Banana Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Loaf

Hazelnuts are such an underrated nut.

Sure Nutella is all the rage but whole hazelnuts are often forgotten behind it's more popular nutty cousins.

A quick look on Pinterest (yea yea who am I kidding right, who ever goes on Pinterest for only a quick look??) will tell you that the peanut butter craze is still going strong, followed closely by all things pecans or pistachio. There is the odd walnut creation but alas the humble hazelnut doesn't often make a show.

Keep calm and have Earl Grey Currant Loaf

Tea? It's a hug in a cup ~ Patrick Jane in The Mentalist

You know you're a coffee addict when you're on a first name basis with the local cafes and they can whip up "the usual" without you needing to even order.

Ahhh coffee: bringer of awakeness, elixir of life.

That magical first cup in the morning to render me human, a second steaming hot flat white at lunch to get over the 2 o'clock dip, and perhaps a cup with an afternoon biscuit.  Coffee is always a good choice.

But despite my OCD (Obsessive Coffee Disorder), a simple cup of tea also has a place in my heart.  Whereas coffee is an invigorating, life-giving brew, sometimes, when you're really stressed out, studying to all hours,  under-slept and over-worked, what you find yourself craving is not necessarily an caffeine hit but a soothing, calming, comfy cup of tea.

And hey if it's good enough for The Mentalist, it's good enough for me.

So when I was heading over to the in-laws for a cuppa a while ago, I whipped up this Earl Grey Currant Loaf in homage to the humble cup of tea.

Winter down under: Feijoa, ginger & coconut loaf

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:  it is the time for home.  ~Edith Sitwell

It's getting mighty chilly down here in the south of the southern hemisphere.  Dunedin, is almost the most southern city in the world, beaten only by Invercargill.  When it blows a southerly in Dunedin, it feels like it's blown straight off an Antarctic iceberg.  Heck, it's so cold down here penguins roam the beaches.  I kid you not.

{C casually next to a penguin at Aramoana Bay}

Despite the cold feet, washing that won't dry and rainy dreary days, I actually quite like winter.  It's all about , steaming hot chocolate, baked puddings with lashings of cream and rib-sticking roast meals.  It's about family time, nights-in with a movie and Merlot, and snuggling under warm blankets.

In New Zealand, Autumn/Winter time is also feijoa time.  Practically nobody outside New Zealand knows what they are and everyone here had a tree in their backyard or knew someone who did.

Feijoas have a grainy texture like pears and guavas and taste like a crazy cocktail of pear, pineapple, guava and kiwifruit with a floral hint.  You either love them or hate them.

I love the crazy little things and couldn't wait to make this Feijoa, ginger and coconut loaf as soon as I got my greedy little hands on some.