Pinch me now!

My head is buzzing with a million memo's, taking our Pig in a Day Workshop on the road suddenly seems a big task.  What if I forget a sausage stuffer, the cures, oh no what if I forget the casings, my words, what if I choke and stand nervous with no voice in front of everyone......My mind races as I try and tick of the checklist of items we need.  Its hard to focus as alongside this I have another dialogue running, have the kids got what they need, did I remember to change the sheets for the house sitter, have I got enough cat food left.  Everything is planned and slotted together to make sure I get all the jobs and tasks done.

Many lives are like mine these days - BUSY!  In Between homeschooling 3 children, running a household, running a business and helping out at a friends cafe, plus don't forget the cats, dogs, horses, chickens and one duck, all of which need taking care of daily, of course life also throws curve balls at me while you are juggling all that and it can get hectic.  I can find myself constantly on the run.  Its so easy to become preoccupied that I miss what's in front of me.

Suddenly as I prepare for our trip I am aware of the sea not 5 meters from me.  Its high tide, not once have I glanced at it since I came out to the car and trailer to organise packing. I stop what I am doing, turn around and look.  I look at the sea shimmering, racing to the shore, heaving itself up, curling over then diving onto the shells causing them to chink together creating a wonderful sound. Just a little way off shore a bird glides just above the calm surface searching for food below.  Its warm and the breeze is soft and comforting. The hills stand as always, like a fortress surrounding me, keeping out the real world and keeping in this majestic view as old as time.  And for a moment my soul rests, my mind quiets and I think someone should pinch me, do I really live here!?

The other day in the middle of the mayhem that so often is my day I got a coffee at the lovely Chalfont Cafe and instead of having it on the run as usual I took it out on the deck.  In the less than 5 mins I sat there, bathed in golden sun, looking at the creators canvas with its green lawn, framed by tall gently whispering trees, dwarfed by the hills rising to the vast blue above, bellbirds kindly sang me from a branch while a couple of sparrows and a finch tentatively hopped across the deck to see what I was up to, if I could be persuaded to give a crumb or two. Right there in just a few stolen moments time slowed down, I breathed more easily and I felt that all was well.

They used to call it "Stopping to smell the roses".  Taking just that moment to take in what's before you, enjoying it.  It can be so easy to overlook.

One of the best things I ever did in my life was keep a gratitude diary.  I started it during in a difficult time and I made myself think of three things I was grateful for that day, no matter how small, before I went to bed each night.  At that time some days seemed so dark and that idea that there was something to be grateful for seemed impossible.  Taking that moment to forget about the deadlines, the failures, the burnt dinner or whatever had happened that day and to focus on something good had a power affect on me.  Stopping each day and searching for the roses I would otherwise of missed. I never failed to find something, even if it was as small as a smile someone gave me.

So what ever difficult time you find yourself in, or however busy you are keep your eye open for those roses in your life, study your childs face for a moment when he smiles, give the dog a few moments of your time, stop the car and sit down somewhere outside to have your coffee  note the changing colours of the trees, the fantail flittering above.  Once thing I have found is these moments add up and can change my outlook.  If you are overwhelmed, feeling down, tired of the rat race look for those small moments of beauty in your day, so small they are normally missed but still with the power to change you. The power to take you from stressed, suffering from tunnel vision to at peace and captivated by fragrance of the rose and thinking "someone pinch me now...."

Healing Starts in the Garden

                                                            

"Healing starts in the garden".  This is one of my favourite quotes.  It might seem simple, maybe cliché.  You can imagine some old lady sitting in amongst her fragrant roses feeling surreal, whispering this secret to some small child.  

However, I seldom think of this quote without feeling moved.  Because the story behind it is so moving.  It’s a story of two girls in the Netherlands who with their parents hid and helped Jews escape. In their home during WWII the family built a secret room in which they hid the Jews from the Nazis, but the family was betrayed and arrested.

After the hiding place was found the whole family was sent to concentration camps.  Their story is told by one of the girls, Corrie Ten Boon in her book The Hiding Place. They survived many hardships that I find hard to imagine in my nice cushy well-fed, warm-bed life in 2011.  But they never gave up hope.

While in the notorious Ravensbruck concentration camp they talked about how, when they got out, they would open a big house for other survivors to come to, to rest, to be renewed, to be healed.

