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Showing posts from November, 2009

Mrs WOOD'S HEAVENLY HONEY CAKE

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....simply because life is too short to go without. We all have places we go to in our dreams. I am afraid to admit that mine always seem to involve food,waves and often, George Clooney. Part of living away from home makes things of our childhood that much more valuable. Some of my richest childhood memories are body surfing the waves at Onetangi Beach on Waiheke Island, followed by hot barbequed sausages wrapped up in bread with tomato ketchup being squeezed out of a plastic tomato. This is a place I go to in my dreams...the only difference being that in my dream George Clooney is usually sitting there squeezing the ketchup over my sausage. Another case for Freud? One of the highlights of these lazy beach summers was Mrs Wood's Honey Cake. Its a thing of the gods ( right up there with George!!) that everyone should taste. With the days becoming shorter and greyer here I can think of nothing better right now than an enormous hunk of this divine delice and Mrs Wood has

Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia

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Rebirthing with squid ink pasta.. I was given some Squid Ink Spaghetti last week. I have been admiring it in its Italian packaging and pondering over how to "put it into value." It has taken me back to my ephinany with cockles in Geneva in Italian friend Gabrielle's kitchen over 20 years ago. This was a time when in NZ we weren't really cooking with cockles..as a child my parents would send me out with a bucket and a spade at low tide to collect ' pipis .' As a parent now I understand their clever 'time out' from children tactic. I would wade around  ankle deep until my bucket flowed over. Back at home with my full bucket my mother would throw out all the cockles ( apparently they were " polluted"), steam open the pipis serve them in a cold salad with vinaigrette,red onion rings and lashings of chopped parsley. Back to the 80's in Gabrielle's kitchen..I watched my friend steam open kilos of cockles in white wine and garlic a

FOOD IS LOVE

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....getting anal over terminology I love our french men the most when they come home with divine ingredients to cook up a seasonal feast. What's less endearing is when they expect us to cook it! Have just been on the phone with Janice,wonderful friend and kitchen executive/ca dre superieur de la cuisine . Her chap came home with a kilo of meat for a Bourguignon..she told me they were making a marinade. So I said.. Oh you mean a Daube .. In retrospect, my ANAL reaction !!!!! You can toss and catch between the terms but in the end it all comes down to one thing - Beef Stew with Red Wine! For me a Bourguignon isn't marinated and a Daube is. I was brought up by a "purist" cordon bleu mother. On things "cuisine" she wasn't easy to contradict! I, on the other hand, am very open to discussion!! My friend Janice is usually right about everything..she's one of those "slightly north of general trivial brilliance" plus a genial cook so I d

LIFE CHANGING MOMENTS

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Turning around... Sometimes we read, eat or drink something and it changes our lives. " Come quickly, I'm tasting stars!" Dom Perignon - the first time he sipped champagne About 3 years ago a friend in NZ rang me to tell me about a book -  Almost French by Sarah Turnbull, an Australian in Paris. "Yours Sceptically," went out and bought it. Basically I sat down on the couch and read it cover to cover -  consuming litres of tea, onto coffee, finishing off the book with a bottle of Bordeaux red. I then lifted myself off the couch, walked over to the window and wept. I dried my eyes, turned around and started to live again. The book is written by an Australian woman who comes to Paris for the love of her life -  a French man. Been there? It outlines all her cultural, social and linguistic shocks. Her blunders, misfortunes, misunderstandings. All this she does she does with humour and great feminine perception. She doesn't "sla

ONE PLATE BRUNCH

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Made with love, served with toasted bagels... I was really touched to receive a message from a parisian resident asking for a one plate brunch menu. Her kitchen is in the corner of her living room and my guess is that there is no oven. Well here goes, a simple classic... Smoked Salmon Lox, Dill and Cream Cheese Scrambled Eggs Count 2 eggs per guest Bunch chopped dill/ aneth Half a slice of smoked salmon per guest Cream Cheese ( Philadelphia/St Moret) Butter on hand Scissor chop dill, cover and set aside Chop salmon, cover, into fridge Beat eggs, add pepper, pink peppercorns if you have them. Have bagels ready, cut in half and ask one of your guests to earn their brunch by toasting them. Pour mixture into large panon lowish heat and pull/drag mixture gently towards the middle of the pan with a wooden spoon/spatula. Add in a few shavings of butter, not too much. Scatter over salmon, spoon about 2 teaspoons of cream cheese per guest over the top ( just slop it on,

THINGS GREEN

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Remembering Green Eggs and Ham... Dr Seuss was clever. He made a whole generation of children enjoy greens. I begged for green eggs as a child as did my own when they had the book read to them. Here is my closest match, Heavenly Green Soup..it includes most things my children will only eat under duress but has them begging for second helpings. Heavenly Green Soup 3 courgettes large onion 150g chopped lardons/bacon (bacon can be replaced with quality vegetable stock for vegetarians) 1 turnip bunch chives chopped bunch flat parsley chopped 3 tablespoons cream cheese salt & pepper to taste   Method Chop all vegetables and throw into large pan with bacon. Cover with water and let bubble away gently for about 45 mins checking water level regularly. Remove from heat and throw in fresh parsley and chives. Let stand for about 15 mins. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth and green... Serve with salt, pepper.    

