Fuel for Human Bodies

I've had a ‘feel’ for food since I was a teenager, and maybe even earlier. I recall that lovely ‘feeling’ when I baked treats for us to enjoy at home. Later in life I loved cooking for the ‘feeling’ of nurture it held. And now in my fifties, I enjoy food to nurture and fuel me, it’s an investment in myself. Clean food. Natural food. Hand made food.

I love wholefoods .. ie actual whole foods .. sourcing and eating them just how they are grown in nature. Unprocessed. Nuts, grains, proteins out of our waters and off our land, fruit and vegetables. Adding nutrient rich dairy and baking bread, it doesn’t get much better than that. Eating whole foods I think gives you an awareness of their nutritional profile, and so when I became unwell (see My Story) it was natural to get back to super clean food as a conscious act in my recovery and well being going forward. I use the term ‘fuel’ as that’s often how I explain to friends how I choose to eat. It simply means choosing the best produce from a nutrient/health & goodness space.

It’s quite natural then that I am a reader, lover and collector of cookbooks. I just love them. I love the story, the beautiful imagery and the use of great ingredients. I find cookbooks are works of art and full of inspiration, and I love those who have taken the time and followed their passion to produce them.

Recently I’ve been thinking of how I could share recipes from my favourite cooks. From Anna Jones in the (UK), to Julia Busuttil Nishimura and to our New Zealand cooks, Rosa and Margo Flanagan and Emma Galloway.

I am thrilled to share that I have received permission from Rachael Pilston @ Anna Jones (UK), Dean @ drb entertainment for Margo and Rosa Flanagan’s recipes (below) and Holly and Sandra from Harper Collins NZ to reprint Emma Galloway’s work, and to the lovley Julia herself for her recipe below.
Thank you to these women.

Two Raw Sisters
Chocolate Fudge

100g dark chocolate, melted 
1 ripe banana
1/4 tsp sea salt 

Add the melted chocolate, banana and sea salt to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Line a small bowl with baking paper and pour the fudge inside. Place in the freezer to set for 30 minute.
* copied with permission, link to this recipe: https://tworawsisters.com/2023/02/24/chocolate-fudge/

The lovely Raglan based Emma Galloway is a New Zealand based cook I have followed and admired for many years now. She grows much of her own produce and develops thoughtful and grounded recipes for real food. Of late Emma has been enjoying her journey to pottery and the pieces she produces have the most lovely organic look to them. And that maybe a succinct summary of Emma’s cooking too .. earthy and real, made with love and generosity.

Today I chatted to HarperCollins NZ and they have kindly agreed for me to reproduce one of Emmas recipes.
* copied with permission, A Year in My Real Food Kitchen by Emma Galloway, published by HarperCollins, New Zealand.


Emma Galloway
Plum & Toasted Hazelnut Cake

Serves 8 - 10 | Gluten Free | Dairy Free

As the weather cools, my thoughts often turn to baking and the joy of curling my hands around a steaming mug of tea. Afternoon tea was somewhat of a thing in our house when I was growing up –mugs of Earl Grey tea with a dash of milk and honey were often accompanied by slabs of Mum’s banana cake with carob icing, or her peanut brownie cookies that were always slightly singed on the bottom from the wood-fired coal range she cooked in for much of my childhood. This pretty cake, with its toasted hazelnut crumb and generous pieces of jammy end-of season plums is exactly the kind of thing I love to sit down to and savour with friends and family, over multiple pots of tea.

100g (1 cup) ground hazelnuts

80g (3/4 cup) ground almonds

110g (1/2 cup) unrefined raw sugar

50g (1/2 cup) arrowroot or gluten-free organic cornflour (starch)

1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large free-range eggs, at room temperature

80ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

60ml (1/4 cup) almond, rice or coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4–6 ripe plums, halved + stones removed

Preheat oven to 180oC (350oF). Grease a 23cm round loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper. Combine ground hazelnuts and almonds in a medium frying pan over medium heat and toast for 5–8 minutes, stirring often, until lightly golden and aromatic. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl, setting aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly. When cool, add sugar, arrowroot, baking powder and salt and whisk to evenly combine.

In another bowl, whisk eggs, olive oil, milk and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients and mix to form a smooth batter. Pour into prepared tin and arrange plum halves, cut side up, over the batter. Bake for 45–55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside to cool in tin. This cake stores happily, airtight, for 2–3 days, or in the fridge for even longer.

NOTE: If you can’t buy ground hazelnuts, simply toast whole hazelnuts in an oven preheated to 180oC (350oF) for 8–10 minutes until golden. Rub off the skins, cool and grind in a small food processor until fine. If you go this route, skip toasting the ground nuts in a pan.

Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Chicken & Leek Pie

Julia Busuttil Nishimura has been a cook I have followed for several years. Her food is beautiful, elegant and utter home ‘craft’.
I am thrilled to hear from Julia this week and to have permission to reproduce a recipe of hers, of which I have posted here.
From her Around the Table cookbook I’ve chosen the lovely Chicken & Leek Pie as I too, adore pie.

1 kg bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
600ml full cream milk
2 fresh bay leaves
4 peppercorns
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 T unsalted butter
2 leeks white and pale green parts, well washed and finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 sprigs each of thyme, oregano and marjoram
1 t of dijon mustard
1 T plain flour
sea salt and black pepper
1 egg

Sour Cream Pastry:
400 g (2 2/3 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
sea salt
200 g cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
100 g full-fat sour cream
iced water

Free-form pies are inimitable. They are low fuss in terms of assembly and yet you are still rewarded with golden, flaky pastry. There is no worry about perfect crimping, or breakages as you try and drape pastry into a tin. I love them. This one is filled with tender chicken poached in milk, with leek and plenty of herbs, and enclosed in a sour cream pastry which puffs and flakes in all the right ways. Perfect with a leafy salad for lunch.

To make the sour cream pastry, combine the flour and a good pinch of salt in a large bowl or on a work surface. Toss the butter through the flour to coat, then using fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until it is pebbly. You want to rub the butter into flatter pieces rather than into something that resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and, with a gentle touch, bring the pastry together. Sprinkle over a little iced water, as needed, if the dough is a little dry. You shouldn’t need much, you want a shaggy dough. Shape into a rough square, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour to firm.

Meanwhile place the chicken thighs in a saucepan along with the milk, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and poach the chicken in the milk for 15 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove the chicken from the milk and shred it into large pieces, discarding the bones and skin. Set aside in a large bowl. Keep the milk warm on the stove.

Warm the olive oil and butter in a frying pan over medium heat and, with the butter starts to foam, add the leek and garlic and cook stirring occasionally, for 7 - 8 minutes, until softened. Add the herbs, followed by the mustard. Sprinkle in the flour and stir really well to prevent any lumps from forming. Strain the warm milk mixture, then pour 400ml of the milk into the pan, stirring well. Simmer the mixture for 3- 4 minutes, until thickened. Add the chicken and season to taste, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat the over to 180C. Line a large round baking tray with baking powder. Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to make it easier to roll. On a lightly floured work surface, cut the dough in half and roll out one half to a 28cm round, 3 - 4 mm thick. Drape the pastry into the prepared tray. Tip the cooled filling into the pastry base and spread it out leaving a 4 cm border. Roll out the second the second half of the pastry dough, then drape it over the filling. Trim any excess pastry, leaving a 3 - 4 cm border, then press the pastry edges together and use your hands to crimp the edges towards the pie, sealing in the filling.
Make a small hole in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape. Whisk the egg with a teaspoon of water and brush the egg wash all over the pastry. Transfer to the oven and bake for 45 - 50 minutes, until the pie is golden.
Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

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