lazy long lunch

This crazy wind and drizzly rain is doing nothing for my hairstyling abilities. Any application of lip balm outdoors leads to hair blown into lips, and then balm smeared across face via wild strands of flying hair. It's not enjoyable, and walking can prove a lot more difficult than usual. Throughout this windy, temperamental spring that Wellington is currently in the throes of, those amazing can't-beat-Wellington-on-a-good-day days still peep through. We had one the other day, and I spent my lunch break bathed in sunshine.

I received a phone call during my morning coffee, and all of a sudden I was having lunch with somebody that I used to know. We met up and wandered along the waterfront, and since I'd been meaning to go there for pretty much always, I chose Nikau as our lunch destination.

Nikau is situated in Welington's City Art Gallery, and for my first experience of this iconic cafe, I was very pleasantly impressed. The doughnuts, the service and the kedgeree all lived up to the hype.

It's a small but beautifully balanced lunch menu, and all of it looked appealing on that sunny lunchtime. We had a quiet spot outside whilst the inside was heaving. I likened it to a wind-sheltered oasis out in the courtyard, the hustle and bustle indoors just disapated in that sun.

I could not resist the haloumi. I love love this cypriot cheese, but it's not always that the accompaniments will entice me to order it off a café menu. Here it was served simply with a mountain of chargrilled asparagus, a wedge of lemon and some lightly grilled fresh bread - pretty much my dream lunchtime meal. The asparagus was chargrilled to perfection, retaining its requisite crunch, and the cheese was lusciously creamy.

My dining companion asked if there was anything better than fresh bread and butter when tucking into the bread that accompanied his kedgeree. With a particular interest in fish, the famous kedgeree with smoked fish was what he ordered. Nosily eyeing it up with my fork in hand (a little annoying? probably) there was certainly no way I wasn't going to try it. And it really is delicious. Lightly spiced, beautiful soft flakes of fish, and fresh boiled eggs, with a smattering of herbs. It's a balanced and flavoursome lunch dish which was enthusiastically eaten right up.

Mikes Organic Pilsner (on tap) accompanied both the sunshine and the haloumi, and the Kedgeree was washed down with a Tuatara Pilsner. The service was relaxed but attentive, and friendly without being overbearing, a big plus being that our water was constantly topped up without us really even noticing.

Nikau has popped up a bit lately; it was featured in Cuisine magazine earlier this year and on Julie Le Clerc's TV show Cafe Secrets. Owners Paul and Kelda clearly know what they're doing: they've been here since 1998 and the systems and ethos in place prove it. Apparently an advertising agency recently anonymously donated a billboard professing its love of those famous doughnuts, and Libby over at Lovely Wee Days not only loves their porridge, but also declared the best $50 she'd spent lately was at Head Chef Kelda Haines' egg class at the Sunday City Market. A friend worked here until very recently too, and I even have a cluster of friends who breakfast club here every Friday. And just about everyone you mention this place too knows about that kedgeree, or the equally famous sage eggs.

With a little more time up my sleeve, we went all out and had coffees and homemade doughnuts filled with tangelo cream to finish. The chat was good, the food delicious, the service impeccable and the sunshine, nothing short of glorious. Sometimes, just sometimes, in weather, and in life, small pockets of unexpected positivity will show up when you're least expecting it. My favourite new find and a highly recommended treat.

Nikau Cafe, City Art Gallery Civic Square (101 Wakefield St) Wellington. Open Monday-Friday 7am-4pm, Saturday 8am-4pm.

high heels, high hopes, heartbreak and pie

1. High Heels

The weekend, which feels like it only just finished because yet again last night I partook in a half-arsed gym session completely exhausted, began last Friday night with bubbles. Bubbles, and dresses and high heels and that annoying spring windy sun. It was then off to an engagement party of one of the coolest couples around - I've been bitter about couples in the past, and still now some behaviour induces plenty of scorn. These friends though are awesome. And engaged! We drank bubbly, indulged in delicious canapés (rare beef and bearnaise? don't mind if I do) and I wore my latest acquisition - espadrilles!

