5 Minute Food Fix

NOT ONE TO BRAG, our humble food expert Simon Davis has spent a number of days hanging out at Australia's Best Restaurant in his day job as a cookbook publisher.

You'll hear more about the restaurant on today's episode of the food fix but the link is here if you urgently need to make a booking!

We've also got the sauce he's inspired by. It's not the restaurant version, it's one us mere humans can probably get going on our home stoves.

Agrodolce sauce

Small saucepan, into 2 warmed tablespoons of...

THERE IS NO CACTUS IN THIS RECIPE!

Nik Sharma is a pretty inspiring UK cook and his book that Yumi talks about can be found here.

This pasta is really worth trying though - almost everything in it probably already exists in your pantry, and it's absolutely packed with flavours.

Orecchiette Pantry Pasta

Get a big pot of salted water on the boil and add in 500g of orecchiette pasta.

While that's cooking, warm up 3tbs good olive oil and to it, add 1.5 tsp smashed up...

To sweeten your work day, Yumi has a shortbread recipe from one of her favourite cookbooks, and another hack if you're a HOME-MADE GRANOLA OBSESSIVE.

The cookbook is PASS IT ON by Shobha Kalyan and Keryn Kalyan and it's out of print but you may be able to get a copy if you contact them via their Facebook.

Cardamom Shortbread

110g ghee, at room temp

90g caster sugar

2tsp ground cardamom

50g pea flour

50g fine semolina

80g plain flour

1/2...

In this reheated episode, Yumi gets somewhat misty-eyed about all the travel she's not doing but would like to, where IS the best place for food and eating?

Meanwhile, you can get some nourishment with minimal stress making the following:

WALNUT PESTO!

100g walnuts

garlic oil

3 tbs chopped fresh rosemary

50g grated Pecorino Romano

4tbs walnut oil

Serve on Rana Pasta! (Which Yumi famously misspells out loud during this episode, lol. ) Or whatever filled pasta you can get your hands on.

We have to replay this episode because it's embarrassing and embarrassment is best shared.

It's not every day that you get to interview an acclaimed and genuinely cool English author who can sell out rooms here in Australia... but that's what Yumi was doing (for one of her other jobs) when something DEEPLY CRINGE AND FOOD-RELATED occurred. You can hear all about it on this reheated episode! LOLSSSSS.

You'll also hear about this SALAD - from an amazing website I use all the time.

1 tomato

2 tbs ponzu

1...

In this reheated episode, both your hosts had entered the Pod recording studio still high from brilliant restaurant experiences.

Yumi had been to the fairly new Bessie's in Surry Hills, Sydney, while Simon ate again at chef Josh Niland's sublime St Peter in Paddo. BOTH EXPERIENCES WERE TRANSFORMATIVE.

What did we bring home to share with you on this podcast?

Burgers!

REQUIREMENTS?

800g best quality, butcher-supplied mince

slices of aged cheddar

pita pockets

10g of salt, freshly ground pepper<...

CHRISTMAS WAS HECTIC, and now we need a way to feed ourselves that somehow acknowledges that we can, in fact, stand to take it a bit easy on our tummies this time of year!

On this consistently top-rating food podcast, your hosts try not to cack themselves laughing while they explain a way to make life easy for the home chef while getting good foods into your kids via a food they trust: TOAST.

ELVIS TOAST

Butter a well toasted slice of sourdough.

Add a generous slathering of crunchy...

It's Christmas Eve!

Simon and I send you all the best over this time of year - hope you're not spending too much time in the kitchen!

Reviving the Dead Inside You!

Chicken thighs - 500g, cut into large nuggets, dusted in flour

Teriyaki Sauce:

2 tbs Kikkoman Soy Sauce

2 tbs mirin

1 tsp honey

TO COOK:

Pre-heat a frypan, add a tablespoon of oil, toss the chicken in and move the chicken around the pan until it's cooked.<...

There is nothing my kids love more than a fire-roasted potato, wrapped in foil and eaten with lashings of butter and salt when huddled next to the tent on one of our camping trips.

But what about when there's a Total Fire Ban and you can't have a fire?

Or what about when you get back to the city and you're still craving that Camp Life?

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Yumi is a bit triggered by positive talk about alcohol and a bit triggered by the "dirty" in "dirty martini" - but there's no booze in Simon's recipe for a dip that you can put together in less time than it take for a friend to text and say, "I'm coming over!"

DIRTY MARTINI DIP:

Take a jar of good quality stuffed green olives and decant them into a powerful blender

splash in a bit of the brine

Add a tablespoon of cream cheese or Greek yoghurt

Squeeze...

WARNING:

Yumi loses it trying not to laugh when Simon uses the word "jazzy".

Christmas season means LEFTOVERS.

And honestly, it can get a bit grim.

The fridge is overflowing with food from Christmas and you're absolutely sick of it ...but also, it needs to be eaten!

BEFORE Christmas even arrives, let's pre-empt the leftovers with some thought starters and a recipe.

FESTIVE FRITTATA

Ingredients:

Veg leftovers

200-250g of leftover turkey or ham

6 eggs...

Yumi is not into consumables and plastic crap as gifts.

Because don't you reckon everyone you love already has the things they need? Why buy them something that will probably end up in landfill?

If you *REALLY* want to give gifts, how about money? We'll take some!

