Linguini with Tomato, Basil and Trout.

Had a couple of whole rainbow trout that I had roasted the day before - had cooked them simply in the pan with a couple of whole cloves of garlic, salt and pepper and white wine.

Also, had a huge pile of ripe tomatoes that needed to be cooked, so I made a simple tomato pasta sauce - garlic, onion, the chopped fresh tomatoes and heaps of basil. Cooked this for while, and it smelt and tasted amazing - you don't need to do much to tomatoes this good.

This sauce is perfect with seafood stirred through, like green prawns, pipis, or tuna. So the roasted trout was perfect - I flaked it off the bone and stirred this through the sauce on the boil with some white wine while the pasta cooked. I reserved some of the trout, and marinated it in lemon, olive oil and salt and pepper, which I threw on the pasta just before we ate - with parmasen cheese too of course.

A great weekend lunch pasta with a glass of white now the weather is warming up.

Teriyaki Ling with Lemon and Ginger.

This was a delicious quick dinner. Hannah marinated ling fillets in ginger, lemongrass, soy, sesame oil, honey and lemon. While rice was cooking, seared this in a pan with all the marinade so it was created a delicious sticky sauce. Then threw the pan in the over for a bout 10 minutes.

Served on rice with bok choy and oyster sauce on the side, a great mid week dish! yum.

Turkey Stew with Grilled Fennel

We are seeing a lot more turkey in supermarkets at the moment which is great and the real cheap cuts which a great for winter cooking. We cooked up two turkey legs like lamb shanks. Seasoned and fried off in a baking tray. Then once browned took the out and fried onion, garlic, celery, carrot, red peppers...and once they softened a bit, threw in some tinned tomatoes and white wine Then put the legs back in and stewed this on a low oven for about 3 to 4 hours.

The turkey had turned into a beautiful stew as it was falling off the bone. We were thinking of having this with polenta, but by that stage were feeling a bit tired for all that stirring. So we had fennel on hand and decided to cut into big wedges and chargrill it. The fennel was a great side to the turkey stew, as you could sop up chunks of the stew as it broke apart. Of course, some crusty bread on the side was needed. Delicious.

One Pot Spaghetti Carbonara

This is becoming a tradition when we leave Hannah's family farm - a pasta before we hit the road - we have come to call it 'breakfast pasta' - as it is perfect for a late brekky and it's made with bacon and eggs!

This time I decided to cook it all in one pot - as we had delicious leg ham so it didn't need cooking like bacon. When the pasta was cooked and drained, back in the pot I tossed though the shredded ham, 3 lightly beaten eggs and heaps of parmasen cheese and butter. Stirred this threw and when the eggs were all creamy I threw in halved grape tomatoes and parsley. Topped with a bit more cheese and parsley - a drizzle of olive oil, I think this was the best one I had cooked. But then again, eating it on the verandah of a farm in the hunter valley may have had something to do with it.

Dory Schnitzels with Italian Bread Salad

I picked up some John Dory fillets and they were the perfect schnitzel shape so I decided to make a big batch of them and keep them in the freezer for when we felt like a schnitzel fix.

Hannah came up with this salad, based on those chunky italian paesanella salads made with leftover bread. We chargrilled red peppers, put on some peas with onion (which we always have with schnitzel) tore the bread up and warmed it in the oven with herbs, chilli and olive oil.

I decided to throw some rosemary, tyhme and garlic in the oil I was frying the schnitzels in to flavour them a bit more. It worked well as the herbs sealed to the fish. When they were cooked we tossed all the cooked salad ingredients with cos lettuce and threw some anchovies threw. Just squeazed lemon and a drizzle of olive oil as dressing. Almost felt like a healthy(ish) version of fish and chips!

Parpadelle (homemade) with Mushroom Ragu

We had not pulled out the pasta maker for a while and we cranked it up one chilly sunday as we had tray of mixed mushrooms to cook. And this really did not take long at all...and was worth the extra effort.

I had a small tray of mushrooms - oyster, shitake, field and straw. In a pot I fried them with some garlic, rosemary and salt and pepper, than once they sweated for a bit I added a lot of red wine - enough to cover them. Once this simmered for a bit with the lid on, I added a tin of tomatoes.

While that simmered away Hannah made the pasta dough - we tried spelt flour this time and decided for parpadelle. We used the same technique as lasagne, then just cut them into big thick strips. They cooked very quick but the spelt flour worked a treat - and the ragu was very creamy and rich - a perfect winter pasta.

Spaghetti with pan fried fennel.

Hannah threw this pasta together recently and my first thought was why is this the first time we have had fennel with pasta!

It was delicious. Pan fried fennel, tossed with garlic, anchovy, chilli. When the pasta was cooked, tossed all together on the heat, with more olive oil, and chopped tomatoes. Topped with heaps of parmasen and fresh rocket. Perfect dinner in front of the fire with a glass of red.

Hannah's Croq a Vin

Now this photo just doesn't do this hearty winter classic justice.

Hannah whipped this up one chilly evening and it was absolutely amazing. A more soupier version of the french classic. Hannah also used smoked leg ham instead of bacon and we sopped it up with the most creamy garlicky mash!

A winter winner I am looking forward to having for years!

Toast with Tomatoes and Ricotta

This may seem pretty boring, but this was a delicious and super quick breakfast, that makes you feel like you are having a cafe brekky at home.

Pan fried grape/cherry tomatoes and pine nuts with a bit of olive oil. Then splashed some balsamic vinegar with a bit of honey til they went all caramelly and relish like. Then when the toast and coffee was ready threw in some basil. Spread ricotta and topped with the sweet and sour tomatoes. This smelt and tasted amazing.

