This Pineapple Christmas cake recipe is well known to New Zealanders, and has been ever since our pre-eminent chef Alison Holst first made it on national television 30 years ago. It has received thousands of positive reviews and comments over the years and many look to it as the tried and true ‘go-to’ Christmas cake. … Read more
For the May challenge Marcellina from Marcellina in Cucina dared us to make Lamingtons. An Australian delicacy that is as tasty as it is elegant. Question: Is there anything so good as a fresh lamington? Answer: Absolutely, flippin’ not! For us New Zealanders, lamingtons are about as Kiwi as you can get. The fact that they apparently originated in … Read more
Down here in the southern climes, we’re heading steadily towards winter and the nights are getting pretty cold. Time to break out the stews! There really is nothing so comforting as a bowl of piping hot stew, with its meat and vegetables swimming in rich gravy. The trouble is, especially if you’re working full-time, you … Read more
I have such fond memories of New Year’s Eve parties when I was a kid growing up in the 60’s and 70’s. Crowded rooms filled with my parents’ friends engaged in conversation (a lot of it in Dutch), cigarette smoke filling the air and the clinking of crystal glasses. And, in the kitchen, buckets loaded with Appelflappen (apple … Read more
Louise Cake, with its shortcake crust slathered with raspberry jam and crowned with a delicately crisp coconut meringue, has been part of the New Zealand landscape for a very long time. Where does it come from? Its origins aren’t very clear, but rumour has it that it was created for the wedding of Queen Victoria’s daughter, … Read more
January 3, 2015 Yep folks, it’s that time of the year – detox time! Time to reset the body’s metabolism and give it a helping hand after weeks of less than stellar eating and imbibing! My diet tends to go very simple around this time – raw salads, fish, smoothies and plenty of mineralised water. And, … Read more
This month, the Daring Cooks got a little saucy! Jenni from The Gingered Whisk taught us the basics of how to make the five mother-sauces and encouraged us to get creative with them, creating a wide variety of delicious, fresh sauces in our very own kitchens. I chose to make the French classic – Hollandaise … Read more
Pressure cookers – what a great invention! Particularly for those of us who toil from 9-5 and frankly don’t have the energy to start cooking at the end of a tiring day. I bought my first pressure cooker about a year ago through a Fly Buys scheme – you know, where you trade points for rewards… … Read more
If you grew up in Australia or New Zealand post-World War II, you’ll likely be very familiar with the frothy mousse-like confection called Flummery. It bears no resemblance at all to old English flummery, other than the fact that gelatine is used, so how the name got adopted is anyone’s guess. All I know is … Read more
New Years Eve just wouldn’t be the same without Dutch oliebollen. These deep-fried dough balls studded with rum soaked raisins and doused in icing sugar is the way Netherlanders ring in the New Year. It’s a centuries old tradition and it’s said that oliebollen were likely the precursor to the modern day donut, thanks to the Dutch settlers … Read more