Welcome to the recap of Sweet New Zealand #14, the monthly blogging
event where you don’t win anything!
Hahaha sorry I couldn’t help myself, after seeing those “Money is
bad” and “Money is good” posters and ads around I was just looking for an
excuse to talk about them!
Anyway, enough about strange advertising, and without further ado
here is the recap for September.
The entries are in chronological order, if I forgot anyone please
let me know, and for future reference I would like to remind you that the only
rule of Sweet NZ is that the logo and name of the host are to be added to the
post (even if the post is old) otherwise the game is not fair.
For my experience Sweet New Zealand always starts slowly, and then
on the last two days it becomes an “open fire!” of last minutes entries! Future
hosts, please remember this and don’t panic if by mid-month you are a bit low, entries
will come later, and we all lead a busy life (or at least, I do!).
Still, being the host myself I thought of giving the good example
starting off with an entry for the blog Only Recipes. It is a spoon dessert
made with Fresh As strawberry powder and egg whites (after a first experiment I
found egg yolk to be a bit too yellow and alter the pink colour that I wanted
for this pudding). Here it is, Fresh As strawberry pudding.
Second entry is from Allison from Pease Pudding: Brown Sugar Shortbread with Salted Caramel. The entry comes with a
post (and amazing photos) about Rarotonga, and I was really impressed that
Allie actually baked these little gems there instead of just sunbathing on that
hammock. Here are her words:
“…It was an interesting exercise
baking a batch of cookies and caramel at the tropical beach hut with limited
equipment…”
Next on is Lucy, our Kitchen Maid, who re-proposes
a new and improved take on a classic Macaroon Slice. My husband would love this
one, he is not impressed by the fancy petit
and mignon French macarons, for him a macaroon is
something like what Lucy’s makes, and describes
as “…chewy, coconutty and you can whip it up in one bowl…” sort of slice. I
must add that the “in one bowl” bit is always a winner with me (I really
dislike washing up, did I ever tell that?).
This is my sort of cookie, and even if I am not a cookie and milk
person (I prefer cookies and coffee, or even cookies and tea!) I love this
picture with a glass of milk so much! Maybe I should add that Arfi is also a
very talented photographer!
Emma is our Kiwi blogger/chef living in Australia, so she gets
strawberries before most of us in NZ (decent strawberries, I mean, I needed
some for work at the beginning of the month, and I did find them in the shops,
but it took me half an hour to sort out the photogenic ones!). Don’t apologize
Emma, we will get ours soon and we will be able to make your recipe… is the
mangos that I am mostly envious of!
(PS, Emma gave me two photos, and I couldn't choose....)
with Lemon and ginger cheesecake cupcakes. I was so impressed with Julie taking part with a sweet treat that looks scrummy but actually follows her new eating regime (wheat free, low fat and only natural sugars). Welcome Julie, I look forward to see what else you will be able to whip up, since you have the skills!
Sweet Arfi sent a second entry, Gluten-Free WholeTangelo Almond Loaf. This looks so good and so my sort of cake (probably being Italian I am a big fan of almonds and citrus…), but what I like most about this is that the fruit comes from her tangelo tree. The few citrus plants that I have in my gardens are in pots and will never produce a harvest big enough to show off, but still, I am always proud and thankful even for a few lemons, and I leave off the enthusiasm of other gardeners and relish in their crops, even if only virtually!
Mel is back blogging from her Treehouse Kitchen, and I asked her to
share this mango pudding. She didn’t make it, the recipe came from her friend
Char, but Mel describes it as “Creamy, rich
and so mangoey, for lack of a better adjective!” and we have a photo of
it! Mel apologizes for the lighting, but hey, I think it is great that
she even managed to take photos during a dinner party (have a look at the rest
of them). Usually I am so busy chatting that I remember when the last forkful is left on the plate.
Now here is my entry from this very blog,
Vegan Chocolate Brownies. A double recipe really, as it starts with a vegan
‘nutella’, that then can be transformed into brownies for the sole reason of
not ending up, spoon by spoon, all in my belly.
And another one from me from the Vegan
Blog. Yes another Vegan treat, but super easy and uncomplicated, Mandarin chocolates made with Fresh As dried mandarins. The result is quite
sophisticated really, one of those recipes where the only thing that counts is
the quality of the ingredients: the fruit, and good dark chocolate.
Three chocolate entries one after the other (must be that time of the month?). Here is Bridget from
After Taste with Self-Saucing Chocolate Puddings. Bridget, first of all you are
not alone liking cold
desserts (not sure about the other leftovers though…). Second, happy first blog
birthday, and finally, these puddings looks super chocolaty and yummy!
Frances from the Bake Club breaks the chocolate
cycle with Honey semifreddo, a recipe from Nigella but with pistachio instead
of roasted pine nuts. Once again, being Italian I am a fan of semifreddo, one of the best and easiest way to make an ice cream at home. I also need to add, for the gluten free gals, that this is gluten free too!
For the “unusual” adjective… adding the whole
orange seems fine to me, but for the warm water and baking soda I cannot
comment, as I don’t use baking soda in baking. Anyone with some intelligence
about this?
Last but not least is Sue from Couscous and Consciousness, a late
entry maybe, but quite well timed too so that I can introduce her properly as
the host for the next Sweet New Zealand (October 2012).
This month Sue proposes an Upside-down pineapple and kawakawa cake,
made with the kawakawa tea we received at the food bloggers conference. And as
a bonus you can also read about day one of the conference in the same post!
But hey, wait, just as I am writing this here
arrives Lesley from Eat etc.
(what did I tell you about “open fire”?). But a welcome pretty and Spring like entry this
is: Very berry Belgian biscuits! And I see a classy
use for the Fresh As blackcurrant powder. Thank you for the entry Lesley, and
for the lovely photo too!
And now all off to visit each others and acknowledge (and compliment) your creations! And remember to keep your eyes peeled for when Sue
will announce the next Sweet New Zealand!
Alessandra
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