Providing a successful bowl of food for the class party, the swim carnival, the Welcome Back or the sad Farewell party - can sometimes be the only validation the home cook gets ALL WEEK! Ha! So here are some easy ways to make the most of it.

Personally, I LOVE being set the challenge to make something high-yield, high-praise, low-stress - at short notice. Like Craig David, I was Born To Do It. Lol.

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Where did you go for holidays this summer?

If it was Queensland, chances are you encountered Plantain as an ingredient!

This incredible, versatile and super delicious ingredient was previously not grown locally, was hard-to-find, and expensive. THAT'S ALL CHANGED, obvs. (Coming soon to a fancy restaurant near you!)

Plantain is Yumi's prediction for hitting the mainstream here in restaurants, cafes, cooking shows and at home - - so get onto it first!

TO MAKE SIMPLE PLANTAIN CHIPS YOU'LL NEED:

3 yellowish to black plantains

1 flat teaspoon cayenne pepper

generous pinch of salt

4mm sunflower oil for frying

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A FENNELLY CROUTON CELEBRATION

Because we all know Yumi won’t ever, ever leave her crouton era. Here’s another use for them and one that we can combine with one of Simon’s loves – raw fennel.  It’s zippy with acidity, fresh with crunchy anisey fennel and the perfect foil to serve next to a roast chicken, something meaty on the barbecue or a nice piece of poached salmon. If you’re making the croutons from scratch then toast the nuts in the oven on a tray at 200C with them instead of in a dry pan.  

Toast ½ cup walnuts or pecans in a dry frying pan until golden brown on all sides. (5–8 mins). Let cool, then coarsely chop nuts.

Combine 3 Tbsp. sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar, 1 garlic clove, finely grated, and ¼ tsp. Crushed Turkish red pepper or chilli flakes in a medium bowl. Leave for 10 minutes for the garlic to mellow and flavour the vinegar, then whisk in 3 tbsp olive oil. Add croutons (3 large handfuls) and chopped nuts. Season with salt and toss to coat and let croutons soften slightly; set aside.

Remove stalks and fronds from 2 fennel bulbs. Remove fronds from stalks and coarsely chop; thinly slice stalks. Place in a large bowl. Cut fennel bulbs in half and thinly slice on a mandoline (if you have one; if not, practice your knife skills). Add to same bowl along with ¾ cup torn fresh mint leaves. Zest ½ lemon over fennel, then squeeze in the juice. Add the croutons and nuts and toss to combine. Shave over a nice generous amount of parmesan and serve up.

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In this classic episode from the archives, Yumi asks questions about olive oil, Simon answers.

Sometimes foodies can take the basics for granted. Most of us are familiar with Olive Oil, but it's worth knowing why this is such an essential ingredient, how to get the most out of what you're paying for, and what to look for when purchasing.

Olive oil icing: 1 cup icing sugar + 1/3 cup of (good quality!) olive oil. Mix and pour over your carrot cake!

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It feels sheepish to admit it - but sometimes even the host of a FOOD PODCAST can lose their cooking mojo!

Given we have a bit more spare time over the summer (hopefully), Yumi has decided it's time to pick up her weapons - the kitchen knives - and get back in the kitchen. The mojo isn't dead, it's just very, very tired, it's dormant, it's burnt out and it needs something achievable to bring back the belief!

ACHIEVABLE works! There's even a bit of live cooking action as she cooks WHILE RECORDING THIS EPISODE.

We also get into the origins of Harissa Paste and some good ways to use it. Enjoy!

HARISSA MAPLE MUSHROOMS interpolated from NY TIMES COOKING

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 2½ tbs maple syrup
• 2 tbs harissa paste
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1¾ tsp fine sea salt (!)
• 500g any mushrooms that look good, sliced
• Greek yoghurt and salt to serve

Combine the first 6 ingredients then pour over the sliced mushrooms. Spread the now-marinated mushrooms over a large oven tray and roast at 220C for 20 mins, turn them over and turn the oven down to 180C and roast for another 10 minutes.

Serve according to the recipe - immediately, on seasoned Greek yoghurt with crusty bread, or do what Yumi did with them - which was add them to sandwiches and salads over the next 5 days. AMAZING!

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Hey there my mid-summer parent friends!

How's your existential despair?

Feeding fussy kids is tricky at the best of time, but summer holidays can be VERY TRYING because HOT CHIPS are not a food group!

Given avocados are so cheap, we assume you're buying a few... But do you know how to treat your rock-hard avos lovingly? AND HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS TO EAT THEM??

