For Matariki, we asked some friends of colleen to share a recipe they love - something they'd make for the people they care about. It's a time for connection, reflection and coming together over good food - the kind of kai that warms you from the inside out.

READ MORE: Bring a plate

Full disclosure - I am not a baker. My cooking skills could be described as competent but the regimented joy of creating bread, cakes, pastries and fancies from scratch has always eluded me. However! This recipe is almost fool-proof and doesn't require exact measurements. Yes, I absolutely made it up myself (Alison Holst found gooped, gagged and levitating inches from the roof).

I make it every time I am home with my family and you'll all be shocked to learn they actually love to eat it! Sometimes I'll make it for myself when I'm feeling burnt out or emo and the smell of stewing apples always warms the cockles of my Dutch heart.

Ingredients:
CRUMBLE
Equal parts butter (or Olivani for dairy free), oats, and brown sugar. I use roughly 2 cups of each for a big serve.

FILLING
• 6 x Granny Smith apples (could be less, could be more. You're an adult and you have FREE WILL)
• Cinnamon
• All spice
• Vanilla stick
• Cloves
• Nutmeg (honestly - whatever sweet spices are speaking to you from your mum's/flatmates/nanna's spice rack )
• Some frozen berries (lol)

Method:
• Peel, core and slice apples. Stew in a pot with all your sexy spices until soft.
• Combine crumble mixture in a bowl until it's blended/chunky.
• Place apples and frozen berries in a baking tin - I use a chic long glass one I nicked from my parents. I never line it with baking paper and who knows if that's a faux pas or not??? Put the crumble on top. Spread it out so it looks even and cute.
• Bake at 180 degrees (pre-heat the oven bitch!) for roughly 25 mins or until the crumble is golden. Serve with ice cream or yoghurt and ABSOLUTELY save some for breakfast the next day.

Smear this on anything - under chicken skin for a roast, in a pot with green beans or lather on toast with your favourite kaimoana (mussels for me) for breakfast. Another option is to smear over wedges of braised cabbage and then pop on the BBQ for 10 minutes. The miso caramelises.

It takes 10-15 minutes total and honestly makes everything taste insane. Easy to get kids off devices and in the kitchen to make as well!

One of the most rewarding parts of holidays with family can be getting everyone involved in the preparation before you sit down together to eat and celebrate, including tamariki.

Ingredients
• 200 - 500g butter
• Pinch of Salt

Variations:
Herby Version:
• 1-2 Tablespoons fave herbs - fennel is nice
Miso Version:
• 1tbsp white Miso Paste. I recommend MIITOKU White Miso Blanc Paste (available at Farro)
• 1tbsp Mirin
• 1 tsp sushi vinegar or rice wine vinegar or cooking sake (or a splash of all three - whatever you have on hand)

Method:
• Melt down butter in pan on medium high heat, stirring constantly until fat particles seperate from butter and fond starts to catch on bottom of pan. It should be a really dark brown colour, with dark bits floating in the mixture. Take off heat.
• Add ingredients - miso version or herbs and taste for balance. Add pinch of salt.
• Place pan over a bowl with ice and start whisking.
• Briskly whisk for 5 or so minutes - this is an arm workout; do not use an electric beater. The solidification of the butter happens quite quickly so a beater would make the end result like a rock.
• Watch carefully and slow down your whisking as the butter starts to pale.
• When it reaches just under the right consistency - room temperature - quickly take off ice as it continues to cool with the bowl.
• Store in a cool dry place (can be in the fridge but it will harden, so take out 10 minutes before using as a spread).

I'm not a cook or a baker so sharing a recipe here is a little laughable. But in the spirit of Matariki - whānau, moments spent together, remembrance - I'll share my Mum's fried bread recipe (the proper Māori name is parāoa parai, but we always just called it fried bread). My sister and I would often beg her to make it for us as kids, and I'd gorge myself on these little golden delights, slathered in butter or golden syrup if I was feeling fancy.

This isn't really a 'recipe' - and I know everyone has their own way of making fried bread (here's another great one) - but in the hopes of one day perfecting it myself, I asked Mum to write her method down on a Post-it, which has stayed tucked safely in my barely opened Edmonds Cookery Book. This is exactly how she wrote it - I love how to the point it is.

Ingredients:
• 2-3 cups of flour (plain) (she underlined the '2')
• 2 Tsp of baking powder (if you're using self-raising flour, just put 1 Tsp of BP)
• Water to mix (like scone mix: not too wet)

Method:

1. Knead on a floured board
2. Roll flattish
3. Cook in hot oil - lots