Author: Emma
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Jo’s Kumura & Bacon Salad
We’ve recently made some lovely new friends from NZ. It’s kinda rare to make genuine new connections at this age with the daily hustle often getting in the way, but the kids have brought us together with some lovely new peeps of late. It’s a real joy to find new souls to share in the many excitements…
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Broccoli, pancetta, mint & macadamia salad
Lifted from goodfood.com.au, this salad is a meal in itself. The addition of macadamias is genius, so flavoursome, it just keeps giving with every mouthful; and in light of the large volume of broccoli, it has to be healthy, right?
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Spelt & Spice Buns
The kids are finding it hard to accept Easter having passed for the year – no more chocolate eggs (thank God, Mummy ate most of them!) along with the fact that there are no more hot crossed buns in the shops. We made these delicious currant buns with spelt this morning which made a great rainy day…
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Mexican chowder
What a freezer we’re having this winter. I can’t remember these sub-zero temperatures so consistently throughout the cold season before. Certainly inspiration to whip up some belly warming soups. This is a variation on a recipe I found on the Good Food site. The kids would have loved it had I not accidentally used hot…
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Bar Idda’s Purpetti Dolce (Sicilian Meatballs)
If you like in Melbourne and make some time to visit Bar Idda in Brunswick for gorgeous Sicilian inspired fare. The food is to die for! Here’s a recipe they they give away their secrets to. I’m not really much of a meatball eater, but these are something else..
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Karen’s Chestnut Flour and Honey Rosemary Cake with Pine Nuts
Good ole Kaz again. It’s starting to get creepy, I know.. I made this unusual cake tonight and the flavour’s kinda hard to explain. The chestnut flour gives a lovely full, rich flavour and the rosemary gives it some savouriness (?) but it’s good alright. I thought it wouldn’t be something the kids would come…
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Karen’s Black Pepper, Walnut and Cumin-stuffed Chicken roasted with Pumpkin
Karen, Karen, Karen. She never fails me and I love her. Another winner flavour combo and simple to make. I mean, you’ve gotta love a roast on a Sunday night, shove it in the oven and wait. But this, with the walnut pesto and enough butter to please Julia Childs stuffed under the skin, is…
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Poh’s Hainanese Chicken Rice
Well, it’s been a long while between posts… Somewhere along the way I got a bit distracted with other things, but we’re still cookin’ here, so it’s about time I put up some of the dishes we’ve been tucking into of late. This first one is simply put, Asian comfort food. Hainanese chicken rice is a…
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Uncle Chris’ Scallop Potatoes with Salmon
I made scallop potatoes as a side to Mum’s roast chicken a few weeks ago. The recipe I followed was really more like a dauphinoise potatoes, very rich, very yum. My brother Chris said that scallop potatoes is one of his go-to dishes for the kids, but that he adds a tin of red salmon…
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Granola Bars
I’ve been trying to find a quick, easy and healthy breakfast on the go for the boy for those mornings when a big bowl of porridge is just too much of an ask. Something that will fill that little belly and keep him ticking until morning tea and avoid the familiar crabby meltdown of a…
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Karen’s 20-Clove Pot Roasted Chicken with Celeriac, Potato, Cinnamon and Lemon
How good are pot roasts? It seems like such a retro dish, but those 70’s mums had it right all along. They’re so yummy and moist and dead simple to whip up for Sunday night dinner. This recipe uses celeriac, which is my veg of the moment. It has to be one of the less…
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Wild Mushroom Risotto
It was Pete’s birthday on the weekend, so a good opportunity to whip up an old fave, which is perfect this time of year. I guess any dish calling for this much butter and parmesan is sure to be a winner.. So, it’s a little decadent but oh so wintery warming and packed full of…
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Lemon Delicious Pudding
Our tree is brimming with lovely Meyer lemons right now. I’ve been scouring my books and the net for yummy lemon recipes and came across this one. I’ve made the chocolate self saucing pudding many a time, but never Lemon Delicious. The verdict: it is indeed Delicious!
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Simple Ham and Ricotta Lasagne
Yum, yum, yum. I made this last weekend and it did us for two nights which is always great. Using ham rather than bolognese and ricotta rather than bechamel, such simple prep and ingredients making it a quick and easy version of a favourite. This will be a winner with the kiddos.
