tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83327890098079425692024-03-13T10:44:21.948+13:00Something Else to EatAnne Else, gourmande. I write about the food I love to make and eat, where it comes from, and anything else to do with food that takes my fancy or drives me to drink.AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.comBlogger262125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-14183018091653429262020-12-23T14:55:00.006+13:002020-12-23T15:02:48.209+13:00<p><span><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">A few festive fruit ideas for Christmas and the holidays</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">On Christmas Day it will be ten years since Harvey died. I've been going back through my posts for this time of year, recalling all the different Christmases and holidays I had with him, and then without him, and reminding myself what we and our friends were cooking and eating.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">For Harvey, Christmas meant a roast, which he would cook, although over the years we shifted the timing from late lunch to early dinner. All we needed to decide was what kind of roast - pork, lamb, beef fillet, or ducks - and what would accompany it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Befores varied a lot, depending on who brought them - often seafood appeared. Afters could also vary to some extent. Usually one of our regulars would bring her always splendid choice of what we all knew as the Light Dessert, but every so often someone else stepped in, with a different repertoire.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The final course was fixed: Edmonds' Rich Christmas Pudding, made by me in November. The only problem was that it had to be steamed for another two hours before we ate it. After all the food and wine I'd had by then, I had a bit of trouble remembering to put it on in time, or making the brandy sauce without sloshing in too much brandy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span>Now each year is different, depending on circumstances and how Jonathan and I feel. I unearthed a pretty good selection of ideas for delicious afters involving the season's wealth of fruit. </span><span>So I thought I'd gather some of these together, as they might give you some inspiration too.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">First up, strawberries - really good this year. Harriet Harcourt showed me how to make the most of their colour, shape and flavour by <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2011/12/essence-of-strawberries.html">cutting them into little heart-shaped slices and drying them in the oven.</a> The taste is essence of strawberry.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4rPJRqxJ0pnphus9rYh2NnfVGsnND_nx4D6iNWOPu7VqHvhDQ8tGW0UHLu7FF88jDQmqf6LSgWisLrkNAauMfrhH5hyphenhyphenI8dPwl_qRwdojHoRshwJ0MLwdEMIdY4jPln9XiQM5RbhLJyM/s400/driedstrawberries5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4rPJRqxJ0pnphus9rYh2NnfVGsnND_nx4D6iNWOPu7VqHvhDQ8tGW0UHLu7FF88jDQmqf6LSgWisLrkNAauMfrhH5hyphenhyphenI8dPwl_qRwdojHoRshwJ0MLwdEMIdY4jPln9XiQM5RbhLJyM/w400-h300/driedstrawberries5.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">You can use them in lots of ways. Here they are piled up on toasted panettone for a superb breakfast.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsvt7vVA2IWikLjZ8LzyN1ierpIxkaKWltuA9h1TsTnlZHenRI8qgxlRh25XrJeuVbSJtCz9YSmYJw-D6B6ZWwzH7srVGE9zPOexKhGMcB8wcwdd7cYnFJtM8OkiHVucmNvYrsIs1M_4/s400/Panettone+and+dried+strawberries.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="400" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsvt7vVA2IWikLjZ8LzyN1ierpIxkaKWltuA9h1TsTnlZHenRI8qgxlRh25XrJeuVbSJtCz9YSmYJw-D6B6ZWwzH7srVGE9zPOexKhGMcB8wcwdd7cYnFJtM8OkiHVucmNvYrsIs1M_4/w400-h263/Panettone+and+dried+strawberries.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><p><span>By the way, leftover panettone, should you manage to have any, makes the best <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2010/03/bread-and-butter.html">bread and butter pudding</a> in the world.</span></p><p><span>I regularly supply my neighbour with cooked rhubarb for his breakfast, but this week he got the Christmas edition: <a href=" http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2018/01/strawberries-and-rhubarb.html">rhubarb with strawberries</a>. It's </span><span>a brilliant combination, especially with ice cream.</span></p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNbxqNtVlg7DDHKgxgrn6Jp6RuRwvxpnyVmla4wvtEOgw59bEOhrtRFvgNxqAkFgQvJ1guzbzSCrN0jLY8-XAlgBuBN-vXRfVOMw17Fx9cAyyrptH4mLYU-Vl4v0kuKXIhBsi9N_7J7E/s400/strawberries+and+rhubarb.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNbxqNtVlg7DDHKgxgrn6Jp6RuRwvxpnyVmla4wvtEOgw59bEOhrtRFvgNxqAkFgQvJ1guzbzSCrN0jLY8-XAlgBuBN-vXRfVOMw17Fx9cAyyrptH4mLYU-Vl4v0kuKXIhBsi9N_7J7E/w400-h300/strawberries+and+rhubarb.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Then there are cherries - again, extra good this year. I had never eaten any until Harvey bought some for us. On our first holiday together we went down to Central Otago and spent a blissful morning up in the trees, picking them ourselves, and of course eating them as we went. Except for my 10-year-old son Patrick - when he came down with his haul, he asked us tentatively if he could eat one. So we sent him back up the tree for the little treat he'd missed. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Of course they're perfect as they are - but you can do some stunning things with them too, such as making that very simple French classic, <a href="]http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-last-of-cherries.html">clafoutis</a>, or just <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-fruity-new-year-to-you.html">cooking them in red wine</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3Zb72Q-vvNATIPe1lF3L_jhPJxZSvCatvWsRo2LRVINzkkh_cWupozBDF4eySkx3Om0GlDayzKCEZWq7M9QyK1cKvKMHKgKYi9jOFVlK6SXDGeNnd5ACf9C1SCoZK54XaGFytd19wTs/s400/cherry+clafoutis.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="400" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3Zb72Q-vvNATIPe1lF3L_jhPJxZSvCatvWsRo2LRVINzkkh_cWupozBDF4eySkx3Om0GlDayzKCEZWq7M9QyK1cKvKMHKgKYi9jOFVlK6SXDGeNnd5ACf9C1SCoZK54XaGFytd19wTs/w400-h280/cherry+clafoutis.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span> </span><br /><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqW5iUbwaVw2gvGWVm-GA9KEB4iyMnFvDMEeKWrgoyxFnO9U0GX-KQgC0UHjz3AZEd8_4FST4KKgCZHM8hzD4V1X59duPYoHYW3_ltzGk0RYTv03MITkuL452PvnJGnHss2Wy5PKhnioI/s320/cherries+in+red+wine.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="320" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqW5iUbwaVw2gvGWVm-GA9KEB4iyMnFvDMEeKWrgoyxFnO9U0GX-KQgC0UHjz3AZEd8_4FST4KKgCZHM8hzD4V1X59duPYoHYW3_ltzGk0RYTv03MITkuL452PvnJGnHss2Wy5PKhnioI/w400-h284/cherries+in+red+wine.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">That post with the cherries in red wine also shows how blueberries (I found them on a good special this week), cooked in red wine and balsamic vinegar, make a superb relish for ham (or turkey).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">As a final flourish, here's a simple way to produce <a href=" http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas%20mince">little fruit mince tarts</a> with less sugar than usual - although in honour of Harvey, I always lace the mincemeat with a good dash of whisky first.</span></p><p><br /></p>AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-27292780967711593772020-04-26T13:59:00.002+12:002020-04-26T14:17:50.035+12:00Simple Soufflé and Impossible PieI didn't post last weekend because the most notable things I made were two very indulgent desserts. I'll post about those later, but I thought a couple of simple, tasty dinner dishes would be more useful right now.<br />
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You can make either of these from what you've got on hand - you don't have to have exactly what's listed. No goat's cheese or parmesan? Any good tasty cheese will do. No courgettes? Use a little sauteed onion and finely cut up broccoli, or a lightly cooked mix of small frozen veges. No tinned fish? Try a can of creamed sweetcorn (but use less milk) and gently fried bits of bacon or salami.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Goat's Cheese and Courgette Soufflé</span></h3>
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This recipe from my blog in 2012 is a variation on the classic cheese soufflé. My friend Frances taught me to make it when I was a totally ignorant, about to be married 19 year old. Now I use Julia Child's recipe. If you'd like to see how it's done, try this handy tutorial:</div>
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<a href="https://littleferrarokitchen.com/julia-childs-cheese-souffle/">https://littleferrarokitchen.com/julia-childs-cheese-souffle/</a><br />
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Soufflés have an undeserved reputation for being difficult, when in fact they're quite simple (and inexpensive): a good buttery white sauce with egg yolks stirred in, mixed carefully with well beaten egg whites and any other ingredients you are using. Just don't open the oven door for the first 20 minutes. As long as it's reasonably well risen, it doesn't matter if it isn't soaring above the rim of the dish (as this one wasn't). And make sure the people eating it are ready and waiting so you can serve it as soon as it's ready.</div>
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<a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2012/04/getting-my-goat.html">http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2012/04/getting-my-goat.html</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Impossible Pie</span></div>
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This is called Impossible Pie because it forms its own "crust". It's a sort of down home version of a souffle, very useful for making a main course out of tinned fish. I've always cherished the recipe because my mother in Auckland carefully cut it out of one of her magazines and posted it to me in Wellington with a chatty letter. She chose well - I copied it into my hand-written notebook of recipes acquired from friends and family, and I used to make it a lot. </div>
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I rediscovered it thanks to the lockdown. The old notebook was disintegrating, but I had a new one lying around that I'd been meaning for ages to transfer everything into. So this week I set to work. Sorry I forgot to take a photo! It should look a bit like a wide, gently risen, shallow soufflé, with a similar though less fluffy texture inside, and a lightly browned bottom and sides, so you can easily cut it into wedges. By all means use a bit more cheese on top if you want to. It's quite filling - and the leftover part made a very nice lunch next day.</div>
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<b>List 1:</b></div>
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4 eggs</div>
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2 cups milk</div>
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¾ cup plain flour<br />
½ tsp baking powder</div>
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Good pinch of salt</div>
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3 Tbsp soft butter (about 45 grams)</div>
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<b>List 2:</b></div>
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185g tin well drained tuna or salmon</div>
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1 medium onion, finely chopped</div>
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¾ cup grated tasty cheese</div>
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¼ cup finely chopped parsley and/or chives</div>
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Freshly ground black pepper</div>
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(In List 2, you can try substituting: a can of creamed sweetcorn instead of fish (but leave out 1 cup of milk) and fried bits of
bacon or salami; cooked or tinned asparagus pieces; other firm cooked veges, cut into
small pieces, plus some extra seasoning; thinly sliced button mushrooms.)</div>
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Grease a 20cm shallow pie dish, preferably with a flat rim
to catch any escaping liquid.</div>
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Preheat oven to 190C or 180C fanbake.</div>
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In a large bowl, beat together the ingredients in List 1.</div>
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Stir in the ingredients in List 2, saving a little grated
cheese.</div>
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Pour into pie dish and scatter remaining grated cheese over
the top.</div>
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Bake until custard is set (test with a thin knife) and top is browned – about 35 to
45 minutes.</div>
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Serve hot or warm with bread and butter and salad or your
choice of cooked vegetables (if you didn't use them in the pie - a frozen mix is fine). You might also enjoy a
little relish on the side.<br />
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AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-8556171317542043452020-04-12T14:13:00.000+12:002020-04-12T14:32:56.203+12:00Rhubarb chutney!The exclamation mark in the heading is because this is the first time I've made any kind of preserve since around 2005, when we were still in Farm Road. But both Jonathan and I are very keen on home made chutney. Usually I pick up jars of it at various fairs. One day I asked the nice lady who sold jams and chutneys at the little Karori Sunday market if she ever made kasundi, a delicious Indian chutney I'd found at the big annual Save the Children fair at Homewood. A couple of weeks later she turned up with two different kinds, tomato and eggplant. But with no fairs and no markets, we were running very low.<br />
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On the phone to Lesley, I talked about wanting to try making some chutney, but not having any handy surplus produce to make it with. She pointed out that I did: I had my magnificent set of four rhubarb crowns in a big pot. The originals were given to me by Ali some years ago. They somehow managed to survive my inconsistent, cack-handed care, and this year all four are flourishing better than ever.<br />
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I hunted around on line and found various recipes, but I wanted something I knew would work. My Auckland friend Rosemary, who regularly embarks on chutney and pickle making, passed on her recipe, so I used that. It's different from the others because you don't put the sugar in until near the end of the cooking, but I could see why: doing it this way makes the mixture less likely to catch and burn.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rosemary’s
rhubarb and ginger chutney</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Slightly adapted, and with two quantities, depending on how much fruit you have. I think it would also work well using some firm pears or nashi. </span>For the smaller quantity, I used about 10 sticks of rhubarb weighing around 700g, four small apples, and one and a half large onions. </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 ½ (3) apples<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 ½ (3) onions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">15 (30) g root
