Chocolate, Almond & Damson Slab, and Cookbook Sundays # 1

 

I'm very excited that today is my first day for hosting Cookbook Sundays (keep reading for more details), so something a little bit indulgent and celebratory to share with you seemed to be in order.  This sweet treat makes the perfect ending to a meal with a coffee or a "sticky", or a lovely handmade festive gift for a special friend.

This recipe comes from "Maggie's Kitchen" by Maggie Beer, but I do confess to having made a bit of a departure from the original recipe which called for the inclusion of prunes soaked in sherry.  You might have seen this post back in February when I made, amongst other things, Damson Gin.  Well, a couple of weeks ago I decided that said Damson Gin would be ready for drinking.  I strained the liquor off into a bottle, but was then left with the gin-soaked damsons themselves.  After sampling a couple of them, I decided that they were far too good to discard.  So they've been sitting in a jar in my fridge waiting for some inspiration, and as soon as I stumbled on this recipe I knew I'd found just the right thing.

 

The damsons, after sitting in alcohol for 10 months impart an almond flavour and fragrance, which I thought would complement nicely the almonds in the slab.  It did occur to me however that I could be setting you all up for cyanide poisoning, but after eating quite a lot of the gin-soaked damsons this afternoon I can tell you that I have come to absolutely no harm - did get a bit tipsy though - just saying! And, of course, it was purely in the interests of public safety - such are the lengths I will go to in order to ensure your well-being.

This was a doddle to make, even in a slightly inebriated state, with the hardest part being waiting the hour for the chocolate to set.  Now, I know not everyone has boozy damsons hanging around the place, so I will give you the directions for the prunes as well.

Chocolate, Almond & Damson Slab

Adapted from a recipe by Maggie Beer

in Maggie's Kitchen

Vegetarian

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

100g (3.5 oz) pitted gin-soaked damsons (see notes below for alternative)

(just pull the damsons apart with your fingers until you have 100g of flesh -

they will easily come away from the stones)
100g (3.5 oz) blanched almonds

200g (7 oz) dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

(I used Whittakers Dark Ghana)

1/3 cup cream

20g (.7 oz) butter

Note:  if you don't have the damsons, you will need 100g of pitted prunes and 50ml (1.7 fl oz) of sweet sherry

Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F).

Spread the almonds in a single layer on a baking tray and roast in the pre-heated oven until they are golden brown - approximately 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, cool and then chop roughly.

Note:  If using prunes, soak them in the sherry until they have soaked up all the liquid, then chop roughly.

Chop the chocolate roughly, and put into a heatproof bowl with the cream and butter.  Set the bowl over a gently simmering pan of water, stirring occasionally, until melted and glossy.

Add the damsons (or prunes) and almonds to the melted chocolate mixture, and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture onto a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.  Spread evenly into a slab, and refrigerate until set - about 1 hour.

 

Once set, break into pieces and serve with coffee or dessert wine.  I served mine with damson gin - what else?!  Store in a cool, dark place (not the refrigerator) in a sealed, airtight container.

 

Now, at the start of this post I mentioned Cookbook Sundays.  What is that all about, you are perhaps wondering.  Well, if you're anything like me you have dozens of cookbooks gathering dust on your bookshelves, some of which have never even been cooked from.  Sure I spent hours browsing through them when I first bought them, marking all the recipes I was going to make with little post-it notes, and yet still those books languish in the bookcase and never make it to the kitchen.  There are others from which I have made but one recipe which was such a resounding success that I've made it over and over again, and yet somehow I've never made anything else from that book.  Sound a bit familiar?!

Take comfort - you are not alone, and now Cookbook Sundays is your opportunity to change that.  Every Sunday I'm going to share with you a recipe that I haven't made before from one of my ever expanding collection of cookbooks.  And, because I know that if you have read this far then you are guilty of this too, I'm inviting you to join in with me.  Each week my Cookbook Sundays post will have a linky for you to share something you've cooked from one of your cookbooks.

The rules for joining in are simple:  your post must state the author and the title of the book your recipe has come from, and your post must mention Cookbook Sundays and link back to this post.  That's it really.  Including the Cookbook Sundays badge is optional, but always appreciated.  You may submit as many entries as you like, and you may use the same cookbook as many times as you like.  And remember, what goes around, comes around - one of the reasons you are participating in this is because you want people to read your posts, so do the right thing and go and visit a few of the other participants. 

