Banana Cake (Edmonds recipe)

It isn't hard to make a good banana cake so it always amazes me that cafes can have such rubbish ones. The main problems seem to be using oil instead of butter, esp using too much oil, and not using enough bananas to give the delicious flavour and wonderful moistness. This recipe is from the NZ classic cookbook of basic recipes, The Edmonds Cookery book. The main meals in that book are pretty dated, plain and bleugh, but the baking recipes are winners - no surprise as Edmonds is a baking powder company so baking is their business. And this banana cake means business, with about 4 ripe (brown or black bananas). If you don't have enough really ripe bananas, you can either make a mediocre cake or just PEEL, chop and freeze the bananas you have to use with more at a later date. 

125g butter, softened

¾ c sugar

2 eggs

2 c mashed ripe bananas (about 4 largish bananas)

1 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp hot milk

2 c plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

chocolate or lemon icing or dust with icing sugar

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add mashed banana and mix thoroughly. 

Stir baking soda into hot milk and add to creamed mixture.

Sift flour and baking powder. Fold into mixture.

Turn into a greased and lined 20cm round tin (or a ring tin or loaf pans of about same volume).

Bake at 180˚ for 50 min or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Leave in tin for 10 min before turning out onto a wire rack. When cold, ice or dust with icing sugar sifted over.

Can also be made as two cakes baked in 20cm round sandwich tins at 180˚ for 25 min. The two cakes can be sandwiched together with whipped cream and fresh banana slices.

Zucchini and Nut Fritters

I think my French in-laws are convinced that fritters are New Zealand's national dish as they're what I usually whip up as a vegetarian dish to share as part of Sunday lunches. Well fritters are pretty versatile aren't they? Just chop and chuck in whatever's in season. Below I'll add a few other suggestions for substitutions/additions to this zucchini recipe. This one is from Rowan Bishop's 'Good Health Adventure Cookbook'

Zucchini and Nut Fritters

Serves 4-6 (photos show less than half the mixture)

4 cups grated zucchini (about 4 zucchini) - I used both green and yellow varieties

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp fresh basil or oregano, finely chopped, or 1 tsp dried

2 Tbsp finely chopped chives

1 cup plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup chopped, roasted peanuts

4 free-range eggs (yes, 4, it helps the flavour and consistency)

½ cup cottage cheese

1 Tbsp lemon juice

⅓ cup sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

-pinenuts instead of peanuts (though more expensive and less wonderfully crunchy)

-mint as well as or instead of other herbs

- feta or ricotta instead of cottage cheese and sour cream

- roasted pepper strips, chopped

Grate zucchini and place in a large bowl with the garlic, herbs, flour and baking powder. Roughly chop roasted peasants in a food processor and add to other ingredients in the bowl. 

Break eggs into another bowl with the remaining ingredients and whisk vigorously. Add to the zucchini mixture and mix thoroughly until well-combined. 

Heat 3-4 Tbsp oil in heavy-based frying pan (or less oil if using a non-stick frying pan) at medium heat then drop spoonfuls of the fritter mixture into the hot oil. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Take care that the heat is not too high, to ensure the centre of the fritters cook, not just the outside. You will probably have to cook the mixture in two or three batches. As each batch cooks, drain on absorbent paper, add more oil to the pan as required and keep the cooked fritters warm until ready to serve (eg in oven on low heat). They are best eaten as soon as they are cooked but may also be frozen (stored in container between sheets of greaseproof paper) and reheated in oven.

Serve with tomato caper sauce and salad or lightly steamed veg etc. 

Tomato Caper Sauce

1 Tbsp oil 

1 onion, chopped finely

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 small capsicum, seed and chopped

1 440g tin tomato puree (or better yet, use fresh - un-hydroponic - tomatoes)

1 tsp capers, chopped

½ tsp salt (or skip this and use a few more capers - yum)

freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a small heavy-based saucepan. Saute the onion, garlic and capsicum over a low heat until the onion softens. Add the tomato puree, capers and seasonings and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve in a jug or bowl to accompany the fritters.

Portuguese Tomato and Onion Soup with Poached Egg

I had this surprisingly good tomato soup when we visited the rugged and fertile island of Madeira. It was about the only vegetarian option on the menu of most places but was well worth its place, and more than worth its cheap price. Not just any old bowl of soup but a rich homemade style tomato and onion soup bursting with summer flavours in which an egg is poached, and is decked with rustic slices of bread. 