Listen here to feel less alone! And maybe even discover a new thing your kids will eat!

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Obviously we're deep in the torture of school holidays so it's the perfect time to dredge up memories about our own schooling. Lol!

Specifically?

The formative, and let's face it, rather delightful childhood experience that was the Year 7 Home Economics classes - where we were taught to cook from a book called 'Cookery the Australian Way'.

Was this your experience too?

Shoot us an email: [email protected]

TEA CAKE via YEAR SEVEN FLASHBACKS!!

60 gram butter, plus 15g extra (both portions at room temperature)

1/2 cup caster sugar, plus 1 tablespoon extra

1 egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup self-raising flour

1/3 cup cup milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat the oven to 180C, 160C fan forced.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add in the egg, vanilla, flour and milk. Mix, pour into a small (20cm) cake tin then cook for 15-20 mins.

Melt extra butter, add extra sugar and as much cinnamon as you want then spoon that over the top of your cute and teeny cake. Serve with proper brewed tea - optional to eat with your bare hands! ENJOY YOUR TIME TRAVEL!

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A SHARE PLATE OF STEAK is a great way to centre this nourishing ingredient while keeping it light - and dare I say - digestible?

Based on a recipe by the wonderful Sabrina Gahyour, this is a beautiful platter that gets one steak in front of everyone you're having over for a BBQ!

Make the dressing with 200ml pomegranate molasses, 75ml balsamic vinegar, 1tbs olive oil and 2tsp Dijon mustard.

Cook the steak (whichever you like, eg., sirloin) hot and fast for rare. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes before slicing finely. Serve the slices circling a nest of rocket leaves, drizzle with the dressing and top with a gorgeous tousle of pomegranate seeds.

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\Sometimes the cost on mid-summer berries is too good to walk by so you stock up on some delightful berries and then... need to find a way to use them up.

BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

Melt 80g butter in a small, smooth bowl and set it aside

Pick out the dud berries and compost those! They're not good.

Separate 2 eggs, whizz the whites of the eggs with 2tbs of caster sugar.

Decant into a standby bowl then reuse the mixing bowl (unwashed) to whizz up:

the 2 egg yolks (I misspoke in the episode and said "eggs" not "egg yolks" but it's YOLKS, folks)

1 cup milk

1tsp vanilla essence

pinch salt

combine, then -

sift in 1 cup SR flour (wholemeal is ok)

add in the melted butter

mix just a bit - DO NOT OVERMIX!

then cut through the foamy, meringuey egg white.

Warm up a heavy-based frypan. Rub butter over the pan. Spread 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup sized pancakes on the pan, dot with an ABUNDANCE of blueberries, pop the lid on the pan then leave alone for 1.5 - 2 mins. Flip and cook for another 1.5 mins with the lid off.

Serve immediately with whipped cream, sliced banana, maple syrup, etc.

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If life sometimes feels hard, preparing meals DOESN'T HAVE TO.

Your esteemed and enthusiastic hosts Simon Davis and Yumi Stynes would like you to know that cooking dinner doesn't have to be a time and energy suck! Just remember the things that you love to eat that are good for you.

No less than this one!

It's Adam Liaw's Tomato and Tuna - ON TOAST.

• 5 ripe tomatoes
• 425g tuna chunks in spring water, drained
• ½ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• 4 large, thick slices of sourdough
• ½ cup loosely packed basil leaves

Chop the tomatoes, toss through with olive oil and tuna flakes, check for saltiness and add more if you like. (I have just been reading the amazing chapter on seasoning in Bee Wilson's amazing book The Secret of Cooking - and she has a lot to say about adding pepper! It's a distinctive and potentially flavour-changing seasoning, so maybe leave the pepper on the table for people to add their own.)

Drizzle bread generously with olive oil and toast rather well so there are blackish bits. (Liaw uses a griddle pan, I would just use the toaster but aim for well-done.) Toss the basil leaves gently through the tuna mixture.

Dollop your yummy tuna-tomato mix on top of the toast. Serve immediately.

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Emotional eating?

Or intentional, nourishment-seeking?

Tahini is a fantastic ingredient no matter what type of eating you're feeling.

On today's episode Simon has an aerated and essential tahini sauce from acclaimed foodie Anna Jones but first you have to get through some sass, at least one use of the word "yoggut", a bit of emotional bloodletting, and some lols.

200g tahini

3 tbs olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 finely chopped garlic clove

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

blending it with 150ml of water

Blend everything until aerated and amazing. Serve on any roasted or grilled vegetable, or on some silverbeet, chard, spinach or kale (well washed), fried down with onion and garlic.

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