Author: Allie Jarratt

Plum and apple crumble

Plum and apple crumble

Ingredients: Plum and apple mixture: Crumble topping: Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Place the apples, plums, cinnamon vanilla and 2 tablespoons of water into a pot – the water should be covering the base of the pan. Depending on how juicy the 

Home made crackers

Home made crackers

Ingredients Method Heat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line two 20 x 30cm baking trays with baking paper In a medium bowl, mix together masa flour, seeds and the teaspoon of sea salt. Add the olive oil and boiling water. Mix together until all 

Rocket and basil pesto

Rocket and basil pesto

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rocket, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup basil leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves, squashed and chopped up
  • 1 tablespoon pine nuts
  • 3 tablespoons almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method

Place all ingredients into a food processor or a blender. Process on high speed until it forms a wet, loose texture. If it is dry and clumpy, add a little more olive oil and process again. Taste and add a little more salt if needed.

About this recipe

This punchy pesto is a great alternative to salad if you find yourself with some rocket in need of eating. Even if you don’t have rocket to hand, I reckon it’s worth getting some if you fancy making pesto. This is not a strictly authentic pesto recipe given the rocket and almonds, but I promise it’s worth a shot anyway. Pairing rocket with the basil gives it a satisfying peppery kick, and the toasted, chopped almonds give enjoyable hits of nuttiness in between unctuous herby mouthfuls.

Pesto enjoyed a significant surge in popularity in American and British diets in the 1980s and 90s, and rightly so, because it is delicious. It dates back to at least the Middle Ages, and potentially has an earlier relative ‘moretum’ from ancient Roman times. The original basil pesto hails from Genoa and its story is in fact a truly international one. Basil found its way to Italy from Asia through ancient spice routes. Sailors leaving from the port of Genoa took pesto with them on their journeys to promote good health, and I like to think it found favour in many foreign ports.

This pesto is good for the traditional slathering-on-pasta as a sauce and for pepping up a sandwich, but I think it’s particularly good as a dip, scooped up with crackers and crudités. I hope you like it x

Orange and apple muffins

Orange and apple muffins

Ingredients Method About this recipe Comparing apples with oranges was the name of the game for my fruit bowl for a while there, thanks to Wonky Box. It got me thinking – oranges are lovely in baking, but I haven’t come across many recipes where 

Mandarin cake

Mandarin cake

Ingredients: Method: I’ve recently subscribed to Wonky Box – what a delight! It gives me a nice little pick-me-up throughout my week – make no mistake, I am exactly the kind of geek who finds vegetable-related updates exciting. Tuesday’s announcement of which goodies to expect 

Tummy travels

Tummy travels

I am just back from a  truly fabulous trip away overseas, so please do forgive my gap in posting.  While I recover from jet lag and make my way through a substantial stack of dirty socks and other clothing (why does one half of a pair of socks go missing SO OFTEN?!) I’m sharing some happy tummy highlights.

We carved out a decent chunk of Ireland on a map, hired a car and set to it. What a delight. Warm people, stunning scenery and delicious eating. I could not get enough of the Irish brown bread – every place has its own home-made version. Always hearty with a substantial chew and generous side of butter. Dela in Galway was a particular meal highlight with a plate-heaving vege breakfast and mimosa – their home grown tomatoes starred in the relish and my mouth still waters at the memory. Dublin’s 3fe provided very welcome relief for jet lag with excellent coffee and even better food; there were return visits.

A pit stop in Birmingham introduced me to Saint Kitchen…if you’re in Birmingham, go there! I can still taste the delicious avocado smash; I don’t know what they put in it but rest assured I will be trying to recreate it this summer.

A week in Berlin and I feel we barely touched the surface of this extraordinary city…we did give our best shot at eating as much of the excellent food as possible though. Cheap, varied and dependably great are the words that spring to mind and I have too many photos of all of it to bore you with, but please tolerate some snaps of Wen Cheng’s biang biang noodles, coffee and pastry at Godshot and of course excellent beer at Braugier and Prater beer garden.

I missed cooking and have been back in my beloved kitchen so some more of my own food and recipes will be with you soon.

Peach and almond upside down cake

Peach and almond upside down cake

Ingredients: Method: About this recipe My peach and almond upside down cake is dense and hearty with a buttery topping of sweet sliced fruit. Inspired by the retro delight of a pineapple upside down cake, this version is comforting and appropriate for winter, with a 

Pretty red pears

Pretty red pears

Oh my, when I spotted this beautiful red fruit at the shops I simply could not leave it there – such a gorgeous colour, and somehow I have never sampled one before. This little beauty is a Piqa Boo pear – yes, I agree, what 

Feijoa kasundi (from Feijoabulous)

Feijoa kasundi (from Feijoabulous)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup canola or other neutral oil
  • 1 T tumeric
  • 2 T each of ground cumin and chilli powder
  • 125g root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 12 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 & 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 1 kg feijoas, topped and tailed and chopped, but skin on
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 T mustard seeds
  • 1 T salt

Method

  • Place ginger, garlic, feijoas and vinegar into a food processor and blend until smooth.*
  • In a large pot, heat the oil, add the spices and cook until fragrant.
  • Add the feijoa mixture to the pot, along with the sugar, mustard seeds and salt, and cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the oil floats on the top (about 30 minutes).
  • Ladle into warm sterilised jars. Add a layer of oil to the top of each jar before sealing.

About

I had such a great weekend visiting Whanganui a couple of weeks ago. The highlight was of course seeing our dear friends who have made their home there. One of the many bonuses of staying with them was discovering the Feijoabulous recipe book. Did you know Whanganui has an annual ‘Feijoabluous’ feijoa festival? Well, I do now, and frankly, what a great idea. Sustainable Whanganui not only hosts the festival but also produces a recipe book with plenty of ideas for the glut many lucky feijoa growers experience in a season.

I’m going to have to try a number of these, especially the feijoa vodka. With some leftover, empty jars just hanging around after my recent apple jelly-making, however, the kasundi was a natural first choice. Kasundi is a mustard-rich condiment originally from Bengal. Fragrant, sweet feijoas are a delightful base for the pungent mustard and vinegar in this adaptation. I have found it is particularly delicious eaten rather non-traditionally with some sharp cheddar on crackers; give this a try for a new twist on your platter!

*if you don’t have a food processor, I think you could dice the feijoas into quite small pieces and let sit with the vinegar, garlic and ginger – it would make a slightly chunkier kasundi, but this is not a bad thing!

Cashew butter cookies – vegan + gluten free

Cashew butter cookies – vegan + gluten free

Ingredients Method About this recipe Struggling to come up with vegan and gluten free baking ideas? Then let cashew butter be your friend. My lovely Fix and Fogg jar of cashew butter was a gift and gosh I love it. It’s creamy and rich and