Hot Cross Buns - in pictures

find the recipe (or look it up on the family blog)

proving the yeast (with measured water and brown sugar)

rub butter into sifted dry ingredients, measure out the fruit, add remaining sugar to remaining water with the salt


add the liquid and kneed (till outer surface shiny, not sticky), kneed in fruit and leave to double in size in a warm place (covering with a teatowel or napkin keeps it cosy)

cut into 16-18 pieces, form into buns, leave to rise and double in size

dribble or pipe the crosses with the paste

when cooked, brush with the glaze and eat warm with butter

an Orange Jelly Surprise

Ok, I admit STOLE this idea off someone, but wanted somewhere to write this down so I remember it next time I go to a kids party... Perhaps my first neice will like this when she gets a bit older...

• scoop the orange out (orange was cut in half I presume?)
• make up the jelly & when it has cooled down pour it into the orange skin.
• Put in fridge, when set cut into segments

Lemon Ripple Cheesecake Bars

Candy kindly sent me this stupendous cheesecake recipe which has become an instant family favourite. (And no crumbly biscuit base - yay!) I will try to get a photo next time.

CRUST

• 1 Cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ CUP sugar
• 1 t finely grated lemon zest
• pinch salt
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed & chilled

FILLING

• 2 T cornstarch
• ½ cup cold water
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 t finely grated lemon zest
• 1¼ pounds cream cheese, softened [I only used 500gm - ie two packs)
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

MAKE THE CRUST:
Preheat the oven to 325 F and position a rack in the center. Butter a 9-inch-square baking pan. In a food processor, pulse the flour with the sugar, lemon zest and salt. Add the butter and pulse until a soft, crumbly dough forms. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and a scant ½ inch up the side of the pan. Bake the crust for 20 minutes, or until golden and firm.

MEANWHILE, MAKE THE FILLING:
In a small bowl, dissolve the corn starch in the water. In a medium sauce pan, whisk the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of the sugar and the lemon juice. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and cook over moderate heat, whisking gently, until the sugar is dissolved and the lemon mixture is hot, about 4 minutes. Boil over moderately high heat for 1 minute, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick and glossy. Strain the lemon mixture into a heatproof bowl. Stir in the
lemon zest and let cool.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup of sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour until blended. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well between additions. Add the sour cream and the vanilla and beat until the batter is smooth. Pour the cream cheese batter over the crust and smooth the surface with a spatula. Dollop the lemon mixture on the cheesecake batter and care fully swirl it into the batter; take care not to cut into the crust.

Bake the cheesecake for about 40 minutes, or until golden around the edge and just set. Run the tip of a knife around the edge to loosen the cheese cake from the side of the pan. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour, then refrigerate the cheesecake until thoroughly chilled. Cut into 16 bars and serve.

The cheesecake bars can be refrigerated in the pan for up to 3 days. For the best results, slice the cheese cake bars with a warm knife, wiping off the blade between cuts.

Holiday Ambrosia

When I was an exchange student in America, every potluck function I went to served "ambrosia". It's a little sweet but here's my holiday version that goes well with turkey.

1 packet Port or Blackberry jelly[jello]
1 C boiling water

250gm cream cheese
2 T mayonnaise
3/4 C whole cranberry sauce
1 can crushed pineapple (drained)
1/2C chopped pecans
1 C tiny marshmallows
300 ml cream (whipped)

Pour boiling water over jelly crystals. Whisk to dissolve. Put in fridge to cool but NOT set.

Cream the mayonnaise and cream cheese. Add cranberries, pineapple, pecans and marshmallows and gently mix in cooled jelly mix. Fold in whipped cream and pour into serving dish. Decorate top with marshmallow and pecans. Chill.

Pissaladiere

Apparently this is a Nicoise classic. I'll let you know after we visit the south of France in September. In any event, it's rather tasty (provided you like anchovies).

• 3-4 onions thickly sliced
• 1 sheet puff pastry or David's pizza dough
• 16 anchovies halved lengthwise
• 12 black olives, stoned
  

1. Slowly cook ontion in 2 tablespoons olive oil until very soft.
2. Preheat oven to 220 C,
3. Roll pastry (or pizza dough) out to make a 30cm x 20cm rectangle and transfer to baking tray.
4. Leaving a 1 cm rim, pricky pastry all over with a fork and add a thick layer of onion.
5. Arrange anchovy strips in rows toform large diamonds. Put an olive in the centre of each diamond and drizzle over a little oil. Bake for 20 minutes until pastry/pizza crust is brown and crisp.
6. Serve warm
   

David's Pizza Dough

Here is the basic recipe for David's special Friday night pizza dough:

• 300g bakers flour
• 100g fine semolina
• 1 packet rapid rise dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup warm water
  

1. Measure out flour and semolina in mixing bowl atop scale.
2. Remove bowl from scale and add yeast and salt; mix well.
3. Pour olive oil in measuring cup and fill with warm water. Add to dry ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon.
4. Once roughly combined empty dough onto bench and kneed for about 5 minutes or until surface is smooth and not sticky. Form into ball.
5. Coat large bowl with olive oil, add dough, cover with Glad wrap and place bowl on top of water heater to rise.
6. About 2 hours from when the pizza is to go into the oven remove dough from bowl, spread out over pizza tin, cover with tea towel and return to water heater for 2nd rise.

