A few of our favourite things

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.

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.

Dinner date - Red lentil, kumara and coconut soup

This soup from the latest Dish magazine (August-September) combines kumara, apple, lentils and tomato in a spicy, coconuty soup. I was in two minds about whether to add the apple the recipe called for because kumara, red lentil and coconut alone sounded like a good mix. In the end I used one apple but don't think it really added anything other than an odd sweet mouthful among the coconut and curry. I think the apple is just one ingredient too many. Next time, I'm going to leave out the apple and halve the amount of chicken stock to make this a curry to have with rice.

3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp mustard seeds
salt
2 teaspoons madras curry powder
1 tin crushed tomatoes
400g (1 large or 2 small) kumara, peeled & diced
2 apples, peeled, cored & diced (I added one)
1/2 cup coconut cream
4 cups chicken stock
3/4 cups red lentils

To serve:
chopped fresh coriander
toasted long-thread coconut (completely optional, coconut-haters can leave out)
extra coconut cream

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add onion, carrot garlic and a good pinch of salt. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender.

Add ginger, mustard seeds and curry powder. Cook for two minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, season and simmer (partially covered) for 20-25 mins until the kumara is tender.

Before serving, stir in chopped coriander. Ladle into bowls and top with a little coconut cream, toasted coconut and more coriander.

A few of our favourite things...

Miriam: Somehow this week, I hadn't given any thought to what my 'favourite thing' would be... so with the deadline fast approaching, I found inspiration in my handbag, in the form of an envirosax. The nifty bags are sturdy (but light), comfortable to carry and fold into a compact wee package perfect for popping in your handbag - I seem to find a use for mine on an almost daily basis. They also make great gifts!

Libby: I love walnuts in all their sweet and savoury applications - lightly toasted and sprinkled on salads, tossed through pasta, in cakes, stuffed inside fresh dates and atop afghans... After making the mistake of buying imported walnuts and finding them bitter and rancid I stick to NZ grown walnuts. These KerNelZ nuts from A Cracker of a Nut are consistently good. I store them in the freezer to keep them fresh and "toast" a small handful directly from frozen in the microwave (two minutes on medium power) as needed.

Becs: I love this Bay of Plenty Asparagus and Spinach Soup with fresh cream from the Naked Locals range. Usually I get bored eating a whole bowl of pureed soup, preferring those with more texture, but this soup is lovely. Restaurant quality I reckon, and perfectly seasoned, unlike most bought soups that are heavily salted. Sarah (the nutritionist) was horrified at the fat content, but then we discovered that the nutrition panel strangely states one pack to be a serving...hmmm I don't think I could put away half a litre of soup!

sunday supper

Another guest appearance from Sarah...

Miriam was down in Christchurch for the weekend and after an afternoon trawling the shops we were all in need of some sustenance. I decided to make a pot of Mexican spiced tomato soup and a batch of cheese scones to go on the side. The soup is based on a Sophie Gray recipe from her book Enjoy, as are the scones. It is very simple and makes a tasty weekend meal. I used to make it frequently for my flat during the cold Dunedin winters. The meat eaters in the house added some fried Italian pork sausage to their bowl.

Last summer I worked in a café in Wellington. After receiving numerous requests from customers, I began making cheese scones. These proved hugely popular and in the end I was making dozens of batches a day. They are very easy and delicious warm from the oven with butter. This time I put some of Becs’ homemade tomato chili jam on top of the scones before baking, which was tasty.

Best-ever Cheese Scones

2 cups self raising flour, 2 cups grated cheese, plus extra for sprinkling (I used a mixture of Colby and Parmesan), pinch salt, 1¼ cups milk

Preheat oven to 200^oC

Mix together flour and cheese. Add milk and mix until just combined. Shape, place on a tray and sprinkle with extra cheese. (I sometimes put a dollop of chutney or pesto on top as well). Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until well risen and crusty.

Mexican spiced tomato soup

2 tbsp olive oil, 2 onions, finely chopped, 1 cup celery, finely chopped, 2 carrots, finely chopped, 3 gloves garlic, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp oregano, 2 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 2 tins chopped tomatoes, 6 cups beef stock, 1/3 cup tomato paste, 1½ cups red lentils, 2 tbsp brown sugar

Optional - Italian pork sausages, 1 per person (Split the skins and squeeze out the meat. Crumble into small pieces and fry in a pan.)

Sauté onions, celery, carrots and garlic in oil until soft. Combine cumin, chili, oregano, sugar and salt and stir into pot. Add tomatoes, stock, tomato paste, lentils and brown sugar. Bring to the boil and stir, then reduce the temperature and simmer for 40 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley.