Classic Greek Salad


Date Published: August 19th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 19th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: salads, vegetarian, easy
Serves: 4 (as side servings) | Prep time: 20 mins | Mix time: 30 secs

Jump to recipe |

I love Greek salad. It’s so refreshing and easy to make, perfect for a hot summer’s day or paired with a delicious roast lamb. The dressing only takes 3 ingredients to make and the salad components are easily adjustable to whatever proportion you like. Toby’s not a big fan of olives so I tend to go easy on them when I’m making this salad but feel free to double or even triple the amount of any of the salad ingredients. This salad is healthy (if you don’t go crazy on the feta) and so delicious. If you’re making this ahead of time, I’d suggest holding off on the dressing until right before you serve it because the salt content from the dressing will draw out water from the veg and you’ll end up with a soggy salad.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Dressing:
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 3 tsps lemon juice
    • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • Salad:
    • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (or 3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped)
    • 2 medium Lebanese cucumbers, chopped
    • 1 small red onion, chopped or sliced
    • 1 cup feta cheese, roughly chopped or crumbled
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
    • 15 black olives, pitted and sliced (or more to taste)
    • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon juice and red wine vinegar in a bowl. Set aside.

Assemble the salad by mixing the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl: tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, feta, oregano, and olives.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

*Note: if you’re making this ahead of time, don’t add the dressing until you’re ready to serve, otherwise the salt content from the dressing will cause the veg in the salad to release their liquids and you’ll end up with a wet sloppy salad.

Summarized Recipe:

Classic Greek Salad

Date Published: August 19th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 19th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: salads, vegetarian, easy, healthy
Serves: 4 (as side servings) | Prep time: 20 mins | Mix time: 30 secs

Ingredients:

  • Dressing:
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 3 tsps lemon juice
    • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • Salad:
    • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (or 3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped)
    • 2 medium Lebanese cucumbers, chopped
    • 1 small red onion, chopped or sliced
    • 1 cup feta cheese, roughly chopped or crumbled
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
    • 15 black olives, pitted and sliced (or more to taste)
    • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon juice and red wine vinegar in a bowl. Set aside.
  2. Assemble the salad by mixing the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl: tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, feta, oregano, and olives.
  3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
    • *Note: if you’re making this ahead of time, don’t add the dressing until you’re ready to serve, otherwise the salt content from the dressing will cause the veg in the salad to release their liquids and you’ll end up with a wet sloppy salad.

AbbyLeave a comment

Vietnamese Fish Sauce (Nuoc mam)


Date Published: August 19th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 19th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces, dips, asian
Serves: 1/2 cup | Prep time: 10 mins | Mix time: 30 seconds

Jump to recipe |

Nuoc mam is a staple in Vietnamese cuisine. You may also see it commonly referred to as “nuoc cham” in many restaurants. I’ve been told “nuoc cham” means ‘sauce’ in Vietnamese whereas “nuoc mam” is more specifically ‘fish sauce’ which would be more accurate in this case. Whichever name you call it, it is delicious. It’s a sauce made of sugar, garlic, lime, chillies, and fish sauce (shocker), giving it a salty, sweet, sour and a little spicy taste all in one sauce! It’s often used as a dipping sauce (think lemongrass pork, prawn spring rolls…mmmm) or as a dressing drizzled over a bowl of vermicelli with veg. If you’ve never had it before, it smells a little funky but adds SO much flavour to a dish. It’s so simple to make and because of the high acidity content of the ingredients, it keeps for a very long time in the fridge so you can make a buttload and always have some on hand for a quick meal.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 3 Tbsps warm water
  • 1 Tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 Tbsp lime juice (~1 lime)
  • 2 Tbsps fish sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 bird’s eye chillies, finely chopped

Directions:

Dissolve the caster sugar in the warm water then add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl. Mix and taste. Adjust ingredients as needed. Done!

More sour = add more lime juice
More salty = add more fish sauce
More sweet = add more sugar
More spicy = more chillies

Summarized Recipe:

Vietnamese Fish Sauce (Nuoc mam)

Date Published: August 19th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 19th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces, dips, asian
Serves: 1/2 cup | Prep time: 10 mins | Mix time: 30 seconds

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsps warm water
  • 1 Tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 Tbsp lime juice (~1 lime)
  • 2 Tbsps fish sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 bird’s eye chillies, finely chopped

Directions:

  1. In a bowl, dissolve the sugar in the warm water.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed. Done!

Feel free to make a buttload. It keeps really well.

