This year my family celebrated Christmas early as everybody was going to be in different places on Christmas day. It was such a happy evening  with everybody together  in a festive mood.  The grandchildren all got on  well and were very excited bringing their special energy to the dinner. My family is very insistent that Christmas has to be celebrated in the traditional way. A traditional Christmas dinner  is super important with turkey at the  top of the list! I found  a beautiful organic, free range turkey at Zac’s , our local butcher  in Bermagui, who also had a delicious

This is a wonderful summer pasta dish that uses the flavours of fresh tomatoes and basil when they are at their peak. In my vegetable garden the  basil  is so dark green and bursting with health , the little tomatoes bright red and super-sweet, they are just asking to be picked.  When you are able to use the fresh ingredients rather than tinned or concentrates the flavour is truly different. It really is the taste of summer – and so simple to make. • pick your little tomatoes • cut them in half or quarters depending on size • put

I do miss my Tilba vegetable garden when I am in Sydney. On my roof terrace at Bondi I have some herbs and a few vegetables but it is not the same as the abundance down there. In a mood of nostalgia I saw in the back of my  cupboard a wonderful array of vegetables, only these were not fresh but knitted, made over 45 years ago when I was living in Melbourne. They brought a smile to my face as I remembered how they came about. A friend of mine owned a furniture shop selling very modern, hard-edge furniture.

Ratatouille is a French Provincial dish from around Nice  that dates back at least to the 18th century. In late summer, when farmers had a glut of vegetables, they would make  ratatouille to preserve in glass jars to see them through the winter . Traditionally they would use aubergines, peperoni, zucchini, onions and tomatoes. The name itself comes from the French ‘ratouiller’, to stir or mix. I absolutely love this dish and at the moment I have all the  vegetables I need in my garden.In the best ratatouille you can experience the various tastes and textures of the individual vegetables

This year my fig tree is laden with fruit which are very slow to ripen. I think it is the rain that’s slowing everything down. My friend Felix from ‘Bei Amici Restaurant’ makes the most fantastic fig leaf ice cream, with fresh and caramelised figs served on top of the ice cream. I really wanted to try making it. I started with caramelising the slightly unripe figs….. a very long process but well worth it at the end. • 1 kg caster sugar • 1 litre water • peel of 1 organic lemon • 15 cardamon pods • 30 slightly

The season is beginning to change and in some places we are feeling the first chill of winter. This simple  flavoursome dish is a heart-warming accompaniment to grilled meat or fish. Potatoes are at their peak at the moment, I have just  dug some up that are beautifully  full of moisture. Leeks are really at the end of their growing season but still full of flavour. So we have a fairly short period when we can combine the two when they are both fresh and at their peak – seasonal eating at its best. • serves 6 people