Posted on Oct 11, 2005 in Do, Eating Out, Living in New Zealand | 0 comments

A weekend hideaway

A weekend hideaway
After a stressful week, all you want to do at the weekend is get out of the city (without driving too far), stay in a comfortable place (without paying too much) and eat some good food. In search of just such a place, the Boyfriend and I stayed at the historic Governors Bay Hotel last weekend. Although it...
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Posted on Oct 9, 2005 in Read | 6 comments

Cookbooks by the bed

I’ve been taking full advantage of the Christchurch City Library and their ever-fabulous selection of cookbooks, a pile of which are currently sitting by the bed. I’ve always been an avid reader of cookbooks – in Ireland the Boyfriend accused me of spending more time reading them than...
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Posted on Oct 7, 2005 in Do | 2 comments

Blogging by Mail 2: The arrival of the parcel…

Blogging by Mail 2: The arrival of the parcel…
Yesterday morning was miserable. It was wet and stormy, I hadn’t slept well and I woke up with a nasty sore throat. I was lying in bed, feeling sorry for myself (I had to cook dinner for nine last night) when the Boyfriend said “there’s a parcel here for you!” A parcel in the post is...
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Posted on Oct 6, 2005 in Cook, Living in New Zealand | 6 comments

Pumpkin heaven: Spiced Pumpkin Soup

My only experience of pumpkins while in Ireland was at Halloween during my first year in Dublin. One of my then housemates bought a pumpkin and carved it into a grinning Jack O’Lantern to sit in the window. I had only ever made Jack O’Lanterns from turnips before and was amazed at how easy it is...
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Posted on Oct 5, 2005 in Do | 9 comments

Parcels in the post

Parcels in the post
I’ve always loved getting parcels in the post (hence my involvement with Blogging by Mail 2!) and this year in New Zealand has only accentuated that fact. When you’re far away, it’s always nice to know that your friends and family at home are thinking of you, something which is even more...
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Posted on Oct 3, 2005 in Do | 0 comments

Slow Food on Film

Slow Food on Film
I was just taking a look round the Cork Film Festival website when I came across their Slow Food on Film event. Slow Food Cork are behind this amalgamation of food and film which is in its third year. It always sounds amazing but, as I’m normally based in Dublin (when I’m not in New Zealand!), I...
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Posted on Oct 1, 2005 in Do, Read | 0 comments

Observer Food Monthly – September 2005

Due to the vagaries of the post between Ireland and New Zealand, my reading of the Observer Food Monthly is always a few weeks behind. Seeing as we’re never in season with the produce it doesn’t really matter and it’s always a red letter day when the most recent edition arrives, along with...
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Posted on Sep 30, 2005 in Bake | 4 comments

Blogging by Mail 2 – A baking fest! Tan Slice

Blogging by Mail 2 – A baking fest! Tan Slice
Although I was a late entrant to Samantha’s Blog by Mail 2, she very kindly let me get involved and I sent off my package to Deborah in the USA on Wednesday. Figuring out what to put in it was a lot of fun and I eventually settled on a mixture of homemade goodies and local foodstuffs. I just hope that...
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Posted on Sep 28, 2005 in Do, Living in New Zealand | 0 comments

Cooking classes

One of the things that I do enjoy about living in New Zealand are all the cookery classes that are on offer. Not only the usual night courses at the various schools around Christchurch, but also food shops offering classes in the use of their goods à la the Mediterranean Food Company and Café and tonight...
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Posted on Sep 26, 2005 in Do | 4 comments

Meme: The Best in the Last 30

Meme: The Best in the Last 30
Barbara at Auckland-based Winos and Foodies has tagged me for the foodie leg of Basic Juice‘s meme with two tails – The Best in the Last 30. You can read more about the meme here. Basically, the idea behind it was to write about the most wine-friendly dish I had eaten over the past month. To be...
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Posted on Sep 24, 2005 in Do | 2 comments

Food in films: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Food in films: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Last night I went to see Tim Burton’s faithful, yet curiously unsatisfying, adapation of Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Reviews aside – you can find a good one here – what fascinated me was the audible crack! every time someone bit into a Wonka bar in the film. It shows...
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Posted on Sep 22, 2005 in Lovely Lunches, Storecupboard Specials | 11 comments

Cooking quinoa

Cooking quinoa
Quinoa is something that I’ve been meaning to cook for quite a while. About ten years, in fact, ever since I read Nigel Slater‘s Real Fast Food. He has several recipes for this protein-packed ancient grain and, as with all his writings, I was seduced by the delicious descriptions. Not seduced...
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Posted on Sep 20, 2005 in Do, Storecupboard Specials | 5 comments

Potatoes – the whole sorry story…

Potatoes – the whole sorry story…
Anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that I do not like potatoes. I am not a fan of the mashed potato, nor do I like boiled potatoes, potato cakes, potato croquettes, potato salad, baked potatoes or potato gratin. I avoid any dish which involves the word aloo in Indian restaurants and I don’t...
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Posted on Sep 19, 2005 in Do | 0 comments

Food in films: In Casablanca Angels Don’t Fly

The opening film in the Date Palm Film Festival in Christchurch on Thursday night was an engrossing study of Moroccan life entitled In Casablanca Angels Don’t Fly. The three main characters are economic migrants, dreaming of their home villages, as they work at a minimum wage job in a bustling...
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Posted on Sep 16, 2005 in Read | 2 comments

Some favourites from the 2005 World Food Media nominees

Just taking a look at the World Food Media awards website and some of my favourite food writers appear on their list of nominees. No Nigel Slater, alas, but Stephanie Alexander, Dean Brettschneider and Lauraine Jacobs, Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain and Cuisine magazine are among those nominated for the...
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