Monthly Archives: May 2020

I didn’t intend my last blog to take so long. But, there was pressure on getting the last of our planting completed at Tarras, and to do all those jobs you thought were on the top of the list 7 weeks ago and still needed doing. Plus, the cleaning, washing etc etc. I’m a bit anal and have to have a house spotless when leave. I hate arriving back to a mess.

The end of lockdown, I don’t know how you feel about our new lifestyle. My daughter in law commented : “Yeah all of a sudden it is weirdly back to normal”

I need to thank everyone who have been following my blogs and travelling through lockdown with us in Tarras. We have had a special time completely isolated and were provided with the unforseen time to tackle big jobs on our property that we would never have achieved in a very long time. During these surreal days where the world has been closed down, we have become familiar with communicating through Zoom and Teams and achieved online classes in Yoga , gardening lectures and I couldn’t have done without National radio while I was gardening. We learn’d to draw on our resources like never before, use our energy in challenging ways and make sure our efforts will be beneficial in the future to ensure NZ will not only be kept safe but, at the same time restart our jobs and work on the formidable and onerous task of making our health safe but caring for our livelihoods as well.

I have enjoyed writing my blogs and can’t believe how the landscape changed through the 6 weeks. Autumn came and went, the grapes were netted, harvested and nets removed next door. We had the pleasure of using the abundant apples, pears quince and chestnuts from the fruit trees in the vineyard. I have had a few comments like ” Does Philip eat like this all the time ” Well actually I have been cooking for over 45 years . Time as a Home Economics teacher in my early 20’s, years in our cafe business ‘Partners’ and 20 years of demonstrating cooking classes at home in St Clair, throughout Otago and Southland in many country halls and houses and the ‘Good Morning’ show on TV. Yet, living in lockdown I was inspired and it made me look again at how to make produce work in a variety of meals, using leftovers effectively, while making the most of locally sourced ingredients and sharing foods in abundance. I was lucky to collect bags of figs, feijoas and honey from Adrienne in Cromwell, to dig sheep compost from Lesley at Cluden station for the new garden and send our online purchases to Janet in Lake Hawea. I often thought of what I valued the most in the kitchen during lockdown and apart from the good old basics, plus extra virgin olive oil, Sea Salt, tomatoes, lemons and garlic. I would have to say it was the espresso machine and the fresh coffee beans delivered from Common Ground in Dunedin.

We are now back in sunny Dunedin. Time to embrace another garden that never had a chance to be completed. I have so many plants potted up that need to find a home.

Keep Cooking everyone . I will write a blog periodically but it won’t be everyday. Thank you for all your encouraging comments and tolerance of my bad spelling and grammar. Although, Philip was incredibly tolerant and my patient uncomplaining editor.

To all my tour groups and previous travellers – Time for travel will come again and I will get to make contact with all my fabulous contacts in Scotland, Turkey, Italy and France. Believe me they are waiting to see us.

Stay safe. XXXXX Jude

Last two days of lockdown. Our time is coming to an end and there are still 75 trees to plant so I’m making good progress with the birches as the blood and bone scattered around seems to be keeping the rabbits at bay – at the moment !!! The mornings kick off quote cool but the Central Otago inevitibaly heats up the day to the point that your back to a T shirt.

We were both over meat and usually eat fish serval times a week and 1-2 vegetarian dishes. We chopped up our last pumpkin into pieces that we bought on the way through to Tarras when lockdown began and roasted it with rosemary, garlic cloves and red onion. I made a pot of soup and will use some in a vegetable Paella – Not sure the Spanish would use Pumpkin in a Paella but it was delicious.

Vegetable Paella

3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 small red onion, chopped finely, 1 red/ yellow pepper cut into strips , 1/2 fennel bulb, sliced thinly, 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 bay leaves, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon turmeric, ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes, 200 grams calaspara rice- (short grain) , ½ cup sherry, ½ teaspoon salt, 500 – 750 ml hot vegetable/chicken stock water, 200 grams roasted pumpkin pieces 1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen) , 5 artichokes from a jar, quartered, 15 black kalamata olives, ¼ cup chopped parsley/coriander.

