1. A combination of vitamin c and olive leaf extract tablets often throughout the day. This is usually my first attack and has been successful.

2. Sharron S -  Buy garlic oil tablets from the supermarket, its the purest form of garlic apart form the torture you are subjecting yourself to (she was referring to the image above). Cenovis even has peppermint flavoured. Take 2 x3 a day after your food. I didn’t try this – just raw garlic.

3. Mandie B – Vicks on your feet with socks on overnight helps. I did this one that night. It was rather soothing!

4. Jordana D – I have herd cut a brown onion in half and place it on a plate next to your bed works people swear by it. I heard this one even kept the plague away. I did this that night too. No my bedroom didn’t smell like onion amazingly.

5. The Natural Foodie – Lemon, ginger, garlic and honey in warm water (Tea basically)

6. Linnea S.M – Mix 3 Tblsp. of honey and 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon. Take 1 tsp. of mixture every day. When you feel a cold coming on or you have a cold, take 1 tsp. every morning and evening. raw, unprocessed, local honey works best. I made a big jar of this up last year and it kept the lurgies away. I may have started eating it as a treat though. It’s so tasty!

7. Mushroom Lovers Club – Eat more mushrooms. Research shows they are able to boost the immune system, which is just what you need to ward off those gremlins. You know I love mushrooms.

8. Ivi J – Boiled (to get rid of most of the alcohol) red wine (homemade preferred), once boiled add lots of sugar, drink as fast as is possible, get under your doona and sweat it off whilst you sleep! New woman the next day. I didn’t do this one but it sounds like fun.

9. Mark A.R – Apple cider vinegar 1 nip and rum 2 nips. Nothin can live through it. Will would love this one.

10. Josie B Put garlic, ginger, honey, lemon juice and hot water in a mug and stir and sip. It seems Josie and Kirsty from The Natural Foodie are on to something.

I used quite a combination of these and woke up the next day feeling great so I’d say do as many as you can if you feel even an inkling of the dreaded bugs coming. This tea from 84th and 3rd is another of my favourite cold remedies and it’s very tasty so add it to the list (pop over there to find the recipe).

What about you? Do you have any natural cold remedies?

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The post 10 Natural ways to fight the dreaded cold and flu appeared first on Claire K Creations.

I can’t believe that I’m in the same country just a few states away from my next special guest. I first ‘met’ Chris from The Cafe Sucre Farine a couple of years ago and we’ve been great friends ever since. Before I knew what she was making I was going to say that she constantly entices me to expand my eating repertoire to include more salads. Seriously, she comes up with some amazing looking ones and this one is no different.

Chris is also rather clever with her gorgeous sweet creations too and if you’re really lucky, you just might stop by on a day that her grandchildren are visiting. They are adorable! Her sweet husband ‘aka’ mouse is also the photographer over there and boy is he clever. Thanks so much for visiting Chris and you’re right, it’s not a long enough visit… maybe you’ll have to come and stay in the spare room at our new house?

Hello, I’m Chris from The Café Sucré Farine. I’m excited to be here, pinch-hitting today for my sweet friend, Claire.

It’s been so fun getting to know Claire over the past few years. I can’t remember exactly when we (virtually) met, but it was somewhere out there in blogland and we “bonded” quickly after becoming acquainted. We’ve visited each other’s blogs regularly ever since and have truly become friends, despite the many miles and continents between us.

I’ve enjoyed following Claire through a number of milestones in her life: a sweet engagement, an incredibly beautiful wedding, newlywed life and fun travel adventures. I’ve gotten peeks of her wonderful family and have seen this young lady blossom into an amazingly creative and very talented cook and awesome photographer right before my eyes. Oh, and if you don’t already know Claire, she’s funny too and has a charming way of making me smile and laugh with her posts and comments!

I’ve also enjoyed Claire’s adventuresome culinary tastes. She not only cooks up a storm at home, but this girl absolutely loves dining out and does a fabulous job of reviewing both fine dining causal establishments in her little corner of the world. She’s not afraid to try new things, both at home and when dining out.

