To help inspire everyone to cook, regardless of knowledge and cooking skills, I want to start highlighting some of my favourite seasonal ingredients and recipes to accompany them! Each month I will be releasing an ingredient that is a family favourite in my home, easy to use, tastes delicious and won’t break the bank! Plus the recipes that go alongside that ingredient will be versatile, full of flavour and will hopefully inspire you to branch out a little in the kitchen. 

Welcome to April, lets get earthy with root vegetables!

I love Autumn time so much! The weather starts to change, it becomes slightly cooler in the evening but still wonderfully sunny during the day so you get the best of both worlds. It is also a time where your body stops craving light refreshing meals and starts to crave things that are more comforting and hearty like roasted vegetables, ragu, soups, jaffles, apple crumble, you get the gist. 

We are lucky enough in Queensland that we only see the cold for maybe 2 months of the year if that! And though I wish away the summer when I am sweating like a dog being woken up by tiny children at a ridiculous time of the day because the sun rises at 4:30am, I also don’t like feeling as though my toes are going to fall off, the 4am alarm becomes so much harder and I have to psych myself up to get out of bed! Pilates instructors, you feel me?! 

So hence, Autumn is one of the best times of year for me, along with Spring. I also love the change in seasonal produce; carrots, beetroots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, broccoli etc. They are all so versatile, comforting and some of my favourite carbohydrates, they are full of fibre to help keep things healthy down there, and they genuinely just taste delicious if you prepare them accordingly. 

Roast vegetables also remind me of my Mum and going home for dinner. Do you ever have those dishes that you would never make yourself, but always look forward to when you go home to Mum’s? Mine would be roast vegetables, cauliflower in white cheese sauce and corned beef. My Mum makes this insane corned beef that is so moist and just melts in your mouth, served with roast vegetables that are perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I will eat 3 plates when I am home with a sneaky margarita on the side!

My husband and I took our kids for a drive to the Towri Growers Markets that are held once a month in the scenic rim; they bring together all of the local farmers who sell their fresh produce, the kids can feed the sheep and you can set up a picnic and spend hours there listening to live music eating good local food. You can buy dairy, meat, fruit and vegetables, chutney’s, cakes, alcohol and coffee. You can also enjoy fresh fire cooked food like nachos and jacket potatoes that are topped with sheeps belly bacon and other ridiculously incredible things!! We came away with the most beautiful beets, dutch carrots and broccoli, so I used these vegetables to create a version of my Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto and Cold Yoghurt. This dish is super easy with very minimal washing up; make a yoghurt, make a pesto, roast some veggies and you’re good to go! It tastes incredible, and eating local produce knowing that the money goes directly to the farmers is really important at a time like this. If you can make it out there I encourage you to do so because it is a lovely day spent out of the city supporting our local economy while filling up your own families buckets.

Fun Facts:

1. The British developed high-carotene carrots during World War II in order to enhance pilots' night vision.
2. Beetroots offer more than just flavour and a variety of colours -- the greens attached to the beets are so tasty and can be sautéed with garlic and some olive oil and be eaten just like spinach or used in soups to provide some extra texture and nutrition.
3. What do you call a stolen spud?  A hot potato.

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Welcome to March, lets talk spices: Garam Masala

I think it is safe to say that we are all feeling the pinch of inflation at the moment! I am shocked every time I go to the supermarket at the ever increasing price of groceries, and sometimes I really wonder if the issue is what they claim it to be or whether it’s just greed (or maybe a bit of both!). Either way, I know that it is becoming more difficult to live the way we are used to and thus there are sacrifices that need to be made. I understand that now more than ever life is getting busier, more expensive and more stressful which can make us feel a little overwhelmed at times. It also means that we either work more to earn more and thus become more busy, or pull back on spending to be able to slow down and thus compromise in some ways on where we spend our money and time. 

Having 3 young kids and a 6 foot husband with an appetite bigger than the rest of us combined, I know what it’s like having to figure out ways in which to save money without compromising on quality of ingredients, so I wanted to draw attention to one of my favourite budget friendly ingredients that remains cheap in value, yet rich in flavour.

So this month I want to celebrate Garam Masala. It is an amazing spice blend that translates to ‘hot spice’; not because the blend is actually hot, but hot meaning warm thanks to the use of spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and clove (to name a few). While you might think that garam masala is a fancy and complex spice blend (rightfully so) I want to refer to it as the lazy man's spice mix. It can be added to almost anything, and before you know it your dish is transporting you to some exotic place where good tasting, flavourful food is cheap and comforting. 

