Found in Wellington

I started this post MONTHs ago and have just found it in the drafts....I think we may have done this in April but I am not sure...

It is not often that I go anywhere without my camera and although I know phones take good photos these days, mine doesn't.  So for this post I am relying on some grainy sots from my phone, better ones from Alex's and some web images to visually describe a great day in Wellington.    Going for one day meant one intense stab at a few pre-planned activities PLUS a few found treasures.   Of course it was 28 stonking degrees in Christchurch while we landed in a windy, muggy, grey and wetish Wellington.  It didn't matter  a jot.  I have been to Welly a bit in the past 6 months so for me it was a few revisits to places I love and then we discovered some new treasures.

The Hippopotamus Restaurant is obviously not a big secret to the ladies of Wellington who made up most of the groups in the first floor restaurant at the famous Museum Hotel.  Stepping into a world of French loveliness we managed to get a tiny table by the window after Alex charmed the maitre d into letting us stay.  Yes, we used the earthquake card....unashamed.  It was awesome.

One of my favourite shops in Wellington - Small Acorns

Before I forget

I spent two days in Auckland this week attending the Association of Public Library Managers conference as a guest of my manager.  Holed up in Rydges Hotel on Federal Street for two days with no shopping opportunities or art gallery visits was a bit sad.  However, I did manage to have two delicious meals out so in the spirit of social media and the need to share everything, here are two recommendations for those in the area and looking for tasty treats to warm the winter nights.

Café Hanoi, cnr Commerce & Galway Streets, has been quite rightly featured as  Metro top 50 restaurant.  Very good value for money a well as stunning Vietnamese flavours, fresh and piquant.  I enjoyed a girly catch up with gal pal Karen. 

A very affable and chatty night was spent with 50 other library types at the Wine Chambers in the cute skinny part of the city.  A lovely antedote to the broad brash Queen Street at 33 Shortland Street.  the food was good but could have been great.  Another top 50, I suspect it would be better on a less busy Monday night.  However, no complaints from me.

Quince Cake

This stunning cake is cooling on a rack on the kitchen bench with two small warm slices missing.  It is so delicious I had to share it immediately

Although it is an Apple and Blueberry cake, I used cooked quinces for my topping.  Stunning.  It is another Donna Hay recipe from her latest book 'fast, fresh, simple'

1 and 1/2 cups of sifted self-raising flour;

3/4 cup of caster sugar;

125 grams of butter, softened;

1 teaspoon vanilla extract;

2 eggs;

1/2 cup of milk;

1 apple, cored and thinly sliced;

3/4 cup of frozen or fresh blueberries (I used frozen as fresh are so expensive at the moment); and

2 tablespoons of demerara sugar.

To start, preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Place flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, eggs and milk in a bowl and beat with an electric mixed until just combined. Spoon the mixture into a greased 22cm springform tin lined with non-stick baking paper.

Top the mixture with the thinly sliced apples and blueberries and sprinkle with the demerara sugar (I didn't have any so used ordinary sugar).

Bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is cooked when tested with a skewer. Let the cake sit in the tin for 5-10 minutes before turning it out to cool further on a wire rack. The apple slices and blueberries will have sunk slightly into the cake mixture. Serve the cake with ice cream or dollop cream.

Holiday Shopping

One of the joys of going to a 'resort' style town for your holiday is that the shopping is great on the windy and cold days.  Due to some of the unplanned things that happened our shopping took on a slightly different tack than normal.  We found ourselves in the Salvation Army Store looking for a woolen blanket for Nic...the nights were very cold.  We also found ourselves at Wanaka Wastebusters which was fantastic- legendary - and you must go next time you are in Wanaka.  We got snow chains, brand new for $10.

Our disastrous boat trailer tyre incident meant we met Lucy who owns Escape in the main street and also Mr Robinson of Mrs Robinson in Tarras.  Nice people and retail outlets.  Our neighbour at Glandhu Bay owns the menswear store in town called Structure for Men.  Another very kind and lovely person.  I am doing plugs for their businesses because they are lovely people and their stores are good too.  So if you are in the neighbourhood, check them out.  

 Another joy of travelling is finding the farmers markets and we happened upon a very lovely little market on a cold an windy day which turned out to be a very cold, wet and windy night in which we bailed from our tent.  Another story for another day.

Francesca's Wood Fired Pizza with Stewart Island salmon, fresh Central Otago apricots and the plumpest cherries ever and lastly German cherry custard tart were our highlights...YUM

Oh yes and we spent a very happy time in Gallery 33 buying a stunning piece of artwork to add to our very small and learner art collection. 

