Cheese? Yes please!

Finn's having a couple of mates over this arvo (ok, really just an excuse for us to have a coffee, but the kids enjoy the company too), so thought it was about time to whip up some more mini-muffins.  But this time, savoury.  I love savoury pinwheels, so thought that would likely translate into a love for bite-sized morsels of bacony, cheesy goodness.  And I was right.  

I got this recipe from kidspot, they have loads of recipes for (a) tempting little ones to eat, which is great if you have a picky eater and (b) kids to make (when they're a bit older than Finn, perhaps!).  For example, most savoury muffins will use corn kernels, and then milk and butter to bind the mixture.  This one cuts that - it uses creamed corn, so the corn and the wet ingredients are dealt with in one fell swoop.  Probably not quite as healthy, but if it gets them made quickly, and makes them easy for kids to make, then that's a fair trade-off to me.  

Anyhoo, here we go, enjoy!!  Oh - and they freeze really well, so make a heap then freeze to pull out for lunches or afternoon teas.  And 'cause I think even KB will be happy to take some in his work lunch, I put a dob of cream cheese in the centre of some...    

1 egg
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup cream corn
1 cup grated cheese
2 rashers bacon, diced and cooked
cream cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.  Prepare muffin tray (12 normal sized, or 24 minis).  
2. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.  Add corn, cheese and bacon.  
3. Break egg into measuring cup and whisk lightly.  Add water to make egg up to 3/4 cup.  Add to other ingredients and mix until just combined.  
4. Spoon into muffin tins (add cream cheese if using - just poke a glob into each one) and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.  

NB:  Dried herbs would be great into these too, and finely diced onion.  

Ensalada de naranjas

I went to The Food Show a few weeks ago with my Mum and a friend and, as always, it was amazing!  I've been going to the Show (and for several years working at it) since it began, as it was started and it run by some very talented cousins of ours, and every time I go I'm blown away by the sheer magnitude of the event.  The number of stalls, the cooking demos, the products that you just HAVE to have in your pantry.  I love it.  

This year I watched a couple of cooking demos, one of which was Ray McVinnie.  He was someone who I'd always made fun of (eh KB?), based purely on how he came across sometimes in Masterchef NZ.  However, I have to eat my hat.  He is actually really down-to-earth and personable.  Judge a book by its cover, you will not, as Yoda would say.  He was focusing on Spanish-inspired meals, for sharing with friends (the idea being that you just put the platter on the table and help yourselves from that shared plate).  One of the dishes he prepared was the following ensalada de naranjas (orange salad).  He also did an interesting catalan-style venison, which you'll find on The Food Show's website above.  

Mum's made this salad a couple of times since the show and it's a winner - really light and fresh, so perfect for summer, or (as has been the case) after a heavy winter meal, such as the good ol' Sunday Roast.  You get a treat of having a dessert, but without the overfull feeling that so often follows.  I'm looking forward to a summer of this bad boy.  At the moment we're using cut-up dried dates to sprinkle on top, but once berries are about again, it'll be blueberries, raspberries and blackberries for Africa - ¡Buen apetito!   

300 ml cream
juice of one lemon
1 tbsp orange flower water *
6 oranges (NZ navels are perfect)
2 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 cup dates / berries to sprinkle all over 

1. Peel oranges so there's no pith left.  Slice into 1 cm slices.  Arrange on platter, sprinkle with sugar and dates/berries, cover and chill in fridge.  
2. Put cream, orange flower water and lemon juice into bowl.  Do not stir - just set aside for 20 minutes, then stir slowly and the cream will thicken.  Cover and place bowl in fridge.  
3. When ready to serve, spoon acidulated cream over and enjoy!!  

* Found this in an Asian food store.  

Coconut pikelets!!

