Thinking About Food

Fruit sponge pudding

2011-05-01T14:35:00.001-11:00

This is a quick and easy dessert for a cool evening which you can use with any kind of seasonal fruit. Apples work particularly well, I sometimes add some frozen berries to it or at the moment you could make it with apple and feijoas. The recipe comes from Annabel Langbein -

I tend to use apples alot more these days ever since investing in my trusty apple peeler.
This little kitchen gadget has been a great find, my neighbour introduced me to it and I have since bought my own and several more as gifts. It is definitely NOT one of those use once and fling to the back of the cupboard gadgets. I use this regularly and it has been fantastic as a dessert substitute, my daughter will now happily eat an apple 'slinky' at the end of a meal!
Making stewed apple becomes a breeze too, this little machine peels, cores and slices in a flash so processing mass quantities of apples is effortless. I have seen them available in kitchen shops but I got mine online from:
http://www.ezipeelers.co.nz/index.html

Old Fashioned Fruit Sponge

2-3 cups sweetened fruit
2 eggs
2 heaped tbsp sugar
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 190C. Place fruit in a shallow baking dish and place in oven while preparing sponge. Beat eggs and sugar until very thick and creamy. Lightly fold in flour and baking powder. Pour over hot fruit. Bake for 30 mins or until golden. Serve with cream or ice-cream. Serves 4-6.

Slow cooker chocolate custards

2011-04-28T14:14:00.000-11:00

I don't often make desserts in the slow cooker but this one looked so easy I had to give it a go. Making baked custards really works in a slow cooker as it is excellent for giving the slow gentle heat needed. These only take an hour too, which means yet again it is way more economical to make these in the slow cooker rather than the oven. It is also ideal as it makes just 4 servings, just enough for an indulgent treat with no tempting leftovers! Again this comes from the Simon and Alison Holst slow cooker book.....

If you use your slow cooker alot I would definitely recommend owning both of their books.

Rich Chocolate Custards

80g dark cooking chocolate, broken into squares
1 cup low fat evaporated milk
2tbsp sugar
2 tsp instant coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Turn slow cooker to high to preheat it. Warm a medium pot over a very low heat on a stove and add the chocolate. Once it starts to melt, add the evaporated milk, sugar coffee and vanilla extract. Keep the heat very low and whisk or stir until the chocolate is completely melted, then take off the heat.
While the mixture cools down, prepare 4 1/2 cup ramekins by spraying with non stick spray. Break the eggs into the warm but not hot chocolate mixture and beat with a whisk until well blended, then pour the mixture through a sieve into a jug, and from the jug into the individual containers.

Turn the slow cooker to low and carefully place the filled containers in it. Pour hot, almost boiling water into the cooker until it comes 3/4 of the way up the sides of the ramekins. (I placed mine on jam jar lids to diffuse the heat more). Cover and cook for about 1 hour or until the centres of the custards feel firm when jiggled slightly.

Lift out the custards, allow to cool, then cover with cling film and refrigerate. To serve, loosen the edge of each with a thin sharp knife and invert onto a flat plate. I decided to brulee mine, so didn't refrigerate them, leaving them to get to room temperature before using my trusty gas torch to create a yummy crackly caramel top.

Beef and Beer Casserole

2011-04-24T14:12:00.001-11:00

Slow cookers are the bees knees when it comes to casseroles. They really do produce something quite fabulous without the expense of running your oven all day. I use to think casseroles were for the uninspired but have come to seriously appreciate the flavour and comfort that a well made casserole can offer. Of course there are so many variations, and my usual quandry is do I go with a beer base or red wine base- this time it is the beer base because it works so darned well with the cheesey cobbler topping that I often use to spin this out, serve it one night with mash and vege, the next night in individual dishes with the cobbler topping. This option is great for the freezer as you can freeze in individual portions and have a great meal in minutes when you don't feel like cooking. Or a snack for your teenage boy with the gargantuan appetite!
This recipe comes from Simon and Alison Holst again, from the other slow cooker book I have of theirs..

The cobbler is a modified version of a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe.

Beef and Beer Casserole

For 4-6 serves

700g chuck or other stewing steak
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 rashers bacon, chopped
2 tsp oil
1 1/2 c beer
1 tbsp golden syrup or treacle
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt

Turn the slow cooker onto high and coat with non stick spray. Cut the meat into 2cm cubes, discarding fat but leaving the connective tissue, since it tenderises as it cooks. Place it in the slow cooker.
Lightly brown the onions, garlic and bacon in the oil in a large frypan for 5 minutes. Meantime, put the remaining ingredients in with the meat. Add the pan contents when ready, stir everything together then put on the lid.
Turn the heat down to low and cook for 6-8 hours. Taste before serving and add extra salt or brown sugar if necessary. About 15 mins before serving, thicken the liquid with cornflour mixed to a thin paste with water and switch the heat to high.

Cheese Cobbler topping

200g self-raising flour
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp chilled butter, cut into pieces
100g cheddar, grated
1 big handful chives, chopped
2 large eggs
70ml whole milk

Sift the flour and salt, rub in the butter and stir in the cheese and chives. Whisk the eggs and milk, and stir into the flour mix - it should be fairly sloppy. Drop spoonfuls of cobbler dough all over the top of the casserole (you can do this in one large dish or in individual ones, just adjust the cooking time to suit). Brush lightly with more milk and bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes until the cobbler is golden.

Asain style slow cooker pork belly

2011-04-17T10:18:00.001-11:00

Now that daylight savings has finished and the evenings are cooler I am seriously hankering for comfort food. I really love this turn of season time, where lighter, easier cooking makes way for hearty and more involved dishes. The slow cooker gets dusted off at this time of year and for me it is a staple of winter cooking. So much so that I am devoting these next 3 posts to it! I am a sucker for this kind of cooking, the ease in which things are produced, the flavour that results and the fact that often it is cheaper cuts of meat that are best used in this way make me quite enamoured with this one piece of kitchen equipment! I think it is the busy cooks best friend and there is nothing nicer than returning home to the great smell of dinner cooking and the prospect that not a lot needs doing to get dinner on the table.
This meal is one of my favourites. And who doesn't like pork belly???? Even my son who is near phobic about animal fat happily eats this without disecting the hell out of it. Because of the slow cooking process the fat almost blends into the meat making this a delicious melt in the mouth dish.
The recipe comes from this book on slow cooking which I use a lot-
It comes from that trusted pair Simon and Alison Holst and I really recommend it as a bible if you use your slow cooker alot. They have put out two books on slow cooking and I have them both and over winter they get a great deal of use.
I serve this with stir fried veges and some rice with fresh chopped coriander stirred through.

Chinese Simmered Pork Belly

For 4-6 Servings

750g fresh belly pork
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp sherry (I use mirin)
1/4 c water
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp grated ginger root

(I also added 2 tbsp brown sugar, just because I think it works better)

Turn slow cooker on to high. Score rind of pork about 5mm apart. Place meat, skin side up on a folded piece of foil and put into slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients, then turn pork several times to ensure it is coated with the flavourings. Cover and cook for 4-5 hours, turning meat over once or twice during cooking. To serve, lift meat out and place skin side up on a board and cut into slices. Pour spoonfuls of cooking liquid over each serving.

Baked Apples

2011-04-14T10:17:00.000-11:00

These are the most ridiculously easy dessert possible and a great store cupboard favourite of mine. There are all manner of variations one can make - any sort of dried fruit stuffed into them can be substituted and changing things up keeps it interesting. They are a great dessert to make when the oven is already on and require very little preparation, the oven does all the work. My favourite at the moment is dried cranberries which when combined with some sultanas and some orange zest make this seriously yummy. You can also experiment with different sugars, using a dark muscovado sugar with some dates gives a rich dark caramel flavour that works extremely well. You can add to the whole experience by serving with ice cream or a proper vanilla custard, or if you are more virtuous perhaps some greek yoghurt. You can make this as decadent or austere as you like, either way it is a tasty and easy (and cheap) dessert.

Baked Apples

4 apples
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
150g dried fruit (dates, prunes, apricots, cranberries, raisins, sultanas all work well)
1 tsp orange or lemon zest
pinch of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180 C. Soften butter and mix with brown sugar. Add dried fruit, zest and cinnamon, mix to combine. Core apples and fill cavity with fruit mixture. Place apples in oven proof dish and bake for 30-40 mins until soft.

Dual Iced Jam Tart Cupcakes

2011-04-04T10:57:00.002-11:00

Over the course of Glen's illnes I found myself the recipient of much unexpected kindness. A good deal of that kindness came from one of the foodie forums I belong to- Violet's Pantry. A like minded group of people, all serious about cooking, it has transformed from our shared love of food to so much more. The shared interest has extended beyond food and it has become a community which shares celebrations and commiserations, which marks births, marriages and deaths as well as the daily minutiae of life. I have been very grateful for the support I have received from what has become a close knit group.
Much of the kindness has been in the form of moral support, but equally I have found countless parcels coming my way, 'cheer' packages which indeed have helped to raise a smile on days when I have needed it. Alot of them seem to follow the theme of baking, these people know me well! After all, who wouldn't feel a little better after flicking through a book of beautifully baked and decorated goodies?
This book certainly lifted my mood. It is called Love Bakery - Cupcakes from the heart. It is so beautifully put together and showcases everything that I love about cupcakes. Who would have thought you could have so many variations on one small cake- but I am still entranced by the possibilities of flavours and decorations for cupcakes which is why I am still making them. They are still being gratefully received by those who eat them too! These cupcakes were for a good friend of mine's birthday.
This recipe is somewhat standard for a cupcake, differs though from the Hummingbird version in that it is not as sweet, but I think the Hummingbird recipe probably keeps better. The nifty thing about this recipe is the method for filling them, using an apple corer- and then there are all the variations you could make for filling them, in this case it is with strawberry jam, but of course you are limited just by your imagination here. This was a straightforward and delicious recipe that I will be trying again.

Dual Iced Jam Tart Cupcakes

For the cakes:
125g butter
125g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
125g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp milk

For the frosting:
125g butter
250g icing sugar
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp strawberry extract
Red food colouring paste

Strawberry jam to fill
Sugar paste roses or other flowers to top

To make the cakes:
Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake cases. Add the butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract to an electric mixer and beat for 7 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one and mix for 2 minutes. Mix the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl, then add to the mixer until incorporated. Add the milk and mix for a further minute.
Use an icecream scoop to divide the mixture evenly between the cases.
Bake for 25 mins.
Remove baked cupcakes from the oven and immediately transfer to wire rack, leave to cool.

To make the frosting:
Cream the butter in the mixer for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and milk and mix for a further 2 minutes until well blended. (if you want it even lighter add a little more milk).
Divide the frosting in half and spoon into 2 separate bowls. Add the vanilla extract to one bowl and mix well. Add the strawberry extract, if using, to the other bowl. Dip the tip of a small knife into the red food colouring, add to the strawberry frosting and mix well.

To assemble:
Use an apple corer to remove the centre of each cupcake. Fill with a tablespoon of jam and replace the sponge core. (I used a piping bag and piped the jam into each cake, much easier and cleaner!)

Place the vanilla frosting down one side of a large piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pink frosting down the other side. (I place my piping back into a very tall jug to do this, folding the top of the bag over the top of the jug- it helps to keep it steady and makes for easier filling)
Pipe swirls of frosting over top of cupcakes. Decorate with flowers, sprinkles and maybe some edible glitter.

Leek and Feta Pie

2011-03-22T10:02:00.021-11:00

If you are ever in need of something reasonably quick and easy but a little bit special for lunch then this recipe fits the bill. I probably think it is a bit special because it requires making your own pastry, which is not so onerous when you have a food processor. Home made pastry is always so much nicer than store bought, and to be fair is definitely worth the effort. This is perfect served up with a salad and some nice fruity chutney or relish. The recipe comes Delia Smith's How to Cook series, a book that is full of how to advice and recipes for the beginner cook but is also more than useful for the accomplished cook. It has really useful stuff in it like how to cook eggs, and I find myself still referring to it for exact instructions on boiling eggs!!!!
I have found stacks of recipes in this book that have become firm favourites and are more importantly family favourites so get made again and again.
The only problem with Delia's recipes is that they are very long, she likes to give very exact instructions, which is fine and very reassuring for the beginner cook, but when typing out for a blog is a bit of a pain. So I have cut and paste this recipe from her website Deliaonline and included it here- apologies in advance for the length of it!!!!!

Leek and Feta Pie

For the pastry:
1 oz (25 g) firm goats' cheese (rindless)
4 oz (110 g) plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
pinch of salt
1 oz (25 g) softened vegetable fat
1 oz (25 g) softened butter

For the filling:
1 lb 6 oz (625 g) leeks, ie, 12 oz (350 g) trimmed weight (see instructions in the method)
6 oz (175 g) firm goats' cheese (rindless)
½ oz (10 g) butter
3 large eggs, beaten
7 fl oz (200 ml) crème fraîche or double cream
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced, including the green parts
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Method
First sift the flour with the pinch of salt into a large bowl, holding the sieve up high to give it a good airing. Then add the lard and butter and, using only your fingertips, lightly rub the fat into the flour, again lifting the mixture up high all the time. When everything is crumbly, coarsely grate the goats' cheese in and then sprinkle in some cold water – about 1 tablespoon. Start to mix the pastry with a knife and then finish off with your hands, adding a few more drops of water, till you have a smooth dough that will leave the bowl clean. Then pop the pastry into a polythene bag and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C) and pop the baking sheet in to pre-heat on the centre shelf. Now prepare the leeks. First take the tough green ends off and throw them out, then make a vertical split about halfway down the centre of each one and clean them by running them under the cold-water tap while you fan out the layers – this will rid them of any hidden dust and grit. Then slice them in half lengthways and chop into ½ inch (1 cm) slices. Next, in a medium-sized frying pan, melt the butter over a gentle heat and add the leeks and some salt. Give it all a good stir and let them cook gently, without a lid, for 10-15 minutes or until the juice runs out of them. Then you need to transfer them to a sieve set over a bowl to drain off the excess juice. Place a saucer with a weight on top of them to press out every last drop. By this time the pastry will have rested, so remove it from the fridge and roll it out into a circle on a lightly floured surface. As you roll, give it quarter turns to keep the round shape and roll it as thinly as possible. Now transfer it, rolling it over the pin, to the tin. Press it lightly and firmly over the base and sides of the tin, easing any overlapping pastry back down to the sides, as it is important not to stretch it.
Now trim the edges and press the pastry up about ¼ inch (5 mm) above the rim of the tin all round, then prick the base all over with a fork. After that, paint some of the beaten egg for the filling over the base and sides.
Now place the tin on the baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Check halfway through the cooking time to make sure that the pastry isn't rising up in the centre. If it is, just prick it a couple of times and press it back down with your hands.While the pastry case is pre-baking, crumble the goats' cheese with your hands, then gently combine it with the leeks in the sieve.
Now, in a jug, mix the beaten eggs with the crème fraîche or double cream, seasoning with just a little salt (there is some already in the leeks) and a good grinding of freshly milled black pepper. As soon as the pastry case is ready, remove it from the oven, arrange the leeks and cheese all over the base and then sprinkle the spring onions over the top. Now gradually pour half the cream and egg mixture in to join them, then put the tart back on the baking sheet with the oven shelf half pulled out, then slowly pour in the rest of the mixture.

Gently slide the shelf back in and bake the tart for 30-35 minutes, until it's firm in the centre and the surface has turned a lovely golden brown.
Next, remove it from the oven and allow it to settle for 10 minutes before serving. This 10 minutes is important as it will be much easier to cut into portions. The best way to remove the tart from the tin is to ease the edges from the sides of the tin with a small knife, then place it on an upturned jar or tin, which will allow you to carefully ease the sides away. Next slide a palette knife or wide fish slice underneath and ease the tart on to a plate or board ready to serve, or simply cut it into portions straight from the tin base.

Nigella's 'Praised Chicken'

2011-03-19T09:43:00.005-11:00

This is the kind of recipe I am always drawn to. Not only for the promise of something tasty and nourishing, but for the ease at which it is obtained. I have made this recipe countless times already, it is a complete winner, and when free range chickens are on special this is something that gets made often. Given that Nosh has recently opened in Hamilton and free range chicken was among their opening specials, this got made twice in one week! For a low carb version I omit the rice, but my children love it with brown basmati and it is devoured readily by both children. Don't forget the mustard to go with this, it really adds a level of flavour that makes it just that bit more delicious.
This recipe again comes from
which I imagine I will keep returning to as winter creeps in and my desire to cook increases!

Nigella's Praised Chicken

Ingredients

1 large chicken, preferably organic

2 teaspoons garlic oil

100ml white wine or dry white vermouth

2–3 leeks, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into approx. 7cm logs

2–3 carrots, peeled and cut into batons

1–2 sticks celery, sliced approx.

2 litres cold water

1 bouquet garni or 1 teaspoon dried herbs

fresh parsley stalks or few sprigs, tied or banded together

2 teaspoons sea salt flakes or 1 teaspoon pouring salt

2 teaspoons red peppercorns, or good grinding pepper

To serve: chopped leaves, from parsley stalks above chopped fresh dill

English mustard

Method

Get out a large, flame-safe cooking pot (with a lid) in which the chicken can fit snugly: mine is about 28cm wide x 10cm deep.
On a washable board, un-truss the chicken, put it breast-side down and press down until you hear the breastbone crack. (As you may imagine, I like this.) Then press down again, so that the chicken is flattened slightly. Now cut off the ankle joints below the drumstick (but keep them); I find kitchen scissors up to the task.
Put the oil in the pan to heat, then brown the chicken for a few minutes breast-side down, and turn up the heat and turn over the chicken, tossing in the feet as you do so. Still over a vigorous heat add the wine or vermouth to the pan and let it bubble down a little before adding the leeks, carrots and celery.
Pour in enough cold water to cover the chicken, though the very top of it may poke out, then pop in the bouquet garni or your herbs of choice, and the parsley stalks (if I have a bunch, I cut the stalks off to use here, but leave them tied in the rubber band) or parsley sprigs
The chicken should be almost completely submerged by now and if not, do add some more cold water. You want it just about covered.
Bring to a bubble, clamp on the lid, turn the heat to very low and leave to cook for 1½–2 hours. I tend to give it 1½ hours, or 1 hour 40 minutes, then leave it to stand with the heat off, but the lid still on, for the remaining 20–30 minutes.
Serve the chicken and accompanying vegetables with brown basmati rice, adding a ladleful or two of liquid over each shallow bowl, as you go, and putting fresh dill and mustard on the table for the eaters to add as they wish.

Serves: 4-8

Sticky Lemon Slice

2011-03-15T09:42:00.000-11:00

I have said it before....lemon or chocolate, hard to know which of these flavours (when combined with plenty of sugar) is my favourite. Certainly either seem to go down well at a morning tea and this recipe is no exception. This has to be one of the easiest slices to make and given how easy it is, I am surprised I don't make it more often. Again it is all done in the food processor and although the base needs cooking for a spell before the topping is added, it is a low effort recipe. What I particularly love about this slice is how once baked you get an almost meringue-y top and a custardy lemon curd underneath.
This is a trusty Alison Holst recipe, out of a book that is much used in my kitchen
- all of those basic favourites like Louise cake, churchill squares, chocolate caramel slice, tan square and chocolate fudge slice are within its pages and it is therefore very well used.

