Posted on Jan 24, 2007 in Do, Travel | 5 comments

Cafés in New Zealand

Cafés in New Zealand
New Zealand cafés still continue to surprise and delight me. A moist Spinach Risotto Cake at Reid’s Store during a break while driving to Nelson the morning after we arrived, eaten in bright sunshine outside on the decking was my re-introduction to café cooking, NZ style on this trip. There were...
Read More
Posted on Oct 26, 2006 in Cook, Food for Friends | 5 comments

Harira for bookclub

Our last Bibliofemme bookclub – for The Rum Diaries by Hunter S Thompson – was held at my flat on a rapidly-darkening autumn evening. The previous evening had been cold and dreary as I walked home from my webmaster course so I decided to start a soup, leave it sit overnight, and then finish it...
Read More
Posted on Jan 23, 2006 in Bake, Food Events | 11 comments

Hay Hay, It’s Donna Day #2: Chocolate Almond Macaroons

Hay Hay, It’s Donna Day #2: Chocolate Almond Macaroons
Having missed the first Winos and Foodies Hay Hay, It’s Donna Day – and you all know about my love of Donna Hay! – I had every intention of making a real effort for the second episode in what looks like becoming a long-running series of worldwide bake-ins. Glutton Rabbit at Pearl of the...
Read More
Posted on Sep 22, 2005 in Lovely Lunches, Storecupboard Specials | 11 comments

Cooking quinoa

Cooking quinoa
Quinoa is something that I’ve been meaning to cook for quite a while. About ten years, in fact, ever since I read Nigel Slater‘s Real Fast Food. He has several recipes for this protein-packed ancient grain and, as with all his writings, I was seduced by the delicious descriptions. Not seduced...
Read More
Posted on Jul 7, 2005 in Do, Living in New Zealand | 2 comments

The loss of the lemon tree

The loss of the lemon tree
Having thought that there wasn’t too much different between the New Zealand and Irish climates, I’ve been amazed to discover that lemon trees grow here. And, what’s more, they actually fruit too! While living with the Boyfriend’s parents in Nelson it was a great treat to go out and...
Read More
Posted on Jul 5, 2005 in Read | 0 comments

Irish Cooking: Over 100 Traditional Recipes by Clare Connery ****

Irish Cooking: Over 100 Traditional Recipes by Clare Connery ****
As the perfect birthday present for a person on the other side of the world to Ireland, Clare Connery’s Irish Cooking comes pretty close. There’s nothing new about this cookbook – nor does there need to be. With an introduction that brings the writings of Maura Laverty to mind, Connery...
Read More
Posted on Jul 2, 2005 in Do, Living in New Zealand | 0 comments

Vegetarian cookery – not just for vegies!

I spent Wednesday night last week at a cookery demonstration by the Christchurch branch of the New Zealand Vegetarian Society. No, I’m not going over to the dark side – I love meat too much – but their description of the evening intrigued me. Vegetarian Cuisine for the Non-Vegetarian sounds...
Read More
Posted on Jun 30, 2005 in Cookery Books, Living in New Zealand, Read | 2 comments

Judith Cullen’s Cookery Classes ***

Judith Cullen’s Cookery Classes ***
New Zealand cook Judith Cullen used to run her own café in Dunedin before she changed careers to become a successful teacher of cookery classes, many of which are run from her home. Judith Cullen’s Cookery Classes is her first published book but she has a fresh and simple approach that many more...
Read More
Posted on Jun 28, 2005 in Eating Out, Living in New Zealand | 0 comments

Breakfast at Formerly The Blackball Hilton

We weren’t very well organised for the last bank holiday weekend so it was Sunday morning before one of the Boyfriend’s friends and his girlfriend came over and we tried to figure out where to go for the night. Despite fears that all accommodation would be booked solid for the weekend, a quick...
Read More
Posted on Jun 26, 2005 in Lovely Lunches, Storecupboard Specials | 4 comments

Red Onion Marmalade

Red Onion Marmalade
Being flat stony broke these days, I like to try and bring my lunch to work with me rather than be dependent on cafés. Sometimes the lunch is leftovers from dinner the night – rice or pasta with some kind of sauce – but other days I am forced to rely on sandwiches. Having eaten plain ham...
Read More
Posted on Jun 24, 2005 in Read | 3 comments

Malouf book update

Malouf book update
I’ve just heard from Greg Malouf‘s publishers – Hardie Grant Publishing – that his new book finally has a preliminary title. It is apparently going to be called Saha – Food and Travels Through Lebanon and Syria. From talking to him at Savour New Zealand, it looks like this will...
Read More
Posted on Jun 23, 2005 in Bake, Food for Friends | 0 comments

Moroccan-style Bread and Butter Pudding: Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding with Turkish Delight

Moroccan-style Bread and Butter Pudding: Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding with Turkish Delight
When I was a kid, Bread and Butter Pudding was the desert that we all loved. I wasn’t too impressed with other traditional milk puddings like Farola or semolina and often would walk away from the dinner table with my pockets full of secreted spoonfuls rather than actually eat a bowl of the insipid...
Read More
Posted on Jun 21, 2005 in Bake | 0 comments

An Irish Apple Cake

An Irish Apple Cake
As I’m still buying about two kilos of apples a week – I never can resist those markets – I decided, after my success with the French Apple Cake, that it was time to chance an Irish version. I turned to Clare Connery’s Irish Cooking for inspiration and took her version of White Soda...
Read More
Posted on Jun 19, 2005 in Food Books, Read | 0 comments

Never No More by Maura Laverty *****

Never No More by Maura Laverty *****
When I was a little one, with a voracious appetite for books and cooking, one of the books that I devoured was my Nana’s well-used copy of Full and Plenty by Maura Laverty. The distinctive blue and yellow covers contained a treasury of old Irish recipes but the icing on the cake for me were the...
Read More
Posted on Jun 17, 2005 in Bake, Living in New Zealand | 0 comments

Ginger nuts: Chocolate Gingerbread

Ginger nuts: Chocolate Gingerbread
Ginger is big business in New Zealand. Whether it’s the pieces of Ginger Crunch available in every café and bakery, gingernut biscuits beloved by the Boyfriend’s parents, the many brands of commonly available ginger beer (not in the least bit like the insipid ginger ale mixer common in Irish...
Read More

« Older Entries