Category: Recipe

June 5, 2014

Chicken in a New Pot

Yesterday was made a whole lot better by the arrival of my set of blue La Creuset kitchen delights- a casserole dish, a skillet and a little sauce pot. They are just so beautiful I had to keep walking into the kitchen to look at them! They are an incredibly generous wedding present from some family friends in New Zealand, and so we had a special dinner last night to honour them. DSCF3338

Chicken in a New Pot
4 chicken thighs, bone in
2 onions
8 cloves of garlic
2 tomatoes Handful of cherry tomatoes
Big handful basil
8 little potatoes
1 cup frozen spinach
A generous amount of olive oil
Salt and pepper to season

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This is a really easy recipe (I think it is based on a Jamie Oliver one I made a while back? Still waiting on my cookbooks to arrive). In a casserole pot or roasting tray, lay out your chicken thighs, the onions cut into wedges, the garlic peeled but left whole, the tomatoes cut into quarters, the cherry tomatoes halved, the potatoes halved, the spinach and the basil. Douse with olive oil, salt and pepper and put in the oven. Done deal. I left the lid on for the first hour, and then took it off for the second. This meant some of the liquid from the vegetables dried off a bit and the onions started to caramelise. My new oven is a gas one- new concept to me- so I am still getting my head around cooking in it. It seems a lot harder to make things nice and crispy, but I am sure I will master it over time, maybe with some tips from my dear readers?

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We shared some wine while we ate, and watched the fog roll in over the houses dotted on the hills opposite. This windy colourful city has kept me fuelled for another day.

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June 2, 2014

Orange and Almond Granola

Another breakfast recipe for you today. This granola is inspired by the beauty of Californian oranges, the zest adds a subtle but super tasty addition to your bowl.

Orange and Almond Granola

4 Tbsp honey
4 Tbsp oil (I used olive)
4 cups oats (I used whole grain as that is all they seem to sell in the organic place round the corner)
1tsp cinnamon
2 handfuls of almonds roughly chopped
1 handful pumpkin seeds
Zest of one orange
1/2 cup coconut shavings

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Melt the honey in a roasting dish in the oven as it warms up (to 180), then add the olive oil and combine. Next, stir in the oats  trying to cover them evenly with the liquid. Put them in the oven for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Then add the almonds, seeds, orange zest, cinnamon and coconut and bake for another ten minutes. Make sure the nuts and coconut don’t burn, if they are looking a bit toasty, just take it out early.

The smell of the orange, honey, coconut and almonds all toasting together is incredible. Also incredible, how cheap figs are here. Courtney M, you would be beside yourself. They top it all off so beautifully, making it a truly luxurious way to start the day.

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May 30, 2014

When an orange and a chicken become friends

I have a love/hate relationship with yoga. I know people love it and get all in touch with their inner voice, get all stretchy and flexy and then love drinking coconut water afterwards – I get that. I just get a bit bored. Where’s the competition? Where’s the running around and shouting? I often feel like I spend enough time in my head as it is without being forced in there for 90 minutes straight. But I have signed up to a yoga studio just round the corner from our apartment to keep me busy and hopefully meet a few people. I am giving it another go, and yes I do feel better afterwards. Plus, an added bonus is that I have been thinking about some great food to make for dinner while I spend all that time in my head. This one came to me last night and I popped into the Bi-Rite on the way home to pick up some chicken, asparagus and an orange.

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ORANGE CHICKEN SALAD

Serves 2
2 big chicken thighs- skin on
A bundle of asparagus
1 avocado
Rocket
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp marjoram
Zest of one orange
Salt
Olive oil
Juice of half a big juicy Californian orange/ juice of a whole normal one

Peel the skin back from the chicken thighs and rub them with the orange zest, cumin, salt, olive oil and margoram then tuck the skin back in. Just like making a bed. Pop them into the oven at 180 degrees celsiusand while they are getting started, snap the woody bits off the asparagus and cut into thirds. After about ten minutes, add the asparagus to the roasting dish. You can now decide how fatty you want to be- either take the skin off the chicken or leave it on. Up to you. By the time the chicken is ready, the asparagus will be too. Add it to a bowl with the sliced avocado and rocket and dress it with the orange juice, olive oil and salt.

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This salad is just sooooo tasty. The orange flavour goes so well with the asparagus and chicken. I imagine it would be even better with duck if your budget stretches that far, but we were pretty happy with this for a Thursday evening in.

