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Wednesday 25 April 2012

It's getting colder - SOUPS!!!!!

Hey there gorgeous people!

Ok, well it's getting colder..... (well for those of us in Australia anyway!). For those of you in other countries - this idea is still a great one!

I have to say that one of my favourite things about the weather getting cooler is the fact you can change your style of cooking to suit. I don't do as many salads in winter but rather yummy vegetables and warm sides to complement that perfect comfort dish.

One of my fav things to cook in cooler months is soups!!!! There are literally hundreds of different combinations and flavours and you simply cannot go wrong. You can choose to blend your soups or keep them as is but there are so many benefits to soups!!!!

You can hide veges in them and the kids wont even know. They are VERY cost effective and also very tasty. And they CAN be served as main meals, not just as an entree! Grab a crusty loaf of bread, some garlic butter and there you have it!

This time I am not going to list exact ingredients etc - I am just going to give you some combination ideas. If you want to make your own stock - go ahead!!!! It will be well worth it! If not, your store bought chicken/vegetable stock is just fine!

I have also attached some pics of different stages etc of my soups!

Happy winter cooking..........


  • Roast Pumpkin, Garlic, Onion, Sage and Bacon.
  • Potato and Leek
  • Pea, Asparagus and Blue Cheese
  • Chicken and mixed Vegetable
  • Roast Tomato, Capsicum and Bacon
  • Chicken and Sweet Corn

The ideas are endless.......





Tuesday 10 April 2012

Don't over complicate it!

Wow - did we all survive the Easter break? Ok, who ate WAY too many Easter eggs or had one too many glasses of wine! haha! Well that is what holidays are for I say. My family got to spend quality time together and yes, we got to eat some yummy food of course! We had some beautiful fresh salmon on Good Friday which was delicious! We also got given a huge mud crab from some friends of ours so that went straight in to the kitchen for some cooking - was so yummy! Stayed tuned for that recipe idea.......

So cooking all of this seafood make me come up with today's theme - Simplicity! Food does not have to be complicated. Some of the top restaurants I have been to around the world normally offer simply dishes that allow the ingredients to speak for themselves. You may only need to add 3 ingredients to a dish to enhance its natural flavour.

I sometimes think people try too hard with cooking! Making the perfect dish isn't about how many wild and wonderful ingredients you can add to it! It's simply about making the 'core' ingredient speak for itself. You shouldn't have to find some rare type of mushroom from a small farm in South America to make a yummy meal!

It's the same with the vegetables or salad that you choose to accompany your meal. Sometimes simply is best! My favourite is asparagus! Don't go put a gallon of sauce on it - fresh lemon, cracked pepper and some garlic is all you need.

Here is a dish I made recently that applies to this rule. Just stop off at your fish shop on the way home - everything else you will probably have in your fridge!

Red Emperor with fresh lemon and herbs (yep - nearly every ingredient is in the title)



  • Fish - I used red emperor as it was fresh in but again, talk to your fish monger - go with what he recommends.
  • Lemons
  • Garlic
  • Good olive oil
  • Mix of fresh herbs - dill is a must but mix in others as well.
  • Asparagus
  • Cracked pepper and good sea salt
Simply method

  • Make up some foil parcels (obviously big enough to wrap each piece of fish in)
  • Pop some oil in the bottom of each and layer 2 slices of lemon
  • Place some herbs on top of the lemon slices then place your fish on top (layering)
  • Then on top of your fish drizzle some more oil, herbs and a few more slices of lemon (this will also ensure your fish does not dry out)
  • Top with pepper and little salt
  • Wrap your fish up like a little present and place in an oven on about 180 - 200 degrees. 
The cooking time will obviously depend on the size of your fish but don't over cook! You are better to take you parcels out and check them rather than over cook! You can always pop them back in if they need a few more minutes.

I just simply cook off some fresh asparagus with lemon juice and garlic in a pan and that's all you need with this dish! 

See I told you it was simple and it's also VERY healthy with little cleaning up! Woo hoo!

Here is a few pics of mine (pic of fish is before I cooked it haha)  - try it and let me know how you go! Here's to simple, uncomplicated cooking!