individual shepherd's pie

I do fear it's been quite a while and neglecting this little space is something I'd rather not do. So back for the new year my one resolution is to post more, much more, and there is rather a few things that I've been dying to try out. This shepherds pie recipe has been a long awaited one and completely well worth it. Delicious to be exact.

Head on over here for the recipe (I just added carrots and corn to the dish since I've been trying to get some more veg in).

Wishing you all a happy weekend!

its been a while...

Yes, it been a while hasn't it? How have you all been doing? Ready for the season? Christmas is just around the corner and I'm pretty excited. I already can't wait to start watching Christmas movies, roasting chestnuts and trimming the tree. Who's with me?

These three treats aren't quite christmas but good nothing less. As excited as I am about it this year it's still a tad too early for me. One of my Aunts who adores Christmas put up her tree and I'm sure decorations too before halloween was even over! Intense.

tri-colour tomatoes and goat cheese on bread

1 loaf rustic bread (ie, cabatta or sour dough)

3-4 vine tomatoes in different colours, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for frying, optional)

2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 clove garlic

goat cheese for spreading

salt and pepper to taste

Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sesame oil and mix. On a large plate lay sliced tomatoes and drizzle over dressing. Toast bread until slightly browned (optional: not the heathy-iest but super tasty, in a frying pan eat 1-2 tbsp olive oil and fry bread until slightly browned and crispy). Cut your garlic clove in half and rub it right onto the crispy bread (2-4 times should be well enough). Spread on goat cheese, top with tomatoes and sprinkle over thyme and salt and pepper.

almond cake with vanilla cherry compote

recipe adapted from Donna Hay

for the almond cake

90g butter, softened

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 cup ground almonds

1/4 all-purpose flour

2 tsp grated lemon rind

1/4 tsp baking powder

for the vanilla cherry compote

100g caster sugar

4 tbsp lemon juice

1 pint cherries, pitted

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

Preheat the oven to 320 F. Place the butter and sugar in a food processor and process until just combined. Add the eggs, ground almonds, flour, lemon rind and baking powder and process until just combined. Spoon the mixture into a fluted edged pie tin with a loose bottom. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a wooden skewer. Let cool.

Combine sugar and lemon juice in a medium sauce pan and cook over high heat for 1-2 minutes. Add cherries and vanilla and cook until mixture is slightly syrupy (3-5min). Let cool and top on cake.

The homemade honey butter cornbread I saw over on Kristen's blog Dine and Dish not too long ago and had to absolutely try since I have never made cornbread before. Check out Kristen's adapted version here and the original recipe from Real Simple.

summer/winter?

With the colder weather on the way or at some points already here. Roasting up some hearty goodness is a must this cold season. Who's with me? But I realize now that I'm writing this we are in the mists of an indian summer. So this somehow doesn't seem quite fitting. Just last week the coldness was enough to think summer was officially over forever, but here we are with gorgeous sunny warm breezy days. Really though, who doesn't love a good roast winter or summer? And what better way to finish off a meal of such? Eton mess. First time making/trying and quite possibly may be my favorite new dessert.

roasted pear and pork

1 3 lb boneless pork loin

3 pears, halved

1 bulb garlic, broken apart, 1 clove finely chopped

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp pepper

a few sprigs each of thyme and rosemary

sesame oil or olive oil for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Coat the cutting board with the salt, pepper and chopped garlic. Roll the pork along the board to coat. In a pan on medium high heat sear the pork until golden and you get a bit of a crust. Place in a baking dish with the halved pears and garlic ( I would have added onions here, but I didn't have any on hand). Rip apart the thyme and rosemary and sprinkle over. Drizzle with oil and cook for about 60-75 minutes. Cover in tin foil and let rest for 5-10 min.

eton mess

recipe adapted from Sophia Dahal

for the meringues

4 egg whites

1 cup caster sugar

pinch of salt

toasted almond slivers to serve

for the compote

1 1/2 cups strawberries quartered

3 tbsp caster sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 140 C or 275 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl of an electric mixer whisk the egg whites until they reach firm peaks. Add the sugar and salt and whisk until the mixture is thick (about 8 min). Spoon the mixture into rounds on the baking sheet, leaving a gap between each. Bake for 1 hour. Any extras and be saved in an air tight tin.

To make the strawberry compote add the sugar and strawberries and bring to a boil. Stir and let cook for about 5 minutes until tender. Set aside to cool.