Corrie survived Ravensbruck and went on to open the home, but her sister, Betsie, died in the camp. Before she died, Betsie told Corrie that as soon as people arrive at the home she should put them to work in the garden, "healing starts in the garden" she told her.  Corrie later writes that she found this to be true.  People who had been through so much, lost so much, found healing amongst the flowers, the cabbages, the fruit trees.  It still amazes me that something so simple can be so powerful.

In my life I have reminded myself of this truth from time to time.  When I feel low, when something has sapped my strength emotional or physically, I find rest in my garden.  As I breathe the sea air, take in the majesty of the mountains, the simplicity of a flower, the fragrance of the orange blossom, the first little leaves of a new shoot, the simple bird song, something happens to me.  Stress starts to leave and rest starts to enter.

Its not just me either, more research is being done the effects of nature upon us.  For example, Roger Ulrich and his colleagues at Texas A&M University found that people who commuted along scenic roads recovered more quickly from stressful driving conditions than those who saw billboards, buildings, and parking lots. Ulrich also noted something he termed an “inoculation” effect: Drivers who had taken the scenic route responded more calmly to stressful situations later on.  More research shows that surgery patients that see trees and greenery out their hospital windows need less painkillers.

In Australia they have taken this one step further with building a 'park within a hospital and a hospital with in a park.  A hospital for children where they are "spaces infused with nature" that can 'speak to children and aid in the healing' (http://www.hphpcentral.com/article/royal-childrens-hospital)

I could turn this blog into an essay this week there is so much research in the effects of nature upon our mental, emotional and physical well-being....but I won’t.

I have a horrible stinking cold at the moment, and a looooooong list of jobs to do.  The two combine to make me feel extra dreadful and slightly overwhelmed.  I suddenly felt extra grumpy when I saw the dog jump the fence and go after the farmer’s ute as it went by with the hazards on......meaning only one thing......around the corner sheep or cattle were about to appear.

With my arms tightly wrapped round my tired body, a grumpy look on my face, my slippered feet shuffled down the drive way and out the gate to make sure the dog didn't get into trouble.  The fluffy creature joined me and we strolled down to the beach.  There we stood next to each other: the sun warming and soothing the stress lines on my face, the sea’s rhythmic motion bringing calm to my soul, and the relaxed sheep trotting passed us up to the pastures on the hills seemed to bring a slower pace to the day.  In those few moments as I paused to drink in the creation around me my troubles lifted, I felt a little better.  This has been my experience many times through my life.  As I plant a seed, spot the first seedling, then first bloom of blossom, it brings peace.

So if the aftershocks have got to you, or the job is stressful, or the housework is piling up, take a moment!  Walk outside, find a green area, relax, unwind.  Buy a pack of seeds, plant them and watch them grow over the next few weeks.  Get a plant for your desk, make a change!  

Bring creation into your day in big or small ways and take the time to stop and smell the roses.

I don’t have a recipe for you this week just an unchangeable fact that something grown by you, from seed, is the sweetest tasting thing there is.  So dig a plot, or get a small pot and plant a herb and keep it in the kitchen.  Trust me, theres healing in your garden.

                                                      My daughter with a home grown apple

Comfort me

                                                                       

The news is alive with snow predictions.  Now two things happen when I hear snow is on its way.  Firstly my heart rate quickens and I become more excited than a kid who has just been told Santa is halfway down the chimney.  The second is my mind thinks mmmmmm mulled wine and comfort food.

On the last snowfall I came in cold and satisfied after rolling through the crisp untouched snow a ball until it grew to a snowman followed by having a snowball fight with my kids and the neighbours grand kids.  I had paused at the holiday home next door, glanced at the sparkly white, uninterrupted carpet of crisp snow and dreamed of making snow angles in the untouched blanket.  The fire was crackling when I got in and the marshmellows a toasting by three red nosed and happy children.


This time Im even more excited.  Because for the first time since the February earthquake I have a working oven.  So today I have prepared.  Lemon drizzle cupcakes are cooling on a plate (minus 7 that got eaten straight away).  Sponge as light as a snowflake laced with tangy lemon encrusted with sugar and dusted to perfection.  A lemon tart is also cooling, I plan to have this tomorrow as I watch the magic of floating white fluff dancing down from the sky.

Theres lots of lemons around and they are so versatile I love them.