Sticky Lemon Slice

You will need a food processor for this recipe.

Base

2 cups plain flour

1/2 cup icing sugar

150g cold butter, cut into cubes

Topping

1 1/2 cups sugar

thinly peeled rind of half a lemon

3 large eggs

1/4 cup of lemon juice

1/4 cup self-raising flour

Turn oven to 160C. Line a 23cm square tin with baking paper, ensuring the sides are covered and corners are sealed (fold the paper rather then cutting) so the liquid topping will not run off.

Measure the flour, icing sugar and butter into the food processor and blend until the butter is finely blended through the dry ingredients. It will look quite dry and powdery, but don't fret. Tip the mixture into the tin and press down using the back of a fish slice or something similar. Put in the oven and bake for 15-20 mins, or until firm and straw-coloured.

While the base is cooking...Without cleaning the blender add the sugar and lemon rind, blend until the rind is finely chopped through the sugar. Add the eggs, lemon juice and flour. Process until smooth.

Pour onto the partly cooked base and put back into the oven for about 30mins. The top should be lightly browned and there should not be any wobble when the tray is jiggled.

Once cooled slice into squares with a heavy, lightly oiled knife. If you are serving to guests you could sprinkle with some icing sugar just before you put it on the plate.

Coffee and Walnut Cake

2011-03-09T19:40:00.000-11:00

This cake comes from Nigella's latest book , it is one that I immediately bookmarked to make as it looked delicious. As it was being made for a girls get together I knew it was safe to make it and not have to worry about ending up eating the lions share of it!
This is a ridiculously easy one to make, all the ingredients get thrown into the food processor, and it has walnuts in the actual cake to give it a yummy nutty taste and texture. The buttercream icing I made in my mixer instead of the food processor as Nigella suggests, because I think making it in the mixer gives it a much lighter fluffier consistency. Because I wanted a lighter buttercream I added a few tablespoons of milk to the recipe which makes it whip up nicely. I also cut each cake in half to create a four layered cake, which worked well and there was plenty of buttercream to accommodate this change.
I had to buy instant coffee for this recipe (can't abide the stuff so never have it in the house) and it pains me to say that it works well in this recipe, you really can't get that strong coffee flavour without it (substituting freshly brewed espresso just doesn't work.....I have tried!!!!)
This cake served as a birthday cake for 3 of our lovely book club members....

and didnt last long....

Nigella Lawson's Coffee and Walnut Cake

For the sponge:
50g walnut pieces
225g caster sugar
225g unsalted butter, plus some for greasing
200g plain flour
4tsps instant espresso powder
2 1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 eggs
1-2 tbsp milk

For the Buttercream Frosting
350g icing sugar
175g soft unsalted butter
2 1/2tsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1 x 15 mls tablespoon boiling water
25g walnut halves to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade/gas mark 4. Butter 2 sandwich tins (20cm) and line the bases with baking paper.
Put the walnut pieces and sugar into a food processor and blitz to a fine nutty powder. Add the 225g butter, flour, 4 teaspoons espresso powder, baking powder, bicarb and eggs and process to a smooth batter. Add the milk, pouring it down the funnel with the motor still running, or just pulsing, to loosen the cake mixture:it should be a soft dropping consistency, so add more milk if you need to (If you are making this by hand, bash the nuts to a rubbery powder with a rolling pin and mix with the dry ingredients; then cream the butter and sugar together, and beat in some dry ingredients and eggs alternately and, finally the milk).
Divide the mixture between the cake tins, and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the sponge has risen and feels springy to the touch.
Cool the cakes in their tins on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, before turning them out onto the rack and peeling off the baking paper.
When the sponges are cool, you can make the buttercream, pulse the icing sugar in the food processor until it is lump free, then add the butter and process to make a smooth icing.
Dissolve the instant espresso powder in 1 tablespoon boiling water and add it while still hot to the processor, pulsing to blend into the buttercream.
(If you are doing this by hand sieve the icing sugar and beat it into the butter with a wooden spoon. Then beat in the hot coffee liquid.)
Place 1 sponge upside down on your serving plate. Spread with about half the icing, then place it on the second sponge, right side up (ie so the 2 flat sides of the sponge meet in the middle) and cover the top with the remaining icing in a ramshackle swirly pattern. This cake is all about old-fashioned, rustic charm, so don't worry unduly: however the frosting goes on is fine. Similarly, don't fret about some buttercream oozing out around the middle: that's what makes it look so inviting.
Gently press the walnut halves into the top of the icing all around the edge of the circle about 1cm apart.

Breadmaker Brioche

2011-02-20T12:27:00.000-11:00

After a long break from posting I have decided to tackle the backlog of photos I have stored up over the last little while. My passion for cooking has been seriously curbed over the last 3 months or so, firstly due to the unbearably hot weather we have been experiencing and secondly due to the fact that my husband has been so ill and all my energy was being channelled into taking care of him. Sadly, he passed away last month, so in honour of him I am updating this, as one of our shared passions was FOOD! So much of my motivation to cook was driven by the fact that I had a captive audience in Glen, he really appreciated my efforts! And it meant that entertaining was frequent, another thing he really enjoyed. When Glen's appetite waned in the last few months it made it pretty hard for me, I always got so much joy from feeding him. He did however eat a hearty Christmas breakfast and dinner- he seemed to save it up for all the good food to be had on the day.
This post is one I have wanted to blog for a while, I have expounded the virtues of using the breadmaker for making dough before and this is one of the reasons I LOVE my breadmaker. When you can turn out delicious brioche with next to no effort- well, that takes some beating!
I make this in the breadmaker on the dough cycle then leave to prove overnight in the fridge, in a large bowl covered with cling film. I then knock it down, shape into rolls and leave to come to room temperature and rise slightly before cooking. This is a great option if you are wanting to 'entertain' for breakfast or brunch. You don't have to get up obscenely early to get delicious hot brioche on the table to impress your guests! These are best eaten warm, with butter and jam (my preference is strawberry- homemade of course!).

Breadmaker Brioche

1 1/2 tbsp water
2 eggs
50g butter chopped into pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 1/2 c high grade flour
2 tsp quick rise yeast (breadmaker yeast)

Remove baking pan and attach kneading blade.
Place all ingredients in pan in the order listed.
Insert baking pan, close lid.
Program to dough setting and press start.

Shape dough into small balls and place into brioche tins (or muffin tins - which is what I use). Make indentations in the middle of each roll and place a smaller ball of dough on top (I often omit this part, but it looks more authentic if you do it!). Leave in a warm place to rise for around 30 mins, brush with egg wash then bake at 180C for around 20 mins or until deep golden brown.

Delia's Baked Cannelloni

2010-09-17T11:45:00.000-11:00

This is the kind of recipe that is equally useful as a midweek family meal or for when entertaining. It can be done in advance and reheated to serve and is fabulously tasty. It does require a bit of effort as there are a few steps, but I love the idea of using lasagne sheets for cannelloni, it is both easier and tastes great. The bechamel sauce is one I now use regularly when making other dishes, infusing the flavours into the milk first is absolutely worth the effort for the extra dimensions in adds to the taste. I can't recommend this recipe enough! It also freezes well! I added a tin of chopped tomatoes to the recipe, just to break the whiteness/creaminess.

Ingredients

8 fresh lasagne sheets (weighing about 6 oz/175 g)
5 oz (150 g) Mozzarella, diced
1½ oz (40 g) finely grated Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano), plus a little extra to serve

For the filling:
8 oz (225 g) minced pork
1 dessertspoon chopped sage leaves
3½ oz (95 g) mortadella or unsmoked bacon
2 level tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
3 oz (75 g) white bread without crusts, soaked in 2 tablespoons milk
1 large egg
a little nutmeg
salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the béchamel sauce:
1 pint (570 ml) milk
2 oz (50 g) butter
1¼ oz (35 g) plain flour
1 bay leaf
good grating of whole nutmeg
2½ fl oz (65 ml) double cream
salt and freshly milled black pepper

First make the filling by placing all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and blending everything on a low speed until thoroughly combined. If you don't have a processor, chop everything as finely as possible with a sharp knife and blend it with a fork. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for about 30 minutes to firm up.

Next make the sauce by placing the milk, butter, flour, bay leaf, nutmeg and seasonings into a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat, then, whisking all the time, slowly bring it up to simmering point until the sauce has thickened. Then turn the heat down to its lowest setting and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes, then remove the bay leaf, stir in the cream, taste to check the seasoning, cover and leave aside. Now pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C), then cut the lasagne sheets in half so that you have 16 pieces.

Next divide the meat mixture in half and then each half into 8, then lightly roll each of these into a sausage shape about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long. Place each one on to a piece of lasagne and roll it up, starting from one of the shorter edges. As you do this, arrange them in the baking dish with the join underneath – what you should have is two rows neatly fitting together lengthways in the dish.

Now pour the sauce over and scatter the Mozzarella cubes here and there.

Finally, scatter the Parmesan over the top and place the dish on the centre shelf of the oven to bake for 40 minutes, by which time it should be golden brown and bubbling. Then remove it from the oven and let it settle for about 10 minutes before serving. Finally, sprinkle a little extra Parmesan over.

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

2010-09-15T11:28:00.000-11:00

It seems when baking I tend to go chocolate or lemon. It is difficult to determine which is my favourite! Maybe because I love good coffee, but also love freshly brewed tea that I hedge my bets and go with what suits! Lemon cakes and good tea are a gorgeous combination, but then coffee and chocolate- well, that takes some beating! What I love about this recipe is how ridiculously easy it is to make. Because it uses oil it is a lovely moist cake that keeps well, and of course because there is no creaming the butter and sugar it is so quick to make. It is perfect for whipping up in a hurry, or for when you need to put something in the tins for lunchboxes but can't be bothered going to much effort.
I used some of the cute tins I got from Lakeland (again transported home by my sister from the UK!). They worked beautifully, I sprayed them with baking spray and they fell out of the tin with ease. I topped the cakes with a simple lemon drizzle of lemon juice mixed into icing sugar, done to a nice pouring consitency. The perfect afternoon tea treat and lunchbox filler!

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

2 eggs
1/2 c greek yoghurt (unsweetened)
1/2 c whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups self raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated zest of lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F), line the bottom of a round ten-inch (25cm) cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. In a large mixing-bowl, gently combine the yoghurt, milk eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil and lemon zest and juice. Add the flour into the yoghurt mixture, and blend together -- don't overwork the dough. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, run a knife around to loosen, and turn out on a rack to cool.

Ace Toad in the Hole

2010-09-13T10:43:00.000-11:00

Well, just the name of this recipe had me hooked! I adore Toad in the Hole, and have mostly used Delia Smiths recipe until now. When I saw this recipe in the lead up to the release of Nigella's new book

and just knew I was going to have to try it. What I like about it is the idea of smaller bits of sausage, and the copious amounts of yorkshire pudding batter. To be fair, this almost had too much batter, and I think next time I might adjust the quantities a bit. I also found that there was enough fat in my sausages for cooking them and that the extra fat was too much. I suppose that depends on what sausages you use- I used some I had bought from our local farmers market, and they were utterly delicious, so next time I use these sausages for this recipe I won't add the extra fat!
The other thing I loved about this recipe was the stove top to oven aspect of it. Starting on the hob then transfering to the oven made this such an easy meal to prepare, it is perfectly possible to do this mid week. The onion gravy was also great, I made it up while the toad was in the oven, simmered it down to give extra flavour.
All in all, a delicious and easy meal which I will absolutely be making again!

Nigella's Ace Toad in the Hole

SERVES 4-6

    * 350ml full-fat milk
    * 4 large organic eggs
    * pinch salt
    * 250g plain flour

    * 400g good pork sausages (6 in number)
    * 1 x 15ml tablespoon goose fat, vegetable shortening or oil
    * 4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for serving if wished

KITCHEN KIT:

1 x round roasting tin approx 28cm diameter, or small rectangular roasting tin approx 30cm x 20cm

   1. Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Whisk the milk and eggs together with the salt, then whisk in the flour, beating to make a smooth batter. I find this way round makes for a lighter batter.
   2. Press the sausage meat out of its casing (you may need to nick the skin with a knife), half a sausage at a time, rolling it in your hands to form a ball and then squash gently to make a little, fat patty. You should get 12 patties from the 6 sausages.
(I just cut the sausages into four pieces, skin and all, and it worked fine!)
   3. Heat the fat or oil in a heavy-based, flame-safe roasting tin on the hob and brown the patties for about 1 minute each side: you need do no more than make them look enticingly brown.
   4. With the patties and oil still hot, pour in the batter and quickly drop in the sprigs of thyme. Absolutely immediately put into the oven for about 40 minutes or until the edges of the batter have risen and turned golden, and the eggy middle has set.
   5. Serve immediately, scattered with a thyme sprig or two or just a few leaves and with gravy (for example, the onion one below) if you feel you can only properly enjoy Yorkshire pud when it’s sauce-sogged.

MAKE AHEAD NOTE:

The batter can be made a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. The sausages can be formed into patties a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

ONION GRAVY:

Warm 2 tablespoons of fat or oil and then cook 2 onions, peeled, halved and very finely sliced, until soft (about 10 minutes). Add 2 teaspoons sugar, and let the onions cook, caramelising a little, for another 3 or so minutes, before stirring in 4 teaspoons flour then 500ml meat stock. When thickened and hot, add a glug of marsala to taste.

Cupcake Crazy

2010-09-11T10:18:00.000-11:00

My dear sister made space in her suitcase for a ridiculous amount of cake decorating paraphernalia when she recently visited the UK. I am a sucker for all things cupcake so took the opportunity to truly stock up on all manner of toppers, sugar flowers, sprinkles and cachous. The range and price certainly made it worthwhile, moreso because my sister was able to cut out the freight!!! I have had such fun making bits and pieces, here are a few of my latest creations.

I am also completely in love with the Hummingbird Bakery recipe for buttercream frosting. It whips up beautifully and makes decorating so pleasurable. In case you want it, here is the recipe again!!!!

Hummingbird Bakery Vanilla Frosting

    * 250g icing sugar, sifted
    * 80g unsalted butter, at room temperature
    * 25ml whole milk
    * a couple of drops of vanilla extract

   1. Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.
   2. Turn the mixer down to slow speed. Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time. Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed.
   3. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.

I also recently made these cupcakes - I piped white chocolate dolphin shapes onto baking paper and then used them for toppers!

Pea and Prawn Risotto with basil and mint

2010-09-09T22:56:00.000-11:00

This has to be one of my favourite Jamie Oliver risotto recipes. I love the way he gives you the basic recipe and then suggests all sorts of variations- this has to be the one I make the most. It is ridiculously simple and DELICIOUS! This recipe is from Jamie Oliver's second book "The Return of the Naked Chef"

Prawn And Pea Risotto With Basil And Mint

Ingredients:

Approximately 1.5 litres of chicken stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 shallots or 2 medium onions finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
400 g risotto rice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 wine glasses of dry white wine (1/4 litre)
50 g butter
60 g freshly grated Parmesan
3 good handfuls of frozen peas, defrosted
1 knob of butter
450 g of raw prawns, peeled (about 12 big prawns)
1 handful of fresh basil, chopped
½ a handful of fresh mint, chopped
juice of 1 lemon

Before starting, Boil the peas in a little stock. Cook until tender.

Stage 1.
Heat the stock. In a separate pan heat the olive oil, add the shallots or onions and garlic, and fry slowly for about 4 minutes. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.
Stage 2.
The rice will now begin to fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the wine and keep stirring.
Stage 3.
Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a highish simmer so the rice doesn't cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladles of stock, stirring and allowing each ladle of liquid to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice - is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don't forget to check the seasoning carefully.
Add the peas and the prawns and simmer for 2 minutes.
Stage 4.
Add the lemon juice and the herbs and stir.
Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan, if using. Stir gently. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 to 3 minutes. This is the most important part of making the risotto as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat as soon as possible while the risotto retains its perfect texture

Double Chocolate Cookies

2010-09-07T23:34:00.002-11:00

Is it possible for a cookie to be too chocolately? Well if you are after a really serious chocolate hit, these will certainly do it for you, extremely rich and decadent, they disappeared mighty soon after they were made. A nice easy recipe too, this one comes from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, a book that is becoming a bit of a bible for me - especially for all things cupcake. There are a few more recipes I am very keen to try yet, but what I have tried is delicious. Their cupcake frosting recipe is light and fluffy and a real winner!

Double Chocolate Cookies (from the Hummingbird Bakery)

Makes 12
50g unsalted butter
450g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
2 eggs
170g soft light brown sugar or light muscovado sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract
85g plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
2 baking trays, lined with greaseproof paper

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3. Put the butter and half the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the base of the bowl touch the water). Leave until melted and smooth.
Put the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat until well mixed. Pour in the chocolate mixture, beating on slow speed until well combined.
Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a separate bowl, then stir into the chocolate mixture in 3 additions, mixing well after each addition (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Finally, stir in the remaining chocolate until evenly dispersed.
Arrange 6 equal amounts of cookie dough on each prepared baking tray. Make sure that the cookies are spaced apart to allow for spreading while baking. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, checking regularly after 10 minutes. They are ready when the tops start to crack and look glossy. Leave the cookies to cool slightly on the trays before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Decorations.....

2010-09-06T16:08:00.000-11:00

Here are some of the array of gorgeous bits and pieces I recently got from the UK!

Old Fashioned English Custard Tart

2010-09-04T23:29:00.001-11:00

This is a recipe I have made several times and was prompted to make it recently for our friend Morrie, who is quite partial to Custard Tart. We have had many discussions about what makes a good custard tart, for me it absolutely has to be a custard made from scratch, I have yet to taste one better than this one I have to say. This is a trusty Delia Smith recipe, from her book "Delia's How to Cook: Bk.1". This is a well used book in my cookbook library, in fact I decided recently to buy the combined volume Delia's Complete How to Cook: Both a Guide for Beginners and a Tried and Tested Recipe Collection for Lifewhich is the 3 books in the series and I am so glad I did, it is such a versatile and useful book!

