I don’t often make my own pizza base. Sheer laziness I suspect but you know, I really enjoy kneading dough, it’s quite therapeutic and satisfying. I felt like a bit of energetic kneading recently so I whipped up a simple pizza from scratch, using seasonal vegetables – the best kind. Roast vegetables are so sweet[read more…]
Well so much for that rainy weekend we expected, still got some reading in though. I’ve been wanting to try this recipe, ever since I purchased Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson. I’ve been a longtime fan of Heidi’s blog, 101 Cookbooks, in fact hers was one of the first food blogs I started[read more…]
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…]
I pretty much live for this dish in summer. Diced colourful cherry tomatoes or halved or vine ripened tomatoes, juice squeezed out, finely diced, with roughly sliced fresh basil, a bit of finely chopped spicy red onion (not too much if you don’t like things too oniony), a splash of sweet yet tart balsamic vinegar and fruity extra virgin[read more…]
A warm, pretty day. Just right for this salad. This is an easy, tasty salad I make often in warmer weather. There’s just something about the fresh rocket, savoury tuna, and creamy beans with a salty hit from the olives that works really well. There’s also no standing over a hot stove which makes it perfect for[read more…]
I made a rustic (read: messy, I tried to place the vegetables in neat little rows but gave up) gratin tonight for dinner. Classic summer produce with olive oil, seasoning, some herbs and a good cheese – when baked, this has a lovely, herby oil on the base of the pan which you have to[read more…]
Today’s featured dish from one of my favourite cookbooks, How to Cook Italian by Giuliano Hazan, is a Tuscan ‘poor man’s soup’ made with a few simple, healthy, fresh ingredients. Historically, this recipe was a way to use up stale bread so it didn’t go to waste (something I still find useful now). I loved[read more…]
This isn’t really a recipe but since we seem to be hurtling towards Christmas at a rather scary rate (7 and a half weeks what?!), I thought I’d put together a little festive, girly sweetness to add to your holiday baking. It’s really just as much white, granulated sugar as you need in an airtight,[read more…]
Mmmmmm dessert for breakfast. You could also, obviously, serve this as dessert and nobody would mind. I use a yoghurt which isn’t too sweet as it’s a cool and tangy relief combined with the crunchy granola and sweet, luscious fruit. And it’s really just a simple layering in a cute glass: Blueberry sauce Greek yoghurt[read more…]
I made a batch of dreamy brownies to celebrate my move to A Splash of Vanilla and also to celebrate a year of blogging (I’m a bit late but then I’m hopeless at remembering anniversaries). Now I made these purely because I accidentally bought a tub of cream cheese. I have no idea why or how[read more…]
I could live on granola (or toasted muesli as we call it here). I love how crunchy, sweet and satisfying it is. I love that you simply pour some milk on it and have a healthy breakfast, or have it with Greek yoghurt and berries, or use it to bake muffins or sprinkle it over stewed[read more…]
Nigella never fails me. She somehow manages to make food which is both easy and decadent. Her chocolate peanut butter sundae is no different and it’s one of those desserts where combinations are really important; The hot sauce competing with the cold ice cream, the dual flavours of chocolate and peanut butter, and the sweetness and richness of the dessert compared[read more…]
I spied this simple, delicious recipe from raw foodie Celia Eddy. I add a handful of early blueberries or figs in season and bam – fruit intake for the day and an intense chocolate fix. You won’t believe how divine this is, I confess I skipped the refrigerate part, I just had to try a bit and it[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 had some frozen bananas and strawberries in my freezer and thought I’d make a teacake. Not muffins, not banana bread or loaf cake which I would usually fall back on, but a teacake. To be honest, when I decided to press the strawberries into the top of the mixture rather than mix them in,[read more…]
I really like this sauce in summer as it goes with absolutely everything – Greek yoghurt, pancakes, waffles, porridge, ice cream. I use slightly less maple syrup than the original and add a tiny bit of cornflour. It has a lovely taste of blueberries without being too overpoweringly sweet. Here’s barely a recipe: 300g blueberries,[read more…]
I love this pasta dish. It’s my go-to recipe when my loved ones or I need a quick pick-me-up, comforting meal. It’s quite rich and satisfying and you don’t need a huge amount. It’s best with long pasta; either linguine or spaghetti. You can add as much or little garlic as you like. My other[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…]
One of the simplest, healthiest and low carb meals. A mushroom omelet made with sliced sauteed Swiss browns and greens dressed with homemade French dressing. Sometimes I add slow roasted cherry tomatoes with the mushrooms to fill the omelet and they add a lovely sweetness. There were around 4 ingredients used for lunch today and it was lovely (all it was missing[read more…]
This weekend’s baking was a light and fresh lemon coconut loaf. While we’re not quite out of the winter woods yet, I spied lots of little green shoots and a burst of pretty pink flowers on my deck plants this morning which means warmer weather ahead, so I felt like a lemony treat. I made this loaf with baking margarine[read more…]
I love this spicy, healthy dish I adapted from Limes and Lycopene. It tastes even better if you leave it in the fridge for a few hours (or even a couple of days) before serving. If you want to step it up a bit, add around 60mls of coconut milk in the last 5 minutes of simmering.
Oh yeah the 90s. The time I went to uni, backpacked overseas to the US, London and Europe, shared old Queenslanders with countless housemates, partied like it was 1999 and was part of the 18-25 demographic. In the 90s People were eating: Thai food was the food to eat out in Australia. In honour of the[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…]
I just love and am a long time reader of simply breakfast, breakfast being my favourite meal of the day and was inspired to throw together this easy but lovely dish on the weekend. I always feel going out for breakfast is so much more luxurious than going out for dinner. I guess because for most people, the[read more…]
I saw this on Jamie’s Naked Chef show years and years ago and thought how brilliant; instead of using a million pots and pans, worrying about the timing of different things and getting all hot and flustered and resentful, not even enjoying your breakfast fry up, use one giant pan instead. Technically this isn’t a[read more…]
I spied this loaf recently on a lovely blog called FoodBabbles. It’s an Ina Garten recipe (I love her!) and I decided to bake it for afternoon tea on the weekend. I’ve made lemony baked goods before but have never tried a lemon syrup poured over – it really is gorgeous. This is a really moist cake and[read more…]
We were very French today and had cherry clafoutis and coffee for breakfast. This lovely dessert (or breakfast) is similar to a pancake but baked in the oven. The velvety soft and creamy texture pairs well with sweet little bites of cherries.
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…]
