Sunday Hotpants

Life in New Zealand, Aotearoa - food - crafts - family and this great little corner of the world.

[sundayhotpants]

I've moved! Come and find me and this delicious Pizza Dough recipe at http://sundayhotpants.com. I won't be removing this blog on Tumblr but if you follow me here you might want to update your links so you don't miss out on any deliciousness!

[sundayhotpants]

Carrot and Coconut Soup

Well - she got married. My oldest child Leah. She gave us one months notice! Ahhh my darling daughter all grown up and her lovely husband Matt ... Don't they make a handsome couple?

 I was thrilled on all accounts! I have a fantastic new son in law .... hmm it's just occurred to me that I am now a mother in law!

Leah and Matt asked me to cater a high tea for everyone and I was only too happy to oblige. I was actually pretty excited, panic stricken and really champing at the bit to make it all at the same time. I wasn't sure if I could make a high tea for 50, with some help from family and friends we actually managed to pull it off.

My nephew and niece were put to work bedding devilled eggs in lettuce, placing caviar and sprinkling herbs. My mother in law cooked the most amazing spanish tortilla I have ever had in my life and some exquisite little leek and goat cheese tartlets. My lovely husband took orders without question and was long suffering. My own mother cleaned silver and washed bone china and reorganised her entire house.

Belgium biscuits were baked, mousse piped, Linzer cookies filled with jam and sprinkled with powdered sugar, truffles rolled in nuts and scones topped with homemade jam and  clotted cream. Even Isaac had jobs in the kitchen and helped to put together wedding favours. Ryan designed stickers and invitations. That barely scratches the surface! My mothers house was a hive of activity. I will try to share with you some of the tidbits that were made by me and others over the next little while.

I didn't get to photograph everything since things were so rushed but some of the dishes I managed to take a few snaps of before they were devoured. Of course I made too much food, but there were plenty of leftover morsels for people to take home at the end.

Among the selection of treats was a carrot and coconut soup to be served in shot glasses with a super crispy sourdough crostini rubbed with a smudge of garlic. It was really smooth and creamy and quite a hit with those that were brave enough to try it. This is a soup that can be served hot or cold so was ideal for something like this, it was fine hot when first served and still nice even once it was room temperature. It's also vegan and inexpensive to make. It tastes like a million dollars!

Carrot and Coconut Soup

This is an adaptation of a Covent Garden Soup Co recipe.

2 T olive oil 1 large onion, chopped finely 1 clove garlic, crushed 450g carrots, peeled and chopped 1 tbsp plain flour 850ml vegetable stock 1 tablespoon of coconut cream ( or to taste) 1 tbsp lemon juice seeds of 8 cardamom pods, crushed - use green not black if you have the choice. If you can only find ground cardamom this will be fine - it's roughly 1/3 of a tspn. salt and freshly ground black pepper Heat butter in a medium saucepan. Saute onion, garlic and carrots for five minutes, without colouring. Add flour and cook a further minute. Stir in the stock, creamed coconut and lemon juice. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the carrots are tender. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Puree. Stir in the crushed cardamom seeds. Season to taste. Reheat gently or serve ice cold.

[sundayhotpants]

Roasted Beet Salad

We love this salad. People taste this salad and swoon. This salad was created by the golden boy of Mediterranean flavours Yotam Ottolenghi in his first book Ottolenghi: The Cookbook.

I just had to share. We had this as a part of our Fathers Day meal this year. Dads need delicious things on their day!  It's supposed to be made with golden and red beetroot, but it's hard to get golden beets here unless you grow them yourself. I might just have to pop some in the garden this year. For such a simple combination of ingredients they just work.

500 g of golden beetroot

500 g red beetroot

80 g sunflower seeds

90 mls maple syrup

4T sherry vinegar

4T olive oil

2 garlic cloves crushed

20 g chervil leaves

60 g baby spinach or rocket leaves

coarse sea salt and black pepper

Wrap the beetroot individually in foil and bake at 200 C until tender when pierced with a sharp knife.

Toast the sunflower seeds for about 8 mins in the oven beside the beetroot until lightly coloured. I used a small pan and just dry toasted them for a few minutes on the stove top, I don't really trust my oven you see.

Peel beetroot while still warm and cut into chunks. Mix with all the other ingredients - I like to use my hands to do this to make sure everything is coated and well distributed.

Adjust seasoning if needed and sprinkle with a little more chervil to serve. Chervil is one of my favourite herbs I was so pleased to see it's little leafy tufts after the winter in the vegetable garden and even more pleased to find it in this recipe. It had some of these tiny little flowers on it.

This salad is lovely at room temperature.

This salad deserved my favourite vintage salad bowl - which just happens to be my mothers. A combination of flavours that will have you diving back into the bowl for more. Yotam Ottolenghi, you're my food hero.

It's the perfect salad to eat wearing your fathers day  Nyan cat tie and and Electronic drum kit shirt. He loved them - thanks Leah and Ryan! Of course you can eat the salad without the tie if you wish.

[sundayhotpants]

Time for a spring clean and Rhubarb Cordial

My blog is getting a wee bit of a facelift so don't worry - it's not broken just getting a freshen up. Just think of it like a fresh coat of paint.

While we're waiting for the spruce up to be umm spruced .. enjoy this Rhubarb Cordial!

This recipe contains the word "roughly" a lot. That is because quantities are really just approximate and you should adjust according to your preferences. So think of this as more of a guideline rather than an exact recipe.

Rhubarb Cordial

1.5 kgs of Rhubarb roughly chopped - try to get pink or red stalks if you can, you'll get a more vibrant colour.

Caster sugar/superfine (roughly 700 grams)

Lemon juice (roughly 2 lemons)

Orange Juice (roughly 2 oranges)

Cook your rhubarb in just enough water to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan. ( roughly 3/4 of a cup) Cook until it is completely soft.

Strain the Rhubarb pulp through sieve lined with a piece of muslin and collect the juice in a bowl.

Leave this for a good period of time, overnight is fine. It looks kind of icky at this stage.

Or hang your muslin and let drain into a bowl.

Next day measure how much juice you have and for every litre of juice add 700 grams of caster sugar.

For every litre of juice also add the juice of 2 lemons and 2 oranges and heat gently without boiling until the sugar is dissolved.

Pour into sterilised bottles.

To use dilute one part cordial and 3 parts water or to taste.

You could use this in a Bellini or with some sparkling water for a little something different. Add to a gin and tonic - or create your own cocktail.

Here's to spring cleaning!

[sundayhotpants]

Say Cheese! Homemade Farmers Cheese - Fromage Blanc - Twarozek

I decided to teach my lovely husband Kit, to cook.  Granted, it is not entirely a lost cause - he's able to make several dishes quite well using a recipe, but you know the saying - "man cannot live by curry alone" - or something like that. I am determined that he will feel comfortable and confident in the kitchen. He's less determined, maybe more resigned that I am on a bit of a mission and he's got very good at going with the flow.

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook for my family, indeed it is one of my greatest pleasures in life, making things for them to enjoy. I want my family to be able to fend for themselves if need be in the kitchen and be able to make nourishing, tasty food for themselves and the people they love.

I know you are asking yourself..."what does all this have to do with farmers cheese? Surely she's not getting him to make cheese from scratch? That is completely ridiculous if she is. What use is that going to be?

Let me backtrack a bit. Rather than tossing a recipe at him and sending him into the kitchen to fend for himself, to make things both interesting and supportive we decided that we would cook together once a week and make a dish from a different country each time. We figured this would expose him to lots of different cooking techniques and foods and it would be quite fun and educational for Isaac (our eight year old) as well.

We started this about 6 weeks ago and it's already evolved into a three course meal which now involves my parents, my niece and our friend Jack. So it's become an international dinner for eight on a weekly basis. Isaac picks the country each week by spinning the Globe with his eyes closed and planting his finger on a country. I suspect there is a bit of peeking going on.

So far the country a week is working well. It's meant a little hunting about for ingredients and making some things from scratch, like spice blends and so on. I had to make Sazon Goya for Columbia week along with a small bucket of dulce de leche (that was a real shame I can tell you!) Then there was Nauru and that was a whole different kettle of fish, figuratively speaking of course. We had "traditional" Nauruan Chinese takeaways. Apparently if you come from Nauru you most likely don't cook and although the population is roughly 9000 people there are 138 Chinese takeaways. It makes for interesting reading!

Making the cheese was related to our Polish week and making the most delicious  no bake cheesecake topped with jiggly raspberry jelly. I personally think I deserved a medal for translating the recipe from Google's interpretation of a translation from Polish to English ...but that's another story.

The cheesecake needed some " triple milled cheese". That was as close as any of the recipes came to describing what was actually needed. Many of them just stated "bucket of cheese" or " white cheese" or just " "cheese".  After reading several recipes I deduced that the cheese that was needed was most likely quark. Quark is horribly expensive where I live and I was still not convinced that was what we actually needed.

It was Youtube and wikipedia to the rescue and a lovely lady called Ania who has a great instructional video on making Twarozek, which is what is used in cheesecakes in Poland. All you really need is her video,she does a great job and is very clear.

After checking it out on wikipedia it's called by many names in different places.  But no matter what you call it, to cut a long story short it was easy and delicious. Check out Ania's video and give it a try. Her recipe makes around 500 grams of cheese, which is about right for a cheesecake. Of course you can use it where you would use Ricotta or cottage cheese with a similar result. I can imagine this would be wonderful in a lasagne. 

Your result should be creamy, fresh, tempting looking curds.  We used the majority of it in the cheesecake and there was a tiny bit left over for me to spread on some homemade crackers with the last of the summer tomatoes.

Be brave, this is the perfect cheese to take your first leap into cheese making.

Our international dinner takes us to Mali this week and it's looking like it's going to be another interesting one. Au revoir for now!

[sundayhotpants]

Damson Jam

I've read about Damsons, I've pondered Damsons, I've heard about Damsons and recently saw someone make a Damson tart on TV. But up until a week ago I had never clapped eyes on a Damson.

I walked into my favourite local shop to buy delicious things ( Taste Nature) and there they were. Sitting next to the Fairtrade bananas. Damsons in a basket. Little purple-blue misty looking plums. Without any hesitation I grabbed a little paper bag and tossed some in it.

