uninspirational cheese on toast

Motivation and I are currently in the throes of a nasty cat fight, and motivation is totally winning. Not even the pantry offered me inspiration tonight. A return to the gym helped slightly, as did coffee and yarns in the sun earlier this afternoon, and posting a couple of treats to some out-of-towners. Home staring at the cupboard though - blank. Maybe it's because all my energy has been sapped by a combination of the tail-end of the flu and planning canapes for our Royal Wedding party. Maybe it's that end-of-summer lull. It's not like I don't have exciting things to look forward to or anything, I just could not be bothered whipping up a tasty vegetarian pasta or a healthy stir fry. I couldn't bring myself to give into my gourmet macaroni cheese craving either. I was close to venturing outside for Malaysian takeaways. But too unmotivated even for that, I just had cheese on toast. Is it nights like this that boyfriends are actually good for something?

Cheese on toast (is this what the Americans call grilled cheese? anyone?)

Turn your oven to grill and set the temperature to about 200*C.

Put two slices of bread under and cook until toasted on one side.

Remove from  oven and flip the bread over. You want your toppings to be placed on the soft squishy side.

Drizzle over a little chilli oil, and spread with some relish, or pickle or chutney or rocket fuel. Sweet chilli sauce would work if you're that way inclined.

Add toppings as you see fit. This evening mine went - finely chopped red onion, capers, some red capsicum slices, some finely sliced raw spinach, and some finely chopped tomato. Cover with grated cheese.

Return to the grill until cheese has thoroughly melted.

I enjoyed mine on the couch, and since I can't work out how to make the TV  play normally again after last playing a DVD, it was devoured in silence.

I wouldn't dare leave on such a negative note though. The dog days are over, remember?!

Currently inspirational: (despite myself!)

- the planning of the Royal Wedding party (I may or may not have purchased 30 feet of bunting from ebay last night)

- these flowers from a friend, and the tea loaf I made on Sunday sitting on the bench

- this song by Bright Eyes, inspirational as ever.

- the Zany Zeus haloumi salad served at Lido Cafe. My flatmate and I had a pre-shopping lunch date there on Saturday and I'd never been before. I wasn't overwhelmed by the ambience or decor, but the menu  was fresh-sounding and whilst I enjoyed the summer ploughman's (pictured; the smoked aubergine yoghurt was a highlight) I was very envious of my fellow-diner's luscious chunks of that creamy cypriot cheese.

- the Black Caps potentially beating Sri Lanka in tonight's cricket World Cup semi final. And for you Netball fans, the Mystics (hopefully!) beating the Pulse this Saturday in the ANZ championship. You'll note, after close to 7 years in Wellington, my sporting loyalties still firmly lie with my hometown.

photo of one tree hill in the 1990's from wikipedia.org

- having the ingredients to make Lucy Corry's Pumpkin Ginger Brownie, in the latest Frankie magazine. I'm so intrigued! Soon, soon.

In the meantime, a cup of tea and the latest Dish magazine will have to do. Until next time!

each peach pear plum

Well, another rainy Sunday and another weekend with no scandal to report. The closest I've been to scandal recently was meeting a guy in a bar after my friend's wedding, and after talking to him for an hour, he asked for my phone number. I think I put him off when I asked if the picture of the flash-looking car as his cellphone background was his, and he embarrassingly replied "No". Aah well.

But the sun did come out this afternoon, and I had the pleasure of attending a dinner party that included multiple dinner courses, amuse-bouche, palate cleansers and multiple dessert courses. It was nothing short of incredible, and our entire flat even left with pate sandwiches on homemade bread for lunch tomorrow, to be followed by homemade biscotti. Amazing.

After a week in bed with the flu, I did have another successful stint on Good Morning on Friday, where I made Zucchini and Sweetcorn fritters with fresh mint, and my Plum and Yoghurt cake. The cake that I whipped up on the show came to work with me on Friday for afternoon tea. It was a hit, and in case you missed it, the recipe is both available here, and as follows.

Plum and Yoghurt Cake


125g butter
200g white sugar
2 eggs
1.5tsp baking powder
150g white flour
pinch of salt
50g ground almonds
220g natural yoghurt

Preheat oven to 180*C

If using fresh plums, cut in half and remove stones. Sprinkle with a little sugar. If using canned plums, drain in a sieve and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift the dry ingredients. Add yoghurt and almonds. Mix well and put mixture in the tin.

