Christmas by the pool with chilled mulled wine.
This year – for the first time, the run-up to Christmas here in NZ actually felt a bit Christmassy. I have no idea why: maybe I’ve just been here long enough now that it feels a bit less odd; maybe its becuase this is the first time we don’t have immigration worries hanging over our heads and I know without a doubt we are staying.
Either way,it all felt a bit more real and relaxed.
Rather than embrace the way most Kiwis do Christmas, we have more just altered some of our family traditions to take into account the fact its absolutely scorching hot and we need the air con on max.
Kiwi Christmas dinner is more about hams and salads than turkey and trimmings. As none of us are really that fussed about a ham, it seems a bit pointless to cook it and eat it. So we have turkey and trimmings – at about 6pm when its cool enough to sit out on the patio and gaze at the view. Lunch was a rather old fashioned prawn cocktail – but with the addition of some Crays – given to us by one of our neighbors in exchange from some old pink-batts we are replacing.
See – we can do this Kiwi lark!
And while waiting for the turkey to cook, we basically lounged by the pool, relaxed and chilled.
Oh – and the mulled wine. I discovered last year that mulled wine (a favorite of mine from years at uni spent at medieval banquets) tastes absolutely delicious if you make it it advance and stick it in the fridge for a few hours. Its a great drink to go with a Christmas dinner out on the patio.
Followed by a bit more lounging round the pool, letting dinner settle before eventually managing some black forest trifle for pudding.
There are certainly worse ways to spend the day.
Now its boxing day – and another of our new traditions – off to the beach.
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Clotted Cream really is now available in New Zealand!
Country Fayre Cafe in Leeston near Christchurch has made all our ex-pat dreams come true and have started producing Clotted Cream for sale. The real thing an’all. Proper thick yellow and slightly tangy dammit-to-goodness clotted cream.
We had our first taste last night – for pudding. Ok – so it may seem a bit barmy to have scones with jam and clotted cream for pudding at 9.30 at night – but hey – when you haven’t had this stuff in yonks – who’s counting.
So, what’s the verdict?
Bloody hell its good stuff!
I wish I could have videod all that happened during our family pudding, cos most of it was spent laughing our heads of (not actually an unusual event at feeding time in our house). Not becuase the cream was funny or anything, but imagine if you will: I run a non-cooking blog and one of the most popular posts is how to make this stuff, after 6 years of living here we finally manage to get some commercially produced, theres 5 of us scoffing scones and yet my brother only has the jam on his, my dad only wants butter on his, and Hubby is threatening to toast his and bung marmite on it!
Well, myself and mum then realise that I’ve just bought 500g of clotted cream, and we pretty much have it all to ourselves – at which point hubby makes it clear he’s only joking and grabs more jam from the cooker (it’s home made – Low Carb). So we have to share it three ways.
Seriously – it really is delicious. This is not fake Clotted cream in the way that Extra Thick cream is just single cream with gelatine added to it to make it thick. Its the real thing. I found it was quite solid actually – the Rodda’s cream that we used in the UK tends to be a bit more fluid than this – with the yellow crust on top. This is more 500g of the solid “clots” – so spreads more like butter than cream.
The thing is – if you are used to having scones with whipped cream – you will think you have died and gone to heaven when you bite into one with this stuff on top. It’s not even remotely the same: the taste is just what I was after, and actually does have a bit of a tang to it that I couldn’t reproduce when making it from shop bought cream and milk.
So, how much is it?
Quite reasonable really.
- 500g which is what we bought will cost you $25 plus postage of:
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- 500g clotted cream $3.50 courier post or $6.75 courier post for RD addresses;
- 1000g (two tubs) $8.50 courier post – flat rate including RD delivery;
They also sell Christmas Hampers containing 4 traditional Cornish pasties; 2 specialty pasties (menu on www.countryfayre.co.nz) and 500g clotted cream, Couriered anywhere in NZ in polystyrene container (Christmas wrapped) = $100 all in.
Now I suppose $25 may sound like a lot but when I look at the fact that 500ml of cream will cost you about $6, 1l of milk another $2, then you have to cook it for several hours and you end up with about 1/4 of the amount of clotted cream – I would have to say its a bit of a bargain really. Maybe I’m biased?
