Mini Egg and Bacon Pots

Serves 4 people

There is no better food for breakfast than eggs. These simple Egg and Bacon Pots are perfect for all members of the family, big or small. I remember being little and dipping my toast fingers into the perfect runny yolk, then stirring it all together and eating the best part last - the BACON! This is definitely a winner and should be tried by all home cooks. There is always room for improvement so don't be afraid to add any other ingredients into your mini pots. It's all up to you!

Mini Egg and Bacon Pots

Moroccan Style Lamb Shanks

Serves 4 people

Nothing beats the aroma and taste of lamb on the bone, especially the shank. This recipe uses simple ingredients that create the best flavour for lamb. I first created this recipe for some friends and now it is enjoyed by my family at least every month. We accompany the shanks with raisin and parsley couscous, but it can also be eaten with mashed potato or rice. It definitely needs something that can soak up all that amazing sauce. Shanks look like a big piece of meat but trust me when I say you will eat the whole shank. There is no room for sharing in this dish, so be prepared to cook generously.

This recipe is cooked in a Tagine. The Tagine is designed in a way to trap the steam that rises and send it back down. So there is no need to add water half way through cooking. If you have never cooked in one please do! The flavour of your cooking intensifies and the result never disappoints.
For those who don't have a Tagine just yet, you can cook this recipe in a baking dish. Be sure the cover the dish with foil and check after an hour or so. Water may need to be added. As this recipe is cooked on a gas stove using the Tagine, substitute it with a non-stick fry pan then transfer the ingredients into the baking dish. The shanks may take longer to cook in a baking dish, possibly an extra half hour.

Moroccan Lamb Shanks

Moroccan Lamb Shanks served with Couscous

Banana Bread/Cake

One of my all time favourites with a freshly brewed espresso coffee in the morning or afternoon. This has to be the best and most enjoyable fruit bread or cake, made with one of the most popular fruits. There is always those few bananas that become just too ripe to eat, turning that awful colour. But why let them go to waste when you can make them taste even better! The recipe is 100% foolproof every time, packed with great taste.
The secret to a great banana bread is not just the overripe bananas, but the golden syrup as well. Some recipes have sugar instead of syrup, however the flavour and texture of the cake is just not the same. The recipe makes enough for a small bread tin. If you want a loaf looking just like a slice you can get from a cafe, double the mixture and cook for about 1 hour or until the cake tester comes out clean. Due to the extra time in the oven, the cake may begin to brown too much, I normally cover the tin with baking paper creating a dome so the cake still has room to rise.

Banana and Walnut (Right) and Banana Bread (Left)

Banana and Walnut Bread

Banana Bread

Banana and Walnut Bread and Banana Bread

Oven Roasted Tarragon & Garlic Chicken with Gravy

Serves 8-10 people (for 4 people use 1 chicken) 

This recipe has to be one of the best tasting and easiest to prepare. With a 20 min preparation time you can sit back and rest your feet with a beautiful glass of white wine while the food roasts in the oven. For my family and I we make sure every month we eat this at least twice. I love to use free range or organic chicken which to me has the best taste, however whatever chicken suits you is just as good. 
I find roasted potatoes/pumpkin/sweet potatoes goes perfect with the gravy. Just coating them in salt, pepper and oil is best as the gravy holds all the flavour you will need. Remember the trick to beautiful roast potatoes every time is to not be afraid of adding lots of olive oil. The potatoes don't actually absorb the oil, but give them a nice crisp outside and soft centre. Leftovers are a must for this dish, you'll definitely want to eat it the next day, so even if my 2 chicken recipe is a lot, it will be eaten again for sure!

Crispy Skinned Tarragon Chicken

Flavoursome Vegetables cooked in Wine and Chicken juices

Homemade Chicken Gravy made from pan juices

Chocolate & Vanilla Panna Cotta

Serves 6-12 people

I first tasted Panna Cotta at a restaurant and immediately fell in love. I new I had to remake this wonderful dessert at home, and alas I was successful. It is light, creamy and just sweet enough to not overpower your taste buds. Personally, I like to accompany it with either raspberry coulis, chocolate fudge sauce or vanilla bean ice-cream. You could even have it with all three, it just depends on your preference. There are many variations to Panna Cotta, some I found too creamy, too sweet and too heavy, this recipe ensures it is just the opposite. The perfect balance between all three. My family and I enjoy eating this delight once or even twice a month. Hopefully you'll enjoy it just as much as we do. Each recipe serves six to eight people, either make one or combine the two together for twelve to fifteen servings. Your family will be going for seconds!

Chocolate and Vanilla Panna Cotta

Madeira Cake

Makes 20cm round cake

Traditionally a Victorian England cake, now enjoyed around the world, this lovely orange and lemon scented cake is accompanied with a freshly brewed cup of tea. Madeira cake is something my grandmother and mother loved to eat, sometimes buying the supermarket alternative, but there is nothing better than freshly baked Madeira cake. The recipe fills a 20cm cake tin, however, being sentimental, I prefer a loaf style cake just how I used to eat it when I was young. It is a light, fluffy and citrusy cake that is baked on low heat at double a usual cakes cooking time. Try dipping it in your tea, definitely a winner in my house!

Madeira Cake

Prawn & Vegetable Laksa

Serves 6 people

Laksa soups are an amazing Asian creation, sometimes however, the ingredients and method can be very overwhelming, as there is traditionally many spices that go into the dish. Don't let this stop you! Below is an easy to follow recipe that tastes just as good as the traditional style, minus all the complicated ingredients, plus all the great flavour. It's a family recipe created by my mother so rest assured it is amazing! When eaten by my family we always cook double, eating laksa the next day always seems to taste even better.
Not a huge fan of seafood? Add chicken instead by pre-cooking chicken pieces in a pan. Or make it a seafood laksa by adding calamari, fish (preferably a firm one), crab etc. It's all up to you! Once you know how to make the soup base, adding tofu, vegetables, poultry, meats or seafood is easy, you just need to know what quantity of each suits you and your family best.

