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!

Easy egg-based breakfast bites

For me, the hardest time eating low-carb/low-GI is at breakfast. My usual breakfast involves leftovers of some kind, but occasionally I need something a bit more traditional. These little breakfast ‘bites’ are really simple to make and keep well for a few days once cooked.

A ‘recipe’ as such isn’t really needed. You just need a non-stick muffin/cupcake tin, one egg per hole, and something to make them taste delicious…

Feature dish: The Eathouse Diner’s beef cheeks

The Eathouse Diner, Redfern

Earlier this week we returned to The Eathouse Diner in Redfern, where our very fantastic and talented friend Kieran Day is a chef. The menu is dominated by American-style offerings such as delicious southern fried spatchcock with creamed corn and “slaw”, truffle mac ‘n’ cheese with taleggio, cheddar and grana padano (as good as it sounds) and the beautifully simple okra fritters with tomato and lime salsa.

Da Vinci’s, Summer Hill

On Thursday nights, my mum and I have dinner together. We try to keep it local and inexpensive – the Entertainment Book vouchers come in handy! We recently realised that despite being so close to Summer Hill, we’d never been there for dinner. So we rocked on over to give Da Vinci’s a try.

Hope month dinner party dish: Banana flower salad

I’ve always adored the banana flower salad at Spice Market in Kirribilli. It’s fresh, yet creamy, packed full of delicious rich flavours and a tang of citrus, beautifully presented in the banana flower’s outer leaves.

Dumpling King, Newtown – Take 2

It had been a while since Mr Black and I had paid a visit to Dumpling King. We were looking forward to some old favourites: eggplant in chilli sauce and northern style fried dumplings.

Yum cha at The Dynasty, Canterbury Leagues Club, Belmore

Another Sunday, another yum cha. This weekend we decided to take my step-dad to yum cha at Canterbury Leagues Club in Belmore, near where I work. Despite having worn forbidden footwear, I was allowed in eventually after swapping my lovely, clean, dainty Havaianas for a pair of my step-dad’s velcro strappy sandals. Which looked ridiculous, but at least the bouncers would let me in. (Such a stupid, archaic rule!)

Dumpling Sisters, Melbourne

On our first afternoon in Melbourne we arrived at 4pm, hungry and desperate for something quick and tasty. Around the corner from our apartment we found Dumpling Sisters, with a menu full of old favourites like xiao long bao and Zhajiang mian (Shanghai style noodles with pork mince and cucumber). Tables ready with chilli oil and black vinegar were a welcome sight!

Dumpling King, Newtown

When this place first opened a couple of years ago, Mr Black and I were sooo excited. We were also anxious that it might not survive, being one of Newtown’s gazillion restaurants on King Street. Happily, Dumpling King is still there and (deservedly) busy!