​Many, many years ago I lived in Newcastle with a lovely family for a year, while I studied at the University there. The mum there made zucchini fritters that I never ever forgot. They were fabulous. They were thin and crispy and just amazing. For years I have been trying to find a recipe that came close to them and finally I have found it.

These are delicious, they are thin and crisp and I can't stop eating them once I have made them. They take me back to Newcastle every time and that food memory that I never forgot.

I double this recipe for my family of five and we eat it as a snack, if I tripled it, it would go also.

This is one recipe I have been looking for for years, and I know I'll be making it for years to come. Give them a try, they won't disappoint.

Recipe adapted from Ino Kuvacic's cookbook Dalmatia

Serves 4

4 zucchini, grated
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 egg
handful panko breadcrumbs
50g plain flour
salt and pepper, to taste
sunflower oil, for shallow frying.
​
Grate the zucchini, season it with salt and put it in a colander, set over a bowl. Place a plate on top of the grated zucchini and then something heavy on top of the plate to press the water out of the mixture. You can leave this in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, or an hour on the kitchen bench is enough. When you are ready to cook, squeeze out any excess liquid with clean hands before continuing with the recipe. 
​
Transfer the zucchini to a clean mixing bowl. Add the onion, egg, breadcrumbs and flour, season with salt and pepper, to taste, mix well to combine.

Shape the mixture into small patties, with your hands. They can be palm sized or whatever size you like.

Heat some sunflower oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the patties until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towel, then serve hot.

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​This one is my daughters addition to my blog. This is her favourite cocktail and she makes it for the two of us.

When passionfruit is not in season we have used tinned passionfruit, not exactly the same, but it is still good. You don't need the simple syrup in this case.

​Recipe adapted from www.liquor.com/

45ml vanilla flavoured vodka
15ml passion fruit liqueur (such as Passoã or De Kuyper)
30ml fresh passionfruit juice
15ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
15ml vanilla simple syrup
60ml sparkling wine, chilled

Garnish: 1/2 passion fruit
​
​Add all ingredients except sparkling wine into a shaker with ice and shake vigorously until well-chilled.

Strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Garnish with a passion fruit half.

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​My 16 year old asked if I could make something light for dinner, a salad of some sort. It was only the two of us home for dinner, and he had football training in the evening afterwards so he didn't want anything heavy. So off I went looking for something that both of us would like and I found this recipe.

We loved it, the flavour combination is delicious. The chicken had just enough spice and all the other ingredients made every bite delicious.

For those that don't know BLAT stands for Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Tomato, an amazing flavour combination.

I've never made a buttermilk dressing before and I love it, it's light, it's tangy.

With the chicken, if your pieces have thick bits, I like to butterfly them open, so cooking time is even throughout your chicken piece.

With the bread, you can either slice the ciabatta thinly or cut it into bite sized croutons. 

​I think I may add some soft boiled eggs, halved, to this one day also.

This is a great midweek meal idea, easy to make and delicious to eat.

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook 'Light'

Serves 4

4 chicken thigh fillets, each cut into 3 pieces
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 thin slices ciabatta (or cut into croutons)
cooking oil spray
4 rindless bacon slices
1 butter lettuce, leaves separated
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 medium avocado, sliced

Buttermilk dressing:
1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk
1/4 cup (60g) sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
​
Make buttermilk dressing-Whisk ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl until combined, season to taste.

Combine chicken, chilli, salt and oil in a large bowl.

Cook chicken on a heated oiled grill plate (or frying pan) over medium heat for 4-5 minutes each side or until cooked through. When I turn the chicken over I like to cover the pan with a lid (or pizza tray) for 2-3 minutes to make sure it cooks through, then uncover for the final minute or two. Clean grill plate.
​
Spray ciabatta lightly with cooking oil. Cook ciabatta and bacon on heated grill plate over high heat for 1 minute on each side or until golden and crisp. If your bread is cut into croutons, cook on all sides until golden and crisp.
​

Arrange lettuce, chicken, bacon, tomato and avocado on a platter.

