Gluten-free Cauliflower Pizza

Yep, it's true and it's doable - cauliflower crusted pizza. It might just take that little bit longer, but the results are absolutely worth it. There are lots of recipes out there online and I amalgamated a few that I thought would work well. Tobie Puttock has a recipe in his cookbook The Chef Gets Healthy, but even that one I modified slightly.

Once you've got the base ready to go and cooked the rest is so easy. Have a look online, make sure you buy some quality ingredients - especially the cauliflower, it might be worth waiting for them to be in season, and give it a go!

Lasagne does not have to have meat...

Did you know that lasagne does not have to have meat? Of course you do, but I wanted to give you an example of one we made recently that consisted of pumpkin, lentils, kale. brown rice and ricotta.
Not bad, hey? It was super delicious and we sided this with a spinach salad and home-made saukeraut.

Melbourne breakfast: Woven - Yarraville

A street that I used to recall had factories and was hidden away has now become part of a new sub-cultural hub that houses amongst it a new-ish cafe, Woven on Stephen Street in Yarraville.

These guys are really onto something with incredible produce, pressed juices and even house-made almond milk. I don't usually like going to the same place, only because there are so many incredible breakfast options in Melbourne, but I've found myself back here quite a few times now and it's yet to disappoint.

Definitely worth checking out! Take a stroll to the Yarraville village while you're around too. When you're ready for dessert be sure to check out Goje frozen yoghurt! 

And...the next time we visited!

Have you heard of Good Freakin Food?

I absolutely adore the mother & daughted duo at Good Freakin Food.
Jacq and Rosie deliver plant-based lunch box deliveries twice a week around the Melbourne, CBD and surrounds.
I love that their produce is organic and locally sourced, and the warmth you receive when you meet the pair is contagious, they really make my day!

Tree surfing in the Mornington Peninsula...

I feel like this is something a Paleo-inspired blogger would post: time out in nature swinging from ropes and trees! 

It did feel pretty good actually, a day out with my sisters just short of a two-hour drive down to the Mornington Peninsula in Dromana. We headed to the Enchanted Maze, which holds a five-course tree surfing big zip. It's fun once you get past the idea that you're not going to fall - and if you do, the ropes will catch you. One thing I did remember from a previous visit is to bring some form of gloves! Those ropes have bite.

It's definitely worth the trip and giving it a go. The best part is zip-lining to the bottom, the worst part is crashing down when you get to the end - that hurts!

Melbourne breakfast: Top Paddock - Richmond

You know a place has got to be good when:
1) there's a line out the door and people are milling around the outside happy to give up their precious weekend mornings to wait until their name is called;
2) your Instagram feed continuously brings up their incredible-looking ricotta hotcakes from the menu;
3) it shows up in every top listing on Urban List

As much as I wanted to try the infamous ricotta hotcakes, I couldn't go past the trout, which had my name all over it! And honestly, no regrets. This place was great! Despite it being a busy Sunday morning the staff were friendly and accomodating, you didn't feel pressured to rush and leave so they could quickly sit another couple into your booth before the seat had a chance to get cool again. The coffee was exactly to order - I have a bit of a BB coffee order - and they use the beans from Five Senses.

I can see why Top Paddock has got its reputation and why friends and strangers will put it high up on the recommendation list when talking Melbourne breakfast spots.

If you haven't already, do put it on the list and be sure to give yourself that little bit of extra time because there is a guarantee you'll have to wait a little while, and enjoy the scrumptious, Instagram-worthy, locally produced meals that Top Paddock has to offer.

Cooking healthy food at home is simple...

I remember when I worked behind a deli counter a lady coming up and asking for "200g of ham". I can't remember which ham exactly, but that's beside the point. When I started to weigh it up and price it she looked absolutely bewildered and said, "You're kidding me?! I'm trying to eat healthy and that's all I get? I should have just gone to Maccas!"

