In a recent culinary cycling trip to Cambodia we were lucky enough to visit a pepper farm in Kampot.  Kampot pepper is coveted by chefs around the world, you can read more about it here and also be in to win a sample pack.  The food was of course delicious and thank goodness there was plenty of cycling to work off those spring rolls.
Fish Amok is a popular Cambodian dish, a mild and fragrant coconut based fish curry, it really is quite delicious.
My stack of egg cartons is proof of the number of pavlovas made recently, in search of a really good chocolate pavlova recipe, and I think I have mastered it.  There are still a few questions to answer but no complaints from the family!

Happy Cooking!

I have been lucky enough to travel to other shores of late, a special birthday treat to Turkey (no kids) and hosting a fabulous food tour to Niue. Turkey was of course amazing and you can read my taste of Turkey below.  I have never ever seen tomatoes that look or taste so incredible, have you?
Niue was a surprise gem and there will be a feature up as quickly as possible on this idyllic rock in the Pacific.
This month we have some fun prizes up for grabs on our win pages and do check our new feature on how to achieve perfect poached eggs.

Happy Cooking!

I am currently eating my way around Turkey and look forward to coming back with fresh inspiration and recipes to share here.
It is quite a signifcant trip, a celebration of a decade birthday and our first real holiday together without children. 
Once we get back it will only be a few short weeks until we see the first of the NZ asparagus and spring is almost in the air!
I do have good intentions of writing our newsletter from afar but if I get caught up then there will be a little break.
Happy Cooking!

The children and I are ignoring the weather and heading off for a few days to Rotorua with Rainbow Springs being a highlight to visit.  Aside from some time away, my aim these holidays, as always, is to get the urchins into the kitchen and discovering the joy of cooking.  Is anyone else doing the same?
Our “take a cooked chicken” recipe competition is up and running this week so please do vote for your favourite recipe and you must try our deliciously creamy chicken bake.

Happy Cooking!

This week has been super duper busy at the Mystery Creek Fieldays, it is wonderful to meet so many foodlovers friends and also to round up some more!
Our scrumptious Baileys, Banana, White Choc Pud is being gobbled the minute it comes out of the oven and having made it about 10 times in the last few days, I can tell you that the recipe is definitely tried and true.
Have you checked out our win pages lately?  We have turkey, duck and other goodies looking for a new home!

Happy Cooking!
Helen

What a busy month it has been with out celebration cake competition taking centre stage.
While decorating cakes is not for everyone (me included), I have discovered some fabulous new recipes that I have ready for the next time a party cake is required.  The Banana, Baileys and White Chocolate Cake recipe has been hugely popular and for good reason, This Gluten Free Strawberry Cake is so beautiful it is bound to be a hit next summer and for those who love chocolate Mummy Darling’s Chocolate Cake is the recipe baker Emma goes to everytime she needs a party cake.

Happy Baking!

Our very first competition on foodlovers kicks off this month with Celebration Cakes being the theme.  This is so very exciting and already some fabulous entries have started to appear including a cake dubbed the “crack cocaine cake” due to how addictive it is!
The prizes are fantastic and we would love to see lots of entries as this enables us to continue to secure good prizes for upcoming competitions.
So, all you have to do is make a gorgeous celebratory cake, photograph it and send it to me [email protected] along with your recipe (need not be original).
The cakes are all voted by you – finalists picked and from there our first 3 placegetters are decided.
There are also some spot prizes along the way.
Happy Baking!

I make no apology for the amateur photo of this rustic peach and raspberry tart as the flavours are so good that I had to capture it on my iphone before the peach season finishes.  I have made it 3 times in the last 2 days and it really is a gorgeous dessert.
Kale recipes seem to be hot on the list of those into health and slightly bitter greens.
This lovely kale salad with caramelised maple pumpkin and walnuts is easy to make and lovely on its own or along side meat if you like.
Do make sure too that you get your entry in to win a fisher & paykel fridge – you never know, it could be yours!

Happy Cooking!

Although I have good intentions of a healthy February, Chinese New Year festivities, birthdays, a wedding anniversary and Valentines Day all manage to throw my plans to the wind and I instead have lots of fresh summer salads in between party nights!  This week we have been busy photographing some of our most favourite flavoursome salads and will have these up for you to see in the next few days.

Happy Cooking and Happy Valentines!

We have been loving this summer of hot days with only a sprinkling of rain.
Meals have been simple and easy, I have been lucky to enjoy plenty of fresh snapper that the boys in our family have caught.  This has been super delicious just pan fried in butter and served with a sprinkle of sea salt  a squirt of lemon juice, Jersey Bennie potatoes and a garden fresh salad…. the best!
Now that we are home from holiday I need to get back into work and lots of cooking but the break has been magnificent.

Ready or not, Christmas is here and may you have a lovely festive time and a relaxing break with family and friends.
We will be having a relatively quiet Christmas with our immediate family and for the first time ever my children are at an age where they are as excited about what they are giving as what they might be receiving.  It is lovely to see them trying to hold secrets but bursting to share them.
Thank you all for your continued support of foodlovers and for making it the wonderful community that it is.
Merry Christmas!

Christmas seems to have crept up on me this year, I am not sure what happened between October starting and ending up here but it sure has raced by.
This Christmas our family are going to restore some of those Christmas traditions that in previous years we have let go.  The turkey has been restored to the table and we have some great turkey recipe ideas for you here, a side of salmon with pomegranates and pistachios gives a fabulous festive flavour and Christmas isn’t Christmas without a NZ ham.  While the older family members like a traditional Christmas pudding, I think the kids and I may be happiest with this chocolate brownie and raspberry ice cream sandwich!

Happy Festive Cooking!

A few days in Otago at the NZ Foodwriters Conference has had me eating some of the tastiest dishes and freshest produce you could ever hope for.  I also managed to tick off a couple of places that I had been keen to visit for ages.
Lunch at Riverstone Kitchen was a treat and their kitchen gardens are certainly enviable. Fleur’s Place at Moeraki we had some of the most delicious fish I have ever eaten.  Sitting upstairs enjoying fish pie while the wind billows around us, listening to Fleur tell her story is one of the special highlights of the weekend.
While some of us head home armed with bags of asparagus, potatoes and clutching large bunches of peonies, I just return satiated and happy.

Happy Cooking!

A few days in Napier has shown me just what it is that people love about “the Bay”.  The weather was glorious, trees were laden with sweet juicy and oranges and the cafes we frequented with nothing short of fabulous.
F.G. Smith Eatery in Ahuriri quickly became my most favourite place for coffee, dinner and everything in between and the kids were very keen on the donuts at Mister D.
Watching dolphins play from our motel balcony at Ahuriri was also a highlight and I just wish we had more time to explore our surrounds. We spent most of our time in a gym watching competitors bounce their way through the trampoline nationals.  I must clarify that it is my daughter Daisy who bounces and not me!
Love cooking as I do it was a treat to have a few days out of the kitchen but we are now back home to reality.
Happy Cooking!