Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I’ve discovered a new meme called Weekend Cooking. It’s hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Since I often post recipes, this is a happy find for me. Follow the link above to Beth’s blog for further info on the meme.

And now to my recipe…

Hunter Blair, one of the heroes from my upcoming release, Eye on the Ball is having trouble in the romance field. He wondered if a box of these truffles might help his cause – at least that’s what he said in my hearing, but this conversation didn’t make the final draft of the book. Here’s the recipe Hunter uses:

Hunter’s Decadent Truffles

Ingredients:

250 g/1 cup/9 oz cream cheese, softened
500 g/2 cups/18 oz icing sugar (powdered or confectioner’s sugar)
375 g/1.5 cups/13 oz dark chocolate
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Place the softened cream cheese in a large bowl and beat until smooth. Sift the icing sugar to remove any lumps and gradually add to the cream cheese until well blended. Melt the chocolate and add to the cream cheese mix until well combined. Refrigerate for about an hour. Once the mix has hardened shape into balls. Roll in nuts, coconut or sprinkles. Refrigerate until eating.

Shelley’s notes.

1. I always make these for Christmas, and since it’s summer down here in New Zealand, the refrigerate until eating instruction is important.

2. I’ve given measurements in grams, cups and ounces. Follow the relevant measurements for your country.

3. For the chocolate – my husband and I like hazelnuts so we use a bar of hazelnut chocolate as part of the chocolate measurement. You could add a few nuts or pieces of dried fruit to the cream cheese mix if desired.

4. I rolled my truffles in coconut, cocoa powder and cupcake sprinkles. Check out the cupcake bling section at your supermarket for different sprinkles. Use your imagination

5. Eat and enjoy with friends.

Lone Wolf, my fourth Samhain Publishing release is due out on 23 August. Corey, one of the heroes has a liking for chocolate, which R.J., the other hero indulges.

“Yeah.” R.J. gave him a quick kiss and pulled a small bar of chocolate out of his pocket. He tucked it in Corey’s waistband. “Take care, kid. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

In honor of R.J. and Corey’s story, today I’m giving you a list of my favorite chocolate things.

Thirteen Chocolate Treats That I Adore

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies – I like the ones with huge chunks of chocolate.

2. Pain Au Chocolate – preferably still warm from the oven and partnered with a latte.

3. Hot chocolate – nothing better on a cold winter’s day.

4. Chilli chocolate – very dark chocolate with the bite of chilli peppers. Very yummy!

5. Chocolate cake – rich and moist with thick chocolate icing and partnered with a glass of cold milk.

6. A chocolate milkshake – the thick kind that is hard to drink through a straw.

7. Choccywoccydoodah – I like watching this program on TV. The shop is in Brighton, England, and their cakes look amazing!

8. Whittakers Ghana Peppermint Chocolate – this is New Zealand chocolate. It’s dark chocolate with a mint filling. They have a very cool ad, which is on Youtube, but it has an over 18 warning on it because of nudity. Link to Whittakers’ ad.

9. After dinner mints – I love the combination of chocolate and mint.

10. Moritz ice creams – various flavors of ice cream with a thick coating of chocolate that crackles when you take a bite.

11. Chocolate truffles – hubby makes some delicious ones that have a hint of orange in them. Yum!

12. Double Choc Muffins – for morning tea with a cup of coffee.

13. Scorched Almonds – I usually only eat these at Christmas time. Almonds covered with a thick coating of chocolate. Very addictive because one is not enough.

What is your favorite chocolate item?

Here’s the recipe for one of my favorite slices. It’s my father’s favorite too. It’s simple and easy to make and always goes well with a cup of tea or coffee.

250g butter (2.2 sticks/8.8 ounces)
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 T golden syrup
2 cups flour
1 cup coconut
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt
chocolate icing (frosting) and extra coconut for decoration

Melt butter, sugar, cocoa and golden syrup in a large saucepan. Do not let the mixture boil. Let it cool then add flour, coconut, baking powder and salt.

Press into a greased and baking paper lined tin and bake at 180C (350F) for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and leave to cool for another ten minutes. Ice (frost) with chocolate icing. Sprinkle with extra coconut. Cut into squares and store in an airtight tin.

Shelley’s notes:
1. This recipe comes from Seasons, a year of fabulous food by Annabelle White
2. I use the normal bake setting rather than fan bake. If you use fan bake reduce the cooking time.
3. I like to add chopped cranberries or walnut pieces to the mix for a variation. (You’ve probably noticed by now that I like cranberries and add dried cranberries to everything!)

Do you have any favorite slices you like to eat/bake?

I’m taking part in the Sweet N Sexy Divas Easter Blog Hop contest. Explore author websites, find a special Easter icon and go into a draw to win a basket full of decadent gourmet chocolates for Easter.

Find full details and the rules at Sweet N Sexy Divas

Entries must be received by 24 April.

My husband made these little chocolate mousses last weekend. They were quick and easy to make and delicious! Here’s the recipe:

75 g dark chocolate, chopped and melted. (Use ordinary chocolate rather than chocolate with high cocoa content) (2.5 oz)
2 eggs, separated
25 g butter, melted (1/5 of a stick of butter)
2 Tablespoons caster sugar
1 Tablespoon Tia Maria (optional) We used Kahlua since that’s all we had in the pantry.

