It was my birthday yesterday. (I guess, technically, it's kind of still my birthday; it's still the 8th back in Ontario.)

Anyway, it was a pretty low-key birthday overall. Both because I didn't really want to do anything big for it and because the Kidlet had caught a cold and was feeling a bit under the weather. I did want to at least make a cake to mark the occasion though. And, after perusing the various recipes in my collection, I decided to hit up this one from my collection of recipes from the Something Awful CAKE thread.

It's a pretty simple, no-bake cheesecake recipe. Nothing too fancy. Just make the crust, beat together all the ingredients for the filling, pour it over, and chill until set. No fancy techniques or decorations. No icing. No layers. But that was honestly exactly the type of thing I wanted for the day. And, if I was going to do a cheesecake, how could I resist the Milo one? It was the perfect recipe to try out while I was here in New Zealand.

Not only is it a straight-forward, chilled cheesecake full of Milo. The crust is basically just a batch of chocolate crackles mushed into the bottom of a springform pan!

I mean, it's not quite exactly the recipe from Edmonds, but only because the author has you use real milk chocolate rather than getting you to make ersatz chocolate by combining shortening, icing sugar, and cocoa powder the way the Edmonds recipe does. Same idea though.

And, given that this recipe specifically calls for 250g of "good quality milk chocolate", Reiver pointed out that the author almost certainly had Whittaker's in mind. Since it's one of the only brands that still comes in 250g blocks. So, between that, and the Milo, and the inclusion of thickened cream, this does, indeed, feel like a very NZ recipe.

It is also, as it turns out, delicious! I liked this one a lot. It's easy to make, not too sweet, and nicely flavoured. The chocolate crackle crust comes out pretty firm, so it can be a bit challenging to get your fork through it, but it tastes lovely and adds an interesting texture to the base. Also, the fact that the crust is so sturdy makes it relatively easy to lift off the pan in one piece. I mean, it was a little tricky to get any implements under it initially. But once we managed to wedge the edge of a spoon under there, we were pretty much able to lever the whole thing up and slide it over onto a plate without any worries about the structural integrity. So that was handy!

I don't think this is my favourite cheesecake that I've ever made, but it is certainly a good one! I liked it a lot, I'm glad I tried it, and I would definitely make it again.

Photo goes here.

ETA: Now that I've clicked through to the link provided in the original post, I see that this was presented as an Australian recipe, not a NZ one. Oh well... I still think it was very approparite to NZ, so no complaints here.

Milo Cheesecake

From Raspberri Cupcakes via the Something Awful forums

Ingredients

Crust

• 250g milk chocolate (preferably Whittaker's)
• 1/3 c. dessicated coconut
• 2 c. Rice Krispies

Filling

• 300mL thickened cream or heavy (35%) cream
• 340g cream cheese, softened
• 75g sugar
• 4 tsp. unflavoured gelatine
• 3 Tbsp. cold water
• 200mL milk
• 1 1/2 c. Milo (plus extra to decorate)

Directions

1. Lightly oil a 20cm (8") springform pan.¹
2. Melt the chocolate over low heat.
3. Mix in the coconut, then stir in the Rice Krispies.
4. Once everything is well-mixed, press the chocolate mixture into the bottom of the springform pan in an even layer.
5. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Set aside.
7. In a clean bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.
8. Beat in the sugar until well-combined.
9. In a small bowl, combine the gelatine with the water and set aside.
10. Heat the milk over medium heat until just boiling.
11. Remove milk from heat and mix in the Milo.
12. Add the softened gelatine to the Milo mixture and stir until smooth and well-mixed.
13. Add the Milo mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat until evenly mixed.
14. Fold in the whipped cream.
15. Pour the filling over the crust.
16. Chill for at least 3 hours.
17. Run a hot knife around the edge of the pan and pop off the sides.
18. Carefully lift the cake off the base and transfer to a serving platter.
19. Sprinkle with additional Milo and serve.

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¹ I ended up using a 24cm (~9") springform pan for my rendition of this cake. Obviously this resulted in a wider, but shorter cake, but it was fine. The crust was still thick enough and everything seemed to work out fine. That said, if you'd like a taller cake, the smaller pan is definitely the way to go. ^Back

This was meant to be done with lamb shanks, but I found some bone-in "lamb pieces" and shoulder chops on sale, so I opted to use those instead. The shanks would have been lovely (and probably resulted in everyone getting a bit more meat), but these were tasty too. And a lot cheaper!

Citrus-Braised Lamb Shanks

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 123)

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 lamb shanks, about 1 lb (450 g) each
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 3 small sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 1 c. chicken broth
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat (preferably in a Dutch oven).
2. Season the shanks with salt and pepper.
3. Working in batches, sear the shanks, turning as needed, until browned on all sides, 6–8 minutes. Set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 120°C (250°F).
5. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil to the pot and place over medium-low heat.
6. Add the carrot, onion, and celery and sauté until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add the thyme, bay leaf, garlic, and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the wine, broth, and lemon and lime zests and juices.
9. Return the shanks to the pot and bring the liquid to a gentle simmer.
10. Cover and cook in the oven, turning the shanks every hour, until the meat is completely tender (2-3 hours).
11. Transfer the shanks to a platter and keep warm in the oven.
12. Pour the juices from the pot into a large, heatproof measuring pitcher and let stand for 1 minute. The fat will rise to the top. Use a bulb baster to transfer the juices underneath the fat to a small saucepan.
13. Simmer to reduce slightly. Stir in the orange zest and juice.
14. Drizzle the reduced juices over the lamb shanks and serve.

I picked up some lamb on sale the other day and wanted a nice vegetable side to go with it. I figured lamb and mint are often combined and zucchini has just come into season here, so this seemed like a natural pairing.

I wasn't able to find any yellow summer squash here, so I ended up using all zucchini, but that's not a huge deal. It mainly makes a difference to the aesthetics more than anything else.

Summer Squash Noodles with Mint Pesto

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p174)

Ingredients

• 1 c. (~45g) firmly packed fresh mint leaves
• 1/3 c. vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 3 yellow summer squash (~375g)
• 3 zucchini (~375g)
• Olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried thyme
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Combine the mint, broth, Parmesan, garlic, and oil in a blender and process until smooth.
2. Using a mandoline or a vegetable peeler, cut the yellow squash and zucchini into long, narrow ribbons.
3. Pour enough oil into a large nonstick frying pan to film the bottom, and warm over medium heat.
4. Add the shallots and sauté until softened (~3 minutes).
5. Add the squash and thyme and season generously with salt and pepper.
6. Sauté until the squash is just tender (4-5 minutes).
7. Stir in the mint pesto and heat for 1 minute.
8. Remove from the heat, garnish with additional Parmesan, and serve.
9. Transfer to a warmed serving dish, sprinkle with additional cheese, and serve.

