Pesto Pasta with Halloumi Cheese and Coriander

So easy! Dinner tonight: a few tablespoons of pesto stirred through boiled noodles. Topped with grilled halloumi cheese and plenty of coriander.

Truffled Mushrooms

The weather forecast was for heavy rain and severe gales this afternoon but it hadn't happened yet!  

There was still time to do a little photo shoot of this truffled mushroom ragu created by Le Chef Grant Kitchen at the Lakehouse Arts Centre before the weather took a nasty turn. The ingredients were mushrooms,leek, cream , thyme, parmesan and a slither of real truffle.

Served in a large white bowl with triangles of wholemeal bread to mop up the juices it was a deeply flavoured autumnal dish, elegant comfort food.Thanks Grant for letting me demolish it.

I took this photograph out on the verandah in natural light. Didn't have much luck with the inside shots where the artificial light left a harsh and yellow tinge,

Morning Muesli at the Lakehouse

Still warm enough to sit outside on the verandah with a bowl of Le Chef Grant Kitchen's home

 made Muesli, followed by a wander around the Lakehouse Arts Centre Garden, a healthy start to the day!

One of the pleasures of shooting this dish was watching it being prepared. Each part of the dish ( the yoghurt, the muesli and a scoopful of diced fruit) was artfully layered and a final garnish of small herby green leaves scattered over the surface.

The frustrating aspect was that that magic time first thing in the morning when the light shimmers over food was already gone.

Feijoa and Pickled Ginger Salsa

A bag of  green feijoas kindly brought over by a friend, some baby pink Japanese pickled ginger and a  solitary lime left in our fruit bowl provided the inspiration for this fresh little salsa.

Healthy Red Cabbage Salad

We tend to think of red cabbage as a winter vegetable, braised with apples and spices. But although  autumn has arrived and there is a bit of a chill in the air I still much prefer to make it into a fresh , crisp salad,

So I shredded a small red cabbage very finely, added a tin of pineapple chunks and their juice, a few slices of left over pickled Japanese ginger which had been lingering in the fridge and a small handful of toasted sunflower seeds and a few tablesoons of desicated coconut. After seasoning it I garnished it with lots of chopped coriander.s

The sweetness of the pineapple juice was sharpened by the pickled ginger. The sunflower seeds added  crunchiness.It was the kind of salad which is happy to sit around for a while so could be made well ahead of time.

I photographed it inside  on a rainy, overcast day close to a window and used a white reflector to minimise shadows.

A Hearty Pie by Le Chef at the Lakehouse

If I had had more time I might have achieved the perfect shot of  this  hearty pie baked by 'Le Chef' Grant Kitchen at the Lakehouse Arts Centre Cafe. But it was the last remaining piece so was whisked from under my nose and served up to a customer who pronounced it excellent!
Very appropriate I guess as the theme of the Auckland Quilt Guild exhibition in the adjacent Becroft Gallery is "If I only had Time!"
Oh well, time to linger over a latte.

Happiness is: Brunch at the Lakehouse Arts Centre Cafe

Meeting up with friends for a coffee on Sunday morning.

At the adjoining table this neenish tart, with a hint of lemon, is pronounced his favourite by a customer who spent much of his life in the Navy and has tasted neenish tarts all over the world.
Although this sweet treat appears in the Edmond's cookbook Australians claim it as theirs.  But let's not quibble over who first invented them and just enjoy their deliciousness.

On the menu, a healthy salad sprinkled with crunchy nuts and garnished with whole basil leaves designed by our resident chef Grant Kitchen.

And this Mediterranean inspired  one , reminiscent of a Tuscan Panzanella. .

His custard squares look divine! Hard to stop at one!

I Heart a Latte at the Lakehouse

It's Sunday morning at the Lakehouse Arts Centre in Takapuna. In the Becroft Gallery the Auckland Quilt Makers are busy hanging their beautiful quilts for their annual exhibition which opens tomorrow evening. The theme this year is "Time."

I'll be taking some photographs soon, but first it's time for a latte!

