Raspberry and Beetroot Jelly

This retro cool jelly/ relish was such a hit at a recent family garden party on my recent trip to England, I just had to share it. It's super easy but looks pretty damn complicated to make (so a good dish to impress the guests!) It's a real showpiece on the table! I'm so glad there was enough for the party and leftovers for the next few days as I couldn't get enough of it. Enjoy, Ingrid

Grandma Mimi's Raspberry Beetroot Jelly

Serves about 20 party guests
What you need:
1kg cooked beetroot (diced)
1 packet of raspberry jelly
250ml water (boiling)
250ml white wine vinegar

How to make:
Pack the diced beetroot into a jelly mould. Dissolve jelly into boiling water and add white wine vinegar. Add to the beetroot. Refrigerate overnight until set and keep cool until ready to serve. Serve with a tub of sour cream and chives.

Tips: 

• Perfect with bbq food or cold meats such as ham.
• Will last for at least a week in the fridge.
• If you want to make a family sized jelly, just halve the ingredients.

Tangy and fruity, a refreshing change to the usual staple bbq salads. 

What's in season: Yams, sprouts and cabbages

HOW TO COOK WITH YAMS: Most of us stick to the usual veges in our winter roasts. We often comment "I wonder how you would cook those? or they look interesting". Yams look pretty weird, they are small and knobby but have an appealing yellow/pink colour. They are super simple to cook and cook quite fast because they are so small. I decided to throw them in with a roast dinner, but jazz them up a bit with a honey and spice coating. Don't be scared and give them ago. If your kids like potato, they are sure to like the sweet sticky cute yams! 
How to eat yams

LEARN HOW TO LOVE SPROUTS: A big favorite of mine is brussel sprouts, which seems to disturb most people. In winter, I'm always throwing them into the roasting dish with other winter veg, drizzle some olive oil, add some rosemary or thyme, salt/ pepper and you have an easy throw together side to any meat. Just the other night, I threw in cut yams and sprouts, olive oil, a sprinkling of seasoning (cumin, ground coriander and cayenne pepper) and roasted them for around 30 mins, it was a perfect match for my roasted chicken legs. Check out some other easy ideas for sprouts below. 
How to love brussel sprouts

TWO WAYS WITH CABBAGE: My memories of cabbage are of coleslaw's at summer barbies or Dad eating his German sausages with sauerkraut. As an adult I have discovered the Asian influence adding cabbage and it many varieties to stir fries. It really makes a meal go further, is low fat and very very tasty! Try two very different takes on making a meal out of cabbage.
Cooking with cabbage

Mango and Avocado Salad

This salad is so refreshing, so easy and sure to be a hit at your next BBQ.

At the recent Pirate party our Mum Val turned up with the most amazing salad I have had in a long time. It was so refreshing and full of my favourite ingredients such as mango, avocado, coriander and lime. Mum doesn't usually bother with fussy and complicated food and she said that this was really easy. Her only problem was she couldn't find the "Thai fish sauce" at her local supermarket.
She said she found the recipe it in an old magazine and thought it sounded nice.


The following day I attempted to re-create it, a quick phone call to get the recipe ended up being a list of ingredients without quantities. No problem, I like to do it my way anyway!
The quantities are my version and as always "taste, taste, taste" to adapt it to suit. I do like things quite tart and zesty so you may want to cut back on the acid.


What you need
I 120g bag salad greens, mescalin, rocket or baby spinach
1 firm mango
1 firm avocado
Dressing 
50mls vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce 
50mls lime juice 
( I had a drama here because the bloody limes had no juice! I managed to get a minimal amount out of them and a bit of flesh but substituted it with regular white vinegar) 
1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
(Mum couldn't find it and I actually forgot it so I am going to say you actually don't need it but I have added it just in case you want to give it ago. The fish sauce will be the salt element. Despite loving salty food I don't think it's needed)
A hand full of chopped coriander
A hand full of chopped mint


Lay the mango and avocado on a bed of salad greens, mix all the dressing ingredients together and shake well. Drizzle over the salad and serve with a couple of wedges of lime.
Simple but perfect

Mango and Avocado salad

I used any additional dressing the following evening and made a basic lettuce, tomato and avocado salad, once again it was perfect especially served with a tasty scotch fillet steak.