I usually make shaped scones and biscuits. But I was low on both time and counter space yesterday, so I decided to give these simple "drop scones" a try. The dough is very quick to toss together and then all it needs is for mounds of it to be spooned onto the baking sheet and a few minutes in the oven and you have nearly-instant scones!

The original recipe calls for a bit of sugar, but I decided to roll with an erythritol-based sweetener in order to make them sugar-free. Either one works fine. I also opted to omit the salt from the recipe and just use salted butter instead of the unsalted that the recipe called for. And, since I'm in NZ right now, I swapped out the all-purpose (moderate-protein) flour for plain (soft/low-protein) flour. In other cases, I might use "high grade" (hard/high-protein) flour as a closer equivalent to the all-purpose, but in the case of scones and biscuits, where you don't really want or need the gluten development anyway, I felt like soft flour would be the better choice.

Blueberry Drop Scones

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1/4 sugar¹
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 85g salted butter
• 1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed if frozen)
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 c. milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Combine the flour and sugar.
3. Sift in baking powder and mix well.
4. Cut in the butter until blended.
5. Add the blueberries and toss to combine.
6. Beat the egg into the milk and then add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix with a fork until just combined.
7. Spoon mounds of the dough onto a baking sheet. You should get ~12 scones.
8. Optionally sprinkle the top of each scone with a little extra sugar.
9. Bake at 220°C (425°F) until cooked through and just starting to brown (~12 minutes).
10. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

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¹ Feel free to swap this out for a sugar-free sweetener of your choice. Just make sure that you adjust the amount accordingly if it's not a 1:1 substitute. ^Back

I had originally been planning on doing some braised potatoes to go with dinner, but I'd forgotten that the recipe I'd used for it before had a bunch of gochujang in it. And since I was cooking for folks who weren't really keen on spicy foods, I figured I'd better pick something else. And while getting the mixutre prepped for these pancakes is a bit annoying, they're not actually that difficult or complicated to make. And if you leave the chilies out (which are mostly there for aesthetics anyway) then they're a nice, mild, non-spicy option.

Everyone seemed to like them, especially the Kidlet. Honestly, I think the only change I'd make next time is to make a double batch! They went pretty fast and it would've been nice to have some leftovers.

Korean Potato Pancakes

From Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

Pancakes

• 4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
• 1/4 large yellow onion
• 1 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt (or chicken bouillon powder)
• 4 Tbsp. neutral-tasting oil, divided
• 1-2 sliced green and red chilies (optional)

Dipping Sauce

• 1 green chili
• 1 mild red chili
• 1/2 green onion
• 1/4 yellow onion
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2.5 tbsp white vinegar
• Small pinch of sugar

Directions

1. Cut the potatoes and onion into bite-sized pieces. Add them to a blender with 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth.
2. Pour the potato mixture into a strainer and let it sit for 10 minutes until most of the water has drained.
3. Meanwhile, thinly slice the chili peppers and half of the green onion for the dipping sauce.
4. Cut the onion into bite-sized pieces.
5. Combine the chilies, onion, green onion, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, mix well, and set aside.
6. Once the potato starch has settled at the bottom of the strainer, gently pour out the excess water, leaving the wet starch behind. Add this back into the potato mixture. If needed, substitute with 1 tbsp of store-bought potato starch.
7. Add 1/4 tsp salt.
8. Heat 1-2 Tbsp. oil in a large pan over medium heat.
9. Once hot, scoop out some batter and add to the pan. Cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Optionally, place sliced chilies on top for decoration.
10. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes or until fully cooked. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining batter.
11. Arrange the pancakes on a plate. Serve with the dipping sauce, ensuring there are enough veggies in the sauce to enjoy as a garnish.

I forgot to take photos of these! They were so cute. And now they are all gone. Whoops!

Oh well... They just looked like a pretty standard, plain, flaky biscuit. I just wish I'd remembered to photograph them. They were nice. Fairly plain, but soft, buttery, and not too sweet, with just a hint of citrus from the lemon zest in them. Really lovely.

Lemon-Scented Biscuits

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt¹, ground (optional)
• 1/2 Tbsp. lemon zest²
• 70g butter
• 3/4 c. half-and-half (10% MF)³

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F).
2. Sift the baking powder in to the flour.
3. Add the sugar, salt (if using), and lemon zest and mix well.
4. Cut butter into dry ingredients until blended.
5. Add half-and-half and stir until just mixed.
6. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and press into a round 2-3cm thick.
7. Fold in quarters and press flat again. Repeat 2-3 more times.
8. Use a biscuit cutter or drinking glass to cut into 5-6cm circles. (You should get about a dozen.)
9. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.
10. If desired, brush with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar.³
11. Bake until just starting to colour on top (~12 minutes).

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¹ If using salted butter, omit the salt here. If using unsalted butter, you may wish to add a small amount of salt. They don't need much, but a little pinch can be nice. ^Back
2 The original recipe only calls for 1 tsp. of lemon zest and that's what I used this time, but I think it would've been nice with a bit more, so I've upped it slightly here. ^Back
3 I usually mix my own half-and-half by combining whipping (35%) cream and milk. For this one, I decided to go a little light on the cream and heavy on the milk: more of a 1/3-to-2/3 than 1/2-and-1/2. ^Back
4 The original recipe didn't call for this step and I didn't do it this time around. But, having tasted them, I think they'd be quite nice with a little sprinkle of sugar on top. ^Back

Mayak Eggs (Korean Marinated Soy Sauce Eggs)

I was originally thinking of doing a rolled omelette to go with our Korean dinner. But, having taken a closer look at the recipes, I decided that these marinated eggs would actually work better. Both because I could prepare them ahead of time and because the marinade is useful in a variety of other recipes.

Mayak Eggs

From https://aaronandclaire.com/korean-marinated-eggs-mayak-eggs/

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. soy sauce
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 Cheongyang chili pepper (or serrano, jalapeno, etc.), thinly sliced (optional)
• 1 mild red chili, thinly sliced (optional)
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6-8 large eggs, hard- or soft-boiled

Directions

1. combine the soy sauce, water, sugar, vinegar, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and black pepper. Mix well.
2. Add the onion, chilies (if using), green onion, and garlic and stir to combine.
3. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and gently add the eggs. Stir gently to center the yolks. Cook for 7 minutes for soft-boiled eggs.
4. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath to cool completely. Once cooled, peel the eggs.
5. Add the peeled eggs to the marinade and gently stir to coat. Ensure they are fully submerged. If needed, stir halfway through marinating. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
6. To serve, place a marinated egg on top of hot steamed rice, drizzle with extra marinade, and add a touch of sesame oil. Enjoy!

