Sunday dinner with my family – sharing recipes, stories & special moments
I love a good pasta salad and this one is not only delicious, it’s easy to make. The first time I made this was for a family Sunday dinner. If you follow my blog, you will know I only cook gluten free on Sundays so my biggest dilemma in making this salad was finding good…
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This is one of those desserts that will leave your family and friends wanting more. The combination of sweet tangy raspberries and dark chocolate is a match made in heaven. The great thing about this cake is that it is easy to make and it is gluten free. What you need 200g good quality dark…
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Hummus not only tastes great, it’s good for you. It’s fast and easy to make and once you have made it at home, you will never go back to eating store-bought hummus again. What you need 1 x 400g jar or tin of chickpeas 3 tablespoons tahini 1-2 garlic cloves crushed ½ tsp sea salt 5…
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Known as Melitzanolsalata, this is a rustic Greek eggplant dip made with charred smokey eggplants, garlic, cumin, lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil. There are many variations to this recipe but this is one my mother has made ever since I can recall. This is an easy dip to make for any occasion that everyone will…
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You know you’ve done something right as a parent when your son and daughter-in-law invite you to their home for a mid-week dinner and cook you a sensational meal! Apart from experiencing delicious food, it was so great watching how well my son and his wife worked as a team – one prepping while the…
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If there’s one vegetable that I always have in my cupboard, it would have to be potatoes. And when I feel like some comfort food, baked jacket potatoes would have to be one of my favourites. The best thing about baked potatoes is that they’re so simple. Just pop them in the oven for an…
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The original Fig and Raspberry Crumble Cake recipe by Diana Henry that this cake was adapted from, uses fresh figs and raspberries. But, as I often do, I decided to change the recipe and use dried figs and frozen raspberries instead because that’s all I had at the time. I must admit I was a…
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I made these cute Butterfly Cupcakes for my daughter-in-law’s surprise baby shower using a recipe from Gourmet Traveller. The cupcakes are a little fiddly to make, but they are so worth it because they look so lovely and taste great. As I was making these Butterfly Cupcakes, it suddenly struck me that I was about…
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This salad is not only a great accompaniment to any meal, it’s delicious and hearty enough to eat on its own for lunch or a light dinner. There is such a great contrast of flavours and textures in this salad with the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes and capsicum, saltiness of the halloumi, crispiness of…
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The last Anzac cookie recipe I shared was a healthy version that tastes delicious. But, as we are currently living in unusual times and can’t do our usual things, like celebrate special events with the ones we love, I felt the need to bake traditional Anzac cookies this year to remind myself of how life…
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If you are expecting to see a recipe for the most delicious, moist, light and oh-so ‘melt in your mouth’ buttery brioche-style Greek Easter sweet bread (called tsourekia), then I’m sorry to say you’ll be disappointed. It’s not because I don’t want to share the recipe. On the contrary, I love sharing recipes. It’s just that…
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Moussaka has always been a favourite Greek dish of mine, not only because it tastes so amazing, but because it reminds me of where I came from. For me, it’s a quintessentially Greek dish that, when I bake it, it fills my senses with the flavours and aromas of my grandmother’s and mother’s kitchen. It’s…
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And now that it’s done, We are left with our memories, Of tears, joy or fun. The New Year is here now So leave the old one behind and look forward to good times with a fresh state of mind. Focus on what could be Don’t on dwell on the past Spend more time with…
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This family favourite flourless chocolate cake becomes just a little more fancy when topped with creamy mascarpone and dusted with cacoa. It’s chocolatey, moist and light – a perfect dessert for Sunday family dinner … or any time really 🙂 What you need 200g dark chocolate – roughly chopped 120g unsalted butter – chopped 120g…
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Hi Reader I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m not posting as frequently as I used to, so I thought I might explain why. It’s quite simple really – not enough time 😦 Six months ago I took on new employment (unrelated to food, unfortunately) which has kept me extremely busy and left very little time to…
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This is a question I often get asked when I talk to friends about our Sunday family dinners. Well, the answer is YES! My family all come together every Sunday for dinner, unless there is a clashing event, and I cook a variety of wholesome food for us all to enjoy. I always try to…
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Who would have thought that brussels sprouts could become a family favourite? Like many people, brussels sprouts have not been a vegetable that I would seek out intentionally, that is, until I discovered the way they taste when they are baked. Baking, rather than boiling brussels sprouts (which is how I was taught to cook them),…
