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 […]
I’d quite happily become a vegetarian; just as long as I was able to eat haloumi all day, every day. How good is haloumi. Finely sliced and seared in a hot pan, there’s no better ingredient to add to a salad. The grilled haloumi is definitely the star of the show in this dish, guaranteed […]
I can still remember the first time I tasted spaghetti vongole*; Cork Daddy and I were on holidays in the Amalfi Coast. Sitting in a little trattoria, not a care in the world and making our way through a carafe of wine, I think we were on to our second (or third) bread basket whilst […]
The Betoota Advocate recently posted an article with the headline “Monday Breakfast of Acai Berries Makes Up For 97 Schooners Consumed Over Weekend”. If you’re unfamiliar with The Betoota, do yourself a favour and check out their website. A hilarious satirical newspaper, they never fail to get a laugh out of me. The thing about […]
Cork Daddy and I used to go to Bar Italia in Leichhardt every Friday night during rugby season. Back in the day when we were footloose and fancy free. When our only worry in the world was being invited to two 21st’s on the same Saturday night. Being creatures of habit, without fail we’d order […]
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 […]
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 […]
It’s our darling Annabubby’s 3rd birthday today and what better way to spend it than a day at the zoo. The girls have been talking about the giant daddy gorilla ever since and Ame and my backs are still sore after lugging the kids around up all of those hills. The absence of Pete and […]
Growing up we always called zucchini slice – ‘zucchini pie’ cause Mum made hers in a pie dish. And that’s what she called it. Similarly, we’ve always called this dish ‘tuna macaroni’ even when Mum used pasta shells instead. We’ve called it this because that’s what the original recipe states; a recipe given to Mum […]
Try saying ‘pumpkin, pea and pine nut pasta’ really fast three times. That may be difficult, but making this tasty little pasta dish isn’t. The perfect meat free Monday meal, it’s made even easier if you can roast the pumpkin on Sunday night and have it in the fridge ready to throw in. Made with simple […]
There’s a story behind this fettuccine. When Charlotte was born Mim came and visited us in Wagga. A fabulous cook, she made a huge batch of my favourite fettuccine – decadent and rich, it’s a real crowd pleaser. Mim stocked the freezer with scrumptious home cooked meals for Cork Daddy and I – as new sleep […]
Broccoli in pasta? Yep. Broccoli finds its way in to my grocery trolley each and every week. I steam broccoli for dinner, along with its mates – carrot and corn, for the girls nearly every night. My kids love my creamy bacon pasta (however pick out the mushrooms) and their favourite food is chicken, hence […]
Growing up, Mum and Dad used to host these elaborate black tie dinner parties. The open fire raging, the silverware all laid out to be polished and the smell of roast lamb wafting from the kitchen, there was a real sense of occasion in the air. I’d watch in awe as Mum put on her […]
This pasta dish was inspired by my very first casual job which feels like it was donkey’s years ago – at Cafe Tropez. Soph and I worked there for a couple of years as teenagers and my favourite dish on the menu (apart from the hot chips with aioli and chicken risotto) was their tomatoey/creamy […]
Growing up, my Aunty Jen (AKA hippy aunty) made the best spag bol. I remember she used to always have that grated parmesan cheese in a plastic shaker, container thingy. The one with a green label and yellow lid from memory? Oh how I used to love that stuff. Mum mustn’t of bought it because […]
There’s something that little bit romantic about eating a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs that you don’t get with spaghetti bol. It reminds me of Lady and the Tramp sitting at the red and white checkered table out the back of Tony’s Italian. Oh how I loved that movie growing up and thought the […]
I used to be addicted to the Mediterranean pasta they sold at Sydney Uni in the students food court. A little Chinese container full of pasta, loaded up with olives and feta really used to do it for me between tutes (If I ever stayed around for the afternoon classes that is). I then went […]
The height of sophistication during the 70’s, beef Stroganoff was often seen cutting round the dinner party circuit, or so I’m told. Mum’s always said that she cooked so much apricot chicken and beef Stroganoff back in the day, that her and dad OD’ed on it. Beef Stroganoff is a Russian dish consisting of sautéed […]
This is THE quickest, easiest and tastiest pasta dish going round. The recipe was given to me by my brother Pete and his wife Amy. If you know me – or Pete, you know that we like tuna. Pete reckons he has eaten a tin of tuna for his lunch everyday for the past 15 […]
