The Wedding of The Year - What a Day

So Thursday continued on, the Wifi is a little erratic but when you get the signal, it is fine.

The blogger and Joseph

After the chores we wandered down to the beach, It was a beautiful day again.

We all have to be careful, not to burn, that poxy winter skin

One thing about the fake tan, there is not quite the same urge to expose one’s skin frantically, in hope of getting some quick colour. One can take one’s time.

One must look good at the wedding don’t you know!

Got ourselves chairs and pozies already and Lying in the sand commenced

Next chore getting into town for lunch

Dan, Helen and kids took off on their trusty steeds

Dale and I caught the Clockwise Bus

Bought a 10 trip pass.

Perfect

Ah, Traders Jacks

Perfect for lunch.

Great view

Very good Bloody Marys there, spicy.

Great aperitif

Followed by a taster of Ika Mata and garlic bread

Not quite as good as Dan’s but up there

Then, in no particular order,

Fish and Chips

Pizza

Grilled swordfish,

Smoked Marlin Salad

With a cheeky little Pinot Noir chilled down with ice, to make it go further

Drink as much fluid, but not so much alcohol

Cheaper!

Yes

Very pleasant

This is the "Wine Mantra" for this Vacation

Wonder how long it will last

So back on the bus home

Drop off at the Cooks Oasis

Afternoon Nap, Pool, Dressed ready for cocktails

The Groom to be  Tim and his lovely Bride to Be Tina, hosted drinks at our old haunt Aroa, Shipwreck Bar

Tina, second from right, with visitors from New Zealand!

They serve their drinks in Jam Jars here, and some great Music on the Side

This night was Rudy more about him later

Dan and Helen rode off and we found a taxi

Wont be doing many of those

$25 for about 5 kms

Maitais etc all round

Meanwhile Tim had a sad, sad tale to tell

He is now sporting The Rarotonga Tattoo

Incident with a dog and a bus

Luckily it is all superficial but not too pretty

Hopefully this can be covered up with clothes

White Clothes???

Lovely time at The Bar

Taxi Driver John brought us home

Dan and Helen cooked a great fish dinner with coconut rice and a spicy salsa

Served on their deck

 Home to bed and read

And I woke up this morning, with nothing on my mind.

Here we go onto another beautiful day

The Gods are shining on Tim and Tina

Off to Raro We Go. The Big Event, Tim and Tina are Tying the Knot

So our annual pilgrimage to Rarotonga this year has a real event for us to celebrate
Our friends Tim and Tina are getting married
Its been a busy few weeks, selling, moving and now finally at the airport, sitting in the Koru Lounge.

Champagne and Croissants, at the ready. It feels good.

The flight was painless, a little Champagne pre flight.
Good to know someone in the business, one gets a little preferential treatment...so we settled in.

Once again Air NZ do it well. Breakfast was tasty.
I read and slept
Finally here we are at Rarotonga Airport

Kia Orana
Jake Umanga, Kathy’s (our lovely hostess from our last 3 stays up here) Dad, once again welcomed us on his ukulele

He has been doing this at Raro airport for about 40 years.
Hows that for staying power?

Once through, our meet and greets had arrived, John, Tim  and Tina, with transport for us, which was fantastic

There was a ton of luggage but not quite as bad as our arrival with Lana and The Heinzies 2 years ago.

So the first calamity was a quick unbalanced step, carrying luggage, from Mr Dale
Trying to get up to our Villa

He’s OK but the Uke is stuffed.
Oh well

Had the used of Tim’s car for an hour or two and went to get some supplies

Went to Wigmores, our local last year. Oops wrong!
What was around the corner virtually then, is now about 8 kms
Oh well, but the bonus was I bumped into Barbara Allpress
Came home and had  a wee wine outside

That saved a phone call Dan and Helen were off on Hen and Stag night,

so Dale Sophia, Joseph and I went to dinner at Albertos

Nice food Simple and tasty

Home to watch a DVD with the kids “License to Wed” a rather silly movie with Robin Williams but it did the trick
My usual early wake up. To the Island Anthem “The Cock's Crow”
You really know you are here, when you hear that. Lovely.
Mary Heinz this is for you Bloody Mynah Birds

Dan and Helen's Villa
Above the shop

So down to the beach I went, for a quick viewing. It’s lovely

Took a shot of the Sunset Resort from the beach
On our first stay here in Raro, way back mid 80’s we stayed there
It had just been built and was a small Motel run by a New Zealand ex Farmer, called Nigel from The Naki.
Wonder what happened to him?
The sand was all lumpy and corally and hard to find a swimming hole to lie in amongst the rocks

It is now a full blown resort. Looking very nice, the beach has been raked and there looks like a nice water hole to dip in

 So, So far so Good. Off to refill my coffee cup with another Nespresso.