Baingan Bhindi ki Subzi (Eggplant and Okra Curry)

Eggplant curries are apparently unheard of here in NZ! Indian cuisine and curries are common, just not eggplant ones. Which is fine, but was a little disappointing when I was craving a nice baingan bharta a few weeks ago. Eggplants are in season now though. And I have a curry cookbook! So I figured that it might be nice to make an eggplant curry to supplement our takeaway dinner last night.

I'm really happy with how this one came out. I mean, it's not may favourite curry or anything. It's not even my favourite eggplant curry. But it's very quick and easy to throw together and has an excellent deliciousness-to-effort ratio, so I was very happy with that. It also only needs a handful of spices: just fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric, and some fresh chilies.

The original recipe calls for four fresh green Thai or serrano chilies. But due to Reiver's nightshade sensitivity, I wanted to limit it to just one chile in the dish. So I picked out a fairly serious-looking long red chile from the freezer and just tossed that in. It definitely had some kick to it! I quite liked the level of heat that the final dish came out with, but I think it may have been a bit too punchy for some of the others. So... adjust the type and number of chilies according to your taste. I enjoyed this as a somewhat spicy dish, but it's not one of those curries that really relies on the fiery heat as a core component. You can definitely get away with making it milder if desired.

Baingan Bhindi ki Subzi

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1-4 fresh green Thai or serrano chilies, thinly sliced
• 225g frozen sliced okra
• 1 small eggplant (225-275g), peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. fenugreek seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro¹

Directions

1. Heat the oil ove medium heat.
2. Add the onion and chilies, cover, and cook until the onion is soft and well-browned (10-15 minutes).
3. Add the okra and cook until okra gets a bit of colour on it (10-15 minutes longer).
4. Add the eggplant, salt, fenugree, mustard, and turmeric and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add the water and deglaze the pan.
6. Cook, uncovered, until sauce thickens (~15 minutes).
7. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until veggies are tender (~5 minutes more).
8. Sprinkle with cilantro (if using) and serve.

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¹ I omitted the cilantro in my rendition of this curry because I knew that it might be served to someone who has the "cilantro tastes like soap" thing going on. It's one of those things that's nice as a garnish for a bit of extra colour and flavour, but not hugely necessary in this particular case. Two tablespoons is a pretty finishing touch, but doesn't make a huge difference to the final dish, so you can safely leave it out if necessary. ^Back

Reiver: When Symbol finds flounder on a 'one day only' sale, you don't hesitate to adapt the plans to suit.

Flounder is such a delicate fish - and an exotic treat to eat - that it really needs very little embellishment. That said, a little lemon pepper and citrus do wonders, if you have it. I'd normally pan-fry it, but to do three at once, baking proved a very effective (and pleasingly attractive in presentation) method I'd definitely use again.

Simple as it is, the real trick to flounder is in the eating: Lightly score the flesh down the spine, and then use your fork to lift pieces of fish from the bones by always working outward from the spine. Once the first half is done, flip the entire fish, and repeat. Done right (and with a little caution to the edge of the fish, just beneath the fins), you can eat the whole thing with no bones!

Baked Flounder

Adapted from https://www.rnz.co.nz/collections/recipes/whole-baked-flounder-with-gremolata-on-crushed-new-season-potatoes

Ingredients (Per Person)

• 1 flounder, gutted
• 1 thin slice of lemon
• Approx. 1/4 tsp lemon pepper
• Salt, to taste
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Wipe the flounder with a paper towel (NZ flounder does not have scales) and rinse the gut cavity.
3. Insert the slice of lemon and lightly season the belly with salt and lemon pepper.
4. Place the flounder in a baking tray coated with olive oil.
5. Drizzle olive oil on top and season with salt and lemon pepper.
6. Bake for approximately 12 minutes.

Gochujang Jjigae (Gochujang Stew)

I finally managed to get my hands on some gochugaru over here! Of course, much like at home, they don't appear to believe in selling it in small amounts. So now I have an entire kilo of the stuff! But oh well... I won't use all of it in the next two months, but I'll definitely use some. And now I can make more tasty things like this gochujang stew!

Photo goes here.

Gochujang Jjigae

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Calire

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. gochugaru (Korean chile flakes)
• 1 Tbsp. dasida (Korean beef stock powder)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. gochujang (Korean chile paste)
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
• black pepper, to taste
• ~750g potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 5-10 mushrooms¹
• ~300g zucchini
• 300g tofu (preferably firm or medium)
• 3 green onions
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• ~450g stewing beef
• 6 c. rice water²
• 1-2 Cheongyang chile, sliced (optional)
• 1 mild red chile, sliced (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the gochugaru, dasida, sugar, gochujang, soy sauce, fish sauce, and black pepper. Mix well and set aside.
2. Cut the potatoes, onion, and mushrooms into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
3. Cut the zucchini and tofu into bite-sized pieces and set aside in a separate bowl.
4. Chop the green onions, keeping the whites and green separated. Add the white parts of the green onions ot the flavour paste.
5. Mince the garlic and add it to the flavour paste.
6. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
7. Add the beef and cook until seared on all sides.
8. Reduce heat to medium and add the flavour paste mixture. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
9. Add the potatoes, onion, and mushrooms along with the rice water and bring to a boil.
10. Cook until potatoes are just tender (~12 minutes).
11. Add the zucchini and tofu and cook until zucchini is tender (6-7 minutes longer).
12. Sprinkle with the green parts of the green onions and chilies (if using).
13. Serve with rice.

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¹ Aaron recommends 5 shiitake mushrooms, but suggests oyster, enoki, and/or white button mushrooms as possible alternatives. Given that white button mushrooms were on sale this week (but much less flavourful than some of the other options), I just used them and tossed in twice as many as the recipe called for. ^Back
2 This stew is best served with a bowl of rice. Save the water you use to rinse it before cooking and use it in this stew. If you forget, plain water is also fine to use. But I prefer using the rice water if I can. Both because it gives the stew a bit of extra starch and because... why waste it? I'd much rather use the rice water than pour it down the drain! ^Back

I found some diced chorizo on sale at the grocery store last week. I didn't have concrete plans for it when I bought it, but I figured it keeps weel enough that it's worth buying when it goes on sale just to have on hand.

In theory, this recipe really probably wants a Mexican-style chorizo, not a Spanish-style one. But it was still very tasty this way, so I didn't mind the swap!

Tex-Mex Scramble

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 200g chorizo¹
• 6-8 green onions, chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 2 Tbsp. milk (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 c. sour cream, to serve
• tortillas, to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Heat a pan over medium heat.
2. Add the chorizo and cook until beginning to brown (~5 minutes).
3. Add the green onions and garlic and cook until softened (2-3 minutes).
4. Beat the eggs with the water and milk (if using).
5. Season to taste with pepper.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low, pour the egg mixture into the pan, and cook until bottom begins to set (1-2 minutes).
7. Stir to break up the curds and allow the uncooked egg to flow under.
8. Once eggs are mostly set, sprinkle with cheese and mix gently.
9. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with sour cream and tortillas (if using).

