Sarah Wilson, author of I Quit Sugar: The Complete Plan and Recipe Book, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Andrew Cattanach

The Booktopia Book Guru asks

Sarah Wilson

author of I Quit Sugar: The Complete Plan and Recipe Book…

Ten Terrifying Questions

———————-

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I actually grew up in the country on a subsistence-living farm outside Canberra. We had goats for milk and meat and everything was recycled. In fact, we didn’t have garbage!

I commuted into Canberra for school – Lyneham High and Dickson College. A lot of my food philosophy stems from my upbringing…and the recipes  in I Quit Sugar are about conserving and not wasting and being simple and economical…perfect for families and young people!!

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

I love this…my interests did shift. As a kid I wanted to be the first female Prime Minister of Australia. I was the eldest of six kids…being influential was in my blood.

At 18 I was dreadfully confused. And so I tried all kinds of things for a good decade.

At 30, I wanted to be doing something meaningful, communicating and working freely….which is pretty much my life now.

“As a kid I wanted to be the first female Prime Minister of Australia.”

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?

Ha… that I was right.

4. What were three big events – in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?

My Year 5 teacher gave me the class prize and said, in front of the school at the end of year “graduation”, that my curiosity was a gift. I treasure her words. They spurred me on.

Moving to Sydney when I was 29, from Melbourne. Suddenly everything sped up and made sense. I felt that I belonged.

Reading Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. Such mindful endurance of hardship…it very much guided me through my own troubles with illness.

5. Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc – why have you chosen to write a book? aren’t they obsolete?

I know what you mean…the book started out as two ebooks which did very well…more than what a ebook usually does in this market. But there is still a market who want a hard copy, and so it made sense to produce it as such. I very much did things back to front, but perhaps that’s the future.

Long Walk To Freedom – “Such mindful endurance of hardship.”

It’s an 8-week program for quitting sugar, plus a bunch (108) recipes for sugar-free snacks, breakfasts, cakes, kids’ treats and detox meals (for getting clean!).

It’s based on my experience quitting sugar, two years of research into the best techniques, and my work as a qualified health coach. It’s not a diet…it’s a way of living that basically cuts out all processed food.

You can drink wine, eat bacon and cheese, you don’t count calories. More than 70,000 people have done the program I developed and everyone (to my knowledge) loses weight. Some lose 20, 30 and even 55 kilos, just from quitting sugar.

7. If your work could change one thing in this world – what would it be?

To get everyone back to natural appetite and hunger. This would solve obesity and most modern diseases, as well as reduce the environmental impact of processed food.

8. Whom do you most admire and why?

Today it’s Bill Cunningham, the American photographer. I just watched the documentary about his life. I love how he does what he does because he wants to connect with humanity. I refuses payment for his work most  of the time because he feels it interferes what he’s there to do. He’s free, as a result. I admire people who make sacrifices to be truly free and helpful to humanity.

9. Many people set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

To  be as authentic as I can.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

To have a blog (to practice writing freely and to advertise your wares)

To move across all different mediums…radio, Twitter, Instagram, blogs, print. Gone are the days when you could do just the one. You have to spin plates now.

Study good writing.

Just write. Sit down and do the work.

Sarah, thank you for playing.

Click here to order I Quit Sugar from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, cook books, Diet and Nutrition, Food and drink, Non Fiction, Writing tips | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Andy Allen, author of The Next Element and winner of MasterChef Australia 2012, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Andrew Cattanach

The Booktopia Book Guru asks

Andy Allen

author of The Next Element and winner of MasterChef Australia 2012…

Ten Terrifying Questions

————————

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born and raised in a town called Maitland, which is 25 minutes N/W of Newcastle and I completed my HSC at Maitland Grossmann High School.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

Growing up I always wanted to be a professional basketball player. I put all my energy into this until I finally realised this wasn’t going to happen at the age of about 18. At this time I was at a crossroads in my career and at the age 20 I decided to take an offer of an apprenticeship as an Electrician. By the age of 23 I knew this wasn’t for me and decided to fill out an application to be on MasterChef.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?

At 18, I didn’t really believe that dreams could come true. I had to come to terms that I wasn’t going to play basketball professionally and started to think I would have to settle with a job that was just a place to go to work for the rest of my life. But now at the age of 24 I now realise if you want something bad enough and you are passionate enough about it, nothing can hold you back.

