Roasted capsicums with anchovies

Intro

One of my favourite ways of socialising is sitting around a picnic table on the back lawn with sea as a backdrop, a glass of wine, a bunch of old friends and yummy things to eat. A couple of gorgeous cheeses, salty nuts, a firm pear, smoked salmon or chicken, garlicky olives and roasted red peppers all seem to me to be the food of the Gods. Horowhenua is a strong horticultural area and we are blessed to be able to buy gorgeous, picked daily, vegetables direct from the grower ... including stunning red peppers at the right time of year. My kids eat them like apples! I make a couple of antipasto dishes including Peperoni Alla Piemontese. This recipe consists of chargrilled red peppers (capsicums) rolled up with anchovies and capers - gorgeous combination. 

Recipe

• 6 large glossy red peppers (bell peppers or capsicums)
• garlic
• olive oil
• anchovies
• capers
• 1 lemon

Grill the red peppers until the skins are blackened (or roast over a naked gas flame ie a BBQ). Stick them in a closed paper bag and leave for 15 minutes to steam. The blackened skin will peel off quite easily with a vegetable knife. Marinate for 15 minutes in olive oil, a splash of lemon, a crushed clove of garlic. 

Cut each pepper into 6 or 8 length-wise strips (depending on the size of the peppers). Place a chopped anchovy fillet and a few capers on each slice then roll up into a small sausage and arrange into a shallow dish. Pour the marinade over and garnish with a tiny sprinkling of parsley, or grated lemon rind, a grinding of black pepper or a few fresh thyme leaves. Serve with bread to sop up the lovely oil.

Tapenade

Intro

Another gorgeous recipe from my friend Kate, just perfect as part of an anti-pasto platter .... have I said before how my favourite way of entertaining is over wine or gin and nibbly things around a picnic table? You can half the recipe if the bowl of your food processor is small but I have to do it in these quantities to get it whizzing around properly. 

Recipe

Blend together in a food processor:

• 3 cups stoned black olives
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2/3rds cup pine nuts
• 450g anchovies
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 cup parsley
• 1 cup olive oil

Store in fridge - keeps for up to a week. Caution: this is very yummy but eating too much of it in one setting might do funny things to your tummy.

Cashew Nut Fudge

Intro

Ilove fudge, just love it but the perfect fudge is a rare thing. I hate sugary, grainy fudge and I don't like it when its too hard either. I like it creamy but with a 'bite' to it. One summer I got a book out of the library, a whole book of fudge recipes, and I cooked my way through many of them. This is the best recipe from the book - really yummy and the perfect texture. I usually double the recipe so I can use up the whole tin of condensed milk. Several times in the last 20 years things have been a bit tight financially - especially around Christmas time - and thats when this recipe has come very handy as its a great Christmas present when wrapped in cellophane and the cashew nuts make it a bit posher than normal. 

Recipe

Combine the following into a large heavy saucepan:

• 450g sugar
• 150 ml sweetened condensed milk (can you get this outside of NZ?)
• 150ml milk
• 100g butter

Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil and boil until mixture reaches 115 degrees celcius, stirring occasionally. It will catch really easily but don't panic if wee flecks of brown start appearing - its a warning to watch it like a hawk coz its on the edge of being done. Remove from the heat, add a few drops of vanilla, then beat until the mixture leaves a trail on itself. Quickly stir in 50g cashew nuts. Pour the fudge into a lightly oiled 18cm square tin. Mark into squares as it begins to set. When completely cold and set turn the fudge out and cut into the marked squares.

Lemon Honey

Intro 

An oldie but a goodie from the Edmonds Cookery Book. This is a Kiwi classic that every home-leaver, new bride and divorcee is given a copy of ... in fact I don't think I've ever met a home without a copy tucked into a drawer somewhere. 
Lemon honey is a key component of a slice I 'invented' while trying to replicate a lemon slice from The White House, a ski lodge I stayed in at Ohakune in the late 80s. I never did get it right but my slice is pretty good. Everyone grows lemons in Levin - except me - so whenever I get given too many to use quickly I make this. 

Recipe

Place together in a bowl:

• 500g sugar
• 125g butter
• finely grated rind and strained juice of 4 lemons
• 4 eggs

Place bowl in microwave and zap for 30 seconds then stir or whisk, 30 seconds then stir or whisk and so on until it gets nice and thick. It might take 5 minutes. (You are meant to do this in a double boiler but I can never be bothered). Pour into hot jars and cover when cold. Store in fridge. Use on Vogel's toast (my favourite), as a tartlet or pie filling or in Lemon Coconut slice.

Mulled Wine

Intro

Back in the day, pre-children, I used to take pottery classes. Rosalie Blake was the tutor and while I was never particularly good I really enjoyed those Thursday nights. It may well have had something to do with the mulled wine. We used to make a crockpot of this each class and sip away while we potted. I'm pretty sure we always got onto the clay ..... 

