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Archives for July 2019

Homemade Mayo

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This week, our Fresh Choice Nelson guest blogger, Paula, has a delicious homemade mayo recipe for you to try. Take it away, Paula!

Fat is one of the three essential macronutrients the body needs, along with carbohydrates and protein. Many healthy and nutritious foods have been unfairly demonised for being high in fat.

Some of the best sources of fatty acids include avocado, olive oil, nuts, nut oils and fatty fish.

There is a huge range of oils available; the best to look for are a cold-pressed, extra virgin that has not been chemically processed. These oils are great in dressing for salad or drizzled over steamed veg. If you are going to be heating your oil, look for one with a high smoke point, but that is still cold pressed, and not chemically processed. Macadamia oil and avocado oil are both good options. I add a little butter to the pan with these oils for extra flavour.

A great way to add healthy fat to your diet is to make your own mayo. This recipe contains raw egg, keep it in the fridge and consume within three days. Try mixing up the flavours of the basic recipe. I replace the dijon mustard with fresh wasabi and the lemon juice with lime. Sometimes I add roasted garlic and wholegrain mustard for a delicious aioli. You can add chopped gherkins, capers, dill and finely chopped red onion for a fresh tartare sauce.

Homemade Mayo:

Ingredients:

  • Two egg yolks
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp of water
  • 100 ml of avocado oil
  • 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Add the egg yolk, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper and water to a blender. Pulse the blender a few times, then on a medium constant speed start adding the oil in a slow stream. The mayo will thicken and emulsify as you add the oil. Store in the fridge.

Don’t forget to head to Fresh Choice Nelson for all your ingredients to make your homemade mayo.

School holiday activities & kids in the kitchen

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school holiday activities coconut ice recipeIn this week’s post, local Nelson chef and guest Blogger, Grant Dicker has some tips for parents looking for school holiday activities, get the kids busy in the kitchen! Check out his recipe for Raspberry Coconut Ice. Take it away, Grant…

The Nelson winter school holidays are upon us. If you are like me, you will be looking for ways to entertain the small ones. Cooking is a great school holiday activity. It keeps the children entertained, and they get to have a treat at the end. One of the flavours from my childhood that I haven’t had in years is Coconut ice. There is no baking involved, and it sets relatively quickly.

With the availability of ‘coconut thread’ (extra course desiccated coconut) these days. The texture can be a little more refined when compared to that of traditional desiccated coconut.

I don’t know if you have seen the ‘Fresh As’ freeze-dried range in Fresh Choice Nelson, but they have some clever products. The freeze-dried fruits are an amazing garnish for cakes and desserts, or for improving boring breakfast cereals. Being freeze-dried, they retain all the acid and sweetness of the original product. Because they are completely dehydrated, there’s none of the added sweetness that is common with dried fruits.

For this recipe, I have removed the food colouring and raspberry essence and simply added some ground freeze-dried raspberries.

School Holiday Activity – No-Cook Raspberry Coconut Ice

Ingredients:

  • 325g icing sugar sifted. May need extra
  • 325g coconut threads
  • 400g sweetened condensed milk
  • One teaspoon natural vanilla essence
  • Two dessert spoons of freeze-dried raspberries
  • Oil for greasing the tray

Method:

Lightly grease a 20 cm baking tray. Then line it with good quality baking paper.

Put half of the icing sugar into a food processor and add the raspberries. Pulse until the raspberries are ground — place in a bowl with half of the coconut.

Put the other half of the sugar and coconut into a second bowl.

Add half of the condensed milk and half of the vanilla essence to each bowl.

Stir well until entirely combined. Use more icing sugar if the mixture appears too wet.

Spread the pink mix into the bottom of the baking sheet, ensuring it’s smooth on top. Pop into the fridge for 5 minutes if needed. Next, add the mixture from the second bowl on top, spreading it out smoothly and taking care not to combine the layers.

Refrigerate for three hours, or until set, then finally cut into pieces and enjoy.

Head to Fresh Choice Nelson for all your ingredients for your cooking school holiday activities!