Fresh lemon juice in a hot toddy when Ive got a cold, the sweet and sour mix of lemonade the kids make, squeezed over calamari, beef noodles or a salad, the zest dried and added to sugar to make cake dusting the possibilities are endless.  Its even great for cleaning!  I keep the skins with the squeezed flesh still inside. Slice them layering them in jars with chilli, coriander seeds, bay leaves and salt, squishing them down to let the remainder juices flow.  I'll give the jar a shake each day for three weeks until they are preserved.  Perfect for adding to Moroccan dishes or curries.

The day will start tomorrow with warm cinnamon rolls.  They are so easy to make.  Making up a batch of bread dough with a dollop of maple syrup in it.  I knock it back after the first rise, dust wit flour and roll out to a rectangle, then smother it with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Roll it up and slice it into sections.  You simple need to butter and flour a big pan and arrange them in with a couple of inches in-between each one and pop it into the fridge until the morning.  They will rise nice and slow in the fridge and can go straight into the oven in the morning.  I like to give them an egg glaze before they go in to a 150degC oven.  Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown, take out and let cool slightly.  Drizzle icing over while still warm and enjoy.  TOP TIP: to keep the bread nice and soft I put a small mental bowl in the bottom of the oven while its heating up and then throw in 4 or 5 ice cubes when the rolls go it.  They steam away and keep everything soft and moist.

I guess even though I now live in a Country with Christmas in summer the associations with cold and celebrations are strong for me.  Im currently trying to resist rummaging around in the loft to get out the fairly lights and Christmas CD's!  I cant promise if it snows tomorrow you wont find me strolling up the road singing "Im Dreaming of a White Christmas". 

Home Sweet Home

Although I love to be outdoors, exploring, visiting new places, meeting new faces, and old, I always love to come home. "Lets head for paradise" the kids say when we leave the city to head for home.  Where we live is very beautiful, but its more than that that make it paradise for us.  Its the things we do here.  The fires on the beach, walks in hills, friends round for food, picking our veg and fruit from our own garden, watching our ducks fly down the garden at feeding time.  A wealth of time and love has been shared at our little home.

                                                          Me with my favorite 4 people!

This Saturday I had a glorious day.  Our youngest had a rugby match and with car pooling there was no room for me to go.  As much as I love to support him in his sport, it is a very rare thing indeed for me to find myself at home alone!  And as if to make this time alone even more special the sun came out and turned it into a glorious warm winters day.

So what to do with half a day totally to myself?! I whizzed through housework as quickly as I could.  Then slipped out side, tidied some of the garden, did some weeding and then.....one of our olive trees laden with beautiful black shining olives caught my eye. straight away I could see a little line of jars sitting in my kitchen full of olives quietly curing away.

So I dropped everything and started picking.

Soon I was curled up on the sofa with a bowl of clean rinsed olives, making a little slit from top to bottom down one side of each.

After that I filled jars with the olives and poured a 10% salt brine right to the top.  Now all I have to do is shake the jars each day and change the brine solution each week for 3 weeks

Then they just need to be marinated in a vinegar brine solution with flavorings such as garlic, oregano and lemon.  I ant wait, I'll let you know how that turns out.

Feeling all motivated I turned my attention to some new products I had been working on for our shop available at the Preserved Workshops and online.  Lately I have really got into finishing salts and sugars.  I love making them as its so hands on and it really feels like a lot of love goes into them, it also makes the house smell gorgeous with smells of lemons, oranges and chilli drifting through.  Its such a delicious way to lift a dish.  Smoked Chilli salt on your pizza, citrus salt on your fish, lavender sugar on your cup cakes...mmmmmm.  They are so beautiful and colorful too.  I'm looking forward to using them more in the kitchen and sharing my recipes with you, and I'll let you know when we have them ready for the shop!

Soon the peace was over and the house was filled with the sound of exited kids home.  I love lazy afternoons where you just lie about chatting to each other, fire going, toy soldiers covering the hallway floor, mucky knees and smiling kids.  Even more happy when they discover Ive made their favorite for tea - spaghetti bolognaise. My special ingredient is I start by frying off some home cured pancetta, then taking it out of the pan and frying off the mince in the juices before adding it back in.  It adds a real depth of flavor, home dry cured smoked bacon is also wonderful releasing a wonderful subtle smoky flavor through the dish.

But my favorite recipe of the weekend has to be pancakes with stewed tamarillos and Creme anglaise.  Its simple and delicious to make and tamarillos are in season now!