Gin and Tonic with Spicy Nuts Anyone

As anyone who has sold a house knows, keeping it pristine is not really hard, but so unnatural.
Doesn't stop me from sitting down at the end of the day, with a beautiful Gin and Tonic, with a lemon from our tree.

Some kinda nibble, is almost compulsory.
I love making hot nuts and I really enjoyed this version
I got a bottle of Al Browns Orange and Chili Oil at the Food Show in a Goodie Bag and it has been great.
Just mixed with some cumin and citrusy coriander seeds, a little cayenne pepper, brown sugar and salt.
I added some Extra Virgin Olive oil, as the infused oil is delightfully flavoured, but maybe could be a little overpowering. 
Yum. The Aroma. That's what I should do for the Open Home to tempt them

The SuperMarche had salted Cashews on special. Couldn't resist.
I normally would use raw nuts but let's not be too proud here.
A special is a special, $13 a KG

Heat your oven to 180C
So for about 250 gms Nuts

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper (your choice)
1 heaped tablespoon brown sugar
1 heaped tablespoon sea salt
2 tablespoon Al Browns oil (optional) 
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I mixed the dry ingredients in a mortar  using the pestle
with Al's oil

And then added the rest of the oil

Made a nice 'wettish' paste

Meanwhile place your nuts in a tray into the pre-heated oven
They should take 15-20 minutes to toast
Keep an eye on them
Nothing worse than burnt nuts
When toasted, remove from oven and toss immediately with the oil mix

Two Gins and Nuts
No Waiting!

Vegetable Bake with Potato Topping - Gluten Free

I belong to a group who cook meals for Mums with New Born Babies,
They come home too soon after the birth, in my humble opinion.
They are tired and occasionally need a meal, they can take out of the freezer,
pop into the oven and serve

The food we make, which is really tasty, is definitely not Gluten Free or Vegetarian
so I have devised 3 dishes that will suit. In the Central Auckland Area there are quite a few people who follow the Halal diet and this has been perfect for them.

This first dish is really a take on Cauliflower Cheese, 
I have added a Potato Top, just to make it more filling
This amount will fill 4 foil containers.
Each of the containers, (which are the size of take out food containers) should feed 2 adults.
Perhaps a salad on the side.  
When I mash my potatoes I use a potato ricer for the best results
but a normal old potato masher will do
Multi tasking. Vege and potatoes cooking. White sauce on the go

Vegetable Bake with Potato Topping 
150 gms butter 
5 tablespoon Gluten Free Cornflour 
1 litre whole milk 
1 bay leaf 
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

 1 large onion chopped 
1 stick celery finely chopped 
100 gms grated cheese 

Extra grated cheese for topping 

3 carrots peeled and sliced 
1/2 cauliflower broken into florets 
1 cup frozen peas  

1 kg (preferably Agria) Potatoes (All round mashing and baking potato)
100 mls hot milk 
20 gms cold butter 

Melt butter 
Add onion and celery
Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 
Cook till tender
Add cornflour 
Stir well and just cook out for about 3 minutes
Meanwhile heat milk with a bay leaf 
(I use the microwave)
Add to onion and celery mix a slosh at a time
Stirring all of the time till thickened

Add 100 gms grated cheese stir well

Don't have it too thick, consistency of a custard is good

Meanwhile, while you are making the sauce
Into a pot of salted boiling water
Add Carrots and cauliflower 
Cook till just tender
Add frozen peas just for a few minutes
Drain (Reserve the liquid it is a nice stock)
Add vege to cheese sauce 
Put into containers

Also, meanwhile
Peel and cut potatoes into chunks 
Cook till tender in salted water
Drain
Mash with 100 mls of hot milk 
Beat in 20 gms cold butter and you should have perfect mashed potatoes

Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper if needed 
Lay potatoes over the vege 
Brush up with a fork
Sprinkle some grated cheese over the top 

Bake about 30 minutes
Until potato topping is golden and sauce bubbling
A good couple of hours work, notice the wine glass. Well deserved. I feel.
3 different dishes for 4 different families

New Zealand Surf Clams from Cloudy Bay

My friend Lana treated me to Al Brown's Master Class, at the Food Show in Auckland
As it turned out he didn't do any cooking, but he did introduce us to some delicious
Fresh Raw Seafood. Like these 3 freshly shucked Oysters.