Food, Health and Happiness’ by Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey’s new cookbook Food, Health and Happiness is filled with recipes she loves to share with friends and family.

As well as a cookbook it is a memoir about Oprah’s own food journey and the many battles she has had with her weight.

I found her childhood reminiscences touching. As a little girl she used to dream of a perfect world in which her mother would ladle up a great big bowl of Campbell’s soup just for her. But her Mother was a maid and after spending all day cleaning other people’s houses, tousling her braids and serving her daughter soup was out of the question.

When Oprah made her TV debut on the Tonight Show Joan Rivers, the guest host, wanted to know why she was so fat. She challenged her to come back 15 pounds lighter the next time she hosted. Oprah felt like crawling under her chair, and then promptly went back to Chicago to start yet another diet,

She continued to try every diet under the sun. Eventually it was the Weightwatchers programme which proved to be the most successful for her.

At the time this book was published she had reached a stage where, having lost 40 kilos, she is content and feels comfortable with her body.

These days she follows the rules of clean eating (food that is minimally processed) but also feels free to sometimes be indulgent

“Food is about joy, not suffering. It’s meant to nourish us, not cause us pain.” She now says

On the basis of what she has learnt on her own often tortuous journey she is able to offer lots of advice and encouragement to others who want to lose weight.

The recipes in Food, Health and Happiness were created for her by well-known American chefs who have worked for her over the years.

Although it is not an official Weightwatchers cookbook at the end of each recipe the Weightwatchers Points are included. Oprah is closely involved with this organisation and is a part owner.

I thought the recipes might be more suited to American palates but was pleased to find that most were in tune with the way we eat as well. Being chef’s recipes some did have a long list ingredients and took time to put together. But they were not too complicated.

The Pasta Primavera made with heaps of vegetables (carrots, courgettes, broccoli, mushrooms and a yellow pepper) and only a small amount of pasta was lifted out of the ordinary by the basil chiffonade and a sprinkling of pinenuts.

Couscous made by whizzing raw cauliflower in a food processor until it resembles grains has become a favourite amongst food bloggers lately. The version in Oprah’s cookbook in which the cauliflower grains are stir-fried with turmeric, garlic and cumin before the other ingredients are stirred in was very tasty.

The cauliflower and potato mash was a clever way of creating a slimming version of mashed potatoes. Although it was spiked with rosemary I thought it tasted a little bland. In my mind cauliflower and cheese are made for each other so I threw caution to the wind,  disregarded the Weightwatchers points and added a large dollop of sour cream and a handful of parmesan (much more delicious!)   It reheated beautifully so can be prepared earlier in the day and then zapped in the microwave,

Her sorbets look delicious and as Oprah points out they contain zero fat. But several of them include 100 grams of unrefined white sugar which I thought was a lot so I didn’t try them.

The unfried chicken got a mixed reception at our house. This recipe by famous American Chef Art Smith is a slimmer’s version of fried chicken The chicken breast, marinated in buttermilk, was deliciously moist but I found the crumbed exterior (which was baked, not deep fried) crispy but a little dry. My partner however loved it,

We have yet to try her chicken masala but it sounded delicious. As does her peppered tuna with a spicy sesame ginger dressing,

Oprah Winfrey’s new cookbook Food, Health and Happiness is already an Amazon bestseller. A great many adoring Oprah fans and Weightwatcher will have snapped it up.

But anyone who is interested in living a healthy lifestyle will find some interesting recipes in Food Health and Happiness to choose from for weekday meals as well as celebratory occasions.

Title: Food, Health and Happiness: 115 on Point Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life. Author: Oprah Winfrey Publisher: Macmillan RRP: 49.99

I wrote this review in my weekly column in the GrownUps website https://www.grownups.co.nz/. 

Bacon and Egg Pie: Hot out of the Oven

Early in the morning, just as the first customers start to arrive, delicious savoury smells waft out of the Lakehouse Arts Centre Cafe kitchen and bacon and egg pies and gigantic hot scones are taken  out of the oven for brunch.