Vodka Mussels With Lemon Dill Risotto

Our dear friend Latchy passed away from acute myeloid leukemia in August 2006, after being diagnosed with the disease in October 2005. She was a dear friend to many Recipezaar members throughout the world and she will be greatly missed. Latchy was a great chef; and her speciality was Asian food. She loved wine and cheese, but wasn’t fussed on desserts. She had a great sense of humour and was the life of any party. Latchy was her childhood nickname, and those of us who knew her real name still called her ‘Latch’. We loved her. With the permission of Latchy’s daughter, here is the eulogy read at her funeral (edited slightly to maintain the family’s privacy). Recipezaar and her Recipezaar chat group, the ‘Tipsy Tarts’ were represented at the funeral by Latchy’s close Zaar friends, Mummamills, Chrissyo and Liara: “Latchy, was born in Melbourne in 1939. In her younger years she led a very energetic life and was very involved in swimming and dancing. She had the opportunity to compete in the 1956 Olympics but couldn’t be fussed to do the training and preferred to enjoy herself instead. Latchy met her late husband, Bruce, in Melbourne. Bruce being with the army, they started their life of travel together and extended their family. Their first child was born in Perth, their second in New Guinea and their third child, in Melbourne. They also lived in Newcastle, Sydney, and Singapore before settling in Brisbane. It was in Singapore that her love of cooking, sewing and craft began. Latchy broke military protocol for dining-in nights. Women were finally allowed to attend. One day, Bruce was watching a TV program about sailing around the world. On the program when the wife was told of this plan she said “No Way”, but Latchy said, “When are you going to start?” So, Bruce retired from the army to begin building a 54 foot steel ketch in the back yard, learning as he went. Latchy worked for many years until they finally set off around the world in 1987. They got as far as Malaysia and loved it so much they didn’t go any further. They loved the lifestyle, the people and the food and only came back when Bruce fell ill. After Bruce passed away, Latchy developed her talents, such as painting, and became involved with her family and grandchildren. About 7 years ago, she decided to make her life in Hervey Bay, a beach-side retirement town in Queensland, Australia. She loved the lifestyle, the people and became very involved in the community life. Latchy started volunteering with tax help, then the multicultural respite where she put her cooking skills to use and then with Legacy (an organization which supports the widows of servicemen and ex-servicemen). Latchy opened up a new world by learning about computers and the internet and she met her great friends, the Tipsy Tarts through the website Recipezaar. Latchy was a strong, independent, funny, straight forward and loving mother, grandmother and friend, and we will miss her greatly.”