Now, go and dust off those cookbooks and get cooking!  Use the linky tool at the end of this post to submit your entry/entries - simply scroll down to where it says "You are next ... Click here to enter", and then follow the instructions.  The linky will be open for one week.

Lastly, if you would like to use the Cookbook Sundays badge in your post, simply copy the code in the box beside the badge below and paste it into your post.  Feel free to also use it in your sidebar if you wish.

<a href="http://couscous-consciousness.blogspot.com/p/cookbook-sundays.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa476/Susan_Busch/CookbookSundaysBadge.jpg" border="0" alt="CookbookSundays"></a> 

 

I am also sharing this post with Sweet New Zealand, a monthly blog event created by the very lovely Alessandra Zecchini, and which this month is hosted by the equally lovely and incredibly talented Bron Marshall. This is an opportunity for all Kiwi bloggers (whether you are living in New Zealand or overseas), as well as for non-Kiwi bloggers living in New Zealand, to connect and share some of those sweet treats from your kitchen.  So, head on over to Bron's and share something sweet.

Stuffed Aubergines

 

When I first started cooking for my partner, there were a lot of things he wouldn't eat.  "Doesn't sound like something I'd want to eat" was an expression he used frequently when I made a variety of dinner suggestions.  However, I'm not stupid.  Two of his favourite things happen to be broccoli and chicken, and it didn't take me long to work out that if I worked either of those two ingredients into a dish, I could also manage to sneak in a couple of other ingredients that he might ordinarily have shunned.

And so it was, that over time, I have managed to get him eating aubergine.  Now I wouldn't go so far as to say that he loves them, and he would probably balk at an "aubergine as hero" kind of meal (such as the Aubergine & Lemon Risotto I posted a few days ago), but as an ingredient in a number of dishes he quite enjoys it.

Thumbing recently through my copy of Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros for one of our I Heart Cooking Clubs challenges, I came across her recipe for stuffed aubergine.  Now I would have quite liked to try a vegetarian interpretation of this, perhaps filling them with rice or perhaps some mushrooms, and that is something I will definitely try on another occasion.  But I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I was going to make this dish fly around here it would have to have the meat filling.  So, "what's for dinner tonight?" he asked me, and I've got to tell you he looked positively stricken when I said "stuffed aubergines".  Clearly a leap too far.  "They're stuffed with mince, and feta, and pecorino cheese, and flavoured with garlic and that smoky paprika that you like", I said.  He looked highly relieved by that and agreed to give them a try, but I could tell that he was nervous about it because several times during the day he asked me "remind me what's in those aubergines again?"

Well moment of truth arrived when the dish was served.  He approached the dish somewhat sceptically, though admitted that it looked pretty good.  A nervous mouthful was taken, and then lo and behold the first serving was scarfed down in no time flat, and seconds were requested.  What's more, there was a bit of filling left over that didn't fit into the aubergine shells, which he asked to have for his lunch the next day.  Now that's what I call progress.

I actually made this for an I Heart Cooking Clubs challenge a few weeks ago, and didn't get around to posting it.  However, while we continue to cook with Tessa Kiros, our theme this week is "A Study in Scarlet", challenging us to come up with red or scarlet-hued food.  This seems to fit the bill perfectly, so I'm thrilled to get this post out of draft.  What's more, it's summer here in New Zealand, and whilst we might normally associate summer with lots of leafy green salads, this dish is so reminiscent of dishes I ate in Greece earlier in the year that it will always be a quintessentially summer dish to me.

This is great hot out of the oven, but is also great served at room temperature.  I urge you to try it.

 

Stuffed Aubergines

Adapted from a recipe by Tessa Kiros from

Falling Cloudberries

Serves 2 greedy people for a substantial meal

or 4 people for a light meal

or 8 people as an appetiser

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

4 small, long aubergines

olive oil for brushing

Tomato Sauce:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

3 cups tomato passata

1 cup water

flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Filling:

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped

1 teaspoon smoky paprika

400g (1 lb) minced beef

3/4 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese

150g (5-1/2 oz) feta, diced or crumbled

generous handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).

