All posts tagged: summer

Festive Lamb Salad

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Hope everyone had a delicious Christmas! We’ve just spent four nights at a bach (kiwi for holiday home) for some family time. We were just a short downhill walk to the centre of Akaroa, a sleepy French harbourside settlement surrounded by dramatic hills. There were barbecues, lots of salads, a glazed ham, whitebait fritters, chocolates, cookies, desserts and just enough chilled beer and wine to wash it all down. I adore glazed ham (call me the queen of ham) and we finished the last of the ham leftovers the night before departure. I am not all hammed out at all. In fact, I’ve been contemplating buying a post-Christmas ham for the two of us to snack on. Maybe after that I shall be satiated. In any case, this festive salad I made earlier this month with lamb steaks could be switched for leftover ham if you happen to have any still left. Just top with sliced ham instead of sliced lamb. Festive lamb salad (or leftover ham salad if you happen to have leftover ham) Serves 2 Ingredients …

Our Growing Edge – June 2016 Intro

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June edition of Our Growing Edge is hosted by Susan and Mike from Simply Sundays. The theme this month is “Tastes of Summer”.   Most of you will be enjoying warm weather, picnics, barbecues, salads, and al fresco dining late into the evenings. Summer produce is plentiful, affordable and delicious and maybe the produce is inspiring you to prepare more meals at home. At the same time, here in the southern hemisphere this week marks the first week of winter, I’m torn between warming winter dishes and also eating lighter so that the waistline doesn’t run away from me.  Adapting the taste of summer can be great for winter eating. Some ideas you could try this month: Adapt a classic oven or stovetop recipe to be cooked on the barbecue Cook with strawberries, cherries, apricots or watermelon Make something with avocado, heirloom tomatoes, radishes or corn Invent a winning smoothie using summer produce Make a refreshing drink or adapt a classic summer cocktail Host a picnic potluck To submit a post, click on the submission button below: More info on the event …

Fullers Waiheke giveaway winner

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With special thanks to Fullers I am pleased to announce the winner for the return trip for two to Waiheke via Fullers. Drawn by Random.org the winner is… **drum roll please!** Nicole Dekker Congratulations Nicole, hope you have a wonderful time on Waiheke! Thank to everyone else for all your entries. There was a record number of entries for this competition. Waiheke is the most Instagrammmed location in New Zealand so I guess that shouldn’t have been a surprise. For those who are interested in going to Waiheke Fullers have a new timetable over summer, with more ferry departures, and new menu for those who want to enjoy local delicacies on board. The new menu includes Passage Rock wines, Tuatara craft beer and cider, Waiheke fudge and Te Whau Lodge’s toasted muesli. I’ll leave you with a few photos I took when I visited Waiheke with NZBloggers last month. To keep up with announcements including giveaways, make sure you follow me on Facebook or Bloglovin’.

Tasty hot dogs and a meaty giveaway

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L’Authentique (law-thon-teek) is a small local charcuterie run by Frenchmen. Charcuterie (sha-koo-ta-ree) is the culinary art of turning meat (mostly pork) into delicious things such as sausage, bacon, ham, terrines and pates. Known primarily for their handmade sausages, I love L’Authentique’s gluten free, dairy free and free range meat products. There are no fillers here and definitely no carcinogens (for those who worry about recent food headlines). The Koala and I have been eating lots of L’Authentique sausages this year. We tried the whole range of sausages so far and they are great to serve up at home or to take to a barbecue where you want to impress. I’ve yet to meet a sausage lover who doesn’t fall in love with L’Authentique sausages. Summer collaboration L’Authentique have just released two summer sausages for the Kiwi barbecue. In collaboration with Javier Carmona, Executive Chef at Orleans, a hot and smokey Louisiana Andouille (ahn-DOO-eee) sausage that comes in a 4 pack; and in collaboration with Hallertau Brewery, the Asian-inspired Peking Maximus which is made with Hallertau Maximus …

Caprese Salad

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This post is part of Our Growing Edge, a monthly blogging event I have started to encourage us to try new food related things. If you have a blog and have tried something new this month, come and join this event. I put Caprese Salad on my Summer To Do List because I always loved the simple, contrasting ingredients. Summer tomatoes + soft milky mozzarella fior di latte + green fragrant basil. It looked easy but I’d never made it before. Since I just made mozzarella fior di latte from scratch, Caprese seemed to be the perfect way to enjoy it. The gist of it: Cut the mozzarella and ripe truss tomatoes into thick slices. Alternate slices on a platter. Tuck fresh whole basil leaves here and there. Finish off with a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and black pepper. Dig in with forks 🙂 Check back tomorrow to see what I made with the rest of the mozzarella.

