Baked rice pudding with strawberry and rhubarb

and a crunchy parmesan-y salad!

Hello!!

Firstly I want to say a HUGE thank you , whether as a free or paid subscriber – I appreciate you being here! I also wanted to say a big thank you as over the past four months, I haven’t really been able to cook a whole lot. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably have seen that we are expecting our third baby this Christmas! Unlike my previous experiences, this pregnancy has hit me hard and I haven’t been all that well. There was a lot of cheese and crackers, olives in bed and bagels with cream cheese. Delicious, but I reallllly love salad and vegetables and cooking brings me so much joy – something that was just difficult to do!

But I’m back!! And here with two new recipes for you! I joked on IG that I might have to temporarily rename this newsletter - THINGS I’M CRAVING! I don’t think it will get too weird here over the next 6 months. Just delicious things I’m loving, which is always the case, really!

OK!

First up, a very crunchy and fresh winter salad with fennel, celery and pear. On pears, choose a crisp one – Nashi would be amazing here but any firm pear is great! The dressing has some honey in which goes so well with the rocket and pear too!

Then, a nostalgic and comforting baked rice pudding, which I think is SUCH an underrated winter dessert. It honestly takes 5 minutes to make and the rest is just time in the oven as it slowly cooks into the most glorious pudding! I made a delicious rhubarb and strawberry compote to go with it, but a dollop of jam or even some fresh berries would be great.

EVENTS!

MELBOURNE - I’ve curated a pretty amazing dinner as part of Now Or Never in collaboration with Dutch Artist Boris Acket at Melbourne Town Hall on August 22. Tickets here.

SYDNEY - Join me for an evening at Chiswick Woollahra on July 23! Set in the heart of the lush Chiswick garden, this intimate evening will celebrate seasonal produce, simple elegance and shared moments around the table. Tickets here.

Stay warm and happy cooking,

Julia x

Pear, parmesan and fennel salad 

Serves 4