Spring Daffodils

There are many things that signify spring is in the air but nothing more so than the appearance of daffodils.  They are undoubtedly the most popular of spring bulbs and are extremely easy to grow.  The added bonus is they don't need a lot of care once they are planted and as long as the soil is moist in the winter and dry in the summer they don't need to be lifted after every season.  (Unlike Tulips .. but that's another story).

I love daffodils and I've always wanted to have a mass planting of these beautiful flowers. Well ...... back in February I decided to make it a reality.  I ordered 400 bulbs from Canterbury and went to work planting them over a two week period during May.  

I started on one side of the driveway being careful not to plant either too close to the drive or an area that I knew my husband was planning to dig up to make way for his new garage/shed/workshop/man cave.

The experience was interesting with both my daughters and husband helping me in different occasions, but I was determined to get it finished.

Daffodils are also a symbol of cancer awareness through the NZ cancer society.  The daffodils bright yellow bloom reminds us of the joys the new spring season will bring therefore represents the hope there is for the 1 in 3 New Zealanders affected by cancer.

One thing I am extremely proud of is the fact that this is my contribution to raising awareness of cancer.  I have many whanau (family) who have suffered by this hideous disease and many who have beaten it and won.  My daffodils is a remembrance of their strength and love.


The results look amazing, but fair to say I have a few more bulbs to plant in order to get the absolute mass planting I am really looking for, so this is a definite work in progress.

Our driveway in the autumn season (May)

The 400 bulbs ready to be planted

And the finished product in late winter (August)

I don't think the pictures do the daffodils justice, but I'm so pleased with the results of the first season.

The cancer society hold an event every year to fundraise for the awareness.  This event is called "daffodil day".  If you'd like to contribute financially go to www.daffodilday.org.nz

Another way you can raise awareness is by planting some daffodils next season if you are able.  If not in mass like this, then try them in a pot on your porch, or on your kitchen table.  The results will look great!!!

Happy living people

Winter Has Come & Nearly Gone

Representative netball takes up my winter months which means four days a weeks from June through to August is taken up by either planning, managing, mentoring, organising, supporting, fixing, meeting, travelling, and everything in between for the Eastern Waikato Netball Centre.  Two of the four days is generally Saturday and Sunday which means I haven't spent alot of my weekends at home living the life of the Ponderosa.  I don't complain though, because netball provides me with an opportunity to help the community, particularly youth through the sport and work with some of the most amazing and caring people I have met.

In saying this, there has been much achieved over the winter months and with the fresh frosty mornings we experienced earlier in the season provided me a good opportunity to pot some tulips and plant daffodils on one side of the driveway.  

The tulips are just starting to show and the colour is absolutely spectacular.  Next season I hope to pot more tulips so that we can enjoy these elegant flowers throughout the entire spring months.

I managed to bake another birthday cake for my dear friend Dora.  This one being for her daughter Jaydes 18th birthday.  She is such a free spirit with a caring and loving nature and I was more than happy to oblige for her.  I experimented with the frosting to get the textured look and although the photo doesn't give the cake justice, it was eye catching.

The Sheilas aka One Direction, are having a ball frolicking in the paddocks and showing off to the neighbours cattle with all their feed.  Although it hasn't been all roses for them as the continuous rain we experienced later in the season meant the land became ALOT soggier than we would have liked.

On top of this they received a small surprise in winter.  Three more additions arrived to join the herd and although one has migrated well, the younger two are still finding their way.

All eight of them are growing well and I have found myself standing at the home gate gazing out into the paddock admiring just how beautiful they are.  

Oh yes, my husband named the new additions - roast, sirloin and scotchie.

The Sheilas ... one missing from the photo

The winter months hasn't seen alot of egg action from "the gals" aka chooks and on a sad note, we lost one of the gals.  Precious (the black one) wondered into one of the paddocks one day and it took us a week to find her.  We haven't quite figured out exactly what happened to her, but the local hawke found her quite appetising and once we found her there wasn't much left at all.  

