Zucchini and feta fritters

I made this up today, inspired by my recent success with amazingly simple and delicious zucchini and haloumi fritters. These are low in sugar and carbs and are of course low GI as well.

The texture of these is lovely, light and slightly crisp; somewhere between a pikelet, an omelette and a fritter. I recommend serving simply with a squeeze of lemon, or some crispy bacon and tomato chutney for something more substantial.

• 2 zucchini, grated, squeezed and drained (the more moisture you can remove, the better – ideally leave to drain for a few hours in a colander)
• 100g Danish-style feta, crumbled
• 2 eggs
• pepper
• chopped fresh parsley, dill or mint
• 2 tablespoons plain flour to help bind (you can substitute with corn flour or almond meal if preferred)

Mix everything together, then fry in small spoonfuls until golden and browed on the edges – they’ll still be quite light and fluffy inside. Voila!

Al Carbón @ La Lupita Pop-Up Restaurant, Canterbury

In general, I’m not into pop-ups, food trucks and other trendy things. However, I do love good food, and am always willing to try something new. So when I heard that the home of the famed Al Carbón food truck was just up the road from me in Canterbury, and that it was (occasionally) home to a pop-up restaurant called La Lupita, I was intrigued to try it.

Homemade paneer cheese

Recently four lovely ladies and I went to an Indian cooking class. It was hosted by Chef Ajay, the dude who makes all the delicious Yash chutneys, pickles and spice pastes at Marrickville Markets. To ensure our new culinary knowledge was put to good use, we organised an Indian Christmas in July dinner party for 20 of our closest friends!

Eggplant and goats cheese involtini

These delicious little parcels make a perfect canape, or they can be baked with a peperonata sauce for a hearty vegetarian main. The recipe has also been featured in Oxfam’s new cookbook Stop Hunger Start Cooking. If you make it, post a picture on Twitter, tag it with #stophungerstartcooking, and you could win some delicious Oxfam prizes!

Delicious little baby manoush (Lebanese pizzas) with lamb or shangleesh

Oh! Manoush, how I love thee! With all due respect to l’Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, these babies are the best pizzas this outside of the Mediterranean. On a cold morning at my local Al Cheik Bakery in Lakemba, it’s always a hard task to decide between the fragrant manoush lahem pizza or the salty, creamy goodness of shangleesh* cheese encased in soft, sweet dough.

Grasshopper, CBD

Nom Nom Pom had been telling me about Grasshopper for months, and we recently had the opportunity to try it out. It is hidden down a laneway. It is a small bar. It is unusual for Sydney. That’s all I’ll say. (I refuse to use the M- word in this post, so overused!!)

Trunk Bar and Diner, Melbourne

We popped into Trunk one morning for a quick breakfast. Having come across this courtyard cafe/bar/pub randomly, we didn’t expect much – plus the menu was quite limited and mostly American. However, we quickly changed our minds after being greeted with friendly and efficient service and enjoying a well-made coffee.