4. What were three big events – in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?

My families love for food.

Quitting university to work in a bar. It sounds insane but this is where I had most of my free time to learn about cooking.

Entering MasterChef.

5. Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc – why have you chosen to write a book? aren’t they obsolete?

I’m not going to lie, the reason I wrote a book was that it was prize given to me for winning a competition. At first I thought I was not worthy of becoming an author nor being experienced enough to write a book but then I looked back at the last 8 months of my life and realised how hard I had worked to win MasterChef and I deserved it as much as any of the other contestants.

6. Please tell us about your book…

My latest and first book “The Next Element” is a cookbook which displays my progression throughout my MasterChef ‘journey’. The first chapter, Cooking for myFamily, is full of basic, weeknight meals which any novice cook should be able to complete. The second section Cooking for my Friends, are all the recipes I cook when my mates come over for an afternoon BBQ, more your tapas style dishes. These recipes are also very achievable for any home cook. A New Direction is the last section where you will find a few of my successful dishes I cooked on MasterChef and also a few more advanced recipes which I love to cook now. Hopefully there is something in there for everyone!

Click here to buy The Next Element from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

7. If your work could change one thing in this world – what would it be?

Everyone finding the job that they want to do for the rest of their life.

8. Whom do you most admire and why?

My family. My Mum, Dad and two sisters, as they have stuck by me in everything I have tried.

9. Many people set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

If there is one thing I have learnt from my time on MasterChef it is not to look to much into the future. Yes its great to have ambitions and goals, but its more important to focus on the task at hand. In saying that my long term goal is to set myself high standards in everything I put my hand to and know that if you work hard enough, anything is possible.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Write a book you want to write and enjoy writing it. Come up with a concept in which you know you will be proud of when it comes back from print and go from there.

Andy, thank you for playing.

Click here to buy The Next Element from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, cook books, Food and drink | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Leila McKinnon asked, What are Australia’s Favourite Recipes? And Australia Answered!

Posted on October 13, 2012 by booktopiaguestblogger

Cookbooks combine beauty and usefulness in a way few books have done since the demise of the copperplate illustration and leather binding. They are often a rare blend of the gorgeous and the practical, as if a Victoria’s Secret model dropped by to do the dishes.

It’s no wonder that, despite the internet, we are still loving and buying recipe books and every Tom, Dick, and Leila is releasing one.

As a news and sometimes sports journalist for the Nine Network, I kind of fell into the genre by coming up with an idea that promptly grew its own legs and dragged me along with it.

What I have always wanted are those long standing family or personal recipes that home cooks treasure and very rarely share with anyone. The kind of meals that get everyone at the barbeque talking, or that your friends request you make at any opportunity.

And I needed the weeknight standards that despite frequent appearances and a relatively low degree of difficulty continue to be family favourites.

So I put out the call on Weekend Today, radio, facebook, twitter, and wherever I could. Australians responded in droves. What we collected proved just how much we love our cooking, we value our incredible produce, and the amount of cultural diversity we have here.

Choosing between submissions was just so difficult, I thought we would get plenty of chaff that we could instantly bin, but the shockers were very few (anything cooked in powdered soup, or heavens above, instant coffee!).

Instead we had the very best flavours of Italy, Lebanon, the Philippines, Vietnam, and so many more, as well as the Aussie classics or Quiche Lorraine, ANZAC biscuits and Fruit Loaf.

And the stories that came with them are heart-warming vignettes from ordinary families, there’s the Nanna who was a war bride from America, the slices made by Grandma in the country for the trip to boarding school, the Sicilian immigrants cooking a taste of Italy on their North Queensland farm. Every dish has a story or photo that says something about our country.

A large portion of the profits from Australia’s Favourite Recipes goes to Legacy, our wonderful charity that supports the families of deceased or incapacitated servicemen and women. Sadly, demand for their practical and financial help is still growing and they rely on the generosity of the public to allow them to do their work.

Fortunately we are a generous nation, and never more so than when we are handing over the recipes for the meals that are close to our hearts.

Many thanks to Leila McKinnon for sharing this piece with Booktopia!

Australia’s Favourite Recipes

Australia’s Favourite Recipes is the cookbook by Australians for Australians: more than 70 treasured recipes collected from families all around the country. Collated and edited by journalist and television host Leila McKinnon, and with a foreword (and pavlova recipe) by Margaret Fulton, the book features the stories and memories of everyday Australians and their favourite dishes, while celebrating the wealth and diversity of the food we hold dear.

