Sadly my mokopuna have decided they don’t like the texture of stewed rhubarb so I’d been casting around wanting to do something with my home-grown rhubarb. Leading up to Christmas I remembered my mother used to make rhubarb lemonade as did I for my own children. My childhood memories of the distinctive flavour of this […]
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Orange, pistachio and cranberry biscuits
I went a bit crazy this Christmas and baked heaps of biscuits and shortbreads sweet and savoury. These flavoursome sweet biscuits were an absolute winner with everyone, and I’ll be making them again. Not for everyday eating but as a special treat they are just perfect. They would make a delightful festive gift. Crisp, dense, […]
Tomato relish
This week I came into possession of a box of very ripe tomatoes. In our neighbourhood there is a wonderful charitable organisation called Love Soup who regularly drop off boxes of food-stuffs to the marae. The tomatoes were going for the asking so I put my hand out and today made tomato relish. This was […]
Cabbage and Apple Saute.
This cabbage and apple dish is one of my favourite side dishes to accompany any pork dish. We grow our own free range heritage pigs and the day our sow gave birth to seven babies was the day we had scheduled to transform one of the others into food. Jake our resident pig carer/farmer gathered […]
Persian Barbari (bread)
I have just recently returned from time in London with two of my adult children (now resident). I got happily hooked into watching re-runs of The Great British Bake-off on Netflix. We started from the first series and spent many evenings watching and discussing baking techniques as well as the different personalities of the contestants. […]
Foraging in Moor Lane conservation area
Yesterday we went for a walk in the Moor Lane Conservation area. This is made up of open areas of grassland and woodland with winding paths edged with hazels, blackberries and blackthorns. It’s part of London’s Green Belt . I couldn’t help but think of all the rapidly expanding housing areas in New Zealand that […]
Raspberry pud
I’m in London right now hanging out with my two eldest children. They’ve made their home here and it means though I don’t get to see them on demand in Aotearoa I do get to spend some pretty awesome quality time with them when I visit. I’m plonked bang smack into their homes and lives […]
Matariki the Māori New Year
Here in Aotearoa (NZ) Matariki is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Māori Maramataka (calendar). The Māori New Year is a time for renewing and recharging. Each iwi (tribe) has their own traditional practice and customs for Matariki, much of which have been overlaid by the rhythms of the Gregorian calendar. The interpretations of […]
Old-fashioned rice pudding
Once a week we are blessed to be able to purchase raw, unpasteurised, unhomogenised milk. If I have surplus before the next delivery I turn it into a slow cooked rice pudding. Such a wonderful comfort food and perfect for winter nights. The little guys love it just as much as the big ones. The […]
Mum’s sweet and sour sausages.
Every Monday is the day I spend exclusively with my two mokopuna. We go to our Te Puna Reo Māori Playcentre group in the morning then spend the afternoon at home doing stuff. This sweet and sour sausage casserole has become our monday dinner ritual. It’s always delicious and always enthusiastically gobbled up by the […]
Apricot and coriander loaf
For a few months I’ve been watching a jar of dried organic apricots in the pantry get more and more manky every day and I know that even though there is nothing wrong with them they probably won’t get eaten so today I decided to make a sweet loaf with them. Our little guys love […]
Cloud Bread
So I decided to make cloud bread. We are still getting plenty of eggs from our chooks and I’m always looking for ways to use them that isn’t cake. Cloud bread is simple and fun to make and next time I’ll make them with the moko’s. This recipe makes 6 pieces which converts to 3 […]