This festive Italian specialty is as delicious paired with a Christmas Eve nightcap as it is with a Christmas morning coffee – and yes, there’s still time to make it. I love the magic of Christmas. The carols, watching Christmas lights begin to twinkle as night falls, stockings hung by the fireplace and Christmas sweet … Read more
Messing too much with summer berries is sacrilege, but this heavenly light sponge provides a fine vehicle for the most luxe of fruits. In this time of misinformation and alternative truths, I’m going to lay some refreshingly stone-cold facts on you. The greatest summer food is a berry. I mean don’t get me wrong, banana … Read more
In this cursed annum, when that purest of joys – being fed by someone else – was briefly snatched away from us, we turned in desperation to our lord and saviour, the world wide web. It seems unfathomable now, but for 41 long days across March and April, we had to cook. Remember that? No … Read more
Tis the season for ice blocks – and if you have a stash of these in the freezer, you won’t even need to venture out to the dairy. While here in Taranaki it feels as though the rain might never stop, the temperature at least is warm and conducive to enjoying one of these coconut … Read more
The no-nonsense comfort food is enjoying something of a renaissance, and Anna King Shahab has come up with some simple meal starter ideas to spark your mince-spiration. T-paper, flour, mince. The grocery shopping priorities of our nation were revealed unceremoniously when Covid-19 made “panic buying” a household phrase earlier this year. It wasn’t all doom … Read more
Whether savoury or sweet, plain or piled high with toppings, these English muffins will take your sourdough game to a new level. These English muffins have become a staple in our household, where I make a batch about every fortnight that’s then frozen for use throughout the week. They’re delicious toasted with lashings of butter … Read more
An effervescent fermented beverage a bit like kombucha, water kefir is a refreshing drop for the warmer weather. Here’s how to make it. As I sit here typing, my kids are sitting at the table colouring in, sipping the glasses of water kefir I just photographed for this recipe. Our middle boy Ahi has just … Read more
Mooncakes are a traditional rich pastry eaten for the Mid-Autumn festival in East-Asian communities. Sherry Zhang shares a few recipes for mooncakes from her friends and family. October 1st is the Mid-Autumn festival for the East-Asian community and, like many harvest festivals around the world, it’s about having a big ol’ feast with your family. … Read more
The myriad plants we call ‘weeds’ get a bad rap, but many of them are nutritious, delicious and crying out to be added to your next salad. When lockdown 1.0 hit and we were confined to our house and garden, I began a wee love affair with edible weeds. Not only are they free, they’re … Read more
Farewell winter’s veg and welcome in spring with this delicious tart, perfect for a classy lunch or a simple dinner. While this tart makes the most of winter brassicas, it’s also a nod at the arrival of spring. I love tarts, and our kids do too – they’re quick and easy to whip up and a … Read more
A whole heap of vegetables covered in a delicious peanutty, gingery sauce – what’s not to like? This has become one of my go-to weeknight meals. It’s quick and easy to prepare and I feel really virtuous when I serve it up as there’s a good 10 cups of vegetables packed into it, which when … Read more
Waffles don’t need to be sweet – these cheese and onion numbers make an excellent savoury breakfast with an egg, or an equally tasty dinner with leftover mince. It’s easy to default to sweet breakfasts without thinking. At least that’s the case in our household, as porridge or bircher muesli is more often than not … Read more
Got more feijoas than you know what to do with? Preserve them to enjoy all year round. I may have mentioned before that we have 26 feijoa trees. It means that at this time of year, come rain or shine, you’ll often find us outside under the trees picking up each and every feijoa that … Read more
Amanda Thompson always thought the apocalypse would be more about zombies and less about a lack of flour. No matter, this recipe will stand you in good stead for either eventuality. Our current dystopian nightmare was not the apocalypse I was expecting. I do not feel prepared, even after years of planning. Big fans of … Read more
A honey-scented, seed-studded loaf that’s super adaptable. And no kneading required! It was about six weeks ago that the supermarket shelves were first stripped bare of hand sanitiser and toilet paper. A week or so after that whole aisles of bread racks stood empty as the panic-buying took hold. And now here we are confined … Read more
