The Almond and Egg Pancake

Behold! The Almond and Egg Pancake.

Each Sunday morning, upon awaking, my husband and I prepare for a sit-down brunch together. This is a time each week we set aside to reflect on life, love, and good food.

Hence, more often than not, I vouch for the Almond and Egg Pancake topped with full-fat yoghurt, goji berries, blue berries, and coconut flakes.

These pancakes are completely void of sugar and sweetener and are therefore great for children as well and adults. You could say they are fit for the whole family, especially considering how easy they are to make.

I'll also take this time to suggest alternative toppings: grilled bananas, berry compote, or if you want something particularly decadent, a homemade cacao coconut syrup.

Classic Kiwi Chicken Curry on Sunday

Camilla and I had a great Sunday afternoon preparing some delicious meals for the blog last weekend. The sun was out, we had a full kitchen to ourselves, and let’s just say, creativity flowed. There is a little “behind the scenes” shot of us cooking in the kitchen over on instagram @rachael_courian. It’s pretty much like this every time we cook.

This simple recipe goes out to a good friend of ours who requested a curry to go with our Cauliflower Coconut Couscous recipe – see here. Curries make a great ‘inter-season’ dish as they retain fresh flavours as well as warm the soul, and considering summer in New Zealand has been looking a bit drizzly recently, to say the least, we thought it would be appropriate. We love to take on requests, so if you would like to see a certain kind of recipe up here, please let us know.

This recipe is incredibly simple and best of all, you’re likely to have most of the ingredients sitting in your cupboard. Here goes…

Little Quinoa and Kumara (sweet potato) Cakes

I love a good poached egg.  It's my go-to when I'm out for breakfast.  Why I pay $13 for someone to crack two eggs into a pot of boiling water and put them on a slice of Vogel's when there are far more original options available,  I do not know.  But I do, almost every time, because they are awesome.

These little cakes are a lovely, slightly more interesting, slightly less refined, alternative to toast (and a little bit of a twist on a potato rosti).  The quinoa and hazelnuts add a lovely crunchy texture to these sweet treats.  They are versatile and can be used in place of falafel, feel free to add them to  a salad, a wrap, anything your little heart desires! Please play around with the ingredients (I've added a few alternatives).

Pan-fried Turkey Meatballs on Parsnip and Cauliflower Mash with Lemon Tahini Yoghurt

Summer is often the season of creating delectable dinners in my kitchen as the cool breeze flows in and out of our open windows. My kitchen is a happy place in summer, and so are my family's tummys!

Over the last year I was particularly inspired by Middle Eastern and Jewish food as I had the privilege of living in Paris the year before, where Jewish food is a phenomenon. The Jewish Quarter in Paris, Le Marais, is stacked full of un-heard-of spices and questionable cuts of meat. I came home with a desire to learn a new way of cooking and could only think of buying 'Jerusalem' by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. You must get it.

Bacony Mushroom Egg Muffin sans bread

These are a staple in our house. Every Sunday morning I stumble out of bed, throw back a glass of water, and head to the freezer to commence the defrosting of bacon rashers. I cut out three or six circles of baking paper, line a muffin tray with them, place a rasher of bacon around each base, toss in half a mushroom, and crack two eggs over each muffin cup. Thirty minutes later these bad boys are ready to chill on the bench before being stored in the fridge. It's really as simple as that.

Week mornings used to be much more complicated. When you're on the run or in need of a quick chow-down, it's unbelievably difficult to consume a nourishing breakfast. Toast, muesli, bagels, scones - all these quick and easy modern day breakfast ideas - unfortunately leave you under-nourished and hungry in a matter of hours.

Thank the brilliant homecook!, who at some point in time created the "Paleo Muffin" or "Bacon and Egg Muffin." What ever name you give it, it remains the same compact, healthy, delicious, easy breakfast that goes swimmingly with half an avocado and a handful of spinach.

If you're hoping to start a "health kick" after the "everything goes" silly season, this is a great way to begin.