Content
My apologizes for the silence so far this week. Several projects are taking up a lot of my time at the moment. And I am working on a little something else, which I hope to finish and share with you before the end of the week.This photo above is a bit of a hint. I'm also adding it to this week's Black & White Wednesday #61 - hosted by the generous and delightful Rosa at Rosa's Yummy Yum
When I woke this morning at 6:00am with the sun beating in, it very quickly became too hot to stay in bed and all too soon J and I were up and getting about.In true New Zealand style, an hour or so later after we finished our breakfast the southerly had arrived and it was bitterly cold again.Sigh, if it had only rolled in a little quicker we wouldn't have been woken up so early. And after quit
SeedlingsThis is my entry for Black & White Wednesday #60 - hosted by the talented Haalo at Cook Almost Anything this week.A fun weekly photo event which is now overseen by Cinzia of Cindystar, first created by Susan, The Well Seasoned Cook Be sure to check out the other fabulous Black & White food themed photos this week and every ...
Continuing with my fight against the nasties inside giving me headache and fever,I really needed something a little bit spicy and most definitely comforting yesterday. In the fridge I had some lovely chicken thighs from my mate Pete, the Westwood organic chicken man and also a big bag of broad beans. (Some of you will know these better as Fava beans.) Sadly I wasn't on the ball enough to sow
I wanted to post a small retrospective yesterday.To post some other photos I took during the week, along with some favourite links and finds on the web. I wanted to sow more seeds in my garden, bake bread... I wanted to do so much on the weekend.Unfortunately my body had other plans. After a short stint watching the "Christmas in the Park" rehearsal on Friday evening, I came home feelin
I believe it's always a good idea to end the week on a sweet note and after all the gorgeous Thanksgiving pie I've seen today on instagram and flickr, I had a huge sweet craving to quell this afternoon.My recipe is slightly inspired by a recipe I read recently in Nigel Slater's new volume of The Kitchen Diaries II, it's on page 206 if you have a copy and it's called "Rhub
Often I'm not very good at planning lunches. We do breakfast rather well. Basically if there's coffee I'm good, toast or cereal and the rest of my crew are happy.Lunches are however rather "What have we got?" "What can we make in a hurry?"Exactly how this salad came about today.Other than Miners lettuce being what we have and so easy to grow (difficult to get rid o
Snapping AsparagusThis is my entry for Black & White Wednesday #59 - hosted by Akheela of Torview Toronto this week.It's been a while since I joined this fun weekly photo event which is now overseen by Cinzia of Cindystar and was first created by Susan, The Well Seasoned Cook Be sure to check out the other fabulous Black & White food themed photos this week and ...
I had hoped to post these little ones up yesterday, but with one thing and another, having spent a lot of time waiting in queues on humpty bumpty Christchurch roads in the wet... sigh. I ran out of time.I actually made these on Monday afternoon after the crepes we had for lunch to have with a cuppa.Now isn't it funny how sometimes you can't see what is right under your nose?We have several
We had a punnet of green grapes starting to look rather sad on the counter this morning, they needed to be used now or would soon only be suitable as chook food.Together with a block of feta in the fridge I thought I could assemble a fairly moresh tart for lunch. On second thoughts as we had pastry yesterday, I considered a buckwheat crêpe might be an alternative, lighter base to bake the gr
Feeling a little low and decisively lazy this afternoon as we headed towards the end of our long weekend - it was Canterbury's Anniversary or as it's better known here "Show Day" on Friday. J was battling a headache, H grotty with hayfever, S just more than a little bored and me quickly coming to the realisation I hadn't achieved near half of the things on my list. Know that
It's no secret I love to play with my food. Any excuse to play or work with a theme is major fun and something naturally my fairies have inherited and love to do too.Since Wednesday was "International Talk Like a Pirate Day" we designed a little picnic Bento to celebrate. There are so many amazing bento blogs and browsing Pinterest will quickly give you more ideas than you could eve
I really wanted to create something irresistibly indulgent for my return. I had a few ideas floating around. I browsed Pinterest and my usual favourites for yet more inspiration and to develop the ideas."Chocolate! Yes, it had to be chocolate, mmm. Something luscious, soft and seductive. Almost gooey, but not too messy.Still elegant and sophisticated, but not something to slave for hours rec
Dearest BarbaraThank you for being such an important and treasured part of my life for the last 8 years.I will miss you terribly.Barbara Joan Harris16 July 1951 - 30 June 2012
I'm sneaking in one last post before 2012 arrives, one last entry into December - my month of hosting Sweet New Zealand and in doing sending another invitation for you all to visit the final roundup of amazing, inspired and often festive entries from Kiwis here at home and abroad.There were a flurry of last minute Sweets arrive in my inbox today - please don't miss viewing them all on the
~ Bron's Thoughts for Christmas 2011~ Australia BBQ Chili Mango Prawns~ Brazil Pudim de Leite Condensado ~ Canada Chocolate Pecan Butter Tartlets ~ France Buche de Noel ~ ...
