Mother’s Day Crumpets, vanilla labne and sour cherry tea

Everyone likes to claim that it’s not even worth eating a store bought crumpet after you have had a homemade one, but I beg to differ.  I’d say with a friendly slather of butter the bought ones on my deliciousness scale fear quite well. That said the homemade ones ones are comparatively out of this world, simple culinary science making magic and absolutely worth the effort.  

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Spiced Apple Cider

It might officially be spring, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a chill in the air down here in Dunedin. So enjoy the longer spring nights tucked up indoors with a glass of this hot spiced apple cider to warm you up from the inside out.

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The Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate Milk Craze

Okay okay so there is a crazy buzz about this Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate Milk in New Zealand so naturally here at Our Kitchen we were dead keen to try some.  Our friends in the Auckland office informed us that they had tried to purchase some of this ‘like no other’ delicious velvety chocolate milk infused with Whittaker’s Creamy Milk Chocolate but after more than 10 attempts on various days and at a variety of stores, the elusive brown bevvy was still at large.  

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Walnut Drink

In January I made my second trip up to Qingdao in China’s Shandong province. It was a short trip but we packed in plenty of good food!  Over the course of the week, our gracious hosts took us to a variety of restaurants around the city, ordering up plate upon plate of local dishes.  I had amazing tofu, lots of delicious seafood and zingy, garlicky vegetable dishes.

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Iced Chai Tea

With similar colour properties to cola-cola you could be forgiven for turning your nose up at the attractiveness of this drink, however what it lacks in aesthetic value it most certainly makes up for in flavour and refreshment.

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White sangria

I’m sure many of you have experienced the downside of a sunny, summer’s day party. A few drinks in the sun only to feel dehydrated, lacklustre and in need of a siesta just a few hours later. It’s not only the alcohol content in your drinks which does this to you but also the sugar

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Peach Bellini

At this time of year in Dunedin the days are long – tonight the sun will not set until close to 9:30 – so there is plenty of time after work for entertaining. A little light and summery drink made with fresh peaches, this is the perfect thing to sip with friends while you watch the sun slowly drop below the horizon on these long languid January evenings.

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Gin & Pomegranate Cocktail

I had been given a bottle of pomegranate molasses for my birthday some time ago (years ago in fact!) and am embarrassed to admit that as time passed it was nudged further and further backwards on its shelf in my fridge, at last joining the ranks of the jars whose contents had been long since forgotten.  There it would have remained had I not found myself at a wee bar

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Toast Auckland 2012

Building on the baking competitions we have had in the past, and a growing passion for brewing amongst our fellow cohorts, it was decided that we would step things up a little and host a brewing competition.  Sam Possenniskie of Yeastie Boys fame and Nick Jones, a passionate home-brewer with links to Mike’s Organic Brewery, kindly posed as our judges, wowing

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Cola Syrup

Less sweet and more spiced than commercial cola, there is real depth to the flavour of this syrup – it makes the perfect base for a mocktail. Pour over crushed ice, add a couple of very finely sliced rounds of fresh orange and lemon, and top with soda water (novelty umbrella optional).

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Raspberry & lime iced tea

My initial thought was to make a cocktail for this month’s high tea theme but after much deliberation I decided that I would turn my hand instead to iced tea. I had never made iced tea before, nor had I ever given too much thought to it so I did a little bit of reading on the subject and discovered that iced tea is a drink with its roots deep in the American south

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Coriander, Lemon, Lime and Honey refresher

Happy New Year! Back in 2007 I was lucky enough to travel through Sri Lanka. I wiled away hours ‘researching’ Ayurvedic treatments and their properties on the human body. Intriguingly, after each treatment was over, the lucky recipient was served something very similar to this drink. 

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Christmas tea

On numerous occasions I have told of my passion for tea, and on numerous occasions (probably in the same breath) I have told of my desire to blend my own tea.  I remember several years ago now feeling particularly inspired, wanting to blend, package and brand my own tea, as well as design wee tea infusers with which to brew it.  Suffice to say none of the above eventuated (though as they say it is never too late!),

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