Jamie Oliver recipe round-up!

I have wanted to do this post for quite some time now! I’m not alone in my love for Jamie Oliver’s cooking, and I have to say that I’ve watched and re-watched his Ministry of Food TV series and 30 Minute Meals series over and over. And, there’s quite a few recipes on this blog that are Jamie O-inspired.

I say inspired, because I very rarely actually cook recipes exactly how they’ve been laid out in a cookbook (or if I do, I don’t share them here because they’re not my own original recipes… some baking & technical stuff excepted). Like Jamie, I love to use fresh and “from scratch” methods, but UNlike Jamie, I can’t afford every single beautiful ingredient, or I simply cannot be bothered to get something specific when I can substitute or do without.

I also want to do a shout-out to friend and fellow food blogger, Lorina, who actually cooked her way through Jamie at Home in 365 days. She’s so brave! Check out her blog My Year With Jamie Oliver here.

Okay! On with the recipes!

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Posted: November 20th, 2012 under Cook Books, Joni's Blog, Recipes - No Comments. Tags: jamie oliver, recipe round-up

Healthy Chocolate Breakfast Nuggets

So I get to peruse interesting people’s blogs for work, and came across this little gem from Australian media personality Sarah Wilson. Remember that world-record setting bikini photo shoot at Bondi beach a while ago? She was the mastermind of that, and has held various mag-editing positions and TV hosting positions.

Anyway! This recipe is very loosely based on her recipe, which had a lot of ingredients in it which even I don’t have hanging around my pantry very often. I’ve perfected this recipe to a surefire mix, down to the precise measurement of 35 g of melted butter. (And use real butter — it might be fat, but it’s natural and wholesome and your body knows how to digest it.) Only in baking am I ever that precise!

These little breakfast nuggets are great to keep in the fridge at work for a week, to munch on in between coffees, and are just high enough in fibre, protein, and fats to keep your body pleasantly satiated for a few hours. Only one or two at a time is needed (though you might be tempted to scarf them down all at once). Be creative in substituting ingredients here with your favourites, or whatever you have on hand — just keep the proportions roughly equivalent and you’ll be OK!

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Posted: November 16th, 2012 under Breakfast, Easy, Joni's Blog, Recipes - No Comments. Tags: almonds, breakfast yummies, chocolate, coconut, gluten free, healthy, oats, walnuts

Creamy Tomato Prawn Pasta

You know when you’re just in the mood for a certain kind of dish? That’s exactly what happened with me and this creamy tomato bowl, which I really need to make again soon because it was so good! (And great for lunch the next day too.)

I’ve been trying to make a good, creamy, tomato sauce for a while now, and hadn’t quite found anything that satisfied until this. The key, it turns out? Real cream, and lots of it. Seriously, don’t skimp in this recipe or you’ll end up disappointed!

I also “splurged” a bit and got prawns with their tails removed, to enhance the just-dig-in-and-enjoy feeling. It worked really well! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did…

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Posted: November 10th, 2012 under Mains, Moderate, Recipes - No Comments.

Chicken Fajitas

Okay ladies and gentlemen, The Three Cheeses is BACK!

It’s been a crazy 8 months since posting last — I’ve gotten married, hosted two receptions, honeymooned, and moved house. Phew. 2012 has been a good year (and looks to finish off quite nicely too), but a busy one!

Now that the big things in life have calmed down a bit, I’m excited to get back into my food blogging. The new house has a nice big kitchen and plenty of natural lighting, and we’re just turning the bend into an Aussie summer which promises lots of entertaining and fun.

To start us off, a really simple recipe I’ve turned to a few times now, which only needs a handful of ingredients which are easy to pick up on your way home from work: roommate-approved chicken fajitas!

(Oh yeah! You can follow this board on Pinterest to get recipe updates.)

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Posted: October 5th, 2012 under Easy, Joni's Blog, Mains, Recipes - 3 Comments. Tags: capsicum, chicken, onion, pepper, tortillas

Random Post: Morris Family’s Borscht

Borscht is a family recipe that I’ve grown up on. It’s Eastern European in tradition, and variations of it are made in Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania… the list goes on. Borscht is always a soup based on beets (or beetroot, as Aussies would call it), but like any wide-reaching dish, has many variations and versions. My parents started making it when they were homesteading in the Blaeberry Valley near Golden, BC, and had a huge garden with a lot of vegetables to use. So if you encounter some delicious-looking veggies at your next Farmer’s Market, keep this recipe in mind!

The recipe I’ve written here is the more exact version of the recipe my dad gave me and quite miraculously, tastes pretty much exactly the same as his. I’d never even made it before this! Borscht is definitely a comfort food for a cold winter nights. Maybe a little out of season for you North Americans right now, but in chilly Australia (don’t worry, I’m not calling it cold!), it hits the spot.

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Posted: May 27th, 2010 under Easy, Joni's Blog, Mains, Recipes - 3 Comments. Tags: beef, beetroot, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, soup, vegetarian