Rugby World Cup 2011

Yeah. We were excited.

Hey, it was a long, hard game and it was such a relief in the end after those tense 80 minutes of nail-biting intensity.

I mean, there was this guy in front of me who turned away from the screen every time France had the ball. He didn't watch very much in the second half.

But, we made it.

And then, we had a parade.

Two days after the final game, after the parade in Auckland, the boys in black came to Christchurch to present us with the Webb Ellis cup. It was awesome. The park was packed. The people were happy. And the rugby players signed lots of balls.

Thanks guys.

ReStart

On Saturday, October 28th Christchurch's downtown rebooted. After 8 months of not having a central business district the public was welcomed back into a small section of our forever changed downtown to kick start Cup & Show week, the coming summer and the long road to rebuilding our city's heart.

The walk into town one cannot but witness the still ongoing demolition that is taking place. Buildings are being taken down one by one, with only a very select few having been deemed structurally sound enough to stay up. But even walking past this is good. We have been kept out of our city for so long and some things have changed so drastically that it is good to be able to watch from a closer proximity and be able to take in the change as it happens.

Stephen and I arrived at about 3pm in the hot spring sun and Cashel Street Mall was packed with people. There were live music groups busking in corners, cafes sending out the aroma of coffee and baked goods, and bright, festive wares in all the shop windows. Not to mention to bright, colourful shipping containers that lined the streets, piled on top of each other. If the walk into town had been somewhat sobering, it seemed that everyone inside the new shopping district was drunk on the headiness of being in a place they had missed for so long.

The first thing that struck me on walking into the Mall was the amazing thought that had gone into planning it. I can only hope that there is more like this to come for the rest of the city as we rebuild it. Green spaces and benches for relaxing, buildings that are built to human scale (ie., not towering over us and blocking out the sun), small alleyways to pull pedestrians down to discover what interesting and amazing shops are down there, central areas dedicated to cafes where people can sit, relax and watch the people going by.

At the far end of the Mall the planners have built a timber fence which has, planned or not, become a destination in and of itself. People clamber up on the planter boxes in order see over and down towards the parts of town not yet cleared up. This small area is great, but it is surrounded by the reminders of what we are still missing. While we were sitting enjoying our lunch (after standing in line a good half hour), Stephen and I talked about whether Cashel Street Mall would last. Despite the festive atmosphere of the day, we wondered for how long people would make the long trek downtown to shop at very expensive shops. There are no offices nearby, there are only two small cafes and it does not serve passing traffic as there is only one road open through town and it doesn't come all that close to here. We hope that the businesses there will do well and that Christchurch people will work to help each other, goodness knows the next time I need a gorgeous dress I will be heading downtown to pick one out. Isn't someone out there having a wedding soon I can come to?

Global cuisine - Morocco

[Olive and lemon display in Meknez souq]

This specific choice was one I had been looking forward to. A few years ago, while still doing my undergraduate degree, I took a month to travel to Fez, Morocco and attend an arabic language school. It was a phenomenal experience and I think of it with great fondness, hoping someday to go back and see more of that magical country. One of the things I loved about the trip was the food.

The first three weeks of my trip happened to coincide with Ramadan, the month of fasting. From sun up until sun down, no food was allowed to pass the lips of any muslim. This is practiced in order to learn patience, spirituality, humility and humbleness before God. My last week there was Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting when the new moon is first spotted. This is essentially a big party with lots of food and celebration. Everyone was decked out in their finery and smiling. It was good fun.

For our week of Moroccan food here I was constantly telling Stephen stories about this meal or that one. He was even thoughtful enough to make up a batch of paratha dough early in the week, which allowed me to slice, fold and fry them up for breakfast each morning and store the remaining dough back in the fridge. Although parathas are not originally North African, one of the other language students at the school whom I lived with treated me to them each morning - slathered in butter and honey.

Moroccan food is about couscous, cinnamon, saffron, dates and olives. The tajine is probably the most recognized food from that area and a tasty one at that. One of the rules I remember learning from my host family was that the meat was always hidden under the mound of couscous which was in turn covered in vegetables. This ensured that children would have to eat through the important bits to get at the meaty treasure beneath. Another important lesson in a land where hands were the tools used for eating was that only the right hand was ever used to take food from the communal plate. And if possible, it was the only hand used at all. This presumably comes from the sanitary requirements for survival in a water scarce environment.

One of the highlights for me of the week was finally trying chermoula. This is traditionally used as a marinade for fish but we used it with delicious results as a sauce for carrots as well.

[Meat and carrot tajine with leftover chermoula on the carrots]

Chermoula

Taken from der Haroutunian, A. (2009) North African Cookery. Grub Street, London.

