Lovely Wee Days

a few of our favourite things...

2012-02-27T08:10:00.003+13:00

Becs: I had a visit to Auckland last week, where I enjoyed the comforts of Miriam's lovely new home. Daisy is allergic to peanuts, so on a trip away sans Daisy I am always accompanied by a jar of Pic's peanut butter. Breakfast is inevitably Vogel's bread toasted until crunchy, cooled (I like toast to be cool enough so the butter doesn't melt) then spread liberally with a layer of butter then Pic's. I enjoyed the above breakfast two mornings in a row, sitting at the sun-basked table. While I enjoyed some delicious bites in Auckland (a Mexi-kai pulled pork taco, a Little and Friday custard doughnut, a Kohu Rd ice cream cone with scoops of their banana and dark chocolate icecreams, and some incredible homemade kokado) humble peanut butter on toast still ranked right up there.

Miriam: I love Katherine Smyth ceramics. Mike's sister Sarah used to have a design store and before it closed we were lucky enough to get in an order of six 'duck egg blue' pasta bowls. They are so nice to eat out of, and having six means there's normally a couple available for serving sides out of too. However, rather than satisfying my pottery desire, it has only further fueled it; I've been eyeing up the ceramics on this website here.

a few of our favourite things

2012-02-20T08:46:00.003+13:00

Miriam: My parents are hoarders. I don't often have a lot of appreciation for this behaviour. However, there are gems to be discovered in the depths of the cupboards, bedrooms, or even lounge. Today I received an email from Mum entitled "what I came across when searching for air bed". Attached was my art work and fishing story I wrote more than 20 years ago! I gave me quite a thrill to read, and made me feel like fish for dinner.

Libby: Another mention for Karikaas buttermilk. I love this stuff! Great for pancakes... muffins... these scones... it's going to become a regular fixture on my shopping list. There are two choices of buttermilk at my supermarket, Karikaas and Tararua. While there's nothing wrong with the Tararua product, I was interested to note that at $4/litre Karikaas was heaps better value - almost twice the size for an extra $0.60 compared to the competition. Makes you think about how tough it must be for small artisan dairy producers like Karikaas up against the likes of Goodman Fielder and Fonterra. I know who I'd rather support.

Buttermilk scones for morning tea

2012-02-19T16:41:00.006+13:00

I bought a litre of Karikaas buttermilk with the intention of making pancakes this weekend. It didn't happen but instead I made these buttermilk scones with a lovely, tender crumb. We ate them while still warm from the oven with softly whipped cream, lemon curd and the company of my Aunty and her husband.

This recipe makes 18-20 scones which was more than I needed so in hindsight I should have halved it. I'll give the full amount and leave it up to you. It's based on a recipe from one of my most used baking books - Mix & Bake by Belinda Jeffery - though my scones looked flat and biscuit-like and not at all like Belinda's well-risen beauties. Delicious if a little compact!

4 cups self-raising flour

160g cold butter, cubed

500mls buttermilk

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 tsp salt

Place the flour and butter in the food processor bowl and pulse to "rub" in the butter (do this by hand if you prefer). Tip into a large bowl and use a whisk to incorporate sugar and salt. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add in buttermilk. Mix until the flour is well moistened then tip out onto a floured bench and knead lightly into a 4-5cm high mound. Use a scone cutter to cut into rounds and place close together on a heavy, baking-paper lined tray.

Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, by which time they will be risen and golden. Remove from oven and wrap in your best, clean teatowel. Leave to sit for five minutes then serve.

a few of our favourite things

2012-02-13T14:00:00.003+13:00

Miriam: While visiting Tauranga & Rotorua recently, we stopped in at Okere Falls Store. This is the most upmarket general store around, and as well as an extensive range of gourmet goodies for sale, they also have a lovely sunny beer garden. Their smoothies are not to be missed, with my friend Lewi claiming they're the best in NZ. Mike and I passed Okere Falls on two occasions during our trip and both times we couldn't resist leaving without a smoothie for the road. Oh and cup is 100% biodegradable, so there's no need to feel guilty about the take-away packaging.

Becs: I love my 2012 calendar illustrated by Victoria Griffin. Miriam does too, hence we managed to buy one for each other and also ourselves for Christmas, resulting in four identical calendars between the two of us. Each month is whimsically but simply illustrated; February features a sweet recipe for raspberry jam. If you are still calendarless for 2012 they still have a few on sale at Felt for just $15, snap up a bargain. (Credit to Victoria's blog for this beautifully styled picture too by the way)

two ways with mince

2012-02-12T15:48:00.000+13:00

A rather boring title for my first proper blog post for 2012 I know, but here are a couple of tasty dinners we have enjoyed lately. I am not too much of a meat snob, and provided it is decent mince I quite enjoy cooking with it. A recent visit to Nikau inspired this dinner above - crispy Moroccan-style lamb on hummus. The trick to getting it crispy is having a hot hot pan (cast iron would be best) and not cooking too much mince at once as it cools the pan down and ends up stewing. So tempting I know to chuck it all in, but don't. My rendition was more heavily spiced than Nikau's, so suit yourself in that regard, but it was still delicious. We ate it with warm pita and a salad of roasted eggplant and red pepper.

To make a quick hummus in the food processor I blend a tin of drained, rinsed chickpeas with the juice of a lemon, salt, a clove of garlic and a spoonful of tahini if I have it. Then I add little pour of olive oil and a good dollop of yoghurt to loosen it; I like my hummus to be fairly sloppy in texture and sharp in taste.

crispy spiced lamb with hummus and herbs

rice bran oil

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

400g lamb mince

chopped fresh mint and Italian parsley to serve

roasted almonds/pistachios/pinenuts or dukkah to serve

Slowly cook the onion until golden and tender, add the spices and fry gently for a few minutes. Put aside.

Just heat oil in a pan until smoking hot, add the lamb, breaking it into little bits with your spoon and fry until dark brown, stir through the onion mix and continue cooking.

Tip onto a plate spread generously with hummus, scatter with the herbs and nuts and serve with pita bread.

Pork mince is another favourite starting point for a quick dinner. The pork spring rolls below Mum made; don't let the fact that the recipe comes from Food in a Minute put you off, they are very tasty. I think homemade spring rolls are the only way to go - comfortingly you can rely on the filling being identifiable, and ensure a good ratio of filling to pastry. This version is brushed with oil and baked in a hot oven, so they are pleasantly free of excess grease. You can find the recipe here.

a few of our favourite things...

2012-02-06T21:42:00.000+13:00

Libby: I LOVE my new chopping board - a belated birthday gift from my sister Sarah. It's good and sturdy so it doesn't slide around on the bench but is light enough to pick up and move around as required. It makes my old plastic boards look especially old and decrepit! It's made by Bec's friend Marc Zuckerman of MZ Design. We're also fans of his remarkably useful toast tongs.

Becs: I have rediscovered greenshell mussels lately when just cooking for myself, they are such an easy meal for one and so cheap. I think their low price makes us take them for granted a bit here in NZ. These ones I steamed open in a covered pan with a little white wine, then removed the top shell, lay them on a lined baking sheet and drizzled them with sticky thai sauce before grilling for a few minutes. (To make the sauce just simmer 50ml each of lemon juice, soy sauce and fish sauce together with 2 chopped red chillis and 1/4c each of fresh mint and coriander - thicken with a little cornflour and store in the fridge - it will keep for ages.) These make a great pre dinner pass-around too when piled up on a platter.

a few of our favourite things...

2012-01-30T08:09:00.000+13:00

Libby: I usually like to buy vegetables a few times a week depending on what I feel like eating but this week I'll be using up the huge array of veges from the mixed box delivered by Epicurean Supplies on Friday (via a daily deal voucher). I was impressed by the selection - lots of salad leaves and other leafy greens, chioggia and red beetroot, carrots, capsicums, cucumbers, bok choy and a great mix of herbs - and most importantly, all lovely and fresh.

Becs: Daisy and I are up in Wellington for a few days, so we paid a visit to the City Market on Sunday morning. Libby and I loved the beautifully packaged honey-based syrups from Bees blessing; she chose an Elderflower and honey cordial while I bought a bottle of the Mulled lemon and honey.

hawaiian crepes

2012-01-26T07:02:00.001+13:00

This is a bit of an old-school dinner Mum used to make us (and still does on special occasions). It's kind of like a crepe cannelloni. The 'recipe' is pretty loose; make a whole bunch of crepes, fill them with ham, pineapple, cheese and anything else you have lying around. Roll them up and squish them all into a dish, sprinkling with cheese on top. Bake until the cheese is melted and the ham is warm. Serve with a green salad if you want. Enjoy!

plum & vanilla upside-down cake with vanilla mascarpone

2012-01-24T14:13:00.000+13:00

Mike's mum Barbara recently gave me some Heilala Vanilla that came with a recipe handout. I've never made an upside down cake before, but this one look appealing and given that plums are in season and I had most of the ingredients in the cupboard, I decided to give it a go. I made two of these; the bigger one was shared when we had friends over for dinner and the slightly smaller version was for my friends Lewi & Kate who were in need a pick-me-up. It was simple to make, and the vanilla mascarpone was delicious on the side. The recipe suggests you can use any fresh fruit for this cake, so I must play around with other fruit too.

Plum & vanilla upside-down cake

20g butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

6-8 black or red plums

125g butter

1 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/4 cup milk

Vanilla mascarpone

250g mascarpone

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)

2 teaspoons icing sugar

preheat oven to 180C. Line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper. Melt the first measure of butter and the brown sugar in a small pan. Pour it into the base of the cake tin and spread evenly. Cut the plums in half and remove the stones. Arrange the plum halves, cut side down on the butter and brown sugar mixture. Put the extra butter, caster sugar and vanilla in a bowl and using an electric beater, beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold the flour into the creamed mixture alternatively with the milk. Spoon the cake mixture evenly over the plums. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Leave the cake in the tine for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the mascarpone, vanilla paste and icing sugar. Turn the cake out onto a platter and serve with the vanilla mascarpone.

a few of our favourite things

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000+13:00

Miriam: Ginger Crunch is having a resurgence in my household. And I love it! I think the Edmond's Cookbook recipe is pretty good, but, it is made soooo much better when you double (or triple) the topping of the fudge-like ginger goodness.

Becs: I really rate these crispy little lavosh made by 180 degrees (they don't seem to have a website?) I have tried all their lavosh variants and the black and white sesame seed is by far my favourite; the others seemed a bit 'flavoured' or oversalted. These little crackers are brilliantly crunchy and super served with a bowl of garlicky hummus. Not too expensive either - about $4 from memory - I stocked up at the supermarket before Christmas when all these sort of treaty things were on special.

a few of our favourite things

2012-01-16T08:00:00.001+13:00

Libby: I've recently re-discovered ice cream-in-a-cone. It's the perfect sweet finish to a summer barbecue - it's easy (if you buy the ice cream), inexpensive (as ice cream seems to go further when served in cones) and best of all... no dishes. Stay away from those horrid orange wafer cones though - I like the "Select" brand waffle cones from Countdown and Pam's honey waffle cones.

Miriam: My brother David requested this Heston Blumenthal Christmas Pudding for Christmas. Apparently these were a must-have in the UK and a black market developed with puddings selling for up to 15 times their RRP. I purchased this one at Nosh for a more modest $50. The pudding has a candied orange in the center, which adds a lovely moistness to the whole pudding, with the orange juices/oils running throughout the pudding. Although I found it a bit sweet for my liking, it certainly was worth a taste and a little goes a long way so lots of us were able to indulge in a sample.

Asian-style chicken salad

2012-01-12T20:49:00.006+13:00

I may have eaten one too many barbecued sausage over the Christmas break because since coming home I've been felt like cooking anything but barbecued food. I've been making lots of curries, with loads of fresh garlic, ginger and whole spices and tonight, for a change from barbecued food and curries, I made this chilli-spiked, salty-sweet Asian-style chicken salad. It's inspired by this recipe here from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty and a recipe from Oamaru's Riverstone Kitchen that was in this week's Sunday Star Times.

I know the ingredient list below is a reasonably long one but you're missing something just swap it for something else or leave it out. It's more a list of suggestions than a recipe. I used iceberg lettuce because I love its refreshing crispness but finely sliced cabbage, baby spinach or any other salad green will work just as well as iceberg. The pineapple could be swapped for mango or left out altogether if you don't like the meat-with-fruit combo. Similarly, cashews or plain peanuts would also be delicious instead of honey roasted ones. Or if you're feeling extravagant make the caramelised macadamia nuts in the Ottolenghi recipe linked above. They are truly delicious so make enough to nibble a few while you cook.

Asian-style chicken salad

2 chicken breasts

400ml can coconut milk

dressing

2 pinches chilli flakes

1 large clove garlic, crushed

1tsp flaky sea salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tsp fish sauce

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 iceberg lettuce, shredded

1 capsicum, deseeded and thinly sliced

1/2 pineapple sliced into thin batons (or a finely sliced mango if available/affordable)

1 cup bean sprouts

1 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1/2 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

to finish

1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts, finely chopped

4 tablespoons crispy shallots

Place the coconut milk and chicken breasts in a saucepan, bring to a simmer and simmer for 8-12 minutes - until chicken is cooked all the way through (if your chicken breasts are fat ones allow more time). Leave the chicken to cool in the coconut milk. Once cool, shred and place in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Bring the coconut milk to the boil and add the salt, chilli flakes, garlic and sugar. Simmer for a minute or so to dissolve the sugar then remove from heat and add the lemon juice and fish sauce. Pour a few tablespoons of the dressing over the chicken and set the rest aside to cool.

While the dressing is cooling prepare the salad ingredients and place in a large bowl. When ready to serve, add the chicken and an extra 1/2 cup of the coconut milk dressing and mix. Serve topped with the fried shallots and peanuts.

Serve with rice noodles or plain steamed rice and extra dressing on the side.

This recipe makes enough for four people. Adjust the quantities as required.

a few of our favourite things

2012-01-09T08:00:00.003+13:00

Miriam: I spent some of the Christmas holidays in the South Island with Mike along with some of our family and friends (including Libby, Becs and Daisy). During our adventures, we went to my Dad's home town of Temuka. Becs and I both managed to find treasures at John's Collectibles on the main street. I brought these glass cream bottles. To combat the post holiday/return to work depression, I have filled the house with flowers. I think the bottles look rather sweet with carnations and help brighten up the place in the dreary weather we are experiencing.

a few of our favourite things...

2011-12-19T21:28:00.003+13:00

Becs: I know Whittakers has featured here before but they do make great quality, affordable chocolate. My current favourite is their new Berry and Biscuit (love the name!) Basically like black forest but not as sickly sweet as the Cadbury version. If you live in the South Island Whittakers is on special this week at New World for 2 for $6, I for one will be stocking up on their Dark Ghana for last-minute Christmas baking.

Libby: I tried this Paneton sweet short pastry at a Julie Buiso class in Auckland a few months ago. Yes, even the professionals use the bought stuff sometimes and why not when it's this good? It has a lovely biscuity texture and comes pre-rolled so it's very easy to use. After finding it wasn't available in anywhere in Wellington I asked Moore Wilson (several times!) if they could please find room in their freezer to stock it. I also emailed Paneton to ask if they could get Moore Wilson to stock it. And a few weeks later I heard back to from Paneton to say Moore Wilson had come round! Wellingtonians, you've got me to thank for this one!

I used some to make these delicious wee frangipane-topped fruit mince tarts... cut pastry into circles, press into the base of muffin tins (or shallow patty tins if you have them), spoon in a tablespoon of fruit mince (I used Ruth Pretty's recipe here), top with a dollop of frangipane (cream 50g butter and 50g sugar, add an egg and 50g ground almonds) and slivered almonds and bake at 180 degrees C for 15 minutes.

We have a winner...

2011-12-13T20:45:00.005+13:00

Thanks for all the comments on the birthday post. There were some hilarious birthday cake stories! The lucky winner of the AWW Children's Birthday Cake Book is....