Each recipe has been photographed with a sense of evocative nostalgia – native wildflowers decorate the Christmas table, and pages from historical Australian cookbooks are interspersed with collages of the labels and other food memories from our collective childhoods. Every recipe features a charming introduction describing why the dish is of importance to its contributor, how it came to be a special family dish or perhaps a little story about the contributor’s grandmother and how she introduced them to the recipe. It is a collection of treasured memories. From the perfect chewy Anzac biscuit and Mum’s no-fail spaghetti bolognese to the ultimate lamb souvlaki and lemon delicious, Australia’s Favourite Recipes showcases our national cuisine – the dinners, cakes and slices we crave – and shows how the food we eat has changed over the years.

Note: Part of the proceeds from sales of the book will be donated from author and publisher to Legacy Australia, a charity that provides services to Australian families suffering financially and socially after the death or incapacitation of a spouse or parent during or after their defence force service.

Click here to order Australia’s Favourite Recipes from Booktopia,
Australia’s No.1 Online Bookshop

Filed under: Australian Author, Book Talk, cook books, Food and drink | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Victoria Heywood, author of Good Cook Bad Cook: 20 Rules For the Kitchen – 80 Essential Recipes, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on September 13, 2012 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

The Booktopia Book Guru asks

Victoria Heywood

author of Good Cook Bad Cook 20 Rules For the Kitchen – 80 Essential Recipes and Possum Pie, Beetroot Beer and Lamingtons and Celebrate with Food and Wine

Ten Terrifying Questions

——————

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

Born in deepest, greyest, suburban Melbourne, I was lucky enough not to follow most of my primary schoolmates on to the local high school, where the pregnancy rate was reputedly higher than the VCE pass rate. Instead, I went to Fintona – a tiny, independent girls’ school where we were encouraged to think that girls could do anything. So we often did.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

At twelve, I wanted to be James Herriot.

At eighteen, I still did.

By twenty-two, long after I’d been kicked out of Veterinary Science, I finally realised that I wanted to be James Herriot (the writer of All Creatures Great and Small) and not James Herriot the vet who spent his days with hands up a cow’s bum.

By thirty, I was a full-time writer.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?

That somehow, I’d be perfectly happy spending the rest of my life preg testing cows. I also thought that The Women’s Weekly Cookery Book was the worst, most insulting, graduation prize ever. (I should mention that the boy dux got a set of encyclopaedias). Instead, that same despised prize taught me to cook and inspired a whole passion. And career.

4. What were three big events – in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?

1. Growing up without a TV or dishwasher – “just finishing a chapter” was about the only acceptable excuse in my family for not helping with the washing up.

2. Having a family friend who was an author and also worked in children’s publishing. Having him visit was like having Willy Wonka pop in, laden with goodies – kiddie crack for a girl without a TV. I also got to go to many events at Dromkeen National Centre –formerly known as the Dromkeen Children’s Literature Collection. I met real published authors, and realised that it could be a real way to make a living.

3. Living in Russia in the 90s, during some very interesting times. This not only got me my very first paid journalism gig, but forced me to learn how to cook edible meals from elderly cabbage.

5. Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc – why have you chosen to write a book? aren’t they obsolete?

Although all my books to date have only been released in traditional form, I suspect it’s only a matter of time. As a committed e-booker and digital reader myself, I can only applaud the advance of technology. Words are words, no matter how they’re consumed.

6. Please tell us about your latest book…

80 classic recipes, where they came from, and how not to screw them up. I’ve tortured a few grannies and experts for their secrets, so you’ll know how to cook the basics to perfection, from sponge to stir fry to perfect roast lamb. I’ve also included 20 essential kitchen rules to keep you out of trouble.

(BBGuru:publisher’s blurb -

You don’t need to be a three-hat chef to know that even the best ingredients can be ruined when prepared badly. A desire to experiment is all very well, but how do you ensure your bright ideas translate into gourmet success? Luckily, enthusiastic home cook and food journalist Victoria Heywood is on hand to ensure your endeavours don’t result in a culinary disaster.

