apple butter french crepes at bedtime

These were meant to be for afternoon tea, by the time I made the crepe batter, laboriously stood over the hot stove and made each individual crepe, was distracted with household routine, came back to prep and cook the apples, and then lovingly put this simple little dish together, serving time was bed time. I love naughtiness and anyone watching their waistline would have headed straight to bed without these. I smeared the dish in 60 grams of butter, enclosed each rolled crepe with soft cooked apple, sprinkled plenty of caster sugar over the top and dotted with cold cut butter. This was then baked in a hot oven until the crepes went a bit crispy on the edges and the sugar and butter melted into delicious goodness. Luckily my always hungry brother-in-law was around to help eat these all up. I served mine with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Oh la la.

Cauliflower fritters

It has been hectic working two jobs and at the end of the day whirling together a luscious meal worthy of a career superstar, Mother & Wife. I have standards and even though I have been trying to simplify my mid-week evening cooking, I always end up picking recipes and ideas that take three hours!. Well this amazing little dish I made last night hit all the right taste buds. Again it was from my new Bill Granger cookbook (see my previous post).

I bought a huge 800gram organic Cauliflower from the Mt Pleasant Farmers Market for $2, broke it up into little florets and blanched it for one and a half minutes. It was then coated in this light tempura batter recipe from Bills new book and thrown into shallow hot olive oil so it went all light and crispy. It smelled amazing too. It reminded my of fish and chips, except this was like cauliflower and cauliflower. I made little mini soft lettuce leaf and Cauliflower tacos, with a squeeze of lemon juice and freshly chopped coriander. I ate so much of this last night I can now say you can get FULL eating Cauliflower. By the way the photo below was shared with two hungry men, just in case you thought I ate the 800 gram whole plate of cauli all by myself. I wanted to but had to share it. It was so so good. It would be perfect as a pre dinner snack with a cold beer on a hot summer evening. If you would like the recipe get the book or email me and I will post it online. 🙂

Beautiful creative people

My Mum is one of these people, she has always expressed herself beautifully by being a very generous woman who has given  through cooking, baking, home making, collecting, sewing, crafting, mothering, being a faithful and loving wife, and more recently a successful creative business owner of Truly Scrumptious on Victoria St, Christchurch, NZ. (Which she lost during Feb 22nd 2011 Earthquake). I am so proud of my Mum, look what she achieved in her shop, her shop  is really an overflow of the creativity she expresses in her home.

Mum also had a cafe selling delicious chocolates, friands, muffins, dainty club sandwiches, scones, pretty iced cupcakes, coffee La Farre espresso and high teas served all with fine antique bone china.

These special little dense fruit cakes were available in different icing styles and Mum even had one called the “boyfriend cake’, It was iced with masculine style icing.  A perfect gift. Here is a pretty iced cake which sold for around $20.00 each.

Mum’s nickname is Fou, because she loves, laces, fou fou and anything that is insanely beautiful, feminine and pretty. She has had a few stares at the supermarket dressed in vintage 1950’s petticoats and that’s all on!. She alway says she would be much more comfortable living in the 18th century wearing Victorian clothes. She really is a soul borne in the wrong era, she would agree.

When at home Mum loves to entertain and she is fabulous at creating an atmosphere for elegant dinners and creating a lovely table setting. I love her dining table which is an antique french farm table with the original chairs.

Mothers influence daughters and even though I always joke I don’t like too much pink, lace and antiques (after being surrounded growing up with it) I really am my Mothers daughter and have been blessed to inherit her love of all things beautiful and carry on a legacy to the beautiful creative people.

Mum is also a fabulous cook and baker, this is her soft as angels wings Pavlova cream filled sponge cake.

Truly Scrumptious Shop is hugely missed by all my Mums loyal customers in Christchurch, it was seen as an escape from the ordinariness of life to a beautiful dream world of sensory experience. I know Mum will find another outlet for her creativity in the near future – it is natural as breathing.  Being beautiful, creative people you can not help but express yourself in whatever you do. I love my Mum.

Turkish Lamb Manti

I am sure I must have long forgotten ancestors from the old worlde of Eastern Europe in the Southern Caucasus  – Armenia, Turkey, Iran. I feel intuitively drawn to theses flavours, the textures and style of these similar cuisines.

This simple recipe of ground lamb, soft cheese, lemon zest, garlic, paprika, mint & spices combined to make a tasty filling encased in thin pastry to resemble a ravioli. Well loved and commonly known in this region as manti which is simply prepared by baking, frying or steaming.

