Kiwi Christmas

 

Well, this year ( our 2nd in NZ) we decided to have a quiet kiwi Christmas camping. as it's summer in the southern hemisphere and our long summer holidays.  The big family get together was last year (our first Christmas back for about 9 years) with the whole Singer clan.( My husband's)  A big Christmas meal with all the trimmings.

This year we pared it right down, there is only so much you can take with you when you are camping. With a bbq and some creativity we ate really well.

It was important to us to take the children camping, for them to experience a different style of holiday. They have travelled all over the world, staying at fabulous hotels and villas in France, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Dubai, USA and the UK, over the past few years.

The children made lots of friends at the camp and just played, making up games and just being kids, they loved it!
We spent the days, reading, walking, swimming and playing board games, precious family time. Priceless!

I decided on keeping it really simple on Christmas day, BBQ butterfly lamb with honey glazed carrots and pan fried potatoes, and mini pavlovas to finish off. Perfect!

Butterfly Lamb
500-750 g (butterflied)
Juice of 1 lemon
Good sprinkling of salt & pepper
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
1 tbl honey
Olive oil, mix it all together
Marinate the lamb with the mixture, and leave refrigerated for a few hours or overnight.
Wrap in a double layer of foil like a parcel and cook on the BBQ for about 40 min, let it rest for 10 min and carve.

The meat was so beautiful and tender. I served it with pan fried potatoes, I par boiled 6 potatoes and cut them into wedges, and then shallow fried them in a little oil. For the carrots, I boiled them for 5-7 min and then drained them, added a tsp of honey and put them back on the heat for a couple of min. You can serve with gravy, ( I forgot to bring some, so served it with tamarillo chutney instead!)
For the mini pavs ( store bought) with some whipped cream and fresh strawberries and blueberries. Perfect camping Christmas lunch.

Enjoy!

Happy holidays, until next year.

Ashia

Gifts from my kitchen

I love giving foodie gifts anytime, whether it is birthdays, religious festivals or weddings. I grew up with food gifts being exchanged at weddings and celebrations. Food celebrates all aspects of life.

People appreciate that you take the time and effort into creating something for them, I love giving, I enjoy the appreciation I get from friends and family when I gift them something that I made.

I decided way back in July that I would make a whole load of my special tamarillo chutney and bottle it to give away in the year. I also set aside a dozen bottles to give away as gifts to those special people who spend everyday teaching and nurturing our children. So I have been busy the last couple of days packaging my gifts and also baking some Christmas shortbread stars. This is my mother in laws shortbread recipe and is so easy to bake, thanks Wendy.

For the shortbread stars

250 g Butter
3/4 Cup icing sugar
1/2 Cup cornflour
2 Cups plain flour
1/4 tsp salt

1. Cream butter and sugar until pale

2. Add cornflour and plain flour and salt, knead well and place in the refrigerator to chill

3. Using half the dough roll out and use a cookie cutter of your choice and cut out the biscuits.

4. Place on baking trays and bake for 20 min in a preheated oven (160)

5. Cool and dust with icing sugar.

Well I hope you have enjoyed reading my blogs so far, I have loved writing them. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am hoping to blog while we are camping over Christmas.

Enjoy!

Till next time

Ashia

Christmassy Jam Tarts

My mum's jam tarts are the best!, I have memories of eating these when I was growing up in Malawi. They are a perfect alternative to Christmas pudding (if you are not a fan) or just as another dessert over the festive season. They are great as a hot pudding or cold, they keep well for a week in an airtight container.
They make great lunch box treats too.  I have made these using plum jam but, mum always used strawberry, you can use anything you want.

For the base

450g Plain Flour
4 Tbls Self Raising Flour
225g Butter softened
120g Sugar
2 eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla essence

1. Mix the butter and sugar together until pale

2. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat, then add the flours and mix into a soft dough, kneed a little until it is all combined.

3. Roll 3/4 of the dough into a  greased baking tray of your choice, a 25-30 cm tray works well.

4. Spread the jam of your choice on to the dough.

5. Using the remaining dough, roll out into a rectangle and with a sharp knife cut 2 cm wide long strips and lay them over the tart in a cris cross design, covering the whole tray.

6. Place in a pre heated oven @ 180 for 30-35 min, until golden, may need a little more depending on your oven setting.

Cut into slices and dust with icing sugar and serve with cream or ice cream.

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas

Till next time

Ashia

Paneer Curry

Paneer Curry

A lovely aromatic, flavoursome curry.  Made with Paneer which is an Indian cottage cheese, this one  has a tomato and onion base, but I also make a paneer and pea curry which is also divine. I had some friends over for dinner on Friday night  and I cooked  two curries, a meat option and a vegetarian one, it went down a treat.

2 Onions (finely sliced)
1 small peice of ginger grated
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tsp Kitchen King Masala (a blend of aromatic spices availble in any Indian supermerket)
1 Tsp Kasoori methi (optional)
1 Tsp Coriander Powder
1 Sliced Green peppar
1 Tbl Tomato Ketchup
I block of Paneer cheese
1 large serving spoon of oil
1 tin chopped tomato
1 Cup milk
Salt to taste
Chopped fresh coriander to garnish


1. Heat oil in a large wok or lidded frying pan, add sliced onions and fry until soft and transluscent

2.  Add the tin of tomatoes and cook for 6-8 min, then take it off the hear and using a hand blender, blend it to a paste.

