A few of our favourite things...

Becs: A few of my favourite things feature in the picture above - homemade oat crackers and quince paste, crisp new seasons apples and Mainland Vintage Cheddar. This cheese has been matured for a couple of years and has the delicious sharp tang and crumbly texture to prove it. It gives the pricey posh waxed cheddars in the specialty cheese bar a run for their money; this one is found with the block cheese and goes for about $10 for half a kilo, a bargain for the quality I reckon.

Daisy enjoyed a trip out to the Dunsandel Store for lunch today, where she found an enormous apple under the tree outside and proceeded to alternately nibble it and chase it around the floor of the cafe... and we all love her cool pants that arrived in the post from Aunty Libby last week, found at a pop-up shop in Wellington. Libby: More often than not, I use plain old Maggi powdered stock for cooking but when a recipe calls "best-quality" stock I like to use these fresh stocks from Foundation Foods. At $3.60 for a 500ml pouch, it's reasonably-priced given it's of homemade quality. Foundation Foods are a Christchurch-based company and their website doesn't seem to be working so I hope they're OK post-earthquake. Moore Wilson's chiller seemed to be well-stocked(!) with Foundation Food products on the weekend so that's a good sign. Call 0508 STOCKS to find a stockist near you.

Miriam: This weekend marks the end of daylight savings. This lovely tree (it's not a liquid amber, but I think it's something similar) in our garden is a constant reminder of the change of season, as each day the leaves turn slightly more yellow. The shorter and colder days can be slightly depressing. So in an exercise in positive psychology, I've made a list of all my favourite things about the colder months. Here's what I've come up with to date; please feel free to add to the list:

• crumbles, sticky date and self saucing puddings


• mulled wine


• cosy fires


• boots & scarves


• the crisp morning air & lovely golden late afternoon sunlight


• crunchy autumn leaves


• fejoas & passionfruit


• posh porridge!

Dinner date - Asian broth

Last week, I had dinner at my friend Lucy’s house. She’d just come back from holiday and after overindulging, decided to start a ‘HER’(Healthy Eating Regime). So, in keeping with her HER, Lucy rustled up a delicious Asian Broth. There wasn’t a recipe as such, but the basic components were; Campbell’s chicken stock, garlic, ginger, chilli, lemon and oyster sauce all boiled together. Throw in some veges; like bok choy, red peppers, and snow peas. Lucy then added some prawns and Leanne's Kitchen chicken and prawn dumplings , which were great (I guess you could alternatively make this with any meat and noodles). Toss some bean sprouts in at the end and dish into bowls, garnish with coriander and a wedge of lime or lemon. A healthy, nutritious and delicious dinner date!