Peter Gordon's Olivado Upside Down Cake

There is something very satisfying about a silent house. I am sitting in my new study making the most of the lack of noise. There are no builders hammering, no gas fitters fitting, no painters playing loud music, no electricians whistling.

The door no longer slams 10 times an hour as people go out to visit their vans, have a quick cigarette, bring in more equipment. The plaster dust has settled and I am able to sweep up the last bits with some confidence that the place will stay clean for a day or two.

Now the tradesmen have left, the rain has stopped and the muddy footprints have stopped, too.

There are a few little jobs to be done - replacing the paint the gas installer managed to remove along with the masking tape he had carefully applied to protect same paint... carpeting the stairs after all because there was so much carpet left over... having another look for the spice racks that belong on the pantry doors...

The cat has reclaimed his territory and is enjoying having the run of the whole house. A few more boxes to unpack and I will be able to say I am back home.

I was revisiting some of my old food haunts recently to replace some of the pantry items I gave to son Ben before moving back north. Not much point in bringing half-bottles of everything. One of the things I purchased was some avocado oil.

Olivado introduced avocado oil in New Zealand in December 2000 and it has become very popular among food lovers. Chef Jamie Oliver has described it as the next "it" food ingredient. Last year Olivado won a marketing award and the oil is now selling in Australia, Korea, Japan, Europe and the United States.

Olivado recently sent me a recipe developed by top Kiwi chef Peter Gordon who, with Anna Hansen, is co-owner of the gourmet London restaurant, The Providores. It's his version of the traditional upside-down pear and polenta cake, with the avocado oil providing a green tinge to the cake, as well as enhancing the flavour.

Peter Gordon stumbled on avocado oil during a trip back to New Zealand to record a TV programme on Food of the South Pacific and organised his own personal supplies to introduce to his customers in London.

If you want to read more about avocado oil, visit http://www.olivado.co.nz/ where you will find further innovative recipes.

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