In her friendly conversational style, Victoria talks readers through the history and cultural significance of a range of ingredients and popular dishes—from bread to burgers, pesto to pies—before sharing recipe ideas and inspiring serving suggestions. Each double-page spread focuses on one recipe and comes bursting with helpful hints and advice to ensure you stay well clear of any culinary faux pas.

An informative resource for the confident cook and an excellent handbook for the novice looking to expand their repertoire and pick up some helpful hints along the way, Good Cook Bad Cook is more than just a recipe book and will delight readers with its informal yet informative tone.)

Click here to buy Good Cook Bad Cook from Booktopia,
Australia’s Online Book Shop

7. If your work could change one thing in this world – what would it be?

Right now, I’m obsessed with the way Australians cook and eat – I’m tired of gastroporn, totally over competitive cooking, and want people to appreciate that knowing how to cook the basics well is more important than being able to assemble a croquembouche.

8. Whom do you most admire and why?

Nigel Slater. Stephanie Alexander. Jamie Oliver. All of them have changed the way people engage with food in my lifetime. And not a croquembouche in sight!

9. Many people set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

Ummm. To sit down at my desk tomorrow, despite the lure of the local coffee shop? Sometimes the toughest challenges disguise themselves in everyday clothing.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Read, experience and then write. And don’t fill up your time on the reading and experience bits. Get your bum on that chair and actually write something. And don’t be precious about it.

Victoria, thank you for playing.

Filed under: Australian Author, cook books, Food and drink, Writing Style, Writing tips | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Kim Terakes, author of The Great Aussie Barbie Fast and Easy Cookbook, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on August 11, 2012 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

The Booktopia Book Guru asks

Kim Terakes

author of The Great Aussie Barbie Fast and Easy Cookbook

Ten Terrifying Questions

——————————–

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

Born in Sydney, raised on the north shore, I had a very happy, very normal 1960’s/early ‘70s suburban childhood. I went to Macquarie University where I played a lot of rugby and drank a lot of beer but not much else. I only found out in second year that the big building beside the bar was the library.

2. What did you want to be when you were 12, 18 and 30? And why?

At 12, a lawyer. At 18, a journalist. At 30, MD of an ad agency and I was filthy that I wasn’t quite there. I became one not much later and of course it wasn’t a big deal anyway. Now I couldn’t care less about titles or what anyone thinks about me.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at 18 that you do not have now?

Probably not one strongly held belief but more a general optimism and sense of justice. You hope that you maintain as much of that as possible, though a long business career certainly encourages pragmatism. It’s hard to be involved in as many areas as I am and be as forthright as I want to be. As Jackson Browne wrote:

Say a prayer for the pretender
Who started out so young and strong
Only to surrender

Happily I haven’t surrendered. I’m more cynical but still optimistic.

4. What were three big events – in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?

Dad always desired a proper education and wanted to study architecture, but his family was very poor and he was sent from Lismore to work for his uncle at the Sydney fruit market as a teenager because they needed the money. So there was plenty of pressure on me to get a degree-of any sort, which I duly did despite the beer and rugby.

Working in advertising meant lunch in a restaurant every day, and still does post advertising. It exposed me to all sorts of food and then when I travelled, it was almost solely to eat. I could ‘do’ the Louvre in 45 minutes but happily spend five hours at lunch at Robuchon.

One definite turning point was mentioning to Karen Hammial, then editor of Gourmet Traveller that I was having a holiday in France and Italy. It was 1988 and she asked if I had a decent camera and could I take some photos. I emailed her our itinerary with Michelin one, two and three star restaurants booked every day for five weeks (they were the days) and markets and providors to visit in between. She called and in her magnificently ham fisted manner said ‘what to you do on your f***ing holidays, take pictures in butcher shops?’ to which I replied ‘yes, actually’. She asked me to write an article and then, as now, unable to write to length, I delivered five and had five lead articles run, which was the beginning of my writing. If I hadn’t sent the fax, I would never have started.

5. Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc – why have you chosen to write a book? Aren’t they obsolete?

People still buy cookbooks and, to my wife’s disgust, I’m hopeless with technology anyway (I’ve written five cookbooks and I still can’t cut and paste).

6. Please tell us about your latest book…

It is another BBQ book, because the first one was so popular. And it is all about easy, quick recipes which seem to be what most people are after these days. It’s hardly a complicated concept, but I hope very useful.

