Every trestle table in the 1980s had one of these slices on it. No one remembers asking for it — it just turned up, wedged between the party pies and the lamingtons, wrapped in foil, at every barbecue, wake, school fete and Christmas do. There was always someone who brought it to absolutely everything, and […]

Every cocktail, cordial and iced coffee wants sugar syrup, and the shop-bought stuff is sugar and water at a ridiculous markup. This is the version we keep in the fridge — made a little heavier than most recipes so it keeps for a year and doesn’t water down a drink. An old vodka bottle is […]

Peach & Biscuit Bake Max’s Kitchen Starter — one tin, one packet This is the “viral” biscuit-and-peaches bake, cut down to a size that actually makes sense for one person cooking for themselves. The internet version usually calls for two packets of biscuits and feeds a family; this one uses exactly one packet and one […]

This is the ice-cream recipe that’s finally replaced every other method in this kitchen. It starts and finishes in the Vitamix — no stovetop tempering needed, no thickener, no ice bath and only the blender to wash up. Make it for rich ice cream in a tub, or add the stabilisers below if you’re making […]

This one’s a keeper. Cucina povera at its best — a quarter cabbage and a couple of onions turned into a sharp, mustardy little condiment that punches well above its size. It’s not a ferment, just a quick vinegar pickle, but it holds in the fridge for a good two weeks. Scoop it out for […]

Mug Cake — Build Your Own Part of Cheap & Easy — Max’s Kitchen Starter If you’ve ever had a mug cake explode in the microwave, or come out gluey in the middle, the fix usually comes down to ratio rather than luck. This one uses whatever packet cake mix is already in the cupboard, […]

Every few years this one does the rounds again — the story of a woman who fell in love with a chocolate chip cookie at a Neiman Marcus café, asked for the recipe, and was told it would cost “two-fifty.” She agreed, assuming $2.50. Her credit card statement said otherwise: $250. Furious, she supposedly took […]

This one’s straight out of the “what’s in the garden” playbook — continental cucumbers, a punchy peanut-lime dressing, and whatever crunchy bits are on hand. Ready in ten minutes and works as a side to almost anything off the grill. CUCUMBER SALAD WITH PEANUT SAUCE Ingredients 2–3 continental cucumbers (approx. 600g) 40g peanut butter 20ml […]

Ways with Mince: One Base, Three Meals A FOOD4US TECHNIQUE POST Most nights start the same way here: onions and garlic powder in the pan, a grated carrot cooked down, and a kilo of mince browned properly. What happens after that browning is where it gets interesting — the exact same base splits three ways […]

Nachos PART OF WAYS WITH BREAD & WRAPS The taco mince gets one more life here — stir refried beans through what’s left, pile it over corn chips with a mountain of cheese, and bake until it’s bubbling at the edges. This is the leftover-mince hero of the whole series: if you made a double […]

This one goes in the oven and does its own thing — no standing over a pan, no timing multiple pots at once. Three packs of ramen, a tin of coconut milk and green or red curry paste go straight into a baking dish together, and six eggs finish it off, baked right into the […]

THE FAMILY LIBATIONS LIBRARY A collection of drinks we’ve tested, tasted, and refined over years of entertaining. Everything from after-dinner classics to party-size batches. Many use fresh citrus from the garden — when you’ve got lemons, limes, and tangelos coming off the trees, you learn to make them do interesting things. Mix and match, adjust […]

This started as an attempt at a clean, margarita-ready orange liqueur — no brandy, no Christmas spice, just citrus. A few taste tests in, while it was still young, the verdict was clear: it’s too good to hide under tequila and lime. Triple sec can do that job. This one earns its place on its […]

This is the recipe that will keep you fed without spending too much time or money. Learn the base and you have four completely different dinners. Once you can make this, you can cook something nutritious and at least you won’t starve. CHEAP AND EASY – WAYS WITH MINCE Your Pantry Kit Stock these once […]

This is not a jam and it’s not a marmalade — it’s something better. A soft, spoonable citrus paste that sits beautifully on a cheeseboard, scooped into a small ramekin and left small knife, for people to help themselves. It is exceptional with blue cheese as well as with soft cheeses. The flavour is intensely […]

If you’ve ever reached for preserved lemons needed in a recipe and found the jar uninvitingly old and mouldy, this is the fix. One lemon, three ingredients, twenty minutes — and you have a small jar of intensely flavoured paste that works anywhere you need a salty, lemony hit without adding liquid. It keeps in […]

This started as an experiment to turn a crumpet batter into a tray bake, and ended up somewhere much more useful — a fast, one-bowl yeasted bread with a super crisp top and bottom and an open, sliceable crumb. No kneading, no shaping, just mix, pour, rest and bake. Slice it through the middle and […]

This dish has become a genuine showstopper on our table. Roasted sweet potato on a billowy whipped tahini yoghurt base, finished with a spicy honey drizzle and toasted pine nuts — it looks impressive, tastes extraordinary, and most of the work can be done the day before. It works equally well as a vegetarian centrepiece […]

If you’ve got a lime tree you know the problem: come Spring and Summer, you’re drowning in fruit. One week there’s a handful on the branches, the next week there’s enough to fill a bucket, and by next week the tree’s completely overloaded and you are sending visitors home with bags of limes, and the […]

When the garden hands you more spinach than you know what to do with, this is the answer. A rich, savoury filling built from things you likely already have — cream cheese, eggs, good hard cheese, a splash of kefir for tang — it comes together quickly and works in almost any format you can […]

The icebox cake has been around since the 1920s, born when refrigerators were still a novelty and food companies were printing recipes on packaging to convince people their new appliance was indispensable. Nabisco introduced their Famous Chocolate Wafers in 1924 and by 1929 the icebox cake recipe was printed right on the box — one […]

SWEET POTATO PAPTERT – INDIVIDUAL SERVES Paptert is a South African layered bake — traditionally stiff maize porridge with a savoury filling, baked with cream and cheese until bubbling and golden. This version swaps the maize meal for roasted sweet potato mash, pressed into individual moulds and filled with whatever vegetables need using up. The […]

This is the kind of soup that asks almost nothing of you. Nothing really needs to be measured, almost everything is swappable for what you’ve got in the garden or the pantry, and it freezes beautifully in single serves for nights when winter has got the better of you. The bones of the recipe come […]

SHAKSHUKA A one-pan dish of eggs poached in a spiced tomato and capsicum sauce — perfect for using up pizza-night leftovers (passata, half a capsicum, that lonely onion). Freeze the base in portions and you’ve got a 10-minute meal whenever you need it. The same tomato base also doubles as the filling for our Sweet […]