For the shortcrust pastry:
5 oz (150 g) plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
pinch of salt
1 oz (25 g) softened lard
1½ oz (40 g) softened butter
For the filling:
3 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 pint (570 ml) single cream
2 oz (50 g) caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ whole nutmegs, freshly grated
1 level teaspoon softened butter
3 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 pint (570 ml) single cream
2 oz (50 g) caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ whole nutmegs, freshly grated
1 level teaspoon softened butter

To make the pastry, first of all sift the flour with the pinch of salt into a large bowl, holding the sieve up high to give it a good airing. Then add the lard and butter and, using only your fingertips, lightly and gently rub the fat into the flour, again lifting the mixture up high all the time to give it a good airing. When everything is crumbly, sprinkle in about 1 tablespoon of cold water. Start to mix the pastry with a knife and then finish off with your hands, adding a few more drops of water, till you have a smooth dough that leaves the bowl clean. Then pop the pastry into a polythene bag and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C) and pop the baking sheet in to pre-heat on the centre shelf. After that, roll the pastry out into a circle on a surface lightly dusted with flour, giving it quarter turns to keep its round shape; it's a good idea at this stage to put the tin lightly on top of the pastry – the size needs to be 1 inch (2.5 cm) bigger all round. Now transfer it, rolling it over the pin, to the tin, and press it lightly and firmly around the base, sides and rim. Now take a sharp knife and trim the overlapping pastry. Then press the rim of the pastry so that about ¼ inch (5 mm) overlaps the edge. Next, roll the trimmings and cut out about 24 leaves, making veins in them with the blunt side of the knife. Now brush the whole surface of the pastry case with some of the beaten eggs, arranging the leaves all around the rim, overlapping them. Brush these, too, with beaten egg. Now prick the base of the tart with a fork, then place it on the baking sheet and bake on the centre shelf for 20 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden.
Check after 4 minutes to make sure that the pastry isn't rising up in the centre. If it is, prick it again a couple of times, pressing it back down with your hands. After 20 minutes, remove it from the oven, leaving the baking sheet there, and reduce the temperature to gas mark 3, 325°F(170°C). Now place the cream in a saucepan and bring it up to a gentle simmer, then whisk the beaten eggs and sugar together in a large heatproof jug using a balloon whisk – but not too vigorously because you don't want to make bubbles. Then pour the hot liquid over the beaten eggs, add the vanilla extract and half the nutmeg and whisk briefly again. Now place the pie tin back on the baking tray with the oven shelf half out and have ready the rest of the grated nutmeg on a piece of foil. Carefully pour the filling into the pastry case (it will be very full) and scatter the rest of the nutmeg all over, then dot with the softened butter and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the filling is golden brown, firm in the centre and slightly puffed up. Serve either warm or, as I actually prefer it, cold.

A Family Favourite

2010-06-27T13:09:00.004-11:00

One of the most often asked questions in our house is "What's for dinner?" Before our daughter came along that question was (no matter how it was answered) usually met with satisfaction from our much easier to please older son. However, not only has our daughter (otherwise known as Miss Fussy) made me answer that question with trepidation most nights, our one time easy to please son is now exasperating us with his increasingly discerning tastes too.
When you love to cook, as I do, it is most disheartening to announce what is for dinner and receive a less than enthusiastic response.
That is why this recipe saves me every time. When I announce that we are having corned beef for dinner, the resounding response is YUM!!!!!!
I think it is most appropriate that I am entering this post in the competition for NZ's best food blogger given that the prize is to see Rick Stein cook and speak in Wellington in August. It was indeed Mr Stein who helped me to rediscover cooking this fabulously simple yet tasty and comforting dish. And it was his method that made me think I could adapt it further to get as much mileage out of it as possible.
My husband and I have always loved watching Rick Stein and in particular his Food Heroes series got me switched onto the merits of eating as locally as possible from sustainable food sources. It has long been on our wish list to visit his restaurant in Cornwall, but since Glen's diagnosis last year with terminal brain cancer, travel is off the agenda. So we figured that Rick coming to NZ was an opportunity for us to satisfy our dream in a more achievable way!
I can remember corned beef as being a staple family meal while growing up. However, the newer methods of making corned beef (or corning it) seemed to take the flavour and texture out of it to the extent that I had given up trying to make it in the conventional method -that is, boiling it in a pot with cloves, onions, bay leaf, vinegar and golden syrup. No matter how many times I tried it seemed dry, tough and tasteless.
A happy coincidence a few years ago occurred however when I discovered what a slow cooker can do to transform corned beef into a tender, meltingly tasty meal. That combined with watching Rick Stein cook corned beef on one of his Food Heroes shows had me determined to give it another go.
So, how glad am I of that happy coincidence???? Flipping over the moon!!! This meal never fails to please and it is eaten with regularity over the winter months.
This version however is one that intrigued me as soon as I saw it.
It reminded me of the Nigella recipe where she boils ham in cola, which to be frank I could never get my head around despite those who have tried it expounding it's great taste. It just appealed for the novelty factor so I really had to give it a go. If you are more of a traditionalist, you can get the recipe from my previous post about corned beef.

This is an Alison Holst recipe from her slow cooker book, which is such a fabulous book!
The meat turned out really nice. I cooked it on high for about 5 hours and it was still fine. I did as she suggested with the sauce and it was beautiful. The flavour was subtle but different enough to the usual way I cook corned beef to want to make it again for something different. I added in about 8 pickling onions too, which I served along side the meat and they tasted fab. I didn't add the potatoes, rather I boiled some kumara with a few knobs of root ginger to make a yummy mash and served it with braised cabbage and carrots. A wonderfully hearty meal!

Lynley's Gingered Up Corned Beef (from Year Round Recipes for Crockpots and Slowcookers)

1.5kg corned beef
2/3 bottle of ginger beer(I used a 1.5l bottle)
1/2 orange
1 cinnamon stick
4-6 cloves
2-3 cloves garlic
6-8 medium potatoes peeled or scrubbed (optional)

Turn a medium to large slow cooker to Low. Rinse corned beef and place it in the cooker. Pour the ginger beer into the cooker to half cover the meat.

Cut the orange into several slices (the cut skin gives extra flavour) and add to the slow cooker, along with the cinnamon stick, and the cloves. Add garlic (peeled and squashed with a flat bottomed glass bottle) to the cooker. Place the whole potatoes or potatoes in large pieces if you prefer around the corned beef.
Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 5 hours. Mash the potatoes or leave whole.

Sauce

Melt 25 g of butter in a pot with one tbsp of oil. Stir in 3 slightly rounded tbsp of flour over low heat, then add, 1/2 a cup at a time, 1 1/2 cups of the corned beef cooking liquid, stirring or whisking, and bringing to the boil after each addition.

Chilli Jam

2010-05-23T18:13:00.000-11:00

Well, given the volume of baking I have been doing lately I thought it necessary to make something savoury. Although sadly that doesn't mean without sugar! This chilli jam recipe has been a favourite of mine for quite some time, it is sweet and tangy and has a heat that is ridiculously addictive. It is utterly delicious with cheese or sausages and is absolutely worth the effort when tomatoes and chillis are plentiful and cheap. It does require a bit of watching as it can catch on the bottom of the pot quite quickly so make sure when you start this you are going to be able to give it your attention! Cooking times to get it to the right consistency also vary, I like it cooked down until it is really thick so it is more of a spooning consistency than pouring, but of course that is my personal preference. So I tend to cook it for a little longer than the recipe advises. This is a Peter Gordon recipe, from one of his first cookbooks I think, it has certainly stood the test of time!

Peter Gordon's Tomato and Chilli Jam

Ingredients

500g very ripe tomatoes, washed

4 red chillies

4 cloves garlic, peeled

6cm piece ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

30mls Asian fish sauce

300g demerara sugar

100mls red wine vinegar

Mix half the tomatoes with the chillies, garlic, ginger and fish sauce to a fine purée in a blender.

Cut the remaining tomatoes into tiny dice and set aside.

Place the puree, sugar and vinegar in a deep saucepan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring continually.

When it reaches a boil turn it down to a gentle simmer and add the remaining diced tomatoes. Skim off any foam and cook gently for 30-40 minutes, stirring often to release the solids that settle on the bottom of the pan.

Be sure to scrape the sides down during cooking so the jam does not burn at the edges.

When the jam is on setting point (has become very syrupy and very thick), pour into warmed sterilised jars and allow to cool. Cover and keep in a cool place; it will keep for several months. Makes 4 medium jars.

Cupcakes (again!)

2010-05-03T10:25:00.001-11:00

I have difficulty making anything that surpasses the good looks of a cupcake. They really are just so pleasing to the eye - making them both irresistable to make and eat. The trouble with cupcakes though is they can be overly dry and the icing overly sickly. So I am always on the lookout for a moist cupcake recipe as well as an icing that works with it. This recipe has a very unusual method but is easy and moist and yummy. I was alerted to it by Gail at The Claytons Blog who posted about them. The Claytons Blog has four regular contributors, so the posts are varied and prolific which makes it a really great blog to visit! These cupcakes were also raved about by my fellow foodie friends on Violets Pantry, so I decided they were a must try. My good friend had a birthday so I found some pretty toppers and tinted the icing a nice lime green (as it is a favourite colour of hers). I used the icing recipe that goes with the cupcake recipe and was indeed impressed with it. I whipped it up (as advised by Gail) for a good 10 minutes in the cake mixer and it was light, fluffy and gorgeous. I added cream cheese to it for some depth and tang, a nice addition. I also added lemon zest to the cupcake recipe and made them extra moist by topping them with lemon syrup as soon as they came out of the oven.

Vanilla Cupcakes

120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter at room temperature
120ml whole milk
1 medium egg
¼ tsp vanilla extract -
1 quantity vanilla icing (see below)
hundreds and thousands or other edible sprinkles, to decorate

Have ready a 12-18-hole cupcake tray (depending on whether you’re going for big, US-sized cakes or standard UK ones), lined with paper cases. Preheat the oven to 170C/140 fan/325F/gas 3. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on slow until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated. Whisk the egg, vanilla extract and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched (smaller cupcakes will need 3-5 minutes less baking time.
A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out on to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Icing

250g icing sugar, sifted
80g unsalted butter at room temperature
25ml whole milk
a couple of drops vanilla extract

Beat the icing sugar and butter together in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer down to slow.
Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture 2 tbsp at a time. Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high. Continue beating until the icing is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer it is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.

Oaty Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2010-04-30T15:31:00.000-11:00

These cookies are so yummy and more-ish that I have been meaning to blog them for ages. I got a request from my sister to do some baking for her daughter who is boarding at a school here in Hamilton so of course it was a great excuse to make them again. I always used to love the choc chip biscuits my mum makes, with condensed milk and big chunks of chopped up chocolate. These are a nice variation, still have condensed milk but the oats give them a texture and crunch which is just a bit different. This is a trusty Jo Seagar recipe.

250g butter, softened
3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 and 1/2cups flour
1 and 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
200gm dark chocolate, roughly chopped or large chocolate buttons

Method

Pre Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Beat butter, condensed milk and sugar together until light & creamy.
Add flour, rolled Oats, baking powder and chocolate chunks.
Flatten spoonfils on the prepared oven trays and cook for 15-20 minutes until golden brown
Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

2009-12-05T05:34:00.000-11:00

There is no nicer day in my opinion, than one that starts with hollandaise and ends with pavlova. It is quite the perfect situation that using egg yolks to make one yummy things results in spare egg whites to make something else just as yummy!
I often make pavlova when presented with lots of left over egg whites, and given that berries are now widely available (and so cheap and tasty!) I really wanted to give this chocolate pav of Nigella's a go.
Nigella pretty much does a different version of pavlova in each of her cookbooks, but I have never quite brought myself to try this one given what a departure it is from the classic recipe. Well, I have been missing out on something quite exquisite, even though it is somewhat different it is no less yummy for the addition of chocolate.
Pavlovas are truly the simplest dessert one can make, and since investing in a Kenwood mixer, I just love the ease with which I can now whip one up! This one was no exception, instead of the usual cornflour you add in cocoa powder and dark chocolate and instead of malt vinegar you add balsamic vinegar, which I think rounds it all out very nicely.

For the chocolate meringue base:

6 egg whites
one cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons best quality, unsweetened cocoa powder, sieved
1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

for the topping:

2 cups heavy cream
4 cups raspberries
2-3 tablespoons coarsely grated bittersweet chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny. Sprinkle over the cocoa and vinegar, and the chopped chocolate. Then gently fold everything until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in. Mound on to a baking sheet in a fat circle approximately 9 inches in diameter, smoothing the sides and top. Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 150C and cook for about one to one and a quarter hours. When it's ready it should look crisp around the edges and on the sides and be dry on top, but when you prod the centre you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers. Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, and let the chocolate meringue disc cool completely.When you're ready to serve, invert on to a big, flat-bottomed plate. Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter over the raspberries. Coarsely grate the chocolate so that you get curls rather than rubble, as you don't want the raspberries' luscious colour and form to be obscured, and sprinkle haphazardly over the top, letting some fall, as it will, on the plate's rim.Serves 8-10.

Motivated to bake

2009-09-03T12:23:00.000-11:00

It seems the only reason for cooking lately is to do something in way of thanks for all the lovely kindness we have been shown by our friends and family through this shitty thing that we are going through. We are blessed to have the comfort and support that we do, it certainly helps a great deal. This recipe looked like a nice way of saying thanks to a couple of people who have just been so good to us, it seems like so little to bake a cake, but it is what I can do and I know they appreciate it.

This loaf looked mouth watering so I had to give it a go. I have a huge bowl of lemons and just the most fabulous lemon zester that is always motivation enough to get cooking!!!!! I was also given some utterly gorgeous free range bantam eggs, which I think helped to make it even more delicious!It is a breeze to make and I will be giving it another go.......making loaves is so much easier for some reason, and I always seem to have the right shaped container to give them away in!
Crunchy Topped Lemon Loaf (I doubled this recipe to make 2 loaves)

For the loaf:
115g butter
150g caster sugar
2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
2 eggs
180g flour
1 tsp baking powder
125mls milk

For the topping:
70g caster sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

Set oven to 180C. Lightly grease a medium size loaf tin and line the bottom with baking paper.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy then beat in lemon zest. Add eggs, one at a time, then fold sifted dry ingredients and mix in alternately with the milk. (I just banged it all into the food processor, I am a heathen!!!!)
Pour mixture into prepared tin and smooth top. Bake for 40 mins. The cake will be a beautiful golden brown with a long crack running along the top and should be just pulling away from the sides of the tin. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack, still in the tin.
For the topping, combine the sugar and juice in a bowl and spoon over the baked loaf while still hot. Finish cooling the loaf in the tin then turn out carefully. Store in an airtight container

How life can change in an instant....

2009-06-12T11:20:00.003-11:00

I haven't had the inclination to post here for quite some time as we have had some very bad news in our lives. My dear husband, after weeks of uncharacteristic behaviour, was diagnosed with a brain tumour and after surgery the pathology came back only to inform us of the worst possible news, the tumour is a glioblastoma multiforme. Which is an ultimately incurable cancer so treatment is for life extension, and who knows how long that will be. The surgery was very invasive and so a lot of 'trauma' took place in order to remove the tumour- which resulted in a much longer than expected recovery. So for the last six weeks I have been in hospital every day, sometimes in and out up to 3 times and between making sure my kids are cared for and organised and feeling in a pit of despair, I have not felt like cooking or baking. Besides which, I have had the most amazing support from my family and friends, who have been feeding us so well, keeping the cake tins and freezer full. I am constantly amazed by the outpouring of kindness that has flowed since we got the news, I feel utterly humbled by the love that has been shown us.
I have always turned to cooking or baking in times of stress, but this news has just blown everything out of the water. The idea of being alone with my thoughts is more than I can cope with so cooking has been off the agenda!
We have in the last few weeks been in a more positive place, Glen is regaining physical strength and building stamina so he is more mobile and consequently more upbeat. This has flowed over into his mental recovery and we have seen amazing progress recently which fills me with hope. He has had a couple of overnight visits home and we hope to have him home at the end of next week. He starts treatment of chemo and radiation next week, which will likely slow his recovery, as all his energy is likely to be sapped by it. We are taking one day at a time, it is the only way to stay sane, as every time I think ahead I absolutely lose it as I contemplate not only how this disease is likely to play out (cruelly, by most accounts), but the idea of life without my lovely husband and my children's life without their awesome father.
So right now the focus is solely on what we CAN control, not what we can't. Which brought me back to baking.......the staff on the rehabilitation ward that Glen has been on for the last 3 weeks have been amazing, encouraging and supportive to both of us, so I felt the need to spoil them and bake some cupcakes for them. I used some gorgeous wee paper cases my lovely friend Fran from Violet's Pantry had sent me. When I got them I had the feeling that I would never make use of them as the idea of baking again seemed so far away, but here I am, using them, and the gorgeousness of how they look is just a small thing that has the ability to bring joy to a day. And that is about as good as it gets!!!!!They were devoured instantly, so that brought some joy too.
I used Jo Seagar's Best Birthday Bash Choccy Cake - the recipe is here- it is a lovely moist cake that made in cupcakes works very well too. I made a basic ganache icing to pipe on top and topped them with smarties (colour co-ordinated of course!).

Happy Easter

2009-04-08T21:05:00.000-11:00

I reprised my hot cross buns from last year, (the recipe is here) it is nice to come back to a recipe and have it work so well after a while of not making them! My new house has a hot water cupboard in it, so I did the kneading part in the bread machine, then tipped the mix into a large bowl and raised the dough slowly in the hot water cupboard. It took about 2 odd hours to get it to double in size. I then shaped them and left them to rise a further 30 mins. I haven't yet got the measure of the oven in my new kitchen, it seems a little hot so I have to keep a close eye on things! I need to invest in a proper oven thermometer I think......
Anyway, as per last year I glazed them straight out of the oven with a sugar syrup, then piped on crosses with icing. It gives a nice sweet kick to the buns! I have indulged despite my low carb regime, I have restricted myself to a few and the rest have been given away. They were utterly delicious!Hope you have a happy Easter, I will have my nose in academic articles unfortunately, I have an assignment due next week which I really need to get on with.

Sugar Fiend

2009-04-06T17:39:00.000-11:00

I have mentioned many times what a love affair I have with sugar! As well as I have been doing with cutting back I just can't resist a yummy dessert and this one is dangerous in it's quick preparation. We gave Rex Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hoursfor Christmas- it is his first serious cookbook. He is becoming such a great cook and since we moved house he has not really spent any time in the kitchen (that makes two of us!!). So I decided to remedy that by suggesting he cook something from his new book and what should he choose but this lovely recipe. He has made Jo Seagar's microwave puddings before- her version has jam and tinned peaches in the bottom and was ok.
To be honest I have never been much of a fan of 'cakey' things made in the microwave, to me you just don't get an acceptable enough result. Well, these puds of Jamie's are better than acceptable- and because they are a 'steamed' pudding they definitely work in the microwave. The steaming aspect is something that microwaves do well and Jamie extends this by putting a wee circle of greaseproof paper on top of each pudding to maximise the steam. I will getting Rex to make this again and with this basic pudding recipe I reckon you could mix things up a bit and pop different things in the ramekin, like stewed fruit etc. The mix itself is quite runny but don't be alarmed, it cooks up beautifully. Just don't muck with the size of the ramekin - Rex made these first in coffee cups and divided the mix by 4 - they didn't cook evenly despite adjusting the cooking time. I actually made them again in coffee cups (cappuccino size) and they worked really well.Just another quick note. I am a truly Kiwi cook in that I have always had an aversion to baking in weight measurements- if it didn't have cup measurements I didn't want to know. I overcame that by investing in some good electronic scales (they are about $50 on special at Briscoes) and I honestly haven't looked back, so many cakes and sweet recipes turn out better now that I bake this way!!!!

