Buttered Spinach & Herb Potatoes

I do a little bit of work for my marae and after serving some herbed potatoes for an event late last year, I decided to change that recipe up a bit over the xmas period and invent this variation for my whanau.

It's quick, easy and very tasty!  If you are not a fan of butter, then replace with some olive oil or avocado oil but please DO NOT use margarine.

Ingredients
10-12 baby or gourmet potatoes - halved if necessary
1 cup fresh Spinach - finely chopped
1/4 cup of fresh italian Parsley
Pinch of chilli flakes
Fresh ground pepper
Sea salt
50 grams of butter - cubed

Method
Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked and turn off the element.  Drain the water, then replace the lid on the pot and place back on the element for about 2-5 minutes until most of the liquid is evaporated from the potatoes, watching they don't catch.

Place the potatoes in a serving bowl, then throw in the spinach, parsley, butter and chilli flakes.  Toss quickly until butter is melted, then season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Serve and enjoy!

Serves 4.

Happy living peeps!

Freedom Dresser Gets Funky

I purchased some furniture from the local freedom furniture store for my daughters when we built our first home.  They suited the style of house we had then, however when doing Jaydens room she decided to give hers a facelift. 

She decided to paint the face of the drawers Annie Sloan paris grey with clear wax.  I think it turned out pretty good.

Happy living peeps!!

Fresh Tomato Pesto Salad

I made this recipe over the xmas holidays and it was absolutely delicious.  It's one of those recipes that was thrown together with what I had in my vegetable garden.

I love pesto!!  So what better idea than to use those ingredients in a salad and with the baby tomatoes being exceptionally sweet at the moment, I guarantee your family will love this.

If you don't have pine nuts in your cupboard, use walnuts or almonds or cashews instead.  You can even replace the basil or parsley with puha or whatever pungent flavoured green you might have in the garden.  As always the opportunities are endless!

Added bonus - this is a very healthy dish!

Ingredients
200 grams cherry tomatoes - halved
1/4 cup of fresh basil - roughly chopped
1/4 cup of fresh italian parsley - roughly chopped
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1 clove of garlic - finely diced
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese - shavings
Olive oil to dress
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Ingredients
Mix the first 6 ingredients in a bowl then toss through olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Happy living peeps!

Happiest Holidays

As soon as you wish the xmas holidays would hurry up and happen, they go by so quickly you find yourself wishing they didn't end and you didn't have to go back to the reality of work!!

Today is my first day back at work and I find myself reflecting on how great the holidays were for me and my whanau.  The girls were determined to head to Matarangi for new years but for me and Gig, we were happy to go with the flow.

The end result?  Xmas in Hamilton, New Years in Matarangi, then road tripping north to the Kaipara, Hokianga, Northland, Bay of Islands and everywhere in between - not to mention day trips to Raglan and back to Coromandel.  

It was such a wonderful time to spend with whanau and friends during this time that I thought I'd share some photo's taken of my holidays.

Xmas Eve on the Ponderosa

 

DIY Xmas Gifts - From Me

DIY Xmas Gifts - From the Girls

Believe it or not we had to do our hay the afternoon of Xmas Day... whanau weren't happy

Bright moon on Xmas evening

View from my deck on Boxing Day

Heading out for a days fishing & diving from Te Kouma

Fishing the mussel farms in the firth

Matarangi Beach - Low tide

Matarangi - New Years Eve ... Chilling before the big night

 

No need to water the gardens with all the rain that came on new years day!

Stuck in traffic heading north due to a major car accident

Holiday problems in Maropiu - cleaning the shed & washing the cover sheets

View from the shed in Maropiu.  Loved listening to Kiwi and Morepork throughout the night

Another view of Maropiu ... listening to Tui all day from the shed

Kai Iwi Lakes. Such a special place for my whanau #nothappythewaterlevelsaredownsolow

Opononi!! Absolutely stunning

Ahipara on a rainy day.  Still as wonderful as ever

Ahipara - I took this photo as a fishing trawler was pretty close in land :-(

Moureeses Bay - Surfs Up in Whananaki

Mangaiti Bay - No panoramic view used for this shot

The homestead in Mangaiti Bay - A great example of sustainable living.

View looking down on the vegetable gardens, fruit trees & miniature horses

Whananaki

Me time with my sister at the movies - first day back home!  #shemissedme

Hydrangea's everywhere!  An inexpensive way to have fresh flowers.  Pick roadside, I do!

Day trip to Raglan - Whale Bay & Indicators - I just love this photo!

Happiest Holidays from the my homies

One thing is definite with my travels these holidays is that we really are apart of something special with our beautiful country.  #NZissuchanamazingplace #whanautime #makingmemories #livelovelearn

Happy living peeps!

 

Fabulous Chandelier

I have been reflecting on some lightling changes I have made and just love the chandelier in Jayden’s room.  It’s the same as the chandelier in the lounge and Aaliyah’s room so Jayden had to dress her’s up just like Aaliyah’s.  I blogged about Aaliyah’s in TRANSFORMING A LIGHT.

Gold, pink and grey were her room colours so the chosen colour for the light was GOLD.  Since Annie Sloan doesn’t have gold chalk paint we chose a spray paint.   It took my husband less than 5 minutes to paint the chandelier and about another 5 minutes to hang it and I believe it looks fabulous!!

Sorry, I didn't get any before photo's.

 Happy living peeps!!

Butterflied Spiced Lamb

If you are a person who knows what flavours you like and tend to throw a dish together with those flavours regardless of the quantities, then you can definitely relate to this recipe.  

I had a butterflied lamb in the fridge and wanted to cook it with lots of beautiful herbs and spices so I started with some cumin seeds and went from there.  The end result was wonderful and devoured by my family in a matter of minutes.

It's a fairly organic recipe so feel free to adjust the quantities to suit your taste buds, or replace the herbs like thyme with rosemary.   This would also be great done on the BBQ!

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cumin seeds (or you can used ground)
2 tsp coriander seeds (or you can used ground)
1 tsp chilli flakes
3 garlic cloves - crushed
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
handful of italian parsley - chopped

handful of fresh mint - chopped

juice of 1 lemon 

1 tsp of cracked pepper

1 tsp of sea salt1 x 2kg leg of lamb, butterflied

Method

In a bowl, mix all ingredients together (except the lamb) until well combined.

Pierce the lamb as many times as possible with a knife.

Placed the lamb and marinade in a flat dish OR plastic sealable bag.  Marinade in the fridge for as long as possible - overnight is good.  Before cooking, ensure you bring the lamb to room temperature - this should take about 30 minutes on a summers day.

Place everything in a lined oven dish and bake at 200°C for 30-45 mins or until middle is lovely and pink. Let the lamb rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Serve with some greek yoghurt, a leafy salad of your choice and devour!

Serves 4-6 people 

Happy living peeps!