Black Dog Cottage Cookbook: Sweetcorn, Spring Onion, Feta & Coriander Fritters

As you probably know by now, I am a girl who loves a cookbook. So when the publishers of the second Black Dog Cottage Cookbook by Adie McClelland (released this month throughout New Zealand) asked me if I would like to test drive a couple of recipes I said yes please.

I love fritters as much as I love books, so the Sweetcorn, Spring Onion, Feta & Coriander fritters were calling to me. The trick with a good fritter is to have the minimum of flour, enough to bind but no more, to avoid stodginess. You will think their isn't enough in this recipe, but trust me, it works a treat, and the end result is light, crunchy & moreish.

Sweetcorn, Spring Onion, Feta & Coriander fritters (from the second Black Dog Cottage Cookbook, published August)

3 cobs fresh/2 cups frozen sweetcorn (fresh is best, but these are still fab with frozen)
2 eggs, whisked
2 tbsp flour (yes, just 2!)
4 spring onions, finely chopped
Handful of coriander, finely chopped
80 grams feta, crumbled
Freshly ground pepper
Oil for frying (I used Canola)

If using fresh corn cut the kernels off the cobs. Whisk together the flour and eggs to make a batter. Combine the spring onions, coriander, feta, pepper and corn into the batter and mix well.
Splash some oil into a medium frying-pan and heat over medium. When hot add small spoonfuls of batter to your desired size, and turn over when golden to do the other side.
Drain on kitchen paper.

As you can see, they could not be easier. I served them for lunch with bacon , sour cream and more coriander. I had intended to add avocado also, but of course when I cut it open it was brown, why are so many avocados like that!? They would also be lovely made bite size & topped with sour cream and a flake of hot smoked salmon to have with drinks, yum!

The book also has a recipe for Zucchini , Mint & Feta fritters, which follow the same method, substituting grated zucchini and mint for the corn and coriander. As soon as zucchini come back into season I will be giving these a try also, maybe with a fresh zingy tomato salsa....

I have the first Black Dog Cottage cookbook and it is a cracker, so I am really looking forward to seeing the next one. I am getting around the cookbook buying ban by putting it on my Christmas list, clever no? If it is following the same format as the first book expect light, fresh, easy to prepare recipes full of flavour with minimum fuss. Hard to go wrong really.......

For more information please visit Phantom House Books or the book's Facebook page.

Wishful Wednesday, the beginning of an affair...(hopefully not the end of a marriage)

What a week! Firstly apologies for my technology induced hiatus, all manner of IT dramas at work (is their anything more tedious??), no laptop at home, I feel rather bored by technology. So let’s talk about something far more interesting. No, not the Olympics, (although it had been thrilling) but Kitchens!


Mr PK and I are renovating. Starting with the kitchen, following up with the bathroom, adding another bathroom and oh joy of joys, a walk in wardrobe. No doubt it will all be intensely stressful, but at least if we do get divorced the house will be gorgeous when we have to sell it & split the proceeds………just kidding. Maybe.

Anyway, the architect came around with his first set of drawings last week, and I was delirious with excitement. It is only in hindsight I realise I have made a blooper. I asked for the kitchen to be moved to an area off to the side of where it is now, ending up as a very large U shape. Adding a huge wow factor and providing unbelievable amounts of storage. Amazing you would think?

Actually not. Putting washing onto a portable rack (its raining again, surprise) down the end where my cooker would be, I realised how isolated my new kitchen would actually be. Instead of being in the hub of my home, off the lounge, I would be off on my own (albeit luxury) wing. Big mistake, I like to know what’s going on, so instead I sat down with a glass of vino and pictured a bigger version of what I actually have. Instead of just moving everything, I thought about what works at the moment (the Triangle from cooker, fridge & stove), and what doesn’t (not enough storage, pantry miles away). Not having to move windows, a wall and all the plumbing will save us a fortune………….which I can them spend on exciting things like this beauty from Belling...........it was love at first sight.

The stainless steel version is also rather handsome.........

Is it odd to plan the kitchen around a cooker? And wander around Harvey Norman taking pictures of cookers? Wait until I take my roasting dish in for a size check.......

