The best Ginger Loaf

It was one of those days. I had to come up with something quick, easy to make and delicious that would satisfy a crowd. Yesterday the builders were back and I had a food blogger friend, Anne, coming for afternoon tea. Whatever I baked it needed to appeal to a couple of big burly blokes and one discerning food lover.

I think it passed the test. Still warm, one loaf was gone by morning tea (they loved it) - just as well I held back the other one to ensure my friend and I got some later in the day! 

The loaf has to be smeared with lashings of butter - not margarine - just think you are helping rebuild Fonterra's profits - don't hold back - it adds to the experience!

With all the sugar in the mix it is definitely not for diabetics and although nearly a tin of golden syrup seems excessive it helps make it the most glorious, gingery, moist sweet thing to have with coffee or dessert (with whipped cream of course) EVER!

The recipe says it will make three loaves, I made mine in two tins, one medium size and one much larger. If you do this, obviously one will take longer to cook than the other. About three quarters through the cooking I placed a piece of tin foil over the top. I have found they may burn slightly on top if not watched. And if need be, adjust the temperature for your fan oven.

For peace of mind I lined my tins as well

Not concentrating and listening to the radio, I made a mistake and added allspice instead of mixed spice - but it didn't seem to matter with the final result.

It is a relatively new recipe for me. I had previously ordered the Ginger Loaf at The Penthouse Cinema Cafe (pretty much the only theatre we go to) so when I spotted it in the paper it was duly filed away for future use. I love that it can be all piled into one large bowl and mixed, but just a tip - it does take a while to get the whole mixture well blended so take the time to ensure that it is.

A recipe this size really does come in handy. For me, making three loaves means one can go to the cake stall, one to slice for my Old Girls morning tea and one to pop in the freezer for those unexpected guests. Perfect! Oh, and by the way it passed the taste test with Anne too! We ate it with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea along with the faint smell of her beautiful freshly picked Daphne in the air.

Ginger Loaf (The Penthouse Cinema Café – as in Dominion Post)

4 cups of flour

2 cups of brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

2tsp baking powder

4 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp ground cinnamon

850g golden syrup

250g butter roughly chopped

4 eggs lightly beaten

2 cups milk

Method

Preheat oven to 160 °C.  Grease and line three loaf tins.

Sift all the dry ingredients together. Combine the eggs with the milk.

Melt the butter and the golden syrup together.

Add the syrup/butter mixture to the dry ingredients, followed by the egg and milk mixture.

Whisk well until combined.

Note this is a very wet mix.

Pour into greased loaf tins.

Cook for 60 minutes, then leave to cool in the tins overnight. (I didn't do this step and they were fine - just cool a little, remove from tin and place them on a cake rack).

Lamb Mince with a twist

As you know my dear Mother passed away nearly three years ago and I have only just had the where-with-all to open the huge plastic box of her bits and pieces, packed (in a rush) while cleaning out her small apartment in the week after her funeral.
It was a real trip down memory lane as I mulled over the many items I had packed in there. Inside I found some of her mothers (my Nana) papers and photos too, she died in June 1992 aged 88. Nana led quite a tough life raising seven children through the Depression and World War II. It reminded me how lucky I was to be raised post War in the 50's and 60's.
What do you do with your Mother's 1940's work reference (written in beautiful flowing ink when people knew how to write properly) or her 'crown' and Hawaiian lei she wore at her 70th birthday party - boy did she love that night, she often referred to the event as one of the best nights of her life!
Sigh.... just put them back in the box and work it out later.
One thing I must keep, and share with my siblings, are the many, many photos she saved; some in albums, but mostly great piles of photographic memories of a life well lived. These will be passed onto our children, who will in turn (hopefully) pass them onto their children who will no doubt (as I did) be entertained to look back on the funny hair styles and outfits people wore in the 1940's, 50's, 60's and 70's. Of course many of these fashions have (at some time) been back in vogue!
This task has also made me think about how my children will feel when they have to sort through my many precious possessions when I'm gone!
On a brighter note, as the only girl in my family, I was expected to be in the kitchen helping my mother on most baking days and at meal times. I remember she had a huge loosely stuffed book of her favourites recipes. I am not sure where that has gone nor what happened to her well used Edmond's cookbook - they both probably fell apart years ago. However, among my Mother's things I found a few old recipe books, one a perfect little gem called "New Zealand's Leading Recipe Book, 6th Edition ' written by Elsie G. Harvey (An Effort of a Returned Soldiers Wife) of Point Chevalier. It is subtitled 'Every recipe has been tested and is guaranteed economical, dainty and wholesome'. It is a small book, pages yellow with age - no flash pictures or publishing date but clearly a winner that was published at least six times. I have no idea where my mother got it from but it is an absolute classic. It is full of interesting items like Friday Sausages - made with oatmeal not meat? or Savoury Baked Tripe - yuck!!
One recipe that particularly caught my eye was Sheep's-Head Mince. Reading it out to my husband was highly entertaining - lots of arrggghsss and heaving sounds on my part!! I would never in my wildest dreams EVER consider making such a dish but for those who may interested here goes! I suggest just reading the recipe will be one of the most exciting things you have done in ages!!
Sheeps-Head Mince
Soak a sheeps-head in salted water for several hours, changing the water twice. Remove brains (this is when I would leave the room!), and boil them separately. Put the head in saucepan and cover with water, add pepper and salt, boil for an hour then add 4 onions, 3 split ans scrapped carrots, a medium sized and peeled swede/turnip and boil for another hour (or more if not a young sheep). Take out the vegetables and keep hot in an oven. Remove the meat from the bones, peel the tongue, mince very finely and place in the centre of the meat dish. Arrange vegetables as a garnish. Heat to boiling point 2 cups of milk. Mash the brains, add one tablespoon of flour blended with a little milk, and also one of the cooked onions minced fine, boil up and then add 1 teaspoon butter with salt and pepper to taste and if liked, a little minced parsley. Pour puree over the head-meat and serve at once.
To the stock from the head add 2oz split peas, 2oz pearl barley, a carrot, 1/2 minced onion, 1/2 a grated potato and 1 tbsp of tomato sauce. Boil for 1 hour and serve as a soup the next day for lunch or dinner. 
Just as a footnote - I remember my Nana loved cooked brains and/or sweetbreads and every Tuesday when my Mother visited her she would often cook them for her. I would sit and watch her eat them and think how extraordinary that someone could enjoy eating such a 'tasty treat'!
Then, as in now - all I can say is Yuck!

