Weeeeee it's a new year and new resolutions being made. We say AERE RA (farewell) to the OLD YEAR KIA ORANA (greetings) to the NEW YEAR.
MAINAISE
Cook Island Potato Salad.
INGREDIENTS
SERVES 6-8
5 to 6 extra large potatoes
1 can of peas
1 can of baby carrots diced small
1 small can of whole corn kernels
(you can use 1-2c of frozen mixed veges instead of the canned stuff above.)
1 can of beet root (small can)6-8 slices
6 eggs hard boiled
Couple cloves of garlic crushed n finely chopped (optional)
1 small white onion or 1 shallot finely chopped or minced (optional)
Salt and pepper
Enough mayonnaise dressing to coat the vegetables. I use best foods
**I use half lemon (juice) in the mayo dressing before adding it to veges.**
PREPARATION
1. Peel and dice potatoes into 1 inch pieces and boil till just cooked, put into a large bowl and add crushed garlic finely chopped onions or shallots if you are using them
add the onions while the potatoes are still hot and mix thru.
2. Add salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Cook mixed veges if you using frozen, or drain the water out of the canned veges. Add to potatoes
4. Dice the beet root into tiny pieces and add to the potatoes and mixed veges.
5. Grate two of the eggs into the vegetables
6. Add mayonnaise dressing ***enough to coat the veges***
***Make sure the vegetables are cold before adding mayonnaise,using your hands gently bring all ingredients together. The vegetables should still be whole after this process is done.***
7. Put mainaise on a plater with lettuce around it, shaped like an egg cut in half
8. Cover with extra mayo and grate rest of eggs over the dish and plop peas over it if you so wish as decoration.
***If you are doing single serving, take a leaf of lettuce put some mainaise in it and shape it anyway you want spread mayo over and decorate with grated eggs and peas if you wish.
This dish is best with Christmas ham and bbq even different roasts. It has been called The Pink Potato Salad***
Single Serving of Mainaise
BOWTIE PASTA WITH SAUSAGE
Submitted by rene19622002
INGREDIENTS
Serves 6-8
12 links Italian sausage hot, mild, or a mix of both
2 cans whole peeled tomatoes (diced) ***I wish I had added three cans of tomatoes***
Approximately 6 cloves garlic ***I used a whole head of garlic because we are garlic freaks, crushed in a garlic crusher***
Olive oil (about 4 tablespoons)
1c freshly grated pecorino romano cheese (I usually do it to taste and grate extra for garnishing the top of each serving bowl)
1 Tbl basil ***I used 1&1/2 Tbs***
Salt (to taste)
Dash sugar
Crushed red peppers to taste (about 1/4 -1/2 tsp) don't over power it.***I ommited the pepper my family doesn't like spicy hot.***
1 lb bow tie or penne pasta
2 cups boiling water
PREPARATION
1. Cook sausage in frying pan with a little of the boiling water in the bottom and covered add more water as needed so it doesn't dry out, when cooked cut in slices (circles)
2. Mean while start water for pasta add salt to water
3. In a large pot ***I used a wok*** heat olive oil for a few seconds add garlic stir then add tomatoes; do not allow garlic to dry out
4. Add basil and sugar
5. Heat to low boil then add cheese and crushed red pepper ***If you are using them*** let simmer, while sausage continues cooking and while cooking pasta
6. When sausage is done add it to the tomato mixture and simmer
7. When pasta is done drain
8. Serve pasta in pasta bowls with tomato sausage mixture poured over pasta with a bit of freshly grated cheese.
This recipe is absolutely wonderful. I modified it to suit my family taste and I swear the pasta sauce is da bomb. I tried it using minced beef as spaghetti and I will never use other pasta sauces for spaghetti chili con carne or lasagna
SAUSAGE AND POTATOES
submitted by rene19622002
INGREDIENTS
serves 4
6 links Italian sausage (mild or hot) 450 grams sausage meat spiced up
5-6 potatoes (peeled and cubed)
2 Tbls veg oil
1 Tsp garlic powder ***I used a Tbs of granulated garlic*** salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION
1. Squeeze sausage out of links into large frying pan and chop into small chunks
2. Add potatoes and oil and spices and cook on med heat til sausage is cooked then turn heat up to crisp up the potatoes a bit .
