Jeannie's Kitchen

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  • Chickweed salad, pesto and gardeners first aid

    Chickweed salad, pesto and gardeners first aid

    Chickweed Stellaria media is a highly nutritious plant popular in Victorian times with the leisure class for use in salads and sandwiches.  Today it is called a weed. I discovered this luscious patch of chickweed when… read more

  • An autumn salad from the garden

    An autumn salad from the garden

    Since daylight saving has finished, suddenly the nights in the south seem to be colder and the leaves of the trees are thinking about changing colour.   My lettuce plants are under threat with… read more

  • Slow cooked tomatoes and generous gardeners

    Slow cooked tomatoes and generous gardeners

    My sister Kerry is my Little Red Riding Hood often arriving with a basket of produce from her garden and hens. Included in Kerry’s basket were some tomatoes.  In our family I’m credited as… read more

  • Gaucho Sauce (Chimichurri – Herby Salsa)

    It’s been months since I last wrote a posting…I’ve been just too busy with our change of lifestyle.  In December we left Ponsonby for Portobello. Not only did we move from one end of New… read more

  • Cooking Class at Ponsonby School

    “No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.” ― Julia Child When I offered to take cooking lessons for Beau’s classmates in year zero (new entrants) at Ponsonby Primary, I was a… read more

  • Upcycled Peanut Chocolate Biscuits

    Chocolate peanut biscuits from the Edmonds cookbook were the first biscuits I ever made. We used to call them “Peanut Brownies” but that was before the American Brownie was introduced – and the cake-like… read more

  • Whangarei Growers Market and New Zealand spinach

    Whangarei Heads is always a delight to visit, so much so that we usually don’t want to leave. But on our last visit our friend Heather Hunt insisted we be on the road by… read more

  • Almond Pudding Cake for Augustines Apricots

    I’ve been experimenting with my favourite pudding cake recipe to showcase Augustines of Central preserved apricots. Our son Gus is the producer of these perfect preserves and he gave me a challenge recently. Could… read more

  • Winter Nelis Pears with Clover Honey

    What is it with pears?  Bite into a pear from the tree and its like a rock. But, take it inside, keep it warm, and in time it transforms into a luscious, soft, juicy… read more