Pirate Party Food

Four years ago, our extended family was childless - Four years on there are three kiddies, with two on the way. All of them so far boys. I am having another boy and Ingrid wants a surprise, if Ingrid has another boy too, that will be five boys four and under - fun and games!!!

The kids having a ball with swords!!!

Our mum is a great organiser and loves to have fun. Christmas has featured a Santa Claus and helper for the last 3 years, clearly it's now extended to other family get togethers. The recent one was a pirate and fairy party - everyone was told what to bring and to dress up!
I was down for sandwiches and a salad. To be honest I was a bit over making sandwiches, having made them the last 2 weekends for kids get together so decided to do a kid friendly nibbles.
Wanting to keep things easy and healthy I opted for the following...
Meatballs
Potato and smoked fishballs
Maggi dip with cheesy sticks (not so healthy!)
Cheese and pineapple sticks

Perfect kid friendly food

Meatballs 
Add to a bowl, 500g mince (I used beef), a few squirts of tomato sauce, a chopped onion and any leftover  chutney/relish you have lurking in your fridge.
Add salt and pepper and a few tablespoons of flour to help bind it.
Roll into balls and place on grease proof paper. I put mine in the fridge overnight as I wanted to cook them on the day so they were still warm but you can cook them straight away.
Instead of frying them, I just baked them at about 180 degrees for about 15-20 minutes - EASY!

Smoked Fish Balls
Boil about 6 large Agria potatoes and mash with a generous dollop of butter. In a food processor blitz a couple of handfuls of smoked fish. You could use tinned tuna/salmon. Combine and add salt and pepper.
Roll into balls and then roll the balls in semolina. (or breadcrumbs)
Once again place on baking paper and bake in the oven. I baked them both at the same time and the fish balls really did crisp up without adding any oil!  

Seriously easy party food

Maggi onion dip and cheesy sticks  
If you are a kiwi or maybe an Aussie you will know this one. Its so easy and really delicious.
Mix in a bowl one tin of reduced cream, one packet of instant powdered onion soup and a tablespoon or two of either vinegar or lemon juice. Mix and chill. I served it with some crunchy cheesy sticks I found in an Asian supermarket. Make a double batch - this wont last long.

Cheese and pineapple sticks 
A homage to the 80s, easy as, delicious in a naff kinda way but hey, its for the kids!!!
Place on a toothpick a cube of cheese (I used tasty) and a chunk of pineapple - that's it!
ridiculously delicious and moreish!

Kiwi onion dip - loved by everyone! 

So give it ago, host a pirate and fairy party, dressing up compulsory and have fun with the kids. Great photos and fantastic memories...

Thanks Val Opera,  Glenys Cannin and Charlotte Graydon for all the hard work with the decorating and organising - one to remember
 XXX

Chicken and Asparagus Rolls

Ok, so the weather has been pretty unpredictable, ok it's been absolute pants and summer ain't been showing it's face around here enough, but it's still hot (ok, muggy) and we have flys and ants taking over our house, so it got me thinking about picnic food, and bits of this and bits of that - all thrown together, food designed to mesh quite happily together. So this is the result of what I found in my cupboard one unpredictable wet summers day, when a picnic was made in the backyard just as a glimpse of sun broke through.

ALSO TRY: Lemon juice and ground peppercorns make a great rub on roast chicken

QUICK IDEA: If you don't have tortillas, just roll one asparagus spear and spread the chicken mix in a slice of fresh sandwich bread, and bake in the oven for a twist on asparagus rolls.

Lemon Pepper picnic tortillas
Serves 4

What you need:
Bunch of asparagus (4 per tortilla approx)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 x lemon
cracked peppercorns
2 tbsp butter
1 x onion (chopped finely)
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 Leftover roast chicken (ripped apart and chopped roughly)
4 x tortillas

How to make:
Prepare chicken

On a medium heat, add butter to a frypan, fry onion until soft, add flour to make a paste then add milk slowly, allowing to thicken. Add leftover chicken to heat through. Squeeze half the lemon and cracked peppercorns.


Prepare asparagus
Chop hard stalks off asparagus. Lay on a baking dish, drizzle olive oil, squeeze half the lemon and cracked peppercorns. Grill both sides. Remove from oven.

