Multi-grain salad

   Feeding vegetarians always poses the problem 'what should I cook?' as I am always looking for something to surprise and satisfy the recipient. This time I also wanted a recipe that looked a little 'Christmassy' and 'summery' for them. And this recipe was a winner. I just love the way it looks and tastes. Pomegranates are available for a such a short period over summer, it is a perfect way to use them. I just love the colour they introduce to dishes.
   The dish serves about 4 - 6 but I found you can add extra to bulk it up and serve more. It comes with a carrot and harissa puree but I did not make it for our Christmas table.
   I made it again to take to a post wedding lunch, held on a really lovely sunny day (the pohutukawa was out and the gods were smiling). The great thing is the salad ingredients can be organised the day before and just assembled when needed.

The Pohutukawa is stunning this summer

Multi-grain Salad - Albion Canteen, Napier - as in Cuisine Issue #166 (p.50)
For the Salad (slightly adapted by me)
3 cups of cooked mixed grains (barley, farro, freekeh or quinoa or brown rice)
1 cup mixed toasted nuts and seeds (almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
1/3 cup chia seeds
4 tbsp preserved lemon finely chopped
4 tbsp cranberries (or chopped dates, apricots or currants - a mixture of all is lovely)
1 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley ( only used a small amount as my parsley had gone to seed)
2 cups broccoli florets, blanched and refreshed in cold water - well drained
Gently mix altogether - add the following dressing until salad is well covered (I found I didn't need it all)
For a garnish I also added the seeds of 1/2 pomegranate - looks really nice with the green of the broccoli
Dressing
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
zest and juice of one orange
200ml mild olive oil
Mix in a sealed jar

Holiday in East Cape

   December has been an exciting month. A month of preparation and lots of organisation. A big family Christmas was planned which involved lots of preparation, baking and many, many lists!
   But before our busy Christmas, the hubby and I thought we would give each other the gift of time together. A small holiday was quickly planned. I had remarked that I had never visited the Bay of Plenty area. So it was decided to take advantage of our 'spare' week in December and drive to Gisborne, onto to Tokomaru Bay, Tologa Bay, Waihau Bay, Whakatane, Tauranga and back home via Taupo. We had a very special time in each place. I loved the history of the area, and everywhere we went people were so friendly and helpful. I finally managed to walk along the "most loved beach" in NZ, Ohope Beach. And a visit to the historic sites on route was truly memorable.
   In Gisborne we stumbled across Muirs Bookshop and Cafe. What a wonderful find, one of the best bookshops I have ever been to.http://www.muirsbookshop.co.nz/
   Another highlight was a meal at Roquette in Whakatane http://roquette-restaurant.co.nz/. I would recommend you try this lovely place.
   And finally, the Bay of Plenty is a bit of a photographers paradise.  I am already planning another trip in 2015.

Our first night - the Gisborne sunset

Toes in Ohope Beach - I thought the sand would be white?

Tologa Bay wharf - an amazing restoration

So many beautiful Pohutukawa trees

Historic St Marys Church

Unbaked Christmas cake

I love collecting recipes, especially those from friends with a bit of a personal story.
I have made many, many friends through my volunteering. Said friends have a habit of enjoying a morning tea break or lunch time together. Around the table (as you can imagine) we talk about all sorts of things and invariably we end up talking about food and recipes.
This recipe came from one of those friends. I will not embarrass her by naming her, lets just call her B.
She is an amazing woman, always ready for a challenge. Inspirational, caring, kind, interesting and fun to volunteer with. She is in her latter years but her energy and enthusiasm for life would shame many people half her age.
I have printed the email when she sent the recipe and will always treasure a couple of personal comments she included in her message.
Unbaked Christmas cake ( from B's repertoire)

Place in a large saucepan -

250g butter

1 cup sugar and melt

Add to this hot mixture 2 beaten eggs – remove from stove

Add two packets of crushed (not too small)  malt biscuits. Add 1 tsp of Rum, brandy, almond lemon or vanilla essence.

Add 3 cups of mixed dried fruit such as currants, sultanas, raisins, papaya (lovely for colour), cherries, peel, ginger and cut up brazil nuts.

Press mixture immediately into a large flat baking tin and cover with slivered almonds and put in fridge to set.

Cut into small pieces and place in an airtight container and keep in fridge.

Keeps well, excellent to have on hand to serve with coffee etc. at Christmas time. It is nice and sweet so a little goes a long way.

 

Seville Orange Marmalade

I fulfilled a long held promise last week. A month or so ago I came across Seville oranges for sale at the Farmers Market in Hastings, Hawkes Bay. Yay! I was finally able to make Seville Orange Marmalade. (My English friend Di told me many years ago, 'the only marmalade worth eating is Seville Orange Marmalade', but until recently I had never seen Seville oranges for sale here).
This, my first attempt, produced a fantastic result. My medication prevents me from enjoying my Grapefruit marmalade. Now, there are no limitations to the amount of marmalade I can smear on my Burgen toast. So delicious, so satisfying! It took an afternoon to make it and oh the mess. But it was a totally worth it!
For making - I followed the sellers instructions.
 - Cut oranges into quarters, remove seeds and these put into a muslin bag.
 - Weigh fruit.
 - Weigh an equal amount of sugar and set aside.
 - Place fruit and seed bag into a large pot and (just) cover with water.
 - Boil for about 30 minutes, by then the skins should be soft.
 - Cool, remove muslin bag - then toss fruit into a processor and pulse into little pieces.
 - Watch this step as you don't want to process to mush, it should be just chunky.
 - Place fruit back into pot and bring back to boil.
 - Add equal amounts of sugar to fruit. (Or less if you like it more bitter).
 - Stir gently to combine. Bring back to boil.
 - Boil mixture for about 20 minutes (watch it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan) and start testing for setting.
 - Boil until set.
 - Cool, put into sterilised jars seal when cool.

