Several years ago now we spent 2 1/2 very happy years living in beautiful Sydney. It was a totally idyllic time – the boys had just started school, Nick was working his butt off, and I was exercising like a mad thing – and completing my course in personal training. In Sydney everything seems like […]
This is a delicious family-style Bolognese, with a little chilli kick, that is great to prepare ahead. I like to make it with a mix of pork and beef for a really full flavour, but you can make it with just beef mince if you prefer. It needs long, slow cooking to develop rich, deep flavours, but little […]
Another gorgeous day here in Auckland – yippee! (Two in a row – is this some kind of record??) This kind of weather really puts you in the mood for getting a few friends together and eating outside – not us tonight though, Rich the 16-year-old is walking in his first fashion show so we’re […]
Well that’s it – the local manicurists salon has their Christmas tree up, we’ve had to take half the blankets off the bed and we heard the first cicada of the season a couple of days ago – officially the first day of summer is December 1st but I am declaring barbecue season ‘open’. This […]
Ok, I fully realise that I am the last recipe blogger on the planet to do a post on smoothies – but hey, better late than never! I have four smoothies for your breakfasting pleasure, each with a different appeal – but all good for you with different benefits. I know it is totally un-cool […]
Hellooooo! I have been keen to use quinoa (haha) for some time now. It is such a power-packed little morsel loaded with protein and anti-inflammatory properties, but sometimes it can be a little, how shall I put this, boring and flavourless. It is all to do with what you put with it – and this […]
I had a feeling this blog would have had over 150,000 views by the time I returned from San Francisco and I was so thrilled that it had – thank you my lovely bloggie friends! I wanted to give you a really lavish celebratory recipe to show my appreciation, and by crikey this hits the […]
I scribbled this recipe down in my trusty notebook while sitting at the hairdressers the other day (hair is getting shorter and shorter, can’t help myself…must stop now!) and made it today to take to the lovely Netty and Andy’s for dessert. The thing is, I tried to be too tricky the first time I […]
For those of you who follow me on Facebook (yay you – you know who you are!!!) you will know it was my lovely Henry’s 18th birthday yesterday. To celebrate we had two waves of visitors, kicking off with assorted grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins for early evening drinks, followed by a second wave of […]
This hearty (yet not heavy) soup has been hanging around in the back of my head for ages now – fragrant with cumin, turmeric, ginger, garam masala and a hint of chilli, it is a fabulously healthy winter treat with a wee bit of naan or roti on the side. The lentils and vegetables pack […]
Way back in February I posted my recipe for Chocolate, Coconut and Caramel Slice which has ended up becoming a family favourite – especially for me because it is so quick and easy to throw together. I have been thinking for some time about doing something with white chocolate, caramel and macadamias (as you […]
Packed with a power punch, this a seriously lean, mean salad with an aromatic sesame flavoured dressing. If you train regularly, or you just want to give your body a boost – this is the salad for you! Don’t forget to check out my recipe index page while you’re here for loads more salads (and […]
I am going to call this salad ‘Dr Feel Good’. (As a tribute to Aretha’s song – not the Motley Crue one!) Packed with vitamins A, B6, C, E, K and potassium, magnesium, zinc and fibre it is a veritable anti-aging, cold-fighting, antioxidant extravaganza and it tastes A-Mazing. You will love it. 5 medium/small beetroot […]
Off to a dear friend’s place for dinner tonight, so I begged her to let me bring dessert so that I could post a blog, and practice my photography! The tart has a chocolate pastry base filled with dark chocolate ganache and topped with juicy blackberries. The hazelnut praline gives a really nice crunch as […]