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Grape Harvest Cake
I came across this recipe quite by accident last week when looking for recipes to use up a glut of lemons. I’d never tried grapes in a cake, but when I thought about it, realised it would probably be bloody delicious, so gave it a go yesterday. Well, yum.
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Basque Burnt Cheesecake
I made this cheesecake for the first time over a year ago and haven’t tried it since. I don’t know why though, I’ve thought about it often and it was so easy to whip up. My brother generously told me it was the best thing I’d ever made! He’s got quite a sweet tooth that…
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Best Ever Minestrone
This classic soup is a great big bowl of warming comfort in the cooler months. I’ve had some pretty ordinary thin and overly tomatoey minestrones in my time, but this is something else. Bursting with delicious veg, not too over-cooked and soggy. The secret ingredient of the cheese rind does something amazing, so do not leave it…
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Oats toasted in Butter, Maple and Coconut
I have been meaning to give this a go for a while now. Alas, I’ve been enjoying my weekend sleep ins a bit too much of late and usually miss Pete and the boy for their bright and early breakfast, but last Sunday Pete was the one sleeping in, so I gave it a go…
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Bread & Butter Pudding with Leftover Tsoureki
Well, if you’re Greek, this time of year you might have a bit of leftover tsoureki lying around. Of course it’s delicious toasted, but especially fab in a bread and butter pud. For those not schooled in all things Hellenic, tsoureki is a sweet bread traditionally made around Greek Easter. You’d probably recognise the knotted…
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Beetroot Risotto with Goats Cheese
Making the most of the gorgeous beetroots this season, I whipped this up last week. The risotto turns the most gorgeous bright pink hue once you add the beetroot in.
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My Moussaka
I call this ‘my’ moussaka only because it won’t ever compare to Giagia’s Moussaka. Mine is a shortcut on a classic, leaving out the potato and using lamb mince. I’m told everyone does this dish a little differently, so hopefully it will hold up against the classics.
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Pasta with Creamy Leek, Pancetta and Mushroom Sauce
There’s nothing like the smell of pancetta crisping up in a pan… This is not the healthiest meal, but I guarantee it will win you friends.
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Ricotta Dumplings with Tomato Sugo
This is another Silvia Colloca gem not to be confused with my favourite Ricotta and Parmesan Dumplings, which are more like gnocchi. These are apparently called gnudi and are a bit lighter again.
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Destination: Bruny Island
We’ve just returned from the most glorious trip to Tasmania. A family wedding to kick things off set the tone for a short but sweet break with some fantastic and memorable food experiences.
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Japanese Pancakes (Okonomiyaki)
You know how no matter how small a piece of cabbage you buy, you’ve always got way too much left over? A little bit of cabbage goes a long way.. This is a great way to use it up and a dead easy Friday night dinner that you can hide heaps of veg in for the kids.…
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Silverbeet, Ricotta and Sopressata Tart (Pizza Rustica)
I thought calling this pizza was a bit far fetched really, but apparently the word ‘pizza’ actually means ‘pie’, so that makes a bit more sense..
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Asian Style Ribs
How good are ribs? I confess I’m a late-comer to this sticky world but I’m glad I’ve now arrived. They’re not something I’ve cooked often and I never order them out cause they leave me feeling like I’ve got a big saucy face and in bad need of a toothpick.
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Jewish Orange and Almond Cake
I’m told this is a classic Passover dessert. It’s a beautiful recipe with very few ingredients which produces a lovely moist cake to enjoy with a cuppa. It uses whole oranges, boiled and then pulped in the food processor which gives the cake a lovely tang. I’ve seen a few different versions of this type of…
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Chicken, Sausage and Pumpkin Bake
What a cool few weeks we’ve been having. Very unusual for mid-summer Melbs, but in some ways a nice break from the scorching heat and an opportunity to turn the oven back on and cook up some warming fare. As any one who I’ve caught up with lately knows, I’m having a bit of an affair…
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Crispy Skinned Salmon on Red Curry Coconut Spinach
I used to make this dish years ago when I wanted something quick, easy and impressive for dinner guests. I don’t normally go for fish in curries, but this is a worthwhile exception. The buttery soft salmon holds its own in the spicy sauce and looks so good on the plate on a bed of spinach.