Then I got home and thought to myself ..hmmm.. now that I have these, what on earth can I make with them?  I ran through the possibilities in my head, inspired mostly by Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall, who we lovingly call Huge Fernleaf Swimming-pool in our house. Sorry Huge - I mean Hugh. For those of you that have not heard of Hugh - he's awesome.  Hugh makes delicious and rustic things with Damsons, things like Damson Gin, Damson sauce, Damson vodka, Damson Cobbler, Damson Cheese, sorbet, icecreams and on and on the list goes.

Since in my hurry I had only grabbed about 300 grams of Damsons I didn't think a batch of gin was an option or any of the other delicious sounding concoctions. So I went with making myself a small jar of jam. Plus I only had one jar.. I was really not that organised. That's what happens when you impulse buy!

Delicious Damson Jam

equal weights of sugar and Damsons enough water to stop damsons sticking to the pan.

Place the Damsons in the pan with the water - there should just be enough to stop them sticking - cook gently until they split and soften a little squish them against the side of the saucepan to help the stones loosen from the flesh. This really only takes 3-4 minutes if that!

Add in the sugar and cook for 10 minutes.

Test to see if a small amount cooled on a saucer forms a skin when you drag a teaspoon through it.

Remove from heat and skim stones and any foam that has formed. Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal.

The jam was very flavoursome but also more tart than I would say was typical for most jams. I am sure this depends on the Damsons you have. Many of you may wish to add slightly more sugar than I have stated if you like a typically sweet jam. Personally I liked it like this.

We had our Damson Jam with scones and pikelets - and I have to say it was a refreshing change from the very sweet jams I would normally have.

Thanks Hugh for inspiring me to try out the Damsons. If you are lucky enough to be able to find these definitely give this wonderful jam a try.

[sundayhotpants]

Celery Salt

I hate waste. I try hard to compost all my green waste and to have as little as possible in the first place. Even our 8 year old will diligently put compostables in the bucket outside, recyclables in the right bin and ask me if things can be used in some other way. 

Lots of things get popped in the freezer for a rainy day. All kinds of bits and pieces get stuffed into my tiny freezer - single egg yolks, bits of cookie dough, small pieces of leftover pastry, pizza dough and single bananas that have seen better days. Often I can identify them later.. sometimes... well it's more a case of defrost it and see what it was that I didn't label.

One of the things that regularly makes it into my freezer is celery tops. They are a great addition to stocks and soups and add a wonderful flavour. I peeked in my freezer today after cutting up my bunch of celery and noticed that the bag that I have with celery tops in it was totally full. Not another leaf would fit.

I couldn't bring myself to compost it knowing it was totally edible. So after giving my 23 year old a lecture on people starving in other parts of the world - (he was snickering at his mother contemplating what to use celery leaves for and yes your children are never too old to lecture on certain topics) I set about making some celery salt with the leftover leaves.

I used a lovely flaky salt from Marlborough to mix with the toasted celery leaves.

Really this could not be more simple.

Celery Salt

Celery leaves Salt. Celery Seeds ( optional)

Preheat your oven to 150C/300F

Pull the leaves of the celery free from the stalks and place in a baking dish lined with parchment. I used one with sides - which I think in hindsight was a good idea - it made it easier to move the leaves about.

Place your leaves in oven, stir with a fork every 5 minutes or so. You want your leaves to be dry and crisp with no moisture left. You don't want them to be toasted and brown though so keep an eye on them.

Once dried remove from the oven and crumble. If you are using celery seeds grind a few with a mortar and pestle and add in with the salt.

Place in with the salt in the proportions you like- easy as that.

Some other combinations you might like to try - celery and chilli or celery and lemon zest. Both are great additions to fish - and the celery and lemon - lovely with fish.

Use to season dishes - don't go overboard though - remember it is salt.

If you have other uses for celery leaves - I'd love to know about them.

[sundayhotpants]

No Knead Flaxseed and Walnut Bread

This is of course the same no knead bread you see all over the internet. People keep asking me for the recipe for it and asking if it is on my blog. I have said no so many times and then had to write out the recipe by hand, so it ends here!

Here it is - in all it's super easy glory!  I just happened to have added in some flaxseed and walnuts into the basic mix. It is worth noting that the basic mix can indeed be toyed with. Add some cinnamon, a little honey and some raisins if you wish, toss in a few herbs and pumpkin seeds, add a bit of Rye flour in place of white - be adventurous! If you just want plain white bread, leave out the seeds and walnuts. If you would prefer a wholegrain version try this wonderful bread.

No Knead Flaxseed and Walnut Bread.

3 cups of flour 1/2 tspn of instant yeast 1 1/2 t salt 1 t honey 1/2 cup of walnuts roughly chopped. 2 T whole flaxseeds (linseed) 1 1/2 cups of tepid water

I like to bake this in a dutch oven, but really any metal dish with a lid will work. You can improvise with a loaf pan lidded with foil if you like, it will work almost as well to create that lovely crust.