Click here to buy The Great Aussie Barbie Fast and Easy Cookbook from Booktopia,
Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop

7. If your work could change one thing in this world – what would it be?

A cookbook is hardly likely to change the world. But this book, my previous four, my cooking school and BBQ club are all about getting people to eat better, to eat real food instead of processed crap.

8. Whom do you most admire and why?

Let’s avoid the obvious Nelson Mandela’s and stick to food. I think that Stephanie Alexander’s garden program is wonderful and the influence that it will have is immeasurable.

You have to admire Jamie Oliver for what he does on an infinitely bigger scale than I can, though our food philosophies are pretty close. I also admire all the top chefs who work their guts out and still manage extraordinary levels of creativity. Though he’s forever taking the piss out of me, history will judge Neil Perry as our most important chef for his role in the creation of both Mod OZ and Mod Asian cuisines. .

9. Many people set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

Again to my wife’s disgust, nothing particularly lofty. I love playing with food. All my foodie endeavours overlap and the Boys Can Cook cooking school, aussiebarbie.com.au, the five cookbooks, food trends presentations, consultancies with everyone from ANZ Stadium to Westfield, Masterfoods, Chang’s, ad agencies and restaurants and the bits and pieces of media that I do all add to each other.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Talk to a real writer like Tim Winton, not someone who writes cookbooks.

Kim, thank you for playing.

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, cook books, Food and drink | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Simon Bryant, author of Simon Bryant’s Vegies, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on August 8, 2012 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

The Booktopia Book Guru asks

Simon Bryant

author of Simon Bryant’s Vegies

Ten Terrifying Questions

———————————-

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born in Exeter UK , lived in Devon until coming to South Australia as a kid (twice, my mum couldn’t make up her mind), moved to Melbourne for 10 years in my 20’s for university and returned to Adelaide when I was in my early 30’s.

2. What did you want to be when you were 12, 18 and 30? And why?

12 , I wanted to be taller.

18 , I was an apprentice mechanic (loved motorbikes) but wanted to be an economist (went back to school to complete HSC after mechanics apprenticeship so that I could do a B Ec at Uni)

30, was taking a break from cooking as a push bike courier! Knew I wanted to continue cooking but was a little burnt up at the time.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at 18 that you do not have now?

That the Jesus and Mary Chain were musical geniuses.

4. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?

That’s a hard one because I am not really a writer, just a chef who scribbled down a few recipes that got published so I will say the three cookbooks that have had the most lasting influence on me are:

Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Companion

Harold McGhee’s On Food and Cooking

Larousse Gastronomique

(BBGuru: Sorry Simon, some moron gave you the wrong set of questions)

5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a cookbook?

I chose to write a cookbook because when I was a younger chef I could never find a book on vegetables that inspired me. I guess I just wrote the type of book that I would have loved to be able to read and use 20 years ago when I was becoming increasingly interested in veggies.

6. Please tell us about your cookbook…

It’s a cookbook that focuses on cooking veggies. I guess it’s just all my favourite methods of preparing and eating them with tips here and there on selection and some tricks from 25 years of cooking in commercial kitchens.

(BBGuru: here’s the blurb - Simon Bryant’s long-awaited début cookbook is a vibrant, inspiring collection of vegie recipes that will appeal to vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

Let Simon guide you through the changing seasons, as he shares tales from his vegie patch and brilliant tips for selecting the finest produce. Discover new ways to enjoy your favourite vegies and learn simple cooking techniques to make them really shine.

Simon’s recipes sing with flavour. Comforting dishes such as Sweet potato, peanut and mandarin curry and Beetroot ravioli with roast garlic and lemon-zested chevre and walnuts will warm and nourish during the colder months, while the light, fresh flavours of Lavender and orange broccoli with cous cous and Sugar snaps and capsicum with burnt chilli sambal and basil are perfect for spring and summer.

Vegies effortlessly dispels the myth that vegetarian cooking can’t be daring, original and delicious. )

Click here to buy Simon Bryant’s Vegies from Booktopia,
Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

It would make me happy if people just cooked the recipes and enjoyed them, simple.

8. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?

Will Self, he walks the line between being an incredible wordsmith and completely bonkers at the same time.

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

I really don’t have any major personal goals , I feel lucky that I can eat well, sleep warm and safe …what more do you really need?

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Well I can say if writing is anything like cooking then it’s one part inspiration, one part natural ability and a SHED load of mindless repetition, practice and refinement. I really don’t put much value on natural ability if there is no tenacity along the way.