At first we thought a stoat had gotten her and was very worried it would come back to clean up the rest, however that's not the case.  We also wondered whether the local magpies got to her as well.  We have between 4-6 magpies that hang around in the pine tress along the road and I've witnessed them chasing or attacking other birds around the property.  

I suppose we will never know, and although we are down to 8 chooks now and as the end of the season is winding up and the weather is getting warmer, they are starting to produce more eggs daily which is great.

The gals enjoying left over chocolate cake :-)

This is only some of the happenings on the Ponderosa during the winter months with alot more still to come.

How Time Flies

How time flies.   As always my life during the winter period is focused mainly on netball, however on top of that I've ventured into another demanding role for my marae (however that story is for another time).


It's been over a month since my last post and there is much to share so I begin by reflecting on my last blog ... and must mention the loss of our dear companion and friend - our beloved dog PAL. Many feel a dog is just a dog, however without realising it, they become apart of the whanau, thus becoming a part of you and for 15 years - PAL was apart of us.   He is buried on the Ponderosa and within the next couple of months we will plant a tree as a remembrance of how much he was part of the family.


Reflecting on that experience, I'm fairly positive I won't be as emotional when it comes time to slaughter one of the sheila's or one of the gals for the dinner table ... at least I hope not.


I have to thank my friend Dora for the request to make a 1st birthday cake as it helped me refocus by helping her produce a lovely present for her mum's friend from church.  Although I found it hard to motivate myself at first, with the assistance of my daughters Aaliyah and Jayden, we decided to create something a little different than the normal 1st birthday cake by doing something a little more special.  I guess that's why I enjoy doing cakes for Dora .. her attitude is "honey, I trust you ... just give me whatever you think of.  I know it'll be awesome"


I always get such joy watching peoples faces when they see my cakes for the first time.  It's generally a good indication of whether they like it or not.  Fair to say, Dora and my beautiful god daughter Hope were smiling from ear to ear for the entire time they arrived to pick the cake up.  'WOW!!!   .. it's beautiful' Dora said.


I'm glad with the outcome and I have to thank my daughters for this cake because they did the bulk of it.  I just helped put it together and finish it all off :-)

I guess, regardless of whether you're busy making cakes, taking care of netball, or trying to cope with the lose of a whanau member it's important to stop, reflect and appreciate life and those that are important to you.  You must take time to do this, or at xmas time, you might just wake up one day and ask yourself "what just happened to my life?"

The finished product - take the figurines off the cake and it becomes a lovely two tiered wedding cake

The texture of the frills on the cake is very forgiving

Have a great evening people

Our Best Friends

Dogs.  Said to be mans best friend and to be honest on some days I agree and on others I don't.  We currently have two dogs.  One a beautiful pedigree golden labrador called PAL who is just over 14 year old with arthritis and JOSEPH, a cheeky fox terrier.  Both dogs we inherited from my parents and to cut a very long story short ... we offered to look after PAL one weekend and he hasn't gone home.  Five years later my parents inherit JOSEPH then four years after that my parents bring JOSEPH to the ponderosa and he hasn't gone home since.  


Good thing we like dogs :-)Although I know many people who don't like dogs and I can't see why not. I was bought up in a whanau who always had dogs and like everything, the dogs had a purpose, which in my whanau was hunting and protecting the house.


My grand parents had LOTS of dogs throughout the years with the first dog I remember being my nana pops sausage dog called CHEEKY.  He was beautiful and definitely cheeky.  After he died I remember my grandfather's dog which was a golden labrador called BEAUTY.  She was such a good dog, hunted well, good protector and loved children.  You knew she was a good hunter and did her job well because she lived so long she turned grey and eventually wondered away one day and never returned.  My grandfather told us that that's what animals do when they know they are going to die.  


