winosandfoodies

Breakfast With Maryam At Peacock Pavilions

Sadly, a cyber breakfast only.  I'd like nothing more than  to be hanging out in Morocco with Maryam.  I can only imagine my day.  I think the moment I awoke I would walk lazily rush to the window to look gaze dreamingly at the peacocks under the olive trees in the grounds of  the  Peacock Pavilions.  Perhaps I would shower and dress, perhaps I would feel very  relaxed and  wander out in my nightie,  to sit in the morning sun and eat my  breakfast off  Maryam's pretty blue and white dishes . I'm sure I'd feel relaxed with Maryam as my hostess.

How I found Maryam shows the power of the internet.   Reading  Brett one day I came across a comment from  Jennifer . I surfed in and enjoyed the writing and so  another blog was added to my reader.  Back in July 2007 Jennifer mentioned  Maryam on her blog.  I remember leaving the comment "I want Maryam as my best friend" - she lives in Morocco, she is building a guest house and she loves to  shop.

....and yet another blog was added to my reader. Now it feels as if I have known Maryam forever.

When she asked so nicely   for breakfast suggestions I was more than happy to help. She is a very busy blogger girl  and she'd rather be shopping than spending the day in the kitchen so this menu can be prepared beforehand and assembled in the morning. 

Breakfast At Peacock Pavilions

Yogurt Cheese  with Macerated Apricots and  Almond Ma'amoul with Mint Tea

Yogurt Cheese is also known as labnah.

Line a sieve with a layer of clean muslin . Pour a 1kg pot of plain yogurt into sieve and leave in fridge for 48 hours. Liquid will drain away leaving a soft cheese.

Variations: For this recipe leave plain but it can  be flavoured with herbs and garlic or cinnamon and honey. Some recipes stir in a teaspoonful of salt before draining. I don't bother.

Macerated Apricots

Place 150 grams dried apricots in a wide bowl with 1/2 cup sugar and cover with cold water.
Leave on bench for 48 hours. Apricots will absorb water and plump up. Strain apricots and reserve.
Put apricot liquid into a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil making sure all sugar crystals have dissolved. Increase temperature and boil until syrupy and reduced.
Pour back over reserved apricots.

Variations: add other dried fruits as desired. Add more sugar for a sweeter version.Or for a softer fruit you could stew the apricots.

Almond Ma'amoul

150 grams plain flour
125 grams soft butter
2 tablespoons rosewater
50 grams flaked almonds

Place flour in bowl, add butter and rosewater and mix to a paste.
Take teaspoonfuls of dough and roll into a round ball.
Flatten between palms and dip one side into flaked almonds.
Place on tray lined with baking paper.

Bake at 180C for 12 minutes.
Leave on tray for 2 minutes before removing to cool on rack.

These can be stored in the freezer and brought to room temperature before serving.

Variations : replace flaked almonds with chopped pistachios or pine nuts. Because there is no sugar in the dough these taste rather nice with a glass of beer.

To serve - spoon yogurt cheese into bowls and spoon apricots on top. Alongside add the Almond Ma'amoul.

For extra sweetness and crunch serve with honey and roasted pine nuts.

I tasted my first real mint tea at L'Institut de Mondu Arabe in Paris. The real thing is so much nicer than the teabag variety we buy in our shops.

Moroccan Mint Tea (from Claudia Roden's Middle Eastern Food)

1 1/2 tablespoons green tea
a handful of fresh mint (mentha viridis variety)
150 - 180 grams lump sugar

Heat the teapot. Add the tea leaves and pour a little boiling water over them. Swirl around and quickly pour the water out again, taking care not to lose the tea leaves. Add mint and sugar, and pour in about 1 litre of boiling water. Allow to infuse for 5 - 8 minutes, then skim off the mint that has risen to the surface. Taste and add more sugar if necessary.

Of course you do know I have peacocks in my yard too.  Well in the park  next to our apartment building actually. This one played dead when he heard my camera.

The park fence is designed with a peacock theme.

 

I think the blogger girl would like the peacock shadows.

Maryam did a little shopping for me recently. Come back in a few days to see what she bought. Please hurry Mr Postman.

