Welcome to NZ, Mr Stein...

When I heard that globe-trotting chef-King, Rick Stein, is coming to New Zealand, I hoped that (as a semi-regular visitor) he has been privy to the delights of Mussel Fritters. In honour of his visit I decided to devise a recipe using New Zealand’s very own fantastically affordable, fat and delectable green-lipped mussels.

If you’re seeing Mr Stein, please give him a copy of this with my regards – or ask him to drop in at my place and I’ll cook them for him... Absolutely no visit to New Zealand is complete without a dish of these.

What a plateful of ocean, what a dish of summery holidays. Reminiscent of beach and bach, long hot days with family and friends, catching pipis and body surfing. These are sweet and crisp, hints of mushroom flavours, and mousse-like texture.

Wasabi and Coconut Mussel Fritters

About 20 large mussels, steamed open and beards removed. Chop roughly. Don't eat too many just yet...
1 medium onion, chopped very finely
1 cup of plain flour
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar*
3 eggs
An 8cm squirt of Wasabi
200ml coconut cream
Plenty of salt – roughly 1 ½ tsp

*If you don’t have Cream of Tartar then use 1 tsp baking powder in place of the soda and cream of tartar... but I do think the combination of Tartar and Soda make a much lighter fritter. Same for pikelets.

 

Chop the mussels by hand or in a blender. Leave them fairly coarse. Sniff ... wonderful! Add to a bowl with everything else. Stir. Cook. (Why have complicated instructions?)

However I do mix the Wasabi with the coconut cream in the blender so there are no big lumps. Nasty!

I use Rice Bran oil because it can stand the high heat for frying. Use enough oil to come halfway up the sides of the fritters, and cook them in fairly large spoonfuls. Be generous!

If you have to add more oil, add it between batches and let it come up to heat before spooning the next batch in. Drain well and serve in hot piles of crispy, mussel mousse freshness with lots of lemon wedges. Salt with reckless abandon! If no lemons or salsa present themselves, just dip in sweet chilli sauce. (No, not Watties tomato sauce...)

Here’s my salsa invention to accompany them
Coconut, Corn and Coriander Salsa

Combine all:

2 medium tomatoes, chopped
Plenty of fresh chopped coriander
¼ cup toasted long thread coconut
½ cup drained whole kernel corn

Enjoy with a lovely cold Marlborough or Hawkes Bay Chardonnay.

And if you do get a chance, hop along to the Rick Stein show - while you're there, would you drop off a copy of this recipe for him!?

Come on now, Cadbury...

I'm sorry but there's a problem with the Roses chocolates. It's not a new problem, but it is one that's continuing to annoy me. I notice that the Orange chocolate has gone and that's wonderful - no more avoiding that one until there's nothing left in the box...but there is another that seriously needs to be removed as well. Yes, I'm talking about the sickly sweet, slightly pretentious Strawberry Creme. Now as New Zealand's preferred "Thank you" gift, (especially when thanking oneself) it is an embarrassing thing to offer Strawberry Creme. What girl in her right mind would choose it? What bloke? Reminiscent of the cloyingly pungent Strawberry Oil from high school in the 70's, not at all up to the standard required.
Just a hint - BRING BACK THE HARD CARAMEL!

Zarbo delizioso

Stew and I did breakfast at Zarbo, and I'm so delighted with the dish I ordered. Often I look at what others order and wish I'd chosen differently, but not this time...
Sweet French Toast with cinnamon, poached fruit and berry coulis
Oh my, that French toast - crispy, spicy, drenched in syrup... a breakfast dream on a plate. All for $13.50. We do breakfast rather well here in enzed don't we? This plate of food had lots of the things I love about breakfast in New Zealand. Freshly poached fruit with zing, punchy spices, warm and comforting. Simple, uncomplicated, just well-cooked and hot. Plenty of salty moist bacon, streaky but not cooked within an inch of its life. And don't hold back on the carbs - oh, I love those carbs. A plentiful serve of toast. Creme fraiche on the side, you can see I'm a dairy-holic as well as a sweet freak.

A recent revelation to me was how much better French Toast is when made with French Bread... but then I always was quite slow. Don't add too much milk to the eggs - about 1 tbsp per egg - and cut the bread on a diagonal so you get plenty of surface area. Spice it well with cinnamon or allspice. Dip it both sides: I let it soak for a bit. And then fry in NZ butter. If you don't have pears or apples for the poached fruit, just add half a banana to the pan with the bacon. It all cooks fast and within 10 minutes you'll be upending the maple syrup bottle for that finishing touch. Add Sunday newspaper, home made plunger coffee and you'll have something almost as good as Zarbo's.....