ginger<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 (2) cloves garlic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">750 (1.5) kg
rhubarb<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">½ (1) tsp
paprika<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 (2) tsps
whole pickling spice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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1½ (<span style="font-family: inherit;">3) tsps salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">¾ (1½) cups
white wine vinegar or cider vinegar <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/4 (½) cup balsamic vinegar (I used a bit more
than this – it needed a little more at the end)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">juice of ½ (1)
orange<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1½ (3) cups sugar
(I used half white and half brown)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Assemble jars and lids and get them ready to use for short-term keeping. The easiest way is to put jars through a hot machine wash, and boil metal lids gently in large pan of water for 5 minutes. (<a href="https://www.eatwell.co.nz/kitchen-tips/how-to/1978/Preserving-How-to-sterilise-jars/">Check methods here.</a>) </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Peel, core and chop the apples. Peel and chop
the onions. Dice the ginger and garlic (easy to chop these together in the food processor).<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Slice the rhubarb thinly (I used the processor
slicing blade). <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Put all the ingredients except the sugar in a
large pan and simmer until thick and pulpy. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Add the sugar, turn up the heat, and cook until
thick and darker in colour, stirring frequently to stop it catching (especially if it's a small quantity). Also check flavour and adjust if necessary. (This is quite a jammy chutney, but should still have a bit of texture.)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fill the jars almost to the top with no gaps, and put the lids on firmly. With any luck, the lids will go down in the middle to seal them. But to be on the safe side, keep the jars in the fridge - they will keep perfectly well for at least a few weeks. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Mine all cooked right down to make just 3 jars (not very large ones) plus a
small bowl of chutney to have with sausages for our dinner - and it really was good.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-41100389148596827402020-04-04T16:13:00.001+13:002020-04-04T16:13:43.764+13:00Two satisfying soupsSo here's the second of my rāhui posts: two healthy, easy, filling soups, just right for the end of daylight saving and the cooling weather (yes, I know this is affecting only those of us south of Hamilton). They're also well suited to a random range of supplies. Click on the headings to find the blog recipes.<br />
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<b><a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2012/02/real-minestrone.html">Minestrone alla Karori </a></b><br />
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This is a meal in itself, and very adaptable. I wrote in my original post:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;">As Antonio Carlucci explains, in fact there's no such thing as "the real minestrone". Instead there are many versions, each one authentic for those who make it.</span></blockquote>
In these unusual times, innovation is essential. Cabbage is the mainstay vegetable, but you can use up random bits of most other veges you may have lying around. Instead of borlotti beans, use what's available - even baked beans will do at a pinch, but don't add them until the veges and pasta are cooked. And if you don't happen to have pancetta, any kind of bacon, ham, or bits of tasty cooked sausage will work. You can use any small pasta too, or broken up bits of noodles if that's all you've got.<br />
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<b><a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2017/06/pretty-fast-pumpkin-soup.html">Pretty Fast Pumpkin Soup</a></b><br />
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The name of this soup (which I invented) describes it very well - it's both pretty, and pretty fast to make. The ingredients are a bit less flexible: you do need pumpkin, carrots, and some kind of red curry flavouring. For example, I haven't got actual red curry paste right now, but I do have Tom Yam paste, which is also red, so that would do fine. (And in any case, it seems easier right now to find more exotic ingredients such as red curry paste than it does to get some basics, such as flour!)<br />
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This soup belongs to a variety of dishes I often make, called "vaguely Asian" (David Burton, look away now). No one from any Asian country would recognise any of them, but they do rely on Westernised versions of flavours relating to a range of Asian countries, from India to Thailand.<br />
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If you like, you could add noodles to this soup too, and/or cook bits of boneless chicken in it, turning it into a meal rather than just a soup.<br />
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<br />AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-49762575606182281802020-03-29T17:25:00.000+13:002020-03-29T17:33:57.041+13:00Loafing aroundThanks to really lucky timing, the renovation of my 24-year-old kitchen was finished the week before we all went into lockdown. And thanks to having my son and also Pauline, the very kind young mother from the flat up the drive who offered to get things for us when she does her own shopping, we're well provisioned (though I did break into the earthquake supply of baked beans this morning).<br />
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The one thing missing from the shelves for quite a while has been flour. But my neighbour, who doesn't bake, had an unopened bag she could leave on my doorstep. So I've been making good use of it with very simple recipes, and leaving a share of the results on her doorstep. But as a baker, I'm far from fantastic, so I stick to super simple, tried and true recipes. I thought I'd pass on a couple of these, just in case you do have some flour and you're looking for something different you or your kids could make, one of these rather long days...<br />
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<b>Mandarin Muffins</b><br />
The first thing I made - and I made sure Pauline got some - was mandarin muffins. They do have 200 grams of whole mandarins in them, so I reckon they're practically health food.<br />
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<img height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ly5vTCMOuMegUl439hOkOoKBJZR7g46o7BsQucrxTYM54DNW0syKEpYIaZiTMJBUQGn47FcxwV3Y5xJc7YGBCB0TQsOftbL29vw6NcCYe9z-G-AMxn1WZKpO0fpkAggC68MKHulIdjI/s320/mandarins.JPG" width="320" /><br />
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And they're so easy to make, your kids really can do it. Here' s the recipe from the blog:<br />
<a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2010/04/mandarin-muffins.html">http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2010/04/mandarin-muffins.html</a><br />
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<img height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPurgIVEerm_28QcSaxv9Vog0Ph9l3F0elpdp-1pTGpWgcAZO1w4msTvSX3K1fgKzM62qP98fLXcIUqBseB_lrJuz1kQMmU0IBWgX5UkiY5grNTVLjGp8SoGAdChhTSagWhpHSF3C6VS4/s400/muffinsplate1.JPG" width="400" /><br />
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<b>Ryda's Fruit Loaf</b><br />
Today I made my mother's incredibly easy recipe for fruit loaf.<br />
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1 cup dried fruit (one kind or a mix, whatever you're got - I added a bit of preserved ginger to my raisins)<br />
1 tsp baking soda<br />
1 egg<br />
1 cup sugar<br />
1 dessert spoon melted butter (about 18 g of butter but it doesn't have to be exact)<br />
1 tsp vanilla<br />
2 heaped cups plain white flour<br />
1 tsp baking powder<br />
a good pinch of salt<br />
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Set the oven to 180C, or 160C fan forced.<br />
Grease a medium loaf tin, or better, line it with bake paper.<br />
Put dried fruit in a large bowl and pour 1 cup of boiling water over it.<br />
Add baking soda, stir well and leave it to cool.<br />
Mix in, one at a time, stirring well after each one, the egg, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla.<br />
Measure flour into a separate bowl and stir in baking powder. Add to wet mixture and stir gently to combine.<br />
Spoon mixture into prepared loaf tin.<br />
Check after about 50 minutes by sticking a skewer or thin knife into it to see how much of the inside is still uncooked. It usually needs to bake for about 1 hour or a little bit longer, depending on your oven.<br />
Cool on a rack and eat, with or without butter. (Yours will be a little larger, as I used some of my mixture to make a separate little loaf for my neighbour - correctly transferred to her without any actual contact, of course!)<br />
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AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-65380217747616058752020-01-15T22:51:00.001+13:002020-01-15T22:54:46.436+13:00Apricot season<br />
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The apricots I've bought this year seem to be particularly good. But nice as they are eaten fresh, the full flavour comes out best when they're cooked.<br />
So far I've used them in two different recipes. One is Apricot Su<span style="font-size: 12pt;">é</span>doise, a superbly simple dessert that tastes purely of apricot. You can see how to make it <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2012/03/nothing-but-apricots.html">here.</a><br />
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The other is even simpler - roasted whole apricots. Here's the recipe.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Small apricots roasted
whole<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">12 small rosy apricots<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">200 g runny honey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 Tbsp brown sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Juice of ½ or 1 smallish lemon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">100 ml water<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tsp cinnamon<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">whipped cream and/or yoghurt, to serve</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Preheat the oven to 170ºC fan forced (180C without fan).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Place the honey, sugar,
lemon, water and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Cook on a medium heat, stirring, until
it comes to a boil. Turn down to a simmer for 3 minutes and remove from the
heat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Place apricots into a small ceramic or glass baking dish. You want them to be sitting neatly
together without too much extra space around them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Using a sieve (to filter out
the cinnamon), pour over the honey liquid. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gently turn the apricots over
in the liquid to coat them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Put in the oven and roast for 10 minutes, then take out the dish and spoon the liquid over them again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Put them back in the oven for
another 10 minutes approximately. Remove them when they are cooked through, but
not collapsing - you want them to stay whole.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Carefully take out apricots
one by one with a spoon and transfer to serving dish or small individual dishes. (I made small dessert servings by putting three apricots in each of four pink glass Arcoroc teacups, with a dessert biscuit in each saucer.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pour liquid back into
small saucepan and gently reduce to form a syrup. Pour syrup over fruit and
leave to cool. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Serve with either whipped cream, or yoghurt, or a mixture of both (this is very nice). If you want to, you can flavour the cream with a dash of orange liqueur. Remember to warn your diners that there's a stone in each one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I forgot to take a picture! Sorry. Here's one of the cups I used, only with an incredibly easy to make <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/2010/04/dark-chocolate.html">chocolate cream </a>in it. You'll have to imagine it with apricots. Come to think of it, apricots and chocolate have a marvellous affinity, so you could try a shallow layer of this chocolate cream with apricots on top...<br />
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AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-48094989865862355662019-12-23T17:57:00.000+13:002019-12-23T22:05:15.612+13:00Gingerbread for Christmas: remembering HarveyIn the weekend I decided to make gingerbread. I think it's the first time I've made it since 2010. Unlike Christmas cake, it's really easy to make, and you can bake it as close to Christmas as you like.<br />
This morning I took some as a small thank-you to shopkeepers in Marsden Village who have been so kind and helpful to me this year, and indeed every year since Harvey and I first moved here in 2007. There was still plenty left over for me, my son and our visitors.<br />
Nine years ago, on 9 December 2010, I <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.com/search/label/gingerbread">posted about making it for Harvey and gave the recipe,</a> which came via our friend Beth Hill.<br />
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In <i><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/20148769/the-colour-of-food-anne-else-memoir">The Colour of Food,</a> </i>I described Harvey finishing off my 2010 batch on what would later prove to be his last day at home:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
By the Wednesday before Christmas we had
had so many visitors that there wasn’t much gingerbread left in the tin. I cut it up
carefully and put it out for that afternoon’s arrivals, then went out to finish
the shopping, knowing <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Harvey</st1:city></st1:place>
was well looked after. When I came home there were three small pieces left –
his visitors had enjoyed it, but he hadn’t had any. I sat down with him for a
late cup of tea and he asked for a piece, then the second and the third. I
watched him eat with astonished delight.</blockquote>
That evening he had a fall and was taken to hospital. At first he seemed to have recovered well, but by the next day he was much weaker. He died early in the morning of Saturday 25 December.<br />
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I'm really pleased I managed to make it again this year.<br />