Quince Paste

Autumn/Easter means quince are around. This recipe is a bit of a chore but it's worth it. Quince paste is great for a cheese platter or an accompaniment for lamb.

8 quinces washed
1 cup water
juice of one lemon
sugar

Cut quinces into chunks and place into a large saucepan with a tight fitting id with water and lemon juice. Cook over a moderate heat for approximate half an hour or until quite tender.

Puree the pulp (I use my hand sieve but you could use a food processor) and weigh puree. Mix puree with three-quarters of its weight of sugar.

Return to wide-based, heavy saucepan and cook over a moderate heat, STIRRING PRETTY MUCH CONSTANTLY!, until the paste leaves the sides of the pan and the colour is a deep red. This takes two hours or more. The mixture gets really thick and becomes hard to push the spoon through.

Cool mixture slightly and pour into and oiled tray lined with greaseproof paper or plastic containers. Dry mixture in a warm place for several days (not that I notice much of a difference). When dry, wrap paste well in greaseproof paper and then in foil. It stores indefinitely in an airtight container.

Cut into slices (or use a biscuit cutter to make a shape) for serving.

Christmas Food....

I haven't had any Christmas cake yet this year and haven't sampled Stollen or any other Christmas food... We don't have a pine tree in our house (cos my flatmate is allergic to the pollen)... really the only thing the FEELS like Christmas is the muggy weather and the pohutukawa in bloom.

So - I felt like Mum last night, up till after midnight baking Christmas treats for a dinner tonight. Thanks to the nifty labelling option on this blog, I was able to go straight to the Christmassy food we posted this time last year, and I made the panforte from the "food with attitude" book.

The panforte tastes really good raw and even better sampled for breakfast!

Merry Christmas to my family travelling and living around the world at this time.

Red Cabbage

This goes really well with the Slow Roasted Pork.

1 red cabbage - sliced, washed and drained
3 T water
2 T brown sugar
pinch of salt
2 granny smith apples - peeled and sliced
1/4 C cider vinegar
60g butter

Place water, cabbage, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Cover tightly and cook very gently. Lift lid and stir apple into softened cabbage. Tip in vinegar and butter. Cook, covered, for a further 15 minutes. Stir once more.

Double Baked Gruyere Souffle: Not such a flop

The advantage of a double baked souffle is that you can make the first stage in advance and just finish them off when required. David and I ended up eating souffles four nights in a row. Very yummy!

• 70g butter
• 65g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (not not if you're cooking for David)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 380ml milk
• 160g grated gruyere cheese
• 3 egg yolks
• 4 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cup thickened cream

Stage 1:
Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Grease 6 x 200 ml metal dariole moulds or ramekins [I used 8 smaller ones].

Melt butter over low heat. Add flour, nutmeg, cayenne and salt. Cook for eight minutes, stirring regularly, until mixture starts to foam and flour is cooked. Add milk gradually, stirring to prevent lumps forming. Cook further 10 minutes stirring. [I slightly reduced these cooking times.]

Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a bowl then add egg yolks. Combine. Whisk whites to medium peaks and fold through in three batches. Pour evenly into moulds.

Fill roasting pan with hot water, one third the height of the ramekins. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Souffles WILL shrink (see photo 2). The souffles can be put to one side at this stage.

Stage 2:
Remove from moulds and place upside down in individual ovenproof serving dishes with sides. Pour cream evenly between the souffles. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Here is the end result - not such a flop!

Cabbage coconut curry

Cabbage coconut curry recipe

High in the hills in India on our tiger trek we had all manner of yummy food - including a cabbage / coconut side. This tastes pretty close and makes a good change from steamed cabbage in the winter.

Recipe ingredients:

• 1 cabbage, chopped
• 100 g. coconut, grated
• 1 green chili, chopped
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• Red chilies
• 1-2 sprigs of curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon oil

Recipe method:

• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, red chili, curry leaves and fry for 2 minutes.
• Grind the coconut, green chili and spring onions to a paste and add to the above. Fry for 2 more minutes.
• Add the cabbage and cook for 10 minutes or until the cabbage is cooked.
• Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with plain rice or chapathi.

warm potato salad with creamy mustard dressing

...not a hug fan of red onion, so I left these out. It's also possible to leave out the asparagus and simply stir the potatoes thru the dressing.


