Pavlova and L&P - New Zealand Icons

Recently we had a American couple as guests for dinner. I wanted to give them a homestyle meal rather than something they might get at a restaurant. As many Kiwis are descended from immigrants from England, Ireland and Scotland most of us have grown up with a "meat and three veg" kind of menu and a roast dinner on a Sunday. New Zealand is well known for its sheep production as we have approximately 12 times more sheep than people. We are the butt of many sheep jokes usually told by Australians.

I served roast leg of lamb with gravy and mint jelly on the side. For veges we had roasted potato, pumpkin and kumara which is New Zealand's sweet potato. There are three different varieties of kumara, the traditional red and the more recent gold and orange. One of them is very similar to the US sweet potato but I can never remember if it's the gold or the orange one. For something green we had steamed asparagus and some canned green beans.

To drink we had Lemon and Paeroa or as it's more commonly known L&P. It is a pleasant lemon flavoured soda and was originally made from mineral water sourced for a place called Paeroa in New Zealand. If you visit Paeroa you will see a 7 metre high replica of an L&P bottle. These days L&P is made by Coca Cola and the current tv ad rates L&P as "world famous in New Zealand - since ages ago". You can watch it here.


I also made a very lame attempt at making iced tea for our visitors thinking that they might be in withdrawal after a few days without it. If the tea tasted bad my dinner guests were too impressed by me walking out the door and picking a lemon off my tree to comment otherwise. If you ask for iced tea in a restaurant in New Zealand you are likely to receive a very strange look. We typically drink hot tea and usually with milk. I enjoy iced tea (sweet of course with lots of lemon) but have never had very much luck making it myself.

To finish, there was no other choice but pavlova - New Zealand's national dessert. Although, if you ask an Austalian they will claim the dessert as their invention.

There are as many pavlova recipes as there are preferences for how it turns out. Some like theirs very crispy like a meringue, others like them marshmallowy, some like them chewy. My mother's pavlova is the best of both worlds - a crispy shell with a thick marshmallow middle. Here's her recipe:

Morag's Pavlova

Ingredients
6 egg whites
1 and 1/2 cups caster (superfine) sugar
2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
Pinch of salt


Method
Preheat oven to 125 degrees C/ 250 degrees F
With an electric beater, beat egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff


Add half of the sugar and beat well
Add the remainder of the sugar and continue to beat until stiff and glossy


Beat in the rest of the ingredients
Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease it
Dollop the meringue mixture in a tall pile in the centre of the foil and stack it as high as you can
Run a fork up the sides to even it up and create a bit of height


Bake for 1 and 1/2 hours
Turn oven off
Leave pavlova in the oven to cool


If your pav drops like mine did never fear - that's why God invented whipped cream. Decorate your pavlova with whipped cream and sliced seasonal fruit as desired. Kiwifruit would be a good choice.


You can make your pavlova several days in advance, just store it loosely covered in a dry place and decorate it close to serving.

Labour Weekend at Millar Road

This is a really longggg post so you might want to grab yourself a drink.

Monday was Labour Day in New Zealand so we had a three day weekend. A couple of friends invited us to join them for a weekend in Hawke's Bay. The Hawke's Bay is known for it's many wineries and an abundance of outdoor activities such as hot air ballooning, art deco tours (pictured is the old Rothman's Tobacco Building), or a trek to see the gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers.


We stayed at Millar Road which is described as "Seriously Stylish Accommodation" and it is. It's the kind of place I dreamed about having a honeymoon at. My wedding night was spent at a very average local motel which has since been turned into an old folks home. Perhaps hubby and I will return there one day!! I took one photo from outside of Millar Road but none of my other snaps did justice to the inside so you'll just have to check out the website. Also, I've not really gone public with my blog to the level where I am comfortable taking photos of food at restaurants.

Millar Road feels like it is situated in the middle of nowhere. The view from the cottage looks down a hill over vineyards and carries on to the sea. You can see rabbits running around and see sheep in the paddocks, and hear lots of birds warbling in the trees.