 

Tomorrow Is My Best Friend's Wedding

It will be his second wedding. On February 29th 1980 he married the love of his life. ..and he was the love of her life. They were young and in love and a little  crazy.  They didn't tell  anyone until a few days before.  After all they'd lived together already for 7 years so it wasn't a big deal. They chose the 29th of  February. That way it would be a bit special and they could have a big party every four years.  She wore black and 6 inch heels with diamentes on the straps. He had long hair and a moustache. They invited a few friends around to their tiny flat, hired a marriage celebrant to say a few words, then took a case of champagne and went out to lunch.  They couldn't afford rings so it wasn't a long service. They've been married for 28 years and have  celebrated 7 anniversaries. One year they even bought wedding rings.

Some days she had regrets she hadn't married in a church.

Two months ago they were crossing the road in front of a church and he suddenly said "Let's renew our wedding vows". She said "well it's not the most romantic place to propose, but yes, and we could do it when we celebrate our anniversary on the 29th".

A friend invited them to spend a week with her at her holiday home in Port Douglas.  It would be when they planned on renewing their vows. So she rang the vicar in Port Douglas and he said "yes he would be honoured to help". "I don't want any fuss" she said, " we'll just renew our vows and then share some champagne."

Today we fly to Port Douglas.  Tomorrow my best friend will marry......... for the second time..and I'll be his bride...for the second time.

And just like last time we didn't tell anyone...until now.

UPDATE: I'm obviously so excited about this I posted it a day early in error. It is Thursday we fly to Port Douglas and on Friday 29th we will renew our wedding vows.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE: I then set up  a post called Cupcake Spectacular to release next week and accidently released it today . In trying to correct it I lost it. Some of you may see it in your rss reader but it isn't on my blog as I then pressed the wrong button and lost it.

AND YET: THERE'S EVEN MORE: Sarah at Readable Science kindly sent me the copy from her feeder and I will not need to retype the post for next week.  Fanbloodytastic. Thanks Sarah

More Than Just The Beach

Summer has finally arrived at the Gold Coast. Today is probably the hottest day since we arrived....and I'm inside. I can look over the balcony and see the pool and it looks so inviting....and I'm inside because Bryan has both sets of keys to our apartment and he's playing at a gig.  I can get down to the pool, its even safe to leave my door unlocked...but I can't get back to my floor without the keys. I could go the beach but I couldn't get back into the building without my keys. I could contact the building manager  but as we live in a residential building and I don't like to disturb them on the weekends.

So here I am blogging when I should be swimming. I thought I'd share some of the things unique to my 'hood that shows we are more than a beach resort.

CatchaCrab on the Tweed River have a restaurant where you can enjoy freshly caught crab without having to catch it yourself or take the tour. Loved the rustic setting but felt the food was   overpriced. Has potential and we may return.

Picnic in the bush at the top of Mt French .

With friends. Click on the second photo to see the big lizard.

and good food.

A day out with a drive through the hills to Springbrook .

Lunch at Paddy Melon's . Quaint but disappointing.

We were very happy with our fudge from the Fudge Shop .

At the front Macadamia nut fudge and behind it the jaffa fudge.

And finally shopping for local produce at the markets. Like these tiny pineapples.

Enjoy your weekend.... and don't forget LiveSTRONG 2008 .

 

Postcard from Club Med Lindeman Island

Chris couldn't come home for Christmas so the only way we could all be together for Christmas was to take Christmas to him.  Imagine 10 days on an Lindeman Island in the Whitsundays , off the coast of Queensland.  Nothing to do but relax and enjoy ourselves while being taken care of by the fabulous G.O.'s  at  Club Med. 

Blue Skies of Australia

Home where the sky is blue 300 days a year....and where the Southern Cross  has an extra star.

Goodbye New Zealand

An early morning walk on Takapuna Beach  Beach.

On Thursday we will say goodbye to New Zealand, our home for the past 32 years. I'm not sad to be leaving.  Many an Australian will tell you being Australian never leaves you. Wherever you are in the world you will  always think of yourself as an Australian and long for the day when you can return.

