Vietnamese-Style Pork Sandwich

Do you enjoy banh mi, Vietnamese Pork Rolls? This street food is one of my favourite choices for lunch.

However, with a family history of diabetes, I need to be careful with the carbohydrates and sugars in my diet.

Winemaker's Platter

A simple meal for a hot day!

These last weeks in Sydney have been hot and humid. Scorching days and muggy nights leave me feeling so drained that cooking dinner at the end of the day is the last thing I want to do!

Sushi Salad

Lately we have had leftovers from our weekly takeaway sushi. Inspired by reality TV cooking shows and the sushi salmon salads I enjoyed while working in North Sydney, I created a ‘sushi salad’ that I serve with our dinner the following night.

Lime and Chilli Spaghetti

A nice, light pasta dish for warmer weather.

The original recipe did not contain prawns so for a vegetarian dish, eliminate the prawns.

Away from home - Adelaide

Hubby and I seem to be slowly ticking off state capitals when we take our annual leave. This time we flew to Adelaide, South Australia. We last visited Adelaide about 10 years ago. Back then we stayed at Glenelg, a beachside suburb, about a 30-minute tram trip from the CBD. This time we stayed in an apartment in the CBD.

Similar to past Away from home posts, this post describes our grocery list for the week, the meals we prepared and some of the restaurants and cafés we visited.

Pumpkin, Spinach and Mushroom Frittata

Great for picnics or as a snack or light meal!

Although the Impossible Quiche is similar to a frittata, this year was the first time I tried a ‘true’ frittata and I loved it. Of course I've tinkered with the recipe to lower the salt and fat content where I can. 😉

Pumpkin Soup with Chilli and Ginger

Another variation on pumpkin soup!

Winter is here so I'm looking for soup recipes that are quick and easy to make. Pumpkin soup is obviously a favourite of ours and this version is not thick like the basic pumpkin soup or creamy like the pumpkin soup with chilli. I used less pumpkin to make a lighter soup—lighter in taste, texture and calories—yet still deliver a soup with a bit of a kick to warm the insides.

Away from Home - Brisbane

Another trip, another city. This time we visited Brisbane, staying in an apartment in the CBD. This post describes our grocery list for the week, the meals we prepared and some of the restaurants and cafés we visited.

Quick Noodles

When travelling on business a late night arrival means room service or something like noodles where you just add water.

If lucky, we'll try and book an apartment with kitchen facilities but arriving late, we want something quick and light. These noodles are just the ticket, and we even do this when we want a quick meal at home.

No Mayo Potato Salad

Hubby is not a big fan of mayonnaise, a common ingredient in potato salad and one that can make the salad fattening. This is a lighter version without the mayonnaise.

Chilli and Lime Chicken Salad

Perfect for dinner on a hot summer night or as a late-night supper for those returning from an interstate trip!

I'm not sure which magazine I took this recipe from but it seems to be the same as the Chilli and Lime Chicken Salad recipe on the Australian Women's Weekly site. I changed the recipe to cater for Hubby's low sodium diet.

Creamy Tomato Soup

The Winter Solistice—it's cold, it's dark, it's time for soup! A creamy, spicy tomato soup entrances the senses and warms the body.

Quick Congee

Quick and easy to make! Warm and fulfilling on a cold night.

Hubby was away on business so I took the opportunity to cook a childhood favourite, quick congee, or as we called it, quick juk. As kids we preferred the quick juk to the ‘real’ juk, which had amongst its ingredients dried bean curd, water chestnuts and red dates. I still prefer the quick juk. It's a versatile dish—I will cook it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Away from Home - Melbourne

Being away from home can be a challenge, especially if you are watching your diet. Eating out every day for every meal can be a strain on both the wallet and the waistline. Recently, Hubby and I spent two weeks in Melbourne. This post describes the meals we prepared in our ‘foreign’ kitchen: our ingredients and our meals. It also describes some of the restaurants we visited.

Savoury Zucchini Bread

All Winter I have been experimenting with a recipe for a savoury zucchini bread.

Tonight, I finally put the finishing touches to the recipe.

Chinese Lamb Soup

Can you tell that it's unusually cold in Sydney at the moment? This is my fourth soup recipe in three months!

Pumpkin Soup with Chilli

With two and a half butternut pumpkins, unseasonally bitter, cold weather and a body threatening to succumb to a cold, I've been scouring the Internet for pumpkin soup that includes warming herbs such as chilli and garlic.

Pumpkin Bread

Butternut pumpkin was on special the other day so I couldn't resist buying a couple more even though I have half in the refrigerator. With so much pumpkin and Winter seeming to have arrived early, I'm busy leafing through my recipe folder for soul-warming food.

‘Indian’ Vegetable Soup

Sometimes experiments can turn out to be the most delicious dishes.

I was looking for an Indian soup (if one existed) to accompany a curry. Inspired by the Winter Vegetable & Tofu Korma soup recipe at 101 Cookbooks, I adapted the Ten Mothers Garlic Soup to create this delicious vegetable soup.

Pumpkin Soup

Autumn has arrived, the days are getting cooler, and our thoughts are turning to more comforting fare. Butternut pumpkin (a.k.a butternut squash) is in season so pumpkin soup is on the menu. I love to make a batch then freeze portions for those nights when Hubby and I both come home late from work.