All posts tagged: winter

Tofu Tuesday: On the couch

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Today is the winter solstice which means it is the shortest day (or longest night) of the year. The night tonight will be over 14 hours. In New Zealand, Matariki the Māori New Year is also celebrated during this season. Tofu snuggles on the couch with me on most nights. I often fall asleep on the couch and he falls asleep on top of me. I like to think it’s because he wants to be me close to me, but the reality could be that it’s cold on the carpet and the couch is warm….and I am nothing more than a giant hot water bottle. Rabbits are fluffy and can tuck his limbs underneath to keep warm. A cold rabbit sits upright and resembles a round dinner roll. But if a rabbit is warm and comfortable, he will lie down very flat with his long fluffy legs streeeetched to resemble a baguette. That is now Tofu sleeps on me on the couch. Stretched out. Leisurely. When I hear about people keeping their rabbits outside in a hutch, I know that rabbits can survive out in the cold. I once had …

Tofu Tuesday: Pet pack

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A lot of rabbits live outside in a hutch, even in winter. They survive. However, I have no doubt that if they had the choice, they would prefer to live inside and snuggle up with a warm pet pack (or other bunnies). This is the first winter we have tried a warming pad for Tofu. It’s just a bag of orange gel that I microwave for a few minutes until it is warm, then it goes into a fleecy pouch with a couple of sheets of reflective stuff to keep the warmth in. As Tofu is gets older (almost 8 years) he seems to feel the cold more. Some mornings this winter, he would rather stay indoors than to roam free in the backyard. I sometimes find Tofu with his fluffy bum pressed against his warm pet pack. He grooms the pet pack like it might be his friend. Tofu has also been coming into our room at night. He hops around my side of the bed until I wake up and scoop him up and he …

Tofu Tuesday: Winter palm sunset

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Winter is coming. Tofu didn’t want to go outside yesterday morning. Typical Monday.  I scooped him up and placed him by the back door to check out the backyard. He said a big, “NOPE!” and hopped back to his room. But the weather turned out to be glorious so I popped off home at lunch and let him outdoors. By then the world was warm (hot even) and he was keen. I also took the opportunity to hang up a load of washing and throw another load in. You gotta use every ounce of sunshine you can get. By the time I get home from work at 5.15pm each day, the sun has already dropped below the horizon. Not ideal for photography but Tofu the bunny assured me it could work if I lifted him up towards the dying light.  He was right. Of course. I like how the palm trees in the background suggest we are somewhere much warmer. Click here to see more editions of Tofu Tuesday.

Tofu Tuesday: King size bed

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Tofu has been sleeping on our bed lately. He comes into our room sometime between midnight and dawn, long after we’ve gone to bed. I guess that is when the temperature drops. He sleeps on top of our blankets, snuggled between our feet. In the morning, he can be found perfectly positioned on that patch of blanket directly on top of a hot water bottle, enjoying the residual heat through 2 layers of blanket. He dozes there for hours while I get up, work out, shower, dress, pack my lunch, check what’s new with the internet etc. He usually hops off the bed (in search for food) by the time I leave for work. Life is pretty sweet. In winter, if a rabbit has the choice, he would choose to snuggle with a hot water bottle and/or between his humans. It makes me wonder how pet rabbits who live their entire lives in outdoor hutches can survive even our mild Auckland winters? It doesn’t snow in Auckland, but it can get close to 0°C at night yet house …

Tofu Tuesday: Textiles

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It’s a week until winter arrives and we’ve been hit with a sudden cold snap. Heater, dehumidifier and hot water bottles were deployed last night. The last few weeks has seen me stocking up on warm things at Kmart. It’s my new favourite discount store. Most of the time I’m browsing for bargains. Things that look more expensive and well made than their price suggests. It’s kind of a game. I’m on a bit of a geometric kick at the moment which you may have noticed if you follow my Pinterest boards. Above we have Tofu the bunny with black and white geometric scarf and blue tone geometric cushion from Kmart. (Fur coat model’s own)