Mix the melted chocolate with the egg yolks and butter. Whisk the egg whites and then whisk in the sugar until the mixture is shiny and stiff. Fold the two mixtures together and add the Tia Maria. Divide into four glasses and chill until set. We used espresso cups and garnished the mousse with toasted slivers of almonds. They took 15 minutes to prepare.

Source: Taste Magazine – June 2010

After our memorable Cook Strait crossing, we didn’t have much time to have lunch. We grabbed a Subway sandwich each and ate them on the way to our first stop on the wine tour.

There were thirteen of us, and we managed to cover a lot of the world with passengers from New Zealand, Australia, England, Norway and the USA. On the South Island side of the strait it was fine and sunny, so my brother-in-law got the weather right. The Marlborough region sees a lot of sunshine—usually grabbing the highest amount each year—so it’s excellent for growing grapes.

Our first stop was at Drylands, one of the larger vineyards with ties to Australia and the USA. We started with a welcome glass of sparkling wine and gradually worked our way through the list. I like wine, so I sampled most of them—both red and white. Most enjoyable.

The second stop was at Framingham. After another eight or so samples here, and I started to feel the wine. This tour was unlike the samplings I’d done before. Obviously it pays to go on a tour rather than turn up with just hubby. The people behind the counter were most generous with their samples, and we purchased a bottle of Framingham Marlborough Classic Riesling here. For those of you who enjoy wine this is a classic New Zealand, off-dry style wine with rich fruit and a juicy acidity. It has complex varietal characters of lemon citrus, mandarin and stone fruit with a long mineral finish. It’s best served with Asian style cuisine and seafood. Sounds good, right? I intend to have some tonight with my dinner.

Our next stop was Nautilus Estate where Mr. Munro and I purchased a carton of wine. Nautilus is shipping it home for us. Our quiet bus was growing progressively noisier, and there was much more chatter and laughter by this stage. I was pacing myself, skipping the odd tasting, and I made inroads on their oil/bread samples.

Our final stop was Hunter’s. Hunters is an older vineyard and one of the first in New Zealand to take their wines overseas and scoop gold medals at the wine shows. Mr. Hunter died tragically early in a car accident (age 38) and his wife took over the running of the vineyard. Her name is Jane Hunter and she has received many wine awards, including the inaugural award for women winemakers, world wide. She also has an OBE.

I loved the Hunter wines. In fact there was only one I disliked. Yep, I admit it—I was decidedly tiddly when I left, but I wasn’t alone. We drove to our last stop, the Makana Chocolate Boutique, with the music blaring really loud Beetles and Queen classic hits.

So, I leave you with a tip—if you intend to hit a wine trail, it’s a good idea to have a hearty meal first. Your head will thank you for it!

Have you been wine tasting before? Do you like wine, and if so, which one is your favorite?

Whenever I have a cup of coffee in a cafe, I always check out the muffins. Any flavor will do as long as they’re fresh. If I manage to time it when they’re still warm from the oven so much the better. I think muffins are good because they’re reasonably healthy and don’t have as much fat as cream cakes. That’s my reasoning anyway. I also enjoy baking muffins because they’re quick and easy.

When I want to bake a batch I always turn to Alison Holst’s Marvellous Muffin cookbook, which contains recipes for both savory and sweet muffins. The following recipe is an adaptation of her Double Chocolate Muffin recipe. I call them Black Forest Muffins.

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cocoa
¼ – ½ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup dried cherries

Place dried cherries in a bowl and add a little boiling water to cover – a few tablespoons. We want to reconstitute the cherries a little. Place other dry ingredients plus chocolate chips in a large bowl. Add the cherries plus the liquid.

100 grams of butter (about 8/10 of a stick)
1 egg
1 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla

Melt the butter. Beat the egg and combine with the milk, yoghurt and vanilla. Combine with the dry ingredients, folding together until mixed. Do not overmix.

Spoon into 12 well-greased medium-size muffin pans or use paper muffin cups. Bake in a hot oven at 200C (400F) for 10 – 12 minutes until centers spring back when pressed lightly.

Enjoy with good company and a cup of tea or coffee.

You might have seen this recipe on the loops recently.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour(that’s plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to share!)

I decided to try the cake and hubby and I both enjoyed it for our dessert, served with yoghurt.
It’s quite a dense cake because there’s no baking powder, but it definitely rises. A little too well. If you make it, put a plate under your mug when it’s cooking in the microwave to save on cleanup. Also make sure you clean your plate and mugs straightaway because the mixture adheres rather well! I mixed the egg, oil and milk in a separate mug and added to the flour mix. Hubby and I also decided that one mug cake was enough for two.

I decided I’d try a variation:

Leave out the cocoa and chocolate chips. Grate in the rhind of half a lemon and add a handful of berries. I added raspberries because I like them but blueberries would work. Mix in the same way with all the other ingredients. Once your mug cake is cooked – squeeze half a lemon into a cup and mix in two teaspoons of sugar. Stir and spoon over your cake before eating. Serve with cream, ice cream or yoghurt. This was yummy!!

