Think of these muffins as your classic banana muffin, but a bit more special. My favourite part is the rhubarb sauce – made even more delicious with the Anathoth Rhubarb & Red Berry Jam. Be generous with your dollop on top!
This recipe makes 12-14 medium sized muffins.
What you’ll need:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 large ripe bananas (3 mashed, leave one for topping)
1 cup brown sugar (1/4 cup will be used for the rhubarb sauce)
1 egg
100 grams butter, melted
1 large rhubarb stem, chopped
2 tbsp Anathoth Rhubarb & Red Berry Jam
How to make it:
For the rhubarb sauce, add the chopped rhubarb and 1/4 cup of brown sugar to a saucepan with water, on medium heat. Once it’s soft, add the rhubarb, jam and splash of water to a food processor, and blend until it forms a thick sauce. Set aside.
In a bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another large bowl, add 3 of the bananas, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, egg and butter. Mix together until combined.
Add the dry mixture to the banana mixture, gently folding through until combined.
Spoon the mixture into a lined muffin tray, topping with a dollop of rhubarb sauce and a sliced banana. Cook for 10-15 minutes.
Introducing the newest addition to your go-to meals …. Japanese pancakes! (aka Okonomiyaki!).
These pancakes are a great contribution to a dinner party (and are easy to impress your guests!) or just as a quick and easy weeknight meal when you’re not feeling inspired.
My favourite part of these pancakes are the toppings – you can get creative and add whatever you like! I like to keep mine simple with fresh coriander, sriracha and of course, lots of kewpie mayo.
Makes 6 medium sized pancakes.
What you’ll need:
1 cup flour
1 cup water
2 eggs
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 finely chopped cabbage (use red and green for nice colours)
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 tsp chilli flakes
Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
Pinch of salt and pepper
Toppings:
Fresh coriander, spring onion, sesame seeds, sriracha, kewpie mayo and pickled ginger.
How to make them:
1. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients.
2. Heat a saucepan on medium heat, and add a dash of oil. Spoon the mixture in and cook until brown and crispy on each side (the thinner your pancake is the more crispy it will be!)
This recipe has been in my family for ages. The actual recipe is a stained orange colour, with bits of flour and sugar grains stuck to it. I feel like that’s when you know it’s a goodie; when it’s clearly been made countless times before.
And this cake is something special. I’ve made it for several special occasions, and the reaction is always the same! The generous amount of syrup makes this cake moist (sorry, no other way to describe it) and oh so more-ish.
Makes one medium sized cake.
What you’ll need:
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 large eggs
Orange rind of 1 orange
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tspn vanilla essence
Pinch salt
1.5 cups self raising flour
For the syrup:
3/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup white sugar
Orange rind of 1/2 an orange
Making the cake:
1. In a bowl, add the sugar, eggs, oil and orange rind. Mix until combined.
2. Add orange juice and vanilla essence, and mix through until combined.
3. Sift in the flour and salt, and gently fold through until the mixture is combined.
4. Add mixture to a lined cake tin, and bake for 25 – 30 mins, or until golden.
5. For the syrup, add all ingredients in a bowl and mix through. Once the cake is cooked, pour the syrup over (you want the cake to still be hot so the syrup can sink into it).
Thai green curry is a recipe I’ve only recently discovered and starting making myself. Like, how have I gone 20 years without this in my life?!
This is the ultimate comfort food, it’s totally more-ish and even better, it’s suuuuper easy to whip up. Trust me.
I may cheat a little bit because I don’t make the green curry paste myself, but I actually don’t mind because it saves me a lot of time and I think it tastes just as good.
Makes 2 servings.
What you’ll need:
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
3 handfuls fresh coriander
1/2 head broccoli
1 carrot
1 red capsicum
1 fresh lime
1 tbsp fish sauce (for a vegan option, use soy sauce)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 can coconut cream
Handful of chopped cashews, or sesame seeds
1 cup white rice, cooked
How to make it:
In a food processor, add the curry paste, ginger, garlic, 2 handfuls of fresh coriander, water, brown sugar and fish sauce. Blend until it’s formed a paste.
In a large saucepan on medium heat, add olive oil and onions. Cook for 5 minutes until the onions are translucent.
Add the curry paste mixture to the saucepan, and cook for another 5 minutes.
Reduce to low heat, and add the carrot and coconut cream, and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the carrot is soft.
Add the broccoli, capsicum and juice of half the lime, and cook for another few minutes.
To serve, add finely chopped coriander, cashews/sesame seeds and lime wedges.