Anna! from Impeccable Taste

If you send us an email: lovelyweedays (at) gmail (dot) com and let us know your address we'll get it in the post ASAP!

a few of our favourite things

2011-12-12T08:00:00.003+13:00

Miriam: Whenever I go home to my parents place I have a wee chuckle as I see bottles of wine labeled with post-it-notes saying 'expensive'. This is Mum's strategy to ensure that family members with less refined tastes (i.e. Dad) select the appropriate bottle to match the occasion. For my birthday this year, my family gave me two knives, one a bread knife, and one the Scanpan knife picture above. Mum (rightly so) felt I wasn't very educated on knives, so informed me that the bread knife was in the 'expensive' category and the yellow one was not. Well, both knives have proved to be dreams to cut with. But I was astounded to hear that this yellow knife cost around $10. What a bargain! It's become my go-to all purpose knife. I wonder if the wines minus the post-it-notes are also as good?!

Becs: Now that the weather is warmer it has been goodbye to porridge and hello to more summery breakfasts. Here is todays - bircher muesli. I just soak rolled oats, linseed and chopped dates in milk overnight with a little honey and cinnamon. In the morning I add a grated apple, spoonful of yoghurt and any other toppings lurking around. Today it was accompanied with a dollop of lemon curd, some strawberries foraged from the garden pre-breakfast, and some toasted almonds and pumpkin seeds. It was so good I may just have more for lunch!

a few of our favourite things

2011-12-05T09:26:00.001+13:00

Miriam: Mum recently introduced me to Watties tinned baby beetroot. I'd normally always go for the fresh variety, but I must say, these beetroot are pretty good and so low maintenance. I've taken to roasting them for about 10 mins (not that it's really required) and turning them into a salad with feta, mint and toasted almonds. And, if you don't let on, no one would be any the wiser that the beetroot's from a can.

Becs: Like Libby, I am a regular customer of Book Depository. I was happy to pick up a copy of Bill Granger's latest book, Bill's Everyday Asian in their recent 24 hour sale; however not having seen it in the shops I did a little online research first, as it can at times be disappointing buying books unseen. In the process of my research I stumbled across the blog A Cookbook a Month, where three friends test out and report back on recipes from a different cookbook each month. They seem to be on my wavelength when it comes to cookbooks (eg. Donna Hay = style over substance) so I took note of their high praise for BEA. It arrived the other day and looks delicious; I think it will provide a perfect source of inspiration for summer eating. So if you are making an online cookbook purchase and are keen for some real-life feedback check out their archives, in any case it makes for interesting reading.

Happy birthday to us!

2011-11-28T17:54:00.005+13:00

It's two years since our first post! And to mark the occasion we have a little something for you... a copy of The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book.

Weeks before our birthdays we'd start choosing a cake from the book for mum to spend hours making the night before our birthday. Flicking through this copy there are so many familiar cakes but the highlight for me is the train from the cover which Mum made at least twice, even going so far as to make the candy popcorn herself on one of those occasions.

There were only two cakes we were steered away from: the "Candy Castle" probably because of the vast quantities of sugary egg white icing it involved and the "Swimming Pool" possibly because of the practicalities of slicing and serving a cake filled with jelly.

This is the "vintage edition" of the book - printed this year but almost unchanged from the original we grew up with in the 1980s. Four cakes have been swapped for more politically correct masterpieces but the font, layout and copious use of "butter cake mix" remain.

If you'd like to win this copy of the book just leave us a comment telling us about the best birthday cake you've ever had - from the AWW book or not, it doesn't matter.

a few of our favourite things

2011-11-28T09:00:00.004+13:00

Miriam: I love this cake stand from Texan Art Schools that Mike gave me for my birthday. On Saturday friends brought around some treats from Pandoro, so I was able to supplement my Sticky Lemon Slice on the bottom and fill the cake stand up with a selection of other treats for dessert.

Libby: I spent the weekend in Hawke's Bay so made a quick visit to the Hawkes Bay Farmers Market on Sunday morning. The market is held at the Hastings A &P showgrounds and attracts a huge crowd. But the stalls are well laid out so even though there are hundreds of people at the market it doesn't feel crowded. There was so much variety - produce, cured meats, fresh and smoked fish, breads, sauces, jams & chutneys - and all so beautifully fresh. I picked up a huge bunch of asparagus for only $4 and some lovely Hohepa cumin gouda. Unfortunately I put the asparagus in the fridge and forgot about it until well on the way back to Wellington - hopefully it travelled back to Christchurch with the rest of the family later in the day.

It was only the briefest of visits to the farmers' market - just enough time for one lap but you could easily spend an hour or two wandering around. We had lots more to fit in including a visiting a favourite place from childhood... Waimarama beach.

Becs: I feel like a born-again gardener at the moment, but Spring does that to you so please forgive the horticultural enthusiasm! Check out my rocket patch above; I was a little heavy-handed with the seed scattering a few weeks ago and now have an enormous supply to cut when needed, so no more bags in the fridge turning to mulch. Even if you aren't into gardening, I recommend getting a pack of rocket to sow, it will grow so easily in a pot or seed tray (I love these beautiful cedar ones from Mapua Country Trading). I sowed a mix of Kings Organic Rocket and their Arugula Wild Italian Rustic. The store bought variety doesn't come close to the taste of homegrown stuff that has a proper peppery bite to it.

a few of our favourite things

2011-11-21T08:00:00.002+13:00

Miriam: I came across this wee rhubarb stall on Kensington Ave in Mt Eden. I rummaged through my handbag and managed to scrounge together $2 so as to pluck off one of the bags hooked to the tree (leaving the sole bag pictured here). I roasted my rhubarb with some brown sugar and the juice of an orange. The plan was to have it as a topping for my morning cereal, however it was just so delicious I kept sneaking pieces from the fridge, so it didn't last long!

Libby: For the last couple of months we've been buying "homemade" eggs from someone we know in Featherston whose chickens have been laying like mad. The eggs have been a real treat - beautifully fresh and with the brightest yellow yolks I've ever seen - but our supply may be coming to an end. It seems the chickens are slowing down and it's taking longer to put together a dozen eggs so there was a marked difference in freshness between eggs in the last carton. The difference became very apparent when I poached a few eggs on Sunday and found some held together firmly and others, disappointingly, disintegrated into wispy threads.

Becs: I have just returned from a visit to Southland, where my dear friend Rachel was married. What a perfect time of year for a wedding, coinciding with when paeonies pay their short seasonal visit. They featured abundantly in the table settings tucked into candelabra, in the bridal party flowers, and vasefuls of lush bunches like those above.

Spiced eggplant & peanut salad

2011-11-16T20:00:00.001+13:00

I was lucky enough to be given the Ripe cookbook from Becky recently. Having tried this eggplant and peanut salad at a friends place, I was keen to give it a go myself. I love eggplant and I think the combination of spice, eggplant, yoghurt, coriander and peanuts works really well. It was lovely served with lamb and slow roasted tomatoes, or as the recipe recommend a BBQ. It just as nice for lunch the next day too. Be warned though, the process of making this does permeate a curry smell throughout the house... I forgot to close the bedroom doors when making it, so then spent some time airing the house in an attempt to dissipate the smell!

Spiced eggplant & peanut salad
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium sized eggplants, cut in cubes
salt & pepper
2 handfuls of baby spinach
1 cup fresh coriander leaves
3/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lemon

Yoghurt dressing
1 1/2 cups plain yoghurt
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1/2 cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 200C. With a mortar and pestle, crust together the toasted seeds, smoked paprika, curry powder, chili flakes, ground cumin and salt. Tip into a large bowl. Add the crushed garlic, oil and eggplant pieces. Mix well to coat.

Place the seasoned eggplant on an oven tray lined with baking paper and roast for approx 30 mins, until tender. Allow to cool. Season with salt and pepper.

For the yoghurt dressing combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix and season to taste.

To assemble the salad: On a large platter layer half the spiced eggplant, spinach leaves, a drizzle of yoghurt dressing, fresh coriander leaves and some peanuts. Repeat the sequence with the remaining ingredients and finish with coriander leaves. Finally add a good squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of the remaining dressing.

a few of our favourite things

2011-11-14T20:37:00.000+13:00

Becs: I planted a $4 punnet of poppy seedlings into a pot during winter and then did absolutely nothing; over the last month they have rewarded me with a constant supply of cheerful blooms. Everyday a few more poppies open up their buds, ready to be picked. Such a good return on investment!

Miriam: On Sunday, Mike and I went to The Auckland Retro Fair. The quantity of both goods and people was slightly overwhelming. However it was a great treasure-trove of blast-from-the-past bric-a-brac. We came away with this retro coffee table, which matches Mike's 70's lounge suite perfectly.

Libby: Food-wise (and otherwise) it was a very good weekend for me. I'll just give you the highlights. On Friday I scored a free whole blue cod at work. On Saturday I had a lovely lunch at Nikau - terakihi with beetroot and skordalia - which just got better when I managed to snaffle the last rhubarb and rosewater doughnut for afterwards. Yes, it was every bit as delicious as it sounds. SO delicious it disappeared before having its picture taken. And on Sunday I had a lovely morning learning all about eggs from someone who knows a lot about cooking them. You can read more about that here. The picture above is my attempt at recreating the beetroot from Saturday's lunch. I gently simmered the beetroot whole until tender, peeled and sliced it, poured over a little olive oil and red wine vinegar and sprinkled with chopped capers and Italian parsley.

Daisy just loves her Dorothy the Dinosour costume, which arrived in a parcel from Wiggles Corporation in Australia, courtesy of Aunty Sarah. Dorothy/Daisy can be seen above enjoying suitably green coloured food on an (unintentionally) Dorothy coordinated plate.

The perfect egg

2011-11-13T12:31:00.004+13:00

I spent this morning at a cooking class Wellington's City Market learning about "The Perfect Egg" with Kelda from Nikau Cafe. It truly was a fabulous way to spend a Sunday morning.

Kelda started off by discussing the importance of fresh eggs and demonstrating the difference between fresh and older eggs comparing an egg she'd had in her fridge for a couple of weeks and one laid two hours earlier (!) by Nikau co-owner Paul's chickens. The egg from Paul's chicken had a firm jelly-like white that held together beautifully.

For me, this confirmed that I want my own chickens! I would feed them up on all sorts of delicious scraps so they would lay me amazing fresh eggs. But until I have a backyard (rather than a handkerchief-sized courtyard) this will remain a dream.

Anyway, more about the class... Kelda talked about the temperature different parts of the egg firm up at - nothing too scientific and all stuff that made good sense - but it made me realise I have done some terrible things to eggs in the past.

First up was scrambled eggs: gently-cooked and custard-y. It might seem incredibly basic to start by demonstrating scrambled eggs but I doubt there would have been a single person in the class who didn't learn a thing or two. From now on, my scrambled eggs are going to be gently-cooked and custard-y too. We were each served a spoonful of the eggs in a little pastry tart case topped with broad beans and smoked salmon...

...next up was Nikau's famed sage eggs. Sage was gently fried in a generous amount of butter, then a couple of eggs were slid into the pan to "poached" in the butter. After a little oven time to firm up they were served on one of Spring's greatest pleasures... asparagus and a little shaving of pecorino. This was one of those dishes that make you want to lick the plate... of course you don't because you're in the company of a dozen or so strangers. Luckily, there were generous slices of Moulin Bakery's delicious baguette to soak up the last of the egg and butter in a slightly more lady-like manner.

The last dish of the morning was floating islands: softly poached meringue in creme anglaise with the most amazing strawberry, rhubarb and rosewater compote. Beautiful and delicious.

The City Market classes have been popular and there are still a few to run before Christmas though most have sold out. You can read more about what you're missing out on here. After this morning's class, I can completely understand why they're so popular.

The "tastes" of each dish were generous as was Kelda in the knowledge she imparted throughout the 90 minute class. Extras touches like Supreme Chemex-extracted coffee at the start of the class, and sparkling water and lovely Mahi gewurztraminer on the tables (nevermind it was only 10am) made it feel like excellent value. The best $50 I've spent in a long time.

a few of our favourite things...

2011-11-07T09:30:00.000+13:00

Becs: The perfect Spring meal? Dinner one night last week consisted of 2 slices of buttered white bread, a fat whitebait fritter made with West Coast whitebait simply mixed through a couple of beaten free range eggs from a friend's chickens, and steamed asparagus with plenty of salt and pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Miriam: While in Tauranga for Nat and Rowan's wedding in the weekend I had a trip to the Tauranga Farmers Market. We brought some of this apple and feijoa juice. It was delicious; so fresh with perfectly balanced flavours, and not too sweet. I was grateful to have some of this on Sunday to quench my thirst after a night of celebrating, drinking bubbles and dancing.

Libby: I've been eating strawberries by the punnet over the last week and the ratio of sweet little berries to insipid, watery ones is improving with each punnet! A sure sign that Summer is well and truly on it's way. They're good straight from the punnet but I also I love them mixed through bircher muesli, with a little softly-whipped cream with lemon curd folded through, or in this case... piled atop a beautiful strawberry tart.

a few of our favourite things

2011-10-31T12:46:00.002+13:00

Libby: Last week was a good week for me and fruit tarts. I managed to visit two of my favourite bakeries: Central Baking Depot in Sydney (little sister of Bourke Street Bakery and Silo in Canberra thanks to a work trip. The tart from Central Baking Depot was a barberry & fig frangipane creation with beautifully flaky pastry. It was my first experience of barberries and I found they tasted like sharp blackcurrants. The tart from Silo was a classic custard & passionfruit tart with short pastry. If you ever find yourself in Canberra, seek out the Silo bakery in Kingston (near the government part of town) this delightful bakery will change your opinion of Canberra and make you think of the city in a more favourable light.

Miriam: There's a particularly overgrown area of Jasmine just near my house. Having recently been informed that Jasmine is in fact a weed, I feel no guilt when I help myself to a few sprigs. They look so pretty in a jar on the windowsill and their a lovely scent fills the house. It's nice to know I'm doing my bit to help control this weed!

Becs: They are not the most glamourous ingredient but inned beans are such a useful pantry staple. I continue to make this delicious cannellini bean dip, and hummus a fair bit as Daisy enjoys them both. Chickpeas are going into summer salads too and I just love a tasty Mexican-style bean dip. We get through a fair few, so to save constant restocking at the supermarket a visit was paid to Med Foods to bulk buy trays of chickpeas, cannellini and red kidney beans. I know it is much cheaper to soak and cook dried ones but the convenience of the tinned ones does it for me.

chocolate cake for Daisy

2011-10-26T07:56:00.001+13:00

It was Daisy's birthday party on the weekend. I had briefly contemplated the construction of a Dorothy the Dinosaur cake, but decided against it in favour of the angst-free option combining three of her favourite foods - chocolate, strawberries and marshmallows (mamos). The cake was Nigella's Chocolate Guinness cake - over the past few months this cake has cemented itself as my new favourite. Nigella describes it as damp and delicious,which covers it perfectly.

I paired it with Alice Medrich's fast fudge frosting - this was the first time I had tried this unusual method of making icing and I loved it. The cocoa-based frosting can double as a chocolate sauce if melted down,and it had a beautifully glossy, gooey texture, just as chocolaty as ganache but without the richness. The frosting recipe below makes enough to generously sandwich and ice this cake.

We ate the cake with the fresh strawberries and mamos, a spoonful of berry compote and a dollop of cream. So delicious. Served this way the cake will feed around 20ish people. Next year = no doubt Dorothy or her 2012 equivalent as requested by a more knowing Miss D will grace the brithday table.

Nigella's Chocolate Guinness Cake

250ml Guinness

250g unsalted butter
75g cocoa
400g caster sugar
140ml sour cream or yoghurt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
275g plain flour
2.5 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C, and butter and line a 23cm springform tin.

Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter - in spoons or slices - and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.

Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

Fast fudge frosting

120g unsalted butter

1.5 c sugar
1.5 c cocoa
1.5 c cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a saucepan,melt butter. Stir in the sugar and cocoa. Gradually stir in the cream. Heat over medium heat, stirring till everything is mixed well and is smooth and hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and a pinch or two of salt, to taste.Set aside to cool. (I left it overnight, after which it was the perfect consistency to spread.)