AbbyLeave a comment

So Easy Flatbread for Wraps


Date Published: August 19th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 19th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: breads, easy
Serves: 4 medium flatbreads | Prep time: 5mins + 30mins rest | Cook time: 20 mins (5 mins per flatbread)

Jump to recipe |

Flatbread is the overarching term for a flat piece of bread (duh) which encompasses countless variations from all over the world including paratha, roti, naan, pita, bing…etc. This basic recipe was adapted from Julie Goodwin and makes a flatbread that best resembles a paratha x pita with slightly crispy edges and a soft centre that’s perfect for wraps. You can even roll it out thinner and make pita chips for dipping! (If you’re looking for a more sturdy flatbread for pizzas, check out my basic dough recipe.) There are only a few ingredients you’ll need for this recipe and it is so simple and straight forward that you’ll never buy store-bought wraps ever again! You don’t even need to turn on the oven or proof the dough. Just mix the ingredients into a bowl, knead for a couple minutes then rest it for 30 mins and you’re ready to cook it! There’s no baking involved, just cook it on a pan for a few minutes on each side and you’re ready to serve. Easy, huh?

This recipe makes 4 medium pieces of wraps. If you prefer larger full-sized wraps then double the recipe and divide your dough balls into 6 pieces instead of 4. I love making these because I can control how thick, thin, or large I want my wraps and also control how crispy and toasty it is. I can make as many as I need and not worry about leftover wraps that might go mouldy in a few days if I forget to use them and there’s also no waste from food packaging. It’s a win-win!

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 2 cups (300g) all purpose flour + more for dusting
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3 1/2 Tbsp (50ml) olive oil
  • 3/4 cup (185ml) milk

You can also sub the olive oil in the dough for butter to make it more buttery, but the taste difference is pretty minimal so I omit it for the health reasons.

You can also use whole wheat flour but the result will be a bit more dense and dry. It also won’t puff up on the stove and you may need to add more oil.

Directions:

In a large wide-based bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add in the olive oil and milk to the centre.

  • Push the flour into the centre of the well
  • Mix with your hands
  • Mix with your hands until you get a scraggly dough then start kneading
  • Knead until you get a smooth elastic ball
  • Done kneading!
  • Cover with a clean towel and rest for 30mins

Mix the ingredients together with your hands by bringing in the flour from the sides of the bowl into the centre until you get a rough sticky dough. Knead the dough in the bowl (or onto a flat surface if your bowl is too small) for about 2-3 minutes until you get a smooth elastic dough ball. You can add more flour as you knead if your dough ball is sticky. Cover your dough with a clean tea towel and let it rest for 30mins at room temperature.

Alternatively you can also use a stand mixer for this step but there’s so little kneading required that I couldn’t be bothered getting out my machine and washing extra bowls.

  • 3-5mm thickness

After 30mins, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece out to about 3-5mm thickness.

Rolling it out thinner makes it crispy and difficult to use as a wrap without cracking (but might make some good chips for dipping!). Rolling it too thick will result in a doughy dense flatbread.

Heat a skillet on MED heat and when the pan is heated, add a small drizzle of olive oil (~1 tsp) and swirl it around so it coats the pan. Put a rolled out dough onto the oiled pan. After a few minutes the flatbread may form puffy pockets of air (some bigger than others) – this is normal but not all flatbreads will puff up so don’t worry if yours doesn’t. Check the bottom of the flatbread and flip it when you see toasted golden brown spots (~3 mins). Cook again on the other side until golden. Repeat this cooking method with the other 3 flatbreads, adding a small amount of oil to the pan each time you start cooking a new dough. Stack the finished flatbreads on top of each other to keep them soft and warm until ready to serve. Done!

Note: You can make these ahead of time and keep it in the fridge covered. Just microwave them when you’re ready to use or toast them in the oven until warm. You can also freeze the cooked bread or keep the dough in the refrigerator for a couple days, wrapped.

I used this flatbread to make a wrap with leftover garlic rosemary lamb roast, creamy mint yogurt sauce and quinoa with dill. It was SO good!

Summarized Recipe:

So Easy Flatbread for Wraps

Date Published: August 19th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 19th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: breads, easy
Serves: 4 medium flatbreads | Prep time: 5mins + 30mins rest | Cook time: 20 mins (5 mins per flatbread)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups (300g) all purpose flour + more for dusting
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3 1/2 Tbsp (50ml) olive oil
  • 3/4 cup (185ml) milk

Directions:

  1. In a large wide-based bowl, mix the flour and salt together.
  2. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add in the olive oil and milk to the centre.
  3. Mix the ingredients together with your hands by bringing in the flour from the sides of the bowl into the centre until you get a rough sticky dough. Knead the dough in the bowl (or onto a flat surface if your bowl is too small) for about 2-3 minutes until you get a smooth elastic dough ball. You can add more flour as you knead if your dough ball is sticky.
  4. Cover your dough with a clean tea towel and let it rest for 30mins at room temperature.
  5. After 30mins, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece out to about 3-5mm thickness.
  6. Heat a skillet on MED heat and when the pan is heated, add a small drizzle of olive oil (~1 tsp) and swirl it around so it coats the pan. Put a rolled out dough into the oiled pan and cook until you see toasted golden brown spots on both sides (~3-5 mins per side) on both sides. Repeat this cooking method with the other 3 flatbreads, adding a small amount of oil to the pan each time you start cooking a new dough. Stack the finished flatbreads on top of each other to keep them soft and warm until ready to serve. Done!

