Chargrilled Broccoli with Cannellini Beans, Capers, Chilli and Lemon

I can’t even explain how chargrilling takes this broccoli to another taste dimension. The dressing is made with chilli, garlic and salty capers all softly fried in olive oil to let the flavours expand and highten. Invite some fresh lemon to the party and you’ll have your next favourite vege dish in your repertoire and ready to satisfy anytime. Full to bursting with nutrients, I adore this recipe, I truly hope you give it a try and enjoy it too - Jax x

Ingredients:

2 broccoli heads (about 1 kilogram), cut into florets

125 milliliters (1⁄2 cup) extra-virgin olive oil

1⁄3 cup capers, rinsed and drained

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 long red chilli, finely sliced

500 grams cooked cannellini beans (about 2 cans), drained

1 cup baby spinach leaves

grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

1 cup mint leaves

Sea salt and black pepper

Method:

Toss the broccoli in half of the olive oil and season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue until it is smoking hot and add the broccoli in batches. Turn the broccoli florets so they get char marks all over. Continue until all the broccoli is cooked, then place the broccoli in a bowl and set aside.

Put the rest of the oil in a small saucepan with the capers, garlic and chilli. Place over medium heat for 30 seconds or so until the garlic just begins to turn golden. Take off the heat immediately and pour the hot oil mixture over the chargrilled broccoli.

Combine the broccoli with the cannellini beans, spinach leaves and lemon zest, season with salt and pepper and mix well. To serve, squeeze over the lemon juice and top with the parsley and mint.

Bang Bang Cauliflower

I guarantee that even the most vehemently anti cauliflower members of your household will eat this and enjoy it, especially if they like it a bit hot! A bonus with this recipe is that there’s no frying or added fat and yet the coating on the cauli is crispy and delicious. If you have chilli-phobes in your home then omit the sauce or try a yoghurt based tzatziki type topping instead. This is a new fav in this household for sure, enjoy - Jax x

Ingredients:

1 cup of plain flour

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic granules

200ml milk (dairy or non-dairy)

75g (1/3 Cup) panko breadcrumbs

1 small head of cauliflower, cut into small florets

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 red chilli, finely sliced, to serve

4 spring onions, finely sliced, to serve

For the sauce

6 Tblsps sweet chilli sauce

1.5 Tblsps sriracha sauce (or more if you like it hot!)

1 lime or lemon, juiced

1 tsp maple syrup or honey

Method:

Heat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Put the flour, paprika, garlic granules, a large grind of black pepper and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the milk until you have a smooth batter that’s thick enough to coat a spoon (you may not need all the milk).

Put the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Toss each floret in the batter mix, tap off any excess, then toss in the breadcrumbs to coat. Transfer to the lined baking tray, and repeat with all the cauliflower florets.

Bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown and crispy, turning halfway through so they bake evenly.

Meanwhile, put all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and whisk to combine, lightly seasoning with salt and pepper.

Put the cooked cauliflower in a large bowl and coat with the sauce. Sprinkle over sesame seeds, chilli and spring onions.

Baked Polenta with Bechamel and Oregano 🌿

Ingredients

80g unsalted butter
50g plain flour
750ml whole milk
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
200g quick-cook polenta
65g pecorino romano (or other tasty cheese) roughly grated
180g Greek feta, roughly crumbled
5g oregano sprigs (try to use the softer sprigs)

Method

Put 40g of butter into a medium saucepan over a medium- high heat. Once melted, add 1 and a half Tbls flour and cook, whisking continuously, for 30 seconds or until it smells like popcorn. Slowly pour in 350ml of milk, whisking continuously to avoid any lumps, then add 4 cloves of crushed garlic,1⁄2 teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until quite thick and no longer floury-tasting. Set aside.

Prepare the polenta by first putting 400ml of milk, 300ml of water,  20g of butter, 11⁄4 teaspoons of salt and a good grind of pepper into a medium sauté pan (or saucepan) over a medium-high heat. Once it gently bubbles, turn the heat down to medium-low, slowly add 200grms quick cook polenta, whisking continuously to incorporate, and cook for 2 minutes, to thicken. Add 65grms grated grated  pecorino or tasty cheese and 20g of butter and stir with a spatula until incorporated. Quickly transfer to your prepared baking tray and spread out in a large oblong shape about 1cm thick and 38cm in length. Spoon over the béchamel and spread it so it covers the surface, leaving a 11⁄2cm rim exposed around the edges. Top evenly with crumbled feta and oregano sprigs and bake for 22 minutes, or until golden and bubbling on top and starting to brown around the edges. Leave to cool for 5–10 minutes. 

This can be used as a base for any flavour bombs you like – try roasted tomatoes, green beans in burnt butter, caramelised onion or juicy pulled pork or roast lamb. Also gorgeous as a solo act with a green salad.

Caramelised Onions (Makes about 4 cups)

Ingredients

8 medium-sized brown onions, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Method

In a large pan, melt butter with the oil and add onions, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Fry on medium heat for about an hour gently moving the onions regularly and lifting the caramelisation from the bottom of the pan.

Cool and use or store in a jar in the fridge for two – three weeks or can be frozen for later use.

Za’atar Tomatoes

Ingredients

400g cherry tomatoes/Other if not avalible
120ml olive oil
11⁄2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp Za’atar
1⁄2 tsp caster sugar
5g parsley, roughly chopped 
5g oregano leaves, roughly chopped
salt and black pepper

Method

Put the tomatoes, oil, vinegar, garlic, 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper into a medium baking dish, roughly 30cm x 20cm. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40–45 minutes or until the tomatoes have just burst but aren’t completely falling apart. Remove the foil, gently stir in the Za’atar and sugar and leave to cool completely. Once cool, stir in the herbs (gently, so as not to break up the tomatoes).

I remember the first time someone sent me the eggplant emoji. I had absolutely no idea what it meant. Imagine someone wanting to make a sexual innuendo sending you a picture of a spongy, absorbent fruit (yes, it’s a fruit!) not knowing the intended recipient had any reference as to what it meant! I googled it straight away and was mostly confused; I mean if we’re getting technical about it there are other fruits and vege which fit the job description of “willy stunt double” a whole lot better than the aubergine. My guess is that the person who came up with the idea of using the large, firm purple member (!) of the nightshade family was a man. Talk it up buddy!

The eggplant can be a divisive fruit; one of those that evoke a “yuck” or “yum” response but it’s new found career as a racy emoji has caused a comeback not dissimilar to that of actor Robert Downey Jnr after he did Iron Man films. From sitting soggy on the supermarket shelves to hot and sexy riding up front in the trolley, the aubergine is back baby!

I’ve always been a fan, supported the brinjal through it’s down and out phase when no one sent it as a saucy text teaser. I’ve enjoyed it grilled and added to salads and adore it basted with miso, orange juice, ginger and sesame oil, cooked over smokey coals and served with white rice, so good. And let’s talk about the health benefits of this guy (I’m assuming gender based on it’s recent role) Eggplant has antioxidants like vitamins A and C, which help protect your cells against damage. It's also high in natural plant chemicals called polyphenols, which may help cells do a better job of processing sugar if you have diabetes. Sexy and good for you! Are you a fan yet?

This recipe for Eggplant Involtini is one of my absolute favorites. Full to the brim with good ingredients and so incredibly tasty. Perfect if you practice a meat free day during the week or if you’ve got vegans, vegetarians or plant based eaters in your midst and are not sure what to make.

There’s also a bonus recipe of a simple, crunchy fresh salad that uses ripe avocado as part of the dressing. The creamy tasty dressing is a beautiful contrast to the crisp, fresh crunch of the salad ingredients and in keeping with my philosophy on eating is jam packed with good nutrition for your body mind and soul.

I really hope you give these a go - enjoy - Jax x

Make It Choppy Salad

This salad is all about the dressing. The kind of dressing that is best this time of the year when avocadoes are fat and full of flavour. It’s thick and creamy and full of so much goodness!

Ingredients

Avo Dressing

• 1/4 cup (10g) fresh basil or fresh coriander, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup (10g) fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

• 1 clove garlic, peeled, crushed and finely chopped

• 1/4 cup (60ml) avocado oil or olive oil

• 1/2 ripe avocado, skin and stone removed, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice

• 3 tbsp cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey

• 1/2 tsp salt

Make it Choppy Salad

• 1 head broccoli, finely chopped

• 1/4 (300g) green cabbage, chopped into bite-sized pieces

• 1/2 cucumber, diced

• 1 capsicum, stem removed, de-seeded and diced

• 1/2 cup (20g) fresh coriander, stem and leaves finely chopped

• 1//2 cup (20g) fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped

• 200g green beans, topped and tailed, finely chopped

• 1 & 1/2 ripe avocados, peeled and stone removed, cut into bite-sized pieces

• 1/4 cup (30g) natural almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

Method

To prepare the dressing: place all the ingredients into a bowl. Using a stick blender, blend until the dressing is smooth and green.

To serve: place all the vegetables into a large serving bowl. Add the dressing and toss the vegetables to coat them well. Sprinkle over the almonds and serve.

Plant Based Eggplant Involtini

INGREDIENTS
2 Eggplants, sliced lengthways - 1 cm thick
Olive Oil for frying
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp pinenuts, toasted
¼ cup (10g) Basil and parsley chopped
 
TOMATO SAUCE
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 onion, peeled, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
½ cup (125ml) water
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp salt
 
CASHEW RICOTTA
1 cup (140g) cashew nuts, toasted  
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and finely chopped
1 packet silken tofu, well drained and dried using paper towels
1 tsp dried oregano
1½ tsp salt
ZEST of 1 lemon + 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ cup (20g) fresh basil and fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp pinenuts, toasted

Method
 
Preheat oven to 180°C.
 
To prepare the eggplant: place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a generous splash of olive oil. Cook a few slices of eggplant at a time, fry for a minute or so on each side, until nicely browned, repeat the process (adding more oil as needed) until all the slices are cooked. Drain the eggplant on paper towels and lightly season with salt and pepper.
 
To prepare the tomato sauce: place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. When hot add the onion and garlic, cook for a few minutes. Add the tomato, water, balsamic, brown sugar and salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then. Remove from the heat and pour into a high-sided baking dish.
 
To prepare the cashew ricotta: using a food processor, blend the cashew nuts into fine crumbs. Add the olive oil, garlic, tofu, oregano, salt, lemon zest and juice. Blend for a few minutes until well combined. Transfer into a bowl and stir through the fresh herbs and pinenuts.
 
To prepare the eggplant involtini: place a couple of heaped tablespoons of the cashew ricotta mix onto each slice of eggplant and roll it up. Place the eggplant rolls in the tomato sauce. Scatter over the pinenuts and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and parsley just before serving.
 
 

Subscribe now

This year I volunteered to host our yoga studios Christmas party. The other yogis that teach there are such a beautiful bunch of men and women all with vast and varied personalities and as you can imagine there are some dietary preferences in the mix as well. I needed a dessert that was vegan and gluten free and most of all tasted great! This tart ticked all the boxes and is so incredible to serve with strawberries, give it a go, it won’t disappoint.

Enjoy - Jax x

STRAWBERRY AND CREAM TART

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

2 cups plain flour (or for a gluten free option see tip)

⅓ cup solid coconut oil (or vegan butter)

1 tbsp light-coloured liquid sweetener of choice, such as rice malt syrup or maple syrup

Dash of water

FILLING

¼ cup strawberry jam (optional)

2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours then drained

½ cup coconut cream, only the thick creamy part from can

¼ cup rice malt syrup or maple syrup (or to taste)

¼ cup coconut oil (or ½ cup for a more solid filling)

1 lemon, zest and juice

TO DECORATE

½–1 cup strawberries, sliced or diced as desired

Fresh Mint

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the base of a 20cm tart tin with baking paper.

To make the crust, add all the crust ingredients to a food processor or large bowl. Mix until combined and there are no chunks of coconut oil remaining. Press the mixture into the tart tin to form the crust.

Bake the crust in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the surface is slightly golden-brown. Allow to cool in the tart tin.

If using strawberry jam, spread across the inside of the base and up the sides of the crust.

To make the filling, add the remaining filling ingredients to a blender and blend until as smooth as possible. Pour the filling mixture into the tart crust.

Place the tart in an airtight container in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours.

