Lavender's Green

Country life, seasonal country provisions, cooking courses and accommodation.

 ·  Recipes

“Waste Not, Want Not” is an Old Fashioned Principle that works!

The old fashioned principle of “waste not, want not” works well for us at The Country Cooking School on Te Puhi farm .  We try to “waste not” in all we cook, buy in and make. We also aim to be sustainable in our gardening and farming practices.

Before Christmas, in early summer, I cut back the herbs so they can have a second or third  flush of growth before Winter.

It’s a great discipline to get into, as the plants respond splendidly with fresh growth if they’re cut back hard (to the first bud, close to earth) on a regular basis.

What herbs I don’t need for the kitchen I chop into finger length pieces and use as a mulch around the veggies.  With the summer heat these cuttings soon wilt and breakdown and act as a mulch.  They enrich the soil and hold moisture when the gardens are watered or it rains.

We crutch the sheep (to remove the “dags”) before Christmas and before the flies hatch in large numbers too.  This helps to decrease fly strike in the sheep which can be debilitating for them and messy for us to clean up.  The “dags”, or poo-caked wool, are reused on the garden around the plants as a fertilizer-rich mulch.  They too slowly break down and enrich the soil and builds its texture.

I look forward to cutting back the Tarragon before Christmas to get a further flush of leaves into the autumn.  I make Tarragon Vinegar with the herb trimmings.  Tarragon Vinegar has become an essential ingredient in my cooking as it works well in salad dressings, pickles, and slow cooked red cabbage.

TARRAGON VINEGAR

INGREDIENTS

5L apple cider vinegar

French tarragon stalks, washed

METHOD

Pour out the cider vinegar from its 5L container into a jug and hold it to the side.

Stuff the tarragon leaves, stalk end first, into the bottle of cider vinegar.  Use as many as you can or as many as you have available.  Pour cider vinegar in to the bottle to cover the tarragon.  Screw the lid on and place the bottle on a sunny window sill for a couple of weeks.  Shake the bottle occasionally as you pass by.  Store in  a cool, dark cupboard at the end of this time as it’s now ready to use.

 ·  Recipes

Josie’s Orange Cake

Oranges are in season at the moment and this  celebration cake is big enough to feed a crowd. I have used a round 3.5L capacity cake tin.  To check if your cake tin is big enough, fill it with water and then pour the water into a measuring jug.

Serves 20

INGREDIENTS

450g unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ cups sugar

2 oranges, zest

3 cups flour

Juice of 3 oranges

½ cup milk

4 eggs

6 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

 

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan bake)

Cream the butter, sugar and orange zest well, until the sugar crystals have dissolved – about 20 minutes.

Beat the eggs in, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Fold in the flour alternating with the orange juice and milk.

Bake at 180°C for 40 minutes. Check the cake at this point and if it is browning too quickly, turn the oven down to 170°C and bake for another 10 – 20 minutes.  To check if the cake is cooked, pierce the centre with a skewer, which should come out clean.  The edges of the cake should shrink from the side of the tin and the top of the cake should bounce back when you touch it with your finger.

Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then run a pallet knife around the edges of the cake and invert it onto a cake rack. Ice when the cake is completely cold.

ICING

17 dessertspoons of icing sugar, sifted

50g butter, melted

Juice of 1 orange

 

METHOD

Beat all the ingredients together until smooth and of a stiff pouring consistency. Add more juice if necessary to make it runnier – or more icing sugar to stiffen it up.

Place the cake and its rack over an upturned bowl and spoon the icing over the cake, allowing it to run down over the sides. Smooth with a pallet knife.  Decorate with edible (or non-poisonous) flowers when the icing is completely cold.

 ·  Country Cooking School experiences

A Bespoke Country Cooking School Lesson is a Winner

I received a request from a gentle-man wanting to book a lesson at The Country Cooking School for his girlfriend.  He wanted to create a surprise for her birthday.

His thoughtfulness was  impressive.  It was a pleasure to host and plan an exclusive lesson and a country picnic for  two.