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<br />AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-37622425930629659082019-10-26T17:33:00.002+13:002019-10-26T17:38:31.773+13:00Let them eat brioche?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This rather magnificent brioche can be accurately described by the French term 'maison', meaning house-made. I did make it myself, in my house - but I did it with the help of my new breadmaker. I had a dear friend staying who grew up in a French-speaking country and is fully conversant with French food, so I decided I would make this on Friday night for our Saturday breakfast.<br />
Honestly, it's magic. Get out the recipe book that came with the machine, fetch the bread pan from the laundry where the breadmaker lives (it's far too big for my kitchen), and put in the ingredients in the given order. Set the machine going and have an extra 70 g of chilled bits of butter ready to add after 55 minutes. Then leave it to do its thing for another two and a half hours. Et voila!<br />
We ate it very lightly toasted with yet more butter and good jam. In a couple of days the loaf looked like this:<br />
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I do of course also make ordinary loaves for everyday use - mostly half wholemeal and half white high grade flour - and very good they are too. No weird ingredients: just yeast, flour, salt, milk powder, butter, treacle, water. It takes 5 hours to bake, but that's easily managed.<br />
I was spurred into doing this because a few weeks ago, I downloaded an e-book (from our wonderful Wellington City Libraries): T<i>he Way We Eat Now: How the Food Revolution Has Transformed Our
Lives, Our Bodies and Our World,</i> by UK writer Bee Wilson (Fourth Estate, 2019). It was recommended to me by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/asher-regan-47a09545/?originalSubdomain=nz">Asher Regan,</a> whom I met at a food writers' lunch.<br />
It's one of the best books I've read about, well, the way we eat now - not just in 'Anglo' countries, but around a broad sweep of the world. There's a useful review of it <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/2019/03/while-dutch-schools-ban-birthday-cakes-the-british-pine-for-the-next-bake-off/">here</a>. It's refreshingly sensible and pragmatic, but at the same time makes it plain that the way we eat now is, in far too many cases, killing us.<br />
One of the topics Wilson discusses at some length is bread - particularly how its traditional way of making has been speeded up, using various previously unnecessary ingredients, to suit commercial food production and supermarket selling.<br />
I love good bread, and so does my son. It was one of the best things about the food we ate during our sojourn in Albania: huge dark rye loaves with a slightly sourdough flavour. But here, properly made 'artisan' loaves have to be sought out and are too expensive for everyday use. Vogel's is the best the supermarket has to offer, but at full price it's around $7 a small loaf. And I am not adept or even strong enough to make bread from scratch by hand, as some of my admirable friends do.<br />
But I do now have some time to spare, So I decided that a good way to improve our everyday food would be to invest once again in a breadmaker, and produce our own. I'm under no silly illusions that this is a mass solution of any kind - obviously that's rubbish, as is exhorting everyone to grow their own veges. And I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it going, But for now I feel very lucky that it's working so well for us.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span>AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-51745280588668098382018-10-08T11:03:00.001+13:002018-10-08T11:03:31.163+13:00Memories are made of...rissolesBeing drawn back into paid work on a major Suffrage 125 project this year has seriously got in the way of my own writing, including this blog. But today I got another comment about what I think must be my most popular post ever: Real-life Rissoles.<br />
I received the latest comment today, and looking back, I realised that they've kept coming in since I first posted this eight months before Harvey died. The rissole recipe seemed to have remarkable power to prompt readers' detailed memories of the versions they had eaten in their childhood. I think this must be partly to do withe rissoles being a sort of quintessential waste-not-want-not recipe, an approach to daily food which still prevailed in so many post-war families - they could usually afford a weekly roast, but they made sure they used up every scrap of it.<br />
So in honour of all our mothers and grandmothers who thriftily concocted something so tasty out of leftovers and scraps, here's the recipe again, together with all the wonderful comments. Thank you to everyone who sent them in - and if they helped you recreate a taste of the past, that makes me very happy.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">Real-life rissoles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;"><i>(First
published Thursday, April 29, 2010)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">I grew up
with rissoles - usually on Mondays. They're one of those things that I never
actually asked my mother how to make. But when I came to make them myself, I
realised I must have been watching, because I did know roughly what to do. But
I've just been looking up rissole recipes on-line, and I'm shocked. In my view
none of them are authentic, because they use fresh mince. That's not what
rissoles are made of! The real-life rissole is always made of leftover roast
meat (which is why we had them on Mondays, after Sunday's lunchtime roast and
teatime cold meat). When I was growing up they were usually made of hogget or
beef - pork was for special occasions only, and it all got eaten before there
could be any question of rissoles.<br /><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"> Harvey</st1:place></st1:city> loves
any kind of rissoles, and after we've had a roast he always asks hopefully if
there's enough meat left over for them. He never wants any potato or bread with
them - he argues that there's already enough carbohydrate inside. If he eats
three, I know I've got them just right.<br /> I used to put the meat through a mincer, but then we acquired a food processor.
The first time I used it to make rissoles, it was a disaster. I put everything
in at once, and the result was a kind of brownish paste. You could make patties
with it, but the texture had nothing to do with the authentic rissole, which
should just hold together and be a bit crumbly when you cut into it. Since then
I've learnt to grind up the various ingredients in separate batches before
mixing them together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;"> There's no exact recipe, because it all depends on the
amount of cold meat available. You mince the leftover cooked chunks or slices of meat in the
processor first, see how much you've got, put it in a big bowl and add the
other things to it.<br /> First you need something to bulk it out a bit. You can use leftover mashed
potato, or fresh breadcrumbs (which can be made in the processor after you
remove the meat), or either or both of these with a little flour. The crucial
thing is not to overwhelm the meat with the padding, or the rissoles will be
too stodgy and dull.<br /> Mix meat and padding together well, with plenty of salt and pepper. Then use
the pulse button to mince a small onion, garlic if you like it, and some herbs
- parsley, thyme, oreganum - together in the processor, and add them to the
mixture. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;"> Break in
an egg (or two, if you have a lot of meat etc) and mix thoroughly. The mixture
should not be too wet or too dry - it should just hold together enough for you
to shape it into balls, using damp hands. If one egg leaves it just a bit too
dry, you can use a bit of stock, wine or water, but be careful not to make it
too wet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;"> Flatten each ball and coat it lightly with flour on each side, or fine
dry breadcrumbs if you prefer (but flour is traditional!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;">Set the oven to low - about 100C - and put an oven tray in to warm, with a
folded piece of kitchen paper on it to absorb any excess oil. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;"> Heat a frypan
with a small amount of oil. (My mother, of course, always used lard or
dripping, but we wouldn't do that now, would we. It tasted good, though.) </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;">When
it's hot (but not smoking), cook the rissoles over medium heat in batches, not
too many at a time - I get five into a large non-stick pan. They should be
brown and a little crispy on each side. As each batch cooks, put them on the tray
in the oven to keep warm. You may need to add more oil between batches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
We eat them with a salad, and I like some kind of chutney or chili sauce too
(at home it was always bought tomato sauce) and some fresh bread and butter. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Harvey</st1:place></st1:city> is a purist - he
just wants plain rissoles, followed by a bit of salad because it's good for
him. If there are any left over, they're good cold for lunch next day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;">COMMENTS:</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/14182573274494086468" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;">Deborah</a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;"> said...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">I simply
fail to see how there could possibly be any left!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204">AnneE</a> said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">Ah well,
there never used to be - but <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Harvey</st1:place></st1:city>
has such a small appetite now, and is the one person I know whose eyes are
NEVER bigger than his (minute capacity) stomach. And I'm trying very hard NOT
to pack all the leftovers tidily away on my hips...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/06762255830094769762">mermaidnz</a> said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">I don't
remember my mother ever making rissoles - we always had Shepherd's Pie on
Mondays to use up the Sunday roast. It was one of my favourite meals - the meat
moistened with left-over gravy, and eked out with any left-over veggies, some
sage or thyme added for extra flavour, and the mashed potato topping nicely
browned. Real comfort food, and nothing ever wasted. After reading your blog I
googled Shepherd's Pie and like you was shocked to find that most recipes used
fresh mince! Some even included garlic, red wine and tomatoes, with things like
cheese and sour cream in the topping. We hardly ever have a roast nowadays, but
I'm tempted to go out and buy a leg of hogget (can you still buy such a thing?)
for the nostalgic pleasure of Shepherd's Pie just like Mother used to make.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/00687547078107901716">Suzieanne</a> said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">Rissoles - that brings back memories of my mother making them when I was a child.I can
only remember them made with corned beef left over from tea the night before.I
have attempted to make them, but somehow they were never very nice usually
falling to bits before they reached the plate, there were always these strange
looks at what they were supposed to be as they were never round , so I then
decided my talents in the cooking department lay else where.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/13923398232635047379" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;">I'm not here</a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;"> said...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">My Mum's
recipe was for equal quantities of minced cold meat and cold cooked rice. Mix
it with @1tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp each garlic and onion powder, 2 tblspn
tomato sauce (ketchup) for every 1 cup of meat, one small onion chopped finely
and one small egg. Mix this all together, form into rissoles and egg and
breadcrumb them and fry until brown. These are a such a favourite that we roast lamb/beef etc just to make the
rissoles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">Eirwen
said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">My
husband has been begging me for rissoles like his Mum used to make for years.
When we were first married I sometimes made them but couldn't be bothered after
that. Now I am inspired to make them again - I won't tell him until he sees
them on the plate. Thanks for the recipes (the rice one looks interesting too).
I agree that it's not authentic to use raw mince - that's what beefburgers are
made from.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">Anonymous
said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">When I
was a child I the 70's my mother used to buy rissoles from the butcher. I dread
tothinkwhat was in them as they tasted horrible. The worst part was the fact
that my mother used to cook the rissoles in the oven for me and my two brothers
while she cooked my dad a lovely pork chop or steak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">sharon</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;"> said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
remember my mum making rissoles just like your recipe and I have managed to
make them just as nice, thanks to you! I added chopped wild garlic leaves (in
season right now), as my partner can not eat onions so the garlic was an
alternative. Absolutely delicious!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">Anonymous
said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">These
recipes were from a different era and before my time, but sound lovely. I'm
interested in the old ways and will certainly try making these. Thanks for
sharing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">Anonymous
said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">this
sounds like the ones i remember in the late 60s 70s yummy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/15616733560581895626" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;">Djc</a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;"> said...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">A really
tasty tea with crusty bread and butter d jc<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/14242337064790054856" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;">Carol Hansen</a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;"> said...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">i make
mine with minced beef left over from Sunday a bit of corn beef if got
some,mashed potato and i mix in sage & onion stuffing served with baked
beans, that's how my Mum made them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt;">Richard
said...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">I have
yearned for rissoles as our mother used to make in the 50's and early 60's.
Always from cold leftover Lamb. Sadly she seemed reluctant to remember how to
do them in her 60's and recently died aged nearly 87 without my being able to
extract the recipe from her which almost certainly would have come from her
Mom, our Nan. Your recipe seems to be very close to that which I remember.
