Days of Jay

Lemon Sage Ricotta Gnocchi

1st July 202030th June 2020 main-event, Italian, light-bites, lunch, Pasta, summer salad, Vietnamese

Hands up if you've ever eaten chewy, gluey, reheated gnocchi? I think we’ve all been disappointed by gnocchi before, to the point where I avoid ordering it in restaurants as it is so hit and miss. In fact, I find traditional potato gnocchi a bit heavy, which is where this

Homemade Cream Cheese

30th June 202030th June 2020 Appetizer, light-bites, Preserves cheese, easy, homemade

Luscious, soft, tangy homemade cream cheese, made in minutes with ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen? Absolutely. Trust me on this, once you make it, you may never go back to store-bought cream cheese again, especially as it is very cheap to make, and the flavour is rich

Vietnamese Prawn Spring Rolls

28th June 202010th June 2020 main-event, light-bites, lunch, salad, seafood, summer salad, Vietnamese

We are finally getting the sort of hot days and nights where all I want to eat is lovely cold food. Salads, sandwiches and quiches are all very good, but sometimes I crave a little spice - and what could be better than the spicy little morsels known as Vietnamese

Homemade Coffee Liqueur

26th June 202026th June 2020 Cocktails, Preserves alcohol, cocktail, coffee, homemade, spirits

I was lucky enough to spend some time last year showing my wonderful cousin Kim and her fabulous friends Carolyn, Kelly and Lianne around Cyprus. We had an absolute blast, squeezing in as many of the sights and sounds as we could in the few days they were there. Along

Lemon and Caper Chicken

24th June 202024th June 2020 main-event, Italian, lunch, Main Course, summer chicken, dinner, lemon, weeknight

It’s hot outside, it’s been a long day, you’ve just got in from work and you still have to get dinner on the table. Exhausting right? It’s always useful to have a few recipes up your sleeve that are super quick to prepare, but taste and look like they come

Summer Roast Vegetable Salad

22nd June 202022nd June 2020 main-event, lunch, Main Course, New Zealand / Australia, salad, summer salad

Summer eating for me is about two things: barbecues and salads. It’s the time of outdoor eating, picnics, grilling and generally enjoying the outdoors. It seems strange then, that I cook with the oven a lot in the summer. Surely I’d rather be outside? Bear with me here. I’m a

Homemade English Muffins

20th June 202010th June 2020 Appetizer, bread, Breakfast, light-bites baking, brunch, homemade

Is there any brunch more tempting than Eggs Benedict? The sight of a perfectly poached egg, cloaked in buttery hollandaise sauce, perched atop a lightly toasted English muffin is enough to get most stomachs rumbling. Whether you like it with bacon or salmon, it is a classic for a reason.

Thai Massaman Beef Curry

18th June 202010th June 2020 main-event, Dinner, Fakeaway, Soups & Stews, Thai dinner, thai

I love Thailand, and one of my favourite memories is of attending a cooking school in Bangkok, where we shopped for fresh ingredients at the markets, before cooking meal after meal in a beautiful old colonial house. We practised all the well-known classics of the Thai kitchen and got plenty

Rosé Vanilla Poached Apricots

16th June 202016th June 2020 Dessert, Preserves, summer, sweet-things easy, summer

It’s often said that apricots are a ‘kitchen fruit’ because, despite their beautiful speckled skin and orange glow, they can be disappointingly woolly and flavourless. However, the application of a little heat and sugar changes everything. Gently cooked in wine, scented with vanilla, served with a big scoop of ice

Passionfruit Lime Mojitos

13th June 202010th June 2020 cocktail-hour, summer drinks, easy

While I think there is always an excuse for a cocktail, it is on those sultry summer nights, sitting outdoors with friends when a long, refreshing mojito really hits the spot. Purists will argue that the classic mojito needs nothing extra added to it, but for me, the tropical combination