The past 2 weeks have been much more insightful rather than eventful, so I find sharing personal thoughts a little more challenging.
Stem, Bush Walk, Wanui Reserve
Mushrooms, Bush Walk, Wanui Reserve
Spring Flowers, Bush Walk, Wanui Reserve
Weather in Raglan is finally warming...ahhh summer time again :D I've got a job at a little cafe and it's a rather nice way to meet locals and make friends. My nannying position with the family has turned into a 3 day a week thing, but I'm rather fond of little Anabelle, so it's quite good. Over the weekend while the sun was really shining Leanna and I took a two person kayak with Anabelle over to a place called pancake rocks. It's quite a row across and up the harbor and it felt so good to be out on the water. It gets its name from the way the large flat rocks form and stack on top of each other creating islands of rock where maybe a tree grows on top. Real cool looking, we explored a remote beach with black sands, and some little caves as well. The water at high tide in the harbor rolls so slow and smooth and the view from the kayak is surreal. One direction you have Pancake Rocks, the other mountains and pastored land, behind us was town, and to the left the Ocean. Even baby Anabelle was put to ease, we all paddled along and enjoyed fresh warm air, feeling the summer time rolling in. (There are tons of pictures, but not on my camera so one of these days I will upload for viewing. ) We also took advantage of Mr. Sun by planting an herb garden outside of the house. We got basil, mint, lemon mint, rosemary, dill, chives, corriander, and perhaps a few others, should be real nice for cooking with soon.
Anabelle helping us garden
Blackbird on garden fence
Nugget and Belle
Nugget
Nugget & BelleSpeaking of cooking it's become a small obsession. Although I've always enjoyed cooking some, having access to tons of good produce and herbs, and also meat (Leanna's step father owns a cattle farm), plus lots and lots of time to do whatever I want with, I find myself experimenting daily in the kitchen. I've done a lemon, ginger, garlic roasted chicken, a beet, mandarin, and almond salad, Meat pie, which is basically a beef vegetable stew poured into and covered by pastry crust (yum!) Corned Beef and Cabbage, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Pickled some carrots, garlic, asparagus, cucumbers, and onions. Then for my two favorite homemade treats........ bloody mary mix completely from scratch as there is no such thing as a good bloody mary in NZ, ANNNNND gluten free muffins made with the left over pulp from juicing. Sounds weird, but pretty sure I've created a baking masterpiece. Goes to show that not all baking has to be full of sugars and flowers to taste good. Juicing is sort of part of this cooking habit that the family has also taken on. We use everything from beets, to apples, ginger, garlic, carrots, and celery. And all that weird stuff that fills your juicer makes an amazing healthy snack... who knew?! If you actually read this blog and are interested in any of those concoctions, let me know Jmae016@yahoo.com I'd be happy to share. * Book to Read Barbara Kingsolver- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Meat & Pastry Pie
pickled veg, bloody mix, pulp muffinsAs part of this insightful period I am training for a 16 mile mini marathon, which we will run in Tongariro National Park on January 26th. The training has been good: runs, jogs, cross training with bike rides, yoga, kayak, surf, and even zumba, gives me motivation not to mention solid daily work outs. You want to run a marathon or just need some tips to get going, again let me know, laugh as you may if you had asked me a year ago if this is something I would have ever tried to do I may have said perhaps, but being honest there is no way in hell. It's not too hard once you break it down into a daily thing.
Cheers
