Potatoes baked with leeks, bacon and fresh garden herbs.

 

Maybe it's the Dutch in me but I love potatoes. Although not as much as some! Many moons ago,when my daughters Rachel and Kate were little, I took them back to Friesland to the village I was born.
Our hosts had boiled a whole pot of potatoes for us and were greatly surprised when we only put one each on our plates.
In those days potatoes were thought to be fattening, but our Friesian potato eating friends  (who kept a large supply of them in their cellar to see them through the winter) all looked healthy and trim. The fact is that a potato is no more fattening than an apple and has lots of nutrients. Of equal importance is their sustainability for the planet.

The Great Potato Challenge was created to celebrate the United Nations International Year of the potato in 2008. A collection of winning recipes was published in a little booklet which I found while I was browsing in the Takapuna Hospice Shop last week. This is one of the recipes and was created by Chef Tony Smith from the Crown Plaza in Christchurch.

The original recipe was for 10 which is more than I usually have around for dinner. I halved it, but it could easily be doubled again so it would be a really easy dish to cook for a crowd.

Winter has set in here. But thyme, parsley and bay leaves are still to be found in our garden. And a large bag of all purpose potatoes was at hand in the kitchen.

It turned out to be tasty and moist, the kind of comfort food which when eaten in moderation won't linger on your hips. I'd definitely make it again.


Ingredients:

3 bacon rashers
1 large leek (sliced)
5 medium boiling potatoes (peeled and sliced 1 cm thick)
375ml  chicken stock (heated )
1 fresh bay leaf
5 grams of fresh thyme, picked
freshly ground black pepper to taste
30 ml of olive oil
20 gm of Italian parsley, chopped

Method:

Heat the oven to 180 degrees C
Heat a heavy based pan, add bacon and stir fry
Add the leeks and cook until softened
Place half the potatoes in a baking dish and sprinkle over the leeks and bacon.
Layer remaining potatoes on top and pour the stock to almost cover the potatoes.
Place the bay leaf in the potatoes.
Sprinkle over the thyme.
Season with black pepper and drizzle with olive oil
Cover with foil and place in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes
Remove the foil and cook for a further 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft and golden.
Remove the bay leaves.
Serve with parsley sprinkled over the top





 

Apricot Blush and Peanut Butter Muesli

 

Although I  have a very relaxed and creative approach to mixing a new batch of muesli each week, touch wood, none  of them so far have failed!

 

For this week's batch I thought that rolled oats would combine well with Barker's Apricot Blush fruit syrup , peanut butter and coconut. For a little more sweetness I stirred in some brown sugar. And I added 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds.

 

When the muesli had been lightly browned in the oven in went plenty of sultanas (about 200 grams)

 

It tasted good with millk,yoghurt and a fresh tropical fruit salad (mango, pineapple and banana) but my sister Margreet's preserved Central Otago apricots would have been perfect!

 

I know I won't be able to resist chopping and changing the recipe again next time so  I may add some chopped apricots and/or chocolate chips and replace the sunflower seeds with walnuts.

 



Ingredients:

400 grams of Harraway's rolled oats
1/4 cup of Barker's Apricot Blush
1/4 cup of  trim milk/water
1/4 cup of peanut butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of  sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of dessicated coconut
1/2 cup of wheatgerm (optional)
200 grams of sultanas
a few drops of vanilla essence

Method

Mix the rolled oats, coconut, sunflower seeds and wheatgerm in a large bowl.
Whisk the Barker's Apricot Blush fruit syrup ,peanut butter, milk, and brown sugar together,
Mix this liquid through the rolled oats.
Put the rolled oat mixture into a large baking dish.
Bake at 170 degrees C for 20-30 minutes.
Stir from time to time and watch carefully towards the end, as it can burn. It should just be slightly golden.
The longer you bake it the crisper it will be.
When it has cooled down add the sultanas.
Put in a lidded jar and store in your pantry.










 

Apricot Blush Hot Toddies

 

 

It's been a cold and rainy weekend so we've had fun creating hot toddies with Barker's Apricot Blush. It's made by Barker's of Geraldine and consists of  crushed local Central Otago apricots blended with tropical pineapple and lime. We made two for the adults and one for the kids.

