

• 100g chopped roasted hazelnuts

• 3 teaspoons of good quality cocoa powder.

Method

1. Combine the cooled coffee and 250ml of Frangelico in a jug

2. Beat the egg whites until frothy. Place the yokes in a separate bowl and beat with the castor sugar and 60ml of Frangelico.

3. Add the mascarpone to the yolk mix, combine well.

4. Carefully fold the frothy egg whites into the mascarpone mix and combine well.

5. Pour half the coffee and Frangelico mix into a wide shallow bowl (or similar dish). Dip the biscuits into the mix ensuring both sides are coated. Do this quickly to ensure the biscuits are damp but not soaking. They do soak up liquid very quickly so don’t leave them sitting in the bowl or you’ll run out of coffee/Frangelico very quickly. Prepare enough biscuits to form one layer and place them in the dish.

6. Place half the mascarpone mix on top of the soaked biscuits, spreading it out for even coverage.

7. Repeat step 5 using the remaining coffee/Frangelico liquid and leftover biscuits.

8. Repeat step 6.

9. Cover the dish with cling film and refrigerate overnight – or for at least 6 hours.

10. Before serving the tiramisu combine the chopped hazelnuts and cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture over the top layer of mascarpone.

**Please note this dish contains raw eggs so may not be suitable for people with compromised or weak immune systems such as small children, the elderly or pregnant women.

Tonight I’m very excited to have a a non-fiction author in my virtual kitchen. The lovely journalist, TV producer and author Justine Ford. Justine has brought her teapot with her, and her favourite tea and I just happen to have some Vitawheats and vegemite, so we are set for a good old feast.

Justine wrote Missing You: Australia’s Most Mysterious Unsolved Missing Persons Cases which was published in 2012, and last year her book, One Piece of the Puzzle: Australia’s Most Chilling Homicide Investigations, was released by Five Mile Press and she has two more True Crime books on the way. Justine also used to be a presenter on TV’s Australia’s Most Wanted so she’s used to the dark side and writes about the darkness with intelligence and compassion. As a sometime sissy girl I cried when I read her first book, but if you like True Australian Crime, Justine’s books are a good place to start!

What are your memories of your mothers cooking as a child?

Mum loved to throw a pizza sub in the oven, followed by a slice of Sara Lee Danish with custard for ‘sweets,’ and a long, tall glass of green fizzy.

What was your favourite dish as a child?

Anything made with mince! Was it because it required less chewing? I don’t know. But growing up, I spent a lot of time at my nan’s, and couldn’t get enough of her comforting savoury mince dishes.

Do you like to cook?

No! It requires an abnormal amount of concentration on my part. I am very fortunate, however, that my husband loves to cook amazing, healthy meals. He even did a three year part-time chef’s course just for fun, so he fires up the pots and pans most nights.

Who do you enjoy cooking for? If you don’t enjoy cooking, then what do you like to eat?



At home I enjoy curries, roasts, fish, stirfries, casseroles, steak, pasta – all the good stuff! And I do enjoy a nice glass of white wine. Eating out, Malaysian food is a favourite.

What are some of your favourite books about food?

I loved ‘The Beauty of Humanity Movement’ by Camilla Gibb. The cover describes it as, ‘A novel of contemporary Vietnam: life, love and pho.’

‘The School of Essential Ingredients’ by Erica Bauermeister also charmed me. It’s about eight people whose lives are transformed through a cooking course.

Is the food in your stories important?

Food in my stories is only important when it is a clue to a real-life murder or someone’s disappearance. In ‘One Piece of the Puzzle,’ I reveal how a Chinese takeaway meal was the crucial piece of evidence in the murder of a Sydney mum. You’d be surprised…

Your favourite snack?

I don’t have a sweet tooth so I’m pretty happy with a couple of Vita Weats with Vegemite. A cup of Dilmah leaf tea is an essential part of any snack for me; I start the day with Dilmah and I write with Dilmah.

What’s your latest book?

My latest book is called ‘One Piece of the Puzzle,’ and it’s about some of Australia’s most chilling homicide investigations. I reveal information that has never before been published and ask the readers to play armchair detectives.

What do you love most about this book?

I love that the book gives readers the opportunity to come forward with information about unsolved murders, missing persons’ cases, and John and Jane Does. I maintain that even the smallest piece of information could be all that police need to crack a case.

Where can readers find it?

It can be found, or ordered, at all good bookstores, Big W, and online through retailers like Booktopia and Amazon.

Share one of your favourite recipes – anything you like, cake, martini, Peking Duck, cheese on toast …

I really am an awful cook but I make a killer cuppa!