And to put it in context, Rodda’s sell 450g for £7.43 inc Postage in the UK, so thats about $15 – $22 depending on the exchange rate. So this is definitely not as cheap as we would be used to, but then it’s basically an artisan product – this is after all the only commercial producer in New Zealand. (So my grumpiness at being charged more for Anchor Butter here than in the UK doesn’t apply – I’m happy to pay extra for luxury – just not happy to get ripped off on staples!)
So, I’m a fan.
I am dead chuffed to have been alerted to this, and send my complete gratitude to the people over at Trade me who visited my blog and thus alerted me to Country Fayre. I can also say that having chatted via email to Kate at Country Fayre, they get top marks for helpfulness and friendliness as well. This is a new business for them, and I wish them very best of luck.
I can see another order going in for Christmas.
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Giving up coffee for a week.
No, the world has not come to an end. I’m just in Sydney. And the coffee is just awful.
Now, to be fair, I’m sure there is somewhere in this rather large city that understands that a Flat Whit should not be steamed milk that has had a coffee bean gently wafted in it’s general direction – but so far – 3 tries – 3 unbelievably weak and awful coffee’s.
So I have decided that for 1 week – I am just giving up on the whole coffee thing.
On the plus side – my bacon and eggs this morning, courtesy of City Extra at Circular Quay was SALTY! Not sweet – it actually tasted like proper honest bacon. Actually, I also had a coffee there this morning – a decaff long black, which is my usual tipple. It was pretty good. Sad though it might sound for all the fancy places to eat in Sydney – this is probably my favorite. Basically cos its a 24 hour diner, and you can get a fry up for all of those 24 hours. Not that I have done that – but it’s the thought that counts. I could get bacon and eggs at 1.30am. And like it. If I needed it.
View from the ferry – from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay (and Breakfast)
Sydney Opera House from the Ferry.
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Think NZ food prices are cheap?
This New Zealand Life has a post up showing just how much it isn’t.
He’s using the current exchange rate, and Tescos vs Woolworths.
And this doesn’t even include Anchor Butter – currently at about $4.75 for 500g. And why oh why are our dairy prices so flaming high when its supposed to be our biggest industry???
Talk about getting royally ripped off.
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Bettys – not a Tea Shop.
Bettys Tea Shop in York, a fine establishment serving Taylors of Harrogate teas and coffees, and quintessential Afternoon Teas. It’s heavenly, and a favorite stop of ours whenever we visit.
Bettys in Wellington turns out to be a cocktail bar. I know this because is Saturday’s Dom Post, theres a tiny little mention of one of the Cocktails: a Velvet Snow.
A Velvet Snow is made from: Valrhona chocolate, vanilla vodka, absinthe, cointreau and port, which is then heated and served in a martini glass with thickened cream and cinnamon on top.
Oh my!
One day I will be trying that.
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$5 for a coffee???
This morning started off really well. Last night I finally crashed my Evony (Free forever – don’t you believe it!) account which has been hugely addictive and disruptive. So for the first time in over 4 months this morning, I didn’t have to check on the game and the Alliance I was helping to run, (ANZACS) and could get on with the day with a fresh start.
So I had a lie in. With a cup of coffee. And that’s when the day went to custard.
At about 9.30 there was a loud banging on the door. Now we’ve had this before, and you can’t always tell if it’s our apartment or next door. SO I left it. Next think i know, the door is opening, and I can hear 2 men entering the apartment!
I yell out to them that I’m in Bed and could they please leave (or words to that effect), and had to yell 3 times. The request got less polite each time. They finally left, and I got up and threw some clothes on. Then stormed out and yelled at them – with a bit more confidence than is actually possible when you are hiding in bed with no clothes on hoping desperately that they won’t come in.
Seems they “Have Authority” to enter to do fire inspection, and they left notices in our boxes 3 days ago. Like I give a damn? This is a city pad – we don’t get post here, so we don’t check. Does this in anyway make it OK to scare the crap out of me and barge into my apartment without permission???
Hubby popped home (in less than 3 mins) and got them in to do the Inspection while I refused to deal with the twats. While neither of us wanted them to do it all – at least this way they won’t be able to scare the crap out of me again like that.