To serve, top the tart with the strawberries and mint, as desired. Enjoy immediately. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. The tart can be frozen for up to 1 month (without the fresh strawberries to decorate).

TIP: For a gluten-free version, substitute the plain flour with 2 cups of almond meal and 1 tbsp ground chia or flax seeds. If you make the gluten-free version, keep an eye on it when baking the crust as it burns quickly.

Subscribe now

After a long, long winter the signs of spring have arrived at last and are extremely welcome. Lambs are being born on the neighbouring farm, the bird songs returning to the early morning, the vege garden finally taking off and starting to pull its weight in offering produce once again and another more literal sign heralding the new season is the large yellow, slightly worn timber one that arrives when the big red, juicy new season strawberries are ripe.

The farm shop where I buy my strawberries is only about 1km from home, it’s ridiculously close but it’s always a bit hit and miss as to when it’s going to be open which I quite like, makes it more like a foraging mission than a trip to the shops.

It’s run as a ‘ma and pa’ set up with both knowing their rolls well. Ma sits, transistor radio close by and hulls the seconds to fill bags with strawbs that are better suited as a jam and Pa is on the front line, filling the recyclable containers with the shiney, jewel-like berries and meeting and greeting the customers. The chat on offer is about the weather or the strawberries, yup, that’s pretty much it!

But the berries are worthy of some serious lip service! What a treat, the colour is the deepest, brightest fire engine red and the flavour is just exactly as a fresh strawberry should taste, sweet and light with just a hint of ‘tang’ - nothing else. I always buy two containers because normally one is gone by the time I’ve made the (very) short trip home.

The thing with seasonal produce like strawberries is that the window to enjoy them at their peak is so short. That somehow makes the flavours sharper, the colour more vibrant and it gives you a real sense of a moment in time, an appreciation for what we have right now.

I wish I could keep this perspective on my life always. That I could remain mindful of the season, knowing that it will pass, not to be saddened by it, but so I could grab it with both hands, fully appreciate it’s vibrant colours and taste the sweet flavour of it everyday.

Hazelnut, Chocolate Mousse Cake (Ripe)

This cake is so rich and divine and while it technically doesn’t have strawberries listed as an ingredient I strongly recommend the pairing. The fresh berries and chocolate are culinary soul mates. Don’t be afraid of the addition of tofu and if you have anyone in the family that is anti, just omit telling them it’s in there, they’ll never know! Enjoy - Jax x

Hazelnut, Chocolate Mousse Cake (Ripe)

Ingredients

Base

110g Dark Chocolate

4 Tbsp Coconut Oil

50g Hazelnuts

1 ¼ cup Ground Almonds

100g Prunes, chopped

2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

Pinch of salt

Mousse

120g Hazelnuts

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

½ cup Coconut Cream

200g Dark Chocolate

350g Silken Tofu

2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

4 Tbsp Maple Syrup

Method

Grease a 23cm spring-form cake tin and line the sides with baking paper.

Toast all the hazelnuts in a preheated oven – 180c. Cook them for about 10 minutes, watch them closely, they turn fast. They will be lightly browned when they are done, remove from the oven. Cool the nuts and place them in a clean tea towel, rub them in the tea towel to remove the skins. No worries if some stay on, they’ll taste great.

Base

Melt the coconut oil and chocolate together in the microwave at 30 second intervals on in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Once melted stir well to combine.

In a blender or food processor place the toasted hazelnuts, ground almonds, prunes, cocoa powder and salt and blend. Add the melted chocolate and blend again until well combined. Take the mixture and press it firmly and evenly into the cake tin. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to set.

Mousse

Melt the coconut oil, coconut cream and chocolate using a previously mentioned method. Stir to combine.

Place the toasted hazelnuts into a food processor and blend until fine crumbs are formed-don’t over blend or you’ll get nut butter! Add the tofu and cocoa powder blend until well combined.

Add the melted chocolate mixture, vanilla extract and maple syrup to the blender. Blend until well combined and smooth. Pour the mixture onto the base. Refrigerate to set for at least an hour.

Sweet As Strawberry Mousse

This vegan recipe is so gorgeous and so simple.

Sweet As Strawberry Mousse

Ingredients

½ can of thick coconut cream

6 big strawberries

1 Tblsp maple Syrup

Optional

2 Tblsp melted coconut oil

1 Tblsp lime juice

1 tsp lime zest

Method

Place the coconut cream in the fridge for 1 – 2 hours. Remove and whip with a beater to a thick consistency (make sure you have the really thick part of the cream out of the tin not just the milk)

Blend the strawberries to a smooth texture with a stick blender of in a food processor or blender.

If adding lime juice and zest do so now, if you are adding juice then also add the coconut oil to aid in setting.

Add maple syrup and finally fold in the coconut cream.

Place in glasses in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Can be served with fresh strawberries or macerated.

To macerate I did the following –

2 cups chopped fresh strawberries

2 Tblsp orange juice

Two slices of fresh ginger

2 tsp of maple syrup

Add all ingredients to a jar and place in the fridge for up to 4 hours moving occasionally to cover with the juice.

Spring in Your Step Salad

Spring in Your Step Salad

Ingredients

1 bunch fresh spinach

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

½ cup raw almonds

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

½ cup olive oil

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Combine spinach, strawberries, feta cheese, and almonds in a large bowl.

Stir together balsamic vinegar and honey in a medium bowl; slowly stream in olive oil while whisking continuously. Season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle dressing over spinach mixture just before serving.

Subscribe now

Chai Spices are such a warming combination and this dense, delicious cake lets them shine. The addition of almond meal or ground flaxseed bumps up the nutrient count and makes this cake moist and unctuous.

If you’re looking to create a showstopper then the recipe can be doubled and the cake layered. Either way, I guarantee you’ll be asked to make it again by those who get the pleasure of sharing it with you - enjoy x Jax

CHAI SPICE CAKE

INGREDIENTS

¾ cup milk any kind, any fat content

2 chai tea bags

1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup ground flaxseed or almond meal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 and ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup unsalted butter melted and allowed to cool

¾ cup sugar

2 large eggs room temperature

¼ cup plain yogurt or sour cream any fat content, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

METHOD - CHAI CAKE

In a small saucepan, heat milk gently over low heat until steaming, being careful not to bring to a boil. Add chai tea bags and steep for 20 minutes. Allow to cool.

Once milk is cooled, remove teabags, cut open, and empty contents into spiced milk mixture.  Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180c. Grease and flour an 8" or 9" round cake pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ground flaxseed or almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. Set aside.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until no clumps remain. Add the eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract, and cooled milk and whisk again until everything is smooth.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold together, being careful not to overmix the batter, until no flour pockets remain.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in cake pan. Remove cake from cake pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. You may want to level the cake before frosting, but this is not required.

SPICED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

112g full fat cream cheese softened to room temperature

¼ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom

1 to 2 Tablespoons milk or cream

METHOD - FROSTING

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, spices, and milk and beat until combined. Add more sugar if frosting is too thin, or more milk if it is too thick.

Spread frosting evenly on top of cooled cake. Cake will stay fresh up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or 3 days at room temperature. Cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.

Note

To turn this into a layer cake: double the entire recipe.

I hope your week is going in a good direction and that you’re taking time to look after yourself.

I’m super excited to share these recipes with you! I found organic chicken on special at the local supermarket on the weekend (down from $17 to $10) and was inspired to make something special with it.

Featuring some of my all time favourite flavour profiles; this meal is so incredibly simple, would suit a lunch or dinner situation and most importantly will nourish you with every delish mouthful.

It’s my heartfelt desire that you enjoy these recipes, that you have a great time making them for those you love and that every mouthful counts in nourishing not only your body but your very heart and soul - Enjoy x Jax

Middle Eastern Slow Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

1 chicken

1 tsp ground allspice

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp sumac

1 tbsp za'atar

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

salt

1 head of garlic, halved horizontally, exposing the cloves

1 white onion, quartered

1 lemon, halved

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

½ cup olive oil

Warm naan, for serving

Greek yogurt, for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 150c.

Mix allspice, cardamom, cumin, sumac, za'atar, and pepper in a small bowl to combine.

Place chicken in a baking dish.

Season chicken liberally with salt, over and under the skin.

Rub with half of the spice mix, pressing and working it into the meat.

Fill the cavity of the bird with the garlic, onion, lemon, and cinnamon stick.

Pour olive oil over the top and bake in the preheated oven until chicken is cooked through and very tender 2½–3 hours.

Allow to rest for 10 minutes and serve with warm naan and Greek yogurt.

Rock The Casbah Couscous

Ingredients

1 cup instant couscous

100ml olive oil

1 eggplant (aubergine)

3 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

50 g (1 3/4 oz) butter

a handful of each of the following parsley/mint/coriander/spring onion

Cucumber

Cherry Tomato

Green Olives

Method

Put the couscous in a large bowl. Add 1 ½ cups boiling water and leave for 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Fluff up the grains with a fork.

Cut the eggplant into rustic slices and place in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix the spices together, then sprinkle over the eggplant, tossing until well coated.

Add the eggplant to a baking dish, drizzle with the olive oil and bake in the oven at 170c for 30 minutes until soft and caramel.

Place the cooked cooled couscous into a serving bowl, add the herbs, olives and sliced cucumber, cherry toms and finally the eggplant. YUM!!!

Serve with some Creamy Lemon and Garlic Dressing.

Creamy Lemon and Garlic Dressing

Ingredients

4 tbsp yoghurt – plain Greek style or plain coconut

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh herbs (mint/parsley/coriander)

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

Dried chilli flakes (if you like them)

Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients in a jar and shake well before you use it.

There’s something incredible about transporting a meal in a basket to a beautiful outdoor setting, placing a blanket on the ground and settling in for a few hours to let yourself marinate in nature. I believe it’s the very best therapy you can get.

After a long and hectically busy winter on the farm I jumped at the first promise of a fine, warm spring weekend to create some delicious, nourishing food, pack a picnic bag and head into the forest to find a quiet place to sit and catch my breath for a moment. In our time strapped schedule I was expecting big things mental health wise from this microscopic time out, it didn’t let me down.

When I was a kid a picnic was a grand adventure, a rarity from the day to day. The food mum prepared and packed into containers was simple and delicious and those recipes are still a nostalgic and emotional connection to my 10 year old self.

Preparation would start the day before. Smells drifting from the kitchen seductively. Fingers smacked as they grabbed at forbidden delicacies emerging from the oven or coal range. The dining table was cleared and used as a makeshift base for all things picnic until it was time to pack the car. Dads red Holden; which always smelt like hay and dust from the road we lived on; would have the boot loaded up with the blue checked woollen blanket, a plastic bottle full of orange Raro, thermos and the chilly bin full of the picnic fare for the day.

The picnics we had were usually always after some kind of working bee on the big farm. There were many mouths to feed as family, farm workers and anyone that had the bad timing to be staying over the school holidays with me were roped in to help, many hands and all that!

The scene played out with a cast of many, Dad had the lead role, directing the show using his voice and a long drafting stick that could be an intimidating prop but one that was necessary for the bovine and ovine chorus who were notoriously bad at remembering their parts and very rarely made it to their stage marks on time! The set was simple and consisted of gates and rails surrounded in a green grass carpet with a centre stage floor that sent up billowing clouds of choking dust. The scenes were in sync with the seasons and performed to keep the chorus cast in tip top shape. Drafting cattle, administering shots to protect stock from various ailments that could kill them dead before we did, dipping animals for lice which always left you prickling and wondering if any of the hangers-on had found a way onto you or; one of the crowd favourites, docking lambs. The scenes would play out with all of us in our various roles, rushing our lines at first but then, gradually finding a rhythm that allowed us to make it to the end of the show. The intermission dangled in front of us, keeping us performing until it was called. No curtains we drawn but hands would be washed in the nearest creek or trough, the boot popped open and the food laid out on the blanket to be shared by those who’d been grafting that day.

Lunch would nearly always include a bacon and egg pie. Mum kept hens and was always happy to find ways to put the eggs to good use. Watties tomato sauce was the condiment of choice and generally the only one offered and lashings of it were squirted on to enhance the flavour - someone’s dad always joking that the sauce counted as a veggie serve! Sandwiches were made with fresh white bread and butter, there’d be a leaf of lettuce from the garden present, cheese and usually luncheon sausage or less often ham. The sandwiches were divine, still to this day I think one of my favourite childhood meals was a luncheon sandwich on white bread with sauce.