Justine’s Killer Tea

Warm the pot

Put about 3 teaspoons of tea in a small to medium sized pot. The tea must be Dilmah – it’s super fresh and tastes like real tea.

Pour boiling water over the tea.

Cover the pot with your favourite tea cosy and let it sit for five minutes.

Pour into a cup, not a mug (it tastes better), and add milk or sugar as desired.

Settle in with a good read and enjoy!

Website: www.justineford.net

Facebook: Justine Ford’s ‘One Piece of the Puzzle’ and ‘Missing You’ page

Twitter:@JustineFord1

Pamela Cook has brought a lovely big lemon meringue pie to the Virtual Kitchen this morning. We shall make short work of it. Pamela writes women’s fiction with an Australian country feel, a bit of romance and lots of horses. Her books, Blackwattle Lake and Essie’s Way are published by Hachette Australia and available in bookshops and as ebooks. Pamela is on Twitter and Facebook too, as are we all ….

What are your memories of your mothers cooking as a child?

I have a couple of clear food memories from my childhood. We had an enormous mulberry tree in our backyard and every year when the berries were ripe Mum would make pies for everyone in the neighbourhood and I had the pleasure of delivering them. Not so pleasurable was the tripe she also cooked for the neighbours and had me deliver. I still remember the sickly smell wafting from the bowl of white, blubbery flesh.

What was your favourite dish as a child?

I love any sort of dessert but my favourite as a kid would probably be Golden Syrup Pudding with custard. I try and make one every year to relive the memories but it never seems to taste quite the way my mum’s did.

Do you like to cook?

I used to love cooking but lately I’ve been finding it a chore. It’s hard catering to different tastes in the family and the meal planning side of it really frustrates me.

What are some of your favourite books about food?

I love Jamie Oliver’s recipes – they’re hearty and easy to follow. And I’ve made a few things from Julie Goodwin’s first cook book. Apart from recipe books I don’t tend to read books centred on food but I did love the movie Chocolate – and it wasn’t just because of Johnny Depp.

Is the food in your stories important?

It hasn’t been so much in my first two books but I’m currently in the middle of writing my third novel and have written a couple of scenes that revolve around meals. My main character doesn’t have a family of her own and finds herself drawn to a family she meets in town who frequently get together and share good food.

Your favourite snack?

Coffee and snacks are great procrastination tools. Lately I’ve been indulging in the occasional Tim Tam and I do love a slice of raisin toast dripping with butter.

What’s your latest book?

My most recent book is Essie’s Way. It’s rural fiction with romantic elements set on the south coast of NSW.

What foods do the characters eat?

There are a couple of scenes involving coffee. And since my main character, Miranda, is soon to be married and watching her waistline she opts for a Caesar Salad when she lunches with her mother in the Queen Victoria Building in the first chapter. Considering the outcome of the lunch she might have been better taking a comfort food option!

What do you love most about this book?

This book has two main characters – Miranda and an older woman called Esther (the Essie of the title). It switches perspective and also takes the reader back in time to Esther’s youth via her diaries. I loved playing around with all these different elements of the story.

Where can readers find it?

Essie’s Way (published in December 2013) and my first novel Blackwattle Lake (published in December 2012) are available through Big W and local Bookstores. If you can’t see them on the shelf just ask. They’re also available through Booktopia and other online retailers, both in hard copy and ebook.

My Mum’s Lemon Meringue Pie

Pastry

2 cups plain flour

pinch salt

1 tablespoon icing sugar

185 g butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 to 2 tablespoons water.

Filling

4 tablespoons plain flour

4 tablespoons cornflour

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

¾ cup lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 ¼ cups water

90g butter

4 egg yolks.

Meringue

4 egg whites

2 tablespoons water

pinch salt

¾ cup caster sugar

1. Sift flour, salt and icing sugar into a bowl, chop butter roughly, add to dry ingredients, rub in until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add lemon juice and enough water to mix to a firm dough. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface to fit a 23cm pie plate. Use rolling pin to lift pastry onto pie plate

2. Trim and decorate edges. Prick base and sides of pastry with a fork. Bake in moderately hot oven 10-15 mins. Allow to cool.

3. Combine sifted flours, lemon rind, juice, and sugar in a saucepan. Add water, blend until smooth, stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens. This is important, the mixture must boil. Reduce heat, stir a further two minutes. Remove from heat, stir in butter and lightly beaten egg yolk, stir until butter has melted. Cool.

4. Spread cold lemon filling evenly into pastry case. Combine egg whites, water and salt in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beat well until sugar has dissolved. Spoon on top of lemon filling, spreading meringue to edges of pie to seal. Make peaks in meringue with a knife. Bake in moderate oven 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool then refrigerate.