Sunday 31 July 2011

Turangi

On Sunday (31st July) we headed down to Turangi to stay with my friend Sarah Medlicott, Wayne and their two sons, Lachlan and Anders. They were staying at Oreti Village Apartments (which were awesome and I would highly recommend http://www.oretivillage.co.nz/ ) and kindly invited us to come down and stay with them for a couple of days.


We had perfect weather for the drive down so the scenery was stunning. The plan was to head up the mountain on Monday then return to Auckland Tuesday.  


Yet another feed in the car for Elsie...



On Monday morning we awoke to cloud which was ominous but we perservered with our plan and headed up the hill


View over Lake Taupo Monday morning
Fortunately we burst through the clouds as we drove up the Mt Ruapehu to reveal perfectly clear blue skies and no wind. A fab day. Joel and I bundled Elsie up in her new snow suit and loaded her up in the back pack (her new favourite place). Off we headed with Lachlan and Anders to do some tobogganing. Elsie got to go down in the taboggan too - and she went on about eight chairlifts over the course of the day.  As the weather was so nice we were able to stay outside for the whole day without Elsie or the boys getting too cold. After lunch Joel got a half day pass and dusted off the snowboard. Sarah, Wayne, myself and the kids got a sightseeing pass and headed up to the top of the chairlift for a beer and an amazing view all the way across to Taranaki. Fab day.


Lachlan

Jo and Elsie - not breaking any speed records

Lachlan with Anders chasing after

Anders

Mt Taranaki in the distance

Mt Ngaruahoe

View from the top

Lachlan

Anders

Anders

Anders and Lachlan

Wayne, Lachlan, Sarah, Anders

The fascination with glasses and bottles still going strong
On Tuesday Joel and I headed back up to Auckland. We had a great trip back - making lots of stops and enjoying the change of scenery

Tokaanu - gorgeous little place near Turangi

Tokaanu

Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo

Craters of the Moon - some geothermal action - Taupo. Elsie is back in her snowsuit and backpack and loving it!


Little bit excited by all the steam..




One of us is excited about solids. The backpack doubles as a highchair.

Stunned by the camera

Our lunch spot. We just sat down on the boardwalk it was really warm down there from all the geothermal.

Friday 29 July 2011

Lunch with Dot

Today we headed over to my Aunty Dot's on the whangaparoa peninsula to have lunch with Dot, Aunty Ineke and Grandma. It was good to see Grandma again after our trip away and Dot and Ineke enjoyed cuddles with Elsie. Dot made a great soup for lunch which she served with crostini with melted cheese on top (Brie I think). We gave one to Elsie to try  - she loved it! Bread and Brie going on the list! We also got some wonderful photos of Elsie with her Aunties..


Elsie with her Great Aunty Ineke


Elsie with her Great Aunty Ineke


Elsie with her Great Aunty Dot


Elsie with her Great Aunty Dot

    Thursday 28 July 2011

    8-Hour Bread

    Today I made my first ever successful loaf of bread - not only that but it was an amazing loaf of bread!  Crunchy crust, lovely moist, holey inside. Kind of like a ciabatta but with a better crust.  I made it using a no-knead recipe on the internet that was pretty popular about five years ago. The original version takes 24 hours and I intend to try that recipe too at some stage. But here is the guts of the 8-hour version. It's the simplest thing I've ever made and it really truely rocks.







    Here is a video showing you how to do all the bits and bobs - the video is for the 24-hour version - the method is the same though - just the ingredients differ slightly. http://video.nytimes.com/video/2006/11/07/dining/1194817104184/no-knead-bread.html


    Ingredients:


    3 cups high-grade flour
    3/4 teaspoon of yeast
    1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
    1 1/2 cups of water


    Method:


    Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Add water and mix roughly by hand until you have a wet 'shaggy' dough (see video, above). Cover with a damp tea towel and leave for 6-8 hours in a warm place.