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We’ve had to put Sunday family dinner on hold the last few weeks for a number of reasons and the most exciting one is the arrival of the newest addition to our family, grandson number two 👏 The first thought I had when I was told another grandchild was on the way was, will I…
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There are many great things about my family and the one I love most is that we are from different nationalities and cultures, which means our food and conversation has many great flavours, textures and colours.I like to mix it up and cook something unexpected for our family Sunday dinners and this Turkish Stuffed Eggplants…
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I made these Polenta and Mushroom Bites as a pre-dinner snack last Sunday using some beautiful pine mushrooms I found at my green grocer. Pine mushrooms are very delicious, but hard to get and, at $24kg, I almost had to mortgage my house to buy them. I must say though, they were worth every dollar!…
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Do you love eggs and bacon for breakfast, but don’t like the idea of having to slave over a hot frypan to make them? I guess you could go out to a cafe to eat them, but that means having to get out of your PJs and who wants to do that early on a…
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Are you looking for a quick and versatile healthy snack that your children will love and your guests will enjoy with pre-dinner drinks? How about these Corn Fritters?Served on their own, these fluffy, cheesy Corn Fritters make a great snack that kids will love. I know because, like most toddlers, my little grandson is a fussy…
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One on my favourite ways to spend time with family and friends is to have a glass of wine with dips, cheese and crackers and these seeded crackers are a real ‘cracker‘, pardon the pun! I came up with these deliciously healthy crackers one day when I needed some GF crackers for Sunday family dinner.…
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It’s definitely baking koulourakia with my little grandson P! There is nothing that gives me more joy in my life than spending time with my family and, in particular, spending every Thursday looking after my grandson P. Yesterday was no exception and it was so much fun! Watching P rolling the dough with such a determined…
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With winter on the way, I can’t help but think about delicious warm soups and Greek lentil soup, or fakes, (pronounced far-kes) is the quintessential Greek winter soup. It’s hearty, delicious, and very nutritious! This is no ordinary soup! Eating fakes on a cold winter’s day, is like wrapping yourself with a cosy warm blanket.…
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Chocolate Mousse is one of the very first desserts I ever made using a recipe from my Women’s Weekly Recipe Card Collection – OMG, am I really that old! If you were born after the 1970’s, then you probably have no idea about what I am taking about, but let me tell you, back then, the…
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Do you like Anzac Cookies, but wish they were a little more exciting? Well I do, so I decided to try jooshing them up a little and came up with these Choc Dipped Oat Cookies? These Choc Dipped Oat Cookies are my “naughty but nice” version of the Anzac Cookies. If you’re thinking you shouldn’t have…
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Picture this…creamy, smooth, light cheesecake, rippled with delicious sweet raspberries and topped with crispy coconut flakes toasted to perfection, sitting on a coconut biscuit base. Doesn’t that sound sensational? Wouldn’t you love to have a piece? Well then…here it is! My Raspberry Ripple & Coconut Cheesecake!I will confess that even I found it difficult to resist…
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It’s now week 6 of my challenge to replace white sugar with healthier alternatives in my cooking and this week it’s all about creating healthier cookies! So stick with me and I’ll tell you all about it. Now, like most young parents these days, my son and his wife are very careful about what they…
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I love my One Pot Fragrant Chicken Stew even in Summer for two reasons. Firstly, the vegetables used in this dish are my favourite summer vegetables. They add so much flavour, sweetness and delightful colour to this dish – they make it look so appetising. Oh, and did I mention how good the aroma from the vegetables…
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Have you eaten homemade falafels? If you love chickpeas and haven’t ever made your own falafels, you are truly missing out! I promise you, that once you make them at home, you will never again want to eat store-bought falafels. Not only do they taste fantastic when they are just cooked, but they are incredibly easy…
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It’s been almost two weeks since I started my sugar challenge and I can honestly say that I have not used any refined sugar in my cooking during that time. Not only have I not used refined sugar, but I have also managed to reduce the amount of sugar I eat overall and that’s got…
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Last Sunday was officially our first family dinner for 2018. It was the first time we could all get together since Christmas day, so you can imagine how excited I was! Not only was I excited about having my family together, I was super excited because I would get to use the Christmas gift I…