Daisy made the most of her proximity to the abundance of marshmallows...

Happy Birthday Daisy x

a few of our favourite things...

2011-10-25T08:25:00.001+13:00

Becs: Judging by the number of flowers in my strawberry patch it should be a bumper crop of berries this Christmas. I spent Labour Day happily pottering in the garden. The strawberries were tidied up and tomatoes, beans, potatoes, snow and sweetpeas were planted. Not such good news is that this summer Christchurch has a water ban due to EQ damage -here's hoping for a Spring shower or two...

Miriam: I love summer salads. I made this one with baby spinach, chicken, red pepper and fresh mango. And then, the extra treat was cashew nuts that I dry fried in a pan and added some sugar to till it went all gooey and caramelised. Yum!

a few of our favourite things...

2011-10-17T08:00:00.007+13:00

Libby: Becs picked up three of these cast aluminium gem irons at a local church garage sale for an amazing $1 each! She had first pick at some incredible bargains as she was invited to the sale "preview"!

One tray travelled up to Wellington with Mum and Dad over the weekend and I tried them out on Sunday afternoon. Those sturdy little logs in the background are my first attempt at ginger gems - I was working from an old Edmond's cookbook recipe and instructions were scant so I wasn't quite as light-handed with the mixture as I should have been. My gems were a little on the tough side. Gems are quick and reasonably economical to whip up so I'll give it another go soon to work on my technique.

Miriam: I've been a bit remiss with my favourite things lately. But that's not because I don't have favourite things. In fact, most nights before going to sleep I try to reflect on my 3 favourite things of the day (I exempt food from this activity, as otherwise breakfast, lunch and dinner would have it covered). Research shows doing this exercise every day increases happiness. Click here if you want some instructions, then give it a go and see if you notice a difference.

Lamb, tomato & feta pies

2011-10-12T09:23:00.000+13:00

I was intrigued when I saw these pies in Ray McVinnies food section in the Sunday magazine. I have never been a fan of Ray's recipes, but lately his dishes in Sunday have looked more attractive. On that basis (and the fact that we had lamb mince to use up) I thought I'd give this one a go. I actually didn't use his dough recipe as I didn't have semolina, so instead used my go-to basic bread dough, which I think worked just fine for this recipe.

Although the tarts look quite impressive, I'm not sure they had quite the depth of flavour I would have liked. As my flatmate Jane said, they kind-of tasted exactly how you would expect lamb mince to taste. As the lamb mince is cooked in the dough, there was no opportunity to pour off the fat...it was somewhat disconcerting the see the tarts filled with fat as they were cooking. Although the fat seemed to be absorbed during the cooking, I could definitely taste it when I ate them. I think if I was to make them again, I'd serve them with a mint & yoghurt mixture on top which may help to cut through the fat. Or perhaps I you could cook the lamb mince first, drain off some of the fat then cook it inside the dough?

Here's the recipe as per the Sunday magazine:
Lamb, tomato & feta pies

Ingredients
250ml lukewarm water
1 Tbsp dried yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
400g high-grade flour
100g fine Italian semolina
olive oil for the bowl

800g lamb mince
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbst dried oregano
3 Tbsp chopped parsley, plus extra for serving
salt and pepper
200g creamy feta, crumbled
250 cheery tomatoes, halved

Put the water into mixing bowl, add yeast and sugar. Let stand in warm place until the yeast has dissolved and mixture is frothy. Mix well. Add flour and semolina. Mix well, then knead for 10 mins until smooth and elastic. Place dough in an olive-oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise until it has doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 220C. Put lamb, garlic, oregano and parsley into a bowl, Season well with 1tsp salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Divide dough into 6 portions and roll each into an oval shape about 20cm long and 12cm wide.

Place 1 portion of lamb mixture, broken into small lumps, down the middle of each dough oval. Sprinkle each with feta and tomatoes. Brush edges of each oval with watter and pull them up, pinching the ends to make a canoe shape. Place pies on a baking tray and leave to rise for 10 minutes then bake for 20 mins or until the pies are well cooked.

a few of our favourite things...

2011-10-10T08:04:00.001+13:00

Libby: I don't like having the same thing for lunch or dinner two days in a row but I will quite happily eat oats for breakfast day-in, day-out. In cool weather I eat them cooked as porridge and in warmer weather I like them soaked overnight to make bircher muesli. Now that we've had a glimpse of spring I've made the switch to bircher. My "recipe" is a simple, cheap mix of oats, a few raisins and a small handful of whatever seeds I have - sesame, sunflower, pumpkin - soaked overnight in milk. In the morning I stir in yoghurt and as long as I'm not about to miss the bus, grate in 1/2 an apple. It's very portable. More often than not, it comes to work with me to be eaten a little later on.

Becs: I have several of these spice tins and they are so handy. Much tidier than having loads of little jars and bags cluttering up the pantry, and easy to use when cooking as there is only one lid to take off. I bought mine at various Asian food stores, they do vary in quality it seems, so go for the heavier stainless steel and ensure the lid fits on snugly. I group my spices how I would usually cook with them, so keep sweeter ones separate. I was inspired to make a chicken curry for dinner after seeing Al Brown's version on Get Fresh; yesterday was quite a spice filled day with lunch enjoyed at the Vegetarian Expo - we ate the most delicious samosas with cumin seed-flecked pastry and a date and tamarind chutney, I love a good samosa.

a few of our favourite things

2011-10-03T08:16:00.002+13:00

Miriam: I love this dinner for a slightly more healthy version of unhealthy corn chip based nachos. These ones have homemade tortillas chips, a spicy bean and mince mixture, avocado, sour cream and lots of cheese. Lewi, Jane and I sat round the coffee table and ate this for dinner straight from the pizza stone. For a more precise recipe for this, see Sarah's vegetarian version here.

Becs: I am a big fan of Kings Seeds in Katikati. They sell an impressive array of fruit and vege seeds, lots of them being heirloom or organic, as well as flora and fauna. You order your selection via their website (they also send out thick catalogues that are great to browse through, the variety of weird and wonderful vegetables will amaze you) and a courier drops them off a couple of days later. I can never get through a full pack of seeds before they reach their expiry date, so if you want to share some of mine just leave a comment on this post and I will send out one reader a seed selection!

Libby: Cookbooks are about the only books I buy these days. I think of them as "reference books" and to me, they hold so much more value than novels that I'd read once and pass on. My Abuela's Table by Daniella Germain is the latest addition to my cookbook collection and it's easily the most beautifully illustrated cookbook on my shelf. It's a collection of recipes from the author's Mexican grandmother all accompanied by the cutest hand drawn illustrations. This book makes me want to have my own little Mexican fiesta, complete with home made corn tortillas and tamales (if I can figure out where to get banana leaves in Wellington!)

a few of our favourite things

2011-09-25T08:54:00.002+13:00

Miriam: When living in Scotland several years ago, I discovered the delights of Tunnock's Tea Cakes. They're a bit like mellowpuffs, but soooo much better as the marshmallow resembles raw meringue mixture. I have seen these occasionally in New Zealand, and the other day couldn't go past buying some when I spotted them in New World. They are good as they ever were, and the packet of six didn't last long at all!

Becs: I go through a fair bit of vanilla, as I make up 2L of custard each week for Posh Porridge. Lately I have been buying my vanilla off Trademe - for around $13 incl postage you get 10 lovely fat vanilla beans. I have bought Tahitian beans from Willyow and Tongan from Kaukovi and enjoyed both their products. A couple of months ago I decided to start brewing up my own vanilla extract which is now ready to use. It's very easy to make, into a large glass bottle I placed 12 vanilla beans (split in half lengthways) and poured in 3 cups of vodka (use a decent high-proof one, I used Stil). After sitting in a dark cupboard for 8 weeks my vanilla is now a beautiful amber colour and smells divine. Apparently you can keep topping up the bottle with vodka for a while as the beans have so much flavour; I made nearly a litre so it should keep me going for a while...

Libby: Little & Friday has already featured among our favourite things but I feel every visit is worth a mention. I spent the weekend in Auckland with Miriam and Little & Friday was on my priority list. This time we visited the Little & Friday within Martha's Fabrics in Newmarket and it's every bit as lovely as the original on the North Shore. The cakes and tarts are freshly made and beautifully, simply presented. This gorgeous pear tart tasted just as delicious as it looked.

microwave muesli

2011-09-24T15:58:00.004+12:00

I know the title is tragic but this is my go-to muesli recipe, thank you Dame Alison. In the eighties when the microwave was all set to take over from the conventional oven, Alison Holst was at the forefront of microwave cuisine. Our family embraced Alison's microwave muesli and microwave brownie recipes - she was so ahead of her time, in the eighties hardly anyone in NZ had heard of a brownie, nowadays we'd probably prefer it wasn't microwaved...

I started making this muesli when I was nine or ten and it made page 5 in my handwritten recipe book (oh and check out that handwriting, I marvel at it now and if you saw my current illegible script you would too...) While these days I think most of us accept the limitations of the microwave (melting butter, reheating leftovers yes but scrambled egg, roast chicken, brownies no) it still does a great job of a quick batch of muesli. If the oven is on for something else or I am making a big batch I will bake it, but otherwise it is remarkable what the microwave can achieve in around 10 minutes.

I make it in a large pyrex casserole, and melt the wet ingredients in this first before adding the dry, so it is a one-bowl job. This batch was for the market so is just oats and seeds, but I would normally add nuts to it too. It's amazing how crunchy it gets, it crisps up on cooling, much like a biscuit does.

Alison Holst's Muesli (microwave)

1/4 c honey
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c plain oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 c rolled oats (I use a mix of jumbo and regular)
1/2 c oat bran (sub for extra oats if none in your pantry)
1/2 c wheatgerm (ditto)
1/2 c nuts
1/2 c dried fruit

Mix the first 6 ingredients in your large microwave proof dish and cook for a minute or two until melted and bubbly. Add the dry ingredients (excluding the fruit) and mix thoroughly to coat evenly. Cook for 3 minutes, then in blasts of 2 minutes, stirring well after each to avoid burning in hot spots where the honey mix has settled. I find it takes about 10 minutes or so, as my pyrex is large so the mix is quite shallow in it. Mix in fruit after it has cooked.

meatloaf with lamb, mint and honey

2011-09-22T07:38:00.004+12:00

I can't resist a second-hand bookshop, and when in Melbourne recently I happily picked up a copy of Belinda Jeffery's book Tried and True. Her books are hard to find in NZ, and always full of reliably delicious recipes. These Middle Eastern-style meatloaves have been post-it marked from the first browse, and were rather fantastic.

The sweet/sour topping of lemon juice, honey and crunchy almonds added at the final stages of cooking is inspired. It also goes without saying that it performs the miraculous task of aesthetically enhancing the finished meatloaf! I definitely suggest you make two as they are a bit of a fiddle prep-wise, so a double yield makes it thoroughly worth it. I can't wait to have leftovers tomorrow in a sandwich, and they would be a perfect addition to a picnic lunch.

We ate the loaf with a hot mezze hummus recipe I have also been wanting to try (interesting and worth a try, but the high yoghurt content meant the texture cooked out a bit like an over-baked custard, I think I prefer hummus more sloppy...) The base hummus recipe was excellent though - I love yoghurt in hummus - and the crunchy, buttery topping of sesame seeds, sumac and almonds was delicious, so next time I make hummus I will make this to pour over. We also ate an eggplant, feta and walnut tabbouleh, and a broad bean, asparagus and pea salad with herbs from the fabulous Black Dog Cottage book.

middle eastern lamb loaves with mint and honey - makes 2 large loaves

50 ml olive oil

3 large onions, finely chopped

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

1/2 tin diced tomatoes

3 tsp seasalt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 c diced dates

1/2 c tomato paste

1/2 c honey

1/3 c white wine vinegar

1/2 c parsley, finely chopped

1/2 c mint, finely shredded

1 kg lamb mince

2 c fresh breadcrumbs, lightly packed

2 eggs, lightly beaten

topping

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp lemon juice

1/3 c chopped almonds

roughly chopped parsley

Heat oil in a large heavy pan and cook onion, garlic and ginger until soft and pale gold. Add tomatoes, salt, spices, dates, tom paste, honey and vinegar and increase heat; let the mix bubble away until it thickens. Cool thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Press into 2 x paper-lined loaf tins, and bake loaves at 180c for an hour. Heat the topping ingredient together and pour over the meatloaves, bake a further 10-15 minutes until the nuts are golden. Cool for at least 20 minutes,scatter with the chopped parsley before serving.

hot mezze hummus - adapted from Scent of the Monsoon Winds by Michal Haines

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 c olive oil

finely grated zest and juiceof 2 lemons

2 tbsp tahinin

200ml thick greek-style yoghurt

1 clove garlic, finely chopped*

2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground

1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground

1 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/3 c chopped almonds or pinenuts

2 tsp sesame seeds

20g butter

1 tbsp ground sumac

evoo and lemon juice to serve

In a food processor puree the chickpeas with the yoghurt, garlic, spices, salt and pepper. Spread into a shallow oven-proof dish. Toast the nuts and seeds in a dry pan, add the butter to melt. Add the sumac, then pour over the hummus. Bale at 200c for 15 minutes. Drizzle with evoo and squeeze over lemon juice to serve.

* I just noticed while typing that the original recipe had 4 cloves of roasted garlic, I will definitely try this next time

West Coast connection

2011-09-20T08:00:00.022+12:00

Today is two years since Becs' husband Mike 'The Culinary Master' tragically died.

Becs and Mike used to live is Hokitika on the West Coast. Before they moved we thought there was nowhere worse in the world to live than Hokitika. However Becs managed to embrace The Coast and the culinary delights on offer. One such delight was whitebait. Here's a photo of Mike whipping up a batch of whitebait fritters.

I decided to make whitebait fritters when I had some friends round for dinner on Saturday night. Unlike when Becs could buy fresh whitebait at the Hokitika dairy, I went to four different shops before finding some in the frozen section at New World. I tried to turn a blind eye to the fact that my whitebait came from Indonesia and made them as described by Becs here on her old blog West Coast Kitchen.

I'm sure my fritters paled in comparison to the ones Becs and Mike used to make, but they were all gobbled up none the less. The men were particularly thrilled that they were permitted to eat them while drinking beer in front of the rugby. I think Mike would have approved.

a few of our favourite things

2011-09-19T08:30:00.004+12:00

(Photo from artsfestival.co.nz)

Becs: It has been a week of top-notch, old-fashioned home baking for me. Daisy and I attended a new music group at a local church, where the lovely ladies of the parish baked up a storm for the morning tea that followed. We were waited on hand and foot - my cup of tea was accompanied by the most delicious scones I have ever eaten, citrus slice and hokey poky biscuits. Old-school baking at its best.

On Friday as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival we went to listen to racontuer Richard Till at 'Filling the Tins' - a reflection on the tradition and importance of home baking in NZ. Entry was by bringing a plate of your own baking to be shared afterwards, and what an array it was - including the best afghans I have tasted. Richard shared lots of amusing tales as well as a sample of his apparently immense vintage teatowel and recipe book collection. I took along some of Nigel Slater's gingerbread.

Miriam: I've never been one for crosswords (I think due to lack of success), but I have a new favourite game in the puzzle section of the Sunday Star-Times. My BF Mike and I have spent more time that I care to quantify trying to create as many words as we can with the given letters. I don't know how anyone could get more that 60+ words... I consider success as reaching the 'OK' category.

Libby: I am very loyal to the Agria potato and I rarely buy any other variety as it usually results in disappointment. Agrias are best known for being good for baking and roasting but they're also incredible when "new" - all little and knobbly with creamy, flavoursome flesh. Anyway, the spuds pictured above are actually of the Ilam Hardy variety. Being so loyal to the Agria I nearly passed these little dirt-encrusted beauties by but I'm pleased I gave them a go... boiled until tender then buttered, salted and peppered these were a delicious taste of spring! If you see them in the shops pick the smallest ones so you can boil them whole, more work to scrub but so worth the effort.

