Dish of the Day: Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has been celebrated in NZ since at least 1866, although for some reason one of the earliest things I found was an ad from the 15 February 1866 issue of the New Zealand Herald. Presumably, either he was late getting his ad in, or it used to be quite common to forget to give someone a card and need to rush out hastily to the stationer's on the 15th to pick up the latest novelties in Valentines to make up for it. If you find yourself in that situation this year, know that you're just following that long-standing NZ tradition.

But did my two recipe a day books acknowledge Valentine's Day? Honestly, not really. However, if you want to make a special Valentine's treat for someone, here are your dishes of the day. Firstly, from 365 Puddings, this recipe for Canary Pudding:

Small cup moist sugar, 1/2 cup butter. Beat well, add yolks of 2 eggs and a little milk, 1 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, little nutmeg. Beat the whites of eggs and add last. Steam 3 hours.

Honestly, that is not the worst pudding recipe this book has to offer, and although it does sound a little bland, what better way to show you care than by spending three hours cooking anything?

The Red Cross War-Time Rationing Cookery Book has a recipe for Sulphur Preserved Apples for February 14th, and although these won't help you if you need a present in a hurry, making them could be a delightful activity to do together, or with a little advance planning, you could be giving a box of stinky apples as a Valentine's Day present next year:

Line a butter box with greaseproof paper, peel and core apples, cutting out any bruises or blemishes. Windfalls use up well for this. Slice into butter box leaving space in the middle for tin (a cocoa tin will do), with teaspoon of sulphur. When you have sufficient apples, pour a little methylated spirit or embers on the sulphur and light carefully. Cover with clean sack and leave for 24 hours, but no longer. Then place apples in clean jars and screw down. Note:A small tin under the one containing the sulphur is a good idea. See that the sulphur is not near enough to the top of the tin for the flame to catch the sack.

I'm sure that will help.