You know what, I completely get it but then, of course, I don't...Yes, you can go to Macca's and go and buy yourself a meal completely devoid of nutrition and full of preservatives for $5 - or whatever it is these days; or you can opt for making a few better choices, spending that little bit more as well as putting that time and effort in the kitchen preparing a meal where you know exactly where it has all come from and feel that little bit proud to know that you made it.

I wanted to share a few meals we've thrown together over the years. To me, they each hold their own story. I can recall the recounts of our day we shared, the laughs we had, the frustrations we showed in things we messed up, but most of all the proud moment of saying, "It's done, let's eat!" and then having that first bite together. Nothing surpasses that feeling.

Simple sald of red cabbage, tomato, sprouted almonds, asparagus and shredded cheese with a dash of extra virgin olive oil.

We had so much silverbeet growing in the garden and had no idea what we were going to do with it all. My zia (auntie) always used to make incredible plates of silverbeet mixed with tomatoes, garlic, onion and oil. The tomato gives it a great sauce-like texture and gives it a good moisture. I tried to replicate it here, it wasn't quite like hers, nevertheless it tasted great and was a nice snack and side accompainment to another meal.

 Ah, this was a yummy zucchini and eggplant lasagna dish we put together - completely gluten-free.

I couldn't help but purchase a spiraliser a little while back, and c'mon check out what I was able to do with this incredible gem! The left picture is a zucchini pasta I made with a rich tomato base where I included anchovies to really give it some punch. The second picture are sweet potato fries - not bad for an afternoon snack!

Pizza doesn't have to be a guilty pleasure - you should enjoy it without the guilt! We used pita bread here as our base, topped it up with our favourites, placed it in the over for 10-12 minutes and voila!

At this time of year there are so many tomatoes we have no idea what to do with them all...being Italian the first thing that comes into my head: bruschetta! I love rubbing garlic on the bread first, putting it on the stove with a nice olive oil and really getting the flavours in there before adding on the tomato/basil.red onion toppings.

 Cauliflower popcorn, anyone? Or perhaps some sweet potato fries? No, I do have kale chips?

From memory, this was a Sunday evening meal we put togehter - we always go that little mile extra on a Sunday - more time, perhaps? Here we've cooked up a salmon fillet with lemon and herbs; sweet potato, parsnip and eggplant chips; steamed cabbage and a nice garden salad.

 Oh, this was so yummy! My versions of raw pad thai!

The garden delivers a lot of produce, and when those capsicums start coming through boy, they don't stop! There are two things we love doing with the capsicums: roasting them with lots of garlic and herbs or stuffing them with rice - you should try walking into the house when this is cooking, heaven!

 A few easy meat and fish dishes..

 A few breakfast options - the acai bowl is essentially frozen banana and frozen berries placed in the Vitamix to create an ice-cream texture (you can add a little bit of coconut milk if you'd prefer it less solid) and topping it with some of your favourites - from what I can see here I've topped this with coconut, museli, hemp seeds, cinnamon, kiwi and hazelnuts. The photograph of the eggs, tomato and chorizo is from a recipe from Tobie & Georgia Puttock's The Chef Gets Healthy - it's a cookbook that I highly recommend! And lastly, the buckwheat recipe is from one of my favourite websites: Wholefood Simply who has created this incredible recipe: Not Quite Coco Pops, you'll love it!

 Great for entertaining - a hommus green olive dip topped with paprika and parlseyl and a pesto dip topped with hemp seeds and extra virgin olive oil - these were both winners.

 Something for the warmer months: minestrone, chicken tagine, asparagus, lamb and mushroom...

 And last, but not least, something warming: canneloni, salmon, eggplant with brown rice, rocket and fetta; and a sweet potato spud.


 So, thre you have it! As you might have already guessed, there are plenty more I could share and will hopefully get a chance to do so too. I hope you have drawn some inspiration from some of these dishes, or at least seen that it's not as hard or out of reach as you may initially think. Start with a simple cookbook - some of my favourites are: Crunch Time by Michelle Bridges, The Chef Gets Healthy by Tobie & Georgia Puttock, Eat Drink Paleo Cookbook by Irena Macri, amongst many more - perhaps that's a story for another time!