Lo Mein Noodles The actual noodles pictured above were my dinner last night, albeit I was a little heavy handed with a big dollop of chilli sauce that had me gasping and sweating (and swearing) through every bite. Don’t fear, it was self inflicted torture. Those red strips you see are capsicum / bell peppers, not chilli. There is no sign of chilli in this recipe – Lo Mein is not spicy!...

This is critical knowledge to have if you plan to drink one. Or three. Because not knowing this will get you in a whole heap of trouble. Why Long Island Iced Tea Is So Good The Long Island Iced Tea is a curious cocktail. Theoretically, it shouldn’t taste all that good considering how many different liquors are being mixed together. Yet, it works! The triple sec (an orange-flavored liqueur), lemon juice, and cola bind everything just perfectly....

I know we’re in November now, so I should’t really include this in my October Hot Smoothie Saturday series, but I couldn’t resist including one more Malted Coconut Hot Smoothie bonus smoothie. This Malted Coconut Hot Smoothie has got a couple of unusual ingredients in it, but if you make a lot a of smoothies, you may already have them in your cupboard. I was looking for a malty drink, but nothing too reminiscent of Horlicks or Ovaltine....

For Thanksgiving, my mother is in charge of the roast turkey and stuffing (they’re the BEST), my father the mashed potatoes, and I the pies. Dad and I split the sides. My dad shies away from anything resembling a Brussels sprout (why dad? you’re denying your German heritage, just think of it as a mini cabbage!) but everyone else loves them, so I make sure they make an appearance. With all the cooking that needs to be done our mantra is Keep it Simple....

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Vegetarian Pasta Salad Who would’ve thought those random veggies you’ve got left in the bottom of your fridge could be transformed into something as incredible as this Vegetarian Pasta Salad?? Forget limp, bland veggies sitting sadly amongst tasteless, soggy pasta. THIS cold pasta salad is the polar opposite of that. It’s vibrant, it’s flavour loaded, it’s JUICY, and will make even green-haters scoff down a weeks’ worth of veggies in one sitting!...

Since I’m trying to keep the number of times I have to venture outside to a minimum, that means making sure my pantry is stocked and my recipes are versatile enough to handle a change of plans. I’m also doubling up several dishes so we have plenty of leftovers. Alas, I’m saying “See you later” to my grill until warmer months, but it also means having more time with my toasty oven!...

This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”! Meatloaf recipe A loaf made entirely of meat. What’s not to love? (Vegetarians are excused 😉) It’s economical. It’s quick to prepare. It’s a classic family favourite. And leftovers make terrific sandwiches. If you think that Meatloaf is really just a giant beef burger shaped like a loaf, it’s time to abandon that misconception! Meatloaf shouldn’t taste like a hamburger!...

The marinade for this recipe is adapted from a Bobby Flay recipe. I’m a huge fan of Bobby Flay. I still stand by a comment I made previously that he should seriously consider wearing sunnies when he cooks outdoors because I swear, he is permanently squinting in his Barbecue Addiction TV series! Bobby Flay’s food is totally up my alley. He’s into strong flavours, herbs and spices, cooking food from all over the world, and while he does do Western takes on ethnic recipes, he always stays on the right side of “the line”....

These mini burritos went down a treat at our Boxing day buffet. I’ve got to admit, we don’t really do much for New Years eve. We get all our partying out of the way within a few days after Christmas. For us, New Years eve consists of a nice meal and then snacks in front of the TV (so errr the same as most nights then). We just about manage to flick over to the New Years countdown in time to see the clock strike midnight....

They also couldn’t be easier. Use store-bought puff pastry for the crust, and smoked salmon, cream cheese, and scallions in the filling. I love working with store-bought puff pastry mostly because, well, I don’t have to make it myself! Back in my former life as a pastry chef, puff pastry was a weekly task — it was fun to make, but it requires a serious number of hours to make....

But of course, there can always be more! Eggs and toast are the ultimate comfort food, so why not incorporate them into a salad? Make some hard-boiled or jammy boiled eggs, and toast some bread on top of the stove. Set them atop your greens and you have an appealing salad that you could serve all by itself as a light meal. If you happen to be grilling or roasting a chicken, this salad would be a standout accompaniment, too....

In this recipe, the tomato pulp is scooped out and used in the filling (no waste!) along with just enough soft breadcrumbs to absorb the moisture and give body to the stuffing. You can use the recipe as a guide and swap in your favorite combination of cheeses and herbs. If you have the grill going, throw these on! If not, bake them in the oven and enjoy these cheesy stuffed tomatoes all year long....

Also see Baked Mushroom Rice! A Mushroom recipe for mushroom lovers! This one is for mushrooms lovers! Though….in all honesty, I know not of any mushroom haters. I’m a Banana Hater (slimy horrible, stinky thing!). I know a hater of all things “bouncy” (fish cakes, tofu etc), a capsicum hater, and a hater of all things that smell like…..errr…. wind. Egg, popcorn and corn apparently fall into this category. But I’ve never heard of a Mushroom Hater....

This is a fully loaded mushroom recipe – there’s 750g / 1.5 lb mushrooms in this! Mushroom Risotto It’s such a let down when you’re faced with a giant bowl of Mushroom Risotto, only to find you have to fish around desperately through piles of gluey rice to find a a few piddly bits of mushrooms. Let me assure you, no fishing expedition will be required for this Mushroom Risotto!...

During a trip through China, I ate a lot of life-changing food—homemade noodles in beef sauce, spicy lotus root with ginger, Sandouping-style boiled peanuts, deep-fried river shrimp with garlic, and the list goes on. Whenever I happened upon a dish I particularly liked, I took plenty of notes so that I could re-create it back home. A Simple Mushroom Stir-Fry While in Beijing and Xi’an, I noticed that much of the food there was sweeter than in the rest of China....

Aside from my wonderful husband, Mr Kipling might be my ideal man. Yes, I like to bake cakes at home, but I find it hard to walk past the cake aisle at the supermarket without drooling over the Viennese whirls, mini battenburgs and of course the bakewell tarts. I saw those family-sized bakewell tarts on offer at the shop a couple of weeks ago and despite only being in there to pick up a bottle of water, I came out with TWO of those icing-covered, jammy pastries-from-heaven....

The range is astounding—from different kinds of lychees and durian to jackfruit and soursop. Vietnam is geographically long and varied in climate so many kinds of fruits may be grown, including familiar strawberries and avocados. Within Vietnam’s broad range of fruity goodness, the mango consistently captivates me with its fragrance, silky flesh, and sweet-tangy flavor. It screams, “I’m tropical!” Eating Mango as a Kid When I was about five years old, my mom often mixed chopped mango and rice to get me to eat more....

Here are a couple of visuals to help, courtesy of Epicurious: Did you figure out which was which? Ok, let me help you out – bosc pears are #2 and delicata squash are #9. You can click on the pictures above to read two very informative articles explaining the characteristics of the different types of pears and squash from Epicurious. Since we’ve been eating these a lot separately we had a brilliant idea – Why not combine them with some chicken, bacon, rosemary and a touch of cayenne pepper to make a one pan meal?...