Day One

Whisk all dry ingredients except the walnuts together in a large bowl. Dissolve honey in warm water and mix in with the dry ingredients Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave overnight.

Day Two

Put a generous cover of flour on your work surface also scatter the walnuts over,  tip out your dough and gently incorporate your walnuts into the dough.

Cover and set aside to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.

While your dough is rising preheat your oven to 220C/430F. Place the dutch oven in the oven to preheat along with a dish of water placed in the bottom of the oven. The water will help make a nice steamy environment which creates a nice crust.

After 30 mins tip your bread dough carefully into your preheated dish and place the lid on.

Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, after 30 minutes remove the lid and bake for another 15-20 without the lid.

Remove from the oven and cool before slicing.

This bread is SO easy - people will be impressed with your domestic goddess/god like skills. You'll be able to whip up a loaf of crusty, amazing smelling bread in no time.

Treat yourself to a great big slice and spread it with your favourite topping.

[sundayhotpants]

Elderflower Cordial

The first official days of summer are just on the horizon and the Elder tree in the backyard is in full bloom. I don't have a great knowledge of plants - no one ever really taught me how to identify our flora, so the informative people on the internet have taught me.  I have to say I looked at this tree fairly suspiciously for a while - unsure if it was an Elder or something more sinister. Can a plant be sinister? I think so. Finally it took a friend to point out an Elder they had growing in their garden before I was convinced that the plant I had in my garden was the same.

Anyway it turns out that after looking at the tree for a couple of years it is in fact an Elder and I could have been making things from it all this time.

Isaac - our seven year old was only interested in the fact that the Elder wand in Harry Potter might be made from Elder - not just called Elder because it was old. I think he imagined replicating it somehow and casting magic spells in abundance. He had that look about him - like he had a plan of some kind. I may yet find him snapping bits off it.

Elders can be toxic actually so you do need to be careful when using this plant. The berries can make you unwell in their raw state but are fine when cooked. All green parts of the plant are poisonous. The flowers are fine. You can make jam and liqueurs from the berries as well as jellies and all number of other things. I have no idea what they taste like, if you have experience of these I would love to know.

So having given you that caution, lets make cordial! It should be the most beautiful sunshine yellow shade from the pollen.

Elderflower Cordial

adapted from the River Cottage recipe.

30 heads of Elderflowers - make sure you identify your plant correctly!

1.4 litres boiling water.

roughly 800g to 1 kg of sugar or to taste

juice and zest of 4 lemons

juice and zest of 1 orange

1 tspn citric acid. 

1 piece of clean muslin or a clean kitchen towel to strain your infusion through.

Make sure you pick your Elderflowers on a dry day and preferably in the morning. Don't ask me why- but it seems to be the general advice on the internet, and I am happy to take advice from more experienced cordial makers than me. Make sure that your flowers are not going brown - having a few unopened buds is ok. Don't use flowers from trees by the roadside, they are likely to have all sorts of stuff on them that you don't really want to concentrate into cordial.

Climb up your ladder and ask your husband to stand with a saucepan underneath you and throw flowers in the general direction of the saucepan and hopefully get them in. Or just shake the flowers as you pick them to get rid of any bugs and drop the flowers into a container, which ever you prefer.

Sort through the flowers. Pick off the flowers and remove as many of the green stalky bits as you can. Don't get any leaves in there - they will make your cordial a very dark shade. The picture above is before I've removed all the green matter. Once you have separated off the flowers add the citrus zest - and  pour over the boiling water.

Leave to infuse overnight.

Once the liquid is infused simply strain it through your muslin or clean kitchen towel and you should have a wonderful golden liquid something like this.

Add the sugar, the juice and the citric acid and bring to a simmer for about 3 minutes.  This is quite a sweet cordial - so feel free to add a bit less sugar if you wish. I used about 800g of sugar and I think it was still a little on the sweet side.

If you wish to keep it for more than a month make sure you sterilise your bottles. How you do that will depend on the type of bottle that you are using.

I used these swing cap bottles just bought from the supermarket - I am not sure yet how good they are going to be long term. I guess I will find out! Because they have a rubber type seal on the top the caps were sterilised with a tspn of bleach in a litre and a half of water for a few minutes. The bottles were placed in the oven.

The cordial can be frozen if you are using plastic bottles, make sure you leave some space for expansion if you are doing this. It will keep for about a month in the fridge if you have not sterilised your bottles.

To enjoy this cordial

Add a little to a glass and fill with sparkling water.

Use in a jelly along with other flavours. I believe Elderflower and apple is a nice combination, or you could try honey and Elderflower icecream and panacotta. 

A nip poured into a glass and topped with sparkling wine makes a nice summer drink.

Check your tree is an Elder and be adventurous! Give something new a try, make a Harry Potter wand or maybe try the cordial.

[sundayhotpants]

I found this and I had to share it with you. This is me and my little sister rocking the 60's look here. This was the dress that inspired the very loud theme for my blog. You should also note the fabulous day glow orange school bags and goodness knows what my mother was thinking .. ringlets. I remember having to wear my hair tied up in rags so tight to get those ringlets, I hated them more than you can possibly imagine.