Begin by making the tomato sauce.  In a medium saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the minced garlic clove, and as soon as it begins to release its fragrance add the tomato passata and water to the pan.  Season generously with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and bring to the boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the stalks from each of the aubergines and cut them in half lengthwise.  Using a spoon, scoop the flesh out of each aubergine half, to give you a boat-shaped shell.  Chop the flesh that you've just scooped out into smallish dice and set aside.  Now liberally brush the "boats", inside and out, with olive oil.  Place on a shallow baking dish, lined with parchment paper, and put into the preheated oven.  Bake until golden brown and softened but still holding their shape.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

While the aubergine shells are baking, make the filling.  Heat the olive oil and the minced garlic in a large non-stick saute pan set over medium heat.  As soon as the garlic becomes fragrant, add the diced aubergine flesh, celery, and paprika.  Saute until softened and pale golden brown.  Now add the minced beef and cook for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned, stirring from time to time with a wooden spatula and breaking up any clumps of meat.  Season with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Stir in 1 cup of the tomato sauce and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Stir in the pecorino cheese, feta and flat leaf parsley.  Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Using a baking dish that is just big enough to fit the aubergine shells quite snugly in a single layer, ladle enough tomato sauce into the baking dish to cover the base to a depth of about 2 cm (3/4 inch).  Fill each of the aubergine shells with the meat mixture.  Pat it in quite well with your hands, but take care not to make it too compact.  Place the filled aubergines on top of the tomato sauce, and drizzle with a little more tomato sauce over the top.

Bake for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and and a golden crust has formed in places.  Remove from the oven and cool slightly before serving.

Serve with a fresh green salad, and some crusty bread.

If you would like to get to know Tessa a little better, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up ...

... or check out Falling Cloudberries and many of Tessa's other great titles available from Amazon or Fishpond NZ.

         

I'm also sharing this post at Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage.

Lastly, a reminder that the all new Cookbook Sundays begins here this coming Sunday 11 December.  So dust off those cookbooks and come and join the fun.

Cookbook Sundays

 

If you're anything like me you have dozens of cookbooks gathering dust on your bookshelves, some of which have never even been cooked from.  Sure I spent hours browsing through them when I first bought them, marking all the recipes I was going to make with little post-it notes, and yet still those books languish in the bookcase and never make it to the kitchen.  There are others from which I have made but one recipe which was such a resounding success that I've made it over and over again, and yet somehow I've never made anything else from that book.  Sound a bit familiar?!

I was very excited then, when a little over a year ago, I discovered the Cookbook Sundays event over at Brenda's Canadian Kitchen.  Brenda is adorable, and like many of us she has a stack of cookbooks on her shelves doing little more than growing cobwebs.  So she began the Cookbook Sundays event to get herself, and others, cooking out of those books that just never seem to get used.  I used to really enjoy participating in this event, and it certainly did encourage me to use my cookbooks more.

More recently the event moved to Mom's Sunday Cafe, where it has been hosted by Melynda (quite simply one of the sweetest bloggers ever, and self confessed custodian of 329 cookbooks).  As I was preparing my post on the weekend, I went over to Melynda's blog to get the links for entering my post only to discover, sadly, that she had decided to discontinue the event.

Long story cut short, I emailed Melynda and asked if she would mind if I kept the event going and hosted it on my blog.  Not only did she agree but, in her inimitably generous way, within hours she had put up a post on her blog letting readers know the event was moving to my blog - thanks Melynda, you're a star!

There you have it - beginning this weekend, Cookbook Sundays will be taking up residence here at Couscous & Consciousness.  This will be a weekly event, and entries will be open for the whole week.  Joining in every week is by no means compulsory - just join in whenever you feel like it.  There are no complicated rules for joining in.  Simply, your post must state the author and the title of the book your recipe has come from, and your post must link back to and mention the current week's Cookbook Sunday post.  That's it really.  Including the Cookbook Sunday badge is optional, but always appreciated.  You may submit as many entries as you like, and you may use the same cookbook as many times as you like.

 So, what are you waiting for - go and dust off a cookbook or two and come back Sunday.

Aubergine & Lemon Risotto

Oh, hello blog - remember me?!  Sad to say, that while I have been busying myself over the last few weeks with major kitchen renovations and the opening of my new yoga school, my poor blog has been suffering from extreme neglect.  Although I have in that time managed to cook several dishes that I want to share with you, actually getting that translated into posts just doesn't seem to have happened.  Time to rectify that!