    After 6-8 hours turn the dough out onto a floured bench and fold the sides in to make a round of dough (see video, above. Return round back into original bowl (rinse it out then oil or flour it first though) flipping it over so the folded edges are underneath and you have the smooth surface on top. The dough round will be extremely soft, sticky, floppy & wet - so it may not hold it's shape - don't worry about it. Dust the top with flour (or cornmeal, or wheatgerm, or...) then leave to proof for a further two hours (alternatively, if you have a microwave you can use a fast proof method which only takes an hour). 


    Half an hour before the end of the proofing time preheat your oven to 230C with your dutch oven inside.  You can use any material for your dutch oven (ceramic, cast iron, metal pot) it just needs to be a casserole dish with a lid that can withstand temperatures up to 230C (NB. Many casserole dishes are only covered by the manufacturer up to 200C). I used a Scanpan.


    Once the proofing time is up and your oven is at 230C remove your dutch oven from the oven and drop the bread inside - same way up. Cook with the lid on for 30 minutes then remove the lid and cook for a further 15 minutes.


    Voila!


    Fast Proof Method (1-hour proof)


    Place folded dough round into a microwave safe bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel then with another dry tea towel. Microwave on high for 25 seconds. Leave it for 5 minutes to rise (I just leave it in the microwave with the door closed - not sure if that makes any difference or not - but I figure its a warm draft-free place). After 5 minutes microwave for another 25 seconds. Leave it to rise for another 55 minutes. Then bake as per above.

    Photo Op

    Just some nice photo's of the girl at home in Huia...









    Wednesday 27 July 2011

    More Kahawai

    Joel - quite the hunter gatherer these days...




    On the menu

    The puree madness has worked out well. Elsie it seems will eat basically anything - like a little Labrador...


    Accepted foods:
    • Kumara
    • Pumpkin
    • Parsnip
    • Carrot
    • Potato (mixed with a sweeter veg)
    • Apple
    • Pear
    • Mango (but needed help to pick it up as slippery!)
    • Baby rice / Farex (but only mixed with breast milk or other purees
    • Broccoli (only mixed with other stuff)
    • Cauliflower
    • Peas
    • Corn
    • Peach
    • Penne Pasta (great for grabbing)
    Rejected Foods:
    • Avocado
    • Broccoli

    Tuesday 26 July 2011

    Solids

    Still going well. We invested in this bib which is more reminiscent of a raincoat really...



    Monday 25 July 2011

    Puree Madness

    Elsie'eating is going really well. I was looking forward to hitting the supermarket this week and making her up a few different purees to expand her repertoire other than kumara, pumpkin, parsnip, apple, pear.


    I think I may have got a little carried away....





    Kahawai Curry

    I cooked the kahawai Joel brought back from Great Barrier tonight into a rather tasty curry. Despite the relatively short ingredient list this tasted really good! It's going on the high rotation recipe list!



    Kahawai Curry




    ingredients:
    1 pound boneless, skinless fish fillets
    1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    1/2 onion, grated on large holes of box grater
    1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
    2 cloves garlic, finely minced
    1 fully ripe tomato, diced or 1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes
    1 teaspoon garam masala
    1/4 teaspoon chili powder (cayenne)
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    freshly ground black pepper
    1 cup coconut milk
    1/4 cup water
    1-2 fresh chili peppers, cut in half lengthwise

    directions:

    1. Wash the fish and pat very dry. Cut the fish into 2-inch pieces.
    2. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and swirl in the oil. When the oil is heated, add the onion, ginger and garlic. Turn the heat to medium-low and let the aromatics cook slowly. Saute until very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Take care not to let it burn!
    3. Add the tomato and saute for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Use your spatula and smash the tomatoes a bit, to break them up.
    4. Add the garam masala, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes. This is the masala (spice base).
    5. Turn the heat to medium-high. Pour in the coconut milk and the water. When the mixture comes to a good boil, add in the fish and cook for 4 minutes or so, until the fish is cooked through.