Knock backs and criticism are part of life, you need to listen to feedback, take it on board, improve from it but never take it personally. The bottom line is that your work, not YOU is what is being critiqued and that’s a big difference.

If you ever get do a book deal then be VERY NICE to your editor, buy them chocolate, flowers …whatever it takes , they are the people that make you look way better than you really are. The unsung heroes of the writing world if you ask me.

Simon, thank you for playing.

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, cook books | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Cathy Armstrong, author of Coming Home, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on May 14, 2012 by booktopiaadministration

The Booktopia Book Guru asks

Cathy Armstrong

author of Coming Home

Ten Terrifying Questions

—————————–

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born in Newcastle, NSW and moved to Nimbin, which was a sleepy little dairy town in those days; like living in a storybook, everybody knew everybody and the chemist gave all visiting children an ‘iced vovo’ each time they popped in. We then moved to Tamworth, where I started school before zooming back to Sydney for a short spell before finally settling into Sydney, all this before I was six. We lived in western Sydney where I went to Northmead public and high schools.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

I wanted to be a dress designer from the time I was old enough to want to be anything, I was offered a place at East Sydney Tech’s Dress Design school where I dreamt of making children’s clothes. This however was not on the syllabus. At 18 I felt disillusioned and disappointed at the outcome from my brief time at East Sydney. My ambitions relating to my professional life took a back seat to disco dancing, travel and a few good love affairs, until around 30 when I became more serious about cooking. I met and married an American in my mid-thirties and started another adventure in food and life in the USA.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?

I was pretty sure some of the big issues like sexual equality, poverty, starvation and harmony between human kind would be in better shape than they actually are, I guess my optimism was age appropriate.

4. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?

~Living in the USA was one of my best experiences, I met amazing people, worked really hard and learnt lessons that changed the way I see the world and my place in it.

~ Becoming a parent, it’s a joy and a privilege as well as being just plain hard sometimes. My natural desire to nurture and create is expressed both in my life as a mother and in my world as a professional cook.

~ The introduction of genetic modification in foods has caused me to realise as a professional cook it’s essential to take a stand against this technology and influence of others where I can. I believe all food professionals have a duty to educate themselves on this and use all their influence to steer people away from mass produced foods that support it and choose products grown using time honoured methods. I oppose GM foods and companies like Monsanto, we need to keep our eyes open as it’s creeping into Australia, just look at the Canola oil industry.

5. Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc – why have you chosen to write a book? Aren’t they obsolete?

No, many of us will us never stop wanting to hold, touch, feel and read old fashioned paper books no matter how convenient electronic media options are (and they have their place). The act of writing is a tangible way to order thoughts, consolidate ideas, share information and express yourself, who wouldn’t want to write a book if given the opportunity?

6. Please tell us about your latest novel…

My book is called Coming Home; it’s a collection of recipes and stories gathered from my childhood days starting at my Nana’s house and moving through my life as I grew up in a family that are passionate and generous about sharing food in a very honest and humble way. I think my book offers the opportunity to celebrate the joy that can be found in the simplicity of everyday life.

(Publisher’s blurb - Cathy’s food philosophy is simple: to cook well, you need a generous heart. In Coming Home she pays tribute to the people that have inspired and shaped this belief – her much-loved nana, whose kitchen all too often resembled a ‘wonderfully messy jam factory’, the unsung heroes of the neighbourhood garden fete with their limitless donations of sponge cakes and knitted babies’ bonnets, and her parents, who taught her that honest, heartfelt cooking is the key to a truly memorable meal.

Along the way, Cathy shares more than 80 recipes, from comforting breakfasts such as crumpets with orange blossom honey and whipped lavender butter, to special-occasion dishes such as baked lamb saddle with feta, beetroot and mint salad, and gravlax on zucchini pancakes. There are also handmade accessories to delight and inspire, including patchwork potholders, adorable egg cosies and a stylish shopping bag.

This warm-hearted, whimsical book celebrates the comfort to be found in coming home and the food that makes us glad to be there.)

Click here to order Coming Home from Booktopia,
Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

That it’s not okay for us to keep expecting more when it means others have less. Share and help create balance.

8. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?

I love the Obamas, they are a breath of fresh air and they seem very real and they danced on Ellen. I admire Catherine Hamlin, because if I get to come back and have another life I’d like to be a midwife. Catherine has changed many lives with her work with African women who have suffered with fistulas.

