Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Your favourite new loaf cake + Things To Cook This Week + January Diary

Hello and welcome to all new members!

If you are new around here, you are currently reading the weekly free cooking newsletter I send out 2-3 times a month on a Sunday. It is usually packed with new recipes I publish on my blog Cook Republic, recipes I am cooking during the week, wonderful things to read, watch and discover, new cookbook recommendations and mini reviews and journal entries from my kitchen and life in Sydney, Australia.

I also have a paid section of the newsletter called “Live More Veg” where I send brand-new, veg-forward recipes weekly. This collection of tried and tested recipes started a year and half ago and already has 108+ recipes and growing.

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January Diary

Earlier this month, we celebrated our younger son’s 16th birthday with a special dinner at Sails on Lavender Bay in Sydney. It was a delightful evening overlooking the harbour with gorgeous food and beautiful weather.

I took the last week off to work on a new and exciting project. Even though we hit 41°C here at home in Sydney (with no air conditioning), we kept things interesting by eating cold salads and jumping in and out of the pool all day. We have another scorcher coming up later this week and I truly struggle to cook and test recipes in a hot kitchen and store my abundance of fresh produce correctly. I honestly can’t wait for autumn. #firstworldproblems

The holiday limbo has slowly and surely come to a close as it is all hands on deck from tomorrow. School also starts this week, so it is back to packing lunchboxes. The older boy is following a clean-bulking routine to cut and shred in a few months. This means I am prepping double the number of meals that are high in protein, especially plant protein (Hello chickpea, my old friend!). I am also successfully managing to get about 100g of protein throughout the day and it has been wonderful for me. I feel that surge of energy that allows me to do so much more in the day.

We watched a wide variety of movies and shows as a family - Godzilla Minus One (an amazing Japanese movie with a truly unique take on Godzilla set in post-war Japan. This is the story of the humans, of the kamikaze pilot set against the backdrop of Japan’s famous monster-creature. It has just been nominated for an Oscar), The Impossible (a beautifully made movie about the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and the true story of a family caught in it), The Blair Witch Project (a sleeper cult-hit movie, the original found-footage documentary style of horror that took the world by storm), Ted Lasso Season 3 (the most feel-good show there ever was!).

I watched the last season of the Aussie show Bump (loved it!), Anyone But You (a fun rom-com set in Sydney) and What’s Love Got To Do With It? (an interesting story about an award-winning British documentary maker who documents her Pakistani best friend’s “assisted marriage” journey)

After talking about it for months, we finally implemented a family chore chart. With our boys now 16 and nearly 20, this one is a proper “adult” chore chart with grown-up tasks assigned to everyone. It is a total game-changer. It is amazing how much gets done and how fast things are addressed when four people are sharing the workload equally.

That’s all from me! Now onto all the delicious recipes :)

Sneh

x

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New On The Blog

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

I love cakes over cookies. Especially plain cakes that are baked in loaf tins. Perhaps, they are in line with my childhood dream of owning and running a bakery with an array of different flavoured loaf cakes in rustic brown cases. But plain loaf cakes are what afternoon teas are made of.

So instead of baking chocolate chip cookies (which my boys adore!) for the last couple of months, I have been baking a plain loaf cake that tastes just like a chocolate chip cookie - Chocolate Chip Pound Cake. Buttery, generous, golden crumb studded with gooey dark chocolate bits. An instant hit!

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Want instant to access over 105 New and Exclusive Veg-Lovin’ Recipes (downloadable and printable), lots of cool cooking techniques and inspiration to pack more veggies in your meals? Find it all in “Live More Veg” - my member section.

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Things I Am Cooking This Week

It’s Sunday and it’s meal prep day! Today, I am getting organized for the week ahead and making these tried and tested recipes from the blog while hitting all the beautiful colours.

Green Zucchini Noodles With Thai Pesto / Green

We are due for some more hot weather later this week (40°C yikes!) and on those days, I don’t cook. Instead, I put together meals like this gorgeous cold noodle dish that is packed with buckets of flavour. Originally published and on the cover of my cookbook Tasty Express, this is a clever little dish that is widely loved by many.

The secret lies in that ridiculously delicious Thai-inspired pesto that can be made ahead and packed in the fridge. Then when you want to serve, spiralize some zucchini (can also be prepped a few days in advance) and soak vermicelli noodles in hot water for a couple of minutes. Toss everything together and slurp away!

Honeyed Rockmelon (Cantaloupe) Smoothie /Orange

I have two whole rockmelons in my veggie box this week and this honeyed, fragrant, protein-packed smoothie is our favourite way of enjoying rockmelon. Going to make 6-8 jars and stow them in the fridge. A great boost of beta-carotene (almost as much as carrots and much more than oranges and grapefruit) during the week.

Antipasto Salad / Rainbow

A cold salad perfection! In my opinion, this is the best way to eat a tray of roasted pumpkin. With pickled and roasted veggies, sharp olives, creamy feta, greens, herbs and fluffy couscous. A work and school lunchbox staple in our home.

Chicken Udon Noodles / Yellow

This one is a life-saving recipe when it comes to feeding hungry hordes. Ready in minutes, with plenty of protein, and lots of vegetables, healthier than take-out and perfect for making ahead or carrying in hot lunch packs. Big on flavour too!

Beetroot Hummus / Pink

A favourite way of boosting protein via snacks throughout the day - hummus! This beetroot hummus is simply gorgeous and so easy to make in 20 minutes flat. But if beetroot isn’t your thing, I also do swear by this Roasted Cauliflower Hummus.

Silverbeet Chickpea Curry / Brown (Member Recipe on Live More Veg)

Incredibly delicious restaurant-style Indian vegan curry with double the flavour and healthy and light all the way. A secret ingredient makes this smell and taste so delicious, that people always ask for the recipe!

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Good Habits This Week

These were my New Year habits that I was trying to cultivate and be consistent with. I am hitting these goals 95% of the time and it feels like a good thing.

1. Make a little fruit plate with 3-4 varieties every morning.

2. Walk 10k steps every day.

3. Drink a liter of water while working at the desk.

4. Spend 10 minutes stretching in the morning and 10 minutes at night.

5. Eat a cup of chickpeas every day.

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I hope you have enjoyed today’s newsletter. I’ll be back again with a very special member recipe later this week. Have a wonderful week. Eat well, Be well!