Quick, delicious and very simple to make this hearty chowder is perfect for a winters evening.  Not adding all the corn until after it has ben blended means you get a sweet pop every now and again and as it’s thickened by the potoatoe it’s gluten free.

Extra virgin olive oil
1 onion diced
1 celery stalk diced
500g potato
1 litre vegetable stock
2 cups frozen sweetcorn
Salt & peppert to taste
Chopped parsley

Heat a little olive oil in a heavy based saucepan.  Sautee the onions and celery for approximately 5 minutes until translucent.  Add peeled and chopped potatoes with a litre of stock and simmer for 20 minutes until they are soft. Taste for seasoning.  Add one cup of corn.  Puree the mixture either in batches in a food processor, or using a stick blender.  Return to the pot with the remaining cup of corn and heat. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.  Serve with crusty bread.

4 free range NZ Pork chops
1 tblsp flour
1 apple, peeled and sliced
½ onion, sliced
1 cup apple cider (We love Good Georges)
1 cup good quality chicken stock
salt and pepper
thyme (fresh or dried)

Dust the chops with flour and season with salt and pepper.
Heat a little oil in a pan and sear the chops on one side until golden (approximately 3 minutes).

Turn the chops over and add the apple slices, onion, some thyme as well as the cider and stock.  Simmer for 5 minutes before removing the chops.  Allow the pork to rest and continue to simmer the sauce for 5 minutes to reduce before serving.

This is such a simple dish to make and combines the timeless combination of pork and apple.

I enjoy cooking and whipping up easy to prepare wholesome meals, made with our beautiful fresh local produce.  I haven’t enjoyed having to cover it with petroleum based cling film full of toxic phthalates and chemicals linked to cancers, hormone, and oestrogen problems though. And now I don’t need to as I’ve switched over to using our new BioBag cling film.

It’s the first food safe cling film…ever. Based on renewable raw materials BioBag cling film is made from GE (GMO) free plant and natural materials and biodegradable polymer, without toxic plasticizers or additives that can transfer to foods. Compostable and biodegradable to European EN13432 and American ASTM D6400 standards.

These standards require greater than 60C temperature to compost, home composts however are usually less than 60C so it will take longer than the 180 days to compost in home compost.

As well as being food safe, human safe and better for the environment, after use it can be disposed of with food scraps for composting.  I find that just burying it straight into the garden with the rest of our food scraps is also a good way to go. By the time I’ve worked through the vege patch, and get back to the start again, it’s disappeared along with all the rest of the organic scraps.

BioBag cling film can be used for all kinds of foods, including those with high fat and acid content, which is not always the case for traditional cling films. This new cling film also reduces climate change gas emissions, energy consumption and the use of non-renewable resources… convenience without guilt.

A unique feature is its good moisture transmission, allowing foods to remain fresher longer without ‘sweating’, while still providing excellent protection against microorganisms and deterioration of food caused by exposure to oxygen. Friendlypak BioBag cling film’s high odour barrier prevents transmission of odours to other foods. Good technical characteristics in terms of strength, puncture and tear resistance make this film equal to or better than traditional cling films but with a unique feature, the ability to tear in a straight line, speeding handling and eliminating the need for a pack cutter.

BioBag Cling Film also has very good elasticity and adhesion to itself, glass and ceramics. It will remain cohered in the freezer or microwave but loses some of its ability to re-adhere if reused especially from the freezer

There is one limitation however, being biodegradable it does have a limited shelf life so will deteriorate after a year or so, therefore it is best to purchase what you need rather than carry stocks.

It’s fantastic to be able to use cling film throughout the kitchen, and then be able to chuck it in the food scrap bin and put it out with the rest of the compost, its cool stuff.

www.friendlypak.co.nz

Don’t judge gnocchi on those ready made versions you find in the supermarkets.  Gnocchi should be soft like little pillows not like hard rubber.  I love gnocchi as once you have made them a few times they are quick and easy to turn out, definitely faster and easier than fresh pasta!  Plus the toppings you can serve them with are endless – toss through some pesto, or make a creamy tomato sauce, saute some wild mushrooms with some butter and sage…..

I like to bake my potatoes.  Some recipes will say steam or boil the potatoes but by roasting them you ensure they have as little moister as possible meaning less flour is needed.

Ingredients

1kg or aprox. 4 large floury potatoes, skin on (I used Agria)
1 egg
Flour

Scrub potatoes and bake until soft in the centre. Allow to cool slightly but when they are still hot, peel and pass through a ricer (or alternatively mash).

Place potato on a floured surface and add an egg before mixing together. As you mix, slowly incorporate flour, about 1- 1/2 cups. You want to incorporate enough flour to make a firm dough, but not tough.