Assemble:
Set oven to bake 200 C. Bake tortillas for 3 mins, lay on a plate and spread chicken sauce mix down the middle. Add asparagus. Fold the bottom up then fold each side of the tortilla inwards and tie with a piece of string.

Grilled Haloumi and Eggplant with Lemon Basil dressing

Grilled haloumi cheese: Don't grill the haloumi for too long as I did! It is so much better slightly gooey on the inside. Should only take a minute each side on a hot grill.

My house is being painted, so I've been lucky enough to be able to move myself and my son, into my Aunties pad, a stone's throw from Takapuna Beach on Auckland's North Shore. I feel like I've been on holiday, every night after dinner, I take Rhys down the beach, there is a swing that someone has hung from an overhanging tree and that is our place every night around 6p.m.

It's been two weeks now, and the painter is not quite finished, and I'm secretly glad, I'm quite happy to hang around here for a bit longer. I can't believe I left it so long to rediscover Takapuna, it really has changed from when I used to hang out here as a teenager, it's quite the place for eating good food and drinking coffee,  (Try Mossimo - specially good for kids, has a playhouse and courtyard, Sal's New York Pizza - the pizza is served on a stand and Aubergine for a good steak).

If only I wasn't pregnant I would have been drinking a cold pint in the sun along Hurstmere Road so instead I keep myself going with a good ole Tip Top ice cream from the local diary at the top of the street.

I made this grilled salad quickly on a hot day, after being at the beach, when I didn't feel like anything heavy, but wanted a salad with substance. It did the trick. Enjoy, Ingrid

This is a great throw together salad for a barbeque

Grilled Haloumi and Eggplant with Lemon Basil dressing

Makes 2 salads as a main or 4 as a side

What you need
1 eggplant (cut into rounds)
Salt
500g haloumi cheese (1cm thick slices )
130g bag of salad greens (or a mix of lettuce and spinach leaves)
1 lemon (juice of)
4 Tbsp Olive oil (and a bit extra for the hot plate or pan)
Small bunch of basil (chopped roughly)
Pepper

The perfect salad for vegetarians, blokes and bbq's. 

How to make
Sprinkle salt on both sides of the eggplant rounds and leave in a colander for 30mins until the salt draws out the water. Make dressing by mixing the juice of one lemon, olive oil and pepper to taste in a bowl and set aside. Pat eggplant rounds dry with paper towel. In a salad bowl add salad greens.

Place eggplant rounds on a bbq hot plate (lightly oiled) or under the grill until they become soft and golden brown. Grill both sides. Place haloumi slices on lightly oiled hotplate or lightly fry in a pan on the stove top and grill for a minute each side until golden. Roughly rip each eggplant round and add to salad bowl. Cut haloumi slices in half and add to bowl. Coat salad with dressing. Add chopped or torn basil, and mix through the bowl. Serve.

A twist on classic french onion soup

Onions cheap and cheerful and make a delicious soup

I was in the mood for cooking something savoury. I find making stock and soups really therapeutic and relaxing however there wasn't much in my fridge. I have spent the last few days looking at a wilting aromatic celery that was left over form a "Life and Leisure" foodie shoot (yes a bit of name dropping here) and decided to make use of it. I looked around and the only other thing that would work was onions. Sprouting onions are better than no onions.

I love French onion soup, I love the sweetness, the cheesy croutons on the top and the sherry/Cognac/brandy kick. I though I would try a take on this classic dish and combine the onions with the celery and add a dash of milk/cream at the end to give it that creamy warmth. 

A satisfying and economical meal made from nothing! 

What you need
Oil or butter (I used both)
About 6 large onions
1/2 a celery
2 chicken stock cubes
About 1 - 2 litres of water
Salt/pepper
A handful of chopped Spinach
1/2 cup cream or milk
Parsley garnish

Healthy other than the cheesy toast! 

How to make 

Put the oil and butter in a pot 

Add the finely chopped onion and celery and saute until soft

Add the crumbled stock cubes and add water to double the volume in the pot (roughly) 

Salt and pepper to taste. 

Simmer for 30 mins or so until you have a nice flavour and the soup has thickened a wee bit. 