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¹ For Mexican-style chorizo, you will want to remove the casings and break up the meat as it cooks. Spanish-style chorizo is generally more of a firm, cured sausage, so it will need to be chopped before cooking. Either one will work here. ^Back

I'm taking a te reo Maaori course! It's awesome. I mean, I am hopelessly out of my depth, but I'm also learning a lot about Maaori culture and worldview, which is very exciting!

Anyway, the instructor suggested that folks might want to bring some biscuits or something to have during the break (since it's a 3-hour evening class). Since I had the oven on for polenta anyway, I decided to whip up a quick batch of oatmeal-raisin cookies to take and share with the class.

I used a slightly modified version of the recipe from Dessert of the Day for these. The only real change I made was to reduce the sugar. One-and-a-half cups sounded like way too much to me! In the end, I decided to put in the full cup of brown sugar, but omit the half cup of granulated sugar that the recipe called for. And, honestly, I probably could've cut the brown sugar back slightly as well. I mean, they were prefectly tasty this way, but I definitely wouldn't've wanted them any sweeter and I think they still would've been just fine with a little less sugar. So, follow your heart on this one. I'd say anything in the 3/4 c. to 1 c. range is probably good.

I also omitted the salt since I was using salted butter rather than the unsalted that the recipe called for. Obviously that's something that you can adjust as you see fit depending on your personal preference and the ingredients you have to hand. It's not super critical either way.

Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 180g flour
• 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground (optional)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. rolled oats
• 1 1/2 c. raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
2. Beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes).
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Mix in the vanilla.
5. Sift in the flour, cinnamon, salt (if using), and baking powder and stir to combine.
6. Mix in the oats, followed by the raisins.
7. Spoon onto the prepared baking sheet. (Should make ~2 dozen cookies.)
8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until set, but still soft (12-15 minutes).
9. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.

Mushrooms are on sale again, we had half a rotisserie chicken in the fridge, and there was silverbeet (Swiss chard) ready to harvest in the garden, so this recipe was a natural choice for dinner. Sadly, it didn't work out quite right. For whatever reason, the barley refused to cook. I gave it an extra half an hour of simmering and it was still somewhat al dente and more soupy than creamy. It was delicious anyway, but I was somewhat disappointed with the delays and final appearance, even if the flavour was still excellent.

Barley Risotto with Chicken and Mushrooms

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 6 c. chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 200g mushrooms, sliced
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 1 c. pearl barley
• 150g Swiss chard (silverbeet), chopped
• 350g cooked chicken, shredded
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Bring the stock to a boil, cover, and set aside.
2. Heat oil over medium heat.
3. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
4. Add mushrooms, cover, and cook until they have released their liquid.
5. Season to taste with pepper, add the wine, and cook for another minute or two.
6. Add the barley and 5 c. of the stock and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
8. Add 1/4 c. of the remaining stock and cook, stirring often, until it has been absorbed.
9. Repeat process with remaining stock.
10. Add the chard along with the last portion of stock.
11. Stir in the chicken and Parmesan and cook until heated through (3-5 minutes).
12. Serve topped with additional Parmesan.

I've had this recipe in my queue for a while, but kept failing to actually make it. It was alright in the end. Not amazing, but not bad either. And I did quite enjoy the almonds in it. A decent side dish all-in-all, even if it's not the star of the show.

Photo goes here.

Roasted Broccoli with Almonds and Orange

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 500g broccoli, cut into florets
• 4 tsp. olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 2 Tbsp. almonds, toasted and chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Toss broccoli with 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet.
4. Roast at 220°C (425°F) for 20-30 minutes, flipping and stirring halfway through.
5. Transfer to a bowl and drizzle with remaining 1 tsp. of olive oil and orange juice.
6. Sprinkle with orange zest and almonds and serve.

Symbol: I ended up changing the proportions on this recipe slightly. Mostly because kimchi is a bit harder to come by here than it is at home, so I ended up cutting it back to essentially a half batch, but with extra onion, green onion, and bacon relative to the original.

Stir Fried Kimchi

Slighlty adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1/2 Tbsp. gochugaru (Korean chili pepper flakes)
• 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp. dasida (Korean beef stock powder)

Kimchi

• 1 c. well-fermented kimchi
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp. neutral-tasting oil
• 100g middle or back bacon (optional)
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• Generous pinch of toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Directions

1. Make the sauce: Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small container and mix well.
2. Using tongs and scissors, cut kimchi into small, bite-sized pieces.
3. In a pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
4. Add the bacon (if using) and cook until golden brown, then remove from the pan and cut into thin strips.
5. To the same pan, add the green onion and sauté for 1 minute or until fragrant.
6. Add the kimchi and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat.
7. Add the onion, bacon, and sauce and cook for another 7 minutes, being careful not to burn it.
8. Turn the heat off. Finish with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Baconfat Bananas

Symbol here! Reiver has just been helping me transcribe some of the recent recipes, so his name may show up on some posts as well. The preamble will usually still be from me though.

I cooked a bit of bacon to go into the strata this morning. Which was delicious, but left me with the conundrum of what to do with the leftover bacon grease. It wasn't really enough to be worth saving, but I also didn't have any ideas readily to hand for it. Reiver suggested it might go well with the slightly over-ripe bananas on the counter, so I poked around for some ideas.

I contemplated doing a slightly savoury banana bread. And there was an interesting banana-bacon-cornbread recipe that I stumbled across as well. But those all required a fair bit more bacon fat than I had available. So, in the end, I went with this simple recipe for bacon and bananas. I didn't actually have the bacon for it since all of that went into the strata, but the bananas were still great on some pancakes! And I can always try it with the bacon next time.

From Reiver: There wasn't any actual bacon in the recipe, just the bacon fat from the Cheese and Bacon Strata. While a simple enough classic, this went wonderfully with the granola pancakes.

Photo goes here.

Banana and Bacon

Slightly adapted from Cuisine Fiend

Ingredients

• 3-4 slices of smoked streaky bacon
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 small bananas, halved lengthwise and crosswise

Directions

1. Cook the bacon, then remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add the butter and maple syrup to the pan.
3. Add the banana pieces, cut-side-down, and cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly caramelized.
4. Flip and cook until softened and evenly cooked throughout.
5. Remove the bananas onto a plate, top with bacon, and drizzle with any juices left in the pan.

This one is really more of a dessert than a breakfast. But it was in the Big Book of Breakfast and I wanted something to go with the zucchini bread (that wasn't eggs). So here we are with some sugary baked apples for breakfast.