Growing up I always longed for a huge 10 foot plus Christmas tree decorated just like the ones in the department stores with matching sets of lights, ornaments and garlands. Matching sets of linen, plates, cutlery and glasses on the Christmas table. Matching wrapping paper on all the presents under the tree too. All coordinated down to their ribbons and tags. Tidy, matching sets. It never happened
Aussies, BBQs and Prawns are synonymous with Summer down under and why not they're bloody good!I adore prawns on the barbecue, I'm hellishly jealous of the prawns, Moreton Bay bugs and luscious mangoes Australia grows. This is my hat tip to our neighbors across the ditch.Click here for BBQ Chili Mango Prawns Recipe
The French call it Crème Caramel, the Mexican's Flan, definitely a dessert for celebration this Brazilian version of caramel topped custard with sweetened condensed milk is rich and lusciously smooth.Click here for Pudim de Leite Condensado Crème Caramel with Condensed Milk Recipe
Butter Tarts are a common Canadian offering in the Winter. Studded with moreish pecans and my addition of dark chocolate chips they are an addictive treat. Also a perfect as an alternative for people who aren't fond of Christmas Fruit mince pies.Click here for Chocolate Pecan Butter Tartlets Recipe
The French Buche de Noel or Yule log needs no introduction. This one is easily put together with simple steps that can be made in advance and includes a lighter chocolate cream compared to the often richer buttercream and mousse versions.When making the meringue mushrooms don't worry if they seem a little funky to begin with, once glued together and placed within the log they will look right a
Kourabiedes are wonderfully scented Greek almond shortbread, the shortbread themselves are not very sweet until they are drenched in plenty of powdered sugar. There are many similar versions throughout the Mediterranean area sometimes using different toasted nuts.Click here for Kourabiedes / Scented Almond Shortbread Recipe
Gluhwein is the German version of Mulled Wine. My memories of Gluhwein transport me back to sipping and clutching a glass to keep warm while wandering around their many and magnificent Weihnachtsmarkt / Christmas markets.Click here for Glühwein Recipe
Murukku or Chakli as they are also known are a traditional Indian snack made during Diwali - the festival of lights and other celebrations. Typically they are made with a special Murukku press and coiled into spirals. I made mine using a forcer or spritz cookie press.Click here for Indian Cream Cheese and Cumin Murukku Recipe
Siena in Italy is the place to thank for this wonderfully indulgent Christmas cake. This version is gluten free and will keep well for a long while, that is if it's not in front of me!Click here for Panforte Recipe
Creating a Japanese inspired Bento Box or lunch is a fun way to use up your Christmas leftovers, as well as keep the Christmas spirit alive with kids after the big day. Here I've made Rudolph with brown rice onigiri and a cream cheese filled Pepperdew for his red nose. He is surrounded by omelette and ham parcels wrapped with chive ribbons. I quick web search is sure to give you plenty more id
New Zealand is well known for its love of dairy products and ice cream in particular. As Christmas is celebrated in Summer in the land of the long white cloud ice cream is often featured at the Christmas dessert table alongside the nation's famous pavlova. Variations of this fruit studded ice cream putting often replaces the traditional boiled or steamed Christmas pudding.Click here for Ice Cr
Glazed Hams at Christmas are universal, however I believe they probably started in England with roast Gammon being certainly very popular there. They are always a crowd pleaser and a good way to feed a lot of people. This quantity of glaze will suit a much larger ham than mine in the photo, which was a smaller approximately 4½kg leg. Click here for Traditional English Glazed Christmas Ham R
Rice pudding is a universal comforting favourite, in Sweden they call it Risgrynsgröt. Served at Christmas a secret blanched almond or golden raisin is smuggled into the fragrant mixture, whoever discovers it in their serving is said to have good luck or a proposal of marriage in the coming year.Click here for Rice Pudding Recipe
With so few sleeps left now until Christmas you probably have your menu all sorted and preparations well under way and are unlikely to need any help from me. However if you are still stuck for an idea or two, I've been busy behind the scenes creating a small Christmas magazine issue with 12 of my favourite festive recipes from 12 different countries.Click here or on the cover below to view the
For Black and White Wednesday hosted by Susan - The Well Seasoned Cook
Sweet New Zealand December Round UpIn the order they arrive I shall continually update this page through to New Years when Arfi will take over the Sweet New Zealand baton. To remind, alert you to the event and the rules, here is my initial post, although I hope to share some more SweetNZ recipes and photos this month.This Sweet cake is great for afternoon tea or breakfast you choose! Rhubarb and