Strawberry

I made this today.  It has taken about 4 hours from start to finish.  Lucky I have plenty to do while the 4 layers of jelly set.  Interesting how often magazine recipes are not as rigorously represented as cook books.  See the size of this?  Looks like a loaf tin sized dessert. Times that by 3 and you have the actual size.  Imagine the cost of ingredients...don't got there.  Anyway, if anyone is passing in the next day or so, there will be a giant amount of strawberry and mascapone terrine sitting in the fridge.  Pop in and enjoy some, I think it is going to taste heavenly

Saturday /Autumn

Although the thing about autumn is the coolness in the air and changing of colours from summer green to golden tones, today is just like a summer's day and it feels great.  One thing I just love about autumn are the chrysanthemums.  I know they are not cool or hip flowers, but who couldn't just love these?

Nic and I are flying solo at the moment while Jonty visits his mother in England.  It has been a very busy three weeks but after tennis this morning, we treated ourselves to an autumn picnic on the long grass before I got the mower out.

On our (tiny) platter we had some very special treats.  Special because they were homemade but also some treats from  Mediterranean Foods which is open again after a long recovery from the earthquake.  Their building  which is the Monier brick and tile building, is in really good nick considering but the shop is very small until the floor slab can be fixed.  So, this is one of my 'adopt a business' places.  This wont be hard of course as the place is a haven of deliciousness.  Pass the word around ChCh people and get down there for your weekend cheese and Italian fare shopping.  It is a shame the cafe isn't open yet but it will be soon.  Keep you eyes peeled

The other joys of summer days is getting out your blow up play equipment and tents and making up stories and adventures deep in the garden.  Here is where I found Nic after a bit of searching. 

Tasty

I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious.  Donna Hay is one of my taste gurus.  Her recipes are so tasty and they never fail to deliver.   I did change it a bit as you do and added peas and cucumber instead of snow peas and I fried up a couple of shallots instead of red onion.  This is a lovely after work creation....mmm...

photography Vanessa Levis

ginger beef patties with lime noodle salad

• 100g vermicelli rice noodles
• ½ cup mint leaves
• 300g beef mince
• ¼ cup (60ml) oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 150g snow peas (mange tout), sliced and blanched
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 ½ tablespoons lime juice
• 1 ½ tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 small red chilli, chopped

Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes or until soft. Drain and run under cold water until cold. Set aside.
Chop half the mint leaves and place in a bowl with the mince, oyster sauce and ginger. Mix well to combine. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Divide the mince mixture into six patties and cook for 2–3 minutes each side or until cooked through.
Place the noodles in a bowl with the snow pea, tomato, onion and remaining mint leaves and toss to combine. Add the patties to the salad. Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and chilli and pour over the noodles to serve. Serves 2.

• this recipe is from donna hay magazine issue 47

Sydney Eats

I hope you don't mind me not talking about the earthquake for a moment.  Although we were like traumatised zombies walking around Sydney in the weekend, we did have to eat and it is about all we did as we didnt fancy shopping not knowing what the future held.  Man, did we eat.  Memorable meals were scoffed at 'bills' one of the lovely Bill Grainger's restaurants.  I had written down the address and made poor Jonty trek up and down through Surry Hills to find it.  It was a very low key place but totally buzzing and the food was simple but perfect.  Service was fantastic...as I might say, was every single wait and serving person we met.  I was amazed at the lovely friendliness.

 Another memorable meal was at the suggestion of Sibella Court, a hero of mine, whom we met at her shop The Society Inc.  (I will do a separate post on her sometime.)We were a bit dazed and she said the best place to go and have a lovely afternoon was the North Bondi Italian.  It was gorgeous.  Very flash Sydney people meeting in large groups, the noise immense and the fooood just perfect.  Again the staff were fantastic.  We had arancini balls, squid, mussels and cheap Italian wine.  It was as windy as hell outside and we just drank in the warmth and atmosphere.  No one knew we were earthquake refugees and that was ok.

Tears and Happiness

ANZAC day is always a sobering day.  Nic and I went to the New Brighton parade and these are his photos

Then we met our lovely friends Karen and Justy for breakfast at the Globe for a short but fun catch up.  The food was pretty average though, not sure what that was about, probably wont go again.  Sorry Globe, always been a fan.

Nic took the photos and I would have to say they are pretty good.  Especially this one. Not sure how he managed the movement and the still. 

Play

I know I have mentioned it before but again, being at home is such fun and I have so much more energy.  I have had a lovely week off with Nic.