Note: You can make these ahead of time and keep it in the fridge covered. Just microwave them when you’re ready to use or toast them in the oven until warm. You can also freeze the cooked bread or keep the dough in the refrigerator for a couple days, wrapped.

Abby1 Comment

Roast Lamb with Garlic Rosemary Rub


Date Published: August 19th, 2020 | Last Updated: May 22nd, 2026
Author: Abby |Category: mains, easy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 90 mins

Jump to recipe |

A few months ago Toby’s parents came home with a big leg of lamb and challenged us to cook it. We haven’t made many roasts before because it’s always too much food when it’s usually just the two of us and I had little to no experience cooking big hunks of meat because it’s not something I grew up with eating in a traditional Asian household. Toby was excited for the challenge and found an amazing recipe for a lamb roast from Damn Delicious – which is exactly where this recipe has been adapted from. This lamb is SO damn good and it came out perfectly the first time. We were all blown away by it and have since made it 3 more times! The flavourful garlic rosemary rub works so well with this lamb and even better when paired with this creamy mint yogurt sauce.

Making a roast lamb is so much easier than we thought. Just massage the garlic rosemary rub all over the lamb and pop it in the oven and wait. Done! The only thing I would definitely suggest getting is a meat thermometer if you don’t have one. It’s a fantastic tool to check the doneness of your meat without having to slice into it and let the juices escape as well as having a prettier presentation when serving. They’re inexpensive and costs around $10-15 for a decent one. The original recipe calls for bone-in lamb but you can use a boneless lamb roast and have the exact same results (you may need to adjust the cooking time a little).

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Ingredients for the rub
  • Garlic Rosemary Rub:
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 Tbsp olive oil
    • 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
    • 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
    • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
    • 1 Tbsp salt
    • 2 tsps ground black pepper
  • 2kg lamb roast without bone or 2.5-3kg leg of lamb bone-in
    • If you’re using a smaller or larger lamb, make sure you adjust the amount of rub you use accordingly so you don’t end up with an overly salty smaller lamb or an under-seasoned larger lamb.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180˚C/350˚F.

Make the rub: In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the rub: garlic, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, dijon, salt and black pepper. (If you’re feeling lazy you can alternatively combine it all in a food processor and blitz to save time on chopping.) Set aside.

Rinse and pat your lamb dry. Use a sharp knife to shallow score the top of the lamb (this helps the rub seep through).

Place the lamb (fat side up) in a roasting pan lined with a baking mat or aluminum foil. Rub the rosemary garlic rub all over the lamb, getting into the crevices. You do NOT need to use the whole rub if you have a smaller lamb (it may become too salty).

Bake in the preheated oven on the middle rack until the internal temperature reaches 55˚C (130˚F) for med-rare (place your thermometer in the centre of the lamb at the thickest part or near the bone to measure). If you don’t have a thermometer, slice your lamb at the thickest part to check for doneness. It will take roughly 1.5 hours to cook, depending on the size of your lamb. Baste the lamb in its juices every half an hour. If you find that the outside of your lamb is starting to burn before you reach the designated internal temperature, lightly cover the outside of the lamb with some aluminum foil to protect from the heat while the rest of the lamb continues to cook.

Once it’s done, take out the lamb and let it rest for 15-20 mins or until the internal temperature reaches 58˚C/135˚F (for medium-rare) to let the juices redistribute before slicing.

Slice and serve immediately!

P.S. Slice up any leftovers and store it with the remaining juices and make a delicious wrap the next day! In this photo I’ve served the lamb over homemade naan with mint yogurt sauce and some cooked quinoa mixed with dill. Check out these recipes below:

Quick and So Easy 2-Ingredient Naan


This two-ingredient naan is easy, fuss-free, and makes a quick side dish to any saucy dish or soup. It has a beautiful fluffy texture with the classic chewiness of naan. It’s super quick: no yeast, no resting time, no proofing, and minimal kneading. It’s great for a last minute on-the-go side dish.