However, I have always been intrigued by the flavour and just what seasoning
and/or spice she added, as in those times there just wasn't the range nor
inclination to seek out exotic! flavourings. I WILL be attempting to make your
recipe, so now to get the Lamb for the weekend. NB If any one does know of the
50's <st1:place w:st="on">Wolverhampton</st1:place> style Rissoles please pass
it on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/00648946065922056498">Anni</a> said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">I have
been craving the rissoles made by my Nana in the early 50s, like yours with
left over roast but remember the pork ones with rice from a very early age ,
probably 3 onwards. Sadly, I don’t remember my mum making them. I couldn’t
remember the missing ingredients and realising reading your recipe, it is
parsley, onion and maybe garlic. Thank you! Off to start cooking, oh and like
you, realise you have to process in stages, like meatballs or stuffing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/13674036923270841980">Unknown</a> said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10.0pt;">My
childhood memories of Rissoles are of a hamburger shape of (probably) mincemeat
with a filo-like pastry around the edge of the pattie (rather than encasing the
pattie). I remember the meat being really dark. I think they were bought from a butcher
and then fried or grilled or ovened --I used to love them but don't see them
now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-27338358132860133312018-06-04T16:36:00.000+12:002018-06-04T16:47:33.458+12:00Calm after the storm - lemon custard shortcake<div>
Apart from my birthday, which was entirely enjoyable and thanks to dear friends is still going on, May has brought nothing but mayhem, with an apparently never-ending sequence of things falling apart. </div>
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The crack in a favourite plate. The lamp I knocked over, breaking the light fitting. The food processor lid and bowl that finally collapsed, costing half as much as a new machine to replace. The tooth filling that fell out. The arm of my glasses snapping off. The massive scrape on the back of the car, from hastily backing it down the drive early in the morning out of the house painters' way and banging into the one bit of scaffolding sticking out into the drive. </div>
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The iPad mysteriously insisting I was someone else who did not have access to it (I managed to get the NZ helpdesk number and they put it all right). Spark changing their security and sending my power bill straight to Spam so it didn't get paid on time (and not being able to put it right). The worst was saved till late last week: Microsoft's latest massive compulsory update being followed by the complete collapse of my hard disk and the permanent loss of everything on it. Had I saved it all somewhere else? No, of course not. </div>
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The only consolations: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">M</span>ost of the work I'd done on the big project I'm currently engaged in is retrievable from other systems; and I didn't lose any major new work of genius (because I don't have any such thing under way). With a bit of finangling, I could afford to fix everything. And thanks to fantastic help, I now have the computer up and running again, with newly installed software and a brand new hard drive. Plus I have relearnt the old lesson I used to know by heart: BACK UP.</div>
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In these circumstances, I did something rare for me: I took to baking. In last week's DomPost Saturday magazine there was a strikingly simple recipe for lemon custard shortcake, and I had everything I needed to make it. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lemon custard shortcake</span></div>
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<i>Slightly adapted from House and Garden recipe, </i></div>
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<i>DomPost magazine, Saturday 26 May 2018</i></div>
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2 c plain flour + 2 Tbsps flour for topping</div>
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1/2 c custard powder</div>
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1 tsp baking powder</div>
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1/2 c sugar</div>
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200g butter chopped into smallish pieces</div>
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zest of 1 large lemon</div>
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2 eggs</div>
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1 and 1/2 c lemon honey/curd, bought or home-made</div>
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Heat oven to 180C or 170C fan bake. Either grease a slice tin, approx. 27 cm x 17 cm, or line tin and sides with baking paper.</div>
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Put 2 c flour, custard powder, baking powder, sugar, butter and lemon zest into food processor bowl. Process until the mixture looks like rough crumbs.</div>
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Add eggs and process until mixture forms a ball. </div>
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Press two-thirds of mixture evenly into tin. Spread lemon honey evenly over the top.</div>
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Put remaining third of mixture back into processor, add 2 Tbsps flour and process briefly until mixed.</div>
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Crumble this evenly over the curd. </div>
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Bake 25-30 minutes until slice is cooked through. </div>
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Allow to cool and set in the tin before cutting into fingers or small squares. </div>
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(Once it's cool and set, the baking paper allows you to easily lift the whole thing out of the tin and onto a board for cutting.)</div>
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Here's a not-very-good copy of part of the photo from the magazine - doesn't do it justice, but gives an idea of what it was supposed to look like:<br />
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And here's mine. In real life it looked reassuring similar to the original, and tasted like sunshine - just what I needed.<br />
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AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-79837230280969700412018-03-07T17:56:00.003+13:002018-03-07T18:00:06.808+13:00Amazing peaches, if you're quick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hardly any posts recently because I've been planning, shopping and cooking for my long-awaited visitors from Berlin. Last week I went to Moore Wilson for the obligatory leg of lamb (theirs are beautifully trimmed, and have part of the bone removed so they're easy to carve). In their fruit section they had one of the most wonderful but hard to catch (because of the very short season) treats I know: Black Boy peaches.<br />
So I thought you might like to see my post about them from 2012 - and if you're very quick you might be able to find some. Not outrageously dear, mine were $7.95 a kilo and I only needed four, which cost me less than $4 (though I did have to buy the dessert wine as well). Cooking them as a dessert is really easy - you just have to stay vigilant so as not to overcook them and not to reduce the syrup to a sticky mess. The colour is incredible and the taste is uniquely delicious.<br />
<a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/peaches">http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/peaches</a><br />
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<br />AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-91108823528848699032018-01-20T15:09:00.002+13:002020-12-20T16:10:03.950+13:00Strawberries and rhubarbWhen I was growing up, we did of course eat both strawberries and rhubarb - but never together. Strawberries were cut up and sprinkled with icing sugar. Rhubarb was stewed or cooked with apple under a crumble topping.<br />
So the first time I saw a recipe for cooking them together, I was a bit dubious. But I shouldn't have been. They truly are a delicious and beautifully coloured combination, with the rhubarb adding an invigorating sharpness to the familiar sweetness of the strawberries.<br />
Hunting online for some kind of summer cooked fruit to serve with slices of lemon cake for dessert, I found a strawberry and rhubarb compote. I had a punnet of strawberries which needed using, and my pot-grown rhubarb (yet another successful garden item I owe to my friend Ali, who brought me a superb plant) was flourishing despite the drought. I do love plants that behave as they should, despite my less-than-zealous care, and don't give me any trouble. (Well, okay, I do need to give it a handful of Nitrophoska about once a month, watered in, make sure the soil doesn't dry out, and feed it a weak Epsom salts solution if the leaves go a bit yellow - but that's all perfectly simple and straightforward, because I was told exactly what to do.)<br />
<span class="recipe-list-item-name"> </span> Experimenting with the easiest way to slice a stalk of rhubarb, I've discovered it's best to rest the stalk on the chopping board so that the side facing away from you is rounded and the one facing you is flat with the two edges, and cut across it in that position - the knife seems to cope best with its odd shape that way.<br />
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The recipe is quite flexible - it depends on how much fruit you've got. The oroginal was for a rather large quantity, 500 g of each fruit. My punnet of strawberries had about 260 g of fruit in it, so I picked enough stalks to make up roughly the same weight of rhubarb and adjusted the other ingredients to fit. This gives enough cooked fruit to serve 4 to 6 people, depending on what else you serve with it.</div>
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<strong>Strawberry and rhubarb compote</strong></div>
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<span class="recipe-list-quantity"><b> </b></span><span class="recipe-list-quantity"> 260 g (one punnet) </span><span class="recipe-list-item-name">fresh strawberries, neatly topped</span></div>
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<span class="recipe-list-item-name"><span class="recipe-list-quantity"><b> </b>260 g<b> </b></span><span class="recipe-list-item-name">rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2 cm pieces</span></span><br />
3 Tbsps sugar<br />
(depending on how tart the fruit is - </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.5pt; margin-left: -18pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>taste when it's half cooked and see if it needs more)</div>
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<span class="recipe-list-item-name-capitalize"> Pinch of salt</span></div>
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<span class="recipe-list-item-name-capitalize"> Zest from 1/2 a navel
orange</span></div>
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<span class="recipe-list-item-name"> 3 Tbsps rosé wine or port</span></div>
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<span class="recipe-list-item-name"> OR</span></div>
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<span class="recipe-list-item-name"> 3-4 Tbsps triple sec or Cointreau (you can then leave out the orange peel)</span></div>
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Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and add a scant 1/4 cup of water. Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring gently to dissolve
the sugar. </div>
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Cook gently, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
and adding a very small amount of water (or a tiny bit more alcohol, but taste-test - don't overdo it) if the mixture seems too dry. You want
most of the liquid to evaporate and the fruit to cook through and soften, without completely losing its shape and texture.</div>
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Put into a glass or china bowl to cool. If not serving
immediately, cover and put in the fridge (the flavour does seem to deepen if
you cook it a few hours before serving). Take it out of the fridge an hour
before serving, so that it isn't too chilled. </div>
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You can serve this with a piece of dessert cake, as I did,
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AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-35940621667416168572018-01-15T16:42:00.002+13:002018-01-15T17:00:21.191+13:00A ham sandwichAt this time of year, we usually have at least a bit of leftover ham. It gets made into a few special dishes - one favourite is <a href="https://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.co.nz/2011/01/savoury-comfort-food-from-italy.html">Claudia Roden's Antico Risotto Sabaudo</a>, with ham, cheese and white wine. But most of it gets eaten with salad or in sandwiches.<br />
My neighbour Frances recently spent some time in a retirement home, recuperating from a hip operation. Being the Christmas season, she did get to eat ham there. Unfortunately, it was served warmed up and covered in brown gravy. So I brought her fresh little ham sandwiches, and she devoured them. It set me off thinking about other ham sandwiches in my life...<br />
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<span lang="EN-NZ">My husband always hoped to
find<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">A plain ham sandwich to go
with his coffee:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">White bread, butter, ham, a
dab of mustard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">But all they ever had were
flat panini<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">And giant croissants stuffed
with cheese and bacon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">The year after he died, I went
to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Auckland</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">To see my sister. At the airport
Wishbone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">Lined up beside the lamb with green
mint jelly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">And the chicken with
watercress and cranberry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">Was a proper old-fashioned ham
sandwich<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">With real butter. I carried it
off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">To a quiet corner of the
concourse<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-NZ">Disentangled it from its
plastic armour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">And bit into its long exposed soft
side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">I was seven again, sitting
across from my mother<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">On a plywood chair at a white
Formica table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">Hard to say who was enjoying
it more:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">Her, out on the town, her
string bag bulging<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">With small exciting
unnecessary parcels<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-NZ">Or me, freed from school for
two whole weeks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">Plunging deeply into the heady
pleasure <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">Of a soft ham sandwich and a
fizzy drink<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">In the neon light of Farmer’s
Bargain Basement.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
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AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-14683425346323760802017-12-27T10:56:00.000+13:002017-12-27T11:06:29.080+13:00Mastering the mysteries of potato saladFor our Christmas Day buffet, I made potato salad. It was a great success, and I was looking forward to eating the leftovers on Boxing Day - but it was so cold and wet I didn't feel like it, and bought a supermarket pouch of soup instead (because I can't be bothered making any). Still, I learnt a lot of interesting things in pursuit of potato salad mastery, so I thought I'd share the essentials with you, plus a recipe, because today the sun is out and it feels like salad weather again.<br />
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1. Good potato salad requires potatoes that are neither under-cooked nor over-cooked. Starting the potatoes in boiling water is a bad idea, because the outside overcooks before the inside is even warm. So always start the potatoes in cold water.<br />
2. Adding 1 tablespoon of rice or white vinegar per litre of cooking water, as well as salt, both seasons the potatoes and helps to prevent over-cooking.<br />
3. Because potato salad is eaten cold, it needs more seasoning than potatoes served hot. Adding more some seasoning to the hot drained potatoes is much more effective than waiting until they're cold.<br />
4. Mayonnaise needs to be added later when the potatoes are cold, and you can add a bit more vinegar at this stage too, along with pepper.<br />
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If you really want to know every detail of the science behind all this, complete with the cellular construction of potatoes and pictures using green dye to show how seasoning gets in, go <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/07/the-food-lab-how-to-make-the-best-potato-salad-done-right.html">here</a>.<br />
The Food Lab guy's final word:<br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #3d414a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Two tablespoons of vinegar in the cooking water, another
to dress the hot potatoes, and a final two in the mayonnaise mixture add plenty of layered brightness. Mayonnaise—be it storebought or homemade—is a
must... </span></span><span style="color: #3d414a; font-family: inherit;">By stirring the salad vigorously, you
can bash off the corners of the potatoes, which get mashed up and extend the
amount of creamy dressing to tender potato chunks. For heat I add a few
tablespoons of whole grain mustard.</span></div>
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Okay, so here's my NZ adaptation of the '<a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/07/classic-potato-salad-recipe.html">Classic Potato Salad' recipe</a> provided by Serious Eats to go with the lab report:<br />
<br />
1.5 kg smallish boiling potatoes<br />
2 litres cold water<br />
2 Tbsps salt<br />
2 Tbsps sugar<br />
2 Tbsps rice or white vinegar<br />
<br />
Add potatoes, salt, sugar and vinegar to water in a large saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce to a slow boil and cook until done (test for doneness after about 10 minutes' slow boiling - mine took about 20 minutes to cook through). Drain, peel and cut into chunks (not too small or they'll go mushy).<br />
<br />
