KEY POINTS:
Goldenhorse singer Kirsten Morrell is taking time out from recording the band's third album to front Oxfam's support of Fair Trade coffee. She is also sharing a recipe to encourage New Zealanders to take time out with friends and workmates to enjoy a cup of ethical coffee. And the cooks will be able to whip up some of her scrummy coffee-flavoured cake.
Oxfam is calling its fundraiser New Zealand's Biggest Coffee Break. That's coming up on May 4, but Oxfam's Fair Trade Fortnight starts on April 28 and the aid organisation is urging people to support coffee farmers who sell their produce through Fair Trade. To register for a free fundraising pack go to www.oxfam.org.nz or call 0800 400 666. The pack includes award-wining Zigana Fair Trade coffee, leaflets, posters and a DVD to introduce your friends or workmates to Fair Trade coffee.
The idea is to get people together, share the message, and ask them to donate. Next time you feel the urge for a coffee, check out Oxfam's take on the cost of a cup. As Morrell says: "If you're interested in the quality of what you eat and drink and in giving people a fair price for what they grow, it makes absolute sense to buy Fair Trade products. And behind every product are communities who are finding a way out of poverty through Fair Trade."
Fair Trade sales have shot up 1700 per cent in two years as New Zealand shoppers choose to make a difference.
Kirsten's cake recipe comes from a friend in Britain. She wasn't sure how the beetroot and chocolate flavours would combine, but says that she wanted seconds and now happily serves it to friends.
KIRSTEN'S CAKE
100g Fair Trade dark drinking chocolate
225g self-raising flour
200g caster sugar
3 Tbs Fair Trade cocoa
150g Fair Trade dark chocolate, broken into pieces
125g unsalted butter
250g organic beetroot, cooked weight
3 large free-range eggs
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and flour an 18cm round cake tin. Sift together drinking chocolate, self-raising flour and cocoa, then mix in the sugar.
2. Melt chocolate and butter together in a bowl suspended over a saucepan of simmering water. Puree the cooked beetroot in a food processor.
3. Whisk the eggs and add them to the cooled beetroot. Add beetroot and chocolate mixtures to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into the tin and bake 40 mins or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool.
GANACHE TOPPING
225g Fair Trade dark chocolate
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp butter
1. Place the chopped chocolate in a a medium-sized stainless-steel bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat the cream and butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and immediately pour the boiling cream mixture over the chocolate.
3. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Cool then spread over cooled cake.
G'day and good on ya mate
Fair suck of the sav cobber, in the Anzac spirit, give them a fair go. Our Aussies cuzzies are coming over to tempt us with their tucker. On Friday next week it's the Lindeman's Longest Australian Lunch, hosted by Tourism Australia. We have three double-passes valued at $120 each to give away. Or you can buy tickets to this event, which is part of G'Day NZ Australia Week.
"New Zealanders and Australians love good food and delicious wine, each country with their own unique delicacies on offer," says Tourism Australia regional manager Vito Anzelmi.
So he's putting on a barbecue-style lunch down at the Viaduct.
Among the delicacies will be chargrilled Queensland prawns and King Island blue and pork sausage, served with macadamia nuts and Victorian olives. Indigenous flavours are imparted to salmon fillet from smoking over bark.
The Aboriginal dancers Descendance will perform. Lindemans and Crown Lager take care of the drinks. And to show we're one big transtasman family, music is from Dragon.
Guests will also have the chance to win a trip for two to Australia. Tickets for the lunch, which is from noon until 3pm on April 27 at Te Wero Island, are on sale through Ticketek and cost $60 plus booking fee.
To be in the draw to win a double pass, write your name, address and phone number on the back of a stamped envelope and send it to: G'Day lunch, Viva, NZ Herald, PO Box 3290. Entries must reach us by April 23.
Pizza supreme
Forget free toppings. A New York restaurant is offering a US$1000 pizza covered with lashings of caviar, lobster, wasabi and creme fraiche that the owner claims is the most expensive pizza on earth.
Nino Selimaj, of Nino's in Manhattan, says the Bellissima Luxury Pizza is not for everyone, just for those who like a taste of luxury. One customer said the creation was "like Disney World ... the balls of caviar just pop in your mouth. It was an exciting taste".