The savoury course out of the way, mum would produce a biscuit tin, see-saw off the lid and open it to reveal neatly stacked Louise Cake. A crisp biscuit base, a layer of raspberry jam course with the seeds and topped with a pileous coconut Swiss meringue. I was always a bit confused as to why it was called ‘cake’ when it was clearly of the slice genus. It’s confused classification has had no bearing on its success in the baking world as it’s number 6 on the Edmonds Cookbook top of the pops list.

At the same time the sweets were served the thermos lid was screwed off and tea was made for the adults, milk and sugar added to the plastic mugs, stirred with the one teaspoon that served us all and then a comfortable seat found to sip the tea and yarn about the days work, the weather, the plans of what was to come on the farming calendar and generally always a swipe at the current prime minister. The kids would divvy up the orange cordial and drink it back thirstily, leaving no traces in their paper cups just a shadow of an orange moustache on top lips to give a clue as to what was the thirst quencher of the day.

There would always be about a 20 minute window after the food for the adults to stretch out in the shade, hats over faces blocking the light and snores escaping from wide open mouths. The kids would head to the nearest creek to look for yabbies or step out of hot gummies and paddle in the fresh running water, stones turned in the stream, searches for treasure. A feather, an unusual leaf, a coloured rock. Worthless, priceless, currency for a 10 year old.

The very essence of a picnic is the location therefore the food must be robust enough to go the distance. Hence the famous saying “A croquembouche doth not a picnic dessert make”. Hearty pies that are good hot or cold, quiches, frittata or a damn good sandwich are all perfect and will make it to the destination intact and delicious. Sweets also need to be roadworthy, so slices, sweet pies or more dense cakes are just the ticket to satiate any sweet craving whilst eating al fresco.

So it was with our cooler bags packed and the sauvignon blanc chilled my man and I headed off to the back of the farm to glades that we had earmarked previously for just this kind of outing. We spread all the food on the blanket, I picked wildflowers and put them in a rustic A G Jar, we poured out the cold Sauv, sat down and proceeded to get attacked by clouds of hungry sandflies. Luckily I was wearing a frock that could be used in a tent like fashion to keep the midges at bay while my good man had to drape serviettes on his legs to deflect the biting bugs. Neither of these things were particularly effective. We vowed to leave bug repellent in the side by side in future.

We persevered and after a glass of wine the sandflies stopped biting or maybe I stopped caring? We both reflected on how incredibly relaxing it was to simply step away from it all and hide in the bush for a few hours. We chatted and nibbled at the food I’d prepared, we laughed and both said we should remember the insect repellent next time, and possibly more wine! We lay on the blanket and gazed up into the kaleidoscopic light as it ebbed and flowed through the trees and when the light started to dim and we felt the goose flesh rising on our arms and legs we reluctantly packed our bag and walked slowly back along the path to the farm buggy, commenting on how relaxed we felt and how we must do it again sooner rather than later.

The simple act of packing food and sharing it in a beautiful setting outside had made us both feel lighter somehow. Stepping away from the day to day, taking a few hours to slow down and be present was just what we were desperately in need of. As we were leaving the forest glade, I glanced back to where we’d placed the blanket for lunch and I saw that the grass was flattened down and dull, I knew it would only take a matter of hours and mother nature would restore it back to its original state. I smiled to myself. That’s exactly what she’d done for me this day and would; no doubt; do again anytime I called on her.

Recipes

 Fabulous Fresh Frittata

Ingredients:
10 Eggs, lightly beaten

150g Asparagus, roughly chopped, woody ends discarded

1/2 head of Broccoli florets

150g Frozen Peas

Two large handfuls of Spinach

125g of Feta

Two tsp of Rapeseed Oil or a knob of organic Butter

Sea Salt and freshly cracked Black Pepper

Grated zest of half a Lemon

Method:
Preheat a grill to medium.
Heat the oil or butter in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the broccoli, asparagus and peas and cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
Season well with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Stir in the spinach, season again and grate over the zest of half a lemon. cook for another minute until the spinach wilts.
Pour in the eggs and give the mixture a stir to evenly distribute the vegetables.
Cook on a medium heat until the edges are firm (the centre will still be liquid), approximately 10-15 minutes.
Crumble the feta over the top and transfer the pan to under the grill.
Grill for 10 minutes until the egg mixture is firm and the feta turns light golden around the edges.
Remove from the pan and either eat immediately or slice it up, allow it to cool and
refrigerate.
The frittata keeps well in a fridge for up to 3 days.

Spring Dip

Ingredients

2 cups fresh or frozen green peas (see note)

1 Tbs. lemon zest (use an unwaxed lemon)

2 Tbsp. lemon juice (approx. ½ small lemon)

1 clove garlic

1 Tbs. fresh mint leaves chopped (more or less depending on taste plus some for garnish)

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil plus some for drizzling

1 Tbsp. tahini (this can be optional - see note)

Coarse salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions

If using frozen peas, defrost first.

If using fresh peas, bring the peas to boil in a small pot of water and cook until tender. Don't cook for so long they lose their bright green colour. Strain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Reserve a cup of the cooking water.

Place the peas, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, mint, garlic and tahini in a food processor or blender and process until you have a smooth consistency. Fresh peas will take longer than frozen so pulse frozen peas gradually so you don't over-process.

If using fresh peas, you may require more liquid to achieve the desired consistency. Additional olive oil and some of the cooking water can be added slowly until you have the right consistency and smoothness of a dip purée.

Adjust lemon, tahini, mint and salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with mint leaves, some additional lemon zest and cracked pepper. Serve with vegetable crudités, toasted baguettes, crackers or as a sandwich spread.

Peas

Fresh peas are meatier and drier than frozen peas, so they may require more liquid to achieve the required consistency and smoothness. Reserve some of the peas cooking water for this, and feel free to use a little additional olive oil.

Frozen peas may be smaller in size and will naturally have a higher water content than fresh peas, which means they will blend down quicker and require less liquid. Due to this, you may want to increase the amount of peas you use by half a cup or more to achieve the required amount.

Tahini

You can vary the amount of tahini you use in this recipe but be careful of adding too much as it can overpower the naturally sweet flavour of the peas.

Recipe Variation

You can always leave out tahini altogether if you don't have it or don't like it. The pea dip will have all the same characteristics but with a less nutty, fresher taste. Also if you like the taste of goats cheese this can be a nice addition. I used about 2 Tbls of goats feta in mine - everybody else complained cos they hate goats cheese but I bloody love it!!!

Strawberry Overnight Sensations

Ingredients

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup chopped strawberries + more for serving

1/4 cup plain Greek or Coconut yoghurt

1-2 teaspoon maple syrup or honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

Instructions

 Place all ingredients in a container and stir until well combined. Seal with a lid and place in the fridge overnight (or at least a couple hours).

Bring out of the fridge in the morning and stir. You’ll notice that the oats soak up a lot of the liquid so you may want to add a little more almond milk before serving. Top oats with additional chopped strawberries and serve.

Overnight oats will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge in a sealed container.

Last week saw a break in our warm, sunny summer. It came in the form of a rude sticky spell of humid; cyclonic weather. People were outraged and voiced their disapproval at any given chance. Eternally unconfrontational, I chimed into conversations with others who complained about the warm, wet week with things like “yeah, my hair is unplayable” and “no, not sleeping at night either, just too darned hot!” and “this weathers only good for mushrooms and yeast infections” but secretly I was pleased.

This might not be a popular reaction to having had the meteorological equivalent of a fat man cutting in on your slow dance with Mr Right but I’m over summer. My skin tells stories of long days basking in warm rays, sizzling like a rasher of streaky bacon; to the point that where there once was a healthy bronze glow; there is now a join the dots picture just waiting to happen. These days instead of racing for a sun lounger in the heat of the day I retreat; sloth like; into the cooler canopy to rest and re appear on dusk, when the heat is leaving the day and the light is forgiving!

I also love an excuse to sit on the couch in the middle of the day and watch tv. It feels so bad! A bit like kissing a cousin, I know I shouldn’t really; but justify it with “yeah, but I’m not going to do it all the time am I” Also there’s risk that you may get caught doing it during the day. Lord forbid should there be a witness to the slovenly act of daytime tv ingestion. I temper the shame of getting caught in two ways - 1. I always keep a basket of washing that needs folding next to me so it looks like I’m about to do something productive and 2. I watch things that look highbrow and pretend they’re educational.

One of my guilty daytime tv pleasures has been the discovery of Chefs Table on Netflix. It’s an intimate look at some of the best chefs on the planet, their past, their philosophy on life and food as well as exploration of the countries they live and work in. The production values are stunning and it’s a great watch. From Brazil, to Japan, to Russia, these chefs are the top of their game and have stars and attitudes to attest to it!

These mega chefs are like rock stars, a lot of them are stroppy quibblers who have a vision and are hell bent on getting there regardless of how many waitstaff they have to trample in order to do so! I find watching their intense focus while in creative mode mesmerising and I can almost feel the tension in the kitchens featured as the sous chefs go about their work gingerly as if something may detonate beneath them at any given time and blow them limb from limb! But their creations once plated are breathtaking.

The evolution of a plate of food is fascinating to me. In it’s simplest form, a meal should provide nourishment and anything else is a bonus. When did we get to the point we are at now? Why do we crave texture and beauty in something that is designed to fuel our bodies. There are shards and smears and blackened rings turning up on plates all over the world, in fact we expect them now! Is a shard less dessert a dessert at all? It’s not enough for food to simply taste fabulous it has to be ‘Insta worthy’ as well.

This idea that ‘we eat with our eyes first’ has been around since Cesar’s mum was packing his sammies and sending him off to the senate to play nicely with his mates. In fact that phrase and the idea of food being not solely for nourishment is attributed to Marcus Gavius Apicius, a wealthy Roman merchant and epicure who flourished in and around the first century and after whom was named one of the earliest cookbooks in recorded history. The recipes in this book are stunning; which is a reflection I guess on the surrounding landscape and the advanced civilisation that was Rome. They feature soft cheese, herbs and animal proteins like wild boar. My Instagram finger just twitches at the thought!

It turns out that Apicius was onto something with his theory too. As well as impressing the sandals off your toga clad guests at your dinner party with flashed up dishes there’s a deeper and more practical reason why we like food to look good.

That the vast majority of animal species have evolved a mouth that is situated close to their brain is no coincidence. Foraging – the search for nutritious foods – is one of the brain’s most important functions. In humans, this activity relies primarily on vision, especially when it comes to finding those foods that we are already familiar with. In fact, it has been suggested that trichromatic colour vision may originally have developed in primates as an adaptation that facilitated the selection of more energy-rich (and likely red) fruits from in-amongst the dark green forest canopy. A shard in the hand is worth two in the bush, maybe more if it’s surrounded by berries right?

And here we are, present day, where the ‘food beautiful’ trend is peaking. The situation has reached the point now that some chefs are considering whether to ban their customers from taking photographs of the dishes when they emerge from the kitchen while others have embraced the trend by providing diners with camera stands, even serving food on plates that spin 360°, thus allowing their customers to get the perfect shot every time.

My food style is one I refer to as ‘rustic’. This is a term that conjures up loaves of sourdough bread broken open steaming hot, warm bowls of stew full of nourishing home grown vegetables, cheese that is made from a happy black and white cow standing in a paddock chewing its cud and smiling.

Rustic is also the term used for food that is photographed by someone who came late to the party and doesn’t really have a great handle on Adobe light shop! I’m a function over form kind of girl in most things and the food I create is no exception.

The recipes I share may not always be aesthetically on top of their game (sometimes more Iggy Pop than Jennifer Aniston), they may not have the ‘razzle dazzle’ of the Instagram It-crowd but they will always be the best offering I can give you.

The whole point of this blog for me is to share food that is accessible, seasonal, simple, full of nutrients and always, always made with love so you; in turn; can sit at a table with people special to you and know it is your best offering too.

The recipes I’ve chosen to share this week are extremes in the looks stakes, but they all have great personalities!

The Mushroom Wellington is divine - a real good looker bound to get “oohs and ahhs” from an appreciative audience and made from field mushrooms which go hand in hand with the weather we’ve had lately. A bucket and a brisk walk over the farm has been producing the goods and the umami flavour of the mushies is such a gift.

