Pan-fried salmon with parsley relish, green beans, pumpkin and rice The parsley relish is absolutely gorgeous - featuring whizzed together Italian parsley, anchovies, capers, lemon juices and zest, olive oil and pepper. I've used the relish since as a zingy soup addition and to make a salad of leftover roast vegetables. Delicious! Recipe from: The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet cookbook
Pretty morning tea cupcakes from a friend
Traditional German gingerbread cookies From Diehl's Bakery, highly recommended for both its products and friendliness. I finally made it to this bakery after first writing the address down about six years ago! Will be heading back soon to... Diehl's Bakery, 5/65 Hillside Rd Glenfield Auckland, Wairau Valley, North Shore, Auckland
Chinese Pancakes in the making... A griddle bread based on a recipe from one of my favourite food blogs (appetiteforchina.com). I've had a lot of success with recipes from here! I didn't have the spring onions specified in the recipe on hand so instead spread mine generously with an oily chilli paste. For the finished product see next picture... Will definitely be making these on a regular basis! For lovely photo by photo directions visit: http://appetiteforchina.com/recipes/chinese-scallion-pancakes-photo-photo-recipe
Chinese chilli flat breads Fantastic with SE Asian beef or chicken curry
A rather tiresome scabble game, ultimately abandoned, but first enlivened by...
Nutty Monks Coffee! Franjelico, Butterscotch Schnapps, Cointreau, cream and coffee. Mmmmm.....
Persimmon ice cream I bought a bag of persimmons from the wonderful Clevedon market and the lovely stall holder gave me a recipe for persimmon ice cream. Her persimmons were perfect for eating fresh so I found a bag of slightly over ripe fruit locally to try the following recipe with: 2 c persimmon puree (from 4-6 fruit) 1 c caster sugar 1/2 c cream Whip cream (makes 1 c whipped), mix with persimmons and sugar, freeze and stir freezing mix periodically. If you like persimmons then you can not really go wrong adding sugar and cream. The mixture was a bit icy but still yummy! Problem is, if you live with just one other person and that person doesn't like persimmons, coming to realisation that I ate that much sugar and cream all by myself [groan]!!! Can I excuse this gluttony by saying this relieved a killer sore throat at the time? http://www.clevedonfarmersmarket.co.nz/
Eggnog for mid-winter Christmas party Sensational and of course sensationally healthy - eggs (protein, iron), cream (calcium and vital fat-soluble vitamins) and alcohol (too many benefits to list!). Here is my eggnog recipe (serves 10): 6 free range egg yolks 3/4 c sugar 3 c whole milk Generous pinch of cloves Generous pinch of cinnamon 1 1/2 c cream 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 4 Tbs whisky 4 Tbs brandy 2 free range egg whites 1 Tbs sugar Next time I'll try 3 Tbs of whisky and brandy and 2 Tbs of Follow the method at: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/eggnog/
Roast chicken for MWC Free range chicken and free range bacon. Walking the talk.
Mid-Winter Christmas, six months to the day from Christmas Being a Thursday, and catering for ten people, I opted for a simple, traditional style menu: * Eggnog, chilli and lime spiced nuts, crystallised ginger, dried fruit * Roast chicken, potatoes, parsnip, yams, gravy, peas * Kiwifruit pavlova (with birthday candles for a guest whose birthday was a couple of days earlier!) * Spicy, home made gingerbread cookies with hot drinks * Christmas decorations and lots of candles Lovely wines too, but most importantly - wonderful company!
What to do with leftover roast chicken... Gather leftover shreds of chicken, and make stock from the carcasses, in order to make... rice porridge! Do I mention rice porridge too often? Maybe one of my favourite meals because someone else makes it for me :-).
