I awoke on Sunday morning later than usual, to a gloriously crisp but sunny autumn day. After tending to children tumbling out of bedrooms – children who have the energy that only a 12 hour sleep brings – I was treated to a beautifully prepared breakfast courtesy of my husband. Having someone cook for me is a perfect way to celebrate Mother’s Day.

My husband is not an accomplished cook, although he does clean the kitchen with surgical attention to detail. Having said this, the children prefer his tuna pasta over mine (!!!). His claim to kitchen fame is being able to whip up the most consistently delicious variety of breakfast dishes on the weekend. In fact, his pancakes, “egg on the eye” (the children’s term for fried eggs) along with French toast, crispy bacon and melt-in-the-mouth soft scrambled eggs are so appetising that I feel disappointed whenever I eat these particular meals elsewhere. This shows that with a little guidance, confidence in the kitchen and practice, it really is possible for the beginner home cook to create a tasty meal.

The pancakes pictured here are an adaptation of Nigella Lawson’s recipe for American pancakes on page 10 of her cookbook, Nigella Bites. I suggested some time ago to my husband that he also adds vanilla essence, buttermilk instead of full cream milk and uses self raising flour rather than messing about with plain flour and raising agents.

For our family of seven, we double the recipe and either dollop the batter on our outdoor BBQ plate or use my two trusty non-stick All Clad fry pans. Both give speedy and satisfying results.

This morning we enjoyed the plump, golden pancakes with pure maple syrup, Greek yoghurt and fresh fruit salad. A cup of English breakfast tea brewed to a rich reddish brown with a touch of milk, along with the weekend newspaper made this morning’s weekend breakfast a winner.

The gastronomic feast continued over lunch. I had invited my husband’s parents and wanted to cook up a special meal, which I guess is my way of saying thank you to my mother-in-law for giving me helping hand with my little ones over the years.  


When cooking for someone special, I recommend making dishes or using ingredients that are their favourites.  My mother-in-law is always appreciative of what I cook which makes my task much easier. She is a huge fan of tomatoes, figs and tender roast beef, especially my  whole fillet of beef, cooked in the way recommended by Stephanie Alexander on pages 104-105 in The Cook’s Companion. I also add four sprigs of fresh rosemary from my garden to the roasting pan partly for flavour, but also for the appetising aroma that fills the kitchen.

The beef was thickly sliced on a large platter and served with roasted lemony-garlic potatoes, a  mixed garden salad featuring baby cos lettuce which is classically crisp and tasty at the moment. A bowl of plump purple figs drizzled with Maggie Beer’s Vino Cotto sat alongside the beef , along with prosciutto wrapped grissini and rounds of bruschetta bursting with flavour and colour. It is pictured here, moments before it was snaffled up. 


I haven’t ever made bruschetta before. I always order it in restaurants but was a little nervous about attempting one of my favourite dishes at home. So I opened the ultimate compendium of Italian cooking, The Silver Spoon and followed the recipe on page 113. I also added a heaped tablespoon of home made pesto (minus the pine nuts) to the chopped tomatoes. I stirred this through, leaving the bowl at room temperature for an hour for the flavours to intensify before piling generously onto the toasted bread.So easy and so satisfying. Best of all my children are already asking when I can make it again!  

There is always room for dessert, and so I served up slices of Buttery Citrus Cake , page 37 of The Australian Women’s Weekly The Cake Stall cookbook, with dollops of Greek yoghurt and a drizzle of orange-lime syrup. This is quickly made by combining two tablespoons each of fresh lime juice and orange juice with about 150 grams of caster sugar. Bring to the boil, then simmer until smooth and glossy.