As I was making the traditional Brandy Butter for our Christmas Pudding this year I decided to make up a couple of extra Sweet butters to compliment our holiday menus. Sweetened flavoured butters, or Hard Sauce, are a sweet, rich dessert sauce made by beating butter and sugar with rum (rum butter), brandy (brandy butter), Scotch whisky … More Sweet Flavoured Butters
My grandson Zach enjoying an early morning pre-breakfast banana when he stayed with us recently. Got me thinking about the innocent pleasure of eating a banana. I like my breakfast Bananas on toast but can never settle on sliced or mashed…..plain, sugar or cinnamon……so many choices for such a simple innocent pleasure How do you … More Innocent pleasures
Revision – in Part 1 – The Basics I introduced the recipe for making Hokey Pokey, the classic New Zealand Creamy ice-cream containing nuggets of this golden crunchy-ness and the song (with actions) that takes the same name. Hokey pokey Muffins combine all that is good about muffins with the flavour and crunch you get from Hokey Pokey, … More Hokey Pokey – Part 2 – The Muffins
Following on from our meal at Montezumas I decided to have a go at making the Mole Pablano. I found lots of recipes, many of which were quite complicated. I liked the look of this one courtesy of Lawerence Wheeler and decided to give it a try. Once the sauce was made I decided it was missing something … More Mole Poblano – Chicken with Chocolate Sauce
I came across this Martha Stewart recipe online recently and just had to give it a try. We had a family lunch when Anne-Louise and Daryl were up in Sept/Oct 2011 so this was a logical choice to take along. It only uses six ingredients all of which should be in your kitchen already – I just … More Six ingredient Apple Pie Cake
My Twin grandbabies, Zachary and Lillian, are now experimenting with different foods and being the good Nan that I am I have started making them some of my old favourites. Semolina custard was a staple for my children as it is quick and easy to make, can be made with their formuls, and can be tarted up … More Semolina Custard
Dee was my mums father. Not sure how we managed to reduce Grandad to Dee… but we did and everyone knew him as Dee. Officially his name was Gordon Huia Floyd and, like all grandads, he was special. Anne-Louise, Chris and I all have different memories of why he was so special – there was … More Dee Muffins – The muffin Version of a Belgium Biscuit
Nice and crisp with a spicy coating these are the ultimate in a biscuit. Not too flash, not too plain and super quick and easy to make. The littlies love helping with the rolling of the balls – and eating of the mixture – but it makes heaps of biscuits that freeze well and defrost … More Snicker Doodles from Tokoroa days
“The cookie dough is amazing, its the best part” says Dianne, who is now 23, and still loves to make this recipe just to eat the cookie dough. If you want to try them cooked – don’t ask Dianne to help make them!!!!! 250 grams Chocolate bits 250 grams Butter 1 1/3 Cups Brown or … More Chocolate Chippies
My Grandpa, Stan Smith, loved these and got me to make them whenever we went to Timaru on holidays. I don’t recall being allowed to take over Nanas kitchen for any other reason but to make Grandpa his pinwheel scones. Some years later my sister-in law, Louise, requested this recipe for my brother Steve as … More Pinwheel Scones
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