Quick Steamed Microwave Puddings (Jamie Oliver- Ministry of Food)

175g plain flour
50g brown sugar
75 g butter melted
1 level tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
2 large eggs
juice and finely grated zest of an orange (it's ok to leave this out!)
150ml milk
11 tbsp golden syrup
butter for greasing

Grease the inside of 6 little microwaveable dishes or teacups with butter until well coated. Tip all the ingredients into a large bowl (except the golden syrup) and mix well. Add in 1 tbsp of golden syrup and mix until well combined. Spoon 1 tbsp of golden syrup into the bottom of each cup/ramekin, then divide the pudding mix between them.
Tear or cut 6 circles of greaseproof/baking paper a little larger than your dishes. Grease them with a little butter and then butter side down, pop them on top, pressing down gently onto the pudding mix. Place all dishes in the microwave and cook on medium heat for 7 1/2 minutes. Leave the puddings to stand for a further 5 minutes before carefully removing the paper.
To serve:
Warm 4 tbsp golden syrup in a microwavable jug for a few seconds. Turn the puddings onto serving plates and drizzle over the warm golden syrup. Accompany with creme fraiche, custard or icecream!

A wee makeover

2009-03-29T16:22:00.000-11:00

I was so impressed with Granny and Sally's blog makeovers that I decided to follow suit. I used the Blogfairy, and what a simple and excellent processs it was. So easy and I am really happy with the new look. It's nice to have a wee change I must say, and even nicer to have someone else do it for me!

The Castle Cake

2009-03-12T22:53:00.000-11:00

Many moons ago (September last year to be exact, my archive of unused photos is really mounting!) I made my daughter a fourth birthday cake. The brief was that it had to be a castle cake of some description, at the time she had thought that maybe a Dora 'cloud castle' might be do-able! I am NO cake decorator and as usual the real detail and planning was left to the last minute (thank God for our resident cake decorating expert Gail on Violet's Pantry and that she was answering my frantic emails that day -the internet is such a life saver isn't it?!!!!) but in the end I was really happy with the result. So was my daughter, thrilled would be an understatement and that was all the thanks I needed for the effort. And it was not a small effort I have to say, it took some considerable time to do!
I had scoured the internet for ideas and set upon a basic shape with icecream cones for turrets and a few flowers and appropriate figurines (princesses and fairies galore!). To be honest, it was a very basic design, the tricky part was getting it nicely covered and making mock cream to put in the middle (then having to put the cake together and have it 'set' hard enough to then cover the whole thing with buttercream. I have never made mock cream before, the very idea of it turned my stomach, but I gotta say, this was flipping delicious and gave a real sturdiness to the cake.The recipe for the cake was a Jo Seagar one that my sister had made a few weeks before and upon I trying it I immediately requested the recipe! It is made in large quantities and absolutely perfectly named as a celebration cake, it truly will feed the hoards!!!!!(or serve to be cut up into lots of separate parts to then assemble a castle from!!!!) It is a gorgeously moist cake which keeps incredibly well, so along with the mock cream and butter cream (and given that you have enough space in your fridge to store it), it can be made well in advance. Of course I made this the night before, that is advance for me I am telling you!!!!!!
I iced the cones with royal icing, and let them thoroughly dry out for 48 hours and they turned out pretty cool I thought. They were probably the fiddliest part, but not onerous in the slightest.
So, I am not going to give instructions on the assembly of the cake. If you are anything like me you will use this as a source of inspiration should you be looking to make/do something similar. That is much help as I can be bothered offering!!!!:)
Here are a few stage by stage photos though, they might paint a better picture!
I doubled the cake recipe to make a large rectangle, a round cake and some muffin sized ones as these were what I decided would work best.However, the recipes I will provide are all failsafe and delicious, so go ahead and get stuck in!!!!

Celebration Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
2 cups Chelsea Caster Sugar
3 cups self-raising flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
2 tbsp malt vinegar
2 tbsp Chelsea golden syrup
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups cooking oil
1 egg
whipped cream and icing of your choice for finishing cake - we recommend chocolate Frosting/icing:
Chocolate Frosting:
2 cups Chelsea icing sugar
3 heaped tbsp cocoa
25g butter, melted
boiling water

Method
(Makes a deep average-large sized cake)

Combine all dry ingredients. In a large bowl beat the 3 egg whites until stiff. In a separate bowl, combine milk and vinegar, then add the rest of the wet ingredients, including the whole egg and the 3 egg yolks, and beat. Mix wet and dry ingredients together, then fold in beaten egg whites. Pour into two well-greased or baking paper lined cake tins about 20-23 cm. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180°C. Cool on a wire rack. To serve, pile whipped cream on one cake , place the other cake on top and ice - try chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting:
Mix all ingredients, adding enough boiling water to make a smooth paste.
Spread over cooled cake and decorate with strawberries if preferred.

MOCK CREAM (it looks like a wierd recipe but trust me it works!!!!)

1 ½ teaspoons Edmonds Cornflour
½ cup Milk
2 tablespoons Icing Sugar
2 tablespoons Butter.

Mix cornflour and milk together into a smooth paste, then boil 3 or 4 minutes. Cream butter and sugar, and add cornflour gradually when cold. Beat well. Flavouring may be added. (I added cocoa to make it chocolate flavoured!!)

BUTTERCREAM

This makes about 500g of Buttercream

125g butter softened or use soft margerine.
1 tablespoon milk
375g of icing confectioners sugar (NOT pure icing sugar)

Put the butter into a mixing bowl
Add the milk and any flavouring
Sift the icing sugar into the bowl a little at a time beating well (do this in your mixer not worth the effort any other way) until the sugar has been incorporated and the BC has a light creamy texture.
This can be stored in the fridge or frozen

Happy New Year 2009!

2009-02-10T15:10:00.001-11:00

Well, it feels like I have slipped off the edge of the world as far as blogging goes! Too many things going on in my life right now and to be honest, it is just too hot to cook! The summer we are having is one right out of the box, ridiculously hot and dry, and it is just sapping what little energy I have! Add to that trying to sell a house, get another house ready to sell and moving to another city and you have a recipe for a very chaotic and time starved life. Not to mention the fact that I too will soon be back at university so again things will move up another gear. Phew, it is all just a blur right now!
My lack of blogging has also coincided with changing my way of eating, of which the main side effect has been minimal baking, which are usually the kind of recipes that are most blog worthy! I have embarked on a low carb eating regime and am feeling extremely good for it, as well as 8kg lighter! It has been quite a revelation to me how huge a part of my diet sugar actually was and since cutting back and eating food that is satisfying, I feel so much more in control.
Eggs of course are quite a feature of the low carb lifestyle and my favourite way to eat them is as some kind of omelette (oh, and eggs benedict, without the bread!)- I tried this version today, where you separate the yolks and whites, whip the whites up until stiff, stir up the yolks with a little cream, then fold the two together to get this adorably light fluffy omelette- I can definitely recommend trying it for something different!This one I served with spinach, mushrooms and brie- so filling, so delicious and so satisfying. Which is why I am so happy to keep eating this way!

Chocolate Fruit Cake- Mark II

2008-12-25T12:58:00.000-11:00

I made this recipe for the first time last year for Christmas, I loved it so much that I just had to make it again this year. It is a great cake for those who aren't that keen on fruit cake but would still keep fruit cake lovers happy too so is a great happy medium. It is rich and dark and sticky and gorgeous. It is ridiculously easy to make too. This year I made it in the small round paper cases again as these are a great size to give away as gifts. I also made use of some gorgeous cake cases I was given by the lovely Francesca, as well as putting some in some cute Christmas muffin cases.
This year I got around to decorating the cakes- I found some chocolate fondant and gold cachous which did the job nicely. I also found some cute cake decorations to top the muffin sized ones, which I had put marzipan and white fondant on. It was great fun to make these, mainly because it was so easy!!!!!
Here's the recipe from my first post about this lovely cake (the recipe is in both Feast: Food That Celebrates Life and Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities) and here are the pictures from this years incarnation......

Have a fabulous Christmas!!!

Gingerbread

2008-12-23T13:26:00.000-11:00

Gingerbread isn't terribly common in this country, I think it is more a European treat, but I have always wanted to try this recipe. It appears in Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities and so I decided to make it to add to the list to be done as foodie presents for Christmas. It is so easy and so delicious, a typical Nigella recipe in that respect! It really does taste of Christmas, spicy and warm, and is just perfect with a cup of tea. I iced it, as per Nigella's recommendation, with lemon icing and it really does set it off. The cake is light and terribly addictive, in fact I had to make it again the next day to have one in the pantry in the lead up to Christmas! I will take the rest of it around to my mum's tonight to eat with the Christmas cocktails we always imbibe in on Christmas eve!!!

Nigella's Sticky Gingerbread

150g butter
200g golden syrup
200g black treacle or molasses
125g dark muscovado sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, dissolved in 2 x 15ml tablespoons warm water
250ml full-fat milk
2 eggs, beaten to mix
300g plain flour

1 Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3 and line a roasting tin or ovenproof dish (approx. 30cm x 20cm x 5cm) with Bake-O-Glide, foil or baking parchment (if using foil, grease it too).

2 In a saucepan, melt the butter over a lowish heat along with the sugar, syrup, treacle, fresh and ground gingers, cinnamon and cloves.

3 Take off the heat, and add the milk, eggs and dissolved bicarbonate of soda in its water.

4 Measure the flour into a bowl and pour in the liquid ingredients, beating until well mixed. It will be a very liquid batter, so don’t worry. This is part of
what makes it sticky later.

5 Pour it into the prepared tin and bake for 45–60 minutes until risen and firm on top. Try not to overcook, as it is nicer a little stickier, and anyway will carry on cooking as it cools.

6 Transfer the tin to a wire rack and let the gingerbread cool in the tin before cutting into 20 squares, or however you wish to slice it.

Makes 20 squares

MAKE AHEAD TIP:
Make the gingerbread up to 2 weeks ahead, wrap loosely in baking parchment and store in an airtight
tin. Cut into squares as required.

FREEZE AHEAD TIP:
Make the gingerbread, wrap in baking parchment and a layer of foil then freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw at room temperature for 3–4 hours and cut into squares.

M & M Cookies

2008-12-21T14:33:00.000-11:00

I have always wanted to make these, keep seeing versions of them everywhere, so when I saw this recipe on Gail's blog I just had to make them. They were easy peasy to make and I just know that Carys will love having them as a sweet treat in her lunch box. I only had a small packet of M&Ms so made up the difference with chocolate chips so next time I will make sure I have plenty as they would look (and taste) better I am sure with the higher ratio that the recipe recommends! I would also make sure next time to use the dark chocolate M&Ms as I think they would work really well. Either way this is a great recipe, whipped up in no time and undoubtedly won't last long in the biscuit tins! I misread the recipe and didn't add the brown sugar, and found them plenty sweet enough so next time I would add maybe 1/3 c of both and see what the difference is (I know the brown sugar makes them more 'chewy' and imagine that would be quite nice!)

M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

125g unsalted butter or use salted and omit the salt later in the recipe
1/2C caster sugar
1/2C brown sugar - loosely packed
1/2tsp vanilla extract
1 lightly beaten egg
1 3/4C SR Flour
1/2tsp salt
3/4C dark chocolate chips
3/4C M&M's

Preheat oven to 180C and spray some biscuit trays with olive oil spray or use baking paper.

Beat together butter, sugars & vanilla until pale. Add egg and beat some more until it is well combined. Sift in flour & salt and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Then, using clean hands, add the M&M's and chocolate bits and mix the dough and squish it until it all comes together.

Shape the dough into small balls and place on prepared oven trays. Make sure you allow a little room for them to spread as they do spread a bit. Bake for 10-12 minutes, they will still look pale and a little uncooked when they should be taken out.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes so they are easier to get off the trays.Mine made 26 -exactly the same amount as Gails!!!!

Low Carb Breakfast

2008-12-20T12:32:00.000-11:00

I think one of the things that people find on low carb diets is the monotony of eating eggs for breakfast. Fortunately I adore eggs, so have not found this a problem! I can manage them without a problem, my only grumble would be that one has to actually cook them, toast is a great deal easier and less mess!
However, when I have time, I don't mind in the slightest. When you can sit down to something as fabulous as this offering I am absolutely fine with it!
Omelettes have to be one my favourite way to eat eggs. I am NOT going to give a recipe here, only to say that this one was 3 eggs, beaten with a little cream, salt and pepper, fried in butter and filled with smoked salmon and brie (and a little extra freshly grated parmesan). Topped with a few baby basil leaves and served with 'burst' cherry tomatoes, this really was the perfect start to the day!

Cream puffs

2008-12-19T12:07:00.000-11:00

It really has been an eternity since I last made cream puffs. I decided they would be something nice to take as a plate for my daughters preschool Christmas party, and as always, it was the perfect excuse to try them again. The reason I haven't made them much is that I always remember the method as being particularly effortful, not my kind of baking! However, I discovered this recipe in The Best of Alison Holst, a much used cookbook of mine. It avoids all the beating needed and uses the food processor and it honestly couldn't be easier! I will absolutely be making them again this way! Once cooked, I simply drizzled them with dark and white chocolate and filled them with cream and a slice of strawberry. I doubled this recipe and it made approximately 48 medium sized puffs.Cream Puffs (Alison Holst)

1/2 c water
60g butter
1/2 c flour
2 large eggs

Put the water into a medium sized saucepan, with the butter (cut into cubes so it melts faster). Measure the flour carefully without packing or pressing it into the measuring cup. Beat eggs together so that you can pour them into the processor spout. Get all these things ready and make sure the oven is heated to 200C before you start beating and mixing. Bring the water to the boil with the butter. Don't let it boil too long as you don't want it to evaporate, just make sure the butter is properly melted. Tip all the flour in at once and stir briskly with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball which leaves the sides of the pot. As soon as this ball is formed, take the pot off the heat. Tip this mix into the food processor (use the metal blade). Put the top on the machine and put processor onto high while pouring egg slowly through the feed tube. You should add as much egg as possible without making it too liquid. It should be smooth and a soft dropping consistency.
Drop the mixture onto a baking paper lined tray in small spoonfuls or use a large piping bag with a wide nozzle to pipe onto tray.
Bake at 200c for 30 - 40 minutes, depending on what size you make them. If the puffs brown too much after rising, lower the heat to 190C. They should be quite hard and firm, if you take them out too early they will not be cooked inside and are more likely to collapse. If you are keeping them, they should be stored in an airtight container (they will keep for a week like this, unfilled).
Ice the tops with chocolate icing (or your choice of icing) and fill with whipped cream.
Glen wasn't able to make it to the Christmas party so we made sure he had his own special one!

Thai Beef Salad

2008-12-17T11:41:00.000-11:00

I have been making an effort to eat low carb recently. It is amazing how once you switch to this way of eating (and count carbs) how much hidden sugar there is in food. I have always been highly attached to carbs, but if I am honest, it is more that I am attached to sugar. Weaning myself off sugar has not been easy, I think for the simple psychological bond I have with it! We have been close companions for such a long time!!!:) My love of biscuits, cakes and sweets have always been my downfall and my desire to make these things is fuelled mainly by my desire to EAT them!
I think eating has moved from something that is life giving to something that is pleasure giving and while I certainly don't think that food shouldn't be pleasurable, I definitely think, that in an effort to make people consume more, the marketing machines of food producers emphasise the pleasure aspect to get us to buy. After all, we don't generally need all the crap they are making do we? Certainly we don't need all the chemicals, preservatives and additives that make their way into so many processed foods and my feeling has been that it wouldn't hurt me to eat more in the way of 'whole' foods.
I am not going to bore you with the ins and outs of eating low carb, however I have been pleasantly surprised at how satisfied I am eating this way. It is surprisingly easy, although it does require some effort with regard to everything needing cooking- there are few 'packet' options on this diet, just real food, cooked simply!

Tonights dinner was a perfect example of why I love to eat this kind of food. Fresh food with fresh flavours! This salad is a favourite of mine in warmer weather and you could vary this by making it with pork or chicken too. You can mix up the veges/salad ingredients too for a change. This version was a replication of one I had ordered in a cafe recently, I really liked the simplicity of it. I used steaks I had frozen in marinade, so that as they thawed they marinated. I got this idea from Nigella, who puts lemon zest, thyme and olive oil on her raw steaks then pops them in plastic bags and freezes them ready for later use. I do an asian version with sesame oil, ginger, garlic and soy, which is what I used here.Thai Beef Salad

Steak- quantities depend on how many you are serving- I used rump but I often use sirloin too.
(I allow about 120g per person)
Green leaves (baby spinach, mesclun, coriander all work nicely)
Tomatoes
Spring Onions
Avocados

Dressing:

Lime juice
Sesame oil
Peanut oil
Fish sauce
garlic, crushed
grated ginger
brown sugar
fresh chilli chopped finely

toasted sesame seeds to serve

I know I have been remiss in providing quantities but really this is a trial and error thing, and depends on your personal tastes and preferences. Just don't be too heavy handed with the sesame oil as it can be too overpowering.

Cook the steak in a frypan or on the BBQ until medium rare. Let rest for about 5-10 mins. While it rests throw all your salad ingredients onto a large platter, slice the steak up and scatter over the salad, drizzle over the dressing and sprinkle with sesame seeds. I also made some noodles up for the carb eaters at the table- some egg noodles, cooked and tossed with sesame oil and more toasted sesame seeds makes a nice accompaniment.

More Salmon

2008-12-15T11:26:00.000-11:00

Have I mentioned that I adore salmon???!!! In an effort to find new ways of serving it I made a buerre blanc to go with it this time. I have made a similar recipe before and it was served on a bed of minted pea puree - it was delicious, but this time I wanted to go for a lower carb version so served the salmon on a some minted, sauteed zucchini ribbons. It worked just as well and I was more than happy with this variation. The last time I made beurre blanc it was just wine, white wine vinegar and butter, and although it worked out fine, I liked the look of Al Brown's recipe where the vinegar and wine is infused with flavour first and the addition of cream. This is one of those sauces, like hollandaise, that you do have to take care with, but the effort is so met with the most gorgeous result. As much as salmon is a quite rich and oily fish, it is just fabulous swathed in this stuff- pure luxury on a plate.
The zucchini ribbons are a breeze too- simply slice zucchinis into ribbons using a potato peeler, pop them in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Grate in a clove of garlic, add in a good handful of chopped mint, half a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley, and about a tsp of grated lemon zest. Tip it all into a hot pan and sautee until tender, spritz with a little lemon juice and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.For the beurre blanc you need:

50ml white wine
50ml white wine vinegar
1 shallot (1Tbl)
8 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
100ml cream
250g butter (cold and cut into centimetre squares)
salt and pepper
squeeze of lemon juice

Method

Place the wine and vinegar in a saucepan.
Rough chop the shallot and add to the liquid with the peppercorns and bay leaf.
Place on medium heat and reduce the wine and vinegar by three-quarters.
Next add the cream and reduce by half. Cool slightly then return to very low heat.
Whisk in the butter piece by piece until fully incorporated and silky smooth in appearance.
Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and discard the solids.
Taste the beurre blanc sauce and season with salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice if required. The beurre blanc will keep in this form for a couple of hours if kept covered in a warm place. Once it is cold it can't be reheated as it will split.