Creamy Mint Yogurt Sauce


We recently made a lamb that had such beautiful strong flavours from the rub that I decided to make a more subtle mint sauce using Greek yogurt. The sauce was a big hit with the fam and I’m sharing it with you! There’s only a few ingredients required to make this creamy sauce. The mint flavour…

Tabbouleh (Mediterranean Quinoa Salad)


Tabbouleh (or tabbouli) is a simple mediterranean salad mainly comprised of whole grains, tomatoes and parsley. There are many versions of this salad out there but this one is by far my favourite and simplest. The freshness from the lemon juice and veg pairs really well with a heavy main dish such as a roast lamb.

Summarized Recipe:

Lamb Roast with Garlic Rosemary Rub

Date Published: August 19th, 2020 | Last Updated: May 22nd, 2026
Author: Abby |Category: mains, easy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 90 mins

Ingredients:

  • Garlic Rosemary Rub:
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 Tbsp olive oil
    • 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
    • 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
    • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
    • 1 Tbsp kosher/cooking salt
    • 2 tsps ground black pepper
  • 2kg lamb roast without bone or 2.5-3kg leg of lamb bone-in
    • If you’re using a smaller or larger lamb, make sure you adjust the amount of rub you use accordingly so you don’t end up with an overly salty smaller lamb or an under-seasoned larger lamb.

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 180˚C/350˚F.
  2. Make the rub: In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the rub: garlic, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, dijon, salt and black pepper.
  3. Rinse and pat your lamb dry. Use a sharp knife to shallow score the top of the lamb.
  4. Place the lamb (fat side up) in a roasting pan lined with a baking mat or aluminum foil. Rub the rosemary garlic rub all over the lamb, getting into the crevices.
    • You do NOT need to use the whole rub if you have a smaller lamb (it may become too salty).
  5. Bake in the preheated oven on the middle rack until the internal temperature reaches 55˚C (130˚F) for med-rare (place your thermometer in the centre of the lamb at the thickest part or near the bone to measure).
    • If you don’t have a thermometer, slice your lamb at the thickest part to check for doneness. It will take roughly 1.5 hours to cook, depending on the size of your lamb.
    • Baste the lamb in its juices every half an hour. If you find that the outside of your lamb is starting to burn before you reach the designated internal temperature, lightly cover the outside of the lamb with some aluminum foil to protect from the heat while the rest of the lamb continues to cook.
  6. Once it’s done, take out the lamb and let it rest for 15-20 mins or until the internal temperature reaches 58˚C/135˚F (for medium-rare) to let the juices redistribute before slicing.
  7. Slice and serve immediately!

Abby1 Comment

Creamy Mint Yogurt Sauce


Date Published: August 19th, 2020 | Last Updated: May 22nd, 2026
Author: Abby |Category: sauces/dips, easy
Serves: 1 cup | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 30 secs

Jump to recipe |

Lamb is a pretty popular meat in Australia and it’s commonly paired with a mint sauce/jelly. Toby and I made our first roast lamb a couple months ago and it was so delicious that we’ve made it 3 more times since (recipe here). The lamb we made had such beautiful strong flavours from the rub that I decided to make a more subtle mint sauce using Greek yogurt. The sauce was a big hit with the fam and I’m sharing it here with you today! There’s only a few ingredients required to make this creamy sauce. The mint flavour is more subtle compared to a traditional mint sauce but it works well with the lemon and garlic and the addition of cumin adds a little extra depth to compliment the lamb. You can also use this sauce as a dressing over a quick cucumber salad to have on its own or as a side with the lamb.

Cool boy Sheldon helping out with harvesting mint from the garden

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 1 cup (245g) greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped finely
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust lemon juice, salt or black pepper as needed. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to let the flavours marinate before serving. Done!

Try this sauce paired with this garlic rosemary lamb roast:

Roast Lamb with Garlic Rosemary Rub


Making a roast lamb is so much easier than we thought. Just massage the garlic rosemary rub all over the lamb and pop it in the oven and wait. Done! This lamb is SO damn good and it came out perfectly the first time. We were all blown away by it and have since made it…

Summarized Recipe:

Creamy Mint Yogurt Sauce

Date Published: August 18th, 2020 | Last Updated: May 22nd, 2026
Author: Abby |Category: sauces/dips, easy
Serves: 1 cup | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 30 secs

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (245g) greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

  1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust lemon juice, salt or black pepper as needed. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to let the flavours marinate before serving. Done!

Abby1 Comment

Blue Cheese Broccoli Salad


Date Published: August 17th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 17th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: salads, vegetarian
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 20 mins

Jump to recipe |

In many Chinese households raw vegetables are not very common – if at all. When we moved to Canada it was really strange watching my classmates eat raw carrots and celery as a snack. It was even stranger that someone would bring a platter of uncooked vegetables to a party as their contribution. To this day I’m still not a big fan of raw veg on their own but when it’s paired with a delicious creamy dip or in a flavourful salad, sign me up!…Except for celery. I still can’t eat that shit raw.

