Kasey and Karena: Happy birthday Karena (+recipes)

Banana bread and butter pudding. Photo / Doug Sherring

Take a tin of corned beef and let the party begin.

It is a special week because it is Karena's birthday and we thought we'd celebrate by sharing some of her all-time favourite dishes and some dirt I dug up from a very reliable source (Mum). It was special to be able to spend the day with our family back home in Maketu this year and we opted to spend some quality family time together instead of going out.

The past two years have been exciting and time has flown - so much that Karena has aged an extra year. She told our mother she couldn't believe she was turning 28. Karena was delighted when Mum corrected her and told her she's only 27.

Mum says ever since Karena was born she was determined and knew exactly what she wanted when it came to food.

When Mum was trying to wean Karena off the bottle, she was abruptly woken in the middle of the night by a very stern 13-month-old child.

She was then dragged by her wrist into the kitchen where Karena stood steadfast in front of the microwave, pointed and demanded, "bottle!"

As a lover of everything to do with food, asking Karena to pick only three of her favourite recipes proved a challenge but, in the end, Asian noodles, corned beef (yes, out of a tin) and bread and butter pudding with a delicious banana and chocolate twist (added by myself) came out on top.

I know these dishes may seem a bit odd but that's the kind of person Karena is.

She insists they are delicacies in their own right. All of these dishes are simple and quick to make if you feel like a bit of a treat.

Try Kasey and Karena's delicious recipes at bite.co.nz below

Photos / Doug Sherring

• Banana bread and butter pudding
• Corned beef on rice
• Spicy black vinegar noodles