Pavlova

2008-12-13T11:01:00.000-11:00

This is such a kiwi staple! And so it is rather ironic that the recipe I used here is from How to Eat: Pleasures and Principles of Good Food, except that in the preamble to the recipe Nigella says that the recipe comes from Stephanie Alexander's weighty (and amazing!!!) book The Cook's Companion 2, so at least I knew it would be authentic and failsafe!
I make pavs all the time, Nigella seems to have a real thing for them and many incarnations of it appear in her books. I have still not tried the chocolate and raspberry version even though I am sure it would be lovely. Somehow I can't bring myself to adulterate the recipe that much! I am a fan of the classic version and nothing is nicer than having it topped with cream and a tart fruit such as passionfruit, berries or kiwifruit. It is incredibly simple to make and is a lovely light dessert.
Once again, the leftovers left with the guests!!!

Pavlova

4 eggs whites (at room temperature)
pinch salt
1 1/2 c caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp white vinegar
few drops of vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups heavy cream, whipped until firm
fruit for top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7 inch (18 cm) circle on the paper.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and salt on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. (Test to see if the sugar is fully dissolved by rubbing a little of the meringue between your thumb and index finger. The meringue should feel smooth, not gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers). Sprinkle the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla over the top of the meringue and, with a rubber spatula, fold in.

Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the edges, making sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center. (You want a slight well in the center of the meringue to place the whipped cream and fruit.)

Turn oven down to150 C and put the pav into bake for 1 hour until the outside is dry and takes on a very pale cream color. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the meringue cool completely in the oven. (The outside of the meringue will feel firm to the touch, if gently pressed, but as it cools you will get a little cracking and you will see that the inside is soft and marshmallowy.)

The cooled meringue can be made and stored in a cool dry place, in an airtight container, for a few days.

Just before serving gently place the meringue onto a serving plate. Whip the cream in your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, until soft peaks form. Mound the softly whipped cream into the center of the meringue. Arrange the fruit randomly, or in a decorative pattern, on top of the cream. Serve immediately as this dessert does not hold for more than a few hours.

Serves 6 to 8.

Limoncello and Strawberry Tiramisu

2008-12-11T10:36:00.000-11:00

This Julie Le Clerc recipe is an absolute WINNER. I have been hankering to try this for a while, but as most recipes for tiramisu serve many I needed to wait until I had plenty of people around to make sure there wouldn't be too much in the way of leftovers! I have found this an excellent strategy for cooking/baking yummy things - share it with others (so I am not tempted to eat the whole lot!!!). So with my mascarpone freshly made I was ready to get stuck into this recipe. I used some NZ limoncello from Lemon Z, which was a top award winner at the International Wine and Spirit competition in London last year. It is a really lovely drop I must say! I have also made limoncello myself in the past, it is very easy to make and just gorgeous as a refreshing summer drink with lime syrup and soda water!
So, with all the right ingredients I knew this was likely to be a really yummy dessert. And it WAS! It was relatively easy to make too and an excellent make ahead dessert option. I made the recipe up at 1 1/2 times the quantities here, and it made 10 large portions (I served them individually in glasses).

Limoncello and Strawberry Tiramisu

2 eggs
1/4 cup caster sugar
250g mascarpone
2 punnets strawberries
1/2 cup Limoncello (lemon liqueur)
1/2 cup cold water
200g savoiardi biscuits (Italian sponge fingers)

1. Put eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk until thick and creamy. Whisk in the mascarpone until smooth. Hull and dice half the strawberries.

2. Combine the Limoncello and water in a bowl. Dip the savoiardi biscuits one at a time in this liquid and arrange in the base of a serving dish (a lasagne dish works well). Cover with half the mascarpone mixture and the diced strawberries.

3. Repeat with another layer of dipped savoiardi. Top with a smooth layer of mascarpone mixture. Chill for 5-6 hours or, preferably, overnight.

4. Decorate with the remaining strawberries before serving.

Home made Mascarpone

2008-12-09T10:14:00.000-11:00

I attended a cheese making course last weekend and among other things (which will no doubt make appearances here!) we learned how to make mascarpone. So of course I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try it out (I had tried once before and it was not a very successful effort!). With all the tricks and tips gleened from Katherine, I felt confident I would manage to get it right this time. And get it right I did! I ended up with about 400g of gorgeous fresh mascarpone, although this type is more ricotta in texture than the commercial mascarpone you buy but still has that distinctive tang and flavour. It really was a breeze to make, I will absolutely be making it again and again. Katherine Mowbray runs cheesemaking courses once a month in Auckland, and I honestly can not recommend it more highly. It is absolutely worth the $100 fee, all the tips and tricks she passed on were invaluable. It is so great to see exactly how the process works and what each stage should look like. My next attempt will be feta and halloumi, which I am dying to try to make now that I have seen how it is done!
Heres how to make the mascarpone if you want to try it yourself!

Take 2 litres of whole (not homogenised) milk (it has the silver top in the supermarket- I used the Naturalea Organic brand)
Pour this into a large saucepan that you have set up in a water bath (so you have one pan inside another and the pan with the milk in it isn't straight on the heat).
Add 300 mls cream.
Heat the two together until it reaches 90 degrees C.Add the juice of 1 - 2 lemons and stir through to get the milk mix to curdle.
This was the tricky bit, as it really depends how acidic your lemons are as to how much you add. I used limes today and they obviously weren't acidic enough, so boosted it with about 1/4 tsp citric acid. What you are looking for is a substantial curdle, so that it sticks to the whisk, but you don't want to over do it so that the particles get too big as this makes the mascarpone less delicate. Take the pot off the heat and allow to cool. The curdled parts will settle together in this time and make it easier to lift out and drain. Line a colander with cheese cloth (or muslin- I believe they are the same thing!) and when cool gently lift the curds out with a slotted spoon or small sieve. Draw the cloth up and knot it on a wooden spoon, placing it over the empty pot to drain all the liquid out. When it has stopped dripping it is ready to use. If you find the curd is not delicate enough you can loosen it up with more cream, I needed to do this, as I hurried mine a bit. I just blended it all together in the food processor and it was fine. Loosened with the cream I ended up with about 500g when I was done, so that was pretty good I thought. As this is a fresh cheese it needs to be used within a few days - I made it with the intention of making tiramisu straight away so that wasn't a problem!
One thing I would stress that makes a huge difference. Get a thermometer to know exactly what temperature your milk is. All my past efforts at cheese making have been without one and it makes a huge difference to KNOW you are at the right stage rather than guessing. Although I am amazed how much success I did have without knowing the exact temperature of my milk, I can see that the consistency of results is far more likely when using a thermometer, and when you are using that much milk and cream in one hit, you want it to work out!

More baking

2008-12-07T13:03:00.000-11:00

Well, to round out the trio of baking posts, here is the chocolate cake I recently made! Again it is from How to Eat: Pleasures and Principles of Good Food a book I have been totally engrossed in recently! I had bought it a while back and, because it has no pictures, had not really been taken with it. How wrong was I? I have finally started reading through it and I really am enjoying it for the involved preamble that every recipe is prefaced by- it really helps to set a mood for each dish and has had me trying all sorts of things I usually wouldn't. I do think that recipe books with no photos call on a different instinct when you are looking at them. There is that curiosity about how it might look- I love having the confidence that comes with experience and looking at ingredients and a method and knowing that it is worth a go. This was my feeling when I read the recipe for this cake, it was somewhat different to the usual method and yet somehow I knew it would be lovely, so was compelled to try!
There is nothing more satisfying to me than picking up a recipe book and hitting on a recipe that makes me feel like I have to get straight up and make it. It really is a great process of discovery!

Birthday Cake (Chocolate)

1 3/4 c plain flour
1/3 c cocoa
2 tsp B.P
pinch salt
1 c caster sugar
110g butter
2/3 c evaporated milk
100g dark chocolate (broken into small pieces)
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 180 C. Put the kettle on. Grease and line a 20 cm springform pan. Sift the flour, cocoa, BP and salt together in a large bowl. Put the sugar, butter, milk and 1/2c just boiled water along with the chocolate into a saucepan and heat until smooth and melted. Using a wooden spoon, stir chocolate mix into dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Add in eggs and beat to incorporate. Pour into cake pan, bake 35-45 mins. When it's ready the top will feel firm, but a skewer may not come out clean- it is a fudgy textured cake.Nigella says not to worry about cracking on the surface of the cake (like mine!!) as the ganache will cover it- which of course it does beautifully! When the cake is cool you can slather it with it!
Chocolate Ganache

200g dark chocolate
1 c heavy cream

Chop chocolate into pieces and put in bowl. Heat cream to just about boiling point and pour it over the chocolate. Leave for 5 mins then beat with an electric beater until thick and glossy. Spread all over cake. Leave for a couple of hours or until set- you can make this cake a day ahead.

Yoghurt Cake

2008-12-04T12:06:00.000-11:00

This is another of the lovely Pi's recipes. On Violet's Pantry there has been a wee corner devoted to a collection of her recipes and this was one that looked so yummy and easy I had to try it! Of course on looking at the recipe I decided it would really taste good with some lemon added, and as I had a few that needed using, it made perfect sense. So I added the zest and juice of a lemon to the mix. I also decided it might be nice cooked in a loaf tin, so did it that way, the cooking time was a little less though. I doubled the mix and made two at once, one to give away and one for the freezer! I iced it with a lemon cream cheese icing and it the finished result was a light yet luscious cake. What struck me was how ridiculously easy it was, the one given away went to my daughter's preschool for the teacher's morning tea and I was able to have it whipped up in no time! I have already made it again a couple of times as it is such a winner on all fronts for me (lemon or chocolate- can't decide which I like best!).

Gâteau au Yaourt

- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (1 envelope)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste/extract
- 1 tablespoon light rum

Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F), line the bottom of a round ten-inch (25cm) cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. In a large mixing-bowl, gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil and rum. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture, and blend together -- don't overwork the dough. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, run a knife around to loosen, and turn out on a rack to cool.For the icing I used: (approx quantities)

125g cream cheese
1 c icing sugar
50g butter
zest and juice of a lemon

Whizz it all up in the food processor and til smooth and spreadable.

A whole year has passed!

2008-12-01T10:30:00.000-11:00

It is hard to believe I have been at this lark for a year! As I wrote a few posts back, recently I have been wondering whether I actually wanted to keep going. I had no idea when I started this what it would plug me into, a whole community a food nuts and amazing inspiration and gorgeous photography. I have also met lots of new people through the blogging community and the foodie forums I belong to also have a strong and supportive group of bloggers. It is, to be fair, (I am loathe to admit) something of an addiction now. I struggle to let several days go by without doing a post. I have tried to rationalise (in all kinds of ways which are just too boring and obvious to cover here!) why I do this, but actually, when it comes down to it - the basic reason I do it is because I enjoy it. And hey, what is life if you don't enjoy it? So I have come full circle, philosophically speaking, and decided that whatever my reason for being here, I LOVE it, so I am going to keep blogging for the pure enjoyment factor.
What do I LOVE about blogging?

I love styling a plate of food, it really extends and flexes my creative muscle, creativity rocks!

I love getting just the right angle on a photo so that the light picks up some gleaming bit of sauce, or some smooth bit of icing, or some juicy bit of fruit. That never fails to thrill me!

I love seeing other peoples creativity and feeding (quite literally) off it!

I love that blogging has made me dare to try things I would never have dreamed of trying in the past, like....fully fledged tea parties, vegan cooking, making my own cheese, making kick arse scones (I so love being able to make GREAT scones now), making and decorating elaborate cakes, rediscovering my love for making preserves and home made foodie gifts. I truly am a much more confident cook because of blogging.

I love that when people ask me for recipes now I can say "It's on my blog"

Most of all I love it when a recipe I post inspires others to try it and love it as much as I did!

I didn't have any intention of baking/making anything to mark this post with, but I did end up making this cake for a morning tea shout for my husbands work. Appropriately, it is a Nigella recipe, (from How to Eat: Pleasures and Principles of Good Food, I am finally acquainting myself properly with this lovely book!)
and also fittingly, it is dead easy- my kind of cooking!
Victoria Sponge

1 1/2 c plain flour
1/4 c corn flour
1 cup plus 2 tbsp caster sugar
225g very soft butter
2 tsp BP
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 180 C. Butter two 20 cm round cake pans.
Put all ingredients, except milk, into a food processor and process to mix. Make sure it is all mixed and process some more while pouring milk through the funnel. The batter should be a soft dropping consistency. Pour into cake pans and bake for about 25 mins and a cake tester comes out clean. Let cakes stand in pans for a minute or so and then turn onto a wire rack to cool. Sandwich together with cream and jam or what ever you like!

Chocolate Mousse

2008-11-28T11:43:00.000-11:00

I cannot remember how many times I have eaten or made this wondrous dessert. It is one of those culinary staples that is a constant in my life! Of course over recent years I have been a little aversive, given it's general decadent nature and high fat content. However, I have been reading Nigella's book How to Eat: Pleasures and Principles of Good Food and enjoying the chapter on feeding small children. There I found a lovely simple recipe for chocolate mousse that I simply had to try. I had also seen a nice easy version in Jo Seagar's excellent book Lip Smackin', Fast Cookin', Hunger Bustin', Gr8 Tastin' Cookbook (which my son uses a lot as the recipes are tasty and straight forward) but Jo's recipe uses a lot of cream and more chocolate and I thought Nigella's version, using both egg yolks and egg white seemed not only more practical (I prefer not to have egg whites hanging around or I will just be tempted to make meringues!!!) and somewhat lighter (in both texture and calories!)
I will include both recipes here though and you can decide for yourself which recipe to try. Nigella says that this recipe would feed 4 small children, and all I can say to that is -they must be very small children!!!! We made the recipe up at 1 1/2 times the called for quantities and it made 4 very small portions- albeit rich and probably quite sufficient! Jo's version, with it's bigger quantities she says makes 6 large servings or 10 small. Having not made it yet (although, let's be realistic here, it is only a matter of time!) I can't comment on how big those serving sizes really are.

Children's Chocolate Mousse (Nigella Lawson)

100g milk chocolate (at least 40% cocoa solids-I used 60% dark chocolate, because it is my preference and it was delicious!)
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 eggs separated

Melt chocolate with 1 1/2 tbsp water and the golden syrup. When smooth remove from heat (I microwaved mine in short bursts). Whisk egg whites until you have a stiff snow. Beat the egg yolks, one by one, into the still warm chocolate mixture. Take a dollop of the egg whites and beat well into the chocolate mix to loosen it a little. Fold the rest of the whites in and incorporate well. Pour into 4 small bowls and refrigerate for at least 6 hours (we waited a couple of hours and they were totally fine)
Delicious Choccy Mud Mousse (Jo Seagar)

300ml cream
250g dark chocolate
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp sugar

Pour cream into microwable jug or bowl and heat on high for 2 mins until just about to boil. Place chocolate, egg yolks and sugar in a blender and pour in the nearly boiled cream. Securely put on lid and blend until smooth and well combined. Pour into serving dishes and leave to set for at leas 3 hours in the fridge. Keeps for 3 -4 days in the fridge.

Salmon

2008-11-25T11:46:00.000-11:00

I am a total sucker for salmon. I really can't get enough of it. It is usually reasonably priced and the size of the fillets makes for satisfying 'meaty' eating. I am always looking for new ways to cook it, I love it smoked, and am still getting around to making my own gravlax, which I just love! Al Brown did a fabulous feature in the latest cuisine on salmon and they all sound divine. However, what lead me to tonight's dinner was reading Nigella's How to Eat: Pleasures and Principles of Good Food - and being reminded of that lovely sauce that is salsa verde. I have made this before and really love it's fresh flavour and while tonight's version was inspired by Nigella, it is actually quite removed from her version! I simply pan fried the salmon and served it with sauteed veges, then popped on a couple of tablespoons of the gorgeous sauce. After making my version I decided to google it to see how far removed from the authentic recipe I was, which I kind of am, but hey it tasted good, so here's how I made mine:

Salsa Verde (of sorts!)

Approx 1 cup flat leaf parsley
Approx 1/2 cup basil leaves
Approx 1/4 c mint leaves
Approx 1/4c chives
3 tbsp capers
1 garlic clove
1/4 c white wine vinegar
1 c extra virgin olive oil
4 good quality anchovies
2 tsp dijon mustard
6 cornichons

Put everything into a food processor and whiz until it is blended into a reasonably smooth and vibrantly green sauce.This goes really well with any fish, and I have also stirred some through some home made mayo for a nice dip or to coat a mixed green leafy salad or with new potatoes!

Just a note about the anchovies- for the first time ever I used a more expensive brand and could not believe the difference in taste and texture- they were totally sublime! I will never go back, they are about twice the price but so worth it in terms of the difference in flavour.

Lemon Balm Jelly

2008-11-22T15:07:00.000-11:00

My mother kindly makes space in her garden for a few bits and pieces that I like. One of those things is lemon balm. Apparently it is related to mint and like mint, spreads! She was concerned at how much space it was starting to take up so I had a quick look on the internet to see what I could make to get rid of as much as possible. Lemon balm syrup or jelly looked like the best options so I went with the jelly. The recipe I found looked somewhat unusual and certainly didn't follow the method I am familiar with when making fruit jellies. However, I decided to give it a go and see how it went. It didn't! It wouldn't set at all so I reverted to the tried and true and boiled it down to get it to the right point where it would. The original recipe was from Cooks.com and is as follows:

Lemon Balm Jelly

1 c. lemon balm
3 c. water
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
6 1/2 c. sugar
1 bottle liquid pectin
Drop of yellow food coloring

Steep lemon balm in boiled water 10-20 minutes. Strain. Bring infusion and sugar to a rolling boil, add pectin and cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add coloring, jar and seal.

I bought some pectin (Kings) as I had never used it before. I also used a heap more lemon balm to get a good infusion. I probably quadrupled the lemon juice too! I then boiled the heck out of it!
It turned out a gorgeous jelly, fragrant and subtle, and perfect on toast. I reckon it would be fab on butterfly cakes too. Or on scones with cream, or in the middle of a sponge.......I got about 6 150 ml jars from this foray, which I thought was worth the effort!

Stuffed Potatoes

2008-11-20T09:58:00.000-11:00

This recipe was posted by Sally on Violet's Pantry, and reminded me of how much I adore them and that I hadn't made them in eons. The recipe was published somewhere in the lead up to the Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities book being released as it appears in it. Sally remarked that she had been making these for years but she rather liked Nigella's name for them- Fully Loaded Potato Skins! I too have been making them for a long time, they were one of my first staple recipes when I was first flatting, as you can make them cheaply and they are tasty and filling. I didn't think this would be the first recipe I would post from Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities, (there are so many more decadent and interesting recipes in the book!!!) but actually I love this recipe for its pragmatism.....so much of it can be done ahead, it is tasty and the kids really love them!!!! That, to me, is more of what cooking is about, serving up great but easy food day to day! The great thing about this recipe is it's ability to be a vehicle for left overs. You really can add anything you like into it, and it keeps it interesting too.
Here's Nigella's recipe:

Fully Loaded Potato Skins

10 baking potatoes
225g strong cheddar or red leicester
250ml sour cream
4 spring onions
1 teaspoon Maldon salt or
½ teaspoon table salt or to taste
good grinding of black pepper
1 x 15ml tablespoon worcestershire sauce
10 rashers American-style or thin-cut streaky bacon
oil for frying

METHOD

The day (or up to 2 days) before you load them, preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/gas 6 and bake the potatoes (pricking them first) for about 1½ hours, or until the skins are crisp and the insides fluffy. As soon as you can bear to tackle the hot potatoes, cut them in half lengthways and scoop the insides into a bowl.Put the husk-like skins of the potatoes on a tray and, when cool, cover until you are ready to fill them. Let the potato cool in the bowl, and then cover until needed.
When you are ready to fill the potatoes, preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/gas 6. Grate the cheese, and add 200g of it to the cold potato along with the sour cream. Chop the spring onions and add to the potato, with the salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce. (I deviate a bit here, and fry the onion and bacon, ricing the potato and adding it in with all the other ingredients!)Spoon the potato filling into the potato skins, and lay each half on a baking tray so they fit snugly together. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese, giving each potato skin a light covering, and cook for 20-30 minutes until golden.Fry (or grill) the bacon rashers in oil until crispy, then crumble them and sprinkle half a rasher’s worth over each potato skin to make them fully loaded.