I have to admit though, there’s one thing about Claire that I find a bit puzzling; I’ve observed that despite her broad range of taste, she’s not a huge fan of salads!!! Salad is such a staple here at The Café (if you check our recipe index you’ll find a zillion salad recipes) and I’m forever dreaming up new concoctions with both everyday and unique ingredients. I tend to go crazy in the produce section of the market and I can’t imagine a life without salad  ………….. so I decided to share a fabulous, fresh untraditional recipe because …………… (shhhh, don’t tell her) I’m hoping to entice Claire into my salad-loving world.

I served this salad last weekend for my family and it received huge thumb’s up from everyone around the table.

It can be served as a meal on its own, or as a lovely accompaniment to grilled chicken, seafood, pork or beef. It would be perfect for a summer picnic or party.

If you refrain from adding the avocados ’til just before serving, it can be made well in advance. I have a feeling that this will be a go-to salad all summer long, here at The Café!

Thanks for having me Claire, it was too short of a visit and you weren’t there. I guess that means I’ll have to come back!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Fresh Corn Salad from The Cafe Sucre

 

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Ingredients

• 6 strips applewood bacon, or other good smokey bacon
• 5 ears fresh corn, husks and silks removed, kernels cut from cobs
• 2 ounces Feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 medium bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 large California Avocados, peeled cored and diced into bite size pieces
• 1 medium mango, peeled, cored and diced

Instructions

1. Slice bacon into bite size pieces. Place a heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook until the bacon is crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel–lined plate to dry. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet.
2. Add corn to skillet and cook over medium-high heat until it is just slightly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, crumble in the Feta cheese, and add the cilantro, basil, green onions and lime juice.
3. Let the mixture cool to room temperature. Roughly crumble the bacon into the corn mixture and toss to combine. Add the avocado and diced mango and toss. Taste and season with salt and pepper before serving. Serve immediately at room temperature.

Notes

Recipe Adapted from Absolutely Avocados

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A quick check in from the Big Apple today. There was a little glitch with my laptop that I’ll tell you all about later but I’m back in business. Here’s a little peek at what we’ve been doing.

Firstly we’ve been battling the rain unfortunately. On our first day I had to buy a jumper because I was totally unprepared for the chill that came with the downpours. The good news is that it’s meant to be sunny for the rest of our trip.

It seems people here like to do strange things to their dogs. This one was outdone by the pink dog in a fake Louis Vuitton bag.

Being the wonderful wife that I am, I went on the Seinfeld tour with Will (sorry I’m not a Seinfeld fan). Don’t worry, I got him back with the Sex and the City tour a few days later.

I had my first Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma experiences and loved them. Wish they had stores in Brisbane!

We’ve been doing our fair share of eating at trendy little restaurants and cafes but still have quite a few to tick off the list that are closer to our second hotel which we’re moving to tomorrow.

So what’s everyone else been up to?

The post Silent Sunday – NYC appeared first on Claire K Creations.

When I started blogging back in 2010 (where did the time go?!) I made a lot of my tried and true recipes that I’ve been eating for years, most of which, mum gave me and has no idea where she got them.

Moroccan lamb curry or Moroccan beef curry in the slow cooker is one of my absolute favourites. Even when I was the world’s fussiest eater I loved this dish that mum would only make in winter. Back then we didn’t have a slow cooker, mum cooked it on the stove, but I adapted it to the slow cooker.

Not only have I adapted recipes to the slow cooker I’ve gotten mum hooked. She loves slow cooking so much she has two and when her sister was visiting from Spain a few weeks ago she bought two to take home with her! Tia Lee, here you go – a slow cooker recipe as requested.

The flavour in this North-African curry comes from a jar of mango chutney, two spoonfuls of curry powder and some lemon juice and is finished off with the meat and veges. Without fail, every time I make it I re-check the recipe thinking I must have missed something because you couldn’t believe that such a wonderful flavour comes from just a few ingredients.

You literally just throw everything in, give it a stir then put the lid on and walk away. Don’t forget to turn the slow cooker on (and check it’s plugged in – not speaking from experience of course!).

This is what you will come home/back to eight hours later. It’s so rich and luscious and so very full of flavour. The meat just melts. You really only need a spoon to eat it. I usually serve it with couscous (mashed potato for my non-cous-cous-eating husband). It freezes really well too so make up a big batch and have some on hand for easy winter dinners.