Broccoli was one of the last few veg I came to terms with eating raw. I’ve always loved steamed broccoli especially with some garlic and black pepper, but crunching on it raw just felt so wrong…until I came upon this amazing salad that a friend brought to a party a couple years ago. I was going to call this “Jess’ Broccoli Salad”, but I went with a more descriptive title instead for those of you that don’t know Jess 😜 (who’s also a super amazing baker). If you’re a fan of blue cheese, this salad is definitely for you! The bold blue cheese is offset by the sweet and tart cranberries and juiciness of the red onions, then mellowed out with crispy bacon and toasted pecans, all transported by the humble crunchy broccoli for a super flavourful mouthful.

The ingredients list seems long, but most of it is the balsamic dressing. A freshly made balsamic vinaigrette really does make a difference to tie all the flavours of the salad together, but if you’re in a rush, feel free to take a shortcut and use a store-bought version. There are also a few other shortcuts in the recipe marked as “optional” steps, but I encourage you to take the time to toast the pecans, blanch the broccoli and sauté the bacon to bring out the maximum flavours of the ingredients.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Balsamic Dressing:
    • 2 Tbsps balsamic vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
    • 2 Tbsps brown sugar
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp pepper
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salad:
    • 6 cups broccoli, chopped (roughly 3 middle-sized broccoli heads or 2 large ones)
    • 1/2 cup pecans
    • 1/2 cup bacon, chopped
    • 1 cup red onion, sliced or diced (personal preference)
    • 1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
    • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Make the dressing: put all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl (balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, dijon, brown sugar, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic) and whisk until it becomes a homogenous mixture. Set aside.
(Alternatively, you can put all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake well until all the ingredients are combined.)

Blanch the broccoli: place the broccoli in a pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes then drain and run under cold water. Use a salad spinner to get rid of excess water on the broccoli. Set aside.

This step is optional but it helps soften the broccoli a little but and bring out the bright green colours. If you prefer your broccoli raw and crunchy, feel free to skip this step. You can also boil the broccoli a little longer if you prefer it softer.

Toast the pecans: Preheat the oven to 180˚C and toast the pecans for 10-15 minutes until fragrant and darker brown, then roughly chop it and set aside.

This step is also optional, but I find toasting the pecans bring out a lot more depth in the flavours of the salad.

Sauté the bacon: While you’re waiting for the pecans to toast, sauté the chopped bacon until light brown and crispy. Set aside.

Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, mix together all the salad ingredients: broccoli, pecans, bacon, red onions, blue cheese, and cranberries. Pour the dressing over and mix well. Serve and enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Blue Cheese Broccoli Salad

Date Published: August 17th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 17th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: salads, vegetarian
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

  • Balsamic Dressing:
    • 2 Tbsps balsamic vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
    • 2 Tbsps brown sugar
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp pepper
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salad:
    • 6 cups broccoli, chopped (roughly 3 middle-sized broccoli heads or 2 large ones)
    • 1/2 cup pecans
    • 1/2 cup bacon, chopped
    • 1 cup red onion, sliced or diced (personal preference)
    • 1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
    • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

  1. Make the dressing: put all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl (balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, dijon, brown sugar, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic) and whisk until it becomes a homogenous mixture. Set aside.
  2. Blanch the broccoli (optional): place the broccoli in a pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes then drain and run under cold water. Use a salad spinner to get rid of excess water on the broccoli. Set aside.
  3. Toast the pecans (optional): Preheat the oven to 180˚C and toast the pecans for 10-15 minutes until fragrant and darker brown, then roughly chop it and set aside.
  4. Sauté the bacon: While you’re waiting for the pecans to toast, sauté the chopped bacon until light brown and crispy. Set aside.
  5. Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, mix together all the salad ingredients: broccoli, pecans, bacon, red onions, blue cheese, and cranberries. Pour the dressing over and mix well. Serve and enjoy!

Abby5 Comments

Roasted Sesame Dressing


Date Published: August 16th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 16th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces, dips, asian, easy
Serves: 1 cup | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 30 secs

Jump to recipe |

I set out a goal for myself last week: to try and recreate Toby’s beloved Kewpie roasted sesame dressing. I’ve been making a lot of things from scratch lately and thought I’d give this a try. Toby was first introduced to the Kewpie brand of the dressing by our friend Laeticia who brought it to hotpot night. I’ve seen people use a lot of different sauces during hotpot, but this was the first time I saw roasted sesame dressing as a dip! She converted Toby that night and funny story, when the new Asian grocer we had been waiting for months to open near our home last year finally opened, they gave away a small gift with every purchase on their grand opening day – it was a mini bottle of Kewpie dressing! The bottle didn’t last long at all. When we moved to the farm a few months ago, we introduced Kewpie sesame dressing to Toby’s parents and it has since replaced the go-to 1 litre bottle of caesar dressing in the fridge – I think they approve.

