The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Hot apple cobbler with soft cream 

Cook time: 5 minutes 

Prep time: 25 minutes 

Serves: 6

6 braeburn apples  

1/4 cup water  

1 tbsp honey  

1 teaspoon vanilla extract  

1/2 tsp cinnamon  

1 tbsp raw sugar  

3 tbsp lemon curd (optional)  

Cobbler topping  

1/2 cup milk  

1 egg  

250 gm plain flour  

1/2 cup raw sugar  

120 gm butter, cubed and chilled  

1 tsp baking powder  

1 tsp vanilla extract  

Pinch of salt  

250 ml cream, whipped to soft peaks

To prepare the cobbler topping, whisk together the milk and egg. Place the flour and sugar in a bowl and add the butter. Rub them between your fingers until the mixture starts to resemble breadcrumbs. Add in the baking powder, vanilla and salt and then slowly stir in the milk mixture until well combined - the mix will be a bit runny.  

Pre-heat a oven to 180*c fan-bake.  

To make the filling, peel and core the apples. Cut into large wedges and place into a medium pot with the water, honey, vanilla and cinnamon. Cook over a medium heat until all the liquid has evaporated.  

To assemble the cobbler, spoon the apple filling into a 22 cm round oven proof dish. Top with lemon curd if using and then the cobbler topping, leaving some gaps for the apple to rise up during the cooking. Sprinkle the extra tablespoon of sugar over the top.  

Bake for 40 minutes, then serve hot with soft cream. 

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The world of meat alternatives could be about to change after new research published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science came out this week. 

Instead of trying to make plants taste more like meat using flavourings, they've taught plants to manufacture myoglobin, the same protein that gives meat its distinctive colour, flavour and nutritional value.

Myoglobin stores oxygen inside muscle cells, but it also gives meat many of its defining characteristics. It contains iron-rich heme molecules that contribute to meat's red colour, metallic taste and savoury "umami" flavour.  

In plants, chloroplasts are the structures where photosynthesis happens, converting sunlight into energy. 

Chloroplasts are also excellent protein factories which carry multiple copies of its own DNA. 

That means if you insert a useful gene into the chloroplast genome, the plant can produce very large amounts of the corresponding protein.  

The researchers used a gene gun where tiny gold particles were coated with DNA containing the pig myoglobin gene and fired into the leaves of young tobacco and lettuce plants. 

Some of those microscopic DNA-coated particles entered the chloroplasts, where the new gene became incorporated into the chloroplast's own circular DNA.  

The transformed plants were then grown to maturity where they flowered, produced seeds and their offspring inherited the new gene 

The scientists crushed leaf tissue from the mature plants, separated all the proteins using gel electrophoresis, and then used an antibody test called a Western blot to specifically detect myoglobin which showed up in both the tobacco and lettuce plants. 

Myoglobin only works properly when it contains a heme group, an iron-containing molecule that sits in the middle of the protein. 

The researchers found that only around 35 percnet of the plant-produced myoglobin contained heme, compared with around 80 percent for myoglobin produced in bacteria. 

The plants were making the protein successfully, but many of the molecules were still missing their iron-containing centre. 

That tells scientists where the next engineering challenge lies and future versions will likely focus on helping plants load more heme into the protein.  

Despite producing large amounts of myoglobin, the plants grew normally, flowered, produced seeds and remained fertile which is an encouraging sign if this technology is ever scaled up. 

We could have a future where large quantities of leafy crops could be grown in fields and the myoglobin extracted and purified before being added as an ingredient to plant-based meat products, improving their colour, flavour and nutritional value. 

The researchers also speculate that one day, if regulators approve it, specially engineered lettuce could even become a source of heme iron itself.  

So does it taste like meat? We don't know yet. The researchers didn't cook burgers or run taste tests. This study was about proving that plants can manufacture the protein in the first place. The next challenge is increasing the amount of fully functional, heme-containing myoglobin before testing whether it really improves the flavour of plant-based meat. 

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Last week, millions of people flocked to Spain to watch a rare total eclipse of the sun.

Around 91 percent of the sun was obscured by the moon, and it inspired people to listen to listen to some songs that matched the moment.

Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Chris Staples Dark Side Of The Moon, and Pink Floyd's Eclipse all saw significant bumps in streaming. 

Entertainment correspondent Steve Newall explained further.

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Another New Zealand Fashion Week is set to get under way, and it aims to be one of the biggest events of the year.

The event will return to Shed 10 from August 17 to 22, and Caitlin Crisp, Twenty Seven Names and the Kāhui Collective are among the names set to appear.

New Zealand Fashion Week owner Feroz Ali says the industry needs to adapt to a changing market - and they're aiming to boost international co-operation. 