I also rather like this sink..........

And this rather handsome tap

Now I just have to decide on cabinets, flooring, tiles (loving these subway tiles with gray grout)

(Pic via edesignwellington.blogspot.co.nz)

So many choices???!!! Any kitchen tips greatly received.................

Leaving kitchens entirely I wanted to share a great song I heard on the radio the other day. Those that know me may well be groaning at this point (that's you BFF1) , my taste in music is notoriously dodgy, but do have a listen to this from Icelandic band Little Talks, so catchy, YEAH! (the intro is in German I think, but they sing in English)

Lastly, a gratuitous cat pic (come on, it's been a while) of Tuppence in mega pose mode......she is such a star

Have a great week!

Sweet New Zealand- August!

I am very happy it is August at last. Only a few weeks & we are officially into Spring, my very favorite month. So to get me through to my first bunch of daffs, and taste of asparagus,  Plum Kitchen will be hosting Sweet New Zealand for August!


This event was originally started by Alessandra Zecchini in 2011 and really encourages food bloggers to share their secret recipes, discover new delights and of course, get to know other New Zealand food bloggers, living both here and overseas.

If you’d like to enter, here are some super simple rules:

1. This event is open to all bloggers living in New Zealand (even if you are not a Kiwi), as well as all Kiwi bloggers living and blogging overseas.

2. You can enter anything sweet (as simple or complicated as you like): cakes, biscuits, slices, desserts, even drinks, and you may submit as many entries as you like, including old posts if you like.

3. Your entry must contain the following: the phrase “Sweet New Zealand”, a link to the host (my blog homepage), a link to this post and include the Sweet New Zealand badge (just right-click and download the image from this post), and if you are submitting an older post remember to update it accordingly with all of the above.

4. To submit your entry email me at plumkitchen@hotmail.co.nz by 30th August with:

 your name

 your blog name

 a link to your blog

 a link to the post you’re contributing (and name of recipe if it’s not on your post’s title)

 a photo from your post (not more than 250 kb if possible)

I’ll do a round up of all entries at the end of August (Mr PK wants me to cook them all also so he can taste test!?). I look forward to hearing from you!

Dessert for an Olympian.....

I have gone slightly off-piste this week with my cookbook challenge, although the base of my ice-cream is from Donna Hay, it is so much a variation I think we will just call it a one off, and save Donna for another day……….

Unless you are living under a rock you may have noticed a certain sporting event filling the telly schedule, newspaper, social media……
I love the Olympics. Yes it may be commercial, and but so what, I will cry at the winners (and some of the losers) and become extremely knowledge (or so I think…..) about the most obscure sports, and countries for that matter.

To celebrate I had the whanau around for an Olympic themed dinner. We went back through the last eight countries to host the games, pulled the names out of a jug and cooked a dish we thought represented that country. Mr PK drew a drink from Moscow (um, guess what he made………)

I was challenged to come up with a Sydney inspired dessert……….

So, if, like me, you will be staying up all sorts of unsociable hours to watch the Peoples Republic of Somewhere I Can't Pronounce beat Wherethehellisitstan in the woman's singles final of the synchronised swimming, here is a treat to make it just that bit more worthwhile………

Mango, Lime & Toasted Coconut Ice-cream

The ice-cream is inspired by the Donna Hay recipe from Modern Classics 2, it is plain vanilla to which I add fresh mango puree, lime zest and toasted thread coconut.


1 cup milk (I use semi-skim but anything is fine)
2 cups cream
Vanilla pod
2/3 cup caster sugar
6 egg yolks
1 fresh mango (or use canned)
2 tbsp icing sugar
Zest of 1 lime
¾ cup thread coconut, toasted in a dry pan until golden & fragrant


In a saucepan heat the milk, cream & vanilla pod until hot, but not boiling. Leave to sit while you whisk together your egg yolks and sugar until thick & pale. Take the vanilla bean out (you can rinse it & leave to dry, then pop into your sugar jar!) and while whisking, pour the hot milk into the eggs. Pour the whole lot back into your saucepan, then stir over a low heat for about 5 minutes until your custard has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. It will still be quite runny so don’t worry.