Stewed Tamarillo 
Blanch the tamarillos in boiling water for a few seconds and then plunge into cold water, this should make it easy to remove the skins. (optional but the skins can be a it bitter)
Cover the bottom of a saucepan with water, add the tamarillos, some brown sugar, cinnamon stick and a pinch of nutmeg. heat gently and let stew, until the fruit is soft.  using a slatted spoon remove the fruit leaving the juices, reduce until think on a medium heat.

Creme Anglaise.
A delicious light custard sauce.
Beat together 4 egg yolks with 1/2 cup white sugar until it is light pale yellow and when you lift the whisk up the mixture leaves a ribbon on the surface for a few seconds before disappearing.
Beat in 1 tsp of cornstarch (optional but helps stop the eggs scrambling if you let the temperature on the next step slip to high.)
beat continually while drizzling in very gradually 1 1/4 cups boiling milk.
Pop it all in a heavy based sauce pan over a low to medium heat and stir continually until it coats the back of a spoon with a lovely light creamy coating.  DON'T let it come anywhere near a simmer or it will scramble so keep an eye on it!
Take off the heat and beat for a couple of minuets as it cools.

Pancakes - crepe style (Made by my fab hubby)
Mix together with a whisk 1 cup of flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 tbs melted butter and a pinch of salt, until it is lovely and smooth.
Pour a ladle into a nice wide frying pan, move the pan around to spread out the mixture, add more if needed, but your looking for a nice thin crepe.  Once it has dried out and lost its shine flip it over, it wont take long, maybe 30 seconds to cook that side.

slide your pancake onto a plate, spoon on some of the tamarillos onto one half of the pancake, add some of the reduced sauce and top with creme anglaise, fold over and enjoy! mmmmmm.  Iv made myself hungry now, I think I might just leave you all and go make another batch.

Have fun in your kitchen
Anna.

for information on Pig in a Day workshops and more www.preserved.co.nz

Christchurch earthquake - Part Two the trip to town

I awoke this morning to the gentle shaking of another aftershock. Climbing out of bed still sleepy I made coffee and sat in the morning sun wonder what the day would hold. The air was still, the sea still. How can nature seem so calm when it holds such power?




Our food was running low and so I decided to brave the drive to the city. It is amazing how well the system is working at clearing up as already rocks that had tumbled in the big quake on Saturday had already been cleared off the road.



I passed cracks in the road, areas where the road raised up like speed bumps, or split in different directions. At the bottom of the pass over the hill to the city a police man waiting. Coming round to my window he told I would have to use another route, the earlier aftershock and sent more rocks tumbling onto the road.



I took the winding detour round to Lyttleton harbor. On one corner a front garden held a pile of newly delivered firewood, while in the backyard scattered bricks were all that remained of the chimney. One older building looked like a jigsaw puzzle with cracks set into its walls. The top of the front wall of another leaned forward, complete cracked off the main building hanging by some unknown force..



Entering the long dark tunnel through the hill my heart quickened a little. This was the last place I wanted to get stuck if there was another aftershock and it was a grateful relief to emerge into the sun at the other end.



I drove down streets that looked unaffected only come across a detour sending me around areas of complete destruction. Homes, small businesses, offices, beautiful old buildings in tatters.

The supermarkets where surprisingly busy with people. Some were in a hurry to shop and go, others stopped in small groups chatting about the experience. “There will be another big one between 7 and 8 any time soon” I heard one person saying to a group of wide eyed listeners. “This isn’t over yet, Im expecting another big one” the manager was telling some workers. I hear similar conversations from other groups dotted about. I get to the checkout and instead of the usual “how’s your day” from the checkout girl it was “how’s your house”.



Going through the whole experience again I feely chatted to this stranger sharing my fears of a Tsunami as we all fled in the early hours. “Oh you would have been OK” the checkout girl informed me “if it had been 30k off shore the wave would of gone out to see not to shore”. I wasn’t convinced by her information; everyone is an expert it seems. I take comfort in the fact that I didn’t over react. All over the city people dwelling by the water bolted for higher ground after the shake. Better safe than sorry and I am not an expert.