Little chocolate, orange & hazelnut cakes

2011-09-17T18:50:00.009+12:00

There's a lot to like about these little cakes. Most importantly they're chocolately and delicious. They're also very simple to make as all the ingredients are whizzed together in the food processor. And they're lovely to look at with their pretty sprinkle of candied orange zest.

This recipe also just happens to be gluten-free so it's perfect if entertaining gluten-free guests as everyone can enjoy these little cakes together. I love recipes that fit particular dietary requirements without having to be adapted.

The candied orange peel isn't essential but is simple to make and looks so pretty. It also adds a nice little crunch. The method for the candied zest makes more than you'll need for these cakes but keeps well in the pantry for a few months, ready for when the urge to make these delightful little cakes strikes again.

For eight little cakes...

1 thin-skinned navel orange

2 eggs

125g caster sugar

100g ground hazelnuts

25g cocoa

1/2 generous tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

Place the orange in a pot of water and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for one until (until tender). Drain and leave to cool. (I try and do this the night before.)

Once the orange is cool, slice into quarters, remove any large pips and the "navel" and place in the food processor bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and run until just combined. You want the mixture to be flecked with pureed orange.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease 8 cups of a muffin tray. Place a small circle of baking paper in the base of each muffin cup (it's worth taking the time to do this to avoid the inevitable heartache when it's time to remove the little cakes from the tin).

Fill each muffin cup, just to the top and place the tray in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes. A skewer should come out almost clean when inserted into the centre of a little cake.

Leave to cool completely in the tins then carefully remove and place, inverted, on a cooling rack.

If you'd like to make you cakes extra-special make candied orange zest while the cakes are baking. A citrus zester makes life easy but if you don't have a zester, peel the skin finely leaving the white pith on the orange and slice into very thin strips.

For candied orange zest...

Zest of one orange

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 caster sugar (extra)

Place the orange zest in a small sauce pan, cover with boiling water, bring back to the boil then drain. Place the zest back in the pan and repeat twice.

Return the zest to the pan and add the water and the first measure of sugar. Bring up to a gently simmer and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the zest and discard the syrup. Place the second measure of syrup into a shallow bowl and tip in the zest. Shake to coat and then discard the excess sugar. Any unused candied zest will keep for a couple of months in the pantry in an airtight container.

Now make the ganache.

Chocolate ganache...

100g good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped (I love Whittakers Ghana dark 72%)

100ml cream

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until almost boiling. Remove from heat and add the finely chopped chocolate. Leave to sit for two to three minutes. Stir gently until the cream and chocolate are just combined. Don't overmix or your ganache may split, leaving you with an oily mess that can't be saved. Leave to cool for 20-30 minutes to thicken.

Once the ganache is cool, spoon over a generous amount of ganache - you want it to run down the side a little. Decorate with a few sprinkle of candied orange zest.

Serve with a spoonful of softly whipped cream.

South American food highlights

2011-09-15T08:03:00.001+12:00

One of my favourite things about travelling is the food. During my 5 week holiday in South America there certainly were some food highlights (there were also some low-lights, including a few that came back to haunt me hours later). I was surprised to find a strong Italian and Mexican influence on the food. Below are some of my favourite foods...

'Pumpkins with something from the vegetables garden and cow-cheese' at our favourite Buenos Aires restaurant, Mott. This salad was so delicious we went back the next day for a second helping.

Lovely delicate pumpkin and sage ravioli at Cluny in Buenos Aires. A three course meal here, including breads, bottled water and wine cost us the equivalent of about $25 New Zealand.

Lemon meringue pie seemed to be the most common desert in South America; this one was particularly good, with the base and curd just melting into each other.

Of course the South Americans are big on steak... we often struggled to get through the massive servings of meat.

We stayed at a great place La Loge in La Paz, Bolivia. After befriending the French chef Frank we were looked after very well, treating us to their famous chocolate mousse. We were pretty impressed that Frank took us out to the discotech till 2am, and then was back at work making us pancakes for breakfast at 8am.

We enjoyed local cheeses with quinoa crackers along with a duck carpaccio and orange salad at El Consulado in La Paz.

Also at El Consulado, I had this pink drink, which from my interpretation was made with Frangipanis. Rather than floral flavours, it was more grape-like, but whatever it was, it was delicious!

We were served this tofu fried rice on a boat ride in Peru's Amazon Basin. There's something pretty special about food coming wrapped in a banana leaf, and even better, when your done you can just throw the packaging overboard.

I've already written about our 'base' in Cusco Granja Heidi. But it deserved another mention as everything we ate there was perfect. We especially enjoyed this mulled wine. There's nothing quite like mulled wine when your body's tired from trekking and it's cold outside!

After eating out for every meal for several weeks one starts to crave a home cooked meal (probably for me it's not just the taste, but also the process of cooking). We had a lovely couple of days at an eco lodge in Coroico in Bolivia. And with our own outdoor kitchen we were able to whip up a pasta dish with local market produce.

And perhaps one of my fondest food memories was from the supermarket in La Paz. I have always had a fondness for foreign supermarkets and we were lucky enough to visit this one on their 24th birthday. It was all go with party tables all over the shop (check out the swan sculpture near the back of the table) and entertainment with singers, dancers and a 7 person mariachi band. I don't quite know how they will top it for their 25th birthday!

blueberry and custard scones

2011-09-14T12:34:00.005+12:00

Ever since seeing these berry and custard-filled scones on Lesley's blog eat, etc they have been on my hit-list. We have had builders in completing some renovations, and this was one of the baked goods that was served up for their morning tea (don't you love an excuse to bake excessively...) I changed the original recipe from dried cranberries to blueberries, as we didn't have any craisins, plus I just love the combination of blueberry and custard. I used frozen berries that I heated with a squeeze of lemon juice and then thickened with a little custard powder so it wouldn't be too wet a filling.

These scones are beautiful. A sweet take on my favourite potato scone recipe, where the scone dough is richer than normal and bordering on pastry, so they have a lovely flakily crisp crust. I was unsure if I needed to ice them but it really does make them - so I suggest you do.

Next time I will try Lesley's cranberry version - I also think they would be superb with custard's best friend rhubarb.

blueberry and custard scones - makes 12

1 c blueberries
squeeze lemon
1 tsp custard powder mixed to a slurry with a little water
3 cups standard flour
3 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 pinch salt
200g butter, diced or grated
milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups custard (make custard following packet directions)

Preheat oven to 220°C.

Place blueberries in a saucepan, if frozen cook til defrosted, add custard powder and cook til thick. Make custard following packet directions and leave to cool.
Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add enough milk to form a soft, but not sticky, dough – use a palette knife to bring the mixture together. Roll dough into a large rectangle and cut in half. Brush both halves with the beaten egg.

Spread the custard over one half of the dough and dollop over the berry mix. Place the other half of the dough on top. Brush the top with beaten egg. Cut into 12 pieces, place on a lined baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes.

When cooled slightly but still warm, drizzle the scones with a thin icing - I spiked mine with a squeeze of lemon.

A few of our favourite things...

2011-09-12T09:25:00.003+12:00

Becs: Is there a more perfectly fragrant flower than daphne? (Although freesias come a close second). My husband Mike loved it too, and used to pick sprigs of it to dot around the house, so now I love that it reminds me of him. I have both pink and white daphne plants, both in pots. They are easy enough to look after - keep them somewhere with a bit of shade - so if your home is daphneless I suggest a visit to the nursery.

Libby: Wellingtonians might have seen the Wellington book in local bookstores - it's a book of beautiful illustrations of all things Wellington by two very talented young artists. I bought a couple of prints from the website - this cute Mt Vic tunnel one and the other an "aerial view" of Wellington. I had them framed by Framing Online which is based in Kumeu. They offer such great service - really prompt and so accommodating of special requests. You just order the frame you want online, post off your prints and it arrives back (beautifully framed and carefully wrapped) a week later. Like a great big present to yourself!

Miriam: I'm really enjoying these blue peas from the Wright Sprouts. They're a good way to add a healthy crunch to salads, especially at this time of year when one starts to feel like salads but the fresh produce often isn't that good yet. They are also delicious when used as a base for pesto; you can find the recipe here.

Noosa 2011

2011-09-06T17:25:00.005+12:00

Daisy and I are just back from a trip to Noosa with family and friends. We had a lovely week of sunshine and swimming, and here are a few of the food-related highlights...

The crate of strawberries above was a bargain buy at the incredible Noosa Farmers Market, which is held every Sunday morning. Such is my enthusiasm that I paid two visits, the second top-up trip being just prior to closing time at 12pm - hence the huge strawberry box being purchased for just $10.

Other market favourites include the Suncoast Limes stall below - they make the loveliest lime cordial - topped up with sparkling water (and a dash of gin or vodka if that's your thing) this is deliciously refreshing.

Also worth hunting out is the Slow-rise Wood-fired Bakery stall who make beautiful bread, great value paper bags of muesli packed full of local fruits and nuts, as well as an array of spelt-based baking. Their chocolate macadamia cookies are divine, as are the flourless chocolate, orange and hazelnut cakes.

(image via)

Noosa isn't overly endowed with high quality dining establishments, but I had heard mentions of Wasabi from various sources, and we had a great meal there. Top-end contemporary Japanese, and a world away from your usual cheap and cheerful sushi joint. We loved the tempura crumbed inside-out sushi with tiger prawns, mango and coriander. Other highlights included the sashimi style hiramasa kingfish with toasted sesame, ginger chips and ponzu (pictured below) and the almost too beautiful to eat tempura zucchini flowers with ocean trout and scallop stuffing. Interestingly no wasabi appeared anywhere on our meals?! Recommended for a special dinner.

At the other end of the dining spectrum we enjoyed lunch on the sunny deck of the perfectly positioned Noosa Surf Club. Anna and I shared a bowl of calamari and 'diamond' chips (very good!) accompanied by an ice-cold Buderim ginger beer brewed just thirty minutes away.

Daisy was introduced to the 'babycinno' (known in NZ as a fluffy) and by the end of the week proved herself a pro with an espresso cup. We sifted out the best baby cap location at Amo Gelato Caffe in Noosaville, where not only the obligatory marshmallow but also a pair of tiny teddies are provided as baby beverage accompaniments. Luckily Amo also served some of the best coffee we had in Noosa, using the locally roasted Costa Noosa beans. Excellent coffee was also to be had at Hard Coffee on Hastings St in the unlikely location of the foodcourt.

For more of our favourite things in Noosa check out Miriam's write-up from last year's visit. To update - Lamington design store is still full of lovely things, but sadly they currently don't offer their amazing gift-wrapped lamingtons as the bakery supplying them has changed hands, however they are on the lookout for a new supplier. Nutworks is still worth a visit - I bought 1kg of macadamia chips for $17 - perfect for porridge topping and baking. Claude's Food at the Eumundi Market still makes delicious rice pudding!

a few of our favourite things...

2011-09-05T08:31:00.001+12:00

Miriam: HOME! On Saturday I returned home after a great 5 weeks spent in Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. I'll write about some of the culinary highlights in the next few days, but for now, my favourite thing is home. With the sun shining, lovely friends, family and a boyfriend happy to get out of bed at 4am to greet me off the plane, life in New Zealand is pretty good. Our friends organised this a delicious 'welcome home' lunch for Lewi and me, with many of the ingredients coming from my favourite food shop Nosh. Oh it's good to be back!

Libby: Aunty Von's lemon honey taste so close to homemade you could transfer it into a little dish and serve it up alongside freshly baked scones and pass it off as your own. The ingredients list is surprisingly brief for a commercial product: eggs, butter, sugar, lemon sugar and a little pectin. I love it on pikelets, scones and crumpets, folded through whipped cream and used to sandwich meringues (in which case I would make actual homemade lemon curd with the leftover egg yolks) or as I did on Sunday.... baked inside a crunchy lemon muffin.

Maple-roasted oats & spiced prunes

2011-08-31T17:52:00.009+12:00

Perhaps I am far too motivated by food but I find it much easier to get out of bed if I know there is something nice waiting to be eaten for breakfast. Make these roasted oats and spiced prunes over the weekend and you'll have the makings of a beautiful breakfast you'll want to get our of bed for on Monday!

The oats are based on a recipe from the beautiful Modern Pantry cookbook for "Honey-roasted oats, seeds and nuts"with a few minor tweaks. "Honey-roasted oats, seeds and nuts" is really just a pretentious name for muesli but whatever you want to call it, it makes a delicious start to the day. I came very close to eating at the Modern Pantry on almost exactly this day last year. I made it as far as the front door... just as they were closing early for a bank holiday. Disappointing but a good reason to make another trip to London one day.

The recipe below is as I made it - with maple syrup instead of honey and rice bran oil instead of extra virgin olive oil. I did intend to make honey-roasted oats, seeds and nuts as per the recipe but after scraping together 75 grams of honey from various sources I proceeded turn it into a toffee-ish mass by heating it for too long with the oil and sugar. I started again using real maple syrup and it was lovely.

Feel free to use EVOO if you prefer, I just thought it odd to use a distinctive flavoured (and expensive) oil in a muesli so I used the more neutral-flavoured (and cheaper) rice bran. And change the mix of nuts and seeds to suit what you have in the cupboard and like to eat.

Maple-roasted oats, nuts and seeds

Adapted from Anna Hansen's The Modern Pantry

75g maple syrup

60mls rice bran oil

40g brown sugar

250g rolled oats

250g jumbo oats

50g coconut threads

75g hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and lightly crushed

140g pumpkin seeds

140g sunflower seeds

1 Tbsp black sesame seeds

1 Tbsp white sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Gently heat maple syrup, sugar and oil in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool. Mix the oats, seeds and nuts together in a bowl and pour over the syrup mixture. Stir thoroughly.

Divide the mixture between two baking-paper lined trays and spread evenly. Bake for 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture is golden, remove from the oven and leave to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.

Now for the best part... the tea-soaked spiced prunes!

Becs starting making these prunes after we enjoyed Nikau's gorgeous tea-soaked prunes a few weeks ago. They're not quite the same but we think they're equally good. And we're not the only ones who think so. Becs has been serving these up to lots of fellow prune-lovers on Saturday mornings at her Posh Porridge stall the Christchurch Farmers Market.

This method of preparing prunes comes from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat (she called them "muskily spiced prunes"). It's such a delicious treatment for prunes - the prunes become more tender and the liquid more syrupy with each day. After three or four days of steeping in the sweet, spicy syrup the prunes absolutely explode with deliciousness as you eat them. When I was at high school I worked in a kitchen at a rest home on a Saturday morning. One of my jobs was to "mouli" up prunes in an industrial food processor and divide it into little silver dishes for residents. If I ever reach a stage in life where I need my prunes "mouli-ed" I would like them to receive this treatment first please.

You could change the tea you use for a subtle variation. I use English breakfast because that's all I have but the original recipe calls for Earl Grey which would lend a floral, fragrant flavour. I might try a mix of English breakfast and lapsang souchong sometimes for a little smokiness.

Marsala is the perfect addition to the syrup - sweet and lightly spiced but not so alcoholic it burns your throat on the way down. Important if you're going to be consuming these prunes for breakfast! But in saying that, don't feel limited to eating these prunes at breakfast time - they'd also be lovely for dessert with something like rice pudding or homemade custard.

Spiced prunes

Adapted from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat

500ml tea (I use English breakfast)

150ml Marsala

100g brown sugar

Zest of one orange

1 clove

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

250g prunes

Put the tea, Marsala, sugar and spices into a saucepan. Peel the zest from the orange with a potato peeler in one long piece and add. Bring to a boil and add the prunes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the prunes to poach for 20 minutes.

Once cooled remove the orange zest and spices and store in the fridge.

A few of our favourite things

2011-08-28T20:17:00.005+12:00

A couple of favourite my things this week actually... with Becs in Australia & Miriam in South America it's just me here and I have two new (to me) food discoveries to share with you.

