Jeannie's Kitchen

Lunchbox baking: Wanaka Gingernuts and #9 Fruit Loaf

Posted on September 6, 2015September 8, 2015 by Jeannie Hayden

In the 1990’s I was making three school lunches and my children loved The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Now that our grandson Beau is going to school I’m back to making school lunches and his favourite characters are the Ninja Turtles. It’s true…what goes around comes around.

Beau loves school at Ponsonby Primary and every morning he helps me make his lunch to go into his Ninja Turtle lunch bag. The first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series was made in 1987.

To add variety to the daily lunch I’m once again baking on a regular basis. I’ve promised myself he won’t be getting packaged treats because home baking is chemical free. I also know just how much sugar, fat and salt has been included. Besides home baking tastes better and costs less.

Our two favourites, funnily enough, are recipes from New Zealand cook Lois Daish.

Gingernuts with Wanaka bg — Wanaka Gingernuts with “The Nature of Wanaka” by local landscape photographer Gilbert van Reenan – a most suitable backdrop.

Wanaka Gingernuts I discovered during a visit to our Broad Bay friends Frizz and Peter. Frizz told me her gingernuts were a Lois Daish recipe. One day she was planning on making a batch of gingernuts but discovered she had run out of plain flour. The only flour in the house was spelt, so spelt was used instead, and the resulting biscuits were superior. I decided to follow her recommendation because I wanted to recreate the same crunchy light biscuits she made. If you haven’t got spelt flour you can make them with plain flour too.

Another positive of using spelt flour is that often gluten intolerant people can handle this ancient grain. I usually buy the wholemeal spelt over the white spelt. Spelt flour is double the price of ordinary flour so I tend to only use it for these biscuits and other special baking.

Wanaka Gingernuts

100g butter
225g caster sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp golden syrup
250g spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
3-4 teaspoons ground ginger
(crystallised ginger and chocolate as topping optional)

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius or 160 if you have a fan oven.

20150824_155809 — To cream butter and sugar is to beat until the colour lightens and the sugar grains melt into the butter.

Cream butter and sugar until pale in colour.

20150824_155827 — Beau likes to help so I make it mistake proof for him by cracking the egg into a glass first to add to the creamed butter and sugar.

Add egg and beat again.

20150824_155924 — It helps if you run a tablespoon under the hot tap before spooning out the golden syrup ensuring that the syrup just slides off the spoon into the bowl.

Put the dry ingredients together into a large bowl and sift.

20150824_155318 — Spelt often clumps together as seen on bottom right of the picture. It’s a species of wheat arising from natural hybridisation which has taken place centuries ago. Spelt has high water solubility, so its nutrients are easily absorbed by the body. It’s used where a ‘lighter’ touch is preferred in baking. It gives a slightly sweet, nutty flavour to baked goods.

Add to the creamed mixture and mix to a soft dough in the cake mixer or by hand.

Take out spoonfuls and loosely shape into balls, but do not flatten out. Leave space as they spread and you will need two oven trays lined with baking paper.

I sometimes add sliced pieces of crystallised ginger and if I have chocolate I also add that as ginger and chocolate is a great combination. But these ginger nuts with 3-4 teaspoons of ginger are delicious just plain.

Screen Shot 2015-09-06 at 1.10.24 pm — I just pop into the local Trade Aid shop but you can also purchase their food products online.

It’ll make all the difference to the biscuits if you use a really good ground ginger. I like to buy my ginger from the Trade Aid shop because it’s a win/win situation. The ginger is of a high quality and organic that will not only give a warming spicy taste of ginger to the biscuits but will guarantee the small scale farmers in Sri Lanka a better living.

20140928_172925 — You can see how they spread and sometimes end up joining if I try to put too many on a tray.

The ginger nuts will puff up and then collapse into characteristic fissures. Bake for 15-18 minutes until well baked and deep golden. You have to keep a keen watch at the end of the cooking because you want them to have a crunch but not to burn. Cool on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container. Sometimes to ensure maximum crunch I place the wire rack back in the cooling oven with the door left open. (Peter prefers them crunchy on the outside edge and slightly chewy in the middle so I don’t always do the maximum crunch method.)

20150824_163755 — Here are the crystallised ginger and chocolate version – showing you they vary in finished appearance sometimes.

When Frizzell made them they looked perfect. Mine seem to come out looking different each time but don’t worry about that, they taste the same.

An even easier recipe is the Number 9 Fruit Loaf. This loaf used to be a daily offering at Lois Daish’s cafe “Number 9” in Wellington and I got the recipe from The Listener when Lois used to write a weekly column. I have since lost the recipe but I’ve made it enough times in the past to recreate it recently.

20150905_120342 — #9 Fruit Loaf from memory. Hopefully this recipe remains faithful to the original. If you have the original recipe, let me know if I have it wrong and I will amend.

I like #9 because it doesn’t use butter or any other fat – it’s almost all dried fruit.

Number 9 Fruit Loaf

*450 g dried fruit

1 cup of hot Earls Grey tea

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of white sugar

1 1/2 cups of high grade white flour

1/2 cup of stoneground wholemeal flour (or spelt)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp of mixed spice (optional – sometimes I double the ginger and leave out the mixed spice)

20150830_092747#1 — The fruit I like to soak as long as possible, sometimes overnight to plump up the fruit.

* The mixed fruit combination can be any mix of fruit you like. I usually like to have at least 100g of currants, add a couple of tablespoons of citrus peel and sometimes cut up crystallised ginger. I usually use what I have in the pantry like dates and prunes but the standard is just a mix of currants, sultanas and raisins.

20150830_074929 — The original recipe uses Earl Grey tea which adds more perfumed flavour but I often don’t have Earl Grey tea available so I use standard black tea. Rooibos (Red Bush) tea would be interesting to try too.

Let the fruit soak in the hot tea and the sugars for a minimum of 30 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

20150831_065328 — A beaten egg is added to the fruit mix before adding the sifted dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl put together the dry ingredients and sift to mix the flours with the spice and baking powder. If there is any wholemeal flour left in the sifter or sieve make sure you add it back into the dry ingredients.

Next beat an egg and add to the fruit mix.

20150819_095634 — I find it’s easier to mix the dry into the wet rather than the wet into the dry.

Finally mix in the dry ingredients. It’s best to mix in half the dry ingredients first and then add the remainder.

20150831_070235 — A good heavy bread tin like this is a great kitchen investment. It can be used for baking and bread making. The heavy metal makes a good crust.

Line a deep tin with baking paper, then spray with oil before adding the cake mix. I spoon some into each corner first to keep the paper at the ends in place.

I bake it in an oven at around 160-170 degrees Celsius and it takes approximately an hour. In the last quarter hour you may need to cover the top with a piece of foil to keep the top from browning too much.

It’s cooked once you smell it but it’s important to also test with a long fork or skewar. If it comes out cleanly take out of the oven, allow to cool, then simply lift it out of the pan by the paper and allow to completely cool on a wire rack.

This loaf will keep for a week and as it gets older we slice it thin and spread with a little butter.

A note about sifting…

It’s important to sift the flour to ensure an even mix of any raising agents and spices through the flour, but it’s also important to mix air through the flour as this action adds lightness to your baking.

20130212_122444 — This vintage flour sifter is one of a light installation in Bread and Butter at Ponsonby Central. They have used various objects with a baking theme to create a lighting feature over the large shared eating table.

You don’t need to have a sifter you can do this by fluffing the flour with an egg whisk or shake through a sieve, but it’s a step you shouldn’t be tempted to miss out.

All at StJoes — In 1992 our youngest son Francis 5 yrs (centre) started school at St Josephs Dunedin. Gus is 8 (left) and Tansy (Beau’s Mum) on the right and is 10.

It’s amazing how time just flies by – it certainly doesn’t feel like 23 years since our youngest son Francis started school and I was baking for three school lunches. Well…I have to admit with a part time job and three kids I couldn’t always find the time to bake but it was always greatly appreciated when I did.

Moofins – Nana’s Bran Muffins

Posted on August 30, 2015August 31, 2015 by Jeannie Hayden

It’s a hard job finding a perfect bran muffin, but my friends loved the ones I made recently for brunch and have put in a request for the recipe.

IMG_20140717_222403 — Nana’s Bran Muffins

When placing bran muffins in baking history it’s natural to think of them arriving with the whole food revolution in the 1970’s because of their high fibre content. But the earliest recipe comes from an 1857 cook book published in Philadelphia, and was raised by yeast like the English muffin. In the 1920’s Fannie Farmer of the Boston Cooking School introduced them as a quick bread option using baking soda as the rising agent. In the late 1930’s baking powder was added to make them even lighter as we prefer them today.

Its name is thought to be derived from the low German muffen meaning “small cakes”, but was first printed as Moofin…I kind of like Moofin.

20141109_105524-1 — These bran muffins have blackcurrants added.

Some of you may remember Manual Training while at primary school. The boys did woodwork and the girls cooking. I’m sure my sister Kerry would have preferred woodwork to cooking and some of the boys on the bus wished they could be taking home edible rewards for their work, but it was the 1960’s so there was no choice in the matter. I remember the small basket I would take containing an enamel pie dish, and a crisp white apron and headgear sewn by my Mum (to the required pattern). It was here I was introduced to bran muffins and the family got to try plenty of them as I perfected my baking skills.

These students are wearing the same pattern aprons and head gear as those we wore at Manual Cooking classes but ours were white cotton Students at Wellington East Girls’ College, with cakes and tea that they have made in a Home Economics class. Negatives of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1958/2761-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/232563

I’ve been reacquainted with bran muffins at one of our cafes here in Auckland, the Foxtrot Parlour in Ponsonby Central. They do the best bran muffins and I have tried to recreate them using the recipe I discovered in a NZ Gardener publication. I have altered the recipe a little but recognise that Nana from Rangiora has given me a fine base recipe so I’ve kept true to the original recipe name.

foxtrot cafe June 2014 muffin2 — Delicious Bran Muffins at Foxtrot Cafe in Ponsonby Central – you have to be in quick because they usually are gone by 10.

Nana’s Bran Muffins

Ingredients:

50g butter melted

1 heaped tbsp golden syrup

1 egg beaten

1 cup of kefir, buttermilk or milk

1-1 1/2 cups of grated apple (one large apple will produce this quantity)

Handful of preferred dried fruit. I use raisins mostly but have used chopped up dates, currants or cranberries.

As many chopped walnuts as you can spare – as little as 1/4 cup up to about a cup.

1 cup self raising flour

1 1/2 cups of bran flakes or oat bran

1/2 cup sugar (brown or white)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger (we love ginger so I often put in 2 tsp)

1 tsp baking soda

20150828_065708 — A heaped tablespoon of golden syrup with butter but you can replace the butter with oil if preferred. I have also used 50/50 golden syrup and treacle for a richer colour and flavour.

Mix golden syrup into melted butter to make a liquid. Add grated apple immediately to this mix to prevent it from discolouring. Next add in extra dried fruit and chopped nuts, the milk or kefir and beaten egg to this mix.

20150828_071814 — A mix of red eating apple and a green Granny Smith apple.

Put all the dry ingredients together except for the baking soda.

Just before adding the dry and wet ingredients together, stir the baking soda into the liquid mix. You want the baking soda to start reacting but not to be completely spent.

20150828_072521 — You can see the soda starting to bubble in the mix of golden syrup, kefir, egg and fruit.

Now gently fold the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients. It’s important with muffins not to over mix as this makes them tough.

20150828_072712 — I find its easier to mix adding the dry mix to the wet mix. The mix should be moist and quite fluffy due to air pockets created in the mix by the baking soda.

For those of you who are manufacturing your own kefir, I’ve found my muffins have improved since using it in the mix. They seem to be lighter and softer for some reason.

I spray or butter the muffin tins really well as the cooked muffins can be tricky to get out. Using a dessertspoon I spoon the mix into the patty pans nearly to the top but allow room for them to rise. If the mix is very moist and the pans are filled too high they are likely to spread over the top of the muffin tins rather than rising up to a mound…making them difficult to get out of the pans in one piece. Alternatively you can use paper or silicon cases, but I prefer the metal patty pans.

To add a little luxury I sometimes slice up some damson paste and pop into the top of the uncooked muffin mix so when you open up the muffin there is a little bit of softened jelly in the centre – yum. I have used quince paste the same way.

20150828_073551

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 160C. Once cooked… leave to cool slightly, then run a knife around the edge of the muffin. Leave until cool enough to handle and then gently release them from the tins and put onto a wire rack to cool.

20150603_112144

Usually the family is lining up to eat them while still hot. They freeze well for future use.

These muffins are moist so no butter is needed …but butter is also nice. You can offer jelly or jam for those who like a sweeter taste but I prefer them as they are.

20140904_100028 — Nana’s Bran Muffins with one of my jellies.

You can replace the apple with any other fruit or vegetable but I really like the apple. I usually vary them by the added fruit or nuts. Instead of paste you could pop in a slice of crystallised ginger. If available I use fresh, frozen or dried blackcurrants or blueberries.

I usually try to use oat bran rather than wheat bran because oat bran has more nutrients, but it’s not so easy to find. Oat bran makes a lighter coloured muffin and a nuttier flavour. Always buy bran in small quantities because it can go rancid very quickly. An idea is to keep it in the freezer if not using regularly.

My latest find is dried Barberries which are the size of currants but have twice the zing and can be found in specialty stores. It’s a product of Iran and could be under the name Zereshk. These little jewel like fruits were the something special I added to the muffins I served my friends at brunch.

The muffin was born in the USA and are taken seriously enough to be considered as state symbols. The corn muffin is the official state muffin of Massachusetts, the blueberry muffin of Minnesota, the apple muffin of New York and New England claims the bran muffin. The New England bran muffins tend to include molasses where my recipe has golden syrup. Treacle or molasses would add a deeper flavour but be careful not to overdo the molasses and a good compliment to molasses or treacle would be ginger.

I have always preferred the bran muffin to the cakey muffin that is offered in a lot of cafes. I believed bran muffins must be a healthy option with all that bran.

But then I read Sally Fallon’s “Nourishing Traditions”. It’s true bran as the outer coating of a grain contains most of the nutrients and fibre. But it also contains phytic acid (an organic acid in which phosphorus is bound). Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption which could lead to mineral deficiencies and bone loss. Ironically all that roughage could result in irritable bowel syndrome long term.

Sounds terrible doesn’t it? But this is unlikely to happen if you consume the odd bran muffin… you would need to be having a high bran diet and eating bran muffins every day.

Most grains (including gluten free grains like Quinoa) have phytic acid and it’s useful to know that this acid can be neutralised or treated by simply soaking the bran for 7 hours in warm water to break down the phytic acid before digesting the grain or bran. By adding a little whey, kefir or a squeeze of lemon juice will ensure an ideal environment for enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to live in. Another benefit of soaking grains is that various vitamins will become available when we digest the grains that wouldn’t have been otherwise. For an easy improvement to your porridge visit my post of September 2013 A Big Soak.

I have attempted making these muffins by pre soaking the bran but they tend come out heavy. I will keep experimenting and if I’m successful in making a soaked bran muffin closer to what this recipe delivers I’ll let you know.

20150828_162155

In the meantime, just as our family does, enjoy these delicious moofins every now and then.

Foraging for Jelly

Posted on August 22, 2015August 22, 2015 by Jeannie Hayden

To forage is ” to search widely for food or provisions” and a most delicious provision is a glossy jelly. I have miscalculated because this week I opened my last jar of jelly and now I’ll have to wait until summer to restock. Until then, I can reflect on jellies past and future. What fruit or berry will I forage this summer/autumn?

20140902_104617 — Tejocote Jelly (Mexican Hawthorne) *Crataegus gracilior* foraged from Christchurch Botanical Gardens 2014 – a jelly fruit that fruits midwinter.

Making jelly is like any other skill, you just have to do it enough times to get good at it. But it also helps to understand the science of how a jelly sets. There are a few tricks I have learnt over the years and I continue to learn as I experiment each season. To make a few jars of jelly you need lots of fruit. Buying the ingredients is not economic, so to be a real jelly maker you have to learn to forage.

One of my favourites is crabapple jelly because of it its ruby translucence and it was the first jelly I ever made from foraged crabapples in the Dunedin Botanical Gardens in the 1980’s.

There is a lovely crabapple tree in our neighbourhood. Last October I photograph the tree in blossom, promising myself in autumn I would knock on the door and ask if I could harvest the crabapples. Tony, the tree’s owner, was happy to give me permission to harvest on condition that I gave him a jar of the finished jelly and left some for the birds. I quickly agreed to the terms as I usually do both anyway.

20141020_065606-1 — Crabapple *Malus* trees are worthwhile to have in your garden for the blossom alone. Some varieties flowers are white.

First step is to wash the fruit a few times to get rid of any dirt or dust.

20150519_103212 — These crabapples are green with patches of red, but more often you will find the miniature apples are yellow or bright red. Whatever their colour, they all turn into the same magical colour when made into a jelly.

Add enough water to just cover fruit and no more. At this point you can also decide whether to add some spices or to stay with the natural fruit flavour. I have used cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, slices of ginger, citrus peel, cardamon, coriander seeds and star anise …NOT all at once, of course. Choose what best goes with the type of fruit. I tend to use star anise or cardamon with strong flavoured fruit like plums; use ginger, kaffir lime leaves, and coriander to give a tropical touch and add flavour to subtle fruit like guava; cinnamon works well with apple. I would recommend working with the natural fruit flavour first and then think about an extra flavour dimension to the jelly when you make it a second time. If you need to add extra acidity to the brew this is the stage you add either a cut up lemon or lemon juice….more on acidity later.

Simmer until fruit becomes soft and mushy and if still in large pieces use a potato masher to break down further.

20140831_143802 — Tejocote or Mexican Hawthorn fruit cooked until mushy.

Now it’s time to strain the fruit pulp through a jelly bag. No need to buy or even sew a special bag – just a length of muslin or cheese cloth will do.

I drape the material into a large bowl (a non-metal container) and gently pour in the pulp, gather up the cloth and slowly raise out of the bowl. The bag has to suspend above the bowl and slowly drip over a day or night. Most important: do not be tempted to squeeze the jelly bag as this will make the jelly cloudy. The easiest way to suspend the bag is in between two chairs with a stick or broom handle. Tie the bag to the stick with string. To avoid small pokey fingers or a curious pet from interfering with the brew, I do this stage overnight. I don’t waste the remaining pulp. I tend to put it through a mouli and then use in smoothies or add to porridge.

20150403_100010 — This jelly was a mix of hawthorn *Crataegus* and wild roadside apples from Kaweku in Southland and quince *Cydonia* *oblonga* from my sister’s garden in Dunedin. I only had time to collect a few hawthorn berries so just made a small batch. The added quince was important because the roadside apples weren’t that flavourful. The quince would also improve the colour of the jelly.

For a small quantity of fruit you can use a wooden spoon placed over a deep bowl. You may need to keep pouring off the liquid into a jug to ensure the liquid doesn’t touch the bag.

20150519_190338 — Crabapple juice from the jelly bag already indicating it’s final ruby colour.

Measure the strained juice in cups then heat the strained liquid. For a large quantity of liquid make the jelly in two batches. (I do this because when the sugar is added and starts to bubble, it will greatly increase in volume and the last thing you want or need is overflowing boiling sugar syrup on your stovetop.)

20150403_100001#1 — Quince jelly starts out a golden colour and then changes after cooking with sugar to a pinky red.

Now I add the sugar. A lot of recipes state cup for cup of sugar and syrup. I find this makes it a little too sweet but it’s a fine line – too little sugar and it won’t set or keep well. So my standard is 3/4 cup of sugar to every cup of liquid. Sugar is the preserver in the jelly as harmful micro-organisms cannot survive in water that has 60% or more sugar content.

Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves and once it has reached boiling point, stir every few minutes.

20150403_104658 — The quince jelly is still a pale colour when beginning a rolling boil but it eventually transforms into the most exquisite coloured jelly. See my July 2013 posting “Make Cheese” says the Quince for the colour transformation and quince paste (dulce de membrillo).

Deciding when it has boiled enough is the most tricky part of jelly making. It’s actually better to underestimate than to over do the boiling. If it fails to set you can re-boil it …but you need to add extra sugar as well.

At the beginning of the process I place a couple of saucers in the freezer. If you put a little bit of jelly onto a very cold surface it will cool down quickly and indicate if setting point has been reached.

20150205_095406-1 — Here grandson Beau is learning to check setting point by running his finger through the jam or jelly. If a clear track occurs then setting point has been reached.

I also blow across the jelly surface and if it puckers up like a skin forming then it is likely it will set.

Another indicator is the jam spoon that you use to stir the jelly. Is there a sign of setting jelly on the spoon?

It has reached setting point, so I add a knob of butter to assist in dissolving the foam. Some scoop this foam off with a saucer, but I think too much jelly is lost doing that.

I carefully place the hot jam onto a wooden board , with jars and a jug that has been pre-warmed.

The jelly jars have been washed and placed into an oven at around 150 degrees Celsius for at least half an hour to sterilise them. It’s important also to have the jars hot when adding the very hot liquid jelly to avoid the jars cracking. I tend to use recycled jars with screw top lids. These lids are sterilised in boiling water for 10 minutes.

20150519_131954 — A perfect crabapple lightly set jelly.

Not all jellies turn out perfectly like this crabapple jelly. Sometimes they can be a little too stiff rather like the description of British jam making written by Nigel Slater in “Eating for England”,

“The rest of Europe makes jam that slides sexily off the mound of clotted cream and dribbles down the edge of the scone (an exquisite moment if ever there was one). ..We make jam a little bit like ourselves. A jam that is a bit uptight and reserved, a preserve that wobbles tautly rather than falls off the spoon with a slow, passionate sigh.”

I have also had the odd jelly that has refused to set. To avoid this happening again I’ve had to understand the chemistry involved in creating a jelly. Three elements have to work together – pectin, acid and sugar. Sugar separates the water and pectin molecules. Pectin molecules are the gel of the jelly but alone are negatively charged so they won’t work together until positively charged acid comes along. Cooking apples, crabapples, currants, gooseberries, japonicas, sour cherries, citrus, and sour plums like Damson are all fruits high in pectin and acidity. Jellies or jams made from these fruits will set quickly and you can use a lower ratio of sugar with these fruits…but because of the tartness of these fruits, you need to make your sugar proportion decision on taste as well.

Quince jelly is loved for its jewel-like quality and is an excellent provider of pectin. But it’s low in acidity so to ensure quince jelly sets add extra acid in form of lemon juice or add a couple of sour cooking apples to your quinces when boiling up the cut up fruit.

Apricots, strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, sweet cherries, pears, medlars and elderberries are lower in pectin and acidity, so these fruits need help. Either you have to marry them with one of the high pectin fruits e.g. gooseberry with rhubarb, redcurrant with strawberry/raspberry, apple with elderberries. Or you can buy jam making sugar that has added pectin and acid. Never use jam making sugar for fruits high in pectin and acid….unless you want the sort of jelly that won’t fall out of the jar when upended. These low pectin and low acid fruits on their own need a higher ratio of sugar.

20150420_142016 — My classmate Sinead helped me to pick Barberries…carefully.

In April I foraged barberries while on a field trip to Chaos Springs on the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula. While admiring the long windrows of organic compost with our organic horticulture class, I spied a hedgerow in the background covered in fruit. I asked Steve, the owner, what were these trees? He replied the hedgerows were established long before he took over the farm and said they were barberries Berberis. I Googled (as you do) and discovered barberries have good nutritional benefits and can be used for making jelly. Steve was happy for me to harvest, warning me that they have vicious thorns.

I was a little uncertain about the amount of pectin in barberries so used the last of the quinces stored in the fridge. Once fruit gets really ripe the amount of pectin reduces, and as both the quince and the barberries were quite ripe, my jelly while tasting delicious didn’t really set.

20150818_160915 — Barberry and Quince Jelly is showing signs of low acid content with sugar crystals appearing just after 4 months.

Another sign of a not so perfect jelly showed up four months after it was made. The sugar in the jelly started to crystallise which is a telltale sign that there was not enough acid in the jelly.

I have since learnt from reading Pam Corbin that you can do a quick check to see if your fruit has enough pectin. Cook up some of the fruit and add 1 teaspoon of the cooked fruit juice to 1 Tbsp of whisky, gin or meths. Shake gently and leave for a minute or two. If the juice forms a firm clot it is high in pectin, if it forms several small clots it has medium pectin and if the juice remains fairly liquid then its low pectin.

Making jelly from frozen fruit also reduces the available pectin.

So what jelly am I planning on making next year?

20150203_132445 — Damson plum *Prunus domesticus* is a small sour plum with a blue blush – you have to try and beat the birds because they love them.

In February I had access to some damsons that I made into damson paste but next year I’m planning on making some damson jelly. The colour and rich flavour should make a stunning jelly and its a fruit that is high in both pectin and acid so the chemistry should be right for a perfect set.

My Curly Endive Favourite – Pizza de la endibia

Posted on August 10, 2015August 16, 2015 by Jeannie Hayden

Curly Endive is a most handsome leafy green vegetable with an expansive rosette of curly edged leaves. Europeans, especially those from Mediterranean countries, enjoy endive’s slightly bitter flavour, but here in New Zealand it’ s not a vegetable easily found in shops. It may be because of its bitter reputation, so for me the only way to try endive is to grow it myself.

20150808_131133 — Curly endive in France is often called Frisée and Escarole – although Escarole is a variety that has flatter leaves and look more lettuce like in it’s leaf.

The seeds grew easily and by early autumn I had transplanted many seedlings. All through winter I’ve been harvesting curly endive, using it to create a variety of salads.

20150803_134843 — Curly endive makes up the majority of this salad with an egg, avocado, bacon, some mizuna “red coral” and croutons. A great lunch salad.

Lettuce has had to step aside. Endive’s robust flavour and not so fragile leaves work well with winter dishes. But the best recipe for endive arrived via one of the gardeners at our Sanctuary Community Garden. Corinne is Spanish and told me how to prepare endive pizza.

20150620_181244#1 — This pizza I have made quite a few times for friends, and has been really well received.

It’s a little different from a standard pizza and a whole lot healthier. After all endive has only 17 calories per 100grams in weight, but has a high fibre content, plus vitamin A and K.

