Doodler. The Devil in Barbara.

Every now and then I find a magazine that someone else has doodled in. I wish I found them more often as I cherish the artistic creations inside. The doodler who reinterpreted this issue of New Idea gave Mrs Bush either devil horns or fox ears coupled with a Hitler moustache. I couldn't go past that for this post.

Pie Report. Spud Wonder.

Because they're so very good, it's without surprise that the final pie I consumed from Gumnut Patissierie in Mittagong was a potato one. The potato topping has a touch of the Deb about it, yet the smattering of cheese on top subverts that flavour and adds crunch.

Potato
3.75 Pastry
3.50 Filling
3.75 Tastiness
3.25 Structure
3.50 Value

SCORE | 3.55

Glossy. Amazingness.

If you adore magazines as I do, then treat yourself to Cover Junkie, a site devoted to the art of magazine covers. Picking a favourite is hard – there are too many excellent options on the stand to choose from. Creative interpretations of current global affairs is what Bloomberg Business does best. De Zeit never lets anyone down, Jacques is kooky and Interview delivers for the celebrity conscious. I'm loving this  Pop Africana cover for sheer impact.

Pie Report. Nanna's Gramma.

At the end of our family holidays - we always went to the same place - we would stop at the Nambucca fruit stall and mum would buy some gramma, a kind of pumpkin. This was odd because our dinner plates were more likely to be loaded with three types of meat and a single vegetable, so the purchase of an unusual vegetable was irregular. On return to Sydney mum would bake gramma pies which she'd serve with runny cream and a sprinkle of sugar. They were delicious and I looked forward to them. For some reason gramma pies popped into my head a few days ago, so it was a surprise to actually see an A-frame sign in a local Newcastle bakery advertising their availability. It was lunch time so I ventured a mushroom pie and a selected a gramma pie for a sweet treat later. Unfortunately, the gramma pie was a mistake with a too sweet sugary filling the over-riding sensation.

Mushroom
3.75 Pastry
3.00 Filling
3.00 Tastiness
2.75 Structure
3.00 Value

SCORE | 2.90

Gramma
2.75 Pastry
2.25 Filling
2.00 Tastiness
3.00 Structure 
2.00 Value

SCORE | 2.40

Pinboard. SuperKaleidoscope.

Recently, I was asked to contribute a short piece to SuperKaleidoscope, a smart art project by Sarah Mosca and Kim Fasher that aims to showcase the work of Australian artists internationally. To see what I had to say about Rosie Deacon, click here.