Cooking – Plum Kitchen

Silky Liberty…

Hello again, and a happy belated Easter if you celebrate. It’s actually a public holiday here in NZ for ANZAC day , so I thought it would be fun to sit down and catch up. Oh and stand around the garden smiling at hedges, obviously.

I would normally start with a sewing catch up, but in honour of the holiday I will first share my ANZAC biscuits. Oats, coconut, golden syrup , of course they taste good.

Mr D and I engaged in our annual “fruit no fruit” ~~argument~~ discussion. He is pro adding currents (the most boring of dried fruit surely?) and sultanas, I am against. If it has fruit it isn’t an Anzac biscuit babe!

This year I relented and added currents & dried apricot to half the mixture. As predicted the fruit burned but he insists that just “adds to the flavour”. Indeed. The recipe below, from my well thumbed Edmonds cookbook. My edition is pre fan-bake ovens, so I would reduce the temp to 160C if cooking on fan. So easy and so very tasty.

I made these the first year we lived in London, but the British Tate & Lyle Golden syrup seemed a lot lighter than the Chelsea variety I use here in NZ, so my biscuits were much paler and had a more mild flavour. They were perfectly delicious but not the ANZAC biscuits I remembered, I do recall there were (homesick) tears!

Fast forward twenty odd years and I can bang out a batch of biscuits and sew a new top just like that, go me.

To be fair the Cashmerette Montrose is a pretty quick easy sew, even for me. Or at least it would be if I didn’t insist on using gorgeous but slippery Liberty silk, and driving my overlocker through the fabric causing a big ole’ tear. Yes dear reader, there were indeed tears.

After a restorative glass of Chard/moan to my husband I took stock and decided , given how gloriously busy the fabric is, I could possibly get away with some machine embroidery. I could also end up with a hot mess, but worth a try yes?

Interfacing to stabilise the mess.

Machine embroidery for the win! So good it’s almost invisible, or at least very difficult to see. I’m surprised it worked so well.

I’ve made the Montrose several times times before, one of those patterns that is deceptively “basic” but actually great, I’m not sure why I’ve not made one for a while.

The silk is from The Fabric Store, with the most glorious sheen I haven’t captured in pictures. I must have had something in mind when I brought 1.5 metres, but I know not what. I did however managed to squeeze the top out of this amount. I didn’t use the larger bicep piece, and as you can see the arm is quite snug, but it’s fine to wear & works well under a cardigan or jacket

A perfect top for work or play , vive la Liberty 🙂

In between baking, sewing and a stinking cold , I did manage to read a book this month, highly recommend Killers of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. What a blast , four female assassins reach retirement age and think the “company” they work for has shouted them a retirement cruise. The Company has more permanent retirement ideas.

I just loved this, great characters, pacey plot & honestly, woman of a certain age absolutely kicking ar8e. If a bit of swearing and violence isn’t your bag then avoid, but if not, I highly recommend.

Probably timely reading for me, as I approach with speed my big five oh. Actually turning 50 is pretty ok for me. It’s exponentially better than NOT getting to turn 50, and I guess I was already on the “old?” spectrum when I stopped dying my hair. Its something I’m thinking about a lot though , wont lie.

I’ve been married for almost 25 years (I’m honestly checking those figures as we speak) , my approach to aging must be coloured by that? I haven’t been on the pull in nearly 30 years . What does that even feel like now?

My husband is seven years older than me so he is mid 5o’s, we talked about what it would be like to even think about meeting someone new now (its ok kids, were not planning to kill each other, this is hypothetical! )

Aging is a gift. I’m watching the ceremony from Melbourne , the NZ Warriors rugby league team (yay!) in the annual Anzac day game vs Melbourne. We are blessed .So many young men and and woman who had no choices.

Living it large friends! Enjoy your week

Kristina xxx

Mimi and the cool cats…

Once again it’s raining cats and dogs here in Tamaki Makarau, but I do promise to stop torturing animal idioms long enough to tell you about my latest sewing project which as you can see…is a bit catty!

I brought this fabric from The Fabric Store a while back, it’s a light shirting fabric with a really nice, slightly crisp finish, perfect for giving some drama to my sleeve. Who doesn’t love a bit of sleeve drama? Well me actually. Don’t get me wrong, I love those massive sleeves , and if I ever fell out of a plane some of them look like they would probably keep me airborne for hours. But in a predominately computer desk based desk job , acres of fabric flapping around will quickly get on my last nerve. Ditto chunky bangles and bracelets.

Just the right amount of draaaaama darlings

The pattern is the Style Arc Mimi top, which as you can see I have altered somewhat, mainly because I seem incapable of buying sensibly coloured shirring elastic , I currently have fire engine red and nothing else. No idea what I brought that for either.

I really like the relaxed dropped shoulder and the volume in the sleeve, so I played around with the sleeve head, adding approx. 8 cm extra width either side for gathering , and instead of shirring I gathered and bound the sleeve hem. For me anyway, this is the Goldilocks’ sleeve, not too little, not too much, just right.

The construction is super simple, no darts , a bound neckline and a keyhole back opening, which I don’t actually need to open to get over my head so you could probably omit if required. The hemline is gently curved which I think looks cute over slim pants.

Of course what could accessorise feline fabric better than a bird brooch?

So what else has been happening around here besides terrible cat puns?

Some new reading material! I’m quite enjoying this, as a long time Christie fan I love all the references to her books the authors have used, it’s a little “aha” when you pick up a name. I especially enjoyed meeting the Vicar and Griselda again, Murder at the Vicarage is one of my favs. The quality is probably a tiny bit uneven for me (I truly struggled with the idea of Miss Marple in Manhattan) but I think that is a personal thing , aren’t all books to a degree? My BFF & I share VERY different taste in books, so I’m always careful with my criticism. If you enjoy Golden Age mysteries, you will enjoy this.