Stuffed Baked Apples

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4-5 large apples
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves
• 3 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 2 Tbsp. chopped dried cranberries
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 c. apple juice
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• heavy cream and/or crème fraîche

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Scoop the cores out of the apples while leaving the bottoms in tact and peel the top 1/3.
3. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, walnuts, and cranberries and mix well.
4. Spoon the sugar mixture into the apples and place them in a baking dish.
5. Top each apple with 1/2-3/4 tsp. of the butter.
6. Combine the apple juice and maple syrup and pour it into the baking dish with the apples.
7. Bake at 200°C (400°F) until apples are tender (~30 minutes).
8. Transfer apples to bowls and spoon a bit of the residual syrup from the baking dish over them.
9. Top with cream and/or crème fraîche and serve.

My original plan had been to do an overnight recipe for breakfast today. I had been vaguely thinking about doing some overnight cinnamon rolls. Unfortunately the evening kind of got away from me and I didn't actually end up assembling anything last night. So that left me trying to throw something together this morning.

I have to admit, I wasn't thrilled with this zucchini bread, but it was alright. It had a good amount of zucchini in it, so it was nice and moist. Unfortunatley it didn't rise very well. Personally, I'd be inclined to try a different recipe next time, but this at least got the job done for now.

Zucchini Bread

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 280g zucchini, grated
• 190g flour
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 23x13cm (9x5") loaf pan.
2. Beat the sugar with the oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla for ~1 minute.
3. Stir in the zucchini.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until done (50-60 minutes).
9. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

Zucchini finally went on sale at the grocery store and I had ~100mL of diced tomatoes in the fridge that needed using, so this omelette seemed like a natural choice. The herbs and Parmesan worked very well with the veggies and produced a satisfying breakfast.

Zucchini, Tomato, and Green Onion Omelette

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• ~1/2 c. chopped zucchini
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ~100mL diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/4 tsp. dried)
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh basil (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 5 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1-2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. butter
• 1 handful baby spinach (optional)
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the zucchini, green onions, and garlic, and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, basil, and salt and pepper to taste and cook for another minute or two.
4. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and set aside.
5. Beat the eggs with the eggs, water, and a bit more salt and pepper.
6. Melt the butter over medium-low heat.
7. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook for a minute or so.
8. Carefully lift the edges of the egg to allow the uncooked egg to run underneath and cook for another minute or so.
9. Add the baby spinach (if using) to one half of the egg.
10. Top with vegetable mixture and cheese.
11. Once eggs are almost completely set, fold the omelette over.
12. Carefully flip the omelette and cook until heated through (~1 minute longer).
13. Serve with toast and/or buttermilk biscuits.

They had whole, gutted and gilled salmon available at the grocery store here yesterday. They looked beautiful and fresh. And, notably, were about half the price per unit mass as the salmon fillets. So, given that, I figured I might as well just get a whole salmon and figure out how to cook it for dinner.

I did a mash-up of two different recipes for it. For cooking instructions, I followed a Jamie Oliver recipe that I found online. But I used the seasoning and side veggies from one of the Dish of the Day recipes. That one called for braising salmon fillets in a mixture of white wine and vegetable stock and then serving it with sautéed asparagus, leeks, and peas. For mine, I baked the salmon (and potatoes) as per Jamie Oliver, but stuffed it with leeks and lemon and then more-or-less braised the veggies to serve with it. It worked out quite well and we were all very happy with the results and looking forward to the leftovers tonight!

Roasted Whole Salmon with Potatoes and Spring Vegetables

Adapted from Jamie Oliver and Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 whole gutted and gilled salmon (~2kg)
• 1-2kg potatoes, sliced ~5mm thick
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 2 leeks, divided
• 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives (or 1 Tbsp. dried), divided
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon (or 1/2 Tbsp. dried), divided
• 2-3 Tbsp. oil, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 500g asparagus, trimmed
• 1/4 c. white wine
• 1/4 c. vegetable stock
• 2 c. fresh or frozen green peas

Directions

1. If the salmon still has its scales, you will want to descale it. This is a messy process. Put down some towels or paper and be prepared for scales to go flying everywhere. Drag the back of a knife from tail to head at a 45° angle. Repeat all over the fish until you've removed as many scales as possible. Rinse the fish and your knife and do another pass or two until it feels like all of the scales have been removed.
2. Rinse the fish again, then dry thoroughly with a towel. Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 250°C (475°F) and oil a large roasting pan.
4. Add the potatoes and onion to the pan, drizzle with 1 Tbsp. of the oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Rub the fish all over with the remaining oil and place it on top of the potatoes.
6. Trim the leeks, halve lengthwise, wash very well, and slice.
7. Zest the lemon.
8. Combine the lemon zest with half of the leeks, 4-5 tsp. of the chives, 2 tsp. of the tarragon, and a bit of salt and pepper and toss to combine.
9. Stuff as much of the leek mixture as possible into the salmon. Allow any excess stuffing to spill out onto the potatoes.
10. Slice the lemon and stuff some of the slices into the fish.
11. Make a few gashes in the skin of the fish.
12. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over it, making sure to get some into the gashes.
13. Place any remaining slices of lemon on top of the salmon (preferably over the gashes if possible).
14. Bake at 250°C (475°F) for 15 minutes.
15. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake for another 30 minutes.
16. Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat.
17. Add the remaining leeks and sauté until softened (3-5 minutes).
18. Add the asparagus and cook for another minute or so.
19. Add the wine, stock, remaining tarragon, remaining chives, and salt and pepper to taste; cover; and cook for 2-3 minutes.
20. Add the peas and cook until vegetables are heated through and just tender (another 2-3 minutes).
21. Serve the salmon and potatoes with the vegetables on the side.

This bread gives a very "one of everything I can see in the pantry sort of vibe" while still being a relatively plain white bread. It doesn't contain any whole grains, seeds, or fruit. And yet it has pretty much everything else you could put into a bread in it. In addition to the white flour, salt, and yeast that you would expect in a white sandwich bread like this; it also gets instant potato flakes, dry milk powder, eggs, sugar, oil, and wheat germ added to the mix! Which makes for a fairly interesting loaf even though it doesn't really any visible inclusions.

