It’s finished! The limoncello process I started way back in August is bottled and ready to drink. Yum. The hardest part was upfront – the zesting – while the waiting time (anticipated as unbearable) simply flew past. Out of sight, out of mind in a dark kitchen cupboard.
Lesson learned: the amount of zest you put in really does effect the lemon strength (as you can see by the colour). Bottle 1 was tightly packed with zest, while I was a bit relaxed with the amount in Bottle 2, resulting in a lighter mix.
For the recipe click here – keep in mind I doubled my mixture, to get these 2 bottles plus an extra litre jar not pictured.
I’m storing it in my freezer until ready to serve, preferably into little crystal glasses. Belissimo!
I baked this on a Saturday afternoon and left it cooling on my bench top while I went to meet a couple of friends and watch a roller derby match. The bout was ruthless and there was cheap beer. We wandered back very merrily to my apartment… and spotted the cake. It was devoured in 5 minutes flat. I can happily report that the crumbs left in the morning were just as delicious and still very moist.
The recipe is from Orangette, one of my favourite blogs. I enjoy the sumptuous combination of excellent, simple food and succinct writing. If you don’t know it, do check it out.
Banana Bread with Chocolate and Cinnamon Sugar
3 ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips (or buttons)
Topping:
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chocolate chips
- Mash the bananas well (or blitz them with a hand mixer as I did, I’m not a fan of lumps). Add the eggs, and stir well to combine. Add flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix well. Add the ¾ cup of the chocolate chips, and stir briefly. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan.
- In another bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the bread-to-be, and top with the remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes at 190 °C or 375 °F until your cake poking device comes out clean, then let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Other banana loaf recipes I have been eyeballing include Laura’s interpretation of Vegan Banana Bread (think agave honey and coconut!) and Katie Lee’s Nutty Banana Bread (I would definitely toast the walnuts first).
Love like a sunset… or a delicious yoghurt lemon syrup loaf baking in the oven?
My boyfriend really likes cake, and he bought me a loaf pan – so I’ve been on a bit of a baking spree. I nabbed the recipe for this loaf out of Viva – the New Zealand Herald’s weekly lifestyle supplement. It’s moist, suitably dense (a slice is definitely enough to make me feel full), and to be honest, sweet enough to eat without all the syrup hoo-ha.
125g butter, softened
3 teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup Greek style yoghurt, plus extra to serve
2 small lemons, sliced
1/4 cup caster sugar, extra
1/2 cup water
Icing sugar
1. Preheat oven to 160C. Cream the butter, lemon and sugar until pale.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Fold in the flour and the yoghurt then spoon into a greased loaf tin and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the loaf springs back when lightly touched.
3. Put the sliced lemons, sugar and water into a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes or until syrupy. Spoon over the loaf before dusting with icing sugar and serving with extra yoghurt.
In an attempt to break the record number of people I can fit into my apartment at once, I am planning a dinner party. 3 guests + me. It might be tight! I want it to be special, so I’ve been scheming hard. Here are a what I think are the essential elements of hosting a great dinner party – scalable to any number of guests:
- Formal invitations are important (as in don’t just say “Hey wanna come ’round sometime?” – get specific). Create a sense of importance, anticipation, and give people ample time to work it into their diaries. I think two weeks is good notice as far as invites go.
- Choose your company wisely. Just because so&so is always welcomed by other people doesn’t mean that you’re obliged them to have them at your house. That said – don’t be afraid to introduce new blood! Mix and match friends. Invite someone who fascinates you that you haven’t gotten to know well yet.
- Lots of booze and a good mixture of it – wine, beer, spirits – with fresh garnishes, like lime etc. Jugs are a classy way to serve cocktails (Pimms, Mojitos, Sangria). Individual bottles of ginger beer or limonata are a lovely touch for non-drinkers. Make sure you have ice.
- Friendly lighting. Nothing too bright/eye-gouging. I always think overhead lighting is the enemy – so turn your lamps on and the ceiling lights down. For romance, add candles. For whimsy, add fairy lights (especially for outdoor settings).
- Brian Eno mused once on music choices: “If it’s bad, nobody talks – but if it’s good, nobody listens”. I definitely agree – choose something less intrusive than metal, like jazz or blues and play it at a conversational level. My dinner party albums picks: Ernest Ranglin’s Below The Bassline and Oh No’s Dr. No’s Ethiopium.
- Mandatory: make sure your bathrooms are clean. Seriously, put that in the cupboard. And buy some toilet paper.
- Don’t buy a bunch of stuff – simply use what you have on hand. Don’t be afraid to use mismatched silverware or cups, or use the vintage lace tablecloths you’ve been saving forever. Let high and low work together. Sure, put in the effort to make things special, but pay more attention to the people than to the things.
