QA Forum

Welcome to the Q&A Forum

We were discussing Cooking for life
With Kurma Dasa, Sue Dengate, Dave Tuff, Jacinta Dugbaza, Roger Bayley

You’ve probably heard the saying before: “Nothing beats a good home cooked meal!”

Australia has a diverse cultural background, which has led to many different interpretations of what a home cooked meal consists of. Some people favour the ‘meat and two veg’ standard, while others enjoy pasta, kebabs, rice and curries. People from different cultural backgrounds may have their own traditional dishes, but most people are happy to experiment and enjoy the delicacies of others.

Thanks to the growing numbers of specialty shops, it is now easy to buy a range of spices, herbs and ingredients. Speciality shops can also help people who have allergies or health-restricted diets, by providing gluten-free, nut free and reduced salt food, amongst others. Just because you have allergies or are on a restricted diet, it doesn’t mean that your meals have to be dull!

Have you ever wondered how to cook the meals from your favourite Asian restaurant, or what herbs and spices go into Indian curries to make them so hot? Do you want to try a vegetarian diet for health reasons, but don’t know how to make meatless food tasty? Is your latest cake sagging ominously in the middle, or do you just have a recipe idea you’d like help with?

This forum seeks to answer your questions about different foods and cooking styles, as well as giving you ideas about recipes to try out at home.

For the months of July and August, the Seniors Portal Q&A Forum explored ‘Cooking for life.’ You can also read through the following questions and answers and view a short background to each of our panel members: Kurma Dasa (vegetarian chef, author and television personality), Sue Dengate (Food Intolerance Network and food allergy and intolerance expert), Roger Bayley (chef, ABC South East Radio), Dave Tuff (chef, ACT) and Jacinta Dugbaza (diet and nutritionist, Department of Health & Ageing). For further information on the subject, please have a look through our list of useful resources.

The following questions were answered: