lamb & chickpea balls with hummus, olives & semi-dried tomatoes

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 […]

oaty caramel slice & banoffee banana cake

Holy moly did it rain in Auckland last night or what? This year we seem to have slid straight from a dismal spring to a momentary summer and have already hit autumn…but I suppose at least we have comfort food to look forward to 🙂 These recipes are two that I created for Fairfax so […]

mini spinach pies with rosemary, lemon, pine nuts & feta

Good morning from the comfy old blogging ground of my bed, complete with second cup of tea. Today’s recipe is one I put together for Dish magazine, perfect for summer drinks parties, picnics, lunch – whatever really – they are gorgeous little pastry parcels filled with iron-rich spinach, salty feta, nubbly pine nuts and sweet […]

spicy chicken tacos with lime tomato salsa, grilled corn & margaritas

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 […]

New Year’s restorative breakfast – starting 2017 right

Happy New Year!!!!!!!! As you know I have been really looking forward to seeing the back end of last year, so I am bloody beside myself that it is finally 2017. Bring it on is all I have to say. I have a huge year planned with the publication of my first book here in […]

indian spiced lamb & lentil burgers with easy tomato kasundi

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, […]

easy like sunday morning – poached eggs with hummus, avocado & dukkah

Just re-posting this little beauty from a while back…can’t help myself, it’s raining, I don’t want to get out of bed…wish it was Sunday morning! :)Feeling easy like Sunday morning, thanks Lionel Richie, and thanks yoga, which seems to have some kind of calmative effect on me so that when I finish, I can float […]

shakshuka with homemade cumin labneh

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 […]

spring asparagus, pea & zucchini tart with light herb mayo

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 […]

roast cauliflower salad with eggplant hummus & walnut dukkah

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 […]

kumara & blue cheese balls with honey toasted walnuts

  Alrighty then – this is not my standard kind of recipe in that it was literally made with left-overs I had in the fridge, and therefore I can’t give you the exact quantity of potatoes and kumaras required to make your mash – but I can give you the precise amount of mash:cheese ratio […]

French onion soup & rustic croque monsieur

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, […]

slow-cooked mexican pulled beef & beans on soft cheesy polenta

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 […]

banana maple oaty walnut muffins with maple butter

Goood morning from my regular blogging spot – tucked up in bed with a mug of tea. I have a real treat for you today – these banana, maple, oaty muffins are basically a loaf recipe that I have tweaked (and can still be cooked a s a loaf) for Fairfax newspapers, so will be […]