As I leave and drive along I notice a corner. An old brick building stands, how I’m not sure, because two side of it have collapsed all over the road. Pulling over and grabbing my camera I stroll over to the ribbons keeping us rubber neckers back. I’m not the only one. A little group huddle quietly chatting and taking pictures. “You know its not over” a slow American drawl cuts through my thoughts. “Oh” I simple reply. I’m not sure I want to keep hearing predictions of another big one but it doesn’t bothered him “yer, I was talking to a building inspector” he continues in a hushed voice as if it was top secret “he says there will be another big one before the weekend. Better make sure your ready” I offer a weak smile in return to his warning and head back to my car all of a sudden wishing I had stayed home.



Ready? Make sure Im ready for what? How come everyone seems to know what is happening except me? Im in limbo I have no idea if its over, will the next one be big or small? Will I need to run for cover or can I just sit still. Will I be watching TV? Sleeping? In the shower? Walking the dog? Will I be with the kids if its big will I be able to get to them? And what exactly can I do? What can I do? As I drive I comfort myself knowing I have just bought enough food that we could survive at home with no shops for a couple of weeks, maybe longer if we aren’t too fussy about having very simple meals. I also got batteries so we can listen to the radio if the power goes out. Ive already packed what is left of my prized pottery collection safety away so it wont smash in aftershocks. I run through plans of safe places at home, planning for anything. Its fruitless really who knows what will happen anyway and I cant predict what I will be doing if it does.



My butcher is a friend. This time last year his shop was in a very old shaky building but it was knocked down and rebuilt. I have to pass that way so I pull in to see him. He is quite a character, butcher by day, and singer by night. He looks up and smiles as I enter, “how are you and your place Anna”. The perfect shop keeper, always a smile and knows his customers by name. “Good, safe, sound, house standing”. I jokingly share the story of my genuine earthquake injury – a bruise on my foot from a falling heater. He shares a similar story. We both share thoughts over how glad we are he wasn’t still in the old building then here it comes. “Hay Anna, there’s gonna be another big one”. Another expert I quietly think to myself, please don’t tell me any more scary stories. “A lady clamming to be a psychic came in early” he continues “she said she didn’t want to scare me but she had a message to say Thursday or Friday there will be another shake bigger than the first”. I quickly buy some stake, wish him a good night sleep and excuse myself. I just want to be home. At home we talk about what has happened but when talking about what may happen its calming not intended to scare each other and put us all on high alert.



I don’t want to go back through the tunnel so I take a detour round the hills to another pass. As a live the city center things look better. The odd chimneys down here or there the only signs anything is wrong.



As I drive along these roads my spirit lifts, I flick on the radio to some music and wind the window down a little letting the fresh air clear my stuffy brain.



Cracks start appearing here and there as I drive, then I pass a large ribboned off sink whole. A feeling of anxiousness returns. I drive through halswell and My heart goes out to these people. I want to stop and help but also just want to get home to my family. My car is directed round massive cracks in the road, going over what feel like speed bumps left by the rippling of the earth. Piles of silt sit outside each house, people walking up and down driveways with wheelbarrows of unwanted silt and sand that bubbled up to the surface as the ground cracked.



I return home so grateful that we are ok, feeling blessed that our home is OK and really feeling for those in worse affected areas. I am very aware of my own anxiety levels I cant even imagine how hard it must be for those in more affected areas.



As dark descends nerves build. I haven’t felt a shock for a couple of hours. I stay up as late as I can reluctant to go to sleep. When I do go I remind myself that its OK, the shakes are meant to get less intense and frequent, I haven’t felt for ages tonight will be ok. I manage to convince myself and my heart drops to a normal rate and I feel myself drifting off to much needed sleep.



I sit bolt up right in bed, the whole house is shaking, I can feel it building. How big this time? I don’t know. Just as Im start to feel really worried it subsides and stops. I check on the kids. Girls are awake but ok. Our son, age 6 however, is sitting bolt up right, looking startled and bewildered. “Where am I mummy, where am I, what’s happening?” I scope this little fellow up in my arms. So brave, insisting its all fun and he is loving the aftershocks in the day reduced back to a scared little child by the darkness of night. He spends the rest of the night sleeping next to me. He feels so safe curled up with his protectors he sleeps though the next big one even though I grab him pulling him into my arms.



The morning brings a sense of relief and some normality and a chance to meet with others to share how are feeling and doing and who woke up to what.