I have posted the recipe before but it’s too good not to re-share. Here it is. Feel free to use lamb or beef. Enjoy!

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The post Moroccan beef curry in the slow cooker appeared first on Claire K Creations.

Today I have another special guest for you – JJ from 84th & 3rd. JJ and I have been blogging friends for years and last year I finally got to meet her in person at Eat Drink Blog last year. It was way too short a meeting though. We must have a better catch up next time! JJ posts mouthwatering recipes and best of all, they’re all healthy but I’m not talking boring health food oh no. There’s nothing boring about chocolate peanut butter truffles or raw banana cream pie. Over to you JJ with a scrumptious looking Samphire and Kipfler Potato Salad. It’s my type of salad… lots of carbs!

Hi! I’m so thrilled to be here helping out while the lovely Claire is off on her adventures in my favourite city. It seems that everyone I know is currently on holiday, just got back from some wonderful trip, or is about to leave any day. This is not at all helping my itchy-feet-must-go-places-as-often-as-possible addiction, I think I need to get planning!

In the meantime though I’m here, kind of like a virtual holiday from my usual home over at 84th & 3rd!

As Claire is over in America-land enjoying summer at the moment, I figured a summery salad was just the thing to share. I never was one for thick mayo-laden potato salad and this version with buttery kipflers, rich roasted red capsicum, crisp samphire and a tangy mustard dressing is pretty close to perfect – in my oh so humble opinion.

It’s a good thing I made a big batch as both RJ and I couldn’t seem to get enough and saw it re-invented a number of different ways – including as a side for grilled fish at dinner; over rocket as a salad for lunch; and best of all quickly fried up in a pan and served with a runny egg for breakfast!

If you’ve never heard of samphire, it is a coastal native succulent that grows in marshes and rocky areas near the sea. It is becoming more popular in Australia as bush tucker and is also found widely in the UK. Samphire has a crisp salty bite and can be substituted with tender-crisp blanched green beans or asparagus. Some people steam it before eating but it is fine raw too, just give it a rinse in cool water first and snap off any woody bits.

Claire, I hope you are having a spectacular time. Eat lots of NYC tacos for me and I can’t wait to hear all about your trip when you return!

In addition to blogging at 84th & 3rd you can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Seasonal Sunday Lunch - what can I say, I get around…

5.0 from 1 reviews

84th & 3rd

 

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Ingredients

• 500 g small kipfler potatoes
• 50 g samphire, see notes for substitutions*
• 1 roasted red capsicum [bell pepper] sliced, approx ⅓ c
• ¼ of a red onion, thinly sliced

To Serve

• 2 – 3 Tbsp Mustard & Vinegar Dressing

Instructions

1. Roast capsicum until skin is just blackened and blistered. Remove skin, seeds and stem, slice into thin strips. Rinse samphire and remove any woody ends, break apart any large pieces. Place red capsicum and any juices from roasting in a large bowl with the samphire and onion, set aside.
2. Boil potatoes until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, roughly 25 mins or so. Drain and move to a cutting board. As soon as they are cool enough to touch, slice potatoes lengthwise in half [end to end], then slice each piece in half on an angle [side to side].
3. Place warm potato pieces into the bowl with the other ingredients, immediately drizzle over dressing and toss gently to combine. Serve with extra dressing on the side.

Notes

- Roasting capsicum: place on a foil-covered tray and roast under a high grill [broiler], turning every few minutes until skin is just charred on all sides. Remove and wrap in the foil to steam as it cools, this helps to loosen the skin. – Samphire: If you cannot get your hands on samphire, use fresh green beans or young asparagus instead. Simply slice on the angle and blanch for 30 seconds in the boiling water before you drain the potatoes. Add an extra pinch of salt to the salad when warm veggies are stirred through.

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This isn’t so much a recipe as a bit of a this-is-what-I-did-feel-free-to-ignore-me-or-no. I was having my friend LD over to lunch on a Friday and brainstorming what to serve. For some reason, when I’m crazy busy and really don’t have a spare second my weird brain thinks it’s a great time to get creative and try something I’ve never done before.

Yes it can be a recipe for disaster. My meat ‘experiments’ can be pretty expensive failures now that I’ve switched to organic meat but my roast chicken in the slow cooker was, thankfully, far from a disaster.

