Pork and porridge. Â It’s not too often you get these two together, but they are both delicious with a little applesauce, no? Admittedly, my first thought on arriving at Apple Sauce in the Edmonds Cookbook (apart from no, not more apples) was ho-hum. Â Apple sauce …
If you fancy a sugar hangover, look no further. Â This fudge is mouth-suckingly sweet and all the better for it. Â A firm Kiwi favourite, it is dense and rich, comprised largely of sugar, sweetened condensed milk and golden syrup. I can’t get to the bottom …
I’m finding myself with a lot of tinned goods recently, not unlike many people in our little shaky isles in the wake of our 7.8 earthquake. Â It pays to be prepared.
I’ve heard the comment more than once that tinned pears are the least exciting of the tinned fruits….pale, bland, only good when topped with ice cream. Â I had a hunch that this was wrong, but how to prove it? Â By coupling tinned pears with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon, that’s how.
I’ve taken my inspiration for the muffin base from Donna Hay’s basic muffin batter.  Which is delicious if you’re on the hunt for a reliable basic muffin, by the way.  I will of course buy a replacement tin of pears for our emergency food stash, but this idea for pear-topped muffins could not wait any longer.  Sunday night requires a sweet little pick-me-up, amiright?
For these you will need (makes 12):
For the topping:
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade and grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
Place the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine.
In a smaller bowl, mix the egg, milk, oil and vanilla essence. Â Add this to the dry ingredients and mix only until just combined.
Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin tray cups. Â Arrange the sliced pears on the top of the batter.
Combine the topping ingredients and distribute over the top of the pears.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
Toddlers and sugar, a match made in heaven? Â Probably not for their parents, but when it’s your niece’s third birthday party and you said you’d make biscuits, it’s hardly time to skimp on the sugar. I was inspired to make these little numbers by one …
Catching up is an excellent excuse for eating. I’ve been away having numerous catch-ups and visiting some favourite old haunts. London is a favourite old haunt and feels a little like a second home, in no small part because of the many fabulous people living …
Steamed pudding is like a sweet, jammy hug in a bowl.  I love it.  It’s a special favourite in our little country.  I was recently introduced to a New Zealand specialty steamed pudding which is the queen of both steamed puddings and now of my heart…burnt sugar steamed pudding.  Oh wow.  Like hot, soft caramel made into a cake and served with lashings of runny cream.  My mouth waters at the mere memory.
So, it’s not a surprise that steamed pudding features in that bastion of all that is cooking and kiwi, the Edmonds cook book. This particular version is jazzed up with a little apple, and all the better for it, as the tart apple partners nicely with the sweet apricot jam and the fluffy sponge.
To make this you will need:
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Â Add the egg and beat well. Â Stir in the jam.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the butter mixture and fold in.
Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and add to the mixture, along with the apple.
Grease a 2-cup pudding basin. Â Spoon in the sponge mixture and cover the bowl with some greased baking paper. Â Secure with string.
Steam the pudding for half an hour, or until it is springy to the touch. Â This took about 45 minutes for pudding.
Serve with cream and a cup of tea!
Oh, my mouth waters at the merest mention of potstickers! Â Delicious, plump little morsels, steaming hot and so satisfying. Â Their real name is Jiaozi, particularly popular during Chinese New Year. Â In my house, we don’t wait for New Year. Â They are popular year-round. I’ve been …
I was the happy competitor in a baking competition recently. Â I say ‘happy’ because how could you ever not be happy when you have a genuine excuse to make sweet delicious treats several times over? Â And the competition was for a great cause too…Good Bitches …
Savoury cheesy beery sauce on toast, that is my delicious experience with Welsh Rarebit to date.  And my, this lovely little cheese-on-toast treat  is scrumptious.
Has anyone else ever read the Grimble books by Clement Freud?  Grimble was my first encounter with Welsh Rarebit. The exact details escape me but I know our young protagonist Grimble experiments with this dish when left to contend with household management while his parents vacation in Peru.
Fortunately I was in the business of making midwinter Christmas fare, not catering for myself in the absence of parental guidance. Â Ever since Grimble, I have been fascinated by the notion of Welsh Rarebit, not in the least part because of its name. Â History is divided on whether ‘Rarebit’ was once ‘rabbit.’ Â Indeed, no rabbit is involved in this dish, although if you add an egg, you can call it a buck rabbit.
There were no eggs or buck rabbits involved in this rendition, for which we used Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall‘s Welsh Rarebit recipe with a few alterations.  This is really quite simple to make, and despite its sloppy brown appearance, it is truly tasty I heartily recommend for warming, comforting deliciousness when you need some heating up.
Ingredients:
Method:
Melt the butter and whisk in the flour to make a roux sauce. Â Slowly add the warmed beer, whisking and stirring as you go to make a smooth, beery sauce. Â At this point, add the cheese and stir it in as it melts. Â Add the mustard, Worcestershire sauce (to taste – I found one tablespoon plenty, although the recipe calls for two) and the brown sugar. Â Season with black pepper.
Toast the bread. Â Top with the beer and cheese mixture and place under a hot grill until it is browned and bubbling. Â Serve immediately.
Hurrah, apples are in season again! Â This means I can continue my alphabetical journey through New Zealand’s kitchen bible, the Edmonds Cook Book, where I am still languishing somewhat in the apple section of the A recipes. I’m not going to lie, the idea …