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Mum’s Scottish Shortbread
My mum makes by far the best shortbread I’ve ever tasted. True to her Scottish heritage, it’s ever so short and buttery. The recipe was a bit sketchy when relayed though – she works on approximates and instincts as all good cooks do!
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Simple Homegrown Tomato Salad
The tomato plants are teeming with the first fruit, the cherries, at the moment. I was super excited because it gave me the opportunity to take my new flash bottle of sherry vinegar for a spin and try out our new Strathbogie Ranges extra virgin olive oil – I know, what a food snob – anyway..…
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Freekeh Salad
What a tasty little grain this is. Freekeh is young, green wheat which has been toasted and cracked. One of the so called ‘ancient grains’ which have made a resurgence in recent years, it is packed full of goodness and tastes great too. I can’t get it at my supermarket, but I think some fancy…
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Baked Cannelloni with Spinach, Ricotta, Feta and Bocconcini
We recently had a little holiday at the beach and had a night off to go out for dinner, just Pete and me. We went to a local Italian, very simple but lovely homemade fare. I had cannelloni, which was absolutely delish. Interestingly, instead of pasta, they used crepes, which I’d never seen before. Anyhoo, it…
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Raw Zucchini Salad
You’ll be feeling quite virtuous with a little of this on the side. I’m calling this a salad, but really it’s just some quickly peeled and marinated zucchini. Super healthy made with raw zucchini (which is delicious) it will go well with any meat or fish or even an omelette.
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Crisp Roasted Brussels Sprouts
I think Brussels sprouts were my least favourite veg growing up. Me and my brothers used to smother them in tomato sauce to mask the flavour and almost swallow them whole to get it over with. But, roasted, these babies are absolutely full of flavour, particularly if you add bacon, soy and lemon. Oh yes.…
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Pork Loin roasted with Black Pepper and Cinnamon
This is a great way to serve pork, my favourite meat. If you’d asked me whether the combination of pork and cinnamon would work, I don’t think I would have jumped at the idea, but the flavours seem to be a match made in heaven. Of course, you just can’t go wrong with plenty of pepper…
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Homemade Toasted Muesli
I never used to eat breakfast – the thought of food first thing in the morning just didn’t do it for me. I had to get to work, have my coffee and then think about something to eat. Things change though. Once I was pregnant with the boy I was ravenous and needed something in…
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Preserving your own olives
We were lucky enough to inherit the most gorgeous old Kalamata olive tree when we bought our place. Once, my mother in law was out front and an old Italian man walked past and got chatting. He asked whether there was still an olive tree in our back yard and said that he had planted…
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Another Bean Salad (Lemony White Beans with Pecorino)
I was short on time today and decided to bust out the tins of cannellini beans once again. Instead of making my usual Easy Bean Salad with Goats Cheese, I tried this version from my new Date Night In book by Ashley Rodriguez. She serves it as part of an antipasto platter, but it was great…
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Fennel and Radish Salad
Raw fennel is way yummier than cooked in my opinion and this is such a refreshing salad in either summer or winter. It’s fantastic with fish and chicken on a hot night, or will lighten up a heavier meal, such as pasta in winter.
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Ray’s Spanish-Irish Christmas Pud
I’m a bit late putting this recipe up now that we’re in Jan already, but perhaps it would make a good Xmas in July dessert and there’s no doubt that Christmas puddings always get better with time, so make it ahead. It was Raymondo’s turn this year to make the pud and I have to…
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Pasta Bake with Pork Ragu and Parmesan Cream
This recipe is a tasty version of a bolognese pasta bake with a few differences – pancetta and good quality sausage meat rather than mince meat, and a cheat’s white sauce (no mucking around with roux and bechamel here!).
