Innehållsförteckning för TAK2533 från Take 5

I have a reputation for asking friends what they’re having for dinner. Both to awaken my taste buds and for inspiration but usually I go home and whip up the same chicken and veg stir fry I had last week. That doesn’t mean I don’t wish to get more creative. “I’ve got a beef bourguignon going in the slow cooker,” some tell me. “I’m doing schnitzel with crispy potatoes in the air fryer,” another says. It sounds so delicious I’ve been debating which gadget to get to amplify my dinners. “Why not get both?” I hear you ask. My kitchen is tiny and after reading comedian Mel Buttle’s hilarious tips on sending unused culinary gadgets to their graveyard (p10), I know I shouldn’t welcome the clutter. After reading the recipes…

A DNA test reunited me with my missing family at 74 Florence Mellott, 80, Kinross, WA. Ripping the wrapping off a gift from my daughter, Karen, I gasped. “A DNA test kit?” I asked, eyebrows raised. It was Christmas Day, 2016, and Karen, 50, and I had been talking for ages about tracing my history. I’d long suspected there were secrets buried in our family tree. As a little girl growing up in England, Mum told me my dad, a soldier, had died during WWII. I believed her, but I struggled to make sense of certain things – like why my Uncle Bill, Mum’s brother, wanted to adopt me when I was seven. At the time, I had no idea why he’d do something like that, but didn’t feel like…

Mum’s sense of humour had me delivering her ashes in style Samantha Aimes-Costa, 34, Adelaide, SA. Mum put on the caramel-coloured coat and twirled for me. “That’s the one,” I said. “It’s too extravagant,” she sighed, but her eyes were sparkling. “You deserve it,” I told her. It was 2013 and we’d travelled to Paris from our home in Adelaide for my 22nd birthday. My parents divorced when I was seven. Mum, Susan, 54, was my closest person. She had a wicked sense of humour and was very stylish. We stepped out of the Burberry shop on the Champs-Élysées, Mum with her new coat, giggling like schoolgirls. “We must come to Paris again one day,” she beamed. “I agree!” I replied. But in 2021, my boyfriend Jesse came to me…

There is so much I wish I had known. But I know now... Peter Mitchell, Melbourne, Vic. Blowing the dust off a pile of old letters, I called out to my wife, Margie. “Look at this,” I said, holding up an envelope. “Letters Dad wrote to Mum when they were young.” My father, Cal, was always vocal about his love for my mother, Jean. Now, in late 2020, I was finally sorting through the storage unit in Melbourne where my parents’ belongings had sat untouched for 20 years. I’d brought the boxes home to inspect in my study. During those two decades, Margie and I had been living in Singapore, where I ran a regional industry organisation. Before that, I’d worked as a lawyer. Any spare time we had was…

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting SERVES 8-10 PREP 30 MINS COOK 1 HOUR 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 3 eggs 2 cups self-raising flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground nutmeg ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 cups grated carrot ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped, plus extra to serve FROSTING 250g cream cheese, chopped 50g butter, softened 2 cups icing sugar, sifted 1 Lightly grease and line a 22cm round cake pan with baking paper. 2 In a large bowl, whisk sugar and oil together until thick. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking between each addition to combine. 3 Using a wooden spoon, stir in sifted combined flour, spices and soda. Fold in carrot and walnuts. Pour into pan. Smooth top. 4…

I moved across the world for a man I’d known four months Devynn Madrid, 27, Sydney, NSW. I felt uneasy as soon as my mum told me my boyfriend had come to visit her. “He asked me for your grandmother’s wedding ring,” she said. “What should I say to him?” “Hell no!” I replied immediately. It was 2023, I was 26, and I’d been with my boyfriend – who I lived with – for three years. Our relationship had quickly become toxic, but I was young and naive when we got together, so ignored the red flags. I’d tried to leave him several times, but I’d become emotionally dependent on him. My fear of being alone always pulled me back. Now, my visceral reaction to the thought of him proposing…

