Elephant Milk!

Last Christmas, there was an unexpected stall at our Farmers' market run by some parents from Napier Central School. They were selling a book called Neighbourhood Eats. It was so beautifully presented & entirely made by the parents & PTA as a fundraiser. It's a gorgeous book, so we bought a copy. We love to support local endeavours. So.. this Christmas we decided to make the Elephant Milk, from the desserts section.

The recipe was provided by Cameron Huckle- a family favourite from Granny in Zimbabwe.

 Elephant milk has in fact been known to me for quite some time. Only, 40 years ago we called it Lemon Crunch Pie. You can find that recipe just here. One of the easiest dessert recipes ever & almost certainly universally loved. The only difference between Lemon Crunch Pie & Elephant milk is two egg whites & a tweek on the method- so just go with whatever works best for you.

Simply pour a can of sweetened condensed milk in to a bowl, add 300mls of cream, half a cup of lemon juice (preferably a Lisbon type- better flavour & setting effect) & the finely grated zest of the lemon. You can skip the zest if you prefer.

Beat altogether until thick, like whipped cream.

Beat the two egg whites to soft peaks & then fold those through the lemony mixture.

 Now pour in to bowls, tea cups or a large bowl  if you prefer & pop in to the fridge to set, or freeze for a couple of hours or overnight to make ice-cream, or pour over a biscuit base & there you have Lemon Crunch Pie- the easiest cheesecake you will ever make. The mixture can also be layered with crushed biscuits, nuts & custard.

 Since I made this at Christmas I have served this ice-cream with lychees, fresh shredded coconut (that I recently discovered in the freezer at the local Asian shop) White Soul strawberries, a ripe Kawa kawa fruit pulled off the stem & finally a drizzle of Linden honey.

 It tastes absolutely amazing together! But as Felicia was want to say- "If you like that sort of thing!"

 These Linden flowers are from a Silver Linden tree & we found them flowering on Christmas day. Their scent is like nothing else on earth- heady Linden plus deep jasmine notes- steeped in a light honey (I used Tawari) for a day or so & you have a truly magical elixir.

So...either keep it simple, or let your imagination run wild. I did!

Katie X

Preserved Lemon Chutney

This is the most deliciously simple preserved lemon chutney that is so much tastier than classic Moroccan salted lemons. I always intend to use the salty lemons since I love lemony flavours & they fascinate me, but somehow I never quite get around to using them.

But this...the first jar was gone in 2 days!

I was inspired to invent this particular chutney after seeing this recipe for perpetual lemon pickle here.

I thought...why not grate the whole lemon...

& so that's exactly what I did.

Grate 4 washed & spray free lemons 

 Add cinnamon, 2 tsps good salt, ground black pepper, 2-3 tbsp of honey & 1/2 cup of golden raisins.
Add the juice of one more lemon.

 Mix altogether.

 Spoon in to a clean dry jar & sit on the bench for a week to 10 days to do it's thing.
Stir occasionally, tasting as you go to check the balance of sweet & salty.

Wonderful addition to sauces & dressings.
Fabulous with fish or falafel.
I'm sure it'll go with so many other things too.
Also very useful for upset tummies & not at all difficult to eat a spoonful if you're feeling a little poorly. Excellent for aiding digestion too. A wonderful Ayurvedic wisdom.
Of course you can alter the quantities & spices according to what you have & what takes your fancy.
I imagine this will age wonderfully & keep for ages. No need to refrigerate.

Zingy Lemon Coconut Balls

Very simple, lemony, nutritious & totally delicious.

Adapted slightly from Petite Kitchen..Simple Wholefood Recipes

1 cup of ground almonds

1 1/2 cups fine coconut

1/2 cup softened butter (softened)

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla essence

Finely grated zest of a large lemon

Juice of the same lemon

Pulse the almond & coconut in food processor until extra fine,

 then add all other ingredients & pulse/process until it all comes together as a dough.

Chill until it all firms up nicely.

Roll in to balls & then in to coconut.

Best kept chilled.

Coconut oil is a good substitute for butter if you prefer.

A tangy variation on this recipe is the addition of dried apricots & cranberries.

I soaked 1 cup of tangy "real" dried apricots in the juice of an orange for several hours before adding to the above mixture, leaving out the lemon juice & adding a handful of dried cranberries.

Catherine

Lemon Crunch Pie

I needed something fabulous & very lemony to take with me on Saturday night, Lemon Crunch Pie immediately sprang to mind. I came across this recipe back in my teen babysitting days & it's still a goodie & can be made all year round.

It takes very little time to put together & is best made the day before...even better!

I like to use digestive biscuits in the base but any plain sweet biscuit will do.

1 packet crushed digestives

 (I popped mine in to a plastic bag & used the rolling pin trick)

Add 100 grams of melted butter & press in to a greased pie dish.

Rinse out your bowl & quickly dry it, now in to that pour

300ml of runny cream & then beat it until thick

pour in a tin of sweetened condensed milk

and a good half a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice & maybe a little more

plus the zest of a large, spray free lemon

gently mix all the ingredients together & pour in to the pie crust

Chill.

That's it...truly!!

One small tip..the lemons need to be the true lemon variety like Lisbon, Villa Franca etc

If you use Meyer's the dessert will taste wonderful but not set as well.

I also added lemon zest to the biscuit mix for extra lemony-ness.

Being autumn I made a fruit salad to go with the pie that proved to be an excellent combination:

 Feijoas, figs, blueberries, omega plums & a couple of wrinkly passionfruit, then
drizzle with lovely runny honey, a dash of rosewater & a good slug of kombucha...if you have it.

pears & banana also go well with this combination

Catherine