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Avocado Salad with Cumin and Pepitas
I recently bought the most beautiful new cookbook by Ashley Rodriguez – she’s a former chef in the US who has the award winning blog ‘Not Without Salt’. The book is called ‘Date Night In’ and it’s packed full of decadent feasts to share with your significant other, designed to get the juices flowing and…
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Banana Bread
Why is it that when you feel like a banana, there’s none left and when you have some in the house they are left to go brown!? When I have three or four overripe bananas, I think of this yummy banana bread (which is really more like cake – I’m not sure why they call it…
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Easy Bean Salad with Goats Cheese
When you’re feeling a bit cooked out this time of year and really can’t be bothered, this is a great quick, light and healthy little salad which goes well with chicken, meat or fish. I usually serve it with spiced lamb back straps, but it would be good with roast chicken (store bought is fine…
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Raw Carrot and Beetroot Salad
This is a lovely fresh salad, which goes with just about anything really. The earthy beetroot is great raw with the lemon and it’s really healthy. A good one for all ages (if you leave out chilli or add it at the table for the grown ups) it’s another Karen Martini fave. She pairs it…
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Ricotta Salata with Tomatoes, Onion and Basil
Who’s sick of the tasteless tomatoes selling at the shops right now? Even in the peak of summer, green, yellow, orange or red, they just don’t seem to have any flavour. Farmers markets are definitely the go until our tomatoes are ready later in the summer. When they are, this salad makes the most of the…
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Leftover Turkey Pasta
A face only a mother could love… It’s the same post-Christmas each year – a heap of leftover ham, turkey, cranberry sauce, etc etc. Great if you want to avoid cooking for a few days, or if you’re up for it, turn it into something else. Today I borrowed some ideas from a gnocchi recipe in…
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Melomakarona tis Giagia (Giagia’s honey syrup biscuits)
I love this time of year, so many delicious flavours flying around in the lead up to the big day. We have an amazing array of biscuits here at our place right now, some cooked in-house and others delivered from friends and family. To me, melomakarona are the golden child of Greek biscuits. My mother in law (Giagia)…
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Em’s Famous Guacamole
My lil’ sis loves this guacamole and it gets a run pretty often, disappearing in the flash of an eye. Lizzie, this one’s for you, so you don’t have to wait for me to make it.
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Roast Lamb with Whipped Feta and Mustard Dressing and Parsley and Red Onion Salad
A bit of a mouthful of a title.. However, this is a great dish to spice up the usual lamb roast for summertime. The dressing is delectable and the salad, refreshing and light. The sumac adds a lovely lemony flavour and mixed with the fresh lemon is delicious.
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Christmas Salad
I call this my Christmas salad, because it has all the right colours – red, white and green and really does look the picture on the Christmas table. Even the feta added before serving looks almost like snow, aw…
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Baby Mac’s Pickled Cucumbers
I love pickles and nothing is better than homemade. I usually do pickled mushrooms this time of year but decided to try Baby Mac’s pickled cucumbers instead. They are very Maccas-esque but way more delish! We will be having cheeseburgers Saturday night for sure, and I’m looking forward to a Friday night nibbles of cheese,…
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Black Pepper, Rosemary & Fennel Biscotti
So I made these two days ago for the first time and they are AMAZING! The savoury black pepper and rosemary go so so well with the sweet raisins (I used sultanas) and the almonds. The fennel isn’t for everyone, I know, but you could easily leave it out or reduce the amount to half…
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Melopita (honey cake)
Sometimes I can’t get ricotta at the deli and end up having to buy a whole kilo from the cheese fridge at the supermarket. If you find yourself with way too much ricotta, this is a great way to use it up. It’s a really quick, easy and delicious little Greek cheese cake that’s kind of like…
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Rotelle with Prosciutto, Sour Cream and Chives
This is a tasty little pasta salad which has flown out the door the times I’ve made it. It will go great with any grilled meats, and so it’s a great side for a barbie, perhaps in place of potato salad.
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Salmon Log
Now for a bit of retro food glamour and a walk down memory lane. My Nana used to make this dish a lot, and when I say ‘a lot’ I mean, A LOT. She brought a salmon log along to every occasion, big or small and always had some spare logs stashed in her freezer…
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Italian Hazelnut Biscuits
Another really simple biscuit recipe, good for when you’re short on time. These are lovely and chewy and great with a cuppa or vanilla ice-cream. You’ll have squirrels beating down your door for a taste!
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Amaretti (Almond Biscuits)
These are dead easy and quick traditional Italian biscuits and go so well with tea or coffee. The best thing is they can easily be whipped up and cooked within a half hour, so they’re fantastic if you have guests coming for a cuppa and have nothing in the cupboard.
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Beetroot and Balsamic Relish
I haven’t made this relish for ages. For a while there, it was something everyone received for Christmas, but I have moved on to olives and sweet things in recent years. That said, this is a delicious little accompaniment to cold meats, perfect on the table on Christmas Day with turkey and ham and great for…
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Spiced Beetroot Salad
I just love beetroot. The flavour of fresh beets from the ground can’t be beaten, so earthy and sweet, and the colour is just so gorgeous.
