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Fresh Chimichurri Sauce with Avocado Wedges

I am in the land of avocados, grapefruit and sunburns. I don’t even remember what rain feels like and we have been eating the freshest, most delicious produce and absolutely nothing that is reminiscent of our long chilly winter. Our little one felt weather-induced sweat for the first time (infant sweaty hair is the cutest) and the palm trees are waving to us like ‘welcome, we didn’t think you were going to make it this year!’ we weren’t sure either but we did, and does it ever feel good!

Whenever we have a kitchen on a vacation, I try to shoot a blog while we’re there because I find more culinary inspiration on vacation than any other time. So, I literally shot this yesterday while my little slept on her Dad and then we enjoyed it with some fresh grapefruit and then again for dinner drizzled on more avocados with some tomatoes, greens and roasted asparagus. Vacation should always taste this good.

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Creamy Lemon and Dill Dip

When I first got into Personal Chef work I was cooking for celebrities, the kind of people who can afford to pay the very best people to work for them. As a Chef who had only cooked in restaurants, I totally knew this and it made me nervous. I was confidant in my cooking but this was a different kind of cooking. Many of my clients wanted healthy food that tasted like bad for you food. I mean, who doesn’t?

I had never even heard or raw or macrobiotic cuisine before I started in this line of work. It just happened that my Mom was diagnosed with cancer around the same time, so I had an extra big reason to pay attention to these new, exotic, interesting ways that people were eating to stay healthy (or skinny or like, a good actor or whatever).

I loved the new challenge of this somewhat uncharted territory. After years working in fine dining, I knew exactly what buttery dishes, braised meats and rich desserts tasted like. It was just about finding these flavours within these healthier new parameters.

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‘Honey’ Mustard Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I made/shot this recipe from start to finish with a reluctantly snoozing/slightly sweaty 4-week-old strapped to my front. I bribed her with a kilo of Brussels sprouts via breast milk for the next 24 hours. It totally worked. The point being, it’s a speedy recipe and a simple way to make Brussels a little more interesting and flavourful.

We use a roasting/steaming method to roast the sprouts. This just means that we throw a splash of water onto the roasting sheet. Without the water to create some steam, they take a lot longer to cook and can come out a little bit too tough.

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Warm Eggnog Chia Pudding (with Pear & Cranberry Compote)

Warm Eggnog Chia Pudding

My husband bought a scented candle a couple of weeks ago called ‘wood smoke’ (so manly). I think he was trying to compliment his favourite tv show, the channel that just has the burning fire log with the guy’s plaid arm stoking it once in a while. Anyway, (luckily?) it doesn’t smell like burning anything, but mysteriously, more like how you want Christmas to smell, which is just so awesome.

Warm Eggnog Chia Pudding

As much as I love the lights and decorations and the Peanuts Christmas soundtrack, by far my favourite thing about the holiday season are the smells. Everything from the fresh cut trees outside the grocery store, freshly peeled mandarin oranges, your neighbours up the hall getting a jump on their gingerbread baking, the way the air smells when its thinking about snowing, simmering mulling spices and warm roasty dinners all make this season so nostalgic and infectious. It’s hard not to jump on board with both feet, at least in the beginning.

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