Press plums cut side up into the top of the cake mixture. Sprinkle over a little raw sugar if you're using tinned plums.

Bake for one hour, and then when you take it out of the oven, leave to cool in the tin.

My flatmates reaped the benefits of the quiet weekend. In the kitchen this weekend I treated them to Nigella's cinnamon buns to brighten up a drizzly Saturday morning. I'd seen that Laura from hungryandfrozen had made these, after I'd picked them out as a potential from my copy of Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess. They looked pretty straightforward, so un-hungover yesterday morning I got stuck into the yeasty dough, added some fresh blueberries, and we all had carb and sugar lulls for the rest of the day. It was a highly unnecessary amount of sugar for 4 people, and one flatmate had 5 - he couldn't go to the kitchen all day without leaving with another. My advice? Make if you have a big crew of people to eat them. If not, they'll all get eaten anyway. They are seriously good.

The recipe for Nigella's Norwegian Cinnamon Buns (From How to be a Domestic Goddess) is available here at hungryandfrozen. Feel free to add blueberries!

And coming up this week - back to work, and probably the weather turning crap. But, friends visiting next weekend, and then Easter. And a 5kg bag of flour in the cupboard. And recently-returned-from-overseas-friends who want to collaborate in the kitchen. And a return Asian dinner party for the friend's who last time cooked for me. It's not all doom and gloom, and in the meantime check out those buns - Nigella, the Norwegians and Laura all clearly know their stuff!  

recovery mode

The doctor declared my "particularly violent" flu demanded 5 days off work. That was on Tuesday, when I felt like my ears were going to explode inside my head. He told me I looked miserable. I was. Wednesday I embraced romantic comedies on the couch like there was no tomorrow, and against all better judgement even shed a tear at a movie I'm too embarrassed to name because it most definitely does not warrant tears, at any point. The drugs had definitely kicked in and this morning I had lofty dreams of getting up and going for a walk to the supermarket. I made it as far as the kitchen, for my daily food-juice-drug dose and swiftly needed another nap. Mid-afternoon though and I made it to Moore Wilson's. The sunshine sure helped. Buying too much and having to walk home with 4 bags of groceries did not.

I made it though, and after a big rest with more drugs and juice, I felt well and stir-crazy enough to embrace the kitchen like a long-lost friend. In possession of the latest Cuisine magazine, and a lamb shoulder and an aubergine, I braised them under instruction. It's rare that I follow a recipe exactly, and even serve it with what the recipe suggests. But this I did, and a delicious dinner was served. It was really very tasty. The aromatic cinnamon went with the soft lamb perfectly.

Braised Lamb and Eggplant (From the March 2011 edition of Cuisine magazine)

900g boneless lamb shoulder, cut into pieces
salt and freshly ground pepper
oil for frying
2 onions, finely chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chilli flakes (optional, more or less according to taste)
400g tin of tomatoes
2 tblsp tomato paste
1 large eggplant, cut into thirds then large wedges

Season the malb with salt and pepper then brown in a heavy saucepan with a little oil. Remove the lamb from the pan and add the onions. Fry gently without colouring until soft, then add the cinnamon, allspice, cumin and chilli flakes. Cook until fragrant.

Return the lamb to the pan along with the tomatoes and tomato paste. Cover with a circle of parchment paper (I used baking paper. Apparently this is swankily called a 'cartouche') and put the lid on. Simmer on a very low heat for 1 hour. Check occasionally and add a little water if the sauce becomes too thick (I didn't need too, by the way).

Meanwhile, salt the eggplant (so it soaks up less oil) and place on a colander for 30 minutes to drain off any liquid. Rinse and squeeze dry.

Heat around a 1/4 cup of oil in a frying pan and fry the eggplant on all sides until golden (it doesn't have to be cooked through). Place the eggplant on paper towels to drain off excess oil, then place in the pan with the lamb, after it has simmered for an hour. Cook for a further 30 minutes, or until lamb is tender (I gave it another hour).

Serve with rice and spinach wilted in a dash of oil, 2 sliced garlic cloves, a squeeze of lemon juice and a knob of butter.

