“Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not!” ~ Author Unknown One of the not-fun parts of being unwell, or being on a restricted diet, is that treats seem to be harder to come by. So many desserts are crammed full of sugar, grains and fats. Or they have twenty steps, weird ingredients and […]
Nicole’s Fruit Slice Recipe
“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.” ~ Tom Stoppard This week’s offering for my ‘Slice Extravaganza’ series – recipes taken from the hallowed Family Recipe Book – is known simply as ‘Nicole’s Fruit Slice’. Why? When I was a little girl it was my absolute favourite, and I never tired of it. […]
French Toast with Banana and Bacon Recipe
“Oh, I just want what we all want: a comfortable couch, a nice beverage, a weekend of no distractions and a book that will stop time, lift me out of my quotidian existence and alter my thinking forever.” ~ Elizabeth Gilbert French Toast is such weekend food! The sort of breakfast where you don’t have to rush, […]
Chocolate Covered Coconut Slice Recipe
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” ~ Charles M. Schulz Chocolate and coconut is a heavenly combination, and this particular slice recipe delivers! It is quite light in texture, so it’s not rich and it’s not too sweet – a crisp biscuit base, a fluffy coconut centre and […]
Tasty Asian Flavours Quinoa – Virtual Vegan Potluck 2013
“Eating superfoods won’t turn you into a superhero, but it might help you look better in Lycra.” ~ Nicole Cody Quinoa (pronounced keen- wah) is touted as one of the latest ‘superfoods’ and apparently all the cool and beautiful people have recently discovered it. As you well know, I’m not in the ‘cool and beautiful’ […]
Nana’s Passionfruit Slice Recipe
“Cooking is not about being the best or most perfect cook, but rather it is about sharing the table with family and friends.” ~ Skye Gyngell, My Favorite Ingredients This is an old recipe that my Nana copied out from her friend Dulcie, after a successful ‘War Wives Luncheon’ during World War Two. At least that […]
Stir Fried Sweet Potato, Mushroom and Broccoli Recipe
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” ~ Virginia Woolf Food isn’t just food. Food is also a healing tool. A spiritual tool. A way to give love and care to self and others. If you want to think about this recipe as just food then this is what […]
Speedy Lamb Ragu Recipe
“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.” ~ Calvin Trillin Roast dinners are popular on the farm, especially when I have a crowd to feed. And if I’m lucky, we’ll end up with leftovers. This is a speedy […]
Easy Lemon Slice Recipe
“There are times when wisdom cannot be found in the chambers of parliament or the halls of academia but at the unpretentious setting of the kitchen table.” ~ E.A. Bucchianeri As promised, here is the first recipe in my ‘Slice Extravaganza’ series – the brainchild of my mother, who must be acknowledge for her great generosity […]
Cream of Celery Soup Recipe
“The thought of two thousand people crunching celery at the same time horrified me.” ~ George Bernard Shaw Poor George! It’s quite the visual, isn’t it. Perhaps even worse than zombies… Still, I digress. Today it’s all about soup. Soup is my go-to when I’m feeling poorly. Easy to make, easy to eat, and you get […]
Simple Baked Apple Recipe
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” ~ Martin Luther Nothing says comfort food like a baked apple – easy to make and good for you too. Traditionally my Nana stuffed apples with a butter, sugar, oats and sultana or currant mixture. My […]
Rustic Potato Bake Recipe
“Look at that moon. Potato weather for sure.” ~ Thornton Wilder, Our Town I love cooking, and not surprisingly most of our visitors seem to end up dropping in around meal times. This creamy potato bake is easy to make (like all my recipes!) and I whipped this one up to feed the extra hungry mouths that […]
Easy Thai Chicken Soup Recipe
“Do you have a kinder, more adaptable friend in the food world than soup? Who soothes you when you are ill? Who refuses to leave you when you are impoverished and stretches its resources to give a hearty sustenance and cheer? Who warms you in the winter and cools you in the summer? Yet who […]
Quick Prawn and Miso Soup Recipe
What can be better than comfort in a bowl? Miso soup variations are one of my favourite go-to’s when I am tired, sick, time poor, or stumped for inspiration. Feel free to play around with this simple recipe, using whatever you have to hand. This is a very nurturing, easy-to-make soup and it is packed […]
Heavenly Blueberry Crumble Slice Recipe
It’s bucketing down here at the farm again, and there’s not much for me to do but sleep, cook or sit on the verandah sipping tea. We still have no power here after the big Australia Day Weekend Wet, but Ben has fired up the generator for a while and my biscuit tins are empty […]
Coconut, Ginger and Cardamom Rice Pudding Recipe – Vegan
Because my Power Word for 2013 is HEALTH, I’ve been modifying a few of my favourite recipes. This creamy-sweet rice pudding has the added lusciousness of Indian spices, and is entirely dairy, gluten and cane-sugar free. And it’s vegan to boot, for those of you who are lovers of plant-based diets. It can be eaten […]
Tasty Fried Rice Recipe – Easy!