​Drizzle with dressing. Serve with ciabatta.

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​My kids love chicken wings so I am constantly on the lookout for chicken wing recipes.

These are delicious, they have a nice, subtle spice to them and they have a great flavour. They are also quick and easy to make.

The green goddess dip I love, it's delicious. Some of my family loved the dip with the wings, some loved the dip on it's own but not with the wings. 

You can marinate the chicken a day in advance if making for a party.

I used sriracha for the hot chilli sauce. If you can't find onion salt, use 1½ tablespoons onion powder and season with salt to taste.

These are easy to make and taste great, something new you should try.

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook 'Light'

Serves 6-8

2kg chicken wings
1/2 cup (125ml) hot chilli sauce
1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoons onion salt
2 tablespoons mild paprika
1/3 cup (75g) firmly packed light brown sugar

Green Goddess Dip:
½ cup (125ml) buttermilk
1 small ripe avocado, chopped
½ cup loosely packed fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
4 green onions, sliced
1 small clove garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
​white pepper, to taste

baby cucumbers, quartered lengthways, to serve
hot chilli sauce, extra, to serve, optional
lime wedges, to serve


Preheat oven to 240C/220C fan forced. Line a large oven tray with baking paper.

Cut each chicken wing in half at the joint.

Combine chilli sauce, buttermilk, onion salt, paprika and sugar in a large bowl. Add chicken; toss well to coat.

Place chicken, presentation side (skin side) down, in a single layer, on tray. I like to put the pieces that look like mini drumsticks along the edges, with the two bone skinnier pieces (nibbles) in the centre. Brush with any remaining sauce mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn all the pieces over, continue baking for a further 20-25 minutes or until well browned and the wings are cooked through brushing occasionally with pan juices. Stand for 5 minutes.
​

Meanwhile, make the green goddess dip:-Blend or process the dip ingredients until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. season to taste with white pepper. Cover surface with plastic wrap until ready to serve.
​
Serve chicken with dip, cucumbers, extra chilli sauce and lime wedges.

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Recipe adapted from Millie Tang

Makes 1

30ml vodka
10ml lychee liqueur
10ml sugar syrup (optional)
2 slices cucumber
Ice cubes
Ginger beer, to serve
Mint sprig, to decorate
 
​Place the vodka, lychee liqueur, lime juice, sugar syrup (if using) and cucumber in a cocktail shaker. Use a muddler or a pestle to crush the cucumber until softened.

Add ice cubes. Shake for 30 seconds or until chilled. Add ice cubes to fill a serving glass. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve over ice in the glass.

​Top with ginger beer and decorate with mint to serve.

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​Blagoslovnica, Pinca, Sirnica, Fogace, all are names for Croatian Easter bread. Growing up my mum called it Blagoslovnica, so I'm going with that one, it's our tradition (my dad recently told us they called it Fogace on the island he is from).

This is something my mother loves, I think it reminds her of times growing up in Croatia. So every Easter she buys one, this year I thought I'd surprise her and make one. She loved it (she even requested one for mothers day coming up in a few weeks). ​Now I love food traditions, it's something that I'm trying to keep going with my kids, it connects us to where we are from. It's something that in the future will be a reminder of our families past.

Blagoslovnica is a sweet bread, it is usually shaped like a small ball with a cut on the top in the shape of a cross as it symbolizes the suffering of Christ. This homemade version I find better than the store bought ones.

This makes 4 smaller blagoslovnice, which I love, because I can keep one or two and gift the others. They are good for quite a few days. They are soft and have a really nice flavour from the citrus zests and the vanilla and the rum.

So here is an easy blagoslovnica that I know I will be making for years to come.

​Recipe adapted from pastrymaestra.com/

Makes 4

500g bread flour
1 teaspoon (5g) salt
100g caster sugar
6g orange zest (zest of one orange)
8g lemon zest (zest of two lemons)
100g milk
7g instant dried yeast
30g honey
100g whole eggs (2 medium eggs)
70g egg yolks (4 egg yolks)
​1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
30g Croatian Rum
30g Croatian Cherry Brandy
200g unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature

Egg wash: 
50g egg (1 medium egg)
1 tablespoon (10g) milk 

Decoration:
​Pearl or Icing Sugar


To make Croatian Easter bread place lukewarm milk into a measuring cup, add yeast and stir well with a whisk.