Pour into a bowl & leave to cool for 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile peel your mango and whiz the flesh in the food processor with the icing sugar until it is pulped. Press through a sieve and stir into the custard mixture with the lime zest and coconut. Pop into the fridge & when cold put into your ice-cream machine and churn

Alternatively pout into a plastic contain & pop into the freezer. Take out every hour and using and electric beater, whisk up to break up any ice crystals. Do this 3 or 4 times. Yes, the ice-cream machine is easier!

I like to take my ice-cream out of the freezer for 20 minutes or so before serving so it isn’t to hard to scoop, I served it with Anzac biscuits , and an almond praline. This would have been a Macadamia praline until I saw how expensive Macadamia nuts are?!

This is also my entry for the July Sweet NZ over at After Taste. Be sure to pop over and check out the round up of goodies from all over, great for a sweet tooth!

In case you are interested,the rest of the Olympic marathon looked like this.....




 Pork Dumplings representing Beijing, with Kimchi via Seoul...........

Buffalo wings and ranch dressing all the way from Atlanta (no buffalo was harmed.......)

From our friends in London, Fish & tartare sauce (or Fush!)

Via Los Angeles, Chicken and vege Enchiladas, with avocado & tomato salsa.....

Last savoury course before pud, Athens gives us Octopus and  Potato Pickle salad.........

As you can see, it's a marathon not a sprint..........but food was the winner on the day!

Wishful Wednesday- for kids to read....

The sad passing of the inimitable Margaret Mahy (if you have never read any of her books step away from the computer & go immediatly to the local library, you wont regret it:) got me thinking about books in general, and children’s books in particular. When Mum moved we were under strict instructions to please finally remove the piles of books we had left behind! A few treasures were unearthed, what follows is a completely arbitrary run down on my fav’s……….

For starters, my all time favourites, the Little House series. From The House in the Big Woods right through to Almanzo & Laura’s wedding in These Happy Golden Years I devoured the lot. The wonderful description of the maple dance, the day the family kill the pig, Caroline Ingills making butter, so much fascinating food history (I was all about the food even as a kid…….), I recently reread several of the books and enjoyed them just as much. Again I am not sure the iPod generation would find them as fascinating, I can only hope……..

The Classics: The Little Woman series by Louisa May Alcott, oh how I wanted to be Jo, although I have always suspected I may have more in common with conservative Meg. I read the entire series of these books, growing up with a gaggle of sisters I could certainly relate (although surely none of us were as sweet and kind as Beth!) Do girls still read them? I hope so………

Now I know kids still read these, The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton. If you have not read the adventures of Jo, Bessy & Fanny with their friends Silky & Moonface, you must immediately befriend a child with even a modicum of reading taste, they certainly will have. I have the box set, although I realized the other day they actually belong to my sister………whoops

More recent reads: Beverly Cleary’s brilliant Ramona Quimby stories. Poor Ramona has many trails to deal with, not least her bossy older sister Beezus, but she handles everything with her brilliant imagination, even when things don’t go to plan….. I loved these books, so funny and clever; I was surprised to find they had been made into a movie. I watched the first 20 minutes on a flight back from Fiji, but the characters were so far away from the ones in my head I had to switch it off; don’t you hate it when that happens?


My younger sister started reading about Carbonel (the King of Cats!) by Barbara Sleigh and I followed suit. The books have been reissued, and are a great read, especially if, like me, you fully appreciate how clever cats really are……….

Sweet Valley High, yep, I am a child of the 80’s! Francine Pascal series follows the lives of impossibly pretty popular twins Elizabeth & Jessica Wakefield living in Sweet Valley California where it never rained, they never got zits, or chubby, despite living on milk shakes & French fries . Apparently there were 152 books in the series (?!) I got my fix courtesy of my best friend across the road. Looking back the stories are so incredibly American I wonder now what the appeal was, but at the time they were compulsive reading. A follow up book Sweet Valley Confidential, following the lives of grown up Elizabeth & Jessica was released last year, I am reliably informed to give it a miss ……….

