About Me:
Hi, I'm Ella and welcome to my kitchen. I'm a home cook, someone that finds cooking relaxing and fun. I love creating meals that my family (husband and three kids) enjoy. I love variety, I love trying new things all the time. This site is about the food I serve my family and friends. This is what I cook. This is my food diary.
All my life I have sat down with my family (and friends) I love for an evening meal (whether it was my mum's table growing up or my table once I got married), This is the time we gather to share not only the food but the days happenings. We eat dinner talking away, then we sit for about an hour, sometimes more, and just keep talking about what's going on in our lives. These moments are priceless.
I have a lot of cookbooks and I love the ones with pictures (I like to know what a meal should look like, before I begin). So I will flick through a book until I find what I feel like eating. Then cook it. Sometimes it is just the idea I get from a cookbook, like when I make birthday cakes, sometimes it is an entire recipe. The first time I try a recipe, I follow it as it is, then if it is a success, the second time I will tweak it if I think it needs it, to suit me and my family.
Most things I cook are simple. I'm not into a lot of fuss. And as I have a ridiculously small kitchen for someone who loves to cook, plating up is not my thing, no space for it really, I'm more put it on a platter in the centre of the table and help yourself.
Edit: I had a tiny kitchen for 15 years, I have since moved from my tiny kitchen where I now have two kitchens, but how I serve my food hasn't changed. I still love putting food in the centre of the table and we all share a meal together. Plating up is just not for me.
This site has tried and tested recipes which I have cooked for my family and friends, some are easy, some are a little more difficult, but in the end all are delicious.
A quick important note: "My oven is a fan forced oven, so all recipes are based on that. If you use a conventional oven, cooking temperatures and times may need to be adjusted. But in all honesty, just get to know your oven, it is a trial and error thing when you first try recipes, just try."
All my life I have sat down with my family (and friends) I love for an evening meal (whether it was my mum's table growing up or my table once I got married), This is the time we gather to share not only the food but the days happenings. We eat dinner talking away, then we sit for about an hour, sometimes more, and just keep talking about what's going on in our lives. These moments are priceless.
I have a lot of cookbooks and I love the ones with pictures (I like to know what a meal should look like, before I begin). So I will flick through a book until I find what I feel like eating. Then cook it. Sometimes it is just the idea I get from a cookbook, like when I make birthday cakes, sometimes it is an entire recipe. The first time I try a recipe, I follow it as it is, then if it is a success, the second time I will tweak it if I think it needs it, to suit me and my family.
Most things I cook are simple. I'm not into a lot of fuss. And as I have a ridiculously small kitchen for someone who loves to cook, plating up is not my thing, no space for it really, I'm more put it on a platter in the centre of the table and help yourself.
Edit: I had a tiny kitchen for 15 years, I have since moved from my tiny kitchen where I now have two kitchens, but how I serve my food hasn't changed. I still love putting food in the centre of the table and we all share a meal together. Plating up is just not for me.
This site has tried and tested recipes which I have cooked for my family and friends, some are easy, some are a little more difficult, but in the end all are delicious.
A quick important note: "My oven is a fan forced oven, so all recipes are based on that. If you use a conventional oven, cooking temperatures and times may need to be adjusted. But in all honesty, just get to know your oven, it is a trial and error thing when you first try recipes, just try."
What's New for 2024
Jam Doughnut Focaccia
Pizza Pastry Sun
Apple and Rhubarb Crumble Pie
Lemon and Blueberry Bougatsa Parcels
Baked Red Chicken Curry
Crispy Chilli Chicken Burger
Crispy Chilli Oil
Roast Pumpkin, Buffalo Mozzarella, Sage and Hazelnuts
Spinach Soup
Homemade Chilli Oil
Quick and Delicious Pasta Bake
Garlic Prawns
Glazed Honey and Soy Chicken with Sweet Chilli Sauce
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
Easy Fall Off The Bone Oven Baked Pork Ribs
Falafel with Chickpeas
Twirly Breadsticks
Josip's Croatian Gulas
Chocolate and Raspberry Brownies
2023
Easy Same Day Focaccia
Ciabatta Rolls
Čobanac
My Friday No Knead Bread
Focaccia with Potatoes
Bake Marija's Baked Squid and Potatoes
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Cevapi
Croatian Flatbread Lepinje
Party Bureks
Tomato, Bocconcini and Rocket Pesto Bruschetta
Strawberry and Mint Mojito
Indian Goat Curry
Naan Bread
No Knead Soft Crust Bread
Ricotta Crumble Cake
Istarski Fuzi
Easy Focaccia Pizza
Italian Roasted Sugar Snap Peas
Turkish Spiced Cabbage and Minced Lamb Stew with Tomatoes
Focaccia
Easy Crusty No Knead Bread
Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce
Bazlama Turkish Flat Bread
Ginger Beer
Banana Bread Bundt Cake
Green Beans in Tomato Sauce
Turkish Vegetable and Beef Stew with Pasta
Marinated BBQ Lamb Chops
Strawberry Cake
Penne alla Vodka
Apple and Berry Crumble
Roast Chicken in Tomatoes
Ottoman Lamb Shank Stew with Pilaf
Perfect Roast Potatoes
Falsa Juha - False Soup
Nutella or Jam Pillows
Polpete
Pide Bread
Ali Nazik-Lamb Stew
Ella's Pork Neck in Tomato Sauce with Polenta
Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake
Slow Roasted Tomato, Pumpkin and Turmeric Soup
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Jock's Focaccia
Ajngemahtec s Griz Knedlama
Charred Broccoli with Onions
Zucchini Fritters
Porn Star Martini
Spicy Chicken Wings with Green Goddess Dip
Lychee and Cucumber Mule
Croatian Easter Bread
Quick Beef Pho
Croatian Bean and Barley Soup with Baked Pork
Nicoise Salad
Chicken Egg Drop Noodle Soup
Cheats Pizzette
Irish Apple Crumble Cake
Dandelion Leaves, Potato, Egg and Bacon Salad
Sausage Rolls with Homemade Puff Pastry
Homemade Sauerkraut
Easy Chicken Fajitas
Easy Steak Fajitas
Erdutski Kotlic s Noklicama
Fritule
Upside Down Blood Orange Cake
Croatian Tripe Stew
Zuppa di Pesce