What the hell are chokos?

Choko facts

is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash.

In Australia, a persistent rumour has existed that McDonald's Apple Pies were made of chokos, not apples.

Ingrid's dish

My neighbour and friend Johanna who also happens to be another food blogger gave us our next challenge, by offloading what felt like a trailer load of chokos at my door. She was glad to get rid, and said as she ran off, Good Luck!

I left these so long, they started sprouting!

I have to admit, I had no idea what the hell they were, and they sat in the fruit bowl for about 3 weeks until Johanna asked me if I had turned them into anything exciting yet. I felt guilt, I hate wasting food, especially as it was a gift (kinda...) So I did a bit of research and worked out they were more a filler food, not very tasty or flavoursome on their own but make great pickles, relishes, can be added to bulk out a stew, or can be stuffed. I couldn't get my head around them being added to sweet stuff, so I didn't even go down that track.

I've started on a bit of a soup phase, so I decided stew/ soup , its all kind of the same, and went about peeling and cutting my chokos in prep for a Curried Bacon and Choko soup.

Now I have to admit, peeling the damn things drove me nuts, I ended up using a small sharp knife and peeled them under the cold tap as they are so slimy and tough, but Vanessa had already finished her relish and said it was worth it in the end, so I kept trucking on.

Curried bacon and choko soup

Makes large pot - enough for 6/8

What you need
2 onions

25g butter

6 rashers of bacon (chopped)

6 chokos - peeled/ remove hard core/ cubed

3 chicken stock cubes dissolved in 3 cups of boiled water (or 3 cups of home-made or store bought stock)

2 tsp curry powder

salt/ pepper to taste

How to make

In a large pot, melt butter and saute onions and bacon for 5 mins. Add chopped chokos, and saute for a further 5mins. Add stock and curry powder. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 mins. Mash roughly with a potato masher. Season with salt and pepper. Add chopped parsley. Serve with yoghurt (optional).

Vanessa's Dish

You would have thought being interested in food and living in New Zealand it would have been much sooner that the Opera sisters discovered chokos. Alas it was only through our blog and a mammoth seasonal photo shoot of fruit and vegetables that we really decided to conquer the choko. I am pretty adventurous when it comes to food, put it this way I will give everything ago once, but the choko has never inspired me. I didn't even know what it looked like on the inside or what you could actually do with them! 

I remembered seeing choko chutney at school fairs and charity shop stalls. Its usually handmade by experiences Nana's and sounded like a plan for the food fight. 

What a success, its more mellow than just straight tomatoes, cheaper especially if they have fallen off the neighbours tree and a great neutral base to add spice or heat. 

 two ugly sisters or cheeky chokos ?

What you need

2 chokos peeled and diced

1 apple peeled and diced

2 tomatoes diced

1 onion diced

1 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

1 1/4 ups of vinegar   

1 or 2 chopped chillies

How to make 
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan on low until the sugar has dissolved.
When the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer for about 11/2 - 2 hours until the mixture has reduced and thickened up.
Pour in to sterilized containers if preserving or a cute chutney jar with a lid if eating soon. 
When cool if eating soon, refrigerate or else store away for treats later. 
It is said that things like this get better with age, mine didn't last very long to find out! 

Choko chutney - amazing with a stinky blue

Vanessa X

    

How to love Brussel Sprouts

I never grew up with brussel sprouts, I never had to endure a miserable soggy boiled sprout that was forced upon me, just so I could leave the table. My sprout memories are good, in fact I have great sprout stories of crunchy, flavoursome, good looking sprouts that I can't get enough of.

And for this reason, our sixth food fight was decided. I wanted other people to experience sprout fever, which is happening in my house at the moment. 

Vanessa actually introduced me to this super fast and simple dish and during sprout season, this is my 'go to' for when I need to whip up dinner in a hurry. I almost always have this with eye fillet steak, (seasalt and cracked pepper, medium rare 4 mins each side). Ingrid

I have been experimenting lately with photographing food as it would appear in the pages of a magazine, or a cookbook, I just love how my sprouts turned out.

Sprouts sauteed in wholegrain mustard

Enough for 4 (8 halved sprouts each)

What you need

16 Brussel sprouts (remove the outer leaves, cut off stalk and halve)

2 Tbsp Olive oil

2 Tbsp wholegrain mustard

What to do

Ok, I know I said boiling is the reason sprouts have got a bad rap, but you need to boil them only for 4 mins to soften them ever so slightly.