Being 6ft tall I've tended in the past to shy away from making myself any taller. Likewise, due to my man-sized feet, I've tended to also shy away from drawing attention to them, and to my inability to walk in a coordinated fashion. It also makes me despise shoe shopping and more often than not you'll see me in jandals or chucks. My behemoth foot size did come in handy once though: earlier this year I found myself involved in a long-distance fleeting fling, and when said man-of-the-moment was in town for the weekend, the sun gloriously shone in the antithesis of the forecast. For one of the most romantic strolls along the waterfront I've ever been involved in, jandals were the only answer. I leant him my spare pair, which fitted. Like a weird-reverse Cinderella I was both gutted and stoked and the same time.

At the moment though I'm going through a phase of embracing both my height and my feet and thus, new heels I have! So girly. So awesome. Thanks to my flatmate for her commitment to shopping, and for making me try and buy them. I'm in love!

2. Shenanigans! 

The weekend continued with ciders in the sun. Friends were down from out of town for both the engagement party and Toast Martinborough and between the events two such friends and I sat in the sun, at one of the best garden bars in Wellington, and drank jug after jug of delicious delicious cider. Following the dating and burger blog, there was lots of good chat and good laughs around dating, and it was good to get both a boy and a girl perspective. There was talk of embarrassing kissing games, tarnishing, sugar-daddys and obsessive phone calling. Hilarious times in the Saturday sunshine.

Sunday then brought around the Toast Martinborough wine festival. It was a very fun day out, and drunkenly dominating this Ruth Pretty Steak and Kidney Pie in the sunshine with an Ata Rangi Pinot was one of many many highlights. I will spare you the details of the bruises, the voice loss, the house damage, the dancing, and the Sunday night deep-and-meaningful conversations, and the general shenanigans which ensued in the van ride back and later on at home. When will I learn to stop behaving like a drunk labrador? Probably never.

3. High Hopes

My week began slowly, but I was both thrilled and humbled to discover I have been nominated for a blog award! The Bloggers 2011 are run by Concrete Playground who are searching for New Zealand's best online writers, and I'm in the food and beverage category.

If you would like to help the judges choose heartbreak pie in all its drunken antic filled self-deprecating food filled glory, please shimmy over and click here and chuck me a vote! Choice.

4. Here for the Heartbreak? 

With such a nomination, hopefully comes a raft of new readers. Haere Mai! Welcome!

I started this blog because I love food and because my then-relationship had freshly and traumatically just ended. A slowly accumulating subtle crisis appeared to be the best catalyst for starting something I'd toyed with doing for ages before.  


In a cold and lonely flat with people I didn't know, baking made me feel better. Was I eating my feelings? MAYBE. But I was also, in a way, re-jigging my post-uni, post-relationship still-in-Wellington life. In an unconcious attempt to get through it, I started writing. About food. And heartbreak. On the internet. And it's been awesome!


What has come about is first and foremost I got over the break up, but equally importantly I've discovered that writing about food is way more fun than being a lawyer. I've also been able to relive my fourth form drama class monologue performance, in which I had a cooking show, by cooking on TV. It also meant that in August I was able to go on 17 dates in 17 days and eat 17 burgers and write about it. I win!


And although I feel like an imposter sometimes because I'm nowhere near the world's best cook, I just love it. Food, cooking, drinking, eating, writing.

Most importantly though, it has made me realise how many amazing and supportive and hilarious and wonderful people there are in my life and just how extremely lucky I am. Thanks for reading! And for generally being awesome.

5. Maybe you just want the Pie

Lucky for you, I've updated my recipe index! And I made three tasty, seasonal treats on Good Morning last week. So you can have a look around and find yourself something tasty for dinner. Or maybe a nice cake. You won't find smug boring stories about me and my boring boyfriend's dinner (well, because I don't have one, hahaaaaurgh), but you might find the one about that time my friend pashed the guy I'd been chatting up at a party. I'd like to think we've both come a long way since then though (she lives and hopes...).