2 Tbsps vinegar<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #3d414a;">Transfer warm cut up potatoes to rimmed baking sheet. Spread into an even layer, then sprinkle with vinegar. Allow to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.</span><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d414a;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d414a;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> Add extras according to preference</span></span></span><span style="color: #3d414a; font-family: inherit; text-indent: -18pt;"> - the quantities depend on how many potatoes you're using, but the potatoes should prevail:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d414a;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d414a;"><i> Original recipe</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d414a;"> Finely diced celery<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d414a;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> F</span></span><span style="color: #3d414a;">inely diced red onion<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d414a;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> Finely sliced green parts of spring onions</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d414a;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> 1</span></span></span><span style="color: #3d414a; text-indent: -18pt;">/4 cup chopped cornichons (tiny gherkins)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d414a;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> Finely chopped Italian parsley</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"><i> </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"><i> Some NZ extras or alternatives:</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"> Hard-boiled eggs, chopped</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"> Corn kernels (cut from a cob microwaved for 3 minutes)</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"> Finely diced shallots (milder than the red onion)</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"> Capers instead of cornichons</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"> Finely chopped fresh chives</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3d414a;">Mix gently into cut up potatoes, then add:</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"> Bought or home-made mayonnaise </span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"> (Not too much, it shouldn't be overwhelming. </span><span style="color: #3d414a; text-indent: -18pt;">For super-easy home-made mayonnaise, go </span><a href="https://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.co.nz/2017/01/simple-home-made-caesar-salad-dressing.html" style="text-indent: -18pt;">here</a><span style="color: #3d414a; text-indent: -18pt;">. I made it with the finely chopped garlic, but leave that out if you don't like it.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3d414a;">Taste and mix in gently, according to preference:</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"> Grainy mustard</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"> A little more vinegar or a little lemon juice</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3d414a;">Chill for a few hours or overnight - take out of fridge an hour before serving.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d414a;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #3d414a;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d414a;">Those who know my blog well will recognise that once again, I took the photo only after we'd eaten most of the potato salad!</span></div>
AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-43201397906506375852017-12-17T21:17:00.000+13:002017-12-17T21:21:20.398+13:00Chocolate truffle cake<span style="font-family: inherit;">My son was born on 12 December, a bit close to Christmas, but of course he likes to have his birthday properly celebrated. This year he planned to have friends round for afternoon tea. As it happens, I was at my friend Joan's birthday afternoon tea a few weeks ago, and she had made a remarkably delicious chocolate cake - not one of those great big high ones, but a much denser, fudgy, chocolatey creation I knew my son would love. (After extensive research, he has decided his favourite cafe chocolate cake is Aro Street Cafe's Chocolate Nemesis - another dense, fudgy number.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> So I asked for the recipe. In the usual fashion, it was given to Joan by Chris, who knew it as Lilly's Truffle Cake, so it's clearly been passed on to a number of eager bakers. Not that I ever really call myself a baker - what attracted me to this recipe, apart from its deliciousness, was how easy it looked to make. On Saturday, I made it for Sunday afternoon. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Lilly’s Chocolate
Truffle Cake</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Joan's comments in brackets, and mine added in italics. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Easily doubled to make a larger cake. In fact I added one third of each quantity, making a cake 25% larger, to fit my 22 cm tin - my quantities in brackets.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">200 g (270g) dark
chocolate (</span><i style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Whittaker's Dark Ghana, what else!</i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">180 g (240 g) sugar<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">180 g (240g) butter<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3 (4) rounded
tablespoons ground almonds (almond meal); or flour; or for a slightly lighter cake, self raising
flour<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(I used 3 rounded Tbsps almond meal and 1 Tbsp self-raising flour - this worked well.)</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3 (4) eggs<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Icing sugar to
dredge<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Set oven to 200 degrees (190 fan bake).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Break chocolate into squares and place in microwave
suitable bowl.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Add the butter and sugar.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Heat by pulsing in the microwave until it
just melts, stirring between pulses to even the heat.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Stop as soon as it melts so it doesn’t get
cooked.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Transfer to a food processor. Blend again by whirring for
30 seconds, then add almond meal, or flour, and whirr again. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Add eggs one at a time, whirring until
everything is mixed.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Grease a 20 cm (22 cm) round cake tin and flour. (I lazily use cooking paper.)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(I lined my loose-bottomed tin with baking paper and it worked perfectly.) </i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pour the mixture into the centre of the tin,
spread towards edges, and bake in preheated
oven for 10 minutes.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Reduce heat to 150 degrees (140 fan bake) and continue
cooking a further 30 minutes. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Joan: In my oven I do it for only 20 minutes, as the longer time dries it out too
much.)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(Anne: As I was making a larger, slightly thicker cake, I found it did take close to 30 minutes.) </i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The centre shouldn’t dry out, and the top should be a
little cracked and crusty. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Undercooking is better than overcooking. An inserted skewer or thin knife should come out with a little bit of sticky inside clinging to it.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leave in tin to cool. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Transfer to plate by inverting onto one plate and then onto the cake plate. Dredge with icing sugar. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(Jonathan insisted on having ganache icing, made with 150 ml cream heated just to scalding point, then poured over 150 g of broken-up chocolate pieces (more Whittaker's) in a bowl and stirred thoroughly until chocolate has melted and ganache is dark. Leave to cool in fridge for about an hour until thick enough to spread over cake.)</i></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Joan: Raspberry coulis is great with this ... as
well as, of course ... cream! (Or yoghourt!)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Anne: Jonathan had both, and he also spread sliced strawberries over the top of the iced cake. His friends were very impressed and asked if he had bought it - but of course he pointed out that his mother had made it. It's extremely rich, so only slender pieces were required - which was just as well, because there was some left for me later (he knew this was a condition of my making it!). Definitely worth the effort...</i></span></span><br />
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<br />AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-25087467321433044622017-10-01T16:40:00.000+13:002017-10-01T16:44:36.387+13:00Very easy Dutch apple cakeLast weekend was, in case you've forgotten, election night. Harvey and I always used to select who we invited to watch the results very carefully. They not only had to share our political persuasion, they also had to be quietly devoted to watching the results. Jonathan deserted me for his own friends, so I had my neighbour over early on, then a close friend joined us.<br />
I planned to have soup and then finger food for later, but I also wanted to make a cake. As apples are one of the few well-priced fruits around, I thought a Dutch apple cake would be good - but I couldn't find my old recipe. No problem - one quick search online for "Dutch apple cake NZ" (local baking recipes usually work best) and I found exactly what I wanted. The use of melted butter makes it very easy to mix, and thanks to the cinnamon and sugar topping, it doesn't need icing.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sue's Dutch Apple
Cake</span></div>
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Adapted slightly from <a href="http://www.tuigarden.co.nz/recipe/sues-dutch-apple-cake">http://www.tuigarden.co.nz/recipe/sues-dutch-apple-cake</a></div>
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(I don't know who this Sue is - the site says "This apple cake is a favourite supplied by Gemma from the
Tui Team.") </div>
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2 eggs</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
½ cup sugar </div>
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125g melted butter </div>
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1 c self-raising flour </div>
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zested rind of 1 lemon </div>
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3 medium apples, peeled and chopped up (my apples weren't very tart, so I added a couple of tablespoons of of juice from the zested lemon)</div>
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1 Tbsps cinnamon and 1/3 c sugar, mixed together for sprinkling on top (you may not need all this, but I like it quite thick).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Prepare cake tin, greasing the sides and lining the base with bake paper. (The recipe recommends a ring tin, which gives a higher cake. I used a square tin, lined entirely with bake paper, for a shallow cake which cut into neat squares.)</div>
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Set oven to 180C bake (or 170C fanbake).</div>
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Melt the butter (a Pyrex jug works well, in the oven or the microwave) and leave it to cool.</div>
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Beat the eggs and the sugar together in a largeish bowl, then add the melted
butter. </div>
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Add the self-raising flour, lemon rind and apples to the
mixture, and mix to combine. </div>
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Pour into prepared cake tin. </div>
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Sprinkle with a generous amount of the cinnamon and sugar.</div>
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Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a skewer or thin knife blade
inserted in the middle comes out clean.</div>
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Serve with plain whipped cream or yoghurt.</div>
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This is really good, quite light and yet very moist - a cross between cake and dessert. Once again (sigh) I didn’t get a decent photo before most of the cake got
eaten, and I couldn’t copy the one that came with the original recipe. So here are a couple of photos I found online – the first is a similar cake, and the other is exactly the recipe above, but from the Chelsea Sugar site. </div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Mine looked like a cross between the two. I don't think the Chelsea one has been mixed properly, because the apple seems to be all at the bottom, but the topping looks right. </span></div>
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AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-35800443340230799992017-08-03T14:50:00.002+12:002017-08-03T15:08:56.446+12:00Fillo feta rolls for a Middle Eastern feast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last week came one of the highlights of my culinary year. Ali and Lynn both have their birthdays near the end of July, and as we're all keen cooks and gourmets, we always get together for a themed feast. (Last year it was Spain - see <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/home-made-spain.html">here</a> and <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.co.nz/2016/03/little-cakes-from-toledo-for-easter.html">here</a>.) This year I had a new edition of Claudia Roden's <i>A Book of Middle Eastern Food</i> (my third, I've worn out the first two) and was giving a copy to Ali, so a Middle Eastern feast would work beautifully.<br />
<br />
We had it at my place and each of us produced a starter and a main, and I also made dessert. Ali, the bread queen, made Turkish pide bread, herb fritters with haloumi, and grilled eggplant with labneh and za'ahtar. Lynn made red pepper and walnut dip and Morroccan couscous with chicken. I made yoghurt with cucumber and garlic, fillo feta rolls, and lamb and apricot stew with spiced basmati rice. For dessert I made our favourite orange and almond cake, with sliced oranges in syrup. (You may well think this sounds a lot, for lunch for three, and it was. We always cook too much - but we don't care, because we get wonderful leftovers.)<br />
I need to collect their recipes to share, but for now I thought it would be good to post the feta rolls. In my memoir I wrote about discovering fillo (or filo) pastries in Albania:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="text-indent: 36pt;">Rosia took the
greatest pride in her byrek, small crisp three-cornered parcels of golden brown
filo pastry filled with meat or cheese. But much as we loved them, we asked for
them only if we were giving a proper party or coming back from a holiday,
because the filo didn’t come in neat packets. Rosia and Hurimai pushed back the
rugs and furniture in the sitting room and spread a white sheet over the marble
tiles. They each took one end of a long thin dowel and delicately rolled out
the dough into one great layer, so thin you could see through it.</span></blockquote>
<span style="text-indent: 36pt;">The Albanian name, byrek or burek, comes from the Turkish b</span>örek described by Roden - she says the cheese one is the most popular. But her recipe is for rolls rather than Rosia's triangles. I did think about attempting the triangles, but the little cigar-shaped rolls are easier.<br />
As you'll see from the photo below, because of the rather broken sheets of fillo, and because there were only three of us, I was lazy and used all the filling to make three medium and three larger ones, rather than a lot of little ones - easier, and you get more filling in each one.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sigara böregi</span><br />
Little cheese rolls<br />
<i>(fSlightly adapted from Claudia Roden,</i> The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, <i>2001)</i><br />
Makes 16 little rolls (in theory!)<br />
<br />
200 g feta cheese<br />
(I got a genuine Greek one at the Mediterranean Warehouse, but Zany Zeus in Wellington also makes a very good one. If your block is wrapped in plastic, blot it well with kitchen paper before using.)<br />
1 egg, lightly beaten<br />
3-4 Tbsps finely chopped mint, flat parsley, or dill<br />
8 thin sheets fillo pastry<br />
(I could only find Edmonds, which is very thin and tends to break when unrolled. Roden recommends using 4 sheets of a thicker one, but I don't think it's obtainable here. However, I found that using two thin sheets together worked fine.)<br />
4-6 Tbsps melted butter or oil<br />
<br />
Take out the frozen fillo to defrost while you make the filling. (I found I had to defrost the whole packet, but could quickly refreeze the leftovers.)<br />
Preheat oven to 190C, or 180C fan bake.<br />
Spread a large oven sheet with baking paper.<br />
<br />
<b>Filling: </b>Mash the feta well with a fork and mix it thoroughly with the beaten egg and herbs.<br />
<br />
<b>Assembly: </b>Using 2 sheets of fillo together, cut them into rectangles, each about 30 cm by 10 cm. (You are meant to get 16 of these rectangles.) Pile these on top of each other as you cut them so that they don't dry out. (It helps to have ready a damp teatowel to cover them as you go.)<br />
Lay out one pair of thin rectangles. Brush the top sheet with melted butter or oil. Take a heaped teaspoon of the filling and place it at one end of the strip in a thin sausage shape, about 2 cm from the three edges (see diagram).<br />
Roll up the sheets with the filling inside, like rolling a cigarette. When you've rolled about a third of the way along the strip, turn in the sides to trap the filling. (Brushing on a bit of extra butter or oil is useful to help them stick.) Continue to roll with the sides turned in. Repeat with the remaining rectangles of fillo.<br />
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Lay the rolls close to each other on the baking paper, with the ends of rolled fillo underneath, and brush the tops and sides with melted butter or oil.<br />
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<b>Baking: </b>Place oven sheet with rolls at the middle of the preheated oven or slightly above. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the rolls are crisp and golden. Serve hot. (If necessary they can be reheated later - mine were.)<br />
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It was such a pleasure to bite into these and recapture a favourite taste of Albanian life. So now I plan to make the larger rolls again, to serve for dinner with salad...<br />
<br />AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-52479855797787418172017-07-02T20:48:00.001+12:002019-04-03T17:40:50.761+13:00Tartology: Leek and blue cheese tart<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For my birthday lunch, deferred until June (I like to spread it out), Ali served me an absolutely perfect leek and blue cheese tart. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo, but I was determined to have a go myself, so she gave me the recipe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Today I managed to do it. Not quite as perfectly trimmed around the edges as hers (she gives clever instructions for dong this AFTER the case is blind-baked, but I carelessly missed that bit), and it could perhaps have done with slightly longer cooking to set the filling a fraction more - but my oven tends to run hotter than hers, so I had to take it out slightly early to stop it going too brown on top. Otherwise - well, it really was pretty good.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #514a44;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Leek and blue cheese tart </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #514a44; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(River Cottage, with Ali's tweaks)</i></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #514a44;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>For the pastry:</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">250g plain flour</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">125g unsalted butter, cut into little chunks</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">A pinch of sea salt</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 yolk of a medium egg</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">25-50ml cold milk (I needed slightly more to make the pastry stick together properly)</span></div>
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<b style="color: #514a44; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For the filling:</span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 12.0pt;">2 large or 3 medium leeks (about 500g), trimmed of tough green leaves,
washed and sliced into 1cm rounds<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 12.0pt;">A knob of unsalted butter<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 12.0pt;">100g good blue cheese, grated or crumbled<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 12.0pt;">2 medium eggs<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 12.0pt;">2 medium egg yolks </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 300ml cream</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> First make the pastry: Put the
flour, butter and salt in a food processor and pulse until the mixture looks
like breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk, then pour in the milk in a gradual stream.
