Hunter Valley vineyards and cheese tasting

Very few things bring a smile to my face first thing in the morning. I don't like mornings. Introduce the promise of a hot cooked buffet breakfast however, and somehow I can manage to get out of bed with a decided spring in my step!Our final day of our Hunter Valley mini-break concluded with an itinerary packed with wine and cheese. We had a champagne tasting at 9am, and we needed to line our

Simple malt biscuits recipe

I've always loved the taste of malt: Horlicks, Milo, malted milk biscuits and Maltesers. All are consumed with insatiable gusto. Malt is also the basis of beer and whiskey, but let's face it, it's the sweet stuff that most of us are interested in.So I'm not sure why it took me so long to discover malt extract at the supermarket, but there it was, quietly perched on a shelf above the golden syrup

Kings Cross Organic Market, Potts Point

Lemon sour cake from Birgitta's BitesEn-route to brunch at Yellow Bistro & Food Store, I was pleased to happen upon the Kings Cross Organic Markets, a small but friendly cluster of stalls just past the dandelion-shaped El Alamein Memorial fountain.Foods mix with craft at this laid-back local market, but there's still plenty of bakeries, exotic mushrooms, smoked goods and gourmet teas to tempt the

Huong Huong Restaurant, Marrickville

Squid with lemongrass and chilli $12.00There's something very reassuring about busy suburban restaurants. The kind of places where the crockery may be a little chipped, and the decor is often loud if earnest, but the waitstaff know all their regulars, and the dining room is filled with a cosmopolitan mix of local families, couples and usually one screeching kid right up the back corner.And so we

Good Living Growers' Markets, Pyrmont

Like the corn cobs above, there were small windows of sunshine that blessed an otherwise temperamentally wet and miserable Good Living Growers' Markets today.At 9.30am the crowds were out in force, a hubbub of prams and toddlers and dogs and tourists...Herb posies $10.00Watercress from Darling Mills $2.50Cheese at Formaggi OcelloJersey butter from Johnson's Farmgate $6.00Still craving my Gympie

Travelodge Newcastle Hotel, Newcastle

Mushroom and potato soupSo these photos aren't my best but in the interests of thoroughness, I'm posting them anyway.Our recent weekend mini-break to the Hunter Valley saw us spend the Saturday night at the Travelodge in Newcastle. Only an hour's drive from the vineyards, it easily provided the best value accommodation for our money. There were a few problems reported with air-conditioning units

Make your long weekend sweeter

Only a few more days til a lovely long weekend! Yay!You can make your long weekend sweeter by heading to the Good Living Growers' Markets, mentioning Grab Your Fork to Gena at Sweetness the Patisserie, and taking home a special free gift with any purchase. This exclusive offer has been carried over from last month after the miserable washout at the last Good Living Growers' Markets. Mother Nature