Beauty and food. The ultimate combination.
This is a tasty, nutritious and fast mid week dinner that would give Jamie Oliver and his 15 minute meals a run for his money. I always have prawns in the freezer as they defrost in no time at all, as well as a packet of ready-to-go precooked rice. These packets are always super-handy for emergency ‘gotta eat NOW’ dinners. (more…)
This adults version of traditional basil pesto is always a winner: Every time I make this and serve it to friends, I get asked for the recipe. I figured that’s a good reason to share it with you!
I can’t get enough of this pesto and I love it because it’s so versatile: Delicious spooned over simple pan-fried fish, or a chicken breast… Put a dollop on roast veges… Stuff it inside a chicken breast… Use it as a dip… Mix it up with cream cheese for a more indulgent dip… Or, toss through hot pasta for a quick grown-ups dinner: You get the idea! Alternatively, if you aren’t a coriander fan – simply replace it with another cup of basil. Easy. (more…)
This speedy Banana Cake recipe, adapted from a vintage Donna Hay recipe, is brilliant; I’ve been making it for years. We love it in our house as it’s a moist, light and delicious cake that only requires 5 minutes prep time. It’s one of those fab recipes where you biff most of the ingredients into a food processor and turn it on. Done. No elbow grease required.
This is a brilliant standby for school lunches as it keeps really well (if you can keep the family away from it). Oh, and this is easy enough for kids to make too.
This recipe is inspired by NZ’s The Food Truck TV series, with some serious Beauty Foodie adaptations. Now, it’s important to note that, I’d only eat regular baked beans if there’d been a natural disaster and we were forced to devour the food stuffs in our Household Emergency Survival Kit. These babies, on the other hand, are utterly yummo and made me do a complete 180 on my perspective on baked beans. Give this a whirl for Sunday brunch it makes for great tucker (damn good hangover food in my case!) (more…)
When mindlessly surfing the internet last week, I stumbled across a headline on the Stuff website that commanded my attention: The World’s Best Recipe. As my mouse hovered to the hyperlink, I immediately decided, whatever the recipe was, I was going to recreate it in my kitchen and blog about it, just for you. (more…)
This recipe is from NZ’s Matriarch of home cooking, Dame Alison Holst. I was first introduced to this recipe fifteen years ago when my friend Kitrina cooked it for me. Watching her prep dinner, I was flabbergasted when she mixed raw mince in with most of the other ingredients to form the base of the dish: No pre-cooking required! Anyhow, the result is a really good family style lasagne that takes 10 minutes (tops) to prepare. Best thing is that this recipe is always popular with kids, including my fussy little monkey, who can’t get enough of it. What’s not to like?! In my circle of friends we all thrash this recipe, it’ll definitely change the way you think about making lasanga from now on! (more…)
Yes, another slice recipe…! I found this little gem on the Chelsea Sugar website. I love lemon flavours like some people enjoy chocolate. Hmmmmm. This is a simple recipe – absolutely easy enough to make with a little person ‘helping out!’ I’ve made it as a lunchbox filler, when we’ve got people calling over for morning or afternoon tea on the weekend, or just ‘coz. It’s always enjoyed. 
(more…)
This is (apparently) a Jamie Oliver inspired recipe that a colleague gave to me, which she’d put her own spin on. Well, I’ve bastardized it even further… So you could almost say it’s unique. Almost. It’s amazing. Another rare dish the whole family likes, though you’ll see from the photo our fussy Small Child prefers his kofta without the honey and nuts! I platter this main meal up with a few extras: Diced feta, a simple green salad, diced cucumber with chopped up tomato and a quick drizzle of lime infused olive oil. One of the reasons I love this meal is you can prepare it ahead of time, all you need to do is do the koftas at the last minute. This is quick enough to do for a extra-special week night dinner, or fancy enough to wow visitors. You choose.
