Traditional America-land potato salad is something I always avoided at picnics growing up. Gloopy, mayo-saturated, oddly sweet, purchased from the grocery store deli counter, sitting in the sun for ages - it never did it for me. Luckily my Mom would use a vinegar-based dressing whenever she made potato or pasta salads - so much better! Now salt and potatoes go hand-in-hand, so when thinking about what to do with the crisp and salty samphire I received in a goodie bag a while back it just made … [Read more...]
Vegetarian Black Bean Chili
I've been part of the Secret Recipe Club for a couple months now and one thing I'm really enjoying, aside from discovering new blogs, is actually making the things I find instead of simply filing them away for later. What a novel concept. I get inspiration for recipes everywhere I look, and I'm constantly pinning things to make one day, but SRC has meant that at least once a month I make a new dish from a new blog. This month I was assigned to Fried Ice and Donut Holes. A passionate … [Read more...]
Chimichurri Sauce in 5 minutes
When we were in Buenos Aires last year RJ ate more steak in five days than he had in the five previous months. He was in heaven. I managed to locate the grilled veggies hidden in the bottom of the sides section of menus and discovered the most amazing potato and artichoke tortilla ever. Both of us doused everything in large dollops of Chimichurri Sauce and washed it all down with stunning claret Malbec. Sigh. I could label this '5 minute Friday' and pretend that this insanely … [Read more...]
Smokey Chilli-Lime Hummus
My kitchen blender dramas have been well documented, but if you missed the various rants, in short at the end of last year both my immersion hand blender and mini-food processor went on to the big kitchen in the sky. As a result, for a little while I was without any way to make drinks, soups, spreads and cheesecake. First world problem? Yes, of course. But I do live in a first world country, and we do like our weekend smoothies. In any case, KitchenAid was kind enough to send me a hand … [Read more...]
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Of the things I miss most from America-land, proper Mexican food is pretty close to the top of the list. I crave the staff lunches made by the Mexican woman who was a prep chef in a Denver restaurant where I waited tables. The dark, 20+ ingredient mole poblano, the spicy rice, the salsas, the fresh vegetables, the hot tortillas. It was fresh and clean and filling. My eyes glaze over when I think about the road-side shops in Mexico where a $1.50 fish taco comes out of the kitchen as a … [Read more...]
Watermelon & Cucumber Salad with Tahini, Coconut & Lime Dressing
Oh summer, please don't go. You've been nothing but a tease, an irritating teenager, and a raging lunatic for the past two years, but I keep hoping for a reasonable turn. Is it too much to ask for blue sky, reasonable beach temperatures and low humidity on a regular basis? But I must admit, even through the hotter-than-an-oven days and the rain and the indecision, I still love you more than winter. While the weather in Sydney has been schizophrenic at best this summer, the fruit has … [Read more...]
Basil & Walnut Pesto
She unconsciously hummed along with the music playing in the background, humm de dum de da. It was from Milan she explained, as a smile triggered by an ancient memory flitted across her face. The heavy wooden chopping board belonged to her mother, the cleaver had been borrowed from my mother and the basil was picked just moments before from her own garden. Ro was chopping up herbs for pesto, again, it was the third time in two weeks. My grandmother still makes her pesto the old way. … [Read more...]