In a paella pan or large shallow frying pan, heat the oil and sauté the onion until soft. Add the diced pepper, fennel and garlic and cook until starting to soften and turn golden. Add the bay leaves and spices then the rice and stir thoroughly for 2-3 minutes to incorporate the spices, before adding the sherry, saffron and salt. Simmer for a 1-2 minutes.  Add 500 mls stock and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. You may need a little more. Don’t cover the rice and don’t stir. Pour boiling water over the peas and leave to cool. Drain. Remove the paella from the heat. Scatter the pumpkin, artichokes, and peas over the rice. Cover the pan tightly with foil and leave for 10 minutes. Take off the foil. Scatter with olives and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Next day was the left over paella with 2 eggs and a tablespoon of flour added. I heated a frying pan with 3 tablespoons of oil and added the rice mixture. Leave it to cook until the bottom is nicely browned. Place a plate on top and flip over, then slide the rice cake back into the pan to cook the other side. I had two fillets of sole in the freezer. They were thawed tossed in flour and cooked in a little oil – in the same frying pan as the rice cake. In another smaller pan i sautéed a little Florence fennel with capsicum slices. Meanwhile, there were 4 halved tomatoes grilling in the oven . So here is the end result. 1/2 the Paella rice cake topped with grilled tomatoes > sole fillet> sautéed vegetables > chopped coriander.

Actually very tasty …………..

Travel Memories

This year is disruptive, turbulent and very troublesome. Hopefully over a long period of time I will get to travel again with more amazing New Zealanders (and the occasional Australian). We do have a great time and laugh a lot. I am a people person and love the challenge of my tours and I am looking forward to the future.

xxxx Judith

I’m chasing time now since my blogs have slipped a few days behind. Although today is the first day in Level 2 and our Wedding Anniversary !!! I will continue until I’ve reached my lockdown days.

Really not much to say about this meal . Its a very old method of dealing with the left over roast. Shepherds Pie is one of the best comfort foods and we devoured our Venison version.

I put the left over meat and sauce in the food processor and pulsed it until I had a mince like mixture. If you don’t have any sauce then add some beef stock to make is moist. Place in a baking dish and top with mashed potatoes. Of course I used left overs and blitzed the remainder of the polenta and mixed it with mashed potato and grated cheddar cheese. Bake until bubbling and golden and serve with vegetables of your choice.

Travel Memories

All my tours include visits to markets and there is no better way of understanding the culture than understanding what people eat and coming to grips with the local lifestyle. Watching busy shoppers fill their baskets, communicate with the producers and spend a very social day when the market days are on, is fun and rewarding.

Im super keen now to get all our little trees planted and the first thing I will be buying will be a ‘ladies’ shovel !!!!

XXXX Jude

The driveway trees are all planted and although it looks rather bare, satisfaction and pleasure has taken over from the sore muscles. Isolation has been good for and provided time to complete a big job that we never in our wildest dreams thought would be done this year.

I turned a pack of mince from the freezer into a ragu and served with cheesy double baked potatoes and topped with a selection of sautéed green vegetables and cherry tomatoes. Very simple and comforting after our energetic weekend.

Baked Stuffed Potatoes

2-3 smallish potatoes per person, grated cheddar cheese, 50 grams butter , milk, salt and pepper.

Wash and dry potatoes, prick with a fork. Place in a baking dish and bake at 180 deg Celsius for 30-40 minutes or until soft. leave to cool a little . Cut the tops off. Scoop the potato flesh out of the skins into a bowl, mash with a knob of butter and a little milk . Add a generous amount of grated cheese and season with salt and pepper. Spoon back into the potato skins. (leave the tops to brown and crisp) Return to the oven until crisp and golden.

