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dinner date - buckwheat, eggplant and tomato salad

A few weeks ago I went to a cooking demonstration by Julie Le Clerc, promoting her new book Made By Hand. Unfortunately two of the three dishes she made contained ingredients that weren't to my liking (a salmon terrine and berry & coconut cakes). I was feeling a little anti her book after this, but now that I've had a chance to look through it, there are many other recipies that are to my liking! The other recipe she demonstrated was buckwheat, eggplant and tomato salad. There is nothing technically complicated about this salad that required a demonstration, but the fact that I'd seen it made before did prompt me to make it one night when I was just cooking dinner for myself.

I've never used buckwheat before, but I will be using it again. It has a lovely slightly nutty flavour and a great texture. I think it will become a bit of a staple for my summer salads - this would be a great salad to take to work for lunch.

I modified the recipe slightly, leaving out the garlic as I always find raw garlic a bit overpowering. I also omitted the feta as I didn't have any, but I would certainly put this in the salad if you can. I added some grilled asparagus also, which went nicely with all the flavours.

Buckwheat, eggplant and tomato salad
1 large eggplant, cut into large cubes
olive oil
salt and pepper
8 small vine-ripened tomatoes
1 cup wholegrain buckwheat
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
juice of 2 lemons
100g feta or goat's cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 200C. Roast eggplant tossed with olive oil and salt & pepper in oven until golden brown. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil, season with salt & pepper and roast for around 10-15mins until the look good. Remove eggplant and tomatoes from oven and cool.

At the same time, cook the buckwheat in boiling water for 6 minutes or until tender to bite. Drain well and set aside.

Place eggplant, buckwheat, garlic, basil and parsley in a bowl. Add lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and toss well. Serve topped with baked tomatoes and crumbled feta or goat's cheese.

a few of our favourite things...

Becs: When Miriam was in town last week we took a drive out to the Little River Cafe and Store for coffee and a sweet treat. They make the most divine cheesecake brownie, and this time we also sampled their delicious tan square. The attached gallery stocks a great range of NZ art, and the rather old fashioned craft station next door is always good for a browse too; this time I picked up a cute pair of pink polka dot hairties for Daisy and a dozen homegrown tomato seedlings.

Libby: I spent a couple of days in Canberra this week for work. It's not the most vibrant of cities and I'm yet to meet anyone who's been there for anything other than a meeting or a conference but it does have one thing going for it: an excellent bakery. Silo bakery is tucked away in a suburban shopping centre in the residential area of Kingston. I stopped in for a delicious breakfast of raisin toast and fruit salad (so much better than a hotel buffet breakfast) and picked a wee treat for later. Silo make the loveliest tarts and with combinations like banana & caramel, passionfruit & mascarpone and date & ginger it was a tough choice... until I spotted a tart containing my most favourite of dried fruits... prunes!

Miriam: It was my birthday on Wednesday. I was most excited when a courier box arrived at work. Protected by layers of bubble wrap and surrounded in ice packs, were these delicious custard squares from Third Place Cafe in Rotorua. Mum had iced (using her own strawberry icing) and packaged these to deliver her birthday wishes. Such a lovely treat!

Along with custard squares for morning tea, my workmates presented me with this berry cheesecake.

I consider "The Intern" a term of endearment, reflective of the importance of my role, perhaps in a similar league to The Queen, or The President!

thursday baking - lemon, lime and poppyseed syrup cake

I love the Meyer lemons that are around at the moment - lovely and juicy with bright yellow zest - the perfect lemon for baking with. They were on special at the supermaket last week so I bought a bowlful (I don't have my own lemon tree, sadly) and made these loaves. The recipe says to use a ring tin but I made these cute wee loaves. I had intentions of freezing some but they were so yummy they all got eaten before they made it to the freezer.

The addition of lime made these little loaves especially tangy - I'm going to try using a mix of lemon and lime next time I make my favourite lemon yoghurt cake (Alison Holst's recipe) as although delicious, this recipe didn't have the keeping qualities of the Alison Holst recipe. This surprised me as I expected drowning the little loaves in syrup would have kept them moist but instead they were showing their age after a couple of days.

Lemon, lime and poppyseed syrup cake - Catherine Bell -Week 27

Cake

125g butter, softened

2 tsp finely grated lime zest

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

250g castor sugar

3 eggs

200g flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp poppy seeds

100ml natural yoghurt

Syrup

3 tbsp lime juice

3 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp castor sugar

Preheat oven to 180c. Place butter, lime and lemon zest in bowl of cake mixer and blend well until light and creamy. Add sugar gradually, beating well after every addition. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Combine the flour, bp and seeds and fold into the butter, alternating with the yoghurt. Spoon into a greased and lined 4-cup capacity ring (or bundt) tin. Bake 30-35 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow cake to stand in tin for 5 mins, then turn onto a rack.

