I’m all for quick and simple dishes, especially when the hordes descend and you have to feed them toot suite! This tasty tart fits the bill, and you can mix up the flavours a bit with different vegetable and cheeses. Just remember to make sure the vegetables are very finely sliced to ensure they cook through in the time it takes for the pastry to cook. Best kitchen tool ever invented is the mandolin, which makes this job so quick and easy.
Serve with a salad or two and you’re done. Time to put your feet up with a glass of vino. Plus the hordes will be happy too.
Enjoy!
Read MoreThis week I’m rolling out something a bit special, plus using up the last of my blackcurrant harvest. If you want an appetiser/canape to impress the neighbours when they drop in for drinks - then this is it! The rich ruby red colour of the Blackcurrant Salmon Gravlax is very striking and it tastes AMAZING!
The recipe takes a little preparation a few days in advance, but boy is it worth it. I served it with pickled vegetables and blinis, but it would be equally good with eggs at breakfast or over a salad with some crusty bread.
Enjoy!
Read MoreI 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.
Read MoreYikes 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!
Read MoreIt's September so you would think spring is on its way with blossom and spring flowers? But no winter this week has to have a last blast with gales, hail & freezing temps. So here was me thinking I'll do something spring like for the blog. Arrgghhhhh - change of plan and back to the hearty winter food.
Soup & bread, or toast, or bagel or flatbread feature quite a lot in my winter repertoire, so I had to crank out a loaf to go with my winter soup while the weather misbehaved outside. Yeah I know this Pumpkin, Fennel & Olive bread looks like it's had a bad spray tan at the beauty salon, but beneath it's dodgy looks lies a scrumptious bread with heaps of flavour.
Give it a go you won't be disappointed!
Read MoreOK 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!
Read MoreAutumn 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!
Read MoreYeah I know there a thousands of posts already in blog land this weekend with hot cross bun recipes - so in case of FOMO I'm throwing in my own version of an "adult only" hot cross bun!
While the kids are on their eater egg hunt getting hyper on all that sugar, the adults can be chowing down on some of their own hot cross bun action with their coffees/teas.
If you feel the need to share these with younger persons, you can swap the rum for water to remove the alcohol. These are best eaten warm from the oven and don't keep more than a day.
Happy Easter everyone!
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