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May 29, 2014

Making breakfast better

I only discovered bircher muesli a couple of years ago at a café on Ponsonby Road. Since then I have been mixing it up at home, trying to create a perfect recipe. At the moment, coconut and raspberries are a vital ingredient for me.

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COCONUT AND RASPBERRY BIRCHER MUESLI

2 cups oats
1 cup coconut water
1 cup natural yoghurt
1 granny smith apple julienned
½ cup coconut shavings
½ cup frozen raspberries
2 Tbsp melted honey
1 tsp cinnamon

This is as simple as combining everything together in a container that will happily live in the fridge for up to five days.  I never actually measure anything out, I just play around with amounts until the consistency seems about right. You may need to add some more liquid- water, coconut water, apple juice or yoghurt is fine- more fruit, or more oats as you desire. Some people like dried fruit in their mix, nuts are another popular addition, but I like it like this. Especially this morning with some fresh strawberries cut on top and a book in bed…

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May 29, 2014

Add some crunch to your lunch

At my family home, we often have grated things for lunch. Grated things has changed and evolved over many years, depending on who is making it, what is in season and what people feel like that day. Generally there will be at least a couple of the following: cabbage, carrots, beetroot, celery, apple, cheese, cashews, peanuts, chickpeas, red onion, chillis… the list goes on. I don’t have a grater in my new kitchen, but did some fine slicing today to make a San Fran Grated Things. I sent a picture to a salad loving friend, and she wanted the recipe- so here you are Al, enjoy!

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SAN FRANCISCO GRATED THINGS

1 cup red quinoa
2 cups water
1 granny smith apple
1 fennel bulb
1 stalk of celery
Handful of flat leaf parsley
Olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Tsp whole grain mustard
Salt
Rocket

Put the rinsed (don’t have a sieve so I didn’t actually do this step…) quinoa in a pot with the water, bring to the boil and then simmer until the water has all absorbed. Set aside to cool. Finely slice the apple, fennel and celery. Make the dressing by combining the lemon juice, mustard, olive oil and salt and then mix it all together with the rocket and quinoa in a big bowl. Make sure you do this straight away as the apple and fennel will start to discolour if they don’t get any loving from the lemon juice. This is a very quick and easy recipe, perfect for a lunch at home with friends – just add some poached chicken, nice cheese, a loaf of bread, some wine. Or make it up the night before to take to work. It will be worth it.

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May 28, 2014

Cooking in a new kitchen

I have a kitchen. My very own, do whatever I want, fill it with whatever I want, kitchen. With this comes the fact I have nothing to go in the kitchen. A crate of things from New Zealand comes over in a couple of months, so it is a matter of working out what we can do without, and what we need immediately. Luckily we went out for dinner with a couple of new American friends on Sunday night to a cool wee local gastro pub called Magnolia with delicious beers and burgers. Steph lent us a pot, 2 knives, forks and spoons so we are good to go for a while! This means I am having to get creative with one pot. Here’s my first attempt…

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ONE POT WONDER

Pinch of fennel seeds
Pinch of chilli flakes
Tbsp of fresh thyme leaves
1 onion
1 stick celery
4 cloves garlic
2 chicken thighs
1 cup green lentils
1 tin tomatoes
1 cup of stock
Handful of green Sicilian olives
Handful of fresh parsley
Grated parmesan

Fry the onion, garlic, celery, fennel seeds, chilli flakes and thyme slowly in lots of olive oil. Once they have softened, turn up the heat a bit and add the chicken thighs so they lightly brown on each side. Then add the tin of tomatoes, the lentils and the stock, season well with salt and pepper then put the lid on and walk away. After about half an hour/45 minutes (I may have forgotten to check a clock) your lentils and chicken should have cooked. Try to schmush up the tomatoes as well as you can- they should have fallen apart a bit by themselves- and add the olives.

Serve this in a bowl with parsley and parmesan on top and some chunky sourdough bread on the side to mop up all the delicious juices.

This is served in our beautiful new bowls from Heath Ceramics– such an inspiring shop. We got a voucher for there from some amazing friends and got to spend it this weekend. Definitely worth checking out. Thanks guys!

