CAMARONES AL AJO, ARROZ A LA MEXICANA

A little trip back to México. I don't know about you, but I hadn't really figured on Mexicans being big rice eaters. How wrong I was. Mind you, I hadn't really thought of México being a big sushi stronghold and I was wrong on that count as well. In fact, I saw something in México that I hadn't (and still haven't) seen here in Australia - a fresh sushi stand in the middle of a supermarket where sushi were rolled to order. So back to the rice. It's mostly white - but it is often red and sometimes green. The red version is coloured by puréed tomato. The green version gets its colour from puréed coriander and sometimes green serrano chillies and occasionally also baby spinach.

CAMARONES AL AJO, ARROZ A LA MEXICANA

FLATHEAD WITH CAULIFLOWER PUREE AND CAVOLO NERO

Flathead sounds like an insult. Why not big butt? Fat lips? I've written before about our annual holiday to Port Macquarie and the days spent fishing for flathead in Limeburner's Creek. Every time I cook this fish, I remember those holidays. Languid hours spent on that clinker boat where it was so quiet the only sounds were the cows munching on grass in the paddock and the water slapping against the timber hull - interrupted by the occasional flurry of activity when one of us hooked something. Sadly you can't share those memories - but you can cook this dish.

FLATHEAD WITH CAULIFLOWER PUREE AND CAVOLO NERO

SNAPPER WITH A ROASTED RICE CRUST AND THAI SALAD

Having decided I wanted to do a Thai style salad, I then thought about how to treat the fish. I decided to coat it with coarsely ground roasted rice, which worked a treat. The salad was a mix of snow pea tendrils, mint and coriander with fried eschallots, roasted peanuts and a dressing of lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, grated galangal, grated ginger, grated lemongrass, roasted chilli and a little sesame oil.

SNAPPER WITH A ROASTED RICE CRUST AND THAI SALAD

FETTUCCINE WITH TOMATOES, CHILLI AND GARLIC

Dead simple - which means the ingredients need to be top quality because there's nowhere to hide. I used a mix of romas semi-dried in the oven and fresh black Russian tomatoes,  2010 Joseph olive oil, local garlic and spelt fettuccine with a 3-year old parmesan.

FETTUCCINE WITH TOMATOES, CHILLI AND GARLIC

LAMB SHANK WITH ROSEMARY GREMOLATA AND MASH

We don't get much of a winter round these parts. Not by Canadian standards. Not by Russian standards. Okay, it gets down to 5C or 10C on a winter's night, but it soon climbs to 21C. Still, those nights are cool enough for all those warming slow-cooked dishes like stews, braised oxtail, beef cheeks and lamb shanks. I haven't cooked shanks this winter and since we're about to enter spring, i thought I'd better get a move on. I keep a container of shank stock in the freezer and top it up (with red wine, star anise, orange skin, bay leaf and garlic) each time I cook the dish, so the base stock just keeps getting richer. I made a gremolata of rosemary, mandarin (or mandarine if you prefer) zest and garlic, which was stirred through the sauce just before serving.

LAMB SHANK WITH ROSEMARY GREMOLATA AND MASH

OCEAN TROUT WITH PUY LENTILS AND WARM CABBAGE SALAD

If I haven't already communicated that ocean trout is my favourite fish, I'm doing it now. Yes, I like tuna. Yes, I like mahi mahi. Yes, I like barramundi. Yes, I like coral trout. Yes, I like red emperor. Yes, I like whiting, flounder, flathead, garfish, sweet lip, bar cod ... well pretty much anything except mullet, tailor, trevally and a few others. But ocean trout rocks my boat - not literally, the way a whale does. But it rocks it all the same.

OCEAN TROUT WITH PUY LENTILS AND WARM CABBAGE SALAD

PUMPKIN AND SAFFRON RISOTTO

Back from another trip to Sydney last night. Something simple on the menu - like this Italian comfort food. Good home made chicken stock, vermouth, pumpkin from our neighbours, strands of Spanish saffron and carnaroli rice ... heaven

PUMPKIN AND SAFFRON RISOTTO

BARRAMUNDI WITH SWEET POTATO AND BABY ASPARAGUS

Big fat fillets of barramundi from up the coast, cooked with the skin on and served on discs of roasted sweet potato and knitting needle-thin spears of asparagus.

BARRAMUNDI WITH SWEET POTATO AND BABY ASPARAGUS

MUJADARAH WITH SPICED PUMPKIN AND CARAMELISED ONIONS

Not true mujaradah. This is faux mujadarah. Or demi mujaradah. The true stuff would have lentils along with the rice. This version is rice and rice. Otherwise the spices are the same as the Lebanese classic. I spiced some pumpkin with coarsely crushed cumin seeds and ras el hanout before roasting. A dish so satisfyingly complete that I (almost) didn't wish there was some meat to go with it - some braised or roasted goat, maybe. Or beef, pork, camel, elk, buffalo, lamb, roadkill ... No, I didn't miss it at all.

MUJADARAH WITH SPICED PUMPKIN AND CARAMELISED ONIONS

FARRO FETTUCCINE WITH CHERRY TOMATOES, EGGPLANTS AND SHEEP'S MILK CHEESE

We once spent a week in the Umbrian town of Trevi. Apark from being porcini and truffle seasons (with the result that we were offered both at virtually every meal), the one or two trattorie in the town served pasta dishes made from farro (spelt) - a local speciality (and when I say local, it wasn't in evidence in Montefalco, just 15 kilometres to the west nor Assisi to the north). Anyway, as part of this detox diet, we're not allowed wheat, but can have spelt - hence this dish.

FARRO FETTUCCINE WITH CHERRY TOMATOES, EGGPLANTS AND SHEEP'S MILK CHEESE

RED THROATED EMPEROR WITH GARLIC MASH AND WILTED SPINACH

We had our dear neighbours Tom and Wyn (and their Australian silky terrier Ben) to dinner. Tom's has just turned 80, so this was a belated birthday dinner. The detox diet ruled out meat, and Tom's not a fancy diner, so this simple grilled fish and two veg seemed perfect. There is some great spinach around right now - peak of the season. I bought two huge bunches at the markets.

RED THROATED EMPEROR WITH GARLIC MASH AND WILTED SPINACH

VEGETABLE SOUP WITH SPINACH PUREE

Another of life's mysteries - how come purple carrots dye this soup purple and yet orange carrots don't dye a soup orange? There'll be an answer somewhere. But I don't have it. So, while I wait for someone more knowledgable than me to provide an answer, I'll tell you about this soup - carrots, pumpkin, potato, buckwheat and cabbage with a purée of spinach, salt and olive oil added after plating up. Very simple - and acceptable food according to this detox diet we're on.

VEGETABLE SOUP WITH SPINACH PUREE