But the star of the Show was the Cloudy Bay Clams

Al and his Sous Chef had shucked the clams for us and we ate them raw.

We were luck enough to get a Goodie Bag and in it, was a voucher for 2 kgs of clams
and a bottle of Al Browns Orange and Chili Oil

I have used the oil several times. It has a wonderful flavour and got a good kick to it as well
Lana meanwhile ordered her Clams, so she brought them around last night
So what did we make? but of course!

Spaghetti Alle Vongole or at least my version of it.
Look at those succulent Clams aren't they divine.
That was a kilo of Clams plenty for 4 of us
Also Lana brought 2 dozen beautiful Bluff Oysters,
I saved the liquor and added to my dish for that extra taste of the sea

4 tablespoons of good olive oil
6 cloves Garlic peeled and sliced
1 tsp chili flakes
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Freshly ground black pepper

1 Kg Bag Blanched Cloudy Bay Clams
1/2 cup White wine

500 gms spaghetti
Cooked in well salted boiling water till al dente
Drain

In a large pan gently saute Garlic and Chili.
Don't let the garlic brown, it will become bitter
Then add parsley and lemon zest

Add hot spaghetti to the oil toss well
Add lemon juice and black pepper
Set aside

Heat another pot till "smokin'"
Throw in Clams
When you hear the sizzle add the white wine
Put lid on the pan
Shake and leave til they begin to open
This took about 3-4 minutes
As they open remove them and set aside
Reserve liquor

Add liquor to spaghetti
Taste 
The liquor is fairly salty so it should be enough to season the dish
But add more salt if you need to

Pour into a big bowl and lay
cooked Clams on top

Sprinkle with a some extra parsley and drizzle over some extra Virgin Olive Oil

Guaranteed divine
So it's thanks to Lana.
Thanks to Al Brown
and Thanks to Cloudy Bay Clams you were delicious
Lana and I, taken just a few years ago at Dijon Station part of a 3 week tour of US and Europe
Lots of eating and drinking of course

Quick and Simple Fish Chowder

It was a beautiful day this morning

But as it's Winter, it didn't last and now it is raining and cold.
So Soup for Lunch Dear?
I had a small piece of Gurnard in the fridge... not enough for a meal
but plump it up with potato and corn
Yum, Fish Chowder
Generous helpings for two people

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 med potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Water
1 cup frozen corn
3 cups milk approx
 Zest and juice of 1 lemon
120 g white fish chopped

Sriracha Sauce, a good dash

Melt butter in a saucepan
Add onions
Season with salt
Saute till soft
Add potatoes stir well to cover with the buttery onions
A little more salt and lemon zest

Add enough water to just cover the vege
Bring to a simmer and cook till potatoes are tender
Add corn and milk and just bring to simmer again

Meanwhile
Season chopped fish with Salt and pepper and lemon juice
and let sit for about 10 minutes

When soup has just come to the boil
Turn down and add fish
Let poach gently, about 8 minutes
Taste and adjust seasoning then
Add dash of Sriracha Sauce 

Thanks to Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen for introducing me to Sriracha Sauce
It is such a flavour booster. Beware it is quite hot so be careful

Serve
Normally I would add parsley but I didn't have any
Oh well, it was still excellent

Taste of Yellow - Jacqui's Lemon Squash

In June, Barbara Harris finally lost her battle with Cancer .
This month's Monthly Mingle is devoted to Barbara.
For several years, Barbara set up a Blogging Event called a Taste of Yellow.
It was to raise awareness for Cancer Research linking in with LiveStrong Day
Bloggers were invited to submit recipes featuring yellow food.
Always an interesting event.

Jeanne from Cook Sister is hosting the Monthly Mingle this month
What a great Tribute to Barbara
My friend Jacqui was a very good friend of Barbara.
A Virtual friend whats more...they had known one another for years.
In fact, Jacqui introduced me to Barbara.
Jacqui doesn't have her own blog yet, so I am submitting her entry through So Simple.
I love the photo, it would do Barbara proud

It's a simple Lemon Squash, refreshing and perfect for a Hot Summers Day

Lemon Squash 
9 drops lemon juice 
3 tsp sugar syrup 
Soda water

To make the Sugar Syrup  
1 cup sugar 
1 cup water
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water.

Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved.
Allow to cool
This will keep for ages in the fridge

Mix lemon juice with sugar syrup in a highball glass,
 stir well and fill up with soda water.
Serve with drinking straw.
Multiply quantity by number of guests.

P.S.  I reckon a good slug of Vodka or Gin would be an added extra