Friday night soiree
Grab your closest pals and settle in with a chickpea and basil dip, baguette toasts, a soft creamy centred brie & finished with some crisp water crackers. Add a platter of fresh zucchini fritters*, sprinkled with an avocado and tomato salad or a simple home made relish.
To drink pour a large glug or two (~150ml) of Pimms into a large jug, top with lemonade, sprigs of fresh mint & cucumber wedges for a late afternoon aperitif!


Quick (lazy girls) hummus with basil and lemon
Makes: 1 bowl (enough to feed four hungry girls)
Keeps: Covered & refrigerated 3-5 days

Ingredients
2 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed well, drained
handful of fresh basil leaves
juice & rind (grated) of a lemon
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons water
salt and pepper, to taste
1 4 teaspoon sweet paprika

to serve:
1 baguette, thinly sliced, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt. Baked at 200C for 15 minutes.
triple cream brie, sliced
lemon wedges
sea salt
water crackers

Add all the ingredients (reserve 2 tablespoons of chickpeas) to a blender jug or food processor bowl. Process mixture until smooth. Adjust consistency of dip with extra tablespoons of water or oil for a thinner dip.
Spoon into a bowl and top with remaining chickpeas, sprinkle with paprika & drizzle with olive oil and fresh baby basil leaves.

* Zucchini & mint fritters
Makes: 10-12 fritters
Keeps: To good to leave on the plate so we never know, best eaten quickly!

Ingredients
2 zucchinis, washed, ends removed, grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons feta, chopped
1/2 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon mint, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
rind of 1 lemon, grated
1 tablespoon oil
to serve:
1 avocado, peeled, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
handful of fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup tomato relish
1/4 cup sour cream

To do...
Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl and mix until combined.
Heat a non-stick fry pan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil to the pan.
Add tablespoonfuls of zucchini mixture to the pan, pressing down gently. Cook each fritter for 3 minutes or until golden and then turn over. Cook for a further 3 minutes or until cooked through and remove from the pan, set aside. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Place zucchini fritters onto a large serving platter, sprinkle with avocado, tomato, spinach and serve with tomato relish and sour cream.

love amie x

goats curd & crispy leek tarts

Slightly tangy but super fluffy, goats curd can easily play the main role in many dishes. Spread lavishly onto toast for brunch or team it with other goats curd loving ingredients - thyme, leeks and ricotta for a light luncheon the ladies will adore.

Another way to secretly up the anti on a forgotten nutrient - Calcium.

ingredients

1/2 leek, finely sliced

2 teaspoons oil

4 x 60g eggs

120g goats curd

1 x 250g firm ricotta

1 x 300ml cream

1 tablespoon thyme, chopped

to do

Pre-heat oven to 180C.

Heat a small fry pan over medium heat and saute leek gently until golden and soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place all ingredients except leek and thyme into a food processor bowl. Process until smooth.

Lightly grease a muffin tray with cooking oil spray. Pour mixture evenly between 12 x cup muffin tray. Top evenly with crispy leeks and thyme.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and the mixture wobbles once when shaken gently. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Gently remove each tart.

Serve immediately with freshly sliced bread and a modest green salad.

love amie x

ice cream sundae

Laze away this weekend with an uber cool childhood favourite dessert - the ice cream sundae is back.
cool ingredients
1 ½ cups (375ml) milk
1 X 300ml carton pure cream
1 vanilla bean, split length ways, seeds scraped
¼ cup caster sugar
6 large egg yolks

cool fun
Add milk, cream, vanilla seeds and bean to a heavy based saucepan; Stir, bringing to a very gentle simmer (77-80 C). Do not boil. Remove from heat and allow to steep* for 5-10 minutes.
Beat sugar and egg yolks until light and creamy.
Add a few tablespoons of heated milk mixture to the egg and sugar, whisk well. Continue whisking until the remaining milk mixture is combined. Return mixture to saucepan and stir over a medium heat until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream machine. Churn ice cream following manufacturers instructions.
Serve immediately with fresh strawberries & strawberry sauce, wafer sticks and chopped peanuts.
Or alternatively place ice cream in a clean plastic container with a lid and freeze until required.

Tips
For cookies and cream add 100g finely chopped Oreo cookies.
*Steep – Infuses and increases the flavour of vanilla in the ice cream