winosandfoodies

IMBB - The Tea Challenge

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty. 
~Japanese Proverb

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Clement over at À la Cuisine  has chosen tea as the ingredient for this months  Is My Blog Burning challenge.   

I have wanted to try  matcha   since reading the posts by  Santos  and Keiko   on its uses.  A quick phone call to Ryoko's  Mum in Japan and we have suggestions on the best type for baking.

The cookies are a little reminiscent of  Soylent Green .  Hard to believe the movie was set in 2022 - only another 17 years.  I was perhaps a little heavy handed on the matcha.   I was aiming for a softer pale  green.  As the tea doesn't add any significant taste to the cookies,  less tea would give a better visual presentation.

I adapted a recipe that came with my GSD Kekespresse that is so old it has  "Made in West Germany" on the box.

Ingredients for cookies: 300 grams flour, 100 grams powdered sugar,200 grams butter. I added 3 teaspoons of matcha and baked the biscuits for 15 minutes.  Next time I will add only one teaspoon matcha and bake  for 10 minutes.

You might think I'm a little confused and have included last months IMBB - Gelatin. But no, I had some gelatin sheets left over from the challenge and thought I might try making tea jelly.  Using a ration of 1 gelatin sheet to 100 ml water and 20 grams tea the three teas are from left to right..

1. Lemon and ginger tea with honey.
2. Smoked black tea and brown sugar.
3. Matcha and maple syrup.

Of the three the smoked black tea and brown sugar was the most successful  and I think would make an  interesting  combination alongside lemon ice cream.

Thank you Clement for hosting this month.  Check out the entries over at À la Cuisine  in a few days.   

Super Size Me for Gourmands

If  you have toast, it must be toast with foie gras" ....... Dugald Jellie, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, was given these instructions  by his editor, when he was sent out to eat whatever he wanted for a day.   Read what he ate here .    

Coconut, Prawn and Rice Noodle Soup

Uncle Wiggly's Good Time Cooking Contest Entry
Hosted by Biggles at Meathenge

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Biggles over at Meathenge  is asking for simple but yummy meals he can prepare and serve his family on weeknights.  This is a favourite in our house.  When there were four of us at home it was a favourite Saturday lunch time soup with a glass of wine and a bit of bread and cheese to follow.  Now the children have left home B and I have this for a quick weekday dinner.   Add some crusty bread and a wedge of runny cheese to the table if you have a big appetite.  For me it is just enough without being too heavy.

The recipe is from Auckland chef and food writer Ray McVinnie ,  who is a hopeless public speaker, but a very clever cook. 

Coconut, Prawn and Rice Noodle Soup
600ml chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
3 kaffir lime leaves ( if kaffir lime leaves aren't available, replace with 3 lemon grass stalks)
2 dried red chillies
250 gr shelled raw prawns
400 ml coconut cream
4 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice (or to taste, it should be quite sour)
zest of 1 lime
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
150 gr rice noodles (rice sticks) dropped into boiling water for 4 minutes until just tender, rinsed well under cold water and set aside.

Put the stock, garlic, ginger,lime leaves (or lemon grass) and chillies into saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer 5 minutes.
Add the prawns and coconut cream and simmer 5 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Taste and add more fish sauce if it needs more saltiness, or more lime juice if it needs to be more sour.
Serve immediately.

Food Fight

"The Australians have long claimed the light and fluffy meringue dessert as their own - based on a cake Bert Sachse baked at Perth's Esplanade Hotel in 1935. New Zealanders say no - their grandparents were scoffing pavlovas much earlier."      

Read the rest of this article here .

No, this photo is not a meringue, it is a lamington....and Australians can claim to have been the originators of this cake.  The other great New Zealand/ Australia debate - the Anzac Biscuit  gets joint custody.

Thanks to research by Professor Helen Leach of Otago Universities Anthropology Department and the Australian Food Historian Michael Symons this arguement can now be laid to rest.  As an Australian living in New Zealand, this debate always comes up whenever a pavlova appears on the table.

Actually I've known New Zealanders are the true originators of the pavlova for most of my life -  because I can't make a pavlova.  Every New Zealand woman (and a few New Zealand men) I've met, can make a pavlova.  A high  white, crisp on the outside, meltingly soft on the inside, pavlova.   Me -it doesn't matter which recipe I us or, how long or slow I cook it, it is always a disaster.  Too dark on the outside with undissolved sugar weeping through the sides and the base superglued to the baking paper.