Pizza de la endibia

Curly endive in Spain is called la endibia so I think this recipe deserves to have its Spanish name, Pizza de la endibia.

Curly endive grows into quite a large head of green leaves so depending on how many pizzas you make, use half or a whole plant. You should prepare the endive before you start rolling out the pizza dough.

20150804_141656 — Prepared endive ready for the oven.

I roughly slice the leaves and place into a bowl. Add lemon zest, garlic crushed into salt and then mixed through the leaves using your fingers. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle over some avocado or olive oil and finish with a good squeeze of lemon juice. Toss as you would a salad.

Finely grate some parmesan ready to sprinkle over the top or if you are lucky enough to have on hand some sliced fresh mozzarella.

The easiest pizza dough recipe I use is from River Cottage Baker Daniel Stevens ( from “River Cottage Handbook No.3: Bread“) where he just mixes everything up at once, rather than dissolving the yeast separately. The finished dough will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks and will make up to 8 small pizzas.

Perfect Pizza Dough

250g strong white bread flour
250g plain white flour
5g powdered dried yeast
10g salt
325ml warm water
About 1 tbsp olive oil
1 handful coarse flour (semolina or polenta), for dusting

In a bowl, mix the flours, yeast, salt and water to form a sticky dough. Mix in the oil, then turn out on to a clean work surface and knead until smooth and silky.

20150620_124831 — After you have completed your kneading from a sticky mess to an elastic dough sprinkle with a little olive oil, and smear around the bowl to ensure the rising dough doesn’t stick to the bowl.

Kneading takes time and the action of kneading ensures your pizza dough has the required elasticity to successfully make it roll out really thinly. Cooking usually requires your constant attention but making bread dough is a repetitive action for your hands, allowing your mind wander anywhere. So when not pressed for time making bread can be a really relaxing activity. (Alternatively, if you have a mixer with a dough hook, mix the flours, yeast, salt and water on a low speed, add the oil and knead for 10 minutes or make the dough in a bread maker).

20150620_125010 — The dough is resting on a sunny bench top at my friend Julia’s Matua Lodge in Tauranga. It has one of the best kitchens I have ever worked in with wonderful kitchen window views. Lingering making dough, dreaming this was my kitchen, was very enjoyable.

Shape into a round, and leave to rise in a clean bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and a tea towel on top and kept warm until doubled in size.

20150620_171056 — This is the dough now doubled in size and ready to use. If you were not wanting to make pizzas straight away, just punch down the dough and put in the refrigerator until needed. Even in the fridge the dough will slowly rise up.

Preheat the oven (and pizza stone or substitute) as high as it will go. Take a lemon-sized piece of dough and sprinkle the board with polenta or semolina to keep your pizza from sticking to the board and adding extra crunch to your base. Roll it into a 5mm thick round. The aim is to make a very thin pizza base and you get to know what best fits your pizza stone.

As Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from River Cottage explains a good pizza base is hard to accomplish in a domestic oven, “And I won’t lie – it can be tricky getting that crisp, slightly blistered crust in a domestic oven. The key is to whack the thing up as high as it will go and give it time to get to temperature. If you have one, put in a pizza stone to heat up too. If you haven’t, a large, unglazed quarry tile (terracotta unglazed tile) is a good substitute, or at a pinch use a heavy baking sheet, preheated as hot as it will get.”

20150620_180140 — Julia’s oven went really hot which ensured the bread had plenty of bubbles and went really crisp.

Usually with pizza you put the base onto a tray, add the toppings and slip the pizza onto the hot stone just brought out of the oven. The aim is to do this as quickly as possible so as not to allow the stone or tray to cool down too much.

However, this recipe nearly completely cooks the base before adding the curly endive topping. I usually add a slathering of oil and a sprinkle of either fennel seeds or thyme leaves.

2015-08-09 17.41.31 — The leaves are added to the nearly cooked base.

Then sprinkle with parmesan or place mozzarella slices. Feta also works well.

You don’t have to wait long for this to cook at such a high temperature. You just want the endive to wilt.

2015-08-04 21.56.22 — Here it is as the finished item.

Curly endive Cichorium endivia is from the Chicory family and while it is related it’s not the same plant as the distinctive blue flowered chicory that you can find growing on roadsides, or the cultivated chicory shoots that are also called endive or Belgium endive or witloof.

20150525_135849#1 — Chicory *Cichorium intybus* is a relation to curly endive but is grown for it’s root not the leaves like curly endive.

Curly endive is from the same tribe of plants as dandelion, and their common trait is their bitter tasting leaves. To reduce some of the bitterness of endive it has traditionally been “blanched” while growing …meaning covered with a pot or tying up the outer leaves to create pale leaves in the centre.

20150628_132548 — My attempt at blanching curly endive

When I tried this with my endive, they did look quite hard case with their curly leaves all tied up. The centres did go a pale yellow but it also became a really nice home for every slug and snail in the garden and some of the leaves started to rot. I’m not sure if the Auckland warmer climate has helped but the leaves don’t seem to be that bitter anyway, so next year I won’t bother doing the blanching.

20150725_112705#1 — The washed leaves from a curly endive that has been “blanched”. It shows the contrast between inner and outer leaves.

To counter any bitterness in curly endive leaves I tend to add some sweet winter fruit like mandarins and pears to my endive salads. Shaved bulb fennel is also a perfect salad companion for curly endive.

20150809_182643#1 — This endive salad has thinly sliced pear, a mandarin and shaved fennel bulb in a dressing of lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Nuts like walnut or hazelnut would be a good addition.

I am pleased that I got to know Curly Endive and will certainly grow it again next year.

Postscript:

I made Pizza de la endibia a couple of days ago but this time added a taste of sweet with a pear sliced on top of the endive…and it was a winning combination that I would like to pass on to you.

20150811_200104 — Pizza de la endibia with sliced pears, parmesan and pepper.

Kefir – my new pet

Posted on May 26, 2015June 3, 2015 by Jeannie Hayden

I do have a reason for not posting for a while. I’ve been busy getting to know and experiment with a new food called kefir. I now feel confident after working with it on a daily basis (and even travelling with it) for nearly six months to pass on to you my discoveries about kefir.

20150204_102649-2 — You will have to forgive the bland photography in this post but it’s hard to make a white liquid look colourful. Here is my jar of kefir at the start of the fermenting process.

Looking after kefir is a little like having a pet. It can’t be left alone for too long and needs regular feeding. It’s quite easy to become a little obsessed about it.

My kefir story starts in December 2014 when I mentioned to my friend Sue that I wanted to introduce more fermented food into our diet. We talked about how foods that have undergone a fermenting process will improve gut health… and it’s widely recognised that the gut plays a vital role in general health. Sue suggested Kefir as a good starting point and next time we met, she gave me some Kefir milk grains. I gladly accepted these grains knowing absolutely nothing about Kefir, but willing to learn.

20150419_095126 — Here is kefir after fermentation. It looks just like a pouring yoghurt.

Kefir (pronounced keh-fear) is a yoghurt like fermented milk product which comprises a mix of probiotic bacteria and yeasts. Unlike yoghurt, kefir has a slight effervescence, which comes from these ‘good guy bugs’ doing fermenting work. In fact the biggest difference between the taste of natural yoghurt and kefir is the slight yeasty smell and taste. I don’t mind the yeasty flavour at all… because I know that these kefir yeasts are ‘friendly’ and wage war on any harmful yeasts hanging out in my gut.

20150428_113937-1 — I can now easily drink kefir straight, but until you get used to the sourness I suggest you add some sweetener like maple syrup or a dash of cordial. It doesn’t take long to just enjoy it straight.

The fundamental difference between yoghurt and kefir is that yoghurt is made up of up of a handful of good bacteria that feed the good bacteria in your digestive tract. But, they are only transient and their benefits will only last 24 hours. Kefir has a mix of transient and colonising good bacteria and yeasts (or probiotics) that continue to keep working in your gut fighting bad bacteria (pathogens), especially in the bowel. The longer you ferment kefir the more astringent and thick it becomes and it will have more probiotics present.

20150310_085732 — This is a blackcurrant, honey and banana oat smoothie using kefir and some rolled oats soaked overnight. I use whatever fruit I have and with the oats you have a breakfast in a drink. It’s also the best way to get my Grandson Beau to drink kefir.

At first I couldn’t easily drink a glass of kefir straight so my first kefir experience was in a kefir smoothie… it was delicious!

Kefir was has been used for well over 2000 years. Marco Polo wrote about it as being part of the diet of the people in the Caucasus mountain region that separates Europe from Asia. Kefir grains were a safe way of preserving milk before refrigeration. It preserved milk by the introduction of 30-60 different probiotic bacteria and it was said those who drank it twice a day lived long, disease free lives. You wonder why it has taken so long for the good news about Kefir’s magical health properties to reach beyond Northern Europe, Russia and Eurasia. Apparently Kefir was only introduced to the United States by Russia at the end of the Cold War.

20150419_094010#1 — I cover my jar with some cheese cloth and secure it with a rubber band.

Unlike yoghurt you don’t need an even heat for the fermentation process. Kefir fermentation is done on the bench top out of the sun. Ideally cover it with a cheesecloth to keep out stray insects… rather than cover with a lid as it’s fermenting gases will accumulate. In the heat of summer I was making kefir in less than 24 hours but now in winter it can take two days.

20150419_095224 — Kefir is like a sour dough starter or ginger beer bug – once you receive the grains it needs to be fed with fresh milk to survive.

Kefir grains look a bit like rice pudding or cauliflower and the best way to obtain them is from a kefir making friend. Anyone who is making kefir, will have an embarrassment of kefir grains after just a couple of weeks of fermenting. If you don’t know of anyone who can pass them on free then you can find them online in New Zealand at Natural Abundance. Their site has plenty of good information and follow their instructions carefully to activate the grains.

20150419_095604 — Kefir grains are fascinating. I unfurled one of the grains to discover they stretch out flat. Some grains can get quite large.

The method I describe below is using activated kefir grains that you might receive from a friend already in a jar with some milk. For each daily ferment, I use about 1 Tbsp of grains to about two cups of milk. This is a lower ratio than some others suggest but I try to avoid the fermentation from being too rapid because I can easily get an oversupply of Kefir.

2015-05-10 16.30.10 — This is the amount of grains I use to about 2 cups of milk.

I use a one litre preserving jar that I fill to just over half way. The good news is you don’t have to be that fussy with measurements when it comes to kefir. As they ferment they increase in volume so it’s good to give kefir a bit of elbow room. I use whole milk as it produces a thicker kefir but any type of milk is fine except for lactose-free milk. The ideal is organic whole milk and you can use goat or sheep milk as well. The kefir feeds on the lactose in milk.. which is good news for anyone who is lactose sensitive or intolerant, in fact for any of us, as lactose can be difficult to digest.

So, here we go. This brew has just begun fermenting.

After 12 hours or so, you will begin to see air spaces in the fermenting milk. This increases until the fermentation is complete, after about 16-24 hours and looks like the picture below.

20150511_201825

There will be separation occuring but not enough for the whey to be separated from the curds as below.

20150419_092033

There is nothing wrong if your kefir does have separation like above, it will just be less creamy and taste tart. The tartness also indicates that the kefir has eaten more of the milk sugars, so those with a lactose intolerance wanting to try kefir should wait until the whey separates like this before consuming.

20150419_092223 — I am using a stainless steel sieve. It’s supposed to be a “no no” to use metal with kefir grains but this rule was made at a time when metals were reactive and there would be a chemical reaction when the two met. Stainless steel is non reactive. I haven’t found my kefir suffering at all with the use of my sieve.

Now that your kefir has begun to separate, its time to separate the grains from the thickened fermented milk. Tip out the contents of your jar into a sieve over top of a glass bowl and gently use a non metal spatula or spoon to gently separate the liquid from the grains. What is in the bowl is now processed Kefir and can used right away.

If you want your Kefir with more effervescence and maximum goodness then you can give it a second ferment. This means just leaving the strained kefir out on the bench top for another 6 to 12 hours. This second ferment is not necessary – it’s optional.

Donna Schwenk’s Cultured Food Life video is well worth looking at for extra information and other processes using kefir grains. Donna has quite a few videos on You Tube and if you have food allergies you might like to listen to her story on how her family got rid of allergies through eating fermented or cultured food.

20150204_102250-1 — On the left is the kefir cream, centre the whey and right, the kefir grains ready to have more milk added and another fermentation.

Sometimes I want the curds and whey separated so that I can easily drain off the whey and kept in a bottle in the fridge. Whey can have a number of uses in the kitchen and garden…but that’s another story. The remaining solid can then be sieved to remove the grains and what remains is what I call kefir cream – the consistency of sour cream or thick Greek yoghurt. The cream is easier to work with if I wanted to make a kefir dressing.

20141227_144558#2 — This dressing is excellent for potato salad. You can use the thinner pouring kefir as well but just add a tsp of tahini and leave to thicken before using.

When you are away from home your kefir is happy to chill for up to two weeks in your fridge.

If you are away for more than one week you should give it plenty of milk to feed on. Kefir slows down in the cold and once you are home just pop it out on the bench and it will start to activate again.

Another magic feature of kefir is that it can improve your baking. Use kefir where you would use buttermilk in recipes. I used kefir instead of buttermilk in Yotam Ottolenghi’s Skillet Cornbread recipe.

20150128_184437

There is a lightness in baking made with kefir so I use it in any recipes that have milk in them. I have tried it with my favourite recipes for scones, oat pancakes and Nan’s pikelets.

2015-05-23 22.32.05 — Nan’s pickles were lighter in texture using kefir instead of milk. Topped with my St Mary’s Crabapple Jelly.

A delightful advocate of kefir on You Tube is Katrine Rudolph from Denmark. Katrine milks her own Jersey cow and makes her kefir from raw milk.

Kefir once discovered is something many want to share on You Tube videos. I, too have been most enthusiastic about my new pet subject kefir… perhaps telling friends and family more than they really want to know.

For me kefir has been a wonderful start in my journey to discover more about fermented food.

The Scallopini Challenge

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Jeannie Hayden

It’s an Italian. Around the world it’s known as pattypan squash, granny squash, sunburst squash or custard marrow. In New Zealand it’s called Scallopini.

20150208_181313 — This rather perfect looking vegetable in Birthe’s basket at Sanctuary Community Gardens caught my eye and my immediate thought was of a flying saucer.

It’s really just a fancy shaped zucchini from the summer squash family Cucurbita pepo.

20150304_124845-1 — A stack of brioche tins at Milly’s Kitchen shop, Ponsonby.

The nickname Pattypan squash came about because of the scalloped shape that resembles the similar shaped cake or brioche pans.

On a recent visit to our Sanctuary Community Gardens I was handed a cluster of scallopini and a challenge.

Trevor asked if I could come up with a recipe that would showcase the scallopini.

20150226_111151 — Trevor suggested I get a shot of Beau with the scallopini patch behind him to show how large they grow. Trevor Crosby (left) and Beau right with a scallopini at Sanctuary Community Gardens.

My grandson, Beau, told me “Trevor knows a lot of things”. I have to agree. It’s thanks to Trevor’s knowledge and caring for the scallopini and the gardens in general that there is such an abundance for us to share.

Scallopini can be used just like courgettes or zucchini; thin slithers raw in salads, sautéed in garlic and fresh herbs and put together with pasta and parmesan cheese, or as an ingredient in a ratatouille or vegetable stew.

I decided baking them would be the way as their signature scallop edges would be retained.

20150224_182610 — The dish that was the outcome of the challenge that I have called “Trevor’s Spicy Rice Scallopini” with tomato and basil sauce.

I started the challenge by looking through my recipe books… then decided just to make something up with the ingredients I already have in the pantry.

20150224_155635 — I had brown rice, corn, preserved lemon and a couple of Italian heritage tomatoes from the gardens.

Rice was to be the base for the stuffing so a cup of brown rice was cooked in salted water (it takes ages compared to white rice to cook but you are rewarded with a nuttier flavour and healthy fibre.)

While the rice cooks, saute onion until soft.

20150224_161207 — Bottom left: fennel seeds that I gathered from the gardens and dried myself, Centre: sage that I also picked and dried but you can use fresh instead, and Right: one of our garlic cloves grown at the Gardens.

For flavourings I used about a teaspoon each of fennel seeds, dried sage and one large garlic clove chopped.

20150224_161452 — Whenever I can I add turmeric to dishes because it is so good for you and adds colour.

I added these to the softened onion along with 1 tsp of turmeric. I wanted to use preserved lemon so decided this dish would lean towards the middle east in flavour.

20150224_161644 — You could use red peppers instead of corn to give colour and something sweet. You can also just use canned corn kernels.

I had one corn cob left and knew this would make my scallopini attractive to Beau who loves corn. I cut the cobs from the uncooked cobs by sliding a knife down where the corn meets the husk. There were quite a few stringy fibres that I plucked out before adding to the spiced onion mix. Instead of corn you could use red peppers and a chilli if you want to add some heat.

Next I thought about adding some nuts. Almonds would be a delicious addition but on this occasion I use seeds – 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds in recognition of the great display we have of sunflowers at our gardens.

20150217_091710 — Sarah who planted all the sunflowers named this particular sunflower “Ernest”..because he stood the tall and proud delaying flowering until the week of the Auckland Heroic Garden tours when our community garden was on show. Ernest has been selected as the seed provider for next year’s crop.

20150224_162216 — When using preserved lemon don’t salt your food until you have added the lemon because it’s very salty and I found I didn’t need to add any extra salt.

I cut up some slices of preserved lemon (rind, flesh and salt altogether).

In keeping with the middle eastern theme I added 1/4 cup of currants to add something sweet.

I mixed the drained cooked brown rice with the spiced onion and corn mix, and had a taste. It was delicious but I felt it just needed one more spice.

20150224_163205 — Sumac is native to Iran and is a reddish purple. Sumac comes from berries that are dried and is usually sold ground.

Sumac or sumach has a fruity astringent taste that is used in middle eastern cooking especially sprinkled over rice, salads, fish and stews. A good sprinkling gave the rice the flavour I was looking for.

20150224_155825 — Scallopini has a nutty flavoured flesh denser than zucchini and they keep for longer in the refrigerator.

At last the scallopini come onto the scene. They are easy to cut in half and with a spoon just scoop out the seeds to make a little dish for the rice filling. The scallopini I chose were the size of a saucer. They do grow larger and Trevor says they don’t get stringy like marrows even at this large size, but they are at their best when not too large. For me the scallopini the size of a saucer are a good size for stuffing.

20150224_163425 — The seeds from one packet turned out plants with yellow and creamy coloured fruit. For me I gravitate to the cheery yellow ones. Kings Seeds have a variety called Squash Sunbeam F1 that has good resistance to powdery mildew.

I add some oil and with a brush sealed the scallopini flesh. The cavity is then filled with the mix then add thick cut slices of meaty tomatoes on top, (heritage Italian tomatoes also from the gardens) .

The final touch is a little crumbled feta with another sprinkling of sumac.

20150224_164721

I place them in a large oven tray and cover with foil to cook at 180C for at least an hour.

The flesh is nice and juicy but to add more moisture and a luscious red, I made a tomato and basil sauce by melting butter and quickly frying two of those lovely beefsteak tomatoes, chopping in basil towards the end of cooking and seasoning with salt and pepper.

With the amount of rice mix I had I could have stuffed twice as many scallopini than I did. This mix could easily cover 4-6 whole scallopini (up to 12 halves). It’s also good as a rice salad.

Trevor’s challenge has been fun and I hope he enjoys the recipe. I have decided to call the dish Trevor’s Spicy Rice Scallopini.

Focusing this week on scallopini has delayed my post about kefir that I have been promising to write about. Kefir can wait but not so an abundance of scallopini – just like courgettes they are only in plenty at this time of the year. This recipe can be used for any squash, courgette or pumpkin.

Never fear kefir is coming up next. I have been experimenting with it and have discovered many ways to incorporate it into our diet. There may even have to be a couple of posts dedicated to this gutsy topic.

Whangarei Heads, buffalo cheese and the promise of scallops

Posted on January 21, 2015January 24, 2015 by Jeannie Hayden

20150117_181828 — Green salad, tomatoes and Buffalo Labneh with a coriander and rocket pesto dressing topped off with Amethyst basil.

I can’t believe that just a few days ago I was in coastal Otago. Now at the other end of the country we are spending the weekend in the balmy and beautiful Whangarei Heads. However, Whangarei Heads does remind me a little of home on the Otago Peninsula. It was a perfect way to complete our summer holiday with our friends Heather and Martin soaking in the stunning views, listening for the sound of kiwi at night and swimming in the clear blue harbour with the company of Kai, a rock diving Golden Retriever.

20150117_165227-1 — Kaiteremoana (loosely translates to ‘navigator’) aka Kai is not allowed to dive for rocks because it hurts her ears. She watches out to see when no one is looking and sneaks the odd dive. The rocks are then buried in a big hole in the sand.

Views from the Mount Manaia walk that took us two hours return. Lots of steps but the views are worth the puff. Top photo: view from Mount Manaia looking down towards Urquharts Bay at the end of the Peninsula where we stayed. Centre left: lots of hebes in flower on the walk; Centre right: me and one of the large Totara’s on the walk. There were also large Kauri trees. Bottom left: lichen growing on the walls glistening after a good rainfall the night before. Bottom right: an excellent DOC track. I heard that there were 400 steps included in the track…too many for me to count.

I discovered it’s not only the shape of the land that is familiar to Otago Peninsula. This area has had its fair share of Scottish early settlers too. Unlike Otago and Southland, Scottish settlers here didn’t come directly from the Highlands but via Nova Scotia, Canada. Compared to Nova Scotia I think the Whangarei early settlers must have thought they had arrived in Heaven with the warmth and lush growing conditions of Northland. Little touches of Scotland remain as every New Year’s Eve in Urquhart’s Bay the sound of bagpipes welcomes in the New Year from a boat moored in the harbour. Heather is a wonderful cook. I wanted to bring something delicious and new for the weekend, so we battled with the Auckland traffic to stop in at the Matakana Village Farmers Market. There I met Jo from Whangaripo Buffalo Cheese Company who is passionate about buffalo cheeses and proudly showed photos of the latest arrivals to their herd. The Whangaripo buffalo stock came from Australia but originated from Italy.

Screen Shot 2015-01-18 at 2.23.24 pm — This photo is from Jo’s Facebook site. Aren’t they so cute with those large soft ears? Apparently their moos are different from other calves – more like duck calls. Click on the link above to learn more about the Whangaripo Buffalo and the cheese produced from their milk.

We tried the Yassou Buffalo Haloumi and the Grado Buffalo Milk Labneh (soft balls made from Buffalo yoghurt coated in herbs and stored in a jar of oil). Both were delicious so we went onto Whangarei with both cheeses.

20150118_143154 — Grado is named after an Italian village. Labneh is made by straining yoghurt through muslin until the whey separates and the remaining thick cream can be fashioned into balls. You can also do this with cows milk yoghurt but the buffalo milk is supremely rich.

That night I offered to make the salad. Heather had assembled a lovely selection of small green and purple coloured lettuce, large leaved rocket, cucumbers and a good quantity of coriander. I cut the cucumbers length wise and scooped out the seeds dicing into 1 cm pieces. This is to avoid the salad becoming too soggy. If I wanted to use tomatoes I could go out and select them. No need to wash them as we had just received a warm downpour courtesy of Mother Nature. I simply cut them up and seasoned well with salt and pepper before adding to the salad. Next I cut up three Buffalo Labneh balls and dotted them on top of the tomatoes and salad greens. Now all these freshly harvested greens, tomatoes and cheese could just have a simple dressing, but I felt with so much coriander and rocket on offer I could make a pesto dressing that would add a real flavour punch.

20150117_180038 — Using a mortar and pestle is more work than using a stick blender to make a pesto but the oils of the herbs seem to combine better if crushed by hand and the end result is quite a different consistency to that of the machine blended pesto.

Using a lovely large stone mortar and pestle I first crushed a large clove of mild flavoured garlic with rock salt. Crushing the garlic with salt makes it into a garlic slurry. Add a good handful of coriander and 2 or 3 rocket leaves slowly adding olive oil to ensure a paste develops. Now for the nut component: for pesto you can use pine nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and even peanuts but Heather suggested I use macadamia nuts. As these nuts are grown in Northland I decided they would be perfect. Their mealiness and mild flavour would be perfect with the strong flavours of coriander and rocket. I found them tricky to crush whole, so I took them out and cut them up before working them into the paste with the mortar and pestle.

20150117_180520 — Heather has developed a short cut method of preserving lemons. I am keen to try this myself so will feature this in a future posting.

I usually finish off a pesto with a squeeze of lemon. Lemon also serves to retain a bright green colour in the pesto. As we didn’t have any lemons, I used one slice of Heather’s homemade preserved lemon. This turned out to be a great addition. I really enjoyed the preserved lemon flavour. I set aside a couple of tablespoons of pesto for the dressing and put the remainder in a bowl for everyone to enjoy before dinner with crackers. For the dressing I dilute the pesto with olive oil. Always taste at this point. You might want to add a dash of vinegar but the preserved lemon made the dressing acid enough for this salad. Just before serving I drizzle the pesto dressing over the salad. Even though coriander is the major flavour for this salad I couldn’t resist using some amethyst basil from the garden and placed some tiny whole cherry tomatoes in and around the cheese. The salad complemented a Maori potato salad with chopped spring onions and local extra virgin unfiltered olive oil from Pataua Olive Grove, and the sweet and juicy sweetcorn purchased from a local roadside stall. Martin was in charge of producing the hot smoked salmon making this meal truly memorable. Talk of scallops in the bay became a challenge for Peter. It was decided tomorrow when the tide is right he and Martin would attempt to free dive for scallops.

Above: Heather in the row boat while Peter and Martin diving nearby. Below: Scallop shells are easily spotted on the beach.

The promise of scallops for lunch depended on catching the tide at the right time and Martin and Peter being able to free dive deep enough. It wasn’t looking good. Then along came young Rolf who is an excellent free diver and he saved the day harvesting enough scallops for us to share over lunch.

20150118_145736 — Rolf with the scallops that were the centre piece for our lunch.

I asked Heather to show me her favourite way of cooking scallops.