Thanks to the staff and the boss who were prepared to risk me taking photos of their place - I have a deal with Mark, the owner, that if I win "NZ's best food blogger" on the strength of my visit to Zarbo, I'll take him to the Rick Stein show in early August. He's keen... as am I.

NZ Sandwich Memoirs

What do you remember of your school lunches? I began to relate to Stew the sandwich fillings I remember and it very quickly got weird... but then I came up with the one I'd serve Maestro Rick Stein if he came for lunch... and he just might, he's in the country soon though it appears he might have a few other things to do

My favourite NZ childhood food memory from Ohope and The Mount.... Pipi sandwiches (this one for Rick...)

Lovely white bread - I still have cravings for white bread - that's been buttered and stacked in a pile. Pipis collected that morning, digging feet into the low tide sand to feel for the shells. Handfuls brought up between waves and dropped in the bucket with waves washing in. Crabs nipping, kids squealing. Left in fresh water to spit their sand out in a bright coloured bucket under the pohutukawa, then quickly onto the wood-fired barbeque. You could feel the heat trying to beat the sun. Pull them out of the shells, collect in bowls, a dash of vinegar, then everyone gathering to make their sandwich. Salty and tasting of the sea, butter and vinegar combining for a tangy bite.

Lunch with the staff at Hell's Gate in the 90's... Mashed egg and potato chips

It became a staff favourite. Beautifully fresh wheaty bread, eggs just past soft-boiled, mashed with mayonnaise and lots of salt and pepper. Mash them warm for that scent of a winter Rotorua dawn. Add potato chips in a layer, Ready Salted for preference. If you're not expecting this filling, it's like biting into broken glass...

Sandwiches for lunch at Intermediate school in the 70's: Jam and whipped cream

Friends would share lunches, and once they were used to the novelty of my creation, berry jam with whipped cream on white bread, I then took jam and shaving cream... but only once.

Dad's attempt to gross us out as kids... Chocolate Biscuit sandwiches

He would use biscuits called 'Crunch' which we can't buy any more. Shame, because they were gorgeous. Hokey Pokey flavour, crisp texture, a round buiscuit with a full chocolate coat. Sandwiched between 2 slices of bread and eaten without cutting...

Fond memories of Chip Sandwiches

.. and I know people still do eat these, though my fish and chip encounters are few and far between now. But the thought of that lovely soft and yeasty white bread, thick margarine (never thought I'd say that - but it really is better than butter for this), plenty of Barbeque or Steak sauce for spiciness, wrapped tightly around a good handful of hot salty chips. How many can you do?!

Star Dip

Look at this wonderful dish from Geraldine - a ceramic dish for your oils to dip bread into. I use pomegranate molasses with a nice olive oil.

The brand is Dalla Piazza and it cost $10 - pretty nice as a gift for a foodie?

Cultured friends

I culture my friends rather as I do my container garden... just enough love from me to elicit their response. With the plants, it's in the way of growth and, hopefully, produce. With friends, it's now you see me, sometimes you won't. In other words, I'm not to be relied upon to be thorough and slavish.

My policy with house plants always was, if they can survive without relying on me then they're welcome. At this time in my life I have no house plants. They all died. But this is not to say my friends are treated with similar disdain! After all, they at least can reach the fridge unaided.

But seriously, the best response I can get from a friend is the gift of their kitchen labour. Whether in the way of a  meal, or as above, their preserves. This one is a liqueur quince syrup to have on icecream. It's a vibrant jewel, and often I stand such treasures on the windowsill to remind me of the summer sun that's around the corner.

Roasted Pumpkin Salad

I do admire vegetables: so self-assured, so flamboyant, so vibrant.

A salad with roasted pumpkin and pine nuts, feta cheese, capsicum, chopped dates, baby spinach leaves, crema de balsamico (that's fancy talk...), olive oil...

Cape Gooseberry happiness

Paid a visit to my container garden this morning early.. wet and miserable out there, but the little darlings are fruiting away happily. Can't wait - memories of Cape Gooseberry jam with cream piled lavishly on pikelets...yum!

Air New Zealand meal

Who else loves all those dinky little meals on the plane? I do! I wonder what happens to businesses who win a contract to supply Air New Zealand with items, such as this muffin from Rangiora Bakery?

Twizel entertaining

Eight of us visited the snowy South during June for the South Island Masters Rowing Champs. Superb! I love the south: it has those huge vistas with clear skies and no people (except us ...). Very hard to get views like this in the North Island.