I've also got a plum and yoghurt cake in the oven, which I'm taking along to Good Morning tomorrow! I'll share the recipe with you then. I also have some fruit soaking in tea for another of Nigella's spiced tea loaves. And I have a bag of carrots which will swiftly becoming baby hummingbird cakes over the weekend. While I was sick I also found myself dreaming and writing about Laos, so who knows where that will lead kitchen wise...nothing like a few days being bedridden (and an alcohol-free-antibiotics-induced weekend ahead) to get re-inspired and reacquainted with the kitchen!  

figs & honey

Having had the most wonderful time last week at my friend's wedding in Auckland, and catching up with friends and family, I'm now stuck at home with a nasty cold and what I suspect is an ear infection. Urgh! About to undertake another nap, I thought I'd share what a couple of friends and I had as a Saturday afternoon treat.

Mum had fresh figs off both her tree and Grandma's, and a friend of a friend has been making honey - Remuera Gold, he calls it. Cue: roasted fresh figs with ricotta and honey. I simply cut them in half, dolloped a little ricotta on each and then drizzled over some honey. About 15 minutes at about 180*C did the trick - the honey caremelised, and the ricotta warmed. The result was like a fig tart, but without the calories pastry brings. A perfect light dessert or decadent afternoon tea.

me as a potato, me cooking potato

My acting debut happened at the age of 5, in the first few weeks of primary school. My part? A potato in Mr McGregor's garden, in the Royal Oak Primary rendition of Peter Rabbit. We were in rows of three, and at the last minute the front row potato caught stage fright and I was promoted. From there, dreams were made (but more about the fact I wanted to be an Oscar winning actress from the ages of 9-17 at a later stage) Just like the way I shone as a potato on stage, I too shone in the kitchen cooking potato last week. My debut performance with potato gnocchi was an absolute roaring success.  

I followed exactly this recipe from Cuisine - available by clicking here. I used Agria potatoes and my flatmate made essentially the same sauce that is featured with the recipe. We garnished with fresh basil, and it was fabulous. It's a little time consuming, but I found the whole process really enjoyable and satisfying. See my happy hands kneading that dough?

It was even better the next day reheated, sauce and gnocchi left overnight to meld. I stirred through some baby spinach, and then microwaved - the addition of greens was a good one. My other favourite way to serve these cloudy pillows of deliciousness is in a simple sauce - lightly fry some cubes of skinless, boneless chicken breast in a fry pan in some crushed garlic and some olive oil. Add some cream, and salt and pepper, and the cooked gnocchi. Have it on a reasonably high heat until it reduces, then squeeze in some lemon juice and add spinach or baby spinach leaves. Once thick (it doesn't take long) serve with lots of freshly cracked pepper.

Bellissimo!

parties (pancake) and pie (apple)

Today is my Grandmother's 92nd birthday. She's a constant source of inspiration - both in the kitchen and in general. If I take up line dancing at 77 and still help hose down the cow shed at 92, and if I'm baking banana cakes with my granddaughter, and still mending clothes with my sewing machine, then I think I'd be pretty happy with myself. One thing I always enjoyed when visiting Gran's house growing up was her apple crumble, and in later years her apple pie - sometimes with the addition of lemon curd and/or blueberries, and the pastry being an easy food processor mixture.      

Speaking of lemon curd, I had the pleasure of attending a pancake party on Sunday morning. The delightful flat that invited us had views of the beach with sunshine streaming in, and pancake toppings included butterscotch sauce, fresh blueberries, real maple syrup, poached peaches, nutella and melon balls, which was all served with coffee, orange juice, banter, banana cake, and the last scrapings of a homemade lemon curd which had those beautiful miniature black specks of real vanilla through it.   

And speaking of vanilla and lemon and cake, the pancake party was followed up on Sunday afternoon with a  tea party and coat show at the beautiful house also near the beach, of the owner of a beautiful clothes shop.

There were fresh flowers, delicious cakes, club sammies (brie and asparagus being the highlight), wine, sherry and beautiful beautiful clothes I unfortunately cannot afford. One friend purchased a very sassy winter wool coat, lined with silk. I just ate cake and drank wine in the sun. 

And speaking of cake, in honour of Gran tonight I didn't make a cake - I indulged the flatmates and our current squatter with apple pie. Very similar to Gran's recipe, but this one is from Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Dinners. The apples were from my flatmate's Mum's tree, and the lemons from my workmate's tree. I'd like to say the eggs came from a free range hen out the back, but I freaking hate live chickens. The lemon zest in both the pastry and the apples really gives this pie a lift, as does the sprinkle of ginger. My pastry didn't roll out and stay together, so I just patchily laid it over the apples before egg-washing and baking. Jamie says it gives it a "rustic" look and who am I to argue with that. 

