salted caramel cheesecake mousse

Yes indeed a totally luscious, creamy, caramelly, cheesecakey mousse toppped with liquid gold caramel and caramel popcorn and a final sprinkling of sea salt (basically a pot of completely delicious calories). This recipe is for special occasions or for when emergency decadence is required and then Oh My God…phwaor!!!!! This is another recipe I developed […]

heirloom tomatoes with prosciutto, burrata & basil

Remember those amazing heirloom tomatoes from the other day – the ones I couldn’t help but buy and bring home to photograph? Well this is what happened to them…probably not really suitable for New Zealand at the moment (unless you’re eating it in front of a roaring fire) but absolutely perfect for a lazy spring/summer […]

retro night beef wellington & potato gratin

I have mentioned once before on this blog that I am a limited fan of ‘classics with a twist’ – sometimes classics are just that, and their perfection is not to be overly meddled with! (OK – yes I do agree that sometimes a little addition or change can take something you are used to […]

smoked chicken pasta salad with romesco sauce

Whoop here it is šŸ™‚ I love a bit of serendipity, and I reckon it happens all the time, especially if you’re on the look out! This week I had the chance to have a lovely coffee catch-up with an old client and friend of mine from the personal training days (for those who don’t […]

spiced apple crumble muffins

Even though my mum has never enjoyed cooking she baked delicious after-school treats all through my childhood – I have very fond memories of flying in the door having walked home from school to find that Mum had just made, ‘goo’ cake, Louise slice, fruit slice or banana cake, all perfect to enjoy with a […]

dark chocolate brownies with white chocolate & sea salt

Don’t you love old faithful recipes? This is a guaranteed moist, fudgy extra rich and dark chocolate brownie with white chocolate chunks and a (newly added to the recipe) sprinkling of sea salt – phwaor. They are also ridiculously easy and quick to make. These would be great to make for a chocolate loving mother […]

novice yogi’s kitchari – basmati & split peas with Indian spices, vegetables & fresh herbs

OK now don’t worry, I’m not veering off completely into total vegan territory (with apologies to any vegans who would like me to…), but as I have been yoga-ing my ass off lately I have been interested to find out more about what those glowing, lithe yoga-instructors eat – et voila! And as you can […]

pumpkin, pea & chorizo frittata with feta & red onion

Having your Mum for over for a meal is a lovely way to celebrate Mother’s Day, and this is the perfect easy but delicious little number to whip up. The frittata is surprisingly light but rich in flavour with the earthy pumpkin, sweet peas and red onion, spicy chorizo and salty feta – ideal for […]

birthday chocolate layer cake & raspberry champagne cocktail

You might remember a few weeks ago I did the big kick assĀ Easter/Birthday chocolate cakeĀ for my friend Netty – layered with mousse and slathered in ganache…? Well this is a slightly simplified version of that same recipe – an absolute doddle to make and so incredibly good, with super moist cake (which easily lasts 3-4 […]

pizza with braised lentils, hot smoked salmon & pea puree

Hi all – this bloody delicious creation was inspired by the very clever and talented people at La Cigale in Auckland who do a puff pastry tart using lentils, salmon and pea puree – and this is kind of my tribute to it in a pizza form. Seeing as Rich has been in Shanghai with […]

hear me raw vege salad

HiĀ there, and welcome back from Easter – I hope you had a good one! It has been such a wonderful treat to have Henry and Josh up from Wellington, and while they’ve been here I have lavished them Ā (and of course Rich and Nick) with love in my usual fashion – with food. So far […]

Mr McGregor’s mini carrot loaves

Hello and hurrah – my final blog recipe for Easter! (Now just two more shots to do for Fairfax tomorrow and then I am DONE for a week!!!) Oh dear I just saw a lovely reader had suggested a definite ‘yes’ to icing these little carrot loaves with cream cheese icing, but I was already […]

meatballs on brown rice with peanut sauce & Asian slaw

Just when you thought there was no other way to serve meatballs, here is my final recipe! (Actually, I could probably think of quite a few more ways, but I’m thinking we should probably leave it here…) This recipe combines the earthy meatballs with a zingy Asian slaw, spicy peanut sauce and some lovely nubbly […]