MAKE AHEAD TIP Fill the potato skins, as directed, and sprinkle with the cheese and crispy bacon (or add the crispy bacon after cooking if preferred). Cover loosely and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Cook as directed.

Another pantry challenge

2008-11-18T09:03:00.000-11:00

This recipe is one I have made before. I liked it the first time (and have since made it a couple more times) so when it came up as the Pantry Challenge, I thought I would have a go at mucking about with it a bit. So I used the same basic recipe and method, but added in a few extras. The inspiration from this came from a yummy creamy bacon and tomato pasta I made recently and thought it would be quite nice to try it in a risotto version. So I added in 4 chopped slices of streaky bacon with the onion and got it as crispy as possible, then added in 1/2 a chopped red pepper and 1/2 a chopped yellow pepper and two chopped tomatoes and sauteed. I then added the rice. At this point I followed the usual method of adding wine then stock (I used chicken). For something different I substituted 1 cup of the chicken stock for 1 cup of (shock horror) tinned tomato soup-(I used the condensed soup and diluted with water to make the 1 cup). I have to say, tinned tomato soup is a staple in my pantry and finds it's way into many meals - it is extremely versatile!
This turned out wonderfully, cheesy, bacony, and tomatoey!!!! Just a fabulous combination in my book!I did some crispy bacon up for garnish along with some baby basil leaves.

Spiced nuts

2008-11-16T15:55:00.000-11:00

This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found in the NZ Home and Garden "Food, Friends and Fun" Magazine, which I took a quick flick through and just knew I had to have. It is packed with excellent ideas both for cooking and decorating for occasions. I had seen a recipe for spiced nuts inNigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities and thought it sounded lovely, but liked this one better as it had a lot less sugar and no oil.
I will give the original recipe here (as it is made with pretzels as well) and then add my variations (there are, as always, a few). I made mine with nuts only and they turned out just beautifully. The slight amount of sugar is just enough to make them 'special', combined with the spices of course. I think they would make a lovely gift, wrapped up, or a nice thing to take along to a party. One thing though, my version would not be cheap to make. The recipe makes 4 cups (and I would recommend 1/4 c per serve) and the nuts cost about $9.00 all up (so each serve is approx 50c each). Okay occasionally -maybe only as a special treat however!!!

Spiced Nuts and Pretzels

1 small egg white
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp each: cayenne pepper, sweet smoked paprika
1 1/2c natural almonds
1 c natural cashew nuts
100g pretzels

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a swiss roll tin with baking paper. In a large bowl, whisk together egg white with sugar, then add cumin, salt, cayenne pepper and paprika. Add nuts and toss to coat.
Spread nuts in a single layer in tin and bake 20-25 mins, lifting and turning every 5 mins, until crisp and golden. Lift baking paper and nuts from tin and lay on a wire rack to allow nuts to coll completely before combining with the pretzels.Changes:

I ommited the pretzels and used:

150 g sunflower seeds
150g raw blanched almonds
75g pecans
75g hazelnuts

I used a teaspoon of soy instead of the salt

I used 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Enjoy!

What to do, what to do.....

2008-11-13T14:51:00.000-11:00

I have been away from this blog for what seems like an eternity, certainly this is the longest since I started it. I have been feeling somewhat ambivalent to be honest, not really sure how much of a priority I want it to be- clearly it is not a priority at the moment. But I have so many lovely photos and recipes that I want to share and that is the catch 22 part of it all. For some reason the motivation doesn't seem to be there. I actually think it probably is down to the time of year and change of seasons. Suddenly the days are long, fine and warm and cooking or baking, then sitting in front of a computer has lost its appeal. So I think I am going to try and clear the backlog of posts and take a wee break over summer. I really don't like to cook over summer, it is something I do reluctantly actually! Too much going on, lots of lovely fresh food that gets assembled rather than properly cooked if you know what I mean. It seems a shame, given how gorgeous the light is for taking photos at the moment!!!!!!
I have also made a pact to stop baking for a wee while, and since doing so have noticed a significant improvement in how my clothes fit!!! I am wanting to cut down on all the excess so chances are my food will be somewhat basic and uninspiring! I will of course feel compelled to cook from time to time I know, and those instances will undoubtedly be honoured with a post!:)

Cyber Friends

2008-11-09T11:32:00.000-11:00

I would never have imagined I would make good friends on the internet. It just wasn't something I entertained! But since joining Violets' Pantry (after Nigella's forum closed) it has become a place to catch up with interesting people from all over the world and all walks of life, connected primarily by our shared love of cooking. Violets started the forum, with Pistachio coming in soon after to help with lots of the techie stuff. Between them they moderated a lovely friendly safe place to share recipes, photos of food and plenty of day to day happenings in our lives. There have been so many events, births, marriages, engagements, graduations, birthdays -you name it we have shared it.
Sadly, we had a first recently, one which has knocked us all. Pistachio fell ill quite suddenly and after a worrying time in hospital in and out of consciousness, she died on November 5th.
This post is a wee tribute to her, as she was such a constant presence in all of the lives of those who frequent 'The Pantry' - and also Mr X, where she had many friends too.
She had a strong moral compass and always stood up for what she thought, firmly and resolutely yet it never felt threatening. I always admired her for her courage of conviction. She was a fabulous cook and we shared a love for Mediterranean and Moroccan food, I cooked many a recipe from her lovely blog. She inspired me to start this blog and was helpful in the set up phase, in fact my first ever post was one of her recipes.
My life is certainly the better for having 'known' her and we are all so sad that she has gone.
Tonight's dinner was especially for her.....Moroccan lamb and chickpeas with gingered couscous. Her method of cooking couscous is one I often use now, it is quick and easy and lifts it to something a bit more special. She added one tsp of ground ginger per cup of couscous and her instructions are as follows:
Toast the couscous with the powdered ginger and salt to taste in a smallish thick-bottomed pan, when it starts to smell nutty and aromatic take it off the heat. Now pour over exactly one and a half times the amount of boiling water to couscous and quickly clamp on a tightly fitting lid. Let stand exactly ten minutes. Fluff with a fork, cover with a cloth and then put the lid on again. Let rest five minutes before serving. Best couscous ever!
I agree it IS the best couscous ever Pi! I will miss your down to earth input on the Pantry and your gorgeous cooking.

A little luxury......

2008-10-18T20:50:00.001-11:00

We have just had the most glorious weekend at the Poronui Ranch near Taupo. We spied the ad for a food and wine weekend there, with a 7 course dinner cooked by Hunger for the Wild chef Al Brown (of Logan Brown) with wines matched to it by Mount Edward wines. My dear husband decided it was too good an opportunity to pass by as it was limited to 20 people so booked it for us knowing it would doubtless be a good time and an ideal anniversary/birthday present! I was so excited about going and was so looking forward to a relaxing weekend with great food and wine.
It absolutely surpassed expectations. Those who know me know that that is no mean feat! I had absolutely no idea what to expect as far as the accommodation went but I was amazed and delighted by the whole property. It is an enormous tract of land about 1/2 an hour from Taupo, in the hills off the Napier Taupo highway. It has a fabulous array of buildings and facilities and so many things to do. We did none of the available activities (guided fly fishing, deer hunting, mountain biking, hiking etc) but would definitely give them a go next time (yes, we are already planning the next time!!!). I apologise for the quality of some of the photos, it appears my zoom is not the greatest and the lighting in the cellar was of course rather low!
The main lodge is the centre of activity where breakfast is served each morning and has cottages close by perched on a cliff overlooking the Taharua river. The revelation was where we stayed....6 km up the road at the original owners residence 'Blake House'. It has four huge bedrooms and two cool big bunk rooms so can sleep a whopping 16 people, all in exceptional style, with a spectacular outlook. Two massive living areas and four lovely big open fires as well as a fully stocked serious kitchen. The weekend was an all inclusive package so all food was included, which was fantastic, but the fridge was well stocked with drinks, snacks and nibbles, the biscuit and cake tins were full too!
On the Saturday we were ferried by 4WD into the Safari Hut Camp, by the Mohaka River, which is truly my kind of camping. Two 'tent' huts with real beds and a kitchen/dining 'tent' complete with running water (!). You can only get to the spot by 4WD so it is totally isolated, only the roar of the river to keep you company. We had a gorgeous picnic, complete with wine and basked in the afternoon sun for a while.Saturday evening's dinner was outstanding. It was held in Poronui's underground wine cellar, which houses something like 10,000 bottles! It was a lovely setting.
Here is the menu and each of the 7 courses (except the paua fritters which were gone too quick!) Salmon Gravlax with green olive and lime tapenade and fresh wasabi Sauteed turbot with fresh tuatua on savoy cabbage with lemon zest Butter poached baby crayfish with salsa verde and horseradish Porcetta with celeriac puree, caramelised pear and bitter salad (celery, fennel, whitlof and walnuts) Seared duck breast with roasted garlic custard and pinot noir jelly Gingerbread and Cherry Trifle The pictures speak for themselves, it was completely delicious.
The wine was also excellent and it was great to get a run down from Duncan, wine maker at Mount Edward, on their philosophy and approach to wine making. We made sure to stop in at Scenic Cellars in Taupo to grab a couple of bottles of the Reisling, one for us and one as a thank you to my mother for the babysitting!
We are hoping the weekend is on next year as we would definitely do it again. Although I was a little apprehensive about spending the weekend with a group of strangers, we had an excellent time, meeting lots of great people, all of who shared the same intent - enjoying the occasion! Our impression of the weekend was that it represented amazing value. The level of hospitality was like nothing I have ever experienced and was absolutely worth paying that bit extra for.
As we were leaving the deer that we had seen plenty of all weekend on our drives to and from the lodge seemed elusive when I decided I wanted a photo. We just managed to catch this one before it darted off into the trees.... This will be my last blog for a wee while as I have my final assignment due for uni for the year. I will be back in a couple of weeks!

More muffins

2008-10-10T16:35:00.000-11:00

I really think that a muffin needs to be made with butter. It is what gives it a nice crispy outside I think. So I am always a little wary of trying recipes which call for oil instead. HOWEVER....in the interests of better health, I have capitulated and have been making muffins with rice bran oil, which is an excellent source of omega 3 and is great for cooking as it is very 'clean' tasting. It is of course easier as there is no melting involved so I am conceding that it does have it's place. I have mainly been making bran muffins with the oil as the combination seems to work really well. But now I am going to undo all the preaching about health and tell you how I used it to make double chocolate muffins. Not very clever I know, but hey, it's Nigella, and you don't expect it to be healthy do you????
These muffins are in Feast- I added raspberries to mine as I adore the combination of chocolate and raspberry. I also had some ganache hanging about so they got adorned with this as well!!!Chocolate Chocolate-Chip muffins

1 3/4c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cocoa
1 large egg
3/4 c dark chocolate chips
1 cup milk
1/3 c plus 2 tsp vegetable oil
3/4 c caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 C and line muffin tins with paper cases. Measure dry ingredients into large bowl. Mix liquid ingredients together then pour into dry ingredients. Mix together lightly, don't overmix. Spoon into muffin cases and sprinkle with more choc chips. Cook for 20 mins or til muffins are dark, risen and spongy.

Now here is my tried and trusted muffin recipe, this time with BUTTER!
9 times out of 10 I make blueberry, but from time to time change and use apple, pear, peach, other berries or banana. But blueberry is definitely hard to beat!Blueberry muffins

2 cups SR flour
3/4c sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 eggs, beaten
1oog butter, melted
1 c buttermilk
1 c fresh or frozen blueberries

Put dry ingredients and zest into large bowl. Add blueberries and toss them through the dry ingredients, Combine all wet ingredients then add to dry ingredients, mixing to just incorporate.
Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 180C for 20 25 mins (longer for frozen berries) until golden brown.

Chelsea buns

2008-10-07T14:51:00.000-11:00

I love making bread and even more than that I love making sweet versions! I will often make a pinwheel kind of concoction or a tea ring and when I saw this recipe I really wanted to try it as it was somewhat less of the traditional type of Chelsea bun in that it had pecans and was drizzled with coffee icing!
I am often impatient and don't let the bread do a proper second rising. I have recently taken to being more patient and letting it do its thing as the result is certainly a lighter and more voluminous end product. It also tends to cook alot more evenly I find. I made these in a tin so they all squashed into each other, which did look rather lovely. It pushes them up more too as they can't spread out, so they are lovely and deep!
As usual, I did the dough in the bread machine, then rolled it out and spread the filling on, cut them into pinwheels and popped them in the tin, leaving them to increase in size before baking.Chelsea Buns with pecans and coffee glaze

4 tsp yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
3 3/4c (560g) plain flour
1 1/2 c warm milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp mixed spice
2 tspn grated orange rind
1 tbsp caster sugar, extra
1 egg, lightly beaten
45g butter, melted
15g butter, melted, extra
2 tbsp raspberry jam
1/2 c currants
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c toasted, chopped pecans
3 tsp honey

Icing
1 1/2c icing sugar
15 g butter
2 tbsp warm milk
3 tsp coffee powder (I used fresh brewed espresso)

Combine first 11 ingredients together and set to dough cycle on bread machine. Once risen, turn dough onto floured surface and roll out into large rectangle. Brush dough with extra butter, spread with jam, then scatter over currants, pecans and brown sugar. Roll dough up from long side like a swiss roll. Cut into 12 slices. Place in 2 greased deep 22cm cake tins. Cover and let rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes.
Bake at 190C for about 30 minutes. Cool in tin for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack. Brush buns with honey then drizzle with coffee icing.

Ginger Gems

2008-10-04T14:39:00.000-11:00

These lovely little cakes really take me back. My mum had a gem iron and made them occasionally and they are just lovely fresh out of the oven. They require a heavy cast iron gem pan, which gets heated in the oven until really hot, then you whip it out, drop butter into each compartment, then the batter and get it straight back into the oven. They are very easy to whip up in no time so make an ideal 'spontaneous' afternoon tea treat. Apparently they can be made in muffin tins as well, to me it just wouldn't be the same, I think the shape is what makes these!
This recipe comes from the Edmonds cookbook, the staple cookbook and baking bible that would have to be in most NZ households! It makes 12 wee gems, I doubled this when I made them for 24!

Ginger Gems

50 g butter
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 egg
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c milk
extra butter

Preheat gem irons in oven at 200C. Cream butter and sugar and ginger in bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg, beating well. Beat in syrup. Sift flour and stir in. Dissolve baking soda in milk and quickly stir into creamed mix. Put small dots of butter in each section of gem iron. Spoon mixture into sizzling butter. Bake for 10 mins or until well risen and golden brown.

Bananas about Baking

2008-10-01T14:19:00.000-11:00

I love the ease of muffin making, the whole throw it all in a bowl, mix and bake. They tend to be quite forgiving as long as you don't overmix! I refer to my basic recipe (safely in my head!) and use that as a guide when looking at new recipes as to how it might differ and whether it will work. I am always trying new recipes, substituting here and there and still haven't really found THE one recipe so it is an ongoing quest. Bran muffins are a bit of a different beast though, and even though I really love them, they are certainly not as light. I mostly pop blueberries in my bran muffins, it makes me feel doubly virtuous eating them and makes them lovely and moist. This recipe is for Banana Bran Muffins, it is from Annabel Langbein (from The Best of Annabel Langbein: Great Food For Busy Lives (revised and expanded edition)) and I add blueberries into it as well. I made them to pop in the freezer as a quick and reasonably healthy snack for the kids. The only thing I hate about muffin making is cleaning the trays. I don't like putting them in the dishwasher and they really are a pain to clean. Sometimes I circumvent this by using paper cases!

Banana Bran Muffins

2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 c bran flakes
1 tbsp each cinnamon and baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup milk
2 tbsp each butter and golden syrup
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 190C. Combine flour, bran, cinnamon, BP and ginger. Heat together milk, butter golden syrup and brown sugar until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Stir in baking soda and bananas. Add to dry ingredients and mix to just combine. Spoon into 12 greased muffin tins and bake for 15-20 mins. Leave to stand 2 mins before removing from tins.

Curry Feast

2008-09-29T13:42:00.000-11:00

I often fall back on curry when entertaining. It is so easy to make the curries in advance as well as many of the accompaniments, then on the day it is just a case of preparing rice and breads. I made a Lamb Korma and a variation of a Chicken Tikka. The Korma recipe is one I have made before and really love- I found it on Pistachio en la cocina - a fabulous blog that I am often inspired to cook from. The post also includes recipes for rice with peas (a pilaf) and chapatis, both of which I have also made and which I made again for this meal. I made the curries and transferred them to slow cookers to keep warm and develop a little more in flavour. The chicken curry is very much my standby made up as I go along curry, and is never the same twice, so I won't bore you with that one!
To go with the curries I serve my lemon pickle (which works really well!), raita, poppadoms, bananas with yoghurt and coconut and a tomato, fresh coconut and coriander salad.

Rex grated the coconut, using my mother's genius coconut grater that she brought home from Rarotonga. He also made the chapatis and dessert......which was of course Chocohotopots. He is proving to be a very valuable asset in the kitchen!!!! (Just need to get him to clean up now!!)

Dessert Pizza

2008-09-26T13:33:00.000-11:00

I can't say I have been a great fan of such things as dessert pizzas- however I tried a delicious one a few months ago and resolved to give it go sometime soon. I rarely have 'spare' dough but was making pizza for tonights dinner and had plenty spare so thought I would give it a go. Tonight's version was very much a throw together of ingredients to hand, fortunately they all worked together well! I had some left over marscarpone so added a bit of cinnamon and sugar to it and spread that over the base. I sliced some tinned pears up and lay them on, then scattered some chunks of 70% dark chocolate and sliced almonds over. It got baked at 230C (or as hot as your oven can get!) for about 12 mins. It was flipping delicious and so quick and easy I am going to make sure I reserve some dough next time I make pizzas. The kids really loved the idea and got stuck into them!