Christchurch earthquake 2010 - our experience

At 4.36am Saturday morning NZ time we were awoken by the earth roaring and shaking beneath us, throwing our bed and house back and forth.  Above the roar of the quake we could hear, somewhere in the darkness, the sound of things falling and smashing.  Our children called out to us and we assured them it would stop.  Anna tried to make it to the children's room but the shaking grew and grew and standing upright to walk was difficult. The drill to get somewhere safe like a door frame or crouch down near something solid goes through your mind and you wonder when it will stop.  Then it stopped.

Living 20m from the sea our worries did not.  Where was the earthquake? We knew it was big and could be close but was it off or on shore, would a Tsunami follow?  We called out for everyone to meet in the living room, feeling our way through the darkness.  Everyone was fine and unhurt.  Elizabeth, age 9, had proved a star getting straight out of her bunk bed and going underneath it when the shaking hit.  There is little time to talk about what just happened we feel we needed to act fast.

We grab our 'grab and go' document pack, round up our three children age 9, 8 and 7 along with our 3 dogs and all got straight in the car to head to higher land until we knew it was all clear.  Soon we were all huddled round candles at a friends farm house just a few minuets drive away.  it wasn't long till aftershocks started coming, some feeling like earthquakes in their own right reaching over 5 5 on the scale, although no where near as strong as the first.  As daylight broke neighbours all started gather together or texting to confirm friends and loved ones where safe.  Those who still had water checked that others were OK and offered help.

All electricity was out and radios were our link to the outside world and what had happened.  A 7.1 earthquake had hit 30km outside Christchurch 10km deep, the largest NZ had experienced in many years.  Buildings in town had been badly damaged, water and sewage pipes burst flooding streets in some areas.  Most people were left without electricity, running water or sewage.  Roads have cracked some lifting up a meter in places and cracks wide and deep enough to fit a leg in.

 

Back where we are our local pub had been servilely damaged with walls and chimneys collapsing leaving us all simple relieved our friends had made it out of their home alive, running as ceilings collapse behind them.  It is now Sunday afternoon and aftershocks can still be felt from time to time some barley noticeable, others strong enough to shake homes for a few seconds. About $2billion of damage has been done in the city and there are no go areas where buildings have partly collapsed and are still unsafe we hear it will take a year to rebuild the damaged areas.

Returning to our home at first light we found out house to be standing and without damage.  Inside was another story.  Our computer desk had collapsed, and TV smashed, broken crockery and glass about the place.  the kitchen cupboards had opened allowing their contents to be shaken into the floor smashing some plates and sauce bottles.  In other parts of the house bookshelves had spilled their volumes, draws slipped to the floor and pictures still hung but with broken glass and at odd angles.  Outside there are cracks in the road and a telegraph pole, still standing just about, leans at a precarious angle.

In the evening we gather with friends at our house round candle light.  We cooked baked potatoes in our log fire and chili as we are luckily enough to have gas.  We also have tank water as we are not on main supply leaving us feeling quite prepared.  The children sat and talked about their experiences together debriefing as they went and the adults did the same over a nerve settling drink. 

As bedtime came the children were worried about aftershocks in the night so we all slept in the living room.  Much needed sleep was disturbed a couple of times by aftershocks shaking us from our slumber and causing the children too jump in beside us, but the danger had passed.  Mid Sunday morning the electricity came on to grateful cheers and the clear up began.  As I sit here writing this another aftershock has just trembled through the ground and shaken the stool where I sit.  You can hear them just a brief moment before you feel them, the groaning of the earth as it shifts and settles itself back down even the birds stop singing to leave an strange silence for a moment.

It was an experience and scary during the moment.  However we are thankful to God that we are all safe, to be part of a community that pulls together and supports each other and a house that is built on good foundations.  

It is now Monday morning and we still getting aftershocks but they aren't too bad.  The children are very happy it has got them two days off school and we plan to spend the time as a family.

for photos see http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4098378/Disruption-follows-Canterbury-quake

Time to get ready

This weekend was a lovely lazy weekend.  Sunday the sun decided to come out warming the world around us.  Susan, a friend we hadn't seen for a while, came out for dinner with her son.  We sat on the deck sipping our drinks, putting the world to rights and listening to the sound of our happy kids drifting in off the beach.  John, my husband, popped off to the local country pub for a swift drink with his friends before dinner.  While there he met a couple, Matt and Julia,  who are currently driving round NZ.  John struck up a conversation with them and before long he returned home with his new friends.  Of course there was only one thing to do with new guests.  So we built a fire on the beach, cooked up some home grown sticky pork ribs while our new friends cooked up a curry, and Susan some pasta, for a pot luck tea.  We sat round the fire talking about food, traveling, movies and more.  As we ate and watched the fire flicker new friendships formed. 