As a well brought up Australian girl,  I can make lamingtons.  Airy, light sponge, dipped in  chocolate icing and rolled in coconut, lamingtons.

Are these debates unique to New Zealand and Australia or do other neighbouring countries have similar "food fights"?

Go here  for a recipe.
 

Ryoko Loves To Cook

Ryoko  loves to cook and has a blog .  After only 10 minutes into her 12 week stay with us we had discovered these two important little details.   It isn't a cooking blog but she has posted pictures of food.  Here is  a photo of  the cheese cake  she made.  It is in Japanese so I can only look at the pictures.

Ryoko arrived on Saturday to spend 12 weeks with us improving her English.  With her interest in food it will be an ideal opportunity for me to develop my skills in  Japanese food.   After reading the posts from  Santos    and Keiko   about  matcha  I'm hoping to learn a little   more about  using this green tea .   

After dinner last night Ryoko made "the best cup of tea".   At home  in Japan Ryoko's mother is a teacher of the tea ceremony .

For the next 12 weeks I think there will be two cameras in the kitchen!

Honey I'm in a hurry - Sugar High Friday

I really didn't have a lot of time to prepare an entry for this months Sugar High Friday. I often make this drink for breakfast when I 'm short on time. As it contains honey it qualifies for the theme "honey".

Breakfast on the Run
Juice of two oranges
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon honey

Place all in blender and blend - simple eh!

Thank you to Nic at Baking Sheet  our host for July. Check out her blog for the final round up.

Lemon curd and Rhubarb Apple Jelly

Rhubarb Jelly

Equal amounts of rhubarb stalks and apples.
Wash and chop rhubarb. Peel, core and slice apples.
Put in large pan and cover with water and boil until fruit is soft.
Drain in jelly bag overnight.
For each 250 ml juice, add 165 grams sugar and 1 teaspoon pectin.
Bring to boil to 112 degrees.
Skim surface and bottle.

Lemon Curd
Mix together:
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
juice and zest of one lemon

Add:
3 tablespoons melted butter

Cook:
for about 3 minutes on low setting in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds.

I found this easy way of making lemon curd over at nOt jUsT dEsSeRts .

Real Mexican Hot Chocolate

My C'n' Z friend  Rainey writes a delightful blog Making Myself a Garden  which naturally is all about her garden.  Occasionally she  even posts her baking efforts - check out her Plum Kuchen.

Last week I received a  package bulging with  goodies you just can't get in New Zealand....cacao nibs, Ibarra  Mexican chocolate, dried chillies, real tortillas....thank you Rainey.

Clotilde has written about cacao nibs  on Chocolate and Zucchini when  she topped her  raspberry muffins with these lovely little nibs of the cacao bean. 

I decided on adding  the cacao nibs to biscotti.  Biscotti is traditionally  flavoured with anise but I thought  the cacao nibs might be a suitable alternative.

Biscotti is the plural of biscotto and means baked twice.  The dough is made and cooked in a roll, then sliced into cookies  and baked a second time. This dries the biscuit out.  Because it is so dry  it will keep for what seems forever.   They are the ideal dunking biscuit. Today we had them with  authentic Mexican hot chocolate, but they are also nice dipped into a glass of sweet wine.

BISCOTTI
150 grams plain flour
150 grams caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
100 grams cacao nibs

Preheat oven to 180C
Combine dry ingredients, then add eggs
Line tray with baking powder
Form mixture into two logs
Bake 25 minutes
Remove from oven and cool a little
Slice diagonally into 1 cm slices
Stand upright on tray and bake a further 10 minutes.

 

Nicky's Banana Nutella Muffins

The very talented Nicky over at Delicious Days  posted these wonderful muffins and as I had just bought a new jar of Nutella they seemed the perfect little afternoon treat on this cold, wet day in Auckland.

I think Nutella is the new Condensed Milk.  My mother and most of her generation always kept a can in the fridge.  Remember the mayonnaise of the '50's made with condensed milk, mustard and vinegar.   My brother and I were often found hiding behind the fridge door swigging from the condensed milk  can.  Reminiscing with a friend recently she said she always met her father at the fridge when she took a sneaky swig.   I now find my own children hiding behind the pantry door with a spoon in one hand and the jar of Nutella in the other.