The days are getting longer, which means summer is on its way! To celebrate, I’ve been busy experimenting different flavour combos for really easy, light and delicious salads. This is just the beginning!
This salad is perrrrfect for a light, healthy and flavour-filled summer meal; either as a side dish or a whole meal.
This dish makes four side servings, or two full-sized meals.
What you’ll need:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp turmeric
2 whole carrots, peeled
1 tbsp honey
2 handfuls fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup cashews
Salt and pepper
For the dressing:
1/4 cup Greek yoghurt (I used De Winkel, it’s a super smooth and creamy consistency!)
1/2 cucumber, finely grated
1/4 fresh lemon
How to make it:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, on fan bake.
Chop your peeled carrots into long pieces, and put them on a baking tray. Top with olive oil, honey and salt and roast in the oven for about 20 -25 minutes.
To cook the quinoa, add water and quinoa to a medium sized saucepan on medium heat. Add about 2 sprinkles of salt, and cover with a lid for about 10 minutes (or until it’s started boiling). Then take the lid half off, so it’s still retaining some of the heat and give it a stir. Let it cook for another 7-8 minutes, or until all the water has evaporated and the quinoa is light and fluffy. Stir through the turmeric.
Once the carrots and quinoa are cooked, put them in a large bowl and stir together with the cashews and fresh mint leaves.
For the dressing:
In a bowl, add the yoghurt, lemon juice and chopped mint leaves and stir together. Gently add most of the grated cucumber and stir together, leaving the rest for the top.
One of my favourite things to do is host dinner parties. I love creating an environment that makes people feel special and taken care of.
But, let’s be real, hosting can be stressful! To eliminate (or rather, minimise!) the stress of hosting, I’ve put together some tips to make sure not only your guests enjoy themselves, but you actually do too.
1. Get your groceries online
This is the bessst decision you’ll make for a stress-free start to your dinner party!
I’d recommend doing this 2 days before the party, and picking it up the day before. That way, you’ve got time in between ordering your groceries and picking them up to remember anything you’ve forgotten!
2. Prep as much as you can
What you choose to serve your guests is really important. If you can choose something that’s easy to prepare in advance, and still looks and tastes impressive, then you’re onto something.
And bonus if you can make something that guests can serve themselves. Which leads me to my next tip …
3. Make food that’s easy to serve up
You don’t want to spend all night in the kitchen, balancing the cooking and serving.
You want to make sure all your guests get their food at the same time, and most importantly, that it’s hot!
You can do this by making a big dish of something and serve it up to all the guests, or put everything on the table and let your guests help themselves.
4. Do the dishes as you go
Maybe this is just me, but I can’t function in a messy kitchen. Even if everything with the food is under control, if my kitchen is messy, it makes me feel so stressed.
Clear kitchen = clear mind!
Plus, there’ll be less dishes to do in the late-night clean up. A win win!
5. Ask for help!
Like, actually say yes when people politely ask if there’s anything they can do. You don’t have to be the hosting hero and do everything yourself.
You don’t want your guests to do the dishes, but you could ask someone to be in charge of getting people drinks, or topping up food, or organising a game.
By doing all these things, I guarantee your hosting experience will be way less stressful.
Growing up, we always had homemade muesli over store-bought muesli. This recipe is really nostalgic – it takes me back to the times I used to help Mum make muesli, and fighting with my siblings over what we wanted to put in it (banana chips were always a divider!)
I love making my own muesli because you can control what goes in it, unlike the supermarket stuff that’s packed full of bad sugars and additives.
What I love most about this recipe is that as long as you get the base right, you can add whatever fillings you like.
This recipe makes a large amount, will last you at least two weeks!
What you’ll need:
250 grams whole oats
125 grams rolled oats
2 tablespoons cinammon
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1/2 cup honey (for a vegan option, use maple syrup)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup cranberries
1 cup goji berries
1 cup nuts (I used a mixture of almonds, pecans, walnuts and hazlenuts)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
Other things you could add: dates, dried apricots, yoghurt raisins, banana chips, dried apple etc.
How to make it:
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, add the honey, canola oil and salt. Cook on low heat and stir until it’s all combined.
In a large baking tray (with high sides) add the oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Mix until they’re all combined.
Drizzle the honey and oil mix over the muesli, and gently stir until it’s all mixed through.
Put the muesli in the oven for 10 minutes, then take it out and mix. Put the muesli in the oven for another 10 minutes, taking it out and mixing it again.