The next morning I awoke to a find the flu had struck out home so i escaped and took our guests out to gather mussels for lunch.  While our 6 year old son cooked them in their natural juices int he log burner (absolutely beautiful) I sauteed some sliced onion and garlic, added some cider (we were out of wine) and steamed the mussels in the sauce.  cream was stirred in at the last moment and sprinkled with fresh herbs from the garden, served with a country loaf of fresh baked bread.  Matt and Julia had given us some Tamarillo from the west coast and these were perfect for an upside down cake for dessert, served warm with a  drizzle of cream.  the cake proved good comfort food to those feeling under the weather inside

I just love the way food has the ability to turn strangers into friends.

What else in the Kitchen

Last week our family shared its first hare stew.  I have to say everyone looked a little nervous as they tucked into their first bite of wild hare straight from the farm behind us.  The meat was wonderful and so tender I'm so impressed that I want it to be a regular on our table.  What a wonderful cheap way to provide a tasty meal and helping the farmers out at the same time.  I'm hoping to get out to have my first lesson at shooting my own hare once the weather gets a bit better and I shall be reporting back how that goes to you all.

Our ducks have started laying lovely white eggs, much to the children's excitement.  The eggs are wonderful for frying as they have a thicker texture than the chickens.  The also seem to do well in cakes but the Pavlova was a flop.  They definitely whisk different from a chicken egg.  Ive also used them to make a lovely quick and simple pasta dish so if your in a hurry one night give it a go (recipe at the end). 

The Garden

I saw my first swallow swoop by yesterday and the first buds of cherry blossom sleepily open.  Spring is just around the corner and I cant wait.

The coffee table is currently covered in seed trays and sprinkles of compost.  I'm planting out seeds at the  which I will move to a friends greenhouse to tenderly coax them to spring forth in frost free safety. We don't have our own greenhouse at the moment so I was so pleased when a neighbour decided to go to Australia for 3 months and leave me the use of his!

Its a great time to get started if you have a greenhouse or a sunny windowsill you can start off seeds on.  The seeds I'm planting out now will be going out in the garden in 4 - 6 weeks time and by then we should be into spring.  So what can you get started on at the moment?  Here's a list....

Basil, beetroot, cabbages (I've got 4 different ones), capsicum (I'm planting lots so I can make my own paprika), chili, leeks, lettuce, onions, thyme, tomato's and watermelon.

There are a few things that can be going out in the garden at the moment too.  Have a go at parsnips, peas, radishes and rocket.

If you live by the beach its a good time to get some sea weed tea going as well.  Simple fill a large dustbin half full with freshly gathered, rinsed seaweed.  Then fill to top with fresh water, put the lid on (if you live somewhere windy put a brink on top) and leave. In three weeks you can start using this liquid to fertilise your garden and give all your spring veggies a great boost right from the start!

Workshops

Next month I'm very honoured to be a guest at the Akaroa Cook School doing a Pig in a Day there and I'm looking forward to the sausage sizzle cook off we have added in for the occasion.  There are still a couple of places left if anyone would like to join us in this fabulous location for a great day.

Fathers day Gift Certificates available.  These make a wonderful gift for any dad!  Let him come and learn how to make his own bacon for breakfast, sausages for the BBQ, salamis, ham and more!  With warmer weather on the way he will have lots of opportunities to show off his new skills.  for more details.  http://www.preserved.co.nz/

Recipe of the Week

2 - 3 slices of prosciutto (if you make your own thick slices are best) diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Green beans sliced (you could use a different veg if you want)

2 egg yolks

Cheese

tagliatelle pasta

1. place your pasta on to boil for 6 minuets (needs to be just underdone)
2. Saute your prosciutto to release its fat then add garlic and saute
3. when pasta is almost done drop your veg into the water for the last 2 minuets
4. beat egg yolks and slowly add two ladles of water from the pasta to make a smooth sauce
5. drain pasta and add to prosciutto and garlic, toss to coat
6. pour on egg sauce, toss to coat,
7. grate some cheese on top, toss to coat
8. add a wee bit more cheese on top if you like, a sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper, fresh herb leaves and serve

Have a great week.
Anna