We were on our way to Picton to catch the ferry to Wellington but I couldn’t leave without popping into the Blenheim farmers market. As we walked past fresh vegetables, apricots, cherries and nectarines a friendly lady offered me a plate of pikelets topped with chunky apricot and rhubarb & ginger jam. “Would you like to try one? It will go well with your bottle of Riesling.” I was momentarily flummoxed. How did she know I’d bought Riesling? Then I recognised her. It was Chris from the Vavasour winery. I’d staggered in there yesterday on my brief afternoon cycle around the local wineries. “This is my other job,” she explained. “I make my jam without water – just fruit and sugar, cooked slowly over a low heat. You get a much more intense flavour – no watering down.”

Apples didn’t feature in my Christmas/New Year menus. Why would they? It’s summer and apples are an autumn fruit. But there they were – languishing at the bottom of my fridge and desperately in need of using up. It was too late to simply slice and eat them. These middle-aged wrinklies needed a serious makeover. I found this recipe in my favourite French cookbook – ‘At home in Provence’ by Patricia Wells – and adapted it to the ingredients