Twilight Cupcakes: Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn, styling inspired by the original book cover, black and white elegant cupcake cup for the new Bella, pure white for Renesmee. 

Very vanilla cupcake base and Italian butter icing for the frosting.  

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Twilight Cupcakes: Jacob

The werewolf cupcake, baked in a white heart cupcake cup, 

and topped with royal icing covered with black sesame seeds

plus a single red heart sprinkle. I never thought that sesame seeds could 

taste so good with royal icing! 

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Twilight Cupcakes: Eclipse

Today is Black and White Wednesday, organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. But I cheated a little: I couldn't have just a black and white for my Twilight Week, I needed just a dash of red. And of course the cupcakes had to be three: Bella, Edward and Jacob. No frosting but icing sugar to represent the snow.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Twilight Cupcakes: New Moon

The Twilight Saga continues with New Moon

and a cupcake to eat while

walking the streets of Volterra at night,

or listening to werewolves howling.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Twilight Cupcakes

I am having a Twilight cupcake week, starting today.
These 'bite size' mini cupcakes are called
Edward and Bella (I suppose that you can guess 
which one is which). And in case you are wondering, 
the black seeds are black sesame seeds.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

A Vegetarian in Niue

Sometimes it is hard to be a Vegetarian when traveling in the Pacific: the island diet is very much based on fish, and meat. When we went to Rarotonga we rented a guesthouse with a kitchen, and that was a great idea: we could take our dry food, and buy fresh produce there. So we did the same in Niue, since there aren't many restaurants there, and the veggie options are limited. To eat out go to the Crazy Uga cafe in Alofi (the only one) open Mon-Sat, for breakfast and lunch, no many options for Vegans (unless you stick to baked beans only) but they can make coffee with soy milk :-). The Alofi Swan Son supermarket is expensive but stocks pasta, rice, canned Italian beans and tomato sauces, and even tofu (when we were there). On Sunday go to the Washaway cafe in Avatele for lunch (since it is only open on a Sunday), everybody seems to meet there, the menu is not veggie friendly, but they made some vegetarian focaccia for us, on request. There is also a tiny Indian restaurant in Alofi, Gill's, and they have a few vegan and vegetarian dishes, eat in or take-away. Finally the Matavai in Avatele, the only resort in the Island, has a formal restaurant with a veggie option each for starters and for mains.

To stock up with fresh produce I advice that you book a plantation tour with Tony Aholina, A5 Tours, Mutalau Village, Tel 683 3343 A5tony@hotmail.com, not only you will learn much about plant food in Niue, Tony will also give you some food from his plantation: taro, cassava, banana, papaya, coconuts, greens and more.

One of the things I liked most was to see, for the first time, vanilla plants. Niue vanilla is lovely, the orchids grow around trees and the fresh vanilla pods look like green beans. Tony cars was full of vanilla sticks, he and the other islanders have so many that they also use them as air fresheners for the car and the house.

Taro is the Island staple, usually baked or boiled, it is quite starchy and very filling. Being Italian I always travel with a small bottle of olive oil, so after boiling my taro I dressed it with olive oil, salt flakes and chopped spring onions. At home in New Zealand I have some giant taro in my garden, I was always told that it is not so tasty, only decorative, but Tony told me that I could eat it, and maybe I will try :-).

Tony also gave us some greens, a sort of big brassica leaves which I boiled and then dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. I am sure that soy sauce would have been good too, but I didn't have any. And the cassava roots, another starchy food, baked they were lovely, there are the white and the yellow type, we tried the yellow and they tasted a bit like sweet potatoes. We also learned to pick and cook breadfruit (breadfruit trees are everywhere in the Island), you can find a recipe here, and for coconut .... well, you can eat coconut in 1000 different ways, click here for some examples.

You can also buy fresh produce in the Farmers Market in Alofi, every Tuesday and Friday morning, but remember that this market is very small so you need to get there at 6:30-7am to get the best produce. You can also buy some warm coconut and arrowroot porridge, a good Vegan breakfast. In the market you can also find eggs, fried bread, cakes and a few souvenirs.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

For Dee

Yesterday I went to say goodbye to Dee, it was a beautiful and moving ceremony, and my thoughts are with her family.

Dee you were so lovely, and I cannot recall having seen you even once without a smile. I like to remember you here because you were the one who started me blogging: it was 1997 (I think) and you asked me to blog for the NZ Book Month, I had never written a blog before and I was a little nervous, but your enthusiasm was, as always, enough to convince me. And now look, I am really enjoying blogging! Thank you Dee, you precious being.

Lots of love
A.

Coconut, the tree of life

Sunday morning Colleen and Charles brought us a bag of fresh coconuts. Of course I had to ask Charles to show me how to open them, and it was easier that I thought (just look at the pictures below). We didn't have any straws so I let the coconut water drip into a glass (getting about three full glasses for each coconut!). We all loved the coconut water, especially if we left the coconut in the fridge: fresh and chilled coconut water!