Obviously judging from the expressions on our faces.. we thought we were pretty hot! I think my little sister has more of the natural model pose going on there with the casually draped cardigan and the leg slightly extended. I just look relatively uncomfortable. The things we do for beauty!

[sundayhotpants]

Pumpkin Seed Bread

It's spring! It's Official - Official since the beginning of September in fact. It snowed this month. Let me repeat that. It SNOWED. I've been thinking about making some nice hot weather dishes, but first the hot weather has to arrive. NZ is well known for it's four seasons in one day and we've certainly been experiencing that recently. My blog may have a little less food and a little more of other stuff over the next few months but variety is the spice of life right?!

The spring flowers are coming up in the garden. I'm looking forward to some blogging with the advent of the warm weather and the sun.

Cheerful aren't they? They are a bit blurry though since I have discovered my camera lens is covered in something .. most likely flour I suspect. Either that or my eyes are worse than I thought.

If you can tolerate some slightly fuzzy photos (until I take my camera to the shop) I have some things to share with you. I've been keeping myself busy over winter.

I tried making linocuts. I remembered making these at school and had vague fond memories of them. Kit gave me some lino cutting tools for my birthday this year, so I gave it a go. I really enjoyed watching the lino curl away from the tool. The results are very amateur - but it was a remarkably satisfying process.

This is my Nordic God of storms. He was so attached to his wife, that every time she went away he was so upset that he created huge storms. He's a detail from the Tønjum stave church in Norway.

This was an attempt at a town - where I discovered that it's very hard to carve small details into the lino without it chipping. It is a multimedia lino cut. I have some other large pieces of lino that are just waiting for some inspiration.

I've been turning Isaac's head into a garden for Funky Friday at school. 

I've also helped my husband gain about a kilo over winter by baking this delicious pumpkin seed bread. Actually it's just the no knead recipe that you see all over the internet but I like to add in pumpkin seeds - good for your prostate if you have one. Which I don't .. because well  I don't. I also like to add in whole linseed aka flaxseed

Check it out!

Yes I am afraid this delicious bread is the reason for my husbands extra kg. Now he's on a low carb regime.... So I guess I am going to be posting some low carb recipes soon for those of you that are into that kind of thing, which I'm not, but he is. I'm trying to see this low carb thing as yet another cooking adventure and one that I am going to try to balance out with my own dietary requirements which of course include intermittent helpings of cake.

For those of you that enjoy wonderful slightly moist bread with a nice hard crust - this is the bread you have been waiting for.

For those of you that like to make bread without kneading it - this is the bread you have been waiting for.

For those of you that like to impress your friends with little or no effort - this is the bread you have been waiting for.

I'm sure you get the picture.

Pumpkin Seed No Knead Bread

Note: This needs to rise overnight - make sure you make the dough the day before you want the bread and allow 30 minutes rising time and 45 minutes cook time the following day. I generally have enough time to bake this bread before work in the morning if I have prepared the dough the night before.

In a large bowl place

3 cups of flour 1/4 tspn instant yeast 1/2 tspn salt 1/2 tspn sugar 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds 1/4 cup of whole linseeds

Mix with a knife then add

1 1/2 cups of tepid water

Mix

Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap or a  tea towel and leave to sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours.

The next day:

Stir your dough and place in a warm place for 30 minutes to rise.

Preheat your oven to 220C/ 428F and place the dish that you are going to bake your bread in in the oven also. I use a cast iron dutch oven with a lid for my bread, but I have also just used a standard loaf pan with foil tented over it. The shape of your container will effect the shape of your finished loaf.

Also place an oven proof dish filled with water in the oven to create a nice steamy environment for your bread, this helps give a nice crust.

After 30 minutes tip your dough into your preheated container, dust with flour and cover (with a lid or tented foil - make sure it is not actually touching your bread and your bread has enough room to rise).

Cook for 30 minutes with the lid on.

After 30 minutes remove the lid or foil and cook uncovered for 15 minutes.

Cool on a rack before slicing. Done.

Actual hands on time for the bread is minimal, while it's cooking/rising etc in the morning I can get ready for work.

It does make good toast the next day if for some reason you don't devour all at once. For those of you just coming into winter this bread might just be the thing that makes the days seem a little more cosy. I take no responsibility for any weight gained!

I have to say it's good to be back, it seems like it's been a very long winter this year. I'm going to try to get the blog revamped a little over the summer as well - perhaps I can exchange some web work for some low carb cooking.

I'm looking forward to hearing what you've all been up to.

[sundayhotpants]

I'm still here in chilly Dunedin. It's just that it's winter - and the light is like this.

I'm spending my time bringing lots of this - to light the fire and keep us warm.

I went to the library and got myself stacks of magazines to read while I stay inside out of the cold.

I'm still here.

Just hibernating.

[sundayhotpants]

Jacked-up Banana Bread

Now before you get all excited and think I'm being a bit risque with the title of the post -this banana bread has Jack Daniels Bourbon in it. See? It was perfectly innocent. Shame on you for thinking otherwise!

Sorry about the photos today - we ate half the bread before I remembered you. Please don't be offended.