Spicy Lentil Soup

A wholesome soup on a cold winter's day is just the right sort of comfort food for me. I am a great fan of soup, more often than not a lunchtime favourite in our home.  Throughout my childhood (and adult life) I use to love coming home to my mothers special soup. She would boil a smoked hock for hours (in those days they didn't cost a fortune), add a packet of old fashioned soup mix and a few vegetables and voila, a lovely inexpensive warming meal. It was always accompanied with a pile of hot buttered toast, the thick slab variety of course!

Over the years I have made a similar recipe. I am sure you will have one that your mother passed onto to you but somehow the best soup was what our mother made. She never really went for anything fancy, maybe a potato and leek soup now and then, but usually she would just make the old faithful. She wasn't a fan of fancy spicy food and seldom cooked it - it gave her indigestion!

Over the years I have tested and eaten a few variations of my personal favourites, tomato, chicken and vegetable, mushroom and leek and potato. I also like to experiment with garnishes. I have coriander growing in my herb garden at the moment - a little coup for me as (in Summer) I allowed a huge plant to go to seed and now I have lots of tiny little coriander plants growing 'luxuriantly', perfect for this soup. 
For this recipe like most soups, everything goes into a pot and boiled gently for hours. Although I made it in my slow cooker, it can easily be cooked in a soup pot on the stove. It makes a really nice change and I love the flavours and the simpleness of the recipe. For my soup I used Pataks Mild Indian curry paste as I am not a great fan of really hot spicy food (gosh, I sound a bit like my mother!), but adjust the curry paste to suit your own tastes. 
Depending on how small you chop your vegetables, you may like to lightly mash the cooked vegetables in the final stages, as it could easily be a stew by cutting the vegetables into large chunks.

Serve it with Naan bread and use it to scoop up the chunks like we did.

Either way I am certain you will enjoy it. It is super yummy!

Spicy Lentil Soup - Australian Women's Weekly Slower Cooker Supplement - June 2013

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients

½ cup (100g) dried lentils

1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock or vegetable stock

400g canned diced tomatoes

2 dried bay leaves

3 cloves garlic, crushed

¾ cup (100g) mild Indian Curry Paste

2 small carrots (240g) chopped coarsely

1 stalk of celery, finely sliced

2 medium potatoes (400g), chopped coarsely

½ cup Greek-style yoghurt

½ cup finely chopped coriander

Method

Rinse lentils under cold water and drain

Combine lentils, stock, un-drained tomatoes, bay leaves, garlic, curry paste, carrots, celery and potatoes in 1 4.5 litre (18 cup) slow cooker.

Cook covered on low for 6 hours, season to taste.

Serve soup topped with yoghurt and coriander.

Suitable to freeze (without the garnish).