Failing money, a wonderful gift is something home-made. A card, some bikkies, or *THIS* beautiful, vivid and amazing-looking raspberry jam.

I took the main bones of the recipe from The River Cottage but added pectin, which you can find pretty easily in...

TO MAKE MY CHOCOLATE COATED STRAWBERRIES

Prepare by

I use an ALDI block of dark chocolate, melted in a metal bowl over a pot of boiling water. Simon blasts his in the microwave in ten second increments until it's perfect.

I then roll my prepared strawberries in the chocolate using two wooden skewers.

Use the skewers to lift up...

Yumi and Simon are getting into the spirit of Christmas preparation on your 5 Minute Food Fix! Now is the time to start envisioning your perfect meal. So...

SIMON'S MONSTER BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Halve 500g of Brussels Sprouts, toss in 2tbs of good olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then roast them in a hot, 230C oven for 15 - 20 mins.

In a mixing bowl, toss the now cooked and charred sprouts with a tablespoon of your favourite chilli crisp oil, and a teaspoon of soy sauce and/or rice wine vinegar. At the...

Yumi and Simon catch up with each others' Christmas plans and while Simon will be a guest at someone else's soiree on Christmas Eve, he plans to bring this amazing Panettone ice-cream dessert which will be both AMAZING, and really easy to make!

Allow 1L of your best quality vanilla ice-cream to soften on the bench for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, crumble up a 300g mixture of inside soft bits and outside crusty bits of the Panettone you have that's getting a bit tired.

Stir these through the ice-cream, along with half a cup...

What is not to love about some of the weirdly specific cookbooks out there?

You're going to hear about one that Yumi found that is so weird, and so niche, she will obviously never cook from it! Lol.

THEN, there is the wonderful 'Tomato' by Claire Thompson. The book is a celebration of this wonderful ingredient and all that it can do, and from the book a recipe that is now officially Yumi's Summer Fling / Crush, and yes, we will be having it over and over. (I even dehydrated a version of this...

On one of Yumi's hikes, the hikers went bananas for Gemma's Cheesy Vegan Kale Chips, based on this recipe.

The question was: Would the yumminess translate to home?

Good news is:

YES!

So with a fair bit of pride, Yumi wants to share her version of the recipe, which leans into her love of spice (and allergy to garlic and onion):

YUMI'S BEST-EVER CRUNCHY VEGAN "CHEESY" KALE CHIPS

Prepare 1 big bunch of good kale, washed, dried and torn off the inedible spine...

Yumi has a dilemma.

A beloved friend has given her a sourdough starter!

Now what?

Do you really want to take care of another living being?

Your hosts also lament the demise of printed food magazines that they have loved and appreciated over the years!

DATE SWIRL

240g sour cream

1-2 tbs date syrup

Gently swirl the two together (but don't fully mix) and serve on pancakes, on sticky date pudding, etc.

THE FULL RECIPE HERE

...

Feedback can be ...alarming? Unwelcome? But in Simon's case, it was feedback from a parent at his kids' school that reminded him of just how good a crispy chickpea can be!

So what else to do with the idea?

A coeliac-friendly, vegan delight, this is CLASSIC Food Fix: Simple, quick to prepare and within reach for the average home cook, but with STUNNING results.

METHOD

Drain and rinse 1 tin of chick peas, dry them well, then crush them with a rolling pin or another tin.

In...

ENGLISH CULTURE?

Simon loves sharing where he's from and frankly, these delightful insights always go down well, especially with a strong mug of English Breakfast tea. Today he waxes lyrical about something I've heard of but never really experienced: the Flapjack

SIMON'S SUPER SIMPLE FLAPJACKS

200g butter

200g brown sugar

200g golden syrup

Melt together in a saucepan until smooth

Stir in 400g of rolled oats

Press into a 20 x 30cm square tin

Add whatever...

Yumi kicks off the episode with a confession that SOUNDS bad but if you're an over-worked, under-slept working parent, you probably get it.

And HOW GOOD IS FRESH CHEESE?

Get some inspo for how a little tub of bocconcini could level up tonight's meal XX

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If you've been referred to this podcast because one of your friends knows you like camping - this episode is for you!

Yumi is a keen hiker and so a lot of the food she makes in *normal* life, she's assessing as to whether it could be repurposed as something lightweight and long-lasting that could come on a multi-day hike.

This recipe, from Meera Sodha's wonderful book EAST - delivers.

Of course, Yumi has to make adjustments, so her version is:

In a HEAVY BASED PAN

Both your hosts tend to obsess over foods, recipes or ingredients and deep-dive with said specialty before turning to grab a new obsession.

For instance, Yumi (me) right now is in the thick of trying to make the perfect Char Kway Teow (fresh, wok-fried Malaysian noodles that are beyond excellent when done well).

Simon revisits one of his past obsessions, sweet paprika, and is delighted to find a new way to cook with it that is both super-simple, and fast.

The sweet paprika that Simon recommends looks like this.

Hosted on...

In this episode, Yumi confronts Simon with something questionable he did with a shot of coffee... And she then razzes him about how she improved his own recipe!

FULLY LOADED PECAN BROWNIES

Line a 20cm square cake tin.

Put the oven on to 180C

Melt in a bowl over hot water 125g chopped butter and 100g dark 85% chocolate,

Remove from heat and allow to sit for a moment.