The first is Bliss Banana Caramel yoghurt made by Cyclops. I thought I was really onto something when I found this in the chiller at Thorndon New World. I love Cyclops banana yoghurt (the one with the yoghurt on the bottom and fruit on the top) but it's really hard to find. This takes it one step further and adds caramel to the banana-fruity part for extra deliciousness. The label says it contains "7 serves of happiness" and I completely agree. It is so SO good. With great excitement after my first mouthful, I called my sisters to tell share this amazing discovery... only to find they'd already tried it. Perhaps you have too? If not, get some but don't share it - it's too delicious!

With the beautiful weather we had in Wellington over the weekend it feels like spring is well and truly on its way. This Aroha tart rhubarb cordial is the perfect, refreshing drink for this time of year. I like a dash in soda water, just enough to blush it pink, with lots of mint and ice. Also good with a splash of gin. Bring on summer!

a few of our favourite things

2011-08-22T08:34:00.003+12:00

Miriam: Sometimes I am slow to jump on bandwagons. One such example is the puffer vest. Perhaps it was vanity that previously saw me resist purchasing something that instantly adds two dress sizes to ones silhouete. But having had Becs preach the wonders of them to me for years, I caved this winter and purchased a Macpac puffer vest. And there´s been no looking back. From the moment of purchase, it became a wardrobe staple. When an item of clothing can be so snug and warm, who cares what one looks like. The puffer has proved invaluable in South America. Folding up into a little bag (like the kind sleeping bags come with) it takes up next to no room; not that it´s often packed away. Instead, it´s been worn nearly every day, and was particularly useful while trekking in the Andes where the temperatures were often below zero. Here´s a photo of Lewi and me in our puffer glory. Although at this stage I only own a vest, I am contemplating adding the sleeved variety to my wardrobe also.

Libby: I've often bought these beautiful Bohemien chocolates as gifts for work-related purposes - you can go to one of their stores (Hataitai or CBD) and choose them one-by-one or look online and email your request. Such a lovely product and so elegantly presented they are always well received. A perfect little gift to give... or just keep and eat yourself! On Saturday I chose a little selection to bring home and share. These chocolates are delicious! So fresh, with gorgeous fillings and that perfect "snap" when you bite into them. You don't have to buy a full box - you can just buy a single chocolate if that's all you feel like. But trust me you won't want to stop at one!

Becs: I spent yesterday reorganising some of the stacks of books and magazines that seem to pile up on my desk, with the help of this new pine cube shelf from Target. I have purchased some plywood beer crates from Trademe to put in the bottom cubes to contain more of the messier 'stuff'. Never could I be called a minimalist...I will enjoy my serene workspace while it lasts!

a few of our favourite things...

2011-08-15T07:36:00.000+12:00

Miriam: I've been in Peru for a couple of weeks now and I must say that in general the food has been very disappointing, often bland starch accompanied by miscellaneous meat and far too much salt. However, we're slowly discovering some wee gems, like these empanadas, fresh from a pizza oven in a wee back alley operation in the town of Pisac. Filled with cheese, tomato and olives they were just perfectly fresh and well balanced. We went back for seconds.

Sadly, the coffee in Peru is a world away from the flat whites i'm used to in NZ. It's pretty standard to order cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and be presented with some hot water, a sachet of Nescafe and a jug of milk. I think I'm better sticking with coca tea (used to help with altitude sickness) or this delicious 'happiness tea' at one of my now favourite cafes, Grande Heidi in Cusco.

Becs: I missed Downton Abbey when it screened on TV earlier this year, but after hearing so much raving about it I decided to buy the DVD and have a Downton marathon. I loved it! Pretty dresses, scenery, intriguing storylines and scheming galore, I can't wait for series two to be released.

Libby: The Meyer lemons in the shops at the moment are just lovely - bright yellow and so juicy. I had a go at preserving some this weekend. I packed sterilised jars with coarse salt and lemons (quartered nearly all the way through) and topped up with lemon juice and a little boiling water. I was amazed at how many lemons I could squeeze into a jar! Now they have to sit for a month - fingers crossed they work. {Lurking in the background is my LEAST favourite thing for the week - failed one-bowl-banana-bread that's missing one vital ingredient: sugar! I halved the recipe, but somehow managed to delete the sugar altogether...}

A very delicious day in Wellington

2011-08-10T08:12:00.003+12:00

Becs came up to Wellington for a quick mid-week visit and no opportunity to eat was wasted. We had a carefully itinerary planned which included some of our old favourites and a couple of new places Becs had yet to try.

We started the day at Nikau at the City Art Gallery. We love this place. The food is always outstanding - simple but delicious, and the service so welcoming. On this occasion we both ordered the porridge with tea-soaked prunes and toasted hazelnuts. How could we not?! I adore prunes and Becs always orders porridge in the name of "research" for her Posh Porridge stall at the Christchurch Farmers Market.

Some may scoff at ordering porridge when out for breakfast but Nikau's porridge is nothing like the porridge you eat at home (unless you're Becs). The porridge was perfect in every way. The oats were lovely and creamy, and the prunes plump and delicious from soaking in tea. We enjoyed our porridge with the lightest drizzle of cream. I also added a spoonful of brown sugar from the sweet little jar you help yourself to, though I probably didn't need to as the prunes offered enough sweetness. I just couldn't help myself as I just love the way brown sugar turns into instant caramel sauce on hot porridge.

We went to Nikau hoping to take away one of their delicious bombolone and we weren't the only ones: while we were at Nikau two other customers had asked after them. We must have let our disappointment show as we were kindly given a coconut bun by co-owner Paul when we paid the bill. Such a nice touch. And such a delicious wee bun! A light brioche-like dough rolled with orange zest and coconut milk. Highly recommended for days when bombolone aren't available.

After doing a round of Moore Wilsons we headed out to Cafe Polo in Miramar for lunch. Cafe Polo is participating in Wellington on a Plate and offering both a set menu and an entry in the Burger Wellington competition. I went with the burger and Becs the set menu. The burger was enormous filled with hummus, beetroot, toasted walnuts, two delicious Zany Zeus goats cheese patties and salad. It was served with the most amazing truffled fries - these fries alone are worth the trip out to Miramar.

For more on Cafe Polo's burger, keep an eye on Delaney's 17 days 17 dates: we spotted her dining with the charming James Nesbitt. Lucky girl!

Becs went with the fork tender beef shin from the Wellington on a plate set menu...

... followed by the apple tart - a beautiful tart tartin with translucent caramelised apples atop flaky pastry. The tart was served with a delicious pohutukawa honey ice cream. Such a lovely finish to our meal - it worked out at three perfect mouthfuls each.

We popped back into town for a look in the shops and while up the Cuba Street end we stopped off at Floriditas for coffee and shared this delightful Portuguese custard tart... don't you love how the plate matches the tart?!

Last stop for the day was La Boca Loca in Miramar. The place was just bustling - we arrived early at around 6.30pm to secure a spot as we hadn't booked and shortly after it was packed. Fantastic to see places so busy on a Tuesday night in winter. La Boca Loca take bookings for tables but leave the bar and window spots free for walk-ins. Such a great strategy. Should you arrive and there's no space they'll kindly take your number so you can pop down to the lovely bar at the Roxy cinema a few doors down and call you when a space becomes available. Love that kind of service.

We ordered corn chips with housemade salsa ranchera, guacamole and chipotle mayo; refired beans with chorizo, enchiladas de pollo and tacos de puerco. Our favourite was the taco de puerco - soft corn tacos filled with pulled pork shoulder with a pineapple and salsa.

A pre-airport glass of wine at Coco at the Roxy was also on the list but we had to reconsider this dinner as we simply didn't have room! Instead we admired the beautifully refurbished cinema and perused Coco's menu for future visits.

A lovely wee day indeed.

A few of our favourite things

2011-08-08T08:07:00.010+12:00

Libby: My favourite baguettes in Wellington come from Le Moulin Bakery. Le Moulin is located in an awkward one-way part of Willis Street and I don't often find myself walking past these days so I was delighted to find their baguettes can be bought from Dunshea's Deli (a delight in itself) only 20 minutes walk away. These baguettes have a deliciously crispy, almost flaky crust and a soft, slightly chewy crumb. Most importantly, these baguettes are easy to eat. Perhaps a little too easy... this one was enjoyed for breakfast with butter and raspberry jam.

Becs: I am currently addicted to this amazing cannellini bean dip and have made it several times in the last week alone. I found the original recipe a little heavy on the evoo and garlic so added another tin of beans to 'dilute' it which was perfect as it also made more for me to eat! So I suggest you play around to suit yourself. I have also successfully added a dollop of greek yoghurt which adds a nice tang to it. It is SO delicous on crisp little crackers or sliced carrots, and incredibly moreish.

Daisy has recently been introduced to the joys of homemade playdough, an activity she took very seriously indeed!

A winter salad

2011-08-04T19:08:00.004+12:00

This salad is for anyone who wants feels like a mid-winter raw vege hit but doesn't want to pay $8 for a squidgy red capsicum and its out-of-season friends. (Yes, capsicums are roughly $8 a piece at the moment, I don't know this because I bought one myself but because I know someone who actually paid $8 for a single capsicum last week.)

I was inspired to make mayonnaise after reading this post here on the Kitchenmaid blog which has lots of fabulous DIY recipes for the kind of things you'd usually buy - bread, tahini, mayo etc. Once I had my mayonnaise made I needed a use for it so added a little smoked paprika and thinned it down with the juice of half a lemon and used it as a dressing for this red cabbage, carrot & spinach salad.

This salad is a lot like one we make with red cabbage, apple & celery with smokey mayo (from Dunedin-based cook/food writer/tour guide Judith Cullen) but with spinach and carrot instead of celery and apple. You could add a julienned green apple to my version below if you want a little sweetness.

I guess it's more a "coleslaw" that a salad but I'm calling it a salad as I can't stand the word coleslaw. Especially when it's mispronounced "coldslaw"! Either way, it just doesn't sound like something I want to eat. But salad, especially this salad, I do want to eat. And have done so for the last two nights.

The quantity below would make a big bowlful - enough for 6-8 servings - and use the entire amount of mayonnaise. Adjust as necessary to feed the number of people at your table.

Red cabbage, carrot & spinach salad with smokey mayo

1/2 red cabbage, very finely shredded

1 bag baby spinach

2 large carrots, julienned (or grated)

2-4 tablespoons finely chopped mint and/or flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

1 quantity of mayonnaise with 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika & juice of 1/2 a lemon whisked in.

Toss the finely shredded cabbage, spinach & cabbage in a large bowl. Mix though the smokey mayo, just half at first and then add a spoonful at a time until the vegetables are lightly coated. Save a little to dollop on top if you like. Sprinkle over the walnuts and serve.

A few of our favourite things...

2011-08-01T08:38:00.001+12:00

Becs: I have long enjoyed Moutere Gold's preserves - they truly seem homemade. Theirs are contemporary but delicious fruit combinations, rather than the wacky flavours that some preserve makers seem set on. Until recently I have only seen their products in specialty stores, but was pleasantly surprised to see this divine blackcurrant and vanilla bean jam at Merivale Fresh Choice supermarket for around $7. The only occasion I eat jam is when it is on a freshly baked scone with cream, and this one did an admirable job - I just loved it.

Libby: Mum came up to Wellington for a short visit last week so I took an afternoon off work and we went to one of my favourite cafes for lunch: Nikau. It has a short, simple menu and everything on it sounds delicious. A lady at the next table had the sage eggs I'd watched the chef Kelda make with Julie Le Clerc on Cafe Secrets. They looked ever better than on television so I went with those. I always like to have a good nosy at what other diners have in front of them to help me decide what to order!

Sunday morning brown sugar cinnamon rolls

2011-07-31T09:10:00.006+12:00

I have been thinking about cinnamon rolls since having a delicious one at DeliAro last Sunday morning. The DeliAro one was at the bready, fluffy end of the cinnamon roll spectrum whereas mine are at the other buttery, pastry-like end. Both are delicious but on this occasion I was after a tightly-wound, tender cinnamon roll.

I used a Dorie Greenspan recipe from her "all-American" classic baking book "Baking From my home to Yours" as a base, adapted it a little and it worked well. I started the dough on Saturday afternoon, left it to rise while I went out in the evening then rolled it out before going to bed. I left the tin to rise near the heated towel-rail overnight and that seemed to keep them nice and cozy.

I didn't bother with any extra glazes or icing to pour over after baking. The rolls sort of make their own glaze as the bake so if you turn them upside down they have a nice sticky toffee-ish coating.

Dough

1 sachet of active dried yeast

1/3 cup fill half way with hot water and topped up with milk (it should be just warm-to-the-touch)

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 small eggs (at room temperature)

1/8 cup sugar

180g butter (at room temperature)

Filling

Brown sugar

Butter

Cinnamon

Mix the yeast and milk/water mix in your cake mixer bowl and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt and mix to dampen the flour. Mix for a minute or two until you have a shaggy mass.

Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and set the mixer to low. Add the eggs followed by the sugar. Beat for three minutes until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter, two tablespoons or so at a time. Beat until each piece is nearly incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a very soft, batter-like dough. Now increase the speed to medium and beat for 10 minutes until the dough pulls away at the sides. Leave the dough to double in size (an hour or so) then deflate.

I then left the dough for a few hours, just out on the bench, until I was ready to roll it and it didn't suffer because of it.

Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Mine was huge as I wanted thin, tightly-wound buns but roll to the thickness you desire. Melt some butter (30 grams or so) and brush on. Sprinkle with brown sugar. I rolled my dough out very late at night and was feeling particularly generous after several glasses of wine so perhaps was a little heavy-handed and sprinkled about 3/4 of a cup or so. Douse with as much cinnamon as you please (I used a couple of tablespoons worth).

Roll into a log and slice into rounds about2 inches thick. Place in a lined spring-form tin and leave to rise for at least a couple of hours or even overnight as I did.

Bake at 190 degrees Celsius for 30 mins. Leave in the tin for five minutes or so before inverting onto a cooling rack. Enjoy! And keep enjoying until they are all gone... these buns are best when still warm from the oven.

Yummy Yummy Yummy

2011-07-28T21:41:00.003+12:00

A guest post from Sarah, Daisy's Aunty 'Raree'

Being housebound with all the snow on Monday, Daisy and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to bake a batch of cookies, or "yummy yummies" as Daisy refers to them! At the word "baking" Daisy was off to haul her special step stool over to the bench. We chose to make a popular Jo Seagar recipe for chocolate chunk oat cookies. Daisy was on quality control, tasting each ingredient as it went in. She would have been quite happy to devour all the raw mixture and I had to be quick to keep little hands out of the bowl. It was lovely and cosy having the smell of baking wafting through the house as the snow fell outside (as cliched as it sounds...)

Chocolate Chunk Oat Biscuits (Jo Seagar)

Ingredients

250g butter, softened
3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
3/4 c sugar
1.5 c flour
1.5 c rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
250g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Beat butter, condensed milk and sugar together until light and creamy.

Add flour, rolled oats, baking powder and chocolate chunks.

Flatten spoonfuls on the prepared oven trays and cook for 15-20 minutes until golden brown

Daisy tucked into her cookie as soon as it was cool(ish...) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Judging by the lack of cookies left in the jar, the rest of the family have been enjoying them too.

Daisy was a little unsure of the snow at first, but once she realised she could eat it she was away laughing.

eating Melbourne

2011-07-26T20:54:00.001+12:00

I have just had a delightful visit to Melbourne to see my friend Anna and tick off a rather large list (I should geekily admit it was actually a spreadsheet) of things and places to eat.

The standard of service and value at cafes in Melbourne is brilliant. After being shown to a seat, water, glasses and menus are provided, and orders are taken by your waitperson. New Zealand cafes - can you please take a leaf out of this well-written book and give the lazy counter-service, DIY-everything, (non)service style a miss?! I love breakfast out, and couldn't get enough of breakfast menus in Melbourne. I don't think I once saw eggs benedict on offer - hallelujah! Here's a selection of what was enjoyed...