Beef Ragu

500 grams mince, 1onion, 4 cloves garlic crushed, 1 carrot , 1 stick celery , 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, ½ cup red wine, 400 gram can peeled tomatoes  500 mls beef stock

In a food processor combine the onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Pulse until chopped finely. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the vegetables – called sofrito, cook until soft, Add the mince and cook until well browned. Add wine, tomatoes and beef stock.  Bring to the boil and simmer slowly until the liquid is evaporated and the sauce is very thick. Spoon Ragu over the baked potatoes and top with vegetables of your choice. I sautéed fennel, added a few blanched beans and threw in my soft cherry tomatoes that needed using. Finish off with a pile of grated parmesan cheese.

Travel Memories

It is Spring in Scotland and as my departure day is looming this week I will miss the many fabulous garden visits we include on this tour. The garden of Cawdor castle and its ancient Laburnum arch is always stunning and I just love visiting every year. The blue bells carpet the stands of birches everywhere.

A major computer issue is something very alarming and hard to deal with in isolation . However, I’m up and away again !!!

I’m still planting the Birches and will be for a few days yet. We have had glorious calm days and some are even hot. Our plan for the weekend is to plant 60 Acer Fremanii Jeffers Red ( Canadian Maples ) down the drive and my job was to drive into Wanaka and collect the post hole digger from Hire Pool ready to start the next day.

We had been given a shoulder of Venison and although it had been beautifully marinated in red wine and fresh herbs . I felt I didn’t do it justice and although I treated it the same as I would for any slow cooked meat – browned, cooked it slowly and added stock it was still dryer than I would have liked.

I served the Venison with baked cauliflower and polenta topped with mushrooms and parmesan cheese.

Polenta Baked with Parmesan Cheese and Topped with Mushrooms .

Polenta: 2 cups water, 2 cups milk, 1teaspoon salt, 200 grams fine polenta, 1cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 3-4 tablespoons olive oil , 2 cloves garlic, crushed.

In a large saucepan bring the water, milk and salt to the boil.
Pour in the polenta slowly in a steady stream, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon. Lower the heat and continue stirring until the polenta starts to come away from the sides of the saucepan. – 5-8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in half the parmesan cheese. Pour the mixture onto a board or baking sheet, spreading it out to about 5 mm thick. Allow the polenta to cool and set. Cut the polenta into squares. Place on a baking dish. Combine the olive oil and crushed garlic. Drizzle over the top of the polenta. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake at 200 C for 15 minutes, until the polenta  is crisp and golden.

Roasted Mushrooms, Olives and Thyme

¼ c olive oil, 1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme, 1kg of mushrooms – swiss brown or button, trimmed and halved.

Sauté the mushrooms in olive oil. Season and add thyme. Cook until softened and liquid has evaporated.

Left over apple cake was a treat while enjoying a morning coffee sitting in the sun. A relaxing break from planting trees and a good ‘pick me up’ The original recipe for my cake came from my ‘Dinner in a Basket’ book where I used pears . But, because of our abundance of apples it was obvious I had to make use of them.

Apple and Hazelnut Crumble Cake

250 grams butter, 6 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered, 1 cup castor sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 eggs, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder , 1 cup sour cream( I only had 1/2 cup so made up the remainder with yoghurt )

Crumble

¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup castor sugar, ½ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts (combine all ingredients) 

 In a bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each addition. Add the remaining cake ingredients and combine gently. Spoon the batter into a 26 cm spring form cake tin. Place the sliced apples, cut side down around the cake tin on top of the batter. Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the top. Bake 180 C for 60 minutes, or until firm to touch. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Travel Memories

I want to dedicate my travel memory photos to my best friend Charles who is my magnificent guide in Italy / France and Scotland . He is isolated in Edinburgh and I hope starting to enjoy the beautiful Spring in Scotland with his wife Lissa and Banjo the adored Australian Terrior. To Alberto my bus driver in Italy / France who has been isolated for such a long and certainly traveling on a bus will be very different for a long time. And to my Venetian guide Cristina who has suffered the death of her beautiful mother during lockdown and the complete loss of her income until tourism returns . We are all in this together and the Pandemic has been so cruel. I use guides on all my tours and their knowledge and personalities make my tours so successful and personal. I have made many friendships for life and they have added immensely to my tours with their beloved tour favourites and passions.