- Ensure the host stays relaxed. That’s you, baby! Keep it simple for yourself by buying two, and making one e.g. cook the main course but buy the snacks/entrees and a plate of macarons for dessert. Also plan to take time out before your guests arrive by putting your feet up for a second or have a glass of wine. Breathe. Smile. Have a good time.
A friend recently mentioned that she was thinking about becoming a vegetarian. A move which I enthusiastically applaud. Don’t worry, I promise not to get all preachy at the rest of y’all, but my goodness, there are some delicious vegetarian recipes out there. I’m not really into the fake meats or replacements, just yummy dishes that coincidentally don’t have meat in them..
I’m on a cooking kick at the moment, and here are some of my favourites:
And a couple of mini ideas:
- Spring rolls! Buy some premade rice wrappers, soak them in water, then fill them with whatever veggies you like & dip into saucy goodness. Good fillings: greens, carrots, sprouts, cucumber.
- Sweat out some seasoned leek and mushrooms, cook up some penne and smother with Parmesan.
- Roasted vegetables with curry powder & pepper, mashed into greek yoghurt.
- Red pepper bruschetta. Thickly slice some good bread (I like sourdough), then toast with a little bit of olive oil in the oven. Caramelize some onions and spread liberally on the toast, along with some chopped roasted red peppers, and thin slices of basil.
- Tachos – chili beans, salad ingredients and browned onions, stuffed into taco shells or burritos. Replace cheese with hummus if you want to be sooooper healthy.
What are your favourite go-to recipes? Or what do you serve up when you’re feeding a bunch of happy herbivores? I would love to know!
A couple of days ago I got the hankering to make some Limoncello. I’m not sure really where this urge came from – I did enjoy a tiny glass of it at Coco’s Cantina recently, so maybe there. Anyway, I researched the recipe – learning it takes 80 days to cure. Coincidence 1: It’s about 80 days until my birthday and the beginning of summer. We need nice things to drink in the summer. Coincidence 2: This weekend I was gifted a large shopping bag of organic lemons…
So tonight I got started, completing part 1! I have to fess up, zesting is tiresome. I did 20 lemons and felt like I got very little zest for my money. It’s going to be great though. Stay tuned for the results…
LIMONCELLO
Ingredients
17-20 organic lemons
2 bottles (750 ml) of 100-proof vodka
4 cups sugar
5 cups water
Part 1 : day 1, aka what I did today
- Wash the lemons thoroughly with hot water and a brush. We don’t want any nasties!
- Zest lemons carefully ensuring there is no white pithy parts on the peel. The white bit is rind and will make your Limoncello bitter.
- Put zest into a glass jar and cover with one bottle of vodka. Close the lid tightly and hang on baby, we have forty days to wait. We can interrupt it at day 10, but the longer we wait, the more the vodka will take on the flavour and colour of the lemon.
Part 2 : day 40
- In a large pot, combine the sugar and water; cook until thickened, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
- Let the sugar syrup cool before adding it to the Limoncello mixture. Add the additional bottle of vodka (I used Stil brand because it’s what I had on hand, you can also use grain alcohol). Allow to rest in a dark, cool place for another 40 days.
Part 3 : day 80
- After the incubation period, strain the mixture using coffee filters or similar.
- Bottle your Limoncello, discarding the lemon zest. A big bottle for you, or several little bottles to share the love – your decision!
- Keep in the freezer until ready to serve.
Dearest Frankie Magazine has just emailed me to announce the release of their latest recipe book, Sweet Treats.
sweet treats is a nostalgic collection of 39 indulgent recipes from a time gone by. Delicacies range from peanut brittle, honeycomb and mint patties to caramel fudge, lollipops and coconut marshmallows. Each treat evokes memories of tuckshop lines and fete cake stalls. It will delight anyone with a sweet tooth!
I own their first book, Afternoon Tea (as does everyone in the house, it seems to live permanently on our kitchen table), so I’m really excited to check this compendium of sugar out. If the recipes are half as good as the styling…
[click the images for full-sized, readable recipes]
HOW AMAZING ARE THE CANDY HEARTS?! Could they be my new business cards? Or just favours to hand out to sexy strangers and the already beloved.
Things mine would probably say:
- “You’re a hot babe”,
- “Can I show you my narwhal?”,
- “Totes rad”,
- “Mega number one dreamboat”
- “Vodka and soda, please”…
Typical. Anyway, Sweet Treats for the win!
I like my local dairy. They keep Reeses Peanut Butter Cups in stock exclusively for me (these are kind hard to find in New Zealand); and they offer a lot of random candy. Recently I offered up a review of the ‘delightful’ Shi-Chuan Peach Vinegar, and thought it would be pleasant to do it again with an unknown sugar source. I was wrong.
