Flavoured salts are a great way to give an extra boost to recipes or finished dishes without adding extra calories or fat. Even better, making your own is super-easy: all it takes is some salt, fresh herbs from your garden, & a little time. The result is a fragrant blend that is far better than
Cake is the most delicious way to showcase fresh fruit from your own backyard- and when mulberries are in season, there’s never a shortage! This mulberry & lime zest drizzle cake is our take on the traditional lemon drizzle cake. It’s more substantial, incredibly moist, and has a perfect balance between sweet & zingy fruit.
A new take on an old favourite is always fun- but when the main ingredient comes from your own backyard, it’s even better! Blessed with a pest-free winter crop of custard apples, I’ve adapted the traditional teacake to allow the humble custard apple to shine. Custard apples are a fruit that many of us grew
Whether you need a snack on the go or are having friends over for a quick lunch, this delightfully tasty mushroom & thyme tart with rocket topping will hit the spot! Perfect to make when your rocket and herbs are at their best (for me in subtropical QLD, that’s winter), you just need to grab
There’s nothing like showcasing your favourite home-grown produce, and this simple braise does exactly that. Featuring the simple flavours of your organic tomatoes and fresh green beans, this tomato and green bean chicken braise is easy to make with your freshly-picked produce and a few pantry staples. There’s no point aiming for self-sufficiency if you
This potato salad is so simple and easy to make, I love it. It is also very adaptable, so you can vary the ingredients according to your own taste & what you have on hand. Keep it simple or jazz it up; the choice is yours. The potato salad recipe below is a basic one
There’s nothing better than a low-calorie, quick, one-pot soup for a weeknight dinner…& it’s even better when you can pick most of the ingredients from your own backyard! Blessed with a big crop of leeks that were ready for harvest, I devised this hearty, filling soup that is super-simple and quick to make. A perfect
Lemons are one of the most versatile fruits on earth, so it’s no wonder a lemon tree is high on every gardeners must-have list. But once you get that wonderful lemon tree fruiting, you may well find yourself blessed with more lemons than you know what to do with! Luckily, lemons have an enormous array
It makes a lot of sense to preserve radishes so you can enjoy them at any time. Despite being quick and easy to grow, radishes don’t grow year-round in most climates. On top of that, oftentimes you’ll only want to use a little at a time. So it really does make sense to preserve them
Bring back the slice, I say- because this classic sweet treat is seriously underrated! A delight to serve to guests, perfect for lunchboxes & ravenous-teenager afternoon teas, lemon slice is an all-round winner. Easy to make and even easier to eat, the intense yet perfectly balanced flavours in this lemon slice simply melt in your
This oven-poached tarragon chicken is perfect in so many ways! It’s low-calorie, quick to make (hello weeknight dinners), heart-smart and very nutritious. Simple yet rich in flavour, it takes little more than popping a few ingredients in a dish and putting it in the oven. Based on home-made chicken stock with its wonderful comfort and
This vegan apple & carrot cream is extremely versatile! You can use it on its own as a dessert (pudding), as breakfast, as a sauce, a condiment, a side dish, an ice cream topping or as a pie filling…the possibilities are endless. It’s no wonder I love this recipe and keep coming back to it!
The taste and texture of these pumpkin, rosemary & poppy seed cake bites strike a perfect balance. Think swoon-worthy sweet pumpkin pie with a light crunch from the poppy seeds. Think perfectly moist cake that’s as easy to eat as a biscuit…they’re all that and more. Naturally, freshly-picked organic, home-grown ingredients give the best flavour.
This old-fashioned warming soup truly feeds both body and soul. Traditional lamb shank & barley soup is simple, yet full of wholesome goodness. It’s easy to make both in a slow cooker and on the stove; essentially, this is a meal that you prepare in the morning, let it cook, and it’ll be amazing by
This is the cheats way to make an amazing tasty pilaf- and it only takes half an hour! A pilaf (also called pilau) is a seasoned grain & vegetable dish, cooked in stock or broth, which may or may not include meat. Common throughout the Middle East and Latin America, pilafs usually include fresh garden
This typical Dutch ontbijtkoek literally translates as ‘breakfast cake’. It is a rather fitting name as this is a dish we “Dutchies” like to eat for breakfast. But we also eat it as a snack and/or with lunch. So it is not limited to breakfast at all-eat it whenever you fancy! This Dutch ontbijtkoek recipe
This sour beef stew is an extremely local dish. It is only made in a very small part of the world; the very south of The Netherlands. This tiny region spans just 20km in diameter and has a population comparable to that of QLD’s Gold Coast, yet boasts a cuisine all its own. So to
Whether as an entree at a dinner party or as a finger food appetiser, these chorizo-stuffed mushrooms are a tasty delight that will wow your friends! Full of flavour & delicious indulgence, chorizo-stuffed mushrooms are easy to make & can be prepared in advance. You can make them as small or as big as you
There are family recipes that never leave us: this is one of mine. It always reminds me of the book ‘Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant‘, because it’s the kind of meal that you crave without realising, and that fills you in more ways than one. When I was a kid, my family would often go
If you’re anything like me, you have an abundance of pumpkins during the growing season (in fact it’s way beyond abundance, but that’s a whole other story). I’m always on the lookout for fun ways to make good use of my harvest, and what better way than a pie that can be shared with friends
Self Sufficient Me is a blog about self-sustainment by growing our own produce (plant/animal), and self-fulfilment by looking after our health (physical/mental) through exercise and slowing life down a little.