To make the syrup combine all ingredients in a small pan, simmer, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved, then boil for 3 minutes without stirring. Poke holes all over cake with a skewer or fork, and pour syrup over the hot cake. Serve warm or cold with dollops of yoghurt.

dinner date - fig and goat's cheese tart

This tart was inspired by the goat's cheese frittata with port and black pepper caramelised figs on Nessie's blog. I made it for dinner last Sunday night for our first dinner back at home after two months away. It was probably a little ambitious for a "first dinner" given all the steps involved: making the pastry, chilling it and baking it blind, preparing the figs, caramelising the onions, and roasting the potatoes, then assembling it all... it took several hours from start to finish, (including chilling time for the pastry) and by the time I slipped it into the oven I was exhausted. So exhausted that it wasn't until the tart was nearly cooked that I noticed the goat's cheese still sitting on the bench! So it had to be crumbled on top at the end instead.

I didn't even notice the lack of cheese when I took this photo before baking:

Next time I make this I'll use less figs (maybe 50g) or leave out the caramelised onions. For the quantity of eggs/cream I used there was too much sweetness from the figs and onions combined. It tasted a little bit like dessert rather than the main course!

Here are some rough instructions:

Line a rectangular tart tin with your favourite homemade pastry (or bought pastry to save time). Bake blind for 15 minutes then remove blind-baking material and leave to cool.

Prepare your figs - I used Nessie's recipe and used red wine instead of port. Half the recipe will be plenty, especially if using caramelised onions too.

Caramelise 2-3 onions or use the bought stuff.

Peel and cube 2-3 potatoes (I used Agrias because I love them). Roast in a little oil for 20-30 mins at 200 degrees Celsius or until cooked through.

Beat 2 eggs with 2 tablespoons of cream and season with S&P and a little thyme.

Crumble 60g of soft goat's cheese.

Now assemble - place the figs, onions, potato and cheese into the prepared tart case, pour over the egg mixture and bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

If you can, leave to cool for half an hour before eating. I couldn't - it was nearly 9pm by the time my tart came out of the oven! We ate the tart with a few green leaves mixed with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil which was a suitably plain accompaniment for a tart which perhaps had a few too many ingredients crammed into it!

thursday baking - chocolate, raspberry & coconut slice

As we bake our way through A Treasury of New Zealand Baking

This post comes from our newest Thursday Baker - Jessica.

As a long-time fan of Louise Cake, I was keen to try this version of the traditional slice which has the addition of cocoa in the shortcake base, and grated chocolate in the meringue mixture. Unlike Miriam, I am also a lover of all things coconutty, especially when paired with chocolate (I've been known to eat a disgustingly-large amount of Whittakers coconut rough in one sitting) so was interested to see if this was a baking revelation.

I found the lay-out of this recipe a little confusing and almost misread it and put an entire cup of sugar in the base mixture. I have amended it below to have sugar listed twice, with the first measure to be added to the base and the second to the meringue topping. The original recipe also suggested using 3/4 of a cup of raspberry jam. I thought this sounded a little excessive given the sweetness of the other parts of the slice and so reduced it to 1/2 cup, which I thought was more than ample, and in fact would probably reduce it even further in future.

Chocolate, Raspberry & Coconut Slice, Fiona Smith Week 27
125g butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs separated

1 1/2 cups standard flour

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup raspberry jam

1/2 cup sugar

100g chocolate, grated

1/2 cup long-thread coconut (I toasted this in a pan first as I always think it makes it taste nicer, especially if it's been in your cupboard for a while)

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Grease an 18 x 28cm tin and line with baking paper. Cream the butter and first measure of sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder together and mix into the creamed mixture. Spread into a prepared tin. Top with raspberry jam.Beat the egg whites to soft peaks, then slowly beat in the second measure of sugar and then beat until stiff. Fold in the grated chocolate and coconut. Spread this mixture over the jam. Bake for 30minutes, or until the meringue is golden and firm. Cool and slice in the tin. Store in an airtight container for 3 days.

I decided to compare this recipe to my trusty old Louise Cake recipe, courtesy of the Edmonds cookbook. The basic recipe was actually identical other than having 1/2 a cup more flour in the base and 3/4 of a cup more coconut in the meringue. I think if I was to make this recipe again I would use the Edmonds quantities of flour and coconut, as I think this would have resulted in a less crumbly base and a more prominent coconut flavour. Also, I'm not sure the additional hassle of grating chocolate for the meringue was worth the effort, however I did like the chocolatey taste of the base. All in all, I'm not sure I'm a convert to this new recipe. Although quite delicious, I think I'll be sticking to the traditional Louise Cake in the future.

dinner date - spaghetti with crispy crumbs

This is one of our favourite standby dinners. Quick and easy and really delicious. Spaghetti tossed with crispy bacon, sliced semi dried tomatoes, roughly chopped Italian parsley, baby spinach leaves, freshly grated parmesan and the best part, crispy, garlicky breadcrumbs. These crumbs give the pasta the most amazing texture, and really make this dish.

