Posts

Cabbage Salad I know cabbage can have a reputation for being a really boring vegetable and I distinctly have memories from my childhood of picking through food to avoid eating even the tiniest piece of cabbage. However, once I grew out of my bratty-picky-eating-phase and left the nest to fend for myself, cabbage became a pantry staple (well, refrigerator staple). Every week, along with onions, garlic and potatoes, cabbage always makes its way into my shopping basket....

Spicy Parmesan Party Popcorn The pressure to “deliver” is high when you have a new food blogger friend coming round for lunch and you’ve had a shocker of a weekend so you haven’t had time to prepare for a fancy meal. This new friend is Amanda from Chew Town who is such good value that even if I served her a ham sandwich with store bought bread, she would still munch it down with enthusiasm....

If you’re feeling inspired, indulge in a Thai banquet at home with Chicken Satay Skewers, Thai Fish Cakes, Thai Green Curry or Red Curry, and Thai Fried Rice! Thai Basil Chicken Wowser. I LOVE Thai Basil Chicken. Just looking at these photos and writing up this post has me peeved that I’ll shortly be reheating leftovers instead of firing up the wok. (That’s a nice insight into the immaturity that is me....

Make the easy 30 minute red curry recipe using my trick to pimp up store bought curry paste. Or go all out and make a Thai Red Curry Paste from scratch! Complete your Thai banquet with Thai Satay Skewers or Thai Fish Cakes to start. Thai Red Curry recipe We’d all love to be able to have a Thai Red Curry any night of the week made with homemade red curry paste....

Loaded with herb garlic roasted vegetables, take this to work, make it for breakfast, brunch, or dinner. Use my frittata recipe formula to make this your own – try chicken, ham, spinach and artichoke, salmon and broccoli, or Tuscan antipasto! Easy Baked Vegetable Frittata Traditionally, frittata is started on the stove then transferred to the oven to finish cooking. This is the way I cook frittatas if I’m sautéing bacon or similar – so I can cook the frittata in the bacon fat (SO GOOD!...

I like to wedge chunks of cheese in the batter so you get lovely pockets of cheese and the lovely textured crust on top. But you could just mix it through – even faster to prepare!! A terrific no yeast bread recipe I don’t often bake with yeast because it requires patience for the dough to rise. Oh, and the kneading. I’ve actually got reasonable upper body strength. My challenge is my height....

The new way to make risotto that comes out just as creamy and just as delicious is here – and it’s so much easier, less washing up and far less labour intensive than the old way! Risotto is one of my all time favourite foods. I feel like I say that about many recipes I’ve shared, but I really mean it. Really!! I don’t make risotto as often as I want to because it’s carb heavy and I lack self control....

Wonderful to pass around at parties, this was a hit over the Christmas party season! Cucumber Canapés These canapés are a terrific combo – the cool, juicy cucumber with the rich creamy salmon mousse. But the really great thing about these Cucumber Canapés is that it’s speedy to make loads of it. I’m really not one for fiddly assembly and am always in awe of caterers who put together vast platters of delicately constructed hors d’oeuvres and finger food that people inhale in one bite!...

Easy Creamy Cheesy Potato Bake. How’s that for a tongue twister, eh? Try saying that 3 times real fast (even harder, after a couple of glasses of wine). I keep getting myself confused, and I’ve probably gotten it wrong a few times in this post even though I’ve gone back to check several times! When you think of potato bakes, you probably think of sliced potatoes. Otherwise known as Potato Gratin, Potato Dauphinoise and Scalloped Potatoes to those in the States....

“You can feed 25 people with just one pork shoulder. It’s incredibly cost effective!” In this post I want to share with you how you can make 5 freezer friendly meals for 4 people in 1 hour for just $50. All the meals are made using just one batch of Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork). Pork Carnitas are incredibly cost effective because a little bit goes a long way. A 2....

“When you serve this, it fans out like “hasselback potatoes”, making perfect crevices to pour maple syrup into.” I know the name of this recipe is a bit odd but I truly can’t think of a better way to describe it. This french toast bake is made using baguette (french stick bread) which is sliced almost all the way through then soaked with an egg mixture. It’s quite different to the usual method which involves cubes of bread or layering slices of bread in a baking dish....

