Creamy basil pesto dip from scratch

Mmm, don’t you just love fresh basil? It’s definitely one of my favourite herbs and I’m pretty sure I could eat pesto for months and not get sick of it—especially fresh, homemade pesto! Perhaps the only thing I love more is sushi, which I’m munching on while writing this lunchtime update.

I wish I could say that this basil was from my own garden, but alas I seem to be struggling to coax anything to grow except for my two gorgeous zucchini plants. Ah well. Summer has been taking its time arriving in Australia, so perhaps there is time yet for oodles of home-grown veggies and herbs!

This basil pesto dip was so easy to whip up before having guests over, and tasted great the next day too. The best part is that it isn’t made from pre-made pesto, so you have control over all of the ingredients and can adjust them to your taste. Enjoy!

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Edited: November 6th, 2011

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Ah the life of a food blogger. I must have taken three different sets of photos for this soup, to finally settle on this photo which needed more than a little Photoshopping (and yes, that’s a recognized verb in my browser) in the end. It looks okay… yet somehow I feel like I’m in a photography slump lately, and perhaps that’s the reason for the infrequent postings this last month or so. Work has been quiet and I’ve had more than enough daylight to take those lovely window-lit photos mid-afternoon that other food bloggers rave about… and yet I look at my plating and composition and feel thoroughly unsatisfied. Argh!

Some exciting news however is that I found a great eBay deal on a Canon Speedlite 430ex external flash for my lil’ Rebel—and while it has not revolutionized my photography literally overnight, sigh—I do look forward to having a bit more flexibility in the kitchen. There’s a lot to learn and I’m looking forward to it!

Anyway, this cheesy cauliflower soup is a Jamie Oliver-inspired dish from his Ministry of Food cookbook. It’s a brilliant thing! The average foodie might pick it up and see all the basic recipes and go, “What do I need this for?” but it’s just darn useful. A few of my favourite recipes have come from it—check out my basic steamed rice, meatballs, and carrot feta salad, all of which were inspired by Ministry of Food.

The bragging rights for this soup are a bit special for me. Our roommate Tom—a chronic carnivore and unfoodie—isn’t a fan of soups and is only borderline on stews. The poor boy has been at home the last couple weeks sick with mono—with a slight silver lining being that his throat has swollen so that he can eat nothing but soup! It’s hardly a pleasing situation, but at least I had an excuse to perfect some recipes.

Upon serving up a dish of this soup, he immediately turned to me and went, “This is bloody good!” …so there you go. A soup to please even the most discerning of soup skeptics. Enjoy! (more…)

Edited: August 7th, 2011

Luke’s Spaghetti Bolognese

Um, hi. It’s been too long, hasn’t it? So long in fact that my browser has actually forgotten my login information for the blog. Insert awkward laugh here. This should not be possible! My food blog is my baby! Anyway, life happens. C’est la vie, as they say. I’m happy to be back, and in some way it feels like that now we’ve passed the winter solstice here in Australia, I’ll have more opportunities for natural light food photos, which makes me quite the happy girl.

I have a fact to establish, in case you don’t already know: I cook for three boys. Two of them have never learned to cook, while the third (fortunately) is my fiancé and actually does very well in the kitchen. However, in my endeavours to get the other two comfortable doing things other than pouring sauce from a jar and ordering pizza, the fiancé really doesn’t get enough time in the kitchen—which is why it’s taken this long to share his beloved spaghetti bolognese recipe.

This is a family recipe, and one that holds much esteem with anyone who’s ever eaten at the Freeman house (which, trust me, is a heck of a large portion of Sydney’s north!). It’s a great go-to for feeding a horde of hungry…. um, anyones! Kids, teenagers, athletes, foreigners, colleagues, in laws, you name it. This spaghetti bolognese is great to roll out on any occasion (and it may have won me over way back in the day… just sayin’!).

Trust me on this one; when it comes to simple dinners, this one’s fantastic. Bring on the spaghetti!

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Edited: June 26th, 2011

Tomato Soup – Homemade & Healthy!

I love tomato soup. It’s just so wonderfully comforting and filling, and is a wonderful vehicle for consuming a large number of grilled cheese sandwiches (one of my favourite pass times!). This tomato soup is, if I do say myself, a gorgeous and slightly more grown-up version of the traditional “from a can” stuff that you probably had as a kid. And it’s ever-so-satisfying to the tastebuds as well as the stomach—the addition of red lentils makes this soup heartier and more filling.

Another great thing about this soup is how quickly it can be made; I literally threw it together in fifteen minutes, then just had to let it simmer for a little while. If you have nothing but tinned goods in your pantry but need something warm and filling, this fits the ticket admirably! Consider replacing the tinned diced tomatoes with fresh tomatoes, about 2-3 per tin, depending on their size. The soup would also be wonderful with a handful of fresh basil leaves, blended in or as a garnish.

Enjoy this hearty and delicious soup!

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Edited: May 17th, 2011