A month or so back our vegetable garden finally materialized after years of hype and speculation. It’s funny when you actually start something after so much procrastination and then you realize it’s not very hard at all. Anyway, this here baby cos (romaine) lettuce is our very first harvest and it’s taught me that if there’s one thing you really ought to grow yourself, lettuce would be it. Fresh picked lettuce is just so much tastier and crunchier than store bought. I’m totally sold – there really is no comparison.

We still have a lot of food left over from when my family came up to stay a couple weeks back. They came to escape the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake, and aside from the stressful circumstances in which they arrived it was lovely having them to stay. My Dad very generously filled our kitchen with so much food – more than we could have eaten during their stay – and so we’ve been picking our way through the goodies ever since. I made this salad on Friday night, a throw together of sorts that turned out spectacularly well.


Baby cos leaves, tossed with black grapes, peas, pan-fried haloumi and a honey-mint balsamic dressing. A very simple ingredient list but a stunning combination of flavours. The plump, tart black grapes really pop against the saltiness of the haloumi. It’s this kind of salty and fruity contradiction that I adore in a green salad.
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Read the rest of Baby Cos Salad with Peas & Haloumi (217 words)

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As I’m writing this it is 26C (79F) outside and the cicada symphony is in full swing. I know this not just because they’re drowning out all other neighborhood sounds, but because the cat just bought one into the house. And then she let it go. Cicadas are way, way noisier inside the house. So it’s not exactly weather that has me hankering for hot pasta with spicy tomato sauce. But let’s backtrack a week or two, when that big old scary storm finally crossed the Tasman Ocean and hit Auckland. Boy was it wet. And cold. Despite my initial recoil, it was actually nice to have a break from the peak-summer heat and enjoy some warm comfort foods again.

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Read the rest of Arrabbiata with Broccoli & Tempeh (377 words)

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I had a version of this fabulous salad at the cafe in our office building the other day. I got myself into a right tizzy, having lost a good few hours work when my computer flaked out, and suddenly realized I was absolutely starving. The vegetarian fare can be a mixed bag at the cafe, sometimes theres a few wholesome salads to choose from and other times it’s limited to a cheese panini. Wanting to avoid further disappointment, I had settled on the thought of having the cheese panini for lunch. So imagine my delight when I walked in and saw this salad behind the glass cabinet.

It was as tasty as it looked: hearty, earthy lentils and crunchy spinach with a yummy curry dressing, topped with crumbly feta and tangy red sun-dried tomatoes. The day had redeemed itself. I felt good again. And I felt just as good when I tried to make my own version of this salad today. I think it’s just as tasty. Enjoy!
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Read the rest of Puy Lentil, Tomato & Feta Salad (184 words)

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I’m so in love with this sparkling gingerbread loaf that I’m planning to make quite a few of them and share the love these holidays. So I made a whole bunch of candied orange peel to go on top. This recipe makes a good few cups of candied peel so it should be enough to cover my lofty loaf plans and then some. I’m thinking I will dip any left over in dark chocolate. You probably won’t see those… I doubt they will last long enough to be witnessed by anyone in this house, let alone be patiently photographed.

I cooked them with a little rapadura / muscovado sugar just because I wanted my candied peels to be a bit more special. It worked. The touch of molasses makes it so much nicer than store bought candied peel.
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Read the rest of How to Make… Candied Orange Peel (194 words)

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I’ve taken this week of work as I was supposed to be heading up to Seattle to catch up with some friends. Long story short is I didn’t make it to the US due to a few issues Qantas were having with their planes, so I’ve put my trip on hold until the new year. Have you ever planned to do something exciting like that and had to cancel at the last minute? It’s a total bummer. But do you know what makes up for it? A whole week of nothing. Actually, a whole week of organizing in advance for Christmas. If you’re not into Christmas like I am then this probably sounds about as exciting as a stomach ulcer. But me, I’m in holiday planning heaven right now.