Sticky yummy stuff

Oops! Spot the spelling mistake

What a mess I made, it took ages to clean up

So satisfying to see all the jars lined up

Bliss balls - chocolate and cranberry - gluten free

Until recently I had never heard of a Bliss Ball  (I don't get out much!) On the Healthy page of the Sunday Star Times, I came across this nice gluten free, healthy option and really liked the look of them.
I have since seen Bliss Balls displayed on a couple of cafe counters! And if you go on line you will find many varieties of this little treat. But I have found this recipe the most versatile as it is sugar free (sort of), dairy and gluten free. Ideal to have around at Christmas for your family and friends who avoid all of the above.
You will see from this recipe it contains a large amount of dried fruit. There is your sugar, but in my book that doesn't really count as real sugar.
I hope you like them.

Choc-Cranberry Bliss Balls

Sunday Star Times –  Niki Bezzant

Makes about 12 balls

1 tbsp no added sugar or salt peanut butter

½ c dates

2 tbsp cocoa

½ sultanas

½ c cranberries

½ natural almonds

Chop dates into smaller pieces. Process all the ingredients with 2tbsp warm water, scoop out even amounts and roll into balls. I used a lovely Martha Stewart scoop I purchased in the US a couple of years ago. It is perfect for the job as the handle has a spring that slides a lever that pushes the mixture out. (if you get what I mean).

If desired you could roll in chocolate hail or coconut but they are equally nice without a coating.

I double the recipe too, as they keep well in an airtight tin.

Hastings Farmers Market and Hawk Hill Cottage

I had the good fortune to visit Hawkes Bay again earlier this month. I really love going up there. Not only for the company of our good friends Noel and Karen but also for the beautiful countryside and climate.
I have mentioned the B & B -  Hawk Hill Cottage http://www.hawkhill.co.nz/on my blog before. It is a magical  little place in Poraiti near Taradale in Hawkes Bay.

One of the many lovely views from the cottage

You are so well looked after by hosts Noel and Karen Hawkins.  Our friends have a little spot of paradise up on the hills (not far from Napier). We love it there. So pretty, peaceful and a perfect place to sit, relax, admire the view and chill out.

A cute little kitchen, just right for creating dishes with all your bought produce

It is a photographers paradise too, and if you like birds this is the place for you. It is not called Hawk Hill for nothing.I highly recommend a stay.

A view from the path to our home for the next few days

One of the highlights of our short holiday was a visit to the Farmers Market in Hastings. It is like a playground to someone like me. It was the first day of their summer market which meant it was held outside, nestled among the trees of the show grounds. The day presented us with brilliant sunshine and the trees were just holding the last of their blossom. The place had a lovely festive atmosphere. There was so much variety on the stalls and they were so well displayed, I could have spent a fortune on all of them.  But there were a couple of stand outs. The Gelato stand, http://www.marketground.co.nz/gelato where my friend and I had a lovely long chat with Cherry and purchased three jars of Carlo's famous pasta sauce. I just loved their stand, it was a visual delight under the blossom tree.

Marmalade on Gelato stand

I was also lucky to spot Seville oranges for sale. I knew the best made marmalade is made with Seville oranges, but I have never seen them for sale before. Unfortunately the stand had sold out. A quick chat with Phillip and Lesley (and with another trip in a few weeks) I will have 4kg waiting for me when I return. (They will ship their fruit around NZ too apparently). 
And I loved the Andrews Lime stand where I bought some gorgeous sauces. http://www.marketground.co.nz/standrewslimes
Next time I will take more cash, while there is EftPos available, some stands only take cash.

Who can resist fresh flowers, they looked so beautiful!

 Take a trip to Hawkes Bay, you are never disappointed!

Fabulous ham and cheese quiche

My quiche was one of those 'what is in the fridge moments?' It turned out to be one of the best I have made.
We had bought a large ham to provide a base for an election night gathering. Sadly what they ate from the rather large beast was miniscule and I was left to think about 'what to do with it leftovers?'
With Christmas just around the corner this is a very handy way to use up those bits of  ham we are invariably left with on Boxing Day.
I lined  the quiche dish with my favourite short  crust pastry, added a little grated cheese on the bottom, poured in the eggs, ham and cream mix, and topped it off with slices of tomato.
There is no real recipe, but I used about 5-6 eggs (depending on the size of your dish), 1 cup of finely chopped ham, and  a 'slug' of full cream. Yes, you could probably do without the cream but it adds that little bit of 'deliciousness' to your quiche.
Bake at about 200C (fan bake)  for about 30-40 minutes until the quiche is set and the pastry is cooked on the bottom. During cooking if the sides are getting a little brown - just protect your quiche with a cover of baking paper.  Ham is a little salty so only season to taste when serving.
We loved it, two helpings each later, there wasn't much left!

Use a spatula to check it is cooked on the bottom, there is nothing worse than half cooked pastry

Serve with a bold salad