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May 22, 2014

Celebrating with Italian Food

Today we signed our lease! We have a home! After getting a bit stressed about how competitive it is and how we don’t have social security numbers OR credit history in the US (apparently very important), I was starting to doubt our ability to be accepted anywhere. And when you have to pay $50 every time you apply for a place, things were getting expensive. But we succeeded. We are now proud renters of a one bedroom apartment and we move in on Saturday. It’s on the fourth floor, it’s near parks, cafes and restaurants, and it has a beautiful view out over the city. (Plus it is just near the Full House houses!)

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We went out to Ragazza for dinner and ate amazing salads and pizza, drank some yummy red wine and talked about what we needed to get for the place. And then the next night we stayed on the Italian buzz and ate this:

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MY KIND OF CARBONARA

2 zucchini
1 leek
1 onion
Fresh thyme
Fresh parsley
2 eggs
Long splash of cream
Salt and Pepper
Fettucine
Parmesan

Slowly and softly fry the finely chopped leek and onion in olive oil and the thyme. Add the zucchini halved and then cut into long slithers once they are lovely and soft. This will mean you will have some different textures going on. In a bowl mix together the cream and eggs with some salt, pepper and chopped parsley. When your pasta has finished cooking, drain it and then return it to the pot. Quickly add the cream mixture, stirring it through so it coats all the pasta equally. You want the pasta to be silky and shiny, not scrambled eggs, so make sure the pot is no longer on the heat. Then mix in the vegetables and serve with some shaved parmesan.

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Now I know this isn’t a REAL carbonara, but it  is rich and delicious. So Italians, you will have to excuse me.

You can add pancetta, prosciutto or bacon if you wish, it can add a nice bit of crunch. Or you can spend that money on a bottle of white wine to drink while you eat, as we did.

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May 19, 2014

Springtime soup

I love finishing a weekend with something healthy and tasty to prepare you for the week ahead. This springtime soup was perfect- easy, quick and delicious. The beauty of it lies in its versatility, you can just use whatever is in season. Make it a denser wintery soup with the addition of root vegetables, or a earthy autumnal soup with mushrooms.

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SPRINGTIME SOUP

1 onion
1 fennel bulb
4 cloves of garlic
Zest of half a lemon
6 spears of asparagus cut into thirds
Handful of brussel sprouts halved
Half a Savoy cabbage finely sliced
1 handful of baby spinach
Fresh Italian parsley
Fresh basil
Chicken stock

Slowly fry the finely chopped fennel, lemon zest, garlic and onion in a good amount of olive oil. Once they have softened and are lovely and sweet, add the chicken stock, the asparagus, brussel sprouts, cabbage, spinach, herbs and simmer for about ten minutes. You don’t want to vegetables to be raw, but you also don’t want them mushy and boiled tasting. Aim for firm and youthful!

Serve with some grated parmesan, freshly ground black pepper and bread and butter. Health instantly restored after the weekend.


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May 14, 2014

Fresh Produce Delights

I am so excited to have a whole foods market and multiple little fresh produce shops just around the corner from our airbnb apartment. Here’s hoping our permanent home has so many delicious food shopping choices close by because fresh berries are in season! Breakfast is instantly so much better with them. Speaking of breakfast, two of my amazing friends, Lucy and Jono are launching The Muesli Hub, a made to order muesli company. They have asked me to make up a San Fran mix, so watch this space.

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Last night we resisted the pull of 100 different restaurants we want to try. After unsuccessfully looking at four different apartments- one too small, one too dark, one too mouldy, one too like a dungeon with fleas- we came home and enjoyed a cold beer and our first cooked dinner in our (kind of) San Francisco home.

I made a lentil salad with grilled asparagus, poached eggs and a loaf of sourdough bread. It took a second to whip together and tasted good!

Lentils and green things

1 cup of lentils

1 lemon

Big bunch of basil

2 cloves of garlic

tsp mustard

Big bunch of asparagus

2 eggs

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Cook the lentils until the are firm, not schmushy. Dress these up with 2 garlic cloves cooked whole in a lot of olive oil until softened and then break them up with a fork into the oil. Add the mustard and juice of a lemon. Stir through the lentils with the roughly chopped basil leaves. Top this with the asparagus and then the poached eggs. I like to fry the asparagus on a griddle pan so they have those awesome charred marks. And if you don’t like eggs (like me) substitute some cheese in there instead. I used mozzarella, but haloumi or even slithers of parmesan would work just as well.

We ate this with delicious sourdough bread, whipped butter and cold beers by the open bay windows.

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