We devised a custom-made, bespoke menu and picnic that would appeal especially to his girlfriend, Hester.  They are both keen foodies who love to cook together, so t

 

he lesson plan was both challenging and introduced them to new ideas and techniques.

Hester, the birthday girl, blows out her birthday candles.

They learnt how to make and use Ricotta in Gnocchi and zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta also featured on the menu.   We used the freshest produce foraged from the Te Puhi garden – (squeaky-fresh as the garden is less than a  minute from the kitchen).

Foraging, a key part of the experience at the Country Cooking School, was  appealing to our gentle-man when looking for “foodie” things to do in the Wairarapa.

We cooked and worked together during the class.

THE PICNIC

Hester and Ben enjoyed their first two (hot) courses on the outside deck  before rambling out to a sheltered, private picnic spot by the brook, for the remainder of their four course lunch.  They carried  baskets full of provisions – wines, elderflower cordial, salads, a pan bagna and dessert – as well as all the trappings for a sophisticated picnic.

Picnic baskets ready to go

I wondered if Ben and Hester had gone missing as they didn’t reappear before 6pm.  They wandered up eventually, oblivious of the time, happy and relaxed.

Hester had the best birthday present ever and Ben felt he couldn’t beat the experience, so he may have to book in again next year, to at least match it.  I’m already planning, Ben!

 ·  Thoughts

Food adventures in America, in Autumn

It’s November 2016 and we are setting out to visit family for Thanksgiving and to have a food adventure in America.  It’s Autumn, it’s chilly and it’s mostly inside weather. We land in San Francisco and explore China Town and the farmers’ market down in the Bay area.  Dumplings, seasonal, foraged and preserved foods inspire us.  We eat the sweetest persimmons and tangiest goat’s curd.  Edible mushrooms – ones I’ve only ever read about – abound.

 

Sampling dumplings

We drive to Sonoma along the scenic coastal route and see immediately that Sonoma is a wine and food Mecca, quite similar to our own region here in the South Wairarapa, but on a larger scale.  The grape leaves are changing colour.  A trip to the local supermarket for Thanksgiving provisions is an eye opener; most of the products are packaged in super-sized portions and we struggle to find fixings for a small family of four.  We are going to cook our Thanksgiving meal from scratch and it took us all day!  But what a delicious day.

Travelling by the scenic coastal route to Sonoma and stopping for lunch on the way

We venture out to St Francis Vineyard in Sonoma for a wine meal which is matched with food.  A subtle and intriguing difference from the way I often plan meals at home.  Other days are spent watching American football, Fox news, diverse commentaries about Donald Trump and the American election.  There are lots of cars in the street, but no one is out walking.  We are all on holiday.

Our next stop is Portland, Oregon.  Food trucks, a walkable city, colder weather, homeless people, an inspiring food, wine and beer culture, bratwursts and with the best book shop in the world: Powell’s.

Ella making pumpkin pie for our Thanksgiving meal

 

Persimmons and lemons. San Francisco Bay area

 

We are constantly on the lookout for new and interesting trends to try out at the Country Cooking School on our return home,  and we are not disappointed.

So, what’s new?  What’s exciting?  What’s on my wish list for my Country Cooking School students for 2017?