20150118_145359 — Heather on my question picked up a scallop and popped it into her mouth raw. I wasn’t quite quick enough to catch the action on camera but did catch the cheeky satisfaction.

She has tried a number of ways of cooking them but prefers this simple and quick method that showcases the flavour of the fresh scallops. Melt a dollop of butter and add chopped garlic (how much is up to your preference) and a couple of kaffir lime leaves sliced. Saute slowly so as not to burn the garlic and butter. Turn up the heat and throw in the scallops. The scallops are cooked and taken off the heat when the colour of the muscle goes from slightly translucent to creamy white. They take less than 5 minutes but it depends on the condition of the scallop and how full the pan is. The finishing touch was some fresh coriander scissored on top of the scallops at the table. Yum… they were the most delicious scallops I have ever eaten. I think they were so good because they were alive half an hour before we ate. How privileged we are to still be able to harvest a meal from the sea. We only got a couple of scallops each but then a little of something lovely is sometimes more appreciated than a lot. Besides we had plenty of fresh salad vegetables and the rest of the Buffalo Labneh balls to add to our lunch time feast.

20150118_150754 — The lunch table, left is Peter, centre Martin and right Rolf.

Martin and Heather live in a beautiful part of Northland and are a major force in the local community based Backyard Kiwi action group restoring kiwi numbers in the surrounding bush on Whangarei Heads. Backyard Kiwi aims to have kiwi thriving on Whangarei Heads for the grandchildren of today’s residents. Managed by the Whangarei Heads Landcare group and through working with local residents this project has been so successful that the aim to have 1000 kiwis living on the peninsula by 2020 looks like it will be exceeded. This has been one of the most successful kiwi breeding operations in the country and it has been completely reliant on the skills and passion of local residents to save their kiwis.

Screen Shot 2015-01-19 at 3.04.03 pm — The Backyard Kiwi website http://www.Backyardkiwi.org.nz has lots of photos and good stories about the kiwi of Whangarei Heads. The kiwi drawing that is the mascot of Backyard Kiwi was created by Heather Hunt and if you drive on the Whangarei Peninsula you will see her kiwi road signs made to shine at night to remind residents kiwis are out and about and could be on the road.

Heather’s an artist and she generously allowed me to use the image that she painted of her Swift Whip eggbeater for my blog. She illustrates children’s picture books and her drawings have really captured the personality of the kiwi. You can see her work at this link Heather Hunt.

w-15.01.18_6650 - Version 2 — Photo by Heather Hunt and art direction by Marita Hunt.

In this beautiful corner of New Zealand we ended our weekend with a long swim followed by sitting on the beach watching the sunset, sipping a refreshing Pinot Noir Spritzer (a mix of wine and soda water) and munching salty potato chips in the company of Heather, Martin, their daughter Marita and Kai the dog.

Shag Point Summer Salad

Posted on January 15, 2015January 15, 2015 by Jeannie Hayden

Imagine, freshly caught blue cod and an even fresher salad while watching the sun set over an expansive view of the coastline and the Pacific Ocean.

20150113_182831 — Courgette, carrot and walnut lettuce salad with a final flourish of tart black currants.

I was lucky enough to have this experience when visiting my friend Kate in the small coastal village of Shag Point in Otago. It’s only 50 minutes drive north of Dunedin and I can’t believe this is the first time I have stopped and explored this remarkably beautiful piece of coastal Otago.

pic20150115011259#2 — Top: the view from the bach window. Bottom left: the caravan permanently resides with a similar view and accommodates extra guests. Bottom right: fur seals are rock loungers as you walk around the rock platform.

Kate and Peter work and live in the Waitaki Valley (I profiled them in my posting Waitaki Valley Honey with Plums and Basil in March 2013) and purchased their Shag Point holiday home last year. They enjoy the coastal life whenever the opportunity arises. Peter is a keen fisherman and Kate, being one of the best networkers I know, has already started bringing the community together with social get togethers with those lucky home owners that live in this little piece of paradise.

20150113_145842 — Carol and Kate as members of Shag Point Residents Association are wondering where the water is coming from above. Bruno the dog is not at all interested.

Before dinner Kate and her friend Carol introduced me to the village and to meet the resident fur seals on the rocks. The rock platform beneath the houses on the cliff top has many places to explore.

There are rocks that look like eggs.

The rocks are made from mudstone and melt away leaving cavities that soon fill with rock pool life.

The rocks are fringed with forests of bull kelp. If you take time to stop, sit down and watch, be prepared to be transfixed to see the kelp sway and wave like hair as the tide moves in and out of the rock cavities.

Giant bladder kelp grows further out but you can see some detached and washed up on the rocks.

Giant bladder kelp if fresh can be eaten. Rinse and hang out the leaves like washing to dry. Once dry you can simply add to soups and stews to give your food the benefit of the good properties of seaweed. It will still be tough to cut up so it’s best to lay in an oven dish and bake on low until you can crush the seaweed. This can then be kept in a jar or simply eat like kale chips.

I remember as a child the fun of popping the dried pods of the bladder kelp.

All seaweeds are edible but some are not so palatable. After a seaweed cooking class at Portobello Marine Laboratory with marine scientist and home cook Sally Carson I tried to make a salsa using Neptune’s Necklace. It didn’t really work but I am keen to experiment further. Next time I stay with Kate seaweed may be on the menu, but not this time.

A walk by the sea can be a great place for finding treasures. Can you guess what this is?

Kate found this discarded wok on the beach. The seaweed has etched it, turning junk into a piece of art for Kate and Peter’s garden.

Kate’s neighbours Phil and Jane have an impressive vegetable garden especially when I learn that Phil is only here in weekends. Kate tells me he produces new potatoes in July – outside! His secret is his compost in which he adds lots of fishmeal.

20150113_171915 — A perfect Iceberg lettuce just begging to be eaten in Phil’s garden.

Phil told Kate to use some of the vegetables, so I decided to choose two new carrots, one medium sized courgette, some water mint, and this perfect looking lettuce to create a salad to accompany the blue cod and refried new potatoes.

20150113_173702 — The outer leaves of Phil’s lettuce was so big that Kate said it could be a hat.

I washed and left it to dry off while I prepared the other components of the salad.

I use a vegetable peeler to slice thin strips of courgette and place in a bowl. To this add a couple of tips of mint, finely chopped to make a heaped teaspoon. Add this to courgette with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Next bowl to prepare is the carrot. You can use a mandolin to do very thin slices or do as I did and make peelings with a peeler like the courgette. To this add the juice of half an orange and about 1 teaspoon of white balsamic vinegar and some chopped parsley.

I treated myself to a very nice white balsamic vinegar to use especially with salads when you don’t necessarily want to darken with ordinary balsamic. For this salad I used 2 teaspoons…but always taste after you add 1 teaspoon before adding another.

imagejpeg_0#1 — Kate introduced me to a cheaper version that she has only been able to purchase at Super Value stores locally.

The final component of the salad are nuts. Any nuts can be used but Kate had some local walnuts still in their shell. I shelled them and quickly browned them in a skillet, sprinkled on some ground cumin seed and dampened with some olive oil. Toasted walnuts have a lot more flavour and crunch than those just from the shell.

I sliced the Iceberg summer lettuce into 2 cm strips and added one finely chopped spring onion. I had meant to pick some of Kate’s rocket growing outside…but I got talking and forgot… as you do catching up with a friend. You can do any mix of salad greens to go with this salad.

I like to prepare the components ahead of putting the salad together so that the lettuce doesn’t get all soggy. One has the oil of the final dressing (the courgette this time) and another has the acid (the carrot with juice and balsamic vinegar).

Once Kate started cooking the blue cod I put the salad components together, first the courgette, then the carrot. Mix through the greens with your fingers to coat the lettuce in dressing then add the nuts. As I had a bowl of blackcurrants picked that morning from our Dunedin garden my final addition was a handful of blackcurrants to add a sweet-tart punch.

Just a few miles down the road from Shag Point is the fishing village of Moeraki where foodies flock to the renowned fish restaurant Fleur’s Place. No need for us to go to Fleurs when we had our own freshly caught blue cod and access to an incredible vegetable garden. Thank you Peter for the fish and thank you Phil for the salad.

Hot potatoes, cold potatoes and Maori potatoes

Posted on December 30, 2014December 31, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

20141229_180827 — My niece Sarah was my advisor when it came to decorating my potato salad mountain for a barbecue dinner with the family in Napier. I have discovered that potato salad is particularly good to eat if you are consuming bbq meats….more on why later

“Pick em up, pick em up hot potatoes….” Mart would chant and whistle on our back steps on Christmas day while carefully cleaning and scraping the new potatoes for lunch. Potatoes have been cultivated for 2000 years but my first connection with new potatoes was at Christmas time when I was a child. Every Christmas my great aunt and uncle, Nell and Mart, would arrive at our farm on Christmas Eve with freshly dug Jersey Bennies (new potatoes) from the Taieri Plains just outside Dunedin. To this day someone in the family is appointed to be “Marty” and prepare the new potatoes for Christmas lunch – and whistling is encouraged.

20141221_125718 — Cooking Hint: For a big occasion when timing could be problematic then you can pre-cook half an hour before your guests arrive. Test with a fork and when nearly done quickly drain off the water, add some butter, take off the stove top and wrap in a towel…pot and all. The potatoes will keep hot for ages this way and the remaining heat will ensure the potatoes will be perfectly cooked when eaten.

You know if your new potato is freshly dug – just rub the skin with your finger and if it peels off it means the potato hasn’t long been out of the ground. This is one of the main reasons you want to grow at least some new potatoes in your own garden.

New potatoes if really fresh are best simply prepared and presented. Gently boil with a sprig of mint and salt until tender and then for serving add butter or olive oil drizzled over them and a fresh sprig or two of mint for decoration. My friend Heather from Whangarei Heads recently presented her freshly dug new potatoes with the delicious addition of finely chopped preserved lemon and chopped parsley.

The Jersey Bennie is a variety that is specifically grown as a new potato. New potatoes are harvested as soon as they start the flower and if you are lucky this could be in time for Christmas. Although, if you are careful, you can do some “robbing” before you harvest. If you want potatoes that will keep over the winter then you need to allow them to grow until autumn and harvest once all the foliage has died away. These are called main crop potatoes.

20141101_124227-1 — Kerry grew her early Swift potatoes in tyres.

Funnily enough when potatoes were first introduced in Europe late 16th century from South America they were viewed with suspicion and considered “evil food”. In Scotland people refused to eat them because potatoes were not mentioned in the Bible.

Well our Scottish ancestors may have had misgivings about this exotic import but in the Mackay family the arrival of new potatoes are so looked forward to that we have just had to make it competitive to see who can grow the best potatoes for Christmas? My sister Kerry easily won the potato growing competition in 2014 with her Swift potatoes.

Swifts (as their name suggests) are a fast growing new potato variety that can be ready for harvest in 60 days so are a good option if you are aiming for an early summer harvest.

Kerry's first harvest from her potato tyre stack was on the 9th of December. She was well ahead of time. — Kerry was able to do some “robbing” of her Swift potatoes back on the 9th of December by gently lifting the mulch and picking a sample. This gentle robbing will allow the plant to continue to grow and once they start to flower you know it’s time to dig up your new potatoes.

My entry into the Mackay potato growing competition was woeful this year. I have had to rely on our Sanctuary Community garden for our supply of fresh new potatoes.

The Community garden decided to grow Swift potatoes because of the short growing period and we were allocated on Christmas week 2 kilo bags of potatoes in return for the time we gave to the community portion of the gardens. Delicious the Swifts were too!

20141104_090052-1#1 — Four rows of Swift potatoes in early November on the left and the earlier planted Maori potato varieties at Sanctuary Community Garden.

Before the Swifts three varieties of Maori potatoes were harvested as young potatoes at the gardens. Space is at a premium in our community growing areas so we grew new potatoes not main crop.

There is no one name in Maori language for the ancient potatoes grown here and the varieties are various as they have been selected and grown by families for generations. Taewa is one name and when translated means “foreigner” that hints at its origin. So where did Maori potatoes come from?

20141207_160535#1 — Three varieties of Maori potato that were grown at Sanctuary Gardens: top Kowiniwini, left Maori potato and right perhaps the most common variety Urenika.

In the later part of the 18th century explorers, Captain Cook from England and Marion du Fresne from France, stopped long enough in New Zealand to set up gardens that grew potatoes and other European vegetables. Maori, unlike the Scottish a century earlier, soon realised potatoes were easier to grow and produced a higher yield than the Kumera (sweet potato) they brought from Polynesia. The arrival of the potato replaced the only other form of starch the fern root.

Potatoes were also introduced to New Zealand directly from South America via sailors and whalers. New Zealand Maori potatoes therefore have a much stronger genetic base making them stronger and more resistant to disease and fungal infections … like that which caused the potato blight in Europe in the 1840s. In Europe all the potatoes actually came from a few potato varieties. So when the potato blight hit in Europe there was little resistance and the potato crops were devastated.

Not only are they more disease resistant they have a higher nutritional value.

Researchers at the Riddet Institute in Palmerston North have discovered that Maori potatoes have different attributes to modern potato varieties, which makes them useful for developing new food products. When testing four varieties of Maori potato against the modern potato Nadine they found,

“Overall, taewa have more antioxidants than modern Nadine potatoes (for example, 6-10 times more in the case of Tūtaekurī). Antioxidants are thought to protect cells from damage and may reduce the risk of cancer and slow the effects of ageing. Taewa are also rich in essential amino acids, minerals and anthocyanins. The skin of all the cultivars has higher protein, fat, minerals and dietary fibre than the flesh. All four cultivars showed significant nutritional advantages over the modern potato, Nadine.” http://biotechlearn.org.nz

20141207_161103 — The potatoes before being put in the oven. You can vary the flavouring – a favourite of mine is to put in unpeeled garlic cloves.

I have found Maori potatoes are far better cooked in the oven than boiled. They tend to disintegrate when boiled. I also like using the following method of baking with any new potato variety as I think it brings out the earthiness of the potato.

Place washed potatoes into an oven dish, slice half a lemon into segments and place on top, Add some mint leaves and I like to also add a couple of bay tree leaves. Season with salt and pepper and either dot with butter as I have above or your favourite oil. Cover with foil and cook in an oven for around 50 minutes at 180 Celsius.

20141207_180936 — The cooked potatoes do loose some of the intense colour – all except for the purple sausage shaped Urenika.

Cooking time varies depending on the number of potatoes and how they are stacked in a dish – single layer being quicker than layers.

I really enjoyed the Kowiniwini variety with its medium deepest eyes, and is distinctive with its yellow patches of skin. The potato has a purple-red skin but the fleshy is creamy white.

The variety simply called Maori potato is quite similar to other modern varieties in appearance and it has shallow eyes and a uniform round shape. The only real difference is the rough texture of the pinky-red skin.

The Urenika is probably the most commonly planted variety of Maori Potato simply because it’s a real survivor as you will soon find out if you grow any in your garden. The purple skinned knobbly sausage-like tubers will persist in the ground for long periods and this is the potato that you can still find growing in the wild probably in old abandoned Maori occupation sites. The potato plants have purple stems and white flowers with grey in the centre of the petals. It is a very floury potato with purple flesh. If you keep them for a while before cooking they are less floury. The Urenika is probably similar to the Purple Congo that is cultivated in Australia and used by the Italian community to make gnocchi (potato pasta).

So for you gnocchi lovers out there why not try the Urenika.

I did have some leftover potatoes cooked this way and was pleased to see they did keep their shape when cut old into a salad the next day.

I have only recently learn’t that cold potatoes are really good for you. I have never been a fan of potato salad but since learning that it is a very healthy option I have decided to perfect my potato salad recipe. Cold potato is especially good for you if you are eating red meat and a barbecue is probably the setting where you are most probably going to find a potato salad lurking.

So what is the difference between a hot potato and a cold potato?

When a potato cools down much of the potato starch turns into “resistant” starch. Resistant starch is not digested in your stomach or absorbed in the small intestine but passes into your large intestine, where it becomes food for a host of beneficial bacteria … these starches will also line and strengthen the walls of the colon.

The trouble I have with potato salad is that it’s such a boring unappetising colour so I decided to make a potato salad mountain and decorate it with other salad vegetables for a recent family barbecue.

20141227_143121-1 — Green additions can be any herb such as parsley, coriander, basil or chopped chives. A nasturium always adds colour and a feel of summer. This variety is called “Empress of India” – it is supposed to be red but its a very dark orange. The good thing about this nasturtium is that it has a compact habit so is good for those that don’t have room for the rambling standard nasturium.

For a quick dinner I wouldn’t go to these lengths but I would always have some green in the dressing and pop on a colourful edible flower. At our barbecue young Julie who is 6 really loved the peppery flavour of the nasturtium.

Cook the potatoes ahead of time so they can cool down before eating. They don’t need to be chilled but do need to be cold. Cook them with their skins on as it helps keep them together and besides a lot of nutrients in potatoes are in the skin.

20141226_152207#1 — Osprey potatoes I purchased at the Tauranga Farmers Market. I am always keen to try a different variety of potato and these Osprey with their pink eyes were intriguing. I later found out that the soft moist texture makes them an ideal potato salad candidate.

There are two camps of opinion when it comes to how to dress your potato salad – whether you use an oil and vinegar based dressing … or a creamy dressing. Around the same time that I discovered cold potato was good for your gut health I was given some Kefir grains to produce the fermented milk product Kefir that is also great for promoting gut health. I will follow up with a posting dedicated to kefir and if you haven’t got kefir on hand you can just use yoghurt for this dressing.

20141227_143635-1#1 — I bought the Arataki clover runny honey en route from Tauranga to Napier as I thought it would come in handy for the Christmas catering and it has been great for sweetening the kefir and for dressings.

Kefir, Yoghurt and Mustard Dressing

One cup of Kefir (you can just use yoghurt instead)

3 Tbsp of Yoghurt

2 tsp Tahini paste

one garlic clove crushed and made into a puree in some salt

1 tsp grainy whole mustard

1-2 tsp of honey – add one at a time and taste

1-2 Tbsp of your favourite oil.

Shake and mix – taste and see if you need more honey. Kefir is tart and acid so you may need 2tsp of honey if using kefir or a particularly tart yoghurt.

20141227_144558#1 — Here I have just added the garlic that has been crushed with salt to become liquid. This is optional but I love garlic and especially now that new season’s garlic is around.

The tahini is the thickening agent as kefir is the consistency of cream – just using a tsp or two will not give you a dominating flavour of sesame. I add yoghurt to get a creamy taste and texture. If using all this dressing in one go then you can also chop in herbs. To give an aniseed flavour, chop up a small amount of tarragon (no more than one sprig). Parsley is a great addition and you can use lots of parsley. I have also used fresh coriander and a good pinch of ground cumin. Flavour it however you like. If you are using just yoghurt you may wish to either grate some lemon zest or add a squeeze of lemon to give it more zing.

This dressing can be used for any salad … not just potato. It’s a healthier option to replace a mayonnaise dressing and everyone in the family enjoyed it in combination with the potato.

The Maori gardeners became excellent cultivators of the potato and soon began trading their surplus potatoes to our growing cities and to Australia. The early European settlers would have relied on these potatoes for food until they could establish home gardens. In the US Thanksgiving remembers the kindness of Native Americans who provided starving settlers with food. Pumpkin and turkey are part of their Thanksgiving celebration meals, but perhaps in New Zealand we should give thanks to the early Maori gardeners and the potato affectionately called “the spud”.

Most of the information on the history of the potato in Europe and the Maori potato here was from the published work of “Nga Riwai Maori – Maori Potatoes” by Graham Harris and Poai Pakeha Niha” funded by NZ Open Polytechnic.

Just how traditional is your Christmas cake?

Posted on December 20, 2014January 27, 2015 by Jeannie Hayden

It’s a Christmas tradition that isn’t sensible in New Zealand. Why do we choose to make and eat a rich dried-fruit cake in summer? I reckon one of the reasons so many of us have taken to having a mid winter alternative ‘christmas’, in June, is that we can enjoy rich, dark fruit cakes while sitting in front of a roaring fire… or heat pump!!

We all think Christmas Cake recipes are pretty traditional and much the same as our great grandmothers, but are they?

In our house my husband Peter usually makes the Christmas cake – now that’s a tradition I am happy to encourage. The Christmas cake is a big baking number where failure is expensive and long lived. Anyone visiting the house over the holiday period will be offered a piece of this cake. Kudos or embarrassment? The tension about the cake is only relieved on Christmas Eve when keeping to tradition we cut the first slice.

If Peter could choose a favourite Christmas cake recipe then he would say that Charmaine Solomon’s Sri Lankan Christmas Cake from “The Complete Asian Cookbook” is very hard to beat. I have rediscovered the book “The Twelve Cakes of Christmas” and have managed to convince him to make Joan Bishop’s Festive Fruit Cake (No. 12 in the book). It’s a modern take on the Christmas cake that promises to be healthier and perhaps a lighter option for a summer Christmas. As usual we have thrown caution to the wind and have decided to use part of another recipe, Christmas or Wedding Cake (No 5 in the book) first published in 1951. This recipe starts with whole spices cinnamon stick, mace blades and nutmeg and are freshly ground and soaked in brandy “producing a delightful mellow taste“. Peter also suggested he use more brandy so we did.

“The Twelve Cakes of Christmas” gives you more than 12 cake recipes. Helen Leach, Mary Browne and Raelene Inglis have researched 828 Christmas cake recipes from a variety of sources including 158 community fundraising cookbooks that span from 1900 to 2000. Why you ask! They wanted to find out if any of the major ingredients varied over the century and what social and economic factors could be affecting the changes. I will scatter their findings through the recipe in Christmas green starting with…

Christmas cakes have become progressively smaller through the century. Cakes were heavier over the troubled times of the Depression and two World Wars than later in the century. This decrease in size corresponds with the decrease in family sizes.

Festive Fruit Cake (with additions)

(Preheat the oven to 150C)

1 kg mixed dried fruit,

100 g crystallised ginger

100g dried apricots (preferably from Central Otago), chopped

90g dates, chopped

90g pitted prunes, chopped

zest of one orange

2 eggs, size 7

150g dark brown sugar (we used Panela or Muscovado sugar)

300g bread flour (strong or high grade flour)

1/2 tsp baking powder

150ml whisky, brandy or dry sherry (plus extra to feed the cooked cake)

200ml freshly squeezed orange juice – 3-4 oranges (we used tangelos)

1 Tbsp treacle, warmed

200g whole unskilled almond or Brazil nuts cut into halves or quarters plus extra almonds for decoration

1 1/2 tsp of freshly ground mace blades

1 1/2 tsp freshly ground cinnamon from a stick of cinnamon

1 freshly grated whole nutmeg

Grind the spices.

Add the spices to the brandy (or chosen alcohol) and mix through the dried fruit, ginger and apricots. Stand overnight covered.

There was a change in the main ingredient proportions. We are making our cakes a lot fruitier these days.

The most popular dried fruit in 20th century Christmas cakes were sultanas closely followed by currants and raisins.

The next day put the dates, pitted prunes, orange zest and orange juice into a pot and cook until softened. Puree with a stick mixer or by just beating with a wooden spoon until it turns into puree. This puree replaces butter in the recipe.

Good news is that there has been a fall in saturated fats and halving in sugar…but then the natural sugars in the increased dried fruit has nullified this decrease.

Ideally in a mixer beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the treacle and mix again. Add the fruit puree to this mix. Mix the soaked dried fruit and spices into this mix.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and add the fruit mix along with the chopped almonds or brazil nuts.

There has been a steady decline in the amount of flour being used since the 1920’s and this is due to the increased dried fruit that needs less flour to stick together.

Now it’s ready to go into the tin that has been duly prepared as outlined below.

In 1900 91% of recipes contained citrus peel and this has steadily reduced to only 39% of recipes contained peel in 1999.

Place into an oven preheated to 150C and cook for up to 2 1/2 hours. Opt for traditional bake rather than fan bake if you have that option. If you only have fan bake then reduce the temperature to 140C and check the cake 20 minutes earlier than standard bake. Place just below half way in the oven to avoid the top getting too overcooked. At about 2 hours test the cake with a skewer to see if cooked in the centre. Other tests are that it suddenly smells cooked and that it starts to shrink from the sides of the tin.

In the recipe it suggested placing the almonds to decorate before putting in the oven but another recipe said to do this one hour before the end. I decided to try for the latter so that the almonds wouldn’t get too overcooked. This is unnecessary if you are planning to ice the cake. In our case I wanted the almonds on top because Peter had omitted putting the nuts into the mix, so this definitely made me decide that we would use almonds instead of icing.

The use of nuts in Christmas cakes have increased since 1985 because of increased availability from imports and New Zealand grown walnuts and hazelnuts coming onto the market.

Perhaps I should have added the almonds a little earlier because by the time I tried to place them on the top of the cake, the cake had developed a stiff surface and they wouldn’t stick!! This crisis was averted after the cake was cooked by heating up about 3 tablespoons of Marmalade Jelly (any jam jelly will do) and painting this over and under all the loose fitting almonds. It certainly gives the cake the attractive gloss. You can also add fruit at this stage.

Preparing the tin…

Peter being a seasoned Christmas cake maker knows the importance of lots of layers of paper. The Sri Lankan Christmas cake recipe has about 12 layers of paper but that is because the cake is larger and is in the oven for much longer. The reason to line with extra paper is to protect the edges and bottom of the cake from drying out too much and becoming hard.

The recipe called for a 20cm square cake tin (I always remember our Christmas cakes being square rather than round) or a 22cm round tin. I only had a 20cm round so I knew the cake may take slightly longer to cook through and could need a little more height so we kept the paper barrier higher than the tin just in case.

The top photograph shows two layers of brown paper (Peter used a large tick paper bag). Cut circles slightly larger than the base of the tin. Place the 2 bases into the tin and run your fingers along the inside edge of the tin. A small paper return should go up the side of the tin. Next cut a long strip of brown paper and and fold in half lengthwise and arrange around the tin. The small return will hold it in place. Make that outside ring about 5cm higher than the actual tin. This makes it easy to rest a foil hat on the cake should it be browning too much on the top in the later stages of cooking.