Prawn and Vegetable Laksa

Saffron

Scientific Name: Crocus Sativus

Origin: Greece and Southwest Asia

Saffron Threads

Additional Information: Why is saffron so expensive? The question asked by many cooks. Saffron threads (the stigma) are found on the Crocus Sativus plant which produce purple flowers, each flower bearing only 3 stigma (saffron threads). Due to the plant only being male, the flowers do not produce viable seeds, it takes human intervention to harvest the bulbs, break them apart and replant them. To get 1g of saffron, 150-200 flowers must be picked, hence why saffron is so pricey. 

Crocus Sativus

Medicinal Qualities: Research studies have hinted that saffron has possible cancer-suppressing, mutation-preventing and antioxidant-like properties. Saffron may also be helpful for depression sufferers

Food Applications: Saffron has a sweet taste and a hay-like fragrance. Saffron is mostly used as a colorant for certain dishes as it gives a golden-yellow hue. Traditionally used in risottos, paellas and soups.

Safflower buds

Note! Don't be fooled by saffron lookalikes, known as Safflower, which is normally used to make safflower oil. The flowering buds on the plant look similar to saffron and can be sometimes mistaken for the real thing.

Blog Recipes: (Click to Open)

• Saffron Infused Potato and Leek Soup

Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup

Serves 6 people

For an authentic Asian soup that tastes just like the one at Chinese restaurants, you have come to the right place. This recipe can be cooked in just 30 mins, no fuss and no complicated ingredients. Chicken and Corn soup is perfect for those cold winter nights or enjoyed when the flu bug comes around. Packed with flu fighting ingredients such as garlic and ginger, it's a great stomach soother when all you want is a great tasting warm soup to make you feel better.

Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup

Oregano

Scientific Name: Origanum Vulgare

Origin: Mediterranean 

Fresh Oregano

Herb Relations: Marjoram 

Medicinal Qualities: 

• Rich is natural sources of Vitamin K and fibre. 
• High in iron, manganese and other minerals
• Known to alleviate sore throats. 
• Fresh oregano contains thymol and carvacrol, two oils which fight off bacterial infections. 
• On a weight basis, oregano has 42 time more antioxidants than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and 4 times more than blueberries.

Dried Oregano

Food Applications: Dried oregano is stronger in flavour than fresh oregano, having an aromatic slightly bitter and peppery taste. Commonly used to flavour roasted vegetables, meat, fish and tomato based sauces. Other uses include salad dressings, pasta sauces and meal garnishes (fresh).

Blog Recipes: (Click to Open)

• Pumpkin Risotto with Feta and Oregano

Homemade Waffles

Makes 6-8 waffles

A perfect way to begin the day with freshly made waffles or enjoy them with the kids after school. This recipe ensures you get light, crispy waffles every time. Prepared in under 20 mins and very easy to cook, as the waffle iron does all the hard work. Waffle irons can be purchased from most big retail chains or kitchen stores. Serve your waffles with ice-cream, chocolate sauce, maple syrup, fresh fruit or cream, the list goes on. The ingenious design of a waffle is the deep ridges, making it perfect for capturing any toppings you add, ensuring that every mouthful is a good as the one before.

Served with crushed frozen raspberries and ice-cream

Saffron Infused Potato & Leek Soup

Serves 4-6 people

Perfect for cold weather as an entree or main, Potato and Leek Soup is simple and tasty. There are many variations to this dish, some like the natural taste of the leek and potato while others like to add extra ingredients for an even better taste. This dish is best eaten once pureed, although some prefer a chunky soup, or chill it in the fridge and eat it cold on a summers day. My recipe includes saffron which can be quite expensive, as an alternative, substitute the cumin and saffron with 1 tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried, 1 tbsp fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried and 2 bay leaves. The colour of the soup comes from the saffron, so don't worry if it doesn't look like the picture below, normally the soup looks quite white.

Saffron Infused Potato and Leek Soup

Pumpkin Risotto with Feta & Oregano

Serves 8 people

One of my all time favourite dishes! The pumpkin risotto on its own is amazing, but with the feta, once it has been softened by the heat of the dish, gives a beautiful smooth, slightly salty texture. The oregano also compliments the dish adding a burst of freshness in every mouthful. My family and I are always fighting over who gets the most feta and oregano in their servings and I'm sure you will be doing just the same!

Risotto's are very versatile, you can put just about anything into them and are guaranteed to be happy with the result.  The trick is however, to keep your ingredients simple. You don't want to overpower one ingredient with another and so on. The downer is the preparation time, it does take a good hour or so, but trust me the result is mouth watering! Eat as a main meal, entree or accompaniment.

Pumpkin Risotto with Feta and Oregano

Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake

Serves 20 people (20-25cm cake tin)

This is by far the ultimate chocolate cheesecake. It is not for those who don't like to indulge in something sweet, however one taste and even they will become sweet-tooth's for one slice of heaven. It's simple and easy to prepare, no baking needed. The key ingredient in this recipe are the morello cherries, they hold their own tangy sweetness that give a great contrast to the pallet when combined with the decadent chocolate cheesecake. The good thing about this cheesecake, you can jazz it up with any fruit you like. Substitute the cherries for fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or strawberries by soaking them in liqueur or your preferred alcohol overnight. All you do is strain them as best you can and add it to the mixture, the left over juices can then be reduced to a thick sauce and poured over the top.

Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake