This is almost too simple to be called a recipe – it’s really just an open sandwich celebrating the beauty of smoked salmon combined with crunchy, flavoursome dark grain bread, smooth and luscious cream cheese and salty, astringent capers. So satisfying to make and to eat and far better for your body and soul than…
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Blueberry muffins
I confess that I have a love/hate relationship with muffins. A good muffin is a beautiful thing and I have eaten some spectacular ones. But a bad muffin is pretty disappointing. Case in point – most cafes serve muffins – but they are usually enormous, either dry or stodgy, and the flavourings, be they blueberries,…
Read MoreTzatziki, or, finding my inner Greek
It’s a bold thing to suggest that any recipe for tzatziki is an original and I don’t make that claim. It’s a classic sauce/accompaniment that has its origins in Greece but versions also appear in Turkish, Cypriot, and Persian cuisines. I owe what I know about making great tzatziki to both the wonderful Jamie Oliver…
Read MoreBruschetta three ways
Bruschetta is an Italian dish, whose origin dates to as early as the 15th century. In its simplest form it consists of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. There are innumerable variations, although tomato, basil and mozzarella is a favourite and probably the best known topping. I…
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“I’m living in the seventies” mango ice cream
Anyone who grew up in Australia in the 1970s will most likely remember a variation of this ice cream dessert. It stands alongside no-bake cheesecake and a really weird salad dressing as the quintiessential ways to use condensed milk, a core ingredient in many Australian kitchens of the day. The thing is, it tastes really…
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Lemon and thyme shortbread
Shortbread is a traditional Christmas-time treat and always makes an appearance at our place. I wanted to try something a little different this year, so I added lemon zest and some fresh thyme to my usual recipe and sprinkled the shortbread with demerrara sugar before baking. The thyme and lemon might seem odd flavours to…
Read MoreSummer tomato pasta
This tomato pasta is a little bit unusual in that the tomatoes are not cooked but rely on the fresh, hot pasta to warm them and release their flavour. It is a wonderfully fresh and light dish and the combination of tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil is a winning one. It’s perfect for Sunday…
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Peach, avocado and persian feta salad
Summer for me means many things – hot, humid days, thunderstorms, swimming in the pool, holidays with my family, playing canasta and listening to great jazz, reading novels, walking on the beach. And summer food is a big part of what I love about this time of year. There’s so many beautiful fruits and vegetables…
Read MoreSmashed potatoes with parmesan
Potatoes are one of my favourite foods and I eat them many ways – simply boiled, in salads, mashed with butter and parsley, or roasted in the oven. They take on other flavours magnificently and I like to experiment with different vegetables and herbs to go with them. I also like trying different varieties of…
Read MoreSticky roasted plums
Each year we travel to the small country town of Stanthorpe to celebrate the New Year with our dear friends Ewen and Elissa. They own a vineyard and winery and our time there is spent eating beautiful food and drinking their wonderful wines, laughing at anything and everything and talking about the things that really…
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Simple food 