I cant not mention Mollie Katzen and her amazing Moosewood Cookbook, and the follow up Enchanted Broccoli Forest, I LOVED these books, I got them out of the Library so many times I should have just brought them………all that wonderful hand lettering, and some of the dishes seemed very exotic to me, tofu, really????

So, what were your favorites??

Wishful Wednesday- feed me/read me

This week I thought I would talk about a couple of books & a website I am enjoying right now (or soon will be!), and a fantastic meal I had this week…

First up, I am very excited as one of my fav authors has a new book out next month. I am already on the waiting list at the Library (38 of 38 so far, I was a bit slow off the mark) for The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. This is number eight in the Armand Gamache series, and they just get better & better.

Set in Montreal and the small village of Three Pines, each book is an ingenious murder mystery, as well as following the relationships with Chief of Police Armand, his deputy Jean-Guy and the various members of the village. I found Montreal beautiful and fascinating (and cold, actually it was the first place I touched snow) the history & relationships between the French & English speaking communities is an interesting theme in the books, and Penny describes the various scenes & characters so well you fell like they are old friends. I have missed them! Roll on August……..

If you want to start at the beginning, Still Life is number one in the series

Speaking of murder mysteries, if you are like me and enjoy a good crime novel, check out Crime Watch, a kiwi blog about all things happening in  crime and thriller fiction. Craig Sisterson chaired an excellent session at the recent Readers & Writers Fest. called A Mind for Murder which I really enjoyed, his blog is updated constantly & is great for finding out about new crime authors, especially those from New Zealand

Next up a few pics from my dinner at Depot last Friday. I met Mairi from over at Toast, and we enjoyed a fabulous meal, I highly recommend dining here if you are in Auckland.
Get there early (we were seated by 5.30pm) as the place gets packed & there is no booking. We scored a fantastic perch right in front of the Kitchen, so enjoyed watching the meals being prepped by the super efficient chefs. Actually the head chef bears more than a passing resemblance to Russell Crowe (ok, if Russ had a north of England accent) and I don’t think that was the (delicious) Chardonnay talking….

So, what did we have?

A meat platter, perfect size for two, with various delicious cold meats, rabbit rillettes, crostini and cherry relish, superb...

Pork Carnitas, tender slow cooked pork with a tangy tomatillo salsa in soft tortillas.....

Potato skins, topped with porcini powder, truffle oil and Gouda.....I went out the next day & brought porcini powder here so I could recreate these at home, completely morish.....

Turbot sliders, with pickled lime mayo......................WOW!

To finish, a gift from the kitchen, a tamarillo compote with the most amazing foam on top, complete with crunch & coffee............
I rolled out out the door completly satisfied, and cant wait to go back..........

On a food theme, here is another book I have really enjoyed, Monsoon Diary, Shoba Narayan's evocative memoir of her time growing up in Madras before moving to the US for college, the food descriptions made my mouth water. My sister found it in a second hand shop, but it is still available new.

And finally, on the subject of books, I have to mention Fifty Shades of Gray. Actually I don’t have to, but I’m going to. Everyone else seems to be talking about it…….


Good on E L James, it is really hard to write (& finish) any novel (I know, I’m trying…….), let alone actually get it published. To do so and have it become such a mega hit is just amazing, who would not want that?
It’s just a shame, in my opinion, it isn’t a better book. I found it far too long (and to be honest I only made it halfway through…..), in desperate need on an edit, and quite frankly, thin and boring. Never mind auto-erotic bedroom gymnastics, I just wanted to give Ana a slap, she is so wet! How Ms James managed to spread the story out over three books I can’t even imagine (actually maybe therein lies the problem, her imagination is clearly more active than mine!) but I wont be purchasing any more. The annoying thing is I brought the book on my Kindle, I can’t even give it away………

Have a great week!

Cook My Books Challenge Three- Ole Cassoulet....?