Buttermilk Scones

2008-09-23T13:12:00.000-11:00

I had a go at making my own buttermilk the other day, I thought if I could get the hang of it I could maybe keep it on the go to encourage me to make lovely goodies like the scones I made today. I think buttermilk gives a fabulous lightness to both muffins and scones, but it is so much more expensive than milk that I often forgo it in favour of the cheaper (and more convenient) option. Sophie Grays second book Destitute Gourmet: More Stunning Food from Small Change has instructions on how to get around this - her whole philosophy is eating well for less and certainly she has a great deal of hints and methods that can cut a good chunk from the weekly grocery spend. This book has instructions on how to make your own yoghurt, buttermilk, creme fraiche, mascarpone and condensed milk. I have made the mascarpone, which turned out really well, and is definitely less expensive than the store bought variety.
To make your own buttermilk you do have to start with the bought version- this is only to begin with and once you have it going you just take half a cup from each lot you make to start your next one. I made mine in my yoghurt maker, it turned out fine.

2 cups milk
1/2 c buttermilk

Heat the milk to blood temperature- about 37 degrees C. Stir in the buttermilk. Transfer mixture to a clean jar and give it a good shake. Leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours. When thickened transfer to a plastic container with a tight fitting lid and store in the fridge. Keeps 7-10 days.

The scones I made were plain ones- the recipe is similar to my cheese scones but using buttermilk instead of milk.

4 c SR flour
2 tsp BP
1 tsp salt
1/4 c sugar
2 cups buttermilk
100 g cold butter
1 egg.

Oven at 210C. Put dry ingredients in large bowl. Grate in cold butter and work through flour mix. Beat egg into buttermilk and add to dry ingredients. Work together into dough, don't overmix. Turn onto floured surface and pat out to about 2 inches thick. Cut shapes and place on baking paper lined tray.
Bake 15-20 mins or until puffed up and golden brown. Makes 12 LARGE scones or 18-20 medium.I served these with my homemade strawberry jam and cream, they were lovely!! They also keep well- they were still very moist and tender the next day.

A Vegan Feast

2008-09-20T11:31:00.000-11:00

Well, actually, this is more of a semi vegan feast as there were some non-vegan options for those of us who desired! I recently had friends for dinner, one of whom is vegan. I had never cooked an entirely vegan meal before so decided I would challenge myself to do an entire dinner party of vegan food. It proved to be more challenging than I thought it would be so I succumbed to adding interest by including a little cheese and meat for those of us who enjoy meat and cheese! I went for a Morrocan 'mezze' style meal, lots of little plates of goodies, and plenty of yummy home made breads to eat it all with. I did make EVERYTHING from scratch so there was plenty of flavour and of course no nasty additives!! This turned out to be a really great option for entertaining as I was able to do a fair bit of it in the days before and it was nice to have lots of different options to pick and choose from and to pass around the table. I thought I had (as usual) overcatered when I saw all the things on the table, but there were 10 of us and it turned out there was only a little left over, so I got it about right.
On the table was:

Pizza bread with rosemary

Wholemeal bread
Pita pockets

Toasted ciabatta

Marinated feta
Morrocan spiced lamb cutlets
Tzatziki
Roasted mushrooms
Roasted red peppers
Slow roasted tomatoesCarrot, orange and poppy seed salad
Baby spinach with sunflower seeds
Onion jam
Hummus
Olives
Sauteed zucchini ribbons with garlic, lemon and flat leaf parsleyFor dessert I poached some pears in a white wine syrup, I used a muscat which I added sugar to and infused with saffron, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans and cardamom pods. I made a pinenut and almond praline to go with it, along with my own homemade mascarpone to which I added orange zest and cointreau. It was an absolute triumph, gorgeous flavours and a very easy dessert as the poaching was done slowly in the oven - so easily done ahead. I think I liked this version more than the red wine version, it is more subtly flavoured and the pear shines more too.The praline was dead easy and very yummy. I used a recipe from the Destitute Gourmet again!

Praline
100g sugar
75 ml water
100g slivered almonds (I used extra pine nuts, about 70g almonds and 70g pinenuts- as those are the packet sizes!)

Toast almonds and pine nuts first. Then in a heavy pan dissolve sugar and water. without stirring for about 10 mins or until the syrup is golden brown. Scatter nuts on a large piece of parchment/baking paper. Pour syrup over nuts to get good coverage and leave to set for about 10 mins. When set, place in a sturdy plastic bag and smash with a rolling pin to crush praline into shards, chunks and crumbs.

Footnote:
This dessert was dreamed up after reading Laura's post "Wickedly Good", which had such lovely descriptions (and photos) that made me want to pull some of the flavours right out of the screen!!!!

'Pepped up' Pumpkin

2008-09-16T23:52:00.000-11:00

It is dishes like these that really transform a meal. I have to say that I am terribly conservative when it comes to veges and how I serve them. Apart from salads, where I quite happily experiment and mix it up, cooked veges in the winter tend to be simple and unadorned. Tonight I tried a recipe from Nigella's lastest book Nigella Express. On Violet's Pantry we have set a recipe from it once a fortnight to try. The first one was the 'Curry in a Hurry' which failed to appear on my blog as I was having terrible camera trouble and wiped it from my memory card! It was very nice though and it is always good to be prompted to try a recipe I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise.
This time Minnie was responsible for the recipe choice and it is really delicious. Flipping easy and totally lifted our meal to a whole different level. I naturally think of feta to pair with pumpkin, but if you are a blue cheese lover, you will LOVE this! I popped some lettuce with it, just because I wanted to get a bit of extra green into our dinner.
My husband really enjoyed this, I will definitely make it again!

Butternut squash with pecans and blue cheese

2kg/4lb 8oz butternut squash
3 tbsp olive oil
6 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
100g/3½oz pecans
125g/4oz Roquefort, or other blue cheese, crumbled
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Halve the squash, leaving the skin on, and scoop out the seeds. Cut the squash into 2.5cm/1in cubes - you don't need to be precise, just keep the pieces uniformly small.
3. Place into a roasting tin and drizzle with the oil. Strip about four sprigs of thyme of their leaves (or use dried thyme) and sprinkle over the butternut squash.
4. Transfer to the oven and roast for about 30-45 minutes, or until tender.
5. Once out of the oven, remove the squash to a bowl. Scatter over the pecans and crumble over the cheese, stirring everything together gently. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
6. To serve, tear the remaining sprigs of thyme into small pieces and sprinkle over the top of the butternut squash mixture.

My favourite colour

2008-09-15T00:36:00.000-11:00

Is RED!!!! Because my freezer had defrosted all my lovely berries needed dealing to. I had planned on making jams with them anyway, it just wasn't on my to do list right at the moment!! But at least looking at these gorgeous red berries (and taste testing all the way through) eased the burden!!!!
I make jam with an equal ratio of sugar to fruit. So I had 500g cranberries, I used 500g sugar. It might sound like a lot, and to be fair sometimes I do try to reduce it. But every time I do muck with it, it just takes longer to set, so I end up boiling the heck out of it and probably it ends up just as concentrated in sugar anyway!
I really LOVE making jam. It is such a quick and easy thing to do and soooooo satisfying. Because I pretty much eat toast every morning, I enjoy home made jams to spread on it. I will often give jars as gifts and they are a great standby gift. I have become accustomed to how jam 'looks' when it is ready to pop into the jar.
This lot is cranberry jelly, redcurrant jelly and strawberry and vanilla jam. The first two will be stowed away for Christmas and will probably get given as gifts too! I might have to hoard the strawberry one though!

Venison Pie

2008-09-13T00:19:00.000-11:00

I was fortunate to be given some wild venison recently and had it stowed away in the freezer while I ruminated about how to cook it. My room for rumination was abruptly cut short when my freezer defrosted!!!! Fortunately I caught everything in time to be able to cook it all up, but it was a real pain to have to suddenly kick into a couple of days of cooking when it wasn't planned for! I happened to have some puff pastry that had also thawed so decided to make a venison pie. The meat was cut into schniztel, which made it very easy to deal with. I know that venison is usually best not mucked around with, certainly it is supposed to be cooked reasonably quickly as it is so very lean. This was no exception, it was very lean. However, I decided to be reckless and make a ragu with it - I fried some onions, and then cut the meat up into strips and quickly flash fried them. I popped the onion and venison in a large oven tray, then deglazed the pan with some red wine, tinned chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. I poured this over the venison and onion, then added in a couple of chopped carrots and parsnips, then about a cupful of quartered mushrooms. Some thyme scattered over and about a cup of beef stock finished it all off, then I covered it with foil and cooked it at 160C for about 2 hours.
It reduced down to a lovely rich sauce, the meat just melted into it and there certainly wasn't any kind of overwhelming game taste- it was just a lovely rich and meaty ragu.
I rolled out the pastry and lined a pie dish with the pastry top and bottom, ragu in the middle (and also sneaked in a couple of thick slices of cheese). I brushed it with eggwash and baked it at 200c for 25 mins (or until puffed up and deep golden brown).
This was basic and delicious comfort food at its best.

Spring is here!

2008-09-11T16:22:00.000-11:00

Personally, I think NZ's seasons are not classically defined and daffodils and lambs are around in August and the weather doesn't really warm up until October (they are talking of the ski season going til Christmas!), so I have never been big on the whole September 1st being spring thing. However I do know it is spring by the produce that is available and a classic has to be asparagus. This has to be just the most wonderful thing when it first comes out- it is not something that is available here all year around, usually there is about a two month window where I feast on it as I love it so much. Tonight's lot got steamed and covered in cheese sauce........can't wait to get more and start making asparagus soup....asparagus risotto......asparagus with smoked salmon and hollandaise.....so many yummy options (and I WILL be trying them!!!)

Quick Rise No Knead Bread

2008-09-04T16:22:00.000-11:00

I needed a nice quick bread to whip up to go with the Potato, Bacon and Corn Chowder last night and had in mind to make some no knead bread I had seen on George's blog . Her version used spelt flour but I was just going to substitute that for normal flour. As luck would have it however, when it came time to get the recipe our internet was down, so I had to resort to sifting through my cookbooks, as I had a recipe that I used to use many years ago. This was one of my first bread making recipes, I made this often in my early twenties, as it is one of those no fail versions and I was not yet acquainted with the wonders of using a bread maker for kneading!!!! It calls for the usual dried yeast, but as I now pretty much only make bread in my breadmaker I use the fast action yeast which generally doesn't need to be fizzed up with sugar and warm water. However, I did follow this method using my breadmaker yeast and it still fizzed up, if not in the same way as the granules do, it was more haphazard looking rather than the even foam you get using the granules. It calls for 6 cups of flour and this makes 2 decent sized loaves, which is good value I think, I used 3 cups white flour, 2 cups wholemeal and 1 cup wheat bran. It was a lovely loaf, it has a kind of nuttiness that the molasses brings, I think that is what really makes this loaf so delicious. It takes no time either. I made it and set it to rise then started making the soup. It was ready at about the same time as the soup, about an hour or so later.
This really could not be easier. It keeps well, the kids love it for sandwiches and it was also nice toasted for breakfast. I have trouble leaving it alone and love it fresh with butter and honey!The recipe is from an old book called From Tauhara's Kitchen and is a collection of vegetarian recipes from the Tauhara Centre, a retreat/conference venue in Taupo. The book was published in 1989 but I have referred to it often and looking at it again the other day see there are plenty of yummy recipes I would still happily make and eat -including this bread!

Tauhara's Quick Rise Home Made Bread

6 cups flour (either wholemeal, ryemeal, white or combination)
2 tbsp dried yeast
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp salt
600 ml warm water

In a bowl dissolve honey and molasses in warm water. Sprinkle on yeast and stir gently. Leave in a warm place until warm and frothy. (10-15 mins)
In another bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour yeast mix and mix well, the mix should be fairly wet but not too sloppy.
Oil two loaf tins and warm slightly. Half fill with dough. Leave in a warm place to rise to almost the top of the tin (don't let it rise up over the top or it will make the bread difficult to get out once cooked).Bake in a hot oven 220C initially, reducing heat to 200C after 10 minutes. Cook for 35 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.

Potato, Corn and Bacon Chowder

2008-09-03T15:31:00.000-11:00

This is one of my favourite make in a hurry soups. It is thick and hearty and the whole family happily eats it. As I always have chicken stock ready made in my freezer this is what I use, but even plain old water is not a bad substitute in this case as the bacon adds flavour. Or you could use store bought chicken stock, but I have stopped buying it as it is packaged in tetra packs, which are not recyclable, and as for chicken stock powder, I have long since stopped using it as it is full of MSG and besides, it's flavour just doesn't do it for me! As usual, the 'guiding' method is at play here, you can muck around with this as you will! For about 8 serves I fry a large, chopped onion in some butter or olive oil, then add chopped bacon (about 200g) and fry until cooked. Add in about a litre of stock or water and about 5 large peeled and cubed potatoes, bring to the boil and simmer. After about 15 mins add in about a cup of corn kernels (I use frozen). Simmer it all for about another 15 mins. Take half the soup out and blend till smooth in a blender, adding it back to the pot when done. This gives a nice chunky soup with good flavour. Serve with parsley (and a swirl of cream if you like) and some nice home baked bread. I will post the recipe for the easy peasy no knead bread I served with this tomorrow!

Pretty farfalle with creamy minted pea and bacon sauce

2008-09-02T14:54:00.000-11:00

My mum bought me some gorgeous multicoloured farfalle when she was last in Wellington. She is always kindly picking up unusual things for me like that, it is so much fun to receive those kinds of gifts. The different colours were 'flavoured' differently, so there was tumeric, beetroot, spinach, basil, squid ink....you get the message! I didn't want a sauce that was going to detract too much from the lovely pasta, so was looking for something fairly simple. George, a great 'go to' cook on Violet's Pantry (she can always be relied on for ideas in a hurry!) suggested something like pancetta and peas, so I ran with that, tweaking it a little to get this fantastic sauce. I love pea puree, especially teamed with mint. I decided to saute a little spring onion and garlic in some butter, about 2 cups of baby peas, added 1 c chicken stock, cooked them til tender and then added 1/4 c of cream. I whizzed this all up in my blender with 2 tbsp chopped mint. I poured the puree back into the pan, tossed the farfalle through it then served it up with a good quantity of crispy bacon (that I had grilled), big shavings of parmesan and some basil pesto.It was absolutely spectacular, a real winner of a combination and a perfect option for entertaining, as it looked so lovely yet was so quick and easy to make. We were just sad there wasn't more!

Sushi

2008-09-01T18:19:00.000-11:00

The problem with posting about sushi is that my version is hardly authentic and I hardly ever follow a recipe. So sharing the whole 'how to' is a little difficult because then I have to retrace how I actually make it and go and think really hard about what kind of quantities I use for everything. Again, as I have said before, that kind of takes the joy out of cooking I am afraid! Exactness not being my strongest point I will try and cobble together the makings for sushi and put in a few photos to hopefully illustrate what I am trying to get across!
The first thing I have to say is DO NOT BE SCARED! I know it might look complicated, but actually it is such a doddle, that once you have got all the bits and pieces together and have practiced it a few times, you will be a whizz. And there are several combinations for fillings too, so you don't have to go and get all squeamish and think it is only about raw fish. I actually became adept at making this when my sister made a trip to Japan to run in an Ekiden relay there (don't ask me about the run, all I remember was all the yummy food and techniques she came home with!!!!) The two dishes she came home with were a kind of noodle broth that had nori in it and how to make sushi. The nori was the biggest revelation, something that sounds so flipping gross (its seaweed for goodness sake!) is really tasty! I had never tried sushi before my sister made it for me and I instantly loved it. Plus the whole demystification of learning how to make it really thrilled me! While it's all old hat now, and plenty of people make it, I have regularly made this for more than 10 years now and it still impresses!
I have adapted the flavours so this is more of a kiwi-fied nori roll than sushi. The basic components are,
Nori,
Rice (sushi rice, or short grain rice)
Rice vinegar
Sugar
Chicken
Prawn
Crabmeat
Tuna
Smoked salmon
Egg
Avocado
Cucumber
Spring Onion
Carrot
Celery
Red or Green Pepper
Mayonnaise
Wasabi
Pickled Ginger
Ham

Phew, that's quite a few variations. For my truly kiwified variation I have made ham and egg, with carrot and avocado, with some whole grain mustard and mayo. I know it sounds pretty out there, but really once you have your rice spread over your sheet or nori pretty much anything goes. And the whole fusion thing works just fine here too!
So, for your rice you want to boil it up (I make it in the microwave, 1 cup rice to 21/2 c water and microwave in large bowl on high for approx 18mins). Mix together some rice vinegar (about 1/4 to 1/2c) with a couple of tbsp of sugar- again this depends on how you like it. Pour this mix into the cooked rice so it is reasonable moist and workable and will spread easily. Take a decent handful and spread over the nori. You can set your nori up on a bamboo mat, but I usually set it up on gladwrap as that is what I usually wrap them up in before cutting and using.
Make sure you spread rice to sides but leave some space at the top and bottom so that when you roll it doesnt all squeeze out.Spread on a little mayo and a teensy bit of wasabi or horseradish (or mustard here if going with the ham) then put your desired meat on. Then on goes your other fixings, try to go with complementary veges etc eg
Smoked salmon, avocado, red pepper
Teriyaki chicken, carrot, egg omelete and spring onion
You get what I mean!
The teriyaki chicken is just breast meat, cut into strips and marinated in soy, garlic, ginger, mirin, brown sugar and panfried until cooked.
The egg omelete is just eggs beaten and cooked in a pancake style and then cut into strips.
So many combinations, so little time.
You could use tuna mixed up with finely chopped red onion and mayo.....the options are endless. And generally what you end up with is a pretty healthy snack, pre dinner drinks nibbles or lunch. What I really love about this is you can roll them up and wrap them up in gladwrap the day before and cut them the next day for your lunch or party, they are excellent prepare ahead 'cooking'. It can be a bit of a pain chopping up all the veges but I love chopping vege to be honest so I don't mind it. My son even had a go at this and was able to put together a couple of rolls for his lunches.
Really, once you have your bits on your nori and rice all you need to do is roll it away from you and it quite magically sits together.
Or you can also do like I did a few days later, I couldn't be bothered rolling it all up so served it 'deconstructed style"!

Tahitian Limes

2008-08-31T16:03:00.000-11:00

Tahitian limes grow abundantly where I live, they obviously are ok with our climate. I have tried growing the greener variety, to no avail, although I have had some luck with kaffir limes (which I only use the leaves). So for now I have made do with the Tahitian Lime- it is a lighter fruit, more yellow looking than green but does have that characteristic wince inducing tang that limes tend to have. They are quite small but juicy and what I love about them is no pips! Given that the classic green lime is so jolly expensive to buy I happily settle for this somewhat milder version, especially when I am gifted them in large quantities!!!
Today's quantity was in danger of not getting used at all. I had so many of them I had stowed them in the fridge while I decided what to do with them. The trouble is, as much as I love lime curd and lime cakes, it isn't exactly the healthiest fare! Plus, I know that I will end up eating it all! My solution this time was to make a cordial with it all. The recipe came from Sophie Gray's Destitute Gourmet: More Stunning Food from Small Change, this is the second book of three which I have bought of hers, they are all excellent books for making a little luxury go a long way and for homemade versions of lots of favourites, like condensed milk, drinking chocolate or homemade dairy products like buttermilk or mascarpone. They are fabulous books that I have gotten a great deal of value out of as I refer to them often. I knew I would at least leave this alone as I am not really a fan of sweet drinks although I did try it in with some Cointreau and soda with a few mint leaves, and it was VERY good. So maybe I won't be leaving it alone......Lemon/Lime squash

2 cups lemon or lime juice
750g white sugar
1 tbsp tartaric acid
1 tbsp citric acid
500 ml boiling water
grated zest of three of the lemons/limes

Add juice to the sugar, tartaric and citric acids, in a medium saucepan. Pour on the boiling water, heat gently then grate in the zest. Stir to ensure the sugar is completely dissolved then pour into bottle for storing. Store in the fridge. To serve, pour about into large glass and top with soda water or cold water, adding a few mint leaves if you like. Use a ratio of about 1 part cordial to 6 parts water. Also nice for an adults drink with vodka or cointreau!

