Still Keeping it Cosy – More comfort Food from “Tender”

It’s the first day of winter today, and we’re still keeping it cosy in the kitchen with our June cookbook selection.

It’s officially the first day of winter here in Oz. As I write this, the temperature at our farm is hovering around 12C and the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a strong weather warning, so I’m very pleased that the Lambs’ Ears Cookbook Club is still keeping it cosy in the kitchen with full-hearted comfort food dishes from Lucy Tweed’s Tender.

This is the perfect cookbook for the season, as we look for meals that will both nourish and cheer our friends and family. There’s a  special kind of magic in the way flavours unfold when we take a few simple ingredients and slowly let them do their thing, marrying together to create heartwarming dishes that are much more than the sum of their parts.

Tender offers a range of braises, stews, curries and soups that require no fancy equipment, and no special skills – just a little time. This is flexible food with warmth and tenderness at it’s heart, just what we all need at the end of a wintry day, with dishes to share on the family table on a weeknight, or for sharing with friends.

I know we’ll enjoy keeping it cosy for June, and I can’t wait to see what we all share from this new Australian cookbook.

The seasonal focus for June

I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like, so I’m thrilled to bits to select the humble spud as the produce for the month of June. Potatoes kept my people alive, right up until they didn’t during the Potato Blight in Ireland, and featured on our plates every single night when I was growing up. I love them, and struggle to feel that a meal is complete without them.

One of my happiest travel food memories is from the very first time I went to Ireland and we were served a dinner that featured potatoes cooked five different ways, on the one plate. I cannot recall what the protein or the rest of the vegetables were – I just know I was totally in my happy place that night.

What did we cook in May?

I think that Home Food author Elizabeth Hewson would be pretty impressed with the cookbook club and the outstanding efforts from her great cookbook. Keeping it cosy in the kitchen was easy with this cookbook, and here’s a few of the dishes shared in our Facebook group. Please join in to see the rest.

So what’s happening in the Lambs’ Ears Cookbook Club in July?

Every now and again, I invite the cookbook club to take a deep dive into one single recipe author. So, in July, we will be exploring the work of Australian food icon, the late Valli Little.

After completing her formal culinary training in London, Little went on to work as a caterer and food consultant in England, subsequently moving to Australia and opening a successful gourmet store, before becoming the launching Food Director for delicious. magazine. This was a role she held for 16 years, helping build their brand to become Australia’s most recognisable food identity.

Her impact on our modern culinary traditions simply cannot be overestimated and I know we will enjoy exploring her food.

However, for now we will be keeping it cosy in the kitchen with Lucy Tweed’s Tender – so lets get stewing!

IF YOU HAVEN’T JOINED THE LAMBS EARS COOKBOOK CLUB YET, YOU WILL FIND ALL THE DETAILS HERE.

HERE’S HOW 2026 IS SHAPING UP SO FAR

Our whole-year cookbook selection is any of  The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater

June – Tender by Lucy Tweed
May – Home Food by Elizabeth Hewson
April – Any ONE cookbook from your own collection
March – The Actually Delicious One Pot Cookbook by Poppy Cooks
February – Sunshine, Lemons and Sea Salt by Donna Hay
January – Salata by Michael Mantissas and Kristy Frawley

Please note, this post contains links to online Australian bookseller Booktopia. If you purchase via one of my links you will get a great price, and I will get a very small commission.

 

 

 

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