There's no question that barbecues belong to summer, but the end of the warm weather doesn't mean you have to stop eating outdoors. Instead, pack up the barbie and try one of the new breed of outdoor ovens on the market.

We asked chef James Coleman from the award-winning Rocket Cafe in Northland to test drive this Broady's Garden Oven, so he came up with these recipes for a cosy, outdoor winter dinner.

Being novices, we lit the Broady's mid-afternoon, thinking it'd take an age to heat up, but these clever cast iron models are almost as speedy as an outdoor oven.

Fuelled with kindling and a few small logs, it was up to temperature in less than half and hour. Everything cooked beautifully, and when dinner was (sadly) over, a few more logs gave us an outdoor fire for the rest of the evening.

Breads pizzas and pastries are fabulous cooked this way, and we've sinced discovered the Broady's also excels itself with slow roasted tomatoes (in fact roast anything), casseroles and stewed fruit puds.

Olive and Avocado Oil Bread

2 cups of tepid water
1/2 cup avocado oil
4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup chopped pitted olives
2 tspns Edmonds surebake yeast
2 tspn salt

Knead all together until a dough is formed, adding a little extra flour if the dough is too sticky. Leave in a warm place for 1 hour to rise. Knock back, form into a loaf, leave a further 20 minutes and then bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped.

Antipasto Squares

2 sheets of ready rolled flaky pastry
100ml sweet chilli sauce
1 eggplant
2 red capsicums
250g feta cheese, crumbled
24 slices good quality salami

Slice eggplant, salt and set aside for 1 hour. Pat dry with kitchen paper and roast in the oven for 20 minutes in a little avocado oil. Cut capsicums in half lengthways, remove the seeds and roast in the oven until the skin is charred and can be peeled easily from the flesh. Cut each sheet of flaky pastry evenly into four squares and spread each square with sweet chilli sauce. Arrange the vegetables on the pastry along with the sliced salami and crumbled feta. Bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes or until golden.

Neglected during New Zealand's fling with cheap and plentiful electricity, cast iron cookers are back in vogue in our kitchens, not just in old villas but in newly designed or renovated houses, large and small.

Stanley Cookers is one brand bringing our modern kitchens back to the practicalities of yesterday. Correctly located, a Stanley easily heats a good-sized kitchen and family area; provides hot water (central heating as well if required) and keeps the dinner cooking even if the power goes off. However, New Zealanders are not installing the cookers just because they are practical, but because they look so good.

Richard Steele of Broady's Cookers, suppliers of the Stanley, notices a common thread with buyers of solid fuel burning stoves. "They're all such passionate people. It doesn't surprise me when customers mention they are collectors of, say, antique cars or have spent years getting their houses just so. To own a Stanley is to have a love affair with it."

A Stanley cooker typically inspires images of grandmother's country kitchen, a place where you could sit around and talk, relaxing in the warmth of the cooker amid the aroma of cooking. Succulent apple pies, savoury stews, the smell of fresh bread.... and a wood burning cooker. Grandmother's country kitchen was warm in more ways than one: it was a special, friendly environment, in which she cooked her famous old-fashioned meals.

Her secret is revealed when you see the magnificent stage she had on which to prepare her culinary masterpieces. As a cooker was going most of the time, there was always something frying, simmering, boiling or baking... so it was easy to prepare the extra courses needed for a big country meal.

Despite such nostalgic imagery, Stanleys are increasingly being bought for installation into very modern kitchens. Sitting alongside sleek kitchen cabinetry, the black and white cooker, for example, doesn't look out of place. Red and green models go hand in hand with the trend towards more colourful kitchens, while an increase in the popularity of the matt black model speaks of our yearnings for things natural.

All Stanley cookers have a cast-iron hotplate providing a large cooking area, which can sizzle, simmer soups and stews or accommodate a simple kettle or coffee pot.

The large capacity roasting oven, with its double glazed door and cast-iron construction, roasts superbly and evenly, sealing in the natural juices and flavours by the "indirect heat" principle. Without obstructive heating elements or flames, the entire oven can be used for cooking. The bottom of the oven is ideal for browning bread or cooking pizzas directly on the cast iron surface. Grilling of bacon, chops or simply cheese on toast is easy using the highest rack position.