The other recipe is for Pork Chops with Cider, Rosemary and Peach Sauce and is a cracker! The sauce is one that would be lovely on chicken as well and uses sweet peaches which are seasonal right now.

As a bonus (it’s so simple I hardly consider it a recipe) I’ve included a free form tart (the best kind in my opinion!) which shows off the tomatoes and leeks which are in my garden right now. This little tart is not the best looking at the dance but worth a spin round the floor for sure! If you don’t have leeks red onion will work just fine, make sure it is caramelised well so it’s nice and sweet. This is a great little number to have in your repertoire for a simple lunch or dinner.

Enjoy - Jax x

A Fast Little Tart

Ingredients

1 cup virgin olive oil

1 dry red chili

1 sheet Puff Pastry

1 cup cream cheese

2 medium leeks, sliced

2 cups Tomatoes, halved

Salt and pepper to taste

Thyme to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and set aside.

Prepare the Spicy Chilli Oil by placing the oil and the dry red chili in a small saucepan, and bring to boil for one minute. After that, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight bottle or jar.

Place the sliced tomatoes and leeks on an oven tray, season and drizzle with olive oil. Roast on 140 for one and a half hours until they are well caramelized.

Unfold the puff pastry and place it onto prepared baking sheet.

Use a sharp knife to score the perimeter of the dough 1-inch from the edge, making sure not to cut all the way through the dough. Prick pastry in a few places with a fork inside the scored rectangle so that the center of the pastry does not puff in the oven.

Spread the cream cheese on the pastry, arrange the sliced roasted leeks and the halved roasted tomatoes over the cheese. Drizzle everything with spicy chili oil, around 2 tablespoons, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until the edges of pastry are browned, puffed, and crisp. Let tart cool 10 minutes before cutting into pieces.

Mushroom Wellington

Ingredients

1 - 1.5kgs Mushrooms

3 cups baby spinach

2 cups cooked brown rice

2 onions finely chopped

Butter / coconut oil

2 garlic cloves crushed

Rosemary chopped 2 TBlsp

Mustard if you like – about 1 Tblsp

Method

In a large pan heat your oil or butter and add the onion. Cook it until it’s soft and starting to caramelise.  Add your garlic and fry until it’s soft then pop in the rosemary, mushies and spinach. Cook this well until your mushrooms are nice and soft. If there’s a lot of juice you can drain some off and reserve it to use as sauce….we don’t want soggy bottoms on our Wellington ! Pop in some mustard if you’d like it and season with salt and pepper. Finally add the rice and mix well. Set aside to cool.

I use pre rolled flaky pastry and for this amount of filling I joined two pieces together. Add your filling in the middle. Fold over the opposite ends and then gently roll to enclose the filling. You may need to trim a little of the pastry in parts to minimize the layers and ensure even cooking.

Brush your beautiful Wellington with egg wash to glaze.

Cook at 180 for about 30 minutes until your pastry is golden gorgeous

Pork Chops in Cider, Rosemary, Wholegrain Mustard and Peach Sauce

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoon oil

salt and pepper, to taste

4 x pork loin chops

1 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped

½ cup of cider

1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard

500 gram ripe peaches, peeled, chopped

Method

Heat half the oil in a heavy frying pan. Season the chops and cook for around 4 minutes until each side is well browned. Cover with a lid or foil and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a separate pan, heat the remaining oil and cook the onion and rosemary until softened. Add the cider, mustard and peaches and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce looks a little shiny.

Add the cooked chops (and that pan juice) to the pan, cover with sauce, and heat gently to a simmer – around 4 minutes. Serve the pork chops with the sauce spooned over the top.

Note: If you want to trim the fat off the chops, salt well on the skin side and grill them into crackling…..always a favourite !

I’ve been flat out the last few weeks. The vege garden is heaving with ripe produce and now’s the time to pick and preserve as much as we can, make hay while the sun shines and all that.

In this day and age, preserving food seems incredibly antiquated, very twee and it’s had me hauling out my oldest books and rifling through looking for techniques used in days gone by to keep a taste of summer on the shelves long after the sun is gone.

There are two books on my bookshelf that are pulled out from time to time to find a recipe or an idea to help in the kitchen when more modern publications fall short. Mrs Beetons Cookery Book is one and the other; The Housewives Handybook - compiled by the Whangarei Anglican Young Wives Group. These two are akin to time travel if you ask me. They contain handwritten notes from long deceased loved ones and ingredients that might as well be ‘eye of newt and toe of frog’ they are so obscure. What has me searching in the pages for answers is that the advice is tried and true and so simple in it’s presentation that it’s often overlooked.

I remember my sister and I from time to time would grab the books and open them up just for a laugh. We’d joke about the ancient idea of a woman needing an entire chapter dedicated to making pretty floral arrangements for her home, ponder the availability of the plants in the poisonous section (good for nasty boys at school!) and both voice our repugnance at the lengthy recipes that included offal of one kind or another.

Given that these books read as though they are from the dark ages I’m fascinated that they are reasonably recent; Mrs Beetons published in 1935 and The Handy Housewives 1964. Both of them are targeted firmly at women and women only and both have a large portion of the book dedicated to housekeeping as well as recipes.

Mrs Beeton begins her housekeeping chapter in sympathy with the modern housewife, the shortage of labour and higher wages forcing many to let go of the three or four ‘servants’ in their employ and to soldier on with only a charwoman; lord help us ladies! Luckily for the harassed housewife modern technology was on the way in the form of electrically operated crockery washers, electric ironing machines, mechanical carpet sweepers and wringer washing machines. Just imagine all that time and expense we can save!

I get the sense that if Mrs B liked a clean house she liked a frugal one even more. She had a ‘trotter to snout’ kind of approach to cooking; the kind that would have the vegans reaching for their smelling salts in a swoon at a mere glance of the recipe. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been a fan of using as much as you can, I’ve also always ascertained that anything when crumbed and fried tastes good but even I would take some coaxing to bite into a “fried pigs ear with parsley and anchovy sauce”. Another thrifty recipe in the pork section is a little gem called ‘Stewed Pigs Pettitoes’, the last word is a mix of ‘pettite’ meaning small in French and ‘toes’ meaning; well toes. Little pigs toes. Here’s hoping they had not been to market or gone ‘weeee weeee weeee’ before that so as to avoid grubby nails! However; if they did have soiled trotters I feel like Mrs Beeton; mechanical foot scrubber in hand; would be just the type to get them clean in two shakes of a lambs tail (a nice little recipe for those on page 158!)

Nearly 30 years later The Housewives Handybook has a much more upbeat and modern feel to it. There’re recipes for international dishes like Chow Mein, Goulash and Pizza Pie. A full three pages are dedicated to cooking with wine but there are strong guidelines around not ‘swamping’ food in it and a handy tip on saving money by using a cheap Reisling! Even the font has a more frivolous feel to it. I’m sure women were feeling very liberated and emotionally buoyant now they’d mastered the use of the mechanical carpet sweeper right?

Isn’t wasn’t all Riesling and cheese hedgehogs however. There was still a great deal of onus on the 1965 housewife to keep her home ship shape. Floral art was a way to show you had the situation at home well in hand and there were some serious ‘do’s and don’ts’ when it came to making your arrangement shine. Number one on the list of ‘don’ts’ is “Don’t place flowers haphazardly in a vase and then apologize and say you were too busy!” If this kind of failure was taxing you mentally you could always boost your self worth by balancing it out with one of the ‘do’s “Do try to do an arrangement every day and thus feel the sense of achievement”. Whew, that was very close to emotional meltdown. Thanks Housewives Handybook!

Of course none of the careful selection and placement of flowers would be possible without a home and in order to have a happy one, a husband was required. The recipe for keeping a happy husband is found very close to the front of the book on page 4 such is its importance!

• Be careful in your selection. Don't choose too young. When selected, give your entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use.

• Some wives insist upon keeping them in a pickle, others are constantly getting them into hot water. This may make them sour, hard and sometimes bitter; even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good by garnishing with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses.

• Wrap them in a mantle of charity. Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream.

• Thus prepared, they will keep for years.

Coincidentally; a few pages on there is a long list of poisonous fruit, foliage and plants that may cause serious harm or even death if ingested; HH had our backs girls.

In all seriousness; these books bring me such delight every time I open them. They’re a reminder that recipes and food are a portal to different places, cultures and times. They keep our memories alive and they show us our progress.

For me food is an expression of love. To cook for others, to share the best I have, to create a meal full of goodness is my love language and from these books I get a sense that this has been the case for years and years.

Shared in the tea coloured pages of these books is also a lot of sage wisdom. The selection of ingredients has grown, the methods we prepare food in have become slicker and more streamlined but; the knowledge passed on from generation to generation is only gained from experience and is true gold. I think about the women that have taken the time to share this learned wisdom, were they younger than me? did they have fulfilling lives? were they happy in their day to day? I get a feeling they were, especially if they followed the advice given in the lovely little piece that is shared by Mrs Butt in The Housewives Handybook.

A Never-Failing Recipe

Equal parts of healthy honest work, rest and recreation.

Mixed together most carefully with diligence, contentment and cheerful temper. Sift the above through a sieve of determination to get rid of any hard lumps of idleness, covetousness or despondency, and bring the whole to a cream by adding milk of kindness and spirits of consideration and sympathy, stirring each with unsparing hand.

Add to this a light sprinkle of smiles and colour with laughter.

Keep where it can be seen.

In season at all times.

I wanted to share a recipe that I would have been happy serving to the likes of Mrs Beeton, I break out in a sweat at the thought of it!

It needed to be made from simple, easily accessed and inexpensive ingredients. Also on my mind (always) is to share food that is nutritionally dense and full of good ingredients in every mouthful.

So here it is, a very humble take on Spanakopita using garden greens and ready made filo. Enjoy x

Super Greens Spanakopita

Ingredients

500grms Spinach or Silverbeet wilted and chopped

2 leeks sliced

2 garlic cloves chopped

2 spring onions sliced

1 cup of chopped fresh herbs (I used basil, parsley and dill)

1 cup cooked rice

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup grated tasty cheese

1 large or 2 small eggs

1 packet of filo pastry

Olive oil

Method

Place the wilted spinach in a large bowl. Fry the leeks and garlic until soft, add to the spinach. Add all the other green ingredients to the bowl. Mix well. To the greens add the cheese, cottage cheese, cooked rice and eggs. Mix well and season with salt and pepper.

In an oiled oven proof pan (needs to accommodate all the greens easily) lay a single layer of filo to cover base and hang over the sides. Take 3 -4 more sheets and loosely ‘scrunch them up’ and place them on the lined base. Drizzle with oil. On top of your ‘scrunched’ filo layer add 1/2 the green mixture, then another 3 -4 sheets of ‘scrunched’ filo, drizzle of oil, the other 1/2 of the greens mixture and finally a last layer of filo ‘scrunched’ and drizzled in oil. Fold up the overhanging filo to seal the sides and give a final brush with olive oil.

Cut into serving sized slices before cooking to avoid pastry crumbling everywhere.

Place in a pre heated moderate oven and bake for 45 - 50 minutes until crispy and golden on top and cooked through.

When does it officially become too late to wish people a Happy New Year? I’m sure it’s still timely to do it now, so Happy New Year to you.

Here in Godzone summer holidays are drawing to a close, the days are starting to become identifiable by their names again and my cheese intake is dropping but that doesn’t mean the summer bbqs are slowing down. Our family gatherings are in full swing this month as we have 11 birthdays in January! So many good reasons to celebrate.

One of those reasons was my 50th. I had planned to mark my ‘big birthday’ in a momentous and significant way; Mexico and tequila, Cuba and cigars, whale shark riding; but Covid and it’s sidekick Omnicom had other ideas. I did however get to be with good friends, eat yummy food and laugh lots and lots. At this time in the big picture I took that as a massive win and felt very grateful at the end of the day. This is a year I am going to learn more, stop more and listen more; to myself and others. I am going to change the things I can that don’t serve me or mine. I am going to keep my mental, spiritual and physical health in the best shape I can. I am going to share as much as I can with others. I am going to love the people I love. I am going to reply in the most positive voice I can find to others. I am going to judge less. I am going to simplify my life even more. I am going to read more books and take more new paths when I walk. I’m going to use my creative talent as much as I can. I am going to remember that when my breath is feeling short and my mind is full of noise that I need to find a big tree in a quiet place and sit still until I feel peace in my soul again.

