the absolute beginners guide to the art of seasoning [5 ingredients | 10 minutes]

Taste. Season. As I was attempting to proof-read my new e-cookbook recently, I realised that they are probably the two most repeated words, well maybe after tablespoon and cup. But arguably the most important instructions in any recipe method.

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a FREE e-cookbook [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] + how minimalist home cooking can help you

Something a bit different for you today. I’m super excited to announce the launch of my first ever eCOOKBOOK that I’m releasing out into the wide world for FREE. Yes, a 97 page cookbook packed with 65 simple [5 ingredients | 10 minutes] recipes all ready to download NOW. Why the FREE e-cookbook? Over the [...]

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how to master the gentle art of braising – even for vegetarians

Back during my month of being a vegetarian, I remember feeling a little antsy. And it wasn’t that I was missing eating meat. You see the leaves were well and truly past turning brown and I was hanging out in the snowy mountains. And while it hadn’t actually snowed yet, Winter was well on it’s [...]

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the simple secret to perfect pies

I’m not afraid to admit it. You see I’ve been a pastry snob pretty much all my life. Not only that, I’ve been a pie snob as well. I grew up in a house with my mum making her pastry from scratch. I’m sure the thought of using frozen pastry never crossed her mind. So [...]

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how to overcome the fear of frying, with cold oil potato chips

When I was in Ireland earlier in the year, I met some wonderful characters. Such warm, generous people who know how to have a good time. Someone who really captured my imagination was a guy called Socaí (prounounced socky). A guy who loves his food so much that he gives every meal he eats a [...]

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12 things you should know about quinoa

I’m always a little suspicious of anything that gets touted as a ‘superfood’. Which is why it took me a while to get around to trying quinoa. My first encounter was with puffed quinoa as part of an exploration of new breakfast cereals. Not very inspiring unless you come from the school of thought that [...]

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how to avoid cereal boredom – 9 tips for adding excitement to your breakfast

When I was recording what I ate to document my month of being a vegetarian, I got a little sick of writing down what I had for breakfast each day. I kept thinking that anyone reading would think that I have the most boring, repetitive start to the day. Muesli & yoghurt, yoghurt & muesli. [...]

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the number 1 mistake of new vegetarians & how to avoid it

I can’t believe it’s the last day of May and my last day of being vegetarian for a month already. It’s been a really interesting month for me on the food front. I certainly achieved my objective of gaining some new menu planning habits and had some great discoveries on making vegetables the star of [...]

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toe-food: the beginner’s guide to tofu

Tofu – or ‘toe-food’ as my friend’s 4 year old daughter calls it, isn’t exactly something I eat on a regular basis. Sure I love the little silken cubes that come in my miso soup, and agadashi tofu is one of the standards I order when I go out for Japanese, but apart from that [...]

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how to stock a minimalist pantry

A few months ago I wrote a pair of posts about setting up a minimalist kitchen: things to avoid and the essentials ( and the nice-to-haves). Following on from this, I thought I’d have a crack at pulling together a list of the essentials and the nice-to-haves for stocking a minimalist pantry. I’ve actually been [...]

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chocolate tim tam hedgehog – the world’s easiest no-bake ‘cake’

Imagine if cocoa butter came from an animal rather than a plant….. I bet there would be a whole lot less vegetarians in the world, or maybe a lot more ‘choco-tarians’ – people who didn’t eat meat except for chocolate. I don’t think I would have come up with the idea of being vegetarian for [...]

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7 tips for full-flavoured vegetable stock

Back in my normal, omnivorous life – before vegetarian month, I’d often make a vegetable based meal of soup or risotto. But unless I was cooking for real vegetarian mates, I’d always use chicken stock over vegetable. I guess my hesitance to go the full veg, as it were, was that I was sure vegetable [...]

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super simple carrot soup – the new pumpkin

Pumpkin soup. Such a wonderful comforting winter treat. Smooth and slightly sweet, with its warming sunny colour it’s one of those soups that can’t help but lift your spirits as the days draw short and dark. The only problem is the pumpkin preparation. In particular hacking through that tough, tough skin. I have a really [...]

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how to spend 2 days eating in barcelona

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the two days I spent eating my way around Barcelona it is this: just because something is published on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s the truth (particularly in the case of restaurant opening hours). Note to self – next time you’re only going to be in BCN for [...]

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the simple secret to perfect fluffy rice

OK. Those of you with a fancy rice cooker, or a rice cooking method that you’re completely satisfied with, skip down to today’s recipe – egg fried rice. For everyone else who struggles with cooking rice, or avoids it completely – gather round. A few months ago I wrote about time savers in the kitchen [...]

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10 tips for optimum vegetable storage

Last Saturday I visited my dear old Dad at his swanky new apartment in Canberra. We decided to head out and explore the Canberra Farmer’s markets. I’m certainly glad we did. Apart from some mushrooms that were super expensive, everything was very reasonable and the range and quality of the fresh fruit & veg would [...]

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vegetarian month & the ultimate vego hangover cure

After an unexpectedly long trip to Ireland (thankyou volcanic ash) with a few bonus days in the beautiful city of Barcelona it’s good to be home. There’s nothing like travelling to new places and exploring different foods. And this holiday was no exception. But after all that black pudding and white pudding and wonderfully smoky [...]

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the 10 minutes challenge with 5 ingredients

Last month, when I was getting ready for my trip, I had a big couple of days cooking and taking photographs of things so I wouldn’t be pressured to be blogging on the road. Rather than waste all that food, I invited a few mates around for a pot luck farewell dinner. A great old [...]

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the perfect gift for mothers day

Mother’s Day is just around the corner on May 9th. Why not spoil your Mum this year with a copy of my book ‘and the love is free‘ – a celebration of the life of my Mum and her recipes. This Mother’s Day I’m offering 20% OFF the price of the book – just enter [...]

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the A-Z of irish food with chocolate guinness cake

Sadly, my Irish holiday has come to an end. To commemorate and to say a huge THANKYOU to all the wonderful, hospitable people I met along the way, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned over the last few weeks when it comes to Irish food. If you ever get a chance to visit the [...]

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