MUFFIN SUNDAY

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Diluted muffin madness.... As a child "muffin" had 2 senses, Bran or English. Today the muffin has become a source of adulterated simplicity, drenched with palm oil, fat and sugar. A carb and fat loaded health hazard. They even exist in iced versions... I make my own muffins. I have tens and tens of variations on a fat-free carb-limited theme. I replace butter with olive oil and yoghurt and try to fill them with as much fruit and nuts as possible to reduce sugar content. I never use white sugar but go for brown unprocessed sugars. As for icing...forget it. Muffins shouldn't be "perfect" to the eye. Let's get away from the industrial perfect cake movement and back to basics. A muffin is NOT a cup cake..throw out your cup cake papers and cut your own. Get your children involved, have them cutting squares of cooking paper instead...the end result has just so much class . Susie's Dark Chocolate and Chestnut Muffins 1 cup natural yoghurt ( Gre

PERSPECTIVES, Men & Women

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50's perspectives on how to keep your husband. My late mother, albeit "modern" with her cooking ideas, had some pretty scary ideas on how a wife should look after her husband...for example, "Susan , are you cooking meat for GrĂ©goire? A man needs MEAT when he comes home from work, not salad." Susan goes into a day dream imagining herself trussed up in roasting string and served on a platter. Then I'm out the door on sausage buying binges. I'm sure there is work for Freud chez moi. A couple of weeks ago my friend Mary served up Delia Smith's fabulous sausage in mushroom sauce served with mashed potato..wonderful autumn comfort food. I have my own sausage hot-pot recipe, made with duck sausages, which will be served tonight to beat away the autumn clouds. Susie's Red Wine Sausage Hot-Pot 6 Duck sausages (adapt for vegetarians with Tofu sausages) 1 large onion 1/2 teaspoon Piment d'espellette/chilli 2 large fleshy tomatoes,

70's ORANGE

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Le Creuset, Pumpkin soup, Tangerine & Mexican Brown Ponchos...remember? In 1976 my mother was given a bright orange Le Creuset iron casserole pot. She also had the matching frying pan which hung in decoration on the kitchen wall with its backdrop of brown tiles. The 70's were orange. Not just decor but also food. My mother was determined that orange food was the salvation of humanity. Today we know its value in anti oxidants. Sunday afternoons were spent driving out to Henderson to stock up..I am talking about 2 foot high bags of carrots for juicing, apples, pears,whatever they had. One Sunday my mother and the grower's wife got excited about a small orange pumpkin. It was being called a baby squash and, hands full of recipes, my mother filled up the boot with them. That evening I ate pumpkin soup for the first time in my life. It was served in pottery bowls and accompanied by my mother's repeated, Just look at the colour! Yesterday my husband came home fro

ANGLOSAXON WOMEN & FRENCH MEN

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Taking the plunge.. The first time I went out for a drink with my husband we had been walking. Tramping up mountains in the Pyrenees to be exact. Not only were we thirsty with new love but also for a decent drink. To my surprise instead of a post-tramp/hike kir he orders a beer. Wow that's anglo methinks beginning to believe that this could have a future. So I, kiwi girl, order a small beer, a gallopin, to "join in." I am not really a beer drinker - the stuff makes me fart like a horse, but a small one is ok after sport. I prefer a glass (or tankard!) of wine but I thought that at this young stage of our relationship that I should at least try and "join the boys" and leave my feminine fancy for chardonnay aside. I order my small beer.  You're joking , says new boyfriend, laughing with the waiter. No, honestly, I can't drink a large one. I say, not wanting a windy experience to come between us. But you can't drink beer, you're a wo

BACK to BRUNCH

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"What could be more practical for Mother than a lovely house coat or brunch coat that she'll wear with pride for months and months to come. Not only are these creations lovely to look at, but Mother will appreciate their easy care too. Never need ironing. You'll find dainty nose gay print on white backgrounds. Long coat in sizes 40 - 46: Brunch coat in sizes 12 - 20 and 40 - 46."   1955 Vogue I love brunch. Its so NOT French! Easy, low key and relaxed, its one of those Anglo/American traditions that all ex-pats should keep alive. Yesterday we headed out to the country for a friend's "Brunch In." Greeted with the smell of cooking bacon and a glass of Mimosa who could help but smile. We lounged over plates spilling over with bacon, Irish breakfast sausages, buttery scrambled eggs with cheese and herbs, fried potato bread, grits (?? foreign for the antipodean), toasted bagels. More and more Mimosa..that's ok its full of vitamin C with all