Boil up

The fresh meats for the shop will be packed up by Ellerslie Meats - organic beef and lamb, and free range pork. My friend Nellie, who is French, has this terrific way of slow cooking pork. I usually use spareribs with just a little salt as she suggested, but thought I would try  belly  marinated for an hour  in a rub of  ground fennel, cardamom, a touch of nutmeg and cinnamon and salt and pepper. Add two cans of cannelloni beans and bake at 90 degrees for as long as you need to - sometimes I put it in mid morning and forget it till dinner time. The casserole lid needs to be quite tight so the lovely juices are not lost in evaporation. It is a great dish for a busy day, which usually means a salad accompaniment, but this time I roasted veges from the garden - jerusalem artichokes, kumara, carrots, capsicum, beetroot, onion - in a little pear cider and olive oil for about 35 minutes. I grilled the crackle and served over the veges with a pot of steamed asparagus. A terrific meal and no fuss.

I have been experimenting with the Olivado oils, especially the Avocado Zest. I don't usually go for flavourings in basic ingredients, preferring to add tastes and fragrances at cooking time, depending on my mood. But this is lovely - the lemon zest is pressed with the avocado, so the resulting oil is rich with the essence from the skin, rather than just a little piquant from added juice.We have added it to rice cooked in stock which was lovely for my teenagers who are avoiding butter at the moment in the name of their complexions, a little to some gurnard for a very easy taste sensation, and it was wonderful drizzled over a salad of bitter leaves and herbs.
I try to make a mayo at the beginning of the week to use for lunch sandwiches and rolls, usually a whole egg recipe in the blender which is quick to make and also saves time making meringues afterwards! I used the Avocado Zest oil for a change and it was unbelievable,so I have included the recipe - I think originally from one of Digby Law's books.
Whole Egg Mayonnaise
In a blender, place
1 Tbsp wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
Break in a whole egg and add 1/4 cup Avocado Zest oil . Cover and turn motor on low speed. I add the remaining 3/4 cup with the motor going. It takes about 30 seconds until it thickens. Just fantastic over asparagus.