Watch carefully and stop adding the milk as soon as the dough starts to come
together. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Turn out and knead lightly a couple of times, then wrap in cling
film. Chill for 30 minutes. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Take out pastry and leave until you can roll it easily (but it's still firm). Line</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0px;"> the pastry case with a big enough piece of baking paper to have it sticking out enough to lift it out easily later. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 0px;">On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out quite thinly and use to line a 25cm loose-based tart tin, letting the excess pastry hang over the edges.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0px;">Chill for 30 minutes.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 12pt;">Preheat oven to </span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">170°C. (I set mine on Bake, without the fan, for this stage. If your oven runs a bit cool you may need to set it at </span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">180°C.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;"> Prepare the filling: Put the leeks into a saucepan </span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: -18pt;">with 100ml water, the butter and some salt and pepper. Bring to a low simmer, then cover and </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: -18pt;">cook gently, stirring once or twice, for about 10 minutes, until just tender. Drain well, reserving the cooking liquor.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fill tart case with baking beans and
place in the centre of the oven. Bake blind for 20 minutes. T</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">ake the tart out of the oven, remove the paper and beans, lightly prick the
base all over with a fork and return to the oven for 5 minutes, until the base
is dry but not too coloured. (Mine looked a bit too pale, so I shifted the setting to Fan Bake for this stage and for the rest of the cooking.) Carefully trim off the excess pastry with a small,
sharp knife. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 12pt;">Turn the oven temperature up to </span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">180°C (</span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">170°C may be better if you are using Fan Bake).</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Put the eggs and egg yolks, cream and leek liquor in a bowl and beat until smooth. Season to taste.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Spread the well-drained cooked leeks in the tart case and cover with the grated/crumbled cheese.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pour the egg mixture over the leeks and cheese. Put the tart back into
the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. The custard should be just set when
you gently shake the tin. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ali and I both use Mary Berry's trick to get the outer rim of the tart case off easily. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let the tart cool a little. Rest the base on a flat-bottomed upside-down bowl or small saucepan, which needs to be a little smaller than the base. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: #666666; font-size: 12pt;">Use a sharp knife to gently free any bits of the edge that are sticking to the rim. Then ease the rim down to the bench, leaving the tart sitting neatly on its base.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Serve warm or cool (but not chilled). All you need with this is a simple salad, but you can add crusty bread and butter if you're really hungry. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Between us my son and I ate half tonight, leaving half for tomorrow - brilliant.</span></div>
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AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-72571699046201565872017-06-29T22:44:00.002+12:002017-06-29T22:44:44.199+12:00Dispelling the myths of food povertyI wrote this blog for the Child Poverty Action Group, so I thought I would share it with you here. In what they tell me is a remarkably short time, it's had 1710 views on their blogsite.<br />
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<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The New Testament can be spot-on. As usual, the 2017 Budget handed out considerable amounts to those that hath at least a moderate amount already, and only a few scraps to those that hath hardly anything.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Post-Budget, I've been thinking about poverty and food. There's a mountain of research to show that when it's incredibly hard to make ends meet, it's food that takes the hit, because it's the only flexible expense. That's why some kids go to school without lunches, or maybe even without breakfast.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But whenever the food of the poor is discussed in the media, the scornful comments flood in, trying to demonise and place blame on struggling parents. <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You often see comments such as,</span> "It's so easy to stock up on specials/cook up a pot of soup/make cheap school lunches/come up with simple healthy meals," and: "When we had very little money, we managed perfectly well - why can't they?"</span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I suddenly found myself on a very strict food budget - the kind where you spend your whole time in the supermarket worrying about whether you'll be able to pay for what you put in the trolley - I would probably be able to manage pretty well too. But the ability to do that depends on a whole range of factors, most of which have very little to do with my own worthiness or work ethic.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One: Basic income security.</span> Ever since my first marriage there's been enough coming in to cover the bills, the food, and emergencies. Apart from a few times very early on, I haven't had to worry about whether I'd have enough to cover the total at the checkout. And I've always been able to pay the bills for the power and gas I need to cook. Things are so different now. Thousands of families with at least one parent in paid work don't earn enough to meet their basic needs, or never know what they'll earn from one week to the next. And benefits are no longer designed to keep you out of poverty - they keep you in it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two: Good housing with a well-equipped, workable kitchen. </span>Our first son was seven and had a little brother by the time we managed to buy a house. But before that we had little trouble finding a series of Auckland flats to rent that were secure, dry, quiet, affordable and had workable kitchens. And we didn't have to share them with other people. I've never once had to cope with damp, freezing, mouldy or overcrowded homes with shockingly bad kitchens - let alone live in a garage or a car, with no kitchen at all. And I've never been unable to afford basic equipment like a big soup pot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Three: Cheap fresh food.</span> When we got back from working in Britain in 1976, I was so thrilled to be able to buy such good food for so little every week. Over the last thirty years the enormous increase in the real price of fresh food in New Zealand has been phenomenal. We're one of the few countries that imposes GST on it all. When I have overseas visitors, they're shocked by how much fresh food costs here - especially considering how much of it we produce. And if you buy something which is supposed to be fresh but very quickly goes off, it's a total loss. So you'll stick to heavily processed but utterly reliable food instead. Junk food is so much cheaper - if I were chronically poor, I'd be buying it too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Four: Experience and education.</span> As I explained in <em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Colour of Food</em>, when I married at the age of 19 and promptly had a baby, I could barely cook at all. Now, I know a hundred ways to make a cheap, filling, reasonably healthy meal, but back then I didn't have a clue. Luckily I'd grown up with a mother who was a good cook, and so was my mother-in-law. And new recipes for exotic but cheap one-dish creations like spaghetti bolognese were just starting to appear in magazines I could afford to buy, so I could learn quickly. This is so far from the case for many parents nowadays.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Five: Food access.<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For me, shops selling a good range of food have always been within fairly easy reach, even when we didn’t have a car. That's just not the case for hundreds of people now. You try providing bargain-price healthy meals week after week when it takes a huge effort just to get to the nearest supermarket. Easy to reach food shops in poorer and rural areas charge more and may not stock much in the way of decent food.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Six: A good store of extras.</span> What makes cheap, basic healthy food tasty is being able to add all the little extras - spices, lemon juice, vinegar, stock. I have all these in abundance, all the time. If you're on a tight food budget, you can't afford them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Seven: A buffer fund. </span>If something essential breaks down - the fridge, the stove, the car - I can afford to put it right without having to go begging to Work and Income or an invisible landlord. If I see good specials - often multibuys - I can afford to stock up, and I've got the room to store them safely and securely. When you're juggling your money so precariously that any extra spending one week will mean there's nothing left the week after, this is impossible. </span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't think there can be anything much more soul-destroying than being responsible for providing your family with food every day, in circumstances that make doing that a constant struggle. So next time you read yet another shocking story in the media about families going without decent healthy food, please pause and have a good think about their reality, which may be <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">very different from yours.</span> Then find out how you can support moves to change it for good.</span></span></div>
AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-19806325128561805362017-06-10T15:57:00.001+12:002017-06-10T16:12:38.120+12:00Pretty fast pumpkin soup<br />
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I do have a good excuse, sort of, for not posting here as often as I intend to. My son is back at university and spends a great deal of time meticulously crafting his essays on this computer. Both of us find the big desktop much more comfortable to write on than a dinky laptop, let alone an iPad.<br />
Anyway, today he's out, so I decided it was high time to pass on my new idea for winter. Well, fairly new. I did think it up myself, but somewhere someone else (👧) has undoubtedly thought of it first. It's very simple, warming, delicious, and the most gorgeous colour. It's also really cheap to make - my little grey pumpkin was $1 at the Victoria St market. You'll find two earlier pumpkin soup posts <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.co.nz/2010/04/pumpkin-hurling-and-soup-making.html">here</a> and <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/soup-of-evening.html">here</a>.<br />
For the spicy curry flavour, I used my last tablespoon of red curry paste and about half a cup of some leftover butter chicken sauce. Totally inauthentic, I know, but tidy, thrifty, and it worked perfectly. If you want to concoct your own spice mixture, go right ahead, but make sure it has a red-ish colour.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Pretty fast pumpkin soup</span> <br />
(This serves four - increase quantities to get a bigger pot of soup)<br />
<br />
1 small pumpkin, or a cut piece to give roughly the same amount of flesh<br />
1 large or two smaller carrots<br />
2 Tbs red curry paste (or something similar - how much you use depends on how spicy you like it)<br />
knob of butter for frying<br />
juice of one medium lemon or lime<br />
half a medium tin of coconut milk<br />
enough extra coconut milk, or milk or cream, to dilute at the end as required (you can also put a blob of plain yoghurt in each bowl after serving)<br />
something green and finely chopped to serve on top - coriander is good, or chives, spring onion, parsley<br />
naan bread/poppadum/lightly toasted tortillas/any other kind of bread you fancy<br />
<br />
Using a large knife, cut the pumpkin into pieces roughly the size of your two cupped hands.<br />
Arrange pieces in a large shallow glass or ceramic dish that will fit in your microwave.<br />
Add half a cup of water to dish, cover, and microwave until pumpkin is semi-soft.<br />
Let pieces cool enough to handle. Leaving the water in the dish, remove each piece, peel it and remove seeds and fibrous centre flesh. Cut any very large pieces in half.<br />
Peel and trim the carrot(s) and cut them lengthwise, then cut into small short sticks.<br />
Melt the butter gently in a large suacepan and gently fry whatever spices or spice paste you are using for a couple of minutes. (If it's something prepared (like my leftover butter chicken sauce) just melt the butter.)<br />
Add the pumpkin, carrot and the water from the pumpkin dish. Add enough extra water to almost cover the vegetables.<br />
Bring to boil, then turn heat down to a medium simmer. Cook until vegetables are soft. (Don't wander off and leave it, as I'm inclined to do - it will burn.)<br />
Taste to see if it needs more salt. If you wish, add pepper (white pepper looks better) and/or a dash of hot sauce (like Kaitaia Fire).<br />
Add lemon or lime juice to taste.<br />
When it has all cooled a bit, puree with a hand blender or in a food processor until smooth. If it is too thick to puree, add a little milk.<br />
Return to saucepan, stir in the half-tin of coconut milk, reheat gently and cook for a few minutes. Check seasoning. Add enough extra coconut milk (or milk or cream) to get the texture you want, without spoiling the vibrant colour, check seasoning again and reheat gently.<br />
Serve with green stuff to sprinkle on and yoghurt to stir in, as well as the warm bread.<br />
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I was so greedy, I didn't remember to take the photo until I'd nearly finished my bowlful. Sorry about that.<br />
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<br />AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-71712306473115816492017-04-25T17:34:00.000+12:002017-04-25T17:40:12.505+12:00Anzac biscuits: the true storyWhat else could turn up on the blog today but Anzac biscuits? I wrote about them back in <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.co.nz/2011/04/biscuits-for-anzac-day.html">April 2011</a>, just a few months after Harvey died, and gave Lois Daish's recipe (below).<br />
They've stayed firmly in our repertoire of national recipes not only because of their historical associations, but also because they're distinctive, easy to make, and delicious. However, as is often the case, there's a good deal of confusion about their history.<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Anzac troops at Gallipoli did get a kind of biscuit as a major part of their appallingly inadequate diet. (To see just how bad it was, have a look at this remarkable<a href="http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/126-1373/5606/"> 2013 article</a>.) They were sometimes referred to as "the ship's ANZAC biscuit", but they had nothing to do with the ones we know now. </span><span style="background-color: white;">They were made in Britain, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #414042;">so by the time they got to Gallipoli they were rock hard and