Most Christmas cakes are iced and Joan’s original recipe suggested almond icing followed by royal icing. My favourite Christmas icing is butter brandy icing but I thought why go to all the trouble of creating a healthier cake and then spread all that sugar over it (delicious as the icing can be).

Pound cake type Christmas cakes make up 80% of 20th century Christmas cakes. (The pound cake has been around since the 18th century and generally has equal measures of butter, sugar, eggs and flour).

To my surprise I discovered Christmas cakes as we know them have only come into existence during the reign of Queen Victoria in the mid 1800’s. Other Christmas Day traditions were introduced at the same time including gift giving on Christmas Day, Christmas trees were introduced by Queen Victoria’s German husband Albert, people began to send Christmas cards and light candles.

Before Christmas cakes there were Twelfth cakes that were cut on the 12th day after Christmas (6th January).

The type of cake (a fruit cake) that became the Christmas cake we recognise today came out of bridal cakes that were fruit cakes with intricate icing.

If you want a holiday from baking a Christmas cake or just prefer to buy then I suggest sourcing your cake from a cafe or deli where the cakes will taste like a homemade cake. I was particularly impressed with the painted Pohutukawa on this cake on sale at Foxtrot Parlour cafe in Ponsonby.

In countries all over the world red and green plants are used as symbols for Christmas. In Mexico the Poinsettia Euphorbia pulcherrima is a favourite as it is said to represent the Star of Bethlehem. The Pohutukawa Metrosideros excelsa has been widely embraced as New Zealand’s Christmas tree as it is usually in full bloom at Christmas time.

20141219_120039 — You are greeted when you arrive at Waiheke Island on the ferry by Pohutukawa trees along the shoreline. I couldn’t resist taking a photo with the blue summer sky against the intense red of our Christmas tree. (I have to admit this summer so far these days are rare.)

We shall have to see if the Festive Cake will become tradition in our household. But from the research in “The Twelve Cakes of Christmas” recipes keep evolving. They counted the common recipes in New Zealand’s oldest and most used Edmonds Cookbook comparing the 1910 edition with the 1955 edition and found only 11 recipes were the same. And look at the way we have changed Joan’s recipe – we used the spices from another recipe, more brandy and heated jelly marmalade to stick the almonds on top. Let’s hope the changes work. With so many recipes to choose from in “The Twelve Cakes of Christmas” I think there is a high probability that we will be trying a different recipe next year.

So with the different symbols of Christmas – almonds, artificial holly, red and green Christmas ribbon, a Christmas card from my niece Jessie in Australia and a big bowl of what are to me the ultimate summer Christmas flowers Sweet Peas – here’s wishing you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and holidays wherever you live.

POSTSCRIPT:

pic20141225172502#1 — Left: Peter proudly cuts the cake and Right – a close up view of the slicing.

We couldn’t quite wait until Christmas Eve to try the Christmas cake. We shared it with our friends Julia and Graham on the 23rd. And the taste verdict – it’s delicious. It was moist and the spicy flavour really punched through. Curiosity will make me try another of the recipes next year but whatever recipe I use I will grind the whole spices again because that really made a difference.

It’s bean a while…

Posted on November 20, 2014November 20, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

It has been quite a while since my last posting…and I will later let you know what I have been up to. But right now the first harvest of our broad beans has to be celebrated.

Broad beans are one of the most useful and rewarding vegetables to grow for the kitchen and for your garden.

As there weren’t that many beans after podding my first harvest, I decided to make a broad bean couscous – that way everyone got to taste a bean or two. And somehow broad beans and couscous just seem perfect partners.

20141102_084702 — Broad Beans this young if cooked quickly do not need to be skinned and if really fresh can be munched raw.

The best thing about this legume Vicia faba is that you can eat every part of the broad bean plant at different stages of growth before the pods are mature.

Late winter the beans will start to gain height and these new leaf shoots appear.

The fresh soft green leaf shoots are delicious harvested for salads or as an addition to stir fry. They have a mild peppery taste.

Broad beans flower in early spring, and you can take some (not all or you won’t have beans) for inclusion in salads.

20141104_141733 — Here’s the immature pod compared to a matured bean pod.

When the bean pods are the size of a pea pod you can use them whole in stir fry or sliced raw into a salad

If you prefer not to eat broad beans or do not have ready access to them then you can use any other vegetable in their place in this couscous dish.

Broad Bean Couscous

Don’t you just hate it when Couscous clumps together? I have learn’t a couple of tricks that will improve your couscous dish.

First step is to put 2 cups of couscous into a heavy pan and gently toast until it slightly changes colour but careful not to burn.

Tip into a bowl and add 100ml of olive oil. The toasting adds flavour and the olive oil will ensure the grains remain separate.

Add 2 1/2 cups of boiling water. At first it looks like soup…

But like magic in a couple of minutes all the liquid is used up. I

Fluff up with a fork. You now have the base for the salad.

Bring to the boil a pot of hot water to briefly cook the beans. Make sure the water is boiling before adding the podded beans and cook for 30 seconds up to 1 minute. I taste one after 30 seconds and if nearly cooked strain the beans immediately and run under cold water.

If you have large older beans you should skin the beans to avoid that bitter taste of the outer pods. But if the beans are young and the skins not grey then skinning is not necessary. There are bean varieties available that have a green rather than grey skin once cooked. This really assists with presentation issues for the broad bean.

Add beans to the couscous.

Lemon goes really well with beans so I scraped a preserved lemon quarter of its salty flesh and was left with just the preserved peel remaining. Dice and add along with half a fresh lemon’s zest. If you haven’t got the preserved lemon – no worries just use the lemon zest from one lemon instead of half.

Finely slice one garlic clove, then squash it into salt flakes. The garlic and salt goes almost liquid.

Chop a handful of parsley and a couple of mint tips and add to the mix.

Coriander is also a good addition to the mix and I reserve a little to sprinkle over the top of the finished couscous.

Now squeeze the juice from one lemon (or more if needed once you taste it), and mix with one tsp of honey. Mix through the couscous and add a good dollop of olive oil. You should taste now and you may need to add more lemon juice and olive oil. The taste I look for is the balance of sharpness of lemon with the creamy oily taste of olive oil.

I like to add a touch of dried fruit that contrasts nicely with the beans and lemon. I used 2 tablespoons of currants that have been soaked in white balsamic vinegar (but you could use ordinary balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar). The reason you soak the currants in vinegar is to add bite to the sweetness and to plump them up a little.

Add some chopped and toasted almonds to make your couscous complete.

You can add or change what I have suggested with what you have in your pantry cupboard. Roasted pumpkin cubes that have been sprinkled with ground cumin could be an alternative to the beans. And after the broad bean season you can add some sliced string beans or snow peas. Cooked chickpeas are also a tasty addition to couscous.

The good thing about this dish is that you can prepare it ahead of time – in fact it will improve if left overnight. We had this with roast chicken, roasted new carrots and asparagus but it will work in combination with any meat, fish or vegetable dish.

Over the past few months my focus has not been on cooking but on gardening. I decided this year that I would increase my knowledge either in nutrition or growing food. In the end I chose gardening as I felt the greatest nutrition comes from growing food in healthy soil and reducing the time from picking to the plate. I am attending an Agriculture NZ Organic Horticulture course once a week and already I realise just how much I don’t know about growing.

20141106_154214 — Garlic at foreground; beans background – Peter standing beside them shows their growth is not at all stunted.

Last week I learnt that you shouldn’t plant beans and legumes with garlic and onions… and that was exactly what I did this year at our garden plot. Our garlic is growing magnificently and next to them our beans seem to be doing well. Why don’t legumes like the onion and garlic family? Apparently what makes garlic so good for us – killing bacteria – affects the bacteria that fixes nitrogen in the legumes. The beans have started to get rust but are producing well. I will keep an eye on them and next year keep the two apart – and they need a distance of over a metre.

Broad Beans are easy to grow and King’s Seeds have a dwarf variety available that just grows to one metre if you are short on space.

But what if you have a real dislike of Broad Beans? Then think about planting them anyway before Anzac Day (April 25th) – let them grow up in winter and just as they begin to flower dig them back into the soil. You won’t get to eat the beans but your soil will receive a good feed of organic matter and a dose of nitrogen ready for an early summer crop you just love to eat. It will take just a month in spring for the bean materials to break down. Before digging in – remember you can utilise the peppery green shoots in a stir fry or late winter salad. You will have your revenge on those beans your mother made you eat as a child and your soil will thank you!

Getting to know your lemons and a delicious lemon pudding

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

I use lemons on a daily basis, so, it’s one ingredient that I want to have available. I know this sounds a little excessive, but when I travel I even take one or two lemons in my suitcase. But, when I have lemons in abundance, my first thought is to make an old family favourite, the most Delicious Lemon Pudding.

Delicious Lemon pdg 1 — Lemon Delicious Pudding or Lemon Cheese Pudding recipe can be found in various editions of The Edmonds Cookbook.

At our local organic fruit and veggie shop they have three varieties of lemons for sale. This has prompted me to investigate if there is any real difference in the varieties. I bought one of each; Villa Franca, Ben Yen and Meyer.

20140905_091626 — Ceres Fresh Market, in the Ponsonby Central Market, sources organic produce whenever they can. If you don’t have access to free lemons and you are using the zest you need to make sure they are not waxed. I know these lemons would be wax free.

When I got home I discovered a box of large, juicy, Hawkes Bay Meyer lemons sent to me by my sister-in-law Monica. Time for a Delicious Lemon Pudding.

This pudding is simple to make and as the title suggests is deliciously ‘lemony’ with a light soufflé top and a thick lemony sauce underneath. This sauce is probably why in an edition of The Edmonds Cookbook the same recipe is called Lemon Cheese pudding.

In July when visiting my sister Kerry in Dunedin (with my travelling lemons) I used the recipe that she got from Mum. I increased the lemon and decreased the sugar.

Delicious Lemon Pudding

20140703_180108 — Kerry’s special recipe book on the Lemon pudding page features a photo of Mum in her garden. Kerry’s healthy homegrown eggs make the lemon pudding very yellow. This mix has yet to have the milk so its a little thick.

The pudding has two parts in the preparation – the thin lemon sauce and beaten egg whites to be folded through the mix to give the soufflé lightness.

1 tbsp of butter

1/2 cup of caster sugar (original recipe used standard sugar)

2 tbsp flour

1/8 tsp salt

zest of one lemon

juice of 1-2 lemons (depending on the size)

1 cup of milk (I used almond and coconut milk)

2 eggs

Cream butter and sugar. I have found that caster sugar combines easier than standard white sugar as the butter to sugar ratio is quite low.

20140910_171222 — Use either one or two lemons – I used about 1/3 cup of juice and zest from 1 lemon using a zester and then finely chopping. A zest grater would do the job in one action.

Add the flour, then the lemon zest and juice followed by the 1 cup of milk. This will make the mix very watery. Next separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Add the beaten egg yolks to the sauce.

20140910_172552 — When folding in egg white I first add just one spoonful of egg white to the mix you are folding the egg white into. Then add the rest of the egg white. This little bit of added air upfront lightens the mix and makes the remaining egg white easier to combine.

Next, fold in the egg white gently. As the sauce is the consistency is as thin as pouring cream rather than custard it can take a little time to fully combine. Keep a folding action going rather than stirring to ensure not too much air is lost from the egg whites.

The pudding fits perfectly into a 600ml (just over 1 pint) capacity tin pie dish. The dish is 24 cm long.

Pour into a greased dish and bake slowly inside a larger container that has water a couple of cm high. This water bath keeps the cooking even and avoids the pudding drying out. Cook for up to 40 minutes at 160C until set. Avoid overcooking or it will dry out.

20140910_181154 — This pudding I caught just in time. Ideally it should just be an overall golden colour on top as the one below.

This will serve four, so when I make it for a larger gathering I just double the mix and it works just as well.

This is a pudding I made for a larger family gathering using 4 eggs and 3-4 lemons.

Serve simply with a dollop of yoghurt or whipped cream.

There are many varieties of lemons with different qualities and uses. Following are three of the popular varieties grown in New Zealand.

A bowl of Meyer lemons sent from Monica in Hawkes Bay

Meyer lemon Citrus × meyeri wins the title of New Zealand’s most popular lemon and features in many kiwi backyards. The fruit is the sweetest and juiciest. The Meyer strictly speaking is not a true lemon. The tree originated from China and the lower acidity and juiciness has occurred because of a natural crossbreeding between the lemon and a mandarin. In 1908 agricultural explorer Frank Meyer introduced this lemon to the US. In China this tree was primarily grown for decoration in pots. Meyer’s reward was to have the tree named after him. It’s the variety most commonly grown in southern areas in micro-climate spots because it is the hardiest of all the lemon varieties.

The Meyer has a soft skin and is the largest of the lemons. Sometimes they can almost look rounded and could be confused with a pale orange. It is not the best lemon for zest and a real punchy lemon juice. That soft skin means you need to take great care not to bruise and damage the fruit and for this reason other varieties are often preferred by growers for export because their tougher skin gives them greater keeping qualities.

Villa Franca can be identified by its nobly appearance.

Villa Franca Citrus × limon ‘Villafranca’ is ideal for cooking and baking because it has an excellent flavour in the skin. It also produces fruit in the warmer months. Villa Franca is an Italian variety said to have originated from Sicily. Being a southerner and not grown as lemon trees in too many backyards, I didn’t realise that quite a few lemon trees have thorns. Villa Franca apparently grows out of it’s thorns as it ages.

Yen Ben is an Australian variety developed from the Lisbon lemon. — Yen Ben is an Australian variety developed from the Lisbon lemon in the 1930’s by Walter Benham

Yen Ben Citrus × limon ‘Yen Ben’ has been a popular lemon to grow in New Zealand since the 1970’s. It’s smooth and thin rind with very few seeds and high percentage of juice makes it easy to use and rewarding in the kitchen. Yen Ben is a winter-producing lemon, though produces multiple crops throughout the year with the majority of fruit harvested in winter. For successful growing and fruiting, plant in a large container or tub so it can enjoy maximum warmth and sunshine Protect from cold strong winds, and hard winter frosts.

20120722_120659 — Abundant lemon tree in my niece Francie’s garden. Always cut lemons rather than pull off the tree. This will ensure a small part of the stalk remains that will allow the picked lemon to last longer.

If you are lucky enough to have a lemon tree in your garden, the best storage for your lemons is on the tree. Lemons don’t ripen once they are picked and the fruit keeps much longer on the tree.

Lemons will stay fresh at room temperature for about a week. Store them in the fridge if you don’t plan to use them within the week. They’ll keep for about four weeks in this cooler environment.

Lemons are supposed to be easy to grow. I haven’t found the ideal spot in my Dunedin garden as yet but armed with the advice below I will give it another go in the future.

No matter which variety you choose, lemons do best in steady growing conditions
Maintaining moisture is as important as fertiliser – if your fruit is dry and pithy it is usually from too little water early in the growth cycle
Free drainage is equally important
Growing in large pots is a good option for gardens with poorly drained soil or in areas where you can’t protect it from cold ground.
Lemons are gross feeders. Apply well-rotted chicken manure once every two to three years. In the intervening years, use compost or animal manure (horse, cow or sheep).
Lemon tree roots are just below the surface of the soil so mulching is important to ensure the roots don’t dry out.

An excellent Marmalade made from Ben Yen lemons, Tangellos and one Kaffir Lime. — An excellent Marmalade made from Yen Ben lemons, Tangelos and one Kaffir Lime.

In my investigation into lemons I noted that Yen Ben lemons were ideal for marmalade. I tried them out making up to 750 gm (1.5 lbs) of pulp using 2 tangelos for colour and tart sweetness, and 1 kaffir lime. I used the same method as I do for my grapefruit marmalade ( see Marmalade…starring grapefruit posted in October 2012). It made five pots of great marmalade.

20140703_195337 — Enjoying a midwinter lemon pudding by the fire at my sister’s place in Dunedin. Glad I packed those lemons.

Lemon Delicious pudding may be simple but it can make a big impression because of its light texture and real lemon flavour. A few years ago I served it to my friend Andy, an excellent chef. He loved it so much that next time we met for dinner he requested the same ‘pud’.

A warming Frittata made in the Hayden skillet

Posted on July 27, 2014August 30, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

A frittata is an easy one pan comfort meal where the ingredients can usually be found in your fridge, your garden, and if you are lucky, from your henhouse.

I used to get confused between a frittata and a tortilla. What is the difference? Well, not a lot. They both originate in Europe with the Tortilla from Spain and the Frittata from Italy. Both feature eggs and potato.

James Potato Tortilla from Nigel Slater's "EAT" — James Potato Tortilla from Nigel Slater’s “EAT”

The Spanish tortilla is really a potato pancake made mainly from finely cubed or grated raw potato with 1-2 eggs. Like a pancake its flipped to brown both sides.

The Italian frittata uses a lot more eggs and usually contains cooked potatoes, but can have alternative vegetables. Like the tortilla it is cooked on the stovetop but is finished off under the grill in the oven.

In July I was staying with my sister Kerry in Dunedin and had planned a visit to the wonderful Otago Farmers Marke t to gather some local treats for our dinner. Saturday morning arrived with a storm. We took one look at the weather and decided to forgo the market and stay put by the fire.

I declared I could make something delicious from the stores available in the kitchen and garden. Kerry has hens so where there are eggs there’s a meal in the house.

20140302_102346 — Kerry’s hens lay eggs with beautiful coloured eggshells from duck egg blue to khaki.

Both tortilla and frittata produce the best results in a heavy weight pan, preferably cast iron. Kerry is the proud caretaker of the Hayden skillet. Peter’s mother from Napier gifted us the skillet and she may not have realised that the skillet was returning back home to the south. I’ve discovered it was made in the Booth MacDonald foundry in Christchurch.

My son Gus is a chef and appreciates cast iron or heavy steel pans and has appointed Kerry and I to hunt out and buy any good cookware on our excursions to Dunedin’s opportunity and second hand shops. One of our favourite stops is the Hospice Op shop in the old part of the city (block behind Mojo coffee on Princes Street). I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw another Hayden skillet that I would get for Gus.

The Hayden skillet bears the name Boothmac – Booth MacDonald foundry also made grenade bodies for use in World War II. But Boothmac is probably most famous for manufacturing farm water pumps and no doubt some are still pumping water around farms in NZ.

Fritatta

This is not so much a recipe as some guidelines, as you can use whatever ingredients you have on hand and the number of eggs will depend on the size of the finished frittata. Its an easy throw together recipe and quick to make, especially if you have cooked potatoes on hand.

As you need cooked potatoes, you can do this earlier in the day or ideally preparing for a previous night’s meal you boil an extra few for the frittata. I tend to use at least half a dozen medium potatoes. Potatoes give the recipe that comfort food feeling but you could replace the potatoes with kumara or pumpkin. I have also seen recipes where you use broad beans. Again the number of potatoes and added vegetables will depend on the size of the frittata.

Next I sauté the other vegetables that will give the frittata more flavour. Gently sauté one chopped onion until translucent. Add either chopped celery or as I had available from Kerry’s garden a fennel bulb thinly sliced.

Use whatever you have available. Bulb fennel is a delicious addition but celery is also good.

Next finely chop and squash 1-2 cloves of garlic and add to the pan. This dish is perfectly delicious vegetarian but I do like to finely chop a rash of bacon if I have some, or as we had in Kerry’s fridge a cooked chorizo sausage. I also like to add a little lemon zest or you could use a touch of preserved lemon just to add that fresh citrus flavour.

Now your Frittata is ready for the eggs.

Either add potato and move the sautéed vegetables around or if you like it more organised, put the sautéd vegetables into a dish and sprinkle over layers of placed potato slices. Make sure you have a slurp of oil in the bottom of the pan so that it doesn’t stick too much. At this point you could also add other vegetables you have on hand like cauliflower or broccoli. If you are adding beet or spinach you will need wilt and cut up before adding.

The egg is now added to act as a binder for the vegetables.

Whisk 5-8 eggs depending what you have available and what size your pan is. Kerry’s hens were still off the lay so the most I could use were 4 eggs. Season the egg with salt and pepper and if you only have 4 or 5 eggs then you could add a little water (like an omelette just 1-2 tbsp of water per egg). You can also use milk but I like to think of this dish more as a omelette than a quiche. Gently pour the eggs to fill in the gaps and cook gently on the stove top until the egg is nearly set.

When the egg has started to set but there is still some liquid on top, that is when you add cheese and herbs and place under the grill.

Meanwhile heat up the grill of your oven, grate on some cheese and chopped herbs and put under the grill for about 5 minutes or until fully set and a golden crust. Keep on eye on the oven at this stage because you can quickly burn the top under the grill.

When Frittata is set and golden on top it's ready to serve. — When Frittata is set and golden on top it’s ready to serve.

The frittata was a simpler meal than it would have been had we gone to the market but it was just perfect for the weather.

The burner warmed our plates and kept the frittata hot until we were ready to eat. — The burner warmed our plates and kept the frittata hot until we were ready to eat in front of the fire.

Being an inside day I took the opportunity to learn about Instagram from Kerry. Instagram is a mobile phone app that allows me to share images. You can find me on Instagram on @Jeannieskitchen. I have also taken up the 100 Days Project Challenge where each day for 100 days I enter an image and a possible future blog subject. I have called it Food Triggers and you can find me on 100 Days Project – Jeannie.

Afghans – an old fashioned favourite

Posted on July 5, 2014August 31, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

No self respecting Afghan biscuit would be seen without its walnut hat secured into buttery chocolate icing. I just couldn’t leave the topic of walnuts topic without mentioning one of my favourite biscuits the Afghan.

Why it was called an Afghan I haven’t really questioned, until now. The exotic title and walnut top made them a memorable treat for us. As children how we loved opening Mum’s baking tin to discover Afghans.

Imagine my delight when my sister-in-law Penny offered me an Afghan from the very tin that Mum used to house her Afghans. Within the day the family had swooped in on the tin and Penny’s Afghans seemed to disappear overnight. It was also a coincidence because I had in the previous week made my own batch of Afghans.

For me a good Afghan must have crunch and when you look at the ingredients and the proportions of butter to flour with no eggs it’s easy to recognise that an Afghan is really a chocolate shortbread. And Penny’s Afghans certainly passed my crunch and general deliciousness test.

I like to make my afghans the size that we had as children and
this means that each bite contains a taste of walnut.

Afghan Biscuits

200g (7oz) butter

75g (3 oz) sugar

175g (6oz) flour

25g (1oz) cocoa

50g (2oz) cornflakes

The trick to a perfect cream is to soften but not melt the butter. If you have patience put the
mixing bowl into another bowl that has hot water or place in a warm place. Otherwise microwave for no
more tha20-30 seconds (depending on the strength of your microwave).

Just like making shortbread it’s important to really cream the butter and sugar to help create lightness in the biscuit. If you want to achieve the cream faster you could use caster sugar instead of standard white sugar – it dissolves faster.

Instead of regular cocoa I used the rich dark Dutch cocoa.
This makes the Afghans a little darker and richer. I should have reduced the butter
a little to take into account the cocoa fats present in the Dutch cocoa.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and a pinch of salt and mix into the creamed mixture. A little salt helps to heighten flavour in baking but it’s optional.

Add the cornflakes.

Make spoonful lots and fashion into a ball shape onto a tray covered with baking paper.

Now do you flatten or not flatten your Afghan? If you don’t flatten your Afghan it’s less likely to be crispy and have a flat platform for the icing and walnut. As we don’t like a soft textured Afghan Penny and I opt to flatten out our Afghans.

You can gently flatten with the back of a spoon.

In the Edmonds Cookbook the recipe says to bake at 180 C (350 F) for 15 minutes. As my oven is very hot I cooked mine more like shortbread at 150 C for a little longer – you can smell them once they are cooked and they took around 20 minutes.

You can see the cooked biscuits only flatten a little more than
what what was placed on the tray before cooking.

After carefully cracking walnuts to extract walnut halves (Rex variety from Canterbury) it was time for making the icing.

The addition of butter to icing sugar adds richness and a softness to
the finished icing.

Melt 1-2 Tbsp of butter and sieve together 1 Tbsp of cocoa and 1 cup of icing sugar to get rid of lumps in the icing sugar and cocoa. It depends on how much butter you add as to how much milk or water you add to the icing sugar.

Icing is best mixed together with a kitchen knife.

You want the icing to be soft enough to easily spread. Dipping the spreading knife in hot water also assists in getting the icing spread easily.

No worries if you don’t manage to shell perfect halves,
you can always place pieces of walnut together like a puzzle.

Once iced, place a walnut half in the centre. and treat yourself to the biscuit first created in New Zealand.

I now want to know why this biscuit was named Afghan. After some research I find there are a few theories as to the origin of the name. I think I support the theory that the Afghan biscuit was created in New Zealand after 1920 after the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. New Zealand troops were not involved in this short war that resulted in Afghanistan cutting ties with England. The news of this war would have caused a stir in New Zealand after our heavy involvement and losses in World War One. The walnut on top of the swirl of icing could represent the Afghanistan male traditional head dress of a scarf wrapped into a turban.

The Afghan did not appear in the Edmonds Sure to Rise Recipe book until after the 1920’s and neither were cornflakes introduced to New Zealand before 1920.

In searching out when Cornflakes were first introduced to New Zealand I unearthed an intriguing story of how Cornflakes came about.

This is a box dating back to the 1960’s when

the cereal companies gave away toys in each packet.

Back in 1893 Dr John Kellog of Michigan, USA, who promoted a vegetarian diet introduced grains to replace meat at breakfast. His brother Will who was the accountant in their partnership left the wheat grain soaking too long so they decided to put the grain through rollers and then baked the flakes to create crunchy flakes. Will believed the product wouldn’t take off with the public without the enticement of sugar. They couldn’t agree so Will Kellog left and started the company now known as Kellogs, decided to use corn instead of wheat and producing the sweetened Cornflakes we have today.

The quality of the finished Afghan depends on the quality of the walnut. Penny used the large walnuts gathered from the home farm in Southland.

This was me at around 10 years of age giving my brother Jamie a piggyback ride, with Kerry and Don lining up.
And this would be when the Walnut tree was first planted at our place.

I remember the walnut tree being planted in the middle of the lawn in the mid 1960s. It was thrashed for years by my brother’s playing sport and being rough with the lawn mower so Mum moved it. There were no walnuts during the years I lived at home and it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the large walnuts were harvested.

