Last days in Coolum

Beef and Onions and Beer
I can’t believe how greedy we are…Dale and I have almost consumed a casserole cooked for 4.
It was so good.
I watched Chef Michael Smith yet again and I raced out and bought 1 kg of beef and
Put this stew on and we ate it about 2 hours later. It was divine.
So tender and tasty and so so simple…
There is enough to make a pie…

I bought cross cut blade steak
So for 4 people
1 kg beef
Rice Bran oil 4-5 tablespoons enough to cover the bottom of your pan
Don’t be mean with the oil you need it to get good browning of the meat.
You can drain off the excess.

1 large onion chopped
2 shallots finely chopped
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bottle beer preferably a dark beer.
Packet beef stock
3 bay leaves
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Sea salt and freshly ground black freshly ground black pepper

1 large potato grated this is your thickening agent

1-2 tablespoons good red wine vinegar

Cut steak into large chunks
Heat oil in pan
Add meat don’t overcrowd the pan
Brown well
You probably need to cook in batches

Remove meat from pan
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper

Drain off excess fat
Add onion and shallots
Cook till tender
Add tomato paste stir well

De-glaze with beer

Return meat to pan and top up with beef stock.
Add potato, bay leaves and thyme

Bring to simmer and cook 1-2 hours in 155C oven till meat is tender
I decided that it needed a kick and added the red wine vinegar

Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary

To serve I accompanied with steamed rice.
To plate
Rice
Spinach
Hot stew

Just perfect.

We are home from Coolum Beach.
It was a real fun time.
Of course it rained on the last 2 days but we didn’t have any trouble filling in wet days.
Lunch in Noosa
Dinner at Coolum Beach’s Harvest Restaurant

Just a hop skip and jump from the apartment didn’t’ even get wet.

Excellent food particularly the desserts.
By the way just a quick look at the macadamia nut situation.
Yes we did eat nearly all those nuts.

Just perfect.


Leaving day

Our bus.

I meant to take a shot of the lovely beach in the sun but I forgot
But here is a wild shot of the sea from the bus window

We got to the airport early and the good thing about the Koru lounge is the opportunity to have a few drinks and a light lunch. Very pleasant.
Air NZ’s Koro lounge has an unusual view.
It reminds me of the time we took the kids to Disneyland 1981
Booked into the Disneyland Hotel
Spoke to the lovely girl behind the desk and especially asked for a room overlooking the Park. We though it would be lovely to wake up and see the Cinderella castle and all the other Iconic rides.
It was dark and when we awoke early in the morning opened up the curtains and yes we overlooked the Park alright.
The Car Park!!!

So Air NZ also got that short straw as well.

The view from the Koro Lounge

Anyhow a wonderful holiday was spent with John and JT.,
Final photo

Back home and there is quite a lot of recipes I have to write up.

The Saturday before we went away…our friends Mary and Heinzie Pictured in their Rarotonga Glory below

were staying with us.
It was a significant birthday for our friend Lana.

An excellent surprise party was held at Julia and Rex’s house.

She was surprised and I think really pleased...

We organised this amazing piece of Pop Art from a wonderful company called On2Canvas

Click on here for information about this excellent company.

All you need to supply is a photo and they do the rest. It's a great. idea for a present

Notice of course we always have a photo with drink in hand.

I think it is fantastic.

The next morning Dale who is not a cook of note!!! heard Peta Mathias on the radio talking about the best ever whitebait fritters.
She is a renowned NZ Chef and runs a cooking school in Provence

Check out her website.

Immediately our taste buds went into top gear. I have to say we were a little fragile after the party.
So Mary and I rushed off to the Fish market and bought a punnet of New Zealand Whitebait. This is a major delicacy here in New Zealand.
These tiny fish are absolutely beautiful and of course these days like all excellent produce… pricey.

Now I thought I was pretty good making these fritters

But this recipe is fantastic.

Now don’t forget we made these based on Dale’s understanding of the recipe.

The main difference was the use of egg whites only…pop the yolks away for custard or something.

The beauty of this is you can really taste the fish it's not a whitebait omelet.

1 punnet 250 gms whitebait
4 egg whites
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil and butter
Lemon wedges

Season the egg whites and beat till soft peaks.
Add whitebait

Drop in big spoonfuls into a hot pan with olive oil and butter
Cook about 3 minutes 1 side and
Then 3 -4 minutes other side. They should be golden

This is longer than I would normally cook fritters but the egg whites need to be cooked right through

Serve with a lemon wedge.

Excellent

Sorry about half eaten food below but it's just to demonstrate the fritter showing the whitebait.

Now on another matter entirely

Granddaughter Mia had her first Cross Country run today. She had a mishap and slipped at the beginning but with great determination arrived in at 4th place. Didn't get that athletic prowess from her maternal Grandmother

Meanwhile the first captured smile from Baby Cleo