FB: How would you rate your cooking skills?
LH: On a scale of one to 10, I’d say a solid seven. I’m not brilliant, but I’m pretty competent! I enjoy cooking from recipes, I need to follow a detailed plan! Having said that, if there’s more than 10 ingredients I tend to give it a miss and I’ll start thinking about Uber Eats.
FB: What is your signature dish?
LH: My favourite throw together dish is a big Mexe-salad bowl. I’m vegan so I use black beans for my protein, then everything else you can imagine!
FB: If you could only have one more meal, what would it be?
LH: My entree would be something simple like a beautiful fresh bruschetta covered in fresh tomatoes, basil and olives with a balsamic glaze. The main would have to be a dish I made the other night which I love! It was this beautiful marinated Portobello mushroom meal. The marinade is soy, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and it’s mouth-watering. You roast some vegies like Brussels sprouts, add a creamy garlic mash and then drizzle with the leftover marinade. It is heaven. For dessert, a simple (vegan) chocolate cake with almond ice cream.
FB: What is your favourite TV food show and who is your favourite TV food person?
LH: I was once a celebrity contestant on Ready Steady Cook … and I won! It was so much fun. I absolutely adore Matt Preston though. He came to see my 100% Kylie Show once, and he was the loveliest guy! Plus, he’s a snazzy dresser.
FB: What is your favourite food?
LH: I love Thai, Indian and Mexican … don’t make me choose! I love all the complex tastes and I love that all of them have incredible vegie and vegan options.
FB: What is your favourite drink?
LH: Mojitos! Easy! Or a beautiful fresh Thai style smoothie made of coconut milk, pineapple and mint.
FB: Which 5 people would you most like to invite to dinner?
LH: My grandfather, Leonard, as he died when I was little and I never really knew him, as he lived in the UK. I would love to find out all about him! Kylie Minogue, simply because I have impersonated her for 17 years and I know she would be an incredible dinner party guest, and be the life of the party! Kris Jenner. Yep, I know that’s out of the box, but she’s a brilliant businesswoman, and has managed the careers of her daughters so successfully that she has single-handedly turned them all into billionaires! Jesus … I know, I know … that’s so clichéd, but when you read about how he loved people, what he ACTUALLY stood for – well, he was a revolutionary. And I’d love to bring one of my best girlfriends, because I would want someone to enjoy the night with and my girlfriends are the absolute BEST!
FB: Do you have a kitchen tip for us?
LH: Clean as you go.
CRAZY FOR CLINKERS
I had to laugh when a recent guest on the Food Bytes podcast – former champion jockey Simon Marshall – shared with us his passion for Clinkers, those randomly coloured, crunchy choc-coated treats many of us would remember from our childhood. Simon loves them so much, one of his favourite go-to desserts is his own home-made Clinkers ice cream, which simply entails softening a tub of vanilla ice cream, adding crushed up Clinkers, and popping it back in the freezer. I know people who do a similar thing with crushed up Mint Slice biscuits, adding a dash of green food colouring to the vanilla ice cream to give it a ‘spearmint’ appearance. Do you have your own DIY ice cream recipe? I’d love to hear about it.