Five-grain porridge with winter fruit compote at the smartly pared-back De Clieu

Homemade crumpets with leatherwood honey at Birdman Eating

Shakshouka - baked eggs with roasted red pepper and marinated Persian feta at cumulus inc

Grilled field mushrooms with herbed goats chevre, rocket and toast at Pearl Oyster

Just to show what a priority food is in Melbourne - check out some of the crowd of people waiting amidst overflowing dumpsters for a table to breakfast at the oh-so-cool St Ali. Sadly our meals were lukewarm but the coffee (beans are roasted onsite) was excellent.

Some other highlights...

I just loved Gewurshaus, which was just around the corner from Anna's place in Prahran. The loveliest little shop crammed with beautifully displayed spice blends. I brought home wee bags of merlot salt, Tahitian vanilla salt, Viennese christmas sugar and masala chai sugar among others to experiment with.

We didn't eat out at any big-name restaurants, and everywhere more casual has a 'no-bookings' policy which makes for some long waits but fun times. Dinner at the brand new Chin Chin (contemporary Thai) was great fun, eating at the bar watching the chefs at the starter station, the menu of which we ate our way through almost entirely - amazing value.

Dinner was washed down with a refreshing jug of punch - Vietnamese mint, vodka, lime all featured among other things?!

Pork roll-ups with braised suckling pig and herb salad (the pancakes were freshly steamed in bamboo baskets and divine..)

Scallops with crispy pork and green chilli nahm jim

We had another beautiful dinner at Gigibaba - the (many-coursed) banquet was immense but delicious - the braised lamb shoulder below came out last of all so was hard to do it due justice but it was demolished all the same...

Finally a couple of my favourite Melbourne sweet treats to finish...

Burch and Purchas - their Sweet Studio on Chapel St is definitely worth a look. Check out the wall containing specimen jars of the ingredients they use in their 'lab'.

We picked up 4 of their incredible little cakes courtesy of a voucher Mrs Cake had received when over there for the Food and Wine Festival.

A bombolone (vanilla custard filled donut) from Baker D Chirico in St Kilda - I have been dreaming of these since my last visit to Melbourne 5 years ago - the perfect ratio of custard to doughnut.

Ice cream at Jock's - I loved the hokey pokey with huge chunks of honeycomb

A few of our favourite things...

2011-07-25T09:39:00.001+12:00

Becs: While I usually like to make my own cereal - porridge in winter, bircher or granola in summer - I like to mix it up a bit sometimes with something from the cereal aisle at the supermarket. I tend to buy a treat cereal (something clustery that feels a bit nutritionally void for an everyday breakfast) and dilute it with a box of something more earnest and healthful, that is, fibre containing. Now Kellog's have done it for me with their new All Bran Apple Crunch product. I am loving this at the moment, there are treaty bits as well as bran flakes and sticks, and it is not too sweet, nice one.

Miriam: I was sitting down to do my favourite thing, when we received an email from our landlord informing us that they're putting our lovely Kingsland bungalow on the market. In 90 days we have to move out. Suddenly the vege garden dug from scratch (with the rhubarb almost coming to fruition), the outdoor furniture rescued from the inorganic collection and the romantic gas fireplace all flashed before my eyes. As a psychologist I know the stages of grief (denial, bargaining, anger, depression & acceptance). I think currently I'm caught somewhere between denial and depression and feel unable to do a favourite thing.

Positively, on Saturday I'm off to South America for 5 weeks, (so can embrace the denial stage some more). Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll be able to do some favourite things from Peru, Bolivia and Argentina!

Libby: I bought some raw milk to have a go at making mozzarella cheese (not that you can't use pasturised silver top) and after trying a glass of it almost didn't want to use it to make cheese. The milk was delicious: rich and creamy, and so, so fresh! It would have been such a waste of beautiful milk had it been a complete disaster. I am a complete amateur when it comes to making cheese so consulted the internet. I used a combination of methods from two trusted sources: Mrs Cake/Rosa and Pease Pudding/Allison. I am not sure I got it entirely right - especially the "cooking the curd" part, but when used on a pizza for dinner on Sunday night it looked and tasted reasonably authentic!

A regional delicacy from the deep south

2011-07-20T19:26:00.008+12:00

Cheese rolls are a "delicacy" from the south of the South Island and you'll rarely find them north of the Waitaki River. Apparently they're a popular fundraiser - a sports-mad colleague from Invercargill likes to tell us about how his sports teams would get together and make loads, bag them up, freeze them (untoasted), and sell them by the dozen. I can't see them being a big money spinner these days with cheese being the main ingredient but it sounds like the humble cheese roll has funded a fair few sports trips over the years.

The recipe seems to vary a little depending on whose mum or nana you receive it from. I first tried cheese rolls when Becs returned to Rotorua from her first semester at Otago Uni. She'd stayed with her friend Rachel's family in Gore and had tried Rachel's mum's cheese rolls. It uses more milk than some other recipes and uses a little cornflour to thicken the cheese mixture.

Most recipes call for evaporated milk and that's what I used. Next time I'll go back to Rachel's mum's recipe as it's less salty and I am feeling very thirsty as I write this... Before reading any further I suggest putting aside any prejudices you have towards Maggi onion soup powder and processed foods in general. These cheese rolls offer little nutritional benefit but they sure are tasty!

To make cheese rolls using the easiest possible method...

Heat a 400ml can of evaporated milk, 375g grated cheese, 1 packet of Maggi onion soup mix and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard until smooth.

Leave overnight in the fridge to firm up.

The next day when you want to eat them, spread white sandwich slice bread with the mixture and roll up (sort of fold into thirds). There's enough cheese mixture for about 1.5 loaves of bread so I suggest you keep on spreading until there's none left. You can freeze the untoasted rolls for another day - take them to work for lunch if you have a sandwich press or oven and give your workmates lunch envy.

Preheat the oven the 200 degrees Celsius. Line up your cheese rolls on an oven tray - cook more than you think you need! Brush with a little melted butter and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown on the outside and the filling is starting to ooze out the ends.

Try them with soup... or just on their own. Trust me, they're delicious!

A few of our favourite things

2011-07-18T07:38:00.003+12:00

Miriam: We went on a wee getaway to Raglan for the weekend. It's such a good spot to go to from Auckland, with great beaches and walks, nice cafes and interesting shops. I couldn't resist buying two of these Crown Lynn side plates in a shop that had stacks of china (I would have bought more but they only had two). When I bought them, the lady told me she also had this set and had spend the past 20 years sourcing pieces for it.... I fear I may have started a new obsession!

Libby: It had been awhile between visits to the City Market and when I went along on Sunday I was hoping to find Greytown's French Baker... it seems he was either taking a weekend off or doesn't attend the City Market anymore. (Does anyone know?) While there I bought a tub French onion soup from another favourite stallholder: Le Canard. Not just any old French onion soup but duck & truffle French onion soup. They sell it for a very reasonable $6 for a 700ml tub (or two tubs for $10). It made a delicious and easy Sunday lunch served with a slice of cheese covered baguette.

Brown food, a call for recipes... and a giveaway

2011-07-12T20:30:00.004+12:00

Brown food (excluding anything chocolate) rarely looks appealing when I take its photo. When I say "brown food" I mean things like bran muffins and loaves: everyday, easy to throw together, baking that's lovely with a cup of tea but doesn't make you go "wow! I really want to make that". In a word...uninspiring!

This "no-chop date and orange loaf" is one of those recipes - simple, quick to make with ingredients you already have and tastes better than it looks! The recipe is from "Now You're Cooking" a sweet little cookbook put together by the Destitute Children's Home Pokhara Charitable Trust as a fundraiser for a children's home in Nepal. The Trust is run by a dedicated bunch of Wellingtonians and funds raised from the sale of this cookbook have gone towards really practical things to make life easier in the home - like a microwave - as well as the day-to-day running of the home and education for the children living there.

The first cookbook, released two Christmases ago, was so successful the Trust is putting together another one in time for Christmas 2011. So here's your opportunity to be come a published food writer and contribute to a great little book! The Trust is looking for recipes (especially desserts) to compile into a second cookbook - recipes of the tried-and-true variety - things you love to make and eat yourself. Send your favourites to Linda: dchpokhara@gmail.com

I bought several copies of the first book for Christmas gifts - at a very reasonable $10 they were the perfect little gift - and have ended up with an extra copy so it's up for grabs! Leave a comment about your favourite "brown food" (stuff that doesn't look pretty but tastes delicious!) and I'll make the draw in a week's time. Anyone is welcome to leave a comment & contribute a recipe for the next book but the giveaway is only open to NZ residents.

This loaf contains a modest 50g of butter - good news in these times of high dairy prices - and also helpfully suggests you can swap the butter for four level tablespoons of oil. The recipe says the addition of an orange lifts this loaf a cut above a plain date loaf, I didn't have an orange so made it without and it was still delicious.

No-chop date & orange loaf (contributed by Virginia)

225g pitted dates

Juice of an orange, made up to half a cup with water

50g butter (or 4 TBSP oil)

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup milk (or soy milk)

1/2 cup raw sugar (or could use white)

1 beaten egg

1 cup plain flour

1 cup wholemeal flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup broken walnuts

Turn the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Put the whole dates, rind and 1/2 cup of liquid into a pot. Bring to boil and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the butter until melted and leave to cool a bit.

Mix the baking soda into the milk. Beat the egg and sugar together in a large bowl. Add both the milk/baking soda to the egg/sugar mix and stir in the dates. Sift in the dry ingredients (throw in the wholemeal bits left in the sieve from the wholemeal flour. Stir gently to just mix.

Pour into a lined loaf tine and bake for one hour. Test by poking in a skewer: if it comes out clean the loaf is cooked.

The recipe suggests serving plain when fresh and buttered as it get a bit older. This is good advice but I couldn't resist a little butter on a slice when it was still warm from the oven.

Sunday lunch

2011-07-11T20:05:00.010+12:00

A glazed leg of ham is always on our family's Christmas menu. It's usually a once-a-year treat but with me at home for the weekend and Mum and Dad returning from a holiday we decided it was the perfect time to use the half ham from Havoc that Becs had acquired when helping out at the Taste Farmers Market Awards a few weeks ago. We invited our aunty and uncle over and made an occasion of it: Sunday lunch.

We defrosted the ham in the fridge for a couple of days then on Sunday morning, a couple of hours before lunch, we put it into a nice warm bath (sealed in a plastic bag) to help it come to room temperature before going in the oven.

Our glaze "recipe" is very simple and only requires two ingredients: marmalade and brown sugar. You can use any type of marmalade you like. On Sunday I used Rose's English Breakfast marmalade because it has a high fruit content (compared to some other brands) and lots of nice orangey-bits.

The very first step is to prepare your baking tray. Use a tray or dish deep enough to contain the glaze and it's absolutely critical that you cover it with a layer of tin foil and at least two of baking paper. Failure to do so will result in very difficult-to-clean sticky mess.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

To prepare the ham for glazing you need to deal with the mildly unpleasant task of removing the skin. Carefully ease back the skin, leaving the thick layer of fat behind...

...once you have the skin off, use a sharp knife to score nearly all the way through the fat in a diagonal pattern.

Press a whole clove into the centre of each diamond...

...now for the glaze: smother the ham with as much marmalade as required. We used about 1/3-1/2 a jar for a half-leg. Then pack on the brown sugar... don't be shy - pack on a really thick layer into the marmalade. Watch out for little fingers...

Now your ham is ready to go in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees C, basting every 10 minutes. Then turn the oven up to 200 degrees C and bake for a further 15 minutes. By this time the glaze should be lovely and sticky. We put the ham under the grill for a few minutes for extra stickiness but if you do this you need to watch it very closely - by this point in the process there's a lot at stake!

If glazing a whole ham, increase the cooking time to 1.5 hours or so.

We like to eat the ham hot so carved it straight away... and poured over the delicious, citrusy glaze that had collected in the bottom of our well-lined pan.

The ham hadn't suffered at all from spending a little time in the freezer - it was deliciously pink and tender and juicy. Havoc say once you've tasted their pork you'll know the difference and I have to agree. We enjoyed the ham with mustard fruits (another family Christmas staple), freshly-baked focaccia, and a salad of greens, oranges, blanched broad beans.

For a sweet treat, Becs made roasted pears with chocolate and walnut crumble served with vanilla cream in her cute pink Crown Lynn bowls. It's sort of a deconstructed crumble - honey roasted pears topped with an oaty, chocolate, walnut cookie-type crumble. The recipe is on page 86 of the current (July 2011) Cuisine magazine. If you don't have it already, buy it and make these pears!

a few of our favourite things...

2011-07-11T07:11:00.000+12:00

Becs/Libby: Libby was down in Christchurch this weekend, and after collecting her from the airport on Friday we drove into town to visit the Canterbury Cheesemongers. They sell delicious cheese sandwiches at lunchtime in their own ciabatta rolls. You go into the cheeseroom to peruse and if desired, taste the selection of perfectly ripe cheeses on offer before making a decision (we chose Meyer very old gouda and Pont l'Eveque and then went halves) Your sandwich is then prepared on the spot, complete with chutney and salad greens. A perfect lunch.

Canterbury Cheesemongers is a Christchurch business that has picked itself up post-earthquake(s) and come back just as good as ever. Its Salisbury Street store was demolished after the September earthquake so it re-established itself in Montreal St near the Arts Centre. Thanks to the February earthquake there's now little going on in that part of town but the Canterbury Cheesemongers alone is worth a special trip. Not only for the impressive cheese room but also for the hot-from-the-oven breads and baking. You'll also find Canterbury Cheesemongers at the Christchurch Farmers Market on Saturday mornings selling cheese from their special little cheese van.

Miriam: I love this Casa Rinaldi balsamic reduction; use as a dressing for salad, combined with olive oil and served with bread, drizzled on top of mushroom risotto, splashed onto beetroot while still roasting... it's one of the staples in our pantry and I seem to be constantly finding new uses for it.

Thursday baking - Nigella's banana bread

2011-07-07T08:00:00.003+12:00

I've been a bit remiss with my blogging of late, but now I'm back, with two posts in a week!

This banana bread recipe comes from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess. You can find a copy of the recipe here. My go-to banana loaf recipe is this Banana chocolate chip loaf. However this Nigella recipe has become a welcome addition to my selection of recipes for using up those overripe bananas that seem to pile up in my house. The walnuts and whisky soaked raisins are a nice addition and put this a cut above standard banana cakes/loafs/bread (apart from the tin, I'm not sure what the differences is in recipes for banana cake/loaf or bread?).

The first time I made this recipe, I added the specified 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and then discovered I didn't have any unsalted butter, so just used salted butter. Although it was still delicious, I felt like it was just a bit too salty (no one else seemed to notice though). The next time I made it I left out the salt altogether and just used salted butter. It turned out perfect. It keeps well for several days.

dinner date - spanish spiced chicken breast with hot chorizo and chickpea salad

2011-07-05T08:02:00.009+12:00

My friend, Ash, presented me with this recipe, which comes from Nosh. I served it up for dinner on Sunday night, much to the delight of my flatmates. We bought the chorizo in a 60g piece from the deli section of nosh, but I guess you could use any variety of chorizo. It's a simple dish to make, and oh so delicious and satisfying. I loved the combination of flavours and textures, and it was just as good for lunch the next day. I think it will become a regular in our dinner repertoire.

Ingredients
salt
olive oil
4 x boneless chicken breasts
4T ﬂour
1½ T paprika
1 pinch cayenne pepper
60g pamplona chorizo, cut into lardons
60g traditional chorizo, cut into lardons

1T fresh oregano, ﬁnely chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 can baby roma tomatoes, drained
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lemon, zest & juice
120g pkt baby spinach

For the hot chorizo and chickpea salad: Add chorizo lardons to a saucepan with a little olive oil and cook until the lardons start to crisp. Once the chorizo has let off a bit of the paprika infused oil add your oregano, onion, garlic, celery, carrot and cook for 2 minutes. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, chickpeas and drain the baby roma tomatoes. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Once the ingredients are cooked turn off the heat and stir in the baby spinach.