There are things I will miss.  The view of  Westhaven Marina  as you come into the city over the Harbour Bridge from the North Shore.  Camping at Raglan.  Hiking to the top of Rangitoto.  Kayaking on Lake Pupuke.

......mostly I will miss my friends...you know who you are....and I hope you'll come visit. 

Flying Low Over Auckland

We have the nicest neighbours.  They moved into the apartment next door a week after us.  He and Bryan recognised each other immediately, they'd played in a band together when they were 15.  He went on to become a 747 pilot.  And he owns this cool little Sting sports plane.

After a few wines one night we decided I'd love a ride in his sports plane. The weather has been bad all week. Today was a bit overcast but not too much wind. So up we went.  It was a little bumby on take off and I was a little scared the first time the plane banked steeply to turn, but I have to say it was a fabulous experience.  I'd do it again tomorrow if I could.

I HEART Queensland

....so much so we are returning there to live. Very soon actually. Like in just 4 weeks time. Originally we thought we would come home and have Christmas in New Zealand and move in 2008. Then we thought,why wait, so we made some calls  and we are leaving New Zealand for  ever on 20th December and making  a new home on the Gold Coast.  After 32 years on this side of the Tasman  I'm heading home.

Here are a few things I love about Queensland.

Eumundi Markets

Belle Epoque

Mecca Bah

Buzz 

People watching at  Palazzo Versace

Crab sandwiches at the The Spit Kiosk

Prawns from Pete's  Fish Market - perfect with a bottle of semillon.

Tokonoma Café

Dinner a Shirl's

The best morning coffee/ afternoon beer view.

We don't want it being over run by tourists. If you visit I'll blindfold you and take you there.

 

I love Melbourne, Especially Movida

We spent our last night in Melbourne at Movida , the best Spanish Restaurant in the country according to Australian Gourmet magazine.  It requires a bit of booking ahead but we were lucky and got a table within a couple of days. It was much too dark to take any photos but I have a photo from opposite the front entrance.  Melbourne is full of lots of little lanes  where we discovered interesting little bars and cafés to stop for coffee or wine.  The lanes also have some interesting graffiti art and this was one of my favourites outside Movida.

We chose to share a selection of different dishes.  My Mother had flown over from Perth to spend the week with us and it seemed a good way to introduce her to the  many tastes of Spain.  Check out the menu here.   Naturally we had the Iberico Jamon , Morcilla and Pulpo. I have one complaint - the Churros . They were great but the dipping sauce was not up to standard. The chocolate taste was over shadowed by the cornflour used as a thickener. A couple of days earlier we had shared a plate of churros with some friends in Ackland Street at an ordinary little Mexican restaurant - the dipping sauce was pure melted chocolate.

Our other memorable meal was at Hako . It took us a little while to find this place.  Stephanie had recommended the restaurant to me but it has moved since then. I sensed my mother and Bryan getting a bit cross as I insisted I had come this far and today I wasn't going to lunch anywhere else but Hako. We eventually found it at its new address 310 Flinders Lane.  Look out for a review in the Melbourne Age  in December - they were taking photos for the article when we arrived. The only decent photo I have taken here is of my mother having her first taste of Sake. Not a pretty sight.  All the more for me Mother.

I love Tempura and as soon as I saw it on the menu my decision was made. It was served as part of a Bento Box with the usual rice and miso. Excellent.

Plum had suggested a couple of her favourites. The first being Di Stasio where we had a quick pasta on our first night after arriving  late in Melbourne. It was a busy Thursday night and we walked in off the street around 9 PM. Service was slow and the portions, although tasty, were small. Bryan's pasta main was the same size as my pasta entrée although very different in price. So I did something I have never done before. When they made a mistake on the bill and didn't charge for one glass of wine I didn't point it out. I'm of the opinion if you are going to complain about being over charged you should be prepared to point out when you have been under changed. But not tonight. We paid the bill and made off into the night. Almost crashing into Ben Lee in our rush to disappear before they noticed.

Plum's other recommendation  Cacoa Café was more successful. Gorgeous chocolates and cakes. I had my eye on a particular bright lime green cake but on the day we visited the cake was gone and no more due in for a couple of days. If I couldn't have bright green I'd have something red - this pretty  strawberry and chocolate and vanilla mousse. Ohh YUM.

