kitchengeek.co.nz

from the sink

cute as a button

but not cute ENOUGH.

my bake off journey is over.  these cuties were beaten by a baked berry cheesecake.

whaaaaaat?!?  

we.  were.  robbed.

ps. plate by the lovely RCC.

** balls balls BALLS

so i won my round of our office bake off with non-baked balls.  scandalous...

the petite kitchen raw lemon, honey, coconut truffles.  

"They are free of refined sugar, dairy and gluten, and are made entirely with natural, nutrient rich ingredients."

in short, you need these balls in your life.

& to make this recipe super duper easy - you seriously need our classic microplane zester / grater. 

oops - did i just accidentally sort your pa's chrissy pressie - balls & a zester?  *alsjeblieft*

 

waiting patiently? well, we're back....

not that we actually went anywhere.  just got a little busy for a year or so.  with life.  & that.  BUT we've still been steadily fulfilling your orders...  so keep them coming!  & i promise I will be a more consistent feature in your (on-line) life.  & that.

i love me a sausage roll x

it's one of my favourite foods!  & while my new year's resolution should maybe be to never eat another, why would i do that?!  

instead, join me & eat as many as you can with this simple & delicious homemade (kind of..) sausage roll recipe.  

mix together:

three pork sausages with the sausage casing removed

six prunes cut into small pieces

two teaspoons of cumin

then cut in half a defrosted piece of puff pastry. roll it - a little, not a lot.

place about half the sausage mixture in the middle of the pastry, length wise, & wrap so the pastry edges overlap & stick.

egg wash - one egg with one tablespoon of water - the top of the roll & sprinkle with sesame seeds.

cut into lengths.

bake at 200 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.

an absolute hit at our house on new year's day!

itsy bitsy teeny tiny spicy balls of christmas yummy-ness!

christmas means loads of things to different people but in our house there is a collective wipwihoo! as chrissy time means it's pepernoten* o'clock.  these are the most delicious spicy dutch cookies.

tradition requires throwing handfuls into a room for children to hunt out and eat.  while we prefer ours not to touch the ground, we won't judge if you decide to go all old school...  

so here is our top secret family recipe (cough).

50 grams butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup self raising flour

*speculaas spice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1teaspoon cloves

1teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon aniseed

1/2 teaspoon ginger

cream butter & sugar. add spices & mix.  add flour & milk & mix (i often use my hands to make sure everything is well combined). form VERY small balls.  & i mean teeny tiny balls.  bake for 10 to 15minutes  at 160 degrees.

itsy bitsy teeny tiny spicy balls of christmas yumminess!

*ok all you duchies, you are right, technically these are kruidnoten or kruidnootjes...

 

first world problems

travelling comes with many challenges - long haul flights, being the palest person on the beach, bad pillows, jandal rub and, potentially the worst of all, terrible coffee.

while travelling with a moka espresso maker can save you from the worst of bad coffee - sometimes, just sometimes, you just want someone else to make you one.

so in the world of kitchengeek, travels always involve researching then hunting down good, actually make that *great, coffee.

our pick of tokyo? omotesando koffee 

the hardest place to find.  (japanese streets don't usually have names - the system for japanese street numbering is fascinating.)  but after an adventure through the residential back streets of tokyo the reward is hidden coffee perfection.

& there it is, the end of one first world problem (in tokyo, at least). 

 

toothy berlin

with our visit to berlin came o's first tooth.  (i love that one of my 'boring parenting stories' for the next 30 years or so is how o cut her first tooth in berlin...)

no photo possible.  o is not THAT obliging.

so instead, a gratuitous baby photo.  o & the berlin wall.

seriously, dutchies, seriously?

deep fried cheese.  "it's a traditional food.  part of the culture."  or so he said.  

seriously?  

a country after my own (cholesterol-ridden) heart.

 

no news is good news

sorry for the silence.  we have been adventuring.  

tokyo, berlin, den haag (the hague) and, of course, the mighty apeldoorn.  

but we haven't forgotten about YOU.  many, many, many blog updates coming.  ohhhh & the things we have been sourcing...

so don't forgot about us!   desperate for the greatest garlic press?  the zippiest zester?  the classiest can opener?  the enchanting-est espresso maker?  well good news - the store is still *open while we are away!