bone dry. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: inherit;">Aussie soldier Sydney Loch recalled trying to eat them:</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #EFE8DC; line-height: 9.45pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #273b4a; font-family: inherit;">“For
supper we had nothing more than those tough square biscuits given to us as
rations – they were so hard a man could break his teeth on them. I had
three days provisions with me, but was warned that they might have to last for
five days. So I took care not to dip too deeply into my provision
bag. Someone offered me the bottom of a can of tea, which helped to wash
those tough biscuits down.”</span></div>
<span style="color: #273b4a; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">(Loch, </span><st1:city style="color: #273b4a; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sydney</st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #273b4a; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #273b4a; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"> </span><em style="color: #273b4a; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">To
Hell and Back: The banned account of Gallipoli</em><span style="color: #273b4a; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">, Sydney, NSW: Harper
Collins, 2007, p.89.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:country-region style="font-family: Times-Roman;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="background-color: white;">A </span>New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Times-Roman;">
army biscuit sometimes turned up with reinforcement drafts, and t</span><span style="background-color: white;">he first historian of Gallipoli, Major Fred Waite, noted that it </span><span style="font-family: Times-Roman;">was much better: white, easy to eat and </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times-Roman;">pleasant tasting.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times-Roman;"> T</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;">he idea that Gallipoli soldiers were sent Anzac biscuits baked by New Zealand women is a myth, although the Army Museum says there is </span><span style="background-color: white;">some evidence that "a rolled oats biscuit was sent to troops on the Western Front, although this was not widespread". </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> Dozens of what came to be called Anzac biscuits were indeed baked here. But instead of being sent overseas, most were "s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">old and consumed at fetes, galas, parades and other public events at home, to raise funds for the war effort".</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Dr Helen Leach, emeritus professor of anthropology at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Otago, is the </st1:placename></st1:place>recognised authority on
the traditional Anzac biscuit (as well as pavlova). In 2014 the Aussies tried to claim that they had found the first published recipe (1921, in the Melbourne <i>Argus). </i>But Helen (I can call her that, as I have the pleasure of knowing her) points out that a remarkably similar recipe for "Anzac
Crispies" was published in <st1:country-region w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:country-region> in 1919, in the eighth
edition of the St Andrew's Cookery Book. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> She believes that feelings were running so high after
the 1915 Gallipoli landing that Red Cross women on fund-raising stalls back in
New Zealand probably changed the name of already existing "rolled oat
crispies" to boost sales. I reckon this is by far the most convincing explanation of how the name came about.</span><br />
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<strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Anzac biscuits </strong><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">(from </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">A Good Year</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">, Lois Daish, 2005)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">170g caster sugar</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">130g flour</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">100g rolled oats</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">60g dessicated coconut</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">100g butter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">3 tablespoons golden syrup</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">4 tablespoons boiling water</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">- Preheat oven to 160C (on fanbake if you have it) and line two baking trays with baking paper.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">- Put sugar, flour, oats a nd coconut into a large bowl and mix well.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">- Put butter and golden syrup in a small pot over gentle heat until melted.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">- Put baking soda in a cup and pour the boiling water over it. Stir until dissolved and add to melted butter and syrup.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">- Pour this hot fluffy mixture into the dry ingredients and stir very thoroughly.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">- Use your hand to form the slightly crumbly mixture into a mass. Form balls about the size of a small walnut and place onto the lined trays, leaving enough room for spreading. Press each ball lightly with a fork and put in the oven. (A friend told me to dip the fork in water first so it doesn't stick to the biscuits.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">- After 5 minutes, open the oven and you'll see that the biscuits have flattened and puffed up. Give each tray a gentle bang to deflate the biscuits - you may need to do this again after another minute or two. (Actually, mine didn't seem to puff up, but I did make them too big and I think I was a bit light on the flour, they really spread out.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">- Total baking time about 10 minutes."When ready", says Lois, "the biscuits will be a light chestnut brown and will still feel slightly soft when pressed." </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">- Take out of the oven, leave to cool for a minute or two, then transfer to a rack to harden and cool. (I just carefully lift off the whole sheet of baking paper and put that on the rack with the biscuits still on it.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px;">- Store in an airtight container. </span>AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-73866749079620050602017-04-09T22:14:00.001+12:002017-04-09T22:56:57.960+12:00Super Simple Sydney Special<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've got the book group coming here tomorrow night, so today I made an old-fashioned slice, Sydney Special. I have no idea where the name comes from. I got the recipe close to fifty years ago from Chris Else's sister Bridget - she and my sister, Susan, were the bridesmaids at our wedding. It used to be a great stand-by for hungry children. I haven't made it for years, partly because I don't usually have any cornflakes, but there was a small bag of them in the pantry so I thought I'd give it a go. It's so easy, it would be a good thing for kids to make themselves.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sydney Special</span><br />
<i>(Bridget Else, now Gill)</i><br />
<br />
1 cup cornflakes<br />
1 cup dessicated coconut<br />
1 cup plain flour<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
2 dessertspoons cocoa<br />
3/4 cup brown sugar<br />
150g melted butter<br />
Your favourite icing - chocolate is good (as long as it's made with real chocolate), but peppermint or coffee would work well too.<br />
<br />
Set oven to 180C/170C fan bake.<br />
Mix all dry ingredients together. Add melted butter and mix well.<br />
Press into a sponge roll tin/shallow baking tin lined with baking paper.<br />
Bake for 25-30 minutes.<br />
Near the end of the baking, mix icing - for chocolate, melt squares of Whittaker's Dark Ghana in the microwave and mix it with enough icing sugar, and a little milk, to give a thick but fluid consistency, ready for spreading.<br />
Take out slice, cool a little and cut into squares or little bars.<br />
Spread some icing on each square and leave to cool and harden before putting away. (This is less messy than icing the whole block before you cut it up, and marginally healthier, as it uses about a third less icing.)<br />
<br />
So there you are. I actually made double the quantity so I'd have enough for me, Jonathan and our neighbour Frances, as well as for the book group. I think I slightly over-baked it - it was a bit crunchier than I remembered - but yummy all the same. Why are there three missing in the photo? Because we had to test them, of course, and Jonathan needed two to be sure they were okay.<br />
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<br />AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-40843522881584547652017-04-02T19:58:00.004+12:002017-04-02T19:58:56.676+12:00Mediterranean medley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm appalled to see how long it is since I've done a new post here. Of course I have been cooking, rather a lot, because my son needs decent dinners more than ever - he's juggling part-time teaching and university. And I seem to have had more than usual to deal with - the groups I belong to have all sprung into action lately, requiring me to do things (all involving writing), rather than just being supportive. So I've had lots of practice at concocting appealing meals which don't require much effort. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Saturday night's dinner worked pretty well. I'm calling it "Mediterranean medley" as a kind of homage to those cringeworthy titles so beloved of 1970s magazine recipes stepping out into the then unknown (to most of us) world of foreign food. It was loosely based on Middle Eastern dishes - Jonathan's really keen on them, and I've loved them ever since I discovered Claudia Roden's <i>Book of Middle Eastern Food</i> in 1972. Here's what I wrote about it in my memoir:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-AU">Nancy Spain and Katharine Whitehorn had provided
the absolute basics I needed to know, but there was much more to it than that:
t</span><span class="SubtitleChar1"><span lang="EN-AU">hey were real writers who persuaded
me that I could be, like them, a woman writer who cooked properly. </span></span><span lang="EN-AU">In terms of food, Claudia Roden was on another plane altogether. She
opened my eyes to a different kind of authenticity, based on intimate knowledge
and love of what she was describing. For the first time, I began to understand
fully what food, cooking and eating were about.</span></span></blockquote>
Only part of what I made on Saturday could be described as authentic, but taken as a whole it worked very well. We had hummus, Greek salad with feta, cucumber, tomato and olives, cucumber with garlic and yoghurt, and pita pockets spread with hummus and garlic mayo (bought) and filled with grilled Angus beef burgers and finely chopped cabbage salad. (Cabbage salad is entirely absent from Claudia Roden's book, but I had a large cabbage and no lettuce, so a bit of invention was called for.)<br />
<br />
The hummus I usually make is the most basic kind - and the cheapest (much cheaper than bought hummus, and nicer). I see I've never put the recipe up on the blog, so here it is. Claudia's begins with cooking the chick peas, but thankfully there's no need to do that now - the tinned ones are fine, though you do need to rinse them well.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hummus</span><br />
<i>(Adapted from </i>A New Book of Middle Eastern Food)<br />
<br />
1 450g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed<br />
2 tsp cumin (optional)<br />
2 large cloves garlic<br />
50-90 ml fresh lemon juice<br />
50 ml olive oil<br />
salt to taste<br />
warm pita bread to serve<br />
<br />
Put the garlic in a blender or food processor and process to chop it finely.<br />
Scrape down the bowl and add the chickpeas, cumin, half the lemon juice, half the olive oil and a little salt. Process and taste.<br />
Add more lemon juice, oil and salt until you have the texture and taste you like (it should taste both lemony and a little salty, but not too much so). If it's still a bit thick, you can add a dash of water.<br />
You can serve it with little black olives, a dribble of olive oil or some finely chopped parsley on top.<br />
<br />
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<br />
You can experiment with adding other flavours - ginger, sun-dried tomato - but I really prefer it plain. People often think you need tahina (sesame seed paste)to make hummus, but it's fine (and a good bit cheaper) without it. (Tahina gets a rather rancid taste quite quickly in the fridge, so don't be tempted to save by buying a large amount,as I once did). If you do want to add it, here's a later version of Roden's recipe.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hummus bi Tahina</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>From </i>Arabesque<i>, Clauda Roden<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 450g tin of chickpeas</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 lemons, juice of</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3 Tbsps tahini</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3 garlic cloves</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Salt</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4 Tbsps olive oil</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Garnish:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 Tbsp olive oil</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 tsp paprika</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 tsp ground cumin </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 sprigs parsley, finely chopped</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Process the garlic in a blender or food processor until
finely chopped. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Drain the chickpeas and rinse well. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Add to the garlic, then add the lemon juice, tahina, garlic,
olive oil, and salt. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Process to form a smooth texture.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taste to check. If it is too thick, or not well flavoured
enough, add a little more lemon juice and/or olive oil or salt.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Serve on a flat plate, garnished with a dribble of olive
oil, a dusting of paprika and ground cumin (this is usually done in the shape
