Coddled Eggs

Coddled Eggs

Sunday 29 June 2014

                  Say Cheese Please



The time has come the walrus said ......


It may be because I am of dutch birth or maybe it was being there and amongst all the cheese but one thing I promised myself  last year was when I  return to New Zealand  I would start making my own cheese....

I have been back nearly a year now so this weekend saw me wear a big Cheesy smile.



This weekend went so fast I am still reeling.....

The Matariki celebrations were held on the lakefront. Fires burnt , stories were told, people sang Maori songs, there was a huge meal of Hangi ( A traditional Maori way of cooking food in the ground) and the finale was a spectacular fireworks display.











A huge congratulations needs to go out to the organisers Kahu Youth ....Hip Horray.
Did you know that Subaru is also another name for Matariki hence the stars on the Subaru Insignia .



It was an entertaining conclusion to the day .
A day that saw 10 woman and one man (so often its the same ratio) gather in my kitchen to learn to make feta and butter and sour cream......



The tutor was very informative .I feel so confident to make more cheese on my own.









Make your own butter very easily.

Just tip a bottle of cream in your beater and keep beating till  the solids separate and the butter  turns firm yellow.
There will be a good amount of buttermilk that will come out as the solids separate.
I never salt my butter as it salts the butter milk.
Be careful at the end as the butter milk separates. It splashes everywhere.
Pour off the buttermilk and then mould the butter and you can either freeze it or pop it straight in the fridge.
Add garlic to the butter or chopped herbs such as Rosemary to have with lamb or sage  for with beef.
You can add salt at the end after you have drained the buttermilk.




I was very happy with the end result ........





The feta  was used  to make a meal for my husband .



A meal I was very fortunate to have made for me this week by a friend that decided it was time myself and two of her friends met. A lovely idea that we plan to repeat .

It was a very delicious meal taken from a wonderful quick and easy recipe.






My husband enjoyed the meal  just as I did at my friends.
The wonderful thing was the rocket, pumpkin, garlic , onion  all came from our garden and the feta was made fresh by moi and 9 others with lots of laughs and much love and friendship.
I will always think of this meal now as "A loving spoonful."


I was also lucky enough


to be able to forage a few flowers to make a posy to bring my friend.





I love cooking and baking . I love learning new skills and love recipe books....most of all though I love to share the tasks with my grandchildren...
Here they are placing the prunes from our plum tree (this seasons pickings) on the sweet pastry just before the sponge topping goes on. I had collected a huge jar of poppy seeds and added a good cup full to the sponge.....





Hmmmmm I see a little finger must have slid across that icing sugar.....


The rest of the weekend was taken up dropping a few limbs from trees and actually felling a gum tree .
I found myself on the mulcher again as my husband used the chainsaw.
The garden is sleeping and this is a great time to reposition shrubs and redeveloping beds....
I will keep you all posted but for now ....
I am one tired Oma.....






Keep the home fires burning I will be back .....
SENDING YOU ALL LOVE.............






















Tuesday 24 June 2014

...........................BREACH



breach 
n.
1.
a. An opening, a tear, or a rupture.
b. A gap or rift, especially in or as if in a solid structure such as a dike or fortification.
2. A violation or infraction, as of a law, a legal obligation, or a promise.
3. A breaking up or disruption of friendly relations; an estrangement.
4. A leap of a whale from the water.
5. The breaking of waves or surf.
v. breachedbreach·ingbreach·es
v.tr.
1. To make a hole or gap in; break through.
2. To break or violate (an agreement, for example).
v.intr.
To leap from the water:






This morning my husband said he needed to drive down to the creek to check that it hadn't "Breached".
..........................He had THE LOOK..........


The creek did not BREACH ...
Whew .
 I was fascinated in the reflected light that appears to be a rough map of New Zealand. 
Do you see it?
Gushing, Rushing, Stinking, Dirty, Muddy and pushing the boundaries but no flood.
No need to panic....

No need for stress....



The word breach has so many connotations .
I have never heard it said in gentle circumstances.
Had I been told that my daughters baby was BREACH . I would have been very concerned.

There are some words that just leave you cold.

Hate is a word I never like to use.
A wise man once told me the word hate is for haters.

Regardless of  how it is used Hate is hate. I was told that when people start a sentence with the words "I Hate" the first two words have already changed the molecular structure in the water of the air in which it sits.
Masaru Emoto has written a very interesting book on the subject of Words and the effects on water.

I wonder what the water does with the word ...............BREACH


Well this morning my husband said, " I hope the creek does not breach".
He suggested going down to see . I volunteered and took the camera.

Several years ago our home was flooded when the creek breached.Water poured in and as you can imagine it was a very stressful time.

As I walked to the creek I thought about the word breach and how it made me feel when it left my husbands mouth.


There was a lake forming in the driveway but nothing to worry about...

Infact I started to relax and draw comfort from all the moisture.The climate where we live is so very dry and the garden does suffer from thirst so often.
Our water table will have risen and the ground will have had a luscious full drink.


Wet...Wild ....dismal yet welcome.....
and within two hours the sun shone and all that remained were the drips....like little lights ....






Everything looking clean and washed and shiny......






It was lovely looking through the drippy vines and watching the sun heat the earth and surrounds.




...see the steam..?




The drips falling from the tree's into the newly formed ponds....



some drips were faster and bigger



and some drips were just drops...plops...







I would love to see each drop in each location and compare....







Our creek is called Dead Horse Creek ...YIKES what does that look like under a microscope....





The sun is now shining A new dump of snow lies on our mountain and all is good in our driveway as we welcome friends........
Have a swimmingly good time  till I see you all again.....