Archives for April 2019

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Roasted Pumpkin with Feta & Caper Dressing

Roast pumpkin glistening with a caper dressing makes a standout autumn lunch. Serving for dinner? Add a few extras such as fried pumpkin seeds and dukkah.

Gingered Shortbread

Crunchy-topped shortbread and a cuppa is just the buzz for mid-morning (or mid-afternoon!).

Baked Butterkin

Cute little butterkin … it doesn’t know whether it’s a butternut or a pumpkin, but who cares, it tastes delicious!

Cabbage with Ginger

Have to write this in capital letters: DON’T OVERCOOK THE CABBAGE. Get my drift?

Super food Cabbage is always there at the supermarket, cheap as chips, but most of us walk past it filling our trolleys with more expensive, often out-of-season produce. It’s considered a food for the poor, but nutritionally it is very rich. Listen up! Cabbage contains phytochemicals which help fight cancers and reduce DNA damage (the […]

Totara Ladies Lunch for Hospice

Some years ago my darling brother Clive got very ill with a brain tumour. In his final days he was assisted by the wonderful staff of Totara Hospice. I’ve been a supporter since then. I was delighted when they asked me to be the guest host of their 2019 fundraising lunch in May. Well known […]

Apple & Walnut Filo Pie

Flaky filo, tangy apples, walnuts and cinnamon.

Chicken & Mustard Filo Pie

Mmm mmm. Chicken in filo. Creamy filling, crunchy golden filo. That hits the spot.

Mint Sauce – get pounding!

My mother’s nose-tinglingly fresh mint sauce with a vinegary bite was legendary in our house.

Pea & Bacon Soup Update

Fill your boots (well, not literally) with a bowl of this hearty soup on a cold day. It’ll see you right.

Eggplant Polenta Pie

This pushes all the buttons: cheesy, crusty, deeply satisfying and so very delicious.

Ilaria’s Easter Lamb

Juicy lamb roast to share with friends.

Tomato & Goat’s Cheese Tarts

Simple and sublime.

Braised Brisket with Snail Pasta

Leftovers? Think squashed broccoli, peas and spuds, with shredded brisket … in a FRY-UP!!! (Yep, 3 exclamation marks required.)

Polenta

Polenta may have humble origins, being served as a type of gruel back in the day, but just look at it now!

Waiheke Live!

Waiheke Happenings Festivals, Markets, Creative Arts, Song & Poetry … Easter weekend is the busiest weekend on Waiheke, partly due to the jazz festival which is held over the weekend at various venues. The festival is now called the Waiheke, Jazz, Art & Music Festival to reflect the wider range of events on offer, though […]

Broccoli & Cannellini Smash

Well, who would have thought that a head of broccoli and a can of beans could produce such an amazing bowl of comfort food. Add a fried egg, sizzled sage leaves and a shower of parmesan and you’ll just about wet your pants with excitement. HaHa. Truly. Well maybe not … Damned delicious anyway. So, plan an all vege meal any night soon.

Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Smoky paprika, pimiento-stuffed olives, mandarins, fennel seeds … all you need is cauliflower!

Feijoa & Banana Oaty Crumble

An exotic fruity perfume, sweet & tangy taste and a topping of oats, coconut & Brazil nuts. What are you waiting for!

Feijoas

Feijoas are right show-offs. Stick one in a fruit bowl to ripen and it’ll soon fill the room with its heady, tropical scents of banana, sweet strawberry, ripe pineapple and guava. The creamy-coloured flesh, apart from the jellied seeds, is granular like a pear in some varieties, smoother in others. Feijoas ripen from the inside […]