Place sifted flour into a stand mixer fitted with hook attachment. Add the dry ingredients – salt, sugar, lemon zest and orange zest. Mix on low speed to combine.

​Next, add milk and yeast mixture, honey, whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla bean paste, rum and cherry brandy. Mix on medium speed for about 10 minutes, until the dough becomes nice, smooth and stretchy.

Now gradually add softened butter mixing well after each addition. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave it in warm place for about 2.5 hours.

When the dough doubles in size divide it into four equal parts, about 285g each.

Next, form each piece into a ball by folding the dough, flipping it over and rounding using your palms. Place breads onto parchment paper lined baking trays, cover them with a cloth and let the dough rise again for about two hours.

​Brush the breads with egg wash, make incisions using scissors, and finally, sprinkle some pearl sugar or icing sugar on the top.

Bake breads at 180°C/160°C fan forced for about 25-30 minutes, until nicely golden.

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​I love to cook, I find it fun and relaxing. But even I have nights when I just don't want to cook, or I don't know what to cook.

As a family we sit down and have dinner together every night, some nights someone might have plans and won't join us, but whoever is home, we sit down together for dinner and then spend about an hour just chatting away about what's happened that day. For me Thursdays are difficult, my husband and two of my kids get home after 6pm, at that time I'm already at soccer training with my youngest which finishes at 7pm, I'm not home until 7:30pm. Now on organised days, I'll have slow cooked something earlier in the day and someone will reheat it for my 7:30pm arrival and we sit down and eat as soon as I get home. But when I'm not organised, it's chaos, by the time I start cooking it's 9pm before we eat dinner.

This soup came about as I had no idea what to cook one day and I just didn't feel like cooking, I needed something that was quick and easy to make. I went through my cookbooks and found one called Faking It, I thought perfect, flicked through the book, saw this recipe and had to try it. Now we love pho, but it usually involves hours of cooking, this one takes about 20 minutes. Was I concerned it would be bland, absolutely, was I wrong, absolutely. If I didn't tell my family this was a 'cheats pho', they wouldn't even know.

With the meat, I have never even thought to use sliced rare roast beef (which you buy at the deli). I have eaten it before, but never thought you could cook it. It worked beautifully. I added some thinly sliced fresh eye fillet also, but you can just use the rare roast beef if you like.

So here is a midweek meal idea that we loved and no one will know you haven't spent hours in the kitchen making it.

​Recipe adapted from the cookbook Faking It by Valli Little

Serves 5

250g flat rice stick noodles
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
6 spring onions, sliced on an angle
2cm piece ginger, peeled, very thinly sliced
1 small red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
4 cups (1 litre) beef stock (or consomme)
​200g shitake mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup (80ml) fish sauce
1/3 cup lime juice
200g bean sprouts
1/4 cup coriander leaves, plus extra to serve
1/4 cup mint leaves, plus extra to serve
250g thinly sliced rare roast beef
250g eye fillet steak, thinly sliced
Chilli Jam or Sambal Oelek, to serve, optional
​
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the spring onion, ginger and chilli and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until onion is soft. Add the beef stock and 1 cup (250ml) water, then bring to the boil. Add in the shitake mushrooms, decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, soften the noodles in a bowl of boiling water​ according to packet instructions.

To the soup, stir in the fish sauce and lime juice. Taste the soup, here I added an additional 1 cup (250ml) water as I found the flavour strong, this optional and to taste.

Divide the noodles, bean sprouts, coriander, mint, rare roast beef and eye fillet steak among soup bowls, then ladle over the broth. Add extra herbs if you like. 

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​This to me is the perfect salad, the flavour combination in this salad is just delicious. It's a hearty salad, yet it's still light. For me this is a great lunch idea.