The same walnut tree taken a few days ago – you can
guage the size by the cabbage tree beside it.

If you are growing a walnut tree in your home garden or commercially like Valda and Otto Muller from Bannockburn in Central Otago, you have to be patient. When I talked with Valda a couple of years ago I asked her how long it took to produce the walnuts she was selling and she said 20 plus years. I guess it depends on the variety and location as to the harvest timeframe. If you are interested in planting a walnut then the Treecrops Assn Walnut Growing Guide is a good first step.

Visit the Otago Farmers Market in Dunedin around autumn and you may meet Valda selling walnuts and her other walnut products. I would advise grabbing some of her Vina or Franquette walnuts.

I particularly liked the creamy flavour of the Vina walnuts, and I think they’re the nicest walnuts I have tasted. Added bonus is that their shells have a tight seal so are good keepers.

The other variety they and other Central Otago growers grow is the Franquette walnut. This is a very old variety grown in France since the 18th Century. They can endure colder growing conditions and are reputed to have an element of butterscotch and sweetness that is unique.

Otto and Valda Muller with their walnut products; Photograph Sarah Marquet
from Otago Daily Times article Otto just nuts about inventing

Otto and Valda chose to grow walnuts because in the shell they can keep for longer than other nuts, and once established can take the cold of Central Otago. They were also their first choice because of walnut’s wonderful health properties. Otto at 90 is still farming walnuts as well as inventing labour saving harvesting machines. Otto is the perfect advertisement for the health properties of the walnut.

The 50g of Cornflakes used in the Afghan recipe contains about 1 1/2 teaspoon of
hidden sugar. In comparison 50g Weetbix would only have 2/3rd tsp of sugar but 50g of Coco Pops
would have 5 tsp sugar.

The good thing about home baking is that you know exactly how much fat and sugar you using to create a sweet treat like Afghans. They are a truly kiwi biscuit with a puzzling name that takes time to make and as both Penny and I discovered no time at all to disappear from the baking tin.

The Good Oil on Southern Walnuts

Posted on June 11, 2014July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

As I step off the plane and take in that first deep breath of chilled, clear, Southern air, I rejoice to be back in Dunedin. Just down the road, beyond the airport, an enterprising pair have set up a roadside stall selling walnuts. Walnuts, like people from the South, are hardy and thrive in a cooler climate.

Walnuts are close to my heart because they connect me to the South and are a reminder of when my Mum lived in Central Otago with a massive walnut tree on her property.

Looking rather strange and wrinkly, walnuts are the second most popular nut in the world. Nuts in general are good for us, but walnuts excel in the health stakes. They are great for your brain (they look a bit like a human brain). They help ensure a good night’s sleep and keep your heart healthy.

Back home in Auckland with my roadside walnuts and a bag of sweet pears from my sister’s orchard, my first thought is to make one of my favourite salads.

Pear and Walnut Salad

First, roast shelled walnuts (as many as you like but at least 1/2 a cup) in the oven with a little oil and 1/2 to 1 tsp of ground cumin.  This should take as little as 8 minutes in a moderate oven.

Keep a watchful eye on the walnuts as they easily burn. Roasting improves their flavour and adds crunchiness to the salad.

While the nuts are roasting, slice up the pears. It depends on the pear whether or not you decide to keep the skin on. Not peeling is the healthiest option.

This is just one large pear I sliced and if you have a pear that is perhaps a little hard and not soft and juicy like this one, then a good trick is to also roast the pear slices. Cooking them softens and makes them sweeter.

To avoid the pear browning with exposure to air, I slice them into a bowl and squeeze half a lemon over the fruit. If roasting your pears, also add a little oil.

The third important ingredient is cheese. I use blue cheese but I had half a block of feta that needed using and I discovered the sharpness of the feta goes particularly well with the sweet pear and the earthy walnuts.

The pears, walnut and cheese are laid out on a bed of green salad. I am lucky enough to still have lettuce and some rocket growing but this salad would also work with a base of young spinach.

Final touch is a drizzle of my favourite oil which is usually avocado oil infused with lime, but any good oil would do. Walnut oil would be the ideal.

Since discovering the power of walnuts, I decided to buy a small bottle of walnut oil. The only walnut oil I could readily find came from France. In Canterbury where walnuts grow very well a company called A Cracker of a Nut has set up a factory making walnut products including walnut oil from nuts they purchase close to home and from all over New Zealand. I will let Professor Geoffrey Savage from Lincoln University convince you on the Health Benefits of Walnuts.

The colour of butter – Walnut oil from A Cracker of a Nut

I am keen to track down a local source of The Golden Oil so named because of its wonderful colour. It’s an expensive oil so I would only ever use it for salads, as a dipping oil or to brush over food as a finishing oil.

In our house we have also begun to use the oil for its other external uses. Walnut oil helps relieve psoriasis, gets rid of wrinkles, massaged into the scalp will relieve flaky scalp and can get rid of fungal infections like athlete’s foot.

The walnut tree in Clyde; Mum on the bike shows the scale.

At my mother’s property in Clyde, Central Otago, there was a massive walnut tree. It was a constant job collecting and drying walnuts when they turned brown in March or April and dropped from the tree. For those of you lucky enough to have walnuts growing in your garden there is some good advice on Harvesting Walnuts.

So when the Stonehouse company approached her in the early 80’s to purchase half of the tree’s production while they were still green to produce pickled walnuts, she jumped at the opportunity. I am sure that tree is still being harvested by Stonehouse pickled walnuts today.

I haven’t tried the Stonehouse walnuts that can be found in most deli food stores around New Zealand because I have been gifted pickled walnuts from two adventurous preserving friends at different times. I still had a large Agee jar of pickled walnuts in our Dunedin pantry when we made the shift north.

The process of preserving walnuts is long and complicated, so I just couldn’t leave Ken’s jar of walnuts behind. The pickled walnuts migrated north with us. I opened the jar the other day to try what the English (who first began pickling walnuts) state as a winning combination – Stilton cheese and pickled walnuts.

And they are right. You need the sharp cheese to counter the pickle – together they are a delicious mouthful. You don’t necessarily need to use Stilton – any strong flavoured blue cheese would do.

Having run out of capers, I suggested to Peter to replace capers for pickled walnuts for his oven baked lamb chops with garlic, thyme and rosemary. The pickled walnuts worked really well with the flavour of meat so that forgotten jar of pickled walnuts is now having its time out in the sun in our kitchen

It’s not just in savory that walnuts enhance. I used some of my freshly cracked walnuts for an Oat Pancake breakfast. First I roasted the nuts in a small skillet on the stove top, and while still hot added a tablespoon of honey. The honey sizzled and coated the walnuts in a devine sweetness.

The oat pancake recipe you can find on my posting “The Secret to Light and Fluffy Oat Pancakes” October 2013. I complemented the pancakes with Augustines of Central preserved Vulcan apricots, bacon, yoghurt and the honeyed walnuts.

A perfect start to a lazy Sunday.

It does take time to crack your own walnuts but walnuts keep for longer in their shells. Once shelled I always keep the jar in the fridge to prolong their lives. A rancid nut is not good for you and tastes terrible.

My Mum would spend winter nights in front of the fire and television cracking walnuts with this well worn nut cracker. She wrapped the handles in soft material and covered with parcel tape to make the cracking easier on her hands. It’s

now one of my most treasured kitchen gadgets. Every time I use it I think of her ‘good life’ years in Clyde when she tirelessly harvested and cracked walnuts to gift to family and friends. She was not only giving us something delicious but a gift of natural medicine.

Granny Browne’s Pumpkin Scones

Posted on May 15, 2014July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

During this pumpkin time of year I like to make Granny Browne’s Pumpkin Scones. Those lucky enough to be offered one of these scones will wonder at the unusual colour and light texture, and never guess that they contain a vegetable.

This recipe comes out of “The Cooks Garden” – a kiwi book for cooks who garden and gardeners who cook. It was written by three southern gardening and cooking sisters Helen Leach, Mary Browne and Nancy Tichborne “The Cook’s Garden” was a popular cookbook in the 1980’s, when I was a young mum … and along with the Moosewood cookbook, it was one of the most used books in the kitchen. All the women in my family had a copy, not only for the recipes but for the gardening and harvesting information.

Three talented sisters: left Helen, centre Nancy, and right Mary.
Their subsequent books “The Cook’s Herb Garden Revisited” and
“The Cook’s Salad Garden Revisited” are available from Craig Potton Publishing

I have tried many recipes from the book, and all are good family food. The layout of one vegetable or fruit per chapter gives a variety of ideas for vegetables in season or in plenty. They generously share family recipes, like the pumpkin scones from Granny Browne. It’s out of print now but keep an eye out for it in second hand book shops or perhaps you’ll find it on the shelves at your local library.

Granny Browne’s Pumpkin Scones

2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup of cold pumpkin puree
3 cups flour (I use 2 cup of white flour and 1 cup wholemeal)
3 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 – 1/2 cup milk

Start by preparing the pumpkin puree. Cut up enough pumpkin that will make a cup of puree, cover with water and boil until soft. Drain and cool and mash with a fork or potato masher. (I usually make double and freeze the other half for a future batch of scones.

Soften the butter and cream the butter and sugar until pale and the sugar has dissolved either by hand or mixer. Then add egg and beat again.

Add the pureed pumpkin and beat again.

Sift the dry ingredients and fold into the creamed mix. Add enough milk to make a soft dough…
it will be softer than usual scone doughs. Avoid over working your mix to ensure your scones will be light.

Tip out onto floured surface, sprinkle flour on top to avoid sticking to rolling pin and hands. Gently shape and roll out to about 3-4 cm.

Cut into whatever size scones you want. You could make the dough into a circle and cut them into wedges. I cut mine into 16 pieces and cooked them on baking paper sprinkled with flour at 180-200C for 10-15 minutes (it all depends on your oven – 180 for fan bake). If you can smell them they are probably ready.

I haven’t ever been that successful growing pumpkins in my garden in Dunedin. I guess I haven’t given them the space or ideal growing conditions they crave. There’s no shortage of space up here in Auckland at our Sanctuary Community Garden. I’ve watched with delight as small pumpkin seedlings planted out in October grew quickly in the warm and rich organic, volcanic, Mt Albert soils.

3 Year old Beau indicates how big the pumpkin foliage has grown
in three months after planting out as seedlings the size of my palm.

At the gardens we have harvested our pumpkins. How satisfying it is to use a pumpkin that you have watched grow from a seed.

Fellow gardener Liz treats her pumpkins very well. They sleep on carpet.

The carpet avoids weed competition, keeps the soil moist underneath and the pumpkins dry.

Even better, we managed to produce the winner in the Auckland Community Gardens pumpkin growing competition. I loosely use “we” – the win was really down to the effort and diligence of one of our gardeners, Trevor.

Trevor Crosby proudly holding the winning pumpkin

The pumpkin is an Italian heritage variety called Marina di Chioggia (sea pumpkin) and originates from the seaside village of Chioggia near Venice on the Adriatic coast of Italy. How appropriate we grow them here in Auckland, the City of Sails.

It’s not the most attractive pumpkin I’ve seen with its lumpy wart-like skin but Trevor assures me that this variety will be delicious eating. The opportunity for me to preview this sea pumpkin came when Trevor found one that wouldn’t store for long – it began to soften at the top. Usually these pumpkins if stored under the right cool and dry conditions can keep for six months.

Well, it’s not the best pumpkin for roasting (a little too dry) but it’s good for soup and as you can read on the blog Boldos Thoughts on Food it’s excellent for pumpkin gnocchi. Likewise a dryer puree and its dense gold colour works well in the pumpkin scones.

If pumpkin is used in a sweet recipe it usually is laced with spices. I had an idea – it’s time to experiment with Granny’s recipe. The warming spices used in an American pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread could have been added to the scone mix but I wanted a greater hit of spice in each bite so I decided on spiced pinwheel scones. For the spices I searched for a combination of spices used in pumpkin pie.

Use spices that are as fresh as possible… and it pays to grind as many as you can from the seed, to get the greatest punch. I grated the nutmeg, whole cardamon and coriander. Another deviation…I added a pinch of white pepper for a little heat and to remind me of my favourite Dutch biscuits Speculaas.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

1 Tbsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp allspice (my allspice was a little old so I replaced this with fresh mixed spice)

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4-1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamon (I started with whole cardamons in pods and ground the hard seeds with a mortar and pestle)

And a large pinch of ground white pepper.

Spiced Pumpkin Pinwheel Scones

Use the scone mix as above and try to achieve a firmer dough by reducing the amount of milk to enable you to more easily roll the scone mix. My first attempt was too soft and it was really difficult to role and produce the pinwheels. Their great taste encouraged me to try again with a slightly firmer mix. The plain scones you should keep a softer mix as a wetter mix helps to keep them moist and light.

To 1/2 cup of brown sugar, some chopped walnuts (optional), a pinch of salt and 1 Tbsp of the spice mix.

“Walnuts work particularly well with other ‘brown’ flavours such as cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup, honey and pears”. The Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit

Melt 50 gms of butter and brush generously over dough that has been rolled out to about 2 cm thick and follow up with the spice mix. You can brush butter to the edge but leave at least a cm around the edge free of the spice mix.

Pat down gently to stick the spice to the dough and then gently roll the long side.

When you get to the end of the rolling, roll over and gently press down to seal the base.

I did separate out enough dough to make 3 plain scones for
3 year old Beau who wouldn’t like the spice hit.

Cut into 3 cm slices and place on a cold tray covered with baking paper.

Cook 180 for 10-15 minutes.

I had just started writing my blog when I met Helen Leach of “The Cook’s Garden”. Helen is an anthropologist focusing on the social history of food preparation and recipes. I asked her about recipe copyright issues I might encounter writing a blog. She said the wonderful thing about recipes is that no one truly owns them because they have been handed down from generation to generation and are constantly evolving.

Helen believes it’s important to have someone in the family to look after family recipes and it’s important to note who made modifications to recipes.

“Find a relative who will take the best care of it. The moment the recipes leave the family, much of their value is lost. Unless you can provide the context, they remain a mystery from then on.” Helen Leach

It’s thanks to Helen and her sisters that I discovered Granny’s Browne’s Pumpkin Scones and I in turn have offered you another option with my experimental Spiced Pumpkin Pinwheel Scones.

One of the most exciting things about recipes is that they are constantly evolving.

Bechamel sauce makes the marrow

Posted on April 13, 2014July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

The marrow is a perfect measure of time passing. That courgette plant you eagerly watch over in December for any sign of its fruit, produces a glut of courgettes (or zucchini) in January. But, once your attention is elsewhere, unwatched, the courgette turns into a monster marrow.

In February at the Sanctuary Community Garden fellow plot holders shared their excess produce. One large lone marrow was all that was left. It seemed wasteful not to try and find a way of making something delicious out of this large and seemingly unwanted vegetable. Marrow can be challenging with its tough outer skin and it’s subtle flavoured watery flesh.

In England there is an appreciation of the marrow so I turned to Nigel Slater’s “Eat” for a recipe. The advantage of the marrow’s flesh is that it can be used to sponge up stronger flavours like mushroom. Connect this combination with cheese and Bechamel sauce and Nigel’s Marrow Gratin becomes a delicious and comforting autumnal dish.

Marrow Gratin served simply with baked tomatoes and fresh basil.

Bechamel Sauce

Bechamel Sauce is a French way of making what our mother and grandmother would have called White Sauce.

True, white sauce is creamy, but the French version has delicious flavours infused into the milk.

It takes time to make a sauce from scratch but the result is worth the effort. The great thing about this sauce is that it can be frozen for use at another time. It’s a good idea to make a larger quantity so you have an instant home made sauce available for another day.

First step is to infuse the milk with the flavours of bay, cloves, onion and peppercorns. In a pot heat 1 litre of milk (I prefer full cream milk) to nearly boiling point with half an onion pierced with 3 whole cloves, half a dozen black peppercorns and a bay leaf. You can also add parsley stalks. I used a red onion because it was the only onion I had but any onion is fine. Set aside for at least half an hour.

I first remember learning how to make white sauce at school and hearing for the first time the term roux. Roux means cooking equal quantities of fat (usually butter) and flour to thicken sauces, soups and stews. Roux is the basis of three of the mother sauces of traditional French cooking; bechamel sauce, veloute sauce (velvet sauce) and espagnole (spanish sauce). Veloute sauce uses white chicken or fish stock (bones not roasted) instead of milk, and Espagnole sauce is a brown beef sauce made with beef bones and adding crushed tomatoes or tomato paste at the end.

To make the roux, melt 75g of butter in a pot, then stir in 75g of flour. This makes a buttery paste that you cook until it bubbles. It’s a fine balance – if you don’t cook the flour and butter a little then you’ll get a floury taste to your sauce but if you overcook then the flour will not thicken the sauce effectively.

Take your pot off the heat and gradually whisk in the reserved and strained flavoured milk. What everyone fears is a lumpy white sauce but never fear a whisk will get rid of lumps. I find if you add the milk in stages – in the beginning it quickly turns into a thick paste but as you continue to add milk then whisk, add more milk then whisk etc, it eventually smoothes out.

Hint for a non-lumpy sauce: avoid too great a contrast in heat
when combining the roux with the milk or stock.
Either add warm milk to the hot roux or have the milk hot and the roux warm.

Now gently heat and continue to stir with a wooden spoon until your sauce is a velvety smooth texture. Your sauce is ready if you can wipe your finger across the spoon and a track remains.

Add cheese and chopped parsley and you have a cheese sauce.

It’s best to thaw any frozen portion of Bechamel sauce slowly in the refrigerator.

Nigels Marrow Gratin

marrow, mushrooms, basil, mozzarella, bechamel sauce, parmesan.

Set the oven at 200C.

Remove and discard seeds and fibres from 750g peeled marrow (about half a large marrow), then slice into thin rounds. Melt butter with a little oil in a frying pan and as it starts to bubble, put in a single layer of of marrow slices and let them colour a little underneath. Turn over and cook the other side. They should be translucent and tender. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.

Continue with the rest of the marrow slices.
While the marrow is cooking, thickly slice 300g of mushrooms. When all the marrow is done add the mushrooms to the pan, with a little more butter.

Season with salt and pepper then as they are approaching ‘doneness’, stir in 125g basil leaves. Once wilted, remove the pan from the heat.

Cover the base of a large, shallow baking dish with some of the marrow and mushroom mixture. If you have it, tear a ball of mozzarella into pieces and dot them over the mushroom mixture. This dish is lovely with mozzarella, but I only had a little, so I also added some tasty cheese as well.

Cover with 500 ml of Bechamel Sauce.

Add another layer of marrow and mushroom mixture, seasoning as you go.

Finally generously cover with grated parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 40 minutes till the sauce is bubbling the top gently browned.

If you are not a fan of marrow then you could substitute the marrow for another vegetable like squash or kumara (sweet potato).

Time has all too quickly passed in our house in the heart of Ponsonby, Auckland. I can’t believe it has been 13 months. Our friend Chris has returned to claim back his home. I shall miss being so close to the Ponsonby shops and cafes, and the backyard fruits from feijoa, avocado, guava and persimmon trees. Sadly I too have had to bid farewell to Chris’s wonderful French copper pots that I have so enjoyed cooking with and regularly featured in the blog.

I haven’t blogged for a while as we have packed up our belongings and moved suburbs.
In the time it takes to be connected up to a broadband service a courgette could certainly turn into a marrow.

Cobra Runners and a Pean

Posted on February 11, 2014July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

As a gardener I can’t help but love all the produce that midsummer brings. As a cook I find myself searching for new ways to prepare these plentiful vegetables.

This year our Cobra Runner beans from Kings Seeds have been our garden success story. Living in Auckland has meant for the first time we can easily grow green bean varieties that demand a warmer climate. And our Cobra’s just keep on producing.

There are many varieties sizes and colour of climbing or pole beans. They are called a variety of names: green beans, summer beans, runner beans or French beans.

In Dunedin we grew the classic and hardy Scarlet Runner but unless picked very young the beans are often stringy.

Cobra Runner beans grow in abundance and quickly

Picked fresh the “string less” beans can be eaten raw as a sweet and crunchy snack. Our grandson Beau prefers them that way. My daughter Tansy sees these beans and immediately wants to make her signature Thai Green Chicken Curry. I like to add them to a stir fry or simply cook them, then dress with a squeeze of lemon juice, a slurp of a good olive oil and plenty of black pepper.

Here’s a simple recipe that will dress the beans up a little and avoid mutterings from the dinner table of “Oh no, not beans again!”

Green Beans with Almond Gremolata

I enjoyed the beans with slowly baked basil tomatoes and
some delicious Bok Choy

A gremolata is usually a topping of finely chopped garlic, parsley and lemon zest that is sprinkled over the dish just before serving. It’s especially good for adding a fresh aroma to a slow cooked dish.

This is a different take on gremolata by reheating the beans in the citrus and garlic oil and then adding the herbs and parmesan just before serving.

First you need to blanch the beans in a pot of boiling salted water. Cook no longer than two minutes as you want them to remain slighly crisp, not soggy. Cool the beans quickly to avoid them losing their lovely fresh green colour.

Otago Farmers Market chef Alison Lambert let me into the secret of how Italian mamas cool cooked beans and greens. It’s easier than the usual arrangement of plunging beans in iced cold water. Simply spread out the blanched beans onto a clean tea towel over a cake rack. As the beans are spread out they cool quickly and retain their colour. (You can also use this method when blanching or wilting kale). This method ensures the vegetables don’t get waterlogged.

The cake rack or oven rack under the tea towel just assists in air flow and
keeping the beans nice and dry

I picked my beans yesterday, blanching the same day to capture their freshness. This preparation has enabled me to quickly create this dish after work tonight.

Parmesan, chopped almonds, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and parsley (I am running a little short on parsley so have also added basil).

Slowly heat the oil (I used about 3 Tbsp) with 1 glove of finely chopped garlic and zest from one lemon. I suggest slowly heating the soil because I am using extra virgin olive oil and don’t want to burn the oil or the garlic. I do want to infuse the oil with the flavours of the garlic and zest before adding the beans.

Now coat the beans and turn the heat up a little – you just have to cook long enough to heat through the beans.

Add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste – it’s always better to add less, taste and then add more if liked. This recipe is also good without the lemon juice. (Your choice).

Quickly add the herbs and parmesan, mix through and put into the serving dish.

To finish off add toasted chopped almonds as much or as little as you like.

I have used pumpkin seeds instead of almonds and walnuts or hazelnuts could also be worthy alternatives.

Instead of lemon juice you could use some finely sliced preserved lemon and some smoked paprika to give the beans a middle eastern flavour.

If you want to add a little heat then a crushed dried or finely sliced fresh chilli will add a zing. You could serve this with some fresh coriander instead of the parsley, peanut oil with a few drops of sesame oil but would cut out the parmesan to create this Asian take on the beans.

Really there are numerous combinations of final flavour touches you can come up with. You just need to blanch some beans and experiment.

I am always on the lookout for something new to try both in the garden and the kitchen. Fellow Sanctuary Community gardeners were growing Peans and offered us a couple of plants.

If you want to read more about our community garden visit
http://SanctuaryGardenDiary.blogspot.co.nz

A Pean is a cross between a bean and a pea. They have edible pods that are just like any green bean but the small beans inside have a taste reminiscent of a pea. My Cobra beans now are now slowing down, taking a breather until rain comes to revitalise them. I doubt if my two Pean plants will will produce an over abundance of pods but I will enjoy their novelty.

The great advantage of belonging to the community garden is receiving the excess produce from other gardeners. One vegetable that can easily get away on you is the courgette. Go on holiday and on your return you discover a marrow. A marrow was on offer the other day. No one appeared to want it.

So …you’ve guessed it.. my next posting will be a recipe using the marrow.

Eat …Nigel Slater’s little book of fast food

Posted on January 30, 2014July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

“Cooking should, surely, be a light hearted, spirited affair, alive with invention, experimentation, appetite and a sense of adventure.” Nigel Slater

I like to think of the English chefs Nigel Slater and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall as my “cooking boyfriends”. They are often with me in the kitchen whether it be following a recipe from one of Hugh’s River Cottage cookbooks or an inspirational idea from one of Nigel’s columns on The Guardian website.

Left Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at River Cottage and Right Nigel Slater
in his London garden

Both Nigel and Hugh give me great recipes but best of all I like the way they write about food.

Looking at the photos above I realise they do look alike. They are alike in that they each encourage home cooking using fresh and often home grown produce.

They are different because Hugh lives a country life at River Cottage farm and has actively participated in campaigns to improve the tragic lives of egg laying hens and the chickens who never get to leave a cage, protested at the dumping of fish in the sea and the price of milk in the UK (sounds familiar!).

Whereas Nigel appeals to those of us living in an urban landscape. How encouraging it is to see the range of vegetables and fruit he can produce in his compact back garden in London.

Nigel’s descriptive writing style clearly conveys his passion for food and its infectious. He makes me laugh, especially in his book “Eating for England”.

“A beautiful, mysterious thing when seen on the stalk in a foggy field in January, the Brussels sprout has a fairytale look to it… A pity then that the vegetable shares so many of its attributes with a fart… “

I haven’t until now owned a Nigel Slater book. “Eat” was an impulse purchase, sight unseen, simply based on the reviews. From the moment I opened the package I knew I had a different sort of cookbook in my possession. It’s the size of a novel, with a stunningly simple black title printed onto a rich pumpkin fabric cover.

Who says you can’t judge a book by it’s cover! Open “Eat” and you are rewarded with clean, modern design and layout that allows you to easily and quickly read the recipes.

Nigel tells me the book I have in my hand is,
“A little book of straightforward, contemporary recipes, quick or particularly easy to get to the table. A collection of recipes that are fast, simple and, I hope, fun. ”

The book is divided into 10 chapters with dishes grouped together based on the method of cooking.

In the hand

In a bowl

In the frying pan

On the grill

On the hob

Little stews

In the oven

Under a crust

In a wok

On a plate

And ends with a chapter simply called Puddings.

Each chapter has an intro in a large font, followed by a list of his favourite
dishes for that style of cooking.