Check out Delicious Days   for the recipe.  These muffins  are really yummy - just the right balance of banana and Nutella.   I cut back on the calories a little by  sprinkling a little  icing sugar and cocoa powder over the top.  Nicky's are covered with a luxurious looking chocolate icing which I'm sure is wonderful.

Lunch at Tetsuya's

Montrachet inTetsuya's Cellar

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There are somethings in life that really do exceed your expectations.  Our lunch at Tetsuya's  restaurant in  Sydney was one of those occasions.   Fortunately I  made the reservation before it was listed as one of the top restaurants in the world.   I had planned on taking notes   and reporting  every little detail.  Then I decided the note taking was distracting and I would prefer to just eat and savour the sight, smell and taste of the food.  Sometimes I even forgot to take a photograph until part way through the course.   

Spread over three hours,  lunch was a set degustation menu of 10 courses, costing A$175 a person.    I wanted to keep a clear head and concentrate on the food so I decided against drinking wine .  Before coffee was served I ordered a glass of champagne.

Flavours, textures and  combinations were perfect.  Tetsuya's signature dish, the Confit of Salmon was my favourite  with the oeufs à la neige(with the chocolate and raspberry surprise in the centre) coming in second. 

While Bryan was paying the bill the Maitre'd gave me a personal tour of the restaurant, explaining Tetsuya's art collection and finishing with a visit to the  wine cellar.   And to complete the day we discovered it was Tetsuya's birthday that day.  How lucky were we to have Tetsuya cook for us on his birthday?

I expect every trip to Sydney will include a visit to Tetsuya's now.

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Mondovino...oh and Dumplings

New Zealanders will finally get to see Jonathan Nossiter's film Mondovino.   The rest of the world saw it months ago. Here in New Zealand we must wait for a Film Festival  to see  anything a bit different from the usual Hollywood Blockbuster.

The only foodie film featured this year is Dumplings.  Now I'm tempted to see this but when the synopsis includes words like  "sick and twisted gem" I start to wonder that maybe my money could be better spent elsewhere.  If anyone has seen it please share your thoughts.

Wine Oz

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We found a terrific wine store on the Gold Coast (Queensland) - The Liquor Superstore.   Armed with a list of Australian wines from Wine Waves   and Cam  we managed to find all but two wines on my list.  No Black Chook Shiraz Viognier '04 but Dave the Wine Manager did recommend the Zontes Footstep Shiraz Viognier.  It turned out to be the favourite of them all.  Dave's other recommendation we also  enjoyed was the O'Leary Walker Polish Hill River Riesling 2004.

Next time your on the Gold Coast go see Dave at the Liquor Superstore, corner of  Ferry Road and Cotlew Streets, Bundall.

Wine Blogging Wednesdays - Get Off Dry

This months host Basic Juice  has given us a mission to drink a less dry wine.  A mission I think I may have failed.

Akarua Pinot Gris 2004

Details:    From the Winemaker

Eyes:          Soft lemon

Nose:         Imagine a bunch of violets and a bowl of nectarines on a sunny bench.

Legs:          Hard to see in the candlelight.

Mouth:    Long lingering aftertaste.

Food:        We drank it after dinner but I'm thinking salmon.

Buy:         NZ$25. Check here  for a distributor near you.

Verdict: Loved it. On a scale of 1 - 100  with 100 being very dry 1 being sweet I'd put it at 60.

Trivia:     Akarua Vineyard is in Central Otago, which at 45 degrees south is the worlds  southernmost  winemaking region.

Thanks to Basic Juice for hosting.  Check out his site  for the final round up.

Tagines Galore

Madame Shawshank knows all the right places .    I think I was a little blinded by the enormous display of tagines at the Essential Ingredient  .  Somehow I always manage to close my eyes when I see a camera aimed in my direction.  I wished  I'd had room in my luggage to take one of these little beauties home.

A book is much easier to pack, won't break ...and you will have something to read on the plane. I could have packed an entire suitcase with any number of excellent books from the huge collection but I carefully chose just one....The Cheese Room  by Patricia Michelson.

Madame had prepared the most wonderful picnic lunch.  We'd eaten all the seafood and half the cheese before I thought to take a photo. So here's the last of the washed rind cheese we enjoyed.

Now if I can just get Madame to come to New Zealand we can repeat our wonderful day this side of the Tasman.