Hearty White Bread

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 450g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour, divided
• 1/2 c. wheat germ
• 1/2 c. instant potato flakes
• 1/4 c. dry milk powder
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1 Tbsp. instant yeast)
• 125g sourdough discard (optional)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 c. warm water
• 2 Tbsp. oil

Directions

1. Combine ~250g of the flour with the wheat germ, potato flakes, milk powder, sugar, walt, and yeast and mix well.
2. Add the sourdough discard, eggs, and water and stir vigorously for ~150 strokes.
3. Mix in the oil.
4. Add the remaining flour a little at a time until the dough comes together.
5. Turn out and knead for 10-15 minutes.
6. Round and place in a covered bowl to rise for ~1 hour.
7. Knock back, round, cover, and rest for ~10 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, grease a large (23x13cm/9x5") loaf pan.
9. Shape the loaf by your preferred method and place, seam-side-down, into the prepared pan.
10. Cover and proof for 30-45 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
12. Uncover and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.
13. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake until done (~20 minutes).
14. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Figuring out dinner was a bit of a scramble last night. I didn't have a plan, but I was suddenly hit by a hankering for Korean. So I quickly threw together some ground beef bulgogi and whipped up a few simple sides to go with it.

This seasoned spinach was probably the most straight-forward of the bunch. It's not amazing on its own. But it does work quite nicely when combined with all the other dishes.

The original recipe used fresh spinach. I didn't have any fresh spinach on hand though, so I just thawed out some chopped frozen spinach and used that. If you are using fresh, you'll need to blanch it for a few seconds first, drain it and press out most of the liquid, and then proceed from there.

Korean Seasoned Spinach

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 250g frozen spinach
• 1 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. chopped green onion
• 1/2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (preferably ground)

Directions

1. Thaw the spinach over medium heat and then cook for a minute or two to boil off some of the water.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the garlic, green onion, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
3. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

These potatoes were a big hit. Such a big hit that we actually polished off the whole batch the first night and I had to make some more the second night!

Julienne-ing everything is a bit of a pain, but it's a very simple and easy dish otherwise. I was really pleased with how it came out (both times).

Korean Stir-Fried Potatoes

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 2 russet potatoes, julienned
• 1 carrot (~80g), julienned
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. dasida¹
• pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 1 green onion, chopped

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
2. Add 1/2 tsp. of the salt along with the potatoes and carrots and boil for 2-3 minutes.
3. Meanwhile heat oil over medium heat.
4. Add the onion to the hot oil.
5. Once the potatoes and carrots are done, drain them and add them to the pan with the onion.
6. Add the remaining 1/2 tsp. of salt, dasida, and pepper to taste and stir-fry for 3-5 minutes.
7. Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle the sesame seeds and green onion on top.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp. "chicken stock or chicken bouillon powder". Personally, I think dasida would go great here. Sadly, I didn't have either when I was making this, so I ended up just putting in a somewhat larger amount of fresh chicken stock. I think I used ~1 Tbsp. ¹

I've had a bit of trouble finding butternut squash over here, so I actually made this with buttercup squash (which is apparently considered a pumpkin in NZ). It made for a fine substitute. As did the kumara in place of the sweet potato.

I wasn't blown away by this dish overall. But it was tasty enough and made for a perfectly serviceable side dish next to our lamb chops.

Butternut Squash Tagine

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 8 saffron threads
• 1 Tbsp. warm water
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric¹
• 600g butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 large carrot, cut into 1cm thick pieces
• 1 small (~400mL) tin diced tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp. dried currants
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 3/4 c. water
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 250g sweet potato, cubed

Directions

1. Add the saffron to the water and set asdie for at least 10 minutes.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
4. Add the ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
5. Add the squash, carrot, tomatoes, currants, honey, water, and saffron along with its soaking liquid.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Add the sweet potato and continue cooking, covered, until vegetables are tender (~25 minutes longer).
10. Serve with harissa sauce or condiment of your choice.

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¹ There wasn't any turmeric in the kitchen when I was making this -- socking, I know! -- but there was a surplus of commercial curry powder (which tends to be half turmeric anyway), so I just used that instead. I figured the extra bit of cumin, coriander, and miscellaneous other spices wouldn't hurt the flavour any. ^Back

These were slightly unusual, but very tasty pancakes! The base is a pretty standard buttermilk pancake batter. But the twist is that you stir in a cup of granola right at the end. It's not something that I would have thought of doing, but it works quite well. We used the last of Orthia's home-made granola and it was lovely!

Granola Pancakes

From The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 150g flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 c. granola

Directions

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt and sift in the baking powder and baking soda. Mix well.
2. Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and mix in the melted butter.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.
4. Stir in the granola.
5. If the batter seems too thick, add a splash of mix (or buttermilk).
6. Heat a large pan, griddle, or tawa over medium heat. Add a little butter if necessary.
7. Use ~1/4 c. of batter per pancake and cook until bubbles form and top is just beginning to look dry.
8. Flip and cook until both sides are golden-brown and pancakes are cooked through.
9. Serve with jam, syrup, butter, bacon, and/or fruit compote.

I think this is the most barebones strata that I've ever seen. That's not bad, mind you! It honestly really hit the spot this morning. And the simplicity means that you don't need to worry about having a lot of ingredients on hand to make it. Plus, the relatively plain flavour makes it the perfect backdrop for whatever sauces or toppings you want to use to dress it up. So, I really have no complaints about it. It was just interesting to see a strata that was pretty much just bread, custard, and cheese with just a touch of bacon to round it out. Not a bad place to start your breakfast or brunch though, really. Very handy as a goes-with-anything sort of dish!

Bacon and Cheese Strata

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4 slices bread
• 100-150g bacon, cooked and chopped
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2-3 drops Tabasco (or similar) hot sauce
• 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley¹
• 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Grease a 20x30cm baking dish.
2. Arrange the bread slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish. Trim as needed to get them to fit with as few gaps as possible.
3. Sprinkle the bacon over the bread.
4. Beat the eggs with the milk and mix in the salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce, and parsley.
5. Pour the custard over the bread, cover, and set aside for at least half an hour. Alternatively, cover, and chill overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
7. Sprinkle the cheese over the strata.
8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30-40 minutes.
9. Serve with HP Sauce and/or your favourite chutney.

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¹ I completely forgot to add the parsely! Whoops! Still tasty, but wish I'd remembered that detail. Oh well... next time! ^Back

I've seen a lot of variations on this casserole over the years. It's not always called the same thing and it doesn't always have quite the same combination or proportion of ingredients, but the central theme of potatoes, pork, and eggs is always there. I usually see it made with frozen hashbrowns, eggs, some sort of cheese, and some sort of pork. The cheese is usually something relatively mild that melts well: mild cheddar, colby, or monterey jack. And the pork is often in the form of bacon, but might also be ham or breakfast sausage. Sometimes there will be chopped onion or, as in this rendition, green onion. There might also be a small amount of other vegetables -- usually bell peppers -- but not too many. And then some form of scrambled eggs or custard gets poured over the whole thing to hold it together.

For this version, I used a few hashbrown patties because Reiver had a packet in the freezer. Lose hashbrowns would probably work a bit better, but the patties were just fine in this case. You could even make your own hashbrowns from scratch if you really wanted to!

