As Paris is known for its pastry and the Ritz is known for excellence, I am known for my love of cake and specifically la Madeleine. The Madeleine has been a favourite of peasants and royalty since the…
Having moved from New Zealand to France, I had to say good bye to some of my favourite foodie things – feijoas, good coffee, [All Press], popped buckwheat cereal [Blue Frog], ‘smoke and fire’ peanut butter [Fix and…
Paris is now allowing outside dining. Galleries and Museums are also open again. We had some free time before a meeting and wondered around the Gare de Lyon area. This train station is one of Paris [and Europe’s]…
La Flotte or ‘the fleet ‘is one of the oldest villages on Ill de Ré with authentic charm on the Atlantic coast. This idyllic village is classified as ‘Les plus beaux Villages’ – ‘the most beautiful villages’ in…
Birthday number 2 in lockdown. Restaurants are still closed, no celebration drinks or meals, it is ‘take outs’ only with a 7pm curfew. Last year I baked and slaved, this year I’m using leftover cake from a shoot…
What would Valentine’s Day be without sweet treats? We love candy – especially gummies and swirly liquorice. Chocolates are a given. Here is our Valentine’s candy seller in the streets of a small village in France. Hope February…
I bought some roses to welcome our house guest, Willow. [I am creating a blog post about Willow’s vegan diet which had us making some delicious new recipes from Nadia Lim’s Vegful as well as rediscovering Anna Jones…
A seasonal cheese, only made in Autumn and Winter, thanks to the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, who determines the regulations for making cheese in France. It can only be sold from Sept 10, after it has matured for three…
They say a lot can change in a year, and it has. Two years actually. My last blog post was written in New Zealand and this one is written in France. The whole world has experienced a pandemic…
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Fish and Chips from your local Fish and chips shop on a Friday night is Kiwi as. Wrapped in newspaper crowned with a can of Watties tomato sauce. Best enjoyed on the lounge floor or on the beach….
I love cultural food traditions! In France Epiphany [Jan 6th], is celebrated with a delicious frangipane filled puff pastry cake called La Galette des Rois or the Cake of the King, a 700 year old tradition. Boulangeries and…
In defense of the G word. Gluten. I love you. This post is dedicated to you. These are all the things you carry so beautifully into my mouth, from simple jam and honey to French cheese and smoked…
Fiji is a South Pacific gem and the tropical holiday we really needed. We love Auckland, but not so much its Winter. So we hopped on a plane, sun hats in place [yeah we were that family with…
Happy Birthday to my sweet little girl. Every year I photograph Nina to create a memory of each new birthday. I loved styling and photographing this year’s sweet theme. I baked and frosted for days, buttercream icing is…
Glasshouses are magical places. They create their own climate that can enable certain crops to grow throughout the year. The French called their first glasshouses orangeries, they were used to protect orange trees from freezing. The Victorian era…
Mooncakes are stuffed Chinese pastries enjoyed during the Mid-Autumn festival, which falls on the 15th day of the 8th Chinese lunar calendar month. This year it is today – 24 September. The festival celebrates the harvest under a…
Spring means longer warmer days with open toes, picnics, blossoms and popsicles. Here are my favourite popsicles and recipes, which we made on Spring Day! Happy Spring everyone! 1. Watermelon popsicles with yoghurt You will need: 3 cups…
Sunday brunch is incomplete without toast topped with marmalade and cheddar cheese and a strong cup of tea. When we moved to New Zealand I quickly fell in love with the citrus here and Sunday brunch has become…
We went for a drive in the countryside on a rainy Winter’s afternoon, but quickly pulled off to the side of the road when I spotted an orchard of amazing glowing orange fruit. We always travel with our…
We love Easter. On Easter Sunday after morning church, we celebrate by having an egg hunt, some cake and cookies. This year the hunt was in a forest, the perfect backdrop with loads of neat hidding places and…
My granny had a magical plant in her backyard, it had little golden tomato like fruits hidden in fragile little husk houses. The French named the fruit ‘Amour en cage’ – love in a cage. We used to…
I was pleasantly surprised when my hydrangeas started blooming [new house, new garden ], the colours were amazing! Not just the blue blossoms, but a range of blues, purples, pinks and greens. A big thank you to the…
A highlight of our “stay at home” holiday so far is picking and eating our own strawberries from a nearby strawberry farm. The farm is open to the public after the professional pickers got their share [for export],…
A stone’s throw from our new home is an amazing apple, strawberry and pear farm. The apple trees look so festive with their little red apples and blossoms and remind me of a Christmas tree, so our Christmas…
These pretty pink clusters of pink greet me whenever Im looking out my kitchen window making a cup of tea. Flemish botanist Charles l’Ecluse discovered them in the 16th century. They are the national flower of Nepal.
Sue and John Brokx have the most beautiful organic macadamia farm in West Auckland. It also has the most impressive Wwoofers accommodation. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Volunteers work on the farms in return…
I can’t get enough of this beauty at the moment. I adore magnolias.
You can add watermelon to anything and it will be a good thing. I remember my first watermelon and feta cheese salad, I was like : what?! this is delicious! Watermelon has to be in my top 5…
We visited Boric Apple Orchards in West Auckland where for three generations the Boric family has grown apples. They produce 17 apple varieties and their fresh apple juice is pressed from their own apples grown onsite. Apples in…
I just loved shooting and styling this stir-fry feature for Nadia magazine June/July 2017. Recipes included Beef and beet stir-fry with greens, Chicken, bacon and brussels sprout stir-fry, Pork and fresh pineapple stir-fry with cashew and coconut dressing,…
We celebrate the Queen’s birthday in New Zealand on the 5th June [rather than the monarch’s actual birth date], it is a national holiday with scones and cream, Victoria Sponge and tea celebrations. Naturally we turn to Mary…
It’s 14 degrees in Auckland. That means soup time. We love soup, my daughter ends up eating more bread than soup with her dipping-eating the soup, but who can resist a Wild Wheat soup dipped sourdough? Best bread…
My daughter Nina made a beautiful bright Easter egg basket at school- I loved the bright colours and our Easter party table reflected her colour craft masterpiece. Chocolate hot cross bun “cake”, loads of chocolate eggs, mini cupcakes…
The best part of my job apart from tasting all the food, is the travel and food stories where I get to meet local producers and discover new products. Waiheke is the most beautiful island in the Hauraki…
Blood oranges are citrus royalty in my book. My local food store has to stock up again after my visit, as I piled my brown bag to tearing point. That is how much I love their crimson beauty…
Intravenous vitamin and mineral injections and drips, cutting edge health care or celebrity endorsed lifestyle…
What do you do when you receive a bunch of beautiful roses? You admire them for a few days and then you make little bundt cakes with rose glaze and sugar petals! For the rose petals you would…
Radish pickle recipe 500g radish 1 cup vinegar 1 cup sugar 1 cup water pinch of salt Mix the vinegar, sugar, water and salt together in a saucepan, bring the mixture to a boil over low heat….
October is cheese month in New Zealand. We met some amazing buffalo cheese makers on assignment in Whangaripo and they gave us some beautiful cheese! I will post more about their farm, family and cheese soon. I…
I was born in South Africa where eating worms is considered a delicacy in rural areas, low fat high protein. Mopane worms are large edible caterpillars of the Emperor moth, enjoyed dried, fried or in a stew….
The really neat thing about living at the Coast is the fresh sea air and fresh seafood in abundance. I added some asparagus, lemon, chilli, dill and garlic and my weekend was looking very good indeed. Crafters…