One of things I’ve learnt to change when it doesn’t serve me is social media. I’ve never been a confrontational person and I find it upsetting when others get in a nasty battle to be right, Facebook is rife with comments that leave me feeling black and blue so I’ve simply stopped reading them. In comparison I find Twitter a warm, welcoming place and never more so than after the question I posed on there the day of my birthday.

I tweeted “Today is my 50th birthday I’d love the gift of your big life lesson or a learning you’ve had in your lifetime so far if you’ve got a minute to share one”

It was a simple question that solicited dozens and dozens of thoughtful responses and they were all from such a good positive place that I had to share them.

I know this is usually a food blog and that I always share a recipe so I thought long and hard about the type of food I associate with wisdom. One of the things I have learnt as I get more grown up is to trust my gut, your gut instinct in often right and recent studies on the gut show that our gut and brain are very, very closely linked. The idea that bacteria teeming in the gut—collectively known as the microbiome—can affect not only the gut, but also the mind. In just the last few years, evidence has mounted that the gut microbiome can influence neural development, brain chemistry and a wide range of behavioral phenomena, including emotional behavior, pain perception and how the stress system responds. A wonderful way to look after that gut radar is by eating fermented foods and I do that with delicious sauerkraut. I have a massive jar in the fridge and eat it any chance I get. It’s simple to make and uses the humble cabbage so to keep your gut in tip top shape is not an expensive exercise at all and nothing makes me feel more “earth mother” than opening a jar of homemade sauerkraut and adding that flavour bomb to anything that I can.

So here is some wonderful advice from some beautiful individuals in the Twittersphere followed by my sauerkraut recipe. Help yourself to anything here that serves you well x I love that they are so varied - from wearing protective biking gear to how to store cheese to being yourself to not peeing on electric fences! All so different and colourful but I really felt like they all came from a place of love - these are what made my 50th birthday truly special and reminded my that there are a lot of good people out there.

It's ok to change your mind on career path - changing something that isn't what you expected it to be is not failure

Do one thing that scares you everyday. Eleanor Roosevelt. I don’t know why I first became drawn to this saying, may be because when I’m asked if want to do something, whether it’s something I’ve done before or something new, my answer is “Yeah, Why not” Also, be curious.

“Don’t wait to be discovered” This is an especially female affliction. We wait quietly and hope someone might notice us for our talents.

Live as your authentic self.

Don't stress over things that have (effectively) already happened.

Read Desiderata and follow it religiously. Every toilet had it in the 70s and I always thought of it as hippy twee, but it bundles an enormous amount of wisdom. https://desiderata.com/desiderata.html

2 pieces of advice that have helped often. Bring up an incredibly happy memory (I use one from around 30 yrs ago) and remember and feel the joy. And the old cliché What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

My wife calls it the "f*ck off 50's" because the further you climb into them, the more you realise that you can only please some of the people, some of the time - and if you don't look after yourself first, you're no good to anyone else.

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Don’t gamble on a potential shart. It’s not worth it.

Women's friendships are crucial as we get older. Always be nurturing.

Don't forget to breathe.

If in doubt smile.

Follow your heart - not the ‘rules’.

It’s better to be kind than to be right.

Life’s to short to sleep in crap, so always buy quality bed sheets.

I run drama workshops & 1 of my teens said recently “when you took over from our other tutor I was like ugh she’s so old, this isn’t going to be as much fun” (I was 58) & then he said “but then I got to know u & ur not old at all - you’re my best teacher ever” Age is just a number.

Be the change you want to see.

Fear = false evidence appearing real. And failure is just an outcome. Might not be the one you wanted but you can learn and grow from it

When young don’t piss on electric fence, when over 50 u may need to, to keep your heart going.

Keep cheese in a Chinese takeaway container. It doesn’t dry out and stays mould free for ages.

Take the time to really look, not just being present but really looking and there is beauty everywhere.

Be yourself! ( Everyone else is taken)

In a world where you can be anything - be kind.

Always wear the best protective motorcycle gear you can afford (if motorcycling)

Don’t forget, especially if you are feeling blue, to close your eyes now and then and feel the sun on your face.

Every morning, straighten your crown.

Follow your intuition.

Mature as you age, Growing up is optional don't lose your childish enthusiasm.

Rā whānau! It took me far too long to learn this: Some people will take, others will give. Don't give too much to those who are sucking your soul dry... find someone or something more worthy of your energy.

Work less, play more.

Always have baby wipes around - so easy to clean stuff/anything!

Being kind is the worthwhile life goal.

Always smile, it makes you feel good and it makes people that see you feel good.

Bad advice is expensive.

Love is the greatest, but kindness is everything.

Don't ever grow up! I'm not quite 50, and my dad has always told me this.

Despite all the negatives in the world, it's still a lovely place to live. Find the joy in the every day.

I've learned that I need to carve out time on my own, in order to be my best for anyone else. (during lockdowns and school holidays, this can become glaringly obvious!)

My 50th I decided to start a new career. Best thing I ever did… Don’t stay anywhere you shouldn’t be any longer than it took you to find out.

If you like the feel of the sun on your tummy, wear the damned bikini.

Enjoy the simple things in life. The sky, sea, birds etc

Don’t scrub the inside of the toilet bowl with your mouth even slightly open...this is sage advice for any age.

You're a goddess, descended from along line of phenomenal women. Don't forget that.

This - whenever I doubt myself or feel less than I think of the amazing wāhine in my family who have gone before me & it gives me a boost.

Happy half a hundred. Time will speed up now so make the most of every moment.

Do things that keep you supple.

Spend your energy on what’s positive and productive, don’t waste it worrying about things you can do nothing (or nothing more) about.

Do what you need to do in your 50s - there is still time. You can do it later but it gets harder.

Remember to have fun. If you don’t like your job, change it. Work with people who are younger than you.

Figure out who you really treasure, and find ways to connect with them when it feels as though you don't have time. That's when you'll understand most deeply *why* you treasure them.

Notice something beautiful everyday. Explore, go on adventures, have fun. Live.

No one is watching you as closely as you think they are - so stop living as though they are.

You'd never speak to your sister this way - why would you speak to yourself this way?' - helps me to be kinder to myself!

Be kind. To others and yourself.

Unbelievably it took me to 50 or so to really get this, but now if I think 'oh, that's a bit odd' around something someone says or does PAY ATTENTION.

It's never too late to learn something new even if it's really hard to master. For me it was learning to surf at 35 & it changed my life, and then traditional timber framed construction using only hand tools at 55 which is changing 'how' I live.

If you are sick don't get dressed, stay in your night clothes. Your family will then know you need taking care of instead of expecting you to carry on. You can't look after other if you don't look after yourself.

Think more like a dog; live in the moment.

Good people do bad things and bad people do good things. You need to be nuanced in your approach to people.

Think for yourself but be open to advice from people you respect or trust. That said your body will tell you when a decision is right or wrong, especially your stomach aka "gut feeling". Take care

The biggest puzzle you will ever need to solve is yourself and with each piece you place there will be sorrows and regrets but also vanilla icing and an abundance of sugar!

Surrender to the universe.

Don't iron in the nude if you’re a fella.

Leave that email in your drafts for a couple of hours. Come back to it, wordsmith it and then send. Don’t send an email pissed off

I try to find the positive as I have a habit of mulling over problems - when in doubt, frolic!

In difficult times carry something beautiful in your mind. Shout out to all the other awesome women in their 50s.

You can plant five varieties of tomatoes on the same day. Each with a different “harvest in xx days” listed on the seed packet. All the tomatoes will be ripe at the same time. Seed packets lie.

Toxic people aren’t worth it.

Take time out to look at the night sky. Learn to navigate by the stars. It gives you a sense of proportion and keeps you humble. Find Sirius the brightest star. Light from Sirius takes 9 years to get here.

Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.

Some people are nice Some people are nasty.

Your new life starts everyday.

Every day some poor bugger wakes up dead and it could be any of us. We only get one crack at this life and none of us know when or how it'll finish. Do what makes you happy.

Biggest life lesson for me has been trust your gut.

You can’t change the past. You can change your responses to things.

Engage with small humans. They understand way more than they can verbalize.

How you look now.... That's the best you're ever going to look.

Have spent most of my working life in technical worlds: It's all about people. Takes seconds to do damage and lifetimes to make it right. Don't right off strange bedfellows. You're not the most important person in the room.

Be your best friend.

You take yourself wherever you go … spent 30 years abroad so I know this much is true!

Don’t sweat the small stuff! Particularly useful for parents.

Be Kind. Also expressed as "if you can make someone's day, even if it takes a reasonable amount of effort, you should."

So much great advice here so I’ll just add: As human beings, we need each other - we are inextricably linked. And there are good people everywhere. This thread demonstrates both of these lessons.

Love your body. It will never be as perfect as it is today. Your body carries your brain around, it is AMAZING so be nice to it xx

Oh and appreciate being alive - every single day, appreciate it! There are so many in life that have not made it this far, you are one of the truly lucky ones even if it doesn't feel like it some days. Look for the tiny dots of beauty xx

Life begins at 50. Go for it.

If you are not enjoying every single second of social media, stay off social media. It only exists nowadays to harm those it finds fragile.

Your 50s are a good time to learn to use power tools.

If you have to cry, do it in the shower. Then dry your tears and face the day.

By 50, you know what you know.

People are the sum of all the things that make them, including their life experiences and the influence of the family environment. As a consequence a lot of people find it hard to understand that which they have no personal experience of. It's tough but try not to judge too hard

Don't sweat the small stuff :-) When you look back in life, dwelling on the bad things and bad people is a waste of time.

Our lives are like a book. Many chapters, some good, some bad, some fun, some sad. A new chapter is but a page turn away.

Just be you. 100% unapologetic you. The energy its takes to be anything other just isn't worth it. There is an amazing collection of opinions and personalities around us and we all learn in our own time to embrace most as they are.

You’re weird, I’m weird, we’re all weird. Normal doesn’t exist! Your weirdness makes you you so don’t apologies for it, bless people with it!

Don't report about US human rights abuses or you'll spend your 50th Birthday in solitary confinement.

Nobody cares as much as you do.

And here’s my 5 cents worth in the form of a simple sauerkraut recipe made from a few very simple things from the garden and the pantry.

Trust Your Gut Sauerkraut

Ingredients

1 small red cabbage

2 -3 red beets

1 Tbls caraway seeds or cumin if you prefer

2 Tbls Himalayan pink salt

Method

Shred the cabbage and beets in a food processor using the grater option.

Toss with the seeds and salt, massaging well with your hands (very therapeutic) 

Let is sit for 30 minutes.

Spoon it into a large jar and press it down hard as you go so the juices come to the top and cover the cabbage. Leave 3cm of room at the top of the jar.

Place a weight on top to help the juices rise then seal loosely and keep at room temperature for 1 – 3 days.

Transfer to the fridge where it will keep for several months.

When I was a kid mum had a great vegetable garden. She’d spend long hours out on warm days weeding, planting and harvesting and a lot of what we ate was a product of that patch. She was a good cook too and I remember loving what she served up in the evening for our dinners; all except for one dish. It was a stew of tomato, onion and zucchini (kind of a Ratatouille) and more than the flavour it’s the texture that is forever stuck in my mind. Soft and mushy, the skin of the zucchini like that of a swamp creature. It truly was the stuff of nightmares for a ten year old girl.

Ha! What an off putting way to start a blog celebrating the zucchini. Let’s consider this post a kind of therapy shall we? I’ll put my feet up and you can ask me probing questions about my childhood. On second thoughts I don’t think we have the time!

In fact I’ve long since gotten past my aversion to courgettes, the minute I realised what a nutritional gem the baby marrow is I was all over it, ready to forgive and forget, to create new memories that are less gag inducing.

The plant is known by three different names and all of them mean the same thing - small marrow - zucchini (Italian), courgette (French) and baby marrow (South African English). It becomes a fully fledged marrow when it reaches a certain size that’s bigger than a standard zucchini. This seems to happen with breakneck speed and harvesting needs to be done daily to avoid the ‘marrow trap’ of too many with not enough mouths to feed. If you get a bit lax on picking and are faced with many marrows I’ve included a chutney recipe that uses over a kg of the green monster so they won’t all go to waste.

