Kahikatea berries to eat!!

Is kahikatea berry season again! I already have a few posts about foraging these New Zealand tree berries here, if you want to find out more. Since I cannot climb the tall trees I have to pick the berries that fall on the ground, it takes time and they are tiny, but everyday I get just enough to put on the cereal in the morning (for Max and Peter, I just have them with yogurt). They need to be washed and then the black seed removed and discarded. I leave the remaining red berries to marinate with just a drop of manuka honey overnight, and in the morning they are ready for breakfast! 

Max's cereal! (TBW, we also have our own bananas!!)

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

 

Little Bay, Coromandel, New Zealand

Abbiamo passato un po' di giorni nella penisola del Coromandel, vicino a Little Bay, bellissima spiaggia!

La vista dal nostro 'batch' nella foresta.

Spiaggia e acqua meravigliose!

E se non si va durante i giorni di vacanza non ci sono neppure turisti in giro.

L'ultima foto è fatta alla cittadina di Coromandel, i tre Tekoteko.

 Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Homemade Labne with homemade dukka and edible flowers

 

Labne cheese is basically strained yogurt. I use Cyclops organic yogurt (green top) which I find to be the best for making labne. Use think plain yogurt which is just yogurt (no added gelatin or other thickeners).

To strain the yogurt I used a cotton cloth, not too fine, but finer that a muslin cloth or cheese cloth. Tight well and hang in the fridge with a container underneath to collect the liquid. Leave it for at least one night and one day. Two days if you can.

To make dukka put some almonds in a skillet and toast quickly, then add pumpkin and sunflower seeds and toss in the hot skillet for one more minute, finish with the coriander seeds, which will need only one minute. Cool down and place in a mixer (keep a few almonds and seeds aside for decoration) with a good pinch of salt, and if you like some smoked paprika. Ground. Place the labne on a platter, cover with dukka and the whole seeds and before serving add rosemary flowers and friarielli or broccolini (or similar brassica) flowers.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©