The new life begins

Well, we have started to slow down a bit. A friend looked after the shop on Saturday and Tim and I and a friend went over to Dargaville to the field days. Saw lots of farm machinery, quite a bit of  which we would like, watched sheep racing and I bet on the winning sheep, ate fudge, got sun burnt, then went off to Bayley's Beach and had a little picnic, drove along the beach to Glink's Gully, while the tide was coming in. In short we had fun - something that has been in short supply for quite a while. We have decided to close on Sundays, so started doing a bit of gardening. Tim was cutting back an extremely rampant rose and managed to get himself stung by a wasp, so off to town, got antihistamines, for me, as I am extremely allergic to bees and wasps, gave the car a wash and came home. Totally blobbed the rest of the day.
Found out about some Corriedale sheep not more than 1 k from our gate, which of course has ramped up my interest in spinning even more. Trying to win a spinning wheel on TradeMe. Not  having much joy, but I won't give up  - yet.

I'm guilty

I have to be honest, I've been very lazy lately. I've read a lot of blogs, done a bit of knitting, contemplated a few life changes and that's about it.
Tim's heart had another glitch yesterday morning, and at the moment he is in hospital being looked after very well. I have fed the cats, and got myself up to the hospital and to work, and that's it.
I'm hoping he will be home either today or tomorrow, and then we are both going to have to make some changes. I think perhaps a bit of a holiday might be in order, although we won't know what to do with ourselves.
In other news, we are busy trying to assimilate another bookshop into our small space.This was a lovely bookshop, but the owners are now off having a wonderful time, and we have their lovely books.
We have discovered we either need rubber walls or we need to be a Tardis. Our poor little shop is groaning .

I've done it

Well, work didn't really get very far advanced, but I have got all  my blog entries in one place. Terribly out of order, but apart from the seasons not really being appropriate everything is pretty much spot on.
NOW __ WORK!!!!.

Last of this lot

Baking for beginners

Jul6

New Zealands Hottest Home Baker is on TV at the moment, and I keep getting asked why I don’t bake any more. I actually love baking, but I love eating it as well and therein lies the rub. (Butter into flour till fine crumbs.)
I’m trying to lose weight and not succeeding very well and to start baking would be tantamount to piling on more pounds. Mind you, it is winter and one needs comfort food, although today, instead of working, Tim and I have been sitting outside in the brilliant sunshine, just soaking up the rays. If only winter could be like this every day.
Back to baking. I have been reading Marian Keyes “Saved by Cake” , ” her extremely honest account of her recent battle with depression and how baking helped her. A complete novice in the kitchen, Marian decided to bake a cake for a friend, and that was it – she realized that baking was what she needed in order to get.  her through each day. And so she baked, and she wrote her recipes down, and little by little the depression has started to lift, along with her sponges… ” ( from the blurb of the book.
This is a lovely baking book, so many yummies to try, and also an incredibly honest account of a nervous breakdown and how she managed to come through to the other side. She is an inspiration, and I’m going to give her therapy a try.
“Off to the kitchen” she cries.

This entry was posted on July 6, 2013.

2 to go

Low carbing

Oct27

I am on a weightloss trip at the moment and Tim is very kindly on the trip with me. To that end we are following a low carbohydrate diet, which to a carbohydrate addict as I am, is quite difficult. Tim is coping quite well, because bad carbs, as a rule, he can take or leave. I, however am having trouble. I love bread, fresh hot homemade bread, dripping with butter and real honey, and chocolate really is the food of the gods.
Low carb substitutes are not the same. Nobody could ever claim that mashed cauliflower is equal to mashed potato, but it is yummy, and because cauliflower is fairly bland as a rule, you can jazz it up with so many different herbs and spices that you can have a different taste experience every time.
Example from last night -dinner was  lamb leg steak marinated in honey and mint, with carrots, green beans and cauliflower mashed with mint and butter. A dash of salt and ground black pepper, perfect.

Still getting there

Italian Food

Oct10

One of my favourite films is ” The Big Chill” and one of the best bits to me is the kitchen scene where they are cleaning up after a pasta meal.. The music, the camaraderie all just rings a very large bell with me. I’m not Italian, ( Irish) but the general family/ friends atmosphere is so seductive. If we tried dancing in our kitchen, I’m sure disaster would befall us. More than one person in our kitchen constitutes a crowd. Of course, Italian food is truly yummy, and Tessa Kiros’s Venezia makes it all so do-able.
Her Asparagus and Scampi Risotto just melts in the mouth, so creamy and rich, with just the right amount of bite.
The photography is also superb, not just the stunning scenery but the little snippets of life such as a little dog in a shirred and smocked pink dress, on a lead, having a sniff at something interesting on the street.
The book is a beautiful production from Murdoch Books,beautifully bound, heavy glossy paper, gilt edged, beautiful silk bookmark sewn in.This is more than a cookbook, it is a dream.

getting there

Another month has gone by, and I have been very remiss in adding to this blog. Work, and too many cooking shows on TV have all contributed to a lack of writing and cooking.

Well, it’s spring, and I’m still thinking I should be writing something, so today it’s a little discourse on macaroons, which I love.
La Familia Artisan Bakery, which is across from us in Cameron St, make beautiful macaroons, and I do get tempted by them far too often, but on a Sunday afternoon, when they are having a well deserved day off, I can’t actually go and buy any.
So, out comes a cookbook, on this particular occasion   “How to be a Domestic Goddess”   by Nigella Lawson.
The recipe makes sweet and tasty, deliciously light morsels, and it is so hard to stop at just one, but they are so easy to make,if you run out just whip up another batch.

• 2 large egg white
• teaspoon(s) cream of tartar
• 100 grams caster sugar
• 30 grams ground almonds
• 1 pinch of salt for pasta water, to taste
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract (or coconut essence if available)
• 250 grams Dessicated coconut

As featured in

HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC/gas mark 3.
2. Beat the egg whites until frothy – no more – then add the cream of tartar and carry on beating, Missus, until soft peaks are formed. Add the sugar a teaspoon at a time and whisk until the peaks can hold their shape and are shiny. Fold in the almonds, salt, vanilla and coconut. The mixture will be sticky but should, all the same, hold its shape when clumped together.
3. Form into clementine-sized domes, 6-7cm in diameter. Don’t make them too flat; they look best if you keep them nicely rounded, but this is really just a matter of personal taste, so follow your own.
4. Cook for 20 minutes or until they’re just beginning to turn golden in parts.