Anyone who’s ever planted a courgette in anticipation will not have been disappointed. Easy to grow in temperate climates as long as they have a good watering most days, it certainly holds it’s own with a healthy plant returning about 4.5kg of fruit over it’s growing period, but be aware it loves to stretch out across the garden.

The zucchini bulb that is eaten is actually a swollen ovary of the blossom!
There are both male and female blossoms on the zucchini plant. The female blossom has the ovary that we call a zucchini. Botanically the ovary of a plant that contains the seeds is called a fruit and it’s packed with beneficial nutrients including Vitamins C and A, potassium, folate, and fiber. All contribute to a healthy heart by decreasing the risk of stroke, reducing high blood pressure, and lowering cholesterol.

These are 5really different recipes using both the small courgette and the larger marrow. A super simple, fresh salad for lunch in a flash, a robust and sweet chutney to pair with good cheese and conversation, fritters to feed the fussiest in the family with a thick, fresh, yummy dipping sauce to make from scratch, a hearty, delicious bake to serve on it’s own or as a side and a show stopping, mega moist and rich chocolate and cherry cake which is hiding a little secret. As with all I share the emphasis is on bold, delicious flavour, ease of preparation (who’s got the time right!) and packing them with the best nutrition you can in every mouthful.

Have a go at these while zucchinis are at their best and inexpensive to buy and I truly, truly hope that none of them remind you of my ten year old ‘swamp monster’ stew - enjoy x

More a collection of good ingredients than a recipe, the magic in this very simple dish is in the dressing.

Simply slice some fresh courgettes into ribbons or use a spiraliser to make noodles, mix green and yellow for a nice bright plate of colour.

To make the dressing into a bowl put 1/2 a cup of your favourite pesto (I used homemade watercress pesto for this), squeeze 1/2 lemon into it and a glug of good olive oil and then mash in one lovely ripe avocado until it’s smooth and creamy.

Gently toss the dressing through the courgettes. Finish with another squeeze of lemon, some olive oil, fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Marrow Chutney

Ingredients

1.35kg marrow,
salt
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
3 shallots, chopped
225g sultanas
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
450g dark brown soft sugar
375ml vinegar
1 ½ Tbsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp crushed chillies (less if desired)

Method

Place the peeled, seeded and cubed marrow into a non-reactive bowl and sprinkle generously with salt. Cover and let sit overnight.
Drain marrow, rinse thoroughly and place into a large pot. Add remaining ingredients and slowly bring to the boil.
Lower the heat and gently simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until thick, stirring occasionally.
Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal immediately.

Zucchini Fritters with Fresh Tomato Dipping Sauce

For the Fritters

2 zucchinis

2 eggs

1 onion finely chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1/4 tsp chopped fresh chilli

1 clove garlic minced

4 tbsp ground almonds

salt & pepper to taste

Olive oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

Grate the zucchinis into a colander and add some salt, set aside for 30 minutes then squeeze out as much water as possible

Mix the zucchinis with all other ingredients in a bowl

Heat oil in a pan and use a cookie cutter to get round shape for fritters by holding in place for 30 seconds as you spoon 1 large tablespoon of batter then removing the cutter, they should end up about 1cm thick, you should get about 10 fritters

Fry for approx 5 mins each side till golden brown and cooked through

Tomato dipping sauce

1tin of diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp fresh chilli minced

1 clove garlic minced

bunch of fresh basil

salt & pepper to taste

1 onion chopped

Tomato dipping sauce

Fry off your onion and your garlic until its soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until you’ve got a nice chunky sauce. If it’s to your taste you may want to add a little sugar or maple syrup x

Marrow and Potato Bake

 INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp oil
4 courgettes, sliced
1 onion, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic
pepper & salt
1 tbsp flour
½ cup milk
200g cheddar (‘tasty’) cheese

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Oil a shallow oven dish. Layer the courgettes and sliced onion in the dish.

Sprinkle with crushed garlic, 1 tsp salt and a generous grinding of black pepper. Bake for 15 -20 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over and stir, then add the milk and top with the cheese. Bake a further 15-20 minutes. Finish under the grill for 5 minutes (if needed) to get a golden-brown top. Serve hot

Serves: 6-8
Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Zucchini, Chocolate, Cherry Cake

INGREDIENTS

250g plain / coconut yoghurt
1½ cups coconut sugar
4 eggs
2 large zucchini, ends cut off, grated, with skin on
½ cup peanut oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup large dark chocolate chips
2 tsp baking soda
¼ cup milk, boiling

2 doz fresh cherries, deseeded and halved ( ½ in the cake mix and ½ for decoration on icing)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and flour two 20cm cake tins.

Cream the yoghurt and coconut sugar, then add the eggs, grated courgette and oil. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cocoa into the bowl and mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips.

Dissolve the baking soda in boiling milk and add to the mix. Blend well. Pour into your prepared tins.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Top with frosting of your choosing and the remaining fresh cherries.

Here we are in the southern hemisphere living in the long, hazy days of summer and it’s feeling good!

As the weather warms up the trips to the supermarket become less and less and the vege garden swings into full '“self sufficiency” mode.

I spend at least an hour a day in my garden, usually first thing in the morning and it’s like a meditation for me. Coffee in hand I can wander gently and ponder the day ahead while I notice the subtle changes in the plants, most of which grow at a slow and steady pace…..not so the cucumbers! They are like the formula one racers of the vegetable world, shooting off at 100 miles an hour and daring you to leave them a day too long. They seem to change from small and manageable to “too late you missed us” overnight and this recipe is such a tasty way to prolong their goodness and change up their flavour while keeping that epic crunch that is such a summer texture and sound.

These are phenomenal in a burger, sandwich or taco. Perfect to add to mayonnaise along with capers, parsley and lemon for a quick tartare sauce and of course when the team arrive for a beer they can star on a platter with some good cheese and crackers.

5 minutes is truly all you need and the simplest of ingredients. I’d love you to try them, they are so satisfying to make. Enjoy - Jax x

Cucumber Fridge Pickles

This makes one 700grm jar of pickles.

1 medium fresh cucumber – more or less. Make sure they aren’t too ‘seedy’

2 peeled cloves of garlic

1 cup water

1 cup white vinegar

1 Tbls plain salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

½ tsp peppercorns

¼ tsp chilli flakes (if you like them)

Chop cucumber in disks about ½ cm thick. Fill the jar.

Add all other ingredients to a medium saucepan and bring to the boil.

Add the still hot liquid to the jar making sure it covers the cucumbers.

Seal and cool, then place in the fridge. They’ll be good to go in a day and will last for up to 3 weeks in the fridge. As they pickle more they will intensify in flavour and loose a little of their initial crunch.

This super quick sharing plate is like a headbutt of flavour and is perfect to whip together in a jiffy.

The other thing I adore about this Mediterranean beauty is that there’s usually a little left over to pop on my toast with avocado the following day!

Happy New Years to you and all those you love and wishing you a year ahead full of the very best things you can imagine - 2022 here we go! - Jax

Baked Feta, Lemon and Olives

In a smallish baking dish place –

1 whole block of feta

1 ½ cups of olives that you like (drained of brine)

3 cloves of peeled and roughly chopped garlic

Juice of ½ a lemon

3 – 4 lemon wedges

3 sprigs of rosemary

A big dousing of olive oil (4 – 5 Tbls)

Salt and pepper

Bake at 180 until brown and sexy.

Serve with fresh crusty bread, on crackers or make my seed loaf to accompany it (recipe at soigather.nz).

Any left-over oil is incredible as a base for salad dressing and any of the feta and olives that don’t get eaten are also a stunning addition to a simple green salad.

How good was the concept of a fondue. What a brilliant idea, aside from the odd table cloth being set alight of course. To sit around a cooking vessel with people you like; probably wearing something cool like a kaftan or flares; and dip delicious skewers of raw num nums into the pot of goodness to cook. And then to be able to voice approval of your own cooking by saying things like “wow man, this is groovy”.

Of course I’m too young (just) to have been there in flares dipping my skewers but mum had a set at home on top of the fridge and we did get it down from time to time as a bit of a novelty. It was orange (very 70’s) with a fat wooden handle and the skewers were long and extremely dangerous if being wielded by an older sibling. Of the few times we did ‘fondue’ I remember loving the sense of being able to choose what I ate. The joy of the small bite, tasting different flavours and then being able to go back for more of what you fancied.

I don’t think I’m alone in enjoying this style of eating. The rise of “the sharing plate” is a reflection of our delight in getting to taste bits and pieces of more than one dish. It allows the diner to hedge their bets, if they pick a dud; they can push it to the middle of the table and reach for something else! Pass the dumplings please!

The platter is another type of sharesies experience that’s commonplace at many social occasions now. There are people making a living out of glorious, lush trays overflowing with cheeses, meats, fruits and other fabulous finger foods. This is also a great way to simplify entertaining, I’m all about that this time of the year!

Sharing plates, fondue, hot rocks, platters, hot pots, as different as the flavours may be they all have one thing in common, they take the pressure right off the host; who is usually accountable if it’s not a good dining experience; and put the onus back in the hand that feeds you, your own. Didn’t like the devilled eggs? then choose again. Cheese Hedgehog not your bag? move on. Olive stuffed celery makes you windy? pass. What a delight as the hostess with mostess to be able to be so carefree! To sip my bubbles and not worry who’s eating what.

This easy carefree style is what I’ve chosen for Christmas Day at ours this year. With the madness of covid and the added stresses family have been under I have taken the yolk of all day preparation for a sit down meal and smashed it with an axe. Platters, drinkies and an open invite to all is the menu and I’m so excited!

These little bits that I’ve made are some of what will be on offer for me and mine on the 25th. All of them include good stuff from my garden and as many health enhancing ingredients as I can get in them. The Tarts are a taste of summer with a delicious crunchy base, the green cups are gluten free and diabetic friendly and the rice paper rolls are bursting with fresh Asian flavours so there will be something to keep most tummies happy. All of them are super simple and packed with flavour. Enjoy x

Roll Over Chick - Chicken & Cashew Summer Rolls

Makes about 20

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 500grm Chicken tenderloins, cut lengthwise into 3 - 4 pieces

• 2 Tbls soy sauce

• 1 Tbls olive oil

• 3 Cloves of minced garlic

For the Dipping Sauce

• 1 Tblsp of soy sauce

• 1 clove of minced garlic

• 1/2 cup coconut cream

• 1/4 cup lime juice

• 1 Tbls maple syrup

• 1 thumb size pieces of ginger, peeled and grated finely

For Filling the Rolls

• 8 kaffir lime leaves, spines removed and finely chopped

• 1 thumb size pieces of ginger, peeled and grated finely

• 1 1/2 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded

• 1 1/2 cups red cabbage, finely shredded

• 1/2 small red onion, finely sliced

• 1 cup of toasted cashew chopped roughly

• about 20 x 22cm rice paper sheets

• 1 red chilli, sliced

• 2/3 cup coriander leaves

• 2/3 cup mint

Method

Mix the soy, oil and garlic and add to this the chicken to marinade for 3 hours or overnight.

For the dipping sauce add the coconut cream, soy, garlic, ginger, lime juice and maple syrup to a pot and heat gently for a couple of minutes - put aside to cool.

Right, lets get the filling bits ready. In a medium bowl add the lettuce, kaffir lime leaves and ginger, mix gently and set aside.

In another bowl add sliced red onion and red cabbage, set aside.

Have your sliced chilli, coriander and mint ready to go.

In a fry pan on medium heat add 1 Tblsp of oil and batch fry your chicken until cooked. Set aside to cool.

Assembly

Fill a shallow dish or sink with hot water and soak a rice paper sheet until it’s soft. Put it on a clean surface. About a third of the way up the sheet, lay out a few pieces of chilli, some coriander leaves and mint leaves, top with chicken a scattering of nuts and then the lettuce and cabbage. Fold the bottom of the roll, then the sides before rolling up and placing on a platter with the dipping sauce to serve.