Nigel himself best describes the layout,

“The form of the recipes is new. Written in the style of an extended tweet, they are no dogged ‘1-2-3’ sets of instructions. The ingredients lists are next to a picture of the finished dish, both at the top of the method so you can see, at a glance what you will need and then, in more detail, within the method”

The first recipe I tried from “Eat” was rather rich but simply delicious.

I would normally steer away from this amount of butter and cream…but I was curious and the tag line he puts at the bottom of the recipe intrigued me. “Soft, white, supremely citrus fish”

To give you an idea of how the recipes are presented I copied the recipe just as it is laid out in “Eat”.

We enjoyed this creamy fish dish with the new potatoes
gathered from our community garden. You can follow our
gardening exploits on my other blog Sanctuary Garden Diary

Cod with Lemon, Tarragon and Creme Fraiche

cod, lemons, tarragon, creme fraiche, capers, bay, butter, black peppercorns

Put 350g cod fillet, cut from the thick end of the fish, into a large shallow pan with the juice of 2 lemons and 40g butter. Chop half a small bunch of tarragon and add to the pan with a bay leaf and 6 black peppercorns. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes, till the fish is opaque. Remove the fish with a fish slice and keep warm.

Chop the rest of the bunch of tarragon and add it to the pan with a teaspoon of capers and 3 tablespoons of creme fraiche. The creme fraiche will turn a little grainywhere it meets the lemon juice.

No matter. Coarsely flake the fish and spoon the sauce over it.

For 2: Soft, white, supremely citrus fish.

The butter contributes to the rich flavour of the sauce

This dish would be really good with southern blue cod but as it’s not a locally available fish in Auckland I chose Tarakihi, NZ Seafood’s Fish of the Month: January

The lemon juice and the herb Tarragon is the secret to the success of this dish. And true to his word it takes only a few minutes to make.

French Tarragon

The not so well known herb French Tarragon gave the dish a subtle hint of aniseed. I made this recipe in early December when my tarragon was starting to take off. It was a great way to show how a little tarragon adds to the flavours of fish, lemon and cream.

This tarragon I took with us from Dunedin in a small pot and it has thankfully
continued to grow in a pot. Use the younger new leaves to avoid any bitterness.

French Tarragon is a delicate herb to grow. It hides underground all winter and in early spring small green shoots appear and is ready to harvest early summer. Tomatoes , eggs, chicken and fish all benefit from the addition of tarragon but it is most commonly used to flavour vinegar and mustards. Tarragon hates wet feet and enjoys a sandy soil. It requires good drainage so I have had the most success growing it in a pot where I can control the conditions.

The taller growing Russian hasn’t the flavour of French Tarragon. To test whether you have the right nationality of tarragon simply bite a leaf and keep to the front of your tongue. A true French Tarragon will numb the tip of your tongue.

I will leave the last word on tarragon to the boys:

“The crowning glory, the whole point of this herb, is as the principal flavour in sauce Béarnaise, the unctuous, egg-yolk rich emollient for steak. (Even though it’s the chips I really make it for.) … But it is with chicken that tarragon reigns supreme. The leaves, especially larger ones, will stand up to the cooking time and gently impart their aniseed notes to the sauce. ” Nigel Slater

“With its aniseedy, liquoricey punch, its slight pepperiness and its hints of pine, tarragon is not something to use with a heavy hand, but in the right quantities and the right company, it can be sublime.” Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

One great feature of “Eat” is what Nigel calls “little extras”,
“Opposite many of the recipes are ideas that have bounced off them, a scattering of notes, suggestions and narrative recipes that might also interest you”.

After returning home rather late from work I was hungry and wanted something fast. I tried one of his suggested off-shoot ideas, A salsa scramble from the featured recipe Spiced Scrambled Eggs.

A salsa scramble

Sizzle a finely chopped tomato, a little finely chopped chilli and some chopped spring onion in a little butter, then stir in half a chopped avocado, a squeeze of lime juice and a little coriander. Use half as the base of the scramble, adding the eggs to it once it is hot. Serve the other half as a salsa on the side.

We grew this wonderful tomato and its companions basil, tarragon and
spring onion.

This meal took 10 minutes at the most to make. I started by collecting what ingredients I had to match Nigel’s recipe. Darn only one egg left and the scrambled egg recipe used 5 eggs. The recipe was made for two though so I knew one egg would work to create a slightly different version of the salsa scramble. Half an avocado and half a green chilli, although not shown in the photo, I also used.

I didn’t have any coriander on hand but have heaps of basil and as tarragon goes well with egg I added a little of that as well.

Another change to Nigel’s recipe was to use lime infused olive oil instead of butter as I love olive oil and felt that would better suit the salsa.

As it is cooked very quickly you need to do all the cutting up before you start cooking.

Only just cook the tomatoes and other vegetables before dividing the salsa into two as you want the salsa portion to be like a salsa, not a sauce.

Drop the egg or eggs into the pot and stir immediately. Now I knew that this would taste delicious but mix red tomato with yellow egg and the resulting the peach colour looked like something regurgitated. With more eggs it would look better… but I had a plan. In another pot I quickly cooked a few summer beans as the colour green does wonders.

Nigel suggests using the remaining salsa as a side. I decided to top my hot scramble with the lovely red and green salsa. My resulting dish was more of a scrambled soup because I only used one egg but it didn’t matter…it was truly delicious. I could taste the basil and tarragon, then get a hit of chilli and enjoy the texture of the avocado. Tomato and egg is a heavenly combination anyway, and it was created in ten minutes!

Nigel has created this book to reflect the times – we are often time poor. How easy it is to grab something ready prepared from a takeaway but Nigel is right when he says,

“Making yourself and others something good to eat can be so little trouble and so much pleasure. And much more satisfying than coming home to a meal in a box”.

Thank you Nigel for all the good fast food meals I will make from your little book “EAT”.

A Fool and a Mess

Posted on January 7, 2014July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

Christmas and the holidays is a wonderful time for gooseberries, currants, berries and stone fruits. I have just experienced ten glorious days with Peter’s family in Hawkes Bay where you can go and pick your own berries or visit orchards that sell tree ripened stonefruit.

Monica, Beau and Tansy all helping to Pick Your Own Berries for my raspberry jam producton
from Ruby Glen off Meeanee Road, and the juiciest stone fruits from Seamans on
Basil Road off Meeanee Road, Napier

My sister in law Monica is the one who gathers all the family around her table. I was only too happy to relieve her of some of the cooking duties and to try out desserts that are naughtily creamy but work so well with summer fruits.

A Fool fits in with holiday routine as you can prepare it ahead of time, or cheat and purchase the custard and meringues, and put together with little effort. The same can be said about an Eton Mess!!

My revived fascination with Fool was sparked just before Christmas when I received from my sister Kerry in Dunedin a beautifully packaged parcel of her gooseberries.

Murray is Kerry’s cat.

Up here in the sub tropical north, I miss the southern gooseberry season . These well travelled gooseberries were like gold so I quickly froze half for later use in my favourite gooseberry recipe, see “Gooseberry Shortcake and Sweet Cicely” (Sept 2012) and the other half I used to make the classic English dessert, Gooseberry Fool.

I previously made the fool with 50/50 cream and yoghurt in “Five Good Things with Gooseberries” (December 2012) but this time I made the fool using a mix of custard and cream. You can use yoghurt instead of cream.

Gooseberry Fool dates back to 17th Century England, but the origin of its quirky name is not agreed upon. Some suggest it comes from the French word foule ( translated means milled, mashed, pressed). I discovered on the The Historic Foodie Blog foulè de groscilles is the French version of Gooseberry Fool. The original trifle recipe dates nearly as far back as Gooseberry Fool and reads a lot like my recipe with custard, fruit and cream mixed together. The addition of sponge cake in trifle came later.

Gooseberry Fool

First step is to make a rich custard:

4 egg yolkes
500 ml of full cream milk (or 50/50 milk and cream but I felt there was enough cream in this Fool recipe)
100 g castor sugar
1 vanilla pod split lengthways ( you can use 1tsp vanilla essence instead)
1 Tbsp cornflour

I make this custard in a pyrex bowl over top of a pot of boiling water (keep the water level just beneath of the glass bowl)… you can make this custard in a pot on the stove but you have to keep an eagle eye on it so that it doesnt catch and burn on the bottom.

First heat the milk with the split vanilla pod until really hot but not boiling.
In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks, add sugar and beat; then mix in the cornflour.
Now pour and stir the egg mix into the milk.

Cooking custard in doubleboiler set up take longer but avoids sticking on the bottom.

Stir regularly until the custard thickens enough to coat the wooden spoon and remains.

Cover the top of the custard with kitchen paper and gently
press to make a seal with the paper. This will avoid the custard
forming a skin as it cools.

Allow to cool, then once at room temperature put the custard into the fridge.

Next step, cook up your gooseberries – I had 400g and added 75 gm of sugar… (if you have more gooseberries then use the same ratio of berries/ sugar). Next, melt a knob of butter then add fruit and sugar – no water necessary as the water comes out of the berries as they cook. If making this at the beginning of the gooseberry season while Elderflowers are around, add in a head of blooms. Alternatively, a slurp of elderflower cordial will add that extra dimension to your fool.

Once the fruit and custard are cooled, beat the cream – I used approx 200ml of cream. You could replace the cream with a thick Greek style yoghurt. Once mixed, chill well before serving.

At Christmas, I made another Fool, this time using cooked apricots. It’s a great use for apricot seconds that don’t look or taste perfect enough for eating raw. When cooked, they have a far better flavour.

If you have apricots that are not very tasty when eaten raw, you should cook them… but
if you have good eating apricots on hand then simply puree with a little lemon juice
and sugar to taste. If you need more liquid, add some apple juice.

On tasting the fool I realised that there was not enough of the apricot flavour pushing its way through the custard and cream. To improve the flavour, I quickly pureed about half a dozen raw ripe apricots with a little caster sugar and apple juice and gently mixed it through as a ripple. I served the apricot fool with fresh raspberries. The raspberries were macerated in caster sugar.

Macerating fruit is just like marinating savoury dishes. For fruit, use fine sugar or syrups, adding lemon juice or liqueur if desired. Allowing the fruit to sit in sugar for an hour sweetens the tartness, heightening the flavour and creating a delicious sauce. This also gives an appetizing gloss to the fruit.

At it’s simplest, Fool is stewed or crushed fresh fruit, folded into whipped cream. I have discovered the custard component adds a richer flavour to the Fool. While my Apricot fool was a little runnier than I had wanted (for the custard I used 3 egg yolks leftover from Pavlova making instead of 4 in the recipe I had previously used). However, it was eagerly lapped up by the family and pronounced delicious.

Eton Mess

This dessert has a more modern origin that many a busy mum can identify with. On the way to an Eton College sports day an anxious mother discovered to her horror that the pavlova she had made for the boys had been squashed and broken in transit.
As so often happens in the kitchen, out of disaster sometimes a new dish is created. She mixed up the broken pavlova with the fresh fruit and cream creating what is now called, ‘Eton Mess’.

Actually, it does look a complete mess, but you can make it look a lot tidier and prettier by doing what I did and keep some of the berry fruit aside and placing on top along with some small lemon balm leaves for a touch of contrasting green. It may look a mess but it tastes delicious. These days, Eton Mess tends to be made with meringues instead of pavlova.

The crystal bowl that belonged to Peter and Monica’s Mum gave
the Fool that extra “glam” presentation

I had about 500g of blackberries that I allowed to macerate in lemon juice, 2 big tablespoons of caster sugar and a splash of apple juice. I wanted to add some sweetness to the blackberries because they were quite tart. Separate out as many fruits as you think will help to decorate the top.

Crush 8-10 meringues – making sure there are some big pieces as well as crushed meringue.
Add to the fruit but don’t stir yet. Keep one meringue for the top

Next, beat a 250 ml bottle of cream until stiff but still soft. Do not over beat.

Add the cream and softly fold rather than mix.

Scatter the fruit and crush the last meringue on top. Use mint leaves or lemon balm, as I have, to contrast. If using yellow fruits in the Mess then some orange, red or yellow nasturiums or blue borage are decorative options.

My niece Francie said this is one of her favourite desserts and gave me 4 out of 5 for my Eton Mess.
She said if I had used homemade meringues I would have got 5 out of 5. Francie knows about good meringues and treasures her grandmother Molly’s meringue recipes. Molly had more than one recipe … and a reputation for producing great meringues. Francie has been trying to find that crunchy yet chewy meringue recipe that Molly used to make for her when she was a small child. She thinks she has found it, and if it’s the right one, she will share it with us at a later date.

This is one of the best things I love about cooking; the sharing of recipes especially those foods that generate memories of childhood treats.

Yes, you can have too much cream… so no more Eton Mess or Fool for me now that Christmas festivities are over and I’m back at work, sitting on my bum all day in an office.

Raspberry Jam and Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2013July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

When we women in the Mackay family decided to de-commercialise Christmas and make home made gifts my Mum was stuck on just what to give my brothers. Then she remembered how much they loved her raspberry jam so out came the retired preserving pan. She made them a six pack each and my brothers would be slightly dissappointed if their gift every year wasn’t raspberry jam.

Photographs of raspberry jam production by Lynn Dunn, beside the southern Christmas Tree,
the Pohutakawa, no doubt grown in their Ribbonwood Nursery, Dunedin.

My cousin Lynn makes the same delicious, pure raspberry red, runny jam that Mum used to make. When we lived in Dunedin she would deliver us a jar every Christmas.

My Mum Claire and Lynn’s Mum Coline were first cousins and life long friends so naturally they visited each other whenever they could. Lynn and sister Heather were our city cousins and we their country cousins. They would enjoy the freedom of life on the farm and we would love the experience of city life.

From left to righty: Heather, Me holding my brother Jamie, Lynn and my sister Kerry
in the backyard at our farm in Riversdale.

While I watched my mother make lots of raspberry jam, I have not actually made the jam myself. To let us all into the secret of how to make a good raspberry jam I have enlisted the help of Lynn who lives in Dunedin.

“I always like to make this jam at Christmas time as the new season’s berries are just becoming available. We often take a drive out to McArthurs on the Taieri Plain to buy their delicious local raspberries. It’s a good excuse too, to pick up a fresh fruit icecream – another of our family traditions!

It’s such an easy jam to make as it only requires a short cooking time and is self-setting – no setting agents needed. Fresh raspberries seem to deliver a better flavour and a glossier appearance.
This traditional recipe simply uses equal weights of berries and sugar.

The fruit is cooked on a low heat for a few minutes until the berry structure has started to break down. The heat is then turned up and the sugar added slowly while maintaining a good boil.

After 3 or 4 minutes I test the consistency by putting a bit onto a cold saucer and then remove from the heat as soon as it forms a slight skin.

We prefer the jam to be a bit runny and not too stiff.

Pour into sterilised jars and seal. It takes a couple of days to set fully.”
Thank you Lynn.

I can remember the excitement when the local store called to say the raspberry order had arrived from Central Otago. Mum would get the raspberries in a large tin pail. We knew that night we would be eating lots of raspberries sprinkled with icing sugar and accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Some of the raspberries would go into the freezer but the rest was used to make the year’s supply of raspberry jam. I don’t remember what happened to the tin pails but I’d like to think they were returned to the growers as it was a time before throw away packaging.

Coline (left) and Claire (right) the best of friends
and its thanks to our dear Mums that gifts of raspberry jam have
become a tradition at Christmas

I am more of a marmalade and jelly maker from fruit I get for next to nothing or for free. Lynn tells me that for 2 kilos of raspberries costing $18.50 she can make 10 jars of raspberry jam.

If you haven’t the desire to make your own jam or don’t have a jam maker in the family, then the next best thing is to buy a good quality jam. My favourites are Butlers Berries Raspberry and Redcurrant jam from Waimate, South Canterbury and Te Horo Raspberry jam from Otaki just north of Wellington.

Humidity is not at all kind to jam makers. You need a clear sunny day. I am inspired by Lynn’s raspberry jam recipe to give it a go while in sunny Hawkes Bay over the Christmas break. Close to good supplies of fresh raspberries and the clear air will be perfect for making jam.

Sadly, jam has far too much sugar to be a health food. But you can eat as many fresh raspberries as you like… in fact gorge yourself on raspberries to lose weight (minus the cream mind). There are many health benefits of this low calorie highly nutritious fruit. Native Americans recognised the importance of berry fruit in their diet and used raspberries to remove tartar from their teeth.

Raspberry can relieve morning sickness and if the tea is regularly consumed an easier labour could be on the cards. If a baby is on the way in your circle of friends and family, I would recommend Artemis Pregnancy Tea that contains raspberry leaf and other herbs good for pregnancy. Sandra Claire from Artemis learnt the secrets of the beneficial plants from a Catholic nun who looked after young pregnant women in the Swiss mountains. In Switzerland she tells me every pregnant woman gets a free prescription of this herbal tea to build uterine strength.

The only problem with raspberries is that they don’t keep as long as other berries. How to Store Raspberries gives you some really good tips on how to make them last which could be helpful for those buying berries ahead of time for Christmas Day.

Berries collected from my sister Kerry’s garden
set against one of her many nativity scenes around the cottage

For my readers in the southern hemisphere here’s wishing you all a very merry berry Christmas.

And for those in the northern hemisphere, perhaps you can recall the flavour of summer berries through a jar of raspberry jam. Merry Christmas and happy holidays wherever you may be.

A Farewell Dinner to a Villa on River Road

Posted on December 16, 2013July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

Some of you will have experienced an emotional good-bye to a home that you have loved, that holds the memories of your children growing up and the pain of renovation. Usually the move is made easier by the thought of another family taking over the house to create a new set of memories. How much harder it is to have to leave knowing that a demolition squad will erase that house forever.

In Christchurch this is just what our dear friends Jan and Wal have had to face. A month ago Peter and I spent a special weekend in celebration of a fine old lady sitting on the banks of the Avon on River Road. It was to be her farewell weekend.

Jan is a wonderful cook who will mark any occasion with a special meal. Wal is the modern day hunter and gatherer, sourcing the fish, meats, vegetables and wine. On this occasion the gathering included a whole duck and a whole Moki. What a wonderful team they are. How many couples do you know that catered their own wedding? Well Jan and Wal did.

A long table was set up in a spacious elegant room that reminds us of the style and craftmanship that went into quality villas after the turn of last century. The most stunning feature is the ornate plaster ceiling with sunflowers.

Outside the real flowers on show were Sweet Peas. While Jan has given up gardening around the River Road property, the sweet peas were the one flower she grew and picked. I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t love these dainty, sweet perfumed pea flowers that herald the approach of summer.

While out smelling the sweet peas, another delicious smell took my attention. Wal was smoking the fish that was to be the entree for our special dinner.

As Wal is a keen fisherman, he finds it worthwhile to invest in a good stainless steel smoker. Trout and salmon are the usual guests in the smoker but today he went to his favourite fish monger and purchased a whole Moki.

The architect of the meal is Jan who could have had a career in a commercial kitchen. She’s not just a good cook, she’s strategic and organised. Jan plans a menu that can be prepared ahead of time. When the guests arrive she has everything ready resulting in minimal time away from guests. And I don’t know how she does it, but she manages to have a cleared bench at the time of serving a meal.

Wal’s smoked fish was presented on a large platter with water biscuits as the entree – simple and delicious.

Smoked Moki – simple and delicious!

The main course also appeared to be a simple dish … but looks are deceptive.

Jan took four evenings after work to produce a dish called Cassoulet featuring a whole duck cooked three ways, beans, lamb and sausage.

Mark Bittman who writes for the New York Times describes this dish beautifully and gives you the recipe if you want to give it go. How to Conquer the Cassoulet It involves boning the duck to remove the breasts, making a stock out of the carcass and keeping the duck fat to produce a Duck Confit.
Next you cook the lamb and beans, followed by the sausage and seared duck breasts Whole Duck Cassoulet.

Dinner guest Matt is giving the Cassoulet the smell test – verdict…
smells fantastic!

The final touch requires heating up cassoulet, covering with breadcrumbs and parsley, then bake in the oven until golden brown.

Jan served the cassoulet with a big pile of fresh asparagus and a crusty bread baton from the superb bakery on Victoria Street called Vics.

Jan used baby green lima beans in the cassoulet.

I wanted to taste the sauce first so I dipped the bread into the juice and what a rich flavour I was rewarded with.

Cassoulet comes from France. It’s humble origin as a traditional peasant bean stew has been claimed by different cities in the south west. While other traditional dishes have disappeared, Cassoulet has an almost iconic status in France. Each region, city or home has it’s own particular recipe … but they all contain beans, meat and usually a duck confit. Chefs debate the importance of keeping to the traditional Cassoulet versus making a version that better suits the current time, i.e. lighter, and less time consuming.

Carcassonne chef Jean-Claude Rodriguez writes “Cassoulet lives on, because it requires patience, respect, and it requires a lot of love.”

Yes all of us around that table that night knew just how well loved we were …but wait there was more. A large wooden board made from the top of a wine barrel was brought to the table carrying dessert.

Jackie’s Rustic Semolina Lemon and Rosemary cake in the foreground.

Jan has an appreciation of good cakes and is an excellent cake maker. She is famous in our household for her Simnel Cake (a dark fruitcake with marsipan running through the centre like a rich vein of gold.)

On this occasion she decided to outsource the dessert and asked Jackie who was well qualified for the task. Jackie used to own and bake for her local cafe until the earthquakes destroyed their building and business.

A great way of presenting crackers or biscuits on a platter – a layer of kitchen
paper and brown paper tied up with twine.

The presentation was as lovely as the selection of edibles. There were two cakes with home made Mascarpone, three cheeses with walnut oatcakes and a bowl of dried figs marinated in orange syrup.

Rustic Semolina Lemon and Rosemary Cake

The lemon cake was truly delicious – lemony with a great texture. Both Jan and I thought it worthwhile to hunt out the recipe. It’s Italian in origin and they sometimes slice it and have with coffee for breakfast.

This cake would also be delicious with lemon curd

My first attempt at making this cake was a bit of a disaster due to a combination of my oven “Mr Ferocious” and a limited time frame. So, second time round, I thought I would halve the recipe and put it into a tin that would cook the centre before it burns on the outside. I have given the ingredients for the loaf sized cake, but if you want to make an impressive small but tall cake like the one Jackie created in the picture above, just double the mix below.

Ingredients
1/2 cup Semolina
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup coarsely ground cornmeal (I used polenta)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
grated zest of one lemon
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp finely chopped Rosemary
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract (I used 1tsp Lemoncello liqueur but I think the lemon extract would make it more lemony like Jackie’s cake)
1/2 cup thick Greek yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 175C.

Line and grease a large loaf tin.

Put the three flours together with baking powder, soda and salt in one bowl.

In a mixer or bowl mix together the sugar lemon zest and rosemary.

Add the oil to the sugar and mix on medium speed.  Add the eggs one at a time, then the extract or lemon liquor and lemon juice, and beat until well mixed. 

With a metal spoon, fold in half the flour mixture into the eggs, then half the yogurt until mixed.

Then add the rest of the flour mixture and yogurt and mix just until blended. 

Pour the batter into the loaf tin, and spread evenly with the back of a spoon, then bake for about 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool the cake for 10 minutes, then carefully run a knife around the pan and turn it over onto a plate.  Cool to room temperature before slicing.

I presented the cake as a dessert with marinated strawberries, lemon curd and mascarpone with Lemoncello liqueur.

The heart of the city of Christchurch has been flattened but there are early signs of the city’s revival. It’s heartening to see some of the cleared land that once housed businesses being given over to wildflower plantings. This is organised by Greening the Rubble Trust – a group a of people wanting to create a better place for the people of Christchurch now.

In other regions of New Zealand we can all too easily forget the plight of the people of Christchurch. A visit to that city is a big reminder and you leave feeling an admiration for the spirit and courage of it’s people.

Signs of a community working together with a
Community garden on Fitzgerald Avenue

Our weekend’s final stop was a visit to Pomeroys Historic Brewery on Kilmore Street for a taste of boutique brewery beers from the south. Pomeroys has managed to stay operating after the earthquakes and it’s an important meeting place for locals.

Peter giving a toast to Wal (centre) and Jan( right).

Jan and Wal have now moved into their new home across the river where land is stable. It’s not as grand as the well loved villa on River Road but it has what both of them want – a safe and cosy home in a welcoming local community.

One thing I know for sure is that no matter where Jan and Wal are living we will be treated to great company, good craic and wonderful new food experiences around their dining table.

A Broad Bean Makeover

Posted on November 29, 2013July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

Our friend Ken proudly showed me a bean seedling in a pot. Now Ken is a great vegie grower and would not normally be showing me one bean seedling in a pot, but this bean was special. It has been eagerly watched over and nurtured by his nearly three year old grandson, Hunter. Each time Hunter comes to visit his “Ranads” he eagerly checks how his bean is growing.

Hunter from Christchurch – a gardener in the making beside Ken’s
crop of broad beans. Photograph: Ken Rouse

In late spring, asparagus is quickly followed by the arrival of broad beans. If you are a home gardener the odds are you will have planted the seed in autumn. The seedlings pop up to encounter whatever winter throws at them, and then with the warmth of spring they race to grow eventually two times the height of young Hunter.

You can plant broad bean seeds in early spring too. According to European folklore you will have good luck if you plant your broad beans on Good Friday. This translates to early September in New Zealand for a spring sowing or Good Friday for an autumn sowing.

I began growing broad beans because they are an easy bean to grow, especially in the cooler south. Peter was not at all enthusiastic about the beans. His childhood memories of them, like so many others, were of an unappetizing, greeny-grey bean with a bitter coat that was probably boiled for a good ten minutes. It was time to give this bean’s culinary ‘bad rap’ a makeover.

The orange or red nasturtium is more than a colourful companion
to the beans in the garden, the flower’s peppery flavour goes well
with the beans in a salad.

I found the solution, thanks to cook and gardener Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage fame, who introduced me to ways of preparing broad beans that look luscious and taste even better. And the true test of my success is that Peter now loves broad beans.

Fresh broad beans are bountiful at this time of the year but if you are not growing them they can be hard to find. You probably will have the best luck at a farmer’s market.

The secret to avoiding the bitter dry beans of childhood is to pick them young. You can even start harvesting them when they have a girth the size of a pencil. They can be used simply by cutting pods on an angle and throwing into a stir-fry.

