Smoked paprika mexican-inspired salad

As wonderful as warm soups, slow cooked meals and fruit crumbles are, by the time September rolls around I'm well and truly over winter and usually stop eating anything that reminds me of it . Around about this time I start looking out for ideas for slightly more substantial salads that will carry me through the gap between winter and summer. When I was in Wellington recently I went to the Maranui Café in Lyall Bay, a vibrant joint with fantastic views and a delicious menu. I tried a couple of their cabinet salads which ended up mixing together a bit and the resulting flavour was pretty fantastic. Here is a little creation inspired by my lunch at Maranui, which makes a perfect packed lunch. It's very filling, has lovely warm flavours and you can create it from fresh or canned corn if corn isn't yet in season.

BBQ Pulled Pork Wraps (without the nasties)

Suffice to say, I am a big fan of pulled pork. The kind of pulled pork that has been tossed through rich tomato sauce, and spiced with paprika and ground cumin. In the past, when searching out a recipe for this unparalleled deliciously tender cut of meat, I’ve raided blogs for tips and tricks with no luck. Almost all recipes I’ve found have been studded with hints (or blasts!) of refined sugar. Not something I want to feed my family often.

Asian-style chicken soba salad

Summer is coming and we are starting to get experimental with salads! We were inspired to create this Asian-inspired number after a friend ordered a similar salad from a charming and beautifully presented cafe called L'oeuf ('the egg' in french) in Mt Albert.

Soba noodles are a wonderful base to create a slightly more interesting salad. Our packet of soba noodles uses the tagline ‘quick & Japan-easy every night of the week’. We think that marketer did pretty well in summing up the soba noodle. They are ridiculously fast to prepare, are very versatile and, a bonus, are most delicious. We should note here that some soba noodles aren’t gluten-free, and are made with a mixture of wheat and buckwheat flour, we prefer using 100% buckwheat flour soba noodles.

This salad is fresh and tasty and great for a packed lunch. You don't need to stick strictly to the recipe (we never do!), feel free to experiment with different seasonal greens. You don’t need the pickled ginger, but we think that it’s one of the stand out components and is worth a try!

Bacon Buckwheat Breakfast Tarts (with sour cream)

 In our house we’re pretty big on having a nourishing breakfast that offers quality fats, moderate protein, and food that can be found in the garden, usually spinach, mushrooms, or some avocado. Sometimes I have to think pretty hard about what to make, especially if I want breakfast to be a tad more interesting than the standard eggs, bacon, tomato, and greens.

Today it felt as though all my hard thinking has actually been worth it. My husband came home from work and told me that he would be happy to eat this for breakfast… always.