Lemon and Poppyseed All-Day Cake... for baby George.

When a friend delivers a scrumptious baby boy you make cake. Just a simple cake. The kind of cake you can eat no matter what time of day it is because I'm told, the days and hours all meld into one.

AND cake is for celebrating and what better reason to celebrate than welcoming a new baby??!

When I went over to visit the brand spanking new parents and bubba I brought lemon and poppyseed afternoon cake, still warm from the oven. I knew that morning while I lazily lazed in bed dreaming of food that I wanted to take something, some sort of food as a gift. You see, it's important to always have snacks, and tasty ones at that. I was also sure that the new little one had been keeping them pretty busy so it was something I could do while their arms were newborn full. Never having made this recipe before I was in somewhat risk of turning up empty handed but I was quietly confident (the only one home was Arty so yes... quietly confident) as it's a Julia Turshen recipe and, touch wood, hers always turn out delicious and without drama.

a lemon cordial recipe - strewth!

After a not so *enjoyable (*read crappy) day at work last week I came home feeling overwhelmed and done. I didn't want to cook, I didn't care what was for dinner, I didn't know what I wanted. I considered a glass of wine but the previous weekend I decided to drink myself under the table (literally) which meant wine was definitely off the cards. Instead I frumped on the couch and picked up a book I was recently sent; The Little Book of Slow by Sally Wise and Paul McIntyre - Live mindfully and enjoy the simple things.

Sounds good to me, right?!

The book is split into two parts, the first which is Sally's contribution it all about the food, getting back to basics in the kitchen and enjoying slower more simple tasks rather than the quick 15 minute dinner you throw together midweek. There is bottling fruit, baking bread and making jam and chutneys. To be fair, it wouldn't be a book by Sally if it didn't include some sort of preserving. It also has tips and recipes for making your own cheese, baking a pie or a simple butter cake. All of which sounds delicious and simple in their own way.

The second part by Paul is all about Slow Pastimes like the perfect pot of tea, hosting a dinner party, keeping a diary or my favourite chapter - using Australian lingo, mate! To describe the week I've just had I should have started the post with I've been flat out like a lizard drinking / been busy. Maybe it's true that we've lost some of our Aussie Slang, I never hear anyone yell 'strewth!' and can count on one hand how many times I've been called a 'shelia'. That being said I never knew good old cordial was an Aussie thing either until I did a bit of googling.

So instead of baking a butter cake and enjoying it with a pot of hot tea I went with making homemade lemon cordial as it fits with both slow food and slow pastimes. It's refreshing, tart but still sweet and also simple to make. I do prefer my cordial on the bitter and weak side so I added a little extra citric acid and a little less sugar as there seemed to be an extraordinary amount in the recipe. The hardest thing about the recipe was juicing and zesting the lemons, after that everything is added to a pot and all you need to do is make sure the sugar (over 1kg ahhh!) is properly dissolved. I let it sit in the fridge for a night, strained it and put it in sterilised bottles/jars. I now have a good 1.5 litres of refreshing lemon cordial on hand that needs only a handful of ice and water for a quick taste of summer. Delish!

I think it's sometimes hard to remember the simple things when you get stuck in the 9-5 grind of Monday to Friday with busy weekends that disappear and suddenly its Monday again before you know it. So now with every glass I have a small reminder of the simple things and to make a little time for them and crikey its a cracker of a drop!

Homemade Lemon Cordial

recipe adapted from The Little Book of Slow by Sally Wise and Paul McIntyre

6 large lemons, washed (or 9 smaller lemons)
1.2kg white sugar *
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon citric acid
1 litre boiling water

- Finely zest and juice the lemons into a large pot.

-  Add remaining ingredient to pot stirring well.

- Keep stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved - you may need to stir it over low heat to help it along but do not bring it to a boil.

- Allow to cool to room temp, cover and store in the fridge overnight.

- Strain using a fine seive and store in steriliser bottles/jars.

To Serve: Mix 1 part cordial and 5 parts water (or soda water), stir, add ice and enjoy!

*The original amount of sugar in this recipe is 1.5kg. By reducing the sugar like I did will reduce the shelf life of the coridal. I am storing my (reduced sugar version) cordial in the fridge but if you use the original amount of sugar (1.5kg) you can store it in a cool dark place.

Find original recipe here.

Lemon Maple Granola from A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones.

It was one of those morning yesterday where I didn't want to get out of bed. I could have quite happily stayed under the covers all day with a pile of cookbooks to keep me company and thats it.

The only plus side was that I had homemade granola waiting for me, all I needed to add was thick greek yoghurt and fresh strawberries. It was amazing.

A few weeks ago I made the Lemon Maple Granola from Anna Jones's cookbook 'A Modern way to Eat' and then made it again since then it was so good. My old pickle jar which works great in its second life as a granola jar will soon be empty, I don't even think I can last until Friday which is a scary thought. I might be making a batch of granola after night classes on Thursday... I will have definitely gone granola mad if that happens. I need my fix in the mornings!!

I hated breakfast as a kid. How things have changed. My parents would drill it into me that I needed to eat a huge breakfast to get me through the day and they were right, I just never liked it. On week days, before school I would have to eat a bowl of fruit, a bowl of cereal and a piece of toast with a glass of orange juice to wash it all down. Weekend breakfasts weren't fun either, I hated eggs growing up so unless I got pancakes, breakfast was always a let down. I'd have rather eaten a bowl of spaghetti in the mornings instead.