For the last 5 mins add the chopped spinach, this just need to wilt

Lastly add either cream or milk to give it that creaminess

Garnish with chopped parsley 

Serve with cheese and chutney on toast

Enjoy - its something made from practically nothing!
Vanessa 

Asparagus

Perfect for spring

Spring is finally here. The sun is out, school holidays are underway and I am anticipating most of the foodie magazines will be featuring asparagus so thought I would get in quick to share two of my favourites recipes. The first one stems from lazy mornings, pre kids tucking in to eggs Benedict (eggs drowning in hollandaise sauce) and the second one is a dish our dad prepares when ever he gets his hands on asparagus or spinach. One is very healthy, you can eat it till the cows come home, the other however probably requires a week omitting butter out of your diet to cancel the effects!
Whatever your poison, give them ago. They look great, don't take up much time and are really easy.

If you love hollandaise in a cafe, best you don't find out whats in it, it's seriously decadent!

I have to admit, I had never made hollandaise sauce before. I have eaten enough of it but always dismissed it as being to time consuming and with the potential to not work. Writing this blog has definitely taken us out of our comfort zone and made us try new things out. This sauce is super easy. I found it in a book called "Brunch, the perfect treat" by Jennifer Donovan.
Usually Ingrid and I adapt, change and make up the recipes but for something like hollandaise, I wasn't about to even try. I have however added more lemon than the recipe suggested, as I like mine with more zest. (you could even use limes)

The only thing you really need to make this is a food processor or you could try your blender, that should work as well. 

Asparagus Spears with Hollandaise Sauce 

What you need
2 bunches of asparagus

3 egg yolks

200grams butter (YES this is not a TYPO) 

White pepper (ground not cracked) 

Juice form one l lemon (more or less, just taste

How to make

Add the 3 egg yolks to the food processor or blender with the pepper and blend for a few seconds

Melt the butter in a small pan until its bubbling (be careful not to burn it!)

Gradually and in a steady stream whilst the machine is on pour in all of the butter. 

Lastly add the juice of the lemon. 

The recipe actually says add some warm water if its too thick, mine was just perfect so I didn't need to. 

Serve warm over lightly steamed/microwaved asparagus. I microwave mine (1-2 bunches of thin stalks for about 3 minutes)

Warning - this is addictive, whilst doing this photo shoot my finger was in the bowl many times!     

The next dish is the total opposite, refreshing and lite on the calories. It looks great, is always eaten up at a BBQ.

Fresh and healthy - always gets eaten at a BBQ!

Zesty Asparagus and Egg Salad
What you need

2 bunches of asparagus
2 lemons
2 generous splashed of olive oil
2 boiled eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

How to make
Hard boil the eggs
Blanch, steam or microwave the asparagus
Cool under cold water
Arrange on a plate - tips facing the same way
Squeeze the lemon juice over the asparagus followed by the oil
Cut the boiled eggs into quarters and arrange
Season with salt and pepper.
Chill before serving

Tip - this recipe can be used with steamed spinach or silver beet. Just make sure you squeeze out any excess water from the cooking process before you dress it.

Vanessa 

For pizza and pie lovers

Even though we are sisters, we have a very different approach to food and photography. Each fortnight we are going to choose the same ingredient or theme and post the result. These are the results...of our 'cheese food fight'


Vanessa's handmade mozzarella turned into Sardine, mozzarella and tomato pizzettes

Handmade mozzarella - not bad for a first attempt but still needs refining

When we decided our next food fight was going to be cheese it was the perfect motivation to get stuck into using my cheese making kit. My friends bought it for my recent birthday on the proviso I make cheese and have a tasting party! It was a beginner Italian kit featuring Ricotta, Mozzarella and Marscapone. I decided to give the Mozzarella a try and follow up with handmade pizzas.

The first challenge was the cheese, I raced down to my local dairy to get full cream milk (who has that today?) and got chatting with the owner who hails from India. I told him what I was up to and he looked at my 2 litre and told me to buy at least double - how right was he. He makes Panneer, an Indian cheese often fried and added to curry.

Thanks to Mad Millie beginners' Italian cheese kit www.madmillie.com and the girl in the youtube clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTJTxF1-ASs these are the steps I followed to make my Mozzarella. 

Mine tasted fine, but was rough on the surface and quite dense.  I think the combination of homogenized milk and working it like play doh rather than stretching it made it that way. If you know the reason why - please post us a message.   

