The other day I bought a beautiful, fresh bunch of silverbeet from the greengrocer.

I turned it into a salad of sliverbeet, beetroot and feta (1/2 bunch silverbeet chopped, 1/2 can baby beets chopped, 400g tin chickpeas drained, 200g feta, 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts. Dressing – 1 clove garlic crushed, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt and pepper to taste).

It was tasty, but as usual I made too much and had a substantial amount left over.

So, today, as it’s too hot to go outside and we are happily comfortable in the air con, I decided to turn it into a Spanakopita-type pie. I made some alterations to the traditional Greek spinach and feta pie, but it has come out magnificently and is perfect for lunch today, served with a very chilled Chardonnay (I’m on holidays, so wine at lunch is mandatory!).

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bunch shallots chopped
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 bunch silverbeet roughly chopped
• 4 mushrooms chopped
• 2 tablespoons dill
• 250g feta cheese crumbled
• 150g ricotta cheese
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan grated
• 4 eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 18 sheets filo pastry
• 120g butter melted
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)

Heat oil in frypan. Add onion, shallots, garlic and mushrooms. Cook for 1 minute until soft then add dill and silverbeet. Cook, stirring, over low heat until silverbeet has wilted. Drain in a colander and cool.

It was at this point that I added the left over salad (as above) to drain with the cooked silverbeet.

Combine cheeses, egg, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Add the silverbeet. Mix well.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Brush a 2.5 litre baking dish with butter. Lay one sheet of filo on the base and sides and brush with butter. Repeat with 8 more sheets. Spread the cheese/silverbeet mixture and spread over the pastry. Cover with the remaining pastry, brushing each sheet with butter as you go. Fold any pastry overhanging the dish back on top of itself to get a rough edge. Brush the final sheet of pastry with butter and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Score the pastry with a knife.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until golden. Rest for 10 minutes. Cut and serve.

When we were courting our absolute favourite drink to share was gin. And after 23 years, it still is.

We love a strong Tanqueray and tonic on a hot summer’s day (actually, it doesn’t have to be summer), 2 blocks of ice and a slice of fresh lime.

Hubby makes a gin martini to knock your socks off!

Our favourite gin-based cocktail during the festive season is a Negroni.

I’ve just learned that this bitter cocktail was created 100 years ago (1919) for Count Negroni in Florence. Legend has it that Count Negroni wanted to stiffen his Americano cocktail (Campari, sweet vermouth and soda water) and requested the bartender replace the soda water with gin! Excellent idea Count!

It is the easiest cocktail to mix. For the perfect Negroni….

Per person, in a jug, 1 nip each of gin, Campari and red vermouth. Squeeze the zest of an orange over the glasses you intend to serve into and over the jug. Place 1 cube of ice in the glass and pour. Garnish with a julienne of orange peel.

Off to enjoy one now…..

It’s an interesting time of adjustment when your kids grow up and move on to their next adventure. Our eldest son has been living and working as a Ringer (jackaroo/station hand) on a huge cattle station in Western QLD for the past year. He is about to arrive home for the Christmas break, which my husband and I are so excited about.

Our littlest chicken is on a school exchange in Paris and won’t be with us this Christmas. We will miss him, as our little family comes together, however, he will have the most amazing time with his host family visiting Spain (don’t feel too sad for him!!). We love you Koala!

With our Kangaroo about to hop home, I am preparing a family favourite for his first meal. Roast chicken is our go-to for celebrations. Such a simple but delicious dinner that warms all our hearts.

Don’t be afraid of a roast, it’s the easiest way to prepare a chicken (or any type of meat for that matter!)

Ingredients

• 1.6kg whole chicken
• 1 lemon, halved
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 220C. Lightly grease a roasting pan with olive oil.

Insert the halved lemon into the cavity of the chicken. Rub the olive oil all over the chicken with your hands. Season with salt and pepper.

Place breast side up and roast for approximately 1 hour, or until juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer.

Stand covered with foil for 10 minutes, prior to carving.

Serve with roast vegetables and gravy.

I married into a family of all boys. I was a lone ranger for a number of years until a sister-in-arms came along! We bonded immediately – we both adore bubbles and flicking through magazines, chatting and hanging out – sharing the challenges of an all-male environment.

She has been super supportive of me developing this blog. So this one’s for you MM!

Her favourite dessert of mine is summer pudding and it’s always on the must-have list when we get together in the heat of summer.

Summer pudding (serves 4)

Using a mix of frozen and fresh berries is best.

Ingredients

• 1 loaf white bread, crusts removed
• 1/2 cup water
• 125g sugar
• 125g blueberries
• 125g mulberries or strawberries
• 375g raspberries

Put water and sugar into a large saucepan, cover and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Add frozen berries now and allow to thaw. Add fresh berries and stir. Cover and bring the fruit to the boil. Remove from the heat. Strain berries in a colander over a bowl, collecting the juices. Leave the colander of fruit straining over the bowl until all juice has been removed. Reserve juice and allow the fruit to cool completely.

Cut triangles of bread to lint the bottom of a 1 litre capacity basin. The lining needs to fit well to avoid excessive loss of juice. Cut slices to line the sides. Reserve 2-3 slices to create the lid. Spoon fruit to fit right to the top. Level the fruit, then pour over some reserved liquid – make sure the fruit is wet but not drowning! Keep any additional juice for serving. Cover with the remaining bread slices.

Place a double sheet of foil over the top of the pudding. Press a saucer that fits inside the rim of the bowl and weight with a couple of tins from your pantry.

Refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days.

To serve – remove the weights, saucer and foil. Put a deep serving dish over the bowl and tip carefully. The pudding should be a lovely crimson colour. Some juice will seep out onto the serving plate. Add more of the reserved juice.

Serve with thickened cream and additional juice.

On Sundays I like to spend a good part of the day in the kitchen. Usually I bake something for lunchbox treats and I prepare a couple of meals for the week (at least two to make life easier – a bit of effort and planning makes weeknights a breeze when you are tired after a full day at the office!).

Gee, I was glad I had done that last week.

Sydney experienced a brief but destructive storm which left us with trees down and no power.

I have renewed my love of our butane camp stove and pre-prepared Bolognese sauce!

I always make more than I need (hence 1kg of mince). Freeze left over Bolognese for another time; leave a container in the fridge for hungry teenagers; or pop in a container with a bag of pasta, a slab of Parmesan and take to a friend in need.

Without power we enjoyed this easy dinner, a glass of wine, sitting outside by candlelight. Relishing a night of no technology distractions.

Zucchini zoodle Bolognese

Ingredients for Bolognese (best to be made a day or so before you want to use to let the flavours fully develop)

• 1 onion chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1kg mince (either beef, chicken, turkey, pork)
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 cup tomato passata
• 1 tablespoon mixed herbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 whole sprig of oregano and thyme

Sauté onions and garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Once softened add mince and cook through. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, passata and mix through (vary the amounts as to personal taste). Add mixed herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Leave to simmer on the stove top (on low) for 20 minutes with the sprigs of oregano and thyme placed on top of the mince. Stir occasionally. Remove sprigs of oregano and thyme before serving.

Zoodle a few zucchinis with a spiralizer (the best gift from my son EVER!). If you don’t have one cut the zucchinis into strips with a sharp knife.

Add 1 chopped leek to fry pan with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Throw in the zucchinis, heat gently until just tender. Set aside.

Slowly heat the Bolognese sauce.

Serve zoodles, topped with Bolognese and some grated Parmesan.

Simple but deliciously heart warming.