Ok it was nearly a disaster when I read somewhere that the thermometer you stab into its thigh when you think it’s cooked is meant to read 120C. I think I might have made it up. Let’s just say when I thought she was done and LD was going to arrive in about 30 minutes, I had a small panic attack when I saw the temperature was just 76C.

I quickly turned on the oven and gently transfered the luscious lady to an oven dish and straight into the oven. Then I went and double checked with Mr Google and good thing I did because 75C is considered perfect. Phew. I switched the oven over to grill to give the chook a golden glow and we were good to go.

I didn’t get fancy with a recipe or anything like that although I’m kind of wishing I’d done as Charlie did and spiced it up a bit. To be honest I tried to stuff some garlic and rosemary under the skin but it kept ripping. I perhaps need to work on my chicken prepping skills.

Instead I lathered it up in olive oil and seared it in the pan until I could smell that wonderful chicken smell. Then, rather awkwardly, with a few curse words thrown in every time I touched the sides of the dish, I manoeuvred the chicken on top of the roasting rack that came with my slow cooker.

She got another little shower of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and I shoved about 6 garlic cloves and 4 rosemary sprigs into the cavity then spread another few of each on top. In the end I think it looked a little Julius Caesar like. Agree?

Two hours on high and another three on low and she was done. Well almost done. I popped it under the grill for a few minutes just to brown up the skin (ok yes she was already in the oven from my misinterpretation). The meat was so meltingly soft, it pretty much fell apart when I was transferring it to the serving tray. Just to go all out, I roasted up some potato and sweet potato and served them with the chicken along with some honey-coated baby carrots. Enjoy!

What about you? Do you go for quick and simple when you’re in a hurry or does your brain decide it’s a good time to try new things like mine?

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I’ll be taking a few tips from Erin when I start planning my new garden. She has whipped up delicious winter salad using an ingredient I am yet to play with – pomegranate. Over to you Erin.

Hello! My name is Erin and I write over at ‘she cooks, she gardens’. When Claire contacted me about guest postingwhile she was away I was more than happy to oblige.

I first crossed paths with Claire back in 2011 when my blog was in its infancy. We both took part in ‘Cookbook Club’hosted by Kay-Lynn monkylicious and cooked from AdamLiaw’s book ‘Two Asian Kitchens’.  I made HainaneseChicken Rice and it was one of my first proper forays in the kitchen with a camera.

Since then I’ve watched Claire’s blog go from strength to strength and grow into the great site that it is today. The amount of content she is able to churn out is impressive and I’ve made (and stashed!) many of her recipes over the last few years.

I thought I would submit this recipe, a winter brown rice salad, as my guest post as it is a great example of the kind of dish you will find over on my blog and packed into my bag for the working week. It keeps well and tastes great - even after a couple of days in the fridge.

I was vegetarian for a couple of years and even though I’ve started eating meat again, dishes like this are still high on rotation in my kitchen. I enjoy the simplicity of meat-free cooking and in many ways it lends itself to greater levels of experimentation.

I find putting together a dish like to be a therapeutic process of combining flavours and textures. Roasting the cauliflower while the rice cooks brings out a nuttiness you simply can’t get from frying and the pomegranate adds that tart crunch that’s needed to lift it from the nutty base on which it comfortably rests.

When everything is ready to go it is easy to simply toss everything together in the roasting pan, soaking up all those wonderful oils and aromas from the roasting process. Dressed with nothing more than a squeeze of lemon, the salad is also kind to your waistline.

If you’re new to Pomegranates then now is the perfect time of year to get into them as they are in season and therefore at their best. I know a lot of people shy away from cooking with them and for many years I had no idea how I would even go about accessing the deliciousness. Then I came across this handy video and my life suddenly changed. Give it a shot; it’s much easier and not nearly as messy as other more conventional methods. If nothing else, you get to work through some of that pent up frustration and in return you get delicious pomegranate arils.

Thanks for having me Claire, I hope you’re having a wonderful trip!

