Discovering Silicone...

Poached eggs are wonderful - especially when seen in eggs benedict or just on toast.

I have no utensil at home that enables me to poach eggs nicely so off to the kitchen store I went.

I found several devices but one in particular caught my eye; mainly because it was cheaper: SILICONE CUPS.

Surely these do look a little funny but I can assure you that they can not be used for personal enhancement (if you prove me wrong please email me and let me know).

Here is what they look like:




Beautiful aren't they?

I played around with this a bit - mainly with boiling times and since many have different preferences for poached eggs, I encourage people to experiment.

My preference is for the yolk to be medium soft (still a bit runny).

The directions accompanying the silicone cups state to lightly grease the cups, boil water first, then set the cups in water and cover from 4-6 minutes.

Since I like my eggs medium soft and I was using smallish sized eggs, I experimented and found this to work for me:
- Boil water
- Oil or spice up silicone cups.
- Crack egg inside.
- Float silicone cups in boiling water and cover for 3.5 minutes.
- Turn off the burner and keep covered for about 30-45 seconds more.

Silicone retains a bit of heat so taking them out of the water and laying them on a heat resistant counter will continue to slowly "cook" the proteins (FYI).

Again - experiment because there are some variables:

• Burner temperature (low, med. high)
• Size of egg
• Your preference in poaching.

After they are poached to your liking, use a spoon and run along the edge and flip it onto a serving plate. Voila!

Here is a small toy slideshow video of these silicone cups used in different formats; it will take a little while to download when you hit play; if you are seeing this at work don't be surprised if your company's "IT-Nanny" forbids you to peek into Youtube. Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pd5DAmPx0s

Nelson Smoked Fish Chowder..

Now that we live in Nelson it seems appropriate to incorporate more fish into our diet.

At the moment, I am taking a break from the life of a wage slave. I do a bit of cleaing and cooking. With the latter, I begin to feel the creativity set in. We went to the Saltwater cafe. It is a seafood restaurant just on the Nelson port. They served a splendid fish chowder which I was determined to replicate at home.

Tonight my chowder consisted of milk and potatoes. I researched a few recipes on the web. Most chowders have cream and/or roux; it certainly makes for a richer chowder. Using whole fat milk and potatoes is slightly healthier. Here is a recipe I found on the web that I have modified with a few extra things. It feeds about 6:

1) 400g smoked white fish (blue cod, haddock, etc) & 1 small fillet of fresh salmon
2) 1 L full fat milk
3) 1-2 leeks (white part)

4) 35-40g butter
5) 600g medium potatoes (assume 100g/potato), peel & small dice.
6) 2 sprigs thyme
7) 2 sprigs Parsley
8) 1 bay leaf
9) 1 clove crushed fresh garlic
10) Salt & Pepper to taste
11) Chopped chives & fresh parsley, to serve
12) 3 drops of plain Tobasco.

Method:
In a sauté pan place fish and pour over enough of the milk to almost cover fish. Reserve the remainder of milk for later. Bring milk to boil then simmer for 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool and then flake fish into milk (discard any skin).

Rinse leeks thoroughly and then chop into medium pieces. Soak in water to remove any remaining dirt. On medium heat, melt 35-40g of butter; place chopped leeks to sauté until soft (1-2 minutes). Add remaining amount of milk, potatoes and herbs (tied in a bundle).
Simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Remove and discard herb bundle, roughly smash potatoes in order to thicken chowder. Watch to be sure that mixture is not too salty or doesn't boil for too long as milk might curdle which does more for appearance than flavour.
Add cooked fish mixture. Taste amd adkust the seasonings with salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with fresh chive/parsley mixture and 3 dashes of Tobasco sauce.

Yummm!!!

New Zealand native spices do not arouse taste buds...

Kawakawa and Horopito are two native NZ herbs that I constantly play with. Both are found in many stores and both, sadly, are tasteless.
Kawakawa: is more of a healing herb. It is purported to relieve stomach pains and indigestion, particularly where due to over-eating. Kawakawa leaf applications were also used topically for bruises and rheumatism, the pain of neuralgia and nettle stings, as well as for eczema. As an herb for cooking I find there is very little flavour.

Horopito has a more interesting background. It is said to have a more "peppery taste" but my god is it ever so mild! Horopito was traditionally used by the Maori people of New Zealand to treat stomach pain and diarrhoea, this is probably due to its astringent (tissue tightening) and antiseptic properties. Skin complaints were treated using bruised leaves that had been steeped in water or chewed before application. The peppery constituents of Horopito stimulate the circulation when it is applied topically, and also taken internally. Topical uses include fungal infections, such as Candida albicans and ringworm; wounds, cuts and burns; painful bruises and joint inflammations; skin diseases and as an insect repellent. Fresh leaves were also chewed for toothache.

Before I wrote these two herbs off my list, Field days had KONO. This brand boasted pre-cooked NZ green lipped mussels flavoured with Kawakawa or Horopito.

















These pre-cooked beauties were 8 to package and were selling for $4 each or alternatively 4 packs for $10. Great bargain either way - we went for the 4 packs for $10. The flavours were:

1. Lime & Kawakawa,
   
2. Chili & Horopito,
   
3. Garlic & Butter then last...
4. Manuka smoke flavour & kelp.

Tonight Steve flipped the oven on and began baking the Lime & Kawakawa and the Chili & Horopito flavoured mussels. He steamed broccolini and prepared a fresh garden salad to accompany the mussels. We ate this with a lovely Sauvignon Blanc. The meal was lovely but my tastebuds were only able to detect the more dominant flavours of Lime and Chili. Why is tasting Kawakawa and Horopito so hard?

Should I give up on these native spices??
Well, before I do, there is still another pairing to play around with. I intend one last experiment. If that doesn't work - we will only be growing these native herbs for either medicine or garden hedges!