Berlin Burger

This was an amazing burger we had while on Holiday in Berlin. My sister Caroline had heard about this burger place under a train track, which used to be a public toilet block. Doesn't sound very appetising!

But we just stumbled upon it by accident, when we were strolling around Kruezberg in Berlin. Smelt the grilled meat in the air and then spotted a line. Kind of the Harry's Cafe de Wheels of Berlin! This photo gets me hungry every time.

Roasted Scallops with Prawn & Apple Salad

These dishes look fancy, but they are so easy and take hardly any cooking and prep at all. The less you do to fresh seafood the better.

Some fresh scallops simply roasted (180 degree oven) with salt and pepper for about 10 minutes tops. I made a simple basil salsa, blitzed with olive oil, lemon and salt to dollop on top after they scallops came out of the oven. Served with a simple salad of freshly peeled tiger prawns salad, with pink lady apples, cucumber and parsley - dresses simply with lemon juice and olive oil.

A great starter...and the scallops were so delicious!

First Harvest!

Our very first harvest of potatoes. Very exciting to dig these little fella's up out of the dirt after a few months of growing!


After leaving them for a few weeks we roasted these up one night and they were delicious! Nothing better than cooking up some veg from our own backyard!

Brithday Pancakes

There was a tradition growing up, that on the first day back at school, my mum would cook pancakes! Now it seems like on special occasions - a pancake breakfast is in order.


These beauties were cooked up on Hannah's birthday. Yogurt replaces buttermilk in a standard pancake batter recipe...and these are a great! Served here with a figgy compote like concoction. Dried figs warmed in a pan with some water and cinnamon. Banana's and maple syrup are a must!

The Best Pork Crackling!

It has been a mission of mine for a few years (along with perfecting my bolognese) to achieve the best pork crackling ever!

I have struggled to achieve good crunchy crackling after many pork roasts and reading plenty of tips of best crackling. And on a recent trip to Yonderfield farm I think I cracked it! (pun intended)

As much as most recipes say the key is a hot oven and salting, which I have tried to mixed results, the real key is good pork! and ensuring the rind is very dry. Salting and lining with paper towel overnight is good if you can. So armed with a free range (deboned) pork shoulder from Craig Cook meats in Marrickville and a specially purchased stanley knife to make deep incisions into the rind, I salted and slept the pork over night in the fridge, then it came along for the road trip to Broke.

Then, perhaps this was part of the magic, the pork was roasted in a good ol' woodfired stove oven! I added extra seasoning of fennel seed and lemon rind too. It didn't even hit the a seriously high temp, but this little piggy crackled up good...and the flavour of the roast was delicious too..but this was all about the crackling...which stole the show!

Pan Roasted Pork Loin with Quinoa, Zucchini and Green Olives.

A simple bistro style meal at home which was a great winter warmer while keeping the flavours quite clean and simple.

A pork loin pan seared and roasted. Seared with fennel seeds, salt and pepper - on both sides, then added a glass of wine, sliced dried figs and sour cherries and a clove of garlic in chunks to bake for another 15 mins.

Whipped a simple mix of vegies to serve with it. Fried off onion, carrot and celery - then added black quinoa (cooked already) and zucchini, keeping everything small, added a small amount of chicken stock and white wine to create a little amount of soupiness. Just before serving - added sliced green olives and fresh parsley.

While I rested the pork, added a little more wine to reduce the gravy and the figs and cherries made it all sticky and sweet. So it was a great addition on top of the pork. This WAS delicious!! Warming but light and full of flavour.

Salmon Dinner Set

Inspired by our recent trip to Tokyo, we decided to imitate the simple dinners and presentation of some of the great meals we had in Japan.

A simple pan seared and roasted fillet of Salmon, in a Terriyaki style marinade. Served with a bowl of black Quinoa (instead of rice - not the same as the sticky delish Japanese white rice) some Tofu with sesame and soy and pickled cucumber and cabbage.

A great way to eat and separating all the elements like this really insures every mouthful tastes different and you can appreciate the individual flavours.