Japanese curry balls & okonomiyake

Goooood morning, good morning – well for once I am upright sitting at my ‘big’ computer while I write this, having hauled myself out of bed for a wee tiny run on this muggy morning. Crikey what a few days it has been! On Thursday I woke at 4am, got picked up by a cab […]

green greenie salad & smoothie

Well here I am as usual writing this post as I sit in bed with a cup of tea, delaying the moment I must get up and get cracking. Just like millions of other people in the world I spent yesterday listening to David Bowie’s amazing music while I worked – and now this morning […]

perfect steak with garlicky herb butter

Hello and good Monday-back-to-work morning to you! I am just psyching myself up for the mountain of work I need to get through before flying to Shanghai/Berlin/Amsterdam in about 10 days, and in the meantime breathing through the fact that Henry is mid-pack for his big move to Melbourne and Rich is filling in time […]

New Year’s Eve Partaaaay – mini smoked fish cakes with garlic, lemon mayo & mushroom crostini

Hellooooooo from Waiheke Island, New Zealand. I am taking (literally) two minutes to quickly post this on my way to catch the ferry for a doctor’s appointment in town. (Thank you Waiheke library for the kind use of your free wifi.) So, hurrah, stitches out today, and then I’m back out to the island to […]

Christmas showstopper, easy twice baked chocolate souffles with whiskey chocolate sauce

Hey-ho, Sunday afternoon the weekend before Christmas and for some reason I am working – argh – thank God it’s a job I love, gettin’ all creative on it or it would be very grim indeed. I just wanted to take a quick break to  share version 2 of this pic for the super easy […]

Christmassey walnut caramel dumplings with vanilla bean ice cream

Just sitting here feeling very bah-hum-buggy with a sore back thanks to the melanoma wide-excision yesterday – I am one of those people who rushes around at a million miles an hour, so having to move cautiously is anathema to me. However being kind of chair bound has meant that I have caught up on […]

powerhouse salmon & slaw salad

serves 2 Hey ho – you quite possibly didn’t see my last bog post where I mentioned I had recently had another melanoma diagnosed – luckily so early it shouldn’t be a problem, I just have a wide excision to look forward to on the 16th December. (This is where the surgeon re-cuts around and […]

classic Italian-style tomato bruschetta

It feels like an eternity ago that we went on our epic (for us) one month trip to Italy – I can’t believe it’s only been about 18 months! While we were there we ate loads of beautiful fresh produce, and a particular favourite ‘dish’ that we have been recreating ever since is this super […]

flat iron steak tacos with black bean mole, pico de gallo, slaw & lime crema

Right – the weather is still soooo average, (come on spring, enough of this muggy gloom!) but I was feeling like having some friends round for dinner, so was after something that would feel a bit more summery, but still be super-satisfying and tasty. I was also keen to try out these new flat iron […]

evening-after-the-night-before soup

Goooooood evening, good evening, good evening (as Stephen Fry would say) – this is just a super easy soup recipe I thought I’d quickly pop up on a whim. Last night Rich and I headed off to his final school prize-giving and graduation ceremony, followed by a grad dinner. It was such a fun night, […]

asparagus & mozzarella pizzas, smoked salmon pizzas with dill & capers

I am tapping away writing this in total lazy mode – it’s 6:53am and I’m propped up in bed with my second massive mug of tea – perfect! Today’s recipes are two that I put together for Fairfax, and they are two family favourites – basically we have pizza at home probably around once a […]

brown rice (or quinoa), zucchini & cabbage fritters with mozzarella, avocado & pesto

Hi all! Well sh*t it’s been a crappy few days hasn’t it…I found myself stupidly apologising to Rich (the 18 year old) last night as we sat on the couch watching the news – for the state of the world. I remember heading off to Europe by myself, aged 17, for a year’s AFS student […]

morning walk on Waiheke

Good Monday morning! If you have been coming here for a while you will know that my heart belongs to Waiheke Island, I absolutely love it’s beautiful scenery, amazing wines, stunning beaches and laid back vibe. Now that spring has actually kind of properly sprung we’ll be heading back out there more often – and […]