Add the coconut and mix through, then put it back in the oven for 10 minutes. Take it out, mix it, and put it back in the oven for 10 minutes (all together, you’re cooking the muesli for 40 minutes)
Take the muesli out of the oven, and add the cranberries and goji berries.
It’s also yummy to top your muesli with seasonal fruit:
Who’s with me when I say there’s actually no better smell than freshly baked scones wafting through the house?
I made these for the first time on a rainy Sunday afternoon, because I had a giant bag of dates and some not-so-fresh green apples. I thought they’d make a good scone combo, and wow was I right!
If you’re making these, I recommend eating them soon after they come out of the oven (well, that won’t be hard) because they’re more tasty the fresher they are.
This recipe makes 6 medium-sized scones.
What you’ll need:
For the scones
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
40 grams butter, finely diced
3/4 cups of milk (I used almond milk, but you can use any type)
1 cup dates, chopped
2 tsp cinammon
2 tsp brown sugar
For the roasted apple
Half a green apple
Drizzle of honey
Drizzle of oil
Pinch of cinnamon
How to make them:
Heat the oven to 160 degrees.
Thinly slice your apple, cutting it length ways. Line it on a baking tray, and top with a drizzle of honey and oil, and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake for around 5 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, butter, milk and dates, and mix until combined.
Line a baking tray with baking paper, and spoon the mixture onto the tray.
Top each scone with two slices of apple.
In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon.
Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mix on top of each scone.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the scones have started to brown.
I decided to give these spicy buffalo cauliflower bites a go, as a healthier and meat-free take on buffalo chicken. Plus I looove Mexican flavours!
You can serve these in a few different ways: on a platter with a dip, in a wrap (I used Farrah’s spinach wrap!), or in a salad.
Depending on what you’re serving it with, these are some ingredients that would be delicious: red onion, tomato, avocado, red pepper, greek yoghurt, coconut, cucumber.
Options for serving sauces are below, too!
What you’ll need:
Quarter cauliflower head, chopped
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup of hot sauce (I used half Barkers Harissa sauce and half Barkers Chipotle sauce)
Pinch of salt
Drizzle of oil
How to make them:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Chop the cauliflower into bite sized pieces.
In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, water and salt, smoked paprika and cumin, and mix until combined.
Add all the cauliflower to the bowl, and gently coat all the cauliflower with the mixture.
Using tongs, transfer all the cauliflower to a baking tray (this is so you don’t transfer clumpy mixture), and drizzle with oil.
Bake in the oven 10-15 minutes.
Once they’re cooked, put them in a bowl and coat with the hot sauce.
Options for serving sauces:
Greek yoghurt, chopped coriander and fresh lime zest & juice.
This is a healthier take on a Snickers Bar, with some added goodies!
I don’t have too much of a sweet tooth so I love the salted part of this recipe, and the Fix & Fogg peanut butter is just such a good addition!
I used to make a slice similar to this at the cafe I worked at, but have added and changed some ingredients to make it my own (including the Fix & Fogg Everything Butter!)
This recipe makes 12 slices.
What you’ll need:
For the base:
1 1/2 cups almond flour
3/4 dark cocoa
3/4 cup boiling water
For the caramel:
3 cups chopped dates (I used Moore Wilson’s chopper dates, they’re super caramel-y)
3 tsp caramel essence
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
2 tbsp Fix and Fogg Everything Butter (their Super Crunchy would be really good too!)
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup boiling water
For the topping:
1 block dark chocolate
1/4 cup of whole peanuts, crushed and toasted (put them in a small saucepan and cook on medium heat for 3 minutes)
Sea salt
How to make it:
For the base:
In a large bowl, add the almond flour and cocoa powder, and mix together.
Add the boiling water small bits at a time, mixing in between until it’s all combined.
Line a baking tray with baking paper, and press the mixture into the tray. Put the base in the freezer.
For the caramel:
In a large bowl, add the dates, salt, caramel essence and boiling water. Let the ingredients sit for 10 minutes.
Add the chopped peanuts, Fix and Fogg Everything Butter, and stir the mixture until it’s almost smooth (it won’t go completely smooth because of the dates!)
Spread the caramel mixture on top of the base and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Take it out of the freezer and cut it into slices.
For the topping:
Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave.
With a spoon, spread the melted chocolate on the top of each pre-cut slice. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the toasted peanuts and sea salt on top.
Repeat until all the slices are covered!
These slices are best kept in the fridge or freezer.
I made this recipe when I was feeling a bit crook, and I tell you, it made me feel ten times better. So much so, that it’s become one of my go-to recipes this winter.