Quickly add in 3 beaten eggs

300g (1 1/2 cups) white sugar

115g (3/4 cup) plain flour

MARMALADE shouldn't be out-of-reach for the average home cook!

And if you LOVE the weird, spreadable, sour, sometimes bitter preserve, then you really must try home-made, because there's nothing as good available to buy in mainstream shops, although Simon does have a few he thinks are "pretty good".

DELICIOUS RUBY BLOOD ORANGE MARMALADE

1.5kg blood oranges

1kg sugar

2tsp agar agar powder (optional)

METHOD

Wash the skin of the blood oranges, remove any stickers and seeds and prepare to get chopping.<...

I finally got my hands on a copy of Sami Tamimi's FALASTIN - and it's a remarkable cookbook. It's got one of my favourite tomato recipes in the entire world, a rice dish where you use Greek yoghurt almost as a stock to make a creamy white risotto (incredible), and this dish, which I have (since recording) made multiple times. It's easy, really nourishing, and has flavours that transport you to the wonderful culture and food of Sami's homeland.

SESAME CRUMBLE

50g white sesame seeds

25g black sesame seeds

150g...

Yumi is still very much hung up on the cookbook that is TOMATO by Clare Thompson, which so far has been yielding a DELIGHTFUL number of heavenly recipes, including the one which inspired her to get into a Black Olive Tapenade...

Because who doesn't love a foodie quest?

Find a hundred grams of the best pitted black olives you can afford!

Moosh them up with 6 anchovies and a tablespoon of capers and 4 tablespoons of olive oil and a sprig of thyme!

Use a sharp knife, a mortar and pestle, or...

Utterly thrilled with his work perk of a whole ton of beautiful, fresh pistachio nuts, Simon has gone nuts experimenting with this ingredient.

He's tried nearly everything, but today's dish is far-and-away his favourite:

PISTACHIO TRAY-BAKE CHICKEN

Heat oven to 220C

To make the pistachio paste:

Chop 1 cup of shelled and roasted pistachios with one small bunch parsley. Get it quite well chopped and fine and then into a bowl.

Add zest of 1 lemon, 2 finely grated garlic cloves, a pinch salt, 1 tsp...

Yumi is going back to her mother's country with this particular culinary love affair.

Zenzai is the name for Adzuki Beans when they're cooked and sweetened, but still hold their beany shape. There's fantastic info about it on this website which is particularly helpful if you love cooking Japanese food!

Sweetened beans can be a weird concept if you're not accustomed to it - but give it a chance, it's extremely digestible and leaves the body feeling invigorated and powered!

ZENZAI

200g Adzuki Beans

1 Litre of...

Borrowing heavily from Maggie Beer's famous recipe for SOUR CREAM PASTRY, Yumi gets super-inspired in the kitchen and devises a PIE RECIPE for the ages.

SMOKED ALMOND PASTRY

In a food processor, mix 240g plain flour with 30g smoked almonds. Add in 160g chilled, cubed butter and whizz for 20 seconds.

Add in 125g sour cream, and 40g of olive oil and whizz together for 30-50 seconds, until the dough forms a ball.

Get the dough up out of the food processor, and roll into two balls. (If you love metrics...

It's not brain surgery or rocket science, but heating up some leftover rice *can* be a sexy meal ticket. *cough*

Simon gets inspired with a meal for one that'll take you 4 minutes to put together. Bonus points if you made the lemon salsa from last episode!

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Simon is STOKED with the new season's lemons.

For this stunning (and achievable) spoon-on-everything sauce:

CHOP ONE LEMON very well, flicking out the seeds as you go until it's almost like a paste

chop through a small bunch of parsley,

2tbs drained capers

loosen everything up with 1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil

sweeten with a tiny bit of sugar or honey

and a fat pinch of salt

Serve on fish --- or listen for our next episode!

<...

Yumi can't let go of trying to perfect a recipe from The Regional Italian Cookbook. Even though it demands we use a cheese that is impossible to find in Australia.

SHE IS DELIGHTED to report that she's cracked the nut! It can be done!

And is predictably delicious!

Grease with butter a 23cm cake tin and drizzle with olive oil.

Pre-heat the oven.

Run 1kg of peeled potatoes through a grater.

Put the potato "noodles" in a colander and rinse well with freshly boiled water from...

Yumi gets excited to be tasked with the responsibility of cooking a cake big enough to feed a crowd, that is stable enough to take to the beach.

It uses Nagi's 'My Very Best Vanilla Cake' - which is dead-set reliable and brilliant.

A couple of variations: I cook it in a 28 x 35 roasting tin which I line with baking paper and give a light spray with cooking oil.

I also always use coconut oil (the runny, liquid kind) as the oil in the recipe.

Contrary to what I...

Unfortunately I missed the opportunity to interrogate Simon on him putting a shot of coffee into his BOLOGNESE - please feel free to email your horror reaction to foodfixemail@gmail.com

SIMON'S SUPER STEAK COFFEE RUB

1-2 tbs finely ground coffee

1 tbs brown sugar

1tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp salt

Combine the ingredients - it's ready for a couple of big steaks.

TO COOK:

Remember to dry off your steak before you do anything!

Then rub in the smoky...

One of Simon's cookbooks has gone to #1 in Australia for the past fortnight.

It's called The Weekly Grocery Shop and you can buy it here.