There are two cottages if you could call them that which have a two king sized bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. The kitchen is fully appointed with everything you might want to whip up a delicious meal. The open plan kitchen/dining living room has expansive views over the vineyards and there are candles on the dining table to set the mood if you're wanting a romantic dinner. The furnishing is contemporary and the cottage is decorated with local artwork in the form of paintings, cushions and handpainted bowls and

After we'd settled ourselves in we took a drive to Craggy Range vineyard and stopped in for a bite of lunch. Craggy Range is considered to be one of the premium wineries in New Zealand but from the service we received in the restaurant I wouldn't rate the place at all. The waitress who greeted us was surly, we were seated for what seemed like half an hour before we were even offered water, our wine didn't come until well after our breadbasket had arrived, the portions of our meals were teensy and the prices steep. Did we complain? No. It's not the kiwi way. Overall it was not a pleasant experience. Oh yeah - and my husband tricked me into eating flounder roe. Even the thought of it is making my nose crinkle in disgust. We didn't bother going to the tasting room but I suspect that most of Craggy Range's wine is priced at more than we would want to pay anyway.

On returning to Millar Road my friends and I went for a walk down the bottom of the hill and up over another hill expecting to get a closer view of the sea but unfortunately we were just a little bit closer to another hill and only marginally closer to the sea. My husband was determined to try and believe he was on summer vacation so he stayed behind for a dip in the pool. The water temperature was a mere 21 degrees C/ 70 degees F. Brrrr

For dinner we decided to stay in and make use of the self-service facilities at Millar Road so we swung by the supermarket and picked up some fixin's to cook on the BBQ - fillet steak , mushrooms, zucchini and red pepper to cook on the grill, green salad with tomatoes and fresh steamed asparagus. For dessert some orange flavoured Cadbury Snaps which are a blatant copy of Hershey's Swoops but delicious nonetheless.

Sunday dawned grey and drizzly which put aside any thoughts of lounging by the pool later in the day. Provisions for breakfast were supplied by the hosts of Millar Road. It was a pleasure to work in the kitchen which was equipped with the most stylish of accessories - including Scanpan frypans, quality knives, and a red KitchenAid toaster. We started off with homemade toasted muesli (granola) with Cyclops organic yoghurt together with dried prunes and peaches which had been poached and plumped to juicy fullness. To follow we had poached free range eggs, locally produced bacon from Holly Bacon Company, and locally made breakfast sausages from The Deli with assorted condiments. If we were still hungry there was toast and homemade marmalade. To drink - freshly squeezed orange juice.

You'd think that after a breakfast like that we wouldn't even need lunch but after driving around the Hawke's Bay we decided to stop in at a restaurant bar called The Loading Ramp which is where my girlffriend's niece works. The place had a nice casual atmosphere and a roaring fire which was welcome on such a grey day but the service was very slow and the food was somewhat average. We decided it was the curse of the Hawke's Bay. From the menu: chicken fettucini in a creamy tomato sauce; lamb shank and caramelized onion pizza; and crazy fries (a mixture of chunky cubes of potato, kumara and pumpkin)

Our next stop was Kim Crawford vineyards' cellar door where we sampled a selection of wines and liked them enough to purchase some. I bought a chardonnay, a pinot noir and a delightful riesling called Liebling which I liked as much for the label as the taste (the label had had pretty pink hearts on it). I am sure will make fine drinking on a sunny afternoon.

We went back to the cottage and lit the log fire as the afternoon was a bit chilly. We lolled about reading magazines until we decided it was time to eat again. Clive Hotel was recommended to us as being the closest restaurant to Millar Road. From the outside it didn't look like much but the décor was modern, the staff attentive and the food great - the curse had been broken. What we chose to from the menu: Scallops over puff pastry with smoked salmon, avocado and bacon; smoky squid over lemony bean salad; and fish of the day which was grouper. My girlfriend and I shared dessert which was a light lemon cheesecake served with drunken oranges and candied citrus peel. The guys just had coffee. Then it was back to Millar Road to watch the lights of Napier twinkle in the distance as we all flopped on the sofa and loosened our top trouser buttons after doing nothing much more than eating and drinking for two days. It was certainly a relaxing weekend and I look forward to visiting Millar Road again.

