Not only did her husband and their three boys benefit from the dish but so, too, will a large swag of the nation because she was testing the recipe for the Australian Women's Weekly.

It is just another indication of how life has changed since Goodwin won the inaugural MasterChef competition in 2009.

But she is determined to enjoy her downtime. Her family went camping at Easter with other families at Hill End in the central west of NSW, where she even made ''camp-oven hot-cross buns''.

''They were great,'' she said with a laugh. ''The first ones were a little bit charred on the bottom. I'm still learning to control the camp oven. But by Easter Sunday - there were 55 of us down there - we'd cooked a full Easter roast for everybody just on the campfire. I literally had no power or water or anything. It was awesome, a really cool experience.

''So, yeah, I do build that kind of stuff into my life. I don't want to spend my life racing from one event to another and not getting to enjoy any of it.''

Taking the time is a premise of her third cookbook Gather, which she will promote in Canberra at a community cake swap at the Woden Library on April 22. People are encouraged to bring their favourite cake and recipe to share with others.

Gather is all about encouraging people to get together with good food.

''Basically, what we've done for the book tour is instead of just saying, 'Let's go sit at a table and sign some books', we've put it out to all the communities we're visiting, 'Let's have an event, let's have a gathering', and this is what the Woden Library has come up with as an event, and I think it's a particularly lovely one,'' she said.

Goodwin said she ''really enjoyed'' watching MasterChef: The Professionals.

''I really liked watching professional chefs getting in and having a crack, and it's nice to realise they get really stressed out under those circumstances as well.''

And, yes, like much of Australia, she is also hooked on My Kitchen Rules.

''I like Dan and Steph and I think Jake and Elle are going all right. They're a couple of dark horses who might make it all the way,'' she said.

And she has no sympathy for anyone who doesn't like the way they are portrayed on reality TV.

''They're being cast as characters, that's for sure,'' she said. ''But I've always said, 'If you don't say it, they can't show you saying it'. You can't edit words into somebody's mouth. So if people are carrying on in a way that is not flattering to them, they're the ones responsible.''

• Julie Goodwin will be at the community cake swap at Woden Library on Monday, April 22, from 6pm to 7.30pm.

Canberrans' legendary generosity apparently knows no bounds.

It's now extended all the way to Sierra Leone, thanks to former Liberal speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly Greg Cornwell.

Last September, Cornwell was cruising down the West African coast when the ship called into Freetown, Sierra Leone, a country, he says, with the largest number of amputees in the world due to the country's civil war, which only ended just over a decade ago.

''Along with other passengers, my wife and I visited Greatest Good Ministries, a US-based charity dedicated to helping these amputees through sport,'' Cornwell told us.

''Here we met Mohamed Kamara, who lost his left arm - cut off by rebels - and was Sierra Leone's sole representative in the 2012 London Paralympics. [Before the Paralympics], he had no equipment, indeed nowhere to stay, and saw starting blocks there [in London] for the first time.''

Cornell said Kamara, who competes in the 100m and 200m sprints, thought running was ''entirely a matter for the mind''.

''Back on the ship at the usual post-visit post-mortem, I addressed the other passengers and announced my intention to raise funds for Mohamed to go to the Rio Paralympics in 2016 - amazed and impressed by his dedication and battle against adversity,'' Cornwell said.

''Five other passengers agreed to donate funds.

''We have now obtained, among other items, a tracksuit, vests, running shoes and spikes, stop watch and whistle and two sets of starting blocks through the generosity of Sportsman's Warehouse in Fyshwick which donated equipment and gave more at a discount for Mohamed's preparations for 2016.

''I arranged to fly the goods to Cape Town from where [the ship] Silver Explorer will deliver them free to Freetown when it visits this month. Hopefully the Minister for Sport or the President of Sierra Leone's Olympic committee will attend the handover ceremony on April 18 in front of the ship's passengers.'' Sounds like a wonderful initiative.

Anyone who'd like to donate can send it to Cornwell at 2/16 Woolls Street, Yarralumla. Receipts will be issued.

The juggernaut that is The Voice , the blind-audition singing competition, returns to TV screens on Sunday night and the ACT has its very own contestant.

Alex Gibson, a 26-year-old singer-songwriter, is originally from Bungendore and a Canberra Grammar School old boy.

He now performs around Sydney and appears on Sunday's return episode of The Voice.

Gibson got his start in music when he joined the Canberra Boys Choir as a teenager.

He has just released his first single which reached No. 2 on the singer-songwriter iTunes chart.

He is said to be ''excited The Voice gives him the opportunity to be judged by his vocal ability first''.

The Voice returns to WIN-TV at 6.30pm on Sunday.

Local charity HOME in Queanbeyan will save about $10,500 on its annual gas and electricity bills thanks to them being met by ActewAGL.

The charity provides 24-hour support in a home environment to people with a mental illness.

ActewAGL spokesman Paul Walshe said: "ActewAGL greatly values the important work that HOME in Queanbeyan does in providing for vulnerable members of our community. That's why we have committed to covering a portion of their energy costs, to assist them in delivering this valuable service.''

A new square being finished at 15 London Circuit opposite the police station in Civic will be named the Heather and Arthur Shakespeare Square in honour of the founder of The Canberra Times, Arthur Shakespeare.

The square was part of $20 million allocated by the ACT government for improvements across the city.

The government allocated about $1 million, with $500,000 contributed by Canberra CBD Ltd to finish it off when funds were becoming scarce. It is expected to be officially opened next month.