A friend in need is a friend indeed, do you think?  I don’t know the exact origin of this phrase (although the finger is pointed at a certain Quintus Ennius), but I do know that anyone in any kind of need can do with a tasty …
How do you like them apples? Â That’s how I feel I should be addressing you, because we really have had a lot of apply recipes by this point in the Edmonds A section. Â But I love a good flan and this little number is easy …
It started a sunny beautiful Saturday and how nice to spend it having brunch chez nous with old friends.  The majority of today’s spread was very traditional British breakfast fare….bacon, sausages from our excellent Ngaio butcher, some croissants and jam for a sweet, and a token green salad as I felt we’d best eat something from a plant.  I made sure we had a generous assortment of appropriate condiments, including my Mum’s excellent relishes and some H&P sauce in a nod to those at the table hailing from Old Blighty.
I had eggs on the menu too, and to juice them up a bit, did my favourite feta scrambled eggs. Â I’ve been inspired by the delicious feta scrambled eggs served up in mouth-watering perfection every time by the Ministry of Food. Â I can’t promise my version to be as perfect as theirs, but I can promise it’s pleasingly reliable when you are looking for a little pep with your eggs.
You will need:
Put a frying pan over moderately high heat and melt the butter. Â Meanwhile, whisk your eggs with a dash of milk, salt, pepper and chilli flakes.
When the butter is runny and bubbling, add the egg mixture. Â There is a wide divergence in how one should scramble one’s eggs; my preferred method is to run a spatula or wooden spoon through the mixture, turning up sections as they cook and letting the uncooked mixture flow into the gaps.
When you have been doing this for a few minutes and the whole pan is starting to cook and solidify into chunks, add the feta. Â I choose this point in proceedings for the feta, as this way it doesn’t melt entirely and you get pleasing, half-gooey chunks throughout the eggs.
This may be against the egg-scrambling rules; however at this point I turn up the heat and toss the eggs through the pan so they finish off cooking and are not too soggy.
Serve immediately and sprinkle with chopped herbs if you wish…the eggs picture are covered with my sister’s most lustrous fresh parsley, which she kindly gave me as part of the lovely big bunch of herbs pictured, as we are in our new house now and I have yet to return my parsley plot to past glories.
Enjoy and happy eating!
You may be a bit tired of my Winter and Autumn range of stodgy, warming things that include root crops and apples, and trust me, I’m just tired of Winter, but this is quite a pleasing little loaf and really easy to make. Â Don’t be …
Well, we are winding through the bitter bones of Winter and it seems like Spring is trying to be sprung.  It may even have managed it in some corners of the hemisphere. In my little neck of the woods, there is an undeniable lightening of the evenings …
You know something’s a winner, don’t you, when you’ve adapted from our national treasure, Dame Alison Holst.  As you’ll all know, I have a bit of a thing for old-school cook books and recipes.  So you can imagine I could not leave Alison Holst’s Simply Delicious cookbook, circa 1975, behind when I found it for three dollars at a Star Boating Club book sale.
I don’t mean to imply, of course, that you need or want to be adapting Alison’s recipes. Â It’s just that the original of this one, Lemon Cream Cake, calls for a cup of cream. Â I like my cholesterol as much as anyone, but these days you’re just much more likely to have yoghurt in the fridge.
It’s a great cake for this time of year, when although the dark of winter is lifting a bit, you still want something moreish and warming.  And, just to be helpful, lemons happen to be in season, so the rest is common sense.  I whipped this up recently to go with a cup of tea following a family roast lunch; it’s so easy that you can get it in and out of the oven before you need to worry about getting any mains cooked.
I generously slathered this one with lemon icing and passionfruit pulp, but it also works very pleasingly with a little stewed fruit. Â It’s another of my lazy all-in-one bowl baking jobs, and perhaps this is what I like about it most of all.
Ingredients:
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Â Grease a 23cm round cake tin and line the bottom.
Put the eggs, sugar and yoghurt into a medium-sized bowl. Â Beat them together until thick and creamy.
Sprinkle the lemon rind over the top and fold in the self-raising flour.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the centre springs back when pressed.
When it is cold, ice it if you fancy.
Who doesn’t welcome a splash of colour for lunch at this grey and freezing time of year? I know I do.  This spiced bean and tomato soup is on high rotation in my kitchen at the moment.  When it gets to Sunday night and I need to think …
I am so happy it is tamarilo season once more.  I love tamarillos.  Not just for their cheek-sucking tartness, but also because I think they are one of the most beautiful fruits, with their plump, ruby skins and yellow flesh. Tamarillos, which were once known as …
So, bliss balls are a thing right now.  Anyone who reads my blog will know that I take great joy in the retro tried-and-true; the less sexy the better (although I’m sure we all agree that Delia looks a total fox on the cover of this 1982 How To Cook).  I’m not always so adventurous when it comes to the hottest trend.
But, thing or not, bliss balls are scrumptious.  I believe their popularity comes from the fact that they get their lovely moreish-ness from things like dates and cocoa powder, so they provide a delicious little morsel without sending your blood sugar skew-whiff.  Personally I just like them because the dates and cocoa make them all dense and fudge without being sickly.  And a little delicious morsel?  Count me in.
My tried and true Bliss Ball recipe is not my own, but comes to me courtesy of two of my lovely sisters.  So please find their excellent recipe below – I promise it’s quick, and the results are superb with your post-lunch cup of tea.
Ingredients:
1/2 C dates (I’m assured that raisins and sultanas also work well)
1/4 C almond meal
2T cocoa (be generous!)
1t vanilla essence
1T peanut butter
1T oil (I use olive)
1/4 C dessicated coconut
Boil the kettle. Soak the dates in boiling water for ten minutes. Drain the water, reserving 2T of water.
Place the dates and all the other ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.
Test the mixture with your fingers.  It should clump nicely without being too sticky – add some of the date water if it’s too dry, or more almond meal if it’s too sloppy.
Wet your fingers and roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls. Â You can roll them in a little coconut at this stage if you fancy, although I prefer them without. Â Refrigerate for half an hour to set, and keep them in the fridge.
What’s not to love about a cake that you can make entirely in one cake tin? Hardly any dishes and quick to boot.  Because, although I love to cook and bake, there are times when I am too greedy or impatient to fuss around.  If it’s …