Why
the Stars & Stripes this week? Well, after a week that’s seen packs of
wild animals resembling lions roaming the streets around Auckland’s
Viaduct, and the breaking of Burgergate, and people shaking the moths out
of bright red socks and Champagne sales soaring … it’s all gone a bit
bonkers. 4th July is
approaching, and that’s the time Americans like to chow down on burgers
and fries, and as we’ve just robbed them of their biggest drinking
vessel, and endured the brief and laughable Burgergate (What? Sous vide
burger patties???), it just all came together with a hiss and a roar.
(I’m having way too much fun with all these puns!)
Yes, well, if you don’t live in New Zealand you won’t be aware that the
Nanny State is alive and well here. That means that some well-meaning
ill-informed drongos decide what is safe to eat and what is not. Burgers
cooked to medium-rare were to be outlawed. Oh the uproar! Great. That’s
one of the best things about Kiwis: we don’t take stupidity lying down.
Medium-rare burgers are back on the menu! Yep, Burgergate was all over in
a matter of days (‘Oh no, we didn’t mean in proper restaurants, just
takeaway chains’ – you can see the golden arches bowing to such pressure
NOT). There are already strict controls on meat processing all along the
chain in this country, and when interviewed on Radio NZ an industry
spokesperson couldn’t tell the interviewer whether anyone had actually
ever got sick from eating mince that had gone off.
Here’s a great burger recipe from the Shared Kitchen archives. Best Burgers These
are made with real meat, chopped fine then whizzed briefly in a food
processor, in other words, you are making your own mince or ground meat.
It does produce a superior patty, and handy to have a recipe for it in
case Burgergate does come back. Learn about mince here.
Ilaria is serving up some quick flatbreads this week. Flatters Flatbreads
A kind of ‘raid the fridge’ topping. But she got me thinking because she
made a broccoli crumb and scattered it raw on the flatbreads. Whaaaa?
That’s not going to taste good, I thought. Wrong. Quite delicious. She
has a nice little chat about life which she includes with her recipes.
Ever read her stuff? It’s different to mine, as is her cooking. And I
love them both. Ilaria's Kitchenette
Tamarillos are top
of the chart this week – loaded with Vitamin C and other antioxidants,
and in full swing at the moment. Do you know the origin of the name
tamarillo? See here.
I’ve included recipes for Cinnamon Baked Tamarillos,
and savoury uses too. They make a mean salsa. Tamarillo Salsa
Have a great week, celebrate winning America’s Cup (or losing it!),
watch the All Blacks smash the Lions (hopefully) and rejoice or weep, but
most importantly, cook and eat some good food. Homemade burgers and fries
in front of the telly on a chilly night is not a bad prospect.
Cheerio
Julie
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