WAGYU EYE FILLET WITH AIOLI AND HEIRLOOM CARROTS

In 2015 I am going to be eating less meat. But not lesser meat. I see people buying meat I wouldn't feed our dogs (but then, they do have a love of wagyu so that's not a good guide). Anyway, I might eat less, but when I choose to eat meat I will choose the best available.

So here's wagyu fillet, simply grilled, served with roast garlic aïoli and heirloom carrots from the local farmers market. Pretty basic, but pretty tasty.

WAGYU EYE FILLET WITH AIOLI AND HEIRLOOM CARROTS

STIR FRIED CHAR SIEW AND VEGETABLES

I love Chinese barbeque shops with their racks of glazed ducks, deep red char siew, links of lap cheong and crisp-skinned roast pork. There's one at Mermaid Beach that has the fattest, tastiest lap cheong, but it was the their char siew that caught my eye on this visit.

Here it is with tatsoi, baby bok choy, beans sprouts and green chilli.

STIR FRIED CHAR SIEW AND VEGETABLES

RED CURRY OF PRAWN AND PUMPKIN

What staples do you always have in your refrigerator? I always have home made chicken stock, pizza dough, master stock, yum cha dumplings and bolognese sauce in my freezer. There's always a number of chilli sauces, red and green curry pastes, lard, jams and Lurpak butter in the fridge.

Tonight, the red curry paste got a run.

RED CURRY OF PRAWN AND PUMPKIN

PEARL PERCH WITH HERB SAUCE AND SALAD OF FARRO, BEET LEAVES, BEANS AND BASIL

Pearl perch has a short season. It happened last Saturday and lasted almost until Sunday. It's short.

There are some people who reckon it's the best eating fish in the sea. The fisherman at the weekly markets is one of these people.

So here it is with a fresh herb sauce on a bed of farro grains, baby beetroot leaves, beans and basil.

PEARL PERCH WITH HERB SAUCE AND SALAD OF FARRO, BEET LEAVES, BEANS AND BASIL

WARM POTATO SALAD WITH SMOKED OCEAN TROUT AND QUARK

Warm salads are what you eat on schizoid days of Autumn and Spring - warm enough to tease you into thinking it's Summer, but cool enough to not stay in your board shorts after sunset (if you were wearing them when the sun was up).

So here's organic Dutch cream potatoes with Tasmanian smoked ocean trout, organic quark, Sicilian extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and fried shallots.

WARM POTATO SALAD WITH SMOKED OCEAN TROUT AND QUARK

ROASTED BERKSHIRE PORK BELLY WITH FRESH HERB SAUCE

Another slab of wonderful pork from just down the coast. These Berkshire pigs are raised in the Byron Bay hinterland. They're incredibly tasty - soft, sweet, succulent and unctuous.

A very simple herb sauce of basil, baby kale and parsley, garlic, organic cider vinegar.

ROASTED BERKSHIRE PORK BELLY WITH FRESH HERB SAUCE

YELLOW FIN TUNA WITH CHIPOTLE SALSA, BLACK BEANS AND MICROHERBS

We don't always think of seafood when we think of Mexican food. However, with 3000 miles of coastline, fish is an important part of the local diet. Here's seared yellow fin tuna rubbed with salt and Yucatecan oregano on a salad of black beans and goat fetta (which is close to the flavour of a popular Mexican cheese) - with a chipotle salsa and microherbs.

YELLOW FIN TUNA WITH CHIPOTLE SALSA, BLACK BEANS AND MICROHERBS

BARBEQUED RUMP CAP WITH FRIED POLENTA AND PUY LENTILS

Nothing restrained, delicate or nouvelle about this. Rump cap has a blunt, unsubtle manliness about it. Two simple syllables, each terminated by a p which sounds disdainful, distasteful, dismissive.

Lentils are French peasant food. Polenta is northern Italian peasant food.

There was a microherb salad off camera. To include it in the photo would have compromised the brutal lowliness of the other ingredients. So too the roast garlic aïoli (although this too might pass for peasant food).

BARBEQUED RUMP CAP WITH FRIED POLENTA AND PUY LENTILS

PRAWN PIZZA

Making dough is satisfying, but messy. I don't have a solution for the messiness. All I can do is reduce the frequency by making a big batch, portioning and freezing it until I get the urge to make a pizza.

I got that urge the other night. Here's a really simple one with prawns and Spanish onion.

PRAWN PIZZA

STIR FRIED CHICKEN WITH LOMBOK AND BOK CHOY

There's something about stir fries that makes me think of those speed dating events. You have a bunch of ingredients that haven't met. They get thrown into the wok, given barely enough time to say hello and a moment later they're unceremoniously scooped out onto a plate.

The positive of this is that the flavour of each ingredient is clear, pure, untainted. The negative is that if each flavour - and the combination of flavours - isn't right when raw, it won't be when cooked.

STIR FRIED CHICKEN WITH LOMBOK AND BOK CHOY

WHITING FILLETS WITH SALSA VERDE AND DUTCH CREAM POTATO WEDGES

I'm a big believer in healthy food. I eat a lot of it.

I am also a big believer in balance. I have balanced the healthy fish, salsa verde and kale with potato wedges baked in goose fat.

That should keep all the gods happy.

WHITING FILLETS WITH SALSA VERDE AND DUTCH CREAM POTATO WEDGES

MASTER STOCK PORK BELLY WITH BABY BOK CHOY

I started this master stock about 12 years ago. I have topped it up quite a few times since then. It just keeps getting better and better. I use it, strain it, refrigerate it, remove any new fat and freeze the stock until I need it again.

This time I used it to braise a piece of Berkshire pork belly from the Byron Bay hinterland about 50 kms from here.

MASTER STOCK PORK BELLY WITH BABY BOK CHOY