Since I've grown up I love weekend breakfast and all eggs whether they are runny, hard, soft, scrambled, boiled, poached or fried but I never have time to make eggs of any sorts on the weekdays as I am running out the door like a mad woman. So for a while weekday breakfasts were a chore, I used to scoff down some dry cereal and that was that. Until I discovered home-made granola. It's a revelation. I'm fussy when it comes to cereals, they are either overly sweet, have too much 'fake' vanilla flavour or are heavy on the cinnamon and always have random bits of fruit in them. Making my own means I don't spend 5 minutes fishing out the mysterious yellow squares of dried fruit in my bowl that are listed as 'tropical' fruit on the box.

Anna Jones's Lemon Maple Granola is seriously delicious. The lemon gives is very subtle in the mix is a lovely freshness that gives you kick in the mornings and goes great with the sweet maple and earthiness of all the seeds and grains. It's quite a nubbly granola mix with all the seeds, baked dried fruit and nuts so goes great having some fresh fruit to serve with it and of course a healthy dollop or two of greek yogurt. It ticks all the boxes in the morning that a breakfast should do.

I now wake up and look forward to my granola in the mornings, just wish I could take it make to bed with me along with a book rather than leaving the house.

Thinking of making this one next which Amelia from Bon Appetempt makes with her son, Teddy. Am going on a dried cherry hunt this weekend, just need to hold out until then and refrain the crazy lady inside of me from making midnight granola.

Lemon Maple Granola

recipe adapted from A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones
makes 1 large jar

8 tablespoons maple syrup
2 large handfuls (150g) rolled oats
2 large handfuls (150g) quinoa flakes
1 handful (40g) pumpkin seeds
1 handful (40g) sunflower seeds
1 large handful (80g) almonds, chopped
1 handful (30g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
grated zest of 1 lemon
a handful (50g) of dried currants
a handful (50g) of dried cranberries

- Preheat oven to 180C or 400F and lightly grease two large baking trays with some butter or vegetable oil.

- In a large bowl add your oats, quinoa flakes, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, coconut, lemon zest and roughly mix until everything is spread evenly throughout. Pour over the maple syrup and give it a really good mix so all the little flakes and seeds are coated, don't rush this bit.

- Divide the mixture onto your two large trays and bake for a total of 30 minutes, but stir every 5-10 minutes to get an even colouring. You may need to bake it for a little longer or a little less, depending on how strong your oven is but in the last 10 minutes of baking try and throw in your dried currants and cranberries. This will turn them into sticky, almost caramelised, chewy nuggets throughout the granola.

- Once it is a lovely golden colour, allow to cool completely in trays then transfer cooled mix into an airtight jar or container. The granola will last up to 4 weeks, although mine never seems to last that long as the jar seems to be forever empty.

- Serve with some thick greek yoghurt and chopped fresh fruit.

Chicken in white wine with lemon potatoes from Donna Hay Magazine - Issue 76.

First off let me tell you that meat in general doesn't exactly photo very well on an iphone camera. A new camera is on my wish list and I've picked it out, its just in the works at the moment. So I start by apologising for my photos... and I don't think this will be the first time I apologise for my photos either.

I've done the meal planning again this week and I had no dramas at the supermarket...yeehaa!

Back home now and back to no dishwasher so a one pot dish was perfect for tonights dinner. I think it could have definitely gone for some sugar snap peas thrown in at the last few minutes of cooking to give a little crunch and sweetness... also might have given the dish a little colour. Yes I know some people hate that when herbs or vegetables are added 'just for colour' but this would have also improved the taste and texture not just the overall colour. And its easy for a food stylist or photographer to make a dish look better than someone like me who is cooking dinner at night with no natural light whatsoever or fancy flash that makes it look like there is no flash at all. I did my best with what I had (and yes I used a filter on my phone for a couple of them).

Oooo and lemon zest... I would zest my half a lemon and add it in somewhere while everything cooks.


The chicken was deliciously juicy and the potatoes soaked up all the lovely sauce. In the magazine it looks almost baked but mine turned out kind of poached even though I did as the recipe said and browned it in olive oil to start with. I would put it under the grill or in the oven next time to brown the top up and help evaporate some of the sauce as it ended up swimming in sauce on our plates.

A very tasty chicken dish and best of all, hardly any washing up!

Chicken in white wine with lemon potatoes from Donna Hay magazine Issue 76.
(recipe adapted)
Serves 4

1 tbs olive oil
4 chicken breasts, skin removed
salt & pepper
200g marinated artichokes
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
500g chat potatoes, sliced into 1cm thick
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
handful of fresh thyme
2 handfuls of sugar snap peas (optional- although I would add them!)
juice and zest of half a lemon
parmesan, to serve

- Heat olive oil in a heavy bottom oven proof pot. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts then add them to the hot oil, frying on each side until toasted brown.

- Once the chicken is browned on both sides remove it from the pan and add the garlic and artichokes and cook in the oil left in the pan until garlic is tender.

- Add the stock, wine, thyme, zest and potatoes to the artichokes and garlic and bring to the boil. Add the chicken back in the pot and place a tight fitting lid on top and cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and soft and the chicken is cooked through. If your adding sugar snap peas add them towards the end but don't over cook them, you still want them to have some crunch.

(If your chicken isn't very browned on top I would put the pot uncovered under the grill or in the oven for a bit to reduce the sauce and brown the chicken on top.)

- Squeeze the lemon juice over to finish and a sprinkling of parmesan.