Posts

/cook Swedish Meatballs I’m that person who goes into Ikea just to pick up tea lights, only to emerge 2 hours later with all sorts of useful organisation solutions, looking for a problem to solve. I’m also that person who confidently puts together Ikea furniture (I’m a chartered accountant! I can do this!), only to worryingly end up with one leftover screw or bracket. Thankfully, none of my Ikea furniture has come tumbling down (yet), so now I have a theory that Ikea throws an extra piece into every flatpack just to mess with us....

This is the low carb version of Chickpea Potato Curry that I’ve previously shared which is a long time reader favourite. Vegetable Curry Curries have a reputation for being difficult to make, unless you have a helping hand from a jar of curry paste. So the nice thing about this one is that it’s “real” curry recipe that’s made using spices that are available at my local grocery store. The sauce for this curry is the same as used in the Chickpea Potato Curry (Channa Aloo Curry) my It’s a Caribbean curry from Trinidad, but it tastes very similar to Indian curries....

Welcome to Day 16 of the inaugural Holiday Salad Marathon, where I’m sharing 30 salads in a row through to Christmas Eve. Something different to the usual sugar-loaded baking countdowns!! Today, we’re cauliflowering: Roasted Cauliflower Salad I first shared this Cauliflower Salad way back when I started this website in 2014. It’s a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, from his wildly popular cookbook Jerusalem which I recently admitted I was embarrassed to rate as my #1 cookbook because it’s soooooo obvious....

Loaded with noodles, shrimp/prawns and a variety of toppings, this coconut curry soup lends itself to all sorts of variations. Try adding tofu and other vegetables, fish or chicken. So many possibilities! Thai Coconut Curry Soup – easy, from scratch! This is one for all those times you have a hankering for a Thai curry fix, but don’t have the time or the ingredients to make a full blown Thai Red Curry from scratch....

This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”! Baked Fish If the idea of baked fish conjures up the words pale, colourless and bland, then this one’s going to be a game changer for you!! It’s an effortless 15 minute recipe one pan recipe where fish is baked with a creamy lemon sauce. It’s the sort of recipe you can make no matter how hectic your household is, or on a lazy Sunday night because it’s this easy: And out comes this – tender baked fish fillets with a beautiful lemon cream sauce that’s perfect with fish!...

For the most magnificent stew of your life, start this 2 days before you plan to serve it, do not shortcut pan-roasting ingredients individually, and use homemade beef stock! Beef Bourguignon One of my fondest memories of travels in Burgundy was discovering family-run bistros in small villages that served traditional French fare so incredible, you’d swear you were in a hidden Michelin star restaurant. And being right in the region from which Beef Bourguignon hails, it was hard to resist ordering this iconic dish time and time again....

It tastes like a brownie, in cookie form – PLUS peanut butter frosting! I don’t bake much because I am more of a savoury person than a sweet person. So most sweet things I make are “fast and easy” type treats. But this….this is worth every second of effort. It is crazy indulgent and ridiculously scrumptious. The brownie cookie is just like a brownie in both texture and taste. The surface of the cookie has the familiar thin crinkly layer....

I love stir fried noodle recipes because they’re a complete meal – no need to make a separate side of rice. My favourites in heavy rotation include Chicken Rice Noodles, Chicken Vegetable Ramen Noodles, Pad See Ew and Chow Mein! Chinese Beef and Broccoli Noodles This is the stir fried noodles version of everybody’s favourite Chinese Beef and Broccoli. It’s a firm takeout favourite, especially in the States. I’ve been to China and Hong Kong several times and I can honestly say I do not recall ever seeing it on a menu, and I remember reading somewhere that broccoli is actually quite expensive in China....

Cinnamon Apple Bread I’ve been working on my Apple Pie Project (read: my perfect apple pie) and am convinced that this is the year we will crack it! But either way making apple pie is definitely a labour of love, so meanwhile I also want to share other sweet ways with apples that are faster and easier. Some favourites from my existing apple repertoire are Apple Muffins, Apple Bars, and Apple Crumble....

What exactly is couscous?? Many people think couscous is a grain, but actually they are teeny tiny balls made of semolina flour so it’s actually more of a pasta. And the beauty of the teeny size of these balls is that they are so small, they don’t need to be cooked. You literally just pour over hot liquid, leave it covered for 10 minutes, then voila! “Cooked” and ready to serve!...