Being a big fan of Hi-Chew candies (Green Apple is yum) I picked this one up. No English on the packaging but I know that’s Daruma on the front. There’s also quite a few blossoms! It turns out the flavour is neither mustachioed wooden doll or blossom – it’s sour Ume Plum. (Please be excusing the dodgy camera-phone shots.)
Name: Hi-Chew Ume Plum
From: Japan!
Benefits: Teeth rotting and jaw cementing abilities. Seriously though, various translations on the Internet suggests this product is being promoted for its effect on student’s study success. Interesting.
Special instructions: None in my language but I love the inclusion of a QR code.
Eating experience: Individually wrapped. The pale pink of these beauties makes them look sweet and innocent; but the chewy outer shell hides an evil secret. The filling is (a squidgy, gummy ‘powder’) is so sour you think it’s going to destroy your mouth and give you an ulcer.
Rating: 4/5 – Sour as all hell but the packet disappeared mysteriously fast. Would buy again, if my beloved PB cups are out of stock.
How we celebrate around these parts:
They are eggs, kind of! Passionfruit cups with vodka and sugar, perfect for slurping down in the company of good friends.
(Thanks to Sarah for the idea!)
A gift from me to you – a White Chocolate Rocky Road recipe to destroy all those healthy eating resolutions… or if you’re enjoying the UK snow flurry at the moment, this will ensure you have ample reserves to stave off the chill.
If you like white chocolate, this is phenomenal. Thanks to my cousin Deb for the recipe!
My love affair with tea packaging continues. First we had Tea: Beautiful Packaging, to the art of boxing and bagging. Of course, there were many more fine examples than would fit in one post, hence part two. Voila!
By the way, if you’re interested in keeping a tea-log or finding new flavours/brands on which to sup, Steepster is a wonderful community site to check out!
Kaffe 1668 is a New York coffee house with its own line of teas. Designer Megan Cummins brought the 20+ teas to life in a prescriptive style.
Dr. Stuart’s (extraordinarily good tea) was designed by one of my favourite design studios, Pearlfisher, who seem to turn every piece of packaging into gold.
Teahugger’s clean and simple boxed were designed by Brian Peters. The name is adorable too!
New Zealand is the new home for a 4,000-year-old Chinese Oolong tea. For the first time ever Oolong tea has been grown outside Asia. Brand agency Designworks (my old crew) developed the name, brand and packaging for ‘Zealong’ – positioning it as a tea of the very highest quality.
T2 is a gorgeous Australian tea and tisane brand. The packaging is bright, bold and dripping with personality. On the T2 site you can even find a tea to match your zodiac sign (I’m going to presume Scorpio is not nettle tea).
I’m lucky to admire a few of the boxes every day in our kitchen. I’m enamoured with their ‘single serve’ hand woven plum blossom green teas, and sheer muslin tea bags. When combined with one of their glass teapots, you’ve got the perfect gift for any connoisseur or design nerd. Oh, hint hint!
So, the other day I was chilling on the sofa the pondering the content of dear old Code For Something. Culture, yes; Style, regularly; Design, mhmm; Travel, CHECK… So somewhat quickly I kind came to the conclusion it was Food that’s a little bit lacking. Cakes are great and all that, but what could I do that was a little more fun for me (and not just adding to my whale blubber)? Investigative cafe reporting perhaps? Oh wait.
Then I remembered my recent shopping trip to Tai Ping, an awesome Asian supermarket on Auckland’s Beach Rd, where I always stock up on a plethora of fake meats and tofu delights. On this occasion – probably because it a) had pink foil b) was squishy and c) was on sale at $1.40 – I also chucked a Shi-Chuan Peach into my basket. I have no idea why, but I thought perhaps it would be amusing to see what peachy mysteries lurk within and report back on it. So here we are.
Name: Shih-Chuan Peach Vinegar - Vinegar??
From: Taiwan!
Benefits: “Not only do they taste good, but they are good for you packed with lots of nutrition”.
Special instructions: “Opening the plug and drink directly. It is tastier with chilled water. Deposition is a natural occurence.” – Uh depositions? Where? Plus, an open admission the liquid is going to taste foul without modification. As you can see, this worries me.
Drinking experience: It looks a teeny bit like champagne when it’s poured, however turns out to be still. I was hella frightened after reading vinegar, because I’d initially overseen that little word. But on supping, it had a really sweet artificial peachy taste (kinda like drinking a liquified peach Fruit Burst!), with only the slightest hint of vinegar. Not too bad… it would possibly be a great mixer with vodka, but with only 140ml in a pack, the tide is definitely out.
Rating: 3/5. It would have done better if it was intoxicating in its native state!
So here we are.
