The food went down well. We made rice paper rolls,  baba ganoush, hummous and a carrot dip, served with with grilled Turkish bread and crudités.

Carrot and cumin dip

This dip is is fragrant, sweet, and smooth.

• 6 large carrots (about 750g)
• ½ cup virgin olive oil
• 4 large cloves garlic, or to taste, peeled
• 3 tsp whole cumin seeds, and extra to garnish

Peel and roughly chop the carrots, and steam or microwave, covered, until very soft (about ten minutes at 800W). Meanwhile, add garlic cloves and oil to a small skillet and fry over medium heat until fragrant. Add cumin to hot oil and cook for a further minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before adding contents to food processor. Add steamed carrot, and blend until smooth. Season well and garnish with a pinch of whole cumin. Serve warm with grilled bread.

Hummous with parsley

An easy improvisation on a familiar and delicious theme.

• 400g can of chickpeas, drained
• 1½ tbsp unhulled tahini
• handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• ½ cup virgin olive oil
• juice of one lime

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until combined. Smooth or a little chunky – completely up to you. Season and serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and crudités.

Baba ganoush

• 2 medium aubergines/eggplant (about 1 kg)
• 1 tbsp unhulled tahini
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• ¼ cup virgin olive oil
• juice of one (juicy) lime

Grill or barbeque aubergines, whole, until skin is black, blistered and crisp, and the whole fruit is very soft. Carefully peel, discarding skin, and add flesh to food processor with remaining ingredients. Blend until combined, and season well. Serve warm with Turkish bread.

I spent last weekend in Townsville, partly to see Dad, and partly so that I’d make it to Althea’s 21^st. It’d been raining for quite a few days before I got there, but on my last day, just before I was due at the airport, we drove to the top of Castle Hill and enjoyed the sunshine.

Back in Brisbane, I’ve been renovating furniture, repairing my bicycle and shooting headshots with Anna:

… and in the biggest and best news, my cousin Mary and her husband Andrew had a beautiful baby boy, Vincent. I can’t wait to meet him!

Almond Pesto

• 1½ cups raw almond kernels
• 1 cup virgin olive oil
• 150g parmesan reggiano, chopped or grated
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• armful of fresh basil – I used a fairly even mix of Greek, Genovese and Thai.
• salt and course-milled black pepper to season

Wash and shake dry basil. Pluck leaves and add to a food processor with parmesan and half the oil, and process until just combined. Toast almonds until fragrant, then add to food processor. Sauté coarsely chopped garlic in remaining oil until just soft. Add oil and garlic to food processor and process until well mixed – you may need more oil to get sufficient smoothness. I like mine fairly chunky, although biting into a large piece of almost-raw garlic can ruin your date. Serve warm on grilled ciabatta, mixed with pasta for alla genovese, or store under oil in the refrigerator.