Garam masala is wonderfully versatile as it can be used at the start of a dish to marinade protein, or added at the end to season and increase the potency of a dish. It is more common to use at the end so that the spices don’t lose their flavour, and it also prevents the spices from toasting and becoming too overpowering. 

This week I am using garam masala to make Better than a Bottle Budget Butter Chicken after the lovely Kim Horsfall admitted to making butter chicken using a store bought sauce and I almost died!!! And don’t worry, Kim and I have a lovely relationship and she knows that this month on the blog I am going to poke a bit of fun at her. She spent her pennies at the Frankie Footwear sale, so she was on a tight food budget that week thus buying dinner in a jar because it was cheap. However, I want to debunk the idea that buying store bought sauces is cheaper! My better than a bottle budget butter chicken serves 4 people, takes 30 minutes to whip up and costs less than $4 per serve! I am picky when it comes to quality so I always use organic meats, but the coles near me almost always have a sale on and I am forever finding organic meat at half price! I store my meat in the freezer and pull out what I need, so I made this butter chicken for my hungry family using organic meat and rice and it only cost me $23 for all of the ingredients; that’s $4.60 a serve!

Fun Facts and Uses:

1. The Garam Masala variations are endless and each region in India has its own version, using between 5 and 30 ingredients.
2. You can use garam masala in desserts! Simply add ½ tsp of garam masala to your next batch of gingerbread, yoghurt cake or apple crumble. 
3. Add 1 tsp of garam masala to your scrambled eggs or tofu and serve with some buttery bread, drizzle with some coconut cream and garnish with some spring onions and you’ve got yourself a pretty delish Sunday breakfast that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg!

February, time to celebrate Potatoes: From Comforting Classics to Unique Twists

I know I know, such a simple ingredient so why does it get the limelight this month? The answer is simple; potatoes are arguably one of the best forms of carbs that exist. You can roast it, fry it, mash it, bake it, steam it (I pass on this but you do you!), use it in so many different ways and all the while your heart and tummy are happy. It is also one of the few carbs that people aren’t allergic to, so as far as catering to all of the tricky dietaries/lifestyle choices you’re pretty sorted here. 

Potatoes are also incredibly affordable, so while inflation is running rampant at the moment, you can rest assured that you can still find a trusty potato at your local fruit and veg shop for a reasonable price. There are so many different varieties too; kipfler, desiree and sebago white potatoes just to name a few, orange sweet potato and japanese sweet potato (my personal favourite) plus loads more!!

Potatoes are also high in vitamin C which is great for aiding iron uptake, they’re an important form of vitamin B6 which is essential for brain development, and oddly enough people used to put slices of raw potato into their socks to draw out toxins when they were suffering from a cold or flu. 

Hash Browns, potato salads, kids cheat macaroni and cheese, roast potatoes, in a stew or a curry, mashed and served with steak or as a potato bake lathered with heaps of cheese and butter. Honestly, we could be here for days talking about the many ways in which these cheap little vegetables make our hearts sing. Crispy roast potatoes are probably my most favourite way to enjoy them. I think everyone can agree that there is nothing better than a roast dinner, but deep down the best part is actually the tray of crispy potatoes that accompany it. Everytime a roast is served my eyes sub consciously dart to the taters to check out whether they look good, and therefore how much of my plate is going to be taken up by them! So I am sharing my ultimate Salt and Vinegar Crispy Roast Potatoes with Miso Maple Glaze to get your taste buds pumping, along with a Vegetable Loaded Mac and Cheese with a Potato Chip Crust that will fool all the men and children out there (sorry not sorry!). 

Fun Facts:

1. Potatoes were once used as a currency, and were traded directly for gold in 1890! Because of the potatoes' versatility; from being a great food source, to being used for many medical treatments (apparently they helped with childbirth), they were incredibly valuable, making them the perfect trade for gold.
2. Potato starch in scrambled eggs will yield the most velvety result! Simple whisk 2 eggs, 1tsp potato starch, a pinch of salt and a dash of milk together until completely combined. Heat a fry pan with a little ghee or oil, and once hot pour the mixture directly into the fry pan. Tip the fry pan backwards and forwards so that the runny mixture continues to cook, and use a spatula to gently fold the eggs pushing them backwards and forwards without breaking them apart. Remove from the stove and serve! You will be left with the most wonderful serving of fluffy scrambled eggs that are cooked to perfection.
3. Potatoes are commonly used to make vodka! The starch in the potato can be converted into a sugar, and fermented into alcohol. Run the mixture through a still and voila; you are left with a clear and odourless vodka that can be enjoyed neat or in a number of different cocktails.

