My Anzac Biscuits

I've never been one to really follow a recipe and this is a prime example! I started with an Anzac biscuit recipe and gave it a twist. The attempt was to make a biscuit you felt guilt free when eating. Hey, they have got to be better than eating processed museli bars from the supermarket!

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour
1 cup coconut
1 cup rolled oats
half a cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp hot water
125gm butter
2 Tbsp golden syrup
1.5 cups total of a combination of raisins/sultana, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, sliced almonds. (Or whatever you have in the cupboard)

Method
1 Melt butter and syrup together in a saucepan and leave to cool.
2 all dry ingredients together, add fruit and nuts. Add butter mixture and mix together.
3 Dissolve soda in water and mix in.
4 Place rounded balls on a greased over tray. Bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.
Makes approx 16, depending on the size you choose.

Tempura Vegetables

Tempura Vegetables
Prepare the vegetables. A variety can be used, these are some of my favourites:
Spring onions
Broccoli
Red capsicum
Kumara/sweet potato – thin discs
Green beans

Batter
½ cup flour
1 Tb cornflour
1 egg yolk
½ cup iced water + extra water

Dipping sauce
Mix together:
4 Tb soy sauce
2 Tb mirin
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 Tb lemon juice

In a bowl, mix the flours together. In a cup, whisk the egg yolk into the water. Add water/egg mix to the flour mixing lightly as you pour. This is the reverse to most tempura recipes that recommend adding the flour to the water/egg but I like to control the amount of liquid being added to get the right consistency. Don’t over-mix – lumps and a ring of flour around the bowl are signs of a good tempura batter! The consistency should be that of slightly thick pouring cream. Add more flour or water if required to get this consistency.
Heat oil for deep frying. Dip each piece of vegetable in batter and then slip it into the oil. It should immediately “fizz” and float to the surface. If it sinks, oil is too cool, if it browns too quickly, it is too hot. Tempura is meant to be very light in colour, not golden. Keep adjusting temperature as you cook for best results.
Serve with the dipping sauce.

A long weekend in Gisborne

My husband and I decided to go on a long weekend to somewhere we had not been in NZ and decided on the historic city of Gisborne.

We chose our hotel through TripAdvisor and were not disappointed with the Emerald Hotel. It was centrally located, staff were friendly, and the room was massive.  The price was competitive ($150/night), and the only other hotel we would have liked to stay at was the Portside – a more modern hotel on the waterfront - maybe next time!

Activities:
As avid wine lovers we wanted to visit some wineries. Be aware, everything shuts down in Gisborne after summer! We were there in April, and there was only one winery open. However, it was a real gem of a place.  Stone Bridge, located 10km from the city centre, is a family owned boutique winery. We were privileged to have the sole attention of Mairead and left with a couple of lovely bottles of their Gewurztraminer and a bag of fresh grapes straight off the vines. Mairead sells the grapes at the Farmers market and they are delicious.

Cook’s Cove Walkway. Take a drive to Tolaga Bay as there is the famous 660m long wharf to check out first, and the carpark for the walk is a minute away.  The guide states it takes 2-3 hours, but this is hugely exaggerated for anyone with reasonable fitness. The walkway is named after the sheltered cove where James Cook spent several days in 1769. The side trip to the hole in the wall is a must see. As it covers farmland, make sure you check out that the track is open, but it is definitely worth a visit for the beautiful views.

Beaches: The Wainui Beach is spectacular. A long surf beach where in the summer must be the place to be.

Restaurants:
On our first night we went to the Fettuccine Brothers. (12 Peel Street, 06 868 5700). I have to admit I was pretty disappointed in their attempts at Italian. But, they redeemed themselves with the sticky date pudding dessert and the coffee was the best we had in Gisborne. The restaurant was full and as long as you go with not high expectations, I’m sure you will not be disappointed.

Our second dinner was at The Works. It is set in part of Gisborne’s old freezing works building and has a lovely feel to it.  However, the food has got to be the worst meal I have had in a very long time.   They need to keep to the simple stuff and try and master that before trying to offer food that is way out of their league to be able to produce. I suggest you stick to the cheese platter as it is your safest bet.

For breakfast or lunch try Zest (great) or Cafe Ruba.

Gisborne is a picturesque city and well worth a visit. We will be back some time in the summer when this sleepy city is in full swing.

