Food, entertaining, gardening, and homemaking for busy women.
Happy Mothers Day! When I think about Mothers Day brunch I immediately think of Spring and lemon and berries. I put together this fresh, creamy and perfectly sweet cheesecake dessert. Easy and a total crowd pleaser – the perfect addition to any brunch! Enjoy! much love! j Lemon Berry Cheesecake Bars Author: Jessica Burns Ingredients…
This simple recipe, Fresh Ricotta & Zucchini Pasta Bake was born out of the pantry and marks a monumental moment in my life. This is my first published blog post since my move to New Zealand. This summer I turned my life upside down and moved to my parent’s hometown in Oamaru, New Zealand. I…
Growing up there was always a jar of orange marmalade in the fridge – it’s my dad’s favorite. My sister and I would fight over the little white containers of berry and grape jam found at most restaurants and the loser would have to settle for marmalade. I’m so glad that I’m older and my…
Why Mini Cakes Are the Perfect Dessert for Any Occasion Ever find yourself craving more than a cupcake—but don’t want the temptation of a whole cake hanging around the kitchen? Say hello to the mini cake: the perfect middle ground. These charming little treats are just the right size for indulgence without leftovers, and they look…
I love helping my friends and this ice cream was born out of that love. So, I got a text a few weeks ago from my super talented friend Hunter asking me if I knew where to find lavender ice cream. She was in the process of planning a party and wanted to serve it…
While moving to another country is exciting, it really makes you miss the little things from home like tacos, Home Goods, In n Out, Nordstrom, I could go on but in my case, it would be canned pumpkin purée. If you are anything like me and love Fall with its pumpkin everything (even before it…
I love little naughty treats such as this Potato, Bacon & Caramelised Onion Tart. Honestly, how can you go wrong with caramelized onions, potato, bacon and cream cheese all in puff pastry?! Definitely not something that you would have every day but a delicious treat perfect for special occasions. lots of love, jess xx Potato,…
Winter is officially on its way here in New Zealand and this rustic pumpkin soup is perfect for frosty nights. My husband loves soup and pumpkin is abundant this time of year so I end up making lots of pumpkin soup. I usually puree it so its silky smooth but with this recipe, I decided…
While Winter is officially on its way here in frosty New Zealand, I’m living vicariously through my friends and family at home in Los Angeles with these 12 awesome Memorial Day recipes. While Memorial Day is the official kick-off to Summer holidays, barbeques and wearing white with abandon, it’s also the day where we remember…
My husband loves meatloaf and every once and a while I decide to get a bit creative, hence these Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Balls. This is pretty much my standard meatloaf recipe; well, I should say my mom’s recipe minus the panade (milk soaked bread); she was all about the Progresso Breadcrumbs. I prefer using a…
My husband came home from work one day with a huge bag of fresh walnuts from a tree at work, so I decided to make this Turkish Walnut Salad in the hopes of making a dent in what seems like 6,000 walnuts, which I shelled all by myself with some random plier tool I found…
Apple Rose Tarts – A Simple, Stunning Dessert These beautiful Apple Rose Tarts may look like something from a fancy bakery, but they’re surprisingly easy to make — and incredibly affordable. All it takes is a sheet or two of puff pastry, a couple of apples, and a bit of time to roll them into…
Growing up my mum would throw these parties, you know, the kind with lots of food and inevitably Savories would be on the menu. I remember her making dozen after dozen in the week leading up to the event and stacking them in plastic bags in the freezer. I grew up calling these little egg…
This Chocolate Dipped English Flapjacks recipe brings me back to when I first had these in the UK in 2000, 17 years ago. Wow, I’m old. My friend Aubrey and I were on our first trip to Europe after high school and we stopped to see a friend of mine in York. We were wandering…
I love vegetables but sometimes they can be a bit boring – enter this delicious and simple Broccoli, Brown Butter & Lemon Pasta Salad. This recipe came to be one night a few weeks ago – I had grilled steak (yes, we grill in Winter in New Zealand – I’m a Californian after all!), steamed…
