The Aquarian Cook

😳 What do you think it means to eat ‘intelligently’?

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” ― François La Rochefoucauld

I eat the slowest in my home because I love the sensation of food in my mouth. (No subtext there!!)

😇 I eat intelligently or mindfully because I don’t want to risk losing the joy of eating anything!

🥗 Do I like Salad? No.

🍔 Do I like burgers and fried food? Yes. Very much.

But In life you need to balance the two. Enjoy and experience all foods when you can.

But isn’t that where the fun is??

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“No man is lonely while eating spaghetti: it requires so much attention.” - Christopher Morley

🥰 As someone who takes great comfort in the cooking of pasta I can definitely say that when I’m eating SPAGHETTI, I’m way too happy to feel Lonely!

Whats your favourite way to eat spaghetti?

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Japanese Soufflé Pancakes!! 🥞🇯🇵

These pancakes were so good but they were hard work!!

Essentially I had to make a meringue and add flour. Even for this experience Amateur home Cook it was hard labour!

For a “quick breakfast” it was alot to deal with so early!!

🫐🍓 Then after topping with strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream and maple syrup I was feeling the love again!

⭐️ FOODIE TIP
Leave these delicate thick pancakes to the professionals!! I loved trying them but sometimes I need a shortcut to get to the food ASAP!

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The EASIEST way to make a Middle Eastern feast!

For me iy can’t always be about the time spent in the kitchen loving cooking great food.

It just takes a collection of themed shop bought ingredients and you have the most fantastic dinner ever!

It’s the oven hot bread and the fresh Vegetables that made this feel
Like a real home cooked meal!

Throw in some premade falafel balls and kebabs and it’s dinner time!

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✡️🇮🇱 Shana Tova! Happy Jewish New year! 💙🤍

🍯 Spiced Honey cake topped with fresh honeycomb and edible flowers 🌺

Every year I get to make the honey cake to celebrate Rosh HaShana with my partners family. 🇮🇱

Not only is the food amazing but it’s such a joyous occasion.

Always plenty of dips and bread, soup and slow cooked beef and mushroom pastries!

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🍆 Eggplants arranged in such a dynamic design I couldn’t help but photograph them!

Stunning!! 🤩

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Super Green Spaghetti! 💚

This brilliant recipe by the fantastic has just 5 ingredients that'll give you a flavour and a health boost! 🥬

The sauce is essentially pureed garlic and kale which makes for a super earthy sauce with a great garlic hit!

🌟 FOODIE TIP
The recipe calls for ricotta to be dotted on top but you could even do this with fetta. You could even swap the kale for spinach, cavalo nero or any other brassica!

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Turkish Eggs! 🥚🍳

😍 We’re serious when it comes to breakfast round here and this is how we do it!

Beautifully poached eggs on Greek yoghurt warmed through with garlic, chilli butter, and crunchy slices of sourdough bread!

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For the chilli butter here I use Aleppo Pepper which is a sour type of chilli in oil. The one I use is by and it's perfect here!

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Another wonderful local food treasure found!

It’s already extreme;ly popular with the locals but we were happy to be introduced to the fantastic cafe

The food was not only tasty and so satisfying, the Cafe has a real Alice in Wonderland vibe!

Seated amongst the mismatched tables the walls and gardens are filled with miscellaneous treasures of all types.

You can’t miss the cutest parrot 🐦 on his perch or the stunning yellow snake in its terrarium🐍.

The coffee is excellent and their food is plated beautifully in well proportioned sizes.

A must try if you're passing through the Gold Coast!

Food pictured:
- Sweet potato rosti with poached eggs
- Omelette with fetta and mushrooms
- breakfast wrap
- Chocolate Strawberry Waffles

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🧁 Apple Almond and Cinnamon muffins!

The fruits of my labour on Sunday!

Those fruits were baked into a muffin of course! Lol 😆

I made these based on a recipe by but turned out I didn't have any honey so I had to use golden syrup.

This alongside with adding dark brown sugar is the reason they ended up with dark crunchy tops. Which I loved!

🍎 Another happy accident is that I used JAZZ apples inside. But jazz apples don't cook soft so they kept a little bit of crunch. It added a really interesting contrast to the soft fluffy texture of the muffin!

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It's a great idea to always keep in your cupboard some golden syrup, molasses, date syrup and even Rice Malt syrup. They're great replacements for sugar and honey while baking and they last in the cupboard forever!

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👨🏻‍🍳 Baking Away the weekend!

☀️ Sometimes on the weekend you just feel like freshly baked goodies for breakfast!

Baking a dozen fresh muffins gives me that wonderful Stepford Wife vibe! 🍎

PS Sorry for the bed hair. Sunday morning routine is get out of bed. The end. 😝

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Don't be afraid to bake a dozen muffins just for you! You can freeze the rest and just throw them in the microwave for 30 seconds every time you have a cup of coffee or feel like that sweet breakfast dessert!

