Mark Conner's Space

A Healthy Drink ...

Water is one of the most essential and healthy drinks that there is. Some nutritionists believe that it's good to drink around 8 glasses of water each day. Other people are into herbal teas of all sorts - green, peppermint, chamomile, to name a few. Still others say that a glass of red wine a day is good for your health, especially for your heart (though caution needs to be taken due to the potential damage caused by excessive alcohol).

Another drink developed recently by scientists at the University of Queensland is a tea called Spearole. Each cup contains the health value (antioxidants) of one glass of red wine, and three cups of tea (spearmint, olive and green). It's very tasty too. I can drink to that!

Cooking - from the Amateur Chef

I grew up in a home where my mum did all the cooking. Dad and us kids did the dishes and not much else in the kitchen (other than toast, cereal, and the occasional milk shake). When I got married, Nicole did all the cooking and she's good at it too (only two not so good meals in 23 years - but that's a story for another day!). A few years ago I decided to venture into the kitchen and start doing some cooking.

I'm still an amateur but I've done a few Italian dishes, some Thai curries, and a few other odds and ends, including a delicious banana cake. Nicole loves it when I cook as it takes a lot of pressure off her and gives her a break too. I love to clear everyone out of the kitchen, grab a recipe and do my thing. Nicole is more of a free lance "make it up as you go" chef. I need guidelines :) 

Men, if you haven't already - why not give cooking a try! It's a lot of fun and worth the effort.

You'll find lots of good cookbooks in any bookshop, including books by Jamie Oliver and also the simple 4 Ingredients series. 

Cooking DVDs are another great idea, after all, a picture is still worth a thousand words:

• The Complete Pepin: Techniques and Recipes

• Jamie Oliver

There are also many online web sites with heaps of good recipes. Click here and here for two excellent sites.

For some more good ideas, why not check out a good Food and Wine show in your area.

Bon appetit!