Boutique cheese - worth every penny! (Homemade mozzarella)

Mozzarella cheese (recipe from the Mad Millie cheese kit)

What you need

4 litres of un-homogenized milk (I used homogenized so that may be where I went wrong?)

2ml calcium chloride 

2 tsp citric acid dissolved in 1/4 cup of cool water

1/2 tablet of rennet dissolved in 1/4 cup of un-chlorinated water (once again I used regular tap water and I think its chlorinated so maybe that's also where I went wrong?)

Salt to taste

Equipment  

Large pot

Slotted draining spoon

Thermometer

Large knife

Rubber gloves (I didn't  as the girl in the you tube clip didn't wear them!)

2 large bowls

Butter muslin

How to make

• Put milk into large pot and add calcium chloride.
• Heat milk to 13 degrees C (55.5 F) before mixing in the diluted citric acid.
• Heat the milk to 32 degrees C (89.5 F) whilst constantly stirring to prevent scolding the bottom.
• Once the temperature is at 32 degrees C (89.5 F) remove the pot from the heat and stir in the diluted rennet.
• Cover the pot and leave to sit for 25-30 minutes.
• Check the curd. It should be firm with a clean break. If ready cut the curd with a knife into 3cm (1 inch) cubes. 
• Place the pot back on the stove and heat the curds and whey to 42 degrees C ( 107.6 F) Stir the curds carefully while heating. 
• Scoop out the curds and place into a butter muslin lined colander. Let it drip for 5 minutes. 
• Prepare 2 bowls, one hot 70 degrees C (158 F) and one cool salty ice water.
• Put rubber gloves on. 
• Take a handful of Mozzarella curd and place it under the hot water for 20 seconds. I used the slotted spoon for this stage - like the girl in the you tube clip. 
• Carefully stretch the curd until it is smooth and flexible. (I found this stage difficult)
• Work the curd into a ball and plunge into the salty ice water. 
• Continue with the rest of the curd. 
• Eat fresh or put in the fridge in a sealed container.

pizzette with red wine and spicy sauce

Now what do I do with the stuff?

Mozzarella isn't really my cup of tea, I like strong flavours like anchovies, the stinkiest blue around, spices and aged Cheddars. Mozzarella is rather bland. Its more of a cooking cheese and synonymous with pizza so problem solved. 

Made from things in my cupboard and the dough made with help from my three year old! A perfect way to include your kids and they love the finished product.  

Sardine, mozzarella and tomato pizzette 

Pizza dough

You will need
2 tsp yeast (instant dried)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 1/2 cups of plain flour
1/2 cup warm water


How to make

• In a bowl add the warm water, yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil. Leave for about 10 minutes until its activated and a bit bubbly. 
• Add the yeast mixture to the flour by making a well in the centre and mixing it with your hands to form a dough ball. 
• Knead it until its smooth - this takes about 10 mins - using the heel of your hand works well and you get in to a rhythm. Great exercise!
• Put into a bowl coated in a bit of Olive oil and place some where warm to let it prove (rise) to double its original size. I leave it for an hour or so. 
• When ready punch the dough as its quite light and re-work it into a ball. 
• Its now ready to use. 
• Roll it out to the desired thinness/thickness - I always go thin.
• Place on to a floured dish or pizza stone and add toppings. 
• All I added was tomato sauce, tinned sardines broken up, cheese and a sprinkle of coriander once cooked. 
• Bake at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes. 

Once you have the dough made - its really quick and easy!
Vanessa x

Delicious -  sardines, mozzarella and tomato pizzette

Ingrid's dish: How to turn leftovers into a simple puff pastry pie

I really struggled with this post, as I felt a bit of competitiveness when Vanessa revealed she was going to make cheese. How could I top that! Its a bloody cheese post and she's going to make the stuff from scratch.

So I began some research into what I could make that could topple her mozzarella off its cute pizzette. I had some asparagus and some Gruyere,and puff pastry in the freezer and I thought, I like the combo, could I make a really posh asparagus roll, with some homemade mustard, and flaky pastry. Could I wrap it in a fancy pancy way? Could I balance out the nuttiness of the Gruyere with a dash of homemade relish?

