Back in 2018 Rhiannon Baldock wrote a blog post called "things you should know how to cook by 25".
The idea was that by the time a person is 25 years old they should be able to cook eggs, the perfect cheese toastie, homemade muesli, roasted vegetables and chocolate brownies.
Looking back Baldock admits the homemade muesli and brownies were questionable inclusions in the list.
But the post’s popularity and concept has stayed with her and has become the basis for her first book More than toast: How to cook and have fun doing it.
Baldock, who grew up in a family which loved to cook — her parents competed against each other in New Zealand’s version of Ready, Steady, Cook and her grandmother was a keen baker — discovered her own love of cooking in food technology classes at school.
Baldock started blogging under "Rhi’s Pantry" learning about social media as she went before starting her own food-focused content agency and after three years sold her part of the company and went freelance.
"Here I am, at 31, a self-employed food photographer, stylist, social-media aficionado and now published cookbook author who can’t believe its really happening."
Her book is filled with the recipes she loves and is aimed at cooks that find themselves cooking the same three dishes on repeat, ordering takeaways or going out to eat because they are too overwhelmed to cook or want to or just want to increase their confidence in the kitchen.
She goes over what she feels are the first-step basics, her "updated need-to-knows, recipes that turn "I have nothing to eat" into "I have something to eat", meals that are great for feeding a crowd and her favourite snacks and sweets.
The book
More Than Toast by Rhiannon Baldock, written and photographed by Rhiannon Baldock, published by Bateman Books, RRP $45
Fool-proof banana pancakes
I have been making these pancakes for years now, and they really are fool-proof. The recipe can be easily sized up to suit the number of mouths you need to feed, and using banana in the pancake batter means no added sugar is needed, so make sure your banana is nice and ripe to make the most of its natural sweetness!
Serves 1
Suitable for DF, V
Ingredients
1 large banana
1 large egg
¼ cup milk (dairy, oat, or of your choice)
Dash of vanilla extract or paste
½ cup self-raising flour
Butter or coconut oil, for frying
Method
In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana as smoothly as possible using a fork or whisk.
Whisk the egg, milk and vanilla into the banana until well mixed, then sift in the flour and stir until you reach a smooth batter, avoiding over-mixing.
Place a nonstick frying pan over a medium heat. Add a bit of butter to the pan, then once melted and sizzling, spoon in about Πcup of pancake mixture for each pancake.
Cook until bubbles form, then flip and cook until risen and golden.
Repeat with the remaining batter, raising or lowering the heat as needed to get the perfect golden colour on your pancakes.
If making more than two, keep warm in an oven heated to 100°C, then serve as desired.
Additions/alternative versions:
• Once spooned into the pan, dot with frozen blueberries and press them into the batter lightly before flipping, for the ultimate blueberry and banana combo.
• If you're a bacon and banana lover, pan-fry some streaky bacon until crisp, drain off the fat, then drizzle with maple syrup and leave to cook for a minute until sticky and caramelised. Serve on top of your banana pancakes.
• Add a little cinnamon to the batter, and serve the cooked pancakes with butter whipped with honey.
Cheese scones with whipped bacon butter
Freshly baked, toasty cheese scones slathered in butter are a simple joy, and the savoury smell that fills your kitchen as these bake will have you hooked. I’ve amped these up with the addition of whipped bacon butter. Yes, you read that right, and it’s indescribably good.
Makes about 12
Whipped Bacon Butter
100g streaky bacon, finely chopped
150g butter, softened
1 tsp honey
300g self-raising flour
½ tsp paprika
75g cold butter, grated
150ml milk, plus extra for brushing
Method
Place the bacon in a cold pan, then set over a medium to high heat. Fry until golden brown and crispy then transfer to a bowl, along with the bacon fat, and allow to cool.
Once the bacon has cooled, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to combine with the softened butter and honey until it reaches a whipped consistency. Season with pepper, then spoon into a dish and refrigerate.
Preheat your oven to 200°C fan bake.
To make the scones, combine the flour and paprika in a bowl with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Add the grated butter, and use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry mixture until a sandy consistency is reached.
Add ⅔ of the grated cheese, stir to combine, then make a well in the centre. Stream in half of the milk, mix, then add the rest of the milk as needed to reach a soft dough.
Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface, then turn out the dough. Sprinkle with a little more flour, then shape and roll into a circle around 5cm thick. Cut into 6 wedges, then arrange on a lined tray.
Brush with milk and sprinkle with the remaining cheese, then bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and risen.
Leave to cool slightly, then serve slathered in the bacon butter.
Low-maintenance slow cooker massaman
We’re cheating a little in this recipe (don’t tell anyone) as it uses a pre-made curry paste as a base, meaning it really does live up to the label of low-maintenance dream! Amped up with some fresh aromatics, this tender beef massaman, made in the slow cooker, is minimum effort with maximum pleasure; and I highly recommend mopping up the leftover gravy in your bowl with beautiful flaky roti.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
200g store-bought massaman paste
400ml beef stock
400ml coconut milk
1 Tbsp cornflour
Neutral oil, for frying
1kg chuck steak or brisket
2 large boiling potatoes, cut into large chunks
1 onion, roughly sliced
Thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced
1 red chilli, sliced lengthways (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
Fish sauce and brown sugar to taste
Steamed rice, fresh lime wedges and roti breads, to serve
Method
Stir together the curry paste, beef stock and coconut milk in the bowl of a slow cooker.
Add the cornflour and 1 tablespoon of water to a small bowl or ramekin to dissolve and stir to combine, then stir through the liquids.
Put a drizzle of oil into a frying pan over a high heat and brown the steaks on both sides. Add to the slow cooker.
Nestle the potatoes around the steak, then scatter the onion, ginger, chilli (if using) and nuts on top.
Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours, making sure the beef is meltingly tender. Once the beef is tender, use two forks to gently pull it apart into smaller pieces.
Squeeze the lime juice into the curry, stir and season to taste with fish sauce (around a tablespoon) and brown sugar (around a teaspoon).
Serve with steamed rice, fresh lime and roti breads.
Notes: if the curry isn't thick enough, you can add an additional tablespoon of cornflour with an equal amount of water and stir into the sauce.
Tip
Although roti can be homemade, I like to leave it to the professionals and buy mine from my nearest Asian supermarket. A lot more local supermarkets are stocking them in the freezer section, too.