 

Apricot Blush Hot Toddy:

 

Ingredients: Per person

 

1 teabag

juice of 1/2 orange

1 tablespoon of Barker's Apricot Blush (or to taste)

1 cup/glass  of hot water

1 cinnamon stick

1 slice of ginger

a  slice of orange ( quartered)

 

Method:

 

Put the juice of 1/2 orange into a cup/glass.

Pour in the boiling water.

Add a teabag and slice of ginger 

Leave to steep for a minute or so before removing the teabag.

Float a slice of orange on top.

Stir with a cinnamon stick and serve while hot.

 

Apricot Blush and Brandy Toddy:

 

Proceed as above but omit the teabag.

Instead add a nip of brandy.

 

Eeny Weeny Toddies ( for the littlies)

 

Squeeze half an orange into each glass.

Add 1 tablespoon of Apricot Blush (or to their taste)

Fill the cup/glass with boiling water.

Float slices of orange on top.

 

 

 

 

Rolled Oats and Raisin Cookies

To keep the lads fed at the Lakehouse in Takapuna Woodsculpture Live I baked some Rachel Allen Cookies which went down a treat and spurred them on to further action.

Ingredients:

110 gram sof butter ( softened)
110 grams of caster sugar
110 grams of  soft light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
250 grams of rolled oats
110 grams of self raising flour
1 level teaspoon of salt
110 grams  of raisins/ chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 180C

Cream the butter until soft and then add the sugars and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Add the egg, water and vanilla extract while still beating. Reduce the speed and gently mix in the oats, flour, salt and raisins/chocolate chips to form a dough.
Using you hands roll the dough into walnut sized balls and place slightly apart on two baking trays ( no need to grease or line)
Bake in the oven for 15-35 minutes until light golden brown but still slightly soft in the centre.
Allow to cool on the trays for a minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool,






 

Kate's Mushroom, Thyme and Mascarpone pasta

Kate rustled up this recipe for her Belgian friends Cedric and Wimpke last weekend. There was no parmesan so she used some very finely grated tasty cheddar.
This they especially liked because of its stronger and slightly tart flavour. Maybe we should appreciate our kiwi tasty cheddar more!
When I made it again I added some lightly toasted pinenuts which added some crunch, but these are optional.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 a large onion
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons of chopped chives
2 tablespoons of finely chopped thyme
250 grams of  mushrooms ( the large flat ones are tastier than button mushrooms)
100 ml of white wine ( she used sauvignon blanc)
Freshly ground black pepper and salt
150 grams of mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
50 grams of pinenuts (optional)
400 grams fresh fettucini

Method:

Fry the onion and garlic in a frypan in one tablespoon of oil over a moderate heat until the onion has softened. Set aside,
Wipe the fry pan clean and fry the chopped mushrooms until slightly browned in one tablespoon of oil and one tablespoon of butter until the mushrooms are lightly browned at the edges.
Add the wine and keep frying for a minute or two until the wine has been absorbed.
Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water until the al dente stage and drain  well.
Mix in the onions, mushrooms, herbs and mascarpone cheese and reheat gently.
Toss through the pinenuts and parmesan cheese and serve.

 

The Feijoa Cake from "Ripe a Fresh Batch" : A Tasting

Now what could we tempt Cedric and Wimke, our Belgian visitors with? We thought the The Feijoa cake from "Ripe: a fresh batch" would be the perfect choice?

Cedric's Grandfather was a famous pastry cook in Belgium who supplied icecream to the Belgian royal family. We knew it would have to be a special cake to impress.

 

 They were more than happy to give it a go

 

 

Cedric first! 

 

 

He could not stop at one bite. But it was time to share.

 

\

While Wimke enjoyed a taste Cedric was considering his verdict.

 They agreed it was a seriously good cake!

 

Ripe: A Fresh Batch at Cook the Books

After a rainy week the sun luckily came out last Saturday for a luscious afternoon tea at Cook the Books in Ponsonby to celebrate Ripe Deli's Second Cookbook "Ripe: A Fresh Batch" which has just been published. A very welcome successor to the first Ripe  Deli recipe book which appeared two years ago and from which I love to cook.

 

It was a great opportunity to sample some of the cakes from the book, to meet Angela Redfern (owner of Ripe Deli in Grey Lynn) who authored the book and chef Pip Wylie, two incredibly unasssuming and talented people.

 

My favourite, the moist and mooorish Feijoa cake with cream cheese icing.

 

Can't wait to try out some of the other recipes!