To cook the crumbs, just heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add a few sliced garlic cloves and cook gently, you don't want it to fry and burn, it's more about allowing time for the garlicky flavour to mellow and blend into the oil. Add a cup or two of coarse fresh (homemade) breadcrumbs and toss to coat in the oil, stir them regularly over a low heat until they turn golden and crispy.

It's lovely too if you add a couple of anchovies with the garlic too, smushing them up into the oil; they don't taste at all fishy, rather they add another layer of savoury saltiness. These crumbs are spectacular over pasta with finely chopped broccoli, lemon zest, a little chopped red chilli and some grated parmesan.

A few of our favourite things...

Becs: I have been making the most of fresh lemons by making old fashioned lemonade. Just combine 200ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6-8 lemons) along with the finely grated lemon zest, 2 1/2 c sugar, 500 ml boiling water and 1 tsp citric acid. Heat until the sugar dissolves, then pour into bottles and refrigerate. This makes enough to fill a large preserving jar plus some. Pour the syrup over ice, fresh mint and lemon slices, and top up with still or sparkling water - a ratio of 1:6 suits me.

Miriam: Thanks to my brother David doing a trial at work on avocados and my friend Bridget scaling her neighbours avocado tree, we have an abundance of these delicious fruit. Guacamole, mashed avocado on Vogels and burgers with avocado will be the menu at my place for the next few weeks!

Libby: We spent a few days in Thailand on our way home last week and while there tried a banana "pancake" - a thinly stretched roti filled with a beaten egg and chopped banana, fried until crispy on the outside and cooked in the middle, sliced into little squares and drizzled with condensed milk! Roti Chenai in Wellington have a banana roti listed on their menu which I have never ordered but wonder if its similar. I am long overdue for a visit to Roti Chenai so will investigate in the coming weeks. I ate my banana pancake before a photo could be taken but you can see how they're made here:

thursday baking - cheese muffins

This was the second time I made these little muffins. The first time I made them in a hurry to take as a plate to Playcentre, where, it would be fair to say, they didn't exactly bring the house down. I thought it might be nice to have something savoury for a change, but they were well and truly trumped by the chocolate weet-bix slice that someone else brought along. I ate quite a few to make a dent in them, so as not to have to take home an embarrassingly large tinful!

Anyway, despite their humble appearance they are tasty little muffins. Light and soft in the middle, with a crunchy, cheesy crust, and not as rich as my usual cheese muffin recipe. I left half plain, with just cheese, and to the other half of the batter added a tablespoon of basil pesto and tomato chilli jam. These would be delicious made as larger muffins to serve with soup.

I flagged the melted brie bit, but guess it would be nice if eating them with drinks, although I am not a huge fan of melted brie, finding it a bit greasy. Daisy very happily munched her way through one for morning tea, taking an impossibly long time to eat one mini muffin but enjoying it all the same! Next time I make them I will add some grated veges and freeze them for her snacks.

cheese muffins with melted brie - Kathy Paterson - Week 26

2 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 c grated tasty cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c oil (I used rice bran)
1 1/2 c milk
200g Camembert or brie, cut into even sized pieces

Preheat oven to 220c. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cheese. In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients, and add to dry, mixing just enough to combine. Spoon into greased mini muffin tins. bake for 10-12 minutes. If using the brie, make a small split and place a piece of brie in it. Bake till cheese has melted and serve hot.

dinner date - Vietnamese chicken salad

Ok so sadly this post is coming to you from Christchurch not Vietnam...however the fresh flavours of this salad are perfect for spring when you are over casseroles and other rib-sticking dinners. The recipe is a bit vague, just make it up as you go along, depending on what you have in the fridge and how many you have to feed. I think one chicken thigh per person is plenty but suit yourself.

The dressing is fantastic, make a jar up at a time, it will keep forever in the fridge, and just needs to be diluted to serve. Use it as a dipping sauce with fresh spring rolls too.

The crispy fried shallots can be bought at Asian supermarkets, they are cheap as and addictive. Possibly not very PC (hmmm not really loving that palm oil...) but so tasty, adding a sweet crunch to this salad. This salad is all about texture so the crunchy mung bean sprouts, nuts and shallots are essential!

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

chicken thighs

vermicelli noodles

mung bean sprouts

cucumber, deseeded and julienned

red pepper

carrots

fresh mint and coriander

peanuts, roasted and chopped

crispy fried shallots

dressing

1-2 red chillis, finely chopped

1 tbsp white or wine vinegar

1/2 c fish sauce

1/4 c fresh lime juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c sugar

Poach the chicken thighs by placing in a roasting dish, covering with water and baking at 180c for about twenty minutes or until the juices run clear when pierced with a knife. Cool and shred.

Blend all dressing ingredients in bowl, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Store in a jar in the fridge. Dilute with one part dressing to one part water before serving.

Toss chicken through the cooked noodles with the prepped veges of your choice. If I use carrots and red peppers I blanch them in boiling water for 30 seconds or so just to make them a bit easier to eat. Toss through with dressing to taste.

Serve bowls of fresh mint, chopped peanuts, crispy shallots and extra dressing on the table for people to add as they like.