The Bolognese Mission Mark II

I am still working on the ultimate bolognese and I was pretty happy with this one. Didn't really plan this one but it came about from having some pork and veal mince and some good italian sausages - veal and fennel ones. So I thought I'd give it a go by squishing the meat out of the sausage skins and mixing with the other mince. Then went the usual bolognese process, added heaps of wine (nearly a whole bottle) just after I brown the meat and before adding the sauce. A mix of passata and tinned tomatoes. I went easy on salt and pepper, cause the snags had heaps of spice, added freshly grated nutmeg and a cinneman quill, chilli.

Again let it sit on the flame for ages, hours and hours. This was a massive sauce and saves us when we don't feel like cooking and just take a tub of the sauce out of the freezer. We've been loving this with rigatoni, larger than usual penne and they just seem to be perfect to sop up all that delicious sauce.

The bolognese mission continues, but this was a memorable addition to the campaign.

Homemade Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatos.

We had a forest of basil in the yard recently, so before it went to see I whizzed up a huge load of pesto. I didn't have pine nuts so I roasted some mixed nuts, came out delicious and we've been putting it on everything from roasted chickens, sandbos and salad dressing. This pasta was delicious, tossed through with some olives and roma tomatoes which I slow roasted in the oven. A winner.

Hannah's Spinach Pie

Hannah has been making this pie for years, but it had been ages since she had whipped one up.

This was absolutely delicious. Layers of filo, pastry filled with spinach, peas, pine nuts, fetta, ricotta and parmesan.

This one one of those meals that was amazing hot on the night, but the left-overs for lunch throughout the week tasted even better!

Osso Bucco on Grilled Polenta.

Not your typical summer meal, but is a rainy night and this went down beautifully. A simple stew - Osso Bucco tossed in seasoned flour and browned...then the usual stew combo of carrots, onion, celery, garlic...then through the Bucco back in, added heaps of wine...some cloves, nutmeg, a cinnamen quill...and a few tins of tomatoes...let is stew for hours. About half hour before serving I added some zucchini.

The polenta is dead easy, (used instant) and once it was all gooey and mash potato like I poored it into a baking tray to go firm. The just before serving, I grilled slices on the griddle...added heaps of parsley to the stew...oh yeah, and I chopped some pine nuts, with chilli and parsley and quickly fried that. Ladled the stew onto the polenta and topped with the crunchy, spicey, pine nut mix. A great hearty meal.

Rice Paper Rolls

We've been whipping these up for few years, when we're craving a quick, fresh and healthy meal. Hannah makes a great peanut dipping sauce, and the filling this time around was grilled pork loin steaks, which were marinated in lemongrass, ginger, garlic, hoisin, soy, sesame oil, honey and tamarind paste. Grilled on the barbie, then sliced and tossed on the hotplate, we rolled these with just fresh veg, carrot, cucumber, red peppers, mint, coriander and lettuce. Delicious.

Thai Style Fish Burger

Hannah whipped up these amazing fish burgers recently...and they were unbelievably good!

She processed some bass fillets with coriander, ginger, soy, five spice...and then mixed with bread crumbs I think. While I was grilling the patties, which quickly turned into beautiful round fish cakes, hannah whipped up a tangy peanut sauce. We built the burgers on toasted turkish buns with coriander, the nutty sauce, carrots, coriander and lettuce.

This is a huge call, but I think it was one of the best burgers I have ever had.

Salt and Pepper Squid

How good is salt and pepper squid...sadly so many places advertise salt and pepper squid...and really it's just the usual frozen fried calamari that's been floating around for years...so you have to be pretty discerning these days to get a good one...but when you do, you can punish the plate in seconds.

We whipped these up recently, based on the recipe from Secrets from the Red Lantern...possibly the most beautiful cook book going around. I've tried this a few times, but this was no doubt the best I'd got it. It's so easy to cook and even easier to eat!!

Grilled Sand Whiting

These little fish can be pretty boney to eat, but the sweet, light flesh makes it all worth it...nothing wrong with a few choking fits to add drama to a meal.

The barbie is really getting seasoned now...and these were very smokey. Nothing flash with the marinade, just let the fish and flame speak for itself. Parsley, lemon, garlic, salt n pepper.

Picked at these with some grilled crusty bread, salad and chilled white. Brilliant summer grazing fare.

BBQ Roast Lamb Rack

O.K, I am clearly addicted to the BBQ, have hardly touched the stove recently, and not having to wash up is playing a big part, but so is the flavour. We are also loving racks of lamb, they are bit on the pricey side, but you can pick up racks pretty cheap if you get lucky at the supermarket when they a reduced to clear. Hannah marinated the rack in lemon, paprika, salt n pepper, loads of fresh herbs (parsley, oregano, basil, thyme) garlic and white wine. Eggplant just goes so well with lamb, so as soon as the lamb was on the flame, I grilled slices of eggplant on the hotplate, seasoned with salt and pepper and fresh mint, drizzling with olive oil as it hit the plate. While I was turning the eggplant and the lamb, Hannah sliced potatoes and steamed them with thyme and olive oil to put a dent in the cooking before we crisped them up on the barbie. Once the eggplant was done, we chucked them in the oven to keep warm, while the lamb roasted away with the hood down. When the lamb was about 5 minutes away, I grilled the taters...til nice and crispy. This was a fantastic take on a roast dinner, all barbecued, with that smokey crispness you just can't get in the oven. The lamb sliced up into juicy cutlets and was absolutely delicious, but I just couldn't stop eating the crispy potatoes...so good!