Lazy Daisy Cake

I first tried this cake when visiting my friend Deb and it has since become a favourite. It's one of those cakes that's good at any time of day - even for breakfast! While the topping is sinfully rich, the cake itself quite plain. I like this recipe because I'm basically lazy and it's a melt and mix cake that is very easy to make and is almost foolproof. The worst I've ever done is over or under cook it but it has never been inedible. I usually only have non fat milk in the house which works fine but if you do use cream in the topping it gives a much more caramel-like result. If you google Lazy Daisy cake you'll find many variations on the recipe such as oatmeal in the cake mixture or nuts in the topping. On Cooks.com alone there are 39 different recipes. My recipe makes a 9x13x2" pan but if you want to halve the recipe try this version from Allrecipes.com

Lazy Daisy Cake

Ingredients
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence (extract)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
60g butter (1/4 cup)

Topping
1 and 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
150 g butter (3/4 cup), melted
1/2 cup milk or cream
2 cups thread (flaked) coconut

Method
Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick - about 4 minutes
Combine flour, baking powder and salt and add to egg mixture
Beat until just combined
In a saucepan, bring milk and butter to a boil, stirring constantly (I microwave mine)
Add to batter and beat until combined (batter will be runny like a pancake batter)
Pour into a greased and paper lined 18x28 cm (9x13x2") baking pan
Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until cake tests done
Combine topping ingredients
Spread over warm cake
Place under grill (broiler) until lightly browned (watch it in case it burns!)

Lucky Stars

Didn't I tell y'all that this was a Food and ART blog?

During my Christmas vacation this year I started a quilt for my cousin in Australia and surprise surpise it's still not quilted. This is situation normal for me because I enjoy piecing but the thought of basting a top so I can quilt it is not my idea of fun. My cousin's birthday is at the end of this month so I guess I'll be sending this one out to be quilted or else there's no hope of her getting it this decade! The pattern called Lucky Stars by Terri Atkinson. While I didn't set out to copy the pattern right down to the fabrics the colours are what my cousin likes and I have a swag of batiks so it was an easy choice. I enjoyed making the pattern so much that I'm making another one in autumn colours for my other cousin.

I had intended to take a picture of the quilt hanging on the clothesline but it has been a little windy here so I resorted to putting it on the floor which doesn't give you a great angle. I have come to the conclusion that putting a quilt on the floor is like catnip for cats.

Scooter says "I wonder if anyone is watching?"......



Guess not!


This is FUN

I'm off to sew my backing fabric together now. Stay tuned for the next instalment of Lucky Stars in a few weeks.

Ossi da Mordere

In Potluck Italiano #1 I promised to write about my adventures with Ossi da Mordere cookies in a separate post. Here it is.....

A few months back I attended an 8 week Italian cooking course at nightschool. I went with a girlfriend from work and we teamed up with another two people who were, by sheer coincidence, colleagues of my husband. In each class we cooked an entire dinner consisting of appetizer, main course, sides and dessert which we'd eat in the classroom accompanied by a nice glass of red wine - typically a New Zealand Pinot Noir. It was a very civilised affair despite the plastic wine glasses. Each week we'd be given recipes for the following week and we would take turns as to who was in charge of what dish so the same person didn't end up always making the same course. The week we made the Ossi da Mordere our sole male team member was in charge of the cookies and he made the innocent mistake of transposing the quantities of icing (powdered) sugar and cocoa powder. The "dough" if you could call it that, had the colour and consistency of dog doody and the taste was not at all pleasant.

Ossi da Mordere translates as "bones to bite" or "bones to chew". I have seen several different variants on the spelling and I don't know Italian so I have no idea which is correct. I have also seen the cookies referred to as "bones of the dead". Our tutor told us that in some parts of Italy the cookies are formed into the shape of skeletons. I think the bones thing in the name is in reference to that brittle, slightly holey look that old bones have which is what the cookies look like when you bite into them. I have read that they are made all over Italy around November 1 and 2 to celebrate All Souls' Day, in remembrance of deceased relatives. Don't let their name turn you off.