Divide the mix into smaller portions and roll out into thin sausages. Using a knife cut into 1 cm pieces and score with a fork, or if you have one a gnocchi paddle.  The grooves help the gnocchi cling to the sauce.

To cook, bring large pot of salted water to the boil and add the gnocchi. This is best done in batches if cooking a lot.  They are cooked when they float to the top, about 1-2 minutes.

Fresh Zucchini, tomato and basil sauce

1 red onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 zucchini, thinly sliced
2-3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
a handfull od fresh basil
dash of white wine
salt and pepper
Fresh Parmesan

Heat a little oil in a pan and add the onion.  Cook for 2-3 minutes before adding the garlic, zucchini and tomato.  Cook for 3-5 minutes before adding a splash of wine and the fresh basil and continue to cook until the tomatoes have broken down – about another 3-5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and toss the cooked gnocchi through before finishing with some grated Parmesan cheese.

Creamy Tomato Sauce
1kg Tomatoes, chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Large handfull of basil
Avocado or Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper
Creme Fraiche

Heat oil in a pan and add onion. Cook for a few minutes before adding the garlic, tomatoes and basil. After about 10 minutes add a glug of red wine and season. Continue to cook until the tomatoes have completely broken down. Remove from the heat and pass through a sieve. Return the sauce to the heat and stir through a dollop of creme fraiche before adding cooked gnocchi. Serve with freshly shaved Parmesan and fresh basil.

These are super easy pancakes to make they are perfect for the kids to learn.  Using banana to sweeten them, along with some anti oxidant packed blueberries they are also fairly healthy.  If you want to make them even better for you replace the self raising flour with wholemeal flour and 1 tsp of baking powder.  Two Tblspn of LSA mixed in is also great!

2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 cup self raising flour
½ tspn cinnamon
½ cup blueberries

In a bowl mash the banana.  Next mix in the eggs until completely combined.  Finally add the flour, cinnamon and blueberries until smooth.  (If using frozen blueberries you may want to add them at the end to avoid them bleeding through the mix.)

Melt a little butter or oil in a pan before adding large spoonfuls of the mix in.  Cook at a med to low heat to ensure they cook all the way through before getting too brown on the outside.  When bubbles appear on the cooking pancakes it is time to flip them over.

Serve them warm drizzled with vanilla syrup, honey or blueberry sauce.

These are both vegan (without the dressing) and gluten free but packed full of goodness with the beans and quinoa.  They are though quite delicate so be careful when cooking them and don’t make them too big.

Falafel 

1 tin chick peas
½ cup broadbeans (peeled)
½ cup cooked quinoa (approx ¼ cup dry quinoa)
1/3 cup parsley
1/3 cup coriander
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
2 cloves crushed garlic
½ diced onion
Pinch of cayenne pepper
White pepper to taste
½ tsp salt
2 tblsp chickpea flour
1tsp baking powder

Yoghurt dressing

1 cup natural yoghurt
1 tsp curry powder
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
Chopped fresh coriander

Place all the falafel ingredients in a food processor, and mix until well combined.  Shape mixture into tablespoon size patties.

Heat some oil (I used coconut oil) in a heavy bottomed fry pan.  Gently fry the patties on a med heat until golden brown.  They are delicate, so you ideally do not want to flip them more than once.

To make the yoghurt dressing, mix the sweet chilli sauce and curry powder into the yoghurt.  Stir in the chopped coriander.

Serve the falafel on top of some baby spinach or rocket with the yoghurt dressing.  Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds for some extra crunch.

1 x can condensed milk
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
125g chopped butter
50 mls liquid glucose*
200g dark chocolate
2 Tblspn golden syrup
1 cup raisins soaked in rum

In a heavy based saucepan put the condensed milk, sugar, chopped butter, glucose and golden syrup. Stir over a medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Bring up to 116C on your candy thermometer, or the soft ball stage** and then continue to boil gently for 6 minutes. Remember to stir often to prevent the bottom sticking and burning!

Remove from the heat and when the bubbles subside add in the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted through, then finally add the rum soaked raisins. Pour into a lined dish, allow to cool for a few hours before putting in the fridge overnight to set.

Cut into small pieces as this is very rich!

* Liquid glucose is available in the baking aisle of all good supermarkets and food stores like Dantes Fine Foods in Cambridge. It’s easier to measure if you heat it a little in the microwave.

** If you don’t have a candy thermometer you can drop a small amount in a glass of cold water, if it forms a soft ball it is at the right temperature.

Megan from Red Kitchen tells us she makes a similar fudge which just flies out the door!  Megan simply omits the raisins and replaces the dark chocolate with white chocolate for her Russian Fudge.