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

I am known to be rather partial to eating and cooking vegetarian food, in fact I would list my favourite food as vegetables. With one exception.....
On a recent trip down south I opened the car window to get a bit of fresh air and a better look at the countryside (and the little lambs - is it me or are they arriving earlier every year?) and noted flocks of sheep eating turnips. Mmmmmmm.... The only vegetable I don't like is turnips.The smell from fields of turnips is not that pleasant and the experience reminded me why I don't like them, its not the taste but the smell of them cooking that quite puts me off eating them. Give me a roast parsnip any day!
Anyway back to the task at hand, my Shepherds Pie.....
This 'pie' is delicious, economical, nutritious and a nice change from using meat (and not a turnip in sight). It is a simple dish that can be prepared in advance and easily adjusted for Vegans, by converting the dairy products and soya sauce to your taste.  Children will love it, just tell them it is fancy baked beans with mashed potatoes!
To make the dish a bit different and special, you may like to make individual pies in ramekins, just adjust the time in the oven accordingly.

Ready for the oven

I have cooked it a couple of times now, it feeds two people for a week!! and a very hungry family of four (with plenty left over for lunch the next day).

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie – Alison and Simon Holst -Dominion Post July 2013

For 4-6 servings

Ingredients

6 medium potatoes

2 tbsp butter

1 cup grated cheese

¼- ½ cup of milk

2 tbsp canola or other cooking oil

2 large onions, diced

1 red or green pepper, diced

3 tbsp flour

1 tsp vegetable stock

1 tsp each of dried basil, oregano and paprika

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1½ cups water, beer, wine, bean liquid and/or the potato cooking liquid

2 tbsp tomato paste

400gram can of red kidney beans (or 2 x 300g cans for a larger dish), drained and rinsed

Method

Simmer thinly peeled, chopped potatoes in lightly salted water until tender, drain, saving the cooking liquid in case you want to use it later.

Mash the potatoes, stir in the butter, half the grated cheese and enough milk to make a fairly soft consistency.  After mashing, beat potatoes with a fork until light and fluffy.

Heat the oil in a large pot or fry-pan. Add the diced onions and cook until tender and well browned.

Add the chopped pepper and flour and stir until the flour is lightly browned too.

Add the remaining ingredients except the beans and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.

Then add the beans (if desired mash the beans first – I prefer not to do this step and just leave them whole).

Spread the bean mixture into a lightly sprayed baking pan (about 20x25cm) and cover with spoonfuls of the mashed potatoes, spreading so all the bean mixture is covered.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the surface. If not using immediately, refrigerate until needed.

Bake at 180° C for 20-30 minutes.

If you wish, this dish can be heated in the microwave until centre feels hot,  brown the top under the grill before serving.

Yum!

A classic English pudding

Thinking about good wholesome food and my recent visit to England gave me the inspiration for a dessert to make for our friends last Saturday night. The weather was predicted to be wet and cold, definitely a time to bring out a great steamed pudding to warm the body and soul.
I kept weird hours during my first week home. I would 'drop like a stone' into bed at 7pm and then be awake at four in the morning ready to start the day. So it was that I found myself cooking in my nightie and slippers at 4.30am last Saturday morning.
I remembered a pudding called Spotted Dick. I had never made one. Two of my guests were originally from England (and one male guest just adores puddings) so I decided it would be perfect to make for dessert.
My research on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_dick offered an explanation to the name of the pudding. It is surely an old English favourite!
I found my recipe in Jamie Oliver's Chef 2 book - 'My Mum's Spottier Dick'. Although it is extremely easy to make, I had a small challenge, as my copy of the recipe's metric conversions were all over the place. I have altered the recipe to what I considered the correct measurements and it was perfect. Trust me - this is a completely addictive pudding! And absolutely delicious with warm runny vanilla custard and a drizzle of cream.
A kitchen hint not included in Jamie's recipe - I used my mothers tip and put an enamel plate in the bottom of the boiling pan, then placed the pudding bowl into it - it stops the bottom getting overcooked or burnt (which ends up being the top of the pudding if you know what I mean). Also, my kitchen assistant had no luck finding suet in the supermarket so I replaced it with butter. I will make it with suet next time, will just have to search further afield to find some.
On the day you make it you probably need to plan to keep the morning or afternoon aside as you need to keep an eye on your boiling pot and make sure it is kept topped up with hot water while the pudding is cooking for three hours.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
The recipe is super for a crowd, Jamie states 6 servings but I would say at least 12 reasonable servings.

My Mum’s Spottier Dick - from Jamie Oliver Chef 2

Ingredients

125g suet (or butter) grated

140g dried chopped apricots

225g raisins or sultanas

1 orange (zested)

140g plain flour

140g sugar

140g fresh breadcrumbs

2tbsp fresh grated ginger ( I used 1 tbsp syrup from a jar of preserved ginger)

Pinch grated nutmeg

Pinch salt

1 egg beaten

500ml milk

Method

Grease (really well) a 1 litre pudding basin.

