Salad. A five letter word that sends my mum into the foetal position.
Yet, it’s a five letter word that makes me swoon. Yes, I’m one of those strange people that actually likes to eat salads. In fact, I LOVE salads, no matter the weather, no matter the ingredients.
However, I do believe there is one golden rule you can never deviate from when making a salad, which unfortunately many people fail to follow....
Read MoreCoconut Sugar. The most nutritious with the lowest glycemic index of any natural sugar and a deep caramel colour which is perfect for recipes with chocolate, caramel and nuts.
So why don't I use it very often?
Read MoreCoq au Vin - A French classic and easily one of the most celebrated chicken dishes in the world.
Rumour has it that this dish was first cooked for Caesar himself.
However, it seems it was the delightful Ms Julia Childs who was the first to publish the recipe.
Wherever, whenever and by whomever - who cares. I'm just grateful to know how to cook it and above all else, eat it.
Read MoreSay hola to Leslie!
A born and bred Southern Californian, however for the past 14 years has called Mexico home.
Growing up watching her grandmother make flour tortillas and her grandpa (the baker in the family) make his empanadas, Leslie developed her love of cooking from an early age and created the lovely blog La Cocina de Leslie as a way to capture both the traditional Mexican recipes and Mexican inspired meals she has made over the years for her family.
Luckily for me, La Cocina de Leslie is my Secret Recipe Club Blog for the month of March.
Read MoreI love birthdays. There's cake. There's smiles. There's food galore.
Even when celebrating your sister's birthday 2 months later, there's cake, there's smiles and there's food galore.
There can even be food in the shape of a present. A box filled with slices made lovingly with cashew nuts, coconut and the zing of lemon.
Yep, just another reason to love birthdays!
Read MoreAnother pea soup?
Yes, another pea soup....but this one has mint. Lots of it!
What a brilliant, albeit obvious flavour combination, but I didn't realise just how brilliant a combination of ingredients this soup was until I did a little more research.
Read MoreAn Australian and love to cook? Then you would have at some stage in your life flicked through the pages of the Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine. Surely?
If you loved the magazine as much as me, then I’m pretty confident you ran across the name Anneka Manning at some stage. Or maybe you saw her name from Australian Good Taste or the Australian Women's Weekly? Wherever you saw it, or whether you saw it at all, you're going to see it again soon - attached to this beautiful new cookbook.
BakeClass.
A cookbook for both beginners and capable bakers, teaching the ten most common mixing methods for baking.
Read MoreFrench chefs have been cooking with chocolate since the early 17th century, and the delectable dessert “mousse au chocolat” (meaning chocolate foam) seems to have showed up in France around the 18th century.
Now this particular Mousse au Chocolat may not be the traditional French version, and in fact, the French may shrug their louis vuitton shoulders “pfft” me and my mousse, but I simply just don’t care. I LOVE this version and so does my tummy.
Read MoreThe Naked Vegan - a title that makes you take a second look and a cookbook recently delivered to me by the good people of Murdoch Books.
Maz Valcorza is a no-nensense and funny lady who had me at "I ate Spam from a can", as I too laughingly remember eating spam from a can when I was younger - it was my mum's staple ingredient in her light Summer ham salad.
This cookbook is filled with raw vegan recipes, free of refined sugars and nasty fillers. It uses food grown from the ground, free from animal products and has not been heated to over 40-46 degrees.
I must state right here that I am in no way a vegan. In fact I'm far from it. Yes, I enjoy a green juice and a raw dairy-free cheesecake along with the next person, however give me a juice organic, grass fed steak smothered in a buttery bernaise sauce and I'm a very happy gal. I never say never though.
Read MoreBreakfast. I'm a fan.
My breakfast of choice. Eggs.
When I'm wanting indulgence. Only hollandaise will do, and this recipe is foolproof.
In my past life I would whip hollandaise up by hand, which if you've done this before, is a bloody effort. Thank God for the invention of the blender, as this foolproof recipe creates hot, silky smooth and fluffy hollandaise, rich in protein, with a simple press of a button. Seriously, why would you order potentially inferior hollandaise when eating out anymore. I don't!
Read MoreSweet Potatoes.
Did you know that compared to regular potatoes, sweet potatoes have loads more vitamin A, vitamin C and even more fiber? This means they're excellent for your digestion - something close to my heart with my hashimotos.
Read MoreBeetroot has long been hailed as a natural healer for their ability to help lower blood pressure. However, did you know that they have also been traditionally used to treat fever, constipation, bloating and gas?
Did you also know that the greens from beetroot are chock full of calcium, iron and vitamins A and C and should definitely not be overlooked. Simply cook them up just like you would spinach.
Read MoreRose.
It can help regulate and balance hormone production throughout the body, and has an aroma that can keep you charged and feeling happy. It promotes circulation, takes care of the heart, reduces blood pressure and can help with asthma, dehydration and various other infections.
So when walking down Elizabeth Street in New York one fine Winter's day, our noses led us to an oasis hidden amongst the metal fire escapes.
Read MoreCookbooks, like men, come in and out of your life. Some excite you at first, but leave you totally underwhelmed within minutes. Some, those special few, can quite simply change your life.
The new cookbook by Lee Holmes, Eat Right for Your Shape , is just one such book.
This book takes a fresh look at the ancient Indian healing system of Ayurveda. A holistic approach to feeling well, balanced and living in harmony with yourself and your surroundings. A union of the mind, body, senses and soul to help achieve balance and good health.
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Full fat organic dairy milk. Such a simple thing, yet one I found hard to find during my recent holiday in New York. Just one choice in one market sitting amongst hundreds of varieties of skim, 0% fat, 2% fat, low-fat and long-life.
At first I was a little horrified, then it got me thinking about diets. About how we've been brought up my our parents and what the experts taught us back then, and even today. It got me thinking how no one person is the same, and no one body is the same, which then leads to the inevitable conclusion that no diet or way of eating should be the same for everyone.
Read MoreCoconut Butter.
I'm a "singing from the rafters" convert for this white stuff.
Simply the ground up dried flesh of the coconut made into a fine silky smooth butter, it contains both natural oils from the coconut oil as well as fiber from the flesh. Though it doesn’t have quite as many uses as coconut oil, it’s still a brilliant addition to my diet, as it is:
AND
Read MoreYesterday I was sporting a beanie and leather gloves, wondering if the feeling in my toes was the beginning of frostbite. Yesterday I was drinking New York cawfee and listening to Lou Reid.
Today, I'm taking my bare feet and hot sun burnt skin home after a glorious day rolling around in the Melbourne Summer sunshine. Today I've been sipping on French wine and listing to the beautiful soulful French voices of Brigitte and Lou Doillon.
I'm very easily pleased. It really doesn't take much at all.
And so another wonderful So Frenchy So Chic festival comes to an end. And yes, just another wonderful weekend in this little life of mine. Doesn't get much better.
Hope your weekend was just as beautiful.
Read MoreI love it when taking a wrong turn turns out to be the best thing.
We did start out with a plan, but that was thrown out the window when over an hour later and with tummies rumbling, we realised we were in completely the wrong area. Yep, we turned the "other" left.
But then there in the distance (well, across the road) was a glimpse of warmth, cosiness and most importantly....food. Watty and Meg. The perfect little bistro for these two hungry little ladies.
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