After drinking the water I got the boys to break the coconuts for me: Dad was good at breaking them, and Max at scraping out the flesh.

Charles and Colleen came for dinner, of course I made pasta, but I also made a variety of dishes with their coconuts. A tomato and coconut salad with cannellini beans, spring onions and olives, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt flakes. Coconut rice (just boil the rice with coconut pieces in it, fantastic!), coconut chocolates: I dipped slices of coconut in melted 72% dark chocolate, and also mixed freshly shredded coconut in the remaining chocolate to make choco-coco balls. I made a big tray of these but I forgot to take a photo, se here were the leftovers... and the fruit salad with local papaya, banana, and coconut, a little brown sugar, lemon juice and rum. This I made a few times actually, it was too good! Charles and Colleen couldn't believe how many things I made out of their coconuts, they said that usually the drink the juice and then give the rest to the pigs. They have plenty of coconut. But I guess that for me this was luxury!

So what is a typical dish with coconut in Niue? In the market we tried the local coconut porridge, a warm mixture made with coconut, arrow root and a little sugar. It was different, not bad but not even my breakfast of choice. I preferred coconut bread, which is sold in all the bakeries.

But the best experience for me was to learn how to open and eat coconut at different stages of maturity, so if one day I will be ever stranded on a desert island I will be able to survive... as long as there are coconuts around! On our plantation tour Tony firstly gave us a coconut each to drink, these were very young coconuts and the water tasted different from the one we collected from Charles' coconut. Then Tony opened up some coconuts for us and cut some spoons out of the coconut shells. The younger the coconut the softer the flesh.

I was really surprised to learn that you can also eat coconut when the leaves appear: Tony called it coconut marshmallow, and in fact it was soft (but not as soft as a marshmallow) white and spongy, with a delicate sweet taste, a bit like eating a gigantic soft macadamia nut. This was a favourite with the kids. My favourite was the the stalk of the young coconut plant: Tony peeled and passed it over, crunchy, fresh and a bit like a coconut celery. I have eaten this before, it is called heart of palm, and in Argentina I ate it in sandwiches (it is called palmito there), in Asia I ate it in a variety of dishes, and in New Zealand I went on a foraging trip with a Maori forest ranger and ate the heart of a young Nikau palm (but much smaller than this stalk of coconut!). Nikau heart too taste a little like coconut.

So if you visit Niue make sure that you visit a plantation, the market, or have friends with lots of coconuts, otherwise just  stop at your nearest coconut stall.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

First recipe from Niue: Breadfruit Chips

Tony took us to a plantation tour, which was amazing (I will post more about it in the next few days) and we went back to our guesthouse with a good stock of locale produce. The first recipe I am proposing is with breadfruit, I heard a lot about this fruit but never cooked it (although I ate it before and found it quite bland).

 Tony told me that I could bake it, boil it or make chips, and since I travelled with olive oil and some luxury salt flakes I decided to go for chips.

Breadfruit needs to be peeled and sliced, Tony peeled it with a machete for me. I cut it into thin slices and pan fried them with a little olive oil (not deep fried) and added some Welsh sea salt flakes. I served it as an appetizer, everybody love it so much that I made it again the evening after. First breadfruit experiment: successful!

And now I leave you with some more images of Niue, till next recipe.

PS

Sorry if I am not replying to all your comments, time and connection are big issues for me at present.

Castello di sabbia

Castello di sabbia, dettaglio

La barriera corallina

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Calling all Kiwi Bloggers: Sweet New Zealand

Our NZ blogging community is growing, and I have spoken with other food bloggers about the idea of a monthly blogging event, just for fun, and to get to know each others better. Well, the response was very positive, with some bloggers even keen to host the event in the future (but don't be scared, hosting will never be a requirement, nor will be 'following').  So here we are: Sweet New Zealand! I thought that this title would be quite inclusive, as every food blogger has something sweet in his/her archives. And as requested by some of you I also kept the 'rules' to a minimum. Here they are:

1 This blogging event is open to all bloggers living in New Zealand and Kiwis living and/or blogging overseas. This is not a competition and there are no prizes or winners: it is just a way for Kiwi bloggers to connect and share recipes.

2 You can take part with anything sweet: cakes, fruit salads, biscuits, ice creams…You can write a new recipe or send the link for an old recipe, if you like, as long as the entry contains the phrase Sweet New Zealand, the banner (choose your own size), a link to the host, and to this post (so please update your old posts, if necessary).

3 Send your entry by the 28^th of each month New Zealand time (25^th for Feb.) to your host with:

•                Your Name

•                Your Blog Name and URL

•                Your Post URL (and name of the recipe if it isn’t in the post title)

•                A photo (not too large)

 Your host will publish recaps at the end of the month.