Winter Can Kiss My Ass

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It’s the last day of winter! Woohoo! Spring officially starts tomorrow here in Auckland and I am super glad to see the end of the cold weather. The start of winter saw The Koala and I return home from our adventure in Thailand and Laos. I got really sick when we arrived home and didn’t come right for about 2 months. So for the first chunk of winter, I barely touched my to do list. It was only in August, the final month of winter that I’ve really felt up to tackling this mini bucket list. It was a mad rush to the finish line and in the end I only failed one entry. Not bad. Here’s a reflection on the list this month. 1. Make Spaghetti alla Puttanesca I always wanted to try this and this winter, I first tasted Spaghetti alla Puttanesca in Pai, Thailand. This may seem strange, but this tiny town in Thailand has surprisingly good food. Since we’ve been back, I’ve made this dish at home several times. I adore anchovies so …

Tofu Tuesday: Tofu ♥ sunglasses

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Tofu basking in the sunshine. Again. This time with more style. I vaguely remember seeing a photo of me as a little girl with a pair of these. I’ve wanted heart sunglasses for a long time, so when I saw these adult sized ones in Laos last month, I snapped up a red pair. In hindsight, I should have bought a bunch of these in different colours instead of one pair.

Winter to do list

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It is impossible to imagine that winter is starting back home in Auckland. We are finally acclimatising to the the heat of Thailand but due to fly home to the start of winter very soon. Even though it is warm here, I’m glad that I’ve been pondering my winter to do list for quite some time. These are 10 things that I’ve always wanted to eat, cook or experience. 1. Make Spaghetti alla Puttanesca A dish to get promiscuous with. This quick, fiery dish is reputed to be named after the ladies of the night (ie. Whore Pasta). I tasted it for the first time for breakfast in Thailand (of all places) after a night on the turps. It is made using ingredients from the pantry and is a tasty pasta to serve to any sluts in your life. Perhaps wait until after you have all eaten to tell your friends they have just eaten Whore Pasta. They’ll either think it’s funny or hold a grudge. 2. Cook curry goat I saw Hugh Fearnley-Whittinstall’s curry …

Pork Shank with Incredible Sauce

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Mum gave us a bag of oranges the other day. I’m not a fan of fruit. No sir. So I immediately started brainstorming what I could cook these oranges with. I had a large pork shank in the freezer, waiting for it’s time to shine so I summoned it on a cold winter evening. I started this a few minutes after 5pm and it took close to 3 hours to make. So it’s not the one if you want to eat fast. But if you have a few things to do and can wait for an amazing dinner, this could be the one. We had a big can of Guinness on the side of this. The sauce is sweet, flavoursome and very rich. Make it for someone you love. This would be a great recipe to translate to a slow cooker if you have one. Pork Shank with Incredible Sauce Serves 2 with leftovers for lunch.  Or serves 2 with a food coma for dessert. Ingredients 1 large pork shank 3 oranges 2 tablespoons of …

Overeat at a Steamboat

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For those who are unfamiliar with this style of cooking, a brief introduction: Steamboat begins with simmering stock to cook a range of raw (or pre-cooked) ingredients at the table. Everyone at the table participates and take turns fishing out their cooked treats. Various sauces are used for dipping. Personally, I prefer a beaten raw egg with a little oil, soy sauce and chili. The egg helps to cool the food so that you can eat it fairly quickly. Other names include hot pot or Chinese fondue. Many different cuisines have a variation of this and are known as Shabu shabu in Japan, Thai suki in Thailand and Lẩu in Vietnam. It’s easy to overeat at a steamboat because you never really know how much you have eaten. So you cook a piece and eat a piece until you can’t do it any more. Steamboat is usually a big social affair and with lots of people, there are usually lots of different dishes. This time it was just my parents, sister and The Koala and …