The idea kind of inspired Yumi to make croutons (again). This time using an innovation borne of necessity. But they're REALLY GOOD!

Pre-heat your oven to 150C and find the biggest trays you have.

Take one stale sourdough baguette and slice into the thinnest possible rounds.

Lay out the pieces of bread like large coins over the baking trays.

Use...

Simon's amazingly healthful and generous Chicken Soup *IS* pretty winning. He tries to massage my competitive gland by telling me Kate Brown (from my book publisher) prefers HIS soup recipe to mine... HOWEVER IT'S UNTESTED and THEY'RE VERY DIFFERENT!

Warm 1tbs oil in a big pot.

Add 4 finely sliced garlic cloves.

Add a thumb of finely grated ginger and 2 tsp ground turmeric. Cook til smelling fancy.

Add in 500g chicken thighs and

3/4 cup of brown rice

1 bay leaf and

8 cups of water or chicken...

Why DO people cook sweets with vegetables?

Are they trying to use up a glut?

Trick the people they care about into eating more veg?

OR - does it genuinely work as a flavour add-in?

Today we dive into BUNDT cakes, how they go wrong, and we get specific with a Lemon and Zucchini Bundt Cake that is surprisingly easy, lasts well and uses up your dirty gourds!

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Yumi is drawn to a book called The Regional Italian Cookbook but hits some speed humps in trying to make the perfect Potato Cake.

Can you pronounce Spressa delle Giudicarie?

In this episode you can hear Yumi make multiple attempts to say the name of the cheese, which we were unable to find (email us if you know where to get it! foodfixemail@gmail.com )

Grease with butter a 23cm cake tin and drizzle with olive oil.

Pre-heat the oven.

Run 1kg of peeled potatoes through...

Simon is full of inspiration and new information about PEPPER.

So he's got a lovely recipe for a WHITE PEPPER CHICKEN CONGEE.

Rinse a cup of Jasmine rice.

Add it to a pot with 7 cups of chicken stock, 1 chicken breast and 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely chopped.

Simmer gently for 45 minutes until the rice breaks down.

Remove the chicken breast from the pot and shred it to go back into the congee. Season well with salt and LOTS (talkin' a whole tablespoon here) of our hero ingredient...

'Cacio e Pepe' is having a moment - but Simon has a fantastic spin on the idea that makes it a great dish for ONE (*side eye Yumi*) and cuts the amount of carbs.

Use one jar of fancy white beans, drain and cook up in a half cup or so of stock with a big knob of butter. Warm it up and then add a generous fistful of Pecorino cheese and a MASSIVE grind of freshly ground black pepper. (Be like Simon - or don't! - and get the best, most interesting black peppercorns you...

What is a Tarka? Simon explains and there's a really good picture of what it looks like on top of a daal here.

CASHEW SPICE TARKA

1/4 cashews

1 tbs ginger

2 sprigs curry leaves

1/4 tsp nigella seeds

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

Meera Sodha's

1 tsp cumin seed

1 tsp mustard seed

1 long green chilli

curry leaves, all fried in smoking hot oil

QUICK NO-FRY BASIC RED LENTIL DAAL

1 small Spanish onion, thinly sliced

1...

I won't name the restaurant because it's gorgeous and fantastic and deserves every success!

JATZ CRACKERS CHICKEN

Marinate chicken tenders or thigh fillets cut into strips in Greek yoghurt with a pinch of salt.

Blitz the Jatz Crackers to form a crumb.

Coat the chicken in the crumbs.

Air fry for 15 mins.

To cook in the oven? Lightly spray with oil and bake on a tray (spread out) for 10-15mins, 200C.

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On this episode, Simon reveals just how much he listens to Yumi's work on Double J, and reminisces about when his kids were so little he had to make lots of tray-bakes, because they're very "set-and-forget" - allowing one to get on with the very hands-on work of parenting!

ONE TRAY SALMON (or other fish) BAKE

Pre-heat the oven to 220C.

Rub a family sized salmon fillet with dijon mustard, oil, salt and pepper.

Chop a fennel bulb into narrow-ish wedges. Add to the tray with broccoli florets, squished kalamata...

Simon is very caffeinated and VERY stoked with his new coffee machine.

What could he possibly use coffee in - for cooking?

The obvious answer is TIRAMISU. Both your hosts have extensive experience making this dessert - - and Simon has some key DOs and DON'T when it comes to nailing it.

Here's Nagi's recipe...

Here's Simon's:

Serves 10-12

6 eggs , yolks and whites separated

1cup (220g) caster sugar (superfine sugar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

500g mascarpone ,

1 1/4 cups black...

Who DOESN'T adore a linguine or spaghetti - with prawns?

It's one of my favourites (Yumi) and it's been a goal of mine this year to figure out the best recipe for making it at home. For myself. Cos - yum.

COMBINING marinated prawns with THIS RECIPE FOR SPAGHETTI ALLA ASSASINA is a bit of a cheat... but if you love chilli...and black pepper...and prawns... This is going to be a winner!

I used 150g of prawn tail meat per serve, and marinated them in a non-reactive bowl with...

Apparently we’re in our Freezer Girl Era now – – and yes, I know I’m a boy. But this trend?

I’m fully on board. It’s about filling your freezer with little things that make weeknight cooking feel like you actually have your life together.

This isn’t bulk meal prep. This is freezer magic – a stash of flavour bombs and shortcuts that save you mid-week.