 

Delicious Duncan’s Brewery Beers

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Duncan's BreweryThanks to our Guest Blogger and beer aficionado… In this week’s article Denis “the man” Cooper writes about ‘Duncan’s Brewery’ beers, that you can find on the shelves at Fresh Choice Nelson.

We all know that Fresh Choice Nelson has the best craft beer selection anywhere in Nelson. It’s amazing the number of new brewers that keep appearing, producing a seemingly endless number of beer styles. Well, if you think the selection at Fresh Choice is huge, it’s actually just the tip of the iceberg. There are currently around 38 different brewers in the Fresh Choice beer fridge, out of 161 craft brewers in New Zealand. But, the Fresh Choice beer fridge keeps on growing. The latest arrival is Duncan’s Brewery from Paraparaumu.

Duncan’s Brewery – A brief history:

Oddly enough, George Duncan had an unintentional start to brewing as he never really liked beer. But, while at university, his chemistry teacher, an avid homebrewer, ignited his spark. With some mentorship from Tuatara Brewery’s founder Carl Vasta, (Tuatara is just down the road from him), Duncan went from contract brewing to building his own brewery.

The Beers:

Duncan’s Pale Ale was the beer that launched Duncan’s success. A beer with a fabulous, fruity aroma that tastes as it smells. It has oranges and mandarin to the forefront and just a touch of pine at the finish. This beer starred in a recent national top 30 beer competition.

Duncan’s Umbra Imperial stout is a seasonal addition and is perfect for the winter season. An umbra is the dark part of the shadow cast by the earth and is a very fitting name, as there ain’t no light shining out of this brew! It delivers the normal chocolate-coffee flavours that you’d expect from a stout. But, there are also notes from dates and prunes with the heat of an 8.5% ABV combining everything to a taste like liquid fudge.

Duncan’s Pilsner is pilsner with citrus, herbal aroma. It tastes of citrus, honey and fried rice malts. Finishing off with a soft bitterness. Very satisfying.

Duncan’s Brewery Juniper IPA has a piney aroma with a distinctive juniper gin taste that combines well with the grapefruit hops, making for a tantalising tang.

For the best beer choice, dunk on down to Fresh Choice Nelson and grab yourself something doozy from Duncan’s Brewery.

European Wines @ Fresh Choice Nelson

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European Wines NelsonWelcome back to our Fresh Choice Nelson wine aficionado, Neil Hodgson. This week Neil writes about European wines! Take it away Neil…

I’m forever amazed at how cost-effective many European wines are in New Zealand. Sure you can pay many hundreds of dollars for an ultra-premium wine. But, you can buy everyday drinking wines for as little as $15 a bottle. Sometimes, even cheaper when they are on promotion.

The Grocer at Fresh Choice Nelson City, and his clever wine buyer, Lee, have recently added some exceptional European wines to the range they have in store. That’s both exceptional in quality and price!

White European Wine Pick:

I am a big fan of Chardonnay. So, a bottle of Domaine Laroche Chablis Les Chanoines 2017 often finds its way into my shopping basket. For $35.99 (a saving of $6), you get a wine that is both elegant and bursting with ripe citrus and stony minerality. All wrapped around beautifully balanced soft oak characters.

Two Perfect Winter Reds from Europe:

In the winter, we tend to turn to red wines, particularly those packed with rich and warming berry fruit flavours. Two recent arrivals at Fresh Choice Nelson City come from Spain. I struggle to understand how these wines are landed on the other side of the world and placed on the shelf for as little as $16 on promotion.

Campo Viejo makes both wines, and both are Rioja (pronounced reeokka) and made from the Tempranillo grape.

The first is the 2016 Rioja for $16, a saving of $11. There is a little acidity in this wine to add some freshness to the lovely ripe fruit flavours that come with a grating of rich chocolate.

Finally, the second wine from Campo Viejo is the Grand Reserva 2011 for $30, a saving of $10. This wine is packed with intense dark berry fruit with lashings of spice to balance the intensity.

These European wines are all perfect for enjoying with winter casseroles. Try the Chablis with chicken and the Rioja with venison or beef.

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