I first fell in love with Pastitsio whilst on holidays in Greece – what feels like a million years ago! A dish made up of ground meat, cooked pasta and a cheesy béchamel sauce; it’s the Greek equivalent to the Italian’s favourite dish – lasagna. And talk about a crowd pleaser. Comforting and delicious, team […]
Category: food kiddies love
deliciously simple chicken stir fry | the ultimate family dinner
Tired of making the same old things night after night? In a bit of a dinner rut? Then this quick and easy stir fry is for you. Cooked in the same amount of time it takes to steam the rice, if your family is anything like mine – there’ll be none left over. As always, spice […]
good old fashioned rock cakes
Nee remembers making rock cakes in her very first home economics class back in highschool (just a couple of years ago) and I have very fond memories helping Mim make these every school holidays at the farm. Pa loved them and so did I; just as long as I could pick out the sultanas. These […]
summer pavlova
Both the Aussie’s and Kiwi’s claim to own the pavlova – a simple dessert consisting of a meringue base, topped off with whipped cream and fresh fruit. They’ve been fighting over this title ever since the dish was named after Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, when she visited both countries back in the 1920’s. In my […]
homemade ‘splice’ ice blocks | fresh pineapple juice + vanilla bean yoghurt
Everybody had a favourite ice-cream growing up; whether it be a Bubble O’Bill, Cornetto or Calipo. I used to love going to the corner shop for an ice cream after school. For me – it was always a Chocolate Heart if it was for a ‘real special treat’, or a lemonade icy pole on those […]
banana muffins | ever so simple but oh so delicious
When you go to someone’s house you should never turn up empty handed. This is something that I firmly believe in and apparently Meghan Markle agrees with. The Duchess of Sussex reportedly made some banana bread to take along to the Woodley family’s farm in Dubbo this week. Cooked the night before whilst staying at […]
“everybody cooks rissoles darl”
There is nothing better than the way Darryl Kerrigan compliments his wife Sal on her cooking. Take the scene where she serves up some rissoles for tea. “This is beautiful darl. What’dya call these things again?” says Darryl. “Rissoles. Everybody cooks rissoles darl” beams Sal. “Yeah but it’s what you do with them!” I’ll tell […]
old faithful apricot chicken
There’s nothing complicated or ‘chef-y’ about this recipe. Some may say it’s a bit boring; too 70’s for their liking. I don’t mind though. Some food trends come and go; think zucchini spaghetti, fancy tacos or sweet brioche burger buns (I’m not a massive fan of any of these things). But this apricot chook has lasted the […]
good old fashioned jam drop biscuits
The thing I love most about cooking is the story behind each recipe. Take jam drops for example. I have very happy memories helping Mim make endless batches of these for Pa in the school holidays. Boy did my Pa have a sweet tooth! The biscuit containers at the farm were always full of jam […]
dad’s famous fruit salad | a thomas family tradition
Christmas decorations are in the shops – already! They seem to be creeping in earlier and earlier each year. At the beach for the school holidays, Mum and I’ve been discussing how exciting it is to have Elles Belles and Jez home for Chrissie. Which got me thinking about our Thomas family Christmas. Mum’ll have presents […]
jamie’s pasta dough | homemade egg pasta
My birthday’s two days before Cork Daddy’s. Born in the same year, it makes me the older woman, even if it is only by a couple of days. It’s become a bit of a tradition that he buys me a new cookbook as a birthday present (one can never have too many cookbooks in my […]
creamy orecchiette | a family favourite
To say that Cork Daddy and I had a big night last night would be an understatement. In Sydney for one night only for a work function, we had a great time, making full use of the open bar (thanks Delta). And let me just say, we don’t bounce back as well as we used […]
everybody’s favourite chocolate chip cookies
I don’t have a massive sweet tooth but gee do I enjoy one of these cookies with a hot cuppa every now and then. They’re so easy to make but please do me a favour. Please don’t burn them. Don’t leave the kitchen to go and put a load of washing on or to peg […]
12 ways with mince | best ever mince recipes
Mince. Every home cooks best friend. Easy, affordable, oh so versatile and talk about tasty. A flavour carrier that is perfect for making quick and easy midweek meals, it’s always a staple in my trolley. Beef, pork, chicken or sausage mince. There’s a recipe below for every occasion and to suit everyones taste buds and […]
san choy bow | easy + fast + oh so tasty
This recipe for San choy bow marks the 14th mince recipe on the blog. And I have to admit, I think this is the pick of them. The ultimate midweek meal, this is one that the whole family will enjoy. It’s so quick and easy to whip up, it’s packed with hidden vege and you can […]
chocolate buttermilk layer cake | the ultimate birthday cake | a donna hay recipe
I was 10 when the ‘twinnie bubbies’ were born. I can still remember seeing Dad walk through the school playground at little lunch searching for Pete, Elles and I to take us to meet our new little sisters in hospital. We drove the whole way to the ‘San’ with the windows down, honking the horn […]
lo’s satay chicken | made in the slow cooker
It was going to be apricot chicken for dinner tonight. Until I remembered that my good friend Lizard has a weird thing about fruit being cooked with meat. Another friend Jules also confessed yesterday that she doesn’t like apricot chicken. “You what? How can anyone not like apricot chicken!?” was my reply. We grew up […]
nee’s white chocolate + macadamia nut biscuits
Does anyone else get that 3 o’clock urge to put something in their mouth; to pop the kettle on and go digging through the pantry/desk drawer/glove box to find something, anything that’ll satisfy that sweet craving? These white choccie and macadamia nut cookie’s certainly hit the spot for me. A recipe passed on to me […]
tuna patties
If there were zombies coming to take over the world, I’d be doing one thing. I’d be buying up every tin of tuna I could get my hands on. Surely stocking a cupboard full of non perishable goods such as my beloved tuna would be a productive thing to do? I’d happily eat tuna every […]
banana pancakes
I bet you’ve heard of the ol’ smashed avocado debate. Last year millionaire Tim Gurner came under fire when he shared some advice with the youth of Australia. He advised one to ditch the avocado on toast (a popular brunch dish bought in trendy cafes) and to put that money into buying a house instead. […]