Recipe

Combine together in a crockpot and stir until dissolved:

• 1 cup sugar (I think demerara sugar was especially good)
• One and half cups boiling water

Add:

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cloves
• 4 cups red wine
• a quarter cup of brandy
• 1 thinly sliced lemon (we used grapefruit sometimes and it was surprisingly good)

Cover with lid and simmer on low for 3 or 4 hours or 1-2 hours on high. Do not boil.

Chocolate Trufffles

Intro

Divinely disgustingly rich and rummy - another one of Fran's recipes. 

Recipe

Soak together for 10 minutes:

• 2 tablespoons chopped raisins
• 2 tablespoons rum

Melt:

• 150g good chocolate (darkish but not bitter)

Mix in:

• 1 lightly beaten egg yolk
• 25g soft butter
• a half cup icing sugar
• the soaked raisins (from above)

Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes then roll into small balls. Set in fridge for a bit, then dip in chocolate and and roll in coconut:

• 150g melted chocolate
• 1 cup coconut.

Apple Cake

Intro

This is one of the first desserts I can remember cooking for my family when I was a kid. Mum and Dad both worked and that meant that each of us kids in turn were responsible for preparing the family meal. Not surprisingly we are all pretty good cooks now. 

I got this recipe out of a Good Housekeeping cookbook my Mum was given by her Grandmother when she got married in 1963. I cooked it a lot when I was a pub cook in Gympie, Queensland. I used to multiply the recipe up and make it in a huge slab. I discovered that a good handful of flour = 1 cup and that I could cream butter and sugar much more quickly with my hand if I was in hurry. I would make whole cakes with my hand as the measurer and beater which was heaps more effective than a standard wooden spoon (in the absence of commercial mixers). When it was baking you could smell the cinnamon right through the pub and the bar staff would bring orders out for cake and cream. 

Recipe

Sift together

• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• half teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons sugar

Rub in

• 4oz (125g) butter

Lightly beat together and add to the dry mixture:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk

Pour into a greased tin, and cover with:

• 3 or 4 sliced apples (peeling is optional)
• 1 tablespoon of mixed peel
• 2oz (60g) butter dotted over
• quarter cup of sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Bake 180 degrees for 35 minutes or until done. Serve with whipped cream and / or icecream. This freezes well in portions, reheats well in the microwave and can be made entirely in the kitchen whizz if time is short (including slicing the apples).

Kate's Muesli

Intro

This recipe was given to me by my friend Kate but she knows it as Renske's Muesli after the friend who gave it to her. I've known Kate since the mid 1980s so I've been making this off and on for the last 25 years. This is for Liam - who loves it as much as I do and has clicked that muesli for breakfast sets him up with enough energy for the day. Its well worth buying organic whole grain oats - you really can taste the difference. Take the recipe as a guide or base to start from. Mine is always different; I often add pumpkin seeds and use whatever dried fruit takes my fancy. Cranberries and craisins are really nice. 

Recipe

Mix together

• 6 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups bran
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup nuts: almonds, hazelnuts etc

Melt together

• half cup oil
• half cup honey

Mix together then roast for about 20 minutes turning frequently to avoid burning. Once its cooled down a bit add

• 1 cup of chopped dried apricots
• 1 cup dried bananas.

Once cold, store in an airtight container.

Bagels

Intro 

The bambini love bagels and I too have developed a fancy for them myself. However, at $5 a pack of 4 they are a treat. 

This weekend I decided to have a crack at making them. I found this recipe online - complete with pretty pictures - but I am going to write it up here as well in case the original site ever ceases to exist. They are so yummy - the kids have just gobbled up the first tray hot out of the oven with butter and strawberry jam dripping down their chins and all over their hands. Luckily I ended up making 2 dozen because I wasn't sure if any of my 3 jars of yeast were good so I made 3 starter brews and then all of them turned out fine .... 

Recipe

• 1.25 cups of warm water
• 2 teaspoons active dried yeast
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 3.5 cups flour
• 1.5 teaspoons salt

Dissolve the sugar in the warm water, add the yeast. Leave for 1 minute then gently disperse the yeast granules by stirring with your finger. Leave for 10 minutes until its formed a scummy, frothy mass. If it hasn't 'grown' then your yeast is buggered so throw it away and go buy some fresh yeast. 

Put the salt and flour into a bowl, add the yeast mixture. Stir together then knead for 10 minutes until smooth and glossy adding flour as necessary. (I had to add about 1/2 cup of water). Place into an oiled bowl and cover loosely with pleated greaseproof paper, plastic wrap or a damp teatowel until its doubled in size. 

Push it down, rest for another 10 minutes then push down again. Form the dough into 8 pieces. Roll into smooth balls, poke a hole with your finger and then 'form' smooth-ish round bagel-shapes. I spun mine around my index finger :) Place them on an oiled tray for 10 minutes. 

 Bring a pan of water to the boil. Gently drop the bagels into the water and simmer 1-2 minutes on each side. Lift out, place on a baking sheet (lightly floured), brush with olive oil and sesame seeds and ground sea salt. Bake 15-20 minutes in hottish oven (about 200 degrees).