I am mad for aubergine at the best of times, and I've really been using it a lot lately - grilled on the barbeque, stuffed (post coming soon I promise), in moussaka, and in salads.  One of my favourites has been this aubergine and lemon risotto, unsurprisingly from one of my favourite cookbooks Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi.  The lemon complements the aubergine perfectly, and adds that note of brightness and freshness that transforms this from the wintery comfort food role with which we normally associate risotto into a lighter more summery dish.

Now, since I'm anxious that this post shouldn't spend yet another month languishing in draft, I'm getting straight onto sharing the recipe with you without any further preamble.

 

Aubergine & Lemon Risotto Recipe

Adapted from recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi from

Plenty

Makes 3 generous servings

Vegetarian

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

2 medium aubergine

olive oil

flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 generous handfuls arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

3 to 4 cups vegetable stock, hot

1 large lemon, grated zest & juice

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup mascarpone

1/2 cup Parmesan, freshly grated

flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

generous handful fresh basil leaves, shredded

Using a sharp knife, pierce the skin of one of the aubergine in several places.  Place on a foil-lined baking tray, and put into the oven under a hot grill until the skin has blackened and the flesh appears to have collapsed and deflated.  Keep an eye on it, turning the aubergine over several times;  it will take between 30 minutes and 1 hour.  Remove from the oven.  Once the aubergine is cool enough to handle, make a lengthwise cut through the skin;  scoop out the flesh, chop it roughly and discard the skin.  Set aside.

Return your oven to its regular baking function, and heat to 220 degrees C (425 degrees F).

Cut the other aubergine into large dice, toss generously with olive oil, and spread in a single layer in a shallow, parchment lined baking dish.  Season liberally with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Put into the hot oven and bake until the aubergine pieces are golden brown and cooked through.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Set a heavy based pan over medium heat, and add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the shallot and garlic to the pan - cooking until the shallot and garlic just begin to soften - take care not to burn the garlic - almost as soon as you can smell the garlic it is time to add the rice to the pan.  Continue cooking the rice with the shallot and garlic, stirring constantly, until every single grain of rice is coated with the oil - it will take on a kind of translucent look around the edges and will start to "squeak".

Now is the time to add the wine, and continue stirring until virtually all the wine has been absorbed by the rice.  Then begin to add the stock, one ladleful at a time - stirring constantly until each ladleful has been absorbed before adding the next. The rice will swell up considerably as it absorbs the stock, and once the rice is cooked through, remove the pan from the heat.

Add half of the grated lemon zest, the lemon juice, the soft flesh that you scooped out of the blackened aubergine, butter, mascarpone, and half of the parmesan.  Also add a generous pinch of flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Stir well, cover the pan, and set aside for about 5 minutes for all the flavours to infuse.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper or lemon juice as necessary.

Spoon the risotto into serving bowls, sprinkle over the golden cubes of oven-baked aubergine, the remaining Parmesan and lemon zest, and the basil.

I'm also sharing this post at See Ya in the Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace and at My Meatless Mondays hosted by Chaya at My Sweet and Savory.

 

Sweet New Zealand October Round-up

It has been my privilege to host Sweet New Zealand this month - a monthly blog event, created by the lovely Alessandra Zecchini, which offers an opportunity for all Kiwi bloggers (whether you are living in New Zealand or overseas), as well as for non-Kiwi bloggers living in New Zealand, to connect and share some of those sweet treats from your kitchen.  There have been some absolutely wonderful entries this months, and I have certainly enjoyed discovering and visiting a few blogs that I hadn't known about before.  Thanks to all of you for participating.

The first entry in was from Alessandra Zecchini from her Only Recipes blog - she shared a Dark Chocolate & Fig Cake. Alessandra was lucky enough to be able to forage a supply of figs in her neighbourhood.  Having only moved into our house a couple of months ago, I was thrilled to discover that my next door neighbour has a fig tree right beside our fence, and they don't eat them!  As soon as those little green fruit I see forming are ready, you can be sure I will be trying this cake.