400 ml coconut milk
2 cups SR flour (2 c plain flour + 3 tsp baking powder)
1 tbsp honey / agave nectar 
2 eggs
1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth.  Cook in a non-stick frypan and when bubbles appear flip over.  Serve warm.  YUM!!  

passion de l'amour

4 passionfruit
4 lemons 
185 g butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius (160 if using a fan-forced oven).  Grease/line  22 cm tin.  
2. Squeeze lemons for their juice and grate the rind.  Strain passionfruit pulp so you have the juice and the seeds.  You need 1/2 cup of juice (mixture of passionfruit and lemon). 
3. Place butter, lemon rind, juices sugar, eggs, milk and flour in a bowl.  Beat on low speed in cake mixer until combined, then increase speed to high and beat for 2-3 minutes until pale.  Stir in passionfruit seeds.  
4. Pour into prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.  
5. Stand in tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto cooling rack.  Once cooled, ice and serve.  A little extra grated lemon rind would look good as a decoration, or some more passionfruit pulp.  

Popsicle, popsicle!

Our tree has gone crazy with lemons.  So, having juiced (and frozen) enough to last copious summer afternoons of gin and tonics and made a cake, I decided to make some iceblocks.  Icing sugar, lemon juice and sparkling water.  Easy!  Next time I might try using honey, in place of the sugar, but we'll see.  

1/3 cup juice
2/3 cup icing sugar
1 cup sparkling water

Makes enough for about 6 little iceblocks.  

♪ Can I have another piece of chocolate cake ♫

You can't beat a good chocolate cake.  For me, that means three things - 1) soft, moist and chocolatey (I can't stand chocolate cakes that don't taste of chocolate!), 2) easy to throw together and 3) a reasonable size - ideally it's got good height, and will last for more than a day with ravenous raccoons marauding the pantry.  

My mother-in-law has always made the following recipe, and I can testify that it meets each of the above requirements.  One mixing bowl, nice big cake, tastes awesome!  

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

3/4 cup cocoa

200 g melted butter

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla essence

pinch salt

3 cups SR flour

1 cup boiling water with 1 tbsp coffee dissolved in this

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius and either line or grease a large spring-form cake tin.  
2. Mix all ingredients, in order given above - note, this is a very wet mixture.  
3. Bake for 40 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean.  
4. Cool on a rack, then ice with your favourite chocolate icing and decorate as the desire takes you.  

We got the 'erb, 'erbaliser...

Wintertime.  Herbs.  Cooking.  Herbs.  Coughs and colds.  Herbs.  See a pattern emerging?  It's that time of year, when the nights are early and cold, the nose is blocked, and we're stuck with endless episodes of 'XYZ got Talent', 'Police Raid Borneo' and 'Eketahuna Idol'.  But alongside that we've got cosy kitchens, warming dinners and a million uses abounding for the fresh herbs we grow in our gardens (or in pots on the windowsill).  

Tonight we have steak on our menu.  Good ol' steak, with good ol' roaties and steamed garden veges.  The difference?  Lots of herbs and lemon.  I've been making a herbal remedy for my cold, and to be honest it smelled so good, I decided to effectively replicate it to spice up our dinner.  So, here we go - winter herby steak with winter veg.  

Steak, enough for 2 or 3 people - I used rump, but skirt would work here too (or scotch, sirloin, or eye fillet, but you needn't use such august cuts when marinating)

3 or 4 cloves good kiwi garlic 
2 sprigs rosemary (just the leaves)
1 tbsp fresh oregano, majorum or thyme
zest of 1 lemon
pinch salt (ground rock salt, not table salt - it's to help pulverise them, rather than flavour)
2 tbsp oil

zest and juice of another lemon 
salt and pepper

potatoes, cut into even chunks
beetroot (leave whole if they're smallish, cut into quarters if massive)
pumpkin, cut however you like
more sprigs rosemary

broccoli
carrot (sliced into matchsticks)
baby brussell sprouts 

1. Place garlic, rosemary, oregano, lemon zest and rock salt into mortar and pound gently until crushed.  Add oil and mix.  
2. Place steak into shallow dish, grind over some salt and pepper, sprinkle with lemon zest and juice.  Press herby mixture onto steak.  Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least an hour (can be longer though, ours will be in the fridge for about 7).  
3. Toss oven veges with oil.  Place into roasting tray with extra sprigs of rosemary and roast at 180 degrees celcius for about 40 minutes, or until cooked through and golden.  
4. Steam the 'greens' and serve alongside steak and roasties.  I like to make up some gravy to go with this too - homemade would be awesome, but a favourite packet will do just fine too.  Enjoy!!