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Today is Day 6 of my personal challenge to replace refined white sugar with healthier alternatives in the food I cook. It’s been an interesting challenge so far and in the process I’ve gone a bit mad on making healthy bars and little balls of yumminess. Well, the fact is that I can’t help myself…
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How about a quick and easy, but oh so very delicious Thai Beef Salad? The question of ‘what to cook for dinner‘ is one that many mothers agonise over every day. This is especially true for working mums – I know because I am one of them, but it doesn’t have to be so difficult.…
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It’s still early days, but I’m pleased to say my challenge to replace refined sugar with healthier options in the food I cook is going great so far! Well … the fact that I haven’t actually “cooked” any sweets yet may have something to do with that 😮 But, I have been doing some research and…
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My husband called me from work yesterday and said “Can we eat something light for dinner tonight? I’m feeling really uncomfortable and I’ve reached my limit, so you have to stop me from eating bread and sweets”. “That’s easy!” I replied, “Just don’t buy any of that stuff when you do the shopping!” Realistically, I…
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Hi reader, welcome back! If you’ve been following my posts, you’d know how much I looooove smooth creamy chocolate mousse. Well, now I have another flavour to share with you – Chocolate Espresso Mousse, which I made quite by accident one day. So what happened on this particular day, was that I was running really…
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Welcome to 2018! Before we get on the subject of the Aromatic Greek Octopus Salad, I’d just like to say HAPPY NEW YEAR and I hope you had a lovely Christmas. My resolution for 2018 is “to live a fuller life”. I’m not sure what that means yet, but I’ll let you know once I’ve worked…
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Have you used Amaranth grains to cook with? If so, how do you use it and what do you think about it?Recently, I came across a packet of Amaranth grains that my daughter-in-law gave me some time ago. It’s been sitting in my pantry for ages mainly because I wasn’t sure what to do with…
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When you have more than one female in the same kitchen at the same time, there’s bound to be fireworks. That’s exactly what happened when two cooks decided to bake a Greek New Year’s cake.They agreed to use a recipe one of them found online because “it looks good”, but when they started making it,…
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Christmas means many things to many people. To me, Christmas is a time to rejoice and be thankful for all I have been blessed with. It’s a time to be grateful that I am alive and can spend time with my amazing family. Christmas is a time to put aside differences and celebrate all that…
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Roast chicken has always been a favourite dish in my household. In fact, when my boys where teenagers, I would have to roast 2 large chickens because 1 was never enough and, even then, I’d have to choose my piece quickly or I’d end up with the carcass to eat. I have yet to come…
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We were all super excited about getting together for our family dinner last Sunday, not because of the food – but, because we would get to see the photos from Michael and Cath’s wedding back in July. Finally, after what seemed forever, the photos arrived and we couldn’t wait to see them. So after finishing…
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If there is one dish I really crave for during the bleak, cold days of winter, it would have to be warm comfort food like this flavoursome and fragrant Slow Cooked Aromatic Beef stew. This Slow Cooked Aromatic Beef recipe is so easy to make and one that will satisfy your hunger and nourish your…
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Well hello, Thanks for visiting! If you’re a mum who’s looking for a healthy snack to add to your child’s lunchbox, then you MUST try these delicious muffins. They have just enough feta to add a little saltiness and the pinenuts add a delicious nutty flavour, making them a great way to get kids to…
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This is one of my ‘go to’ dishes when I need to cook a hearty meal but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. I can have this dish on the table in 15 minutes from start to finish. Although it’s not made the traditional way, my version of spaghetti and meatballs is just…
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This morning I woke up to realise it’s only 4 weeks to Christmas, so today is the day I started preparing to cook all things Christmas for this special time of the year. I love Christmas and everything it represents: the decorations, the birth of Christ, giving more than receiving, forgiveness, family time, food, holidays,…
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FOOD, FUN, LAUGHTER and SONG – these are the words that come to mind when I think about our Sunday family dinners and our last one was no exception. Last Sunday was such a warm sunny day, which seems to be the norm in Melbourne at the moment and I’m loving it, so we had…
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Hello again, Recently I shared a post with you about a wonderful dinner I had with my son Anthony. It was one of those special moments that I got to spend one-on-one time with one of my boys. “Gee, it must be great now that your 3 boys have all grown up and are independent.…
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Meatballs and Muffins 