There's plenty more of all of it to come, summer's nearly here after all. Cheers!

mushies on toast

I've got a cake cooling on the stove, and another cooking in the oven with some sweet tunes providing for a much-needed relaxing Wednesday night. Last night I had clean sheets and a vacuumed bedroom, Bon Iver playing and a hot phone date with one of my sprinkling of friends-who-I-miss-a-lot-especially-when-hungover-and-tired.

It was, and still is, a surprisingly happy state of affairs considering the weekend I've had. It's Wednesday and I was still sweating out weekend alcohol at the gym this evening, but more about that later.

I didn't do any cooking over the weekend, but last weekend I made myself an extremely tasty brunch for one. Less carbo-loaded than bagels and a welcome change from eggs, I indulged in creamy garlicky portobello mushrooms. I had some leftover goat's cheese which got a second round of loving too, as well as a garnish of borderline still-good parmesan.

Mushrooms for one


Finely chop a bit of fresh rosemary and a bit of thyme and a couple of garlic cloves (you could try peeling it like this!) Add to a frypan which is on medium heat, with a knob of butter and a little drizzle of olive oil.

Take some big, beefy portobello mushrooms and slice into fat slices. Add to your pan of herby buttery goodness and mix around a little until they're soft - I use either a wooden spoon or a trusty rubber spatula. Add a wee splash of cream, just to cover the base of the pan. Increase the heat and allow the sauce to reduce. Just before serving, once it's bubbling and thick, chuck in a handful of baby rocket (or normal rocket, or baby spinach, or normal spinach) and stir through.

Serve on some fresh and lightly toasted sourdough if you have some, or whatever takes your fancy. Mine were demolished in less than 5 minutes, and were swiftly followed by a punnet of raspberries, which like the bread were acquired from the market. Those poor babies didn't have time to be whipped into anything creative they were that good - so plump and fresh. Slightly indulgent and hugely satisfying - what more could you want from your Saturday?

Actually, don't get me started. Like I said, more on that later...

bagels for brunch

I love my complex carbohydrates. Fill me with gluten and throw me on the couch and I'll happily wallow in flour filled happiness. Whilst I love the challenge of cooking for those with special requirements (no meat? no problem!) I myself would struggle to be gluten-free. I just can't relate. I can restrict my carb intake if I'm on a body-tightening mission, but I love bread, and I love carbs and I really love bagels.

The weekend before, I instinctively photographed my scrambled eggs and avocado on sourdough while enjoying an Aro Cafe flat white, and my friend who was visiting said - surely you can't put scrambled eggs on your blog again. So, something new and sweet and different was required, and bagels were it. They're actually not as time consuming or annoying or difficult as you may think. And the results are worth it! Ok, they're a little time consuming. But if you like getting high on dough and caffeine and sunshine on a Sunday morning then that shouldn't be a problem.


I was inspired by Kate's sunday fun happy bagel times blog post a few months back, and upon reading the recipe from Sophisticated Gourmet, I realised I had all the ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, active dried yeast) and they sounded pretty simple. Sometimes, when I get an idea in my head, or a picture in my brain, or a food-related vision, I will not rest until it is realised!

And so bagels on Sunday were made.

It was a couple of weeks back, and I was up nice and early, and trying to be quiet because of the hangovers in the house. I kneaded out the dough and headed down to the Aro shops for a coffee and the paper while my dough was rising. Once home again, in my sunny kitchen the boiling then baking process began.

I used the same new york style bagel recipe as Kate did, from Sophisticated Gourmet, which you can get to by clicking on the link. I followed the instructions exactly, and having never made bagels before, found it really easy. The bit where you roll out dough balls I just did on my kitchen bench, and as you can see from my results I didn't get a totally smooth dough, and thus not a smooth topped bagel. I think the textured look just adds character though, and although I left mine plain, you could sprinkle yours over with sesame or poppy seeds or rock salt.

Cream cheese is essential. I also had envisioned the fresh strawberries I got from the market, and some home made lemon curd smashed together on a bagel. And so it happened. I used my go-to lemon curd recipe which is whipped up in ten minutes flat using a whisk and a microwave. For the non-sweet-toothed breakfast lovers, I can also highly recommend avocado, tomato, cream cheese, a teency squeeze of lemon, some cracked pepper and some freshly torn basil. 

