All Good Things Issue 27

Crispy Salmon Burrito Bowls + Roasted Broccoli Coconut Salad + My Butcher's Mistress Cocktail

Afternoon lovely friends!

Are you ready for a week of exciting, easy cooking? Let’s get on with it. But first ..

I want to thank you all for being part of my little newsletter world and for all the heartfelt, lovely messages you send me after every newsletter. I read through every single one and I have started collecting your beautiful messages and comments for posterity hoping to share some of those beautiful messages with the community. Thank you!

 

Jam Frangipane Drops

A scrumptiously easy almond-y cookie redolent with lots of vanilla and strawberry jam. Goodness! I kid you not .. it smells like childhood wrapped in a soft summer breeze 🤗🥰   It takes only 20 minutes and a batch doesn't last very long! I have already baked 2 batches this week .. sooo good! Golden, crispy around the edges and cake-y in the middle with small puddles of strawberry jam ... mmmm
 

CLICK FOR RECIPE

Basic Crunchy Top Banana Muffins

A simple, basic banana muffin recipe that can be adapted to your choice of flour, milk and fat. A recipe that will give you perfect golden-brown, crunchy high-topped banana muffins like the ones at the cafe.
 

CLICK FOR RECIPE

I've got 5 easy and light lunch or dinner recipes that you can throw together quickly this week.  I wanted to add a little list of fresh and pantry ingredients that will go into creating these easy, lovely recipes. Just to give you an idea of how you can easily incorporate a variety of ingredients with so many amazing health benefits while eating better (I am counting at least 13 veg and fruit!!). Some basics you will need

Cooked - Basmati rice, black beans, charred corn and boiled eggs.

Fresh Ingredients - Salmon portions, smoked salmon, sweetcorn cobs, avocado, pineapple, broccoli, red cabbage, spinach, lettuce, mushroom, peas, capsicum, tomato, onion, leek, lime/lemon, chilli, coriander, ginger, garlic.

Pantry - Cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, oregano, smoked paprika, curry powder, fennel, mustard, bay leaf, dates, honey, vinegar, olive oil
 

1. CRISPY SALMON BURRITO BOWLS
Crispy Salmon Burrito Bowls are such an easy, light lunch. A vibrant and colourful bowl bursting with the most insane flavours – lime and coriander rice, grilled corn and pineapple, fresh bean and avo salsa and perfectly grilled salmon. Most of it can be prepped ahead and so much fun to eat!

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2. ROASTED BROCCOLI COCONUT SALAD WITH TURMERIC DRESSING
This is a really easy textural salad with massive flavour payback. The roasted broccoli, cabbage, coconut and sprout tossed in that heavenly dressing which is all kinds of wonderful with dates and mustard and vinegar and turmeric .. YUM!

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3. SMOKED SALMON KEDGEREE
A lifesaver dish of leftover rice, this British-Indian inspired stir-fry dish incorporates curry powder, smoked salmon and boiled eggs along with other herbs and spices for a beautifully delicious dinner.

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4. MUSHROOM MASALA
An amazingly restorative vegan dish of plump button mushrooms stir-fried with spices and a handful of other veggies. Flavour-packed and easy to make. Great with rice or even crusty bread!

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5. VEGAN TACO RICE SALAD
All the yummy flavours and components of a vego taco in the form of a warm salad. Easy to make, easy to eat and super fresh and flavourful!

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My Cooking List From The Interwebs This Week
 

No-Knead Fig Olive & Caramelised Onion Focaccia
Thai Burritos With Peanut Sauce
Colourful Beet Salad With Carrot Quinoa & Spinach
Marinated Teriyaki Eggplant
Simple Classic Shortbread, Ted Lasso Style!
Fresh Homemade Pita Bread
Dukkah Roasted Cauliflower Salal With Creamy Avo Dressing

 

VERY EXCITED to invite you to my Facebook Group - the Cook Republic Cooking Club!

It will be a community-focused learning space for everyone who loves to cook and wants to be better at it (myself included!). We'll explore new cooking techniques and cuisines, share our experiences and get inspired to cook smarter. Ask questions, post pictures, hang out and have fun!

Food For Thought »

This week I'd like to invite you to make a list of 5 things that you think will benefit your health, that you would like to do every day. Write them down on a piece of paper and stick it up where you can see it several times a day as a reminder. They can be simple things, little things, big things. Try and do them every day for a week.
 

My Daily List

1. Walk 10,000 steps 
2. Finish dinner by 7pm (this one is a big struggle for me!)
3. Get my 10 veg and fruit a day
4. Get 10 minutes of sunshine
5. Set aside 20 minutes to do something that makes me happy

 

Wordle! We are loving it. It is one of the first things we do individually when our day begins and one of the things we discuss when we all hang out together after work and school. It's cool and fun and if you need more of a challenge, check out Quordle (making my head explode!)

Speaking of challenging things, have you watched Daniel Radcliffe's rapping Blackalicious' "Alphabet Aerobics"? It is insane!

Watch this amazing Giraffe Rescue!

A really good hack for sad blackening avocados!

Uncle Roger hates Jamie Oliver's Fried Rice!

Last night we watched Death On The Nile. A huge Agatha Christie fan and an equally huge Kenneth Brannagh/Hercule Poirot fan, this murder mystery steeped in costumes, opulence, faraway lands and good storytelling was a delight to watch. Onto the last season of LOST now and feeling all the feels. Watched two short seasons of Derry Girls on my own, it is sweet and silly and heartfelt and the 90s setting in Ireland (during the Troubles) with the songs of my teen years playing in the back makes me super nostalgic.

That's all folks! See you next week with more good things xx

Last week, Nick and I went on our first dinner date in more than a year. It was lovely and the food was cracking. We had a divine gin-lychee based cocktail called Butcher's Mistress. I tried recreating it at home and it was a success. This is the recipe!

My Butcher's Mistress
Serves 1

6 canned lychees + 1 extra to garnish
12 large basil leaves + 2 small ones to garnish
2 mint leaves
1/2 cup ice + extra crushed ice to serve
45ml (1.5oz) gin
15ml (0.5oz) maple syrup
30ml (1oz) lime juice

Add lychees, basil and mint leaves and ice to a cocktail shaker. Muddle and crush lychees and herbs over the ice.

Add gin, maple syrup and lime juice. Shake vigorously for half a minute.

Fill a quarter of a small 250ml coupe glass with crushed ice.

Strain the cocktail over the ice. Garnish with a canned lychee and basil leaves. Enjoy!

 

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