Whip the cream until soft and fluffy, add the vanilla. Fold in the strawberry mixture so you get a sort of ripple effect happening. In 4 glasses or 1 bowl add the cream/fruit mixture then crumble in the meringues in a layering effect or fold all in together. Top with the toasted almonds and serve.

pecan and thyme peach cobbler

First things first. Sorry for the long hiatus here on the blog. Summer's been busy and I haven't baked a whole lot, plus the heat this year was a little outrageous and seriously the furthest thing on my mind was turing on the oven. But now that cooler weather is approaching I'll be able to get myself back into the kitchen and share some goods and goodies with you all. I really have missed it.

Peaches are ripe right now and what better thing to do with them is bake them into something just a little bit special. So why not make a peach cobbler? I made this for three reasons. One, I had a lot of peaches. Second I was told I should make it and third well... I have never made it before. Those are pretty good reasons to give it a go right? I think so.

Verdict? It didn't look quite as I hoped but it did taste pretty darn good and that's all that matters right? Right.

Is there anything you cool people want to see on the blog for future posts? Let me know what you'd be looking forward to reading/seeing.

I'm a little short on time, so I'll will be posting the recipe for this in the next couple of days. Happy week everyone!

all about the pie

Today over the web a virtual pie party is happening. For my contribution to pie day I went with the classic's.

Sadly I don't have any recipes to share for this one. They were kind of a mix of a few different recipes I found in a cookbook and online. I will leave you though with an recipe for apple pie I tried a while back from here.

Happy pie day!

outdoor eats part two

Now with the weather getting hotter and sunny days are in abundance (love) and cooking anything complicated is out of the question. You want something healthy, quick and fresh. One of my go to things especially if you have people coming over and you're firing up the grill but you don't want to go the meat and potato salad route is to gather up some veg and grill some ciabattas. I love using jarred roasted bell peppers and sun-dried tomatoes for things like this. Add a few other favorite things, top with cheese and your ready to go.

Another of my favorites is out of the ordinary salads. Forget the caesar or garden salad and op for something different, maybe with roasted butternut squash? Which tastes great cold too if you want this salad portable. Maybe too fall? You could always do watermelon.

Last we cannot forget about dessert. Hot days require something cold and light and oh so refreshing. Ice pops are perfection on days like this.

pina colada ice pops

100% pineapple juice

1 can coconut milk

juice of 1/2 a lime

3 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

3 tsp desiccated coconut

(coconut rum optional)

In a bowl mix the coconut milk with the honey, vanilla, lime juice and coconut. Set aside. In a popsicle mold or small paper cups fill the mold half of the way with the pineapple juice. Place in the freezer for 1-2hrs, place a popsicle stick in if using the paper cup mold just before it it fully frozen. Let that freeze. Add the coconut mixture and freeze for about 2-4hrs or over night. Makes 4-8 pops depending on size of the mold.

Grilled open-faced ciabatta's

(or add all your favorite things to a slice of thick bread and grill it)

First half (sweet and earthy): Red chili jam, dijon mustard, arugula, shallots, radish, roasted yellow bell peppers and cherry tomatoes. Top with mozzarella or goats cheese and a drizzle of olive oil or sesame oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place on a grill or roast in the oven until cheese has melted and the veg is slightly soft.

Second half (smokey and salty): Basil pesto, arugula, roasted yellow bell pepper, sun dried tomatoes (in oil), cherry tomatoes and prosciutto. Top with white cheddar, mozzarella or goats cheese (your choice) and drizzle with olive oil and pinch of pepper.

Butternut squash and feta salad

1 medium size squash

50g greek feta

arugula and spinach leaf mix

roasted sunflower seeds

for the dressing

2-3 tbs olive oil

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 clove garlic finely chopped

2-3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Heat oven to 350 F. Cut up the squash in to medium size chunks, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and place on a pan in the oven. Cook for 15-20 min or until soft. Let cool. Meanwhile mix all the ingredients together for the dressing. In a bowl add the arugula and spinach mix, the cooled squash, and the sunflower seeds. Add as much dressing as you need and lightly toss. Top with feta and a pinch of pepper.

Have an amazing weekend and happy father's day to all the father's out there!

outdoor eats part one

Outdoor eats. We love them. There's nothing better then gathering a bunch of friends, lots of food and sitting it all out under the big blue sky or even the starring night. This is my favorite time of year for this reason alone. The weather is nice, everyone is more relaxed and fresh produce is abundant. I can't complain.

For the recipes, check out the summer issue of N.E.E.T. magazine, where both of these recipes and I were featured along with a couple other fab bloggers.

Happy Weekend!