You can also cook this in oven about 375 degrees. Cover it with aluminum foil and bake for about an hour then take foil off to crisp up a bit.
***I used normal sausage meat so had to add a couple courgettes (sliced) and a can of chopped tomatoes with a Tbl of sweet basil for flavour with Romano cheese grated on top. Served with Turkish bread***
PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE COOKIES
submitted by cookie_euchrefreak
INGREDIENTS
makes 4 doz
2 STICKS IMPERIAL MARGARINE (COLD IS BEST)
1c SUGAR
1c BROWN SUGAR (LIGHT)
1c PEANUT BUTTER
2 LARGE EGGS
3+c FLOUR
1˝tsp BAKING SODA
1tsp BAKING POWDER
˝tsp SALT
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Put all dry ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Set aside.
2. Cream imperial, sugars, and peanut butter until very smooth ***I used Pam's summer gold margarine***
3. Add eggs and cream (mix) until it looks almost like frosting
4. Slowly add dry ingredients to creamed mixture until your mixer starts to bog down, add the rest by hand (if using a hand or small stand mixer, a large stand mixer can handle it)
You may need additional flour if 3 cups is not enough. Mixture should be slightly damp but not sticky. If too "wet" it will flatten out too much. Too dry and it will not spread enough. It should almost appear to be dry to the touch and should not stick to your fork if you use that to make criss crosses on cookies.
5. Use enough dough to make about 1" balls. Slightly flatten to about half the ball thickness. Use fork for imprint or leave smooth.
6. Place about an inch or so apart
7. Bake 5 min then take out rotate pan and bake an additional 5 min. Tops should be just turning brown around the edges. Adjust cooking times to brown as you like.
8. Let cool on cookie sheet 5 or more min. Then remove and let cool thoroughly before topping.
TOPPING
Smear Peanut Butter on top but stay back about 1/4 inch from edges
After topping all the cookies you want then make your chocolate topping
For 4 doz cookies you will need:
1-1 lb chocolate bark. *** I used 1 250 gram bar nestles dark chocolate ***
2 Tablespoons shortening. Not oil or butter *** I used kremelta vegetable shortening ***
Melt in microwave bowl as per instructions on package. After it is all melted add the shortening and stir till smooth. You may need to reheat for 20-30 seconds sfter a few min to keep it soft. Just use a knife to coat cookie to edges or do a quick dip and smooth with knife
***Just a note bout these cookies my first ones in the oven the balls were bigger and it was a tad wet so it spread more then what the recipe called for but it was still yummy. I didn't ice them as you can see from the pic below but it was still chewy and not too sweet just right yummm. The rest I added a little more flour and made the balls smaller and I think it turned out wonderfully as the pic above show, absolutely wonderful with a glass of milk ***
my yummy flop
I would like to thank rene and cookie from the euchre freaks euchreleague in yahoo A FUN AND EXCITING EUCHRE LEAGUE IN YAHOO for their recipes in this months issue of Kiwi's Kooking Korner. I had fun making the beautiful dishes and my family says they are keepers. The recipes from rene would be wonderful on a cold winters nite and they are so simple and easy and absolutely delicious as are the cookies.
Pic of part of our main road
Let me share with you New Years day on my homeland Palmerston Island the third smallest island in the Cook Islands. On the island are 3 families which originated from
one man, his wife and two concubines, there is said to be a third concubine somewhere but that information was never handed down from generation to generation. (Just a note people now a days say father had 3 wives with a 4th one that is never mentioned but I don't think he was legally married to the other two women hence why I call them concubines.) From this one man came my family. Now only bout 50 members live on the island the rest are scattered all over the world and we all have the same surname.
On New Years day on the main road of our island we set up tables from each family members from the middle family which is the families from the wife of father and his other two families from his concubines. Life on the island is very simple living and everyone shares the crops of the land and the sea.
All food presented on your table must be made from scratch. From fathers day to the late seventies, there were no shops electricity or cars on our island so everyone must catch their own fish from the sea, feed chickens and pigs for meat grow their own fruit trees and vegetables. The only fruit that is able to survive on Palmerston are pawpaw and mangoes. Other things like flour rice sugar is freighted to the island when a freighter is known to be stopping by our island.