The salad is a great party salad, as you can prepare things in advance, then just assemble before serving.

The ingredients, this is my favourite version, but you can omit things you don't like and add other things if you do like. For instance I have to add anchovies, but you don't have to. You could add onions, cucumbers or capsicums to the salad.

There are few things that do have to appear in the salad:

Canned tuna in olive oil is the best, in all honesty don't use a brine or springwater one here, the olive oil one has more flavour. The two brands I love are Adriatic Queen Tuna fillets or Sirena Tuna.
Eggs, hard or soft boiled, whatever you prefer, I prefer soft boiled. If you soft boil them, just halve them so you don't lose all the yolk. If the yolk is set, you can quarter the eggs so it looks like there is more on the platter.
Baby potatoes, if you can't find baby potatoes, cut up larger ones, though you may have to peel them.
I love kalamata olives here, with pips, they taste better.
Tomatoes-they need to be ripe, you can use large tomatoes or cherry tomatoes.
Beans-cook them how you like them.
Baby cos, I prefer baby cos to the large variety. I like to make the salad cover the entire base of my platter.
​
This a great lunch idea that I know I'll be making for years to come, hope you do to.​

​Recipe adapted from www.recipetineats.com/

Serves 4

8 baby/chat potatoes
120g green beans, trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tomatoes, each cut into 8-10 wedges
1 baby cos lettuce, cut or torn into large bite sized pieces
3 medium-hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
100g unpitted black kalamata olives
250 – 300g canned chunk tuna in oil, drained and broken into large chunks
8 anchovies, to taste, optional

​Lemon Nicoise dressing:
1½-2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch black pepper
​

Dressing: Shake the dressing ingredients in a jar.

Boil potatoes until tender. Drain and leave to fully cool. Slice into halves.

 Blanch Beans: Boil green beans until tender or done to your liking, 3-4 minutes is what I do. Drain and refresh under cold running water to quickly cool. Drain.

Arrange the cos leaves on a large, wide plate.

Scatter and layer the remaining ingredients artfully around the plate, finishing with the eggs, olives and chunks of tuna. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

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​Here is another one of my mum's recipes she has shared with me. This is very popular with my family and friends. The aromas you get around the house while this is cooking is lovely. For anyone that loves cuttlefish, you should give it a try. Once the risotto is done, the cuttlefish may still have a bit of bite to it, it isn't super soft, but it is very tasty.

Surprisingly my kids love it to, I say surprisingly as lots of kids won't even try things. I find starting them early on new foods makes everything normal. My 6 year old is a big foodie, and devours this. Nothing is too hot or spicy for him, nothing disgusts him. He is driven by flavour alone and will try anything. He makes me laugh, eating gives him such joy, quite funny.

Now I've noted that you need 1.5kg cleaned cuttlefish. We have a great friend who goes fishing and brings us cuttlefish, which is just amazing for us. The cuttlefish are usually really big. So I put them in two freezer bags, body in one, tentacles in the other, then freeze them until I need them. The risotto I make could be 1.5kg of tentacles only or just the bodies. If buying from the fish shop, use smaller one and use the whole lot in the risotto.

I have added Ajvar to the recipe, which is a Croatian Vegetable relish. If you decide to use it, the leftover relish is lovely on sandwiches. If you prefer not to buy it, just add an extra tablespoon of tomato paste.

With the water I have added the measure as, 'as needed'. What I do is I boil up water in my kettle. Then after the wine has been added, and absorbed into the rice, I add 1/2-3/4 cup water, just enough water to cover the rice, then allow that to absorb into the rice, then I keep adding water and allowing it to absorb, until the rice is cooked to my liking, it takes about 20 minutes, stirring regularly, but not constantly.

Vegeta is a vegetable stock powder, use it to taste, if you need more add more.

With the rice, you could make it with 2 to 2 1/2 cups of rice and it will still be lovely. Arborio rice is the best for this but I've also made it with medium grain rice and paella rice when I forget to but arborio. Now it's not creamy with different rice, like it is with arborio, but it still tastes great.