Sesame dressing is a very common salad dressing used in Japanese restaurants, often served on top of the small salad in a bento box. It’s creamy, rich and full of sesame flavour. Kewpie or Wafu are one of the more popular brands of roasted sesame dressing you’ll see in the shops. We don’t live near an Asian grocer anymore which is another one of the reasons why I wanted to try and recreate it. Welp, I didn’t achieve my goal, but I did end up making a sauce that’s even stronger in sesame flavour than Kewpie and abandoned the original plan when I decided I liked my version better (sorry, not sorry). The freshly roasted sesame seeds in this recipe really shines through and gives it a deeper sesame flavour than the bottled versions and what’s best is that you can easily tweak the recipe to your own liking if you prefer it more sweet, salty, sour, savoury…etc.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 4 1/2 Tbsps white sesame seeds
  • 5 Tbsps Kewpie mayonnaise (Japanese whole egg mayonnaise)
  • 2 Tbsps rice wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 Tbsps soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsps sugar
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp mirin
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 Tbsp neutral oil

Directions:

In a dry skillet on a low-medium heat, toast the sesame seeds until golden brown.

Set aside 1/2 Tbsp of the toasted sesame seeds and grind the rest in a pestle and mortar.

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix: ground sesame seeds, reserved toasted sesame seeds, mayonnaise, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, mirin, yolks, and oil. Whisk them together until combined. Taste and adjust flavours as needed. Done!

Summarized Recipe:

Roasted Sesame Dressing

Date Published: August 16th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 16th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces, dips, asian, easy
Serves: 1 cup | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 30 secs

Ingredients:

  • 4 1/2 Tbsps white sesame seeds
  • 5 Tbsps Kewpie mayonnaise (Japanese whole egg mayonnaise)
  • 2 Tbsps rice wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 Tbsps soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsps sugar
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp mirin
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 Tbsp neutral oil

Directions:

  1. In a dry skillet on a low-medium heat, toast the sesame seeds until golden brown.
  2. Set aside 1/2 Tbsp of the toasted sesame seeds and grind the rest in a pestle and mortar.
  3. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix: ground sesame seeds, reserved toasted sesame seeds, mayonnaise, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, mirin, yolks, and oil. Whisk them together until combined. Taste and adjust flavours as needed. Done!

AbbyLeave a comment

Best French Onion Soup


Date Published: August 16th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 16th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: soups
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 1 hour

Jump to recipe |

I’ve loved French onion soup for as long as I can remember – what’s not to love about caramelized onions and ooey gooey cheese? This soup has been in my recipe box for at least the past decade. In fact, it’s the first soup I can remember ever attempting to make in my mom’s kitchen back in Canada with a couple of friends after school. The results were bang-on but we didn’t know how to work the broiler (and neither did my mom – who uses a broiler in Chinese cooking?) so we didn’t get the classic bubbly cheese on top but it was still sooooo good. It was a long shopping list for us back in the day since none of these ingredients are in my mom’s traditional Chinese cooking arsenal, but now looking back at this ingredient list in preparation for today’s post, I had pretty much everything already in my pantry and picked the herbs from the garden!

This soup is pretty easy to make, but you’ll need a little patience at the start to caramelize the onions. After that, it’s just adding the rest of the ingredients then simmer and done! You can choose to top the soup with a slice of toasted bread or make your own quick chunky croutons by toasting bread cubes in the oven with some olive oil. I prefer croutons because I find it easier to eat when you don’t have to cut through a thick slice of bread and I also don’t have to worry about whether my slice of bread will fit perfectly into the bowl (plus, munching on extra croutons while the soup simmers is always a bonus). The serving size says 4-6, but when I make this soup I always end up having 4 bowls, so realistically it serves me and maybe one other person. 😜

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 1/4 cup (55g) butter, unsalted
  • 2 large red onions, sliced
  • 2 large yellow/sweet onions, sliced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 6 cups (1.5L) low sodium chicken broth – the combination of the chicken and beef broth with the salt needed to caramelize the onions and the rest of the ingredients tend to make this soup on the saltier side so I suggest using low sodium chicken broth in this soup and adding your own salt in at the end to your liking.
  • 1 cup (250ml) beef broth
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 sprigs fresh parsley
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves (or a pinch of dried thyme)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 4-6 thick slices of French or Italian bread
  • A few slices of cheese per bowl
    • A milder tasting cheese is recommended since the soup itself has a very robust flavour and can be salty – ie. Asiago, mozzarella, Gruyere or Swiss. You can do a mix of these cheeses!
    • Tip: If you don’t have any oven-safe bowls, you can use shredded cheese so it melts easier over the hot soup and bread.
  • pinches of paprika for garnish

Directions:

In a medium pot, on medium heat, melt the butter and cook the onion with the salt until they’re caramelized and syrupy – stir frequently and scrape the bottom of the pot so it doesn’t stick and burn. This is the most time-consuming process and takes about half an hour.