  • Dumplings – gluten free wonton wrappers with fillings rich with herbs like coriander, and ginger and garlic. I’d love to try out minced paua with preserved lemon or pork with walnuts.
  • Garum – we had to work backwards on this menu item; I remember reading something about anchovies and garum while in Italy, which prompted Biggsy to dig deep into his Latin knowledge (the Romans used this flavouring on everything), before we quizzed the waiter who confirmed this paste had anchovies, clams, mussels and oysters dried and then rehydrated. It’s sure to be wiffy in its preparation, but it transformed the roasted brassicas it was served on.
  • A strong focus on seasonal and sustainable ingredients, particularly fish and seafood, as well as super fresh vegetables.
  • Foraging! Using wild food and preserving the seasonal bounty using unusual vinegars and old fashioned techniques for “gut health”. (Kimchi, sauerkraut)
  • A surprise ingredient that I’d love to try at home – fresh cranberries. An absolute visual delight on the side of the plate and with a sweet tart flavour; tinged with orange zest, consuming left overs is not a problem!
  • Späetzle!  (German dumplings or noodles)
  • Texture – often supplied by nuts; a balance of sweet, savoury and creamy tastes and fresh, wild greens make salads a revelation.
  • Fruit used in savoury dishes.
  • Vegetables used in sweet dishes. I’m looking forward to developing a gluten free pumpkin pie using the butternut pumpkins we’ve planted under the old, ugly Ranui Lemon tree at Te Puhi farm.
  • Winning recipe books purchased from Powell’s: Ruth Reichl, “My Kitchen Year”; “Portland Farmers Market Cookbook”, Marcella Hazan “Ingredienti”.

Planning the next trip already!

 

 

 ·  Recipes

Chocolate Chili Cake (Gluten Free)

Serves 12 – 14

This is a decadently rich gluten free chocolate cake based on a recipe from New Zealand chef, Annabelle Langbein.  It is moist and delicious for morning tea or as a dessert and keeps well.  Serve with plenty of whipped cream.

INGREDIENTS

150g dark chocolate (Whittaker’s 72% Cocoa Dark Ghana), chopped

100g Whittaker’s Kaitaia Fire Chili Dark Chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons brandy

2 tablespoons strong, hot black coffee

250g butter, chopped

1 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1¾ cups ground almonds

6 eggs, separated

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 170°C or 150°C fan bake. Line the base of a 23cm diameter cake tin with baking paper.

Combine chocolate, brandy and coffee in a large bowl and melt very slowly in the microwave in 1minute bursts on defrost power, stirring after each burst to help melt the chocolate. Add butter, sugar and vanilla and stir until butter has melted. (Zap again on defrost power if necessary). Stir in ground almonds. Lightly beat the egg yolks and stir into the chocolate mixture.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl and beat until they hold firm peaks. Stir a big spoonful of beaten egg white into the chocolate mixture to loosen it and then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites until no white streaks remain.

Spoon into the prepared tin and bake until risen and set (40-50 minutes). The cake will still be a little gooey in the centre. It may look a little cracked as it develops a crust and is quite fragile, but this is to be expected.

Cool completely in the tin, then transfer to a serving plate. Ice with chocolate ganache (see recipe below) and garnish with chocolate shavings, if using. It will keep in an airtight container for more than a week and freezes well.

Chocolate Ganache

Makes 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

250ml cream

250g Whittaker’s 72% Cocoa Dark Ghana chocolate, chopped

METHOD

Pour the cream into a medium pot and heat it until it is almost but not quite boiling. You’ll know it’s ready when bubbles start to form around the edge of the pot. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stand for 2 minutes, then stir until the chocolate is fully melted into the cream. Whisk until smooth and glossy. Be patient and keep stirring, it will come together.

The ganache thickens as it cools, so if necessary, pop it in the fridge until it thickens to your preferred consistency before using it. If you’re not using the ganache straight away, store it in a covered jar in the fridge for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to serve it, gently warm in a pot or microwave to soften.

Stand the cake on a rack over a bowl slightly larger than the diameter of the cake, so that you can collect the drips.  Gently pour the ganache onto the top and edges of the cake and use a pallet knife to spread it evenly to the edge and over the sides of the cake.  Using your pallet knife at a 90° angle to the base of the cake, swipe the knife confidently around the sides of the cake to get a smooth edge.

Leave the ganache to thicken a bit before very carefully moving the iced cake to a serving dish.  Run your pallet knife underneath the bottom of the edge for a sharp finish.  Decorate the top of the cake with whole dried red chilies and holly or rosemary for a festive, Christmassy look.