 Now that tomatoes are in season here in France, I decided to have a go making this soup at home. I searched online for recipes and, strangely, the one that seemed most like what I'd eaten in Madeira came from a Canadian blog of mainly Ukranian recipes! I rang my friend in Portugal who, as well as being Portuguese is an excellent chef, so just the person to consult with! She confirmed that the ingredients and method were fairly simple but it takes good ingredients. This recipe really did make good use of the vine-ripened tomatoes I had bought and, had I tried using bland supermarket ones, I would have had to add more ingredients, including tomato passata, to enrich it. The blog whose recipe this one is adapted from recommends using tinned tomatoes rather than hydroponic ones if you can't get tasty fresh tomatoes - after all, tinned tomatoes preserve the tomatoes (grown in suitable climates) soon after they are picked whereas supermarket ones are usually watery hydroponic red balls of nothingness which may have travelled far, been refrigerated and then sat on the supermarket shelves for some time before you buy them. So if at all possible, use local organic tomatoes and onions for freshness and the best flavour.

Portuguese Tomato and Onion Soup with Poached Egg

Serves 6.

4 large yellow onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
8 large juicily ripe tomatoes, chopped OR 2 cans whole tomatoes (1lb. or 454 g each)
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
5 cups water (OR, if using canned tomatoes, 5 cups rich vegetable stock)
6* eggs (*or 1 per person)
12 thick slices stale / day-old French or Italian bread (use slim baguettes)
¼ cup minced parsley / coriander / fresh thyme / basil / savory



Sauté onions slowly - about 15 minutes - until soft and golden.  Add garlic and tomatoes (you can first peel and de-seed tomatoes if you care for such things - I never mind using the whole thing), cover and simmer 1 hour; uncover, and simmer to reduce liquid for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Add water or stock, salt and pepper to taste and, if needed, a little sugar (add a pinch at a time, tasting till you get the edge off any bitterness. The soup I made was not at all bitter - it depends on the tomatoes and how well the flavours have cooked together. The other recipe recommended 3T butter as well but I didn't feel it was necessary - it's up to you.

Simmer, uncovered, 1 ½ to 2 hours or until flavours are richly blended.  Cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate until about 1 hour before serving.  (I reheated just enough for tonight's dinner and put the rest in containers to go in the freezer or you could save leftovers in fridge to eat the next day when the flavours will be even more nicely developed!- soups are great like that!)

Bring soup slowly to serving temperature. Carefully break eggs into soup, spacing them evenly, cover and simmer slowly 5-15 minutes or until eggs are poached to your liking.

Ladle soup into large shallow soup bowls, including an egg with each portion.  Garnish each bowl with bread slices and a sprinkling of herbs.

NB. This is a filling and delicious vegetarian and dairy-free recipe but Luc reckons it would be even better with cheese and chorizo - he would!

Mushroom and Chestnut Ragoût with Potato and Celeriac Mash

Mushrooms are big around here. Well, actually, they're fairly small, the main type grown is the Paris white, known in NZ as the button mushroom. This isn't Paris so I don't know how they got that name (though I'm sure I will once I finally visit the mushroom museum) but I do know that this town /area produces 90% of France's button mushrooms.  

And are there button mushrooms in this recipe? Only if you want there to be. The recipe calls for portobello and dried porcini mushrooms but I used a mix of varieties I don't even know the names of. I just buy them at the market from the mushroom lady. So feel free, as ever, to adapt this recipe to your tastes. I reduced the cream (it called for 5 T, I felt that was too much and I think it could be lovely without any, too). Also, I had no sherry so used balsamic vinegar which I added a tiny bit at a time, tasting until I got it right. The other thing I didn't have was sweet potatoes / kumara so I made a mash using potatoes and celeriac, an idea I'd got from my husband's guy friends who cooked delicious dishes for their New Year's Party - to my surprise as I think a bunch of mates from an agricultural college in NZ probably wouldn't be so gourmet - at least not cooking for each other at a party. But that's the French for you. And of course their mash had heaps of butter. So you could follow suit and go crazy with the butter if you hold back on the cream in the ragout. But the ragout is very rich so don't over-do both!

I'm not sure what you could replace chestnuts with if you can't find any. In Australia I found them for sale in cans. Chestnuts are lovely with their distinct sweet and savoury taste and firm and sort of buttery texture. Perhaps soaked cashews could work? Other ideas?

Mushroom and Chestnut Ragoût Potato and Celeriac Mash

Recipe comes from the 'Simmer' section (so DO, don't rush it!) of the cookbook 'New Vegetarian Kitchen' by Nicola Graimes (UK book).

Serves 4

40g / 1¼ oz dried porcini mushrooms

3 T olive oil

40g / 1½ oz butter

350g / 12 oz shallots, peeled and halved with the base intact, or quartered if large

500g / 1 lb 2 oz portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced

2 tsp dried thyme

125ml / 4fl oz / ½ cup dry sherry (or an alternative. I used 2+ T balsamic vinegar)

250g / 9 oz cooked chestnuts, thickly sliced

2 Tbsp light soy sauce

a few splashes of hot pepper sauce

2-5 Tbsp double cream

leaves from a few parsley sprigs, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

500 g potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks

400 g celeriac, peeled and chopped into large chunks

(or replace potatoes and celeriac with 900g of kumara / sweet potato)

2 large garlic cloves

150 ml / 5 fl oz / scant ⅔ c milk

30 g / 1 oz butter

1 Soak the porcini mushrooms in 150 ml / 5 fl oz / scant ⅔ c boiled water for 20 mins until softened.

2 Heat the olive oil and butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium-low heat and cook the shallots for 12 minutes, stirring regularly, until softened and golden in places. Add the portobello mushrooms and cook for another 4-5 minutes until tender.

