It would be without exaggeration to make the statement that my life has grown to revolve around food. I don’t know where the obsession came from but I cracked on early in life that satisfying appetites was a way to make people happy.
I learned my culinary skills as a child by watching cooking shows; Graham Kerr was the first to captivate me. Once I had had enough of Graham and his bowls of pre-measured ingredients I moved onto Jaques Pèpin and Martin Yan. After leaving secondary school I trained then worked for the next 5 years as a chef. Although I loved (and do love) cooking, I have always been interested in the bigger picture- what are we eating and why are we eating it.
Food represents an occasion; it’s related to memories and emotions. It’s the roasted prawn, pomello and fish roe betel leaves my sister’s boyfriend prepares when we go to Sydney (and probably why I love Sydney so much). It’s the pipi fritters that we make every year at the beach- the entire process; gathering, steaming, chopping, whisking, stirring, frying and finally eating them straight off the BBQ with lemon juice and black pepper or between 2 slices of fresh bread. They can be little bit gritty but secretly that’s how I like them. I love the fact that one simple food cooked with care and respect like Dad’s crispy potatoes can be just as memorable and magnificent as a complex meal with layers of flavours. I can always remember the food I was eating at a particular event in my life, I don’t know if that is astute or just completely obsessive.
After a day working in the kitchen, slogging through beef carpaccio canapés for hundreds of people, I decided that I needed more. I went to University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Human Nutrition. I am back to cooking in my spare time (and watching cooking shows) for the pleasure and immense satisfaction gained from all that is good in food.
16th May 2013
Fish pie
Every family has their own version of the fish pie and boy I’ve tasted some good ones (I’m talking to you Lou). This one’s perfect for making small bite-sized pies. Now all I need to do is plan a fishing trip.
15th April 2013
Spaghetti, pine nut and basil parcels
You may have missed what a huge fan of leftovers I am but just to fill you in – there is something I just adore about yesterday’s food. I also HATE to waste food (it makes me feel sad and guilty) so even if the end result is a disaster I try to resurrect it [...]
8th April 2013
Blackcurrant cheesecake
Well I’ve made 3 cheesecakes on the blog recently and I promise this will be the last for at lest 6 months. This recipe is the one you should turn to when you need to feed masses of people as it holds its form well and keeps for a few days.
1st April 2013
Retro
Retro relating to, reviving, or being the styles and especially the fashions of the past : fashionably nostalgic or old-fashioned <a retro look> I guess this means retro represents any historic style and being that it’s based on nostalgia it is also completely subjective
28th March 2013
Breakfast pizza
I recently got married (I had to drop this major life event into a post eventually) and an extremely generous gift-giving-group made up of an aunty, an uncle and cousins gave us a kitchen aid mixer. For the last few weeks I’ve told anyone who will listen: “I got a kitchen aid mixer!” followed by [...]
14th March 2013
Dad’s mince on toast
This recipe reminds me of my dad. When we were kids and it was Dad’s choice for dinner it would be either mince on toast or devilled sausages with boiled potatoes; my sister and I were never excited about eating either of these staple meals. But what made up for our basic weeknight fare was [...]
14th February 2013
Gluten free coconut, cranberry and almond muesli
You may not have the same obsession with muesli as I do so I completely understand if you think it’s not an appropriate lunch food. But it’s more than appropriate for those mornings when you’ve run out of time at home to eat and so find yourself sitting at your desk, checking your morning emails [...]
8th February 2013
Layered vegetarian couscous salad
Two days ago it was Waitangi Day here in NZ; a public holiday to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. The weather was beautiful and so we thought what better way to spend a public holiday than at our local beach
1st February 2013
Working lunches
I love lunchtimes at work; the hustle and bustle of hungry people darting around our small but well-equip kitchen. It seems as though every small appliance is going and every person is talking at once. We eventually squeeze around a table and talk to each other about what happened in the weekend, what we saw [...]
25th January 2013
Yoghurt tart with strawberries
With all the sugar I consumed over the Christmas holidays I should probably be giving up desserts for January altogether. However it seems a shame to quit cold-turkey when there are so many delicious varieties of fruit in abundance at this time of year
14th January 2013
Maple walnut cheesecake
My mum and my boyfriend have had numerous discussions (arguments) about cheesecake, usually ending in “I like it better than you”…“no way, I love it the most” (it goes on and on).
12th December 2012
Christmas roast chicken with macadamia and apricot salad
I’m one of those people who can’t sleep in on Christmas day. Compared to the 364 other days of the year when my eyes are intent on staying shut and my snooze button gets pressed half a dozen times, on Christmas day it’s another story. At around 6am my eyelids ping open and without a [...]