Zesty. Rich. Satisfying. Leisurely.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm oil on marine ply panel - no framing required. A surreal sight floating past on a summers day.

Original painting on your wall.

Find out what this painting would look like on your wall before buying. Email me a photo of your space and I'll Photoshop it into size and place to help you decide if it's right for you.

Original artwork can be purchased in the Official Art Store. This particular piece is dry and available right now for $AU150. Email me (fi at wherefishsing dot com) to express your interest.

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The recipe

Once upon a time I lived in a shared rented house with a friend whose recreation mostly consisted of drinking and whose friends were probably alcoholics. I was a student and seeing these guys drink a slab of beer each on the weekend and hearing about them getting their name engraved on the bar for some drinking feat or other was just normal. This particular house had a lemon tree in the backyard. One weekend, I'm telling the tale of how I had just chased some kid who was collecting lemons without asking, over the six foot fence and out of the yard. I would have said yes had he bothered with common courtesty and helped him gather them, but just hopping over the fence was outrageous to me. My friend becomes all fired up about the overload of lemons on the tree, and excitedly asks the little group of his drinking buddies and I, 'What do you do with loads of lemons?'. We all look at each other and say together, 'Tequila!'. Cue shocked expression and pure disappointment from our alcohol friendly questioner, 'Nooooo, LEMON MERIGUE PIE!!!!'.

LMP is one of those recipes that is far more susceptable than most to the experience and knack of the cook. Recipes are only ever guides or roadmaps due to variations in oven and stove temperatures, ambient temperatures, seasonality of the ingredients, the size and material of the cooking pot (and some might say which way the wind is blowing and what the cook ate for breakfast). Unfortunately this dish is renowned as a tricky one and for good reason. Your familiarity with your stove and oven will be tested and the more meringues you have whipped the better you will be at gauging when the foam is ready to cook. Rest assured, that no matter how many times you have to practice this to get it spot on, the tests that might look a little wonky will taste great.


1 pre-baked short crust pastry case of 9" diameter - the pastry needs to be cooked before the filling is added as there is not enough baking time or heat to cook it once the pie is assembled and in the oven.

4 tablespoons arrowroot / tapioca flour - use arrowroot instead of cornflour as it is stronger, has less taste and is transparent instead of cloudy.
3/4 cup / 180ml water
1/3 cup / 60g butter
1 cup sugar or more to taste
5 eggs, separated into yolks and whites - room temperature eggs are best as they whip up into meringue faster than cold ones. Also fresh eggs make a smaller but stable foam, while older ones (more than 3-4 days) make a large unstable foam. Take your pick.
3 medium sized lemons - you need all the zest and juice. Handy hint - zest first!
10 tablespoons castor sugar for the meringue - use castor sugar as it is a small sized grain and dissolves quickly into the meringue. Less sugar can be used but the meringue will be correspondingly less stable.
2 1/2 teaspoons cornflour or arrowroot - a tiny bit of this in the meringue traps moisture and reduces beading.
rounded 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar - this strengthens the meringue foam and reduces the amount of  shrinking.


Pre-bake (bake blind) your pastry case and leave it in the baking tin.
Get/leave the oven on so it will be at 190C /325F when the pie is assembled.

For the lemon filling:
In a pot, blend the arrowroot and water.
Add the cup of sugar, egg YOLKS only, and the lemon zest and juice and mix together. A small whisk is really handy for this. Make sure the the yolks are well mixed in before the next step or you end up with eggy threads throughout the lemon filling (harmless but odd).
Then put the butter in the pot and begin heating. Once you start heating this mix do not pause or stop or it will not set. Stir frequently.
As soon as most of the sugar has dissolved, taste and add more sugar to this mix if you prefer it sweeter. I like this quite tart as the meringue is quite sweet.
Now, heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils. Again, a small whisk is ideal for the stirring.
Turn the heat down to medium and keep stirring while the mix cooks for one minute. It should become impossibly thick.
Take it off the heat and let it cool slightly for a few minutes, then pour the mix into the pre-baked pastry case.

