Faff-free Easter brunching
We take the faff out of Easter brunching, marvel at muffins, and celebrate lighter morns with little luxuries.
Brunch as a concept – brilliant. As a reality, it can be less than entirely enjoyable trying to get uniformly amazing-looking plates of nosh on the table at the right temperature and in unison, at the end of the day when you really just want to be easing into things.Â
A pikelet platter to the rescue, to make those Easter brunch plans you have come to reality in a few, unfussy minutes. A generous pile of sweet or savoury pikelets – or both – as surrounded by delicious things to pile on top of them. Round off your platter with sliced fruit and veggie crudites to add crunch and a splash of colour.
Top tip: for extra fluffy pikelets, beat the egg whites separately till soft peaks form before folding through the rest of the batter.Â
Savoury ideas: parmesan-flecked savoury pikelets topped with grilled rashers of Freedom Farms streaky bacon; hot smoked salmon (we love the way Aoraki makes it), creamed spinach, dill-spiked creme fraiche or Manaaki’s silky lemon & horopito sauce.Â
Sweet inspo: spelt pikelets sweetened with coconut sugar topped with grilled banana, grilled rashers of Freedom Farms streaky bacon (yes, bacon on everything, of course!), blueberry-whipped mascarpone, and candied walnuts.Â
Bringing the muffin back… for breakfast!
For some, they never went away, but for others, it’s been a while between muffins – those icons of the 80s and 90s graced the cover of every baking book (Allison Holst’s Marvellous Muffins remains the ultimate guide) and rested artfully on every avocado-green formica kitchen counter. But along came cupcakes and banana bread to steal the limelight, and muffins fell out of favour. It’s time they had another chance! Muffin mix is a cinch to prepare – you can get away without creaming, sifting or much beating. Essentially, the muffin method ses wet ingredients combined, dry ingredients combined, then the two combined together.Â
Thanks to this simplicity, muffins are easily change-uppable:
Opt for melted butter or for oil
Liquids can include any type of milk or mylk, yoghurt or dairy-free versions of, cream or buttermilk, and fruit juices.Â
If you’re not so down with refined sugar, swap it out for coconut sugar, Panela, dark cane sugar, or liquid sweeteners like molasses, brown rice syrup, date syrup, or mashed banana – just adjust the dry/wet balance accordingly.Â
Experiment with different types of flours as well as ground nuts and seeds – spelt, almond, hemp protein, LSA, chestnut flour, bran, coconut flour.Â
Add texture and flavour with chopped nuts, dried/fresh/frozen fruit, citrus zest, chocolate chunks or in savoury situations cheeses, sun dried tomatoes, olives, diced bacon, ham, or chorizo.Â
Rise and shine!
Daylight savings is ending on April 4… don’t forget to turn your clocks back and treat yourself to a fancy breakfast to celebrate that extra hour of morning light. You’ve got the time to focus on the details…
Toast in a toast rack – yes! When was the last time you used one of those?Â
And top said toast with perfectly softened butter and other condiments decanted into serving dishes – no more pesky butter remnants being double-dipped back into the jam jar!
Coddled eggs – the very name conjures up a delicious feeling of time to spareÂ
Homemade baked beans – made even more luxurious with the addition of our Smoked Pork Chorizo.
Fresh bread and pastries, bought that morning – the bakery’s open and waiting for you...
Good old fashioned newspaper, on actual paper – leaf through at leisure and save the puzzles pages for last.Â
Leaf tea. In a pot. Steeped for the correct amount of time...bliss. We’re fans of the range by Noble & Savage.Â
DIY freshly squeezed juice – three little words that most of us tend to outsource in our busy lives
Slow-drip coffee – time to finally use that Chemex brew kit you bought yourself way back!
SOS!
Save our shells! Egg shells are pretty much just calcium carbonate… our bones love it, and so do plants. If you have a veggie patch, right about now you might be harvesting the last of summer’s bounty and feeding the soil to encourage lush growth on your upcoming winter plantings. Eggshells can be added to compost to enrich it, or crushed and mixed in with the soil in your garden bed – the shell breaks down very slowly, so in this way you’ll be feeding the roots of future plants. Indoor plants can benefit from your daily egg consumption, too. Rinse empty shells, removing any sticky bits, and dry out on a windowsill or uncovered in the fridge. Crush somewhat then pour over boiling water and let steep until it cools to room temperature. Strain and use to feed plants.Â