Use any beans you want. Serve it as a side, stuff into tacos, pile onto nachos. Lasts for days – think meal prep and work lunches! Cowboy Bean Salad “Bean Salad” just sounds so dull. But stick the word “Cowboy” in front of it, and suddenly it sounds so much more exciting. Right? Same dish, different packaging. Age old marketing trick! 😂 Though actually, this is a riff on a salsa dish known as Cowboy Caviar in the US....

Crispy Skin Salmon I’m always one for saucing up my salmon (whether it’s a honey garlic number, garlic butter or a herby cream sauce), marinating it or cooking it up in a sticky sauce. But when you know how to cook salmon so the skin is crispy from end to end, you don’t need to fuss with all that. The extra textural element and flavour you get from the crispy golden skin is all you need for a salmon dinner....

Crostini use suggestions: canapés with toppings, for dips (especially excellent with Baked Brie), side dish for meals such as Acqua Pazza (Italian Fish in Tomato Sauce), dunking into Soups and stews! “Crostini” means “little crusts” (ie. “little toasts”) in Italian and that’s exactly what they are: Thin slices of bread, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt then baked until crisp. It’s typically used to pile on toppings though I’m a fan of using crostini for dunking and scooping at every opportunity....

This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”! Eggplant Parmigiana If Moussaka is Greece’s answer to Italian Lasagna, then Eggplant Parmigiana is Italy’s comeback. And what a comeback it is!!! A southern Italian classic, this is one of those incredible vegetarian dishes that’s so good, even card-carrying carnivores won’t pause for a moment to wonder, “Where’s the meat??” This is comfort food for everyone....

Homemade Movie Popcorn (Butter Popcorn) Today’s butter popcorn recipe is for everyone who’s blown a fortune at movie theatre candy bars. In particular, for all fellow Aussies who remember enjoying cheap movie tickets on Tight-Arse-Tuesdays*, only to spend twice as much on popcorn and M&M’s. I can’t help you on the M&M’s. But I can help you with the butter popcorn!!! This butter popcorn is intensely buttery – and it stays crisp for days!...

Teriyaki sauce is used for most commonly for chicken, beef and fish, but also for pork and even for offal as well. The most popular of is Teriyaki Chicken. The thick, sweet, salty marinade matches perfectly with poultry, and creates a wonderful caramelisation when seared over high heat. My Japanese mother would rather eat plain chicken than marinated using a bottled Teriyaki Sauce, just the thought of buying Teriyaki Sauce offends her!...

Welcome to Day 4 of the inaugural Holiday Salad Marathon, a series where I’m doing the polar opposite of the usual baking countdowns and bringing you a new salad recipe every single day through to Christmas Eve! I’ve got a bit of a unique one for you today …. Celery Salad I do not go out of my way to make this salad. It’s simply a means to use up leftover celery which I always seem to have....

This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”! Meatloaf recipe A loaf made entirely of meat. What’s not to love? (Vegetarians are excused 😉) It’s economical. It’s quick to prepare. It’s a classic family favourite. And leftovers make terrific sandwiches. If you think that Meatloaf is really just a giant beef burger shaped like a loaf, it’s time to abandon that misconception! Meatloaf shouldn’t taste like a hamburger!...

There are very few pancakes in this world where I won’t say “drown with copious amounts of maple syrup, butter and cream for optimal experience”. This is one of them. When pillowy soft, fluffy pancakes are stuffed with warm, oozy Nutella, you simply don’t need anything else. I added some strawberries for a pop of colour and freshness. I probably could have added cream. But they are 1000% optional. Look at this stack of irresistible-ness (is that a real word?...

For a lighter dressing option, try a No-Mayo Creamy Potato Salad Dressing made with yogurt, or this No-Mayo Red Potato Salad with Charred Corn and Bacon! A Potato Salad you’ll make again and again… This recipe is from the mother of a good friend, and thus I originally named this recipe in her honour, calling it Mrs Brodie’s Potato Salad. The very first time I heard how Mrs Brodie makes her potato salad, I instantly knew that this was one that would stand out from the crowd of thousands – millions – of potato salad recipes “out there” in the world wide web....