To make the meringue topping:
Combine the castor sugar, cornflour/arrowroot and cream of tartar. 
In a scrupulously clean bowl (no oil or fats allowed or your egg whites just won't whip up into fluffy heaven), beat the egg whites into a coarse foam.
Once you start whipping the whites, do not pause or stop.
Now begin adding the sugar mix, one tablespoon at a time. Don't start with the sugar in with the whites or the whipping time will be doubled.
Cautiously add the sugar because if it's added too quickly it won't dissolve. A tablespoon at a time, whip until mostly dissolved, then add more. Rubbing the meringue between two fingers will tell you how much the sugar has dissolved. You can feel the grains.
Finally, whip the egg whites until they are stiff. You know they are stiff when you can make little mountains (peaks) and they stay standing up with no flopping over of their tips. Or when an upsidedown spoonful stays on the spoon. Or when tracks spooned through the meringue stay put indefinately. If the meringue starts to lose it's gloss while you are whipping, stop! That is the sign of over whipping.
When the meringue is ready - pile it on top of the hot lemon mix in the pastry case. The heat of the filling helps cook the meringue from the bottom and a properly cooked meringue does not weep and form a pool of liquid on top of the lemon filling leading to the meringue sliding off the lemon.
Also make sure the filling is entirely covered and the pastry meets the meringue all the way round to make a complete seal. This helps to stop the meringue shrinking.
Bake immediately to set the meringue at 190C for 25 minutes or until the meringue on top has browned lightly. A long baking at a low temperature means the meringue will hold up better, though all meringue will shrink a bit.

Resist eating instantly - LET THE PIE COOL FOR AT LEAST THREE HOURS, PREFERABLY FOUR, BEFORE CUTTING INTO IT OR ALL YOU WILL GET IS RUNAWAY LEMON SLUDGE. I know from sad experience.

Makes enough for you to be decadent with 5-7 friends.

Satisfying. Cheesy. Rich. Chunky.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic on paper. The paper is no ordinary paper, it is textured Hahnemuhle 300 gsm 100% alpha cellulose which is acid-free fibre of vegetable origin.

Three cheeses equaled three bovines in my mind and as I have a fondness for petroglyphs, or rock art, I indulged here with a three cow pie in a rock art style, with a hint of the blue veins of blue vein cheese for good measure. This piece is really something in real life with loads of texture and a shimmery effect from all the colour shades which was really hard to catch.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

Cheese, cheese, cheese. This is a dairy fest with a handful of vegetables. Based on the River Cottage 'Leek & Dorset Blue Vinny Tart', this has evolved into full blown deep pie, or tart for purists, with far more cheese and versatile with the veg. It's a bit of a 'clean out the bottom of the fridge' meal and it tastes fantastic. I think the key to the flavour is using a blue vein cheese you really quite like.

shortcrust pastry at least 25x25cm, stretched to fit a deep 23cm pie dish
1 medium to large leek, washed well and sliced fine
solid (not leafy) winter veg to total 400g including the leek, chopped in small bite pieces - broccoli works well, also consider turnip, swede, carrot, pumpkin, cauliflower, celeriac
250g cream cheese
250ml/1 cup water
1 teaspoon honey
a few cracks of black pepper
100g blue vein cheese, grated or chopped small
200g other cheese such as tasty or feta, in chunky cubes
4 eggs

Pre heat your oven to 180C and if you prefer your pastry cases baked blind, then prepare this first.
Put the leek, winter veg, cream cheese, water and honey in a pot.
Heat gently to melt the cream cheese into a sauce, then simmer very gently until the veg are softened. The idea is to have them mostly precooked before going into the pie.
When the cream cheese vegetable sauce is ready, remove from the heat.
Add a few cracks of black pepper to taste and the blue vein cheese. Mix and let the cheese melt.
Let the sauce cool for a few minutes and in the meantime, take your pastry shell in a pie dish, and fill it with the other cheese cubes.
Thoroughly mix the eggs into the sauce.
Pour the sauce into the pastry shell on top of the cheese cubes.
Bake at 180C for at least 40 minutes or more until the sauce has set. It should be firm like a quiche.

Makes a pie 23cm diameter and 5cm depth which serves 6-8 with sides. 

Warming. Spiced. Rich. Moreish.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm oil on linen. According to Wikipedia: "in contrast to European dragons that are considered evil, Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water, rainfall, and floods. The dragon is also a symbol of power, strength, and good luck." This particular dragon is symbolizing the potency and power of the hot and numbing sichuan pepper integral to this dish. Consider yourself warned!

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

Filling. Rich. Homely. Sweet.

This is an ancient recipe in our family, too rarely trotted out. I have this in my recipe collection in my grandmothers handwriting on a faded and beaten up piece of paper. It makes a fabulous dessert for a group of people.  I remember eating it when I was a kid. I was fond of it then and still am now.

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed, sieved pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup milk (or evaporated milk or light cream etc)
1 x 9" unbaked pastry shell (shortcrust)

Mix filling ingredients in order given.
Pour into pastry shell.
Bake in a hot oven (425F) for 12 mins (omit this step for a prebaked pastry shell)
Reduce temperature to moderate (350F) and continue baking for 45 minutes until filling is set.

Garnish the pie with whipped cream, toasted coconut , chopped nuts etc.

Serves at least 8.