3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1kg small Jersey Bennes or 30 medium waxy salad potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons creamy Dijon mustard (I used Maille Dijonnaise mustard, available in most supermarkets)
zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 large red onions, peeled and cut into thick chunks through the root
750g plump asparagus


Cook the potatoes in gently boiling, salted water until just tender. Drain. Combine the mustard, lemon zest and juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper. Toss the potatoes in the dressing while they are still warm.Place the onions in a frying pan with the remaining tablespoon of oil and cook very gently for about 15 minutes, until they just start to wilt. Cook the asparagus in plenty of gently boiling, salted water for several minutes, ensuring the spears retain their crunch. Drain and refresh with plenty of cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Cut asparagus into chunks and mix gently with the potatoes.To serve (best done while everything is warm, but not necessarily hot), place potatoes and asparagus in a large serving bowl and the red onions on top.

Happy Birthday Julian

Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

This is a classic recipe and these proportions work really well.

125g (1 cup) plain, all purpose flour
a pinch of salt
120g (1/2 cup) castor sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
250ml (1 cup) milk
85g (3oz) unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
185g (1 cup) soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
250 ml (1 cup) boiling water

Sift the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and cocoa powder into a bowl.

Add the milk, butter, egg and vanilla extract and mix with beaters until combined. Pour into 4-6 greased rammekins (do NOT overfill).

To make the topping, stir the brown sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl to combine, then sprinkle it over the pudding batter. Pour boiling water carefully over the puddings.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 180 C (350 F).

Pumpkin Lasagne

1.25 kg peeled pumpkin, cut into 3 cm cubes
1 large spanish onion, cut in half and then into thin wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
40g butter
3 tablespoons plain flour
3 cups milk
1 bay leaf
1 cup ricotta cheese
oven ready (dry) or fresh lasagne sheets

Pumpkin filling: preheat oven to 200C. Place the pumpkin and onion in a large baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with thyme leaves and chilli. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place in over and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown, turning occasionally. Remove tray from oven and set aside to cool slightly. Then place pumpkin and onion in a bowl and mash with a fork, retaining some texture.

Cheese sauce: Heat the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until bubbling. gradually start whisking in the milk until smooth. Add the bay leaf and cook, stirring, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat, take out the bay leaf and then add the ricotta. Whisk until combined. Season to taste.

Layer up lasagne: Preheat oven to 180 C. Lightly butter and ovenproof baking dish. Layer up lasagne starting with:

• 1/2- 1 cup cheese sauce
• half pumpkin/onion mash
• lasagne sheet
  
• 1/2- 1 cup cheese sauce
• half pumpkin/onion mash
• lasagne sheet
• finish with remaining cheese sauce and sprinkly with grated parmesan

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Serves 4-6 for lunch.

What to do with courgettes.

Our friends Neil, Ange & Emma, and Jess & Andrew have an allotment and are presently enjoying an over-suppy of courgettes. I was there for diner last night and we had this yummy courgette soup.

Ingredients Serves 4 1 kg courgettes - any size and colour 250g potatoes (suitable for mashing), peeled or scrubbed 2 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed 1 medium onion, peeled & chopped 30ml olive oil 150g soft cheese (see note below for alternatives) Handful fresh chives, chopped Handful fresh summer herbs of your choice, chopped 1 1/2 pints water (or mild-flavoured stock)

Method

Wash the courgettes and chop them into chunks. Heat the oil gently in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic. Gently cook for about 5 minutes, to soften. Add the potatoes. Stirr. Cook gently, covered, for about 15 minutes, until about half-cooked. Add the courgettes and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add 1 1/2 pints of water - just enough to cover the contents of the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Remove from the heat and liquidise the soup. Add the Cheese & herbs. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Allotment Photos:

Slow-Roasted Pork

This recipe from David Herbert in the Weekend Australian Magazine [March 10-11 2007] results in a wonderfully caramelised, melt-in-your-mouth pork roast. I can't wait for Dad to try it out on some of his wild pork from Tongaporutu.

2 tsp Maldon sea salt
6 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
2.5cm pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2-3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 large rolled shoulder of pork [the recipe says 4-6kg but we can't fit anything smaller than about 2kg in our ovenware] with skin scored
2 granny smith applies, peeled and cut into 2 cm chunks
2 leeks, cut into 1 cm rounds
375ml (1 1/2 cups) apple cider or dry apple juice (David uses more)
2 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 220 C.