Fresh bagels, fresh coffee, fresh attitude, fresh face. Could these be the sunday mornings of my future? Ooh I don't know if we'll be going that far. It is the silly season after all. But! Bagels are a satisfying Sunday morning activity and with such good instructions, deceivingly easy. And apart from the fact that one friend commented on a photo that these looked like an offensively named cousin of a what a bagel should look like, I was pretty darned happy with the result.

a beetroot and a birthday

The peonies faded to a pastel apricot and were the size of saucers by the time Thursday rolled around. We love squatters in Aro; our sofa bed in the landing by the stairs has homed many a temporarily homeless friend. Our latest was Lucy and she had a birthday during her stay. A delicious, and slightly special, vegetarian dinner was required. Bubbles as a gift, rosé as an accompaniment, and after the beetroot risotto with walnuts, goat's cheese, baby rocket and roasted asparagus on the side, we indulged in a punnet of strawberries dipped in a block of Whittakers Milk Madagascar chocolate, melted into a luscious sauce with a wee bit of cream.  

Beetroot Risotto

At the last minute I snaffled up two gorgeous fresh beetroot on my post-work Moore Wilson's run. At home I googled some recipes - and read this one and this one and this one - then made up my own. I thought grating it raw was the easiest and most sensible option, and I came up with it all on my own. Excellent! 

Heat some olive oil and a knob of butter in a large fry pan. Add 1 thinly sliced onion (red or white) 2 crushed and chopped garlic cloves, and some chopped fresh thyme. Cook until onions are soft, then add about a cup of arborio rice. Have two cups of chicken or vegetable stock warming in saucepan. Add about a ladleful of sock to the rice mixture and stir through. Add a large grated beetroot. Season with salt and pepper. Continue adding stock, stirring constantly, and waiting until all the liquid is absorbed before adding more. Add a generous splash of white wine. Continue stirring. Your risotto is ready after about 25 minutes, when all the liquid is absorbed. 

To serve, put on a plate and crumble over some goat's cheese (I shelled out on the expensive stuff on the aforementioned Moore Wilson's trip) and some lightly toasted walnuts. Serve with baby rocket, and if you are as addicted as I am, some roast asparagus. 

You get an earthy depth with the beetroot, which the thyme and garlic sit alongside with just perfectly. The deal breaker though is the contrast with the sharp goats cheese - it's such a winning combination. Add some greens and you have yourself a delicious, impressive and easy vegetarian dinner.   

to market

If I ever have cause to throw a big party with all my loved ones, one which involves flowers and champagne and beautiful food, it will undoubtedly be when asparagus and peonies are in season.

I spent Saturday morning helping a friend sell peonies from Martinborough at the Hill St Farmers' Market in Thorndon. They are joy in flower form! 

I love a good market on a weekend morning - luckily my head wasn't too hazy from the woodfired pizzas and red wine and goss-swap catch ups with a gaggle of delightful ladies from the night before. Saturday morning the sun was shining, the coffee was great and the market was buzzing. These flowers seem to just make everybody happy - from the lady buying 10 to the young guy buying 'just the one'. Their amazing coral colour is currently dotted all around my house, which makes me very happy indeed, especially since they're only available for about 6 weeks. 

For dinner on Saturday night it was my other seasonal favourite in the form of a very simple asparagus pasta. Cooking for one I was extremely lazy in its execution, but it was delicious - cook some spaghetti in some salted boiling water and grill some asparagus with olive oil while the pasta cooks. If your spears are thin, leave them as is, but if they are thick slice them into thin strips longways. Drain pasta, mix through the asparagus. Put on a plate, and grate over some parmesan, some lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkle of chilli flakes, or a drizzle of good chilli-infused olive oil, and some cracked pepper and salt. 

Lazy plate of pasta for one, but a very tasty accompaniment to the fireworks. A quiet night in meant I was up early and fresh faced on Sunday morning for fresh bagel making...but more about that shortly! 

spring spritzer!

If your liver, bank balance and dignity could do with a brief reprieve this weekend, might I suggest an essentially alcohol-free spring spritzer to get you through the beginnings of the silly season, before things get, y'know, really silly. 

