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 …
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.  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?  And the competition was for a great cause too…Good Bitches Baking  and their inaugural Mystery Box Challenge.
I was delighted to find coffee and dark chocolate in the mystery box. I would be delighted to happen upon this combination anywhere, granted, but having the opportunity to make two of my favourite things into something even better?  Yippee is all I can say.
When in need of something sweet and decadent, shortbread is never too far from my thoughts.  I’m a self-confessed butter-lover (yes, I did eat it in slabs straight from the block as a child). Shortbread  may as well be a slab of butter that has been baked in an oven.
You might think shortbread couldn’t be any better and perhaps, even, should not be messed with.  I’m sympathetic to this. There are few pleasures in life as scrumptious as a some buttery sweet shortbread and a hot drink, or during Christmas, a nip of single malt.
But do give this a go if you enjoy dark chocolate and coffee as much as I do…shortbread provides the perfect backdrop, and this can be whipped up without much bother. Â The ground coffee beans add a lovely coffee punch, but leave out or reduce if you want a hint of coffee rather than a cup.
For 10-15 pieces, you will need:
Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees celsius.
Beat the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and cornflour together into the bowl with the butter and icing sugar mix.  Stir lightly until just combined.
Add the coffee, chocolate and coffee grounds. Use a spoon to combine into the other ingredients until the mixture starts to form a dough.
Turn out onto a floured baking tray and knead lightly.  Spread out into a circle or rectangle (up to you!) – it should be a lovely tan colour, like below.  Cut into bars and prick with a fork.
Bake until slightly golden – about twenty minutes.
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.
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 …
I know, I know, vegetables and chocolate.  My reflex reaction is ‘blurgh’ too.  But bear with me, these brownies are good, contain lots of dark chocolate and are a handy way to use up beetroot if you find yourself needing to do so.
Not that I often have spare beetroot about the place.  I love the stuff, in line with my enthusiasm for pretty much all vegetables.  The humble beetroot is a member of the Amaranthaceae family and related, would you believe, to chard.  Our modern-day beets descend from the sea beet of the Mediterranean.  Our little beet has an ancient and distinguished history.  Remains of beets have been discovered in illustrious and ancient places, including the third dynasty pyramid Saqqara and the Neolithic site Aartswoud in the Netherlands.
So naturally we people of the 21st century have found that mashing up beetroot and baking it with chocolate is a delicious, modern usage.  The best tip I can give you about this recipe, as warned in the excellent original from BBC, is to wear gloves and ideally an apron when peeling the beets.  Beetroot has a brilliant red juice, which is a stunning, attractive colour, but will make it look as though you killed someone and it takes some time to scrub off.
You will need:
Set the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Â Butter then line a 20 x 30cm tin.
Cover up with rubber gloves and an apron then peel the beetroot and cut it into chunks. Â I find it helps to do this bit in the sink, so that you are not left with a pink kitchen.
Place the beetroot in a large microwave-proof bowl and cover with water. Â Cover the top of the bowl with cling film, pierce the cling film with a few holes and microwave on high for 12 minutes.
Drain the beetroot then place back in the bowl with the butter, chocolate and vanilla extract. Â Use a hand-held, bladed blender to mulch into as liquid-y a mix as you can manage. Â You can also do this bit in an electric mixer, although I find my hand-held one works fine as the beetroot is soft and its warmth melts the chocolate.
Crack the eggs into another large bowl and add the caster sugar.  Beat until foamy and pale, about two minutes with an electric beater.  Gently fold in the beetroot mix, then sift in the flour and cocoa.  Mix in the flour and cocoa gently with a metal spoon.  It will be quite pink!
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes, until the top is all risen. Â Cool completely in the tin and once cooled, dust with icing sugar.
This is sweet and chocolatey and honestly, not a hint of beetroot.  It has a very pretty pinkish tinge, not unlike a red velvet cake.
What to do with sage? Make buttery, cheesy sage and cheddar biscuits?  Yes please. I’ve found myself with a reasonably plentiful supply of fresh sage, which is a new thing.  I have always managed to grow parsley and been left perplexed at how to use the …
I always loved visiting Wales when I lived in the UK, and what’s not to love? Â Beautiful countryside, that lovely lilting accent and, most importantly, Welsh cakes. To the uninitiated, these little morsels may present like just another baked good. Â I promise you, they are …
What a handsome red cabbage! Â Or at least, that was my first thought when gifted some of the cabbage overflow from my parents’ bountiful garden. Â And don’t you agree?
And my second thought was coleslaw.
Coleslaw, or slaw, has made quite the resurgence of late, I believe as part of the Americana food trend. It’s a welcome resurgence as far as I’m concerned; I have always loved coleslaw.  In my 1980’s suburban New Zealand childhood all coleslaw came with a generous slathering of mayonnaise and I loved every inch of it, particularly leftover coleslaw sandwiches  (there was little competition with my sisters for this lunchbox item).
Coleslaw’s history begins in Holland as ‘koolsla’, a cabbage salad. Â It came to New York with the flood of Dutch immigrants who grew cabbages around the Hudson River. Â Cabbage appears to be the only consistent ingredient of coleslaw over the years, with many variations now common.
And mine is one of these. Â I don’t think it’s particularly traditional to have chipotle with your coleslaw, but it gives it a nice heat and makes it a good accompaniment for barbecued meat and corn cobs. A word about the chipotle – I used this lovely Orcona smoked chipotle from the sunny Hawke’s Bay superb flavour and my is it hot! Â I find a only need a pinch in this recipe, but it may vary with your chipotle and palate.
You will need:
In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice and peanut oil together. Â Add the chipotle flakes, coriander and mint and mix in.
Put the cabbage and carrot on top of the dressing in the bowl and toss the vegetables in the dressing.
Serve immediately.
The busy run-up to Christmas is paved with good intentions, namely my intention to publish this post.  So forgive me for missing the boat a little with this one.  I think we can still consider this timely though, as many of us will have tin-foiled lumps …