Cheesecake cake - not a mistake
Is it a cake? Is it a cheesecake? It’s both! Because, why not? Lemony, rich and creamy on top, and all buttery-cakeyness in the nether regions, this is where you get to have your cake and eat your cheesecake too. Delicious. And it’s pretty straightforward to make as well…
Brown sugar cinnamon bread
Yes, we know. Yeast. Y’all are terrified of it. No matter; we will keep rolling out the yeast-y recipes, to the tired tune of “working with yeast is not that hard.” Modern instant dried yeasts are foolproof, unless you throw boiling water over them in which case you’re totally cooked…
Classic seed cake
It’s not terribly instagrammable. It doesn’t have sexy layers, frosting swirls, or drips of syrupy gorgeousness. It’s a bit plain. It's a seed cake and in decades past it was a favourite on the afternoon tea trolley; we find it darned delicious, in that rich, plain, buttery cake kind-of-a-way…
Fragrant chicken-rice bake
Another day, another spin on the never fail rice-chook combo. You just can’t go wrong with these two staples. We’ve yet to meet anyone who dislikes either rice nor chicken, or objects to them together. There are so many culinary routes that lead to chicken and rice happiness…
Berliners (jam doughnuts)
If our soup this week is virtuous and ‘everything good for you’, Berliners are virtually everything not good for you. White flour. Refined sugar. Jam. The cholesterol-y parts of an egg. Deep-fry oil. But we say ‘what EV-er’ to the nutrition police…
Cottage cheese and buckwheat pancakes
Rise and shine, breakfast freaks. We love our carbs and caffeine in the morning, and when it’s time to flip the script on the usual toast and jam, fluffy pancakes are pretty hard to beat. We like to kid ourselves these ones are a bit healthier than regular pancakes…
Smoked salmon, cabbage fritter and sour cream
It had to happen sooner or later; cabbage has officially entered the zeitgeist. Remember when cauliflower was suddenly a thing? Then Brussel’s sprouts? No? Well they were and now it’s cabbage’s turn to have a little moment. Cabbage is suddenly all the rage..
Glazed eggplant with rice, jammy eggs and spring onion salad
Soon, we pinky swear, we’ll do a deep dive into Korean ingredients because we realise not everyone is fluent. And Korean food has become SO popular that you might want to whip up a few dishes at home. If you don’t know your gochujang from your gochugaru you can…
Berry skillet cake
What if you could make a cake without the hassle of finding the exact right cake tin?? 'Spring form’ this… ‘bundt tin’ that… ‘square pan’ the other… pfftt. Sometimes it’s all too hard. At least it is in SOMEONE’S house, where the corner kitchen cupboard is the dark…
Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting
What’s cuter than a cupcake? A cupcake with a great gob of frosting piped on the top, that’s what. Anything with piping looks bougie, don’t you think? We love letting loose with a piping bag; it’s our happy place. And it’s arguably the most extra thing you can do because…
Fragrant lentils with caramelised onion and eggs
Oh. Don’t like lentils? You’re missing out. They’re seriously delicious and are an easy, healthy and cheap way to get filled up. Until you start pairing them with eggs of course, and then everything goes to heck in the budgeting department…
Date molasses and spice cake
Like having a Little Black Dress in your wardrobe, every baking repertoire needs an easy, gingery, spicy cake recipe in the mix. (Well, we think it does anyway, and what we say generally goes. We’re not running a benevolent dictatorship here)…
Roast capsicum, feta, olives and oregano
We’re doing our best to slip in as many vibrant veggie-based dishes as we can before the dark days of winter set in. Not that we have anything against braises, pies, soups, root veggies and all that comfort food you generally hoover through in winter. (Did someone say ‘roasted kūmara’?)…
Chicken schnitty tenders with caper mayo
We ask All The Questions around here. Such as, ‘what’s better than crumbed chicken?’ Parmesan-crumbed chicken, duh! And, ‘what's’ better than parmesan-crumbed chicken?’ DOUBLE parmesan-crumbed chicken, of course. That’s right…
Salmon fish cakes
Loads of cuisines have their take on a fish cake; in Thailand they're called tod mun pla and are infused with red curry paste; in Malaysia they’re called otak otak and involve grinding fish to a paste with coconut milk and spices, wrapping in banana leaves, then grilling. Delish…
Chocolate pistachio meringues
“Experts Resoundingly Say a No-Sugar Diet is No Good” ** declared an article headline we read over breakfast the other day, as we shoveled jam-mounded refined carbs and syrupy coffee down our throats with abandon…
Tuscan raisin and rosemary Easter buns
Before travel was easy and relatively affordable, a great cook book featuring recipes from some far flung cuisine was a real window into the world. Yes; we’re that old. We actually pre-date the internet. Short of jumping on a plane, the best way to expand our culinary horizons…
Olive oil lemon cake
We have to come clean. We’re hoarding olive oil. Did you know that prices are at a 26 year high? Maybe you’ve noticed them trend through the roof over the last 12 months or so – you can largely blame a two year drought in Spain, the world’s biggest producer, for this…
Stuffed meatloaf (Polpettone)
If you’re going to make a meatloaf, you may as well make one with knobs on, no? That’s our philosophy anyway and the Sicilians, bless ‘em, agree; this dish is based on a homey Sicilian dish called polpettone. Which is simply Italian for ‘meatloaf’…
Apricot and almond pie with burnt honey
Apricots. We wait all darned year for the things yet, despite their cheery appearance and promise of juicy, sun-shiny flavour, they’re often incredibly disappointing. And it’s not their fault. Unless you live in a stone-fruit orchard, or have access to one…