School went back last week. A busy and emotional time in our household as our darling Charlotte headed off to Kindergarten. People have always told me how busy it is when your child starts school and I have to say – I totally agree with them! I’ve been flat chat keeping up with all the […]
I saw something on Facebook the other day that said “Find out what Donna Hay’s favourite kitchen utensil for under $20 is!” Of course I couldn’t help but click on it and for some unknown reason, the page didn’t load. Bugger. Anyway, I then got distracted doing something else and annoyingly, I still don’t know […]
I’ve been pretty quiet on the blog front of late. Expecting our third baby this coming Wednesday (State of Origin Game 3!) my good friend Flemo and I’ve been joking around that we’ll have to call him or her Mal, Freddy, Ricky or some other rugby league inspired name! And with our darling Annabubby turning 4 […]
Sweet and sour pork, honey chicken, beef with black bean, Mongolian lamb; don’t forget the spring rolls and our all time favourite – fried rice of course! Does any of this ring a bell? Growing up – going to our local Chinese restaurant was something we always looked forward to; just as exciting as seeing […]
Another oldie but a goodie – my mother-in-law, Nee remembers this cake as being the first cake she ever cooked. So quick and easy – you simply throw all ingredients in to a bowl and mix on high for 3 minutes. Whack it in the oven and Viola! You’re left with a cake that’s light […]
They say less is more? Not true! Especially in the case of a five year old’s birthday cake. I’m still recovering from little Miss Charlotte’s birthday party yesterday. It wasn’t the preparation and cooking that took it out of me – but instead trying to entertain the 35 kiddies! It probably didn’t help that they’d […]
Mum’s been making this easy and delicious 200 gram cake since my twin sisters (AKA the twinnie bubbies) were born over 23 years ago. Using only 4 ingredients – Mum loved it because she was able to make it whilst carrying one of the girls in the baby carrier strapped to her chest with the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
There’s nothing better than the way Darryl Kerrigan compliments his wife Sal on her cooking. Take the scene where she serves up rissoles for tea. “This is beautiful darl. What’dya call these things again?” he asks. “Rissoles. Everybody cooks rissoles darl” beams Sal. “Yeah but it’s what you do with them!” I’ll tell you what. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