4 tablespoons oil

75g butter

1 onion, sliced into rounds

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

50g chopped fresh parsley

50g chopped fresh coriander

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon saffron diluted in 4 tablespoons water (I didn't have any, it still tasted wonderful)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 bay leaves

1. Heat oil and butter in a saucepan and add all remaining ingredients. Cook over moderate heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and serve hot or cold.

I cooled mine to room temperature and then poured over my white fish fillets. Leftover was stored in the refrigerator and used later in the week tossed in with cooked carrots.

Spring garden

[Recently finished quilt for a friends birthday]

Despite my increased work load recently I have enjoyed taking the time to enjoy our new garden. It's a small adventure every time I go out to see what new treasure has poked out of the ground. We are busily putting in our herb garden and strawberry fence (more on that later), and Stephen is putting together a wee chicken coop for our new additions (more of them later too). Life is teeming in the garden and the beautiful oasis it is turning into is a realm of peace and calm in the rush of our current lives. Unfortunately, I have yet to learn the names of our lovely blossoms.

[A lovely flowering tree that spreads white petals everywhere]

[One of many rhododendrons]

[Hellebore - grows in the shade of the first flowering tree shown]

[Wee blue fairy flowers]

[Our flowering cherry tree - seems to blossom in levels]

Global cuisine - Thai

[One of two fish curries served with brown rice and lime]

It has certainly been a wee while since I've posted anything up here. Lots to do lately, with deadlines and projects coming to a head. And spring too, seems to be bursting forth with no holding back. Despite our busy schedule, we have been keeping to our national food adventures. After our foray into French cuisine we wandered back East to try some Thai. Stephen had been wanting to try making Phad Thai, so we bought some rice noodles, some limes and some bean sprouts and got stuck in.

We began with something we were rather comfortable with - curry. Before taking on this experiment I never fully realized the huge differences in curries. I knew that several different nations made curries, but I was never fully appreciative of their unique qualities. Indian curries (well, the Westernized versions anyhow), for example, have quite deep, warming flavours, with cumin, fenugreek, and coriander (along with many others). While Thai curries tend to be more fresh and clean tasting. These are usually based around fresh ingredients like kaffir lime leaves, chilies and ginger. Our first couple of meals were fish curries, and despite using the same fish, we were able to make vastly different curries formed around these basic ingredients (along with fish sauce, sugar and coconut cream).

I must admit the Phad Thai we eventually made was a bit of a let down as it lacked enough sauce to make it really flavourful. But this was most likely the fault of the cooks rather than the recipe. We moved onto what was probably my favorite dish - spicy longbeans with(out) salty eggs. The latter subtraction was due to the 3 weeks needed to actually make the salty eggs. But it was pretty tasty even without. And finished the week with prawns with chili and basil.

[Prawns with chili and basil - tasty, tasty]

A rather tasty week, full of fresh flavours. It was lovely and light after the warm heaviness of french cuisine. One of the lessons we took away from the Thai week, was the mathematics of taste in a Thai curry. Too salty - add sugar, too sweet - add fish sauce, and too sweet and salty - add lime juice. Worked every time!

Spicy longbeans with(out) salty eggs

I have adapted this from the original and not included the salty egg bit, but you can find the full recipe in Bhumichitr, V. (2005) Vatch's Thai Kitchen. Ryland, Peters & Small, London.

Peanut or sunflower oil

180g ready-fried beancurd, finely sliced

2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

1 tablespoon Red Curry paste (see below)

250g Chinese longbeans (or green beans), chopped into 2.5cm lengths

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

4 tablespoons vegetable stock

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon ground roasted peanuts

4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in wok on high heat. Add beancurd and fry until golden brown. Remove from wok and drain on paper towel covered plate.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in wok, add garlic and fry until golden brown. Stir in the curry paste. Add beans, soy sauce, stock, sugar, peanuts, lime leaves and fried beancurd. Stir-fry until the beans are done to your taste.

3. Serve and enjoy.

Red Curry Paste

Grind the following ingredients into a paste in a large mortar and pestle.

8 long red dried chilies, deseeded and chopped

1 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seed

1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

2 tablespoons fresh chopped garlic

2 stalks lemongrass, chopped

3 coriander roots, chopped (I didn't have any - it still tasted good)

1 teaspoon chopped kaffir lime skin, or finely chopped lime leaves

3 cm fresh galangal or ginger, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon salt

Spring is in the air

[Biking is the perfect way to get around in the lovely warm spring air]

After a couple of exciting snowfalls the air is getting warmer and the birds are getting louder. There are tiny buds poking out of my new garden and spring has arrived. We've been extremely lucky with the weather over the last couple of weekends, allowing us to get out and enjoy that glorious spring air. Below are some photos from the last couple of weekends which we've had the pleasure of enjoying here in Christchurch.