Once the plants reach the flowering stage, I use the growing tips to add a peppery touch to a salad (a little like rocket in that respect) or these too can be tossed into a leafy stir-fry.

At our community garden a young boy was intrigued with the pods with their fluffy white lining and asked if he could try a bean. He came back for more and so introduced me to eating them raw – funny I hadn’t eaten them raw before. I have since discovered that in a coastal region of Northern Italy, young broad beans are enjoyed raw as the first of the spring garden produce.

When picking broad beans start at the bottom of the plant
and work up the stem, flick up and snap off the beans.

Be warned, it does take quite a few bean pods to get enough beans for a meal. Peter collected a bucket full of beans from our community garden. And from the bucket the beans minus their pods reduced to this…

As the bean grows in size they tend to grow a thick green-grey coat.

The much maligned broad bean of our childhood is experiencing a resurgence in popularity and this could be due to the process of skinning the bean. Blogger Nancy Harmon Jenkins thinks this trend was created in the professional kitchens of France and is not at all necessary. I will let you decide.

To present a glossy green bean for use in a salad or for hummus I do recommend skinning.

First of all boil the shelled beans for 3 – 5 minutes depending on size. As the beans are young at this time of the year they really only 1-2 minutes but as they grow larger and older they will need the longer time. To make them cool enough to handle, tip the beans into a sieve and run the cooked beans under a cold tap.

To skin nip the skin at the top of the bean and gently squeeze from the bottom to allow the bean flesh pop out.

In Arabic they are called Foul (pronounced “fool”) – for those of you who think broad beans are foul here are three ways to use broad beans that may just change your mind.

Beans and bacon on toast

This is my favourite broad bean dish and it’s truly easy and quick. Beans and bacon are a match made in heaven. The best way to have this dish is to pick the beans and make immediately. If the beans are young there is no need to do the skinning. Some broad bean varieties now have a green skin when cooked which is a lot more appetizing than the khaki grey. I usually just skin the larger grey coloured beans.

As I only had a few leftover skinned beans on this occasion I added some
asparagus spears. Beans and asparagus work well together.

First of all fry a little chopped bacon in a heavy based pan – one slice per person – once it starts to colour then add finely chopped garlic, followed by broad beans that have been pre-cooked and skinned (if required). Add a squeeze of lemon juice, and season with pepper.

Both broad beans and asparagus enjoy the company of mint. So add finely chopped mint at the end of cooking (not too much as mint is a strong flavouring – one set of top leaves in a sprig would do – about 1 tsp finely chopped).

Toast a good bread and cover with the beans and bacon. Before serving I drizzle some really good oil – either extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil.

Broad bean hummus

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s hummus is an ideal use for older beans that are getting floury. For me it’s one of the first dishes I make with the new season’s beans because its a way of sharing the fresh harvest with a number of people. It’s a gob smacking green dip that certainly attracts attention and the texture is velvety.

1 to 1 1/2 cups of shelled beans (depends on how many you have on hand)
1/2 to 1 garlic clove (depends on the size and strength of the garlic)
Crush the garlic with a little salt
A generous squeeze of lemon juice (again the quantity will depend on the lemon – add to taste)
About 3 Tbsp of good quality oil like rapeseed or extra virgin olive oil
Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.
(optional) – a sprig of mint finely cut, or a splash of green tabasco sauce or addition of seeded green chilli.

Put the beans, garlic and oil first into a food processor and whizz to a puree. Now add the lemon juice and taste, add more lemon juice if needed, and salt and pepper to taste.

It’s important to taste along the way because there are ingredient variations. The flavour and consistency will depend on the age of the beans and the lemon and garlic can be of varying strengths. You could add a little green tabasco sauce or chilli if you want to add some heat. I also like to make it quite garlicky.

A hummus you would think would have tahini included. I think Hugh has excluded it in this recipe to retain the subtle flavour of the beans. I am keen to experiment and the next time I have only a few beans, I might opt to make a bean flavoured hummus by simply adding some chickpeas and a small spoon of tahini.

Squished broad beans with preserved lemon and flatbreads

This is a great dish to accompany toasted flat breads and fresh salad ingredients like tomato, lettuce and cucumber yoghurt. Together they make a simple and quick summer evening meal or lunch.

Mash the beans a little with a potato masher. They would actually mash a little easier if they still have their skins on. To the squished beans add a quarter of a preserved lemon , scrape away the flesh and pith of the lemon rind and finely dice. Alternatively, use a squeeze of lemon juice + zest. Then add seasoning of pepper (the lemon will add all the salt you will need) and a slurp of good olive oil.

Roti, flatbread or mountain bread are all delicious when cooked with a little oil. Consider using these to bring some leftovers to life. We have this at least once a week and is very useful if you have to get some food on the table quickly. Three year old Beau loves loading up his flatbread triangles.

To cook the flat breads first you need a heavy based pan – caste iron is the best.

I begin by giving it a spray of oil, pop in a flat bread, drizzle oil on top and spread quickly with a brush. It only takes about 20-30 seconds to cook on one side, flip and cook the underside.

When you flip the bread it will bubble up transforming it from what looks like a piece of cardboard into a delicous lively looking flat bread.

I thought this bread looked like the surface of the moon.

Cook both sides well and then stack on a plate in a warm oven until ready to serve.

You can make them into a roll or cut into pieces and create your own combination of topping.

Both the fresh or dried broad beans are also well known around the world as Fava Beans
To dry, simply leave the beans in their pods to dry and then harvest
Broad beans are high in protein – almost as high as soya beans
In Italy some people carry a dried fava bean in their pocket believing that they will never be without the essentials in life. This tradition came out of hardship. In Sicily when the crops failed, fava beans kept them from starvation.

What other bean can you eat every part of from the growing tips to the dried seeds? Also called Faba bean, I am now convinced that this most useful bean is a fab vegetable that doesn’t need a makeover…they just need less time in the pot and some good companions like mint, lemon, garlic and olive oil.

If you grow the beans inside, remember to harden them off slowly before planting in the soil –
this may mean taking them in at night and putting them outside in a place that has shade.
Photograph from “Growing Vegetables” The Guardian.com

Hunter has been given a great gift by Ken – a curiousity about the natural world. Ken in return has been reminded of the magic of gardening through the eyes of his grandson. Go to it and introduce a child to growing beans!

The Sanctuary Garden and a Shared Lunch

Posted on November 13, 2013July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

I had a dream when I left Dunedin for Auckland 9 months ago that I could be part of an urban community garden. We have finally managed to achieve my dream. We now have a plot with the Sanctuary Community Organic Garden at UNITEC. This community garden is a haven for city dwellers who want to be a little more self sufficient and grow their own food.

Peter titled this photo “Somebody’s Darling” . This lettuce was
growing in someones plot – looks too good to eat!

This tiny bit of self sufficiency gives me a good feeling, especially leaving behind a large food garden in Dunedin to living with one raised bed and herbs in pots in Ponsonby. We have nick named the community garden as “The Good Life Gardens” re-living the late 1970’s comedy “The Good Life”. Peter is not as fanatical as Tom in the TV series, but loves the physical work involved in gardening. For me, it is a chance to share ideas and learn from local gardeners about what to plant and when … and how to deal with a host of pests we just don’t have down south.

Our Community Garden is nestled in the 55 hectare grounds of UNITEC Institute of Technology,
Mt Albert, where it was originally set up as a Horticultural Organic Teaching Garden

The gardeners tell us the volcanic soil here in Mt Albert is some of the best in New Zealand (certainly the free loam is a change from the clay in Dunedin). The soil has also benefited from being an organic garden for over 15 years.

Left: our plot chest high with lupins planted thankfully by the previous plot holders
Centre: Peter cut down all the weeds and lupins in true Permaculture style;
Right: a week later the weeds have all died down and I planted a row of carrots, sheltering
them under nasturtium leaves.

We have leased a plot about 4 x 4 metres amid the other family plots and the large communal beds of garlic, potatoes, silver beet and broad beans, plus beds of perennial herbs.

A very healthy potato patch.
The Blues Rugby Development Squad trains in the UNITEC grounds. They recently volunteered to earth up
all our potatoes… and this should ensure we get a bumper crop.

One of the founding members of the Sanctuary Trust was a Permaculturalist who planted up a food forest around the edge of the garden. Beyond that is a forest reserve so it’s a perfectly sheltered site.

Permaculture is a philosophy as much as a method of gardening. It was first introduced to the world by Australian Bill Mollison who studied forest ecology and translated it into a system of growing food and crops in a sustainable way. If you want to know more take a look at A Beginners Guide to Permaculture Gardening, a video made in North London.

Thankfully there are plenty of nasturtium hiding in the
food forest and around the edges of the garden plots

There are small gardens in and around the plots that are planted in flowers to attract beneficial insects.

Just as bees are essential for the success of the gardens, so too are Sarah, Bev and Trevor who organise us all. There are young and old gardeners, some experienced and others garden rookies.

Being part of the community means promising a couple of hours a month to work on communal spaces.

Grandson Beau loves coming to the gardens, he is
watering flower seedlings planted out on community work day.

After our work, we retire to the large garden shed for a shared lunch around a large a central table. This is also an opportunity to chat and get to know our fellow gardeners. As a newbie to the group I felt a little nervous as what I should bring to our first shared lunch.

I decided to make Baba Ghanoush and flat bread as this is one of the easiest and nicest ways of eating the gorgeous aubergine. Plus, as a dip it can go a long way. Aubergines are abundant and reasonably priced at this time of year.

Baba Ghanoush

Baba Ghanoush looks a lot more appetising with some freshly
chopped parsley, a slurp of olive oil and a few nasturtiums to bring colour to the dish.
Try popping some Baba Ghanoush into the flower and munch

You can prepare the aubergine two different ways. I like to prepare them in halves. Sprinkle with rock salt, sit for 10 minutes, turn over and knock off salt and place face down on a tray (ideally lined with baking paper).

Cook in a oven at around 170-180C for about 30 minutes, until they begin to wrinkle and

are soft when you push down with your finger.

In December 2012 I wrote a posting on Aubergine titled
Aubergine/Eggplant-King of Vegetables . Take a look if you want other
recipe ideas for this versatile and healthy vegetable.

I was reminded of a simple and quick way to cook the aubergine for a baba ghanoush by my friend Jan this weekend. Jan pricked their skins and gave each aubergine a spray with oil before placing them on the hotplate of her compact barbecue, shutting the lid to keep the heat in.

She turned them two or three times and after about 10 minutes took them out and placed them into a brown paper bag until cool. You can also cook them whole like this in an oven but it will take longer than on a barbecue plate.

The end result whatever way you cook the flesh must be a soft flesh that can easily mash.

I found if soft enough you can mash with a fork. This time I used my latest German made
kitchen gadget. It’s a whisk that you can push down to make it whirl around
– great for eggs and worked well on the aubergine.

The flesh looks a little like mashed ripe banana (and not particularly appetising yet.) Next you add 2 Tbsp of Tahini (sesame seed paste). You can replace the tahini with peanut butter or one of Ceres Organics other nut spreads.

I have discovered that Ceres produces a number of butters made from nuts.
The one in this picture is called ABC – Almond, Brazil and Cashew.

The first time I made baba ghanoush I found the sticky tahini was difficult to disperse through the aubergine, so next time I allowed it to warm a little on the bench and added the juice of half a lemon to make it more liquid. Finely cut up a clove of garlic and squash with some salt to make the garlic almost liquid and add to the lemon and tahini. This mix should now easily mix and disperse amongst the mashed aubergine flesh. Alternatively you can just put the garlic through a garlic crusher. Taste if it needs extra salt, pepper, garlic, or something else…

If you want it more creamy you could add in some thick yoghurt.

If you want more of lemon zing, you could add more lemon juice and even a preserved lemon quarter, scraped and finely chopped.

If you want more middle eastern heat then add some harissa paste.

I used chopped up parsley but coriander with a little mint is also a great option.

It’s truly simple to make, but remember to taste as you go. Always add a little of any added flavour at a time. You don’t want to overpower your dip with too many flavours.

Aubergine is the perfect carrier of flavours, so why not give it a go. Experiment to find your own take on Baba Ghanoush. My version was a huge hit at the shared lunch.

As the weather warms baba ghanoush can be part of a lovely lunch or light dinner if you add salad vegetables and toasted flatbreads. Tomatoes go particularly well with baba ghanoush.

You may be able to just see the line of the carrots I planted (far left)
Our patch has lots of calendulas seeding and one of the gardeners
gave us some lettuce seedlings which are progressing well (right)

Back in our patch everything is shooting up – weeds as quickly as the seeds we have
planted. We have had some failures but I have a strike of carrots! We are going to try to keep
our patch in true permaculture style, by pulling the weeds and laying them down to eventually become part of the soil. We hope this will also help to keep the moisture in as we only visit the gardens once or twice a week. We do take out the invasive weeds. They are put into the community large plastic tanks with water to rot down and to be returned to the land as a tea.

Beau loves to help and here Poppa Pete is teaching
him how to gently water the seedlings in the greenhouse

There are not many community gardens that also have a large greenhouse in which to raise seeds.

I am doing an experiment to see which of my basil seedlings do best, the ones at home or those at the gardens. The basil at the “Good Life” gardens will have a good start in the greenhouse.

Bring a Plate… a Savoury Idea

Posted on November 4, 2013July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

“Bring a plate” is a kiwi food sharing custom …and for those with great baking skills, an opportunity to shine in your community. When I grew up, most gatherings were catered by “bring a plate”. Tressle tables groaned with club sandwiches, sausage rolls, slices, pavlova and some gloriously high rise sponge cakes.

My Mum would normally contribute something savoury as she knew she couldn’t compete on the sponge cake front. Besides, she would say “There’ll be too many sweet things and not enough savoury”. She was usually right.

Beetroot and Walnut hummus is from Hugh
Fearnley-Whittingstall’s “River Cottage Everyday”

At a recent workplace birthday celebration we were all to “bring a plate”. I decided, like my Mum, I would contribute something savoury…. Beetroot and Walnut Hummus. To my delight and surprise the hummus disappeared faster than the cakes!

Its glorious colour and the earthy sweet taste of beetroot makes for a dip that is not at all “run of the mill”. The true test of it’s success…everyone wants the recipe.

Beetroot and walnuts get the headline but another important ingredient in this recipe is the roasted cumin seeds.
“Aside from their shared earthiness, beetroot and cumin couldnt be more different. The sweetness of beetroot is enlivened by cumin’s smoky citric edge.” Niki Segnit “The Flavour Thesaurus”.

Beetroot and Walnut Hummus

200 g beetroot cooked (you can use canned beetroot but not pickled)
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
50g walnuts
25g stale bread, crusts removed OR 2 Tbsp of couscous
1 Tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 large garlic clove, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
A little olive or good vegetable oil (optional)

First cook your beetroot. I like to wrap washed beetroot in foil and bake in the oven (about 180 C) until you can easily put a scewer through the beetroot. Once cooled you should be able to easily push the skin away from the cooked beetroot flesh.

200 g of beetroot is equivalent to a beetroot the size of a grapefruit.
The cooking of the beetroot can be done at an earlier time and after
skinning covered and kept in the fridge.

Next toast 1 Tbsp of cumin seeds in a small frypan over medium heat. Shake the pan constantly until they begin to darken. A sign that they are done is the release of their aroma. It will take less than a minute. Crush the dry fried seeds with a mortar and pestle … or use a coffee grinder to make short work of it. You don’t need to roast your own seeds, you can just use ground cumin, but there is nothing quite like freshly ground cumin and a little extra effort will reward you with extra flavour.

I use a coffee grinder that is just for spices – you wouldn’t want
to do this in the grinder you use for coffee beans unless you want
coffee flavoured cumin or cumin flavoured coffee!!

Now spread the walnuts on a baking tray and toast in an oven 180 C for 5-7 minutes, until fragrant.

If you have time, give your walnuts a good long soak in water
before roasting as this will make the nuts sweeter and more digestible.

Break the bread into small chunks and put in a food processor with the walnuts.

I didn’t have any old bread so I tried using couscous instead and it worked really well. I used 2 Tbsp of dry couscous and added enough boiling water to allow it to expand and soften. If you put in too much water just drain before adding. I didnt put couscous in with the walnuts but later when I added the beetroot.

For a gluten free beetroot hummus, use some cooked rice or quinoa – or perhaps a few chickpeas. The bread or couscous is simply used as a thickener.

Now add the beetroot (cut into 2-3 cm cubes), the tahini, most of the crushed garlic, (the couscous if using instead of bread) and a good pinch of the cumin, half the lemon juice, a little salt and a good grind of pepper. Blend to a thick paste.

Add caption

Taste the mix and adjust the flavour by adding more cumin, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper, then blend again until you are happy with it. If you feel it needs a little oil, add this now.

Refrigerate until required but bring back to room temperature to serve.

This dip is best accompanied by toasted pita bread or flat bread.

Here is a quick spring time lunch idea using the hummus. I had a small amount of leftover Beetroot and Walnut Hummus. I had to make it go further so made a platter with toasted pita bread, lettuce sliced with some chopped coriander and onion weed bulbs (but you could use spring onions), grated carrot with a little orange juice and a few fennel seeds with a yoghurt dressing on the side.

When I decided to “bring a plate” of Beetroot and Walnut Hummus to the office birthday morning tea, I didn’t realise that both beetroot and walnuts are good for the brain. Nor did I know that beetroot increases stamina and walnuts relieve fatigue. All good things to offer my office colleagues on a plate… and a great alternative to the many cup cakes and slices on offer.

“Resisting the Call of the Cupcake” an article in the NZ Herald where business columnist
Dita De Boni looks at eating habits in the office. The illustration is by Anna Crichton

But, cupcakes and junk food are not the only health risks to the many of us that have desk jobs.
The Huffington Post gives six good reasons why we should make a major effort to get up from our desks at regular intervals.

To my horror one of the six reasons is …sitting increases the size of your bottom!
“Researchers have found that putting pressure on certain body parts (i.e., your bottom) can produce up to 50 percent more fat than usual.”

Spring brings Asparagus, Onion Weed, and Nasturtiums to the plate

Posted on October 25, 2013July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

Spring in Auckland has crept up and surprised me – I really didn’t see it coming. It seems just a couple of weeks ago that the gracious Plane trees lining our streets gave us an open view to the sky.

Plane Tree archway down Picton Street, Ponsonby

Newly clothed with green they lean together to create the charming archways that are a feature of Auckland’s leafy suburbs. The trees leafing up, longer days, and packed garden centres are clues that there is definitely a change of season.

I know spring is here when asparagus arrives. Asparagus is the first vegetable of the new growing year. Price wise, now is a good time to eat asparagus as there is plenty at the markets and in the shops.

Another spring time resident on our property, and most likely in yours, is often cursed by gardeners as a nuisance. For me wild onion or onion weed is a spring onion alternative and it’s free! To harvest, use a fork (unless the ground is very soft with rain) otherwise you will fail to get the small bulbs out. Eating them is a most satisfying way to keep your wild onion weed under control. They take a little time to wash and sort but they are really tasty.

The onion weed with its distinctive clusters of white flowers marked with fine
green lines. You can eat all parts of this weed, the small onion bulbs,
the stems and the flowers . Test that its not a decorative bulb by running
your hand down the stem and it will smell of onion.

Spring inspires us all to get back into salads. Here’s a way to make one bunch of asparagus go a long way. This salad could be a satisfying lunch on its own or a wonderful side to the first barbequed sausage of the season.

My Risoni salad as photographed by my daughter Tansy with a proper camera

Risoni Asparagus Salad with Onion Weed and Nasturium Flowers

This salad because can fool you. It’s made from Risoni (pronounced ree-soh-nee) and while it could be mistaken for rice, it’s actually a type of pasta. It’s also known as risi (Italian for rice) and is sometimes referred to as orzo, although this tends to be slightly larger. Risoni in Italy is often used in soups.

I really like to use Risoni for salads – because it looks like rice but has a smooth soft texture that takes up the flavours of olive oil, herbs and lemon to create a salad that is eaten with relish in our house.

I was missing my old glass lemon squeezer so Peter found me this
wonderful kitchen tool, its a lemon squeezer, zest and fine grater all in one..
its so useful and only cost $5

Ingredients:

One bunch of asparagus (or as much as you like)
juice of a lemon
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 Cup of Rizo pasta
a handful of walnuts chopped
Preserved lemon rind finely chopped (optional but really gives this salad a lift)
About 1/2 cup of chopped onion weed bulbs and white part of the stems
Salt and Pepper
Generous bunch of herbs chopped- whatever is available
Alternatively if you have some pesto you could add 1-2 tbsp (to taste)
Cos or any lettuce leaves

On the base of risoni build up the flavours with herbs or pesto, spring onions
or onion weed, chopped nuts (optional) and then add the lemon juice and
olive oil to taste and then add sliced up asparagus.

Cook the risoni pasta as you would any other dried pasta – with plenty of well salted water. I use 3/4 of a cup of dried pasta and this made plenty of salad for 3. Once cooked (don’t overcook it or it will all stick together and not free flow) pour into a sieve and run cold water through the pasta to separate.

While the risoni is cooking, also cook the asparagus. You could oil them and simply grill them, but for this recipe, I prefer to cook them in a high sided pan in salted boiling water until “just” cooked. It only takes 1-2 minutes.

Make sure you don’t include the end woody bits. I simply bend the asparagus holding the stalk end until it snaps. It breaks in the place where the stems are soft. You may think what a waste but you don’t want to chew on woody asparagus.

Take out of the hot water immediately and spread out on a tea towel to cool quickly. This will ensure the asparagus remains a good green.

You can use more parsley and herbs for this
recipe than I did here as I was restricted by the
quantity available. Two tablespoons of parsley
per person gives you your daily vitamin K requirement.

Next chop up your herbs. I use whatever herbs I have around – parsley, I nearly always use, and on this occasion added some fresh mint that goes really well with asparagus, a little fennel and coriander. In the summer tarragon and basil are great additions too.

Put all the ingredients together, adding the oil and lemon juice last and to taste. You may not need to use all your lemon or you may want more. It’s so important to taste your salad to ensure you have a good balance of flavours.

I served this salad on a bed of mini cos lettuce that gave a crunchy contrast to the soft flavourful risoni.
I added two of my favourite edible flowers nasturium and calendula petals. Both these plants are flowering now and I find their bright colours make for a happy and tasty salad. Nasturtiums are also called Indian Cress. The flowers give a peppery bite to the salad.

I discovered a great blog and will try this recipe Garden Betty’s Nasturtium Pesto
when I find enough nasturtiums.

Photo from Mens Health.co.uk that I liked.

Asparagus is a powerhouse vegetable and I discovered a great description of the health benefits of this first vegetable of spring on UK Mens Health in an article titled “Four Reasons to Eat Asparagus”
They also have recipes and suggest using asparagus in risotto…I whole-heartedly agree.

In spring at the Otago Farmers Market in Dunedin everyone waits in anticipation for the asparagus from Palmerston. It’s sought after because it is so fresh. There is no comparison with the asparagus you buy from shops. Asparagus quickly deteriorates, eating its own sugars, so to taste the sweetest asparagus you need to grow it yourself, or buy directly from growers, or at a farmers market.

Peter seeking shade and smelling the pelagonians
at Auckland Botanical Gardens

It’s Labour Weekend. Traditionally this is a time to plant your potatoes and other spring crops. Do take some time out from work to just stop and enjoy the warmth, soft colours and birdsong of spring.

The Secret to Light and Fluffy Oat Pancakes

Posted on October 12, 2013July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

In our house oat pancakes are a breakfast favourite. Now, oat pancakes are not usually associated with “light and fluffy” but I have discovered just the right proportion of oats to flour to avoid heaviness. The secret to light pancakes is aerating the mix and I thank one of my favourite cooks Lois Daish for the tip.

You don’t need oats at all but I like the added health properties of soaked oats and the nutty flavour.

One of the benefits of eating a breakfast that contains oats is that the oat-beta glucan in oat fibre slows down the increase in blood sugar levels after the meal. When the oat-beta glucan is digested it forms a gel which makes the contents of your stomach and the small intestine more viscous (a thick consistency between solid and liquid). This slows the uptake of carbohydrates into the blood stream and digestion takes longer, preventing sudden fluctuations in blood sugar. That’s why you feel satisfied for longer after eating oats for breakfast. (See my previous two postings on the other health benefits from oats).

Oat pancakes has to be pre-planned as you need to soak half a cup of oats overnight in water.

Oat Pancakes (serves 4)

1/2 cup of soaked rolled oats

*1/2 cup of Spelt or wholemeal flour

1 cup of plain white flour

2 eggs

1 Tbsp of oil like Avocado (my favourite) or Grapeseed or if you prefer.. melted butter

1 Tbsp caster sugar

2 tsp of Baking Powder

1- 11/2 cup of milk (or a mix of yogurt and milk) or **Buttermilk (approx)

You need a couple of bowls to make these pancakes but lightness achieved is
worth the dishes.

*You can make pancakes just using white flour, but I just like to add different flours to add more nutritional ‘punch’ to breakfast. I did try Buckwheat flour but found even 1/4 cup made the mix a dry unappetising consistency.

** I always look out for specials on buttermilk as it makes excellent pancakes, scones etc (and can be kept in the fridge for longer than it says on the packet). Tip: By using a mix of yoghurt and milk you get a similar taste to buttermilk.

The big secret to these pancakes is the separation of egg yokes from whites and then beating the egg whites until stiff. Beaten egg whites add lightness to the mix.

I use this method of adding beaten egg whites to any fritter recipe and it
works a treat – try it next time you make corn fritters.

Start by adding to the soaked oats, the two egg yokes, then the flours, sugar and baking powder. Add enough milk to mix to a pouring consistency batter – a little like lightly beaten cream. You may need more or less milk… judge by sight. If you have added too much milk all is not lost, just add some extra flour. You don’t have to worry about over working the mix…until you add the fat (either your chosen oil or melted butter). Add this next and fold in.

Finally, add the beaten egg white. First, take a spoon full of the beaten egg white and fold through the mix. I usually use the egg white I knock off the egg beater against my hand (not on the bowl) into the mix. (I add egg whites to any mix – it prepares the mix for the rest of the egg white as a little lightens the mix to allow the remaining egg white to more effectively blend with the mix).