3 Strain the porcini mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, and add them to the pan, along with the thyme and sherry. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half and there is no aroma of alcohol.

4 Add the prcini soaking liquid, chestnuts, soy sauce and hot pepper sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes until reduced by half. Stir in the cream and heat through gently, then season with salt and pepper.

5 Meanwhile, make the mash. Cook the vegetables (potato and celeriac, or sweet potato) and garlic in boiling salted water for 10 minutes or until tender, then drain and return to the pan. Add the milk and butter, season well with salt and pepper and warm through (or better yet, warm milk and butter before adding - but this makes more dishes). Mash until smooth, then cover with a lid to keep warm.

6 Sprinkle the ragout with parsley and serve with the mash/puree

First Pregnancy Soundtrack

Even cats are dangerous? Toxoplasmosis tests every month...

Why are there so many love songs and so few pregnancy songs? It's a challenging and emotional time, right? Perfect for songwriters - but I'm not one, so here's some songs from my small CD collection I've been listening to.

 I hope you enjoy this playlist I made of 'my favourite songs this pregnancy' (my first). Some are love songs, others are ones I heard from a new perspective - a pregnant lady one - and related to at least some of their lyrics. And there's a couple that are just nice to listen / sing to. 

Track list and a few comments follow youtube link to videos:

Song names and artists:

It's a Hard Life - Queen

I did it for love 

No drinks just when you feel you could use one

Kooks - David Bowie

We bought a lot of things to keep you warm and dry & a funny old crib on which the paint won't dry

The Click Song - Miriam Makeba 

(our baby will hopefully be bilingual - but will I be?)

I'll Be Here Every Day - Capetown Lullaby

Today is just like any other day / wouldn't want it any other way / now that I'm with you

Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley and the Whalers

(my husband would sing this to me at 6am when I had to get up in the dark to go to class)

Gonna Be Sick! The Dø

(Feel free to skip this one! Track 6)

Sick as a dog for months - but this one cheered me up!

It's Oh So Quiet - Björk

(Zing! Boom! Not feeling oh so alone with these kicks and stabs)

Cross Oceans - First Aid Kit

(imagining how my life will change... I still want to cross oceans)

Baby Mine - Bette Midler

From your head down to your toes, you're not much, goodness knows

Love Love Love - Tété

(just a lovely little ditty for my itty bitty one)

Not Evident - The Narcoleptic Dancers

Come with me I will tell you a story / where people fight for their territory

Whatever Lola Wants - Della Reese

No regrets!

Nature - The Fourmyula

Talking aloud eases my mind

Gutter Black - Hello Sailor

You in my brain / You in my heart

You're Gonna See a Lot of Me - Lisa Ekdahl

I'll make you love me /  Wait and see

When Life was a Miracle - The No Smoking Orchestra

(Maybe I'll only let people in the delivery suite if they come in a line playing gypsy trumpets)

Good motivation for the new dad to quit smoking!

La Banane - Philippe Katerine

No, I'll never go to the supermarket, rather die. Don't ever want to get dressed, rather die. 

........Just let me eat my banana.

Non Non Non - Camélia Jordana
No, I don't wanna get rid of this beautiful hell / that I'm starting to like / I don't wanna leave my lounge

Singing in My Soul - Tess and Adrian

(it's an acoustic and beautiful duet...sung by a trio)

Sleep - Kimya Dawson

(Even though the baby's not born yet it's still keeping me awake at night)

A New Dialogue - Julia Deans

(Yes, I still want to go out!)

I Want to Break Free - Queen

(I think pregnancy needs some more power ballads)

Soundtrack to Falling in Love - Charlie Winston

('All of me, You've found your way to all of me' - perfect for late pregnancy!)

Here Comes the Sun - Yuna (Beatles cover)

(Finally Spring is coming - and the baby too!)

Natural beauty was one thing I didn't have to give up enjoying

Sleep (instrumental) - Kimya Dawson

(A lovely lullaby from the Juno soundtrack)

When sensitive to smells, good to have some nice things like these Angel's Trumpets

Stop, look, listen...well, mainly listen

Street performer worth your time of day (and hoping he made some money on this day).
Why wasn't the crowd dancing? Because they're Londoners? Maybe if he worked some strobe-light effect dancing into his act... But still, he got the crowd allright.

Animated In Bed - Wonderful Stop Motion