a few of our favourite things

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.

a few of our favourite things...

Becs: My favourite vanilla brand is Heilala. Their extract is packaged with a vanilla bean in the bottle, which is a nice bonus once the extract has been used up. They also make a vanilla bean paste which is a handy product when you want the flecks of the vanilla seeds but not the hassle of scooping them out with a knife. I was most excited to buy a Heilala package (3 bottles of extract and a jar of paste) on Trade me last week for $50, usually these are around $20 each. Sadly this was a one off sale, but should keep us in vanilla for a while...

Libby: Pic's Really Good Peanut Butter really is the best peanut butter - it's just ground roasted peanuts with a bit of salt. Becs introduced me to it when she bought some a few years ago at the Nelson Market. At the time the Nelson Market (and the Pic's website) was the only place it was sold. It's now reasonably widely available and this morning I saw it for sale at Wellington's Harbourside Market. But its still slightly cheaper (and very convenient) to buy it from their website. It's $18 for the big 1kg jar including courier.

Miriam: Meringues have long been one of my favourite sweet treats. On Saturday, Becky, Daisy, Hiedee and I dined at the Raspberry Cafe in Tai Tapu, Christchurch. We shared this elaborate dessert, crunchy meringue topped with whipped cream & the last of the seasons sweet strawberries. Yum!