One of my favourite places is the kitchen....

If you really know me, you know I love to bake and cook.  My earliest memory of cooking/baking was when I was



Age 6 at my Nannas house

visiting my Nanna in Hamilton (I was living in New Plymouth at the time) and she made me a yummy roast dinner with the most amazing kumara I had ever tasted, and the most delectable, scrumptious lemon meringue pie in the world.  I was given a piece to take home the next day to enjoy on my bus ride home (an interesting fact that at age 6 I would bus to and fro between Hamilton & New Plymouth – you wouldn’t do that these days).  The next day I was on my journey and had the realisation that my Dad had forgotten to pack my lunch bag.  I was so sad (and hungry), and I never got around the getting the recipe before she passed away.

My own baking started ‘seriously’ 2 or so years ago.  It came about from my husbands (Matt) love of Christmas fruit mince pies. I would buy packet after packet then one year, probably around February, I looked at the packaging and discovered an expiry date a good 12-18 months down the track.  This showed me they were filled with far too much crap to help them keep a long shelf life (how does the stomach cope with that?)  and I never purchased another packet.  This extended to any biscuits, cakes or slices.  I do however, purchase packets of wine biscuits to use as a base for some slices. 

Matt, and our son Lincoln love their biscuits, so I took to making fresh goodies throughout the week.  Each day I send them off to work/school with fresh baking: be it muffins, slice,  what-have-you.  Often I will only bake a half batch, so that nothing is wasted. Muffins are frozen as soon as they are cold; each wrapped in glad-wrap before popping into a zip-lock bag…making packing a lunch super easy. 

My passion for baking means I’m always planning the next ‘bake’, and I now get to teach my daughter skills and I hope she enjoys it as much as I do. At present she excells in banging bowls, waving whisks and clanging cutlery.  We are both Taurean's (who are renowned for being foodies) so I have a bit of confidence in our future cooking together.

As well as sharing with my family, I will now share my kitchen goodies with readers…enjoy!

AFGHANS (makes 12)

I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t like an Afghan.  A fellow baker taught me a great way to change the original recipe – and I’ve never looked back!  They dont have the dry, crumbly texture you can usually get with an Afghan.  These have a softer feel and I prefer to make shapes with them instead of 'blobbing' mixture on baking paper.  These don’t last long in my house…the chocoholics gobble them up.

100g soft butter                          2 Tablespoons cocoa

¼ cup sugar                              2 Weet-bix

¾ cup flour

Heat oven to 180°C.  Line oven tray with baking paper.



Put the butter & sugar in a mixer and beat (or cream) till the mixture is light and fluffy.  Sift in the flour and the cocoa, and mix thoroughly.  Crush the weet-bix and stir into the mixture with a wooden spoon.  Roll 12 even sized balls and squish lightly with your hands.  Bake for approx 12-13 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.  When cold, ice with chocolate icing & a walnut (optional). Store in an air-tight container.