Mix all the ingredients together, except the egg and milk. Add the beaten egg with milk and mix well. (I used my kitchen whizz to mix the butter with the flour then put the mixture into a large bowl, added the fruit etc and then the egg/milk mixture).

Put the mixture in the basin, cover well with tinfoil or a cloth (used about 4 layers of tinfoil – adding a pleat at the top to allow for the pudding to rise). Tie a piece of string around the bowl for easy placement and removal.  Put the basin in a large pan of boiling water – the water should be about half way up the sides of the basin. Put on a tight fitting lid and simmer for 3 hours, making sure to top up with boiling water every now and then.

Serves 6

Next day, left overs ready to be warmed through, yum!

Home is where the great food is.....

I have been on holiday this last month, in very warm nice places with great people. I was reflecting on my holiday (while on my walk this morning) and what I should share on my blog. The first thought that came into my head was, it is great to be home and the second thought was, that our little country at the bottom of the world is holding up very well against all the food and wine competition out there.
Yes we have our issues and problems. But overall New Zealanders are great people, we have scenery to die for, our coffee is great, our wines are fabulous and our choices and the quality of food is right up there. We also have lots of space to breathe and (almost) unlimited countryside to enjoy.
The one thing we don't have of course is the magnificent history and the architecture that goes with it (as they do around the world). And now and then, it is the one reason I have to travel thousands of kilometres to enjoy and experience for myself!
During my trip, our group had many meals out and while visiting villages we shopped in local markets and wineries. We oooh'd and aahhh'd at displays in shop windows. We savoured everything we ate and drank. We picked our favourites and, very often went back for more! And we agreed we were lucky to be able to enjoy this time away together.

Lunch made by Deb - La Motte style, where's the wine?

Yes, I have a number of absolute food 'stand outs' from my holiday. First, a simple entree of smoked salmon nestled on a bed of fennel salad, eating while in a fabulous setting of lush trees and buckets of colourful flowers. (I tucked into it and forgot to take a photo!)
The second was Lavender icecream, more of an experience really, it was so beautiful to look at but to me it tasted like eating hand cream!

And thirdly, an array of wonderful seafood meals at a restaurant called The Hut - with my great friend Di. We ate there every night during our Isle of Wight four day stay - right on the waterfront - watching the dazzling sea and the fading light. 

Lastly the many fabulous Rose wines in the South of France (hardly food I know), but we so enjoyed the tastings and matching the Rose with our food, cheers or should that be salute!

Leaving with our Rose purchases

While I am happy to be right here, right now - I am already thinking about my next overseas trip, maybe 2015....... the brochures have already been delivered, I'd better start saving!!.

Handmade in Welly

Recent weeks of other busyness has meant no time for blogging, so my apologies for not posting, "not good enough Kristeen"!
Before I go overseas on Wednesday (did I tell you I am going to London, Isle of Wight - onto to Paris and the South of France ) I had to post about yesterday's little gem of a moment.
As part of the 2013 Handmade conference, I attended Rosemary McLeod's Master Class on 'Never throw anything away: Clever tricks from the rag bag 1920s - 1950s'. I knew it would be good as had I attended her talk on aprons at 2012 Handmade and loved it.
Now this lady deserves a 'gong'! She is an absolute national treasure. I am in awe of her knowledge of old textiles and craft, her collection is just fantastic. She held the audience spellbound (with our 'oohs and aahs') for over an hour with her stories and sharing with us the delightful pieces she had collected over the years. They were mostly found 'ratting around' in thrift shops although she lamented the shops are not what they used to be (I agree but you can still get the odd bargain or treasure).
She commented on the difficulty of how and where she stores her treasures and I cast my mind back to the things I have held on to over the years and the things I had to toss away through lack of space (and carting them from one house to the other). Darn! I really wish I had kept that handmade and embroidered cooking apron with matching hat. It was a masterpiece! Luckily my dear daughter shares my passion for historical textiles and 'homemade' crafty things so I know my little treasures will not be 'biffed out' when I pop off but will be passed on into good hands.
Of course Rosemary is also a very successful columnist and writer. She has recently published a new book called 'With bold needle and thread', it's gorgeous and I plan to buy it on my return.
Yes, I am heading off for a little jaunt, catching up with old friends in England and spending time with great friends in Paris and staying in a villa for two weeks in la Motte in the south of France. I hope to post many stories on food, wine and a bit of song. We plan to spend a lot of time perusing the markets finding stuff to cook (and drink) each night. I know it will be lots of fun, it's just the getting there that I find a bit of a pain.
On a completely different note, yesterday I made the 1974 Edmonds Cookbook version of the Date and Walnut loaf. It was so divine, definitely an oldie but a goodie. As our afternoon tea guests were tea and coffee'd out, we ate, the still warm loaf, lavishly smeared with butter suberbly matched with a magical glass of reisling.
Now I probably won't get that combo in France....