Tino Reka Te Kai - Matariki Food Challenge

I was given an opportunity to get involved in the Tino Reka Te Kai - Matariki Food Challenge this year which is an initiative to promote local produce whilst celebrating the maori new year - Matariki.  

The Waikato District Council and Waikato Food Inc teamed up with local eateries and gave a very easy brief.  A matariki inspired dish for no more than $30, consisting of at least two locally produced ingredients.  

When I was asked and accepted to get involved, I wondered how the different eateries would depict a matariki inspired dish.  Thoughts of maori food such as boil up and hangi immediately came to mind because when people describe maori food, the general answer is just that.   I must admit this frustrates me just a little because to me, maori kai (food) is an infusion of flavours dependant on the environment you are surrounded by.  Although pork and beef can be classed as "staple food" for maori today, we were more inclined to eat the flora and fauna such as birds, eels, seafood, kumara and specific parts of plants such as piko piko and kauru. 

What was more interesting about this initiative was promoting matariki.  In my view, education on anything  maori has got to be positive.  So ... imagine when the awesomeness kicked in.  This initiative dealt with experienced foodies who live and breath it so my excitement was at a high to see what the chefs could create.

Although there were 4 eateries I HAD to visit, I managed to get to 7 of the 12 eateries who were participating.   Dishes ranged from deconstructed boil up using pork belly, boil up jelly, kumara ice cream and freeze dried bacon.  Pork sausages with gravy served on a bed of polenta mash, to rabbit stew, duck and rewana bread.

The best reference to matariki was the "star gazer", which was monk fish served on kumara gnocchi with pikopiko and prawns.  The reference star gazer referred to the monk fish who navigates through the water with the use of stars.  This dish was served at Cafe Irresitiblue.

A close second was pork dumplings served with watercress & eel with a clean fresh broth.  This dish was inspired through the connection between both maori and japanese who reference Pleiades - the distinctive open star cluster.

The best dish for flavours was mutton bird, puha & kumara puree served on an open ravioli with crispy chicken skin and mushrooms.  This was served at Victoria Street Bistro, which won the overall Matariki Dish Challenge and was delicious.  Very strong flavours by themselves, but together was a marriage made in heaven.

This truly was a huge success with many of my friends, whanau and work colleagues going out and sampling what was on offer.  I am so glad I was given this opportunity and thank everyone who was involved and allowed me to share the experience.

Look forward to seeing this continue next year, with more eateries getting on board.


Happy learning peeps!

Beet Chips

This is another super easy paleo snack recipe I tried the other day.  The technique is similar to my KALE CHIPS however you need to keep an eye on these while they are cooking because they burn easily.

Ingredients
2 large beetroots, sliced thinly
A dash of white or rice vinegar
Pinch of sea salt

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

In a bowl, toss the beets, vinegar and salt together until evenly coated.

Place the seasoned beetroot on the baking tray on a single layer and bake until crispy but not burnt.  It should take about 15 - 20 mins.

Devour!

Happy living peeps!

 

Revamping A Lamp

Aaliyah was given a pair of lamps from her beautiful aunty Marian and she decided she wanted to paint them.  I have to admit, I was pretty surprised by this because I thought they were wonderful as they were.

Never the less, Aaliyah proceeded to paint them one day with a dulux colour and then when we renovated her room, we repainted them again to Annie Sloan's duck egg blue.

Before & After Shot

After In Aaliyah's Room

I tried to convince Aaliyah that we should either paint or cover the shade itself to give them a lift, however Aaliyah wasn't having a bar of it.  One day maybe ....

Happy living peeps!

Baked Kumara Chips

I tried this recipe the other day for a simple snack and considering my husband lives the paleo lifestyle, they had to match the brief.

Going on my KALE CHIPS recipe I simply replaced the kale with kumara and this is the result!!  These would also be great to replace corn chips in a nacho dish to make it paleo as well.

Ingredients
2 large kumara
Pinch of coarse sea salt
Sprinkle of olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Using a good knife, slice the kumara very thin OR you can do this with your food processor.

In a bowl or in the food processor bowl, toss the kumara, olive oil and salt together until evenly coated.

Place the seasoned kumara on the baking tray on a single layer and bake until crispy but not burnt.  It should take about 20 - 25mins.

Enjoy!

Happy learning peeps!

Winter Beef Stew

There's nothing like a beautiful hearty stew on a cold winters day to warm the cockles of your heart.  I made this recipe a few weeks back when we were experiencing some beautiful frosty mornings and chilly days.

It's packed full of flavour and really easy to make and it's very healthy for you!!!  I served this on cauliflower rice, but a nice potato or kumara mash to mop up those delicious juices is just as good.