We visited Prahran Markets several times to pick up supplies for picnics when the weather was nice.  I'd shop here if we lived in Melbourne.  Here are a photos taken on our visits.

 

...and cupcakes from the Crabapple Cupcake Bakery

Next post : eating in Queensland

My Country

I love a sun burnt country, a land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror- the wide brown land for me!

From MY COUNTRY by Dorothea McKellar.

Every Australian child at some point in their school years learns this piece of Australian Bush poetry.  Driving the  inland route between Melbourne and Brisbane I suddenly found myself reciting the second stanza of this well known poem.  I've always understood the poem but it wasn't until I experienced the wide horizons I saw before us  I really began to appreciate the words.

My Country  was written by Dorothea McKellar  in 1904 while in England and homesick for the country of her birth, Australia.

And then after two days heading north we find the rugged mountain ranges.

.......and finally after all that driving we arrived at my favourite piece of  Australia.

...the Gold Coast, Queensland.

I heart Australia. Come back in a day or two for some foodie adventures. I had many.

It's Been So Long

We arrived home in Auckland Monday evening and I immediately emailed Tami  to tell her I'd be making my terrine, a little late, for Hay Hay Its Donna Day .  After a busy day yesterday with lots of things to be done, after two months away, I went looking for peaches in my favourite fruit and veggie shop. Sadly none to be found as it's too early in the season. Absolutely nothing else available or affordable worth making a terrine with so forgive me but I've copped out of the latest Hay Hay Its Donna Day. Tami  will have the round up out this weekend.  I haven't read any blogs in a month so I'm looking forward to seeing all the fabulous terrines you have made.

I've missed you all so much I'll be busy visiting blogs for the next few days to catch up on everyone's adventures over the past two months. Check back in a day or two to see some photos of my adventures in Australia.

Postcard From Australia #6

Had a super time in Melbourne. Caught up with a few old friends. Superb night at Movida, nice lunch at Hako. Took us awhile to find Hako as it has moved premises. Spent two nights in Daylesford and had lunch at The Lakehouse - fabulous. Great food, beautiful setting and attentive staff. Really found ourselves missing the Gold Coast so drove back earlier than planned through Bendigo, Echuca, Narrabri, Coonabarbran, Goondawindi. Fascinating scenery. Have spent the last two nights with a friend in Buderim and will be back on the Coast this evening.

Thanks for your comments. Lovely to hear from you. Missing you all. Haven't seen any puggles Cath but lots of kangaroos and emus.

Wish you were here.

Love

Barbara

Postcard From Australia #5

Arrived in Melbourne Thursday night. A bowl of pasta and glass of wine at Di Stasio for dinner. More on that when I get home. Prahan Markets today and we picked up supplies for a picnic. Great Serrano Jamon and an excellent Brie. Meeting friends for lunch in St Kilda tomorrow.
Missing you and wish you were here.
Hugs
Barbara

Postcard From Australia #4

A few wet days but improving for the weekend.  Will spend Saturday night with friends at their house in the bush at Mundoolun. Yesterday enjoyed a nice lunch and long chat at  Buzz in Brisbane with The Old Foodie. Looking forward to Melbourne next week.

Miss you all and wish you were here.

Hugs

Barbara

Postcard From Australia #3

Wonderful swimming this morning in 34 degree heat.  Spent a couple of hours today looking at apartments. Very nice but not in the area we want to live. Had dinner at  The Rice Paddy where the cheapest wine is more expensive than the most expensive main.  Great  food.  An excellent wine list which seemed a little out of place in a casual Vietnamese restauarant.

Wish you were here.

Hugs

Barbara

P.S. Don't forget to check out Hay Hay Its Donna Day round up over at TriniGourmet and vote for your favourite.

Postcard From Australia #2

Missing you but having a great time. Love this weather. Walks on the beach each morning.  Swimming nearly every day.  Enjoyed a great meal last night at Champagne .  Have been to a couple of cheap Italian restaurants for dinners and a nice Vietnamese place for lunch. David and Jan Marie arrive this afternoon from Perth to spend a few days with us.  Wish you were here.