Apple Pie (from Jamie Oliver's book Jamie's Dinners)

Pastry 

225g flour

140g butter

85g caster sugar

finely grated zest of one lemon (no longer is possession of a microplane, my zest was not fine at all)

2 egg yolks (remember you can keep the whites and use for meringues or something)

Put butter, flour, sugar and zest into a food processor. Whizz together, then add the egg yolk and a drop of water to bind it together. Butter a 20cm metal pie dish - I always just use my springform cake tin. 

Divide dough into two, and roll half of it out on a flour-dusted surface. Lay the pastry into the pie dish. My rolled out pastry crumbled, so I just assembled it in the tin, with lots of pressing and spreading. Put the dish and the remaining dough in the fridge while you sort the apples. 

Filling

5-6 apples - I always just use whatever I have, but Jamie suggests Braeburn or Cox's 

3 tblsp demerara or muscavado sugar - both of which I never have in the cupboard, so I just used raw sugar

zest of half a lemon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

a handful of sultanas or raisins, optional - in honour of my raisin hating friend, I omitted. 

1 egg yolk, with a dash of milk added, for brushing

Peel the apples, and cut into eighths(ish). Toss them in a small pan with the sugar, lemon zest, ginger, a tblsp of water and raisins if you're using them. Simmer gently for 5 minutes or until apples are just tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely (I am always far too impatient for this, which I don't really think matters). 

Remove pie dish and pastry from the fridge and pack the apples in tightly to the pan. Egg wash the pastry rim and then roll out the rest of the dough - again I just kind of patched it over with "rustic" gaps. Pinch the edges together and egg-wash the top. Make a couple of incisions if your top is in-tact, and bake in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Spoon out and serve with custard, ice cream or runny cream. 

Happy birthday Grandma! 

Chiang Mai memories

The first full day of my recent sashay around South East Asia I spent hungover in Bangkok, and the second I spent on a 16 hour overnight train ride, and then trekking around with my backpack in the sweltering heat looking for a guest house. The third day in I settled in quite nicely to travelling solo by hiring a bicycle and exploring Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. I had a map, some cheap sunglasses, no sense of direction, and boundless enthusiasm.

The wise words of my mother came to mind. The mantra she gave my sisters and I growing up, whenever anything went wrong, was "think of it as an adventure". It has served me well throughout my life when faced with any dilemma, and particularly well when travelling. The other wise words she gave me specifically - the directionally-challenged one - when I first went overseas was "make sure you look out for landmarks". It's kind of a joke, that she actually had to point that out to me, but I am hopeless enough that the little gem came in very handy recently.

I cycled around soaking in the sights and smells and colours and temples. The freedom was exhilarating. There were a lot of temples. With lots of gold, lots of buddhas and being New Years Eve, lots of people. There were impressive food markets outside some of them, which included spring rolls, quail eggs, iced coffees and fresh fruit. In one Wat I took a bowl of 108 coins, letting each one go plink into a whole lot of Buddhist prayer bowls, apparently bringing me good karma and good luck.

After getting repeatedly lost, getting a numb butt, having some close calls with motorcyclists, and stumbling upon places I'd given up on trying to find, I had a late lunch at what became my favourite little cafe down one of the many winding cute pedestrian soi. Panang curry and a couple of chang beers set me up nicely for an evening of farewelling 2010. And you've already heard how that went.

Having already professed my enjoyment of new beginnings, I was buzzing the next day with the arrival of 2011. I wore obnoxiously bright pink fisherman's pants and had a life changing fresh mango shake before I arranged to meet up with friends from home the next day. I was also rather hungover. I ventured to the Night Bazaar that evening, and after some sifting around and buying of unnecessary scarves, I parked up at one of the restaurants lining the main street and had my first Khao Soi (also known as chiangmai noodle). It was mouth-wateringly good.          

Khao Soi is a northern Thailand chicken curry noodle soup, which blends red chilli curry paste with Indian style ground curry powder. It has boiled egg noodles in it, and deep fried egg noodles on top. The traditional garnish is raw shallots, pickled cabbage and lime. It was a culinary highlight of my month away, and when I met up with said-friends the next day we learnt how to make it at Baan Thai cooking school. We did the class from 4pm - 8pm (500 thai baht, about $22 NZD), which begins with walk to the market; you then choose the dishes you want to learn and eat after each course. As well as 4 dishes, we also made curry paste and fresh coconut milk. I'd highly recommend it.  

