By Greg
This post has a connection to the Menu Diaries series. If you aren’t familiar with the series, a good place to start would be HERE.
Some of the items and practices I discuss here are mentioned in the series of posts in which I explain some of the mechanisms Trenna used to cope with her Marfan’s Syndrome. That series starts here.
As I have explained a few times, meals and their preparation were central to Trenna’s … Read the rest ... “Tales From Trenna’s Kitchen”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Wednesday 1 September. We started the month with one of Trenna’s Indian (mini) banquets. Lamb Kheema, Brinjal Bartha, Mango Chutney, Basmati Rice, Papadums. An excellent meal that Trenna describes as “Really fab! [I] put extra spices in [the] Kheema.” We had it again on the … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No. 19”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Wednesday 4 August. We had our friend Ken (Eggs) over for dinner and had satays, which we would have made from scratch along with the Sambal Badjak – a chilli sambal.
Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 August. “Bellissimo!” was the Neapolitana Sauce Trenna made to … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No. 18”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Wednesday 30 June. The previous two days we had old standards but on this Wednesday Trenna has prepared Ox Tail Stew! I feel a little guilty that I don’t remember … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No. 17”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
In the last entry of The Menu Diaries No.15, here, Trenna speculates about what meal we were having the most often. Well as it … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No. 16 – Special Edition!”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 June. “Drama!” I remember this. Trenna was making the cannelloni tubes as well as the filling. The “Drama” was getting the tubes to stay together. Her poor … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No.15”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 May. I would have made this one. Pork in Black Bean Sauce was one of the recipes from the Chinese Cooking class I had taken some years before.… Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No.14”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Tuesday, 30 and Wednesday 31 March. We had Veal Parmesan which was a great success. Trenna only ever put this on the menu if she was sure she could get genuine veal, not just any beef. Then one … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No. 13”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Monday, 1 February. This was obviously the Australia Day long weekend, Monday holiday. As I mentioned before, these days the Australia Day (as it’s officially called) holiday is always on 26 January, but in those days it was … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No. 11”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Tuesday 25 August. Trenna made moussaka again, which I’m sure I enjoyed – it would have taken her ages.
Thursday 27 August, chilli spaghetti is a really easy and fast meal. As it was a Thursday we probably did … Read the rest ... “Menu Diary No. 7”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Friday 29 May 1992. A date which will live in infamy. Our good friend Helen invited us to her pace for dinner with her and her then husband, David. I fell asleep at the table. Big Whoops! Helen and David were good … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No. 4”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Monday 4 May. Steak with green pepper sauce, herbed spud, beans, carrots. Tren describes it as gluggy but yummy. She is referring to the green pepper sauce. I haven’t had it for years. It was made with peppercorns that came in a small … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No. 3”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
Saturday 4 April. “Ragaletto”! A pasta sauce from a jar!? Could this be right? Then I remembered that when we were first together and both working it wasn’t uncommon for us to have Dolmio brand pasta sauces from a jar. On this … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No. 2”
For an introduction to what these Menu Diary posts are about, please click HERE. And for the reasons why you really should read this series, please click HERE.
The first thing I notice about this menu sheet is that there are a number of crossings out. I think at first Trenna was drawing up the sheets with what she expected we would be eating. Then when circumstances changed she had … Read the rest ... “The Menu Diaries No.1”
In 1990-91 Trenna and I employed builders to do our first home renovation. Trenna had recently resigned from her job at the Hospital Benefit Fund (HBF) and therefore had the time to keep a record of what tradesmen came when.
I believe I’ve still got that record, but that will be the subject of a totally different post.
The reason I … Read the rest ... “Introducing the Menu Diaries”
[GM: As the title suggests, this was the fourth of 24 recordings done at our kitchen bench in Kensington, Western Australia. As part of the preparation for putting it on this website, in February 2022, I asked our friend Helen to read through this transcript and the one from 7 June 2018. Below you will find some of Helen’s comments interspersed. My thanks to Helen for doing that.]
GM: OK, so it’s the … Read the rest ... “The Fourth Kitchen Tape”