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Sweet and Sour Beans with Tomato, Feta and Sultanas
Another Karen Martini classic. This is a great vego dish on its own or a good side served with lamb or chicken. The sweet and sour flavour is moreish and you can easily do without the chilli if you prefer.
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Raspberry sorbet
This is a great thing to do with leftover egg whites and something cool to ease the heat on a hot summer night. I honestly can’t remember where I first came across this recipe, but it has to be the all time quickest and easiest ice cream – well sorbet, but it has a pretty ice-creamy texture…
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Pork Fillet with Honey and Ginger
Pork has to be my all time favourite meat. It’s so often overlooked (or over cooked!) but if you buy good quality cuts, it is so sweet and tender, soaks up flavour really well and is cheap as chips compared to red meat. This is a really simple one-pot-wonder dish I’ve made for dinner parties…
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Spiced Chicken Tortillas
Karen Martini produces some of my all time favourite recipes. Her flavour combinations are always spot on and almost without fail simple to put together. I only made this Mexican inspired recipe for the first time a few weeks ago.
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Ricotta and Parmesan Dumplings with Tomato and Basil Sauce
I never got the hang of potato gnocchi. The couple of times I’ve made it, it’s turned out heavy and tough. I think it’s a case of too much flour, anyway, I gave it away for this lighter, simpler ricotta version (taken from the Two Greedy Italians), which I’ve made many times.
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Asian Coleslaw
There will always be a place for mayonnaise-based coleslaw packed into a piece of white bread with a snag on a summer’s day – yum! That said, there’s nothing worse than a bowl of coleslaw sitting out in the heat at a barbie and turning that gross watery, yellow colour – blurgh!
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Pete’s Lemon Potatoes
Pete adopted this recipe from his mum. These potatoes are a bit of a winter staple, although they’re not too bad in summer either, and go with pretty much anything, particularly roast chicken or Fish with Garlic, Lemon and Tomatoes.
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Big Mac Potato Salad
My sister in law loves this salad – this one’s for you Casey! It’s a variation on the mayo-only potato salad using some mayo, but mainly sour cream. But don’t be fooled, it’s very rich and the sauce tastes suspiciously like Big Mac Special Sauce, only yummier.
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Fish with Garlic, Lemon and Tomatoes
When I first started dating Pete, I remember he couldn’t recognise the flavour of garlic in food. We’d be eating something laden with garlic and I’d say “gosh, this is garlicky” and he’d look at my quizzically. With a Greek background, garlic was so prevalent in his diet, that he actually didn’t know what it…
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Israeli Cutlets (Schnitzel)
In keeping with the Israeli theme and something to go perfectly with the Israeli salad, this spiced up schnitzel recipe from The Nosher gives new life to an old favourite. I use chicken but the recipe suggests turkey breast, which you don’t see often here in Oz, but which could be rather festive this time…
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Sophia’s Israeli Salad
My good friend Sophia first gave me this recipe. She’s a great food related resource and I always tell her what we’re having for dinner! The boy loves his salad and the Israeli kind gets a regular run at our place. You can mix it up anyway you like – add fennel, spring onions, radishes –…
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Cherry Clafoutis
Nothing screams Christmas like a big bowl of fresh, ripe cherries and we’ve had the most amazing harvest this year. They are so good to eat fresh, but if you have a glut and are looking for something to make, this recipe is a simple and tasty way to use them up. Tinned or frozen cherries…
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Bang Bang Chicken
Ignore the image (if you can)… This is a great easy summer dinner which takes poached chicken salad to a whole new level. The recipe I use is from SBS Food, but there are more than a few different versions out there. I remember reading that this is a traditional Chinese street food snack
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Ants Climbing Trees
This dish probably rates the highest on our family repeats list, it’s so simple and tasty. The name comes from the cooked pieces of pork mince looking like ants climbing the noodle ‘branches’. This is a Jill Dupleix recipe, but you’ll find a heap of different versions on the net.
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Christmas Eve Tuna Melts
This has become a bit of a family tradition in recent years. Something to kick off the rich food fest that is Christmas and easy to boot.