Donna Hay's Honey and Nutmeg Biscuits These are really good! The biscuit and icing are both flavoured with honey and, after icing, the nutmeg is grated over. The biscuit is softish (maybe due to my slow oven...) and the set icing is a contrast to this. Altogether a lovely gift biscuit. Source: 'Christmas' (2005) by... Donna Hay: http://www.donnahay.com.au/
Donna Hay's Amaretti Biscuits Macaroon-style - the perfect coffee biscuit - but would have been better crisper... if flattened out some more... or cooked for longer... or or at a higher temperature... am beginning to doubt my oven's "hotness". Must get an oven thermometer so I can check. Or just add 10 degrees to every specified temperature - and save myself $30! I used pre-ground almonds to make these. Next time I'll grind raw nuts with the sugar in a food processor, as specified in the recipe. A less even texture and flecks of almond skin might make these a bit more interesting. From Donna Hay's 'Christmas' book
Donna Hay's Vanilla Snap Biscuits A very plain vanilla cookie that a simple sprinkle of icing sugar really enhances. I was out of eggs so used Orgran's "No Egg" - very handy when cooking for vegans and egg allergic peoples, in addition to when you just run out of the real thing. Next time I'll use egg to see what difference it makes and add in some cocoa nibs for variety. Source: Donna Hay's 'Christmas' Orgran's mixes: http://www.orgran.com/product-information/packet-mixes.html
Bubble tea! We went in search of good Malaysian but our targeted restaurant is now closed on Tuesday nights (sign of "tough economic times"). Instead we walked in off the street on very dodgy Chinese. An experience best forgotten, but for the record - the recommendation, a cold, oddly flavoured smoked meat accompanied by cold vegetables - was not comforting on a frigid winter night. To recover we treated ourselves to bubble tea. For me - hot almond milk. For him - some icy slushy fruity concoction. Chock full of artificial colours and flavours no doubt!
A feast of vegetables Making up for a recent deficit of vegetables (and too many biscuits!). The top pan is a Japanese style combo of cabbage, mushrooms and crumbled tofu seasoned with Japanese soy sauce and mirin. In front is a stir fried combination of carrots, yams and home grown silverbeet. Absolutely what I was after!
Almond jelly and longan fruit The classic end to a SE Asian dinner. This jelly was excess to requirements on the night it was destined for and so came in very handy for an impromptu dinner party a few days later. Unlike supermarket jelly mixes that just need hot water added, this mix needs to be boiled for a short time and then it sets fairly quickly. A can of longans (or lychees) is a cupboard staple, and that's what I used here, but I'm more-than-excited that excellent quality fresh Australian grown longans are in store now. Not cheap but this seasons are some of the best I've had. Longans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longan
Almond Jelly This is what the packet looks like, which reminds me that this jelly is suitable for vegans - being made from agar rather than gelatine.
My first Tiramisu, sort of... Our contribution to a casual Italian themed dinner. Sponge fingers soaked in coffee/brandy, layered with vanilla whipped cream and hunks of dark chocolate. I used whipped cream instead of marscapone on the basis of price... If I'm ever tempted in this direction again then I'll make half as much with the more-than-twice-as-expensive marscapone and hope it is more than twice as good. I might toss in a can of cherries too - guess then I ought to call it black forest trifle! This recipe was pleasant enough but lacking in substance somehow. It did call for chocolate sponge, which would have livened it up some, but I think there are other ways I prefer to eat whipped cream.
Asian warehouse haul A few staples (noodles x 5, chilli paste), a few treats (candied anchovies, bean cake), and a few novelties (dried bean sticks, salmon sprinkles for sushi rice). The 'moon cake' (centre left) was mung bean and candied melon. Sadly not a patch on my favourite red bean paste, which was sold out, leaving me craving!
With the very lovely Janet, proprietor of highly rated Sri Intan Malaysian restaurant in Mt Albert. I've eaten three times at Sri Intan now - once from the excellent buffet (including complementary oysters - the best I've ever had, and I'm super fussy to the point of rarely enjoying oysters) and twice a la carte. The buffet is great - and includes wonderful desserts - but my very favourites are all ordered from the menu - assam fish, poh piah, vegetarian kerabu... all authentically delicious!! http://www.eatout.co.nz/Mt-Albert/Restaurants/Sri-Intan-Malaysian-Vietnamese-Cuisine.html
Ang Ku Kuih Traditional Nonya/Malaysian kuih/cake, bought home from Sri Intan restaurant. Ang means red - as in 'ang bao', the red envelope that people give with money inside at festive times (bao = package, so... 'envelope' or, as might be more familiar, bao = steamed bun!). The red glutinous rice flour skins are filled with sweet, pandan flavoured split beans. To me they look like little turtles! I'd love to get a wooden mold so I could make these myself. And a spot of googling now tells me that in Hokkien 'Ku' means turtle - so these really are looking the part!
Black pepper sauce from a pack. A good find. I simmered chicken drumsticks in this after first baking them. Very good flavour!
A steaming bowl of Peter Gordon's watercress soup with spinach and lamb meat balls. Not a style of soup (containing meatballs; not creamy), or flavour (watercress), that I have grown up with so at first this seemed quite unusual. Instead it has grown on me and has been very popular with guests. I have learnt to double the recipe when I make it! I have also learnt to cut the watercress up finely and to avoid the worst of the stringy stalks, which totally snarl up a stick blender if you let them.
