One Sunday a few years ago my Aro Valley flatmate Edward cooked pork all day — eight hours in the oven. I wondered if he was slightly mad. If nothing else, he was very determined. It was pulled pork, he said, served alongside home-made coleslaw, soft white rolls, and a very impressive and gorgeously tangy […]
There’s something extremely satisfying about baking bread from scratch — playing around with the yeast, getting your hands into a completely sticky mess kneading the dough, and ending up covered in flour. My kitchen always looks like it has been attacked by a flour bomb when I embrace bread baking. As satisfying as it is, […]
Food trends may come and go, but one constant will always be in favour: chocolate. What is it about this ingredient that makes people weak at the knees? Melting together dark chocolate and cream for a ganache is one of the most satisfying things you can do when cooking — the gloss it […]
I first discovered the virtues of roast broccoli a few years ago. I could roast an entire head of it and be pretty satisfied that that was dinner. A very hot oven, a generous drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper and chilli flakes, and I was in heaven. My flatmates at the time got over […]
First there were cupcakes. Then there were macarons. Earlier this year people overseas were predicting glorious cream-filled éclairs to be the baked good to watch in 2014. In any event, I think the cronut’s days are finally behind us. Here in New Zealand, I’m predicting the return of the humble slice. Not one to make […]
I love the silly season. I love dedicating December days to Christmas-themed baking and playing terribly cheesy Christmas music. Everyone seems in a better mood, and there are parties galore. If we’re really lucky, there’s sunshine, and what better way than to begin a night out in the lead-up to Christmas than with a few […]
Summer is tantalisingly close, and aside from the season’s first barbecue parties it’s a great time of year for fish and chips. If, like me, you have been comforting yourself through winter with a little too much baking, it’s a good time of year to replace the chips with a tasty salad. Asparagus is still […]
On my first night in Singapore a couple of months ago I had dinner at a long plastic table at a hawker centre – rather like a large outdoor food court. There were a number of these outdoor vendors with their smoky barbecues alongside each other, all purporting to serve the best in town – […]
Spring fills me with a renewed sense of joy and excitement, and not only because it means the silly season is approaching. After a winter of slow cooking and roasted root vegetables, I long for fresh flavours and some sunshine. Fresh herbs are crucial in cooking, and even the smallest little balcony or windowsill can […]