Tip - Don’t place them so they are touching, they get pretty sticky. Also the rolling takes a bit of practice - go at it with a sense of humour (and a wine?) and all will be well x

Rock the Casbah - Middle Eastern Chicken Lettuce Cups & Lemon Yoghurt

Makes about 24

Ingredients

• 2 tsp butter

• 1/2 cup (75g) coarsely chopped almonds

• 2 tsp sumac

• pinch of chilli flakes

• 4 Tbls very finely chopped red onion

• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

• 3 fresh dates, stoned and chopped

• 1 cup cooked, shredded chicken - cooled

• 1/2 cup coriander roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup plain yoghurt

• zest of 1 lemon

• 24 cos lettuce hearts / small iceberg lettuce leaves or similar

• seeds from a pomegranate

Method

In a fry pan over medium heat melt the butter and toast the almonds for about 5 minutes until golden. Remove from the heat and add the sumac and chilli and season with salt.

Put the red onion in a bowl and mix through the red wine vinegar to slightly pickle it. Leave it for a few minutes and then add the chicken, dates and coriander.

In a small bowl combine the yoghurt and lemon zest and season with salt.

Arrange the lettuce on a plate and top with a dessert spoon of the chicken mixture. Top each with a sprinkle of nuts, dollop of lemony yummy yoghurt and then a flourish of beautiful pomegranate seeds.

What a Good Tart - Asparagus & Feta Tarts with a Walnut Crust

Makes about 24

Ingredients

For the tart shells

• 100g oats

• 60grm walnuts

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 30g parmesan finely grated

• 1 small egg

• 30grm butter melted

For the filling

• 1/2 small shallot very finely chopped

• 2 tsp red wine vinegar

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• 2 tsp lemon juice

• 100grm asparagus finely sliced on the diagonal

• zest of a lemon

• 75grm feta crumbled

• 1/2 cup mint finely shredded - leave a few whole to garnish

• 1/4 cup parsley finely chopped

• edible flowers to garnish - I used sage flowers.

Method

For the tart shells

Pre heat oven to 180. Place the oats and walnuts on an oven tray to toast - Don’t take your eyes off them! This will take about 8 minutes until they are golden brown. Move them as they are cooking and when they’re done take them out and let them cool.

Add your cool oats and walnuts to a food processor and pulse until they resemble a coarse flour. Add the salt, egg, parmesan until just combined. With the motor still running add the melted butter.

Put a heaped teaspoon into a mini muffin tin (I used a cake pop mould) and using clean, damp fingers push the mixture into the corners and sides to line each hole. Bake for 10 minutes at 180 until golden brown. Set aside to cool in the tin before removing

For the filling

Put the shallot in a bowl, add the red wine vinegar and leave for several minutes. Add the mustard, lemon juice, asparagus, lemon zest and feta. Mix this gently together. Stir in mint and parsley and then season.

Spoon the mixture into the tart cases to fill and then garnish with mint leaves and edible flowers to serve.

I have a confession to make. I know you’re not meant to have favorites but I have one. I’d gladly do without the others and choose this one over and above the other two and I know it’s wrong.

But here it is breakfast is my best. There I’ve said it. That was cathartic even if a little underwhelming in it’s delivery!

I mean, lunch and dinner are good, don’t get me wrong, but if I had to choose one meal a day to keep it’d be breakfast, it’s my jam and it mightn’t be for the reasons you think.

Sure, breakfast is often called 'the most important meal of the day', and for good reason. As the name suggests, breakfast breaks that overnight fasting period. It replenishes your supply of glucose to boost your energy levels and alertness, while it also tops up other essential nutrients that help your good health, it sets you up for world domination and all that.

I like best because I reckon it’s like being at sea, you’re the captain and you’re in charge, breakfast is a law unto itself. Different rules apply to our first meal of the day. Dinner and lunch have an expectation around them. They are required to conform, sit up straight and follow the rules, to behave. They’re usually savoury, feature a protein, some kind of carbohydrate type thing and I think they’re a bit stuffy compared to the loose cannon that is brekky and that my friends is definitely a bit of me!

My one ‘rule’ around breakfast is to get as many good things in the bod as possible by way of nutrient loaded good stuff. Bread that’s made from almond meal to increase protein, leafy greens from the garden to boost immunity, avocado for healthy fats, oats for a slow release of energy, coconut yoghurt because it’s just so darn yum. These nutrient dense bombs can all be seen from time to time on the am menu round here, but one thing that always features is good coffee! (that’s an entirely different post!)

I also love the stillness that blankets me on these late spring mornings. I find myself happy to bounce out of bed and don’t feel like I’ve been robbed of extra sleep even if the birds are still ‘head under wing’. It gives me some time to myself, to enjoy my coffee ritual, explore my vegetable garden and see the subtle changes that are happening all the time in there and then to sit and enjoy my first meal of the day, slowly and mindfully. It’s the space where I set my intention and state of mind for the day, it’s a sacred time and I’m embarrassed to say I get a little ‘pissy’ if I’m interrupted by other household members, I mean really, how rude right!

So you see, I truly love breakfast and I’m super excited about sharing these recipes with you to try. There are three here and I love having at least one on the go per week to keep me buzzing along. There are a couple of bircher type oats to choose from and I adore them both. (The beauty of soaking your oats allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralise the phytic acid they contain) One has the winning combo of peanut butter and banana; nothing could be better….except maybe overnight oats that taste like a carrot cake, including proper raw carrot! The coconut, cashew and banana clusters are the most versatile of the lot. Sprinkle them onto yoghurt, on top of the bircher oats or a handful here and there during the day; naturally sweet and crunchy; these are a superb way to honour a banana that’s gone too far!

Like everything I do; indeed maybe similar to me; all of these recipes are simple. Simple ingredients, simple method. They are all low in sugar and high in protein and slow release energy in the form of oats. I’d love to think you’d try one or two and take your time one slow morning to enjoy them as I do - Jax x

Peanut Butter and Banana Oats

This recipe is for one. I usually double it (at least!) as they keep well in the fridge for a couple of days.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of oats

• 3/4 cup of almond or coconut milk

• 1 Tbls chia seeds

• handful of raisins

• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

• 1/2 banana mashed

• 1 Tbls peanut butter

Method

In a big bowl mix all the ingredients making sure the peanut butter is well mixed in. Allow your oats to thicken overnight in the fridge.

I always have mine with fresh fruit and coconut yoghurt - enjoy x

Carrot Cake Overnight Oats

Ingredients

• 50g rolled oats

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

• 350ml coconut milk, including the cream on top (or any other kind of milk)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder

• 1 large carrot, finely grated (or just chopped roughly if using a high-speed blender)

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

• pinch each of ground nutmeg and sea salt

• ½ frozen banana or ½ avocado mixed with ½ tablespoon rice malt syrup

• 2 tablespoons crushed walnuts

• 2 tablespoons coconut flakes

Method

Blend the oats, chia seeds, milk, vanilla, carrot, spices, salt, banana or avocado mix and the walnuts and coconut flakes until smooth. Pour into 2 jars and leave to soak overnight in the fridge, lids on. In the morning, top with yoghurt and some crunchy banana clusters if that rings your bells.

Banana, Coconut and Cashew Clusters

This recipe is so great. Fresh banana gives a gentle, sweetness to the texture laden crunchy goodness. These are great for dessert toppers, scroggin, lunch box additions or just as you are walking past the pantry!

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds

• 1 cup raw cashews

• 1 cup of walnuts

• 2 cups of oats

• 3 Tbsp almond butter

• 3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

• 1 ripe banana, mashed

• 2 Tbsp maple syrup or rice bran syrup

• 1 cup coconut flakes

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

In a big bowl mix all the dry ingredients except the coconut flakes.

In a separate bowl mix the almond butter, coconut oil, maple or rice bran syrup and banana.

Add the two and mix to combine. Spread them on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes moving the mixture a couple of times to encourage even cooking.

After 15 minutes add the coconut flakes and bake a further 5 minutes.

Cool completely and store in a jar or airtight container.

Dried fruit can be added to this if you like - do this after cooling the mixture.

Last weekend my good man and I went fishing, it was a very productive trip indeed. I consider myself extremely lucky to live in a country with such an abundance of great kai moana (sea food) and to have the means to collect it is awesome. That said I’m fished out! If I eat another fish dish I swear I’ll start to grow scales. The scene in the movie Forest Gump where Bubba is rattling of the number of dishes that he can make with shrimp has been me standing at my kitchen sink in the last week!

Don’t get me wrong, no one has held a gun to my head and made me eat it, and the fact that fish is a perfect and very light protein is all good. My vege garden is firing off about now, so there’s been plenty of leafy greens to go with all that fishy goodness, a double shot of nutritionally dense nourishment is welcome.

One of the best things about catching a lot of fish is that you get to share it with people who might not have the means to do so. Giving away fresh snapper fillets is better than giving flowers in my opinion and my philosophy on catching fish does not include freezing it so if I catch more than I can use then it goes to others.

If you’re not into fishing yourself then a good fishmonger is like gold and to find one it definitely shouldn’t be a case of following your nose! The last thing a fish shop should smell like it fish funnily enough. Your local fishmonger should also be up for answering any questions you may have about the fish. I’d start with these -

• What’s in season now?

• How was this caught?

• What would you choose?

• How would you prepare this?

• What’s the best way to store this?

• Can you help me do X with this?

Fresh fish is also readily available in supermarkets these days. Look for the following when buying your fish -

• Clear, bright eyes, not sunken.

• Bright red gills.

• Scales should not be missing and they should be firmly attached to the skin.

• Moist skin. Really fresh fish feels slightly slippery.

• Shiny skin with bright natural colouring.

• Tail should be stiff and the flesh feel firm.

• It should have a sea-fresh smell.

The aim with buying any seafood is to get the freshest you can.

These recipes are some that I have made during over the course of the last week. I’ve loved every mouthful and hope you get the chance to make them soon. x

Mai Mai Thai Fishcakes

This is a recipe that you can opt for a cheaper type of fish or in this case I used off cuts of bigger fillets.

Ingredients

• 250g boneless/skinless fish fillets

• 1 egg

• zest of a lime

• 2 Tbsp chopped coriander

• 1 Tbsp red curry paste

• 2 tsp fish sauce

• 1 tsp brown sugar

Method

If you have a food processor add all your ingredients and pulse quickly to combine, you want a chunky texture for the fish not pulp. If you don’t chop your fish on a board until you have the desired texture and then add the other ingredients until well mixed.

Heat a little oil in a fry pan over a medium heat. Shallow fry tablespoons of the fish mix until cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Serve warm with a salad or as finger food with dipping sauce. A firm family favourite in our household with sweet chilli for dipping.

Fiji-Me Kokoda

Ingredients

• 500 g fish, very fresh white fish e.g. trevally, bluenose, tarakihi, snapper

• ½ cup fresh lime juice, freshly squeezed or lemon juice

• ½ cup coconut cream

• ½ red onion, finely diced

• 1 red chilli, large, finely diced, optional

• 2 spring onions, finely sliced

• 1 green capsicum, finely diced

• 2 tomatoes, seeds removed, finely diced

Method

Cut fish into small 1-2cm pieces. Combine with lime or lemon juice in a non-metal, non-corrosive bowl.

Cover and set aside to marinate overnight in the fridge - the acid of the citrus will cook the fish. Gently stir after 3 or 4 hours.

Mix in coconut cream, onion, chilli (if using), spring onions, capsicum and tomatoes.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Kingfish Ceviche with Pickled Red Onion

I just adore this recipe. It’s fresh and so full of light and luscious flavour and texture. The only thing to improve this recipe is a glass or two of chilled sauv blanc and a long afternoon with some nice company.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar (or any other vinegar)

• 2 tsp sugar

• ½ red onion, very finely sliced

• 500g very fresh, white, firm-fleshed fish: kingfish, trevally, snapper, gurnard or tarakihi (if using kingfish or trevally, make sure you remove the blood line)

• ½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (or a mixture of lemon and lime)

• 1 small green capsicum, cored, finely diced

• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut in half

• 1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)

• ¼ cup roughly chopped coriander

Method

Mix the vinegar and sugar in a small bowl and add the red onion. Set aside in the fridge to marinate and pickle for about 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Slice the fish thinly and place in a large bowl. Add the lime or lemon and lime juice, toss together and leave in the fridge to marinate for 15 minutes until the fish is white. The acidity of the juice will 'cook' the fish and it will change from opaque to white in colour, looking just like cooked fish.