The resulting mix should have a lot of air – make sure you
fold in the egg white with a metal spoon until just mixed to
keep the air.

You can add slices of banana, frozen blue berries, or my favourite, frozen blackcurrants to the mix…
or just pop a few currants on top of the pancakes.

I learnt about adding currants to the top of the uncooked mix
from my friend Maerushia and decided I would surprise Beau with a smiley
face pancake.

If using caste iron you need to heat it for a while before using so I usually turn the heat on slowly while preparing the pancakes.

Rub the warmed pan with butter paper or give it a light spray with cooking oil. Always make a small sacrificial pancake first, to see if you have the pan at the right temperature. You need enough heat to cook them through but not too high that they cook on the outside but remain uncooked on the inside.

Flip the pancakes when bubbles appear and start to burst on the surface of the pancake. If they don’t have a firm under-surface when you try to flip them, it means you are flipping too early.

Once cooked, keep them warm in a low oven until ready to eat.

I usually serve pancakes with fruit compote or a bowl of fresh summer fruits, maple syrup and yoghurt.
One of my favourite compotes is pureed cooked gooseberries.

Of course true maple syrup is the best with pancakes, but
if you want to try something produced closer to home,
Pear Syrup produced in Hawkes Bay is a good replacement.
It’s made from 100% pears, no extra sugar added.

The best pancakes are made from using a heavy caste iron pan because the heat is constant making an even crust. Our landlord and friend Chris has a wonderful selection of cooking pots and I keep one of his large caste iron pans just for pancakes so that I don’t get other flavours transferred to the pancake.

In Dunedin I would use my griddle iron… and you griddle fans, you will find it in my September 2012 posting “A Vintage Morning Tea – Nan’s Pikelets”. If you are ‘griddleless’ try hunting one down in a second hand shop… then you will discover perfect pancake production.

Beau loved his smiley face pancake made from currants. He likes his
pancake cut into wedges then a squeeze of syrup.

Every culture has some form of pancake cooked on a stove top. My work colleague Elizabeth told me about savoury breakfast pancakes they cook in India. These are made from fermented rice, lentils and oats, and are called Dosa’s. Elizabeth says that adding oats gives the dosa more crunch. I now have the method so I am keen to give them a try. Will keep you posted.

If only the Three Bears had made Bircher’s Muesli

Posted on October 1, 2013July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

I wonder… if the 3 Bears had decided on Bircher muesli instead of porridge would they have left their house, bringing about a home invasion and chaos? Bircher muesli originates in Switzerland and is made from soaked porridge oats. It’s an especially delicious breakfast option for summer with fresh fruit. Best of all, it doesn’t have to be cooked at all. The soaking prepares the oats for efficient digestion that’s easy on your system.

“Goldilocks and the Three Bears” Retold and Illustrated by Jan Brett (pub Simon & Schuster)
I took this book with us from home for grandson Beau. I love the northern European detail in the
illustrations with lots of woodland plants and animals referenced – a visual feast.
This book was gifted to my son Francis when he was 2 – now 26!

Bircher Muesli

I like to use jumbo or whole grain oats because you get more texture, but if you want a softer or mushier mix then use rolled oats. You need to start the night before you plan to eat the breakfast. This recipe is for 4-6 people.

This is what the whole oats look like after soaking overnight in milk.

Soak the ingredients together in bowl in the fridge overnight:

2 cups whole jumbo oats or rolled oats
1 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup apple juice
3 Tbsp lemon juice (lemon juice aids in the fermentation or breaking down the oats)

In a separate bowl soak a handful of almonds or walnuts overnight. Like grains, if soaked, the goodness in nuts is made more easily available for your body. The water will turn brown due to tannins in the skin. Roughly chop the drained nuts. (Discard the soaking water).

The finished Birchers Muesli creamy with a crunch of the nuts and the freshness of the apple.

The next morning mix in:
nuts drained and chop to a size you want
Grate 1-2 apples with their skins on
2-3 Tbsp runny honey
1 1/2 cups of plain Greek style yoghurt

You can eat the muesli just as it is but I like to top with cut up seasonal fruit .. and in the muesli
like to add as much apple as possible in a nod to the original recipe that contained more apple than oats

I serve this with a mix of chopped up fresh fruit and a slurp of Flax seed oil. But you can be creative as you like with the fruits you choose or added seeds and nuts.

I was surprised when my daughter Tansy said young Beau had a taste of the Birchers Muesli and really liked it. Being a 3 year old he is quite conservative with his breakfast usually preferring Weetbix or an egg. It’s worth considering offering Birchers muesli to children for breakfast.

Dr Maximilian Bircher-Benner, a physician based in Zurich in the 1900’s put Birchers muesli on the map. As is the way with many recipes he didn’t come up with the idea from scratch. While hiking in the Swiss mountains he came to rest at an alpine hut and was offered by a local woman a delicious and reviving dish of grated apple, mixed with soaked oats, lemon juice, condensed milk and almond meal. He realised this was the dish he needed to get his patients eating more fruit.

Dr Bircher-Benner eating he muesli before he evening meal.
It wasn’t originally thought of as a breakfast food but as an entree probably
because the apple aided digestion.

Dr Bircher-Benner became increasingly interested in Naturopathy. He saw that food could help cure some of the ailments his wealthy clients suffered from. He set up what became a world famous sanatorium in Zurich where patients would partake in a diet high in fruit, vegetables, nuts and grains and he encouraged regular exercise. Birchers Muesli was a tasty way of getting them to eat fruit. This regime was seen as controversial by his peers in the 1900’s so he was indeed a man ahead of his time.

No need to limit this dish to breakfast – it’s a most satisfying snack during the day. It will keep for a couple of days in the fridge so it’s worth while making the quantity I have suggested.

Oat-Banana Thickie

This is an ideal “breakfast on the run” using soaked oats. I make this recipe using whatever fruit I have but I will give you the original Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe.

Left: the Banana Oat Thickie as per Hugh’s recipe; centre the addition of
frozen mixed berries instead of ice cubes; right addition of about a Tbsp of
freeze dried blackcurrants.

Serves 2
2 Tbsp porridge oats soaked overnight
2 All Good Bananas (my choice)
300 ml Milk (or 150 yoghurt and 150 milk)
1 Tbsp runny honey
2-3 ice blocks

You can use a blender or a stick blender to mix. Males 2 large glasses.

This is the sort of recipe you can really have any combination of fruits. The banana gives body but you could reduce to one banana and add other fruit. It’s particularly tasty with a handful of frozen berries. And try to find All Good Bananas that deliver a fair deal to the growers and have less harmful chemicals than other bananas on offer.

Another addition I make is to add 2 Tbsp of whey protein powder to make this a truly power breakfast.

You can choose to replace milk for fruit juice but keep those soaked oats they make the shake thick and rich and you get all those nutrients from oats.

Frozen fruit or ice cubes make the drink lovely and cool.

One of the important benefits of soaking oats before cooking or eating raw is to ensure the gluten is partially broken down making gluten easier to digest.

And how about this for an incentive?

You could avoid your “digestive mechanism breaking down with age or overuse, resulting in allergies, mental illness… chronic indigestion and candida albicans overgrowth.”

Sally Fallon, “Nourishing Traditions”.

It’s not just oats that need soaking, all grains should be soaked before cooking including corn, quinoa, barley and wheat.

Beau loves this story often read by Poppa Pete

Just as the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears has been handed down through generations,
there is folklore about the value of oats.

It is stated that strength, endurance, energy, beauty and perceptiveness are gained by those who regularly partake of oats (soaked of course).

A Big Soak

Posted on September 7, 2013July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

How about starting your day with a breakfast that lowers your colestral, helps lose weight, makes you feel fuller for longer, keeps your heart healthy, grows healthy bones and bolsters your immune system? What is this wonder food?

It’s not new
– not expensive
– doesn’t contain additives

– it’s porridge!

There are secrets to making a truly delicious bowl of porridge… the most important is the practice of soaking the oats overnight. This not only gives a creamy textured porridge but it’s also vital for your well being.

Three types of oats can be made into porridge.
Right: after hulling the husk and resulting oat groat having time in the kiln, the next step is cutting up the oats into different sized pieces to produce steel cut or pinhead oats
Centre: jumbo or whole rolled oat groats are not cut but steamed and rolled (you can still see the whole grain form); Left: Scotch Oats are rolled oats made even finer by more steaming, flaking and rolling.

I usually make porridge from ordinary rolled oats but when I found porridge can be made from oat groats that have been cracked or cut I just had to try it.

The oat groat is the whole oat with the husk removed. The whole groat after time in the kiln is used in Pinhead or Steel cut oats. You will probably only find this product in a health food or organic supply shop. The only whole grain steel cut oats I found were Bob’s Red Mill organic oats from the US.

Steel cut, pinhead or Irish oats need a lot more cooking than rolled or whole oats but for me the result was worth the effort because the resulting porridge had a texture more like rice pudding with a real “nutty” flavour.

This is the steel cut or pinhead oats after soaking overnight.

Why we should soak or ferment oats before cooking?

I was introduced to soaking oats a couple of years ago. My friend Kate had been to a fermented food workshop and told me soaking the oats makes porridge easier to digest. I didn’t look into why at that time but took to soaking oats because Kate is usually right. I discovered the resulting porridge had a better consistency so have continued this practice just like my Scottish ancestors would have done.

I thought you would want to know why soaking is so important. I went straight to my ever handy nutrition bible “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon.

This book puts modern scientific findings together with traditional
cooking practices to enable us to better understand the
chemistry and nutrition of the food we prepare.

“All grains contain phytic acid in the outer layer or bran. Oats contain more phytates than almost any other grain. Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in unfermented whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss. Soaking allows enzymes, lactobacillli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize phytic acid. The simple practice of soaking cracked or rolled cereal grains overnight will vastly improve their nutritional benefits.“

“Soaking in warm water also neutralizes enzyme inhibitors, present in all seeds, and encourages the production of numerous beneficial enzymes. The action of these enzymes increases the amounts of vitamins, especially B vitamins.”

Sally in this book does challenge those who believe saturated fats are our ruin. For example she suggests “porridges marry very well with butter or cream, whose fat-soluble activators provide the necessary catalyst for mineral absorption”. Yum … perhaps you can use that leftover cream on your morning porridge and not feel guilty.

Whole rolled oats are steamed and rolled into flat flakes, and being less processed
has a higher nutrient and fiber value than the finer rolled oats.

Whole rolled oats make for a more chewy porridge but they soften up beautifully after a good soaking. I particularly like them soaked for a couple of days and then made into a Bircher Museli but you will need to wait for my next posting for that recipe.

Scotch Oats are steamed and then finely rolled to create even thinner
flakes of oats than normal oats.

Dunedin’s Harraway’s Oats have Scotch Oats. I thought they were just rolled oats in different packaging. So I put them to the test and compared them to standard rolled oats and I could see they are finer flakes. These oats do cook quickly and produce a smoother and creamier texture.

How to make a good porridge

I am demonstrating with the steel cut or pinhead oats, but the process is the same whatever oats you choose – just the cooking time differs.

Note how the grains have softened through the soaking process
making cooking a faster process.

I soak a handful of oats per person, but if you want a measurement, between 1/3 to 1/2 cup per serving. Next morning most of the water has been taken up by the oats – especially the rolled or Scotch oats. I then heat to boiling point another couple of cups of water in a medium sized pot. Cook the porridge in milk if you want, but I prefer water and if I want extra protein then I add a couple of tablespoons of whey powder. The whey can be added at the time of soaking and aids in the fermentation process.

I heard from an International Porridge Champion
that he stirs the oats in one direction only – you might
like to try this to see if it produces a better porridge.

Once the water is boiling gradually add the soaked oats and continue stirring so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

The porridge at the start will be watery and you may think you have porridge soup! Then it begins to bubble like a mudpool in Rotorua …suddenly it thickens. Have a boiling kettle near by and add water to make it just the right consistency for you. I prefer it to have a runnier consistency rather than a thick lump.

Take care not to get too close to the “plip plopping” pot of
porridge. Hot splatters of porridge on your skin is no joke!

Cooking steel cut oats will take 10 to 15 minutes, but soaked whole oats or rolled oats will just take a couple of minutes. Once it has thickened and is smooth, not too thick or too runny then add salt to taste 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp last thing. (Another hint from the champion porridge maker).

The creamy result – rolled oats and Scotch oats
will be a lot smoother.

Final secret is to cover the porridge in the pot, turn off the heat and let it sit and steam for a couple of minutes. It benefits from that time sitting undisturbed.

In Scotland it was the tradition that in every farmhouse there was a porridge drawer.. not to keep the oats but to hold the poured porridge for the week. They let it set and sliced it up (you could call it Scottish Polenta!) and took into the fields for lunch or to reheat for porridge all week.

So with porridge nothing goes to waste – you can reheat it with a little water the next day and its still good. Work’s a treat.

Pinhead oats take a long time to cook so I cooked extra (2 cups)
poured it into a shallow dish and when cold cut up into slices for instant
porridge on work mornings. These blocks can also be frozen. Just add extra water
and heat and mix with a whisk to break up the porridge and to mix in with the water.

I grew up eating porridge which isn’t a surprise with my Scottish lineage (Mackay, Ross, and Mowat) and we lived 20 minutes from the Flemings factory that produced porridge oats.

In the small town of Gore, Southland, you can’t help but notice the Creamoata Mills where Sgt Dan stands guard on its towering factory walls…they seemed towering to me as a child. Tom Fleming chose Gore for his oat processing mill because Southland had a perfect climate to produce the best oats.

The Creamoats Mills in Gore are a Category 1 NZ Historic Place because it’s a
“tangible example of industry design from the 19th Century through to the mid 20th Century”
It is now owned by a stockfood company who seized the opportunity of using the name Sgt Dan.

The invention of “Creamoata” was made possible in 1918 by using a new drying machine and this one product helped expand the mill operation and the fortunes of Gore and Southland. In the 1950’s and early 60’s up to 5 railway wagons filled with bags of Creamoata left Gore each week. Back then it was considered the “National Breakfast”.

Unfortunately, you can’t find Creamoata on supermarket shelves today. The appeal of Creamoata was its fine grain that produced a porridge with a semolina like quality and was very creamy, as the name suggests. I remember it’s almost jelly like quality if it was allowed to sit and steam before serving. I loved the way the brown sugar would melt, and if I was lucky I got the top milk.

There is an Auckland connection to the Creamoata story… the original Sergeant Dan artwork was created by Charlotte Lawlor for an Auckland advertising agency in the 1920’s.

Your porridge needn’t be predictable – here’s 7 ways to serve porridge

1. Seasonal Fruit with Pear Syrup – plain porridge with sliced fresh fruit (pears are cheap and available now), yoghurt, the yellow stain of flaxseed oil and this delightful find – Pear Syrup made entirely of pears (no preservatives) produced in Hastings at ENZA Foods and employs 150 seasonal workers, so a good product to support.

2. Sunrise Porridge features freeze dried Viberi Organic Blackcurrants and cranberries to create a pink porridge. You can add a little honey or brown sugar to counter the tart blackcurrants. Add the dried black currants at the start of cooking, or if soaked overnight, this dried product can remind you of summer blackcurrants in the middle of winter. I add a dollop of yoghurt sprinkled with powdered blackcurrant and a drizzle of flaxseed oil to make it look and taste exotic.

3. Ginger and Almond – this is a real family favourite. I add chopped crystallised ginger and almonds at the end of cooking. But I also usually add a couple of slices of ginger before soaking the oats to get an infusion of ginger. Ginger is a warming spice that assists in blood circulation, regulating blood sugars and aiding digestion.

4. A Warm Start – Apple and Cinnamon – while the porridge is cooking grate an apple, skin and all and add to the porridge. Just before you turn it off to sit, sprinkle about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon on top. Cinnamon is considered one of the warming spices perfect for a cold winters day and is said to be a remedy for colds and to assist circulation.
Alternatively add the cinnamon as a topping mixed with rich brown sugar.

5. Get up and Go – a topping of prunes soaked in Earl Grey Tea with honey and ginger – delicious! Soak prunes overnight just covered in hot tea, plus a couple of slices of root ginger and a quirt of liquid honey to taste. Prunes are well known as a natural laxative but are also high in antioxidants and vitamin K which is vital for strong bones. The tea thickens and sweetens to a rich syrup with the prune juices overnight. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt or cream.

6. All Good Porridge – Banana and Raisin. I add sliced All Good Bananas (see my posting “Like a proper ‘Nana?” April 2013) to the porridge at the end of cooking so they slightly melt but are not completely ‘mushy’. I also add a handful of raisins and sometimes some chopped nuts as well.

7. Decadent Porridge – curd and yoghurt
This is a porridge treat when I make a batch of lemon curd (to see how, visit my posting “Lime Curd and Daffodils” Sept 2012 )… and I can think of no nicer way of absorbing the goodness of the oats than by adding rich lemon curd made with butter and the added protein of egg. I put a spoonful of curd and a spoonful of yoghurt on each plate.

One cup of porridge gives you 70% of your daily manganese (manganese is an essential element for the body to function properly – and is important for growing bones). We are encouraging our grandson Beau to enjoy oats for breakfast.

Oats are one of the cheapest breakfasts you can have. Each serving of 50g of Harraways rolled or whole oats will cost you 20 cents, Harraways Scotch oats cost 22 cents, and Harraways organic whole oats cost 34 cents a serving. I like to support Harraway Oats because it is still owned locally, uses local grains and has been an important industry in Dunedin for 140 years.

Weetbix cost about the same and has replaced porridge as the “National Breakfast” for children, but doesn’t offer the same nutritional values of soaked oats. Weetbix are made by an extrusion process in which the shape is formed at high temperatures and pressure. Unfortunately this destroys many valuable nutrients in the grain. (read more on cereal values in “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon)

There is more to oats than porridge, and spring is here so next time I will be featuring a couple of ideas for a breakfast using oats during the summer months.

Perfect Flavours for the Quick Brown Fox

Posted on August 11, 2013July 26, 2014 by Jeannie Hayden

To step outside your comfort zone in the kitchen may mean stepping away from the recipe books and creating food using your instinct and experience. Last month at the Otago Farmers Market, Quick Brown Fox creator Arjun Haszard challenged me to come up with a recipe to complement his “organic-coffee liqueur with a clever hint of cinnamon in its tail”.

Find out more about QBF and the Lazy Dog Liqueur on www.quickbrownfox.co.nzI

If I hadn’t been reading “The Flavour Thesaurus” by Niki Segnit, I may have steered away from such a challenge.

A review from Observer Food Monthly I feel sums up Niki Segnit’s “The Flavour Thesaurus”, “Something different for your pal with a fridge-full of cookbooks. A forensic yet fund exploration of flavour combinations and why they work, from the usual (lamb and min) to the unlikely (watermelon and oyster).

Niki describes herself as a confident home cook. She discovered she would always rely on recipe books rather than cooking by instinct as her grandmother or mother could do. Today we do have a far greater variety of food ingredients to choose from than our mothers had, but has this caused us to rely on recipes rather than go by traditional knowledge and instinct?

After a massive amount of research Niki has come up with a unique guide on flavour combinations shaped into a colour wheel of flavours. She limited herself to 99 foods and the wheel is made up of 16 flavour categories: Fresh Fruity, Bramble and Hedge, Marine, Brine and Salt, Green and Grassy, Earthy, Floral Fruity, Citrussy, Creamy Fruity, Roasted, Meaty, Cheesy, Mustardy, Sulphurous,Woodland, and Spicy.

If you want to begin to experiment more in the kitchen then this is an excellent book to have at your side.

The Quick Brown Fox Blackcurrant Sorbet

Coffee and Blackcurrant: Niki Segnet writes on Coffee and Blackcurrant: “A mysteriously good pairing that often crops up in wine tasting notes”.

That gave me an idea… I would use this signature fruit of the south to create a sorbet flavoured with the QBF liqueur. Making sorbet has become a bit of a passion with me – no fruit is safe from an experimental sorbet.

Usually I have a giant bag of blackcurrants in my freezer from the summer harvest but now living in Auckland I have to buy them. I couldn’t go with 100% blackcurrants as a 350g bag cost me around $7. Step up the apple… the great flavour extender to make up the bulk I needed and the bonus of added natural sweetness.

Cinnamon Stick was called the “Pudding Stick” in England
because it was used to flavour many puddings.

I first make a sugar syrup for 1 kg of fruit – 350g of sugar to 500ml of water adding a cinnamon stick. I add the apple first as it takes longer to cook, then the blackcurrants. I peel the apples to make the sieving process easier and cook it until the fruit is soft and can be easily pureed.

As I have peeled the apples I could just put it all in the kitchen whizz to puree instead of sieving.
If I was using my home picked blackcurrants with stalks included I would sieve rather than puree.

To the resulting puree add 3 Tbsp of QBF liqueur – always add the liqueur a little at a time and taste. You want to get the flavour of the coffee but not overpower the fruit of the blackcurrant.

The liqueur ensures the sorbet will remain soft and not ice up.

Pour this puree into a plastic container and freeze. The next morning get it out and whizz it up with a food processor or a stick blender. I have found the stick you use to puree soups is the best for breaking up and creaming the sorbet. Put back in the freezer and it’s ready to eat that night or the next evening.

The speckles on the plate are freeze dried
blackcurrant crumbs.

You can serve the sorbet on it’s own as a palate refresher in between main and dessert, or add creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream with a touch of QBF liquor and a shot of the liquor as a dessert offering.

The blackcurrant crumbs I sprinkled over the top of sorbet to give extra bite. They are freeze dried blackcurrants crushed with a mortar and pestle. These amazing taste explosions are produced by an enterprising couple from Pleasant Point in South Canterbury and I used their frozen blackcurrants for the sorbet (there are no stalks in their frozen blackcurrants).

Grown by farmers Tony and Afsaneh Howey,
Viberi Organic Blackcurrants are New Zealand’s
first commercially grown organic blackcurrants.

Whole Pears Poached in QBF Liqueur

I decided to offer a recipe from fruit in season right now. I had some beautiful pears I purchased at the market and felt they would be great candidates for poaching in make something that is in season now using QBF liqueur.

I first made up a heavy sugar syrup of 3 cups of water to 1.5 cups of sugar and added a cinnamon stick. You can use less sugar but I wanted to make these pears syrupy and rich to contrast with the bite of the blackcurrant sorbet. I usually poach them in a lighter syrup of 3:1 or 4:1 depending on the natural sweetness of the fruit.

Bring to the boil and then place the whole pears peeled into the pot.

The problem with poaching whole fruit is that they tend to bob up to the top. I learnt a trick from Australian chef Stephanie Alexander.

Place a piece of baking paper over the top of the pears in the cooking pot, and put a plate on top to keep their heads under water. They don’t go brown like those that are cooked exposed to the air. Keep a watch on the fruit – it may only take about 8 minutes for the pears to cook and you want them soft but not mushy. Test with a fine scewer to see if they are cooked all the way through.

Try to keep the stalks on the pears as they add
to the presentaton.

Take out the pears carefully and reduce the cooking liquid until it thickens to give that lovely rich syrupy feel. Once reduced add the liqueur. I just put in a shot, but once again test and if you feel it needs more then add more. Pour the thickened syrup over the pears and let them sit and soak in those QBF flavours of coffee and cinnamon.

I presented the sorbet and the pears with something creamy
which could be cream or ice cream and you have a spectacular QBF dessert,

Or you can just enjoy the coffee liqueur with a selection of flavours from the kitchen pantry.

I also matched QBF liqueur with Ginger, sneeking one of Beau’s gingerbread men along with crystallised
ginger. Dark chocolate is the perfect match for coffee and for freshness a touch of citrus…a perfect ad lib dessert.

To create something without a recipe book is a little like driving around Auckland without GPS. It can mean some errors in the beginning, but the end result will be increased confidence based on decisions you have made by observation, rather than just being told what to do.

This confidence will allow you to open your fridge and make a meal with what is available.
You do have to have a basic knowledge of cooking and I started experimenting by simply replacing ingredients in recipes with a vegetable or fruit that I had a plentiful supply of.

Niki Segnit’s book has given me further understanding of food flavours and the confidence to take on the challenge that Arjun gave me that morning at the Otago Farmers Market.

Number 9 Fruit Loaf

Share this:

Nana’s Bran Muffins

Share this:

Share this:

Pizza de la endibia

Perfect Pizza Dough

Postscript:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Kefir, Yoghurt and Mustard Dressing

Share this:

Festive Fruit Cake (with additions)

Preparing the tin…

Share this:

Broad Bean Couscous

Share this:

Delicious Lemon Pudding

Share this:

A frittata is an easy one pan comfort meal where the ingredients can usually be found in your fridge, your garden, and if you are lucky, from your henhouse.

Share this:

No self respecting Afghan biscuit would be seen without its walnut hat secured into buttery chocolate icing. I just couldn’t leave the topic of walnuts topic without mentioning one of my favourite biscuits the Afghan.

Afghan Biscuits

Share this:

Pear and Walnut Salad

Share this:

Granny Browne’s Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

Spiced Pumpkin Pinwheel Scones

Share this:

Bechamel Sauce

Nigels Marrow Gratin

Share this:

Share this:

French Tarragon

A salsa scramble

“Making yourself and others something good to eat can be so little trouble and so much pleasure. And much more satisfying than coming home to a meal in a box”.

Share this:

Gooseberry Fool

Eton Mess

Share this:

Share this:

Rustic Semolina Lemon and Rosemary Cake

Share this:

Beans and bacon on toast

Squished broad beans with preserved lemon and flatbreads

Share this:

Baba Ghanoush

Share this:

Beetroot and Walnut Hummus

Share this:

Risoni Asparagus Salad with Onion Weed and Nasturium Flowers

Ingredients:

Share this:

Oat Pancakes (serves 4)

Share this:

Bircher Muesli

Oat-Banana Thickie

Share this:

It’s not new – not expensive – doesn’t contain additives

– it’s porridge!

Why we should soak or ferment oats before cooking?

How to make a good porridge

Your porridge needn’t be predictable – here’s 7 ways to serve porridge

Share this:

The Quick Brown Fox Blackcurrant Sorbet

Whole Pears Poached in QBF Liqueur

Share this:

It’s not new
– not expensive
– doesn’t contain additives