It seems like ages ago now that we had a lovely farewell dinner at Mum’s, for the 18-year old Henry – before he headed off for two weeks in Dubai staying with a friend, as you do, then had one day in Auckland before moving down to university in Wellington. (Yesterday!!!) Sniff. Mum made a […]
Well it’s that time of year again – red roses triple in price, tender hearts hope for anonymous notes, young romantics stress about buying the perfect token of their affection, and old-marrieds get to raise a glass to each other in satisfaction for having made it this far! Valentine’s Day. In typical fashion my valentine […]
The other night just before heading to Dubai, Henry was asking for something light for dinner, and Nick concurred (the lovely 16 year-old Richard would never request a salad, he’s more your sausage and mash kind of guy). So, can’t quite remember what Rich had (!) but this is what I put together for the […]
Crazy name, yes, but it suits my start to the year which has seen some very healthy eating (and some not-so-healthy eating), interspersed with introductory yoga sessions around about Auckland, seeing which ones will take my fancy for my new year’s yoga resolution (so far Naam and Vinyasa, next up Hot Yoga). Do not fear, […]
Well what’s that saying about ‘the best laid plans of mice and men’ often going awry? My original plan for Christmas dinner was to have roast chooks with a festive cranberry stuffing wrapped in prosciutto, but having had a beautiful side of salmon at a pre-Christmas Christmas at my mother-in-law’s the week before, I completely […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A big call no? The ultimate lemon tart? Well it isn’t even in the oven yet and I am tempting fate monumentally by making this call, and yet I feel confidant. I have been cooking variations on a standard lemon tart for years making little tweaks and changes along the way, in fact I used […]
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 […]
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 […]