So that excitement being over – I decided “sod this – I’m going out for Breakfast”. I decided to pop to Brooklyn Bakery which is actually our closest cafe. Via Moore Wilsons to get some Sugar Free chocolate – because lets face it – you need Chocolate when 2 men have just tried to barge in while you’re in bed! Brooklyn have a sign outside saying Bacon and Eggs with coffee $9.50. So thats what I ordered. Except when it went through the Credit card machine- I was charged $17! Which obviously I queried. “That’s only till 10am” I’m told. The fact that the board is still outside and its 10.30 is lost on them – but I refuse to pay it and leave in disgust.
So now I’m left thinking – I have chocolate, I’m miffed, I’ve not had breakfast – and I need coffee. Moore Wilsons sell coffee, but they don’t have Decaff, and I’m already wound up enough without having a shot of caffeine. So I head to the Coffee Cart outside the Telecom office, which is opposite our apartment. Can’t go wrong I thought. It’s also an informal outside office for Telecom from the number of suited blokes hanging round the cart.
I ordered a large Decaff Americano – which is what I normally get. $5! Five Dollars!!! For a shot of espresso with water. There no milk used, so the increase in Price of dairy doesn’t affect it. I mean – it was a nice coffee – but not $5 nice when Starbucks charge $3.80 the the same amount of coffee.
So all in all, not a great morning, but I did get my coffee, ate some breakfast, and ate some chocolate as “pudding”. And next time – I need an emergency coffee – I’m walking the extra 3 minutes to Starbucks and saving $1.20!
I’m now calm.
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25,000 guests? – Of course, come right this way.
Martinborough had its twice annual Rotary fair last weekend, and for the first time in a while the Wairarapa delivered decent weather. So rather than donning galoshers and a storm coat, we headed out in shorts, t-shirt & a lather of sun block.
The first time we went was exciting and an early start – a two hour drive from Wellington to get there before many of the crowds, so that we could get a BBQ’d steak sandwich breakfast and not have to park in Featherston.
We have a slightly more relaxed approach to the fair these days. It’s still a special breakfast at home in the morning, but now only a 15 minute drive to our side of town. You can tell there’s something special happening in Martinborough, on account of seeing more than three other vehicles on the road as you drive there.
Still I get the impression the fair is unofficially starting earlier & earlier each year. I was over hearing someone in a café during the week say they intended to be there by 7:00am, and be all done before 8:30am so they could go home and have breakfast. If it gets any earlier, they’ll have to turn it into a Christmas fair. By 2pm some stall holders were packing up. While that’s not a surprise from the food stalls who have run out of stuff to cook or sell, it was a surprise for other stalls. You might have thought they had something more important to get to, like the rugby sevens back in Wellington.
The fair is less crowded of an afternoon. It’s hot, it’s dry, the pub beckons, as does the beach, the wineries, the ice cream stall or anywhere with air conditioning really. So it’s easier wandering around all the stalls in the afternoon. You can tell some of the stall holders are wilting a little though, as you politely cough and they wake up from an afternoon nap in the deckchairs. Which is perfectly fine, since by the time we get home, it’s either time for a nap ourselves, or a dive in the pool to cool off. All told it took about three hours to work our way round everything. I tend to walk around the event in circles (well, squares actually), since the whole town centre is symmetrical and I just can’t get my sense of direction stable. Circles is less confusing.
There’s normally something new to discover, so this years hot tips are;
‘home made’ fudge (looking identical & in identical packaging, so I don’t know whose home it came from!) is out. Only three stalls selling it this year instead of the 50 there seemed to be last year.
Hats are still in – of course. But then I’m of the ‘I have a hat and one head, how many more hats do I need?’ school of thought.
The BNZ bank has really good air conditioning – although they’re only open until lunch time for you to get cash out.
The (small) supermarket doesn’t jack up its prices because it’s fair weekend. Unlike many of the cafés who charge an extra 15% – 20%. Still, given that it was Waitangi day and Bank Holiday surcharges apply I don’t think they won quite so much this year.
We’ll be back next weekend, time to sample some new local wines in the village winery. We’ll park in the square, take all of ten minutes to visit every open shop, and just appreciate how nice it can be to wander round Martinborough on it’s usual tranquil day.
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Cadburys – it’s not a Kiwi Icon.
