Glass Cabinet Conversion

I get some furniture pieces every now and again with this wonderful idea of where it will go inside the house and what function it will have, and as it sits waiting to be revamped, plans change.  This piece is a shining example of that. 

I picked it up years ago in Morrinsville with the idea that it would be converted from the beautiful queen anne glass display cabinet (which had a broken leg and missing glass) into a shoe storage display unit in Aaliyah's room.  My thoughts were to paint the whole thing black including the glass at the back and sides of the unit so that her heels would be the feature of the piece, displayed through the glass in the front.

The room was renovated and as furniture went into the room, Aaliyah decided she didn't want the piece anymore.  It sat in our shed for a month or so more until I came home one day and my husband Gig had decided to use it as storage for sports/hunting gear.  

He replaced all the glass with old wood he had laying around, sanded it back, then painted it.  ASCP Olive was his colour of choice (inside and out) with the handle painted ASCP Duck Egg Blue to break the piece up.  I am just gutted I didn't get a before photo of the piece.

I think it looks fabulous in our room and adds that much needed storage.

If you have a piece of furniture that could do with a make over, then I encourage you give it a spruce with a coat of paint.  You'll be surprised with how fabulous it will turn out.

Happy learning peeps!

 

Te Whakaruruhau Fundraiser

Today is the first time since the 1^st of March 2016 that I've logged into my blog with a view to post something.  Upon reflection, time has flown by, but I wanted to share a great experience I had working alongside my marae whanau and Te Whakaruruhau.  Last year I was so lucky to be able to work alongside Anne Thorpe who was their celebrity chef at Te Whakaruruhau’s first fundraiser “Saving Rose”.

That event was such a wonderful success for Te Whakaruruhau that they ran another fundraiser this year on February 25^th.  When meeting with the organisation to discuss this years event, I asked who their chef would be.  The response was “we would like you”.  I was completely taken by surprise!  Trying to compose myself, words were spoken, which I really can’t remember, but I managed to blurt out “Wow, I’ll have to come back to you”.

I have worked with Te Whakaruruhau for a number of years now.  They provide such a wonderful and beneficial service to the community by providing help on domestic & abusive environments for maori women and their children.  In fact, it’s quite eye opening to understand what experiences their women have been through and the courage it takes to choose a different path.  I really couldn't turn a blind eye by not getting involved but I wanted to ensure I could commit 100% before saying yes.
I went back to them – then reality hit.  What the heck will I serve? I decided on a healthy menu using fresh ingredients, natural sugars, natural oils - Absolutely nothing refined!

The menu - just gutted I didn't get a picture of the entre.  It was devine!

Bacon wrapped smoked paprika chicken with pineapple & avocado salsa

Orange & fennel pulled pork on a kumara cake with watercress, pistachiao & parmesan salad

Coconut cream pannacotta with poached nectarines & summer syrup

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be involved in this intiative and more importantly to all those volunteers who I worked alongside.  I really did learn so much from this experience and understand this years event was just as successful for Te Whakaruruhau as 2015.

 

In regard to Te Whakaruruhau?  If you are looking for an organisation to support OR you know someone who needs help, and you don't quite know how to go about it, then simply contact Te Whakaruruahu on 078551569 (24hrs).  You could save their life.  

Happy learning peeps!

 

Apple & Berry Smoothie

Sometimes during the hot summer weather, I find I can't enjoy heavy meals as much so this recipe is perfect for me when I feel like something.  PLUS it's healthy!!

Ingredients
1/2 to 1 can of coconut water (no more than 350 mls)
6 - 12 raw almonds
1 apple, cored
One handful of frozen berries you
1 teaspoon of manuka honey 
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Method
Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour and enjoy!

Happy living peeps!

Orange & Fennel Pulled Pork

I made this a little while ago and it really is so easy to make.  It melts in your mouth and jam packed with flavour.  It is a perfect dish to prepare the night before, place into the crockpot the next morning and it's all ready to devour that night -  not to mention the aroma that fills the house while it's cooking. 

If you don't have a blender, then don't worry.  Simply chop everything up and throw it all together.  As long as the flavours get into the pork that's all that matters.

Ingredients
1.5 - 2 kg pork shoulder
2 tablespoons of fennel seeds
2 cups of fresh orange juice
1 red chilli - deseeded
2 cloves of garlic
1 knobs of ginger
Sea salt & cracked pepper

Method
Blend all the ingredients (except the pork) in a blender until everything is smooth.

Remove any skin from the pork and pierce as many times as possible.  Place the pork into an oven dish OR crockpot and add the marinade making sure all those wonderful flavours get into the pork.

Cover and cook on 140 c for 6-8 hours until the pork begins to pull apart nicely. Alternatively you can place on low on the crockpot for 8 hours.

In the same dish, pull the meat apart with two forks then cover and leave warm until ready to serve.

Serves 8-10 people

Happy living peeps!!

Hutch Makeover

I purchased a hutch dresser for $30 off trademe over 18 months ago with the view to give it a new life.   At the time of purchase it needed some serious TLC as it had been stored at a diary farm shed for a number of years.  It had a bad brown/orange 80's look which I really wasn't feeling, but it also had some interesting detail which I thought would be interesting.

Sadly it sat in our shed for 18 months before my husband and I gave it a good clean up.  He repaired what needed doing, while I sorted the colour scheme.  My choice being Annie Sloan duck egg blue for the outside of the dresser and Annie Sloan graphite for the inside of the shelves, drawers, cupboards and handles.  I finished the graphite with dark wax, while the duck egg blue is finished with clear wax.

There was a bit of discussion whether to keep the doors on the upper part of the dresser, but we decided it would be better left off.  What do you think?

Inside the house

I had originally thought of selling this piece, but as usual once it was finished we all fell in love with it inside the house.

Happy living peeps!!

Pineapple & Avocado Salsa

I made this recipe years ago when I was experimenting.  I wanted a nice refreshing side to go with some cajun fish and this was perfect!  It's light, tasty, extremely refreshing and delicious.

Ingredients

2 cups diced pineapple
1 cup chopped coriander
1 avocado, diced
1 red chilli, seeded, finely chopped OR a pinch of chilli flakes
1 red capsium - diced
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 Tbsp. lime juice
Salt & pepper

Method
Place everything in a bowl and toss gently.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Happy living peeps!

Home Grown Goodness

We are going on our 5th year since moving to the ponderosa and life just keeps getting better in terms of all our wonderful home grown goodness.  In saying this, our home grown ventures haven't always been an easy road with a few trial and errors occurring. 

Reflecting on some past blogs we didn't get any plants from PROPAGATING FROM THE GARDEN.  Unfortunately I forgot to change the timer on the sprinkler within the greenhouse which proved disastrous!

THE OLIVE GROVE is still there, however a few of them were attacked by the local rabbits.  They weren't eating the trees, but they were burrowing into their root system which made it difficult to get established but they are starting to get going now.  Especially when we decided to get rid of the pine trees.

Trimming the chooks wings is a must or trying to grow a vegetable garden turns into a losing battle.  There was a time there when our chook numbers were going to decline at a fast rate and keeping sheep inside a paddock can prove more challenging than we thought.  They definitely aren't like beef, that's for sure!

With all the trials and errors, we have learnt from them to look to improve and learn from the experiences and the results are only getting better.

Happy living peeps!