This versatile ingredient is brilliant for roasting and frying, and it’s a great way to extend the shelf life of butter. It’s also super easy to whip up at home. Until about a year ago I religiously used olive oil to fry and roast with. I preferred using this oil over more refined oils that … Read more
Amanda Thompson pulls her socks up, makes do and gets on with it. Cakes in a time of crisis are an excellent idea, as long as your current crisis is an entirely food-scarcity-free one. Baking is so calming and mindful, we know. If you’ve always wanted the time to really commit to learning how to … Read more
Got a glut of zucchini? Turn ’em into chips and they’ll be gone in a flash. It’s that time of year again when gardens are bursting at the seams with fresh produce, and if there’s one crop on which you can rely, it’s zucchini. I have three plants in my garden this year, and two … Read more
Everyone needs a good spud salad recipe in their repertoire, and this herb-packed offering is hard to beat. This is my go-to potato salad recipe and it was one I had never written down nor considered sharing. Until before Christmas, that is, when we headed inland to celebrate the festive season Kiwi style with a … Read more
What’s a lovely summer picnic without a lovely savoury scone? These scones make wonderful picnic food and are packed with flavour and texture. Whip them up, wrap them in a clean tea towel and head outdoors to picnic under the shade of a leafy tree with good company and an equally good book. Scones are … Read more
Celebrate stonefruit season – and the end of this crazy old year – with a classy wee cocktail. There’s nothing quite like celebrating with an elegant cocktail and given that 2019 is drawing to a close, and peaches are now at their best, what better reason to get into the kitchen and rustle up these … Read more
Petrified of pav failure? This Christmas, why not make meringues instead. Sure, pavlova’s traditional for Christmas, but it’s hard to get right – especially if you’re somewhere humid (looking at you, Auckland). Why not try meringues instead? The moisture content is lower than that of pav, so you need not fear that depressing leaky pav … Read more
Three glaze recipes to take your festive feast from ho-hum to ham-azing. In the middle of November, my aunt suggested in our family WhatsApp group that Christmas lunch should go meat-free in acknowledgement of climate change. I froze at my desk where I’d taken a moment to procrastinate. While I support her sentiment and am … Read more
Nutty buckwheat pairs beautifully with those delicious green spears for a light lunch or addition to a spring dinner spread. Asparagus season is well and truly upon us, and it can be enjoyed many ways – lightly steamed, grilled on the barbecue wrapped in bacon, in salads, with egg for breakfast. In this recipe the … Read more
An easy, flavour-packed noodle recipe from Bounty – Cooking With Vegetables, the new cookbook from national food education charity the Garden to Table Trust. The fresh flavours of these noodles are less complex than many Thai dishes, as the simple spice paste uses just a few ingredients. If you’d rather not make a paste, use … Read more
This dish strikes the perfect balance between comforting and interesting – perfect for a weekend brunch. It’s easy to get stuck in a breakfast rut and let’s face it, if you’re searching for inspiration in the cereal aisle you’re bound to leave empty-handed. The breakfast below, however, serves up more than its fair share of … Read more
Simon Day trials the new Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer with its unique HeatSoft Technology to make some bespoke butters, and share his recipes. Butter makes everything better. A cob of sweetcorn glistening in fat, whipped butter melting on McDonald’s hotcakes, white popcorn turned golden, a dripping crumpet, a potato transformed into something heavenly, a croissant … Read more
What’s better than bread and butter pudding? BRIOCHE and butter pudding, naturally. There is something wonderfully simple about the humble bread and butter pudding. Stale bread (or in this case brioche) is buttered and soaked in a custardy base, peppered with lemon zest, currants and almonds and baked until crunchy, custardy and utterly delicious. BRIOCHE … Read more
Get the kids to help you make these during the holidays, then add them to the regular lunchbox rotation come back-to-school time. If you’re reading this and have children then, according to recent research, there’s a 50% chance they aren’t consuming their recommended daily serving of vegetables. Walk through your local supermarket and it’s little … Read more