Time for winter warmers - cauliflower

Cauliflower mash

With lots of cauli in the garden I went in search of some new recipe ideas.


This very simple recipe comes from Masterchef Australia and can be served in place of mashed potato. It is delicious, and with the added benefit of much less calories.

 Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
one whole cauliflower cut into florets
2 cups milk

Method

1 Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat and cook shallot for 2 mins or until soft.
2 Add cauliflower and milk, and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender.
3 Drain, reserving half a cup of milk. Process cauliflower and the reserved milk in a food processor until a puree (can be rough or smooth depending on preference).
4 Transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Handy tip: If you have any left over. Freeze portions and add to vegetable soups.

Leek and Bacon Tart

A delicious tart/pie that you must try. Great for pot luck dinners and lunch with friends.

Ingredients
375g shortcrust pastry
2 Tbsp olive oil
30g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
150g bacon, chopped
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
200g sour cream
4 Tbsp milk
6 eggs, beaten
50g parmesan cheese
large handful flat-leaf parsley

Method
1 On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry. Line 27 x 4 cm deep loose bottomed tart tin. Chill the pastry for 20 mins.
2 Preheat the oven to 180C. Line the pastry with baking paper and baking beans and bake for 15 mins. Remove the paper and beans and return to the over for 5 mins or until golden.
3 For the filling: In a large heavy-based saucepan heat the oil and butter. Add the onion, bacon and leeks and sweat until cooked and starting to caramelise.  Stir in the garlic for a further minute then remove from the heat.
4 Lightly beat together the cream, milk and eggs. Add the leek mixture, parmesan and parsley and stir. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the filling into the warm pastry case and bake for 30-35 mins until set and golden.

Serve with relish and salad.

Lamb Shanks with red wine and rosemary

This is an extemely easy and delicious slow-cooker recipe by Joan Bishop that has been adjusted slightly.  I have cooked it a number of times and think the key is buying good quality shanks from the butcher rather than the supermarket.

Ingredients
4 lamb shanks
2 medium onions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup flour
2.5 tsp ground corriander
1/4 cup beef stock
3/4 cup red wine
2 Tbsp tomato paste
grated zest and juice of 1 orange
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Method
1 Trim any excess fat from the shanks.  Place the onions and garlic in the cooker.  Toss the shanks in flour. Sprinkle the remaining flour over the onions and garlic in the cooker and place the shanks on top.
2 Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed. Spoon this over the lamb shanks.
3 Cover with lid and cook on low for 8-9 hours, or on high for 4.5 hours. Once cooked remove the shanks and thicken the gravy in the cooker. Serve with mashed potato and a green vegetable or salad.

Clevedon Village Market

Clevedon Village Market
A&P Showgrounds, Monument Rd, Clevedon
Open Sundays 8:30am-12:00noon

I have been meaning to make the trip to the farming community of Clevedon (South of Auckland) to check out their Farmers Market for quite some time, and so finally made the trip with a friend today. Now I say farming, but actually there is an array of products being produced out of this region now and it is not just cows and sheep! It now grows award winning olive oil at the River Estate, wine at Puriri Hills and Vin Alto, and award winnng buffalo mozzarella, ricotta and yogurt at the Clevedon Valley Buffalo Company just to name a few.

What got me excited at this farmers market was the freshly made pasta available from Pasta Nostra, which is owned by, don't quote me on this, Sage Restaurant in Mission Bay.  It looked fantastic, but since I'm on my own pasta making mission these days, I refrained from purchasing any and just took home some buffalo ricotta to make my own.

There are a number of food options available, from Cornish pasties, Hungarian twisters, fresh juice and coffee, Paella, crepes, chocolate, fudge, fresh bread, and bagels. We chose to try the I Love Pies chicken and leek pie at $6.50 each.  This company prides itself on pies and I'm sure are a step above the pie you will find in any service station, but we did need to ask where the chicken was! Shame really, but no point cutting corners if you pride yourself on being the best.

What makes this farmers market different from any other I have been to so far is that it has a lovely relaxed environment, very friendly people on the stalls, a great area to sit and eat, and pony rides for the kiddies.

There are quite a few produce places selling organic fruit and vegetables and meat, including a stall selling Maori potatoes. My only other purchases today were 3 plants for the garden - spring onions, rhubarb, and sage (3 for $5) and a real bargain!

This is definitely worth a visit, and my only recommendation is to take a map, as it is not a direct route to get to.