of a cross) and a little parsley.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Serve with warm pita bread for dipping.</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-52601367289912950442017-01-21T21:18:00.001+13:002017-01-21T21:18:58.530+13:00Simple home-made Caesar salad dressing and mayonnaise<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I did a <a href="http://somethingelsetoeat.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/Caesar%20salad">Caesar salad post</a> back in 2012, it was very well received. My cos lettuce crop this year has been a complete failure, but when my lovely neighbour Helen gave me a bag of fresh cos leaves from her garden this week, my first thought was Caesar salad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I knew we'd run out of Paul Newman Caesar dressing, so I trotted off with it on my shopping list - and then completely overlooked buying it.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I have an excuse - I was distracted by Jonathan's plea for a supermarket steak and kidney pie, which he had a sudden yen for. Only they don't actually make those family pies any more, apparently. Countdown had pale mince ones, and New World had some not-very-appetising steak and cheese ones. But they also had a posh (and much more expensive) version with Angus steak and red onions. In the modern fashion, the label featured a prominent list of what it did NOT contain: no palm oil (good on them), no MSG (surely you wouldn't expect that in a pie anyway?), no preservatives, artificial colouring or flavouring. So we'll give it a go tomorrow night. [PS - it was okay, but not worth buying again.]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I had no intention of going back out for the dressing, so I decided I'd look up a recipe online, because (thanks to Mr Newman) I've never actually made it before. It was the usual story with a classic creation: ten different recipes, all claiming to be authentic and all featuring a roughly similar list of ingredients, only in differing quantities and combined by different methods.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> They all include grated Parmesan, though some prefer to leave it out of the actual dressing and just toss it with the undressed lettuce first, and most add more Parmesan on top at the end. (It tastes very much better to get a piece and grate it yourself, rather than using the kind sold already grated, which is really not worth eating. A piece of Parmesan is expensive, but you don't need a lot, and it lasts for a long time in the fridge.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> After extensive research, I settled for a slightly adapted version of <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/ask-the-food-lab-caesar-salad-recipe.html">the recipe offered by Serious Eats</a>. To start with, it gives by far the best background, based on Julia Child's childhood memories of Caesar salad and very good sources from the restaurant where it's said to have originated (see my previous post). It has all the basic ingredients, but doesn't contain any harsh vinegar (which, judging by Paul's, I think would be too strong). It uses a stick blender, which I know will work because my friend Ali has given me a brilliant mayonnaise recipe using one (see below). And it brings up the problem I've had with olive oil tasting bitter when you use a blender, and explains how to avoid it. Genius. I'll probably still keep Paul's handy when pressed for time, but now I can do it myself - very satisfying.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Caesar salad dressing</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Serious Eats)</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 egg yolk</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 to 6 anchovies</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tsp Worcestershire sauce</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 large clove garlic, crushed</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
¼ <span style="font-family: inherit;">cup canola oil</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">¼ cup virgin olive oil</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">salt and freshly ground black pepper</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Combine egg yolk, lemon juice, anchovies, Worcestershire
sauce, crushed garlic, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese in the bottom of a cup or
beaker that just fits the head of a stick blender. With blender running, slowly
drizzle in canola oil* until a smooth emulsion forms. (Or do it all at once - it still seems to thicken nicely.) </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Whisking constantly,
slowly drizzle in extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste
generously with salt and pepper.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #3d414a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">* "Just as with a regular mayonnaise, you don't want to use extra-virgin olive oil with an electric blender. It causes the olive oil to break down and turn bitter. Instead, use a neutral oil like canola to begin your emulsion. Then, when it's stable, whisk in the extra-virgin by hand."</span></span></blockquote>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Mayonnaise
in a moment</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adapted from Ali's version, with a different combination of oils. She says, "This is Alison Holst's recipe, which we've been using for years
(the garlic is our addition).” She points out that you can add your own variations, such as different vinegars, using more or less garlic, or none, or stirring in finely chopped tarragon at the very end. Excellent for potato salad.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 egg</span></span></span><br />
2/3 cup canola oil<br />
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil - mild flavour works best<br />
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar<br />
1 Tbsp lemon juice<br />
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dijon</st1:place></st1:city> mustard</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp
salt</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: inherit;">several
grinds of black pepper</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">Optional: 1-2
garlic cloves, chopped</span><span lang="EN-NZ"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">Place all ingredients except the olive oil </span></span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;">in
the container of your stick blender and process</span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;">for</span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;">8-10 seconds, moving the blender gently</span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;">up and down</span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;">to make sure all the oil</span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;">is</span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: inherit;">incorporated. Put mayonnaise in a bowl and slowly add the olive oil, whisking it in by hand. OR for a very mild mayonnaise, you can use all canola oil (or another vegetable oil) and omit this last addition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332789009807942569.post-71110361732196804312017-01-07T22:32:00.000+13:002017-01-07T22:52:34.836+13:00The perfect fillet - and trifle to followFor Christmas this year we were house-sitting at Eastbourne. The day started splendidly with breakfast at Ali and David's next door (it was thanks to her that we had found the house). Gorgeous fruit salad, Ali's home-made Christmas bread wreath, and mimosas - half orange juice, half bubbly.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div>
I kept my own cooking as simple as possible, because I wasn't in my own kitchen, and the last thing I wanted was too many complications. It all went very well, especially the beef fillet. I think it was only the fourth or fifth one I've ever dealt with, and up until now I felt I'd always slightly over-cooked it. But this year I got it just right - tender, juicy, nicely "set" slices showing the perfect medium rare shade of raspberry pink.<br />
The recipe I use comes from my friend Lesley, who has been cooking fillets for years. I thought I'd already posted, but I haven't, so here it is. I tend to do the searing and coating well in advance of the actual roasting. The cooking time does depend on the fillet and the oven, so you'll have to be a bit cautious - I start checking it at 20 minutes and then every few minutes after that. I also let the meat rest for plenty of time, at least an hour. It doesn't need to be piping hot when it's eaten. A 1 kg fillet is enough for 6 to 8 of my moderate-eating friends (and as there were only five of us this year, Jonathan and I managed to get two more delicious small dinners from it).<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Fillet of beef</span><br />
<i>(Lesley Hill)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
1 fillet of beef<br />
enough soft butter or oil to coat fillet lightly<br />
grainy mustard<br />
a few cloves of garlic<br />
red wine for roasting dish<br />
foil<br />
<br />
Take the fillet out of the fridge an hour before starting to prepare it.<br />
Heat a large heavy frypan thoroughly.<br />
Smear soft butter, or oil, very lightly all over the fillet.<br />
When the pan is really hot, sear the fillet very quickly all over.<br />
Using the back of a tablespoon, coat it all over with grainy mustard and some crushed garlic.<br />
Put it in on a rack in a roasting dish and cover it lightly with a teatowel.<br />
About two hours before you want to eat, set the oven to 220C.<br />
When it reaches the temperature, put in the fillet and turn the oven down to 200C (fan-forced).<br />
<br />
After 20 minutes, use a meat thermometer to check the temperature in the middle.<br />
For me, the perfect temperature for medium rare - still really bright pink, but not bloody - is about 60C. The juices that come out of the hole where the meat thermometer went in will be pink but not bright red.<br />
The finger test is useful too: it should be a little resistant when you press it. <br />
If you want it a little more done, but still a bit pink, 63-65C is about right.<br />
Once it starts getting near the desired temperature, it goes up quite fast, so if it needs just a little more cooking, check every 3 minutes. This year my just-over-1 kg fillet took slightly under 30 minutes.<br />
Rest the fillet for 15 minutes, collecting any juices and adding them to the wine in the pan (see below).<br />
To make some jus (rather than gravy), after you take out the fillet, add a glass of red wine to the dish and put it back for a few minutes to bubble up, then scrape the dish. (If you forget, as I often do, you can do this bit at the end - put the dish on the cooktop to heat the wine instead.)<br />
Once the fillet has rested for 15 minutes, put it on a warm platter and cover it lightly with foil until ready to carve.<br />
<br />
Of course I forgot to take a photo. Too bad. You'll just have to take my word for how good those slices looked.<br />
Here's my friend Lynne's delicious trifle instead, with the trifle recipe from my memoir underneath.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Proper trifle</span><br />
<div class="Recipetitle">
<span lang="EN-AU"><i>(From </i>The Colour of Food<i>: A memoir of life, love and dinner, Awa Press, 2014)</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">In my
opinion jelly has no place in a proper trifle, but sherry is essential</span><span lang="EN-AU"> – I prefer medium to sweet. The
trifle sponge needs to be dry and I buy it, as my mother did. Dark berries are
the best fruit to use because their colour and sharpness contrast so well with
the sponge, custard and cream. My mother used custard powder but real egg
custard tastes better. The cornflour in the recipe prevents the custard
curdling and makes it slightly thicker, though it’s still thinner and lighter
than the ready-made custard alternative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">For the custard (makes about 700 ml):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">6 large egg yolks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">1 tablespoon cornflour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">750 ml standard milk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">2–4 tablespoons sugar (depending how sweet
you like it)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">1 large vanilla pod, split or 2 teaspoons
vanilla essence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 14.2pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">Beat yolks with a fork. Mix
cornflour with a little cold milk in a small bowl.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 14.2pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">Pour milk into a saucepan which
can fit well over another pan of water. Add vanilla and sugar. Heat slowly to
boiling point, stirring with a wooden spoon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 14.2pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">Remove from heat and take out
vanilla pod. Pour milk onto yolks, stirring well. Add cornflour mixed with milk
and stir well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 14.2pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">Return mixture to pan and heat
over simmering water, stirring gently, until it thickens and coats the back of
a wooden spoon, and there is no taste of cornflour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 14.2pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">Pour into a jug and cool
thoroughly before using, with a piece of cling-film pressed down onto the surface
of the custard to prevent skin forming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">For the trifle:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">700 g dark berries, one kind or mixed, fresh
or frozen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">caster sugar to taste<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">1 large trifle sponge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">6 tablespoons medium sherry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">700 ml custard, home-made or bought <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">300 ml cream<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">deep glass serving bowl (preferably with a
wide base, so that the sponge at the bottom is a similar width to the other
layers - Lynne's was perfect)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 14.2pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">If using frozen berries, take
out ahead of time and defrost before using.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 14.2pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">Place berries in a wide shallow
dish. Sprinkle with enough sugar to achieve desired sweetness. (Slightly tart
berries taste better.) Leave for 1 hour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">Drain off juice. If there is
more than ½ cup juice, reduce carefully over a high heat. Pour it back over berries
and cool thoroughly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 14.2pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">At least 2 hours ahead of
serving, break sponge into rough squares and fit into as even a layer as
possible in base of serving bowl. Sprinkle evenly with sherry and leave for 1
hour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 14.2pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">Cover with a thick layer of
berries and juice, then a thick layer of custard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">Cover with cling-film and leave
in refrigerator.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 14.2pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-AU">Take out 30 minutes before
serving. Just before serving, whip cream and spread over or around the custard, or serve it on the side (as Lynne did).</span></div>
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AnneEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00869114756713316204noreply@blogger.com2