Here’s what’s in my current rotation:

 Flavoured butters: mix butter with garlic and herbs, or miso and sesame oil, or

truffle and parmesan...

It feels like Spring and Summer are around the corner, and Yumi is excited about a pasta salad that can be served warm and has a super-cute, mouth-pleasing texture that may well intern it into the FOREVER FILES.

Based on this recipe, Yumi has halved the quantities to suit her ("Mercifully Divorced") lifestyle and improved it by cooking the corn and adding chopped smoked almonds at the end.

Quick answer to a riddle we don't solve on-air: Creste di Gallo looks like this!

And the book Simon is talking about is The...

Apologies in advance!

Your hosts completely lose it and start laughing like hyenas over the Netflix doco 'Poop Cruise' - which is not for the faint-hearted!

Listen along though - it's good for you to laugh!

Otherwise skip through to the 3 minute mark for chat on making:

STEW - HORRIBLE WORD. BRILLIANT THING TO EAT

A meaty, miso-boosted winter stew that’s big on flavour, low on fuss – TERRIBLE name, EXCELLENT dinner.

RATIO: Meat to Veg = 2:1

Brown your meat in batches to get the meat...

To make the Toum, blitz

6 garlic cloves

2 egg whites

2 tablespoons lemon juice in a food processor.

While it’s running, slowly drizzle in 1½ cups of vegetable oil until it thickens into a fluffy white cloud. Season with salt. It’s bold, punchy, and keeps for a few days in the

fridge.

Chicken Pita

Mix 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 tablespoon ground coriander and 3 tablespoons oil with a spoonful of toum (or not – if you're allergic to garlic/alliums).

Slice 500g of boneless chicken...

Yumi's son is the main budding chef in the brood, and he's obsessed with this book by Reece Hignell. It means Yumi and Manbaby have tried MANY recipes from the book, including this one for a giant Devil's Food Chocolate Cake.

CAKE BOI'S DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE - aka Chocolate Lover's Heaven!

Pre-heat the oven to 160C fan-forced.

Grease and line 2 20cm cake tins.

Sift 480g flour, 700g caster sugar, 170g cocoa powder, 4tsp baking soda, 1tsp baking powder and 1tbs salt. (Yep, I said 1 teaspoon but it's actually a whole...

Sometimes a dinner is SO BAD that it just has to go straight to compost.

Sorry, inner-tightass, but it's true.

Simon shares a recent take-away food experience that would get a less-busy man writing angry Yelp reviews!! LOL.

Yumi shocks Simon by revealing just how much of a tough-nut she can be when it comes to fish and chips (his reaction is worth the price of admission)...

And Simon has a good handful of tips for how to turn some "meh" homemade dinners into something - maybe not...

It's with some amazement that your hosts reflect on the fact that they're both currently working in offices.

LIKE, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

Yumi struggles with boredom in meetings, and has directed a lot of that restless energy into concocting the PERFECT OFFICE LUNCH. This code also applies to school/uni lunches if you have a common room.

LANGUAGE WARNING: It's not technically "swearing" but at some point Yumi does say "kick it in the dick"

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Yumi has come up with a way to use up 2 really, really nasty bananas - in a way the kids won't even notice.

2 NASTY BANANAS -> CHOC CHIP MUFFINS

2 nasty, dead-looking bananas 180g

55g melted butter

1 egg

1tsp vanilla

100g greek yoghurt

150g wholemeal (or regular) self-raising flour

70g dark chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

Prepare a 6-hole muffin tray

Mash well your bananas. Sometimes if I can be bothered, I used the...

Is it offensive to say you've "upgraded" an absolute classic?

In this case, it's not Simon making the claim - it's from an online recipe... But enough users are in the comments RAVING about the so-called upgrade that Simon had to give it a go.

The big difference? Marinating the fetta in broken pieces (not cut cubes) in oil made from frying lemon slices. Blistering the red peppers/capsicum. And using fresh oregano (as well as traditional dried if you want to really, REALLY upgrade)!

RECIPE:

Start with 225...

Your hosts explain the hows and whys of a perfect CHEESE BOARD - and I think you're gonna learn something today. It really is within reach to make a cheese board classy AND effortless - by stripping it back.

ALSO - why is it so hard to spot one's own kids in a crowd?

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Your favourite cooking nerds get EXCITED over an internet recipe that has the Comments Section going off.

You know how they say "you should never read the comments"?

Not in this case!

The recipe is here.

The modifications are:

Cut the chicken into smaller pieces than suggested, then marinate them in 2tbs Garam Masala, 1tbs finely minced ginger and 1tbs fish sauce. To up the coconutty flavour, fry the chicken in coconut oil, not neutral oil. Don't use coconut cream (too oily), use coconut milk.

...

On this Final Instalment of Simon Davis's shameful Air-Fryer Diaries, you'll discover what's still sitting in the hallway of Simon's house, in its boxed, unloved and unopened.

Yumi shares how she's been doing the audiobook recordings for a couple of her books...

ALSO - how to make the greatest, easiest dessert ever: AFFOGATO?!

It's so good it's almost uncanny.

RECIPE:

Ball up your best vanilla ice-cream into a neat spheres that you know will fit your (small) coffee glass.

Return the ice-cream ball/s...

Simon is sheepishly confessing to two cooking FAILURES - and one win.

