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 …
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 …
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.
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 …
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 …
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 …