West Auckland and The Waitakares

Whenever I stay with the Dancing Sister at Titirangi I find it fairly easy  to ignore all family obligations and head out on some food/retail expedition. West Auckland, the Waitakares and the West Coast cannot be explored in a couple of days.  West Auckland Info is an invaluable research tool if you are travelling to Auckland but don't necessarily want to stay in town. The tourist trail can get busy on weekends as you are competing with Auckland residents as well as out of towners.

 The Dancing Sister and I visited the Titirangi Markets one Saturday. Details can be found on the above site. We picked up a good coffee at the mobile coffee cart before venturing indoors to taste and buy some great cheese from the Over the Moon Dairy Company. Isn't that just the best name for a cheese making company! We bought some bread to accompany it from two different stalls. The pumpkin seed one pictured was sensational, as was a ciabatta from another stall.



We did make an attempt to  veer away from the food stalls and I purchased a wooden hanging for the old house at Narooma. I always have a think before purchasing wooden items because of the hassle of taking them back into Australia. This was (according to the gift of the gab guy selling it) a painting on an old piece of Rimu timber from his house in Taranaki which had been damaged in a storm. It did delay me on arrival home as I had declared it but I had no problems once they saw it.

Next pit stop was the cured meats from the Salash Delicatessan stall. I bought some spicy fresh chorizo which ended up at the brother's get together later that night down Huia Road. Just sliced and thrown on his little verandah bbq (and if he had some Pedro Ximenez sherry it would have been splashed on at the end) it made a delicious beginning to the evening meal. The brother had marinated a butterflied leg of lamb overnight and it came up a treat. He is a bit of a bbq afficionado (well, he is by birth Australian)
and just enjoys being out on his deck cooking.

Thanks to my insistence we also shared a paua fritter at the markets. I am not sure it needed the slice of white bread that went with it but the fritter was tasty enough with a squeeze of lemon. I'd go for the mussel fritter next time.

We had a leisurely walk home and then it was over to Mum's to demolish the day's purchases.

Auckland and the Bluff Oyster Arrival

More eagerly awaited than the first Beaujolais nouveau in France, the arrival of Bluff Oyster season in New Zealand is given blanket coverage across all forms of media. Unfortunately, due to the apparent cost of transporting them unshucked, most NZers only know them in little plastic pots. Soul restaurant in Auckland has Bluff Oyster all you can eat events but those events are sold out before the oysters arrive. For those of you lucky enough to travel down south you have your very own Bluff Oyster and Food Festival in Invercargill 25th May 2013. I am going to make the pilgramage next year. For me this year it will be the Narooma Oyster Festival over the weekend of 4-5th May 2013.

I have eaten these wonderful Bluff Oysters (Tiostrea Chilensis is the scientific name and points to the other place in the world they are found, yes, Chile) on three occasions I can remember, the latest being last week in Auckland.

Following a family yum cha session at the Grand Harbour in downtown Auckland we stopped in at the Fish Markets when I saw this blackboard sign and couldn't resist a purchase. These little bivalves are not cheap and my intention to buy a dozen for $29.99 brought forth comments that called into question the state of my  mental health. However we are a long time dead so the purchase went ahead.



We were heading out to dinner that night with the Dancing Sister and while awaiting her arrival home I decided on a gin with soda and lime juice (the lime juice which comes in a pouch in NZ). Normally it would have been tonic but the tonic buyer was off his game. He was forgiven as I remembered with some delight that the tonic buyer isn't at all keen on oysters natural. This meant six each for the Dancing Sister and I.

Lemon cheeks were cut and the oysters drained of their briny liquor in preparation for consumption. The Dancing Sister arrived home at an unusually early hour (for her) and so I was caught short with a full glass of gin and soda and lime unconsumed. What to do? Scull the glass and then open a wine to have with the oysters or give the gin a go with the oysters? We went with the gin. The Bluffs really stood up against the icy gin and lime. Quite an epiphany!  I will be trying the same combination later today with some Narooma oysters (Sydney rock oysters - saccostrea glomerata). I am not sure that it will work as the two oyster types  are so different.

(Post Script - no, didn't work so well. The Narooma oysters, actually from Merimbula, were so creamy and and salty and the flesh so different to the Bluffs that it didn't work. Bubbles are much better here.)