Then I did my usual google search (my starting point for everything), and every chef around that used that combo seemed to have created a tart, they looked really good but I didn't want to copy. I even asked a colleague who was interviewing Julie Le Clerc for a story, if he could ask her what I could do with asparagus and Gruyere that wasn't a tart! (I forgot to tell him ...and puff pastry), and he came back to me, saying Julie would make a salad and toss some macadamia nuts in with it too. Nice one Julie, sounds delicious, however I don't have that on hand, and I wanted this to be simple, and straight from my cupboard.

So I ended up going around in circles, stressing out about cheese all week long, (who does that?) only to end up whipping up a puff pastry Mexican pie using leftovers from the night before. Not quite the competitive edge I was hoping for, but never the less, I thought it was such a great idea for transforming last nights dinner into a completely different dish altogether.

Avocados are in season, so make the most of them.

So basically all it is, is take your leftover casserole, bolognese sauce, roasted vegetables, or even a stir fry, sprinkle some cheese and wrap it in puff pastry and bake it for 25-30 mins on 180C. Job done!

I used leftover mince bolognese, added some kidney beans and made a mexican style pie. I picked rocket from my garden, grabbed a few avo's from my neighbour Johanna's tree (fellow food blogger for Continental Fresh Ideas) http://nz.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food/freshideas/blogs/ to make a guacamole and had a little winter picnic with my son Rhys in the backyard. Enjoy. Ingrid

Winter in Auckland sometimes feels just like summer.  

Mexican puff pastry pie with guacamole 

What you need
Makes 6
Leftover bolognese sauce 

Store-bought puff pastry (defrosted)

1 egg + tsp of water (lightly beaten with a fork)  

1/2 can kidney beans

1 cup of Gruyere cheese

How to assemble:

Defrost puff pastry. Set oven temp to 180C. Cut the pastry sheet into six even rectangle strips. Mix bolognese sauce with kidney beans. Spoon bolognese mixture into the middle of one side of the pastry strip, sprinkle grated cheese and fold over to meet the other side. Using a fork press down the edges on all three sides. Brush each side with egg wash (it helps it to go golden brown) and sprinkle some more cheese on top. Bake in oven for 25 - 30 mins. Serve with rocket and guacamole.

Guacamole
1 red onion (chopped)
2 soft avocados (mashed)
1/2 tsp chilli (to taste)
1 tablespoon lime or lemon (squeezed)
Salt to taste 
1 ripe tomato (diced finely)

How to make
Simply mix everything together to make a smooth dip. Fold diced tomato through just before serving.

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

    

Leftovers Risotto

Even though we are sisters, we have a very different approach to food and photography. Each fortnight we are going to choose the same ingredient or theme and post the result.

Rice

A kitchen staple with many uses both sweet and savoury. Rice is cheap, lasts for ages and can be glamorous or really simple.  

Rice facts

Rice is a symbol of life and fertility, which is why rice was traditionally throw at weddings.

Japanese people believe it is important to not waste rice, so it you leave rice in your bowl it is considered to be rude.

There are more than 40,000 varieties of rice that grow on every continent except on Antarctica

Leftovers Risotto

What you need

Arborio rice 250 grams

Olive oil

1-2 liters chicken stock or water and stock cubes (some wine also works well here)

2-4 garlic cloves

2 onions

1 cup Parmesan cheese

Leftovers such as meat or chicken from a roast, vegetables, tomatoes, mushrooms, anchovies, capers, herbs - anything that is good cooked! 

Salt and pepper to taste 

How to make

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft and add the rice. People often say saute until rice is clear but I have never managed to achieve this.

Just saute for 5 minutes or so making sure the rice is coated with the oil.  

Add about a cup of stock and stir, keep adding stock in portions, stirring and adding until the rice is cooked. This will take a minimum of 30 minutes. If you run out of stock water or even wine is fine to use.  

Towards the end of the cooking process, add your meat and vegetables i.e leftovers. Stir through Parmesan, season with salt and pepper and serve. 

Really easy, takes a bit of time but uses up your leftovers and turns them into a rustic and homely meal.    

Chicken and Rice balls

What you need

500grams minced chicken or blitz chicken thighs/breasts in the food processor until like mince.

left over cooked rice - 1-2 cups

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

Frozen vegetables - I used a pea, broccoli and cauliflower mix.