Baklava Layers of filo pastry, nuts, butter, steeped in honey and with a twist: a layer of tangy apricot. Along with a decaf coffee and some lovely halva (next photo), the perfect end to a Greek-themed dinner with friends. Two 'notes to self' for next time: first, don't panic when you notice on defrosting the filo that the packet says not to freeze it in the first place - it will still do the job... and second, do remember to score the top sheets before baking so as to make it nice and pretty when cut through after baking.
Home made halva Semolina halva flavoured with almonds and cardamon. So more-ish. A tad soft as I added extra water... but then how do you "boil" a rather solid mass? Will persist with the recipe next time.
Free range poached egg on toasted, home made sour dough bread, with spinach and sauteed mushrooms. Nothing fancy... but just one of the BEST weekend breakfasts.
On the road north... Kaipara Kumara depot in Ruawai on the Kaipara Harbour. Featuring all manner of friendly vegetables including the kumara which grow so wonderfully well in this region. http://www.kaiparakumara.co.nz/types&tastes.shtml
Opo takeaways, at Opononi in the Hokianga There are so many reasons to spend time in the beautiful, peaceful, soul restoring Hokianga. The excellent fish and chips at Opononi maybe one of the more trivial ones but very welcome after a long drive and this is a great spot to take in the harbour views and community comings and goings. http://www.hokiangatourism.org.nz/
Aforementioned fish and chips, and view, and yes those are our bikes. We pedalled the fish and chips off later in the day by biking up hill to the head of the harbour, for lovely views in all directions.
Perfect warm sunny evening/after biking/relaxing on the deck/holiday fare - a glass of NZ sauvignon blanc, whole wheat crackers and a marinated artichoke dip (whipped up at home and added to the chilli bin holiday treasure trove).
Out for dinner... delicious brioche and butter pudding. A dodgy pic (low light challenge) but worth a mention because the pudding is laced with rather yummy Titoki liquer. The liqueur is made from native NZ titoki berries, kawakawa and manuka leaves, according the the Modern Hobbit (link below), and it comes in a very funky bottle. The Modern Hobbit: http://modernhobbit.blogspot.com/2008/04/ti-toki-liqueur.html Titoki liqueur: http://www.ti-toki.com/
Brunch on the road home, after a long (but still too short) weekend. Particularly fine french toast with very tasty bacon, perfectly cooked melting bananas and the essential maple syrup. Served along with an excellent coffee by the nice folks at Zest cafe in Kerikeri.
Home again. Sticky chicken drumsticks and sesame-peanutty rice salad. A mix of euro (chicken) and asian (salad) flavours, somehow complementary and recieving of complements. It is always nice to cook for someone appreciative and that's really all that this photo is here for - to remind me of the warm glow from a "thank you"!
Turkish delight mini cupcakes I first made this recipe about seven years ago. Deja vu, these delicious, sticky, wee morsels again stuck firm to the cupcake cases - which the recipe suggests they are baked in! These in my photo have been carefully pried off said cases but 'sadly' many had to be eaten off the papers by the cook. Hardly elegant, totally un-gift-able, and jolly bad for the cook's waistline! Previously I used rose Turkish delight and rose essence but this time my Turkish delight was orange which combined gorgeously with orange blossom water. Must work out how to de-stick-ify this recipe because it is really, REALLY yummy.
Apricot and pistacio tart. Easy as pie! - line a 20 cm flan tin with a sheet of pre-rolled butter puff pastry - fill base with well mixed 50g ground pistacios, 50g butter, 50g butter, one egg and 2T flour - top filling with quartered apricots (two 400g cans, drained) - bake at 180C for 30-35 minutes - bring to boil 100g apricot jam and 4T water, strain to puree - brush baked tart with apricot glaze and sprinkle with chopped pistacios Variation I'd like to try - pears, pear paste glaze and hazelnuts. I got my pistacios from Farro Fresh, possibly my favourite European deli and fresh food store in Auckland. Nope, can't think of any competition: Farro Fresh it is: http://www.farrofresh.co.nz/
Apricot tart served with yoghurt The recipe is a modification of one from Dean Brettschneider's 'Global Baker' book. Must. Buy. This. Book. For. Self. In the meantime I covet and borrow a girlfriend's copy.
Plum wine and warm sake at Tanuki's Cave, one of my favourite central Auckland spots for a drink, a few tasty yakitori or kushiage dishes, low lights and a vibe that is somehow both vibrant and relaxing at the same time. http://www.sakebars.co.nz/cave/index.html