"The decisions we took post-Covid...have led us to be where we are today. And we're extremely grateful for both the local Government, Tātaki Auckland, etc - for giving us continued support." 

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It was a big week in Parliament, with Luxon facing another leadership challenge ahead of the election.

The Prime Minister held on to his leadership role, Minister Chris Penk was stripped of his portfolios - but speculation's growing about what this means for National. 

Political commentator Brigitte Morton says it's a 'messy' look for the Government, and it's likely there will be some damage as a result of this.

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The All Blacks will take a three-from-three record into the opening test match of their tour of South Africa.

They've just wrapped up a 50 to 19 victory over the Bulls in Pretoria, backing up wins over the Sharks and Stormers.

The first test against the Springboks is in Johannesburg next Sunday.

Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith recapped the action, and explained what fans could expect next week.

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There's been plenty of incidents of AI going rogue, with  OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta seeing issues during security testing.

As AI technology develops, researchers are taking steps to understand how it could all grow and change, as well as what separates AI from humans.

Multiple AI labs around the world are part of the study, including University of Auckland computer scientist, Dr Matthew Egbert.

"We've got lots of examples of technology that's not done what we've expected it to - and I think that the AI technology that's emerging is just giving us yet another example of this. It's hard to predict what technology it's going to do, and how society's going to interact with the technology."

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As you may have heard, this time a week ago ZB turned one hundred years old, and on Friday night we threw a little party to celebrate.  

The Prime Minister came, and made a speech, and he was brilliant. He was smart, very funny, relaxed - he roasted us respectfully and took the mickey out of himself beautifully. It was a great speech, well-delivered and it had everyone in the room asking - so where has this guy been?  

But here’s the thing about being human - we’re just not always ‘on’. It’s hard to always say the right thing, articulate ourselves well and be relatable. Even if you are a politician who is expected to do it every day. 

And that’s why I like Luxon. He hasn’t completely turned into a political talking point robot. I know politics should be about policy and not personality, but personality has always mattered. As I’ve said before - whether it was John Key's easy-going style, Jacinda Ardern's empathy, or Winston Peters' theatre - how politicians communicate is just as important as what they say.

And on Friday night, Luxon was probably the best communicator in a room packed full with communicators.  

I said it last week, the MMP referendum debacle had blown out of proportion. Then there was the Prime Minister’s message to Rotorua businesses, true to the National Party view but poorly articulated. A more succinct, less patronising version eventually followed.  

With less than 90 days to the election, these hardly seemed meaty enough incidences to trigger a coup and destabilise the party.  It seems enough National caucus members agree. For now.  

Luxon was able to stare down his detractors, but having to defend his leadership for the second time in four months is not good for the party. It implies internal division, and with no one believing Chris Penk went into the caucus meeting as a lone wolf it’s clear not everyone believes Luxon is the best person for the job.  

So what does he do now?

First, shut the door on the leadership question. Completely. No more speculation, no more caucus drama, no more leaks to journalists. If National is going to win on November 7, Luxon needs every MP looking outward, not over their shoulder at the person sitting next to them.

Then he needs to simplify the campaign. 

Don't make it a referendum on Christopher Luxon. Make it a referendum on what National has delivered and what it intends to do next. Focus on the economy, cost of living, jobs, law and order, health and getting Government spending under control. These are the bread-and-butter issues that determine how people feel about their lives. 

And Luxon needs to rediscover the version of himself voters elected in 2023: competent, optimistic, focused and practical. Less political noise. Fewer unnecessary fights. More evidence that the Government is getting things done. Most importantly, National needs to look united. Not pretend to be united. Actually be united.

Because right now voters need a reason to trust this team to run the country.

Luxon has won the battle inside National.

Now he has 12 weeks to win the one that matters. 

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Australian actress Melissa George has been on our screens for years, and she's taking on a new Kiwi comedy-crime drama.

She started out as Angel Parrish on Home and Away, and she's made a name for herself in other international projects like Mulholland Drive, Grey’s Anatomy, Friends, The Slap, among others.

She's now starring in Ms. X, which is available on ThreeNow, and she's revealed she was into the show from the first script reading.

"It was the first time I had to adapt, to change who I was in order to get along with the person in front of me. And that was the sign that I knew I'd found my match." 

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Back in 2023, former Labour Minister Kiri Allan hit a low point - and had to step down from politics.

After crashing her car while over the alcohol limit, she resigned from Labour and her political career came to an end.

She's shared her story and opened up about what happened that night in Wellington in her new memoir, Go Hard or Go Home.

"I carried a lot of shame, guilt...as the book says, my world shattered down and it's all my fault. So I carried that for quite a long time, and it was very hard to come out of the cave, knowing that you'd let so many people down. So it was a long period of healing." 

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