Does the thought of preparing a huge holiday feast for your friends, family and loved ones fill you with Christmas spirit? Nope, me either. It often means hours - days even - in the kitchen. It means endless trips to crowded shops for essential ingredients. Even the planning can be overwhelming. Just a simple christmas lunch still equates to several dishes, each containing a lot of different elements. All of those starters, mains, sides & desserts have accompaniments, garnishes and sauces. And we haven’t even discussed drinks yet!
I’m going to share one of my hot tips when it comes to Christmas cooking: You can cheat on the big stuff if you do one or two little things from scratch. Outsource that ham and roast turkey! Call the deli tomorrow and tell them you’ll swing by on Christmas eve to pick up a couple of their cracking salads. Choose the already cooked prawns from the local seafood vendor. And treat yourself to a carton of pre-made custard. Nobody will notice, because they’ll be so impressed when you casually let slip that you made the cranberry sauce. The delicious, vibrant cranberry sauce that costs you 3 ingredients, 20 minutes and zero perspiration. You don’t even need to fork out for fresh cranberries because this recipe calls for dried. It also calls for an orange, but honestly you can leave it out if you’re orange-less. Same goes for the cinnamon. Seriously, if you have a good handful of cranberries on hand and a bit of tap water, you can make an excellent cranberry sauce. You can even make it a week or so before it’s needed. And if you make a little extra, pop it in a jar in the fridge and you have a lovely little gift on hand for someone.
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Springtime is rushing past & summer is right on our doorstep! So stock your fridge with wholesome, filling, delicious chia puddings. When you're too hot to even contemplate toast for breakfast or you get a craving for an afternoon or late night sweet treat, chia pudding has got your back.
The humble chia pudding is a good reminder that sometimes mixing 2 or 3 simple ingredients together produces something far grander than the sum of its parts. The soluble fibre in chia seeds makes it turn jelly-like when it's left to soak in liquid. Simply adding chia to milk and adding some flavourings produces the most delicious breakfast, dessert or snack with only a few minutes preparation. I've provided a recipe for a basic chia pudding, plus 2 variations. Play around with different add-ins and toppings to come up with some more variations! Note that the recipe makes one single serve, so just double or quadruple the recipe if needed. I like to make 3 or 4 at a time so I have a few days worth of yummy breakfast or snack. We love this dish at Halloween because of the rich, vibrant orange of the roasted pumpkin nestled alongside the deep purple of the rice. (Black rice is purple when cooked!)
This recipe works just as well as a cold salad as it does when eaten warm, so leave it up to the weather and mood as to how you choose to enjoy it. Something to note about black rice: it's rather sticky in nature, so don't expect your usual rice salad consistency, where the grains are separate and dry. Black rice, with its glorious clumpy stickiness, is a different eating experience altogether, and it's what makes it so yummy. If you have a well stocked pantry, you're never short of a tasty meal. We bring you a recipe that you can bring together in under 30 mins with staples like pasta, nuts and dried herbs.
As our collection of indigenous spices has grown over the years we have loved experimenting with flavours, creating new dishes and putting a fresh spin on old ones. My recipe for spaghetti with lemon myrtle, Tasmanian pepperberries, saltbush and macadamias is a celebration of Native Australian flavours. I've also included Australian pepitas, which - much like pepperberries - are taken to the next level of taste and texture when toasted. Crunchy garlic croutons are a moreish nod to the Italian inspiration, while a generous splash of lemon juice and our vibrant, NSW-produced Tawari Grove Olive Oil brings it all together. The result tastes both modern and traditional, complex but simple, sharp and zesty yet comfortingly familiar. A while ago we shared our two ingredient flatbread recipe, and it continues to be one of our most popular. Today we meet its chickpea cousin, the Besan Wrap.
Is it a wrap? Is it a crepe? Is it a tortilla? Yes! It's all of these things. It's also vegan, gluten free, versatile and very simple to make. There are a couple of optional ingredients that you can add for flavour - feel free to experiment with different spices to suit both your palate and the fillings you want to add to your wraps. The filling I'm sharing with you is Crunchy Roasted Black Eyed Beans. While crunchy Roasted chickpeas get plenty of attention, other Beans tend to get left out, even though they roast beautifully and make a delicious snack or hearty filling with a difference. |
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