Ingredients
600 gms of stewing beef, curt into cubes
2 cloves of garlic, bashed
2 carrots, chopped roughly
500 mls of read wine
1 cup of coconut water (or plain water)
1 cup of passata
3 stalks of thyme
1 large stalk of rosemary
200 gms of mushrooms, chopped big
2 tablspoons of arrowroot mixed with 1/2 cup of the wine
2 tablspoons of butter
Salt & Pepper

Method
Throw everything into a crockpot and mix thoroughly.

Put on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve on CAULIFLOWER RICE.

Serves 4

Happy living peeps!

Hallway - Before

Our hallway is the first room you enter into the Ponderosa from our front door.  I have to confess, it's a massive space spanning nearly two metres across which I LOVE, but the dark ceilings, 90's peach colour on the walls and even the glass in the front door is not my cup of tea.

Every single room (except our laundry) comes off this hallway so it's imperative the plan for it's renovation ties into the existing renovated rooms and the future renovations.

Entry from our front door.

Looking back to our front door

Let's see how creative we can get with this room.


Happy living peeps!

Loving Life On The Ponderosa

Winter can be a very depressing time particularly as the weather is cold and mostly wet BUT I must say, I've been enjoying the lovely sunny weather lately, that's for sure.

I took this photo a few weeks back when I was checking the "snail" mail and it made me reflect on my journey at the Ponderosa, which after all is the reason I started this blog.

If I am to be truly honest with myself, I first got the idea about recording specific moments in my life from a beautiful lady called Judy that I worked with at the New Zealand Defense Force about 20 years ago.  She was going through a period in her life where her husband was gone, her children had grown and her grandchildren were just starting to blossom.   I was sitting having a cup of tea with her when she told me her story of her father's diary and how beneficial it was for her much later in her life.   It had such an impact on her, that she made a choice to do something similar.

At the end of her story she looked at me and gave me some advice I'll never forget.  "Record and share your thoughts, your memories, your love, your passion, your friends, your family, your life, your history, your emotions, your connections.  But don't record it for your benefit, do it for your children and grandchildren for them to ponder and understand your take on life through your own eyes.  They will ponder on your thoughts long after you have gone so make sure you do it right and make sure it has a purpose"

The Ponderosa ... In it's winters glory

Since then I've recorded pieces of my life and one day I might choose to share my past journey's on this blog or I may choose to share those with just a selective few.

Whatever the outcome, Judy taught me a few things and I am so humbled to have recieved her wonderful advice.  I'm definitely loving living on the Ponderosa and learning each and every day.


Happy living peeps!

Freshen The Chicken Coop

Sometimes the chicken coop can get a little on the funky side, particularly in the heat of the summer days, or when your sawdust is getting a little low and needs some swapping out.

I read somewhere that a good solution is to place fresh herbs in the sawdust to help eradicate bad bugs.  I've tried this out a couple of times, but with my herb garden still needing a little time to help boost it's yield, I haven't done it as much as I could.  That is until my rosemary hedge needed a good prune back.  Not only did I have enough to place in the sawdust, I also hung some in the coop.

The scent of the rosemary in the coop was wonderful, and proved a little funny one night when the girls went to clean the coop and check for eggs.  Not knowing it was there, they opened the door at dusk and got the shock of their lives.  :-)  A little story to laugh about with them in their older years

Happy living peeps!

Baked Kale Chips

This is another easy recipe that can be whipped up quickly to enjoy as a snack with drinks, while you're watching the footy or as a garnish for an extravagant main meal.

Best thing about this too .. it's 100% healthy for you AND it's paleo :-)

Ingredients
1 bunch of kale
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sea salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Using a good knife, slice the kale leaves away from the stem.  Discard the stem and chop the kale to nice bite size pieces.  Wash the kale and dry thoroughly.

In a bowl, toss the kale, olive oil and salt together until the kale is evenly coated.

Place the seasoned kale on the baking tray on a single layer and bake until crispy but not burnt.  It should take about 10 mins and you may need to give them a toss half way through.

Enjoy immediately!

Happy living peeps!

Coriander In Winter!

Ok .. so there's going to be quite a few gardening posts this season, purely because of all the work needed in autumn and winter to help prep for spring and summer :-)

I just had to share this with everyone about the latest discovery in my vegetable garden.  Coriander .. yip fresh coriander  .... in winter???  I'm really happy to find it actually.

Last summer I planted some coriander and as it does, it grew so fast it seeded before I could pick it all.  No real problems there .. so as I prepared for my winter vegetable garden, I prepped this particular space and planted some kale, spring onlions and beetroots back in April.  This photo was taken in May.

Coriander is a herb that can be expensive in the supermarket but if you go to the chinese or indian vegetable store you can get a big bunch for about $2.

It's an acquired tasted if you're not used to it.  I love to use it in my broths/soups, curries and dumplings, so I'm really happy this unexpected find has worked out a treat.  With the weather cooler, it's taking awhile to grow to a point where it will seed .. if indeed it does seed, so we will have a plentiful supply for a little while.

Happy living peeps!