Easy. Versatile. Rich. Filling.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic and pen on canvas. As this recipe is all about the flavour of peanuts, this painting depicts the mythical peanut tree. Now as you might know, peanuts grow underground on the roots of a small bush. A bit like potatoes grow on the roots of the potato plant. That is why peanuts are also known as groundnuts, and also explains why they are actually a legume, not a nut.

However, so many people think that peanuts grow on a tree that I decided to run with this as an artistic idea. The stylistic inspiration today is from the artist Jo Lynch who has a wonderfully fun and cheerful style that celebrates colour and the use of white negative space. I thought these two pictorial ideas could be ideal to explore for a mythical tree.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

Many years ago now I gave this dish to a Scottish friend to make and test. He made it for himself and his housemates. It was reported back to me that his French housemate reckoned that this is the 'golo golo' mother of all sauces for stir fries. Apparently 'golo golo' is quite a compliment. My friend thought it was excellent too and very easy to make. So all of you peeps out there doing the Meatless Monday, this one's a good one for you.

2 tablespoons oil

6 cloves garlic

1 medium onion

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

1 small red chilli

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 large tomato, diced

juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 cups coconut/soy milk/cow milk

2 cups peanut butter

handful peanuts

up to 1 cup of other chopped veges (carrot, mushrooms, beans)

Saute the garlic and onion in oil.  

When soft add the ginger too.  Keep sautéing.

Then add the chilli and then tomato (and other veges).  Mix well.  Cook until tomato collapses or until veges are basically done.

Stir in the soy sauce and the milk.

Then mix in the peanut butter.

When thoroughly mixed (it gets easier as it warms up), stir in the lemon juice.  Add extra milk if it is all too thick.

Throw in a handful of peanuts and make sure everything is heated through.

Serve over rice.

Makes 5 bowls.

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More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

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Filling. Rich. Homely. Satisfying.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic on canvas. Originally when I was sketching this out I had Norman Lindsay's famous Magic Pudding in mind. All pen and ink and lines and beautiful paper. And then I was distracted with Joe Sorren's painterly backgrounds on some of his older work around 2003 and began thinking of colourful jam explosions as the pudding is turned upsidedown and released from it's tin.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

One of my English Grandma's sturdy winter pudding recipes. Goes rather well with mulled wine. Perfect for getting all your keep-warm sugar and carbs in one sweet and filling hit.

1/2 oz butter

1 oz sugar

Cream these together and press into the base of a greased 8" semi conical dish.

This 'lining' is not strictly necessary, but it does make sure the pudding is moist.

6 tablespoons jam

Now is your chance to use up that jam that's been sitting in the cupboard for as long as you can remember.

Press the jam on top of the butter/sugar.  Push it up the sides of the pan a little way too.  Just don't spread it too thin as it boils away.

3 oz butter

3 oz castor sugar

4 oz sr flour

2 eggs

1-2 tablespoons warm water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

This is the actual cake part of the pudding.

Cream the fat and sugar well together.

Beat in the eggs one at a time. 

Add the sifted dry ingredients and the water and vanilla a little at a time. 

Turn into the prepared dish and bake 30 -35 minutes for a shallow dish and 40-45 minutes for a deeper one at 350-375F.

Turn the pudding out so the jam is on the top.

Great with icecream etc.

Upsidedown pudding here we come say 4 watering mouths!

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More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

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Moreish. Satisfying. Rich. Unusual.

A stunner for Meatless Monday for you to try. Not for those on a diet or afraid of eating butter. Definitely for those unsure about beetroot. It has a high conversion rate to beet lover! Just be warned that it is a bit messy to make, as are most beetroot dishes. That bright pink just asserts itself everywhere.

This is my favourite recipe in the entire cookbook project. I think it's luscious.

pasta for 4 - gnocchi works particularly well

340g beetroot, about 3 medium beets, washed, topped and tailed

40g grated parmesan cheese

250g cottage cheese

200g butter

5g or 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh sage leaves

2 cloves garlic, minced

Boil the beetroot until done. A knife will go in easily all the way to the centre. They will take about as long to cook as similarly sized potatoes.

Cook the pasta, drain and set aside keeping it warm.

Drain and rinse the cooked beets under cold water so you are able to handle them.

Rub the skin off under the water.

Grate the beets. This is the messy bit. Wear gloves if you want to avoid the pink stain.

Mix the parmesan and cottage cheese together.

Melt the butter in a pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.

Remove the butter from the heat and stir in the sage and garlic.

To serve:

Stir the pasta into the butter mix and then serve into bowls.

Top with the grated beetroot.

Then top with the cheese mix.

Swoon with delight.

Serves 4.

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More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

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