The sightlines are changing

When I look back on the photos of meals over the past week we certainly haven’t starved and in fact made good use of leftovers and plentiful vegetables. Living in the country requires a little more thought into what is in your pantry and I have learnt to have an extra bag of flour and sugar or a packet of butter and stores of onion, garlic, potatoes and eggs. There is no hopping to the corner store. You would think the Tarras store would stock the basics but not even a bottle of milk.  I find I often end up doing a bit of a cook off and make several things at the same time. Savoury muffins with left over spinach and feta filling, lime curd and a pear, chocolate and pistachio cake …….

Changing levels meant we could have my sister Wendy and husband Pete for dinner : Baked Beetroot with lime butter, baked cauliflower, slow cooked beef rib and good old mashed potatoes.

Another night we ate at their apartment and I ordered gorgeous fresh fish from Harbour Fish that was delivered in time for Friday night Fish and Chips .

The reminder of the week was simple enough with roast chicken and coleslaw , followed by left over chicken and leeks in crepes with a tomato topping and crunchy parsnips. Porterhouse steak with a modified niscoise salad and a good pot of old fashioned vegetable and barley soup – Just like my mother made.

Sadly, the garden recently was all about weeding the perennial bank which surprise surprise has been an over ambitious exercise. However, I am jamming it full of anything that likes dry conditions and now it just needs to be mulched so we don’t have to watch the weeds grow so fast. The first of the 300 daffodils have started to flower, the tulips look cute poking their green heads through the ground. It is all rather pathetic since I go outside and walk the gardens everyday to see what is coming up and I swear the iris’s grow inches overnight.  

I am now in Dunedin for a week. I wish it was for a haircut – I am desperate and of course it’s impossible to get an appointment. The garden here is a little joy, Full of colourful flowering bulbs, we missed quite a few, but it’s time to split my dahlias, plant new ones and plant up the raised vegetable gardens. Plus, do the odd bit of weeding.

Most unhappily I have cancelled my Lower South Island tour this afternoon. It was too difficult given interested people from the Auckland region are still unable to commit. The Delta Variant of Covid 19 is devastating and I feel for those of you still in level 4 lockdown and surrounded with so much uncertainty.  I haven’t made any decisions regarding the Marlborough / Nelson tour next February or the Victorian tour in late March 2022. Both tours are almost full, so…. if you think you are interested let me know and I will put your name down. I am not taking deposits until I can be more certain they will depart.

It has been relaxing and peaceful to spend an hour or two on sunny mornings going through my piles of old magazines, I knew I kept them for a reason!!! On windy days I planted seeds in old egg carton and the living room floor is lined with trays of sprouting plants. Emme’s embroidery is finished – lucky girl. She is only 4 months and I have just collected Mia’s from the framers and she is now 2 ½. (still in need of a press)

Enjoy Spring wherever you are. The Orchards of Central Otago are stunning. Take care, look after your family and friends. Stay Safe .XXXXX Judith

Recipes

Pear, Pistachio and Chocolate Cake

220 g unsalted butter, softened , ¾ c caster sugar, pinch salt, 4 eggs, 1 ½ c self -raising flour, ¼ c sour cream, 1 ¼ c chopped dark chocolate, 2 pears, cored and diced, 1c pistachio nuts, zest of 2 oranges

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. Fold in the remaining ingredients. Pour into a 26cm ring tin or long tin and bake for 50-60 minutes at 180 C. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

Lime / Lemon Curd

4 egg yolks, 2/3rds cup caster sugar, 60 grams butter, 2 teaspoons lemon / lime zest, 100 ml lemon / lime juice

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar. Transfer to a saucepan. Add butter, zest and juice. Stirring all the time bring to the boil slowly. Remove from the heat. Cool. Transfer to a sterilised jar.

Baked Kaffir Lime Beetroot

8 small beetroots, lime leaves, 100 grams butter, salt and pepper. 100 grams butter, 4 kaffir lime leaves-chopped finely or zest of a lime

Place beetroot in a saucepan . Cover with water. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to the boil and simmer until soft. (appox 20-30 minutes) Remove, drain and cover with cold water. Rub off the skins with your hands. While the beetroot is cooking. Melt the butter, add chopped kaffir lime leaves and leave to rest. Cut thin slices 2/3rds away through each beetroot, pour over butter mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 200 C for 20 minutes until hot and bubbling.

Baked Cauliflower

Place a head of cauliflower in a saucepan on boiling salted water . Simmer for 5-6 minutes. Remove to a baking dish. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter, Season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Bake for 30 minutes.

Nicoise Salad

6 potatoes – unpeeled, boiled until just cooked, Drain and cool. 3 hard boiled eggs, 200 gram bag green beans – simmered until just cooked, drained and cooled, 1/2 cup black olives, 3 anchovy fillets, 2 teaspoons capers , 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons lemon juice , sea salt, black pepper.

Remove skins from cooled potatoes and cut into 6-8, Place in a serving dish. Peel eggs and cut each in half – place on top of potatoes with beans, anchovy’s and capers. Mix together olive oil and lemon juice. Drizzle over the top of the salad. Season and mix very gently with your hands . Top with lettuce leaves and a dollop of labne or thick yoghurt.

Chicken and Leek Crepes

Crepes : 1 egg, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk – Whisk together until the consistency of cream. Heat a small frying pan. Add a little melted butter. Pour in enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan. Turn and run around the sides. Cook until the batter starts leaving the sides of the pan. Turn over with a spatular. Repeat with remaining batter – makes 4-5 crepes. Place each cooked crepe on top of each other. Can be made well in advance.

Chicken and Leek Filling : 1 leek- thinly sliced, 2 cloves garlic – crushed, 50 grams butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon flour, 1/2 cup white wine , 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon grainy mustard, sea salt / black pepper. 2 cups Cooked chicken (I used the remainder of our roast chicken)

In a good sized frying pan, melt the butter, add olive oil. Add sliced leek and garlic. Cook gently until softened. Add flour. Cook until starting to bubble. Add white wine and mustard- cook until starting to thicken. Pour in milk, bring to the boil . Season. Place a spoonful of chicken and leek mixture on each pancake. Roll up and place in a baking dish. – (I made 4 filled crepes )

Place a 400 gram tin of cherry tomatoes and a little fresh thyme in a small frying pan. Bring to the boil and reduce until thickened. Spoon over the top of your pancakes. Top with grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley . Bake at 200 deg Celsius until bubbling a golden on top.

Special Request

I have been contacted by Barbara Lason – who was the marvellous Editor for my two books from Longacre Press. I want to share with you a request on behalf of the Fledge Trust.

I’m writing to you as chair of the Fledge Trust: our mission is to help build a life-long love of reading in young New Zealanders. The trust was inspired by the work of Kate De Goldi and Susan Paris of children’s publisher Annual Ink. Kate and Susan seek out, mentor and publish new and established writers and illustrators for young readers aged 8 to 13. 
Fledge has launched a Givealittle campaign to raise funds in order to deliver 450 copies of Annual Ink’s Annual 2 to low decile schools throughout New Zealand. It’s a truly original and contemporary take on the much-loved annuals of the past. We’d like to see it read and loved as widely as possible. 
Proceeds will go towards assisting Annual Ink to publish a third annual next year. 

I remember and have very fond memories of receiving an Annual book each Christmas. I wish I still had them and I like the concept of children enjoying a yearly annual once again.

Copy and Paste URL : https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-us-donate-annual-2-to-low-decile-schools#