About: maryellenbelleville
April 8, 2021
On the Plate: M’jadrah – a beaut budget bite!
There’s only so many ways you can stretch your dollar – with fuel and food prices all creeping steadily upwards – I find I’m...
March 17, 2021
On the Plate: French-inspired refreshing dessert
Many years ago at a convention for chefs, cooks and all manner of foodie-types, I recall one sagely piece of advice. “Life’s short –...
October 8, 2020
On the Plate: Call me?
One thing’s for sure over these past several months, and that’s the amount of time we’ve been spending on the phone. And I hope...
August 27, 2020
On the Plate: Kinda blue
The word ‘blue’ has many connotations.
The one that springs to my mind first up is ‘blue with cold’ for obvious reasons! What an icy...
July 30, 2020
On the Plate: Rocketing along
As we snuggle in and mark off the chilly winter days, my thoughts seem to return often to the restorative power of home cooking...
July 16, 2020
On the Plate: Reaching for the chocolate – and blonde brownies – again
It’s been so chilly I find myself reaching for a mug of hot chocolate again as we slide into winter. And what better way...
July 2, 2020
On the Plate: Wintery, toasty times – a call to all crumpets
Nuffin like a bit o’crumpet, eh? Yes indeedy, and this time, you can make your own!
During COVID lockdown, it seems to me that mastering...
June 18, 2020
On the Plate: Minestrone – a meal in a bowl
Brrr… winter well and truly arrived right on cue with those icy winds and horizontal rain on June 1.
My friend and I bravely headed...
June 4, 2020
On the Plate: I see red, I see red, I see red
It’s true to say that during lockdown and isolating there seems to have been more time for me to read, read, read.
And I can...
May 21, 2020
On The Plate: Introducing the böreks
A gift of surplus silverbeet from my green-thumbed neighbour was very welcome (I hasten to add it was passed over to me keeping strict...
May 7, 2020
On the Plate: Occasion food – the new normal
The routines we’ve all had to adopt over these past several weeks are often described as the “new normal”.
Always a glass half full kinda...
April 23, 2020
On the Plate: Isobaking in a lockdown
These past weeks have seen us all change our routines dramatically.
As Anzac Day approaches, we will remain in isolation, reflecting on the bravery, the...
March 26, 2020
On the Plate: Sweet potato, the super vegetable
Never trust a vitamin in a capsule.
There, I’ve said it - and I realise that many of you have for a long time sought...
March 12, 2020
On The Plate: A stocktake of resolutions
Not everyone goes through the annual rigmarole of making resolutions for the New Year - I certainly don’t.
But to kick off a new decade,...
August 1, 2019
ON THE PLATE Cooking in the riad makes for Moroccan magic
I’m finally getting around to sorting some photos, but this will be a protracted project, cos I keep veering off the task at hand...
July 17, 2019
Chocolate can be good for you
“Go on treat yourself!” is what my dear friend used to say. We all owe it to ourselves to break out from time to time...
July 3, 2019
ON THE PLATE One-pot wonder is no balls up
Don’t you just love a one-pot wonder? Recipes often lay claim to this, but here, dear readers, is my definite one-pot plus one-bowl recipe...
June 19, 2019
Forgive me if this column gets a bit cheesy
What’s in a name? For some time now only the product actually produced in a specific region can correctly, even legally, be given a...
June 5, 2019
ON THE PLATE French Onion Soup served on a trip down memory lane
The way we eat today, and the way we have so wholeheartedly embraced the cuisines of many cultures certainly makes for a plethora of...
May 22, 2019
Let’s dine in tonight refining the art of the table
A recent extravaganza exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, The Best of the Best – Art of Dining, was truly an over the...
May 8, 2019
ON THE PLATE Green-banana flour power
Well, I recently wrote about green oranges – now it’s green bananas! And again, there’s an element of synchronicity on three levels, which will become...
April 25, 2019
ON THE PLATE MUSHROOMS HELP BRIDGE THE SEASONAL DIVIDE
I had been saying to people that I’m going to change my middle name to mushroom because you just never know where I’ll pop up next! I’ve had...
April 11, 2019
Seeing red at Easter
Am I looking forward to Easter? Yep! We’ll have a staycation this year and I’ve planned on enjoying some traditional Easter fare. What makes me see red about...
February 27, 2019
ON THE PLATE NOSE TO TAIL, ROOT TO STALK
We are becoming far more aware of reducing waste, of the dire effects the way we live, shop, use and discard all manner of...
Latest News
Apr 27, 2024
Distilling the best
Apr 27, 2024
We are locals too
Apr 27, 2024
High quality care in caring homely environment
Apr 27, 2024