luscious leaves

Hello. Forgive us, dear foodies, for we have briefly slipped into the abyss of perceived public health food. With little time to spare this evening, we threw this leafery - yes, leafery - together to partially full our tums. The combination of strawberries and balsamic vinegar might sound a bit peculiar to most, but the two acidic flavours compliment one another in a rather delightful and friendshippy way.

For you salad lovers out there, we're quite sure you'll enjoy this fresh and fruity meal. For the rest of you, scroll down for something a little more hearty...

smoked chicken & strawberry salad
with grated parmesan and a balsamic vinegar dressing

[serves 2]

2 handfuls preferred salad leaves
(we used a lambs lettuce, watercress and baby butter mix)

6 cherry tomatoes

8 slices of cucumber

1/8 cup grated parmesan

50g feta cheese

1 smoked chicken breast

4 largish strawberries 
(or 2 if you use gigantic ones like we did)

2 teaspoons of sesame seeds

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

place the lettuce leaves in a salad bowl

add the cucumber to the greens

slice the tomatoes into thin rounds and add them to the leaves

slice the smoked chicken breast and add to the salad

slice the strawberries into smaller pieces and add them to the mix

crumble the feta over the salad

sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the beautiful green mess

dress with balsamic vinegar and olive oil

devour. 




happy fooding!

there's no taste like home

Hello. So we must apologise for the lengthly "study break" we recently took from our foodage exploits. It is indeed a sad reality that once in a while, students are compelled to spend a little time less living, and a little more time studying. Thankfully our first attempt at today's dish possibly turned out to be the most heart-warming of our creations yet. We borrowed the carb-free pasta recipe from the Real Meal Revolution and paired it with my mom's classic savoury mince recipe. The deliciously rich and creamy cheese sauce is another as-we-go throw-together, but certainly proved itself worthy of your - or at least our - time. 

We highly recommend checking out the official Real Meal Revolution YouTube video on how to make the perfect carb-free pasta, as some do struggle to get this mixture right. Like most things in fooding, if you follow the given steps faithfully - assuming that the source has no wicked intent to ensure your failure - your pasta should turn out just right.  

This lasagne tastes just like home, and is completely satisfying in its meaty heartiness and cheesy magnificence. It takes a while to create, but is certainly worth the effort and the wait.

Beef Lasagna 

not like yo' mama made it

[serves 6] 

4 eggs

1/2 cup psyllium husks

125g cream cheese

4 tablespoons coconut flour

450g quality beef mince

1 carrot, grated

1 onion, diced

1/2 large celery stick 

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

1 can chopped tomato

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 sachet liquid beef stock

1/2 teaspoon oreganum

3 tablespoons butter 

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup fresh cream

2 teaspoons arrowroot powder

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup grated cheddar cheese as a topping

mix the eggs, psyllium husks and cream cheese in the food processor until completely combined

allow the mixture to stand for 10 minutes

roll the pasta mixture in a ball and place it on a clean work surface that has been dusted in coconut flour

using a rolling pin - or any other strong cylindrical object - roll the pasta out until it is as thin as normal pasta 

slice the pasta into desired sized strips - this is completely up to you, we sliced ours into rectangles about 5cm x 25cm

leave the pasta be until the other components are complete

fry the onion and garlic together in the butter until golden brown

add the grated carrot and chopped celery and fry for a further 5 minutes

add the mince and fry until browned

mix in the beef stock, tomato paste, tinned tomatoes and origanum and simmer for 5 minutes 

take the mince off the heat and set aside

melt the butter in a hot pan 

combine the arrowroot - already dissolved in 20ml of water - and the butter in the pan 

add the fresh cream to the pan, whisking the mixture until it is smooth and heated through

add the cheese and continue whisking until completely combined

stir the mixture on a medium to low heat until it thickens to a desired consistency - adding more dissolved arrowroot if the sauce refuses to thicken

layer the lasagna in the following order: mince, pasta, cheese sauce, mince, pasta, mince, cheese sauce, grated cheddar

place the lasagne in the oven at 180 degrees celsius until the cheese has browned

remove from the oven and tuck in 

happy fooding!

chicken got da blues

Hello. So we took our chicken recipe for this dish right out of The Real Meal Revolution. We took out the chilli - just out of preference - and used our standard creamy blue cheese sauce for dipping. This "snack" was absurdly tasty, so delicious in fact that we felt obliged to devour all 8 pieces...

spicy chicken wings

with a creamy blue cheese sauce

8 chicken legs

100g butter

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried oreganum

1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon smoked paprika 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper


50g blue cheese

100ml cream

1/2 cup grated white cheddar or mozzarella 

1 teaspoon arrowroot powder


preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius

mix the Parmesan, origanum, chilli, parsley, paprika, salt & pepper

melt the butter in a bowl

dip each chicken leg into the melted butter, then into the dry mixture

lay the chicken legs onto a greased baking tray or oven dish

roast the wings until cooked through and crispy (this took us about 45 minutes) 


while the chicken is in the oven, gently heat the cream in a pan

add the blue cheese and cheddar and stir until melted 

combine the arrowroot and 25ml of water

add the arrowroot to the sauce 

stir the sauce continuously until it is completely combined


enjoy the chicken as soon as it comes out of the oven, serving it with the creamy blue cheese sauce



happy fooding!

crackin' it up

Hello. So today's exploits were openly welcomed into our everyday snack family. We used a simple recipe - conceptualised by my mother-dearest - to create our lovely mixed pepper relish. The cracker recipe was borrowed - and slightly adapted - from The Real Meal Revolution. We tried these cheeky seed crisps out and they were a delightful success! They were easy-as-pie to make and we managed to devour a whole batch in one afternoon (guilty grin) They have certainly generated some excitement in our up-until-today snack-less household. 

piquant balsamic & mixed pepper relish

with crispy seed crackers & cream cheese

3 peppers (red, yellow & green)

100ml balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons of olive oil

80g sunflower seeds

20g pumpkin seeds

30g flax seeds

50g sesame seeds

1 tablespoon psyllium husks

250ml water

1/2 teaspoon salt

100g cream cheese

chop the mixed peppers into small squares

place the peppers and balsamic vinegar in a zip-lock bag

remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal it properly

let the peppers marinate in the balsamic for at least 30 minutes (ideally give them over 2 hours)

once rested, drain the peppers of all excess balsamic vinegar (we kept this to use next time)

heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the peppers until they begin to soften (this took us just over 5 minutes)

store the mixed pepper relish in an airtight container (ours haven't lasted long enough to be able to give you an expiration time)

preheat the oven to 160 degree celcius 

combine the seeds, psyllium husks, salt and water in a mixing bowl

rest this mixture until it is thick and pliable (this should take about 10 minutes)

thinly spread the mixture onto a greased baking tray, ensuring that there are no holes in the mixture 

bake the crackers for about an hour, turning the tray every 15 minutes

watch carefully for the next 20 minutes, only removing them from the oven when they turn a dark golden colour 

let the crackers cool before breaking them into desired-sized pieces

serve your crackers with a large smear of cream cheese and some chunky pepper relish

happy fooding!

curry & colenta

Hello. So we based today's meal on a family classic known as "Chicken A La King." We figured we could easily create a curry-version of this meal by simply adding some thai green curry paste... The next challenge came in the form of a starch-substitute. One would usually enjoy a bowl of noodles or savoury rice with a thai green curry, but no such conventional simplicity may be granted to the banters of this world. The idea was then to create the usual cauli-rice - processed and fried cauliflower that gives one the illusion of eating pure starch. Our food processor got a little too excited at the prospect of slicing up the cauliflower, and pretty much ground the vegetable to a near-pulp. We couldn't really fry a cup of cauli-pulp, so we decided to boil it. 10 minutes later we discovered we had created something very similar to boiled cornmeal commonly known as polenta, and we called it... Colenta! So there we have it. A - possibly- new and shiny cauli-concept. 

thai green chicken curry

with sugar snap peas & a side of colenta 

4 chicken breasts

1 - 2 teaspoons thai green curry paste 

250ml fresh cream

200ml coconut milk

100g sugar snap peas

1/2 handful fresh coriander 

2 teaspoons arrowroot powder

1 tablespoon butter 

1 head cauliflower

break the florets off the cauliflower 

process the cauliflower in a food processor until it reaches a fine and uniform consistency

place the raw colenta into a pot, and add 1 litre of boiling water

cook the colenta over the stove for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly

test that it is soft and cooked through before draining off excess water through a fine sieve

set the colenta aside 

slice the chicken breasts into chunky strips

fry the chicken in butter until it is almost cooked through

add the curry paste and cook the chicken until done

add the fresh cream and coconut milk and heat thoroughly

add the sugar snap peas and chopped coriander and stir through

mix the arrowroot powder with 30ml cool water

add the arrowroot mixture to the curry

stir the curry until it thickens

warm your colenta, dish up your curry and garnish your meal with a few sprigs of coriander

happy fooding!