Your letters
HOW TO NEVER WASTE EGG YOLKS
I have just finished reading the March issue of your magazine and saw the letter by Wendy Anderson. It brought back happy memories of my cooking lessons from my Godmother.
In 1970, one never bought pavlova, one always made it and the four egg yolks were not ‘leftover’ but ingredients for a sponge cake.
I hope this is helpful to those who are keen cooks and conscious of the cost of ingredients today.
Wai’s Godmother’s sponge Ingredients
4 egg yolks
⅓ cup warm water (not hot water) 4 tbsp sugar 16 tsp (8 dessertspoons) cornflour 2 tsp (1 dessertspoon) plain flour 1 heaped tsp baking powder
Method
Beat egg yolks and warm water until the mixture is thick. Gradually add the sugar, one spoon at a time until the mixture is thick. Sieve the dry ingredients and fold them into the egg/water/sugar mixture. Grease a big tin, dust it lightly with a little flour and pour in the cake mixture. Cook for 15-20 minutes at 180˚C. Insert a metal skewer into the centre to test if the cake is cooked through.
I always look forward to reading your magazine and all the helpful hints to experiment on myself! Wai Yin Williams, Eltham
MINERAL BOOSTS
I always enjoy hearing about your goats and love reading about them in your NZ Lifestyle Block enewsletter.
Llamas also have a high need for minerals as they naturally live at high altitudes so don’t get enough vitamin D in NZ, especially in the winter. We usually inject with an A,D, E combination once or twice a year, but I have come across an oral version which seems much kinder than a needle. Healthy Ewe RTU comes as a liquid and also in a bulk powder pack.
I used it last season when we had such a bad time with facial eczema (it includes zinc). It includes some ingredients which can be toxic in excess, but my vet advice was that it was ok to use at two week intervals during the FE danger period. It is made in NZ too. www.vetpak.co.nz/products/minerals/ Healthy-ewe-rtu-liquid Judy Webby, Levin
THE NUMBERS DON’T ADD UP
Murray Grimwood crunches the figures on the depletion of the earth’s resources and exponential population growth (Power Down, February 2017).
My science teacher predicted petrol would be gone by the time I reached adulthood. I am now 50 and still roaring around in a fossil-fuelled RAV.
The wild card Murray overlooks is advancing technology, plus necessity being the mother of invention. Let’s hope it is a card we play well to avoid dying in our own toxins or pirating other planets with a Jolly Roger flying on the front of our space shuttle.
Over and out.