For the Spanish spiced chicken: In a large bowl mix together the ﬂour, 2 tablespoon of paprika, 1 pinch of Cayenne pepper and salt. Lightly oil your chicken ﬁllets and dredge in the spiced ﬂour. Heat your heavy based pan to a medium high heat and cook the breasts on each side for 5 min or until juices run clear. Season again and set aside to rest for 3 min.

Present the salad on a white plate topped with the chicken breast and served with a wedge odlemon, extra lemon zest and unsweetened yogurt.

a few of our favourite things

2011-07-04T10:38:00.001+12:00

Becs: It seems to have been a fantastic season for mandarins this year, they have been plentiful and cheap down here in Christchurch. Daisy and I are loving these little NZ satsuma mandarins, just $2kg at our local fruit and veg shop. Small but thin-skinned, juicy and bursting with sweetness. Yesterday we paid a visit to the Halswell Domain, where each Sunday afternoon a group of miniature train enthusiasts crank up a dozen or so little steam trains and offer rides at just $2. Such good, old-fashioned fun. Daisy loved her wee journey over and under bridges and through 'forests' on the 'Rio Grande'.

Libby: Last week I transformed my pantry from a collection of half-empty packages held together with clothes pegs and old cookie-time christmas cookie buckets to an organised masterpiece with the help of a label-maker and a half-price special on Sistema plastic storage containers at New World! I felt slightly silly wheeling a trolley-load of plastic containers up to the checkout but the lovely thing was the checkout ladies were just as excited about the awesome half-price discount as I was! I didn't feel silly enough not to return for round two a couple of night later...

Miriam: I love fresh flowers. In a bid to help combat my flatmate Jane's post holiday depression (after she arrived back from a tropical island getaway) I brought these pretty tulips. They really do brighten up the place.

thursday baking - scottish oatcakes

2011-06-30T07:31:00.001+12:00

This is one of my all-time favourite recipes, and I think there is nothing nicer with cheese. I have tried various oatcake recipes but always come back to this one. It originally came from a cafe I used to cook at that served them on their platters. Roll them out thinner for a crispy oatcake or a bit thicker if you like a denser crumbly texture, I like them both ways.

Scottish oatcakes - makes 2 full trays, about 30ish

1 1/2 c rolled oats
1 c flour
2 tbsp bran
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all of the above ingredients in a food processor. Add 125g butter and mix until it forms fine crumbs. Add 5-6 tbsp milk, or enough to bind the dough together when you pulse the machine. Wrap in gladwrap and chill until firm enough to work with. Roll out, cut into shapes and bake at 180c for 10-15 minutes, I flip them over halfway through baking so they brown evenly on top and bottom.

pumpkin & mascarpone ravioli with brown butter hazelnuts

2011-06-27T19:04:00.007+12:00

This is a dinner to make on a rainy weekend when you're not in a hurry and as was a real marathon effort, starting the day before with the homemade mascarpone. You could speed things up by using bought mascapone or even cottage cheese or ricotta and using a pasta roller rather than a rolling pin (as I will next time...) But even if you cut a few corners it's still a dinner that requires lots of prep (or "admin" as Miriam would say) before it all comes together.

The filling was inspired by this recipe, found via a google search for "fresh pasta fillings". I made a few additions so my filling was rich mixture of mascarpone, roasted pumpkin, red onion, bacon and roasted garlic. For a lighter version, cottage cheese would make a good substitute for the mascarpone (which is really just solid cream) and leave out the bacon.

I used a Jamie Oliver recipe for the pasta dough - basically a ratio of 100g of 00 flour to every size 7 egg. You need to get this underway several hours in advance too as it need to rest before rolling.

Unfortunately when I went to roll the dough with the mechanical pasta roller it had seized up and stubbornly refused to work. So most of the dough was rolled using a rolling pin - about two hours of hard work! The pasta roller was fixed during this time with much cursing of shoddy Italian workmanship - it's now all ready to roll out the last of the dough into something simple like lasagna sheets or pappardelle.

The quantities below make enough pasta for six generous servings.

Pasta (as per this recipe)

600g 00 flour

6 eggs

Filling

Half a pumpkin, peeled, and chopped into 2cm dice

4-6 cloves of garlic

A sprig or two of rosemary

1 red onion, finely chopped

Olive oil

2 rashers of bacon

250g mascarpone

Salt & pepper to taste

To finish

A generous knob of butter (as much as you are prepared to use!)

A large handful of toasted hazelnuts (or walnuts)

Shaved Parmesan cheese

Baby spinach (Becs' addition)

Roast the pumpkin with the whole, unpeeled garlic, rosemary sprigs and enough olive oil at 180 degrees Celsius until tender - about 20-30 minutes. Cool and transfer pumpkin to a large bowl (discard rosemary sprigs). Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from its skin into the bowl too.

Cook the onion in a little oil over a medium heat until very soft, add a splash of water now and again to keep from browning. Throw it in the bowl.

Fry the bacon, finely chop and add to the bowl with the pumpkin etc. Once all the bits and pieces for the filling have cooled add the mascarpone and season with salt and pepper. Mix it all up, squashing the pumpkin a little so it looks like this:

Now you can roll out the dough as per Jamie's instructions and make the little raviolis. Once you have nice thin sheets of pasta, cut circles with a round cutter, put a teaspoon of filling on each circle and top with another circle and pinch the edges together firmly.

Dust each little ravioli with a little extra flour. Keep going until you have used up all the mixture. You'll probably have some extra dough left for another night. I used about 3/4 of the dough and made this much:

To cook, boil a BIG pot of salty water and drop the pasta in and cook for 7 minutes.

While the pasta is boiling heat the butter and toasted hazelnuts in a frying pan over a medium heat until the butter is golden brown.

Carefully drain the pasta (if you tip them from a height they may explode!) and place on hot serving plates. Top with a spoonful of butter and nuts. If you want more of a sauce, you could top the pasta with a small teaspoonful of mascarpone and the roasted nuts (without cooking them in butter). Add some baby spinach leaves if you have them and some shavings of parmesan cheese.

The following day, a some of the ravioli made it's way from Wellington to Christchurch for Mum and Becs to enjoy for lunch. Becs added baby spinach for a nice bitter contrast to the richness of the creamy filling and buttery nuts!

A few of our favourite things...

2011-06-27T07:55:00.000+12:00

Becs: A tucked away gem in Dunedin is the Highgate Bridge Bakery (known mostly as 'The Friday Shop'). A team of chefs cook up a storm all week - prepping pastries, pies, tarts, braises and other delicious take-home meals - and open the doors bright and early on Friday mornings only to sell out a few hours later. We love their family-sized chicken and mushroom pies, homemade down to the chicken stock in the sauce and the butter puff pastry. Big thanks to Caroline for delivering a couple while visiting this weekend!

Miriam: I had dinner at my friend Kate's new place last night. Despite having nibbles, main and dessert, Kate then pulled out this huge container of pick'n'mix. This is what $30 can get you in the bulk bins. They were for her work, but we managed to sneak a few pineapple lumps, jetplanes and jaffas before the lid was popped back on the container.

Libby: That big white blob is mascarpone! I had a go at making some myself over the weekend and was pleasantly surprised by how successful it was. I consulted the internet and went with the following method: heat 1 litre of cream to 85 degrees Celsius (in a double boiler), add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, keep at a constant 85 degrees C and stir for five minutes. Cool to room temperature then pour into a cheesecloth (or in my case chux cloth) lined sieve and leave to drain overnight or until firm. I ended up with 700g of mascarpone and used about about third in a filling for fresh ravioli... now what to do with the rest? Give it a go yourself... the only "special" equipment you need is a thermometer and a couple of unused chux cloths.

Bourke Street Bakery's chocolate and prune brownie

2011-06-23T07:00:00.002+12:00

Chocolate and prunes are one of my favourite flavour combinations and they work so well together in this chocolate and prune brownie from the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook. The prunes lend a delicious, chewy richness to the brownie, which is closer to the fudgey end (as opposed to the cakey end) of the brownie spectrum.

To make the prunes extra-delicious, you soak them in brandy for three days before using. I reduced the quantity of prunes to 250g of prunes, simply because the prunes I buy come in 250g bags. Adding more wouldn't hurt but 250g seemed enough, even to a prune-lover like me. I also halved the amount of soaking-brandy to 100ml as I don't like the alcoholic burning sensation that booze-soaked dried fruit can give. A little heat is pleasant but I don't like burning! Feel free to adjust the quantities to suit your tastes.

Don't do what I did and slice into the brownie within minutes of it leaving the oven. Try and be patient and leave it to cool. It'll be much easier to slice.

Next time I bake this I'll make it in a bigger tin. I used a 16 x 26cm (rather than the 20 x 30cm stated in the recipe) so my brownies were solid, square bricks rather than slim, elegant fingers.

If you're ever in Sydney, visit the Bourke Street Bakery (in three locations) or their "little sister" Central Baking Depot. It is one of the loveliest bakeries I have ever visited - one of those places where you need take at least one friend with you so you can try lots of different things between you... and take away a wee treat with you for later on! On one (brief) trip to Sydney I visited three times so I could work my way through as many of their delightful cakes and pastries as possible!

Chocolate & prune brownie

Adapted slightly from the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook

250g pitted prunes

100ml brandy (or congnac or hot tea)

55g plain flour

40g unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

300g dark chocolate

80g butter

300g caster sugar

4 eggs

100g sour cream

Place the prunes in a bowl, pour over brandy (or other liquid of choice), cover and leave for three days.

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a baking dish (20cm x 30cm).

Sift flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.

Place chocolate, butter and sugar into a stainless steel bowl and sit over a saucepan of simmering water (bot touching base of bowl) and stir until melted.

Cool chocolate mixture then get your beaters ready and add the eggs, one-at-a-time, beating after each addition. Add flour and mix to combine, then add sour cream, chocolate melts (if using) and prunes with any remaining soaking liquid.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour until just set. Cool completely in the tin before turning out and slicing with a hot knife. Store at room temperature... for as long as it lasts!

A pig in a day

2011-06-21T19:49:00.002+12:00

I recently spent a day learning how to make delicious things from a pig - think bacon, prosciutto, salami, chorizo, sausages. I had read an article about the Pig in a Day workshop in the June/July Dish magazine and loved the sound of it. The workshop was held in the old schoolroom at Orton Bradley Park in Charteris Bay, about 30 minutes from Christchurch. I had wrapped up warmly but was delighted to arrive to find the open fire had been cranked up and the room was lovely and cosy. Pig in a day was most definitely a family affair, with Anna running things, ably assisted by her husband John and 3 charming (and most capable) children.

Here is a leg of pork destined for homemade prosciutto being thoroughly salted. Next it will be put to bed in a box of salt for a few weeks to start the curing process.

Anna talking through how to make prosciutto, holding one she had prepared earlier (approximately 12 months earlier!) While the hands-on time to make your own prosciutto is fairly minimal, there is a bit of patience required, as after salting the pork needs to hang for a year or so to air dry. No such thing as instant gratification here....but the results we tasted below, along with the homemade salami definitely impressed.

A rustic lunch was then served by the children - a starter of bruschetta with mushrooms and chorizo, followed by a delicious soup starring chunks of homecured bacon, and a lemon tart to finish.

After lunch it was time to get stuck into sausage-making, something Mike and I had tried a few times. I am definitely feeling inspired to get my mincer out again, homemade sausages are the way to go.

Anna demonstrating salami making...

Little hands helping...

A table was laid for us all to have a go creating our own sausage recipe, I went for a bit of a chorizo theme, and we enjoyed them served up with homemade baked beans for Sunday night dinner. I have started a piece of pork loin curing today to make some bacon, so watch this space!

A few of our favourite things...

2011-06-20T06:59:00.000+12:00

Miriam: While in Christchurch this weekend, I tried some mulled cider that Becs brought from the Dunsandel Store. I'm a big fan of cider, and of mulled wine, so naturally I loved this combo. It was quite sweet, so you only want a glass (or mug depending on your view of how mulled drinks should be served), but it was a great way to warm up on a cold day. I bought a bottle of it to take back to Auckland, but it would be easy to make too, here's a recipe by Jamie Oliver.

Becs: I love these cute as cute can be hair clips and ties from lyttel button, made here in Christchurch in Lyttelton. They are made using fabrics imported from Japan; my favourite are the sweet little bambi clips. If only Daisy would happily leave them in her hair rather than tugging them out immediately...they are $8 per set from lyttel button, their email is lyttelbuttons@gmail.com .

Libby: My new favourite thing is my new house, especially the kitchen! It's lovely and spacious - so much bench space to mess up - and the oven works like an oven should! It was a busy weekend in the kitchen and I've made lots of my favourite recipes: really good cheese scones with mexican tomato soup, pumpkin and raisin tea bread, busy people's bread, burmese chicken curry and an amazing chocolate and prune brownie from the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook. Recipe to follow...

dinner date - roasted chicken, leek and pear salad

2011-06-14T07:18:00.004+12:00

This tray-baked wintery salad has been doing the blog rounds, so I am sorry if it looks a little overly familiar...but I still wanted to share it as it is SO tasty, not to mention quick to throw together. Chicken, pears and the much underrated leek make such good friends, especially accompanied by crunchy garlicky chunks of bread (they are too rustic to be called croutons!) and dollops of melting goats cheese. A most satisfactory dinner, especially after a rather tiresome afternoon of yet more nasty earthquakes.

A little trick I have for the goats cheese - for cooking I love the flavour and texture of the soft, creamy french chevre de bellay logs, however these are pricey - so I buy a NZ goat feta and blend it up in the food processor with some softened cream cheese. It takes the harsh edge off the feta but still lets the fresh tang of the goats cheese shine through, giving a result pretty similar to the french stuff. It is definitely easy on the wallet too so can be used with great(er) abandon. If you use a whole pack of both it will make loads, but it freezes beautifully. Lovely on pizza too...

Scoot over to Millie and Mel's blogs if you like for their versions of this salad (which originally appeared in Cuisine mag last year) but here's what we ate for dinner last night -

roasted chicken, leek and pear salad with goats cheese (for 4)

6 x chicken thighs

1 tbsp yellow and black mustard seeds (or a dollop of grainy mustard)

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 leeks, diagonally sliced 1 cm thick

drizzle of olive oil

splash of red wine vinegar

s and p

chunks of old bread, ciabatta, focaccia etc

soft goats cheese, or feta

salad greens

Preheat oven to 200c. Place the chicken, mustard, herbs, garlic, leeks in a large roasting tray, drizzle over some olive oil and red wine vinegar, s and p, and toss well to combine, then cook for about 30 minutes or until chicken is done ( I used boneless thighs which cooked really quickly). Once the chicken is nearly done scatter the bread over the other ingredients, drizzle with a little more oil and return to the oven for another 10 minutes so the bread crisps up. Remove from oven, throw over the goats cheese and let it melt a bit. Serve warm in bowls with the salad greens tossed through.

A few of our favourite things...

2011-06-13T07:29:00.002+12:00

Miriam: Tucked away in a rather unassuming location in Ellerslie, lies the hustle and bustle of the Mexican Specialties. This wee shop sells Mexican products and on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays you can also enjoy a 'truly home made Mexican lunch'. The place was packed when we went for lunch around 2pm on Saturday, but we managed to stalk out a table. The food was great and the staff were very helpful, even suggesting I buy coke from the dairy next door and drink it there as they were out of cold ones. I was intrigued by the array of interesting dishes coming from the kitchen, so will have to return again soon to sample more of the menu.

Becs: A visit to Hanmer over the long weekend involved a trip to the Woolshed Gallery, where some winter woolies were purchased. A snuggly pair of lambskin slippers for Daisy, a possum silk merino headband for me for winter walks (while Miss Daisy is snug as a bug in her pimped out buggy) and the best discovery of all perhaps - a pair of sheepskin bootliners to go inside my gumboots. I tried them out last weekend and they will definitely make Saturday mornings Posh Porridging at the market a lot cosier. They are just $12 a pair, a small price to pay for such luxury!

Posh Porridge news...

