atoz 2.collage

A kitchen bible in many Australian homes is The Cook’s Companion by Stephanie Alexander. It’s a book I turn to when I have an ingredient which I don’t know how to cook or when I simply want to revisit the food of my childhood in Australia. Stephanie’s recipe for pikelets is one which I now make from memory, especially since it was one of the few things my little one would eat when he was going through a fussy stage recently. You can find the recipe here and here.

I love them plain with a dollop of jam, but once I discovered that my little fuss-pot would call off his hunger-strike for these pikelets, there was no end to the variations to this wonderfully simple recipe. I would add some grated apple and a teaspoon of cinnamon for a sweet variation, or some finely grated carrot and Gruyère cheese for a savoury version. Sometimes I would use wholewheat flour instead of plain flour, or I would substitute the milk for cream to squeeze in some extra calories. However I made these pikelets, my little one was happy to gobble them up in quick succession, and I was simply happy to have the Cook’s Companion as my guide.

To celebrate the launch of the Cook’s Companion App, Stephanie Alexander recently hosted an A to Z of Food Daily Photo Challenge, where the goal was to post a photo of something food-related each day, slowly making the way through the alphabet. It was a fun challenge, although some creativity was required towards the end of the alphabet!

My finale for the letter Z was a classic dish from Zurich, Züri Gschnätzlets, slices of veal cooked in a creamy mushroom sauce and served traditionally with golden and crispy Rösti. I hope to post the recipe here on ELB early in the New Year, along with a few other classic Swiss recipes.

To view my daily photos, you can see them here on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

We are off to France shortly for the Christmas festivities, and hopefully you will see some French foodie updates here on ELB!