We rented a nice little house with a wood burning stove - essential! and after a visit to the cheese maker in Geraldine we had nibbles for the first evening.

Capsicum, apple, pear and fig chutney from Hororata, cheese from Geraldine, hummus from the local Four Square. Note the gorgeous star-shaped dish.... Fill with Pomegranate molasses and olive oil for the most sensational flavour burst you've had in a long time.

Stew cooked a fish and shrimp laksa - wonderful on a foggy night with good company.

Trish and I improvised with a cake mix (of all things) and made a self-saucing pudding for after

Denheath deserves a highlighter

Whenever I see Denheath custard squares on sale I convince whoever I'm with to try them. Or I simply have 2 (...joke...) For lots of good clean jokes visit Denheath's facebook page. I just love custard squares, but after a bakery owner told me that the filling is usually made with a commercial product that resembles wallpaper glue, I'm less enthusiastic. However these Denheath beauties are for real.

Auction the cook...

everyone needs a sister with this much enthusiasm ... big sis Ann in Rotorua is a huge supporter for Rowing Rotorua, and is helping with fundraising for 3 Rotorua rowers to go overseas: New Zealand Representatives NZU23 Team Julia Edward and Laura Fischer and NZ Junior Nigel van den Akker. I'm off to an afternoon tea Charity Auction event at the Blue Baths in Rotorua next weekend where I've agreed to be auctioned off as a cook for a dinner party of 8. Yeearrrgh!!! (Let's hope Mum wins the auction)

Have a look at Ann's great rowing blog.

persimmon jelly... an experiment

So I had these gorgeous looking things that bring back terrible memories of my father forcing me to taste them ... and have never eaten them since.
I saw someone peeling and eating one, like you would a pear, and I tried that... beautiful! And the colour is so jewel. Surely they would make excellent jelly?
I boiled them up and forced them through a seive - first mistake. Do not force, the syrup should stand in a muslin-lined colander to slowly drip through. (I knew that...) and now I have it doing just that.
It's also rather bland - delicate, but bland - so I've added cinnamon stick, honey, lemon juice and a little ginger.
More soon!

smoked snapper

You know me, I'm having a smoking obsession... Stew and I hot-smoke a piece of salmon over the gas hobb for breakfast about twice a week - the cost? around $5. Serve with ricotta (no fat in that, and the texture is wonderful!) and capers - lots of capers - on  a toasted bagel.
Last week I spotted fresh whole snapper for $8.95 per kilo at the swoopermarket - I swooped! And there it is in all it's scaled, boned and opened glory. (Still vacuuming scales from the floor a week later - must remember to be less exuberant with that...)
I added brown sugar and soy sauce as normal - that did not last long! We had people here for dinner a day later. The home made hummus I'd served with drinks was a no-no - Raewyn has an allergy to herbs of any kind. Lucky for us the fish was a hit ..... served with garlic pita and slatherings of lemon

The French Cafe

I've been treated lately to some fabulous dinners: what a bonus! Other people have birthdays, and I get to eat with them at places like this.

It's my first visit there for at least 30 years, and I was very very pleased to be given the opportunity.

Deep fried quail's eggs on the side of the quail dish

What a gorgeous place! The staff are very attentive and lovely. We were quite early which was nice, we had the staff to ourselves for a while. But that soon changed - most impressive to see such a large and high end restaurant fill up to the level it did on a week night.

Lots of the group had the duck (above) but I was happy with my rabbit (below) with basil foam

 

Loved the presentation - a different plate or platter for each and every item. Seafood dishes such as Scallops (above) and tempura (below)  served on beautiful glass platters

The birthday girl had a call from her grand daughter in Australia.

For her last year's birthday we had given her The French Cafe cookbook which was also fantastic. (Still trying to steal it back for a read - mental note: borrow from the library!)

All in all, I think The French Cafe can rank as my new favourite restaurant in Auckland

Fruit Bowl delight

The fruit bowl is looking fabtastic at present:
feijoas, limes, quinces, bananas, persimmons.. what a lot of stuff to experiment with!

How to eat a chocolate finger

My most favourite bikkies are on special at the local supermarket this week... Yum!

When I'm bored there's only 1 way to have them - with a cup of tea and a special ceremony.

First take your biscuit

Bite off one end and then the other...

not too much, you want a decent straw length....

place in the hot tea

and suck...

eat it all in one mouthful before it melts!

Excellent! This works with Tim Tams too,

but I find they're too big.

I like Fingers 'cos you can have 4 or 5 at once...