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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A deliciously creamy and comforting winter soup you can easily make mid-week. What you need What to do Preheat oven to 200°C (450°F). Place cauliflower in a large bowl; drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil, and add the cumin, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat. Place in a baking dish in a moderate oven…
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These aren’t just any old scones, they are extra special scones made with the helping little hands of my grandson Pedro. Scones are delicious served the traditional way with jam and cream or, as Pedro likes, with jam and peanut butter. Scones are easy to make and only need a few ingredients but, it seems…
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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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Not only are mandarins delightfully sweet, versatile and easy to peel, they are also packed with the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that our body needs to stay healthy. Mandarins are the perfect on-the-go snack and a great addition to kids’ lunch boxes. They’re fabulous in fruit salads, compotes and added to baked treats such as…
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Before I get into the details of how to bake these deliciously moist and “just sweet enough” Honey Oats Blueberry Muffins, I’d like to share a little about 2020 and my family first. After many weeks of lockdown, my family was finally able to get together recently for a Sunday family dinner. The excitement and…
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When a dinner plate ends up looking like this you know it was a delicious meal. And yes, it was very delicious indeed! This meal consisted of a very tasty fennel-crusted pork cutlet pan fried and finished in the oven, served with creamy potato mash and a crisp fennel, rocket and apple salad. I really…
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This is the cake that I will always remember as the cake I made when I visited my son and daughter-in-law to welcome home my new granddaughter Alia two months ago. I wanted to celebrate the arrival of the new addition to my family by baking something sweet, tasty and deliciously satisfying, just like the…
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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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Not only is this cake moist, chocolatey and utterly delicious, it’s gluten free and really easy to bake. It’s also versatile, because you can bake it as a whole cake or as mini cakes* using paper muffin cases. What you need 2 oranges, washed 250g caster sugar 6 free range eggs 250g almond meal 1…
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This Cypriot Grain Salad by Hellenic Republic is really delicious and definitely healthy. As I do with most dishes, I’ve tweaked the recipe just a little by adding wild (black) rice for extra goodness, and the zest and juice of one orange for some extra zing! Oh…and this version is gluten free, making it lighter on…
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So here they are, my Double Nutella Muffins! These Double Nutella Muffins are definitely not for the faint hearted! But…I dare you to resist making them!! What makes these Double Nutella Muffins soooo amazing is that not only do they have nutella on the inside, they are also topped with a creamy nutella and mascarpone frosting.…
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What do you do when you stagger in the door on a Friday night after a long week and can’t work out what to have for dinner because all you have in your fridge are some eggs and leftover pieces of vegetables and salad? I’d say most people would order takeaway. Personally, I prefer 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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If you love peanut butter, but have never eaten it freshly ground, then you have no idea what you are missing out on. Fresh peanut butter is made of roasted peanuts ground to a paste – that’s it! Because nothing else is added, this is the healthiest way to eat peanut butter. Manufactured, store-bought peanut…
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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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When I walk into my greengrocer during the cold winter months, and see heads of beautiful bright white cauliflower encased in tender green leaves on the shelf, I get the undeniable urge to make a pot of silky Roasted Cauliflower Soup. Roasting the cauliflower transforms it from a delicate, mild to a more robust earthy…
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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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Just when you thought I’m done sharing flavour combinations for bliss balls…SURPRISE… I have a new one for you – Cacao & Hazelnuts – and they are heavenly!These Cacao Hazelnut Bliss Balls are so delicious that you’ll not want to share them but, I must warn you, they are a little bit naughty because they have Nutella…
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Cabbage and Potato Bake would have to be my family’s favourite vegetable dish. It’s a dish they wouldn’t get sick of, even if I made it every week for Sunday dinner! This cabbage and potato bake is one of those comfort foods that people crave for on a dreary cold winter’s day, because eating it makes…
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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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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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Six weeks ago I decided to challenge myself to replace highly processed, refined sugar with healthier alternatives in everything I cook. Now that I’ve come to the end of my 6 week commitment, I wanted to share with you what I have learned along the way and leave you with a final delicious (refined sugar…
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With Anzac Day around the corner, I thought I’d share my healthier version of Anzac Cookies. Anzac cookies have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) established in World War I. These biscuits were sent by wives and women’s groups to soldiers fighting overseas because the ingredients last and the biscuits kept well…
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Who doesn’t love choc chip cookies – right? The delicious little chunks of sweet chocolate embedded in the soft buttery cookie is a taste hard to beat. I especially love eating them while they are still quite warm and the chocolate oozes out when I break one in half – YUM! But…and there is a big…
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If you’ve been following Meatballs and Muffins the past couple of weeks, then you’ve probably read my other posts on healthy balls and bars I’ve been creating. If you haven’t, then just scroll the HOME page and you’ll easily find then. This is a new combination I came up with yesterday that I really liked…
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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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Chicken Caesar Salad would have to be one of my all-time favourite salads. It has everything I need and want for a delicious hearty lunch or light healthy dinner when I’m not so hungry. Although it’s a little more work, I make my own croutons and dressing from scratch because it makes all the difference…
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Meatballs and Muffins 