This refreshing drink is perfect if you're limiting yourself to one bottle of wine for the weekend, or one for the evening. A few of these to start with, or spread throughout whatever event your social life dictates, will ensure you remain charming, avoid getting sloppy and will also ensure there's almost no chance you'll wake up at the bottom of your footpath having fallen out of a taxi, or half naked in someone else's bed, or spending the evening with your other-half mopping up your vomit from the bathroom floor, and holding your hair back whilst you request they flush at regular intervals. 

It will also almost nearly ensure you will not eat all the gym calories you burnt off during the week at Burger King, or the kebab shop, or your fridge, at 2 or 3 or 4am. There's plenty of time for alllll those things in the weeks to follow. So make the most of it while you can! Get some spring spritzer in you and wallow in smugness.  

The Spring Spritzer

(I cannot believe I am putting a nearly-non-alcoholic drink (a mocktail?!) on my blog. Who have I become? I don't really know, but this is refreshing and tasty and not too sweet. If you're not buying in to my attempts at virtue, please feel free to increase the quantities to half-half sparkling water and rosé, and add a shot of vodka or gin, for good measure)

- Half fill a pint glass with ice. Smash some fresh mint in your hand and place in the glass. Add a wedge of lime and a cross-sectional slice of a stolen-from-someone's-tree-and-really-hard-to-peel-but-so-so-juicy Gisborne mandarin (or some other sweet citrus you may find yourself in possession of). 

- Fill nearly to the top with soda water or sparkling water (same thing?). Add a wee splash of Rosé. Enjoy as many as your heart desires if you're sober driving. And if you're not, enjoy until you want to feel grown up again and just drink an unadulterated glass of wine. Straight. And out of a wine glass.

If you have more willpower than I do, enjoy the break while you can: November and December are looking particularly festive....and I am excited.  

snacks for dinner

Don't you love it when you find a recipe that you have all the ingredients for already in your cupboard, or the confidence to substitute with other things you have? I gave Annabel Langbein's Lavosh a go on Sunday afternoon, and it worked out pretty much perfectly. 

I am a huge fan of snacks for dinner, or just pre-dinner snacks in general, and I love a good mezze plate too. So often it's easier just to buy all the components and arrange prettily on a dish, but actually setting the time aside and making everything from scratch is hugely satisfying. Hummus is easy with a tin of chickpeas and a food processor, and so is baba ghanoush. Add some grilled asparagus, maybe a haloumi salad, some chargrilled eggplant, a ripe avocado, and you have a nice picky and substantial dinner. This recipe is ideal for such a situation. They're crisp flatbreads - a slight spice, a crisp bite, and perfectly perfect with aforementioned homemade hummus, some nice cheese, with baba ghanoush or just as a nibble with drinks. 

They are easy, tasty and super impressive. Impress your guests this summer! Make lavosh from scratch!

Lavosh 

only slightly adapted from Annabel Langbein who describes lavosh as "a thin crunchy middle eastern bread that's delicious as a pre dinner nibble." She speaks the truth. 

1 cup plain flour

1/3 cup wholemeal flour

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp chia seeds (kind of like poppy seeds. you can substitute with poppy seeds or black sesame seeds)

1 tbsp fennel seeds (you could use some other dried herb or seed)

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil 

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 cup water

Extra olive oil and salt, to finish

Preheat oven to 165*C. 

Mix together the flours, seeds and salt. Add the water and oils and mix to form a soft dough. 

Divide the dough into 4 balls. Roll out on a floured surface as thin as possible and cut into strips. Annabel says they should be virtually see-through, but mine were about 1mm and worked out well. 

Carefully transfer to a baking tray (I used a fish slice and my tray was lined with baking paper) and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt - flaky sea salt if you haven't used it all soaking up red wine spilled in your carpet. 

Bake until golden - about 15 minutes. I ended up doing about 4 lots, just an ongoing cycle of transferring full trays.  

Allow to cool fully before transferring to an airtight container. Or eat straight away with whatever dippy type thing is lurking in your fridge. Or wrap up nicely and add to a gift basket for friends who don't like sweet baking. Perfect.