Like Nigella, I’m all for an easy chocolate fix. Nobody should have to wait very long for chocolate on those days when it feels necessary. The iconic Nigella dessert, chocohotopots – easy, luxurious, charmingly named little treats, remind me of a cross between chocolate brownies and pudding. Honestly, despite the kid friendly nature of them (Nigella’s son naming this dessert when he was[read more…]
I have Irish heritage – you might realise this when you meet me by my blue eyes and freckles which I inherited from my late grandmother. It’s also apparent by my surname which, while it doesn’t sound obviously Irish, is distinguishable by it’s spelling (people often misspell my surname by leaving off the ‘e’ on the end which annoys me a[read more…]
A rustic, nutty little salad I make often. I had something similar once, a packaged salad I purchased in my lunch hour from work and thought, I could make this. It’s a healthy salad with lovely sweet and savoury flavours; great for work or a healthy dinner.
I loved these rustic, sweet pancakes. They were served with butter melted over the hot pancakes and cinnamon sugar sprinkled over the top, like cinnamon toast. I used a bit of wholemeal spelt flour for texture, if you don’t have that, use all white flour.
Blondies are becoming so diverse now with many different flavours; butterscotch, toffee and pecan, cherry and white chocolate, and now, peanut butter. I don’t need much of an excuse to use peanut butter – slathered between fresh bread for an impromptu lunch is fine by me and has been since I was little. Peanut butter just makes my day better.[read more…]
There’s something about cooler weather which makes me want to make elaborate warm and cosy breakfasts. In summer I throw some cereal in a bowl or have some toast, or if I’m feeling really energetic, will make a fruit smoothie but Autumn just makes me want to cook pancakes or French toast or bacon and eggs and stay in[read more…]
Anzac Day, for those readers who aren’t from this neck of the woods, marks the date of the first military action fought by Australians and New Zealanders in WW1 (ANZAC = Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). We remember those who fought on 25th April. To commemorate, I though Anzac biscuits would be nice to make[read more…]
I make this deliciously thick, creamy soup every winter and, as we’re heading into cooler weather in Australia, it’ll soon be time for cosy, warm lunches so I whipped up a batch the other day. This soup freezes well and apart from blitzing it in the food processor and the washing up after, is super easy.[read more…]
This versatile, spicy, rich and healthy dish is great for weekday nights in a number of ways; with brown rice, sour cream and avocado in wraps with quinoa, melted cheese or avocado as a topping for baked potatoes with sour cream or Greek yoghurt in taco shells with grated cheese mixed with chutney and grated cheese[read more…]
I love sweet potatoes, all kinds really but particularly the orange – I mean who doesn’t? They’re sweet, healthy and a gorgeous colour. Yesterday I had a huge organic sweet potato sitting on my kitchen bench and I also had pecans, maple essence, dates and other baking essentials so thought I’d knock together a sweet potato loaf. I also decided on some[read more…]
What little delights these are. Crunchy and sweet, perfect for having with espresso – which has given me a genius idea so stay tuned for a lovely dessert soon. I didn’t have enough almonds so I used some macadamia nuts to make up the difference and they were perfect so I would probably do this again.
I love chilli con carne. I generally make vegetarian chilli, as it’s healthier and I usually prefer it, however this recipe, which I found a few years back on BBC Food, is wonderful. It’s rich, spicy and comforting, with ingredients you mostly have knocking around. It’s fantastic on a cold or rainy night, with a couple of[read more…]