Last week we thought that was exactly what PAL had done when we discovered he wasn't at home.  I had been home all day and he slept most of the day in the sun but by the time my daughter came home he had gone.  We were desperately driving around a 5 km radius to see if he had fallen into a ditch or something because we knew his arthritis wouldn't get him very far, however no success.  I rang both the Waikato District Council and the Hamilton City Council to see if they had picked him up, but without success.  Because labradors love water, I went to bed that night thinking he wondering into a drain somewhere and was stuck because his arthritis couldn't get him out.  Fair to say I didn't sleep well that night.


In the morning I discovered my daughter had announced on facebook our dog was missing and everyone was concerned about his wellbeing.  Our fears turned into relief when I received a called from the WDC saying they had found him.  Excited I got in the car  to go and pick him up, with thoughts of joy that he was safe, but that quickly disappeared when I got the bill for $340.  WTF???  


Since then PAL has cost another $70 when he was picked up at 10.30 pm .. and JOSEPH $60 when he was nabbed racing cars.  Keep telling yourself it's a good investment I kept saying.  


I don't like tying the dogs up 24/7 or 12/7 for that matter because like all animals, they aren't made to be tied up, but I thought we had to do something or they'll cost us a fortune.  Then I learnt a couple of neighbours had been broken into, so I reminded myself, it is a good investment PLUS they provide hours of entertainment with their strange ways, like rolling into something dead just after you've given them a bath.  Or playing with a honey bee and getting stung.  Or trying seeing them walk through the paddock and then collapse in the water and be contented to stay there forever.


Whatever the reason, our two dogs are the best and I can't wait to see what other adventures they take us on in the future :-)

JOSEPH after he decided to play with a honey bee

PAL deciding he wasn't going any further

Have a great night!!

Bosco vs The Sheilas - Round One

Living the good life is really starting to ramp up in terms of stocking the land with sustainable products for a healthier life.  It's nearly two weeks since the new additions arrived to the Ponderosa - 5 beautiful Hereford cows.  The idea is to raise them until they are at least 2 years old, sell some to make money and eat some to save money and "The Sheilas" have settled in quite well ... NOW.  

I say now because they arrived all squashed up on the back of my brothers tandem trailer after a 5 hour drive from Maropiu to Hamilton.  Yes, they arrived Clampett styles :-) towed behind Dad's Prado in the dark at 9 pm.  I could only imagine how traumatic that experience would have been for them, especially after my husband told me they had just come off their mothers.  Poor babies.  My husband placed them in the stock yards over night with some hay to try and settle them during the night, with the plan to move them into the paddock in the morning.

I awoke the next morning to the sound of "the sheilas" mooing and I remember thinking to myself how therapeutic it was, although looking back now I doubt that was the emotion they were trying to achieve.

I wasn't there to experience them being moved as Ness and I went off to take care of another job I do in the winter time - netball.  Whilst we were finishing up for the morning, Ness received a text from her husband Bung who I can only imagine was excited by the fresh air and experience of being on some land.  The text read "Better buy a nice bottle of wine on the way home".  Giggling to herself Ness told me "something must have happened" and read the text out to me.  I wandered off engrossed in finishing my netball jobs for the day when Ness popped up and said "oh no ... Bosco (their Boxer puppy which is the size of a small cow), was so excited he chased "the sheilas" and made two of them bolt through the electric fence.  The boys (our husbands) had to round them up from the neighbours property and put them back into the paddock".  I commented that my husband must've been livid.

To be honest, I didn't quite register the significance of what had happened until we got home and the boys explained it to us.  They had to repair the neighbours fence from the damage it had caused.  Fair to say my husband was not very happy, but he got over it pretty quickly and poor old Bosco was securely tied up on the verandah wondering what was happening, especially since our two dogs - PAL and JOSEPH were casually roaming the land.  Little did Bosco know, their introduction to cows was a little more traumatic, each happening on separate occasions many years ago.  Its kind of like an initiation to farming life when our dogs wonder the land and think "oooo whats that big friendly looking beast?  I'll wander over there and show my authority" ... only to be kicked profusely by a mother protecting their babies.  Fair to say our dogs do not enter the paddocks when we visit the Maropiu farm anymore and stay well away from any cow .. NO EXCEPTIONS!!