Back home and keen to put into practice what we learnt, my friends recreated it to perfection the other night. We stuffed our faces, laughing and reminiscing, and just before that lemon tart we also had banana spring rolls (just chopped banana and sugar, wrapped in wonton papers) deep fried and dipped in sweetened condensed milk. Seriously incredible.

Khao Soi       (from Baan Thai Cookery School)

50g deep fried egg noodles
100g boiled egg noodles
50g chicken
2 tbsp oil
2 cups coconut milk
2 tbsp fish sauce (vege option, use soy sauce)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Indian curry powder
1 tbsp red curry paste

Coriander leaves, a fresh lime, 3 chopped shallots - to garnish. And pickled cabbage if you have it!

Method

*Boil egg noodles according to packet instructions and divide into the serving bowls.

*Mix the red curry paste and the Indian curry powder. Place wok over low heat, and put in the oil and the paste. Stir continuously until fragrant.

*Add chicken (or tofu if you're going vege), add 1/4 cup of coconut milk and stir constantly until the chicken is cooked.

*Add the remaining coconut milk, turn to medium heat, and stir constantly.

*Add fish sauce and sugar.

*Pour over the cooked noodles. Top with the deep fried noodles and garnish.

I'm surprised this hasn't taken off in the same way Pad Thai and Tom Yum Soup have around the world. With the Indian curry powder it has a distinctive flavour, but it is seriously easy to make and the garnishes really make it an easy impressive meal. Follow up with banana spring rolls, and even though you will probably be belly-achingly full, you will also most probably be very happy indeed.

$10 tuesdays at Monterey

The new flatties have settled in nicely, and last night we did a flat outing to the dizzying heights of Newtown for $10 Tuesdays at Monterey. It's a very cute wee bar on Rintoul St, and on Tuesdays all burgers and cocktails are a recessionista-friendly $10.

One thing I particularly liked about Monteray, was that there was paper on the tables. We played hangman (one flatmate had trouble with the spelling of "sphinx", which swiftly ended the game) while our cocktails arrived. I had a blackthorn - sloe gin, with vermouth and bitters, but with berry and plum undertones, apparently. We also scientifically established eligibility of couples using that method primary school students use, with the number of L's O's V's and E's in your names. It was sweet. We shared a bowl of fries to start ($7) which featured an extremely tasty coriander mayo. 

Monterey is adorable. It has kitschy carpet, reminiscent of my parents' house prior to 1989, and a dinky record player - the highlight being the original version of "I think we're alone now". A quick google search tells me Tiffany didn't in fact coin the original, and it was in fact Tommy James and the Schondells we enjoyed last night. Since it was $10 burgers - that's what we all did. Two of us went with the Haloumi and Onion Ring burger, with rocket, barbecue sauce, and coriander mayo ($10 on Tuesdays, $16 the rest of the time). It came with a smattering of shoestring fries, but I don't think there was any rocket. There was though, what I think was summer 'slaw - a feature of other burgers - cabbage, carrot, cucumber - tasty as, but the onion rings I think disolved in the saucy mess this burger became. I didn't mind at all - I love getting all saucy amongst a burger. I did note all flatties using knives and forks at one point though, so thought I should probably increase the etiquette stakes slightly, and put down said burger in lieu of a knife and fork. 

The other half of our current flat composition enjoyed the cheeseburger - beef, cheddar, pickles, relish, aioli, lettuce, tomato and red onion ($10 on tuesdays, $17 the rest of the time). Like the other burgers, there were shoestring fries on the side, and this burger received rave reviews as both an absolute classic and a burger being made particularly awesome with the addition of gherkins. 

Their menus are pasted into old books, which I adore, and there was a table next to us who were obviously on the Tuatara tap beers - they seemed to go from playing scrabble to playing cards (I was totally jealous of the scrabble. In fact, speaking of scrabble, my flatmate and I are thinking of getting amongst this). It's a neighbourhoodly bar and restaurant that is definitely worth the trek from town to the 'burbs for. All in all, highly recommended. I wouldn't be surprised if this swiftly becomes one of those Wellington institutions people harp on about. And rightly so. Give it a go! 

Monterey. 4 Rintoul Street, Newtown, Wellington. Ph (04) 389 3008. Tuesdays - all cocktails and burgers $10.