I'd like to tell you a great story about the time I visited a little town in Kentucky and saw a very old Bourbon distillery. Except that is the entire story, so it's not that great. I did go there though, where ever there was..... I can't remember the town's name. Ahh the joys of Peri-menopause, my once razor sharp memory is now as sharp as a spoon.

At home I've had to start using a diary.

"So what?", I hear half of you saying. I've never had to use a diary at home - at work yes, but home no. I could always remember what was going on, for not just myself but for everyone in the house.

Piano lessons, hiphop, dentist's appointments, vet visits, school concerts, haircuts and birthdays. Now unless it's written in my diary (personally illustrated by Isaac with a green slime monster with candy canes! The Christmas monster maybe?) it's forgotten about.

I've decided that Jacked-up banana bread is a mighty fine way to console myself in my fuddled middle aged state. It's a recipe that seems to originate with "Mrs Hockmeyer" and then has morphed into something else entirely. It's almost become an internet heirloom (if there could be such a thing?) with so many bloggers posting this in various forms. Deb from Smitten Kitchen is the one that thought Jack Daniels would be a good idea. She was right!

I cut large thick slices of this as soon as it came out of the oven, popped a scoop of vanilla speckled icecream on top and then completely unnecessarily poured a little hot fudge sauce over it. I can't even begin to tell you how good that was. Yes, I'm speechless. I think you just need to make it. Write the recipe down and put it somewhere you won't forget it. Mine is going into my green monster diary with the candy canes.

This is a great way to use up those bananas that are past their best or languishing in the freezer.

Jacked-up Banana Bread

adapted and enjoyed via Joy the Baker, via Smitten Kitchen via Simply Recipes etc.

3 to 4 ripe bananas mashed 1/3 cup melted butter 1 cup light brown sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon bourbon (if you have an unsteady hand and accidentally add a little more it seems to be fine!) 1 teaspoon baking soda Pinch of salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg Pinch of ground cloves 1 1/2 cup of flour 3/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds

 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F

Mix the melted butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.

Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then spices.

Add baking soda and salt and mix. Add the flour, mix. Add the chopped almonds and stir gently until just mixed through.

Pour mixture into a greased and floured or lined loaf pan.  

Bake for roughly 1 hour. I started checking mine after 45 minutes.

Cool on a rack or slice while warm and serve with icecream and chocolate sauce.

Don't forget to write it down!

P.S My little Bird's Nest Cookies were in the Dominion Post this week, how exciting is that!

P.P.S My lovely husband bought me an apron from Flirty Aprons. These are seriously cute aprons! I believe Mothers Day is coming up, so if anyone wants a new one, check those out and drop your guy/girl some strong hints about Marilyn aprons and high heels. That ought to do the trick.

[sundayhotpants]

Hiking around Otago Peninsula - Sandymount

I'm fairly sure that most people think that behind every food blog is a slightly rounded woman. I'm pretty sure often you'd be right. It's hard not to cook so many delicious things and start to look something like a cinnamon bun shape yourself!

I've been trying to be more conscious of getting a decent amount of exercise to offset the tasty things that come out of the kitchen. Today we spent an hour or so walking about the Otago Peninsula, walking the Sandymount track. We saw two amazing landmarks called Lovers Leap and the Chasm, unfortunately our photos really don't do them justice. This is about 20 minutes away from my house.

This is a photo heavy post, but I really wanted to share this amazing afternoon with you out in the fresh air in New Zealand. It's days like today I really appreciate living in this little country at the bottom of the planet with the Hobbits.  All these beautiful images are on a 50 minute walk.

Driving up towards Sandymount and looking towards Dunedin city - where we call home. This and the next two photos comprise the Otago harbour the city is situated on.

Looking down towards Port Chalmers.

At the end of Sandymount Road this is the view from the carpark over Hoopers Inlet, there were actually a couple of hang gliders out there but they are too small for you to see.

We walked through this dark tunnel of old macrocarpa, all the tree limbs left leaning towards the sun, there is so much leaf litter underfoot you barely make a sound as you walk.

At the end - you come across this, a very typical NZ vista.

You round the corner and you see this beach, it's truly breath taking. It's  called Allans Beach.

Follow a sheep track around the tussock covered hills

To the cliffs and the coast.

As I mentioned above, I have no photos of the chasm and Lovers Leap, the photos we had just did not do them justice at all.  Have a look at a blog called 12 foot 3 for a selection of great photos of Lovers Leap and The Chasm.

I do indeed feel lucky to live here and have such amazing scenery practically on my doorstep.

Days like today need to be savored.

A little reminder too, one more day to comment on the previous blog post to be in the draw to win a $50 voucher.

[sundayhotpants]

Giveaway and Lunchbox Jumble.

Wheee it's a giveaway! This giveaway is only available to Aussies and Kiwis, sorry everyone else!  I had a very friendly chap called Victor contact me about doing a promotional post for a website called Groupon (yes it sounds like coupon!) I don't normally do this type of thing, but he offered me two $50 vouchers for my readers - so on your behalf I accepted graciously. I know you all like free stuff! There is one website with deals for Kiwis at Grouponnz and another for Aussies here at Groupon Austrailia.

