Rugby World Cup Adventures in Aussie

Can't believe we managed to book a trip to Australia for the very time of the RWC Final in which New Zealand was to STAR (and eventually win...). Neverthless that's what happened. And there we were surrounded by ants ... green ants... bloody ginormous blighters.

Found a cool little beach bar (below) on the beach at Thala Lodge which was sensational. Mental note to stay there for a day or two when I win Lotto. Another mental note to build one of these in the retirement village I'm planning for later in life with friends.

 Have not had this experience in New Zealand supermarkets: pick up beetroot chips packet (also a new one) to find live GECKO alongside. Much screaming, other supermarket patrons seriously grumpy, but not something one expects. Livestock on the groceries.

 Close up of gecko between bags seen below.

 And at last we found a place with a cool beer (or 3) where we could drag a table to watch the game on the giant screen. Most of us couldn't watch the second half.

my grandmother is a legend

Birthday time in Rotorua and while the food at the Dinstinction Hotel is nothing to write home about, it's clean and the staff are attentive and although we were the only people there for lunch, the 2 wait staff were patient and made the birthday lunch relaxed and enjoyable.

beaut burgers, inexpensive, fresh, delicimo

 so much fish and chips that a 97-year-old couldn't eat it all. Nothing left though.... Scrummy!

sensational big pots of mussels

How long since I saw banana split on a  menu? Years and years.

High Tide Tea

When one holds a High Tide tea - as you do - there are certain visitors who must be expected, and they didn't disappoint.

Maintenance session at the rowing club turned into a bit of a do. Shared breakfast...yum!

Those Apple Strudel scones from Baker's Delight were awesome - cinnamon and sugar, lovely apple flavour.
Bacon. Maple Syrup. French toast. Orange Juice. Fresh coffee. Fruit. Luxury.

 Porridge with Evan's amazing stewed rhubarb

No rowing today, but who could resist coffee in a great big mug down on the water-line with scones and lashings of butter?

 The date scones are pretty darned good too...

Whakatane Picnic, Riverside

Easter time and a row along the Rangitaikei River near Thornton in the Bay of Plenty. We headed out with several boats and aimed for Edgecumbe.
Eight km's later, we arrived at a paddock and were greeted with...

What a spread! We added our Easter buns and then tucked in. One of the best fruit cakes I've ever eaten, no photo for you but here's the recipe:
1kg very moist fruit
soaked overnight in 2 cups fruit juice
The next morning, add 2 cups of flour and 2 tsp baking powder, stir and bake.
Yes, that is stunning in its simolicity. And in honourof simplicity, I will NOT answer any questions about temperature, size of tin, length of cooking time. Let's go with our instincts o this one - it's cooked when it smells divine, the oven needs to be moderately hot, and just use a tin you have!

My rowing weekend at the Blue Lake Rotorua...

...featured a barbeque cook-off. Six teams, one barbeque, 10 minutes and 2 judges.
It was a wild night - a tropical cyclone raging outside, no facilities bar a bucket of hot soapy water, a trestle table and a small pantry of ingredients, 1 knife between 24 people and a bowl per team.

The creations were impressive, ranging from spicy thai chicken burgers and impressive yoghurt and mint sauces, to Blue blue beef burgers with plum chutney and blue cheese dressing (my team!)

 My team were of course dressed for the occasion in MasterChef aprons and chef's hats.

 Six burgers presented for the judges - where's Ray when you need a caustic comment about garnishes that you can't eat!?

 Some very serious effort going into the judges' deliberations.

Unfortunately too many glasses of The Wright Off cocktail we designed for the event meant that I can't remember who won - but it wasn't my team. They say we cheated... Hard to believe! I think they meant we were cheated.

Christmas - the most repeated food blog posting of all

Rather boring for the reader I'm sure - however in the absence of more interesting food experiences lately, here you go!
Christmas Eve lunch was my contribution, with a 3-course meal for the whole fang damily, 2 choices per course and 17 people.

Stew and I hung branches and candles 

 My Mum and Dad played our silly game and wore the crowns

 Here's my grandmother (97 this year) and nephew Harry - home from Yale for 2 weeks to the delight of everyone, especially his mother and grandmother

 Ann designed the menus for me - Rangiputa Fish cakes (below) or mussels in white wine sauce for the entree.

 Mains were barbecued turkey with cranberry relish, or fillet of beef. Simple sesame asparagus and a caesar salad on the table made the sides easy.

 Harry had everything that was going, plus a packet of chocolate biscuits from the pantry. While he thought we weren't looking.

 Dessert was a choice of mini pavlovas with champagne and mint strawberries, or my home made baklava. Most had both.

Stew was King of the barbeque!

Stew's Birthday

Okay it's not really a food post, but we had 18 for dinner and I had work that day so it was an exercise in organisation and relaxation. We shifted the outside table in , covered everything in white cloths and had the simplest meal - a whole fillet on the barbeque, caesar salad, potatoes dauphinoise and a huge chocolate log and apple strudel to finish.

 

Oliver arrived from Wellington

 The Howick chapter pulled funny faces....

 My brother Craig was in town unexpectedly

 Richard enjoyed the beers and food as usual

 Big McWatson got heavy with the photographer,

 Ann captured some of the food (for once it wasn't all eaten before we remembered to take pics.)

 Stew tried really hard to enjoy himself

 The olds made it too...

and as usual, everyone stood in the kitchen while I tried to cook. Pete!

...and so we had crayfish for dinner

Tail the thing - take the tail in one hand and the head and legs in another, and twist while pulling apart. Put the body and legs in a large stock pot after taking out the 'mustard' - you'll see it up inside near the head.

Now split the crayfish tail in half through the length. This is ready to cook on the barbeque now.

I did however forget a very important step One - first, clean your barbeque. We had not looked at ours for many weeks, being mid-winter, and so it needed a fairly comprehensive clean to start with.

Heat the grill plate and when it's very hot place the 2 halves flesh side down.

 

In the second picure they've been turned over. They'll be cooked when they are bright red, and the meat has loosened from the shell.

You need to make a soft butter mixture with 100gm butter softened, juice and finely shredded rind of 1 lemon or 2 limes and 1 heaped teaspoon of horseradish. Whisk all really well to combine.

Once the tails are cooked, brush liberally with the butter and serve with your choise of accompaniments. We love vegetables so that was our choice.

Not sure how long it is since I've eaten crayfish but now I'm thinking I need to bribe Olie to get me enough for  my secret kitchen evening...    coming?