We had a bus ride adventure retrieving the keys from Jonty who had them at work so we could go about our business.  Went to 'How to train your dragon' - in 2D.  Special request from Nic, and a very good choice I believe...the 2D that is.  No need for more, it was perfect just the way it was.  Great film, based on a book by Cressida Cowell.

Spent a superb morning in the McLeans Island park mountain biking with Ruth, Olivia and Ben which was such fun.  Did the groceries.  A rare treat and frankly one that should be limited considering the hammering I gave the bank account.

On Thursday night I went out for dinner and then on to the Carole King and James Taylor Troubadour reunion tour.  It was a work related outing and a great mix up of fun people.  Such a good night.  Dinner was at Edesia.  Stunning food, service a bit slow and prices special occasion level.

The concert was amazing.  real musicians and performers doing what they love.  Lots of wrinkles on stage (and in the audience).  I have always enjoyed Carole's music but probably didnt think much about her.  She was a fantastic performer with amazing energy and mana.  James Taylor was adorable and soooo funny.  Talented to the max with the voice of an angel.  It is great to enjoy music in a bubble and not be distracted.  I should do that more often.

In all a stunning week off work (although I did have to do a half day on Friday).  I love my boy even more than ever having had a week of hanging out.  He is such a cutie.

Just finished reading #26

Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest - Stieg Larsson

Shame that lovely Stieg died. He is a hot writer. I so enjoyed this the last of his trilogy. It totally lived up to expectations and I can't tell you anything about it as you need to read the other ones first and I know you will want to read this and become an addict like everyone else who has read these books.

So to recap we have

• The Girl with the dragon tattoo
• The Girl who played with fire
• The Girl who kicked the hornet's nest

And if you need a reminder, the books are set in Sweden...in itself really interesting, the main characters are a couple of journalists, a maths genius, some cops, criminals and a pile of others.

I read the library copy as the bookgroup one is in hot demand. Bookgroup dinner last week at The Crumpet Club was superb. Food delicious. Go there and enjoy the tapas and the puddings. They make the best desserts in town. Complex, refined and perfect.

Dragon Fruit

Jus commented that there were no pictures of fruit from Tropical Fruit World. Good point. So I trawled my pics and found only one of anything resembling fruit. Here it is.....ta daaaa

Dragon fruit cactus plant things...dragon fruit is very delicious and if you grew them you would just eat them all the time. They come in various colours, we ate yellow ones. mmmmm

If you see them in the shops, give them a try

Week in reverse

It has been a really busy social week around here lately. It has been a very welcome diversion from endless house stuff I must say. In reverse....

500 Days of Summer. Popped out last night with Alex to catch this little gem. As Kate Roger said on 3Film, it is a 'a romance for real people, not just for believers in fairy tales'. It was appealing in its realness, no soft lighting or romantic swells of music. The soundtrack was fab. The characters were flawed and 'whats her name' the lead character was a bit naughty although forgivable when you think back to some of your own romantic misdemeanours. I also really enjoyed the depiction of LA as a real place and not Hollywood Boulevard. Loved my white chocolate and raspberry sorbet ice cream too.

Cricket - we have now entered the world of Saturday sport and much to my enjoyment I got to sit on the grass in the sun watching excited boys and girls learn cricket skills. topped off with a sausage in bread and a very excited child, I was a happy mummy.

Cookai - two nights in a row I got to taste the delights on offer at Cookai Japanese restaurant. John from Greymouth and Rachel texted on the road over to see if an early tea was a goer. Having just spent the day at home with Nic and his cousins I was ripe for an early evening outing. Having spent a very enjoyable evening at Cookai the night before with Karen, I was delighted to be able to suggest a well priced, authentic Japanese restaurant to my friends. Yum.

Kid fun - Taking annual leave to look after your child is one of the delights of full time work and parenthood. Long gone are the days of lying on beaches, shopping trips to Sydney and indulgence of any kind. I am not complaining. I had a great day hanging out with Nic, Olivia and Ben. I especially enjoyed our trip to the park where we played on the half basketball court with Anna and Karen who are in town and came to visit.

Birthday dinner (s) - Jonty turned 49 this week. Two days before the international day of the Older Person. Something I could have got a bit of fun out of but chose not to for some reason. Prior to his actual birthday we went out for another early family meal to the Belgium Beer Cafe and enjoyed and evening of delectable mussels, meat and potatoes in various forms. Great for my ever increasing waist line, NOT! Pudding too-creme brulee. I am a disgrace to all weight conscious women. Friend catch ups - afternoon play and chat with Steph, Frances and George. This included a bike ride on the road. Nic's first. Well done mate, very brave. Also on Sunday was a shared roast lamb dinner with stunning Jamie Oliver heart attack on a plate potato dish with Anne and Tim. Preceding that, on Saturday night, we had a family birthday celebration with Jonty's lot. Again, restraint played no part in the evening. We had spicy lamb and filo pie, pavlova, Paris breast, home made focaccia and wine. Lots. I know I gained a kilo last week. The eating was profound. However, the good cheer and time with friends and family far outweighs the extra tyre around my middle...almost...eek.

