hawaiian crepes

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!

A few of our favourite things...

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 few of our favourite things...

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 - scottish oatcakes

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.

A few of our favourite things...

Libby: When I stayed with my friend Rebecca in France last year she cooked delicious osso bucco in a beautiful heavy cast iron Staub pan. I wanted on but there was no way I could bring one home with me (I estimate they weigh upwards of 5kg). I looked into buying one once home and found they were in the region of $500-600 NZD! So I checked out the Peter's of Kensington website - a fantastic kitchen/homeware store in Sydney with super-discounted prices - and found this lovely green cocette for under $200 NZD. I ordered it, had it sent to a friend in Sydney and collected it when there last week. The green was much cheaper than any other colour but I love it - I think of it as "feijoa" green!

Becs: I love these packs of Mainland sliced swiss cheese. I know it's not quite gruyere but it has a similar sweet nutty taste and melts beautifully. Perfect in a simple grilled cheese sandwich, one of my favourite lazy meals. I have been craving French onion soup since our dinner at Plum Kitchen last week, so made some to eat over the Easter weekend (which has been unseasonably hot here in Christchurch so not ideal for such comfort food, but it was enjoyed none the less!)

Miriam: It's been a mostly cold and wet Easter weekend at my parents place in Rotorua. The indoor weather meant had time to re-discover the website www.ted.com. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) markets itself as Ideas worth spreading: Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world. I've enjoyed many talks over the past few days on a variety of topics and there's many more I still want to watch. If you have a spare 21 minutes I'd recommend JK Rowling's speech at Harvard graduation ceremony on 'The fringe benefits of failure'. It's a nice way to put life in perspective.

thursday baking - ham and pesto pinwheel scones

Something savoury today...these pinwheel scones were made on NZ's Hottest Home Baker by Catherine last week. Even the snide Dean Brettschnieder (Global Baker!) seemed rather taken with them, which is no mean feat. At any rate, we all loved them. They were definitely best eaten within an hour or two of baking while the scone and cheese was deliciously crunchy. I used Barry's Bay smoked cheese, which explains the orange hue in the picture below... These pinwheels will definitely be added to my regularly-made savoury scone repertoire, along with the all-time favourites of potato scones and best ever cheese scones.

ham and pesto pinwheel scones

3c flour
4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
50g butter
1/2 c grated cheese
1 c milk
1/2 c chopped smoked chicken/ham/bacon etc
125g cream cheese
3 tbsp pesto
1 red pepper, diced
1/3 c pinenuts or cashew pieces, toasted
1/2-1c grated cheese
milk to glaze

Preheat oven to 220c. Combine flour, bp and salt. Rub in butter, then add the cheese. Make a well in middle and pour in the milk, mixing gently with a knife. Roll out into a large rectangle on a heavily floured bench. Spread with the cream cheese, then the pesto. Top with other filling ingredients. Roll up tightly, then cut into 2cm slices with a serrated knife. (I got 16 out of mine). Brush with milk and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Thursday baking - bran biscuits

As we bake our way through A Treasury of NZ Baking...

Something savoury this week....I love a good oat biscuit with cheese, so thought I would try these bran biscuits to see how they stacked up. They are quick to make, and so much nicer than crackers you can buy. The mixture was really dry, there didn't seem to be nearly enough liquid to dry ingredients, so I added at least 1/4 c milk to make a dough.

They were quite nice, great for a filling (fibre rich!) mid morning or afternoon snack topped with some aged cheddar and quince paste. I think I prefer the texture of oat biscuits to the bran ones though, and will post my favourite recipe for these next time I make a batch.

bran biscuits (Amanda Laird) - week 18

100g butter, softened
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 c bran
1/2 c wholemeal flour
1 c self raising flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 180c

Cream the butter and sugar until pale, add the egg and beat well. Stir in the combined dry ingredients, then tip onto a floured surface and knead lightly. (I had to add milk at this stage).

Roll out and cut into rounds, 5mm thick. Bake on a greased or lined tray for about 20 minutes. (I turned the biscuits over half way through so they browned evenly).