 ·  Recipes

Cathedral Christmas Cakes (gluten free)

These pint size cakes make perfect gifts for a close friend or work colleague. Packed with nuts and glacé fruit, when sliced they look like a stained-glass cathedral window, a small slice amply sufficient with tea or coffee when visitors call. This recipe is based on one from Alison Holst, I’ve changed it slightly to make it gluten free.
INGREDIENTS

2-3 cups whole brazil nuts
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup whole raw cashew nuts
1 cup whole red glacé cherries
1 cup whole green glacé cherries
2-3 cups glacé mixed fruit (think pineapple, pears, papaya, crystallised ginger, mixed peel)
2 cups dried fruit (think sultanas, currants, raisins, craisins, dried apricots or prunes)
1 ½ cups gluten free bread flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
5 large eggs

METHOD
Preheat oven to 150°C. Line the cake tins with baking paper and spray the tins as well. The recipe makes about 8 cups of mixture, so choose a tin or tins that will hold this much mixture. Leave 12 brazil nuts and 12 glacé cherries aside for decoration.
In a large bowl add the rest of the nuts. Chop the fruit into 1 cm cubes, measure then add to the bowl of nuts. Stir well. Measure the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt into the bowl, stir well, so that the fruit and nuts are evenly coated.
Beat the eggs and vanilla together with a fork, to combine whites and yolks, then add to the other ingredients, mixing very well. The easiest way to do this is with your clean hands.

Press the mixture into the prepared tins, cover the reserved nuts and fruit with a little of the remaining mixture and arrange artistically on the top of the cakes. Put the cake tins into preheated oven and immediately turn the oven down to 130°C. Bake for 60 – 75 minutes, until the mixture around the fruit and nuts and in the centre of each cake feels quite firm when pressed. Remove the cakes from the oven, cool for 5 minutes in the tins before turning them upside down on a cooling rack.  Remove the paper liners and leave the cakes to get cold.

When the cakes are cold brush each surface with brandy, whisky or sherry and let it dry.   Then, oil the palm of your hand with tasteless vegetable oil and lightly rub the tops of the cakes to polish them. Store, loosely wrapped in baking paper, for a couple of months in a cool, dark cupboard.

Come Christmas, or when you are ready to serve them, brush the cakes again with alcohol, leave them for 24 hours in a plastic bag and then polish them again with oil.  Cut with a sharp serrated edged knife and serve.  Happy Christmas!

 

 ·  Recipes

Esther’s Gingerbread (GF)

Esther’s Gingerbread (gluten free)

This recipe has quite a following it’s a favourite of Wellington caterer, Ruth Pretty & chef Al Brown. A “shared” recipe, passing unchanged from person to person because it is so good.  It originated from Esther Woollaston, a quilter friend of mine who gave me the recipe back in the early 1990’s – I have adapted it slightly to make it gluten free.

INGREDIENTS

280g gluten free plain flour

200g brown sugar

1 teaspoon gluten free baking soda

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

4 teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon mixed spice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

360g golden syrup

225g butter, roughly diced

2 eggs, lightly beaten

250ml milk

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Grease and line two loaf tins (25.5 x 13.2 x 6.5cm)

In a large bowl sift the flour, brown sugar, baking soda baking powder and the spices together – mix the dry ingredients well.

In a microwave proof bowl, gently melt the golden syrup and butter for one minute on high. Stir together allowing the heat of the golden syrup to melt the butter.  Hold to one side.

Add the butter and syrup mixture to the dry ingredients, followed by the lightly beaten eggs and milk. Whisk everything together until the batter is smooth and glossy.

Pour the batter into the tins so they are three quarters full and cook for one hour and 10 minutes or until a skewer when prodded into the gingerbread comes out clean.

Cool in the tins for 30 minutes before turning out on a cake rack to cool.

 

TO SERVE:

Slice and slather with beautiful butter for afternoon tea or with a creamy, blue cheese (Kapiti’s Kikorangi) and butter on the cheese board or for dessert, serve the gingerbread warm with poached fruit and custard…

 

 ·  Recipes, Uncategorized

Christmas Cake

Christmas cake (gluten free)

Makes a large 23cm round or square cake.

