Who like quick & simple recipes with lots of flavour ....?

Everyone who knows me well, knows that I like simple recipes with lots of flavour. Who wants to be slaving away in the kitchen making a masterpiece, when everyone else is having fun. This super quick recipe for Corn & Herb Fritters with Hot Smoked Salmon & Aioli is my go to recipe for bite sized appetisers or a brunch/lunch dish, made with slightly bigger fritters. Most of the recipe can be prepared before hand and then doesn’t take long to serve up when needed. It also scales well to make more serves. Give it a go this spring/summer when the hordes need feeding.

Enjoy! 

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Check out these bad boys....

I was doing some recipe testing for a client recently, and thought I should really do something with the left over fish fillets. So after fighting off my two cats, who thought they would shimmy up my leg to bench level for a lightening raid, I threw together some fish sliders with a spicy vegetable pickle to share with a couple of friends.

After a few vino's they lasted all of 2 mins, and barely touched the sides going down. Make sure you make plenty of these bad boys, coz they won't last long. 

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Fire up the barbie - summer's coming!

Yikes it's November already - where did the weeks go. Big fail again on my part to regularly update the blog. But I guess it's better late than never, particularly this recipe as it's a winner for those summer barbies!

Making this recipe I normally allow three skewers per person, but it would pay to do extra as they seem to disappear at a fast rate when the ravenous hordes are around.

Enjoy! 

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It's been a long time....

Apologies - yes I know it's been a long between posts from the Food Union, but life has been a tad chaotic of late what with cookbooks and advertising clients all vying for my attention. 

To rectify this lapse and appease the masses I've thrown together a scrumptious dish for you all from Emma Knowles at Gourmet Traveller using lamb racks and spices. I think its one of those trans seasonal dishes that could be good at any time of the year, and hits the spot in my book for flavour.

Enjoy!

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Ugly Dumplings....

OK you'll have to excuse the wrinkly nature of my dumplings - these tasty morsels aren't going to win any dumpling beauty pagents. But hey I'm still a learner driver making these things and I think lots of practice in this case does indeed make perfect.

The recipes are very simple and I've gone for two combinations of Chicken & Coriander and Pork & Garlic Chive. But have a play and experiment a bit with the mix of flavours and make your own unique combinations.

Enjoy!

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Autumn garden clean up......

Autumn is definitely here - so my garden was well overdue for a bit of a clean up and final harvest. Last weekend, before the cold nights took hold, I managed to pick the last courgettes before consigning the plants to the compost heap for another year. 

This year the courgette plants produced a bumper crop - which probably had something to do with all the compost and feeding the plants got throughout the summer. I could have sworn that the courgettes were growing heaps every time I turned my back! Ended up with a few marrows, but mostly managed to pick them early enough to keep to a manageable size. 

This yummy recipe comes from Lou & Ant Bentley at the Akaroa Cooking School, just over the Banks Peninsula hills an hour from my place. It's great for using up the courgette glut and has a lovely herby flavour with the addition of the tarragon and basil at the end of cooking the soup.  I make big batches of this soup, and freeze portions when I need something quick & tasty. 

Give it a try - you won't be disappointed!

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