This take on chicken noodle soup is packed full of veggies, tastes amazing and takes you less than 15 minutes to make!
What you’ll need:
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, diced
Half a carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 chicken breast, diced
1 can creamed corn
2 stems of silver beet, chopped
1 packet of two minute noodles
2 cups chicken stock
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1 spring onion, chopped
How to make it:
In a large pot on medium heat, add oil, butter, salt, turmeric, paprika, garlic, carrot and celery, and stir for 3 minutes.
Add the chicken, corn and chicken stock. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes with the lid on.
Add the noodles, spring onions and silver beet. Cook for another 3 minutes.
Garnish with fresh parsley, and add salt and pepper to taste.
These wraps are the perfect way to make your average wrap a bit more exciting, and turn that average assortment of ingredients in your fridge into something really tasty.
I was inspired to make these by Eleanor Ozich’s Homemade, but have adapted the recipe to make it my own.
You can put almost anything in the filling. I decided to keep it really simple: my home made aioli, char-grilled capsicum, alfalfa sprouts and crumbed feta.
This recipe makes 4 spinach wraps.
What you’ll need:
3/4 cups of fresh spinach
1 tsp sea salt
3/4 cups self-raising flour (plus more for flouring the bench)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup boiling water
How to make them:
Put the spinach in the microwave for thirty seconds, so it’s partially wilted.
In a large bowl, put the spinach, flour and salt and mix through.
Add the boiling water and oil to the mixture small bits at a time, continuing to mix until it forms a dough.
Separate the dough into four balls, and let them sit for around 10 minutes in the bowl covered by a damp tea towel.
Sprinkle the bench with flour, and roll out the balls until you’re happy with the shape and size.
To cook them, heat a large pan with olive oil and cook them until they start to brown.
I love this aioli recipe for so many reasons. It’s been a family classic for as long as I can remember, always making its way on to the table no matter what was served (pasta, pizza, potluck, rice, couscous, potato; the list goes on!)
What you’ll need:
2 eggs
2 cups canola oil
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white sugar
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp red wine vinaigrette
Handful of fresh herbs (you can use basil, parsley, oregano or thyme)
How to make it:
In a food processor, add eggs, mustard, salt, sugar and garlic. Blend until combined.
When the food processor is on, slowly add all the oil (you should be drizzling it in) until the texture is thick and creamy.
Add the red wine vinaigrette and herbs until they’re mixed in.
If you want an easy, full of flavour, healthy and colourful soup with a bit of a difference, this is it!
What you’ll need:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander powder
1 fresh lime, 1 tbsp for the soup and the rest for serving
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1 cup egg noodles, pre-cooked
Half a head of broccoli, chopped
Quarter red cabbage, thinly sliced
12 fresh green beans
2 tsp red curry paste
1 can coconut cream
2 cups vege stock
2 handfuls fresh coriander
2 tsp sea salt
How to make it:
In a large saucepan, add oil, ginger, half a handful of fresh coriander, cumin and coriander powder. Stir for a few minutes.
Add garlic, red curry paste and stir for another few minutes.
Add coconut cream and vege stock, stirring together. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, fish sauce and lime juice, then pour into the soup. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the broccoli, green beans and udon noodles and salt. Let them cook for about 5 minutes.
For serving, add a handful of red cabbage to the top of each bowl, sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve with a wedge of fresh lime.
This is my small corner of the web where you’ll find tasty, easy, (mostly) healthy homemade eats.
My hope for this blog is that you’ll be inspired, or re-inspired to cook, create and of course, eat!
I’ve always loved cooking and being in the kitchen. I come from a family of seven, so dinner times were always pretty rowdy and hectic, but the time spent sitting round the dining room table with my family are some of my happiest memories.
It wasn’t really about the food (introducing the time mum made Stuffed Marrow), but more the togetherness and connection.
As I got older, mum and I spent more time together in the kitchen, creating family recipes that are now some of my faves, and ultimately developing my love for cooking that would lead me to what’s happening now at 127 eatery (sorry, not this time, Stuffed Marrow).
Since moving into adulthood, I’ve realised the importance of having a solid community around you; people who go through the highs and lows with you, are real with you, and encourage you to do what you’ve always wanted to do.
And this is what this blog is all about; community. Just like our small lounge at 127 has been a place where our community has shared together over a bowl of pumpkin soup, pad thai or a way too-full homemade taco, and left feeling loved (and very full!)
Thanks again for visiting me, it really means a lot!
127 eatery 