INGREDIENTS

500g sultanas

500g raisins

500g currants

½ cup (125ml) sherry

Rind of one lemon and one orange

1 ½ cups brown sugar

250g butter, softened

1 tablespoon golden syrup

5 large eggs

2 cups “strong” gluten free flour suitable for bread making

½ teaspoon ground allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander and nutmeg

METHOD

A day before needed, put dried fruit and sherry into a snap lock bag, seal and leave on a sunny bench.  Flip the bag over occasionally so that the sherry is absorbed and the fruit plumps up. Preheat the oven to 150°C.  Line the sides and the bottom of a 23cm round or square tin with a single layer of baking paper.

Peel the lemon and orange rind with a potato peeler and place in a food processor with the sugar.  Blitz until the zest is finely chopped.  Add  butter, process until pale and fluffy, then add the golden syrup and mix again.  Next add the eggs, one at a time and add one tablespoon of flour in between each egg to prevent the mixture from curdling.  Mix well.

In a very large bowl mix the rest of the flour, the spices and the plumped up fruit together.  Add the creamed mixture and mix until it drops softly from a spoon.  If the mixture is too dry and stiff, soften it with up to ¼ cup (60ml) of extra sherry or brandy.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and decorate the top with dessert almonds and glacé cherries.Bake at 150°C for one hour then turn the oven down to 140°C and cook for about three hours, or until a skewer poked in the centre of the cake comes out clean.  Start testing after 1 ½ hours.

Drizzle ¼ cup of brandy over the cake edges while it is still hot and fresh out of the oven.  Leave it for at least an hour before removing the cake from the tin. When the cake is completely cold, wrap it in a couple of layers of baking paper and then in a clean linen tea towel and then place in a cool, dark pantry.

It’s not a good idea to wrap the cake in foil or to place it in a completely air tight plastic container, as it can go mouldy.  Give the cake a bit of space to breathe, particularly if you are storing it for a couple of months before Christmas. Every couple of weeks check that the cake is still ok and if desired, feed the cake another couple of spoonfuls of brandy.

If the cake has become too dry, brush all the surfaces liberally with sherry or brandy, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate it for a day or so.  Repeat as necessary.

 

 

 ·  Drinks, Recipes, Uncategorized

Elderflower Cordial

It’s time to make Elderflower Cordial

(Makes 2 Litres)
November at Te Puhi farm is Elderflower time. Delicate and ephemeral elderflowers teach you the meaning of “Carpe diem” or, seize the day! The flowers take about a week to form their buds then one day they open; sometimes the bract of flowers are as large as a widespread hand, and then the next day they can be ravaged by the bees and the wind. Pick them when you see them in full creamy white bloom – don’t wait for them to turn darker and don’t pick them if their edges are brown.

This is an efficient recipe and the method saves you dealing with a lot of sticky liquid. It comes from a beautiful book by Fern Verrow – A year of recipes from a farm and its kitchen.

INGREDIENTS:

50 Freshly picked elderflower heads, shaken, not washed and remove the stalks
4 lemons
2 litres boiling water
1.5kg granulated white sugar

METHOD:

Snip the flower heads into a large, clean bowl. Slice two lemons, add them to the bowl and pour over the boiling water. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave overnight to infuse.
The next day strain the infusion through a muslin cloth and strainer into a saucepan. Juice the remaining lemons then strain the juice into the pan and discard any pips.
Add the sugar and heat gently, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes until the liquid reaches 90°C on a sugar thermometer.
Pour the hot syrup into sterilised bottles and seal. It should last at least a year if stored in a cool, dark cupboard.

Elderflowers have a lot of natural yeasts on them, so sometimes the syrup ferments and fizzes. It’s really important therefore that you sterilize and keep all equipment scrupulously clean. Perfect for summer….enjoy!

Thought

Maybe if we are surrounded in beauty
someday we will become what we see.
- Jewel Kilcher -

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