A dash of daring
Now's the time to venture away from tried and true ways with winter vegetables and make the most of plentiful supply and cheap prices. Just when you think you can't handle another Brussels sprout or broccoli stem ... along comes a salad of Brussels sprouts and mandarins and a recipe for char-grilled broccolini. Both are delicious and good examples of how a little creativity can keep things interesting in the kitchen without costing a fortune. I'm not enamoured with purple-coloured green vegetables, though I get caught out every so often (like, I just HAD to buy purple broccolini when I saw it this week) because the purple colour changes to dark green as the vegetables cook. That's what made me try grilling these broccolini, to see if they would stay purple. As you can see, they didn't. But they tasted amazing. I wasn't done tinkering around in the kitchen, and decided to do something different with Brussels sprouts, shredding them finely and threading through mandarin segments. A mustardy dressing and smattering of salted peanuts on top turned this into a great winter salad.
And, oh man, finally, avocados have come down in price and are affordable again. No need to get too fancy with them I reckon, as you welcome them back to your culinary world.
I've got all the details on the Home page about my last winter cooking classes which take place in August, but don't forget that you can book small intimate classes in my Waiheke home, the Writer's Retreat, now most days of the week. We have a lot of fun, feast on the dishes, drink great wine (well, you do, I have to stay sober to make sure I get everything done!), and of course you learn heaps. I am now taking advance bookings for the summer season, so if you know you are going to be on Waiheke during summer, get in early and grab your preferred date.
On Sunday we are holding our wine and food event at Casita Miro with MW Bob Campbell "As Good As It Gets'. It sold out in 3 days – hopefully you got a ticket.
Cheers
Julie
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