I have made the recipe several times and they are delicious when you get it right. Ideally they should be crisp and light with slightly chewy centres. The second time I made them I used a little too much egg white and they weren't so good as they didn't have the chew factor. You really do need a stiff, solid paste just the recipe says. The original recipe calls for whole almonds which you pulverise in a food processor. The lazy person in me wondered whether you could just save time and use pre-ground almonds and also whether you could mix the ingredients by hand to save on washing up. You know what? You can!


Ossi da Mordere

Ingredients
100 grams (3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) blanched almonds (or ground almonds if mixing by hand)
200 grams (1 1/3 cups) icing (powdered) sugar
20 grams (scant ¼ cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
3 to 3 ½ tablespoons egg whites
Milk to glaze

Method
Heat the oven to 325 degrees F/160 degrees C
Grind the almonds to a coarse powder in a food processor fitted with the steel blade
Add the sugar and cocoa and process to a fine powder
Add the 3 tbsp egg whites & process to a stiff, solid paste
Add the additional egg white if necessary
Pinch off pieces of dough the size of a fat cherry and roll between your hands into balls. Do not flatten
Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with baking paper
Lightly brush the tops with milk
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes
At first the cookies will flatten out and look like nothing at all, but given a few minutes, each of these little cookies will puff up and their tops will become cracked and shiny
Cool on racks

Recipe courtesy of Paula Harris

Paula is a multi-talented woman. Apart from her passion for things Italian she is a naturopath and holistic aromatherapist and I have recently discovered that Paula is a poet.

Luscious Lemons

As you can see I have an abundance of lemons in my garden. The tree is very misshapen but is such a prolific fruit bearer we couldn't possibly get rid of it. I keep meaning to make preserved lemons in case I get inspired to do some Moroccan or Mediterranean influenced dishes but so far I haven't gotten around to it and there's only so many kamikaze cocktails a gal can drink so for the most part my lemons are used in baking. I make no apologies for the appearance of freesias as an artistic element in my photo. They are the last from my garden as I had it landscaped yesterday and they've been dug up. I'm not exactly thrilled with the work that has been done but apparently the landscaper is not completely finished.


Kamikaze

30ml vodka (approx. 1.5 fluid oz)
30ml cointreau
30ml fresh lemon juice
5ml lime cordial (I used Rose's brand)
Ice
Pour all into shaker, shake, strain and serve

Here's a recipe for my favourite lemon cake. It keeps well for several days although there’s not much chance of anything being left over because it is so light, luscious and well, lemony! You can make it in a food processor but recently I've been lazy and have mixed it by hand with a wooden spoon with no adverse effect.

Luscious Lemon Yoghurt Cake

Ingredients
1¾ cups white sugar
finely grated rind of 2 lemons
2 large eggs
¾ cup canola or other mild flavoured oil (I use grapeseed for cake baking)
½ tsp salt
1 ¼ cups plain yoghurt*see note
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Optional Glaze
¼ cup (or more)lemon juice
¼ cup sugar

Method
Heat oven to 190 degrees C/375 degrees F, with the rack just below the middle. Spray a 7 cup capacity ring/bundt pan with baking spray

In a food processor, put the sugar and finely grated lemon rind in the bowl.
Add the eggs, oil and salt, then process until thick and smooth. Add the yoghurt and lemon juice and blend enough to mix. Add the flour and process just enough to combine.

Pour cake mixture into prepared ring pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the sides start to shrink, the centre springs back when pressed, and a skewer comes out clean. Leave for about 5-10 minutes before turning out onto a rack. In the meantime warm the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. While the cake is still a little warm, poke holes in it with a skewer and drizzle the cake with the warm lemon syrup.

*Note: When it comes to dairy in cakes I use what ever I have on hand, and often combine different things to make up the required measurement. I have used regular yoghurt, custard style yoghurt (I do draw the line at flavoured yoghurt other than vanilla), buttermilk, sour cream, lite sour cream and at a pinch have made up the measurement with skim milk or pouring cream. So far I’ve not yet had a disaster.