Zany Zeus have asked for favourite recipes using their delicious products. This is not hard in the sense that all of Zany Zeus is magnificent, but given that I love everything cheese-forward, nominating a favourite is a challenge. But, one must do hard things to build …
Ingredients Method About this recipe We are at the time of the year known fondy in Wellington as ‘Sh*tsville,’ subject of much discussion and inquiry. Otherwise known as Spring, it is the time of year when although you might expect calm, brightening days and a …
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About this recipe
This cake is a riff from a delicious Annabel Langbein number…it’s a hard one to track down, but it is this Coconut and Lemon cake. I’ve changed it up in this recipe to switch the lemon to lime and to make it a sheet pan version (easier for cutting up chunks for a crowd!). I’m particularly pleased to report the limes in the recipe and photos are some I grew myself. My long-suffering lime tree is generally unresponsive to my attenpts to coax it to grow anything, periodically shedding all of its leaves and looking like a sad and lonely stick in pot, to all the world giving a good impression of being dead. This year I have ignored it completely and it is now sporting not only glossy happy leaves but also a number of fruit. You don’t have to use all fresh limes to get the juice in this recipe given the eye-watering price of limes at time. I normally don’t although obviously I’ve no excuses this time, given my small crop at home. We had this cake for a family birthday and it fed all 14 people there, plus plenty of leftovers. The coconut in this cake means it keeps well, although with the cream cheese in the icing, you don’t want to keep it past 3 days.
Ingredients: 1 cup brown sugar 200 grams butter, cubed 4 eggs, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or extract 200 grams chopped dark chocolate 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup cocoa 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 salt 300 grams caramel condensed milk 1 tablespoon hot water …
The last time I wrote, I happened to mention a roast chicken was potentially in my future. That came true, which makes me happy because there are few things less satisfying than putting a nice roast in the oven and pottering about your Sunday while …
WOAH! Well I have not written for quite some time….the rest of last year and the start of this one have been dominated by work-related matters, namely, restructuring and a new job. This sucked out a lot of my brain energy for some time – but I think that a good way to get back into my cooking and writing saddle, as it were, would be an item all about what I have been cooking and eating this week past.
Much of my eating lately has been adorned with home grown tomatoes, which feels nothing short of miraculous seeing as my tomato plants looked like they weren’t inclined to produce anything for most of summer. No complaints from me though, harvesting my own tomatoes right now feels very autumnal and quite delicious.
I love a good cheese toastie and this is a respectable vehicle for excess tomatoes. My new office has a strict no-toasters policy as apparently toasters are major culprits of expensive fire brigade call-outs? This does mean we have a generous selection of toasted sandwich presses to hand, so I am enjoying cheese toasties with homegrown tomatoes and sliced gherkin.
Mid week dinners have been a feta-stuffed chicken breast recipe, which is winner in my humble opinion. I’ve adapted it over the years from a print copy of the Healthy Food Guide from more than a decade ago, building on a simple concept – chicken breasts stuffed with something yummy and baked (kind of poached) in bubbling tomato sauce. I really do recommend it because although stuffed chicken breasts sound high maintenance, they are really pretty easy, and most of the cooking work is done by the bubbling tomato sauce and a hot oven. Stock and a little balsamic vinegar produce a savoury sauce, aided by escaped pieces of feta that blend in.
To make it – preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade and heat some olive oil in an oven- and stovetop- proof pot or dish. Add 1-2 cloves of sliced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add 2 cups of spinach and cook it down. Tip in 600mls passata, 150 mls stock or wine, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon oregano and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, cut through the middle of four whole chicken breasts lengthways, nearly in half lengthways, but not quite. Stuff the gap with feta and cracked pepper. Once the passata mix is bubbling away, nestle the chicken breasts in the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is done. Top it with Parmesan and a little drizzled balsamic vinegar if you like a slightly sour hit. I find this really filling and don’t tend to need much else with it except some salad, but I reckon some crusty bread would be go well dipped in the sauce to scoop up any escaped feta.
On Thursday after work I was dining alone, so it was home to something I had in the freezer – this tomato baked rice (yes, my own tomatoes again!). The cinnamon stick may seem a weird addition but it adds a nice spicy depth to the dish. I haven’t toyed around with this one yet, but it seems ripe for the fiddling so watch this space.
Saturday was a delight – a beautiful, mellow, golden light-filled kind of Autumnal day, and a great time of year if you happen to fancy fresh hopped beer. Although not a massive beer-drinker, I don’t mind the odd beer-y tipple and Mean Doses’ Kolsch and currywurst event was just the ticket.
A cold rainy Sunday yesterday called for a roast dinner, the first of this year. I’ve missed my little spot to cook and write so if you’ve read this far, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading of my culinary activities for the week – I’ll be in touch again soon x
Ingredients (for one small tart to feed 3-4 people) Method: At this cold and dark time of year, I like to keep my fruit and vitamin consumption up, including through warming, spiced apple tart like this one. A request to bring pudding to a shared …
It’s the time of year where you may well find yourself in possession of the last, sad dregs of the tomato season. And I say ‘sad’ because in my experience, the crop that lingers on into Autumn is usually past its best. It is of …
Don’t mistake this for me purporting to be any kind of expert on masala chai. I’m not – my making of masala chai is purely a result of my greediness and nosiness about all things food. A work colleague and I are often in the office kitchen together at the same time in the morning and I noticed that she always has a reusable coffee cup with her that smells sweet, spicy and divine. Because of the aforementioned greedy and nosey tendencies I had to ask her about it. She not only gave a very helpful run-down of the masala chai in her cup and how she makes it, she also brought in a little package of the tea leaves for me from home and another little package of cardamom. I was tickled pink and very touched! Whoever said greed and noseyness doesn’t pay?
Madhur Jaffrey is a complete goddess and the oracle on Indian cuisine, so of course I turned to her for help when attempting my own masala chai to supplement my recall of verbal instructions from my workmate. Believe me, I am not even pretending that this is my method or that I am some kind of authority! But, if you are interested, this is how I made my chai…
Heat 2 cups of water in a medium sized pot. Add 2 tablespoons of black tea leaves, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2cm of fresh peeled and grated ginger, 5 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick and 10 grinds of black pepper to the pot. Bring this to a roiling boil and then add the milk – watch it until it foams and rises up in the pot (this is a direct instruction from my workmate and made me nervous – but I watched the pot like a hawk and it turned out better than fine, resulting in a caramel-type colour and flavour).
Turn the heat down and simmer for a further 1-2 minutes. Add a pinch of ground cardamom and stir in. Pour through a strainer into cups and serve.
I am really pleased I gave this a try, it is warming and spicy and delicious, and makes the kitchen smell divine. Special shout out to the generosity of my workmate for her tea, cardamom and knowledge. I’ll be making this again.
Ingredients Method When is a mouldering banana a welcome sight? When you need to bake something, that’s when. Banana-based baking is the ultimate transformation from yuck to yum. Very ripe, very brown bananas might be a bit nasty to look at but think of the …