 

Angela Redfern 

 

Angela Redfern and chef Pip Wylie

 

 

A luscious afternoon Tea

 

The irresistable hazelnut chocolate cake 

 

 

Ripe a Fresh Batch on display at Cook the Books 

 

 

Leafing through the great recipes

 

 

Angela Redfern signing a customer copy of Ripe a New Batch

School Holiday Cooking

 

It's the school holidays, time for young cooks to have some fun in the kitchen. and as Emily, Becky and Susie are staying with us this was a good time for them to try these two recipes.

Two loved these iceblocks, one wasn't so keen. Becky has a sweet tooth and had we laced them with some honey I think she would have fallen for them as well.

Everyone liked the ambrosia, especially as Emily added some more mini marshmallows than the recipe I had created for her to try. She's 7 and can  cut grapes easily with a not too sharp knife and use a measuring cup and spoons but using an electric beater to whip the cream was a little scary, so we did it together.

The  ice blocks. were are made with Barker's Vegelife Fruit and Vegetable concentrate which is new on the market. And the recipe for these came from
their website.

Vegelife has no refined sugar or artificial sweeteners, no preservatives and no added colours or flavours. And it contains a wide spectrum of polyphenols and antioxidants including Vitamins A & C. For kids who hate eating veggies it is a great way to add some vegetable goodness to their diets.

Vegelife Ice blocks

To make these ice blocks we simply diluted 1 part of Vegelife to 3.5 parts of water. Then poured it into ice block moulds to freeze.

For dessert we made our version of Ambrosia (the food of the Gods in ancient Greece). This was a little more decadent but easy and fun to make. Stirring in a little Vegelife turned it a deliciously delicate pink.

We made it with grapes, but next time they can be creative and design their personal version by substituting their favourite fruit or some desiccated coconut.

If the Vegelife has run out a fruit flavoured yoghurt would be fine as well.


Ambrosia

To serve four

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of cream
1 cup of thick Greek yoghurt
1-2 tablespoons of Barker's Vegelife
1/2 cup each of seedless red and green grapes.
1/2 cup of baby marshmallows.

Method:

Chop the grapes into quarters
Stir the Vegelife into the yoghurt to make it pink
Add the chopped grapes and baby marshmallows
Whip the cream and mix it in lightly
Spoon into long-stemmed glasses or small bowls.
Leave in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.







 

Apricot Jellies

Emily who is seven loved making these gummy little sweets for a holiday treat.

They are easy to do but you do need to allow time for setting.
She poured the jelly into a ceramic dish and waited until it was set before using tiny metal cookie cutters to cut out the shapes.

I was sent some Barker's Apricot Blush to play with and we have had fun creating some new recipes with it. Its main ingredient is Central Otago Apricots but it also includes pineapple, lime and a dash of blackcurrent juice. It's a good source of vitamin C and has no artifical preservatives, colours or flavours so compared with shop bought these kittle gummy sweets are healthier.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of water
2/3 cup of Barker's Apricot Blush Fruit Syrup.
3 tablespoons of gelatine

Method

Sprinkle the gelatine over the water and give it a stir
Leave it for a minute or two until it has thickened.
Pour 3/4 cup of Barker's Apricot Blush into a saucepan and add the gelatine.
Keep stirring as you heat it until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
Pour into a 20 cm by 14 cm ceramic dish which has been rinsed in cold water .
Leave to set for about 3 hours in the fridge until very firm.
Use small cutters to cut out the apricot jellies.
Any left over pieces can be chopped into small cubes and layered with icecream and fruit salad for a kid friendly dessert.

 

 

Peanut Butter People

 

 

 

 

The school holidays have got off to a good start. Last night we went to the Pumphouse for a preview of Tim Bray's adaptation of A Dragon of an Ordinary Family by Margaret Mahy. Her magical story was transformed into a play which kept us in fits of laughter.
This morning Becky is being creative and making peanut butter people out of wholemeal toast, Ceres Organic Peanut butter (with no added salt) and a few raisins. So perfectly healthy!

She toasted the bread and used a large gingerbread man cutter to then cut them out.

Abby our lab has got her eyes on them, and is sittng down in anticipation of a treat  but unfortunately for her these are people not doggie treats.Now had she been a dragon she would probably have got away with it.
Off to Milford beach now to let her have a play before the forecasted heavy rain starts to pelt down.