Thai Green Curry with Clams

I am a total sucker for Thai food. If I'm not stopping in at Mercury Plaza for my fix on the way home from work I'll be whipping it up at home. Now to tell the truth, on a lazy weeknight after a long day I usually don't have the time or the energy to make the paste from scratch. Solution 1: make a big batch of curry paste on the weekend and refrigerate until needed. Solution 2: when that runs out buy a pre-made paste from the supermarket (from a PACKET you say?? Yes, I say- bite me).

In the interest of maintaining some dignity in the food blogger world, in this instance I will be making the paste from scratch. I've you've got a spare 15 minutes I recommend doing the same.

Green Curry Paste:

• 1 Lemongrass stem, roughly chopped
• 3 Garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 Inch of fresh ginger, peeled
• 4 Shallots, peeled
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 Cup of coriander (leave some aside to garnish)
• 4 Fresh green chillis (less if you like it mild)
• 1 Teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 Teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Put all of the paste ingredients in a blender and whizz it up into a gorgeous greeny paste. At this point be brave and have a little tester to check how spicy it is- throw a few extra chillis in if you dare!

Now you've got your paste ready (see it wasn't too hard, was it?), you can choose your star of the dish. Usually I go with chicken or fish, but this time I branched out and chose clams, ohhah. 

The Rest:

• Chicken/Fish/Prawns/Clams or whatever you like
• Green beans, top 'n' tailed and cut in half
• Bamboo shoots (these cost about $1.50 in the international aisle at the supermarket)
• 1 Can coconut milk
• 1 Cup fish/chicken stock (or water)
• 1 Tablespoon fish sauce, or to taste
• 1 Teaspoon brown sugar
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 Kaffir lime leaves (if you can find some)

Heat up a wok and throw your lovely green paste in. Stir it for a few minutes until the smell fills the room. Add your coconut milk and stock in a cook for another few minutes until bubbling. 

Add your fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice and whole kaffir lime leaves into the liquid. Have a taste and see what you think- more fish sauce? More lime?

If you are cooking chicken add it in now to the bubbling liquid and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beans and bamboo shoots in and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes until everything is ready.

If you are using seafood, put everything in at the same time, and after a few minutes it should be ready. If you have fish or prawns they will be opaque once cooked, and clams will have opened.

Have one last taster for good luck, and pile it into a big dish with a scattering of coriander. Serve with fluffy white rice. She's a winner, I promise!

Hotel DeBrett: High Tea with The Caker

Last weekend the girls and I put on our heels and pink lipstick, and popped into Hotel DeBrett for High Tea with The Caker. The tea was part of Auckland Restaurant Month, and we had been looking forward to it all week.

Tucked away on High Street in the CBD, Hotel DeBrett is a beautiful boutique hotel with a reputation for a fantastic kitchen. We climbed up the winding staircase and emerged into an atrium full of lunching ladies (and some lucky men) with tables piled high of tea and cake.

After settling down with a glass of Cloudy Bay Pelorous NV, we chose our tea from the extensive menu and settled down into the squashy chairs.

 When the food arrived we were all taken aback with the delicacy and detailing of the sweet treats. We spent the first while admiring the platters until our hunger won out and it was all swiftly demolished- just because we were at high tea didn't mean we were going to hold back!

Not only were we treated to incredible treats by Jordan Ronde a.k.a The Caker, she even made a guest appearance and was signing copies of her recipe book.

Hotel DeBrett is a gorgeous place to visit for high tea for a calm oasis in the middle of the city. High Tea with The Caker was a one off event, but the Hotel hosts a high tea every Saturday and Sunday afternoon- details here. Go on, treat yourself!

Janken

Tucked away in Herne Bay is our next spot for lunch; Janken, a Japanese health food haven. Georgia, Tat and I ventured there for a meal the other day, and were treated to what must have been the healthiest and one of the most delicious bento boxes we had ever had.

The lunch and dinner menus are very different, so if you're looking for choice I would hold out for dinner, but the lunch menu suited us just fine.

The girls both went for crockpot teriyaki chicken while I chose the chicken meatballs. There was a bit of food envy when it arrived as they decided mine looked the best- win!

But they all tasted delicious, and with organic wholefood ingredients we found we were absolutely stuffed by the end.

We should have ended here, but I've got to admit that earlier in the day I made a sneaky call begging Janken to whip up some of their famous pork buns that normally only feature on the dinner menu. They happily obliged, and although full, we gobbled them up. Oink oink.

I'm not a health freak, but Janken's healthy food really hit the spot, and I recommend it if you want to eat out minus the guilt. And while I have only tried the lunch menu, I've heard great things about the dinner and will most definitely be back.

p.s. You can find the dinner menu online here and the lunch menu here.

Breakfast: Quail Eggs on Toast

Everyone loves a good eggy on toast, but occasionally it's nice to make your breakfast a bit more sophisticated. Times like this call for quail eggs on ciabatta (fancy, eh?).

You can get quail eggs from specialty supermarkets, sometimes even good ol' New World Freemans Bay, or your local farmers market. Even better (albeit slightly more work), start a quail coop and you'll have yourself a few plump little birds that lay an egg a day

They eggs themselves are smaller, more delicate and have a slightly richer taste than Mr Chicken's.

I like them cooked in all different ways, but this time I chose boiled eggs on pesto and simply fried and placed atop a slice of manuka smoked butter smothered ciabatta.

The eggs are small, and somewhat fiddly, but they look and taste beautiful. Whether on toast for breakfast, in a salad or however else you like, quail eggs will take your meal to another level (and people will think you're really clever).