It’s that time of year. Lots of Christmas leftovers, or maybe you just don’t feel like going to any trouble in the kitchen but you still want something tasty. Fried rice is one of my go-to comfort foods – endlessly able to be varied, and can be made to suit vegans, vegetarians and omnivores. Eat […]
Vegan Broccoli, Cashew and Lime Soup Recipe – Virtual Vegan Potluck 2012
Today’s post is part of the Virtual Vegan Potluck – where you can find 100 fabulous new plant-based recipes to try at home! Thanks to the awesome Annie, who made this Blogfest possible. Her Blog is well worth a visit: An Unrefined Vegan. For the last Potluck I made a Creamy Satay Hotpot Recipe. My […]
Roasted Tomato Salad with Sumac Dressing Recipe
Yesterday morning I ventured out early to the Mullumbimby Farmers’ Markets. One of the joys of market shopping is that you never know what produce will be offered or what you might bring home. In my basket ended up some celery, mixed lettuce, local cheddar, a jar of local honey, and some sweet firm tomatoes. […]
Nana’s Pikelet Recipe and a Few Good Yarns
Find yourself a cup of tea; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me about hundreds of things. ~Saki Pikelets are a bit of an institution round here, especially for morning or afternoon tea. For those of you not in the know, pikelets are like fluffy little pancakes – very tasty with a cup of […]
Marga’s Orange Syrup Cake Recipe
We’re picking the last of our organic oranges before the heat of summer sets in, and I know a perfect way to use some of them up: my maternal grandmother’s orange syrup cake recipe. Marga gave this recipe to me when I held my first proper dinner party – a rural affair at my college […]
Lemon Delicious Pudding Recipe
My Meyer Lemon tree is dripping with ripe fruit right now, and this pudding is a perfect way to use some of them up. The pudding is served warm, and is light enough to be enjoyed all year round. If you are lucky enough to have any left over it is also tasty eaten cold! […]
Roast Carrot and Pine Nut Salad
This is a delicious salad that can fill you up on its own, or that makes a beautiful side for other dishes. I’ve made this with baked carrots, but you could also use baked parsnip or sweet potato for equally tasty results. Hint: If you are prone to nibbling on the baked vegetables prior to […]
Best Easy Stewed Rhubarb Recipe
As much as I am grateful for gratitude (and my 30 Day Gratitude Challenge) I am also currently very grateful for rhubarb – and I don’t think I can last another 2 weeks without some sort of food post. So here it is – Blissful Best Rhubarb! Ingredients: fresh rhubarb, raw sugar, lemon Method: Wash […]
Mandarin and Coconut Jelly with Tropical Breezes
It’s winter down here in Australia. It’s meant to be freezing. Here at the farm I have a wheelbarrow of hardwood at the back door, waiting to be fed into the fireplace. I have my warmest beanie and scarf, my big coat and my woolliest socks all sitting on my dresser. None of them are […]
Creamed Rice Pudding Recipe
“It’s lovely rice pudding for dinner again.” ~ A.A. Milne Winter has well and truly arrived Down Under. It’s freezing in Brisbane right now. (Well, as freezing as sub-tropical can be…) Puts me in the mind to eat warm foods, and there is nothing better than my Nana’s Creamed Rice Pudding, a velvety-smooth vanilla rice […]
Easy Pumpkin Soup Recipe (Good for Writers)
If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don’t write, because our culture has no use for it. ~ Anais Nin You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you. ~ Ray Bradbury There is nothing to writing. All you do is […]
Cheesy Grilled Mushrooms Recipe
I love this recipe. You can make it in five minutes flat, and it works as a breakfast, lunch or dinner solution! If you’re a vegan you can omit the cheese, or use a cheese substitute. It’s also a great gluten and carb free alternative to pizza, but tastes every bit as good. Ingredients: Flat […]
Easy Lemon Curd ~ Lemon Butter Recipe
When life gives you lemons? Be grateful and get into the kitchen! It’s my favourite home-produce time of year – the Meyer Lemon tree in my back yard is groaning under the weight of ripening fruit. Be prepared for plenty of lemon-y recipes over the next few months. Most Australians call this recipe Lemon Butter, […]
Healthy Apple Crumble Recipe
Apple crumble has been a family favourite in our house for years. Now Autumn has arrived in Australia all the new season apples leave us spoilt for choice, and they taste positively delicious baked into a dessert. I’ve modified this recipe so that it is gluten-free, sugar-free and so that it can also be dairy […]
Psychic Dogs and Chicken Recipes
Yes, I know that is rather a strange title, but I promise there’s a link! I have been in Brisbane for over a week, and I’m feeling long overdue to return to my farm. There are a few things I need to tidy up this morning before I go, then I shall pack the ute […]
Coconut and Jam Slice Recipe & Country Funerals
Our town had a funeral this week. This is the sort of funeral I don’t mind – an old lady, well-loved, dying of old age after a full life. Country funerals are always well attended, and country people are big eaters, so there needs to be plenty of food at the wake, especially for the […]
Baba Ganoush Dip Recipe – Easy!
One of the things I love about living on a farm is being able to walk out into the garden, take a few ingredients, and turn them into fresh fast food. Today I’m making Baba Ganoush – a garlicky middle eastern eggplant dip, from today’s harvest. There is an eggplant bush hidden at the back of […]
Thai Sticky Black Rice Recipe – a breakfast favourite
I’m all for nourishing the soul with food, and this is one of my all-time favourite recipes. This rice dish can be eaten for breakfast, or as a dessert. In fact, it’s good anytime. You’ll need: 1 cup of black glutinous rice, 2.5 cups of water, some palm sugar or soft brown sugar, salt, a can […]