Don't overboil! Drain in a colander, drizzle olive oil and mustard then sauteed them in a pan on medium high heat, tossing them frequently until the sprouts have crisped up.

I'm definately going through a green and purple stage 

Brussel Sprout facts

• According to a 2002 survey, Brussels sprouts are the most hated vegetable in Britain.
• Brussels sprouts contain something called sinigrin, a glucosinate that may prevent colon cancer according to research.
• Chef James Martin has developed a Brussels Sprout ice-cream and a cocktail called the "Sproutini" - made from vermouth, gin and sprouts frozen in ice cubes.
• Brussels sprouts are high in dietary fibre, low in fat, and contain three times as much vitamin C, weight for weight, as oranges

Vanessa's Dish 

Brussel sprouts nutritious and tasty!

As Ingrid said we were fortunate to NOT grow up with soggy sieve through your teeth vegetables and brussel sprouts are not a memory from my childhood. My earliest memory would have to be whilst in Europe, in particular Ireland. Christmas dinner was never complete without the good old sprout!  

I was Comme ci, comme ca about them as they were usually just boiled. I like flavour, crunch, spice and excitement - plain boiled veges are not my cup of tea. 

I really don't know how the brussel sprout and a mustard dish came about - they just marry perfectly and are pleasure to eat.

My challenge was to create another dish to add to the "I love sprouts" fanclub!

Initially I though of sprouts with a cheesy sauce but being a busy mum with a sometimes clingy and demanding three year old - quick and easy was going to be my motivation! 

Roasting - I love roasting things, its super easy and you cant fail at it BUT can you roast a brussel sprout?   

Often I check with my buddy Mr. Google, this time I just threw it all in to the pan drizzled it with olive oil and salt and hopped for the best. 

Voila - beautiful and tasty brussel sprouts - easy and different.  

  

Roasted sprouts

What you need

Brussel sprouts with any yellow leaves taken off and the bottoms cut off. 

Garlic bulbs 

Any other vegetables that roast well (carrots, parsnips, kumara)

Olive oil

Salt

  

How to make

Prepare vegetables

Throw into roasting dish

drizzle with Olive oil and salt 

Roast for about an hour - keep checking the sprouts as the leaves can crisp up and burn. You may have to remove them prior to the other vegetables being cooked.  

Roasted brussel sprouts - easy and delicious

Enjoy and wow your family!

Vanessa 

  

  

Even a toddler can cook these! Happy Mothers day!

Lemon Polenta Cookies - fantastic to bake with toddlers 

Happy Mothers Day to all those busy mums out there. I never knew how demanding being a mum could be until I had my own son. I often feel like a bungy cord, being stretched and pulled BUT thankfully always bouncing back!

My son loves to bake - hes only 3 but clearly sees me in the kitchen and wants a piece of the action. Usually its a messy affair and the results are not the usual adult standard, however these crunchy cookies worked out perfectly. The great thing about them is, its a dough and you can give the littlie some to play with and hopefully it will keep him busy whilst you make the "real" nicely shaped cookies that are thin and crunchy unlike your child's chunky creation. 

Adding polenta and zesty lemon make them adult friendly too, as does the lemon drizzle icing. No food colouring, not too much of a sugar rush and thin enough to eat a few and not feel like you have pigged out.

Dads, give it ago and treat her this Sunday!

Top tip - make sure the clean up is spot on!

Lemon polenta cookies - the pics in the background are of our own mum having fun with the girls - your the best mum!  

lemon Polenta Cookies

What you need

125g butter softened

1/2 cup of Sugar

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla essence 

Lemon zest from one large lemon 

3/4 cup Polenta

1 1/4 cup Flour

How to make

Pre heat oven to 160 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Cream butter and sugar until pale.

Add egg yolks, zest and vanilla and mix in to the creamed mixture.

Add the polentas and flour and mix until you have a dough like consistency. 

Now, this is when you give your littlie some dough and let them play with it!

In the meantime you "quickly" start to roll out the dough about 1/2 cm thick and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter.

You will probably need to add more flour so the cookies don't stick to the bench. 

Place on the baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes or until pale.

You can either ice them with lemon icing or dust them with icing sugar.

 

Lemon Polenta Cookies  - for mum