Pound salt, garlic, ginger, chillies, sugar, oil and enough vinegar in a mortar and pestle (or process in a small food processor) until mixture forms a thick paste.Rub paste over top of pork, pushing it between the scored fat. Place pork skin side up in a large lidded casserole dish. Place in over and roast on high tempreature (uncovered) for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 120C. Spoon off any fat from bottom of dish. Add apples, leeks, cider and bay leaves. Replace lid and return to oven for at least 15 hours and up to 24 hours, if you have time. Check occasionally to make sure apples and liquid don't dry out - add a little water or cider if needed.

To serve, increase heat to 220C, remove lid and cook for 30 minutes or until nicely coloured. Transfer pork to a warm dish. Remove any fat from the liquid, ten spoon sauce and apples around the pork, Serve in thick slices accompanied with juices.

[Recipe says serves 8-10 but this is with larger pork shoulder.]

Winter Carrot Soup (reposted on behalf of Chantel)

Now that my winter weekends are spent in Ohakune, so I can go snowboarding nearby at Mt Ruapheu, I can't go past the $10 bag of local winter veges at the store. Now what to do with all those carrots?! I have searched Google for recipes and ideas and tweaked a test run tonight...


1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
4 large carrots grated
1 medium onion chopped
4 cups of vegetable stock
1 100g can of plain tomato paste
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tsp of dried thyme, or some sprigs of fresh thyme
1 - 2 tsp of dried cumin
1/4 tsp ground black pepper


In a medium stockpot heatoil and sir in carrot and onion. Saute until tender, about 5mins.


Add stock, tomato paste, soy sauce, thyme, cumin, and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for about 5 mins.


Bright orange and full of flavour, serve it with a dollop of sour cream and/or sprig of fresh thyme. (may also be served chilled)

Lemon & Basil Risotto

On the same rainy day I made bread, we also had friends over for dinner. I remembered once eating at Paul's aunt and uncle's place (Andrew being an exceptional cook), and having a great Lemon Risotto. Now I'm sure he said it was from Cuisine, so I had a bit of a hunt and found this recipe. Now if it's not the same one, I really don't mind as this was really amazing. Not to mention super easy!

Ingredients

1 cup basil leaves

pinch of sea salt

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 onion, sliced

black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

300 g arborio rice

250 ml white wine

750 ml chicken or vegetable stock, heated

zest and juice of 2 lemons

sea salt

extra basil leaves

parmesan

Method
Pound the basil in a mortar with the sea salt and extra virgin olive oil until you get a fairly fine emerald green mixture. Set it aside.

Gently cook the garlic and onion with some black pepper in the olive oil until the onion is soft. Add the rice and saute a couple of minutes over a medium heat until the rice �sings� (that is, makes a faint, high-pitched cooking noise). Add 1/3 of the wine and stir until it is absorbed into the rice. Repeat this until the wine is all absorbed, then start adding the hot stock a ladleful at a time, stirring all the while. When the last of the stock is absorbed by the rice add the lemon juice and zest. If the rice is still at all chalky stir in some hot water until it is tender. Stir in half of the basil oil, and season the risotto well with sea salt. Serve immediately on hot plates, drizzling over the remaining basil oil and adding more basil leaves and plenty of grated parmesan.

Serves 2 - 3.

If you have any risotto left over, fry little patties of it to have with drinks tomorrow night. (Leftovers - yeah right)

To Serve
Wine suggestion: riesling

http://www.cuisine.co.nz/contentImages/food/Lemon_risotto.jpg

Food miles

On a recent Girls' Weekend to Stratford-upon-Avon we had a bike ride in the country, and passed Charlecote Flour Mill.
I found this visit interesting for two reasons. The foodie one is obvious. The less obvious one is the geek-property-lawyer. I find the historic quirks of land ownership here fascinating, and when I found out the mill was still owned by the people who owned the "big house" over the road I really saw that the old traditions and systems really weren't too old after all.


Amber & Leona at the mill with their bikes - water wheel behind

Back to the foodie...

It took no time at all for me to decide to buy a small bag of flour to take home. And when we had a grim weekend, staying in and making bread seemed like a good idea.

Of course I didn't have a brown bread recipe, so I looked at the Hot Cross Buns one, and started playing.



I ended up with a good batch of dough based on...

300ml warm water, 500g of wholemeal flour, 2T yeast, 2T golden syrup and a dash of olive oil.

The water, yeast and golden syrup were mixed together and left for about 20 mins to get all bubbly.

Then I played with the flour, oil and water mix, kneading until shiny. Leaving to double in size. Making two loaves and then leaving to double in size again.



Bake for 15-20 mins until it sounds hollow... and serve with NZ honey. Yum.