When Mum and Dad have been travelling they always gets asked where they are from especially from turkish people. They even got invited to a turkish wedding recently. So with jewish roots maybe I really do have it in my blood, I certainly enjoy cooking this style of food.

Mum and Dad

Baked Turkish Lamb Manti with minted Yoghurt Sauce  – Recipe courtesy of DISH magazine Issue 31

Ingredients

• 24 thin paper thin wonton wrappers
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Filling

• 200 grams of full fat lamb mince (if it is low-fat mince it will be too dry)
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese  (or substitute goats cheese or feta cheese)
• 3/4 teaspoon of ground allspice
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons pistachios, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To assemble

• 1 egg beaten
• 1 tablespoon water

Yoghurt sauce

• 1 cup thick  plain yoghurt
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• juice of 1 lemon

Paprika butter

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground paprika
• mint for garnish

Pre heat the oven to 180°C

Yoghurt Sauce: Whisk the ingredients in a bowl and season

Filling: Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well and season.

To assemble; Lay out 6 wonton wrappers at a time and place a tablespoon of filling in the centre of each. Brush the edges with the egg wash and cover with another wrapper, pressing out any air and firmly sealing the edges. Trim the edges if necessary. Place on a lined baking tray. repeat with the remaining wontons and filling. Brush with olive oil and bake for 5-6 minutes until golden and crisp.

Transfer the manti to a baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. The edges can slightly overlap. Pour the hot chicken stock around the manti and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Paprika butter; Heat the butter, garlic and paprika in a  small saucepan until sizzling.

To serve: Transfer the manti to shallow serving bowls and spoon over the chicken stock. There wont be a lot of stock.

Top with the yoghurt sauce then drizzle with the paprika butter. Garnish with mint and serve immediately with a green salad.

A Cauliflower & Eggplant Marriage

I have a confession…If you were to take a look in my fridge vegetable drawer you may find a limp, sad old cauliflower turning grey and brown around the edges. I am terrible for meaning well and buying  a cauli every now and then, when the time comes to using it I reach for the much more exciting cavalo nero, slim shiny green beans or spunky beetroot!.  I was finally inspired out of my CAULIFLOWER APATHY by a delicious eggplant, cauliflower and coriander salad I ate at Christchurchs newly reopened VICS cafe on Victoria street. I raced home and started trawling the internet to find a similar recipe and came up with zero. I thought I did get an audition to Masterchef (which sadly I turned down) surely this can not be too hard to replicate, so here is the recipe I came up with. Any recipe testers out there please let me know how you like it. I teamed mine with a delicious Wholemeal Lentil pie, just like VICS cafe.

Cauliflower and Eggplant salad

Fresh Cauliflower, Eggplant and Coriander Salad

RECIPE –Cauliflower and Eggplant Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower, broken into florets and blanched
• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 tsp coriander ground seeds
• Handful fresh coriander
• 1 clove garlic
• Olive oil – However much is needed to get the job done
• 1 Lemon 
• 1 knob of butter

Method

1. Pre heat oven to  200 deg
2. Boil salted water blanch cauliflower and refresh under cold water. Set aside.
3. Chop eggplant into small to medium cubes, drizzle with oil and season with sea salt
4. Roast in the pre heated oven for about 20-25 min until cooked through and soft.
5. Heat a small frypan and melt the butter and oil, add the garlic and then the spices. Then add in the cauliflower to coat.
6. Tip this into a salad bowl add the cooked eggplant, season and add chopped fresh coriander and a squeeze of lemon juice.
7. This is excellent on its own as a light salad or great as a side dish.

My new love affair, After the Red Verandah.

A quick update to my previous post, Where to eat out in Christchurch Post Earthquake 2. The beloved Under The Red Verandah Cafe, Christchurch, which was demolished post February 22nd quake is now under construction with a temporary cafe. This new Cafe as I mentioned is called After The Red Verandah. Which is so fitting, luckily they managed to save a part of the verandah which is being incorporated into the new building. Nearly all the same staff remain too, as they are like part of the furniture too!. In the meantime we can all enjoy some time out at After The Red Verandah. I almost lived there last week, so nice to have a humble home away from home to read the morning paper and drink delious espresso, with some very tempting, decadent treats…dark chocolate muffins, fat slices , fudgy chocolate cake, homemade flaky pastry chicken pies, salmon bagels. WE LOVE YOU AFTER THE RED VERANDAH. XX

Healing through food

What a pure joy and distraction it has been to plan, prepare, cook and serve food that comforts the soul, soothes the stress and anxiety of living through a major life change and trauma that an earthquake can wrought.

