solstice experiment update

Thanks everyone who visited Fishpond and helped me raise money for my favourite Australian charities.

Now a little over a year since I started this experiment the final amount raised through affiliate sales is $293.67. (Though it’d have been more if Fishpond didn’t halve their affiliation payment percentage halfway through!)

I’ve thrown in some of my own money to round the numbers up with a total of $400 donated as following:

$200 to the Smith Family’s Learning for Life program. I’ve long been a fan of what the Smith Family does in my own neighbourhood to break the poverty cycle.

$200 to Ian Thorpe ‘s Fountain of Youth. The Thorpedo is more than a pretty face; take a look at what he’s doing to empower learning in indigenous communities.

It’s probably no surprise that the most popular cookbook that you’ve clicked through and bought is Feel Good Food by Tony Chiodo.



But in the last couple of months there's been a surge in popularity of The Edmonds (Sure To Rise) Cookbook.



Can anyone explain this?

Being able to shop, cook and blog about good food is such a privilege. I hope I never loose sight of that fact. Thanks again for your contribution.


Previous update.

the winter solstice experiment

Twelve months ago I started an experiment on this site. To celebrate the winter solstice I shared some of my favourite healthy cookbooks and linked them to an online bookstore with affiliate sales, to raise money for a couple of my favourite charities. Some of you joined in and I added your suggestions to the list. Around summer solstice I updated the list and added a new donor.

So what did we raise for The Smith Family’s Learning for Life and Ian Thorpe’s Fountain of Youth? The princely sum is $286.53, which would have been more if Fishpond hadn’t halved its affiliate rate earlier this year. I’ve thrown in some bucks of my own and rounded it up to $400 in total.

I’m still on the lookout for healthy cookbooks – especially vegetarian ones that are simple to follow and don’t rely heavily on dairy or wheat. I’m also curious as to where you turn to for inspiration cooking seafood and if you have any vegetable gardening books that ring your bell.

The healthy cookbook roundup

Here’s the list, with a few new favourites added since the last update. Anything else you'd add to the list?



Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook has been popular with those who went shopping on Fishpond.


Melbourne’s own Flip Shelton’s latest offering Veg In: Simple Vegetarian Dishes from Around the World ticked all my boxes.


How to Cook Everything: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food: Vegetarian
I'm a big fan of Mr Bittman and I think this book is an absolute ripper for techniques and good vegetarian recipes.


Eastern Vegetarian Cooking
This is probably my most tattered cookbook attesting to how often I've used it. Madhur taught me how to make dolmades, roll sushi and cook tasty simple dishes with pulses and grains. It's a cheap book and written for the British who've traditionally not been known for their cookery skills - so it is also suitable for beginners.


Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: An Unrivalled Sourcebook of Over 600 Recipes and Ingredients from All Over the Globe
This is newer than my all time favourite and not limited to Eastern cuisine. It's the pick of one of my oldest vegetarian friends.


The Cook's Companion
This might be too ambitious for a newbie but for those building some cooking confidence she covers basic techniques well but what makes this book a star for me is the list of other foods that the featured ingredients goes with.


The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen
If Nigel Slater was straight, and I believed in marriage, I'd tie the knot with this bloke because I like his writing so much. Wasn't Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger one of the best foodie memoirs ever written? I've included a couple of Slater books because not only is he a joy to read, his recipes are easy to follow and I figure for those who enjoy eating meat, you can't go better than his chicken roast.


Real Cooking
More Slater love!



Feel Good Food
Another local chef/food writer to be proud of. Great macro inspired recipes.


The Asian Vegan Kitchen: Authentic and Appetizing Dishes from the Continent of Rich Flavors
Lisa's pick.


Jam Today: A Diary of Cooking with What You've Got
Lucy's pick.



The Yoga Cookbook: Vegetarian Food for Body and Mind
Zoe's pick.


Edmonds Cookery Book
Ok not a health book but I was cruising the site and came across it. Other than my mother's tuition, the Edmonds ("Sure To Rise") cookbook was the one that taught me how to make afghan biscuits and fairy cakes.

And for those who like a serve a politics with their food


The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Search for a Perfect Meal in a Fast-food World
An eye-opening read, without the sledge-hammer approach of some other authors of the genre.


In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
You can't get enough of "the thinking woman's crumpet".


Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: Our Year of Seasonal Eating
Barbara Kingsolver's journey into the locavore lifestyle never goes out of season.


Give a little

Don’t forget it’s only a couple of days until the end of the financial year, wouldn’t you prefer to give your favourite charity a few dollars and be able to claim some of that back on tax?

eat smart: StreetSmart

Sorry if elements of this post looks familiar, it just means you were on my other blog recently.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Sydney and as I wandered through the city, I came across a group of rowdy high school or uni students taking a video of themselves singing and dancing in a side street. The street provided a natural ampitheatre, blocked off from traffic, sub-tropical flora to provide shade on a hot day. A couple of pricey looking restaurants overlooked the public seating area. An oasis in a busy city.

Then I noticed someone else.

Was he performance art too?



No, just a homeless man trying to have a kip in the shade, while the fat cats chowed down on lunch pretending to not see him.

The homeless are someone's father/mother/brother/sister/child/classmate/friend. StreetSmart makes a difference by supporting grassroots organisations working in their local areas.

Check out the StreetSmart site to find a participating restaurant. The Melbourne line-up has changed a bit this year but covers eateries that cater to a variety of tastes and budgets.

StreetSmart is on now until 24th December. Please eat generously.


What I wrote about StreetSmart 2009.

menu for Hope 4

If you are a regular food blog reader you know what special place this time of year has in our hearts and wallets. Chez Pim's wonderful fundraiser to feed those who can't afford to put food on their plate "Menu for Hope" is now it's 4th year. A worldwide, blog-based fundraiser which is quite simply brilliant. Menu for Hope is an online raffle with such a wealth of food related prizes for a mere (US)$10 a ticket you'd be a fool not to enter.




Helen from Grab Your Fork is hostess with the mostess once more for collating the Asia Pacific Prizes. From homemade stout to degustations at amazing restaurants, it is once more an exciting treasure trove to whet your donations.

If you really want to get excited, especially if you have any travel coming up in 2008, the worldwide line up of prizes has quitely blown my mind and made me wish I had a trip booked to take advantage of market tours, cooking schools or even a personal tour of elBulli kitchen laboratory at the new Alícia Institute with Ferran Adrià himself. To see the entire line up of prizes and donate towards the cause skip over to Chez Pim's Menu for Hope 4.