My friend Kalli offered me one bite of this Curried Israeli Couscous from Mendocino Farms and I never forgot it – that was over 2 years ago. I searched and searched the internet for even a hint on how to recreate this amazing Curried Israeli Couscous and came across the recipe. I’ve made it so…
Tabbouleh has to be one of my favorite dishes to make any time of year. The best part of any tabbouleh recipe is that you can adjust the ratios of each ingredient to get it just the way you want it. If you want more parsley than bulgur or more cucumber than tomato you can…
I’m definitely, 100% missing Autumn, Thanksgiving preparation and pumpkin everything since moving to New Zealand so I just had to make these Roasted Pumpkin Tartlets. You see it’s Spring here and I’ve skipped Autumn altogether, which is my most favorite time of year – cooler weather (sometimes not so much in Los Angeles), scarves, Pumpkin…
In New Zealand, promptly at 3pm in the afternoon we break for tea or coffee. Since moving here I find that at 3pm I’m ready for a hot drink and a sweet treat. When in Rome, right?! Grabbing a coffee in New Zealand is more akin to they way they do it in Europe. It’s…
I had some Granny Smith apples left over from juicing so what better way to use them up than to bake with them, right? Puff pastry and sliced apples baked to perfection – I love this simple and quick dessert and you will too! Mini Apple Crostata Author: Jessica Burns Ingredients 1 sheet puff pastry…
My dad has been bugging me for some authentic New Zealand baking (being the daughter of a woman who could cook and bake like a rockstar while making it all look so effortless leaves me with really, really big shoes to fill), so I did my Anzac Biscuits last weekend and now this weekend I’ve…
Most of my favorite recipes (and those on this site) are decadent and delicious and considered more celebratory, to be shared rather than everyday meals. I would love to eat cake everyday but you and I both know I can’t afford those kind of calories. However, good, healthy, clean food can be delicious and this…
It’s February and if I’m honest, I still haven’t really recovered from December. Every Autumn, my sister and I promise one another that we are going to enjoy the Fall and holiday seasons. We make plans to be organized and balanced and by Thanksgiving week that has completely gone out the window with obligations and…
We are a few weeks away from Thanksgiving and I thought I’d better share this simple yet delicious recipe. If you are anything like me, you will have been diligently working away on your Thanksgiving menu. Unfortunately, I rarely deviate from my main holiday dishes (I’ve nearly got Thanksgiving Day down to a science) so…
Potato wrapped in pig. By no means a new invention but one that you pretty much can’t go wrong with. I believe in layering flavors and as you’ll see from the recipe below, I start by boiling the potatoes in bay and garlic. This is my go to process (and maybe even a bit of…
Peas are polarizing. You either love them or have traumatizing flashbacks of not being able to leave the dinner table until you finished every last cold globe of green mush. I get it. Don’t let any preconceived notions of peas get in the way of you trying this pretty tasty summer snack. I came across…
These taco’s came about quite literally by impulse and a well stocked pantry. I had some chicken marinating in a mixture of soy and fish sauce (and a bunch of other things, full recipe below) that I was going to grill for dinner last night alongside a quick salad. That was the plan. However, I…
Living in Los Angeles with its amazing weather year round and its hot summers means that you want to eat outside as much as possible and last thing you want to do is turn on the oven. So there’s usually lots of grilling going on, even for quick mid-week meals. However, I frequently find myself…
Goat cheese. Love the stuff. Can’t get enough of it. In salads, stuffed in chicken, you name it, I’m all about it. So you can pretty much bet I’m a little excited for goat cheese in light, crisp, buttery pastry. Not to mention the intense, sweet flavor of the tomatoes coupled with the savory flavor…
I just love the creamy texture of fresh, homemade ricotta and I also love that it is so, so easy to make. I think I may have gone on and on about it here. I always have whole milk on hand but sometimes I can’t get through it all before the expiration date so I…