Post Card From Australia #1

Lovely weather, sun shining, a typical late afternoon thunderstorm yesterday. On Friday had lunch at Mecca  in Brisbane with The Old Foodie.   They make a superb Borek - really light and crispy. Very happy with the  books she brought back from London for me.   Enjoyed hearing all about her adventures at the  Oxford Symposium.  Off to the markets today.  Wish you were here.

Hugs

Barbara

Champagne on Rangitoto Island

After my last surgery on 26th June I set myself three goals.
1. Walk 1k from home to the Thai restaurant within a week of leaving hospital.
2. Walk the length and back of Takapuna Beach  within 1 month.
3. Walk to the summit of Rangitoto Island within 3 months.

Yesterday we carried a picnic lunch and a bottle of champagne to the top of Rangitoto to complete the final goal.... with two weeks to go before my three months is up.  On Tuesday we are off to Australia for two months and this week was my last opportunity to achieve goal three. We had planned on going with some friends this weekend, but the weather forecast wasn't looking good.  Yesterday when the day dawned fine without rain on the horizon  we grabbed food, water and champagne, rushed down to Devonport Wharf in time for the 9.25AM ferry and set off. And as much as we missed the company of John and Mo we didn't have to share the champagne.

Rangitoto Island is a 15 minute boat ride across from Auckland. Unspoilt by tourism there are no shops. One set of  toilets at the base of the summit are the only facilities.

At 260 metres it is recommended you allow 1 hour to reach the summit. In the past I've made it there in 45 minutes. Yesterday I was a bit slower at 1 hour 20 minutes. And here was my reward.

Here are a few pics of the walk to the summit. Click on photos to enlarge.

 

Any Melbourne Suggestions?

Later this year  we will be spending a few weeks during  October and November in Australia. Most of our time as always, will be spent in Queensland, but perhaps we should revisit old haunts and explore new spaces.    I've always loved Melbourne. How can you not love a city where you  happily drink champagne from a water tumbler while the group at the next table sing happy birthday to you when they discover it is your birthday. And it's even more special  when you then discover they are the musicians from  Phantom of  the Opera and they happen to be dining in the same  little Italian café  before the show.

So it is some years since we last saw Melbourne and we've never been to the Mornington Peninsula.  I only have a small percentage of readers in Australia and possibly not many of them are from Melbourne but perhaps you've been and would like to recommend a few favourite non tourist experiences (especially anything involving food and wine) I might enjoy.  We are thinking of staying near St Kilda Beach so I can continue my daily walks on the beach....and there are lots of cake shops for when I need coffee and cake.

One of my  most special friends  lives in Bendigo and we will visit her and check out any vineyard  suggestions you have.  Mornington Peninsula is another vineyard destination I'd like to know more about.

More South Island Adventures

We spent a long lunch at this little winery Amisfield  and came home with a few bottles - two pinot noirs, two pinot gris and one riesling.

Carrick  was where we intended to lunch but we'd had a late start and weren't really hungry when we arrived.  I'm now a fan of their riesling and we bought a couple of bottles.

Being a big Olssens  fan we stopped off there to taste a few pinots.  They were out of the Nipple Hill but we did buy some Jackson Barry.

We caught up with a few bloggers.   The first was Mary who lives in Dunedin, home of Emersons,  where she had arranged a private tour with her friend, the owner Richard. Excellent beer and we can buy it in Auckland.  My favourite, the Taieri George, has a fruity, spicy flavour almost like drinking a hot cross buns. Would pair nicely with a rich dark fruit cake.

Next was Paul in Christchurch and dinner at Alchemy  and I got to try the Akaroa Salmon  Alchemy devised for the Corbans Perfect Match event. Paul introduced us to the  Camshorn  pinot gris.  We left Alchemy and with Paul headed to the latest bar scene in Christchurch.  When the doorman said "are you on the list?"  I was a little concerned but Paul obviously knows the right people because we were in without being on the list.   All Black and Jockey  model Dan  was there.