January, back to school! Explore Kid-Friendly Coconut Delights: Snack Ideas and Nut-Free Innovations

I had so many mums ask me if I could do a blog around kids snacks and what I feed my kids, so this month is all about that. One of the most painful things about having children is the darn allergies; daycare is nut and egg free, kindy is nut and soy free and nothing in packaging, and school is free from everything in between! It is exhausting trying to make lunches with one in family daycare, one at kindy and one at school. So I have put in the hard work to make your life easier, and to help inspire your morning and afternoon tea options (whilst making the snacks so good that you’ll be making your own batch!). One thing I do in my house is change some ingredients or add in things I know my kids and husband don’t like. Do any other Mums out there do this!? I feel like this is the only way I can enjoy things I make in my own time frame, without having to share! Sometimes it’s the little things in life that put a big smile on your face, like being able to have a hot beverage with a snack that doesn’t have to be shared!!

This month I want to celebrate coconut! I feel like it has been celebrated as a superfood in its own right, but I think that it needs to be celebrated for the taste! Gone are the days of using coconut extract, I think we can all leave that stuff in the past. BUT, coconut enjoyed in its purest form brings an earthy and naturally sweet flavour to so many sweet and savoury dishes. Another thing I love about coconut is how widely available it is, and it seems that inflation hasn’t hit it (yet)! You can get a preservative free 500g bag of desiccated coconut at Aldi for about $4!!

I have also found that coconut is the perfect nut and dairy replacement. So many daycares, schools and kindergartens require nut free lunches, but so many recipes call for nuts so it can be a headache for us Mum’s. And these days many children struggle with an intolerance to dairy, and while there are so many alternatives out there, unfortunately they have a lot of additives that aren’t good for those small growing bodies. I have found that coconut doesn’t drastically change the taste, and the fattiness makes it a great 1:1 replacement for nut butter and greek yoghurt.  I have been using desiccated coconut in my homemade nut butter for years now. It makes a batch so much cheaper by replacing half of the amount of nuts, it adds its own unique roasted flavour, and the natural oils present make the nut butter harden when cold; the best natural ice magic! But to keep it nut free, I have made a delicious Coconut Tahini Butter that you can use to replace nut butter in bliss balls, smoothies, slices and sandwiches just to name a few! I have also created GF Chewy Protein Granola Bars that are both perfect for school lunches, plus a Stone Fruit Coconut Breakfast Crumble that is perfect to help use up all of the leftover stone fruit. 

Fun Facts:

1. You’re 10 times more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than you are a shark! 
2. During the Pacific War of 1941-45, coconut water was used to give emergency plasma transfusions to wounded soldiers
3. Coconuts seem to have gotten a bad name these days with particular diets because of its high fat content. I think it's time we stopped being afraid of fats for good! And if you ask me, if you’re not generating hate you’re not doing something right, so kudos to you coconut!

Dive into the festive season with cranberries this Christmas, exploring their culinary magic, health benefits, and the wild wonders of cranberry powder in delightful holiday recipes!

‘Tis the season to consume lots of festive food, and what says Christmas more than cranberries! They’re prized as a Christmas sauce served alongside turkey (is this because turkey is so dry it needs some extra loving?!), used to decorate the humble Australian pavlova and to decorate the special Christmas table.

I think my parents have jars of cranberry sauce in their cupboard that sit there waiting to be opened on Christmas day and then it sits in the fridge for months after until Mum finally decides it’s time to give it a toss. 

But all jokes aside, cranberries are incredibly good for you. They are a natural source of vitamin c and aid the production of collagen, they support the immune system and help protect cells from oxidative stress (no wonder they are consumed at Christmas!), and are known to be effective against UTI’s.

While I’m sure you are familiar with cranberries, have you ever heard of wild cranberries? They’re about half the size of a normal cranberry, and are famously very tart thanks to their low sugar level. Most people associate cranberries with a juice that is somewhat tart but very sweet, and paired well with vodka. Wild cranberries are also naturally much higher concentrations in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Though wild cranberries are incredibly hard to come by, an Australian company, Mt Wilder Berries, have been producing a wild cranberry powder and it is incredible stuff. They use wild foraged cranberries from Romania to create a beautiful freeze dried powder that adds just the right about of tartness and vibrancy to a dish. You can add it to your smoothies, baked goods, or even in my non-traditional Wild Cranberry, Gin and Dill Salmon Gravlax with Horseradish Cream Christmas dish. You might even be feeling adventurous and ready to produce that show stopping dessert for the Christmas table, in which case I would suggest trying my Honey, Almond and Wild Cranberry Pavlova Cake with Spiced Custard. I incorporated the wild cranberry powder in both recipes in completely different ways to showcase just how incredible this little tart powder really is. 