Turn up the heat

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Without a doubt, summer is here. I have been getting up early to get a head start on a mountain of work and to be honest, it’s not so hard when it’s already light. Working hard makes it easy to be wholesome, though I’m sure December will bring plenty of social appointments. It always does. Tofu the bunny likes getting up early but hides away all day in the heat. It’s near impossible to find him in the backyard in the day, but I suspect he’s dug himself a loaf sized trench beneath the bushes or perhaps even under the house to cool off in. Your growing edge is the part of you that is still learning, trying new things and experimenting. It’s the area of your life that you are improving and working on. I find that cooking new things also helps me understand flavours better and why I love or hate certain foods. To push my growing edge as a foodie, I wrote a list of delicious tasks I wanted to achieve over …

A Cheated Summer In Review

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Summer is officially over. It has rained heaps this summer. Tomatoes have loved it. The rest of us have grumbled. Still we made the most of what we had and I managed to ticked off 7 out of 10 items on my Summer To Do list. Here’s a the summer summary of my to do list: 1. Have a picnic at the beach It wasn’t the picnic to beat all picnics, but hey, it was a picnic at the beach, a marine reserve in fact. There was still hot free range roast chicken, salads and breads before and after snorkeling. Like a comforting farmhouse meal only at the beach. Read about it here. There were no other picnics in our summer, but we did have plenty of BBQs in our backyard. So many that we ran out of gas. Must remember to refill that thing… With the funny weather we are having, I wouldn’t be surprised if we are able to squeeze in a picnic or two before the end of April. 2. Grow mint …

Monday Bunday: Kissing Rabbits Picnic Blanket

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It’s summer here at the moment and with so many of us trying to save money for this or that, a picnic with friends is a great way to spend an afternoon. I must admit, I don’t even own a picnic blanket. We just use a summer weight sleeping bag. How cute is this Kissing Rabbits Picnic Blanket by Anorak? A blanket like this would be a compact alternative to lugging around our sleeping bag. It’s on the pricey side at £36, but if you picnic a lot, it could be a worthwhile investment.  

Summer is Peachy

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As we officially set upon the final week of the New Zealand summer, it feels like the climate is stubbornly refusing to let go of the heat. Sometimes I can’t decide if it’s hotter inside than out. Things are sticky. Especially after a hot afternoon nap. We’ve been cheated of summer this year with monsoon rainfall that is common in other exotic islands. So while Autumn will hit us in a couple of weeks, it still feels like mid-summer. Who knows? Maybe we’ll still be picnicking in April. It is peach season and I have no hard feelings for the fuzzy skinned fruit. I can eat it without peeling. But the salsa I made this week is more about flavour than the texture. This salsa tastes zingy and fresh. I haven’t added any chili to it, but you can add a sliced chili if you prefer. Serve with fish, chicken, steak or sausages. Tasty enough to add just a spoon but moorish enough to eat like a side salad. Use a nectarine if that’s all you have handy. Peach Salsa …

Happy December!

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Summer’s here. It’s really here. There’s so many things to love about summer and it seems that the weather naturally puts people in a great mood. The start of summer in Auckland is lovely – before it gets too humid. I love the late sunsets, coming home in the afternoon and enjoying a drink on the deck, summer festivals, late nights, camping, baches, local beach missions after work, weekend further afield beach adventures…It’s not quite warm enough to swim yet, but give it a couple of weeks. I have been caught off-guard by the fierce sun already. One afternoon in the sun a week ago and my shoulders are peeling. No doubt there will be many feasts over the summer with outdoor barbecues, picnics as well as Christmas parties galore. We’ve got company Christmas party to look forward tonight complete with Christmas buffet and 2 hour comedy show. I think it’s nice to get Christmas parties done early and out of the way. No doubt we will be invited to other Christmas parties and events this month. …

Friday Favourites: Fish Burger

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An amazing meal isn’t just about the food. What you did that day, the company you keep, surroundings and other stuff can all affect your enjoyment of a meal. After a lovely day at the Muriwai last summer, I got to eat this beast for a late lunch. A big piece of deep fried fish, plenty of salad bits and tons of mayo/tartar. It was at the fish and chip shop attached to the store on the way out of Muriwai. I don’t know the name of it, but I’m sure you’ll find it. It still looks good half way through. What’s a kiwi day at the beach without some fish and chips?