I got a tweet today regarding the takeover of Cadburys by Kraft saying “Cadbury no longer a kiwi icon??”
Errrm – it never was. It may be popular in New Zealand – but it’s British. As in started life in 1824 in Birmingham.
Cadburys in New Zealand may produce some iconic kiwi sweets – but could we possibly keep Cadburys itself as a “British Icon” please? It’s not even as if New Zealand Dairy Milk bears much resemblence to the real thing.
There’s an article here about what the takeover means for the Dunedin Factory – with some interesting comments.
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The issues of Christmas cookery.
If like me – you think Delia Smith’s Christmas is your bible – you may find you need to make one or two changes to your usual Christmas cooking. I still insist of cooking a proper UK style Christmas dinner – rather than the more traditional Kiwi Ham – but that’s just a taste thing. The problem comes with stuffing, turkeys and gravy.
I can now get decent sausage meat from my amazing butchers, who use a UK seasoning in their sausages – so I’m not overpowered by the addition of ginger. Chestnuts are not in season – but thankfully you can get vacuum packed tins of whole chestnuts. (Try Deli’s or Moore Wilsons). However, as far as I can see – if you want to make Delia’s Giblet Gravy – you are stuffed.
Over the past few years I have fought to get fresh turkeys at Christmas, and finally gave up because I just cant be arsed to deal with the snotty comments from shop staff anymore. So this year I have a frozen 1.4kg Turkey Breast. But no giblets. In fact – none of the fresh turkeys had giblets either. So I thought I would wander round a few butchers while doing my last minute shopping, and ask if I could get some separately.
Oh Dear.
What I learned – is that they don’t actually know what giblets are. Now fair enough – I wouldn’t use them for anything (I think that Offal has no place on a plate of food I am actually going to eat) – except it’s the recipe for Delia’s Gravy, and its actually very nice. Not that I’m bad at making gravy without them but hey – this is the way I like to make dinner. So just in case I do need some stock (I usually have enough juices from roasting meat so that I don’t need it) – ive made some chicken stock form left over carcasses of roast chickens.
You also of course have to watch out for the fact that most Turkeys sold here are in fact not 100 turkey – they are injected with brine to make them more moist. As I’ve never roasted a turkey yet that came out dry – and I refuse to eat meat that is stuffed full of sugar – I think this is a travesty. Avoid Tegal chickens and turkey if you too think that there is no need to inject meat with all sorts of guff in order for it to taste edible.
This year – we have also had to make our own Christmas chocolates – because Dorothy’s in Wellington has closed down. They used to sell Sugar Free Chocolates (we cant eat sugar in this house), and that’s very rare indeed. We can get bars of the stuff from Schoc, but although they do fabulous chocolates – none of them are sugar free. So we spent large sums of money on some of the bars, and spent yesterday merrily making truffles with it (Using Delia’s Recipe modifies to take the sugar out).
And I can heartily recommend that you get a tin of Schoc’s Cocoa Powder. I’ve just made a low carb (also Gluten free) chocolate cake out of it (with Splenda and ground almonds instead of sugar and flour), and its come out the richest, chocolatiest cake I’ve ever made. I’m about to use it to make the chocolate custard to add to the cake (Nigella’s Black Forest Trifle – modified). It’s better than Green and Blacks – and that is saying something.
Right – now off to clean the pool – its a glorius day out there, and the pool says its 26 degrees – so we may be going for a dip later.
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And talking of christmas trees…
On Saturday night we went to Cuckoo in Greytown - home of the best pizzas in the Wairarapa (and a cook who doesn’t mind making the wonderful Eggs Napoli breakfast dish – minus the bread and with an extra egg- at any time of day because I can’t eat Pizza!).
Cuckoo has recently been taken over – the owners Tim and Chelsea having skipped off to Melbourne - so no more visions of Tim frenetically running round the place. But the menu remains the same and is well worth a visit. Most people visiting Greytown go to the White Swan because its well known. However its pretty crap – so forget that and go have a decent meal at Cuckoo.
Getting back to the point – while in there – we took a photo of thier christmas tree. The New Owners (Brian and Janine) certainly have a great sense of humour. For all those people who like are a fish out of water doing a southern hemisphere chistmas – I thought you might enjoy it:
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