A very early birthday treat to myself, some fabulous new pans. I love to cook , and I’m quite hard on my equipment. I like to buy stuff that is built to last (I still have the Chefs knife my parents brought me for catering college 30 years ago) , and I find cast iron, unlike non stick coatings, can put up with the treatment. Also a good arm workout for my bingo wings!

The Ironclad Pan Co is a local company who were hit pretty hard by the recent flooding here in Auckland. A colleague received a couple of pans for Christmas and was raving about them so I was already thinking over a purchase, making an order to help them with the rebuild seemed like a no brainer…when the universe talks, I spend money. Now , rare or medium rare?

When not hoofing around heavy cookware I decided, in a moment of I Don’t Even Know What that hand rolling the hem of a metre square scarf would be a grand idea for my Mum’s birthday. The silk is a Liberty print , isn’t it glorious, a bit Hermes I thought? The colours will go with so much in her wardrobe, and silk is light but warm, prefect for a spunky 87 year old.

But handrolloing a hem is …long. Even with wine. I used this tutorial and it is a bit of magic when the hems “rolls itself up” won’t lie. But it’s still long.

Its Feijoa season here in NZ, and look at that for a first haul. A rather unusual fruit, native to Brazil, I can’t even describe the flavour, tropical yet slightly musky? A friend from the UK trying them, for the first time described it as “disgusting, like eating perfume” so not to everyone’s taste, but I love them. Which is good as growing up, every garden I knew had at least one tree. We haven’t yet reached “you’re not allowed to leave until you take some Feijoas” part of the season yet.

I have to leave you with this , Tommy couldn’t bear not to be the star cat in the pic, so decided some gymnastics was in order. At least I think that’s what he was doing?

Tommy busting some moves, such a show off…

Have a fabulous week friends.

Kristina xxx

So, is it a Lamington or a Wellington?

It’s been a hectic few weeks here at Plum Towers and very little sewing has been done, so instead I thought a cheeky mid week post with a sweet treat might be in order. While I truly enjoy my sewing , my first love (besides The Bay City Rollers baby*…) is cooking and baking. So going forward don’t be surprised if a few shorter mid-week posts crop up, with what ever is currently popular at Plum Kitchen

We had a relaxing whanau lunch at the weekend, I made Chelsea Winter’s roast lamb which was hoovered up at pace, I was too busy stuffing my face with it and my body weight in roast potatoes to take a pic but I will next time I make it, promise (and yes, there will be a next time.)

My sister brought along her fabulous Lamingtons , which went down a treat. But is it a Lamington, or a Wellington?

According to this report in The Guardian, what I always thought of as an Australian treat, may in fact originate here in NZ. Who knew? To be honest, I have no wish to cause an international incident (my mother was actually born in Australia and I have plenty of family there for one thing) , and while Pavlova, Crowded House and possibly Russell Crowe are hills I’m prepared to die on, this one isn’t. Besides which the “Wellington” makes me think of Beef obviously…or gumboots.

Yes I think we can agree her’s are tidier…and bigger!

So for my non-Antipodean readers asking what the heck is a Lamington? A tender sponge cake, cut into squares, dipped in chocolate icing and rolled in coconut. If you want to guild the lily add whipped cream and jam (or in this case, a fresh raspberry coulis) Utterly delicious.

Found in home kitchens and cafes all over the country , a version can also be found with the sponge dipped in raspberry jelly and rolled in the coconut, I personally think this is an abomination but you do you…

Both my sister Lizzie and I use the recipe from the Edmonds cook book, I (bossily) suggest you do the same.

Sponge

1½ cups Plain flour

1 cup white sugar

3 eggs, room temp.

50g butter, melted

2 Tbsp whole milk

2 tsp Baking Powder (of course I use Edmonds)

Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Lightly butter two rectangle tins and line the bases with baking paper.
Put the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl and combine well.
Break in the eggs, followed by the melted butter and milk.
Beat hard for 3 minutes until the mixture is pale and smooth. I use my Kitchen Aid but a hand mixer or some heavy arm work would do the trick Lastly fold in the baking powder.
Pour into the prepared tins and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cakes spring back when lightly touched.
Leave in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

You can use the sponge when cool, but it’s actually better for lamingtons to leave it for 24 hours , then cut into squares. I like mine slightly smaller , about 5cm sq. but its up to you. Dip into the chocolate icing below , then roll in coconut and leave to dry. Top with a blob of cream and some jam/coulis if you fancy.

Chocolate icing

2 Tbsp cocoa
6 Tbsp boiling water
25g butter, melted
2¼ cups icing sugar
¼ tsp vanilla essence

Dissolve the cocoa in the boiling water and mix in the butter. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and then pour in the cocoa mixture. Add vanilla and stir until well combined.

Yes your kitchen will be covered in coconut. No, I can’t help you with that. As you can see in the top pic we enjoyed our Lamingtons outside on the deck. This does make cleanup rather easier.

My Edmonds if the copy Mum sent over when I lived in the UK. Actually this is the replacement for the one I took with me which was ancient and had pages falling out.

I fully intend to meet my maker never having cooked Bacon Bananas, with or without salad, but the Dumplings, Scone, Pancake, Pastry and various biscuits recipes are on rotation, it’s a NZ kitchen classic.

I hope you’re having a sweet week

Kristina xxx

*P.S I’m not kidding about the Bay City Rollers, I was in the fan club and everything, I have the badge to prove it! Somewhere…