I wandered over to the paddock fence to see if the sheilas were okay and watched them roaming on the perimeter of the paddock.  Day two, and still traumatised by their move to the Ponderosa.  Poor things.  

Later that day we joked about the events of the morning and I have a vivid image of the boys wondering excitedly over to the stock yards, forgetting that Bosco was even more excited trying to enjoy the fresh air and 9 acres to run around in. (I think he takes after his owner Bung)  5 cows (animals Bosco had never experienced) was something new to play with ... in fact he was that excited, the electric fence couldn't hold him back either - but like I said, he is the size of a small cow :-)  I'm not sure which animal I felt more sorry for - The Sheila's or Bosco?

It took 4 days for the sheilas to settle in and feel safe to wander close to the fence for us to talk to them.  The girls have named them after the One Direction group ... which to be honest is fitting considering the cows look more masculine than the boys in the singing group.  Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry and Louis

They seem extremely fascinated with "the gals" or chooks and most mornings I awake to see them all grazing in the paddock together.     Aaaaah, this is the life alright.  

We are so pleased with The Sheila's that I've asked my dad to bring two more from the farm in Maropiu to join them this weekend.  That should be interesting to see how they integrate with The Sheilas ... plus Bosco is due to come back down this weekend too so we'll have to be extra careful so that we don't have the same episode we had a few weeks back ... although that would be funny :-)

The Sheilas - Believe it or not, they have just come off their mothers

Bosco ... in his fierce hunting environment of the North Shore in Auckland

Have a great evening people.

Homemade Magic Face Cream

I am a avid supporter of Natural remedies - now.  I say now, because in the past it was only natural to go to your local GP or doctor when you weren't feeling well and trusted their advice and the medicine they would prescribe for you.  Of course, back then, you had a very intimate relationship with your local doctor - not in a sense that you were getting down and dirty with them, but more in a sense that you trusted them with your life, therefore needed to feel comfortable with them at all times.  

The other side of the coin at that time was the fact that the yucky bugs weren't as destructive as the ones nowadays therefore going to the doctors wasn't something that happened a lot.  In fact, natural remedies was something built firmly into family life because we descend from forefathers that didn't have the luxuries of a local GP readily accessible.

I have been enjoying reading the book "A Home Companion - My year of living like my grandmother" by Wendyl Nissen.  In essence it's purely about her life when she decides to be self-sufficent for a year.  I thought it interesting when she writes about her experience with the medical experts of the world regarding her breast infection and after over two years of trying everything and anything they diagnosed, their advise was simply "It's not life threatening, is difficult to treat, therefore you will just have to live with it".  Her answer was to resort to natural therapy, and after experimenting with turmeric root, the infection cleared up within a week and has not returned.

It instantly reminded me of my experience as a young mother with baby twins, one of which was struggling to settle and sleep more than 2 hours straight. After numerous visits to the doctors, being given many different medicines that didn't work then being told "your baby has colic, and you just have to live with it".  I too resorted to a naturopath.  Their diagnosis?  My baby's skull was not growing fast enough, therefore was having major regular headaches.  The cure?  6 x 5 minute cranials.  After the first cranial, my baby slept for 10 hours straight and after the 6th cranial, she was sleeping for 8 hours at night.  From that point onwards, I have been open about my skepticism of main stream medicine and have no issues recommending natural therapy.  

There is alot of money in medicine therefore the more the doctors prescribe, then more money the drug companies are making. There is also a lot of money in cosmetics and most businesses are about making money, I began to think what actually goes into my face cream, or moisturisers and whether they are actually good for me.