What on earth are they?

And what delicious food can we possibly eat to get us through the grimmest months of winter?

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Both your hosts Yumi and Simon have so far resisted the allure/hype of the AIR FRYER.

Neither has one - til now!

But why have they resisted? And what could make them cave?

____________________________________

The link to Simon's son's beloved Sausage Rolls on RecipeTinEats is here.

The book that Yumi's son took camping despite the lack of oven and general cooking equipment is Reece Hignell's CAKE BOI

The book that Yumi and Simon co-authored that has the cute illustrations of said hosts/authors is...

Finely slice your onion, pre-heat your fry pan then add 3 tbs good olive oil.

Gently sautee your onions for ...wait.

TWENTY MINUTES??

Listen here for WHY -

...and some hacks if you simply can't spare the time.

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On this episode, Yumi floats her theory about why 40th birthdays are often a big, fat non-event.

Then we go all-in on Yumi's son's newest favourite cake. (Since recording this episode, she's made it twice more: both little ones LOVE IT in their school lunches.)

It's a Nagi recipe from Recipe Tin Eats and you can find it here.

And if it's your 40th birthday soon? GO EASY ON YOURSELF. There'll be more birthdays!

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2025 might be the year that we begin to RE-appreciate the offcuts that used to populate the supermarket meat section back in our parents' day...

Liver, anyone?

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Sometimes a terrific NAME can get you racing to the kitchen to attack a recipe.

Who doesn't love 'Crunchy Fish', for instance?

And what about Pesce all’Acqua Pazza, or better known as 'Fish in Crazy Water'??

Find the recipe here - - or just gently fry up 1/4 cup olive oil with 2tsp salt, 700g chopped tomatoes and YOUR FAVE aromatics - eg., dried chillies, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 2 cloves of thinly sliced garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes, and after 3-5 mins, add in 2.5 cups of water, put th...

Your hosts go ALL IN for that great winter vegetable, FENNEL, which has the annoying habit of refusing to go off while taking up space in your fridge! Curse you, Everlasting Vegetable!

Yumi also recounts a breakthrough moment of understanding that oils and salads need to be co-ordinated, much like tops and bottoms do when putting together an outfit.

FENNEL AND SNOW PEA SALAD:

500g prepped snow peas, blanched in boiling water for 30 seconds then rinsed in cold water until cool, and well-dried on a clean tea-towel.

Finely slice...

Inspired by the chef Michael Moore who wrote a great book full of delicious and healthy recipes called BLOOD SUGAR - and also inspired by the need to bunker down under MANY layers of doona and thermals and eat hot, filling food, Yumi revisits an old recipe for baked meatballs that really is beautiful and very achievable.

Try it here:

Preheat the oven to 180C

Decant 2/3 of a bottle of passata into a baking tray with high sides.

Roll up about 18 meatballs using

500g pork/beef mince (lean)<...

On your favourite food podcast, Yumi Stynes explains how food, in this case persimmons, connects her to her mother's culture.

Persimmons are, like asparagus, TRULY seasonal. Which is why we have to enjoy them in winter!

Dried persimmons are becoming A THING in Australia - and you can find the salad recipe here.

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Yumi has some personal news to share with Simon which she predicts will BORE HIM TO TEARS.

She also has an amazing Creamy White Beans recipe to share with everyone - TOTALLY NOT BORING!

It's a New York Times Cooking recipe - and you'll probably have everything you need to make it - just grab or make sure you have

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Your hosts have a LOT of thoughts when it comes to ordering food at a restaurant.

What are the common mistakes?

How can you absolutely nail it?

On what topics should you consult with your waiter?

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Is there anything more inspiring for a keen cook than being asked to make something for a party at short notice?

Yumi is BACK and feeling good in her kitchen and was delighted to have a couple of cracks at making this cake by Nigella Lawson.

*After recording, she made it again for the party - here's what she said about the changes:

"Instead of Olive Oil, I used coconut oil!

(I know the whole name is Nigella's Olive Oil Chocolate Cake but I just felt the olive...

We NEVER get tired of finding new ways to make potatoes exciting and delicious.

REAL QUICK:

To make Yumi's ALL KILLER, NO FILLER POTATO CRISP

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

Have some finely chopped rosemary needles ready to go and have 1/4 cup of olive oil in a small pot, not heated yet.

Slice 4-5 decent-sized spuds into 2mm discs. Dump the lot into a big pot of salted, boiling water. Once the water returns to the boil (this will take a couple of minutes) allow the spuds to...

Corn ribs had a bit of a "moment" in restaurants around the country and around the world - - but what do you think?

(email us any time foodfixemail@gmail.com)

Your food-mad hosts discuss.

Yumi also has to share about these olives she'd never tried before...

...And gives you one more thing to add to your camp cooking repertoire, particularly if you love to cook on a fire!

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This episode, your hosts Yumi and Simon go wildly off script and talk about:

The perils of buying wine as a sober person

A gumbooted and verdant field fantasy

...and there's a bunch of ridiculous lolling in there that a normal person might've edited out! WOOT!

Plus, Adam Liaw's Chicken and Mushroom Field Pie recipe is here.

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Yumi has some (actually real) ideas about what kinds of gifts mothers want this Mother's Day.

(Clue: it's not chocolate, it's not a soft toy, it's no kind of inflatable silver balloon EVER, and it's definitely not a cleaning/housework appliance.)