Sweet New Zealand December Links / A Continual Round UpIn the order Sweet submissions arrive I shall continually update this page through to the deadline on New Years Eve, when Arfi will take over the Sweet New Zealand baton. To remind, alert you to the event and the rules, here is my initial post, although I hope to share some more SweetNZ recipes and photos this month.This Sweet cake is great
Phew! December is here and so is Summer for us lucky folk Downunder, if the last couple of days are anything to go by it's going to be a cracker one at that!December not only announces the arrival of Summer for us Kiwis, but it is also the end of year and holiday centric with lots of entertaining, dining out and Christmas parties for most too, just as it is up on top.Yes, December is looking v
Everyone seems to be in Christmas mode, with the traditional fake snow decorations being sunbaked all around the country. But I don't particularly feel like Christmas at all.As some of you may remember we've switched our Christmas to July, even being both born in the Southern Hemisphere it's never felt right in December to J and I. Earlier this year we were blessed with the most wonder
Marinated Olives / Prawns in Cider with pickled shallots, garlic purée @ The Tasting ShedI'm still on a high from my weekend away in Auckland for our first ever New Zealand Food Bloggers Conference. Where I was surrounded by so many creative and passionate people, it's a far cry from when I began food blogging. In 2005 there were only 2 of us in New Zealand, soon 3 and 4. However n
It's been a busy couple of weeks with tying up a few photography jobs, being interviewed for a local magazine, writing, snapping and preparing for next weekend's first ever New Zealand Food bloggers conference, not to mention keeping the spring grass/weed growth under control.One thing I do enjoy I've discovered more and more recently is: after a day of this and the additional chaos of
We caught up with the lovely Alessandra Zecchini over the long weekend as she was down promoting her new book at local farmers markets and stores. "Party Food for Girls" is her first book with her daughter Arantxa. It includes really pretty ideas and directions for decorating cupcakes, biscuits and desserts including these fondant roses. You can see and read more about our fun making
The weather has been absolutely atrocious today. Constant horizontal rain driving in and the wind howling around the bay kitchen window. And cold, very cold. Not quite cold enough to snow, but cold enough for us to all be squabbling over the top spot near the fireplace to instagram and chant...Suffice to say we had to play inside today. But that was O.K as it gave me the time I was also hoping to
I've been doing some housekeeping around here (with technical assistance from J), moving the furniture, or in this case my recipe links and indexes. Some of you may have noticed recently the main index was not displaying correctly for safari browsers and most of the more recent recipes and magazine collections were missing. Well, now it's the older recipes from my old wordpress blog that a
I'm sitting here in my studio having completed the photo resizing and processing tasks for this post and there is this extremely tempting aroma emanating from behind me. The fairies and I indulged earlier with a small slice each, there's more than three quarters remaining.It's too dark for the fairy Dad's tastes. I'll fix him something else he'll prefer soon.Perhaps you ca
Olive Weekends, don't you?Here are a few snaps I took on Sunday, while we stocked up on yummies. Perhaps slightly ODed on lovely local olives and grabbed a coffee. It was such a gorgeous warm Spring day, after a wet and wild Saturday.
Yesterday afternoon the four of us J, me and our fairies were in our favourite cafe, having our usual: English breakfast tea, latte, 2x hot chocolates made beautifully by our friends Tomiko and Chika. We were all sitting together as we always do, checking our email, checking in to FourSq, or instagraming on Apple products - when I saw this.Since this blog, my magazine, portfolio and all of my phot
I can't tell you how excited I am Spring is here! Although this week has kept us inside more than I would have hoped for. The grass and newly sown seedlings outside are growing like wildfire. A few months ago I was surprised to be told by the post office there was a large parcel waiting for me. "For me?" "Yes, a large one. From Italy" the man said.Oh no! It couldn't be
My weakness...... is new props - somethings old, somethings new.I obtained this little collection over the weekend. From left; silver cutlery, an extra large white blue framed enamel mug (which I simply ADORE!) and small bowl, a half pint milk measure - all scored from my local secondhand dealer.A new French Country Collections glass bottle and various sized red enamel bowls. I could easily spend
Stop & Smell the MacaronsThe last two weeks have simply flown by. Has it really been that long since I was drinking bubbly in Macaron Heaven?! A virtual wonderland of macarons in every colour and flavour befitting the warm Spring afternoon. Zo and I were two lucky bloggers to be invited to J'aime les Macarons "Stop & Smell the Macarons" party to launch their new season Summer2011/12
