It’s mid-autumn, the garden is planted, and the greenhouse is brimming with herbs and greens. We’ve moved our citrus trees and chili plants indoors to shield them from the cold, as the mornings are getting frosty! The April cookbooks all featured chestnuts, a relatively new ingredient for me, used in fascinating ways. In March, I sought inspiration for planting the autumn and winter vegetable gardens, with the recipes influencing my planting plan. I chose ingredients based on what I’d need to cook new recipes. February was dedicated to preserving the abundance of summer produce, but May ’24 ..read more

Here’s something new for your salad repertoire! A light lunch, a refreshing side, or a unique addition to your next barbecue, this plant-based Caesar salad is sure to impress. Grilled lettuce vegan Caesar salad with seaweed chickpeas might seem unconventional, but trust me, it’s a revelation. Picture charred lettuce hearts, smoky and crisp, drizzled with a creamy, tangy vegan Caesar dressing. The seaweed-flavoured crispy chickpeas, inspired by traditional anchovy or Worcestershire sauce, are a deliciously nutritious swap for croutons. Topped with a sprinkle of plant-based parmesan, this salad ..read more

Is there anything more inviting than a spread of delicious canapés at a sophisticated soirée or a charming picnic? Imagine presenting a dish that not only boasts a luxurious feel but also caters to a plant-based lifestyle. Enter: Vegan Smoked Salmon Pâté. This culinary delight mirrors the rich, creamy texture and smoky, savoury flavours of its traditional counterpart while offering a fresh, exciting twist. Crafted from smoked carrots and vegan cream cheese, and brightened with the zest of lemon, capers, and dill, this pâté is sure to be a hit. Vegan Smoked Salmon Pate Ingredients 1 1/2 cups c ..read more

Ever wonder what the Romans did for Scotland? Well, if you’re talking food, just say ‘Oats!’ Imagine Scottish cuisine without porridge, (vegan) haggis or oatcakes—seems unthinkable, right? This simple yet essential ingredient is at the heart and soul of so many beloved Scottish dishes. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Romans, who had a knack for cultivating oats wherever they roamed. The classic Scottish oatcake recipe consists of oatmeal, salt, water, and occasionally a fat. Like many traditional dishes, variations in oatcakes are extensive. They generally boast a crisp texture and a nutty ..read more

No tomato left behind! That has been our mantra since autumn began in earnest. We enjoyed a great harvest of small cherry tomatoes this year, but even as we tried to force ripen the slightly orange or yellow tomatoes, there were plenty more that were very green. Although the tomatoes largely thrived on their own, and we enjoyed plenty of fresh ones, we felt emotionally invested and wanted to avoid any waste. If you grow tomatoes, or have seen them on a truss, you might have noticed the small, unripe tomatoes at the truss tips. By summer’s end, it was clear these green berries would never ripen ..read more

This month’s picks started with a search for chestnut recipes. They are a relatively new ingredient to me and I have a free supply. Last year I learned how to forage and cook chestnuts, made chestnut flour and made a classic castagnaccio too. I was searching for inspiration and new ways to use chestnuts. For April ’24 – My Favourite cookbooks of the month include a British Malaysian Chefs French cookbook, a London based Kiwi Chef’s Plant Based cookbook and one from Arrowtown’s (now closed) Saffron restaurant. Together, these books blend culinary education with personal and regional storytellin ..read more

Dive into the crunch and savour the kick! Our Crispy Jalapeño and Corn Cheese Balls are a dairy-free wonder, perfectly blending spicy jalapeños with sweet kernels of corn. Ideal as an appetiser or a fun snack. Encased in a crispy crumb, the warm cheesy centre is sweet with the corn, spicy from jalapeños and oozy! Everything you want from a crispy cheese ball – vegan or not. This recipe isn’t a spur-of-the-moment creation – but stock your freezer with a batch (or two) of these cheesy delights, and you’re all set for any occasion. Perfect for warming up movie or game nights, or when you’re cravi ..read more

The summer seemed like it would go on forever, living in a region that is still fairly new to us, we weren’t sure when the summer vegetables would come to an end from our garden. As it turned out, the very first frosts let the plants know their time was up. Even though we’d enjoyed a lot of beautifully ripe tomatoes, the garden was still full of not quite ripe and even very green ones, I hated to think of anything going to waste. Many tomatoes will ripen indoors, there were more than enough for bowls of end of summer tomato soup, others will become green tomato chutney, but I still had a glut ..read more

The early autumn frost signalled that summer has drawn to a close. Yet the garden still brims with tomatoes in various stages of ripeness, though many are dropping from their stems due to the turn in weather. Now picking, or retrieving them from the ground begins in earnest, from the buckets of tomatoes, the ripest ones became an end of summer tomato soup, served with skillet bread rolls. This simple meal is a celebration of summer. Unlike many classic soup and sauce recipes, no mirepoix or stock is used. Instead of a deep hearty flavour, the taste of ripe tomatoes is front and centre stage, a ..read more

We’ve only just come to the end our first Summer eating from our very own garden in Hanmer Springs. Summer was hot and dry, and the vegetable garden treated us to more food than we could have imagined. Even after giving food away, there’s so much left, I couldn’t let anything go to waste. I’m still actively using the preserving advice I got from last month’s cookbooks; the February cookbooks of the month were all about preserving. January was about finding inspiration for all the food we grow. New pairings, sauces and dressings, these books were also helpful when planning the vegetable garden ..read more