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

Most are personal in that they relate to qualities in myself that I want to improve to be a better functioning person. I think this is where everything begins, I can have high hopes and good intentions for a better world, but I won’t get far if I react negatively to every little thing that confronts me in my daily life. This is a lifetime process and whilst I engage in this I set myself external goals that give me the opportunity to put the former into practice.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

Write about what has meaning for you and enjoy the process.

Cathy, thank you for playing.

Click here to order Coming Home from Booktopia,
Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop

Caramel Pie

Free recipe from Coming Home by Cathy Armstrong, Kim’s Caramel Pie, page 186.

This is an irresistible sugar hit that we ate to mark many special occasions as we grew up. Mum made it recently when my brother, Kim, visited and it still remains a firm favourite. It’s very rich so a dainty slice should suffice. You may want to top it with some lightly whipped cream.

BASE
1 free-range egg
25 g unsalted butter
3/4 cup (185 g) caster sugar
1 1/2 cups (135 g) desiccated coconut
1 cup (120 g) chopped walnuts

CARAMEL FILLING
1 1/2 cups (330 g) dark brown sugar
40 g unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup (35 g) plain flour
4 free-range egg yolks
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) pouring cream
2 teaspoons vanilla essence

MERINGUE TOPPING
4 free-range egg whites
225 g caster sugar

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. For the pie base, place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined. Press the mixture evenly into the base and side of a 22 cm quiche pan or ceramic pie dish. Bake for 15–20 minutes or until golden.
  2. To make the caramel filling, place the sugar, butter and flour in a heavy-based saucepan and cook gently over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves. Whisk together the egg yolks, cream and vanilla essence, then add this to the sugar mixture. Heat gently, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to the boil, then reduce the heat and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes. Pour the filling over the pie base and set aside at room temperature.
  3. To make the meringue, place the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water). Stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove the bowl from the heat and use an electric mixer to whisk the meringue mixture at high speed for 8 minutes or until it is thick and glossy. Spread the meringue topping over the caramel filling.
  4. Bake the pie for 20–25 minutes or until the meringue topping is crisp.
    Serves 6–8

Click here to order Coming Home from Booktopia,
Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop

Extract

A Cordial Welcome

Cooking to me is kindness. I think that struck me at an early age when Nana took me along to (more…)

Filed under: Author Interview, cook books, Craft | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

And the winner is (drumroll please)… Congratulations to the Winners of Booktopia’s April Competitions!

Posted on May 11, 2012 by booktopiaadministration

The Hanging Garden

Five lucky customers will receive a Patrick White book pack containing 1 of each of the following:

The Tree of Man

Patrick White : A Life

The Aunt’s Story

And the winners are…

N. Berryman, Inverell, NSW

K. Treloar, Melbourne, VIC

C. Stratigos, Clothiers Creek, NSW

R. Bain, Sydney, NSW

W. Lawrance, Denmark, WA

Click here to buy The Hanging Garden from Booktopia,
Australia’s No. 1 Online Book Shop

Gourmet Pilgrim

One lucky customer will receive all three Gourmet Pilgrim titles. Each book comes in a stylish tin and is a must for any lover of good food.

Gourmet Pilgrim : Germany

Gourmet Pilgrim: Spain

Gourmet Pilgrim : Italy (2nd Edition)

And the winner is…

J. Reid, Sale, VIC

Click here to buy the Gourmet Pilgrim series from Booktopia,
Australia’s No. 1 Online Book Shop

Paper Bliss

One lucky customer will receive this beautiful pack containing Small & Large Button Paper Envelopes, Wooden Lead Pencils, Colour Pencils, Paper Threaded Tags, Shell Shaped Buttons & Paper Tags and String.

And the winner is…

S. Thompson, Jerrabomberra, NSW

Click here to buy Paper Bliss from Booktopia,
Australia’s No. 1 Online Book Shop

Want to be a winner too? Click here to view this month’s competitions

To view our Terms and Conditions, click here

Filed under: Competitions, Contemporary Literature, cook books, Craft, Literature | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Signed Copies Available: Winner of MasterChef 2011 Kate Bracks, international best-selling author John Flanagan and blogger extraordinaire Kerri Sackville (Stock will not last)

Posted on April 26, 2012 by booktopiaadministration

The Sweet Life: The Basics and Beyond

Irresistible cakes, ice creams and desserts, to weaken even the strongest resolve!