They have some amazing deals on there that you can spend your $50 voucher on. To give you some ideas they have baby slumber pods, Sworovski crystal jewellery and personalised iphone cases. As well as things you can hold in your hand and get in your actual post box, they have some really fantastic deals on travel and holiday packages (Thailand anyone?). These are really heavily discounted and just amazing value. I've got to say, I've got my eye on a trip to Wellington. I'd like to see my darling daughter when she gets back from gallivanting all around the world!

Just to make it clear, I am not gaining anything from promoting this other than the opportunity to give you a $50 voucher. Neat huh ?

Ok, so what do you need to do to be in the draw for one of two $50 vouchers?

All you need to do is visit either Groupon Austrailia or Grouponnz and leave a comment telling me what you would like to put your $50 voucher towards. I'll do a random draw to see who the lucky ones are.

Edit: I'll leave this giveaway open until April lst (NZ time) for the one voucher and 24 hours for the other, I noticed some of these deals have quite tight time limits on them!

Now for all you folk that can't participate in the giveaway, I'm sorry! I do have an interesting recipe for you all. These are bar cookies, a New Zealand slice. This recipe came from a fundraiser cookbook back in the 60's. If you're a sixties Kiwi kid like me no doubt you'll recognise this slice; you might have had some in your lunchbox as a child.

The interesting thing about this is that my recipe for jumble is completely wrong. Somewhere along the way it morphed into something that only barely resembles the original. It's now more like a chocolate, coconut version of ginger crunch. The original jumble is soft and cakey, but you can almost break your teeth on this version if if you're not careful! It is not a soft slice. So just to be clear, if you wear dentures - this one is not for you! Alternatively if you would like to make a soft cakey version, simply add an egg to the mix.

This is so sturdy it makes it the perfect candidate to be rattled around in a lunch box and still be presentable at lunch time when your hungry little person is looking for their treat.

It will keep well for a couple of weeks in a sealed container.

Lunchbox Jumble

100g butter (softened)

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of flour

1 cup of dessicated coconut

1 tspn of baking powder

1 large Tblspn Cocoa

splash of milk -  just enough to mix to hold the mixture together

whole egg (optional) if you would like a soft version.

Cream together the butter and sugar

Add the remaining ingredients and press into a Lammington pan (30 x 19 cm)

Bake for roughly 15 minutes at 180C 350F until the cake begins to move away from the sides of the pan and springs back when gently pressed with your finger.

Ice/Frost with a simple confectioners sugar icing.

2 cups icing/powdered sugar

1 large T butter

1/2 tspn vanilla

1 large T sifted cocoa

boiling water to mix

Ice this while it is still slightly warm. Sift dry ingredients into a small bowl, add the butter and vanilla. Add boiling water slowly in very small amounts and stir until a spreadable consistency.

Sprinkle with a little dessicated coconut. Cut while still slightly warm.

Good luck to those of you keen to win a voucher! Remember to leave a comment to be in with a chance to win.

[sundayhotpants]

Salad of Shaved Fennel, Baby Peas, Feta and Lemon

This is the fennel that I planted in my garden this year. I was not all that hopeful that it would do well, but unlike my zucchini it actually thrived! I have so much fennel I was struggling to find ways to eat it. I make a mean fennel and cauliflower gratin and a fresh, crisp fennel and apple salad. The leaves are frequently tucked in little parchment packages with salmon or tossed with vegetables. But I felt like I needed something else to try, something that would really wake up my taste buds.

I hunted about online for some inspiration and stumbled across a recipe feature from one of my favourite places to eat, Riverstone Kitchen in Oamaru.

I was a little hesitant when I initially saw the quite large quantity of herbs in this recipe. Look at all that wonderful fresh mint and parsley, I love being able to pick things out of my garden and eat them within the hour. I piled in the herbs in the amounts suggested and thought it might have been a little much.

I should have trusted the wonderful chefs at Riverstone, the balance of flavours is just right. Mint and Lemon should get married, those two flavours just seem to work so well together.

Salad of Fennel, Baby Peas, Feta and Lemon.

Serves four

2 medium-sized fennel bulbs Small red onion 150g sheep's milk feta ( I used cow's milk feta) 200g baby peas ( I used frozen and thawed but not cooked) Cup flat leaf parsley, picked Cup mint leaves, picked 150g baby spinach leaves Juice of 1 lemon 40ml extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper

Finely shave or slice the fennel into a large bowl with a mandolin or very sharp knife. Try to keep it nice and fine.

Crumble the feta over the top and add the remaining ingredients. Toss together gently and serve.

Drizzle with a little extra olive oil to serve if you wish.

As soon as I took a mouthful of this my mind was racing .. did I have enough ingredients to make this again?

The recipe states that it serves 4 - but honestly I could easily have sat and eaten at least half of this on my own without any trouble at all. But of course that would be greedy, wouldn't it. Wouldn't it?

Teamed up with a nice piece of grilled salmon and some new potatoes this would make a very elegant and memorable meal.

Outside of the kitchen this week it's the Fringe Festival in Dunedin. We didn't have a huge amount of time to visit performances between dance lessons, piano lessons, husband crashing into a mirror and destroying half a jewellery shop (another story for another time), hair cuts and purchasing of shorts for Isaac's triathalon.

