A focus on the plates, mixed in with the dates.

 It's hard to believe another year has swung into gear and the long awaited summer holidays came and went in a haze of food, booze, naps and swims.

Being a dual citizen of two great states my holidays are generally split between the lovely south coast of NSW where I relish the ocean swims and time with family and Victoria, where the ocean swims are not as relishable but the food and wine scenes are enviable. I love to peruse the markets especially and cook up yummy and nourishing things with the benefit of time and sit down and enjoy them with the ball and chain with a lovely drop of something.

Last year I became a 'TikTok chef'. I marvelled at the quick meal hacks, no fuss desserts, easy peasy cooking. There is absolutely a time and a place for this, no matter what your household looks like, kids, no kids, partner, no partner, furfamily, no furfamily, if you have a family- brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, grandparents, chosen family / friends, work, general zest for life, chances are, cooking often becomes more about convenience and fuelling the best we can, rather than eating a meal that we enjoy preparing as much as we do consuming.

Now that we are all swimming around in a pool of Covid at any given time, lockdowns seem so strange, it's hard to believe we endured them for as long as we did. Very little greatness came out of that time. One great thing did for our household though and that was, in lieu of being able to go anywhere, we would spend hours planning a meal for the weekend that we would then painstakingly cook and enjoy. As we would in a restaurant, courses were matched with wines, we did not rush, we savoured and gave ourselves jolly great big pats on the back for a cook well done.

For me, watching people eat food I have prepared, spent time on in the most loving way, is the best. Whether it's for friends or family or the B&C. I have a glorious collection of cookbooks that I have been lovingly gifted, thrifted, bought, swapped. Huge collections of those I love and admire – Nigella, Jamie, Yotam and books that I have loved the stories behind, enjoyed their ethos, admired as people. I love cookbooks, just as I love novels, they tell great stories. They give you origins of recipes, how people have enjoyed them, what they have meant to them.

This year I want to make space for that kind of delight. So while, there will still be tales of love and dates, I will focus a little more on the plates. Share with you things I have taken the time to cook, the books they're from and why I made them.

They won't all be good, there will be fails, there will be things that give me the iirts, that are too fiddly, that will make me mutter expletives, have me befuddled, but that's all part of the fun.

I'll happily share my cookbooks with anyone and would welcome anyone's in return. Being able to do things I love and write about them fuels joy and passion for me, so here goes!