And Simon wants to free listeners to make the soup they CAN - not the "perfect" soup!

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It's not every day that recipe copyright and cookbook authoring is national news, so naturally Yumi and Simon have some thoughts!

From their two unique perspectives from the world of cookbooks and recipe authoring, they cautiously weigh in with diplomacy AND personal experience.

They also have a recipe to share! It's a 15 years old from Gizzi Erskine and Simon is SURE you're gonna love it!

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If you've ever been to Japan (which more and more of you have been lucky enough to do!) - you may have visited an "Onsen" - hot spring bath.

Imagine notionally teaming that idea up with the idea of poaching eggs! What?! I can just picture the eggs luxuriating in the hot spring with a teeny tiny towel balanced on their foreheads...

One of my favourite resources for Japanese cooking is Just One Cookbook and they have a great way of doing eggs that is SO EASY! (And if you're interested, the author...

In this episode our two hosts try to make each other laugh and dig a little into the culture of the Farmer's Market, what people get wrong when cooking with Haloumi - - - and what exactly this new thing is that we keep seeing on cafe menus: The HLT.

*tip: has nothing to do with Hormone Lighten-Up Therapy!

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Burrata was a bit of a fad food for a while there. Which didn't make it any less wonderful... but how do we imagine best serving this magical, pendulous bell of lactose now that we have had some experience with it?

Yumi tells us her favourite way to serve the cheese and Simon openly grieves missing out on travelling to the HOME of burrata for a burrata cookbook shoot.

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Yumi and Simon are astonished to realise that their respective kids have ALL been reading Garfield comics and this has influenced their desire to eat LASAGNA!

Trouble is - good lasagna is pretty time-consuming to make.

So what to do?

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Your hosts are VERY INTERESTED to note that the flavour of the legendary ANZAC biscuit has been co-opted and is now a ....crumble topping?

What do you think?

There are an infinite number of recipes but this one looks a lot like the classic.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Combine 1.25cups of plain flour with a cup of rolled oats, 165g caster sugar, and 3/4 cup of dessicated or shredded coconut.

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt 150g butter with 90g golden syrup. When the two are combined...

Simon absolutely got me onboard for fancy and considerably more expensive *smoked* salt.

But as his "fancy" side becomes more and more apparent, the upgrade is revealed!

FANCY SALT GARLIC BREAD

Leave 100g of butter on the kitchen counter to soften.

Buy a baguette from the supermarket.

Slice it lengthways.

Combine the butter with one finely grated garlic clove and finely sliced basil leaves.

Mix and spread on the baguette.

Wrap the baguette in foil, and when nearing dinner time, bake...

Yumi has an update on what she's been inspired to cook due to working on this podcast...

She also wants to share a brilliant way of cooking TEMPEH, a delicious, vegan protein - with OUT deep frying it.

Listen for more and please remember to share this podcast with a friend! Word-of-mouth really is the greatest marketing. XX

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Nigella Lawson is coming to Australia!! - - and your food-obsessed, Nigella loving hosts can't decide whether they can stump up for a ticket. What would you do?

(You can email us your thoughts any time at foodfixemail@gmail.com)

Simon has a story about, yes, having eaten genuine, home-cooked Nigella food back in England... and a recipe throwback to a staple in MANY houses - including Nigella's own. You can find it here but it's basically cooking a whole chicken in a casserole dish with ORZO PASTA, a couple of carrots and...

Got fussy kids?

I FEEL YOUR PAIN!

Mine don't eat a huge variation of foods and I get tired of spinning the existing recipes 'round and 'round and around again...

The new thing they *might* actually try?

CRUNCHY TOFU

Silken tofu

rice flour

deep-frying oil

Tsuyu sauce for serving

Pre-heat the oil. (I use about 1.5 cups of vegetable oil in my smallest saucepan.) Dust the dried-off tofu in plentiful rice flour. Shake off the excess. Have...

The annual Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is a big event on the International Foodie calendar and Simon was there getting amongst it.

World's Greatest Baker Richard Hart was there and the two got to experience a memorable "fusion" food experience.

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It's not every day that you get to interview an acclaimed and genuinely cool English author who can sell out rooms here in Australia... but that's what Yumi was doing (for her other job) when something DEEPLY CRINGE AND FOOD-RELATED occurred. You can hear all about it on today's episode! LOLSSSSS.

You can also hear about this SALAD - from an amazing website I use all the time.

1 tomato

2 tbs ponzu

1 tbs toasted sesame seeds

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SPOILER: Yumi's is Japanese fermented soy beans, "natto" (pronounced: "nut - or"), and Simon's is the recipe below for Spicy Tuna Pasta.

They'll also talk about what "alone time" means for busy parents and what books they've been reading lately!

SIMON'S SPICY TUNA PASTA FOR ONE

100g linguine, spaghetti or whatever pasta you want - cooked in a pot of boiling, salted water

While the pasta is cooking, prep your ingredients by chopping finely 2 long red chillies, 1 garlic clove, and have standing by 1 big handful of chopped...

When the holidays loom, it's easy to feel like making plans is just ONE MORE JOB on our already overloaded TO-DO LISTS!