There's really not much else to this casserole. It makes for a very easy toss-everything-in-a-dish-and-bake sort of breakfast. It takes a while for it to cook through and the custard to set, but it doesn't take much effort or active time. Just bung it in the oven and wait for your delicious breakfast to be ready!

Farmer's Breakfast Casserole

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• ~3 c. frozen hash browns (or 4-5 hashbrown patties)
• 1 c. chopped cooked ham
• 1/2 c. grated cheddar or pepper jack cheese
• 2-3 green onions, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Grease a 20cm (8") square baking dish.
3. Layer the potatoes, ham, cheese, and green onions into the dish.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Beat the eggs with the milk and pour the custard into the dish with the other ingredients.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until custard is set (~1 hour).
7. Serve with ketchup¹.

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¹ The original recipe calls for serving this casserole garnished with fresh strawberries. This is clearly insane. Please use ketchup/tomato sauce, brown sauce/HP, or some other sensible topping for it. ^Back

We picked up some lamb shoulder chops on sale a couple days after I arrive here in NZ. They've been sitting in the freezer ever since, waiting for an opportunity to be used. And now that we're seeing lots of delicious stone fruit in the grocery stores, I felt like maybe it was time to bring them out.

The original recipe called for grilling the lamb (preferably on a charcoal grill) and I do think that would have been nice. But it was so windy when we were trying to prepare dinner, that Reiver suggested that perhaps it would be best to forgo the barbecue in favour of the stovetop in this instance.

I'm sure they would have been lovely on the grill, but they cooked up just fine in a pan on the stove. And the simple, fruity salsa worked very well as an accompaniment. As did the pumpkin and kumara tagine that I made as a side dish to round out the meal.

Lamb Chops with Nectarine Salsa

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 4 lamb shoulder chops
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3 nectarines, chopped
• 1/4 c. minced red onion
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. minced chipotles in adobo
• 1 tsp. lime juice

Directions

1. Season the lamb chops with the cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
2. Combine the nectarines, onion, cilantro, chipotles, and lime juice in a bowl and mix well.
3. Prepare a grill (or frying pan) for direct heat cooking.
4. Brush the lamb chops with oil (or drizzle a little oil into the frying pan) and cook the chops to desired doneness.
5. Serve chops topped with salsa.

We had a bunch of leftover pumpkin tagine for dinner tonight, but not much in the way of protein. Luckily, we still had a chicken in the freezer, so I was able to roast that up and combine it with some bread and veggies to make this "salad". It is a salad without lettuce or leafy greens. But I guess the inclusion of a vinaigrette makes it a salad nonetheless? Either way, it was tasty and rounded out the meal nicely.

Roast Chicken and Bread Salad with Green Beans

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (~1kg), cut into pieces¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3 thick slices of bread, cubed
• 250g green beans, trimmed
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 shallot (or small red onion), minced
• 2 Tbsp. red wine or cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. grainy mustard
• 2 Tbsp. dried currants
• 250g strawberries², hulled and quartered

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Season chicken with most of the salt and pepper (reserving a little for the beans).
3. Roast at 200°C (400°F) until chicken is done (45-60 minutes).
4. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
5. Toss the bread cubes with 2 Tbsp. of the oil and spread out on the (now empty) baking sheet.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until lightly browned and crisp on the outside (~15 minutes), turning once or twice during cooking.
7. Meanwhile, blanch the beans in some water seasoned with some of the reserved salt and pepper. Cook until just barely tender (2-3 minutes).
8. Shock the beans in cold water, drain, and set aside.
9. Whisk the winegars with the mustard, currants, and red onion.
10. Drizzle in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil while whisking vigorously.
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I used a bit of the reserved salt and pepper from above.)
12. Add the beans and toss to combine.
13. Top with chicken, strawberries, and croutons and serve.

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¹ The original recipe called for the chicken skin to be left on, but I chose to skin my chicken and just baste it with a little of the rendered schmaltz instead. ^Back
2 I wasn't impressed by the strawberries this week, so I gave them a miss and just tossed some leftover peach salsa onto this salad instead. I think it worked quite well! ^Back

Feather Bread (Bernard Clayton)

"Feather bread" -- not to be confused with the featherpuff bread from Laurel's Kitchen -- is a fairly plain (but quite serviceable) basic, white bread from Bernard Clayton's bread book. Although he recommends baking the loaves as baguettes, I didn't feel like trying to shape the long, skinny loaves, so I made a couple of slightly plump batards instead.

The dough itself is lightly enriched with a small amount of sugar and a much larger quantity of butter. And the crust develops a lovely shiny sheen from the egg white glaze applied just before baking.

I found the flavour of the final bread somewhat bland. But it did work very well for sandwiches. And the crumb was very nice with excellent texture. And the loaves did look quite pretty. So, definitely worth making. But possibly not a bread to enjoy on its own. It works better as a substrate or sandwich component than as a stand-alone starch.

Feather Bread

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 500-550g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour, divided
• 1 Tbsp. instant yeast
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 1/2 c. water @ 50°C
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Combine ~375g of the flour with the yeast, sugar, and salt and mix well.
2. Pour in the water and stir to combine.
3. Mix vigorously for 150-200 strokes (or a couple of minutes with the flat beater in a stand mixer).
4. Mix in the butter.
5. Mix in the remaining flour, a bit at a time, until the dough comes together.
6. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, supple, and elastic (10-20 minutes).
7. Round the dough and place in a covered bowl to rise. The first rise should take ~1 hour at room temperature.
8. Once fully risen, knock the dough back and divide into two equal portions.
9. Round each portion, cover, and rest for ~10 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet and dust it with cornmeal.
11. Shape each portion into a batard and place on the prepared baking sheet.
12. Cover and allow to rise at room temperature. The second rise should take ~45 minutes at room temperature.
13. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
14. Beat the egg white with the water and brush the mixture over the surface of both loaves, being careful not to let the glaze drip onto the pan.
15. Slash the loaves as desired.
16. Bake at 220°C (425°F) until shiny and nicely browned (15-20 minutes).
17. Test loaves for doneness. If they're not quite done yet, reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) and continue baking until done (likely 5-10 minutes longer).
18. Turn off oven and allow loaves to stand in hot oven for 5-10 minutes.
19. Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool.

This date bread is very similar to the sourdough date muffins that I sometimes make. Similar, but much, much sweeter. I actually halved the sugar called for in this recipe and it still came out bordering on cloying. I mean, it was good. But definitely at the upper limit of actually palatable amounts of sugar. I think I'd probably reduce the sugar even further next time. (And maybe add a little cinnamon as well. I think that would be a nice addition.)

I can, at least, vouch for this being a very easy recipe to put together. And, while it takes a while to bake, it's not super time consuming either. So, it does make for a decent low-effort breakfast offering. Not the most filling or healthy, mind you, but there's still something to be said for easy and tasty.