Once onions are ready, add into the pot: chicken broth, beef broth, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Simmer on medium heat for 20mins without the lid, stirring occasionally.

While the soup simmers, prepare the bread: toast the bread slices until golden and crispy or alternatively you can make them into croutons by cutting them into cubes, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and toast them in the oven at 180˚C for 10 minutes until golden and crispy.

When soup is ready, remove the herbs and add in the balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon the soup into oven-safe bowls and place the crispy toasted bread into each bowl then topped with slices of cheese. Put the soup bowls in the oven and broil on HIGH until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Sprinkle some paprika over each bowl and serve. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Best French Onion Soup

Date Published: August 16th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 16th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: soups
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup (55g) butter, unsalted
  • 2 large red onions, sliced
  • 2 large yellow/sweet onions, sliced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 6 cups (1.5L) low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup (250ml) beef broth
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 sprigs fresh parsley
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves (or a pinch of dried thyme)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 4-6 thick slices of French or Italian bread
  • A few slices of cheese per bowl
    • A milder tasting cheese is recommended since the soup itself has a very robust flavour and can be salty – ie. Asiago, mozzarella, Gruyere or Swiss. You can do a mix of these cheeses!
    • Tip: If you don’t have any oven-safe bowls, you can use shredded cheese so it melts easier over the hot soup and bread.
  • pinches of paprika for garnish

Directions:

  1. In a medium pot, on medium heat, melt the butter and cook the onion with the salt until they’re caramelized and syrupy – stir frequently and scrape the bottom of the pot so it doesn’t stick and burn. This is the most time-consuming process and takes about half an hour.
  2. Once onions are ready, add into the pot: chicken broth, beef broth, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Simmer on medium heat for 20mins without the lid, stirring occasionally.
  3. While the soup simmers, prepare the bread: toast the bread slices until golden and crispy or alternatively you can make them into croutons by cutting them into cubes, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and toast them in the oven at 180˚C for 10 minutes until golden and crispy.
  4. When soup is ready, remove the herbs and add in the balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Spoon the soup into oven-safe bowls and place the crispy toasted bread into each bowl then topped with slices of cheese. Put the soup bowls in the oven and broil on HIGH until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Sprinkle some paprika over each bowl and serve. Enjoy!

AbbyLeave a comment

Baked Chicken Katsu Parma


Date Published: August 15th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 15th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

Jump to recipe |

This past week we’ve been using more eggplant in our cooking, a vegetable that we previously never really touched. We’ve actually made some pretty tasty dishes with eggplant including sweet chilli eggplant and a few more dishes that I’ll be posting soon. I found a popular recipe for an eggplant parmesan from Jamie Oliver and decided to give it a go. Toby LOVES a good parma, so you can imagine his disappointment when he thought an eggplant parmesan was a chicken parma with eggplant on top, rather than an eggplant-style lasagne. In the end our eggplant parmesan turned out well, but I felt bad that Toby never got the parma he was so excited for so we put parma on this week’s menu. We decided to use the baked chicken katsu recipe to make it a healthier (and crunchier) alternative and topped it off with our own marinara sauce. It was SOOOOO good. Toby said it was one of the best parmas he’s ever had, especially with the homemade marinara.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 2 Tbsps Italian seasoning (or dried oregano)
  • 4 chicken breasts, butterflied
  • salt & ground black pepper
  • 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour)
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups marinara sauce
  • A few slices of mozzarella cheese per parma
  • Basil leaves (for garnish)

Directions:

Cooled toasted panko with parmesan and Italian seasoning

On a pan on medium heat, toast the panko with the olive oil. Stir to combine and toast until golden brown. Then put your panko in a large bowl and set aside to cool. Once cooled mix in parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.

Preheat oven to 200˚C.

  • Two chicken breasts
  • Cut off the small side piece of meat and reserve it for later use
  • Starting at the thicker side, slice the breast in half, keeping your knife parallel with the chopping board but don’t cut all the way through
  • Stop cutting when you get near the end of the breast. Open it up and done!
  • Ta-da! Two butterflied chicken breasts

Rinse your chicken and pat dry. Butterfly the chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Follow the photos above to butterfly the breasts or click here for a more descriptive tutorial.