Rhubarb, Lime and Orange Cake

2008-08-30T15:19:00.000-11:00

After making Granny's Pound Cake (well it's Bills, but Granny got me to give it a go!) I thought this recipe might be quite nice as it was very similar. Rhubarb is always lovely in cakes as it seems to really cut through the richness and sweetness of the surrounding cake! It also makes it moist. While I really liked this cake there are a number of things I would do differently. For a start, having to segment an orange, which was basically only used as decoration, is an easy way to take the joy out of cooking I am afraid. Really, who can be bothered with that???? Not worth the effort in my opinion! So next time I will find some other way of adorning it (or not do anything on top). The rhubarb had to be poached first. Again, I would skip that and just put it in raw. I have made cakes this way before and it has turned out fine. Plus I would put more rhubarb in, 120g was nowhere near enough!
Okay those are the moans over with, it does taste VERY nice, the syrup makes it lovely and keeps it moist. It has a lovely fine texture and kept extremely well overnight, you could definitely make this ahead of time.Here's the recipe if you are game....

Rhubarb, Lime and Orange Cake (from NZ Cuisine mag)

120g rhubarb (thinner stems if available), cut into 3cm slices
2 oranges
225g butter
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
grated zest and juice of 2 large limes
250g flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
25g ground almonds

For the syrup

grated zest of 2 large limes
juice of 4 large limes
115g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spray a 20cm round cake tin with baking spray, and line the base and sides with a double layer of baking paper.
Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, add the rhubarb and boil for 1 minute. Drain and leave to cool.
Peel the oranges with a sharp knife, cutting just beneath the pith, then cut each segment from its membrane.
Beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the zest then fold in the sifted flour and baking powder, the almonds and lime juice (the mixture should be a dropping consistency). Fold in the rhubarb then spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Place the orange segments evenly on top. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. If the top begins to colour too quickly, cover loosely with a piece of foil.

For the syrup

To make the syrup place the zest, juice and sugar in a small saucepan on a low heat and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Do not allow to boil.
Once cooked, remove the cake from the oven and pour the syrup over. Leave to cool a little before removing from the tin.

Cooking made easy

2008-08-29T14:41:00.000-11:00

I am all for effortless cooking and this recipe jumped out at me as one that would fit that bill. I found it in this months Taste magazine, which I subscribe to. I doubled the recipe (which makes a lot!!) and did one half in the crockpot and the other in the oven to see what difference in texture and flavour there would be. Funnily enough, the combining of the two was the best, the crockpot one was a little watery, the oven one a little intense, so it worked out really well. In the future though, I think I would go with the oven one and maybe shorten the cooking time a wee bit, or add more tomatoes. The oven version definitely ends up with a deeper flavour. I ended up making a lasagne with some of the sauce, then had the sauce on spaghetti the next night. I had a huge amount to freeze, which gives me a tasty and easy midweek meal that I can rely on when I don't feel like cooking. What's more, Carys LOVES it, has requested it every night since I made it......!

The lasagne I made with my first failed attempt at mozzarella, which ended up looking alot like ricotta, so I whizzed it up with some spinach as a layer for the lasagne (I had tried to make the mozzarella for adorning the top but it was obviously not to be!) I also cooked and mashed some pumpkin and of course layered it with a cheese sauce. It was fabulous and again, the leftovers were packaged up for the freezer! I really love the common sense aspect of cooking like this, it is cheaper and healthier than takeaways and both those outcomes just make me feel better!

Ultimate Meat Sauce (From Taste Magazine August 08)

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 rasher bacon, finely diced (optional)
6 bayleaves
2 stalks rosemary
500g lean lamb mince
500g lean pork mince
500g lean beef mince
7 x 400g cans tomatoes

Method:

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based ovenproof pot, then sauté the onions, garlic, bacon and herbs for a couple of minutes or until soft.
Add the meats (in batches if preferred) and cook for about 5 minutes, until browned. Add the tomatoes, mix well, cover and place in the oven for 2 hours at 150°C. After cooking, season to taste.
Divide the meat sauce in two and use half to make lasagne and half for ragu. The meat sauce freezes well and can also be used as a pie filling or topped with mash for a cottage pie.

Coby's DIY Noodle Soup

2008-08-28T17:07:00.000-11:00

Here is another recipe inspired by the Clayton's Blog, this time posted by Coby. It totally ticked all the boxes for me, as I simply adore this kind of food. Unfortunately my family don't. However Coby's idea of making everything seperately and letting everyone assemble their own soup was, I thought, quite genius, as it allows everyone to add a little bit of the things they like and I hoped might even lead to them experimenting a little!
Coby's recipe is here (and she explains it so well that I am not going to try and reproduce it here!). The nice thing is that it is wonderfully flexible, as long as you start with a tasty stock and some noodles the rest is really up to your imagination and personal taste. We followed Coby's recommendations mostly, the pork fillet was simply wonderful done this way and I did extra to use sliced up in fried rice the next day. The kids limited themselves to corn, carrot and noodles, which was just fine as it made for an 'inclusive' (and interactive!) dinner which is just what I was aiming for. Glen is not usually a fan of such dishes but happily slurped his up too. I used some lovely thin egg noodles and along with the pork I got some sugar snap peas, some corn, sliced spring onions, thin strips of celery and carrot, and some coriander. I really like this idea for an entertaining option too!

Another easy dessert

2008-08-27T16:46:00.000-11:00

I found the recipe for this dessert on a blog that was put together by a few clever women who are regulars on foodie forums but didn't know their way around the blogging world. Gail took the bull by the horns and got one going, setting it up so that several people could post to it and now they have a number of contributors. What I love about it is it has regular and varied content, with each contributor having different styles and preferences. I think it makes it a really interesting place to visit and I am constantly inspired to cook from the recipes posted there. (Click here to check it out!)
This recipe is a WINNER (my thighs can vouch for it!!!). Another plus is that my son Rex has mastered it and is regularly whipping it up now. Self saucing puds are a real favourite of mine, I am always trialling chocolate versions, but this butterscotch one takes some beating. It is quickly made and oh so satisfying for a filling dessert! It makes plenty of sauce to go with the light spongy top and tastes fabulous. I found the original recipe needed more flour as it seemed a little 'wet' to me, so I added about an extra 1/3 c flour. I have not adjusted the recipe that follows so see how you go....

Butterscotch self-saucing pudding

Ingredients (serves 6)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups (190g) self-raising flour
100g butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup (125ml) milk
4 tbs golden syrup
1 tbs cornflour
1 1/2 cups (375ml) boiling water
Double cream or ice cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 1.5 litre (6 cup) ovenproof dish. Combine 1/4 cup of the brown sugar and all of the flour in a bowl. Add the melted butter, egg, milk and 2 tbs of the golden syrup and stir until combined. Spoon into greased dish.Combine the remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar and cornflour. Sprinkle over the pudding mixture. Combine boiling water with the remaining 2 tbs of golden syrup. Pour over the top of the pudding mixture and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Serve with double cream or ice cream.

Mini jam doughnuts

2008-08-26T16:22:00.000-11:00

Winter = Cooking! Crikey, that is what it really feels like at the moment. I have this overwhelming desire to cook a myriad of things right now and I blame the cold weather!!!! Today's offering started off from that misery one experiences when it is cold, raining and dark outside, where the only solace to be found is in the pages of a cookbook. This time is was Feast: Food that celebrates life and these little darlings jumped out and said MAKE ME, so I obeyed! I have always wanted to try making my own doughnuts and it seemed like something fun to do with the kids, that of course I knew would be great to scoff afterwards! Hell, we all needed the distraction!
I let the bread machine do the kneading (as I usually do- but the kids always enjoy the measuring part!) and actually found that this needed extra flour- but it could just have been all the moisture in the air (it feels like it has rained for months now!). We then shaped these, and fried them in the oil before dredging them in cinnamon and sugar. They were lovely and went down a treat!
They are really quite simple to make and the yeasty hit that you get when you bite into them is well worth the effort! I didn't bother with putting the jam in, doing that with kids would have totally ruined the experience, so we served jam on the side. I reckon though that it might be worth having a go at 'syringing' the jam in afterwards, that I think the kids would definitely enjoy!

Mini Jam Doughnuts (From Nigella’s Feast)

125ml milk
15g unsalted butter
250g bread flour
1/2 packet (1 1/2 teaspoons) easy blend or instant yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt

225g caster sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
vegetable oil for deep-frying

Warm the milk and butter together in a saucepan, taking it off the heat when the butter is melting. Put the flour, yeast, salt and 25g of the sugar in a bowl. Beat the egg into the warmed milk and butter and pour this into your bowl of dry ingredients, mixing it with a wooden spoon.

Either using your hands, or a dough-hook of a freestanding mixer, knead the dough until it is smooth and silky (don't worry, it will get to that stage eventually), if you're doing this by hand (which is a better option), it'll probably take about 10 minutes.

Pat the dough into a round ball and put into a buttered bowl, covered in clingfilm and leave to rise somewhere warm, it should double in size and this could take 1-2 hours.
When it gets to that stage, punch the dough down and kneed again to make the dough smooth. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 2cm thickness and cut out circles with a 4cm round cutter. You can re-roll the dough to make more circles.

Make the dough circles into flatter rounds in your hands and then put an 1/8 teaspoon jam in the centre and fold in half and carefully roll it back into a a round ball shape. Sit the doughnuts on a baking sheet as you make the rest.

If you decided not to use any sort of filling, just shaped the dough into small sized balls and place them on a baking sheet.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or a wok and then cook the mini doughnuts roughly six at a time for about 5 minutes in total, flipping them over halfway through cooking so that they brown evenly on all sides. Make sure to use a lower heat setting and watch the oil so that it doesn't overheat, this is important as it'll make the little doughnuts darken to quickly.
Put the remaining sugar into a shallow bowl and as the doughnuts come out of the fryer, dredge them in the sugar, rolling them around to get and even coating

Berry and Almond Crumble

2008-08-25T15:37:00.000-11:00

Something I struggle to curb is my need for dessert in winter. Somehow I just can't come to terms with settling for just dinner on a dark cold night and pine for something warm and sweet. Ideally I should really just make myself a cup of tea and sweeten it, after all, that would do a lot less damage!!!!!But mostly my weak will prevails and something like what we had tonight is made and generally served with icecream!
This is one of my fallback recipes. Well, as usual, it is not really a recipe but a guide and it is probably seldom made the same twice! Which is of course why I make it so often, because it is the kind of dessert that can be tweaked to produce something a little different each time. The variations come in the kinds of fruit used (fresh or frozen) and also in what goes into the topping. I will more often than not pop oats into the topping, will experiment with different sugars (white, brown, demerara, muscovado are all good options), normal or wholemeal flour, and any kind of nut is a welcome addition here too!
Tonights version was frozen rasberries, tossed with vanilla extract and a little sugar, and topped with your bog standard crumble topping of flour, butter, sugar with oats and sliced almonds for a change! Bake at 180C till the fruit is bubbling up through the topping and the crumble is nicely browned on top. Such a quick, easy and yummy weeknight dessert!

Ricotta

2008-08-22T10:27:00.000-11:00

It seems only right that I should follow the post about mozzarella with the byproduct that gets made from the resultant whey produced when you make it! Ricotta! I will buy ricotta from time to time from the supermarket even though I know it is not a patch on the real thing. I remember seeing a Jamie Oliver programme where he served up fresh ricotta for a dessert with honey and biscuits and I could tell it was nothing like what gets packaged into plastic tubs and sold here! It made a great deal of sense to have a go at transforming the whey from the mozzarella into ricotta, and I used this cheesemaking site as my main reference for making it. It is a fabulous resource for all things cheese and I have found it really useful. The basic process is to leave the whey in a container for 12-24 hours at room temperature, then you heat it (not quite boiling it) and miraculously teensy, delicate curds form. You take it off the heat and leave it to 'cook' for about 15 minutes then the tricky part is scooping them out as they break up quite easily. I scooped them into a lined colander (I just used 2 layers of clean chux cloths and they worked fine), and left them to drain overnight in the fridge. I gathered the cloth up and gave it a final squeeze to get the last of the liquid out and voila! The yield was about a cup of ricotta, not alot but not bad I thought. And it is simply stunning, slightly sour, creamy and light.
The next dilemma was what to make with it! I thought I would make something simple so went with Nigella's Ricotta Hotcakes from Forever Summer
I have made these before with the store bought ricotta and while they were nice I didn't find them that spectacular to be honest. Well, what a difference was made by using this ricotta, these hotcakes were fabulously light and tangy -such a different flavour and texture, I am in LOVE with them! Nigella suggests serving these with strawberries but I served them with a vanilla berry syrup made with frozen berries(strawberries are a few months away yet!)

Ricotta Hot Cakes

250g ricotta cheese
125ml semi-skimmed milk
2 large eggs, separated
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2 teaspoons oil
(strawberries on the side.)

Mix ricotta, milk and egg yolks. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat egg whites until foamy; fold into mix. Heat oil, drop heaped tablespoons of batter into pan. Cook about 1 minute per side. They should be a nice golden brown. Serve with maple syrup and strawberries.

Home made mozzarella

2008-08-20T22:21:00.000-11:00

I tried making mozzarella some time ago after seeing instructions for it on the internet and thinking it sounded like fun. Well, my first attempt was woeful, didn't work at all, ended up with something resembling ricotta- and I ended up blending it with spinach for a lasagne, which will be another post!I went back to the drawing board though and with a little guidance from another cheesemaking site identified a few areas I could tweak. The first batch I don't think had enough citric acid, I used twice as much this time around. I also didn't have a thermometer and probably overheated the milk. The cheesemaking site I looked at recommended putting your pot into a water bath to gently heat the milk and that is what I did this time. This time it seemed to work really well, and was actually very simple. I was extremely impressed and while it doesn't have the tender texture or delicate flavour that the real buffalo milk version has, it was a pretty darned good substitute. It was certainly absolutely excellent on the pizzas I had made it for - it melted but held it's shape, while going all gooey and stringy underneath. It does have a very subtle flavour, but just accompanied by tomato sauce and basil on a crispy pizza base it was pure homemade heaven! And don't throw the whey out either, I have looked into how ricotta gets made from the whey and am going to give that a go tomorrow!Anyway, here is the recipe and my notes to go with it. (search the internet if you want to look further into this, the recipe here is a tweak on a number of sites I visited!)

To 1 gallon (4 litres) of milk (I used pasteurised, unhomogenised, whole milk, which in NZ used to be the silver top with the cream at the top. I used an organic milk) add 2 teaspoons of citric acid. Raise temperature to 88-90°F.(I popped it in a pot which I set into a sink of hot water, topping up with hot water to get it just over 'tepid' as I didn't have a thermometer! This is what the milk starts to look like as it curdles, the milk stays opaque)
Add 1 tsp liquid rennet dissolved in 1/4 cup water. Add 1/4 teaspoon lipase powder if you want a stronger cheese. (I didn't use the lipase , I used Renco rennet, costs about $7.00 but would last for absolutely ages!Bought it at Foodtown, check the use by date though!)
After milk has properly clotted (takes 2-3 minutes,the curds will have seperated, and the liquid will be a clearer yellowish green colour), let curds rest for 15-20 minutes and strain in muslin-type cheesecloth.
Put curds into a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 59 seconds, then mash curds with a fork and put back into microwave for 15-20 seconds. Add 1 tbsp flaked salt to the mixture and begin to knead (just like bread). When mixture cools, after a minute or two, put back into the microwave for another 15-20 seconds and knead again. Back into the microwave and knead again - watch your hands - begin to stretch the curds. You can do this about four or five times, and by the end of those four or five times you should have a taffy-like consistency when the cheese is warmed; you should be able to pick it up and stretch it more than a foot. It will be glossy - when that happens and if little blisters appear as you put it into a mass (ball), it's done. What you are looking for is a smooth shiny consistency that "gets there" by the heating and stretching.
Pinch off into small balls, drop into iced water for several minutes to cool it. Store in a plastic container in the fridge

Lemon Pound Cake

2008-08-18T21:50:00.001-11:00

This is another recipe from the Pantry Challenge, set by Rhyley's Granny. I have always wanted to make a pound cake and ended up making two mixes, one lemon and one lime, the lemon mix ended up as the cake, while the lime mix ended up in the rose and friand shapes. I was recently in Auckland and managed to get into a couple of kitchen shops while there, and stocked up on a few bits and pieces. One of the shops (Pantry Magic, which has just opened) had an excellent range of silicone bakeware and I just couldn't resist the pretty rose shaped ones. I also managed to nab myself a friand tin so both were having their inaugural outing! The roses I drenched in lemonbalm and lime syrup for dessert (served with mascarpone they were delicious!). Everyone adored the cake, it is dense yet not heavy and had a fabulous lemony flavour which was also emphasised in the icing. I will definitely be making this one again. Granny says this is a Bill Granger recipe, here it is (with her notes):Lemon Pound Cake

250g/9oz unsalted butter, softened
250g/9oz caster sugar
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp natural vanilla extract
4 free-range eggs
250g/9oz self-raising flour, sifted

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Grease and line the base of a deep 20cm/8in square baking tin with baking paper.
3. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until pale and creamy. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition.
5. Fold in the sifted flour in two batches until well combined.
6. Spoon into the tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean (you can cover the cake loosely with foil if it is browning too quickly).
7. Cool for ten minutes before removing from the tin and turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Ice with lemon butter icing.
Lemon Butter Icing

75G/3oz Unsalted butter ( I use salted as it's usually what I have)
100G/4oz Icing Sugar
2 teasps finely grated lemon zest
2 teasps lemon juice

Beat the butter until soft and white.
Add lemon zest and juice
Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar
Spread over the cake

Notes:
If making a sandwich cake you will need more of the buttercream
I add a good squeeze of lemon juice to the cake mixture too. Gives it more flavour I think

Back to blogging!

2008-08-18T21:42:00.000-11:00

Well it took me longer than I thought it would but I have finally gotten back to getting some posting done! The trouble is that the paper I am taking this semester is just so flipping interesting that I am finding myself *willingly* (and I say that with a wince!!!) reading copious amounts of articles for it- which, trust me, is a first. I never thought the day would come when I used all my time up on reading and had none left over for blogging! I have a stack of posts lined up, all set to publish over the next little while (I sooooo love the delayed post option, so glad I worked that one out!). I am just in the process of working out exactly what I want to do my masters thesis on, there are so many interesting things to research, and I have to choose just ONE!!!! I hope to keep blogging in the meantime, I am really finding it quite hard to find time!