2011-06-10T11:58:00.002+12:00

A wee plug for Posh Porridge....we have finally joined Facebook, I thought it would be a good way to keep Christchurch porridge lovers up to date with weekly flavours and my comings and occasional goings at the Christchurch Farmer's Market. Once we have 100 likes one lucky person will receive free Posh Porridge for the rest of this winter!

It is very wet today in Christchurch, so here's hoping the weather improves tomorrow, in the meantime I had best start prepping, this week's special is sticky date and apple compote with walnut crumble, how's that for comfort food...

A few of our favourite things

2011-06-05T19:07:00.009+12:00

Libby, Sarah & Becs: One of the things we loved about staying at our grandparent's house as children was Grandma's treat tray. Sometime after dinner and before our bedtime, Grandma would disappear off into the kitchen and reappear with a tray laden with treats. The lovely thing about the treat tray is that it's a family tradition that hasn't faded out as we've all grown up. We spent a couple of days in Tauranga last week farewelling Grandma and filled up the treat tray in her honour. You're welcome to adopt the "treat tray" as your own family tradition. All you need is a tray with compartments (retro, if possible) and fill it with everyone's favourite treats. Ours often include - dried apricots, dried pineapple, crystallised ginger, scorched almonds, cashew nuts, jet planes, licorice allsorts, and chocolate or candy mushrooms. It doesn't need to be an occasion like a birthday to enjoy a treat tray, that's another lovely thing about this tradition, you just have to enough of your friends and family around to share it. That is an occasion in itself.

Miriam: I've been in Rotorua for the long weekend and enjoyed a visit with my brother David to the Ciabatta Bakery (38 White Street) which is now open on Saturday. They have a lovely selection of breads, pastries and products. The owner Alex was so excited that David had brought me along for a visit (and he didn't even know about the blog), he insisted on sending us home with a complimentary garlic ciabatta. The shop also sells a selection of hot food, like this "teeny weeny" chorizo sausage served with mustard & bbq sauce. Delicious!

A few of our favourite things...

2011-05-30T08:00:00.000+12:00

Miriam: It's the annual inorganic collection in my neighbourhood; where you put your inorganic waste out on the street for it to be magically taken away. The collection is organised by Auckland Council, but I'm not sure how much waste they end up collecting, as often the scavengers get in first. We put a broken clothes horse out only for it to be snapped up minutes later. And we're certainly not too proud to scavenge off our neighbours either; we have now expanded our outdoor furniture, acquiring a deck chair, two dining chairs and this park bench - we're all set for summer entertaining!

Becs: As the days have become colder my vege garden has been sadly neglected. In the weekend I finally summoned the motivation to tear out the last of the withered-up tomato plants, and had a big tidy-up. On a trip to the garden centre I procured a bale of pea straw, some seed garlic and winter green seedlings, as well as a few packets of spring flower bulbs to provide some pretty end-of-winter cheer.

Esther's gingerbread two ways

2011-05-26T08:13:00.000+12:00

On Saturday I went to make a pear and ginger upside-down cake that I'd seen a delicious-looking recipe for in the last few weeks but I was unable to find the recipe. I trawled through blogs I might have seen it on and flicked through books and magazines I'd read recently in the hope of finding it... but it's still a mystery and I'm thinking I may have just dreamt about it.

Instead, I used "Ester's gingerbread" from Ruth Pretty with a few tweaks to create what I had in my mind. It really is THE BEST gingerbread. Lovely and moist and equally good with a chunk of creamy blue or in this case, pears, walnuts and a spoonful of softly whipped cream.

I made the full recipe (nearly half a block of butter...eeek) but distributed it into two loaf tins instead of one as per the recipe. In one (baking paper-lined) tin I spread a mixture of 25g butter and 50g brown sugar (melted gently together over a low heat), 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, and two finely-sliced, peeled and quartered buerre bosc pear.

Although the upside-down brown sugar bit went slightly toffee-ish, it made a delicious winter pudding with a little cream on the side. It was even better the next day reheated with a drizzle of golden syrup.

For the second loaf, I poured the remaining batter into the tin and dotted in a cup or so of diced pear. This made a good "tin-filler" and lasted several days as a treat to have with a cup of tea.

A few of our favourite things...

2011-05-23T08:00:00.015+12:00

Becs: I recently had the pleasure of helping out with the Taste Farmers Market New Zealand Awards. Judges (pictured from L to R) Al Brown, Brett McGregor, Zo Zhou, Jonny Schwass, Suzanne Dale and Chris Fortune deliberated over more than 100 beautiful products from small NZ producers who sell at farmers markets around the country. It was a dream of a day; unpacking the courier parcels containing all the award entries was my idea of Christmas, as was tasting everything from buffalo yoghurt to homemade walnut baklava (in between jotting down the judges thoughts of course!) For a sneak peek at some of the highlights do have a look at Zo's blog, where she gives an excellent run-down.

Miriam: On Sunday Lewi and I went out to Huia in the Waitakeres. It was a beautiful sunny morning and after a couple of hours of walks, we stopped in for lunch at the Huia Beach Store & Cafe. We enjoyed an old school thick shake and a cheese & pineapple toasted sandwich. Although the thick shake was $7, and the toasted sandwich was so crunchy with butter it undid all the good of our walk, it was such a blast from the past and the perfect setting to enjoy these treats.

dinner date - baked bacon, mushroom and spinach risotto

2011-05-17T08:00:00.003+12:00

When I wrote my list here of things to look forward to about winter, I forgot to add risotto. Risotto must be one of the ultimates in comfort food - warm, creamy, carbs. I find the process of constantly stirring the rice until each cup of stock is absorbed somewhat therapeutic. However, sometimes it's nice to have risotto without all that admin. In this case, baked risotto is the answer. This risotto recipe by Donnah Hay (with the adaptation of wine and herbs) was published a couple of months ago in Canvas Magazine that comes with the Weekend Herald.

Spinach and mushroom baked risotto
40g butter
4 rashers bacon, rind removed and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
300g brown mushrooms, halved
2 cups arborio rice
1.5 liters of chicken stock & white wine (use whatever proportions you like)
10g butter, extra
1 cup parmesan, finely grated
100g baby spinach leaves
fresh herbs
cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 200C. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the bacon, onion and garlic and cook for 5 mins or until softened. Add the mushroom and cook for 5 mins or until golden. Add the rice and stock + wine, cover with a tight-fitting lid and bake for 40 mins or until rice is tender. Add the extra butter, parmesan and fresh herbs and stir to combine. Top with spinach leaves and pepper to serve.

a few of our favourite things

2011-05-16T08:00:00.002+12:00

Libby: I like to have a jar of yoghurt in the fridge to have on cereal, to use in baking and for savoury cooking. My favourite "all-purpose" yoghurt is Easiyo low fat greek. It's the only yoghurt mix I've tried that comes out smooth and creamy. It's also really cheap at about $4 for a sachet that makes up a litre of yoghurt. I like to add a little less water to make it thicker so end up with about 800ml.

Becs: While calling into our local fruit and vege shop for some supplies to make this delicious spiced apple granola, I noticed a large box of bananas on 'sale' for $1. Although I had to throw a few into the compost, there are now plenty of bags of sliced banana tucked in the freezer ready for banana bread, smoothies, or this beautiful banana ice cream. Love a bargain!

Miriam: This Old Mout Cider's pretty yum with lovely feijoa flavours. It kind of reminds me of the Phoneix sparkling feijoa, but with the addition of 5.8% alcohol.

Thursday baking - lemon yoghurt cake with orange blossom

2011-05-12T08:00:00.002+12:00

This weeks Thursday baking is brought to us by Jessica:

This cake didn't initially leap out at me from the book. I don't think 'Lemon Yoghurt Cake with Orange Blossom' as a title really does it justice when it is packed full of such interesting flavours and textures. If I was coming up with a name for it, I'd call it something more evocative like 'Middle Eastern syrup cake', because of the distinctive use of pistachios, semolina and orange blossom water in the flavouring. I was eventually drawn to it because Susan Fleischl described it as a 'great dinner party cake', which appealed when I was looking for something to make for my Book Club- a slightly special desert cake which would still be nice the next day or so. The lemon flavour really isn't that pronounced, so I'm glad I included some orange zest in both the cake and syrup. I might even include some more if I was making it again. The cake has a pleasantly 'grainy' texture, which doesn't really sound that pleasant, but you'll have to believe me that it is. It's very moist and crumbly and refrigerates well.

Lemon Yoghurt Cake with Orange Blossom Susan Fleischl

Cake
250g butter, softened
250g caster sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
zest of 1 lemon (I also used the zest of an orange)
150ml yoghurt
250g semolina
2 tsp baking powder
200g shelled raw pistachios, ground in a food processor

Syrup
1 cup water
1 1/2 cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon
few drops of orange blossom water

To serve
mascarpone icing sugar (I stirred the icing sugar into the mascarpone rather than dusting the cake with it)

Preheat the oven to 165C. Grease a 22cm round cake tin and line it with baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, with the zest and yoghurt and slowly beat together. Sift the semolina with the baking powder and gently fold into the mixture with the pistachio nuts. Bake for 40-50 minutes (it took an hour for me for the cake to cook) Leave to cool in the tin.To make the syrup, boil the first three ingredients together for 1 minute. I also added some lemon and orange zest. Remove from the heat and stir in a few drops of orange blossom water to taste (be careful, it has a strong flavour and can end up tasting like soap if you use too much!).Remove the cake from the tin and place on a plate. Pour the hot syrup over the cool cake and leave it to soak in. Dust with icing sugar, if desired, and serve with mascarpone. This cake will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container but is best eaten on the day it is made.

coq au vin

2011-05-10T08:05:00.002+12:00

I love autumn, when the cold weather is still a novelty rather than an uncomfortable annoyance, and comfort food reigns supreme. One of the wintery dinners we have enjoyed lately is Coq au Vin, such a classic but for good reason, it is so delicious. I based mine on Tina's recipe, but with drums instead of thighs; I like to cook this really slowly so the meat falls off the bone, and although I love thighs for most things, when slow cooked they can go a bit stringy. Drumsticks are often really cheap too, so are great to cook for a crowd.

If I make this in advance I will often pull the meat off the bone after the initial cook, which makes it easier eating after you reheat to serve. Making it in advance lets the fat settle on top too, so you can scoop it off easily, plus the flavours are so much better after some fridge time. Like anything with a rich wine-y sauce, this dish demands a lovely big pile of mashed potato or something similarly starchy to soak up all the beautiful sauce.

Coq au Vin

2 tbsp each of olive oil and butter
100g bacon, diced
pickling onions, peeled (12 or as you like..)
button mushrooms (12 or as you like...)
8 pieces chicken
flour seasoned with s and p

1.5 c red wine
1 c chicken stock
4 tbsp brandy
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
sprigs fresh thyme, rosemary, parsley
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp tomato paste
chopped Italian parsley to serve

Heat butter and oil and cook the bacon, onions and mushrooms, until the mushrooms brown and the onions start to go translucent. Remove with a slotted spoon and put aside. Dust the chicken in the seasoned flour, then fry, you may need to add more oil and butter. Once browned, return the vegetables to the pan, and add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook at 160c for 1.5- 2hours or until the meat falls off the bone. I like to leave it overnight, then skim off the fat and reheat, thickening the sauce at the last minute with a little arrowroot.

a few of our favourite things

2011-05-09T08:25:00.001+12:00

Miriam & Becky: We had a LWD reunion in Papamoa this weekend. We loved the sushi which we enjoyed at a wee place "Sushi Takeaway" in Tauranga (109 Devonport Road, at the top end near Farmers). Despite the name they do have tables, some on the street. The sushi was all beautifully presented in huge glass cabinets, with lots of interesting combinations to choose from. We selected our own platter and shared a rice ball, tempura prawn, teriyaki chicken, roasted mushroom with sping onion and eggplant and toasted sesame. We were so taken with it we had to go back for more (pieces with calamari, roasted asparagus, chilli pork, yum!)

Another culinary highlight was a vist to the Good Food Trading Co which is a Nosh/Moore Wilson Fresh type store in the industrial area between Tauranga and the Mount. We had a lovely browse here, and picked up a delicious tiramisu for pudding among other things, and went back for a take away coffee and brioche the next day.

Thursday baking - fruit of passion

2011-05-05T08:00:00.001+12:00

My parents have an abundance of passion fruit from their vine. While at home for Easter, I thought I'd turn some of them into curd. This lead to a lengthy debate re seeds in or out. I'm not adverse to passion fruit seeds when eating the fruit fresh, but sometimes I've noticed that in cooking, the seeds can separate from the juice sac that surrounds it, and rather than sliding down ones throat you often bite inot the seeds, which can be somewhat unpleasant.

However, I've strained the seeds before when making icing, and feel this has compromised the flavour. Following a discussion with Mum, a phone call to Becky and a google search, I decided on a method that would give me the best of both worlds.

I heated the passion fruit pulp in a pot (which helped to separated the seeds and juice sac), let it sit of 5 mins, then sieved the pulp to exclude the seeds. I then used this recipe to make the curd.

I divided the finished curd between several containers, and as a bit of an experiment, I added some extra fresh passionfruit (seeds and all to one batch). My conclusion is I prefer the seedless variety, as it still has a great passionfruit hit.

I used the curd on toast, mixed through cream and yoghurt and served with meringue as a desert, and as a centre for lemon yoghurt cupcakes. Delicious!

wedges

2011-05-04T08:30:00.000+12:00

It's feeling like winter, so bring on the root vegetables. These wedges are an Alison Holst standby our family has made for years. I think the key to getting crunchy wedges is to try and leave them alone if you can, give them at least half an hour before going near them with a fish slice, and maybe turn them once or twice after that. Then it gives the potatoes a chance to form a decent crust on the bottom. I'm not sure how Alison struck on the 'sinfully rich' title, as the ingredients list isn't too naughty. The inclusion of butter is definitely a good thing, and with the combo of spices I guess they are leaning a bit to the Mexican side of things - far superior to a Hot Bandito though (!) At any rate, SR wedges are really tasty, try them.

sinfully rich potato wedges - for 4

8-ish large potatoes

25g butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp chilli

Preheat the oven to 200c. Scrub the potatoes and cut into wedges. Melt the butter in the roasting tray, add the oil and spices to it and mix well to make a paste. Add the potato wedges and toss well to coat. Roast for an hour or so until crisp.

busy people's bread

2011-05-03T08:00:00.000+12:00

I started making kumara, carrot and ginger soup for lunch on Sunday, and then realised we didn't have any bread to go with it. Rather than go the the shop, I tried out Annabel Langbein's 'busy people's bread'. In not much more than an hour you can have a lovely wholesome loaf of bread. I must say, mine was a bit sunken in the middle, but it was still delicious and went perfectly with the soup. Next time I will try to put the pumpkin seeds on the bottom and up the side of the tin before adding the dough, so the whole loaf will be covered in them.

Busy people's bread - Annabel Langbein
Makes 2 loaves (I 1/2 the recipe)

2 cups boiling water
4 tsp honey
2 cups cold water
7 tsp dry yeast granules
2 3/4 cups high grade white flour
2 3/4 cups wholemeal flour
3 tsp salt
2 cups sunflower seeds
4 tbsp pumpkins seeds

Preheat oven to 80C and grease and line 2 25 x 10 cm loaf tins with baking paper. In a large bowl, mix the boiling water with the honey to dissolve. Add the cold water and yeast and put to one side for 10 minutes.

Whisk the yeast mixture and then add the white and wholemeal flour, salt and sunflower seeds and mix with a large spoon until evenly combined, it will be a loose, wet batter.

Divide the mixture between prepared loaf tins, spread evenly and flatten the top. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds over the top of each loaf and run a sharp knife through the top of each loaf in at least 3 or 4 places so that it rises evenly without splitting. Bake for 20 minutes at 80C and then turn the oven up to 210C and bake for a further 40 minutes. When cooked the loves will sound hollow when tapped. Turn out of the tins while still hot. Eat still warm from the oven, or leave to cool (as the instructions recommend), or use as toast for several days.