Lauraine Jacobs

One of the highlights of my summer was an invitation to judge the Warkworth Garden Club’s annual show. I am no floral expert, but luckily...

A good cook often has dozens of cookbooks on the shelves in the kitchen and yet strangely, will rarely stray beyond the very favourite two...

Anyone who had the foresight to plant beans in December will now be reaping the rich reward of daily pickings. There is nothing like tender...

Everyone loves a trifle! Traditionally a trifle has a layer of sponge cake and jelly as the base and then a layer of fruit, followed...

There have been great celebrations in Matakana as the Village Farmers’ Market marked its 20th year last Saturday, November 23. From Day One, I have...

On my recent travel adventures, I was lucky enough to spend a week in Porto on the Portuguese Atlantic coast. Over the past 15 years,...

Whether it’s a cocktail party, morning tea, finger luncheon or just a simple gathering of friends over a cuppa, you can’t go wrong with a...

Pumpkin is such a delicious and versatile vegetable, and while generally popular for soups or roasting, there are lots of interesting ways to cook this...

Many households are finding seafood is off the menu as the price rises for many of the species of fish we have been accustomed to...

Root vegetables are the bargain of the winter vegetable season, and the cold weather is when they’re at peak flavour. Potatoes and kumara are the...