This is an easy recipe that is absolutely delicious, give it a try.

​​2 tablespoons olive oil
1.5kg cleaned cuttlefish, about 2kg uncleaned
1 onion, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
3 cups arborio rice
1 tablespoon Hot ajvar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup white wine
3 teaspoons vegeta
Water, as needed
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place your cleaned cuttlefish into a large saucepan. Fill it with cold tap water to cover the cuttlefish completely. Bring to the boil over high heat. Once it comes to the boil, simmer for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat, leave the cuttlefish to sit in the water for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes has passed, drain away the water, roughly dice up the cuttlefish.

Add oil to a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, sauté for 5 minutes. Add the capsicum, sauté for 3 minutes then add the garlic, chilli and parsley, sauté for another 2 minutes.

Add your diced cuttlefish, stirring, regularly, sauté for 10 minutes.

Add the rice, give it a stir. Add the ajvar and tomato paste, give it a stir. Then add the wine, allow it simmer away and be absorbed by the rice. Add in the bay leaf.

Add your first 3/4 cup of boiling water, stir it through the rice, it should just cover the rice. Season with salt and pepper, add the vegeta, start with 2 teaspoons of vegeta, you can always add more if needed. Allow the water to nearly disappear into the rice before adding your next lot of water. This whole process takes about 20 minutes, don't leave the pot it can burn easily. Repeat adding water, allowing it absorb, until you feel the rice is cooked to your liking. Keep tasting the liquid for seasoning, adding more if needed. Serve immediately.

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​This is one of easiest and quickest soups I make.

The first time I made it and told my family it was Asian flavoured, they were a little unsure of what to expect, as my chicken noodle soups are usually Croatian in flavour. But after one spoonful, they loved it. It is not intense in flavour, it's actually has a delicate lovely flavour.

With the chicken, I add what I have, sometimes it legs, sometimes thighs, sometimes marylands or wings.

If you forget to take the corn out of the freezer, still add it, just when you do crank up the heat to high, so it comes back to a simmer faster, then reduce it back down once it has.

The egg, I love egg in soups, it acts like additional noodles, now the recipe says 3 eggs, but I sometimes add 4 as my family love it.

With the pasta I use spaghetti or linguine. Now my spaghetti cooks in 11 minutes so the soup is timed to this pasta. If your pasta cooks in less time, add it in a little later, for instance when you add the chicken, so you don't have overcooked pasta.

The original recipe adds 2 tablespoons of cornflour mixed with 1/4 cup water and adds it when you add the soy sauce, I left it out, as I just don't think it needs it, but you can try it if you like. I think it will make it gluggy.

This is a beautiful soup, that is quick and easy to make and something you really need to try.

​Recipe adapted from www.bhg.com.au/

Serves 4

Stock:
2-3 chicken legs
1 large brown onion, quartered
1 carrot, peeled
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon vegeta
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

50ml extra virgin olive oil
50g butter
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves finely sliced
6cm piece ginger, peeled, julienned and finely diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stick celery, diced
1 cup frozen corn
150g spaghetti, snapped into pieces
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 eggs, lightly whisked
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Coriander sprigs, to serve


Take the corn out of the freezer, 30 minutes before you need it. You don't want it frozen as it will drop the temperature of the stock too much if it goes in completely frozen.
​
Put chicken legs, onion, carrot, garlic, vegeta and peppercorns in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water. Set saucepan over medium heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Carefully strain mixture into a jug, reserving chicken. Set aside.

Put a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add oil and butter. Add ginger, onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add carrot and celery and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add reserved stock and pasta. Bring to a simmer and cook for 6 minutes. 

Shred meat from chicken legs, add to saucepan with the corn and simmer for 3 minutes. Add soy sauce and now pour a thin stream of egg into the middle of the whirlpool as you slowly swirl the egg into the soup. This is how you get that pretty egg drop effect. Simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes to thicken. 

Stir in sesame oil, taste for seasoning and serve topped with fresh coriander leaves. 

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