dinner twist

A few months ago a friend of mine told me about 'Dinner Twist'. It's a weekly box delivery that provides four delicious recipes and all the ingredients that you need to cook those four recipes. I really liked the idea because thinking of what to make for dinner every night (night after night after night) was driving me absolutely bonkers! 

The number of times I found myself leafing through cookbooks with nothing jumping out at me or standing in the supermarket with two cranky kids at 4.30pm thinking "Umm..." was getting ridiculous. The monotony of having to think about what to cook every night was also sucking away my passion for cooking.. So I decided to give dinner twist a go.

I'll be honest, when I first mentioned to Tom that I wanted to try dinner twist he though it was a silly idea. He said "we have so many cookbooks (we do.. more than anyone I know actually.. they are my weakness) .. why don't you just choose 4 recipes and order the groceries online and it will be exactly like getting dinner twist but much cheaper". He had a point, but I really wanted to try it. I also really liked the fact that it was run by a local couple who lived in the next suburb.. I love it when people have an awesome idea and then actually do it. (As opposed to people like me who have lots of ideas but never do anything about it). I think it's great to support small, local businesses.

When the first box arrived I was so impressed with the quality of the produce. The bread was from a local artisan bakery, the quinoa was from the local wholefood shop, the meat from a local butcher.. Everything was fresh, local and looked delicious. 

The recipes were easy to make, healthy and unbelievably yummy! But best of all, they were interesting meals that (often) I hadn't cooked before.. I was hooked!

We have been getting dinner twist for the last few months now and I am not joking when I say that Tom has often come home exclaiming "Dinner twist is the best thing ever!".  It's hard to believe that the simple act of having someone plan your dinners for the week and then drop off all the ingredients you need could make such a huge difference, but it has honestly changed my life.

My cooking skills have improved ten fold, we eat much healthier and far more interesting food (even though I always thought we ate quite well before), we waste far less food because we only get what we need delivered and most importantly.. I don't have to think about what to cook for dinner anymore! 

The recipes never take more than 1/2 an hour to cook and we always have enough left-over for lunch the next day. It's awesome!

Dinner twist provide two types of boxes: the family box and the foodie box. We get the foodie box as we like trying new and interesting dishes and so far my kids have been happy to eat almost everything I have made. (The jerusalem artichoke soup was possibly the best thing I have ever eaten in my life!)

At the moment dinner twist is only available in Perth.. so if you live in Perth.. Click here! You will be so glad you did!

(This post was not sponsored at all.. just something that I absolutely love and wanted to share!)

let's just call it banana cake

I would only be slightly exaggerating if I said that Tom made this banana bread at least once a week.
We always seem to have a pile of brown bananas in the fruit bowl that need using and this recipe is the perfect way to get rid of them. (And I have to admit that having a loaf of banana bread on hand is pretty handy for when people drop in for a cup of tea.)

The first time Tom made this banana bread he said "It's not really banana bread is it? It's more like banana cake" and seemed slightly disappointed at the amount of sugar and butter that went into it (I think he was hoping to convince himself that it was a healthy afternoon tea option) but this recipe is a winner and much better for you than any banana bread you buy at the supermarket.

This recipe is from 'Apples for jam' by Tessa Kiros (one of our favourite cookbooks).

125g butter
180g dark brown sugar
350g (about 4 medium) very ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
250g (2 cups) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp warm milk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Butter a 30 x 11cm loaf tin.

Cream the butter and sugar till smooth and whisk in the mashed bananas.
Add the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and whisk in well.

Sieve in the flour and baking powder and beat until smooth.
Mix the baking soda into the milk and stir into the batter.

Scrape the mixture into the tin and bake for about 50 minutes until the bread is crusty on top and a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean.

Turn out onto a rack to cool.
Enjoy with a cup of tea!

Also.. Banana bread freezes really well! Cut it into slices and freeze in a zip-lock bag. When someone pops in unexpectedly for tea just toast it for a minute (until defrosted and warm) and serve! Yum!

"Good God Lemon"

Source: mynewroots.blogspot.com.au via Katie on Pinterest

I just saw this cake over at 'My new roots' today and my mouth started watering on the spot!
I'll have to file this one in 'things to make when I am allowed out of bed' (or convince Tom to make it for me), but you could try it in the meantime and let me know how delicious it was..

Photo from 'My new roots' via pinterest

The title of this post has nothing to do with 'orange blossom sesame cake' and has everything to do with the fact that sometimes Tom and I watch too much 30 rock and end up talking like Jack Donaghy for the rest of the day.

Kinfolk.

Look at what arrived on my doorstep yesterday.

Have you read Kinfolk? I do believe it has just become my favourite magazine. (Do you call it a magazine? It does not really feel right, it feels like a book that you will keep forever. One that you will put on the bookshelf so you can see it everyday and be careful not to bend the corners when you pick it up to read.. or is that just me?)

Did you know it is also available on iPad? (But it really is much nicer holding it in your hands and turning those smooth matt pages while sipping tea. Earl grey I think.)

My New Roots

I found this really cool website the other day called 'My New Roots'. It is a bit like 101 cookbooks.. awesome photography and delicious, healthy recipes but with loads of nutritional information aswell.