Fun Facts:

1. Ever wondered why cranberries sit in huge pools of water? They don’t grow in water, but rather the water makes them much easier to harvest! That’s because they have tiny little pockets that allow air to seep in so that they can float to the top making them much easier to pick!
2. Cranberries are typically used as a natural dye in fabrics
3. Only 5% of cranberries are actually sold fresh; the rest are used to produce sauces, juice and powders.
4. Cranberries and blueberries are cousins; how cute!

October's ingredient of the month is a creamy, decadent Middle Eastern yoghurt cheese made by straining the excess whey from yoghurt, Labna or Labneh.

It is incredibly versatile as it can be used in both sweet and savoury foods to cut through the richness of a dish to make it feel light, yet it embodies all of the distinct qualities of the fifth taste umami (which translates to “essence of deliciousness” in Japanese).

Once strained, you can add spices, herbs and extracts to flavour it whichever way you would like. Labna is in my opinion the new cream cheese and/or hummus! Slather it on pan fried buttery toast with some honey drizzled on top and fresh berries, or fold through your scrambled eggs with chives. Gone are the days of serving up a cheese platter with your typical hummus; I think I have spent almost a decade eating hummus on a cheese board and to be quite frank I need a break. And yes hummus, it is you and not me! 

Labna is incredibly easy to make; the only ingredients you need are literally yoghurt and salt. The whey that drains is full of protein and probiotics so don’t throw it away!! I pour it into ice trays and freeze it for smoothies or use it as a substitute in baking where the recipe calls for milk or water. The only equipment you need are a fine sieve or colander, a deep bowl and a cheesecloth or nut milk bag. Find my detailed method for making Labna here, and then use some of it to cook up an impressive Labna, Green Pea and Leek Risotto.

Fun Facts:

1. As mentioned above, labna is actually a cheese! The process of draining the whey from the yoghurt technically classifies the end result as a cheese that is thick and spreadable somewhat similar in texture to cream cheese.
2. Though labna is most commonly made using cow's milk, nowadays it is not uncommon to make labna using sheeps, goat, buffalo or even camel milk!
3. Labna balls make for a very fancy and impressive gift. Simply rub olive oil onto the palm of your hands and roll the labna into bliss ball size. You can then roll your balls into dried herbs, spices or rose petals, and then submerge into a jar of olive oil to keep preserved, and they will last in the fridge for a few months! Or if you want to keep them for yourself, you can serve the little balls on a cheese platter, or take a little at a time and smear on toast or a bagel and say sayonara to hummus!!

This September we are going to be celebrating the oh so humble cucumber.

Refreshing. Crunchy. Crisp. Hydrating. Cucumbers are such a wonderful ingredient to cook with. From salads to poke bowls, drinks and pickles, their versatility makes for endless ways to use them. Did you also know that they contain Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6, folic acid, Vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc!?!

My kids love to snack on a cucumber salad that we make in our house every single week while they’re waiting for dinner to be made. And now they’re at an age where they can make the salad themselves! We change the flavour profiles based on what they want (asian, italian, middle eastern etc.) and they have the best time making it all by themselves (plus it keeps them occupied while I get dinner ready, and tastes so delicious so it’s a real win win!). Watch out for my Smacked Cucumber Salad w Whipped Tofu that will be released in the next few weeks. Another thing we always have in our fridge is a jar of dill pickles. We snack on these things all year round, they have such a pungent flavour and moorish bite to them, my 4yr old son even asks for them in his lunch! To spice your life up a little bit and challenge your adventurous side, try my Herby Meatballs with Pickle Rice and Kaffir Lime Yoghurt recipe.

Fun Facts:

1. Have you ever wondered where the term ‘As Cool as a Cucumber’ actually comes from? Funnily enough, it is derived from the cucumber's ability to cool the temperature of the blood! When cucumbers are used topically, their cooling properties, and the fact that they’re 95% water help to reduce swelling, which is why they are so popular in facial regimens and as an ingredient in skincare products.
2. Had a few sparkling wines and need to wake up ready to go at 6am because #mumlife? Say no more. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish the essential nutrients your body may have lost during your fun child-free night out. So snack on a cucumber before bed and wake up headache-free!
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Chloe xx