I was thinking recently, there just isn’t enough spice around when it comes to baking. It’s not that easy to find ready made spice biscuits or cake in Australia and it’s not a favourite flavour for most people I know. Personally, I love the warmth of spice baked goods and they seem so comforting and[read more…]
These muffins inspired by Nigella remind me of Christmas – all orange, fragrant, sweet and somehow festive although I can’t quite pinpoint why. Warm from the oven, they have a lovely crusty exterior, are fluffy inside and also have a subtle cornbread quality which I love. As the lady says, eat them just out of the oven, with unsalted butter and good jam[read more…]
I made a batch of waffles for breakfast this morning, using this simple recipe with a couple of adaptations. Nothing fancy required yet they were perfectly fluffy inside and crisp on the outside as waffles should be; the mixture made the perfect amount for my waffle maker (I really hate it when the mixture slops over the[read more…]
I’m dedicating this post to one of my favourite eras, the 1970s, I guess because well, I was there but I wasn’t there (too tiny to appreciate it) … a time in history in amongst the idealism of the 60s and the materialism of the 80s. Back in the 70s, people … Drank a classic cocktail: Grapefruit[read more…]
I started drinking Chai tea a few years back. Being a tea and spice lover, I instantly appreciated it’s spicy, comforting, warming flavour and it became one of my favourite teas. I’d love to say this is a traditional recipe and I’ve certainly done my best coming up with some lovely flavours, however there are[read more…]
I realised, with only a month to go of winter, that I hadn’t made a big pot of chilli yet. I had all the ingredients for a vegetarian chilli and decided to go with sweet potato and black beans. This is a spicy, hearty chilli with a subtle sweetness, which goes really well with brown[read more…]
Sweet, doughy bites with the stickiest brown sugar butter glaze on the base which I just couldn’t stop picking at. It was worth washing the very sticky pan afterwards.
Pesto is such a fresh, savoury and nutty dish – it’s the perfect thing to keep in the fridge for a quick sauce for pasta or a piece of grilled chicken or fish, to mix in with mashed potatoes or to use as an impromptu dip. I even sent Ant off to work the other morning with a[read more…]
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…]
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…]
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.
