Working in hospitality when I first moved to Sydney I learned quickly that "Would you like tomahto on your sandwich" caused many less confused looks than an America-land 'tomayto' when asked across the counter of a cafe... Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Now we all know I don't eat meat, so what am I doing making a Meaty Lasagne? And for that matter what am I doing spelling Lasagne with an 'e' instead of Lasagna with an 'a'? Well on the first one, I told RJ that for his birthday … [Read more...]
Vegetarian Pumpkin Spelt Lasagne
It was dreary during our last two days in NYC. The grey skies and misty drizzle encouraged the continuation of my hairdryer boycott and although we complained a bit, it didn't stop us from getting out of the apartment to enjoy the city. It was still dark as we headed to Laguardia at 6.30 am on Thursday morning. Arriving in Mexico eight or so hours later we were greeted with a stunning blue sky obscured only by night and an occasional passing wisp of a pretend cloud. On Friday evening … [Read more...]
Surprising Stove-top Mac-n-Cheese
Sometimes we all need a mini-break. A chance to juggle one less ball for a change. To take a deep breath - or perhaps two. Even people who sit at home and eat bon-bons and go out to posh lunches and afternoon shopping dates may need to take a break sometimes, you know, for a spa day or some such equally relaxing activity - FYI, if you're one of those people, call me, I'll be happy to help you out. Christina from The Hungry Australian is one of those crazy-busy, always-on-the-go people - … [Read more...]
Christmas Eve Feast – a (delicious) new tradition
For all of the Christmas traditions my family has, we have never made much of a big deal about Christmas Eve. Quite possibly because the day before Christmas meant little other than an eight hour drive up to the farm, arriving just in time to make our yearly church appearance and hear the oldies sing at midnight mass. Now I have been whinging about the weather quite a bit lately but far-out, this year has been more like autumn in Philly than summer in Sydney. However Mother Nature finally … [Read more...]
Chili Garlic Monkfish Pasta
Watching cooking shows when hungry is kind of like going grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Probably not the best idea. We were watching the final episode of The Wild Gourmets in Spain on the ABC the other night ... by the end of it I was dying for clams with white beans and tomatoes, and white fish marinated in salsa verde with yellow potatoes and a salad of some kind with jamon and pine nuts and strong blue cheese - I don't even eat meat, it was at the point of ridiculous. Alas it was … [Read more...]
Chicken Cacciatore
This gets filed under the 'meals from childhood' category. I vividly remember mom making this in an electric fry pan - you know, the kind with the high sides and a domed lid - for dinner quite regularly. I have no idea if this is the same recipe, when I decided to cook it the other evening for RJ it was the middle of the night in NY, probably best that I didn't call to ask what goes in it! But that said, this is the recipe of my memories - tomatoes, multi-coloured capsicum [peppers], … [Read more...]
Fire roasted tomato sauce
So I like pasta shaped like stuff other than pasta – no, not THAT kind, get your head out of the gutter! This kind: Pasta shaped like Swedish elk heads – could you resist?? They also tend to look like angels or crabs depending on the angle and current mindset of the observer. Even better they are wholemeal and organic….you’d never guess they are from Ikea…huh? Really, hence the nationality of the elk. But more to the point...they quickly made friends with a bag of organic plum … [Read more...]