4 There are no more rules, so have fun!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me:

alessandra at clear dot net dot nz

I look forward to your comments and entries :-)!

Niue Sea Snakes

Everyday we are exploring two or more little bays/chasms/natural pools. Some are great to see tropical fish and coral, others are good for... snakes! They are poisonous, yes, but not really dangerous because they are not aggressive, so you can swim with them, and you know what? They are actually really really cute! Some popped their little heads up and I could see their eyes! Growing up in the mountains with vipers (in Italy), and now living in one of the few countries that doesn't have snakes (New Zealand), I never felt comfortable with these reptiles, but the Niue sea snakes are different :-). You can find out more about them here.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Whales and Fish in Niue

with feet in the water

More images from Niue

Sunday we went to Church, there are many to chose from and it is a real experience even if you are not a Christian: everybody is welcomed and the singing is lovely. We choose the Church in the village of Avatele, and for the rest of the day people in the village commentend about it "So, you went to Church this morning!" even people who didn't come to Church commented, they all heard about it, I guess that we were very 'noticeable'. From Avatele we drove around the interior, and then visited the only resort in the Niue: the Matavai (very tranquil and low key, in tune with the rest of the Island), and we also went to the largest 'beach' that there is (mostly rocks and chasms here), which is actually small and with no sand, but fine coral pebbles, and clear water.

Church: wear a hat. Street sign, not so steep really! The swimming pool at the Matavai Resort, the only one!

In front of the beach there is the Washaway café, a real Sunday institution because it is only open ... on Sunday! It is run by Willie, who also run the Crazy Uga café in Alofi (open the other 6 days), and the car rental service. Willie lived in Auckland for many years, but now is back catering for the few tourists who make it here. He actually says that statistics on population are wrong, there are only about 1000 people on the island. The Air NZ plane can take just over 170 visitors per week (our plane possibly had 150, half of them visiting family or returning home, the other half tourists), plus we can count a few more who arrive by yacht, so at any time there may be about only 1200 people on the Island.

Willie and the Washaway café

One of the most spectacular place we visited today was the Tavala Arches, a bit of a bush and rock walk to get there, but then we were rewarded by a beautiful scenery, and the sighting of whales (the first time for me, and I saw my very first whale through this Arch!). And then the coral and fish! I don't have the right camera, so I took these photos with my iPhone (with my feet in the water), but I think that these can give you an idea of the place: the snorkeling was amazing and we were the only ones there for hours, until another family arrived.

Tavala Arches

Added this post to Jim's Magnificent Monday :-)

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

First images from Niue

Niue, 259 square km, less than 1500 people, one flight a week, from Auckland (about 3.5 hours). This place is very relaxed, no big resorts or fancy restaurants, no beaches, but rocks, caves, coral, natural pools, chasms, bush tracks... and coconut crabs.

We rented a car, number plates have easy to remember numbers, and phone numbers are the same: 4 digits only :-). The one radio station plays mellow Polynesian tunes and it is very hot.

Natural swimming pools and sea chasms are cool and full of colourful fish (and some sea snakes too, I didn't see any yet, but the others did... apparently). I love this place, I just leave you with some images, 

have a good Sunday.

ciao

A.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © (and one by Arantxa)

Where to?

Well, I am off. Where to? Can you guess? The photo may give you a clue, changing my winter slippers for reef shoes! Ciao!!!

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Polynesian Interior, and a recipe for Eggy

Shells necklaces from Tahiti, basket from Hawaii, Poi from Aotearoa, bag from Samoa

Shells necklaces from Tahiti, kete bag and paua shell, flax flowers and little Whare (house) from Te Reo Maori students

Tapa briefcase from Samoa, shells necklaces from Tahiti, Picture from Rarotonga, lei garlands from the 2$store

This is my office. I have chosen a Polynesian theme because I live in the largest Polynesian city in the world, Auckland, and I travelled to several Polynesian countries, collecting things where I could.

Turmeric Eggplants and Chickpeas

Today recipe is for Intuitive Eggplant of Eggplants to Go, who is collecting eggplants recipes for her July 2011 Culinary Smackdown.

Cube two large eggplants and let them sweat with salt for one hour. Rinse and pat dry.

Put two tbsp of vegetable oil in a large frying pan/casserole dish, and sizzle two peeled garlic cloves with one heap tsp of turmeric, half tsp of cumin powder, half of coriander powder, and a good pinch of salt. If you like add a chili pepper too.

Add eggplants and stir, after 10 minutes add the content of a can of chickpeas (water included).

Cook until the eggplants are almost a mush, adding a little water from time to time, when necessary. Adjust with salt and serve hot. I served mine with flat bread and baby spinach leaves.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©