I’ve come to realise that simple treats work best for my kids. And sugar cookies are essential to every mommy’s kitchen arsenal. They make great everyday treats. But they’re also awesome as flat tart bases […]
Tag: Fast and Easy
Pantry Basics: A great beurre blanc
It is often said that the foundation of French cuisine is its sauces. This is something that I’ve come to appreciate more as I’ve aged. With my own cooking, I once spent a lot of […]
Thermomix recipes for making great pizza
One of my son’s favourite foods is pizza. It’s right up there with croissants, chicken rice, satay and tempura. If it was up to him, he’d eat one of these five things every day of […]
3-in-1 Steamed Custard: Toddler food, comfort food and dinner party headliner
Over the years, I’ve simplified my culinary style. Back when I worked from home and had no children, it was possible to indulge in convoluted recipes that took days on end to execute and required […]
The best beetroot sorbet recipe
It’s really interesting how our tastes change as we age. I don’t know if this shift in preferences is biological or experiential. Either way, it constantly surprises me when I discover myself craving something that […]
Two simple Sea Urchin pasta recipes – Kimiko Barber & Eric Ripert
My wife and I recently hosted dinners on back to back Saturdays. Because we wanted to save some prep time–and because a lot of our ingredients could be made ahead and frozen or stored in […]
Bacon and mushroom pomodoro sauce
Pasta has a way of soothing the soul. At the end of a long and tiring day, I often find myself craving a huge bowl of noodles, ideally balanced on the knee and eaten in solitude, accompanied by a glass of wine almost filled to the brim (pardon me, as I dispense with formal wine appreciation or drinking etiquette). My children have definitely inherited this love of pasta, and they have it for dinner at least once a week. They enjoy pasta with creamy carbonara, tossed in garlicky olive oil, with pesto and also pomodoro sauces. Recently, I have been making large batches of tomato pasta sauces because they are 1) extremely tasty, 2) easy to make and 3) they keep very well in the fridge. Three winning points in a recipe for any busy mom.
Leftover love – vegetable pancake
Odd bits of vegetables are a common sight in my fridge. I will have leftover vegetables from recipe testing, and some are tragically abandoned at some dark corner of the fridge. Of course, I can use the leftovers for another recipe, which also means that I might need to get more ingredients (and end up having more leftovers–vicious cycle!).
Tuna, lemon and cannellini bean salad
This salad was inspired by a very simple one that I used to take away from a deli a few times a week, way back when I was still working in the CBD. If my memory doesn’t fail me (it’s been almost ten years), all the salad had in it were cannellini beans, onions, celery and a good amount of olive oil and lemon juice. Tangy, crunchy and creamy, it was delicious. I’ve added a few more ingredients to the original, so my version is more substantial and colourful. Since the bulk of the ingredients are permanent residents in my pantry, this is a really convenient and effortless meal to put together as a fresh and healthy weekday lunch.
Summer antidote – the easiest sorbet recipe you will ever make
I relish the tastes of summer – BBQ, cold beer on a hot day and delicious fruity desserts like sorbet. One of summer’s rituals is a trip to the ice cream shop, but if you are like me, maybe you prefer to chill at home (directly under the air con) on those sweltering days. Well, in that case, you can do both. What you may not know is homemade sorbet is quick and easy. In fact you might be shocked just how easy it can be.