Today is nearly 9 weeks on from the Christchurch 6.3 earthquake and my husband has been joking “You really are trying to find healing through food”, not that he complains when he  is dished up in his own words inspirational, tasty, delicious and excellent meals”. In fact eats like a king in splendour. I told my Dad who was in Australia about all the cooking I had been doing and he joked I suppose you are 90 kg now!”.

 Its amazing at night from my kitchen we usually have lovely city views over Christchurch and the city. I had a dinner party last saturday night and the favourite topic was being discussed, earthquake war stories. My guests were absolutely amazed when I pointed out that there is now a big black dark hole in the middle of the view where the city lights usually sparkle. It is like ground zero – but its our WHOLE city centre. Our city is still cordoned off, closed, guarded by army, security and fences. 181 people lost there lives, other lost limbs, jobs, houses. I don’t think anyone feels like things are back to normal yet. These are some of the dishes I have been making.

Flat fish fillet of freshest Sole pan-fried very simply in the most delicious smoky spanish, lemon, garlic, paprika butter sauce. Here it is served alongside leftover TIAN (see my previous post for the recipe). This fish recipe was from Apples for Jam -Tessa Kiros cook book.

Photos are not the best, these were taken on my blackberry in dim light and my other camera is on the blinker.

Trusty shepherds pie, as comforting and satisfying as a hug from your Grandma!. Old fashioned, basic, tasty and just perfect in the most uncomplicated way.

New Zealand (French-way) Onion Soup. I had never made this wonderful soup and I am not sure why ever not, as it is simple, simple, simple. If money was tight after the earthquake this is one way to make your food $ go further yet eat like a french aristocrat. One 1kg bag of white onions $3.99, Good bought beef stock and I added two cups of my home-made chicken stock to lighten the flavour a bit, the biggest splurge which I could not resist was the hunk of Gruyère cheese which I melted dreamily over my sliced baguette. Thanks Annabel Langbein who I referred to for the soup idea. I had three different recipes going, and every cook agreed not to take any shortcuts when it came to cooking the onions down and ensuring they are silky, sweet and sexy. My cousin Brad Pitt (see previous Brad Pitt Post) came over to enjoy the soup with us and he gave it a 10/10 and he should know after travelling far and wide to the best restaurants!.

Slow cooked shoulder of lamb with apricots, chilli & chickpeas on carrot yoghurt rice – recipe from Everday Sunday Ray McVinnie

Thank goodness for my kitchen, the familiarity and rythym of the knowledge that 9 out of 10 times if I follow a recipe I will turn a pile of ingredients into a fabulous meal that can be enjoyed by the ones I care about.

Where to eat out in post earthquake 2 Christchurch

Post 22/2/2011 Christchurch Earthquake Under the Red Verandah now is rubble. Rebuild is happening now and After the Red Verandah has now opened from a cottage next door

Under the Red Verandah cafe and restaurant, Worcester Street, Christchurch pre earthquake

 

Just about all my favourite eating out establishments have been red stickered, meaning it is unsafe to enter as structurally the building is now deemed unsafe, yellow stickered meaning restricted entry only for essential access – does morning coffee count?or green stickered meaning no restriction of use (However I have noticed Deli cious cafe in Sumner has a green sticker and sadly for all its loyal locals has still not reopened, Maybe Poor Holly is too traumatised?). I have been keeping my ear to the ground and have heard these updates on some of my favourite eating/coffee out establishments.

1: Mediterranean Food Warehouse, Tuam Street, Christchurch  http://www.mediterraneanfoods.co.nz/Earthquake-Damage/c104/index.html?osCsid=c6c2b8ca9fe99b57429b923efc6c735d  They apparently lost a wall and were in the process of having a temporary wall put in. The restaurant is expected to re-open in approximately six months time!!. It will be a long winter without their gorgeous thin crust pizzas and panforte. The warehouse store should be open sooner.

2: A suburban Christchurch institution for Brunch, Lunch, coffee and cake. The beloved Under the Red Verandah cafe or as my family have nicknamed it UNDIES http://www.utrv.co.nz/ . After it was bulldozed a few days after the earthquake it has now managed to reopen on a much smaller scale in the shed next door and adjoining cottage property. I look forward to supporting them by popping in for a coffee next week.

I love to cook at home but I also love to have time out from my kitchen bench and relaxing dining out. Everyone I have been speaking with in Christchurch are struggling with the anxiety of cabin fever. With limited options of places to go It feels like living in a rural town with one cafe, one supermarket (if you are lucky) only open. I am looking forward to supporting all my favourite cafe reopening and seeing them get cranking again!.