Goooood morning – and I hope that if you are in New Zealand, you are hunkered down somewhere safe and dry as we await the arrival of the ‘biggest storm in 50 years’. Bloody hell – not good timing with people travelling around the country to visit loved ones for Easter…so today’s recipe is my […]
Holy moly did it rain last night (in Auckland) or what??? Happily I am still tucked up in bed with my cup of tea and heading to a slightly later yoga session today – that would be for day 36 in a row – wooooo – almost at my 40 day target! Actually I love […]
Hello there – I’m feeling very guilty as I write this as I should be just home from yoga, but when the alarm went off at 5:15am this morning I pulled the covers over my head and hid in bed instead. Consequently I am off to a 9:30am class (bad, bad, bad for my work-day […]
Good Friday morning – today’s recipe is an easy l’il weekend dinner of spiced lamb & chickpea meatballs served with grunty harissa-spiked hummus, intense, soft semi-dried tomatoes and briney black olives – the trick is to get a little bit of everything in one mouthful for the full flavour hit. They’re also great for getting […]
Good morning from a running-very-late me on this Wednesday morning. Currently I am supposed to be in the car on my way to the beach to visit my lovely friend Anna for a few nights (with dogs and Rich in tow), and yet I’m not – I am sitting here at my bloody computer catching […]
God I am so sick and tired of this year – I have to say if there was an ‘annus horriblis’ this has been it. (No not horrible anus, you know – horrible year…) Being left after 26 years of marriage is a pretty rough gig and my self-esteem has taken a total beating. Thankfully, […]
Morning all – for once, not from bed with my mug of tea (been there done that), it is 7:22am and I am tapping away at my keyboard in my office instead. Generally speaking I am not a fan of people who always arrive late, flapping about, gasping for air and talking about how busy […]
Morning all. God what a weird few weeks, first Trump elected President in the states and then earthquakes here in New Zealand. I don’t remember us having such regular ‘shaky isles’ in the past, and feel so sorry for anyone having to live with both the fear during the quakes, and the crappy aftermath of […]
Good morning from a chilly, clear-skied Kinloch (just down the road from Taupo). I’m going to make this quick as I am staying with my lovely sister and her fam and the plan is to go boating shortly, so I have just made myself a cup of tea and snuck back to bed for 5 […]
These are two of my all-time favourite French dishes that are featuring in Fairfax newspapers around the country today – so simple to prepare, pretty rustic, but packed with fantastic flavour. The onion soup is deeply rich, slightly sweet and satisfying while the croque monsieur is indulgently good with crispy bread slathered in bechamel sauce, […]
Goood morning. I am well over due to get up and get cranking, but wanted to quickly share this before the weekend. It’s looking set to be freezing, wild weather around the country, and this is the antidote – super-slow cooked Mexican spiced beef and beans on soft, cheesy polenta. The whole thing is so […]
I am so grateful for good friends – it’s easy to be mates when everything is jolly, but when things get tough it is amazing to have people you can rely on 🙂 Last night I had two of my most lovely friends for dinner. As usual we started with a wee whiskey and some […]
Morning all – well it’s been a while ‘between drinks’, but this is a great little vege-loaded mid-week recipe which is super healthy and pretty quick and easy to put together. During winter I often crave big hearty stews or pies (…see recent pie extravaganza), and when I need a vegetable fix I usually go […]
Fridaaaaay! Yay – and finally a beautiful blue-sky day in Auckland – fantastic! Today’s recipe is for a crispy thin-based pizza loaded with cheesy goodness then finished off with a little chilli kick, fresh peppery rocket and some fresh zingy lemon. It is a great vegetarian option, but for other suggestions you can also checkout […]