A third variation would be replacing the chocolate and chocolate chips with instant coffee and a few chopped walnuts.

Enjoy!!

My husband went out with a friend fishing this weekend. Fine by me. I’m not a fishing fan.

“I’m taking your car,” he said.

“Oh,” I replied. There went my plans to go out for a coffee. Without the car I was stranded at home.

Fast forward a day and I decided to make a pot of coffee at home. I keep a small supply of ground beans in a airtight container. The plastic measuring spoon lives inside that container. Three spoons make a pot of coffee just the way I like it. I searched high and low for my coffee container. I looked in odd places. Yes, it’s true. When I’m concentrating on characters I’ve been known to put things away in strange places. I checked the pantry four times – that’s where the coffee lives. I checked the fridge twice. I checked sundry kitchen cupboards. In the end, desperate for coffee I opened a new packet of beans and ground some coffee. My measuring didn’t work out since I didn’t have my spoon. I ended up drinking weak coffee.

When hubby rang, I said, “Do you have my coffee?” I was feeling a little feisty by this stage so I figured I’d spread it around.

“Yes,” hubby said, shocking me speechless for an instant. He’s never taken my coffee before.

“Why? You’ve taken my car. You’ve taken my coffee.”

“I didn’t think you’d mind,” he said.

Fast forward some more. I made a pot of tea. I decided to eat some of the dark almond chocolate we’d purchased while doing our grocery shopping. It occured to me that there were three Cs. Car. Coffee. Chocolate.

I started to laugh. Huh! I thought. I have control of the chocolate, and instead of the normal two squares I limit myself to, I ate more. I’ve had WAY more than my share of that chocolate. It’s hubby’s favorite. That will teach him.

Jenyfer Matthews awarded me with a Blogging With Purpose award this week. Doesn’t it look pretty?

I’m meant to award it to other bloggers. At this stage I’m going to award it to a new blog, and I’d better mention I do a weekly post on this blog. I’m not awarding it to myself, but to the other bloggers. Their posts all relate to adventure in some way. The topics vary but are all equally fascinating. I award this to the Danger Zone.

It’s true. I adore eating chocolate. So, to celebrate one of the world’s greatest culinary inventions…

1. In a recent survey 52% of Americans stated chocolate was their favorite flavor. The second favorite flavors were berry and vanilla with 12% of the vote each.

2. Half of Americans (51%) choose what chocolate they eat by the shape of the piece.

3. The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature — which is why it literally melts in your mouth.

4. Theobroma Cacao is the official scientific name given to cacao by Swedish Botanist Carolus Linnaeus in the 18 th century. The word Theobroma comes from the Greek language literally meaning, ‘food of the gods.’ While the exact origin of cocoa is still debated, it said to have been introduced by the ancient Maya to Central America from the South American highlands of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. The word for cacao (cocoa in Spanishi) is thought to have been created by the Olmec Indians whom historical linguistical investigations indicate may have been using the term around 1000 BC Mayan Indians were the first to create a beverage from cocoa.

5. Recent studies have shown that eating chocolate may actually be good for you. Researchers have found that raw and / or minimally processed cocoa – as is found in Yachana Jungle Chocolate – contains flavonoids similar to those found in green tea. According to preliminary studies, these antioxidants have been linked to help accomplish the following:

Decrease blood pressure
Improve circulation
Lower death rate from heart disease
Improve function of endothelial cells that line the blood vessels
Defend against destructive molecules called free radicals, which trigger cancer, heart disease and stroke
Improve Digestion and stimulate kidneys
Has been used to help treat patients with anemia, kidney stones and poor appetite

6. Placebo-controlled trials suggest chocolate consumption may subtly enhance cognitive performance. As reported by Dr Bryan Raudenbush (2006), scores for verbal and visual memory are raised by eating chocolate. Impulse-control and reaction-time are also improved. This study needs replicating.

7. Today, chocolates of every description are legal, unscheduled and readily available over the counter. Some 50% of women reportedly claim to prefer chocolate to sex, though this response may depend on the attributes of the interviewer.

8. Acne – There is no established link between developing acne and eating chocolate.

9. Cavities – Studies have not placed chocolate high on the list of cavity-causing products. The cocoa butter in chocolate may provide protection against tooth decay.

10. Addiction – As a food substance, chocolate has no addictive ingredients.

11. Store chocolate in a cool (60-70° F), dark, dry place away from strong-smelling items such as peppermint or dirty socks. Chocolate has a tendency to absorb other odors. Do not store chocolate in the refrigerator.

12. White chocolate is not technically one of the types of chocolate because it does not contain any chocolate liquor. It must contain at least 20% cocoa butter and 14% milk, plus sugar in varying amounts.

13. For all things chocolate in a blog go here.

And final words of wisdom…
Put “eat chocolate” at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you’ll get one thing done.

Are you a chocolate fan like me, and if so, what is your favorite chocolate treat? If…gasp!…you don’t enjoy chocolate, what is your favorite flavor?