Today we have one tractor which belongs to my uncle on my mums side a public telephone and an internet service provided by telecom for the young to learn and generators provide electricity so the families are able to fish and freeze them to sell to the restaurants and hotels in Rarotonga the capital of the Cook Islands. On new year day everybody provide food the old ways.
Each family has a special dish they make. From my family, we make the mainaise one of the dishes in this issues recipes.(so our mainaise dressing had to be made with coconut oil grated fresh the cream squeezed out and cooked till the oil separated from the flesh then the oil is drained to make sure no impurities are in it or the mainaise dressing wont turn out right). So the mainaise comes from our family, raw fish comes from another family and so on.
No family is allowed to make a dish that is one family's speciality. The rest of the dishes each family can do what they want to make their tables look good. Best china and cutlery are brought out, beautiful hand made table cloths and napkins are brought out too
On new years day there is a competition on who has the best presentation and whose speciality food is eaten most by the family.
The atmosphere is one of excitement and awe for the kids watching their parents work. I was on our island when I was 9 years old and I remember the excitement leading up to new years day. Its an experience I will never forget and hope one day when I have children to take them down so they too will have the same awesome experience I did.
On new years eve all the men help set the shelters for the tables to be set up under. The shelters roof is made of coconut palms which the women
weave for the men to use soo the whole island is involved in that too even the kids. The kids are runners from the women weaving to the men setting the shelters up. The shelter start from father's house (the house behind the church from the pic above) and end at the end of the last house on the main road, about another 4 houses up that is not shown in the pic above.
Before midnight the three heads of each family comes up to the mountain which is where my family home is with their guns and on the stroke of midnight they fire their guns in the air at the same time to farewell the Old Year and welcome the New year in. Then prayers are said in each home then you see everyone running from one house to the other wishing everyone Happy New Year. Then all go to bed and the Island is silent.
Everyone is up at the crack of dawn to light up their underground ovens and prepare what they have to provide on their tables.
One male from each family goes down to the main road to put the tables up so the mothers can come dress the tables. If your family don't have a male member at the time then the oldest daughter makes her way down to the main road.
Everything must be done before church starts at 9 am.
The first church bell rings at 8.30 am to remind us to hurry church starts at 9 am. When the second church bell rings everyone must be in the church house before it stops ringing. Everyone wearing a brand new outfit which they made them selves or someone made for them attend church.
After church still in their new outfits brings food from their homes to their tables and lunch starts at 12 pm sharp. The elders like things to be on time and if you are late you will get your ears boxed if you a child and a stern talking to if you are an adult by one of the elders. Unfortunately for my family we live on the only mountain on Palmers ton island which is a good 10 mins walk from the main road. So we handicapped in trying to make it to lunch on time. Even tho the families on the main road comes up to help carry our food down, one member of my family is always late to it and yes I got my ears boxed by an elder because my grandmother forgot something at home and I had to go fetch it.
I cant really express the sight of that day. One long coconut thatched shelter with all these tables under it full of color and the air full of the different smells of cooking. The hustle n bustle of the island laughter and happy new year ringing through out the island. Grace said everyone tucks into the food. Everyone jumps from table to table to try out the different delicacies from others tables
and to spend a few minutes with each family. Unlike Christmas day when we take a plate of food to each family house this is fine dining at its best. On reflection everyone ends up on another's table and not their own that to me is family bonding. After lunch some of the tables are all pushed to one end of the shelter with the food, dishes washed and stacked.
The whole family stays on the main road to participate in the activities planned for the day. Children and adults must all participate. We play cricket, volleyball, sack races then a dip in the sea before going home to shower and change. When the sun sets everyone gathers under the shelters again and the guitars and the ukulele's come out and the air is filled with music and the sound of song and drums. You can smell the perfume of the flowers as the gentle breeze passes by. Bliss in paradise.
Palmerston Island at sunset
I learnt an important lesson from that trip to my homeland, hospitality from my homeland is reflected in me where ever I am through how I treat others and make them welcome in my home. In New Zealand where I am now Christmas time we give a plate of food to the neighbours to our right and left and the house directly across the street to us. New Years day is bbq day for the family and our home is open as in Christmas to anyone that wants to pop in to say HAPPY NEW YEAR.
