One of the delightful things about days off, along with gleefully sitting around in your pants for as long as you fancy and not removing your slippers EVER, is ample amounts of time to whip up special treats for favourite people. My lovely Mum’s …
Some things are meant to be. I’ve been thinking about Kahawai for a while now. Common in our waters, it seems to me – and correct me if I’m wrong – that people can get a little sniffy about them. Kind of like they’re …
Well hello there. Tomato glut? Yeah, me too. Much of it not my own harvest on account of abdominal surgery recovery and whatnot, so I am doubly grateful for all of the tasty goodness that has been kindly coming my way of late. All gifts of excess produce gratefully received chez nous (yes, that is a hint).
Cherokee Purples are on high rotation in my kitchen at the moment. They are gorgeous beauties – heirloom tomatoes, which means they are cultivated from seeds passed down through families, rather than seeds developed for the commercial market. One of the things I love most about Cherokee Purples are their imperfections compared to a standard tomato – all lumps and patchy colours. It makes me think about how many of the fruits and vegetables we enjoy today look so different from their ancestors.
Shuffling around the house in my pyjamas has necessitated some easy meals. This recipe is cheesy and hearty and perfect if you have tomatoes needing using. Cherokee Purples, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some, are perfect for this as they are so big and juicy and meaty. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t – the cheesy, eggy combination means any tomato is just the icing on the cake.
Ingredients (for one, or two if you serve with toast):
1 t olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh tomato
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (such as the ubiquitous Tasty, if you are in New Zealand)
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Pre-heat your oven grill.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. After a minute, add the tomato. Stir to release some of the tomato juices and let it cook until it softens slightly – about two minutes.
Whisk the eggs, cheese, milk and salt and pepper together in a bowl. Give it a good, hearty whisking – this will help the final product be nice and puffy.
Using the back of a wooden spoon, spread the tomato evenly throughout the pan.
Pour the egg mixture over the tomato. Let it bubble and, when you can see the egg mixture is just starting to set, put the pan under the grill.
Grill until the top is golden-brown and the egg is puffing up. Use a fish slice to scoop it out of the pan – sometimes I manage to get it out so it stays whole, and sometimes it winds up being a pile of cheese, egg and tomato on my plate! This doesn’t effect the taste, promise.
Now here’s the thing….I am at home recovering from abdominal surgery. It’s good news – I am doing fine and the surgery will improve my quality of life. I have had lots of surgery in my life and have always come through it like a …
Hello! Sincere apologies for my absence. I needed to take a break from blogging. The reason? Because I had started heaping pressure on myself, setting expectations about perfect photos, on-trend and original recipes, and copious tweets and followers. This diminished my enjoyment of Lick …
Happy 2017 everyone! I think we can all agree that the year we have just ushered out was rather bruising, whether you’re talking politically, artistically, or for many of us, personally. So, what we really need to ring in the New Year is not cucumber sticks, lycra, mineral water or resolutions. No, what is called for is a big, comforting, chocolatey cake. Or at least that is how I felt today in amongst reading, watching Netflix and snoozing on the sofa with our cats.
I’m not going to pretend I was feeling sparky enough to whip up my own recipe. And why would I need to, when I’m lucky enough to have my very own copy of Alice Arndell‘s Alice in Bakingland? This recipe, sweetly titled ‘Nanny’s chocolate cake’ is a winner, delivering a pleasingly chocolatey cake every time. Because I really felt the need to up the nourishment factor on this one, I slathered jam and cream on cut halves before sandwiching the cake back together and topping it with a generous serving of chocolate icing.
Take care everyone and I’m hoping this cake sets the tone for a much sweeter, kinder year.
Nanny’s chocolate cake by Alice Arndell
Ingredients:
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees celsius. Grease and line a 23cm cake tin.
Place the butter and golden syrup in a microwave-proof bowl and heat on high until the butter is melted – this is 1 minute 10 seconds in my microwave. Stir to combine and set aside.
Place all other ingredients in a large bowl and beat for 5 minutes. The original recipe calls for a stand mixer, which I don’t have, so I find a handheld electric beater works well. You may need to beat for a little longer if you do this by hand.
Pour in the butter and syrup and mix through.
This mixture is runny so don’t worry! Pour it into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean with a few crumbs.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Pork and porridge. 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. Apple sauce …
If you fancy a sugar hangover, look no further. This fudge is mouth-suckingly sweet and all the better for it. 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. 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. I had a hunch that this was wrong, but how to prove it? 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. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix only until just combined.
Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin tray cups. 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? 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 …