Drain the fish, reserving the marinating juices.

Drain the pickled red onion. Mix the fish with the onion and the remaining ingredients, and about ¼ of a cup of the marinating juice to taste.

Season with salt to taste

Sweet-as Fish Pie

Ingredients

• 800g kumara, peeled and chopped (I use the golds)

• 25g butter

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 1 stalk celery, sliced

• 1 large carrot, finely chopped

• 1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped

• 2 tsp of curry powder (I use curry masala)

• 50g butter

• 3 Tbls of flour

• 2 - 3 cups milk

• 750g smoked fish, skin and bones removed (I used king fish)

• 3 hard boiled eggs cut into 1/4

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• small handful flat leaf parsley leaves chopped

• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind

Method

Place kumara in a saucepan with a sprinkle of salt, cover with water and cook until tender.  Drain well and then mash until smooth with the 25g butter.  Set aside.
Preheat oven to 180 C.
Heat oil over a gentle heat and cook onion, celery, carrot and garlic until onion is soft. To this mixture add the curry powder and cook it out for a minute or two. Add butter to melt then stir in flour. Add milk gradually, stirring continuously to avoid lumps until a good consistency has been achieved. Gently stir in fish, parsley and lemon.
Transfer mixture to a baking dish approximately 30cm x 25cm and gently push eggs into this mixture.
Spread the kumara over the fish mixture and top this with breadcrumbs and grated cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes until the crumbs are golden and the filling is piping hot (cover with foil if the crumbs brown too quickly).

A curry is a great way to make a few ingredients go a long way and as a plus they pack a massive healthy punch and taste divine.

This is a mellow, sweet curry inspired by a groovy little cauliflower that I had in the garden. It’s a variety that’s green in colour not white and I love that it’s being a little different like that and living it’s best cauli life.

This recipe and the flatbread that I made to go with it is loaded with immunity boosting turmeric. The golden glowing super food has been well known to assist health for centuries. The use of turmeric dates back nearly 4000 years to the Vedic culture in India, where it was used as a culinary spice and had some religious significance. It probably reached China by 700 ad, East Africa by 800 ad, West Africa by 1200 ad, and Jamaica in the eighteenth century. Well travelled and super good for us, it’s the kind of spice you want to be seated next to at a party.

Turmeric — and especially its most active compound, curcumin — have many scientifically proven health benefits, such as the potential to improve heart health and prevent against Alzheimer's and cancer. It's a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It may also help improve symptoms of depression and arthritis and that colour, what a spice !

I used to make a paste for my older horses who were struggling with arthritis and add it to their diet to help ease the pain. This recipe is simple and helped my ponies no end. It can also be applied to dogs and humans struggling with joint pain. Simply google “Dougs Golden Paste” for the recipe created by vet; Doug English.

If you can get fresh turmeric all the better and if you are buying it in the powdered form the quality of the raw materials makes a difference. Look for authentic Indian turmeric for cooking. For supplements, find a product with as few inactive ingredients and fillers as possible. “Make sure it's marked as USP verified.

When adding turmeric to your diet, you are limited only by your imagination. The Balinese add fresh turmeric to water, ginger and honey for a refreshing summer drink. It can be added fresh or dried to curries and stir-fries, or mixed with milk and cinnamon for a warming winter beverage. Adding black pepper increases the absorption of the active constituent curcumin, as does the addition of fat, such as in a coconut curry, so on all counts this recipe is a winner and I promise you will love the taste and want to make it again and again - enjoy x

Cauliflower, Eggplant and Tofu Curry

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant, cubed

• 300g cauliflower florets

• 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained

• 300g firm tofu, drained, pat dry, cubed

• 1/4 cup coriander, chopped, plus extra sprigs to serve

• 3 long green chillies, chopped

• 3 shallots, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1/2 cup fish sauce

• 1/2 tsp lime zest, finely grated

• 1 tbsp lime juice

• 2 tbsp brown sugar

• 1 tbsp chopped ginger

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

• 400ml can coconut milk

Method

To make curry paste, place all ingredients, except coconut milk, in a blender or food processor. Blend until mixture forms a paste. Add coconut milk and blend until smooth.

Transfer curry mixture to a large saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 mins, until fragrant and thickened slightly.

Add eggplant and cauliflower. Simmer for 10 mins. Add chick peas. Simmer for 5 mins, until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. Fold through tofu and coriander. Serve topped with extra coriander sprigs, steamed rice and turmeric flat breads.

The flatbreads are fun to play around with and you can add whatever pleases you. I had some leftover potato so roughly mashed them and added them between the breads. These are especially nice with butter on top while they are still hot 🤤 I also added some spring onion chopped finely, coriander and some salty feta cheese. So good, they are a meal in themselves and a total family favourite.

Turmeric Flat Breads

Ingredients

Combine

• 1 cup flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Stir in

• 1/3 cup water

• 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Method

Knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover and set aside 15 minutes. Cut the dough into 4 pieces; flatten each into a 6-inch round. If you are adding filling, place one bread down, add filling and then place another bread on top. Roll flat with a rolling pin and cut to size.

Cook one at a time in an oiled pan over medium-high heat, flipping, until browned, 2 minutes.

As far as a re-set in these weird Covid times goes there is nothing better for me than being on, in or just around our coastline. I live in a part of New Zealand that is famous for it’s abundance of beautiful beaches and bays while at the same time is a larder of seafood that is world class.

Kiwis love boating and New Zealand has one of the highest boats per capita ratio in the world with an estimated one in eight persons owning a boat. This gives us access to all the great Kai Moana and possibly why we have such a ‘she’ll be right’ chill attitude.

I have a theory that so many love fishing because it’s therapy time. To stand on a boat, with a mate at your side and a line in the water gives your mind a chance to ramble and run, to process ‘stuff’ that doesn’t see the light of day otherwise. I bet even Sigmund Freud dropped a line in the water from time to time.

Of course gathering seafood is not just done from on top, some of the best goodies in the sea are on the sea floor which requires the wrestle into a body sized neoprene condom to keep the cold at bay and then lashing a tank of oxygen to your back before submerging to the depths below to search for the reward.

Scallops are right up there as far as being a luxury goes. Being a seasonal harvest makes that even more so. Like a truffle of the sea, they elevate simple fare to fine dining status and need very little done to them to make the cook look like a Michelin Star Wielding legend.

These are a few recipes I made after a trip down the harbour close to home. We caught beautiful fresh fish which were made into fillets and then the heads and frames into stock that was used to make the risotto (see my ‘Taking Stock’ blog for how) and the creamy chowder. In both of these recipes the scallops were cooked until caramelised and then joined the party, so good. 😋

I’d love you to try these recipes and I really hope you enjoy them - Jax x

Creamy Fish & Scallop Chowder

This is a bowl of love right here. Made using fresh snapper, local scallops and homemade stock from the heads and frames. This fish and scallop chowder just feels so full of goodness ❤ cos it is ....

Ingredients

50 g butter
1 leek finely chopped (white part only)
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 level tablespoons plain flour
2½ cups milk
2½ cup fish or chicken stock
½ cup cream
6 Scallops per person
500 g fresh fish cut into 3-4cm chunks or about the same of the meat from heads and frames used to make stock (see my Taking Stock post for how to)
½ lemon juice
¼ cup finely chopped parsley to serve

Method

Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook leek and garlic with a good pinch of salt for a few minutes or until soft.
Stir in the flour and cook, while stirring continuously, for about 1 minute.
Stir in about ½ cup of the milk, stirring continuously to avoid lumps forming. Gradually stir in the rest of the milk, then the stock and cream. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until slightly thickened.
Add fish and continue to simmer for a few minutes or until it is just cooked through. Pan sear scallops and add individual bowls. Season soup to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Stir in parsley. Ladle over scallops and garnish with parsley to serve. x

Lemon Risotto & Scallops

I just adore this combination. Juicy and caramelised; the sweet scallops love to hang out with creamy, lemony risotto 🍋. I also love the fact I get to drink wine and gently stir it while it's cooking....food therapy at it's best. Here's the recipe, so yummy.

Ingredients (serves 4)
6 cups good quality fish or chicken stock
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Method

Bring the stock up to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine and stir until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cup hot broth; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is creamy and tender, about 35 minutes. Stir in cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in parsley, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Season risotto with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl.
To Serve
Top with scallops that have been caramelised well and lemon halves that have also been caramelised in scallop pan to squeeze over the top.
Note- this risotto works well with any fresh seafood - so good ! Enjoy - Jax x

Super Green Salad with Chilli Miso Dressing

This is such simple dressing and works in so many different ways. I love it with seafood but it is also wonderful over roast pumpkin or grilled chicken. The salad can be mixed to use whatever greens you like but I love the combo of rocket, green apple 🍏and fennel and of course asparagus is in season now and at it’s best.

Ingredients

For the Salad (serves 2)

• 1 granny smith apple julienned

• 1 fennel bulb sliced super thin

• 8 asparagus stalks, blanched and sliced super thin

• 2 - 3 handfuls of baby rocket

Mix all the ingredients in a snazzy serving bowl.

For the Dressing

• 1 Tblsp miso paste

• 2 Oranges juiced

• 1 fresh chilli chopped finely

• 1 Tblsp good quality olive oil

Mix in a jar and season to taste. For a nutty flavour a dash of sesame oil can be added. Leaving the seeds out of the chilli will reduce the heat.

Subscribe now

Share

Check it out on insta

There’s nothing I like more than having my big silver pot on the stove bubbling away and turning something that’s generally thrown out into liquid gold which in turn becomes the building block of many nutritious and delicious meals.

Making stock using the bones, heads and frames of animal protein makes total sense to me. If we are taking the life of another being then using 100% of it is a must. Being mindful and grateful as we do this is respectful to that animal and I thinks it’s the only way to eat really.

There are some great stocks available on the shelves now and their convenience is something that can’t be denied but they will never ever taste as good or be as good for you as the homemade stuff. With a little (very little) effort and some time you can create beautiful nourishing stock to have in your freezer ready to add to meals as you need it.

Homemade broth and stock will not only get you bonus points with your palate but your system will adore you for it. When it’s cooked over a loooong time minerals leach into the liquid. These minerals are easy to digest in liquid form and are an awesome boost to the immune system. Also released from the bones are glucosamine and chondroitin which have been shown to help arthritis and joint pain. Gelatin; which is a boon for restoring gut lining is present in stocks and broths made from bones as is glycine which helps promote sleep and calmness. So you see, there is a very good reason we crave soup, broth and stock when our system is feeling flat and a very good reason to make our own.

There are a few basics to making good stock. The ingredients are generally the same suspects; onion, carrot, bay leaf, parsley, black peppercorns and celery. On cooking celery slowly it releases a heap of volatile compounds that enhance the perception of sweetness and umami from the other ingredients, it’s like a great director getting a good performance out of the rest of the cast.

There is no science to making stock, each batch you make will be a bit different but I promise the flavour and health benefits will never waver from 100%.

The basic ingredients for your stock can be sourced easily and for very little cost. I am lucky enough to be able to catch my own fish for frames and heads. Chicken frames I get from my local butcher, the last time I got some they were $4 for 6 large, free range frames. And beef bones are also readily available if you ask.

Homemade Stock

For Beef Stock - 1 -2 kg beef bones (marrow, knuckle, ribs, neck)

For Chicken Stock - 2 - 3 (cooked or uncooked) carcasses

For Fish Stock - 2 - 3 fish frames or large heads (white fleshed fish)

Ingredients

• 2 Tblsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 large onion

• 1 large carrot

• 2 stalks celery

• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns

• 2 - 3 bay leaves

• 1 medium bunch parsley

Method

Place the bones in a large stock pot. Add the vinegar and cover with cold water. For beef or chicken stock leave to soak for 30 minutes before cooking. You can also roast the meatier bones in a hot oven for 10 minutes first to make a browner broth. Add enough cold water to cover the bones (not too much so it will boil over). Roughly chop the carrot, celery and onion and add to the water and then the bay leaves, parsley and peppercorns. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and then leave on a simmer - Beef for 12 - 72 hours, chicken for 4 - 24 hours and fish 1 - 3 hours. Cool and use or freeze in containers for future use.