This is the second version of this post, the first one disappeared off my laptop screen last night just as I was finishing it up………most annoying, especially as I still don’t know what I did

You may also need to forgive the pics, can I say it is quite tough to make Cassoulet look as good as it tastes, there is a lot of brown in that there pot. Duck, Pork Belly, Pork sausage and beans, this is a flavour packed dish, rich artery clogging meaty goodness, thankfully for your heart it is a treat and not for everyday…….

The book I have selected this week is Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles cookbook, based on recipes from his restaurant in New York city.  
I will be doing more than one recipe from this one as it is a fab book, and I cheated a bit on the Cassoulet. For some reason I have a mental bock when it comes to soaking legumes, so between that & neglecting to start the recipe 3 days early as instructed (?!) I ended up doing a sort of mash up of Les Halles, High Fearnly-Whittingstall & Rick Stein. This is a very traditional dish, so there will be as many interpretations as there are chefs, this is mine. I am actually pretty happy with this dish, I dont think a few short cuts have compromised flavour at all, it does take hours to make, but to be honest the actual time you spend doing anything is nothing like that much. I would not claim any degree of authenticity here, but I would claim this tastes fabulous....

Cassoulet - inspiration as above

serves 6-8 generously

First the beans....

500 gr haricot beans, soaked in cold water overnight (see below if you are forgetful like moi)
200 gr pork rind, cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled and studded with 4 cloves
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 Bouquet Garni (Bay, Thyme, & Parsley tied together in a little bunch with string)


Drain the beans, then put in a large pot with the rest of the ingredients. Cover by at least 3 cm with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 1.5-2 hours until the beans are nice & tender.
If you forget the soaking step, cover your beans with cold water, and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for a full 10 minutes, then turn the heat off & pop a lid on your pot. Leave to sit for 2 hours. The boiling gets rid of any toxins in the beans, so don't skimp on this step. Continue as above


Now the meatie bit....

2 confit duck legs (I will post how to make these later this week, or you can buy, I got mine at Sabato)
800 gr Pork Belly (I like Freedom Farms,) cut into chunks
6 good meaty pork sausages (I get mine at the fabulous Ellerslie Meats)
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped
1 small tin of crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
salt & pepper

Ok, first you need to brown your meats. Take 2 tbsp of the fat from around your duck legs, and melt over a medium heat. Brown your duck legs on both side, and set aside. A bit of fat will come out of your duck, dont freak out, it is that kind of dish.
Now brown the pork belly, the skin will spit and crackle, so be careful. Set aside with the duck, and add the sausages to the pan. Brown on all sides and cut into chunks. By now you, the cooker, the floor & probably the wall will be covered in fat, this is what happens.........
Turn the heat to low, and add the onion & garlic to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes until soft but not really browned. Add the tomato pulp and paste, along with 1/2 cup of water. Stir & simmer for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 160C. When the beans are cooked, check you still have plenty of liquid in the pan. I dont think I had enough, I would aim for at least a cm over the level of the beans. The beans will soak up a lot more liquid in the oven. Stir through the tomato mixture, and check your seasoning, remember the duck has a bit of salt, but dont under season.

Layer the meat & beans, starting and finishing with beans. An earthenware pot in traditional, I use my Le Creuset which works perfectly. Now you could sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs, I didn't have any so relied on the beans to form their own crust. Apparently this would be the subject of hot debate in France, my audience didn't know the difference so it was fine!
Bake for 1.5 to 2 hours until crusty, bubbly, meaty & gorgeous. You are the déesse domestique....

I served my Cassoulet with this potato dish, (in for a penny as they say....) One of my sisters does not eat red meat, so she made a rather divine salad Nicoise to go with dinner, I think my arteries were saying thanks. A green salad would also be perfect, sharp with a mustard dressing.

I also made this tangy Rhubarb Creaming Soda syrup to use with my soda stream , thanks to Good Food in a Crap Kitchen, delicious, and so pretty.

I will be posting further recipes from Les Halles, it is a useful, well designed book, I like Anthony Bourdain's straight talking style, the recipes are relatively simple to use and the format is clear & easy to read. Probably not one for vegetarians however.

Les Halles Cookbook
Anthony Bourdain
Bloomsbury 2004