Cooking basics

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Make Nice with Spice. Part 5.

by Dani

Part one introduces my thoughts on why only whole spices should grace your pantry and parts two, three and four feature the beginnings of my essential spice list. Part 5 concludes the Kitchen Playground essential spice list. Saffron threads At the Kitchen Playground, saffron is used a lot in Spanish cooking as well as appearing […]

Make Nice with Spice. Part 4.

by Dani

Part one introduces my thoughts on why only whole spices should grace your pantry and parts two and three feature the beginnings of my essential spice list. Part 4, is more spicy goodness. You will notice I have included galangal and ginger which are technically rhizomes so neither herb nor spice and also lemon grass. […]

Make Nice with Spice. Part 3

by Dani

Part one of this discussion introduces my thoughts on why only whole spices should grace your pantry and part two features the beginning of my essential spice list. Part three is a continuation of the Kitchen Playground essential spice list. from top, left to right, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, garlic Cloves Powerful […]

Make nice with Spice. Part 2.

by Dani

So, we agreed in part one of my spice ramblings that whole spices are the key to increasing the flavour of our food. They are no more expensive, difficult to access or use. The only question remaining is which spices to keep on hand. Now for the Kitchen Playground must have spice list: from the […]

Make nice with spice. Part 1.

by Dani

Really flavoursome food, requires really flavoursome ingredients. Freshly picked and respectfully grown fruit, vegetables and herbs, meat from animals fed  and treated well from birth to the slaughterhouse and minimal messing with nature. The usual things I preach about. Something I don’t mention as much though is the spice factor. If you have a pantry […]

Thermomix Chilli & Garlic Oil

by Dani

I love chilli and garlic oil. It’s brilliant to add a kick to cooking, dipping for dumplings, drizzling for soups. So many things taste better for a splash, drizzle or dunk of it. Like so many things it’s also a breeze to make in the thermomix and even though I use it a lot, one […]

Risotto meets colconnon

by Dani

Risotto is so quick and easy in the thermomix that it has become my fall back meal when all other plans disintegrate around my ears. Or when I’m feeling extremely lazy. This little beastie was inspired by a poorly stocked fridge, a late afternoon arrival home from a weekend away and the flavours of colconnon. […]

Chicken Noodle Soup with a twist and Banana Yoghurt Crumble Cake

by Dani

Poor old First Born has one of the myriad of lurgies floating around Melbourne and took today off school. He still felt up to his regular cooking night and decided to use the extra time wisely. He made two courses. First on the menu was chicken noodle soup. In true Kitchen Playground fashion, I’m teaching […]

The Perfect Scrambled Egg

by Dani

It’s possible that I often mention scrambled eggs. Or maybe not. What is certain is that I eat them a lot. They’re my staple weekend breakfast and I often make myself a serving for lunch too. Perfect after a cold morning in the pool. In fact, Lil Miss and I had scrambled eggs with feta […]

Ricotta Hot Cakes and Warm Berries

by Dani

If we are actually going to be home in an actual house for Easter rather than waking up in our tent like we usually do, I suppose it would be nice to make a special breakfast. We had breakfast at Apte a few weeks ago and they served a dish similar to this. I’ve been […]