Bottled sunshine, that’s what this is. I make and preserve this soup in late summer/early autumn when tomatoes are sweet, plentiful and cheap. Better still if you can grow your own. A perfect lunch on a cold winter day served with cheese toasties. To make it worth your while (and it is definitely worth it) […]
Christmas Mince Pie Pastry
Yes I know, Christmas Mince pies aren’t that modern and clever and all that but a good home-made one can be a stunning little treat. These ones have turned out to be exactly what I was hoping they’d be. I knew the fruit mince was delish but the pastry was better than I had hoped […]
Christmas Fruit Mince
This year I’ve made my own Christmas fruit mince. The idea is to have it on hand to rustle up little pies when I get Christmas visitors. Christmas mince is best made 3-4 weeks before you intend to make the pies but I’m pretty sure it’ll be suitably marinated with just 2 weeks under it’s […]
Christmas Stollen
Christmas just wouldn’t feel right without baking a stollen. It’s a traditional German bread with a deliciously moist centre of ground almonds. This year I’ll make some as christmas gifts. Yes they are a little bit fiddly and there are a few stages in the process but it’s so worth the effort. Making festive breads […]
Hearty Spring Salad
I’m so loving this flavoursome and dense garden salad these early spring days. In my somewhat challenging microclimate here in the puhoi valley I’m unable to grow tender salad greens just yet. In another month once the soil warms up and drys out a little I should have an abundance of mesclun, lettuces and rocket […]
Mike O’Connell’s Dahl
Whenever I make this dahl recipe it takes me back to over 30 years ago when I was living in Parnell. My husband and I lived in the back part of an old villa and a succession of friends lived in the back of the villa next door. My son was newborn and life was […]
KEFIR- The friendly bacteria
I remember being told as a four year old child to be careful to not eat the yogurt bug in our yogurt jar. With no further explanation of what this actually meant my imagination went wild. From then on I spent many hours staring at the Ag jar in the fridge hoping to catch a […]
Roast Vege Salad for a Shared Meal
Every Tuesday evening I go to Maori language class. We start at 5pm and finish around 9.45. Everyone brings a contribution for a shared evening meal. There are vegetarians and meat-eaters and some of us are gluten free or lactose intolerant. A few peops won’t eat meat/chicken unless it is free-farmed and organic so bringing […]
Fresh fruit juice.
Got a problem with too many apples? There’s a few different things you can do to store them. You can preserve stewed apples in jars or you can freeze them. Try making your own apple cider vinegar or freeze freshly made apple juice. That’s what I’m doing today. I’m making apple and feijoa juice and […]
Mumps
Mumps is an infectious viral disease most commonly affecting children between the ages of 5-15 year of age. The mumps virus above all affects one or both of the parotid glands which are the largest of the three salivary glands. These are located in the cheeks in front of and extending to just below the […]
Poppy Seed Bread
I made a poppy seed bread at Christmas to honor our Polish ancestory on my dad’s side. It will now become a permanent addition to my special occasion bread making sessions. It’s a sweet bread that tastes just as good fresh as it does a few days old. On day two or three (if there […]
English measles
English Measles is caused by Morbillivirus. It is an epidemic illness also known as rubeola (German measles is known as rubella) This childhood disease was extremely common before the introduction of vaccinations. In children it expresses itself with runny nose, fever, headache, conjuctivitis and/or light sensitivity, Koplik’s spots and a red rash which spreads over […]