fresh food articles & recipes
people doing interesting things
If you're disappointed about how far you've got with your New Year's health and fitness resolutions, a Revive Weekend at Queen's Birthday weekend in Martinborough will set you on the right road. Raewyn and Pru, the straight-talking Mybod team who run it, will motivate, inspire and direct you in just the combination you need to get the results you want. If you get that part of your life sorted, everything else seems to go more smoothly. Jen is … [Read More...]
Mrs Carr’s English lemon cake
Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best. Mrs. Carr was a farmer's wife and friend of my parents. Her lemon cake recipe is a family favourite. A sweet, buttery treat balanced by the tartness of lemon. I favour the Imperial measurements for this as they are far easier to remember. My favourite 22cm square silicone mould gives a cake that cuts into 16 or 20 pieces and releases easily without greasing or lining. Don't use a loose-bottomed tin or … [Read More...]
fettle your strawberries
Strawberries work hard all summer. If you're lucky you might have picked a few recently due to some sunny weather and plenty of rain. I renew my strawberry beds every three years with the second season being the most productive one. That means I pull out one third of my strawberry plants each autumn and in the spring plant a similar number of plants somewhere new. They need a reasonable amount of sunshine and don't like wet feet but don't mind … [Read More...]
zucchini walnut loaf
When you want to fill the tins quickly, a loaf is better than muffins. You can cut it into small pieces to feed a crowd and those who want more can have second or third helping. This loaf doesn't need butter as it's moist and sweet. It tastes like banana cake. Choose the freshest walnuts you can find as they quickly go rancid. New Zealand produces some wonderful nuts. Two large eggs Half a cup of oil 3/4 cup of raw sugar One teaspoon … [Read More...]
quince jam
A friend's generous gift of some fragrant quinces demanded another outing for the Let's Preserve It book on a wet morning. Listed under 'Q' were quince cheese, jam, jelly, marmalade, preserve and chutney. Plus some preserves where quince is combined with apples, cranberries, pears, marrows and pumpkins. I chose the simple approach of simmering the quince flesh with a little water and then adding some lemon juice and warmed sugar (equal to the … [Read More...]
let sleeping cabbages lie
This red cabbage was languishing in the garden. It clearly hadn't read the seed packet label as it was supposed to be a 'red express' but I'd sown the seed in October and after six months it weighed in at 850g. Cute as a button, perfect and solid, but hardly speedy. It harboured a few slugs but was untouched by cabbage white butterfly catterpillars, despite having been grown in summer, because it was safe under the brassica cage. If the … [Read More...]
pear, ginger and chocolate bran muffins
Pears and ginger are a wonderful combination of flavours. A kind friend gave me some marvellous dark-chocolate coated ginger and I decided to enliven a couple of windfall pears with the few remaining pieces in a muffin recipe. I thought it would stand a fairly robust texture so used an oat-bran muffin as the base. They freeze well. 150g plain flour One teaspoon baking powder One teaspoon ground ginger One and a half cups oat bran 250g … [Read More...]