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🧁They say too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth!

🫐Does that also apply to another baker baking delicious desserts in my kitchen??

Not sure but I couldn’t be happier when this is the result! 🧁💚

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Don’t ever underestimate the sweet appreciation people have for a simple sponge cake decorated with fresh cream and fresh berries! Its light, fresh, naturally sweet and goes perfect with either tea or coffee!

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🦐 Prawns with Rosé and Red Pesto on Thin Spaghetti!

The most incredible way to eat prawns (possibly my favourite) its always a pleasure!

knows how to design recipes that anyone can cook with little fuss and with a flavour you wouldn’t believe!!

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Keeping a jar of pesto (green or red) close by means you can Great post!! Well done! ☀️😃 instant flavour to any dish! Use RED PESTO with roasted chicken, GREEN PESTO on tomatoes and bocconcini. You’re gonna love it!

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🥧 Beef & Red Wine Pie!

It was a Special Pie to celebrate a homecoming. But let’s be honest here I had all intentions to make this anyways!! 😁

🍅 The Beef was slow Cooked In red wine with thyme and sundried tomatoes.

The art of making big family pies is not so common these days unfortunately. 😔

Lucky I made 2! One left over for lunch the next day!! 🥧

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Plan a day to make a pie just like this. The filling was just a slow cooked beef casserole that I then baked inside of pastry. Choose your favourite stew or casserole and make your unique pie!

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❤️ I don’t need to tell you that this is 's Tagliata from her Italian book Nigellisima. 🇮🇹

🥩 It's a beautiful piece of beef Eye fillet seared black on the outside but pink and juicy in the middle.

It's dressed with extra virgin olive oil, chilli flakes, red wine vinegar, oregano and served with halved cherry tomatoes. 🌶 🌿

I make this recipe so often not just because it's so delicious but you can stretch one piece of beef across two or three people if you serve it with a little bit of salad, bread, or even hot chips just has no Nigella does.

Definitely worth it for the low effort and high reward!

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I’ve made this with different cuts of steak and its always Incredible! Use the best quality beef you can afford, remembering that one small steak can feed at least 2 people this way!

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🥪 “Sandwiches,' she said, 'like diamonds, are forever.” - Muriel Spark (Aiding and Abetting)

🥐 Hands up if you haven’t eaten at least one sandwich in the last week??

🥖And by that I mean anything in between 2 pieces of bread! Sandwiches,Burgers, baguettes, paninis, quesadillas, Croque Monsieur even!

🍞 My life is always running on full because at no time am I ever more than 5 minutes away from a bread roll or a piece of naan bread even!

🍔 And thats how I like it!

How bout you?

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Fill your freezer with bread. Thats all.

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🧇 Dessert Waffels! I’m not ashamed to say I had these for breakfast!!

🤩 But the most exciting part is the gorgeous Kiwi Berries! They are so cute and so sweet If you’re lucky enough to find the when they’re in season you best grab them!

Of course my waffles always have to be drowned in maple syrup and topped with fresh fruit, whipped cream, and for a little extra crunch cacao nibs! 🍓 🍫

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Since Kiwi Berries are not available all year round you could make this exact plate with halved green grapes instead.

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🌈 🥬 Rainbow Chard in all its glory!!

👨🏻‍🏫 Fun Fact
Rainbow chard is just 2 or 3 varieties bunched together to make it multi coloured. 😃

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The Rialto Markets in Venice 🇮🇹 2017.

🥱 I woke up at 6am to explore this antique food market in Venice by myself.

I was already a dedicated foodie, but it was the day I made my way to Rialto Markets that I fell in love with the BEAUTY of food! 🥰

Italy 🇮🇹 worked its magic on me so hard!

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💛 Spaghetti Squash Bowls with Halumi, Cavalo Nero and Walnuts.

I’ve only just recently started enjoying this fun vegetable with their stringy flesh and sweet flavour so I jumped at the chance to try this one! 🤩

Another delicious and super tasty recipe from and her book Every Day Fresh. The spaghetti squash are roasted and then topped with the Halumi mixture.

You eat it straight from the bowl made from the squash itself! I love it!! 🎃🥰

Its a Vegetarian delight with a meat eaters texture!

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🍅 So apparently Ketchup, or Tomato sauce as we Aussies love to call it 🇦🇺, was once sold as a MEDICINE! 😮

Back in the early 1800s, people thought tomatoes had medicinal qualities. No doubt what they considered healing properties we just call nutritional benefits!

👨🏻‍⚕️In 1834, Dr. John Cooke Bennet made the sauce with tomatoes instead of the most common recipes using fish or mushrooms.