In other food news, 'KR Castlemaine' have finally produced a sodium nitrate free ham! I don't think anyone else will be as excited as me, but I have been waiting a long time for this day.. It's about bloody time!

If you know any other food blogs that you think are amazing, please leave a link in the comments and I'll check them out.. nothing like wasting an hour or two looking at pictures of delicious food!

Image via 'My New Roots'

Roast pork belly with braised fennel

Tom made this last weekend. It was seriously one of the best meals I have ever had in my life. We don't eat a huge amount of meat around here but I think this one is going to become one of our favourites.

Pork belly is a surprisingly cheap cut of meat and don't worry about the fat.. It all cooks off after about 3 hours in the oven, so you are left with a very tender and lean piece of meat. Tom used this recipe (Oh Jamie, where would we be without you?)

The fennel is roasted under the pork belly and covered in wine so it stays nice and tender too. If you eat meat, you must try this recipe.. you will thank me afterwards I promise!

Other yummy things..

That we have made lately.

*All photos were taken with Instagram, you may have noticed that I have become slightly obsessed with Instagram. I can't believe that we spent $2000 on on DSLR and my iPhone takes better photos!

Home made gnocchi

You can hardly see them in there, but Tom and Sophie made the most delicious gnocchi the other night.. It was one of those nights when there were hardly any groceries left in the house and Tom just knocked this up with whatever was left in the fridge.. the man is crazy (in a good way!)

(Delicious) mini carrot cakes

Tom's little sister made these mini carrot cakes for Sophie's birthday a few weeks ago.. they were soo good. I do love a good carrot cake, especially one you can fit in your mouth in one go. You can find the recipe here.

Homemade Christmas

Last Christmas we made every single gift that we gave to family and friends. We made marmalade, lemon cordial, roasted muesli and I made clothes for all the kids. This year I had the same intentions.. we were going to make chutneys and pestos and all sorts of things, but we have been so busy that we never got around to it.

I made up for it though, by buying everything from lovely little shops in my local area like this one and this one, that sell handmade (and often Australian) products. It was actually nice to choose thoughtful little gifts, and I know that Tom's little sisters will be happy to get something other than muesli! (Do you really think that a 19 year old uni student wants lemon cordial for Christmas?! Especially since before Tom met me (and had a lovely disposable income) he would spend about $200 on each sister every Christmas (remember he has FIVE little sisters)! Of course, none of them would ever complain about getting a bottle of homemade cordial after they are use to getting a new MimCo wallet (they are all lovely, down-to-earth girls), but I think they will be happy to get something non-edible this year!!)

Did you do a homemade Christmas? Any suggestions for things I can make next year?

Only 4 more sleeps..

Garlic prawns

Dinner = Bill Granger's garlic prawns,
Salad, Crusty sourdough, Olives, Dukkah.

Pavlova

I have been making quite a bit of pavlova lately. Such a perfect desert on warm summer nights.
I just have to learn to stop at one piece!

Pear, chocolate and pistachio tart

How amazing does this tart from 'Cannelle et Vanille' look?
This is going to the top of my to do list!

Image from 'Cannelle et Vanille'

Spaghetti

Tom made this pasta for lunch the other day in about 10 minutes. Bacon, spaghetti, mixed lettuce, lemon juice, olive oil, cracked pepper and parmesan. Yum!

Bruschetta

Tom has been making bruschetta quite a bit lately.
Such a great dish for warm (almost) summer nights.

Goats cheese ravioli with harissa

I just made this for dinner.. It's goats cheese ravioli, broccoli, pine nuts and feta topped with a garlic/ harissa oil.
The recipe is from 'Super natural every day' by Heidi Swanson of 101 cookbooks.. (that girl makes some seriously good food!).
It was actually really easy to make and one of the best meals I have made in a while.. Soo delicious!

Tomatoes

Take some delicious looking tomatoes.
Stuff them with cous cous, basil and harissa and bake.. Mmm!

Pantry labels

How cool are these pantry labels from mae?
Available from Lark.

Mandarin and lime cake

Tom made this cake a few weeks ago when we had a bunch of friends over for afternoon tea.
The recipe is actually for Mango and lime, but we usually make it with orange or mandarin and it turns out just as good (if not better). The recipe uses 200g of yoghurt, so it is always moist and really delicious..
Ooh I am so lucky to have a husband who loves spending hours in the kitchen making delicious things..

Bill Granger's baked eggs

There is nothing like baked eggs on a Sunday morning.



These are from a recipe in his (excellent) book Holiday. They are so easy to make and are seriously impressive (and seriously delicious)..
If you ever had friends over for breakfast and wanted to pretend you were a domestic goddess.. then try these!

I served mine with some beetroot sourdough from the local bakery.

Bill Granger's baked eggs

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
200g baby spinach leaves
8 eggs
4 tbsp cream
4 tbsp grated parmesan
salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Lightly grease 4 (large) ramekins and place on a baking tray.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the leaves are just softened.
3. Drain the spinach and divide among the 4 ramekins. Break 2 eggs into each ramekin. Pour 1 tbsp of cream over the eggs and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of parmesan. (I never measure the cream or parmesan.. but you can if you like to be precise about things).
4.Bake for 15 minutes or until the eggs are puffed (and slightly golden).
5. Serve with crusty bread and I love it with some chopped parsley on top..
Delicious with a capital D!