Like many of us, I’ve fallen for empty Instagram promises of time-saving kitchen tools, only to be left with fad-driven gadgets. We’ve all been there – elbow-deep in a drawer of “maybe one day” gizmos. Research from meal kit delivery service, EveryPlate, reveals that nearly half of Aussies have wasted up to $200 on unused gadgets in the past two years. To help Aussies cut through the chaos, I’m sharing my top five tips for simplifying your kitchen. 1 DITCH THE ONE-HIT WONDERS Let’s talk about the avocado pitter, the egg g yolk separator, the spiraliser. Sure, they technically do what they’re supposed to – but so does a butter knife and a bit of commonsense. In fact, research revealed that Aussies agree, these gadgets are a big waste of…

Whole sausage & rosemary ragu SERVES 4 PREP 20 MINS COOK 8 HOURS 1 tbsp olive oil 1kg thick pork and fennel sausages 1 medium onion, chopped finely 1 medium carrot, chopped finely 2 trimmed celery stalks, sliced thinly 1 tsp fennel seeds, or to taste Pinch chilli flakes 4 garlic cloves, crushed ½ cup white wine 400g can diced tomatoes 1 cup chicken stock 2 small sprigs rosemary 2 tsp red-wine vinegar Your favourite pasta, grated parmesan and basil leaves, to serve 1 Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook sausages, in batches, turning occasionally, 6 mins or until browned all over. Transfer to a 5.5-litre (22-cup) slow cooker. 2 In same frying pan, cook onion, carrot, celery, fennel seeds and chilli flakes, stirring occasionally,…

LEO July24 -Aug 23 Snafus, delays and confusion of recent weeks will now begin to dissipate. If you were patient and kept your cool, you’ll see how it all worked in your favour. Sometimes the Universe tests if you’re really ready to commit to your dreams. ★ Say yes to life; what are you waiting for? VIRGO Aug 24 – Sept 23 It’s time to let any fears, worries or anxious thoughts go. Let better ideas and creative concepts arrive. You’ve got too many good opportunities coming your way to be worried. Bring joy into all you do! ★ Think good and it truly will be good! LIBRA Sept 24 -Oct 23 Whatever your career or overall life direction entails, it’s heading in the right direction. Thus, making some of…

I’ll never stop fighting for my beloved grandmother Sarah Rice, 49. My grandmother, Claudia, held my hand as I sat beside her on the bed. “Life is starting to change for you,” she said gently. I was 11 and had just gotten my first period. Living with my dad, I felt too embarrassed to talk to him about it, so I went straight to Granza – as I’d always called her. She smiled, handed me a candle, and made the moment feel sacred. “Thank you, Granza,” I whispered, hugging her. My relationship with my mum, Victoria, was rocky. I couldn’t stand my stepdad, which only drove a deeper wedge between us, especially in my teens. But Granza? She was my whole world. When she married her lovely partner, Oliver ‘Chip’…

It killed my sister and then it came for me Bella Lamorte, 40. Holding my sister’s cold hand as she lay still in her hospital bed, tears rolled silently down my cheeks. “I love you so much,” I whispered, my voice trembling. It was 2024, and my beautiful sister Samia had just passed away after contracting sepsis when a simple injury became infected. She was only 46 years old. Her death had come out of nowhere. One day she was laughing in our kitchen, the next she was gone. Back home, the house felt empty. I called my boyfriend Daniel, 37, who lived a two-hour train ride away. We’d met online through a writers’ forum, and what started as swapping short stories soon turned into sharing our lives. “I’m so…

Banana, date & coconut cheesecake SERVES 8-10 PREP 25 MINS COOK 10 MINS 400g packet digestive biscuits ½ cup smooth peanut butter, plus ½ cup extra, melted (see tip) 60g butter, melted ½ tsp ground cinnamon 100g packet instant vanilla pudding 270ml can coconut milk 250g block cream cheese, chopped 395g can sweetened condensed milk 4 ripe bananas, thinly sliced 1 cup fresh dates, chopped, plus ¼ cup extra Whipped thickened cream, toasted flaked coconut, to serve 1 Lightly grease and line a 22cm round springform pan or deep pie dish. 2 In a food processor, process biscuits until fine crumbs form. Add peanut butter, butter and cinnamon, pulsing to combine. Press mixture firmly over base of pan. 3 Cook in a 180°C preheated oven for 8-10 mins. Cool. 4…

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