Date Bread

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g dates, chopped
• 1 c. boiling water
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 c. brown sugar¹
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 150g sourdough discard (optional)
• 1 c. whole wheat flour²
• 1/2 c. soft (plain/standard/pastry) flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c. walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Pour the boiling water over the dates, sprinkle in the baking soda, and set aside for 30-60 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, grease and flour a loaf pan. (I used a 23x13cm pan, but I think a 20x10cm size would have been slightly better.)
3. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
4. Beat the butter with the sugar.
5. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
6. Mix in the dates (along with all of the soaking liquid) and the sourdough discard (if using).
7. Stir in the flours and cinnamon.
8. Add the walnuts and stir to combine.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth top, and bake at 180°C (350°F) until done (~45 minutes).
10. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
11. Turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

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¹ The original recipe called for 1 c. of granulated sugar. I used 1/2 c. of brown sugar when I made it (and added ~150g of sourdough starter to the batter) and I found the finished loaf to be pleasant, but very sweet. In my opinion, using the full quantity of sugar would have rendered it completely inedible. I think that, if you're looking for a very sweet, cake-like offering, then 1/2 of sugar is probably fine. But if you'd like a somewhat less sugary breakfast option, then I'd recommend cutting the sugar back even further to 1/4 c. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 c. of all-purpose flour. I opted for a mix of plain and whole wheat flour for my rendition. I used mostly plain with just a bit of whole wheat this time, but I think I'd flip the script and use more whole wheat next time. ^Back

Boysenberries in Whipped Cream

This dessert appeals to me. It's simple, very quick to assemble, delicious, and refreshing.

It's basically an unfrozen fool. You just stir the fruit through some lightly sweetened whipped cream and serve. You could also make it ahead and freeze it to turn it into a proper fool if desired. (That's what I've done with the leftovers from tonight's dessert!)

The original recipe called for blackberries. But, since we're in New Zealand right now, I figured I'd take advantage of the availability of bosenberries for this particular treat. Especially since this is somewhere where the fruit really gets to shine.

Bosenberries in Whipped Cream

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 c. bosenberries, divided
• 2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 c. icing (confectioners'/powdered) sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Purée half of the berries.
2. Combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until stiff.
3. Fold in puréed berries.
4. Carefully stir in the remaining 1 c. of berries.
5. Spoon into bowls and serve.

I adjusted the ratios somewhat for this one. We had twice as much chicken as the recipe called for, so I doubled the marinade and bumped up the rice slightly¹. However, we were a bit light on mushrooms, so they were scaled back a bit. And we'd just harvested a bunch of silverbeet (chard) out of the garden a couple of days ago, so I didn't want to try to take any more yet. This left me trying to swap in frozen chopped spinach. Which was fine, but I didn't want to overdo it, so I just put in a relatively small amount.

The final result was tasty, but I do think that it would have been better with more mushrooms and greens (and a bit more salt). All of these changes are reflected in the write-up below.

Ginger Rice with Chicken and Mushrooms

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce²
• 2 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 Tbsp. oil (optional)
• 1 onion, chopped (optional)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
• 2 c. jasmine rice
• 4 c. water
• 400-500g Swiss chard (silverbeet) and/or kale, chopped
• 250g mushrooms (preferably a mix of shiitake and cremini), sliced
• 2-3 green onions, sliced

Directions

1. Combine chicken, ginger, oyster sauce, soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, and five-spice powder and mix well. Set aside for 10-20 minutes.
2. If using onion and garlic, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté until softened (3-5 minutes).³
3. Add the rice, water, greens, mushrooms, and chicken (along with all of its marinade) to the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until rice is tender (15-20 minutes).
5. Remove from heat, fluff rice, and allow to stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

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¹ Not double. I just nudged the rice up by 1/3. But, honestly, for the amount of everything else that I had in the pot, it might've been better not to scale the rice up after all. It was tasty this way, but definitely could've used more mushrooms and greens. Which the recipe write-up reflects. ^Back
2 I used light soy here because the recipe didn't specify and it was what I had easily to hand but, having tasted it, I think that dark soy (or a blend of dark and light) would work better than light alone. ^Back
3 The original recipe didn't call for any onion or garlic and I didn't use any this time. But, having tasted it, I think some more aromatics would go nicely, so I've added them to the recipe as an optional extra. ^Back

I had to fudge this one slightly. It was meant to be done with bananas, blueberries, soft tofu, and orange juice concentrate. We didn't have any orange juice concentrate, but we did have some nice honey Greek yogurt that needed to be used up. So I swapped that in instead. Obviously it's a very different flavour, but it still gives a bit of acidity and a bit of sweetness. Not in the same proportions and not with the same flavours, but it got the job done. And, honestly, I suspect the yogurt version is probably a bit healthier as well.

This worked out quite well. It provided something to round out the breakfast this morning, since we didn't have enough pancakes left to feed everybody. It used up some of the ridiculous pile of tofu from the fridge. And it let me easily say "sure, no problem!" when the Kidlet requested a smoothie with her pancakes this morning. And, even more importantly, Reiver and the Kidlet both seemed to enjoy them.

Banana-Blueberry Smoothie

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 150g soft tofu
• 3/4 c. honey or vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/2 c. frozen blueberries
• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 c. milk

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and purée until smooth.
2. Pour into glasses and serve.

I was planning on doing carrot-zucchini latkes for breakfast this morning. But the zucchini wasn't a great price this week, so I decided to save it for another time. Which is all well and good, except it left me with a hole in my meal plan.

After some frantic rifling through cookbooks, I eventually settled on this pancake recipe. It's not super substantial, but it was tasty and we had all the bits readily to hand. And that was the important bit this morning!

I ended up using some horopito-infused honey as the honey component of this recipe and I think it worked quite nicely. That said, regular honey will work just fine too. I just used the horopito honey because we had it and I thought it would complement the other spices well. (Which it did.) The slight peppery taste worked well with the coriander and cinnamon in the batter.

Spiced Whole Wheat Pancakes with Nuts

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

Pancakes

• 300g whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 c. milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 c. oil
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts, divided

Cinnamon Honey

• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. butter

Directions

1. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, and salt and mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and mix in the oil and honey.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
4. Mix in half of the walnuts.
5. Heat the pan over medium-low heat.
6. Add a little butter if necessary.
7. Scoop a few portions of batter into the pan, using ~1/4 c. for each pancake.
8. Cook until bubbles form and edges look dry.
9. Flip and continue cooking until browned on both sides and cooked through.
10. Transfer cooked pancakes to a plate and repeat with remaining batter.
11. Meanwhile, gently heat the remaining honey and mix in the cinnamon and butter. Stir to combine.
12. Serve pancakes topped with cinnamon honey and reserved walnuts.