I performed the ole "Mcdonalds cheeseburger test".  I placed my face cream on the window sill without a lid for over 2 weeks.  If it contained more natural products than chemicals then it would start to grow it's own community of living organisms.  Result?  It looked just the same as it normally does, just like the McD's cheeseburger.

I was pleased to see Wendyl Nissen had a recipe within her book in which she called it "Magic Face Cream" so I decided to give it a go.  It's a little strange because it generally was like making a salad dressing with some essential oil (I used vanilla but you can use pretty much any fragrance you want), but in saying that it was fairly quick and easy to make.  After the first application I was pleasantly surprised at how soft my skin felt. My husband even gave it go, although he said he didn't notice any difference, but it smelt nice which is a bonus :-)

4 ingredients of 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 3 teaspoons of cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of water and about 3 drops of essential oil.  That's it!!! Store it in the fridge and give it a good shake before applying it.

Have a great night!!!

Are You Nuts!!!!

I've always wanted to have nut trees, but I've always been put off  by people saying they can take anywhere from 3 to 10 years to produce their fruit ... or should I say nuts.  Although there is a 3 to 10 years statement in there somewhere, I usually focus on the 10 years, think that's crazy, then completely tune right out of the idea, until of course I'm at the local supermarket and see how much I have to pay for my walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds for my homemade granola.  It's then, that I remember my idea of wanting my own nut trees and hear the 10 years again and again ... and again.

You can only imagine how excited I was when roaming the Ponderosa with the old owners just prior to moving in, when I spotted the walnut tree.  In fact I was that excited I think I screamed "IS THAT A WALNUT TREE?  Julie (the past owner) said "oh yes, that's a walnut tree and has produced a lovely crop for us every year".  And on that reply I proceeded to talk about how I've always wanted to have my own nut trees and how excited I was that I don't have to wait for the dreaded 10 years, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla!!!

Fair to say Julie was a little puzzled by my dribble drabble and there was a small silence before she proceeded to say "well if that makes you happy, you'll be pleased to know on the other side of this paddock is a line of hazelnut trees".  To cut a very long story short I nearly pee'd my pants at hearing those words :-)

I was told that hazelnut and walnut trees can be harvested in autumn so out came my handy dandy scriptures "The Tui NZ Fruit Garden" book to confirm this.  Late summer to early autumn was the timing for the hazelnuts it said, so off I went with my husband one afternoon in late March (early autumn) to gauge how the nuts were developing, both without any understanding of what to expect.  My excitement turned to disappointment very quickly when I learnt that we were too late.  The row of hazelnut trees had already produced their crop and the wild critters of the land had feasted on the lot :-( .. "Oh well" said my husband, "we will need to take note for next year and come over the check on a regular basis".  "Grrrrr!!!!", he was right, but the thought of me having to shop at the supermarket for the next 12 months for my hazelnuts was a little hard to swallow.

The walnut tree is much closer to the homestead and is grown with one side in the paddock and the other in the home garden. I was determined to ensure we had some type of harvest off this tree.  Mid to late autumn was the harvesting timing from the "Tui Scriptures" and when one nut drops, all nuts should be harvested. So one day when I had finished taking cuttings from my camellias, roses and lavender plants, and during a visit from my parents we sat under the walnut tree discussing life's stories over a nice cup of tea when my mother (who just so happens to LOVE LOVE LOVE nuts) said "you're walnuts can be harvested, they have fallen off the tree".  With that note, my husband picked up the nuts that had fallen into the garden side, I peeled them ... and my mother attempted to crack some open to have a taste.  They tasted delicious!!! (even when my mother has no talent what so ever in ensuring the nut comes out whole).  Once we had finished that lot of nuts, we concluded they needed to be dried out before shelling them further.  We still needed to pick up the nuts from the other side of the tree (paddock side) and I thought, I'll get that done tomorrow as daylight was drawing to a close.