Dozer, the last time you gave an interview was back in 2020. I feel privileged that you agreed to talk to me. It’s been quite a year for you! Photo shoots. In the newspaper. Book signings! TV! Did you ever imagine all this would happen to you? What’s a newspaper? Is that the stuff your fish and chips comes wrapped in? And wait – I was on TV? I didn’t know that!...

This recipe is part of a series where I show you How to Make 5 AWESOME Mexican Freezer Friendly meals (for 4 people) in 1 hour for $50 using one batch of Pork Carnitas. Great things happen when you do a mash up of two of my favourite cuisines! Basically it’s an enchilada layered up like a lasagna, then baked until bubbly and golden. Because it’s made with leftover Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork) which is already seasoned, all that’s required is to mix it up with enchilada sauce, capsicum, corn and beans, then just layer it with tortillas....

Mini cheesecakes When it comes to party season, my dessert game plan is pretty predictable and heads in one of two directions. If I have the time and really want to make a splash, I’ll go for a big statement piece like the famous Pavlova Christmas Tree or Never-Ending Meringue Tart, the latter aptly named because you can make it as impressively loooong as you want (4 metres / 12 feet is my record to date!...

Prawn Tacos I want to open with a grand statement like “I’m yet to meet a taco that I don’t love”, but then I remember that time we bravely tried offal street tacos in Mexico City (intestines, to be exact) and how it was clear that the part we got were……errr…let’s say from the lower part of the intestines, with a distinct, unpalatable flavour that will never be forgotten… So I decided to scrap that and just say – PRAWNS!...

We can never have too many beef mince recipes! Rissoles are a classic we’ll love forever, along with Spaghetti Bolognese, Tacos, Meatloaf, Beef Hamburgers and cosy Cottage Pie. Rissoles I know many Aussies grew up with rissoles as a weekly meal, but that doesn’t include my family. My first experience with rissoles was when I moved out of home at the tender age of 18 and shared a flat with a real true-blue Aussie lass....

Complete your Vietnamese banquet with fresh Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls to start and a side of fluffy coconut rice. And don’t miss the chicken version – Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken! Vietnamese Caramel Pork recipe Vietnamese Caramel Pork is one of those gems that seem exotic, yet is unbelievably simple AND you can get everything you need at your local supermarket. The pork is braised until tender, and looks completely unimpressive until the last 5 minutes when it magically caramelises and turns into something that you’d pay serious $ for at a posh Asian restaurant....

Try it once, and you’ll be converted for life! Chicken Lasagna White Chicken Lasagna is everything you know and love about classic Lasagna – except it’s made with tender shredded chicken and golden mushrooms smothered in a cheesy Alfredo sauce! While it may be white instead of red, and made with chicken instead of beef, it has all the characteristics of what we love so much about Lasagna: it’s just as cosy just as cheesy just as saucy just as moreish makes a BIG BATCH freezes great you know it’s going to be a guaranteed hit with everyone!...

Terrific grazing dessert for gatherings. And because it stays fresh for weeks, it makes for a sensational food gift!! Caramel Popcorn I make caramel popcorn a LOT all throughout the year. I make it for: gifting – just a pure act of kindness without any ulterior motives; bribing – when I’m trying to sway decisions / get in or stay in someone’s good graces. (This happens more than I care to admit 😂); and dessert for gatherings – it’s a brilliant grazing option for dessert so your family and friends don’t need to commit to a huge slice of chocolate cake because they’re stuffed full from dinner!...

I’ve shared many a recipes that I say are deceptively easy. From dumplings to quiches, with process photos and videos, even first-timers are able to follow along and are delighted to crown themselves Dumpling Queens, Wonton Kings, or Quiche Masters. (Self-proclaimed titles are fully encouraged around here!) Char Kway Teow is probably the first recipe ever that I’m going to describe as deceptively difficult. What may seem to be quite a straightforward stir fried noodle dish is actually a bit of an art that’s been perfected by Malaysian street hawkers, and it’s taken me this long to share the recipe because I wanted to ensure I could make it doable for anyone....