SALTED CARAMEL BIKKIES

For Easter, instead of venturing home (sorry mum) I managed to escape to the West Coast of the South Island with a group of friends. It was bloody glorious. Nature eh, I'm literally allergic to it (hay fever) but I do love a good boulder-hop. On the Thursday night we went to Pak’N’Save. Perhaps it was the tiredness or the daunting task of having to choose the best selection of cheeses that prompted me to faint, deliriously purchase a bag of nuts and a pear and eat my vices while sitting on the Pak’N’Save toilet. Very bizarre, but hilarious in hindsight. Anyway, it was there that I decided to try and make salted caramel cookies. Why? Why not! Also, I thought they would be perfect for my inaugural cooking vlog for Massive Magazine. See here. Any excuse for a bit of fun, amIright?

Ingredients:

Block of Whittaker's milk chocolate
1 C of chopped caramel chews
170 g
1 ¾ C flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
Pinch ‘o salt
½ C packed brown sugar
¼ C sugar
1 egg
Splash of vanilla

Salt for sprinkling

In a bowl, mix the butter, sugar, and egg. Add the dry ingredients. Once everything is mixed together, add the chocolate. Roll into balls and place on a baking tray. Sprinkle salt over these little wonders. Biff into a 180 degrees Celsius oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes. What a bloody ripper.

LIKE MARTHA ANZAC BIKKIES

It’s ANZAC weekend and New Zealand is going all gaga with the centenary festivities. Naturally the hysteria/euphoria is exacerbated by the fact all yo’ workoholics out there have Monday off and there’s of course your excuse to have a three-day bender. I’m very excited to be going to a Kinfolk dinner on Sunday by none other than one of my favourite bloggers, the Forest Cantina. Man, her aesthetic is to die for. You can’t go wrong with pegboard, a cute baby and your very own vegetable garden #livingthedream. Makes me think, oh hell I need to invest more time into my photography skills. Gah. Nonetheless I’ll pap a few photographs for the next blog, eh? Meanwhile, here are some ANZAC bikkies. How original, eh?!

Ingredients

½ C rolled oats

½ C dessicated coconut

1 C flour

1 C sugar

100g butter

1 T golden syrup

1 tsp baking soda

For all you culinary fiends, might I suggest adding walnuts and sultanas, oh or better yet I wouldn’t mind trying dried blueberries or cranberries. Oh, figs would be nice too. Gosh the possibilities are endless!

Now for the method: soften the butter and add the sugar and golden syrup. Mix in the flour and baking soda. Taste. It should be nom-worthy at this point. Subsequently add your coconut, rolled oats, and other trail mix supplies. Roll into balls and biff into a 180 degree Celsius oven for 10 to 20 minutes. Delightful with a cup’o tea. As a tip, might I suggest doubling the recipe and saving half of the mixture by wrapping it in glad wrap and popping it into your freezer. That way, if you have unannounced guests, you can put the said mixture into the microwave to defrost, biff it in the oven and before you know it you’ve become Martha bloody Stewart!

x

NUTTY BREAKFAST

In foodie news - for this week I am bircher-ing/oatmealing it up. Breakfast is my happy place. The thought of coffee (bottomless would be preferable), reading the paper and a big bowl of nuts, fruit, carbs et al makes me unbelievably happy. What is it about breakfast that is so magical? Mornings are about opportunity, in my opinion. Unless of course it is a Sunday morning and it’s filled with remembering the horrors of the previous debaucherous night. A great friend of mine and I have started a new tradition where we meet every Wednesday morning for breakfast at one of Wellington’s fabulous culinary outlets. It’s like having one-up on a Wednesday. Perhaps this is a new era where I might even “exercise” in the mornings. I doubt it. #NewYearNewYou But nevertheless here is my oatmeal-bircher-esque recipe that makes me purrrrrr.

Ingredients:

¼ C rolled oats

½ C boiling water

⅛ C buckwheat

2 T LSA (linseed, almonds, sunflower seeds crushed)

Chia seeds, yes, I’m not part of the quinoa/kale brigade but chia seeds are da bomb and hey, it’s always good to try what the devil eats, right?

handful of sultanas, or a dollop of honey - you need something to fill the brown sugar void, in my opinion

NUTS all of the NUTS (strangely, speaking of hangovers I found my list of 2015 resolutions, which included “fewer nuts” - they are the best hangover cure, in my opinion but man, I tend to over do it).

Diced fruits - from frozen berries, to kiwifruit, go for it!

Milk if necessary.

All you need to do is cook the rolled oats. I tend to add the boiling water and biff it in the microwave for about a minute. Thereafter add all of the other ingredients and voila.