Before leaving the Fish Markets I purchased two more items. The first was some smoked trevally. I hope someone enjoyed it because I flew back to Canberra before I had a chance to eat it. The range of smoked fish items in NZ is amazing. My mother, Kiwi born and bred, used to poach smoked fish in milk and then use the milk to make a parsley sauce. Strange as it sounds she also poached black pudding in milk and I do remember that fondly although it is decades since I last ate it.

 The second item was a  single serve container of feijoa ice-cream. Feijoa is a word that gets me really excited. I now have two smallish trees growing at Narooma and I am eagerly awaiting my second crop. It was lovely ice cream although not as intense as a feijoa gelato I ate at Newmarket in Auckland about 5 years ago. The shop was closed the day I visited on this trip. Sad.

And look what appeared this morning on the ground at Narooma! My first born feijoa for the year!! I had to take the photo quickly as it only lasted for two minutes more. Lovely.

Shadows of Blue and Whitestone

I have been missing in action. The action involved a house purchase, children arriving for Xmas from overseas and a wedding of one of the said children. It seemed that every time I thought about blogging my unpaid work as a financial planner, wedding planner, travel consultant, event manager and dog minder all seemed to get in the way. I still mind the dog but the other occupations have evaporated so I am back.


With the troops all back in their respective locations I paid a solitary, but not lonely, visit to the markets, the main purpose being to visit Eco Meats to get my knives sharpened. Eco Meats stocks a good line of deli items and cheeses. My eyes hit upon an old favourite, Gippsland Tarago River Cheese Company 'Shadows of Blue'. As the bushfires were burning in the Gippsland area of Victoria I felt a little pang and bought the cheese. This cheese (and many other blues) goes really well with the Hot Jalapeno Jelly from Food Lovers at the markets. I have never been disappointed with this cheese.









Down at Narooma last week I ventured into the local supermarket to replenish some staples. I gravitated to the cheese section at the entrance and was pleased to see some new varieties on sale. I had left the Shadows of Blue back in Canberra so I selected a NZ Whitestone Vintage Windsor Blue. What a great surprise. The other cheeses by Whitestone are on my list for next time.


I will add to the post with some favourite blue cheese recipes and ideas but I thought I had better make a start in case I was consigned to the 'oh she started a blog but didn't go on with it' category of bloggers.

Knead Patisserie - Belconnen Markets

Halleluljah!

At last Knead Patisserie is finally getting recognized for the coffee.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/lifestyle/gimme-five-decent-coffees-20121114-29c3t.html


Yes, the rustic(a) rye bread is my bread of choice (it is brilliant fresh, toasted and stale), yes the creme brulee tarts are worth selling your soul for and yes the staff behave as if you are their best friend.  However what drags me in there time after time is the coffee. Coffee in hand I stroll around the markets planning what to cook from all the fabulous produce on offer.

Now Tom and Crystal are moving on to live back in Canada, Crystal's home country. I believe the recipes have been passed on and the staff will all be retained. I for one will make sure I fill up on my share of coffee, tarts, bagels, baguettes, sausage rolls, pies and more coffee before the dynamic duo disappear, just in case the unthinkable happens. It took so long for Belconnen Markets to have a place as brilliant as this. Let's hope the new owners have the respect for Tom and Crystal's legacy. Only time will tell!

Bon voyage guys, Canberra's loss, Canada's gain.

AN UPDATE:  So far so good! Thankfully my favourite Canberra barista is still there and everything remains the same. I did have a superior gingerbread macaron around Xmas time.

Auckland and the Dancing Sister's Tamarillo Pudding

Back from a quick trip across the ditch to see the Dancing Sister, Mum and brother Al. I was only there for 6 days but managed to eat, drink, shop and be merry and even had a moment of cultural edification at a photographic exhibition.

My favourite fruit in the world is the feijoa. I first tried it in Auckland in the 1970s when my parents lived next to a house with a huge feijoa tree. The house belonged to Tom Skinner for those of you old enough to remember that feisty fellow. Thankfully the tree hung over the fence and that meant feijoa heaven from March through to about June. In Australia they have a very short season and most are imported from NZ. I have two young  trees down at Narooma which I am hoping will provide me with more than the 10 I harvested last season. Although there was not a feijoa to be found last week in Auckland it's very best friend and mine, the tamarillo, was easy to find. A plate of peeled and sliced tamarillos alternated with peeled and sliced feijoas is near enough to perfection in my foodie book.