We had just enough time to visit the Mad Hatter's tea Party art installation under the overbridge (Isaac found that itself amusing - how could you possibly go under the overbridge?)

He could not resist poking the licorice alllsorts to see if they were real. It was also quite interesting to see people's reactions as they came across this massive table filled with oversized food and teapots.

Hopefully I'll get to see a little more of the Fringe festival and be able to share with you.

Till next time!

[sundayhotpants]

French Lemon Yoghurt Cake and a Stationary Pet

I've been meaning to give you this wonderful recipe for a tangy French lemon and yoghurt cake for quite some time and finally I have managed to get my act together to post it for you. You've all been in my thoughts, promise! I'll tell you all about the new pet after you've salivated over the cake for a bit.

I've had this recipe for a long time. It's completely delicious. It's a large cake. People will ask you for the recipe. You can pretend it's all yours and I won't mind one bit. Tell them it's been in your family for centuries and it's been handed down from mother to daughter or father to son - whatever suits you! I won't tell anyone.

It's a grown up cake. You can produce this for special occasions and people will declare you an amazing baker. The compliments will flow with this cake and there won't be a crumb left.

It's damp, lemony and fragrant. What more could you want?

Warm out of the oven you slowly drizzle a lemon and yoghurt glaze on the top. It seeps into the cake to give it the characteristic shine and tart lemon bite. 

Please don't substitute margarine in this recipe. It really does need the flavour and the fat from butter to taste right. There are some things you just should not muck about with - this is one of them.

French Lemon Yoghurt Cake

(adapted from Essential Baking)

225g/8oz unsalted butter - softened

300g/10 1/2 oz caster/superfine sugar

4 large eggs separated

2 t grated lemon zest

85ml/3fl lemon juice

250ml/8floz plain unsweetened yoghurt

285g/10oz flour

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

For the Glaze

115g/4oz icing sugar/powdered sugar

2 T lemon juice

3-4 T plain unsweetened yoghurt

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and grease and flour or line a large cake pan with parchment - it must hold at least 3 litres/4 2/3 pts. You can cook this in a bundt tin if you wish - but make sure it is well greased and floured.

You will need three bowls to make this cake. It's worth the dishes!

Make sure you have your lemon juice and zest all ready to be added in at the appropriate stage.

Cream your butter and sugar together in a large bowl and add in your egg yolks one at a time. I was lucky enough to have some beautiful free range eggs on hand from my wonderful friend to make this with.

Your butter and sugar should be pale and thick.

Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and yoghurt and stir to blend. It will look like it has curdled at this point, but don't worry - it always looks like this.

In another bowl sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda.

In the third bowl - beat the egg whites and salt to stiff peaks.

Fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and add in a spoonful of the egg whites to loosen the mixture.

Add in the remaining egg whites and fold until just mixed.

Pour into your prepared cake pan and bake until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. In a bundt pan this will be roughly 50 minutes. If you have used another type of pan start to check your cake every 10 minutes after 40 minutes in the oven and keep checking until your skewer comes out clean.

Let stand for a few minutes then turn out and cool on a rack.

This cake can be a little fragile when warm so go carefully.

For the Glaze

I like to glaze mine when slightly warm so that the glaze soaks into the cake.

Sift the icing sugar into a small bowl - stir in the lemon juice and yoghurt to make a smooth glaze.

Put the cooled cake on a cake rack over a large flat dish or piece of parchment. Pour the glaze over and let it drip down the sides.

Serve with yoghurt or cream on the side.

Now - to tell you about the pet. His name is Steve - he doesn't really move a lot, only when he needs to. Isaac decided he was a stationary pet. He lives in a willow pattern ramekin on the window sill.

When he needs to move .. he moves with the speed of a predator. He waits... for his prey to come to him.

Not everyone's cup of tea perhaps?

Isaac is a little afraid of insects. I thought this might be a way to help him overcome his fear. He has a total fascination with Steve and checks his water daily. No pet could be more loved.

We read all about this great little stationary pet on flytrapcare.com. Everything you ever wanted to know about your Venus Fly Trap. I had no idea they were native to the US. I imagined them growing in some misty tropical jungle somewhere.

He had a friend over to play today and both the boys were completely engrossed with catching bugs for the fly trap. They decided that slaters ( woodlice) were no good since the last one made the trap go black. The harvestmen that they caught was too light to trigger the trap. Isaac explained to his little friend that the bug had to touch two hairs on the trap to trigger the closure.

They poked around in the vegetable garden a little more and found a centipede to feed to Steve.

They counted the legs.. they remarked on it's colour, they talked about the differences between centipedes and millipedes and where they thought they lived.

Steve - is a wonderful pet - if not completely traditional.  He's led to many learning discoveries for Isaac. If you have a child with an inquiring mind - this might be a fun thing to introduce to them. I'm just hoping Steve survives the winter - since it gets fairly cold here. It is officially the last day of summer here tomorrow (I think) the leaves will start to change and the mushrooms will start to appear under the trees and in the grass.  Isaac tells me that Steve will hibernate - so perhaps he'll be alright.