What a pear

Winter has arrived. I don't mind it all. In fact, I quite like it.

Change is good. Cosy cardigans and mugs of hot chocolate. I'm saying hello to winter and its chilly evenings with warming crumble and cream. A green salad with goat’s cheese and pear makes a speedy supper, and your little ones will love these pancakes with coconut chocolate butter. *

Here's what I cooked up for Breeze magazine this month.

A pear and raisin crumble is perfect in winter. I buy Over the Moon Jersey milk at the Entrance Farmers’ Market whenever I can. It’s like liquid gold. I think it’s exciting to buy milk and cream straight from the dairy. Old-fashioned, full-cream milk that hasn’t been homogenised or diluted, from a single family-owned farm that doesn’t use pesticides or man-made fertilisers is beautiful. That’s just the milk. Once you taste their cream, you won’t put anything else near your crumble.

I would love to see the milk at the Avoca markets (either beachside or growers'!). Love love love. This single thing would infinitely improve my quality of life. So if you're reading this Karl, pleeeease....

It’s often a relief not to have to bother with cooking, which is why a simple cheese and salad course is just the thing for when you’ve overstretched yourself. A goat's cheese salad with pear and walnuts. Convenient, but it relies on the very best ingredients. An industrial, supermarket-grade goat’s cheese, mediocre bread and rock-hard pears just won’t cut it. Visit the Avoca Beach Growers' Market and bag one of the exquisite goat’s cheeses from Leaning Oak, then swing past La Tartine for one of their finest loaves of sourdough. 

We don’t make pancakes anywhere near enough. They’re so easy to make, especially these pancakes with coconut chocolate butter and pears. I’m hooked on Cocopure’s coconut chocolate butter, and once you add some fruit (pears in winter, strawberries in summer), you have an impressive dessert for any night of the week. You’ll find Cocopure at the Avoca Beach Growers' Market. Try the cashew butter and the vanilla butter for a great healthy snack to have on fruit. The chocolate butter, with its blend of organic virgin coconut oil, raw cacao, agave nectar, vanilla and himalayan crystal salt, is sensational. Kids will love it spread on toast, or straight from the jar - like mine do. 

Visit their website and download a copy of their new Pure magazine. Learn about the amazing power of raw chocolate, why every kitchen should be using virgin coconut oil and make your own raw chocolate!

Stay tuned, because I've got something very exciting on Cocopure coming very soon.  

Only two days left to enter the Amazement giveaway. Quick!

 


* All photographs copyright Breeze magazine. For the full recipes, click on the recipe links above and download a recipe card for you to print and fold in half, and keep! Otherwise, you can read the whole thing here.