Bill Granger cooking on a rainy Melbourne Sunday

Yesterday I had big plans to spend the whole day outdoors gardening, I have a lot of work to do before summer sets in.  I know the forecast was for rain but lets face it, when does it ever rain when the weather man says it will?  Anyhow it did rain so I was stuck indoors most of the day, to make the most of it I decided to do a bit of cooking. 

I started off by making Bill Granger's puffed apple pancake from Holiday for Michael & Chloe when they got back from the mornings swimming lesson.  The idea of making one giant pancake to share rather than standing over the stove making them one by one was appealing.  Mine doesnt quite look as appealing as Bill's did however I really loved it.  The caramelised apples were rich & buttery & surrounded by the batter with the yoghurt on top was a winning combination for me.

Next I whipped up Bill Granger's Easiest Chocolate Coconut Slice from Feed Me Now.  The in laws were coming over for a visit & I had a friend plus little ones coming over today so I needed something to serve with coffee.  The fact that this was the easiest slice I have ever made was also appealing & it came together very nicely. 

By this time I was noticing a pattern & then I decided on dinner & yep it was yet another recipe from Bill.  This was all unintentional mind you but I do find his recipes quick & easy so it's no surprise that I whipped up 3 in the one day.  Dinner was Grilled Chicken with Chickpea salad from Open Kitchen which took me a whole 14 minutes from start to serve, I kid you not.  The whole dish only took the time the chicken had to cook for.  I had to be at the cinemas at 6.15 to watch New Moon so again I really appreciated the quick & fresh dish.  Very healthy grilled chicken with a touch of olive oil added & a salad of raw ingredients dressed simply with olive oil & lemon juice.  Thanks Bill!  Maybe one day I will feel like I can take on some more elaborate recipes but for now simplicity works best.  Oh & I even managed to get in half an hour of gardening before being rained out