Waitangi Day

If you're in New Zealand at the moment, you're probably celebrating Waitangi Day on the beach or with a picnic. You could do something similar in Ireland but you wouldn't last long on a wind- and rain-swept beach and picnics really need to be at home in front of the fire! This wintery weather lends itself very much to warming soups so, after chancing on some lovely sweet potatoes in Fermoy's last remaining veg shop, I decided that it was time to make Meg's Spicy Lentil and Kumara Soup - kumara is a Maori sweet potato that we eat a lot of when we are in New Zealand but can't get in Ireland. The sweet potatoes that I picked up weren't a bad substitute, though, I'll definitely be back to get some more to make more kumara recipes. Now, time to make some Anzac Biscuits for a real Kiwi treat - although I guess I should really be making a Pavalova!