Feeling slightly disillusioned after last night's election result. A post on my Facebook feed sums it up well, "Can I get a sticker saying, "yes I voted and I might as well not have"?"

It rained on and off all day and I spent the afternoon in the kitchen. Raspberry Jam Slice, Nigella's Italian Apple Pie and Nigel Slater's Mildly Spiced Beef. For the Apple Pie (which is really a cake) I used red and green apples, and melodramatically considered myself to be roasting the hopes of Labour and the Greens. Maudlin.

Italian Apple Pie

slightly adapted from Nigellissima

You will need:

• 100g soft butter
• 250g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 150g sugar
• 2 eggs
• juice of half a lemon + zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 apples
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in the group before milk in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until mixture forms a smooth batter.
2. With food processor running, pour milk slowly down funnel.
3. Cut one apple in half, remove core, and roughly chop. Add chopped apple into batter and pulse to mix.
4. Pour batter into lined springform tin.
5. Cut remaining applies into thin wedges, and place on top of batter in a fan pattern.
6. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top.
7. Bake for 45 minutes at 180 degrees celsius.

This is very very easy, and visually stunning. The batter is dense and moist, and the apples provide texture. I used Jazz apples and Granny Smiths. The Jazz worked the best, the Granny Smiths got a bit mushy, though that might have been because they were old. I have a bad habit of buying fruit and then not doing anything with it.

I'm sitting watching House of Cards. I haven't been out today, I have been plagued by a sinus headache. It seems too late in the year for it to be getting cold (still comparing seasons to Dunedin), but it finally is - my beanie isn't just because of my headache for once. I have been pecking at a baguette all day, slathering it with marinated feta. I don't know what's for dinner, haven't got anything out except a packet of defrosting pita breads which could lead me in one of two directions - pizzas with pita breads as the base, or some chickpea concoction. Some days dessert is easier.

Feijoa and Apple Crumble

adapted from Gordon Ramsay's apple crumble, and utilising Alison Holst's infallible crumble topping. Serves 6.

You will need:

• 3-4 granny smith apples, cut into chunks
• 6 feijoas, skins cut roughly off (peeling is such a tax) and cut into thirds
• 6 tbsp white sugar
• pinch cinnamon
• a scattering of dried cranberries (maybe half a cup)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 3 cloves
• 1/2 cup water

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 75g butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• white chocolate buttons

Directions:

1. Place apples, feijoas, sugar, cinnamon, cranberries, lemon zest and juice along with lemon skins, water and cloves in saucepan and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. With a slotted spoon, remove apples and feijoas to the dish you will be using to put the pudding into the oven, which you should at this point begin preheating to 180 degrees celsius.
3. Boil the remaining liquid for a couple more minutes then (after removing cloves) pour over the fruit.
4. To make the crumble, measure the dry ingredients except for the rolled oats into a bowl.
5. Rub butter into dry ingredients until incorporated, then mix in oats.
6. Spread crumble topping on top of fruit and stud with white chocolate buttons.
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until crumble is golden.

This went down very well with my friends (so much going on - "are there feijoas in here??" "what are the red things?" "is there chocolate in it?"), who I served it to while we watched Game of Thrones. In the interest of complete honesty, I originally tried the crumble topping which was in Gordon Ramsay's recipe in Ultimate Cookery Course which was a total failure of sand like dust. The dish was saved by taking the fruit out of the oven, and putting Alison Holst's crumble on top. Feijoa and apple worked well, and the cranberries added interest. If you don't like tart fruit (granny smiths are my favourite) you might prefer to use a sweeter apple to counteract the also tart feijoas and dried cranberries.