I went to bed happy that we had harvested some of our walnuts and wondered how many nuts we would need to harvest the next day.  I awoke the next morning discussing the harvest with my husband as we prepared our breakfast.  On a nice sunny morning, we take our breakfast out onto the verandah that overlooks our paddocks and you can see the walnut tree as well.  The sun is always welcoming and I could sit and watch the view for hours as it's quite relaxing and therapeutic.  On this particular sunny morning however, we discovered the neighbouring farmer had placed his cows in our paddock early that morning and the cows were eating all the walnuts on the ground :-(

I was gutted!!!  Gutted that we weren't able to gauge the full crop from the walnut tree, but happy that we had at least harvested some nuts the day prior.  

Learning's from this experience?  We need to ensure that the cows and critters don't get next years crop.

Our hazelnut trees

Our walnut tree - paddock side

Our walnut tree, ... garden side

Some our our harvest from the walnut tree

Have a great day!!!

If At First You Don't Succeed, Try And Try Again

It's common sense isn't it?  I mean we are bought into this world to take risks and test ourselves on our own abilities in life.  That's how we learn, how we progress isn't it?  Maybe so, or maybe it's the fact it's nearly midnight and I thinking to myself as I type this, that it's a little too deep for this time of the night.


Yes ... so .... I wanted to share with you my latest creations I decided to test over the past week.  The first is what I call my Retro Rose Cake.  I saw something similar on a blog I Am Baker and thought I'd give it go. Unfortunately the frosting was too wet and because my visitors were arriving within 15 mins of me finishing it, I had to improvise with black in white sprinkles :-(  In saying this, I love how the colour came out but I have learnt from this mistake and will ensure next time it comes out PERFECT!!!!

A work in progress for sure ... I call it my Retro Rose Cake

My second creation is a Chocolate Ruffle Cake which was a lot more successful than the Retro Rose Cake.  I made this for Sharianne Rangitaawa's 20th birthday.  It was a surprise from her mother Dora.


I decided to try a new frosting recipe I found on a blog called Let Them Eat Cake!!  The recipe was so quick and easy I was really amazed with the results.  In fact, the recipe called for Dutch Cocoa to not only give it a rich flavour, but the dark chocolate colour too.  Unfortunately I used the last of the dutch cocoa in the cake itself, so I decided to use my budget out of the box cocoa instead .. end result ... colour was brilliant .. flavour was awesome!!!!


I have tried the ruffled effect before on a couple of other cakes, so I knew what to expect.  What surprised me was just how beautiful the finished product was.  

Unfortunately I need to work on my photography skills because this is the best photo I got before it was taken away to be devoured by Dora, Sharianne and the rest of the whanau.  Learning from this cake ... get better photo's :-)


Have a great night!!

The Olive Grove

Olive Grove - A small group of olive trees.

The past week has been hectic for me and my whanau therefore many jobs are needed to be completed around the Ponderosa - one of which is planting the olive grove.  

I was gifted an olive tree as a house warming present from our good friends Viv and Kev and I knew that one plant would be the beginning of the olive grove.  The olive type they gave was 'ASCOLANO' and the standard tag that came with it from mitre 10 stated it was a reliable heavy cropper that produces a good table olive with a delicate flavour.  Great I thought, I just need to find the right place for it because I knew my husband would be reminding me constantly that I need to find a home for it.

I took the placement of this tree seriously, therefore after a few weeks I decided that I wanted the tree to go in the back paddock by the chook coop.   Mainly so that it didn't impede on any of our views, had easy access to cultivate the crop, plus provide some shelter for "the gals".  The soil is pretty good there with the exception of the pine trees being thirsty.

After studying my trusty book "Tui - The NZ Fruit Garden" (which my beautiful mother gave when I moved into the Ponderosa) it stated olive trees will tolerate the most unfavourable conditions including prevailing winds, but needed good drainage so I thought, yip ... by the chook coop it is.  I just need a few more trees to accompany this lone tree.

