Blossom

I was surprised to find the first blossom of the season the other day in the middle July. It's from our lonely surviving Almond tree of a group of nine we planted in winter 2008. Honestly I'm not normally such a bad tree murderer. But that was the summer I was very pregnant with Tess and carrying buckets of water up the hill in that condition in the heat really wasn't going to happen. Not to mention the fact that sheep were in the paddock before I realized that they thought the trees were very good scratching posts. I have learnt from that and if anymore fruit trees are to be planted in that paddock they need protection, when I dare try again, hehe.



In the last week or so it has been soup weather, really it's soup season so have a go they really are quite easy. For the above luscious tomato soup I used the recipe from Tiny Happy which she posted this week and served it with some yummy feta spread on a toasted roll. A very simple but a effective recipe which makes it easy to whip up quickly for an easy lunch.



And this soup I made on a whim just adding different seasoning as I went. I started with most of a pumpkin cut up into small pieces for faster cooking, chicken stock and onions, then I added cumin, thyme, and curry powder to taste (which sweetens it up quite nicely). When the pumpkin was soft I whizzed the soup to a smooth constancy with the stick whizz. And added some frozen spinach, and let this heat though and finally added some sour cream just before serving. You could use yogurt or cream instead, a friend suggested lemon juice which would also give it a lovely zing.

Pizza making, Tessa style

On Sunday Tessa and I made Daddy his favourite, pizza mmm. Something great to make when your food supplies are getting low, although I would preferred a few more veges, hehe.

Tessa had a great time, sampling at every stage. She followed instructions well and didn't want to miss out on any step.

Here is the yummy finished product, mmm tasty.

The slightly out of order pics, but you get the idea. I think her favourite part was the rolling, something she like to do a lot, whether it's rolling on the floor or rolling toys along.

mmmm

Sorry for the longish absence, I have been otherwise occupied and felt like I didn't have much to say. Anyway here are a couple of photos from the cooking I did to help with wedding (more about that next time). Above is Aunt Anne's decadent chocolate rum truffles, they turned out very scrumptious and were quite popular. And below is Alison Holist's christmas nut pies. Both were deceptively simple, as long as you followed the recipe well. I would make them again for another special occasion. A bonus is that both can made ahead and frozen till needed, ideal for someone that seems to under estimate how long everything will take.

mmmm baking

Yum yum I made the best chocolate brownie ever (not being modest or anything, hehe). The recipe was the coconut chocolate brownie from the classic Edmond's cookbook, but with a brilliant addition of fresh gorgeous raspberries from the South Island.

( Please note, do not continue reading this post if you do not agree with organic food production).


I tried out this lovely cocoa for the first time. It provided a great result and it is so nice to have some more organic food options in this small town, well done trade aid. And bonus to support fair trade and sustainable practices. Next it would be nice for a wider range of staple organic food options to be stocked in the supermarkets. Maybe even, dare I say it organic butter, or a wider selection in other organic foods. I am becoming more and more concerned with the vast amount of chemicals we come into contact with everyday with out any choice, it seems a small cost to pay a little bit extra for adding organic food to the day to day menu. It has reassuring to see more information about this in mainstream media such as the dirty dozen.