With a dinner date at brother Al's imminent the Dancing Sister offered to bring dessert. Now this dessert has loomed large in her repertoire for some time. I have eaten it in various guises. She just calls it a fruit pudding. Until this week my favourite was always based on feijoas. All sorts of fruit can be used, even canned plums but this time it was fat tamarillos picked up at Fruit World at New Lynn. This recipe has to be one of the fastest and best little desserts I have ever come across. Experiment with different fruit. It seems that tart fruits work best. The Dancing Sister credits two fellows who lived next door years ago with this recipe but I credit her with this version.

Ready for the oven

Ingredients
125 grams butter
125 grams caster sugar

125 grams self raising flour              
2 eggs,well beaten
tamarillos, peeled and thickly sliced
-we used 6 or 7
pinch salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar, extra
icing sugar

Method
Heat the oven to 150-160 C fan forced or 180 C conventional oven.
Butter and flour a 23cm flan dish.

Melt butter and sugar together and allow to cool. Add eggs and sift in flour and salt and whisk to mix well. Pour batter mixture into the flan dish. Lay the fruit slices over the top of the batter and sprinkle with the extra caster sugar. Cook in the oven for about 25 minutes. Test with a skewer and if it needs a little longer, put it back in. Allow the pudding to cool a little and then sprinkle with a little icing sugar. Serve warm or cold with cream, ice cream or yoghurt (or all three).

Pulled Beef Chilli Con Carne

Living in the UK in the1980's meant every buffet dinner we attended (and there were many) included a helping of chilli con carne. I have a well worn copy of 'Chilli Madness' given to me by the Dancing Sister for a birthday in 1982. I used the recipe for First Love Chilli from the book for years but it has since morphed into something very different.

On a pit stop to the markets a sideways gravity pulled me into Cooking Co-ordinates. They stock a full range of Herbie's Spices and I left with an inspiring collection of dried chillies.

With some lovely chuck steak also on board I headed home to try out another step in the evolution of my chilli con carne.

Some may say this is a little on the Tex Mex side (with a touch of the Basque region by way of the piment d'espelette) but it does the job Jimmy. All the dried chillies have different heat and taste. The anchos are fruity, indeed raisin like as the blurb on the packet said.

I  serve this with rice and some tomato, avocado, chopped coriander and chilli on the side with a dollop of sour cream or yoghurt. My current favourite accompaniement is grated haloumi and chopped coriander sandwiched between store bought cumin and coriander seed flat bread which is then toasted in a sandwich press or in a frypan. A mixed leaf salad on the side with a limey vinaigrette works well.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons lard or oil
1kilo good chuck steak cut into several large pieces
1 large onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
A selection of dried chillies soaked in hot water and finely chopped
- I used 1 each of ancho, pasilla, New Mexico, guajillo and a hot long chilli(teja)
1 tsp piment d'espelette *(or substitute with 1 teaspoon paprika and cayenne to taste)
1 teaspoon celery salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 can chopped tomatoes      
1 large bayleaf
3 cups water or beef stock
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 red or green capsicum, chopped
2 cans kidney beans

Heat the oil in a hot heavy based ovenproof casserole and brown the pieces of meat. Remove the meat, turn the heat down to medium and saute the onions and garlic until soft and just starting to colour. Return the meat to the pan and add the all the other ingredients except for the green capsicum and the kidney beans. Bring it back to the boil and then put in a slow oven, covered, at 150deg C for 2 hours. Remove from the oven, return the pot to the cooktop, remove the lid and simmer slowly for half an hour or until the meat flakes apart with a fork and the liquid is reduced. Add the capsicum and kidney beans, check the seasoning and simmer for half an hour.

Serves 4 comfortably.

* I use the piment d'espelette imported by Fine French Food in Sydney. For those in New Zealand, Sabato stocks the spice.

