Cake time!
A busy morning … zesty spuds, squeezable limes, tasty sandwiches and artisan awards. Oh, and cake. A good one! This is for all you wanna-be cake makers who go no further once they read, ‘Cream butter and sugar and beat in eggs’ when perusing a recipe. There are plenty of ways to achieve success with the creaming method of cake making, but today is not the day to drivel on about that! Nope, ‘cause we are whipping up a feeding frenzy with rhubarb cake quickly made in a food processor. You’ll love it! Sour cream gives the cake a lovely soft sponge, rhubarb a good tang, and a little brown sugar sprinkled on top catches the heat and gives a slight bitter-caramel edge. Delicious. Ilaria couldn’t wait to get her hands on it. The only cake she eats, apparently. Kind of like, ‘I never eat chicken skin’, until Monday, when she did because it looked so delicious and tasted so scrumptious. If you’ve got kids, you’ll understand all of this. Rhubarb & Cinnamon Cake
I’ve given clear instructions with pics showing how to line a cake tin – it is worth it, and means your cake will not stick to the tin. That’s the last thing you want to happen after all your work. Lining a cake tin
I’ve given limes a bit of an update, too, because lately on Waiheke trees have been laden with kaffir limes. These usually have little juice, but not so this year – they are bursting with juice. Here’s the update Limes
Read about kaffir lime leaves here Kaffir lime leaves
Then, some spicy spuds. Make the most of agria potatoes, or floury roasting spuds and sizzle them with oil and a smattering of chilli flakes and finish off with lime zest and garam masala. These are sooooo good. Oven-baked Potatoes with garam Masala & Lime
What to do with leftover roast chicken? Turn it into another meal. Here’s a quick idea, which would suit leftover lamb or beef, or leftover roast vegetables, served with a quick yoghurt & tahini dressing Winter Chicken Sandwich
Finally, a big congratulations to fellow foodies and food writers who were acknowledged in the Queen’s Birthday Honours: Annabel Langbein, Dianne Kenderdine and Helen Leach, for their work in promoting New Zealand food, food writing and research.
I did say finally, but one more thing, the Cuisine Artisan Food Awards … spread the word and make sure your favourite artisan food producers get their entry into the awards by the end of this month. Gaining recognition in these awards is pure gold.
Stay dry, cook lots and make merry.
Julie
Julie Biuso, thank you for this post. Its very inspiring.