Ingredient Rice & Grains

Roasted pesto chicken and harvest grape salad

Just around the corner from my place on the Otago peninsula is a lovely little awning tied to a tree which shelters two large chilly bins and a cardboard box.  Every day the owner of the property behind lovingly fills…

Cheap and cheerful kedgeree

This recipe is perfect for the days following Christmas – when the chaos is over and you need recipes that require minimal work.  I’m planning on making this on Boxing Day, hopefully with the bounty from a fishing trip

Stir-fried beef with tropical fruit

Amie’s first recipe contribution was her Dad’s steamed pork and now she brings another delicious Chinese recipe. This recipe is a beautiful example of the compatibility of salty, succulent beef with sweet delicate fruit

Spinach & pea risotto

There are very few things I buy from the great banks of freezers at the supermarket.  If I’m feeling particularly indulgent (and this is a rare occasion) I will surreptitiously sidle up to the ice-cream section, withdrawing the darkest chocolate…

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…

Rice, orange & black olive salad

Inspiration for this salad came from a wee gem of a book which I picked up at a book fair several years ago held in a great old hall attached to the Anglican Church down the road from us.   I…

The fastest dinner in the world

I remember standing in Croydon’s Vietnamese eatery in inner-west Sydney and listening to my sister’s friend Kelly talking about the fastest dinner in the world. He went on to tell me this modest meal would make his young daughters squeal…

Risotto alla Milanese

Ok so you will have realised from the title that I have diverged a little from this months Yum Char theme. The reason for my straying is to share a recipe with you that is inspired by a recent trip…

Steamed Pai Kuat (pork ribs)

For the last couple of months as I have sat down to lunch with my humble salad sandwich or scrambled eggs I’ve watched enviously as my teammate Amie unveils her dad’s delicious home-cooked Chinese delicacies.  The poor girl never gets…

Pete’s thai green curry

This is not the first time I have introduced Pete. Almost two years ago now (how time flies!) he shared with us his recipe for Creamy Bacon Carbonara which has proved to be the most popular recipe on the blog…

bread soup

One of my favourite things to do on a Saturday morning is to get up and head down to my local bakery and grab a nice fresh loaf of bread, come home fill the little moka with coffee, sit down…