Spiced Duck Fillets with Blood Orange Sauce

I love duck and am very happy that it is easier to buy now. I bought a couple of fillets at Belconnen Markets, at The Chicken Coop. They are cheery, helpful people with a great range of poultry products.

 I wasn't planning to blog this meal as I was just experimenting with the sauce. Duck breast fillets are great because they are cooked quickly and can take really interesting sauces. This sauce came about as I had some blood oranges from our infant tree at Narooma that I had brought back to Canberra. They were very sweet and the colour was wonderful. Of course you can use any sweet orange available. I imagine tangelos or mandarins would be good as well. The verjuice was thrown in as I had been reading Maggie's Verjuice Cookbook earlier in the day. Love the Maggie. The fennel was sitting in the fridge. Orange and fennel go so well together, and the carrot was for extra sweetness. The spice rub can be varied to taste. My friend Jorge the chef introduced me to this kind of rub for duck. The good thing about this recipe is that the sauce can be made ages ahead, even frozen.

I served this with sauteed potatoes, unashamedly cooked in rendered duck fat (pour in a bit of the duck fat rendered from the spiced fillets). I had bought some purple carrots at the Markets so slung those in with good old orange carrots and some broad beans. I didn't bother peeling the skin from the beans as I grew up eating them with the skin, but you could please yourself. They don't look so pretty in the photo, in fact the photo isn't pretty, but it tasted great.

I was on my own for dinner so I had a fillet left over. The next day I sliced it cold, added some of the leftover sauce which had "jellyfied" and enjoyed myself thoroughly. I remember an old recipe I have written down somewhere for a cold roasted chicken dish with cubes of jellied stock. I think it was from Vogue or some such thing. I know where to find it. Mmm, another experiment.

Spiced Duck Fillets with Blood Orange Sauce

2 duck breast fillets

Spice Rub Mix
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 juniper berries
2 cloves

Sauce
1 tblsp butter
1 tblsp finely chopped eschalots
2 tblsps verjuice (or white wine)
1 cup good chicken stock (cubes will not work)
1 carrot peeled and cut in chunks
1/2 small fennel bulb thickly sliced
1/3-1/2 cup blood orange juice

Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the eschalots and saute gently until they are soft but not brown. Add the verjuice, simmer for 30 seconds and then add the chicken stock. When it comes back to the simmer put in the carrots and the fennel and half of the orange juice. Simmer for half an hour or until the vegetables are quite soft. Put a bowl under a strainer and strain the liquid from the vegetables and then with a masher push down on the vegetables to extract as much juice and flavour as possible from the vegetables. Discard the solids remaining. Return the liquid to the pan again, add the remaining orange juice (or to taste) and simmer until reduced by half or to your liking. Taste for seasoning. If you feel it needs a bit of sweetening add a pinch of sugar and simmer a minute longer. If your oranges are very sweet you may not need this step.

Trim duck breasts of any excess fat around the edges. Score the surface of the fillets to allow the fat to render out when cooked.

Put the spices in a mortar and pestle and crush coarsely. If you use a spice grinder don't grind too finely. Rub the spice mix all over the fillets. If you are able leave overnight do so but half an hour will be OK at a pinch. When ready to cook, wipe as much of the spice mix off the fillets as you can. Heat a pan over medium high heat and sear the fillets skin side down for 2-3 minutes until well caramelised and most of the fat has rendered out. Pour off the fat, turn the fillets over, cook for a minute to sear and finish in a 200deg C oven for about 5-7 minutes. Rest, covered with foil in a warm place for 5-10  minutes. This is crucial to let the duck meat relax.

Serve with sauce.        

Serves 2

Narooma's Award Winning Bacon

Bacon is, for me, one of the major food groups and Narooma is one of my favourite places in the world. Imagine my delight to find that the full rasher bacon from Rapley's Midtown Quality Meats had placed third in the National Bacon Awards for Excellence.

Rapley's stocks a good range of meats, duck fillets and  chickens as well as a great range of cold meats, black pudding, pork pies and some really interesting sausage varieties which have also been winning awards. They make their own cabanossi (try the chilli and black pepper one if you like a kick!) Parking on the Hill is always easy (behind Lynch's Hotel if it is the tourist season) so pull over if only for the bacon alone.