Simple food

Recipes that use seasonal ingredients, simply prepared. Prepared and shared with love.

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Orange, almond and polenta cake

Orange, almond and polenta cake

I love slightly unusual cakes – my pistachio and walnut crumbly cake and gingerbread cake with blood orange syrupare two examples of my leaning towards not-too-sweet, spiced, no-icing cakes that are better suited to grown-ups than the under eights in your household. And this cake is another in that category. There is texture from the polenta, spice with the inclusion of star anise in the syrup…

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Baked chicken with cider and smoky bacon

Baked chicken with cider and smoky bacon

Once in a while i am struck all over again… by just how blue the sky appears .. on wind-played autumn mornings, blue enough to bruise a heart.

Sanober Khan

The weather has turned in my part of the world, and autumn has rushed in with crisp mornings, clear azure skies and the promise of cool evenings. It’s a short season, and every day is to be cherished. It’s a joy to be cooking food for the…

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Potatoes with rosemary and sea salt

A great marriage is one where each person, without agenda, celebrates the unique and distinctive characteristics of the other, and lovingly helps them be the best possible version of themselves. When I see a couple who express this in their relationship I am always moved and inspired, because they are so much more together than they could possibly be individually. In my world I have a number of…

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Mushroom risotto

Some people might look at a recipe for risotto on this blog and rage at me, “This is not simple food! Risotto is complicated” But, at the heart of the matter, risotto is a simple dish – rice, stock, flavourings and love. People get all caught up is how to make the perfect risotto and end up not cooking this fabulous family dish that is delicious and also quite economical. My only…

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Lamb burgers with good things

Saturday lunch requires something easy and tasty, as the weekend mornings are often full of busyness and household chores. These lamb burgers fit the bill at our place, and they are packed with wonderful ingredients like garlic, pine nuts, chilli and cumin. Served on turkish bread with roasted capsicum, hummus and a minty fresh greek yoghurt, they are a universe away from a fast food burger and a…

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Tiramisu

Sam Baldwin: What is “tiramisu”? Jay: You’ll find out. Sam Baldwin: Well, what is it? Jay: You’ll see! Sam Baldwin: Some woman is gonna want me to do it to her and I’m not gonna know what it is! Jay: You’ll love it!

Sleepless in Seattle

Far from being the traditional Italian dessert you assume it is, tiramisu is actually a fairly recent invention. It seems it first appeared in a recipe book as…

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Luxury cauliflower cheese

My husband used to say that the only purpose of cauliflower was as a vehicle for cheese sauce. Given his childhood memories of soggy cauliflower cooked in the pressure cooker; limp, transparent and almost tasteless, it has taken me some time to excite him about the wonders of cauliflower when it is roasted, grilled and used in warm salads.

I made this recipe to revisit the principle treatment…

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Rainbow salad with haloumi

If you are looking for a salad packed with goodness, and full of delicious and colourful ingredients (and there is a saying that the more colourful your meal, the healthier it is) then this is a salad for you. Topped with crispy-on-the-outside, oozy-on-the-inside haloumi it stands on its own as a vegetarian lunch, or a wonderful accompaniment to some grilled lamb or chicken. The dressing is quite…

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Triple choc cookies (desperate times call for desperate measures)

In my part of the world flour has become a scarce commodity, and to scratch my baking itch I decided to make a recipe that used buckwheat flour, all that was available for me to buy this week. I found a few recipes and eventually made an amalgam of my own, using as as a base a recipe by Nigella Lawson and another by David Lebowitz. They are really rich, and soft and ultra chocolaty. They were…

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Beetroot hummus

Middle age is mostly getting excited about different flavours of hummus.

Unknown over 45 year old.

Middle age is my demographic – and caramelised onion, chilli and sweet potato are some of my favourite ways to zhush up hummus. Hummus as originally conceived – chick peas, garlic, tahini, salt, lemon and olive oil is a glorious thing, but adding a twist here and there does no harm at all and…

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Pumpkin, pecan and pepita muffins: goodness in difficult times

When times are tough we often turn to familiar things that give us comfort and peace. It could be listening to music or walking on the beach at sunset; reading or meditating or praying. For me, cooking is always a haven; I can be creative and nurturing and useful at the same time. All across the world people are facing challenges – through illness or isolation or fatigue or fear or no income, and…

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Lemon and thyme shortbread

Lemon and thyme shortbread

Shortbread is a traditional Christmas-time treat and always makes an appearance at our place. I wanted to try something a little different this year, so I added lemon zest and some fresh thyme to my usual recipe and sprinkled the shortbread with demerrara sugar before baking. The thyme and lemon might seem odd flavours to add, but they work surprisingly well, and the crunchy, slightly molasses…

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Luscious lemon bars

Luscious lemon bars: a culinary revelation.

Chandler: Hey, Joe, I gotta ask. The girl from the Xerox place, buck naked [pause] or a big tub of jam? Joey : Put your hands together.

Friends (The one with the Jam)

The concept of this recipe, which is a staple in America, but not well known at all in my part of the world, is genius. Two of the most delicious things in the world – shortbread and lemon curd – brought together in a way that…

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Raspberry and cream cheese muffins

Raspberry and cream cheese muffins

I thought raspberry and cream cheese were best combined in a summery cheesecake, but in these muffins, served for brunch on a grey, wintry morning they were perfect companions. I have a number of muffin recipes that I love to bake – blueberry and lemon and pine nut are firm favourites, but this new recipe is now a contender for the top spot.

The muffins are full of sweet and tangy raspberries…

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Pumpkin soup with crunchy walnuts and pepitas

Pumpkin soup with crunchy walnuts and pepitas

To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night, all you really need is soup.

Laurie Colwin

In my part of the world pumpkin soup is synonymous with winter. Everyone has a favourite recipe and there are almost endless variations that enhance the rich, buttery flavour of pumpkin. My preferred pumpkin variety to use to make soup is the Kent pumpkin. It seems to have the right degree of sweetness and…

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Tarte tatin with rosemary

Tarte tatin with rosemary

Stephen Harris, food writer for London Telegraph, and owner and chef at The Sportsman, an award winning pub-turned-restaurant in Kent, wrote a wonderful articleabout the origins of tarte Tatin. In the article he says that. “the first time I came across this dish it was given its full name: tarte renversée des demoiselles Tatin. Stephanie and Caroline Tatin were sisters who owned the Hotel Tatin…

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Roasted capsicum soup with spiced oil

Roasted capsicum soup with spiced oil

It is time for soup in our part of the world and this roasted capsicum soup with spiced oil is a wonderful change from the usual pumpkin or potato and leek soup that are favourites in our family. The capsicums are roasted and then gently simmered with some tomatoes, garlic and vegetable stock. Roasting capsicums makes them incredibly delicious. It’s a messy job peeling off the skins once they…

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