On her Vegan Recipes (and best vegan dinners) blog Alessandra also shared a fresh, tropical Papaya, Lime & Mint Salad. I love papaya - it is one of my absolute favourite fruits. It is a bit of luxury to have here in New Zealand though, so I always love travelling to the tropics or Asia and having the opportunity to eat it everyday! Alessandra is right - a squeeze of lime over a piece of papaya completely elevates the flavour - love the idea of adding some mint.

Vanille from @ Down Under came up with a real ode to spring, in the form of these beautiful "edible tulips" - a lovely fresh fruit salad, served in these delicate, crispy Tulipe Biscuits.  I'm so in awe of the ability to be able to craft something so beautifully elegant - I'm pretty sure that, were I to try this, my efforts would result in something resembling shoe leather.

Frances from Bake Club came up with a Gluten-Free Vegan Date Loaf.  I love dates, and I really don't know why I don't use them more often.  Personally, I'm lucky enough not to be wheat or gluten intolerant, but I have friends and relatives who are and I'm always on the look-out for recipes to share with them or to prepare when they come to visit - this one definitely makes the list.

For some obscure reason, I hadn't visited Lisa's wonderful blog, Sunday Hotpants, for quite awhile, so it was such a delight to have her join in here at Sweet New Zealand and to have the opportunity to reconnect.  Despite everything the kitchen gods threw at her recently (I swear I would have just given up and wept), she still managed to produce this family favourite Chocolate Birthday Cake for her Dad's birthday.  Do go and read her funny and touching story and learn why this cake holds a special place in her heart - thanks for sharing it with us, Lisa.

You can always rely on the lovely Emma from my darling lemon thyme to come up with something truly inspirational.  Her blog is a place I often visit when I'm looking for inspiration - seeking something outside the box - this Strawberry, Black Pepper & Thyme Cordial is no exception.  I haven't had my first strawberries of the season yet - they're still just a bit pricey down this way - but as soon as they're abundant I will definitely be trying this combination of flavours.

Do you sometimes wonder, were the house to catch on fire, what would be one of the first things you would grab before you ran out of the house?  Or, were your house to be burgled, what one kitchen gadget would you not want them to take?  My answer would be my ice cream maker.  I love ice cream, all year round (even in the depths of winter), and I love making my own.  I'm always on the look out for a new recipe, so when Mairi from Toast submitted her Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream it went immediately into the bookmark list.  The great thing about this recipe is that you can use fresh or frozen raspberries, which makes it just perfect for enjoying all year round.

Are there any two words that belong together more than "caramel" and "chocolate"?  After Taste is a new-to-me blog, but when she shared her Baked Caramel & Chocolate Slice I knew that this was a blog I was going to want to know a little better.  This recipe seems a little different to what I would expect from a caramel slice, and I can't wait to try it.

American-living-in-Kiwiland blogger, Christina from Gninword on, is mourning the absence of pureed pumpkin in a can in this country.  She consoled herself by taking an Antipodean classic (sticky date pudding);  adding a bit of chocolate (well if you're consoling yourself, why wouldn't you?);  turning said classic pudding into cupcakes;  and topping the whole lot off with a butterscotch buttercream frosting.  Go and check out her Chocolate Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake and Cupcakes - seems like she's kind of over the pumpkin thing, don't you think?

I don't know why I never think of using my slow cooker for desserts, but somehow it only tends to get used for soups and slow cooking chickpeas and beans.  I was thrilled when Barbara from winosandfoodies produced this Slow Cooker Recipe for Pears in Caramel.   This is absolutely my kind of dessert - quite apart from the fact that pears and caramel sauce are such a wonderful combination (which could only possibly be made better by the addition of some vanilla ice cream), but the idea of just popping everything in the crockpot and forgetting about it for a couple of hours really works for me!

Style-goddess, Bron Marshall faced off against a wet and wild day with Spanish Churros and Hot Chocolate. Yes, it is spring in New Zealand, but the weather can still turn to crap for another month or so.  I have eaten churros before in Barcelona - a decadent street food treat - but I have never been brave enough to try making them myself.  Bron's recipe certainly makes them sound achievable, and doesn't that photo make you want to just dive head first into that bowl of hot chocolate? Oh, come on, I know I'm not the only one!

Bunny. Eats. Design. admits to being a terrible baker.  Now I've told you before that I'm convinced that there is a gene for baking, and that by some birth defect I too am a terrible baker.  Quite possibly we were twins, separated at birth.  Still, I've got to hand it to her for ingenuity - what can you do when light, fluffy baking is just not in your repertoire?  Bake something hard of course!  These Chocolate Espresso Biscotti are the perfect solution - I'm inspired - clearly she is the smart twin.