I started yesterday by baking this spiced gingerbread loaf to get me in the mood for putting up our Christmas tree. I’m a huge fan of gingerbread and its warm, spicy scent that snakes though the house as it bakes. This recipe has a gorgeous blend of cinnamon, cloves, orange peel, mustard, applesauce and two gingers: powdered and candied. I topped it with a lemon glaze and homemade candied orange peel, the recipe of which will follow shortly.
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Read the rest of Sparkling Gingerbread Loaf (332 words)

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Have you ever roasted goat feta? I just tried it tonight and it was so good I decided I had to do a post about it. Just crumble the feta into a small roasting dish, drizzle with a few good glugs of olive oil and throw in a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. Roast. Then viola: tangy, salty, warm roasted feta goodness. For me this discovery is right up there with the first time I grilled a slab of haloumi a few years back. A very different texture mind you – much drier and fuller. You couldn’t eat a whole cake of roasted feta like some people (ahem, not me) might do with haloumi, but it makes a lip-smackingly good topping that I’m sure would complement many a dish.
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Read the rest of Bulgur with Garden Vegetables & Roasted Feta (345 words)

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If you like your chocolate dark and your coffee black with no sugar you will love these brownies. I asked my friend Maria to share some of her favorite holiday recipes and this is one of the ones she gave me, a bittersweet chocolate brownie with espresso and rapadura. Maria is from Spain, the Canary Islands to be precise, and a passionate foodie. Last weekend she hosted a BBQ where she served up to most flavorful vegetarian paella I’ve ever had. I tried to get the recipe but it turned out to be one of those improvised dishes that can never quite be replicated. What I really love about her food is that she always puts her own style into what she makes and it is always the better for it.

These brownies are no exception. Far from your average brownie, they are intensely dark, bittersweet, and have a wonderful hint of molasses from the rapadura. They are far from healthy, but who wants to eat a healthy brownie? I’d much rather savor half as much of a deliciously indulgent brownie any day.
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Read the rest of Maria’s Bittersweet Chocolate Brownies (456 words)

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Earlier this year I went through a phase where I thought risotto with pearled barley in place of rice was pretty cool. Actually it still is cool. I mean, pearled barley in risotto, it’s pretty cool. I just love the wholesome texture and earthiness it lends to the dish.

I’m not sure exactly where I’m going with this because today’s recipe does not use pearled barley. As much as I do love to use whole grains, sometimes I like to relax and just enjoy a dish the traditional way. I figure this helps me keep it real when I’m creating new recipes and trying to be a kitchen smartypants.

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Read the rest of Risotto with Roasted Tomatoberries & Pesto (504 words)

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I’m not a morning person. I’m really, really not. I’ve always wanted to be one, to feel totally alive and inspired to start the day. Sometimes I even force myself to get up at first light and go for a run through the park – pretending like this is all normal and I’m totally fine, happy to be awake and making the most of the day. And it kinda works for an hour or so. And then I flatline. I just can’t keep up the charade – I start thinking about my bed, and coffee. And coffee in bed.

So I’m pretty convinced there are two types of people in this world. Morning people and non-morning people. You can’t fight it. You just gotta roll with it…
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Read the rest of Honey Coconut Quinoa with Pomegranate (253 words)

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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while now you’ll know I am particularly fond of soba noodles. Most any time I make a recipe with noodles I will find a reason to substitute soba into the mix. Well, actually it doesn’t even need to be a noodle recipe… Hot or cold, I just love their delicate texture and slight nuttiness. These wholesome buckwheat noodles so darn tasty.


This recipe was inspired by a bottle of pomegranate molasses I bought the other week. I had been eyeing it up for an eggplant moussaka recipe but was a tad non-committal at first, thinking it would be one of those ingredients that I use once for a particular dish and then leave to hog space on my refrigerator’s tiny sauce shelf for quite some time only to get repeatedly bumped off and, finally, one day smash on the floor because my ever-so-delicate sauce shelf is prone to giving way under the pressure of many once-used sauces and condiments. But then I bought it anyway.
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Read the rest of Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Pomegranate (369 words)

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