On our last day we caught up with Bron  and her family with a picnic at Orana Park.  We spent more time drinking, eating and chatting than looking at the animals. We are food bloggers after all! Bron brought along some local and imported cheeses including my favourite St Nectaire.

And naturally Bron brought along baked goods to share.

Thanks Mary, Paul and Bron for treating us so well and taking care of us in your respective cities. Hopefully we will see you in Auckland soon ..or we might be back down south another day.

I've added some vista shots of the South Island landscape to my Foto Blog  if you'd like to see more.

I'm Back

I ate here too. Come back tomorrow to see where in New Zealand this place is.

Ten Days On The Road

The South  Island has plenty  of  good  vineyards  and we plan on visiting a few over the next ten days.  Tomorrow we head to the South Island and will spend 10 days travelling in this motor home  from  Maui.  It is big and has panoramic windows. Picture us  backed up to the view, sitting at the table with a glass of pinot noir in the warmth of our temporary home.  It even has  a toilet and shower and heating....and two beds so we can have one each and we won't even miss our king size bed at home.

For me, one highlight will be stopping off at Fleur's Place   in Moeraki for dinner. We might even stay in the area  an extra day so we can have breakfast and lunch  there also.

The other highlight will be meeting fellow bloggers Mary,     Bron,  Paul  at various stages of the trip.

While I'm away there is plenty of reading and recipes  for you at the A Taste Of Yellow  round up. I've also added some photos of our recent trip in the North Island to My Foto Blog.

See you at the end of May.

I'm Back But Busy

Lots to tell but it will have to wait. Come back on the weekend for photos of our dinner at Aria.

I'd like to say welcome to any new readers who arrived here from the article in the April edition of New Zealand House and Garden .   Do also visit the other New Zealand food and wine bloggers on my right hand side bar.

A Quick Trip To Sydney for Dinner

This is where I'll be eating dinner on Saturday night.  A good friend is celebrating a birthday ending in a zero and he has chosen to celebrate with a small group of friends in the kitchen of  this restaurant.   How lucky are we to be included in this select group?

We're off to Sydney on Thursday and will spend the following five days celebrating. See you next week.

Home Cooking and Other Things

When my sister in law Carol (of South African heritage) said she had made a special South African dessert called "cook sister" that was how I imagined it was spelt.  You would wouldn't you because of Jeanne and her blog .

The spelling is actually  "koeksuster" . They are made of  pastry which is plaited , deep fried then immediately immersed in chilled syrup.  Delicious and let's not even think about the calories. It was Christmas after all.

Does a healthy breakfast compensate all that sugar? I think so.  At the end of our stay we spent a few days in Perth with my cousin Jan Marie  and her husband David.   This was the breakfast Jan Marie served. I love Bircher Muesli  and often order it when we breakfast out.  You have to be organised to have it at home.  Like make it before you go to bed.  So back home I got organised and we now have it every morning.  It makes a nice change from our usual porridge and is perfect for summer.

Our home away from home while in Perth was the  Brew-ha  in Subiaco, just a short stroll from David and Jan Marie's  lovely home.  It was way too hot to sit at a pavement table so we sat out in  the back space  where the beans are roasted.   With cooling overhead fans, potted palms and cane furniture it felt more like Singapore than Perth.

It was at the Brew-ha we organised to meet up with the legendary Man That Cooks , sometimes known as Spiceman, but also called Anthony.  We swapped foodie gifts. For me copies of the last two issues of Spice , the magazine Anthony edits, and for Anthony some of my homemade Rhubarb Jelly .

The last couple of photos I'd like to share were taken on the Busselton jetty.  As a child Busselton is where I spent my holidays. My Grandparents had a home on the beach not far from the jetty.  The sand dunes I once played in have become a road along the beach front and the land prices have increased significantly.

Busselton Jetty  is around 1.8 K in length.  It is worth the walk out to the very end  to visit  the Underwater Observatory . The conducted tour will take you down several levels under the ocean where you will learn the history of the jetty and a little about the sea life you will see. If  I lived in Busselton I'd want to do this every day (there is a cost of $20 per person) as it is one of the most calming experiences I've had.

I almost forgot. Last but not least - Aileen's Vanilla Crescents