In two large bowls or plates, place flour in one and beaten eggs in the other.

Now bread your chicken in this order:

  1. Dunk the chicken breast in the flour bowl to cover both sides. Shake off any excess flour.
  2. Next coat it in the beaten eggs.
  3. Finally coat it in the toasted panko parmesan mixture, pressing the crumbs in slightly to help them stick.

Place the katsu onto a wire rack over an oven tray. Bake for about 20-25 minutes on the middle rack until the chicken is no longer pink inside. If you have an oven thermometer, your chicken should be about 74˚C.

When the chicken is cooked, put a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce over each katsu then top with mozzarella cheese. Put it back on the oven and broil on HIGH until the cheese is bubbly and melted (~1 minute).

Top each parma with a few slices of fresh basil and serve immediately. Done!

Summarized Recipe:

Baked Chicken Katsu Parma

Date Published: August 15th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 15th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 2 Tbsps Italian seasoning (or dried oregano)
  • 4 chicken breasts, butterflied
  • salt & ground black pepper
  • 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour)
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups marinara sauce
  • A few slices of mozzarella cheese per parma
  • Basil leaves (for garnish)

Directions:

  1. On a pan on medium heat, toast the panko with the olive oil. Stir to combine and toast until golden brown. Then put your panko in a large bowl and set aside to cool. Once cooled mix in parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
  2. Preheat oven to 200˚C.
  3. Rinse your chicken and pat dry. Butterfly the chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper on both sides (click here for tutorial).
  4. In two large bowls or plates, place flour in one and beaten eggs in the other.
  5. Now bread your chicken in this order:
    1. Dunk the chicken breast in the flour bowl to cover both sides. Shake off any excess flour.
    2. Next coat it in the beaten eggs.
    3. Finally coat it in the toasted panko parmesan mixture, pressing the crumbs in slightly to help them stick.
  6. Place the katsu onto a wire rack over an oven tray. Bake for about 20-25 minutes on the middle rack until the chicken is no longer pink inside. If you have an oven thermometer, your chicken should be about 74˚C.
  7. When the chicken is cooked, put a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce over each katsu then top with mozzarella cheese. Put it back on the oven and broil on HIGH until the cheese is bubbly and melted (~1 minute).
  8. Top each parma with a few slices of fresh basil and serve immediately. Done!

AbbyLeave a comment

So Good Classic Marinara Sauce


Date Published: August 15th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 15th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces, easy
Serves: 3-4 cups | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

Jump to recipe |

This classic thick and rich red sauce is SO good and easy to make. Most of the work is done in a food processor and then just sauté and simmer it in some onions, garlic and white wine. Easy, huh? It’s a great go-to recipe for pasta, parma, or even a dip for some gooey mozzarella sticks mmmmmm. We had this with a baked chicken katsu parma for lunch today which was the perfect place to use this sauce! I’ll be putting up that recipe shortly as well. 🙂

Cute story: Toby only recently learned that marinara sauce and “red sauce” were the same thing. He always thought marinara sauce was a specific sauce you cook seafood marinara in, which is a popular dish in Australia (seafood pasta cooked in marinara sauce). He was a little confused when I told him we didn’t need any seafood to make this sauce. I would have to give him credit on his reasoning though: “marine” is similar to “marinara” which is why he thought the two were related. I had to look up marinara sauce to double check I was right because his reasoning was so logical.

If you make this sauce, let me know in the comments what you think! Follow me on insta (@polyphagicabby) or Facebook to get the latest recipes and updates!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 2 cans (800g) diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (140g) tomato paste
  • 4 Tbsps fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsps olive oil
  • 1/3 cup finely diced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup white wine

Directions:

In a food processor, add the: diced tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, oregano, basil, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the finely chopped onions and garlic in 2 Tbsps of olive oil until soft and turning translucent. Add the blended tomato sauce and white wine to the skillet and simmer for 30 minutes or until desired consistency (simmer longer for a thicker sauce to be used as a dip or parma). Taste and adjust according to taste. Done!

Summarized Recipe:

So Good Classic Marinara Sauce

Date Published: August 15th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 15th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces, easy
Serves: 3-4 cups | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans (800g) diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (140g) tomato paste
  • 4 Tbsps fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsps olive oil
  • 1/3 cup finely diced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup white wine

Directions:

  1. In a food processor, add the: diced tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, oregano, basil, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the finely chopped onions and garlic in 2 Tbsps of olive oil until soft and turning translucent. Add the blended tomato sauce and white wine to the skillet and simmer for 30 minutes or until desired consistency (simmer longer for a thicker sauce to be used as a dip or parma). Taste and adjust according to taste. Done!

AbbyLeave a comment