[Riccarton Bush Farmers Market]

[Cupcakes and cookies are always popular]

[There are many more flowers to choose from now]

[There are always numerous bakers from whom to buy your bread each week]

[It is still only spring so hot soup is most welcome]

[An outdoor exhibit of Yann Arthus-Bertrands Earth from Above photographs as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival]

[The images wend their way down Rolleston Ave. from the Hagley Park bridge, past Christ College to the Canterbury museum. Some amazing photographs and interesting stories.]

[On September 2nd, the Canterbury Museum opened up again after being closed since the February earthquake. It was wonderful to be able to go back through the familiar halls.]

[One new exhibit consists of over 4000 hand sewn hearts donated to Christchurch for the earthquake. Initiated by a woman in Napier, the hearts come from around the world and make their way around the room in a rainbow of colours. They are absolutely wonderful.]

[A detail of some of the hearts]

[While much of the museum was the same there were certain, minor differences - missing exhibits and individual pieces.]

[A temporary exhibit of the photographic works of Brian Brake, a New Zealand photographer who captured the world on film.]

[The Botanic Gardens were also filled with the signs of spring]

[An interactive water feature which always seems to prove popular]

[Waiting patiently for the parents to be finished their conversation.]

[The park was filled with scenes like this. Picnics abounded, so we decided we should have one too. Nothing like a lovely, warm spring day for a picnic in the park.]

Global cuisine - France

[Steak au Poivre with truffle mashed potatoes and sauteed baby leeks]

Continuing on from our previous plan, last week we focused on French food. What a change from our previous week which had been simple, light, and easy. French food, with its profuse use of butter and cream and a multitude of techniques was very different. But that's what we were looking for so we dove straight in.

While it would be easy to get bogged down in the highly technical and fancy food of French haute cuisine we were more interested in finding recipes that were more the basic, eat around the farm table fare. Also keeping to our seasonal vege rule limited our forays into too many exotic areas. But good thing for us, leeks are in season right now. And if a leek is not the epitome of french cooking then I don't know what is.

Our first french meal was mussels gratine with green lentils and herbs. Rich with a tasty creamy sauce, the mussels were a lovely, cheap way to start things off. The next night, we had Steak au poivre (or pepper steak) with truffle oil mashed potatoes and sauteed baby leeks. Familiar with the carnivorous leanings of french cuisine (or my experience and knowledge of it), we wanted to see what sorts of vegetarian dishes were there. We had a tasty (and butter and cream filled) leek tart, leek and potato soup, and of course, french onion soup (so much better than my first taste of it at a highway rest stop on the Alaska Highway in the middle of the Yukon). And throughout all this I was researching and planning my coup d'eta - cassoulet. Unfortunately, this led me to realize that cassoulet was not a meal to be made in a day, or even a week really. So we will have to enjoy it a little later, once the duck confit is made and rested. And the beans are found and soaked. Then, say in three or four weeks (I've been told the duck confit improves with age), we can finally sit down for the finale. But for now, we're moving on - Thailand up next.

[Mussels Gratin with green lentils and herbs]

Mussels Gratin (from So French - A lifetime in the provincial kitchen by Dany Chouet and Trish Hobbs)

1.25kg mussels

2 large french shallots, diced

250 ml dry white wine

40 g unsalted butter, plus extra for grilling

2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 egg yolk

50 ml cream

juice of half a lemon

20 g fine fresh breadcrumbs

1. Scrub mussels thoroughly under running water and pull our the hairy beards. Do not soak them or you will lose their precious liquid. Once clean, place them in a bowl and set aside.

2. Combine the shallots and wine in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes only and add the mussels. Cover the pan and shake. Continue to cook until the mussels begin to open. Remove the mussels as they open (allow them to get quite open, not just slightly). Throw out any mussels that do not open (these were dead before you cooked them and could make you sick).

3. Once all the mussels are out, strain the remaining juices through a fine seive and allow to settle. Remove the empty half of the mussels and lay the meaty ones in a large gratin dish (shallow baking pan with sides). Set aside.

4. Meld the butter in a saucepan over low heat, add the flour and stir until completely mixed (make a roux). Gradually pour in the mussel juice, being careful not to stop before any of the sediment at the bottom gets in. Whisk this until smooth, add the garlic and the curry powder and cook on low, stirring, until it thickens. Check your seasoning and add salt or pepper if you like. If it gets too thick add some water.

5. In a bowl whisk together the egg yolk and the cream with the lemon juice and some pepper. Add to the sauce.

6. Preheat your grill on high. Pour the sauce over the mussels, being sure to get some in each little shell. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over top and dot with butter. Throw it under the grill for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

- Chouet, D. & Hobbs, T. (2010). So French: A lifetime in the provincial kitchen. Murdoch Books; London. p.96