So off to mitre 10 we went to get a few more trees.  5 more in fact - another two ASCOLANO, 1 x FRANTOIO, 1 X PENDOLINO and 1 x LECCINO.  We chose the other types because the mighty tag stated they were good cropping trees for making oil and if planted together would produce better.  I am a little sceptical about these tags, but it's a learning exercise that only time will tell I suppose ... and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from.

After a number of weeks contemplating where to establish the olive grove and numerous glasses of red wine I am very happy with the end result. I can visualise the trees providing nice structure once they are established.

I've always wanted to plant olive trees, ultimately to make olive oil, however I haven't had the land to bring this want into fruition.....UNTIL NOW :-)  Thanks Viv and Kev for the inspiration to kick start the olive grove.

My husband and our beloved dog PAL finishing planting the trees

The gifted tree ... with our cheeky dog JOSEPH in the background

Our Olive Grove .... Small, but with big plans!!!!

Have a great day!!

My Homemade Limoncello

This week I decided to bottle my two batches of limoncello that have been brewing for at least 6 months.  Yes that's right - 6 months, and between me and you, I am very excited about it!!  Why, because the alcohol that I have used was gifted to me by two different set of very good friends.  The first is from Rewa and Pia Harre and is brewed from grape skins and the second is from Bung and Ness Williams from Auckland, although the brew actually came from Bung's brother in Canterbury using a special recipe.

I haven't really been this excited about bottling a batch since I was asked by Bung and Ness to make a special batch for their beautiful wedding at Mantells.  Just quietly though, I was more nervous than excited after Ness told me they were going to hand out a glass to everyone at the end of the night as the last toast and the reality hit that everyone was going to have glass. Eeekkk, what if it didn't turn out right!!!  

I believe everything you enjoy doing should be done with love, so the results turn into a positive outcome.  Fair to say, I put a lot of love into that batch and I was so pleased hearing the wonderful comments at the wedding once the final toast was made.

Limoncello was my very first liqueur that I decided to try out.  The idea initially started when I was watching a travelling program which involved Italy and it stated that Limoncello was very simple to make. All you need is lemons, alcohol (the higher percentage the better - the program stated 80% alcohol) and sugar syrup and time to wait for the two step brewing process to get the finished product.  Of course I thought wouldn’t it be great to make and give out to all my friends as a xmas gift.  

They were definitely right. It was simple to make but the brewing took some time to get the right results but well worth the wait with all my friends giving me rave reviews.  Of course it’s not easy to get 80% alcohol in New Zealand unless you find someone who brews their own, so my first couple of batches were made with good quality vodka (which wasn’t too bad considering it diluted the alcohol content which resulted in a lot more happier people in the morning).

The longer you brew the liqueur the better the taste so if you’re pressed for time, this recipe isn’t for you I’m afraid, but trust me when I say it’s all well worth the wait.  There is one recipe out there though which my good friend Viv makes which takes a day or so to brew and I believe less than a day to for her and her wonderful husband Kev to drink :-)

If you don’t like a sweet liqueur then simply add less sugar syrup to the recipe and it MUST be stored in the freezer.  Don't worry though, this is where the high alcohol content ensures the liquid doesn't freeze, it only keeps it chilled for ready use.

Since my first batch and my first lot of Xmas gifts to my friends and family, I have continued to make this wonderful liqueur and I hear it doesn't last very long at all once it's given out.  

So here's the finished product :-)  plus what each step looks like.  I started a new batch on the weekend so you can see the difference in colour as the brew is allowed to do it's thing after time.

Lemon Skins Brewing - This is my new batch I started this weekend

After the Sugar Syrup has had time to brew - Time to filter and bottle.

Filtering process - I use coffee filters

Finished Product plus new brew - Bottles on right are using spirits from Bung and Ness, while middle bottles are from Rewa and Pia.

The idea of a nice glass of chilled limoncello on a summers evening or as a after dinner treat with some good company really appeals to me.  In fact that's exactly what we did last night.  Simply delicious!!!

Have a great day