Winter Brown Rice Salad

Serves 4-6

Vegetarian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

3/4 cup brown rice

1 stock cube

2/3 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces

½ bunch of broccolini (or broccoli), cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tbspn rice bran oil

1 tspn cumin seeds

1 tspn minced garlic

1 cup cooked chickpeas

A handful of slivered almonds

½ bunch of spring onion (about 4), roots removed and roughly chopped (include the green stems)

1 large handful of coriander, roughly chopped

½ cup baby spinach leaves, washed and roughly chopped

1 pomegranate, seeds removed (see video)

40g of feta cheese, crumbled or cut into small cubes (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Juice of one lemon

Heat the oven to 180 degree centigrade.

Rinse rice under running water and then prepare according to packet directions, using stock instead of water.

Toss cauliflower and broccolini in 1 tbspn of rice bran oil, minced garlic and cumin seeds.

Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or so – until browned and a little crispy around the edges. Stir every now and then.

When the cauliflower has started to brown and soften add the almonds and chickpeas to the pan and stir well.

Cook for another 5 minutes or so (until the almonds have browned slightly).

Remove the tray from the oven and add the cooked brown rice and stir well to combine.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine really well.

Season with a little salt and lots of cracked black pepper.

Serve.

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A few fun little quotes to brighten your day…

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I’m very excited to welcome my first guest blogger stepping in to help me out while I’m jet-setting over to NYC! Jennifer aka Mother Thyme has been a blogging friend of mine for a couple of years now. She comes up with the most amazing looking recipes and has absolutely beautiful photos. They make me want to reach into the computer and grab them – especially the one she’s sharing with you today. It may just be the recipe to christen my new lemon tree with!

Hi Claire K Creation readers! I’m Jennifer, the voice behind the little blog Mother Thyme. I’m thrilled to be guest posting for my good friend Claire again as she comes and visits me. Well, she isn’t coming to visit me technically, but she is going to be close, and in the same state I live in. Hopefully one day we’ll meet in real life. Claire and I have been following each other’s blog for awhile. I just adore her, and love seeing all of her “creations”.

I first guest posted for Claire a few years ago with these Angel Food Cupcakes. As delicious as they are, I see a photo update in the future. I am back with another sweet treat that is so easy to make and is so yummy.

This Lemon pie cake with blueberry compote recipe originally came from my step-mom who actually got it from her mom. It is light and airy, the perfect after dinner dessert when you are not looking for something heavy. This pie is great on its own, but I love to top it with a simple blueberry compote. I love the combination of lemons and blueberries, which really works well together in this dessert.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Lemon pie cake with blueberry compote

 

Author:

Mother Thyme

Serves: 8

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

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Ingredients

• 1 9-inch (20cm) unbaked pie shell (homemade or store bought)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp butter, softened
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1½ cups milk
• Zest and juice of one large lemon
• 3 tbsp flour
• Confectioners (icing) sugar for dusting

Blueberry Compote

• 1 pint (2 cups) fresh blueberries
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tspn cornstarch

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (160C).
2. In a large mixing bowl beat sugar and butter.
3. Stir in egg yolks one at a time followed by milk, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour until combined. Set aside.
4. Using an electric mixer, in a medium bowl beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.
5. Gradually fold in the wet ingredients until just combined.
6. Pour into prepared pie crust.
7. Bake in for 40-45 minutes until top is just set.
8. Note, the top of pie will become very brown. If top becomes too dark, cover with aluminum foil. Also, cover the edge of pie crust with foil or pie crust shield to avoid burning.
9. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners sugar when still warm.

Blueberry compote

1. In a small saucepan add blueberries, water, sugar and cornstarch and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until blueberries release their juices and sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
2. Allow to cool and serve over pie.
3. Store pie and compote in refrigerator.

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The post Lemon pie cake with blueberry compote – a guest post from Mother Thyme appeared first on Claire K Creations.

New York, New York… watch out here we come! We’re jet-setting off to the Big Apple today for two weeks and are just a little bit excited.

I’m going to get myself a USA sim card as soon as I land so I can share my adventure over on Facebook and Instagram. We’ve got lots of plans, restaurants and tours booked (yes I’m dragging Will on the Sex and The City tour but I think he’s secretly excited!). If you have any last minute tips for me please share!

I won’t be blogging too much but I have some wonderful guest posts lined up for you. You probably won’t even notice I’ve gone. Make them feel at home for me!

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