Back to reality. House cleaning and open homes.

A day for the dads

We scooped up the dads today and headed for Wainui on Banks Peninsula.It had been years since any of us had been there so it was a tiny adventure. Pretty typical of the Peninsula bays it was quiet and very pretty. My mother in law Philippa lived there at some period of her life so it was nice for Jonty to go back and check it out. My dad spent many many summers of his youth at the YMCA camp there so again, nice for him to revisit.
We were delivered a stunning warm spring day and all loved basking in the sun, jumping the boat or playing on the beach. My nod to fathers day was making exclusively Jonty requested treats for the picnic. This included homemade apple turnovers and potato salad. I have been off cooking for a few months but enjoyed getting my hands dirty. Baking, on the other hand, is something I do about 2 or 3 times a week. Mellow balls, apple turnovers, orange cupcakes, date loaf and roast lamb have kept me very busy in the kitchen this weekend.

I have been at a bit of a low ebb the last few weeks and I needed to get and do something about that so I invited Julian and Lesley over for dinner on Saturday night. Thus I needed to go to the market and buy in some tasty bits and pieces and it also necessitated the buying of flowers, a new candle, some fine wine and a few bits of jewellery...mmm not sure how that happened. I also had the good fortune to need to buy some presents so I got to spend money with a purpose and not on me. So in all the retail therapy went a long way towards lifting my mood. Add that to the cooking and the tasting followed by the trip on Sunday and things are looking up. Partner that with book group tonight and upholstery tomorrow night and I am definitely feeling better.

Although I love Jamie Oliver's food it was not my intention to produce a meal that was an ode to him but that is how it turned out. I made his pumpkin soup recipe. Generous in proportions and cost, I am glad we got about 10 plus servings out of it. It tasted delicious and that boy who hate 'punkin', could not get enough of it. Excellent. I coupled this with organic ciabatta fried in dark green olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

Last weekend we lunched at Mediterranean Foods and Nic had lovely flatbread so I popped back and picked up a ball of their dough and we made dukka to sprinkle on it. It was delicious and we have enough dukka to last at least a year or two.

For the main I made stew. I love stew. Again Jamie's ...'Beef Stifado' with fluffy mash potatoes and another Jamie recipe of fennel bulb and fresh tomatoes off our plant backed in wine, garlic and butter. The recipe is on his website.

Lesley and I both made quince desserts. Hers a quince tart and mine a quince and pistachio cake. Both coupled with yoghurt. What a feast. All seasonal and home made. A meal to put a smile on your face.

ANZAC

With the sickening sounds of Saving Private Ryan on in the background, I am writing about our ANZAC day. To most New Zealanders today is an important day where we take time to remember our soldiers who gave themselves to the wars that we have fought in over the past 100 or so years. WWI and II plus Korea and Vietnam as well as the Boer (I think). We also, with less interest and understanding acknowledge our soldiers serving in current peace keeping missions in places like Iraq and Timor. Interestingly, none of them anywhere near us but what courageous men and women they all were. I had two grandparents in WWI and II and I know what those wars meant to my parents.
Last year we were in Coolangatta for ANZAC day and it didn't feel quite right as it was very warm and there were huge numbers of people there. This year Nic and I went down to New Brighton to participate in the local event - something I do every year. I think about 1,500 people attended and although the sun was out, there was a nippy easterly blowing off the sea. Just what a New Zealand ANZAC day is all about.It was moving as usual and I cried but nice to take some time to reflect and give thanks for being allowed to live in a free democracy and know that other people have fought for that privilege.


We went for a scoot down the pier but it was perishing so a very quick visit.

Then we came home with savoury pastries which we ate before heading out to the garden for a great clear up and hang out afternoon. While Jonty dismantled the trampoline Nic and I swept up leaves for mulching and then I attacked the ivy and honeysuckle. I also managed a final coat of paint on the lounge window sills.After clearing a lot of foliage Nic was able to get up in the fig tree and spent a lot of time up there, in this shot with a cheese toasted sandwich and a pair of white scissors. I was inspired to make Tuscan Bean Soup and my first Bread and Butter Pudding. Yum.

I know Private Ryan is a very good film but it is just too distressing to watch for a second time so I am heading to bed.