3. Return to heat and cook for a further 6-8 min, and then add milk and the sliced  green peppar and all the spices, cook for a further 10 min on a medium heat.

4. Chop up the paneer block into small bite size cubes and add to the curry, cook for a further 10 min.

Serve with Rice or Roti.

Enjoy!

Till next time

Ashia



 

Orange Slice

ORANGE SLICE

Gosh its that time of year already, to me it just doesn't seem like its nearly Christmas, its not dark and cold outside  and the streets are not glistening with twinkling lights, there are no school nativity plays, and the shopping is not the same! But hey its getting warmer, so that's got to be good!

So I thought I had better start baking and getting a few goodies ready, this is a great easy slice to make for Christmas. It keeps well in the fridge for up to a week (if it lasts that long!)

It is a  no bake,  quick and easy old fashioned biscuit base slice. So if you have unexpected guests arriving, its a great treat for afternoon tea. ( I usually double this recipe)


250g Vanilla Wine Biscuits
1/2 Cup Dessicated or shredded Coconut
125g Butter
3 Tbls Condensed Milk
Rind of 1 Orange




1. in a large bowl crush biscuits in a mixer or by hand ( place in a plastic bag and using a rolling pin, crush until biscuits are crumb like)

2. Melt the butter and condensed milk and stir over a low/medium heat until smooth, making sure it does not boil.

3. Add the coconut to the crushed biscuits and the orange rind and mix.

4. Pour the butter milk and mix until all the dry ingredients are combined.

5. Press into a lined 24 cm swiss roll tin and cover and refrigerate until cold.30-40 min


Orange Icing

225g (1 cup) Icing sugar
2-3 Tbl of freshly squeezed orange juice

In a bowl add the icing sugar, warm the juice and pour in to the icing sugar and mix, I tend not to strain the juice, i quite like the orange bits mixed with the icing. Be careful not to make it too runny, the consistency should be of thick cream, you can adjust this by adding more juice or icing sugar.
I decorate with silver cashous, or you can use edible gold dust if you prefer, just to add a chritmassy touch.  I usually keep them in the fridge as the icing stays nice and crunchy.
You can replace the orange with lemons if you prefer.

Prep/cook time 20-30 min



Enjoy!

Till next time

Ashia

Ika Mata

Kia Orana!
It's been a few weeks since I last blogged, winter bugs, school holidays, and then my son's first school camp in NZ.   Now with the children  back into school routine I can get back to doing what I love doing, cooking and writing.
10 days away in the beautiful Pacific island of Rarotonga seems a distant memory ( it was only 3 weeks ago!)
Sunshine, sea and precious time with my family, not to mention a break from cooking. I must admit I did get withdrawal symptoms, but it was lovely not to have to think about the weeks' menu. It was great to try local foods and fresh seafood. One dish that Graham ( hubby) absolutely loved was Ika Mata, a pacific delicacy, beautiful fresh fish marinated in lemon juice and then served in coconut cream. Gorgeous! A really easy starter for a summer dinner party.

Ika Mata
500g of fresh fish ( any white fleshy fish)
1 Cup lemon juice
1 1/2 Cups coconut cream
2-3 Spring onions , chopped
Handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 of a telegraph cucumber, chopped
1-2 Cloves crushed garlic
Chilli flakes

1. Cut fish into 1/2 inch cubes, sprinkle with salt and leave for 10 min.

2. Pour lemon juice over the fish to cover and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours or until the fish is white, can take a little longer depending on the fish.

3. Strain off the juice and squeeze out the moisture gently using a colander or strainer.

4. Add 11/2 cups of coconut cream to the fish.

5. Add the vegetables and garlic and salt and pepper to taste, stir.  Add a a touch of chilli flakes ( optional) and there you have a really delicious and yet simple starter.

Enjoy!

Till next time

Ashia

Tamarillo Fool

An absolute winner! Easily the simplest dessert to make to wow your family and friends.  This is made using tamarillos which are in season at the moment, but coming towards the end. This is gorgeous, combined with orange and honey it makes a light, sweet dessert.  If you are not a fan of tamarillos, you can use rhubarb or raspberries.

I have used small shot glasses for this dessert, as it looks really impressive and perfect for dinner parties with lots of guests so you can have a couple of desserts and people don't feel like they have over eaten yet they have had a taster of something sweet.

8 Tamarillos- halved
100g Brown sugar
Zest and juice of 1 Orange
100mls Fresh Cream
2 Tbl Runny Honey
250 mls Greek Yogurt

1. Scoop the Tamarillo flesh into a small saucepan with sugar, orange zest and juice and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 min.

2 Remove from heat and strain through a sieve reserving the pulpy flesh.  Return the juice to the pan and simmer for a further 5-8 min or until reduced by half.

3 Mash the tamarillo flesh as much as possible, pour the reduced syrup over the tamarillo flesh and leave aside to cool completely.

4. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold through the yoghurt and honey. Gently swirl the tamarillo mixture, making sure you get a marbled effect, be careful not to over mix.  Spoon the mixture into shot glasses or bowls of your choice. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until ready to serve. Divine!

Enjoy!

Till next time

Ashia