He claimed they could treat Diarrhea, Indigestion, Jaundice, and Rheumatism, so he made a recipe for a type of tomato sauce which then became a pill. 💊

After the market was saturated with fake copycats selling coloured laxatives the medicinal sector fell apart.

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🇰🇭 Cambodian Restaurant in Robina.

🤔 We’re Still looking for new restaurants to try we thought Cambodian should be on the menu for a change!

Its a beautiful restaurant that serves authentic food with great flavours. We tried 3 main dishes, Beef, Chicken, and the famous Cambodian Amok Fish Curry and all were absolutely delish! 👏🏻

I was also very curious about the unusual herbal tea 🍵 they served that came out almost blue/green and was so sweet.

They only have 2 desserts, steamed caramel coconut rice and tapioca pudding and the Crispy fried banana with a centre of red bean paste. Both were perfect to finish a meal since neither were too sweet, or too heavy. Just Right! 🙌🏻

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Here is the finished Ravioli with fresh tomato and garlic sauce I created in the reel. 🇮🇹

Fresh tomatoes 🍅 and garlic 🧄 sautéed slowly in Olive oil thats been flavoured with fresh basil. 🌿

The Ravioli is Confit chicken and Italian sausage which I got from the amazing in Capri on Via Roma. ⭐️

Simple, easy, delish. Just like all Italian food!! 🥰

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Someone was very lucky recently to have a birthday and requested a special Birthday Pavlova! 🥳 🍰💙

Ok so it was just a pavlova but aren’t they always a special treat??

I had to top it in the most common Australian 🇦🇺 way with fresh cream, Strawberries 🍓, Blueberries 🫐, Kiwi Fruit 🥝. No Passionfruit this time!

Its important to always remember that a homemade PAV is nothing like a shop bought one so if you’re on the fence about liking them, I urge you to try and make one at home and try for yourself the difference! 🤩🤯

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“I am a better person when I have less on my plate.” - Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

🧐 It’s a known fact, especially for me, that when you have a full stomach you can handle anything!

It takes 3 good meals a day to keep me happy and and confident that I can tackle anything!

😳 Have you ever sat at the dinner table with friends and while they’re all chatting and having fun you find yourself sneaking mouthfuls of food because you can’t wait any longer??

If thats you let me know in the comments!

Its most definitely me! 😝

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Possibly one of the best meatball and spaghetti I’ve ever eaten! 😍🤩

has taken the meatball and added fresh oregano, ricotta and garlic to make them light on texture and big on flavour! 💥

You must get his book Simple and make your way through the recipes!

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“Why is that guy photographing the shiitake mushrooms?”

At least I’m guessing that’s what people are thinking! lol 😂

There was a time I didn’t know there were different types of mushrooms! 😮

After that was the era I couldn’t even find fresh shiitake to buy.

Now they sit around in boxes between the Swiss browns and chestnuts everywhere! 🥰😃

Do you use shiitake mushrooms?

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These wonderfully silky but firm mushrooms are perfect for soups and stews but I love them in stir fries where they soak up all the sauce like a sponge! Delish! 😋

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🥬 Brussel sprouts with Speck 🥓 and thyme. 🤤

This is by far my favourite way to eat Brussel sprouts! 🥬

In fact I use this method with beans, mushrooms and peas too!

Hashtag set 11 27 # RECIPE post

👇🏻👨🏻‍🍳 RECIPE 🔪 🔥

1 Prepare Brussel sprouts however you like. I steamed them but you can also boil or roast them.

2 In a non stick pan over a medium heat with no oil add diced speck. Or cubes of pancetta is also perfect here.

3 When the Speck is crispy and the fat has been released, Add half a bunch of thyme. 🌿 Stir in the pan with the oil from the Speck for another 30 secs.

4 Add your cooked Brussel sprouts to the pan and toss to combine.

5 Serve with roast chicken or lamb.

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😮 Quinoa Salad with spiced roasted pumpkin, beans and feta.

When it comes to easy and delicious meals I always turn to ! This incredible recipe comes from her book Weeklight.

🎃 The Butternut pumpkin is roasted with some vinegar, honey and spices. It was meant to be with barley but I just love the nutty aroma and flavour of quinoa.

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Low fat low salt cooking doesn’t have to be flavourless! Vinegars, citrus juice, and of course spices, herbs and garlic 🍋🧄 are all incredibly big flavours with little to no fat.

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Finishing a SPICY DAL with vegetable oil flavoured with cumin and fennel seeds!

It’s very common in many cuisines to create a flavoured oil or butter at the end of cooking by frying spices 🌿 just until their flavours are released.

🌶 This allows the spices to stay fresh and fragrant because it’s stirred in right before serving!

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I’ve iced this technique with many foods. Roast chicken, fried eggs or baked vegetables. Add whole spices of your choice to 2-3 tablespoons of hot oil then pour over your food!

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