Kidman's kitchen love

Showbiz

13:30 31 March 2005

Nicole Kidman says she's glad her new film has been cancelled - because she's now got time to spend in the kitchen.

The Oscar-winning beauty's proposed movie 'Eucalyptus', in which she was set to star alongside Russell Crowe, was cancelled indefinitely due to script problems.

As the movie was meant to be filmed in Nicole's native Australia, she had already flown there to spend time with her family beforehand.

But after realising it wasn't going ahead, the flame-haired actress decided to stay in the country and make the most of her spare time.

She said: "I'm spending time in the kitchen. I can do lamb shanks and home-made gnocchi. It's wonderful to be able to go to the fish markets and choose your dinner."

As well as perfecting her cooking skills, Nicole, 37, recently revealed she has hired a tutor to help her study the Old Testament - because she is obsessed with the Middle East.

She said "I love the Middle East; I love the smells and the sensations. I'd love to go on an archaeological dig.

"At the moment I'm doing a course in the Old Testament and I have a tutor who's wonderful. I see him for two hours twice a week, and then I do a weekend class as well."

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