Zo from Two Spoons made this gorgeous Pear & Kamahi Honey Frangipane Tart. To be honest, when I first saw this picture it looked decidedly outside of my skill set (note comments above), but Zo provides loads of really useful information and advice in this post - so much so that even I think I could give this a go ... maybe!  This would undoubtedly be a very classy and elegant dessert to serve for a special occasion.

These Kahikatea Cupcakes from Alessandra Zecchini were a complete revelation to me.  I have never seen kahikatea berries, and I had no idea that you could eat them.  Alessandra has baked them into a simple vanilla cupcake, and added a few more on top for decoration.  The berries look so pretty - rather like pomegranate seeds - though she says the taste is a little sweeter than pomegranate.  I need to go and find a kahikatea tree now!

"I love dates" says Alli from Pease Pudding, and so do I.  I totally love the look of these Date, Walnut & Orange Blossom Moroccan Inspired Treats and the fact that they contain no added sugar, no flour, no dairy, and NO BAKING, means surely that even I couldn't make a disaster of these.  These are so on my list of things to try.  Bunny. Eats. Design. - are you reading this?

These Pink Rose Cupcakes from Kirsten at High Tea with Dragons would have to be just about one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.  That anyone can do anything so beautiful with a simple cupcake and a bit of icing just astounds me.  Kirsten says this is easier than it looks, and includes an excellent step by step tutorial which does actually make it look fairly straight forward ... but I know my limits.  I'd struggle to create a decent cupcake to go under the icing - I totally take my hat off to you Kirsten.

Now this I know I could do.  This beautiful, refreshing Mandarin Ice Cream from Lucy at The KitchenMaid is right up my street.  At the risk of repeating myself, I love ice cream.  I love citrus flavours.  What's more this ice cream uses just three ingredients, and doesn't even need churning, so if that aforementioned burglar happens to make off with your ice cream maker you'll have no trouble with this one.

Lesley from eat, etc... set out to capture some childhood memories with a Dark Sticky Gingerbread. Gingerbread is one of my all time favourites and I can't wait to give this intriguing recipe a try.  This recipe has some surprising ingredients, which I think will ensure this gingerbread will really lend itself to my favourite way to enjoy this treat - with a dried fig compote and a piece of blue cheese.  Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it - trust me, it works!

And the final entry for the month came from Mel at Treehouse Kitchen, who produced this insanely good looking Caramel & Macadamia Cheesecake. The recipe is from the Ottolenghi cookbook, which I know is a favourite book amongst so many of us.  Despite a few kitchen disasters along the way, Mel still managed to make this look amazing, and immediately I saw this post I had to drag my Ottolenghi book down off the shelf and bookmark this recipe.

Of course, I mustn't forget my own entries, which were firstly Gabrielle's Sticky Lemon Squares.  This was an old post, but it is such a favourite of mine, and with a fair amount of citrus fruit still around, I couldn't resist the opportunity to share.

 

I also shared a tart, refreshing Cranberry Sorbet - totally worth making if only to gaze upon something of such extraordinary colour.

Well, that's it everyone.  I'm sure you'll all agree there are some stunning sweet treats amongst that lot, and now it's my pleasure to hand the baton off to Mairi at Toast who is going to be your host for the month of November.

Seville Orange Spoon Sweets

Few things make my heart happier than a bowl full of citrus fruit sitting on my kitchen bench.  Even though citrus grows incredibly well here in New Zealand, particularly in the North Island, there is something about the colours that just scream sunshine, even on a cloudy day, and the fragrance every time you pass by, that transports me to infinitely more exotic places.  And then, when that bowl of citrus fruit actually happens to be 6 kilos of Seville oranges, well I am transported directly to heaven.  Also often known as bitter oranges, and rightly so since they are far too sour to eat, these make hands-down the best marmalade.  They have a very short season, and you generally will not find them in the shops - leastwise not here in New Zealand.  However, if you are lucky enough to know someone who is in the know (thanks Mairi) you may be able to get your hands on some.  You are going to have to wait another year now to do that though, as that very short season I mentioned just finished last week.  I have a number of projects planned for these babies, which of course I will share with you, including marmalade, bitter orange curd, burnt orange ice cream, and a bitter orange sorbet.  I've also read that the juice of Seville oranges is often used for marinading meats in a variety of Caribbean cuisines - so a bag of these will be headed to the freezer to take out for juice during the year.