MasterChef Australia 2011 winner Kate Bracks knows about desserts.

This mouthwatering array of inspired dessert recipes includes favourites such as Apple Pie, Chocolate Cake and Strawberry Mousse as well as fresh new ideas, such as Kate’s Chocolate, Date and Hazelnut Torte, Raspberry and Pistachio Frozen Nougat and Vincotto Figs with Caramelised Walnuts and Mascarpone. Kate also puts modern twists on old classics, from her Spiced Crème Brûlée, to her irresistible Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches, or her Brown Butter Cheesecake. This is food to weaken even the strongest resolve!

The structure of the book is designed to guide the home cook from the ‘basics’ – incorporating basic techniques, such as sauces and syrups; how to make the perfect meringue; make your pastry rather than buy it; how to cook with gelatine – to ‘beyond the basics’ for the more confident cook. And, if you really want to impress, there’s a chapter at the end where all the techniques can be put together to wow your friends and family. There’s also a code throughout the book to help you determine which recipes are most suited to your particular cooking desires and ability.

Indulge your own sweet tooth with this glorious book of baked treats and dessert recipes from Australia’s MasterChef 2011 winner; and don’t forget the golden rule … always lick the bowl!

Click here to order your signed copy of The Sweet Life: The Basics and Beyond from Booktopia,
Australia’s No.1 Online Bookshop

Click here to see all the photos from Kate’s visit to Booktopia

The lovely Kate Bracks signing copies of her new book, The Sweet Life, at Booktopia

The Invaders

Brotherband: Book 2

Eight boys are about to take on a crew of fifty cut-throat pirates . . . is this an impossible quest?

Hal and the Heron brotherband are on the trail of Zavac and his precious cargo. Will they be able to find the pirates when the weather clears? And when they do, how can they possibly beat the mighty Raven and its crew of vicious cut-throats and killers?

A chance discovery will lead them to their prey, but the pirates have a well-fortified position. The Herons must drive out the invaders – and to succeed, Hal will need to devise a foolproof plan. In the icy waters of the Stormwhite, the smallest mistake could prove fatal.

Click here to order your signed copy of The Invaders from Booktopia,
Australia’s No. 1 Online Book Shop

To see all the photos from John’s visit, click here.

"Ah, done."
"There are three hundred more to sign..."
"Whaaat?"

The Little Book Of Anxiety

Popular author and blogger Kerri Sackville’s very funny take on her life with anxiety. This is an insight into anxiety that only Kerri could give!

The Little Book Of Anxiety is for anyone who has experienced anxiety – which is pretty much everyone. It is a funny book about a serious subject: the ways in which anxiety can impact on your life and the lives of those around you.

With humour, insight and searing honesty, Kerri Sackville opens up about the trials and sheer absurdities of living a worried a life. From crazed nailbiting, to being hysterical in a jammed lift, to fearing her husband is dead when he’s late home from work, Kerri has done it all.

If you know the agonies of sleepless nights, regularly jump to Worst-Case Scenario, or drive your loved ones mad with your irrational fears, then this book may very well save your sanity.

Click here to order your signed copy of The Little Book of Anxiety from Booktopia,
Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop

Kerri Sackville chatting with fans on Facebook after signing copies of her book, The Little Book of Anxiety

SIGNED STOCK WILL NOT LAST.
ONCE STOCK IS GONE, IT IS GONE FOR GOOD.

Filed under: Children's Fiction, cook books, Self-help and Motivation, Book Recommendations, Promotions | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Guy Grossi, author of Recipes from My Mother’s Kitchen, Grossi Florentino, and My Italian Heart, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on April 10, 2012 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

The Booktopia Book Guru asks

Guy Grossi

author of Recipes from My Mother’s Kitchen, Grossi Florentino, and My Italian Heart,

Ten Terrifying Questions

——————————

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I was born and bred in in Carlton, Melbourne. I spent some early years in Broadmeadows and then moved to Carnegie.  I have very fond memories of my childhood there.

 2. What did you want to be when you were 12, 18 and 30? And why?

I wanted to be many different things growing up – one was a policeman, electrician. I always (more…)

Filed under: Australian Author, Author Interview, cook books | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

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