SIMON'S EASTER HOLIDAYS OLIVE OIL CAKE

Grease and line 20cm cake tin

Pre heat 180C

INTO A BOWL WITH:

125 ml olive oil

175g caster sugar

2 large eggs

zest of a lemon

-- whisk to combine --

then add 50ml milk

FINALLY combine

200g plain flour, 1.5tsp baking powder and a pinch of...

RETHINKING ingredients can take a bit of brain elasticity.

For example? I always thought pine needles had to be served as full needles! But they can be finely chopped to excellent, delicious effect.

Same goes for SNOW PEAS.

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A lot of families have a carousel of meals they cook on rotation. Simon and Yumi both have this - and it can get boring. The spins can lack variety and surprise!

And you know what else? Every now and then you look at what you've got on regular rotation and realise... HANG ON, THAT THING THAT WE ALL USED TO LOVE AND EAT ALL THE TIME FELL OUT OF FAVOUR!

So - in Simon's case? Let's bring back Coriander Pesto!

It's so good to add flavour as a condiment to a...

My kids will go camping simply on the promise of a foil-wrapped, campfire roasted potato.

They'll endure tent-sleeping in torrential rain for them!

So what do you do if you can't have a camp fire? (National Parks, total fire bans, etc.?)

And how can you translate this natural and tasty delight into something you can make at home surrounded by your city comforts?

LISTEN, SUBSCRIBE and SHARE as your fave foodies talk you through it.

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Does cooking for one sound sad? Depressing? Lonely?

It's kind of okay - if you're armed with some hacks so you're not starting from scratch every meal.

YUMI'S ANCHOVY SALAD DRESSING (TO LEAVE IN THE FRIDGE FOR WHEN YOU JUST CAN'T BE BOTHERED)

60g anchovies

250ml olive oil

10g honey

25g tahini

20g best balsamic vinegar

50g white balsamic vinegar

juice of one lemon

Blend everything in the jar you intend to store it in. Check...

When figs are plentiful, one must pounce! Like a cat upon a native endangered bird!

The beauty of figs is that they are seasonal. Nothing signals the *sigh* End of Summer like figs being plentiful and affordable.

On this episode, Yumi and Simon run through their favourite things to do with figs, including a fantastic recipe from THEIR COOKBOOK WHICH YOU CAN BUY HERE.

SIMON'S FREEFORM FIG TART

Pastry

Combine 200g diced cold butter with 250g plain flour in a food processor for a few short bursts...

Simon is freshly inspired by the experience of being on a cookbook shoot where Pomelo was front, centre... and portrait.

Both Yumi and Simon get a little misty remembering what a different world it was during LOCKDOWN (police checks, really?) and how food was used as a way to bond.

ITALIAN POMELO SALAD

Remove the pith from the pomelo. Peel the flesh from any pith and break the segments into generous chunks.

Remove the seeds from 1 pomegranate.

Make a dressing out of juice on 1 lemon, 3tbs good...

Both your hosts have had brilliant restaurant experiences recently.

Yumi's was at the fairly new Bessie's in Surry Hills, Sydney, and Simon ate again at chef Josh Niland's sublime St Peter in Paddo. BOTH EXPERIENCES WERE TRANSFORMATIVE.

What did we bring home to share with you on this podcast?

Burgers!

If you ever want to share your thoughts or make a request, you can email the makers of this podcast at FoodFixEmail@gmail.com

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Yumi gets misty-eyed about all the travel she's not doing ...but would like to, and shares her thoughts on how to react when your adult kid loses their passport. While overseas.

WALNUT PESTO!

100g walnuts

garlic oil

3 tbs chopped fresh rosemary

50g grated Pecorino Romano

4tbs walnut oil

Serve on Rana Pasta! (Which Yumi famously misspells out loud during this episode, lol. ) Or whatever filled pasta you can get your hands on.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

On this consistently top-rating food podcast, your hosts try not to cack themselves laughing while they explain a way to Trojan Horse good foods into your kids via a food they feel safe with: TOAST.

ELVIS TOAST

Butter a well toasted slice of sourdough.

Add a generous slathering of crunchy peanut butter...

then top generously with sliced banana.

Finish with a tiny amount of very dark chocolate, finely grated over the top!

MAGIC TOAST

Spread a well-toasted slice of sourdough bread with hummus. <...

All the kids are finally back to school and those of us lucky enough to be gainfully employed are mostly back to work! Including Yumi, who has a new job!

To sweeten your work day, Yumi has a shortbread recipe from one of her favourite cookbooks, and another hack if you're a HOME-MADE GRANOLA OBSESSIVE.

The cookbook is PASS IT ON by Shobha Kalyan and Keryn Kalyan and it's out of print but you may be able to get a copy if you contact them via their website.

Cardamom Shortbread<...

NOT ONE TO BRAG, our humble food expert Simon Davis has spent a number of days hanging out at Australia's Best Restaurant in his day job as a cookbook publisher.

You'll hear more about the restaurant on today's episode of the food fix but the link is here if you urgently need to make a booking!

We've also got the sauce he's inspired by. It's not the restaurant version, it's one us mere humans can probably get going on our home stoves.

Agrodolce sauce

Small saucepan, into 2 warmed tablespoons of...

What does Valentine's Day mean to you?

And how do you make your special person feel extra loved on this (sometimes tricky and weird) day?

Yumi and Simon have some experiences and advice to share - and a REALLY GREAT cake from the legendary Belinda Jefferey that would make the perfect gift cake - or just a treat for yourself.

Ingredients