As I've been telling you over the last couple of weeks, the I Heart Cooking Clubs group is now cooking with the gorgeous Tessa Kiros, and our theme this week is From the Orchard.  Well I've got to tell you that whilst most of my friends over there are in the midst of autumn (fall to them), and no doubt enjoying an abundance of fruit hanging from the trees, here in New Zealand it is spring.  That means that you sure won't find much dangling from the branches here.  Right now, although strawberries are beginning to show up regularly at the market, fruit trees are laden with nothing more than promise, in the form of blossom.  So this box of Seville oranges, which appear briefly here from September through to mid-October, could not have arrived at a better time.

When I holidayed in Greece earlier this year, I found some wonderful little coffee shops in Athens to sit and while away an hour or two.  It was a common sight, in many of these coffee shops, to see huge jars on the counter full of beautiful fruits preserved in thick, sweet syrup:  cherries (both sweet and sour), figs, grapes, bergamot, quince, my favourite - bitter orange, and many more.  They are called "spoon sweets" and, as the name might suggest, they are usually served on a teaspoon alongside a good coffee and a glass of cold water.  You can also buy the spoon sweets in jars in most supermarkets there, and I developed a real liking for having the bitter orange for breakfast on top of some toasted bread and mizithra.  Needless to say, when I came across Tessa's recipe for Preserved Fruits in Sugar Syrup in the Falling Cloudberries book I couldn't wait to try it.

This was a really fun preserve to make - I would definitely do it again - and I can't wait to try some of the other fruits now as they come into season.  I am only sharing the instructions for doing the oranges here, but Tessa's book also includes recipes for cherries, green plums and figs.

Seville Orange Spoon Sweets Recipe

Adapted from recipe by Tessa Kuros in

Falling Cloudberries

Vegetarian

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

2kg bitter oranges

400g (14 oz) caster sugar

450 ml (15 fl oz) water

You will also need:

needle

cotton thread

piece of baking paper

Wash the oranges well in warm water, and dry thoroughly.

Using a good peeler, peel off the skin of the oranges in long strips.  Try to leave behind as much of the white pith as you can - you want only the thin skin.  If you find that your peeler takes off too much of the pith, then just lay the strips on a board, pith side up, and remove with a sharp knife.  I peeled my strips from the top to the bottom of the oranges, and got 6-8 strips from each orange.  If you prefer you can go around the circumference, in which case you will end up with fewer but longer strips, which you will cut in half.

Put the strips of peel into a pan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the strips have softened and are pliable.  Remove from heat and drain.  Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Starting at one end, roll each strip of peel up quite tightly, and using a needle thread onto a length of cotton, as though you were making a necklace.  Keep the pieces close together - this helps the strips to stay in their little rolls while they are being boiled in the syrup.  Although a little fiddly, this is fun and really quite therapeutic - also all the oils that come out of the orange peels will make your hands feel and smell amazing.

Put the sugar and water into a pan, along with the strained juice from one of the oranges.  Stir constantly until the syrup comes to a boil, then carefully drop in the necklace of orange strips.  Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the surface with a circle of baking paper (to keep the necklace submerged in the syrup), and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Remove the "necklace" from the syrup to a clean bowl.  Allow to stand for a few minutes until cool enough to handle, then slide the orange rolls off the thread into a sterilised preserving jar.

The syrup will have thickened up a bit during the cooking, but you can keep simmering it for a little longer if you want it to thicken some more.  When you are happy with your syrup, pour it into the jar until the peels are just covered.

Once cool, refrigerate, and use within a month.

Kali orexi

By the way, once you've harvested the peel for this recipe, don't discard the rest of the oranges - they are precious.  Juice them and store the juice to use for marinades, sorbets, or dressings.  Alternatively, you can put the whole oranges into a bag and into the freezer, and then just pull them out when you want to juice one.

If you would like to get to know Tessa a little better, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up ...

... or check out Falling Cloudberries and many of Tessa's other great titles available from Amazon or Fishpond NZ.