Salt and pepper to taste   

Breadcrumbs to coat balls with  

How to make

This is super easy! basically you blitz everything except the rice in the food processor. Add this to the rice and mix so its thick and comes together as a ball. Coat with breadcrumbs and place onto an oiled baking tray. DONT use baking paper as a bit of water comes out of the balls and it just doesn't work! 

Bake at 180 degrees for about  20-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. 

Serve with a chutney or tomato sauce and crispy green salad. 

Great for kids, in lunch boxes or at parties.    

  

   

    

Discover Dragonfruit

I was perusing the fruit and vege shop the other day and I got quite excited when I came across this vivid and bony looking fruit. Bright cerise in colour, with a sharp exterior, I just had to see what was inside.

The shop girl got quite excited too, apparently she got hooked on Dragonfruit whilst travelling in Cambodia, she told me they taste a lot like kiwifruit but not as tart, she also said not too many people seem brave enough to try them. I said to her it was more likely the price ($6.90 NZ each) than the bravery.

However, I was curious, and I also wanted to photograph this little puffa fruit, inside and out. And visually, I wasn't in anyway disapointed. Cut open, the Dragonfruit was quite spectacular, as you will see from the pics. However, the taste test was a bit hit and miss. Here are the results of the taste test.

Dragonfruit taste test

Ingrid: Sweet tomato ending with a crunch (the seeds), pleasant, would be great in a 'flashy' fruit salad

Bloke: ordinary taste, bland, reminded him of something he couldn't quite remember which makes sense considering how boring this fruit was 

Rhys (16 months): I heart dragonfruit


Dragonfruit facts

• It grows on a climbing cactus. 
• It tastes better when stored in the refrigerator
• To enhance the flavor, sprinkle it with a bit of either lemon or lime juice.
• Dragonfruit can also be made into wine, fruit juice, or jam.
• They have been known to cause allergic reactions in some people, such as rash, hives and swollen lips.

I can't believe the French stay so slim...

I have been on a journey from green tomatoes to croque monsieur - this is the how I got there...

This year I have been growing tomatoes however unlike my sisters, mine are still green. I vaguely remembered the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" and thought "there must be something you can do with the greenies". My trusty friend Google gave me lots of ideas but I settled on a chutney. Apparently mixing red with green and adding sugar does the trick to add back some of the sweetness of rich red sun ripened tomatoes. Now, as usual I looked at a few recipes for inspiration but true to course, ended up just experimenting and creating.

This is what I came up with...Fiery red and green chutney

You will need

Approximately 2kg - red and green tomatoes

2 onions

250grams brown sugar

10 jalapeno peppers

250mls vinegar - I used a mixture of what I had - balsamic, red wine and white vinegar

Salt

Mustard seeds - optional

Raisins - optional

Roughly chop up the onions and tomatoes, add everything to a pan and simmer until it has reduced by about half. I ended up putting it in the food processor to make it less chunky and actually returned it to the pan and reduced it a wee bit more.

If preserving - put into sterilized jars and seal.

Enjoy hot or cold.

Now I wondered what to use it for and how to make an interesting post and picture. I also had to contemplate what was actually in my fridge on a Sunday evening - not much! 

I was thinking about cheese and crackers topped with chutney and voila - croque monsieur jumped out at me. I have eaten this delicious snack a few times and never actually contemplated how decadent it actually is. 

Here is my version, equally decadent with a fiery twist. 

Bon Appetite 

You will need

2 slices of bread

Butter

2 tablespoons flour

About 1 cup milk

About 1 cup cheese (what ever you have but tasty or nutty works well) 

1 teaspoon mustard - either wholegrain or Dijon 

About 2-4 ham slices 

Melt about 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan, add the flour and cook a minute or so. 

Gradually add the milk to make a smooth sauce (you may need to take it off the heat) 

Add mustard and grated cheese

(Aim to make the sauce thicker than a regular cheese sauce)

Butter the bread and place one slice butter side down in a pan or toasted sandwich maker.

Add the ham and a good dollop of the cheese sauce.

Place the other slice of bread on top (butter side up) and either put the lid on the toasted sandwich maker or turn over in the frying pan. 

The final touch to the top of the sandwich is yet more cheese sauce mixed with a spoonful of tangy and spicy chutney. Grill this until brown and bubbly.

Enjoy hot with more chutney to compliment the cheesy sauce. 

How the French stay thin, I have no idea!