XXXX We are in this together . Stay in touch .

I’ve started planting the first 150 Jacquemontii Birches. They are rather small sadly but given the number we needed and the fact that they evidently grow very fast we are hopeful and have our fingers crossed. Without a doubt we will love watching them grow.

Using the remainder of our roast chicken from two nights ago. I made a kind of Waldorf salad. It was actually delicious and I will definitely being doing this again.

Chicken Waldorf Salad

1/2 roast chicken – shredded or two chicken breasts, 6 brussel sprouts – shaved thinly, 2 spring onions – sliced thinly, 1/4 bulb fennel sliced thinly , 3 sticks celery – thinly sliced 3/4 cup roasted walnuts , 1-2 apples, cored and sliced thinly. Parsley. Dressing : 1 clove garlic-crushed, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon spoon maple syrup, 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup unsweetened yoghurt.

Combine all the salad ingredients in a serving dish and toss together. Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. Drizzle dressing over salad toss gently . Scatter chopped parsley on top.

I have found an amazing pasta maker in Tarras called Run Rabbit. I E Mailed Brenda and Gary, and they replied with the pasta they were making this week,. All I had to do was put my order in by 10 am on Wednesday and it was delivered to our letterbox with a text to say it was there the next day.

Beef Cheek Ragu Pasta

 4 beef cheeks , 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 onions, finely diced, 6 cloves garlic crushed , 6 anchovy fillets , 2 sprigs rosemary, 4 bay leaves, 2 cups red wine, 2 cups beef stock, 2 tablespoons tomato concentrate, 1 teaspoon salt , Freshly ground black pepper, zest of an orange , ¼ cup chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius . Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Pan fry beef cheeks on each side until starting to brown. Remove. Add the butter. Once it starts to bubble add  onion, garlic, anchovies, rosemary and bay leaves. Sauté until the onions are soft and anchovies have melted away.  Stir through the flour and cook for a minute.  Add red wine, beef stock, tomato concentrate and seasoning. Return the meat to the pan. Bring to the boil. Cover with a lid or tin foil. Transfer to an oven and bake for 3 hours or until the meat is falling apart. Add orange zest and parsley before serving. Pull beef cheeks apart with two forks and add to the sauce.

I used Chickpea Linguine with my slow cooked beef cheeks and topped it with blanched green beans in a cheery tomato sauce.

Cook pasta in a large saucepan full of boiling water (120 grams per serving) with 1 tablespoon salt. Simmer for 5-6 minutes . Drain. Place pasta in a warm bowl and spoon beef cheek ragu on top.

In a frying pan saute 2 cups cherry tomatoes in olive oil and 2 cloves of crushed garlic until soft and squidgy . Add blanched green beans and cook through . Season. Serve sitting on pasta and ragu.

I don’t know what has happened to my time. Blogs are getting rather late I’m afraid …..

Travel Memories

Traditions are all around you in Turkey. The women make many craft items to sell to the tourists and little dolls are my favourite. Lunch at Soganli is always delicious and my favourite old lady was there to greet us again this year. Her family prepare delicious Gozlome and the best chargrilled chops you could ever wish for.

My thoughts are with the Turkish women who work so hard and just love sharing their culture.

XXX Jude

Cooler Days mean soup and nothing better than a scrumptious Italian Ribolitta – Full of vegetables and beans and finished with chunks of bread. It’s a meal within a meal – but for us it’s lunch.

 La Ribolitta (Thick Tuscan Bean Soup)

½ cup good extra virgin olive oil, 2 onions finely diced, 6 cloves garlic, crushed, 3 sticks celery, diced finely, 2 carrots, peeled and diced finely, 400g tin whole peeled tomatoes, 250g cavolo nero or cabbage, sliced , 400 gram tin cannellini beans, 1 cup red wine, 2 litres chicken stock, 100 grams stale ciabatta bread, 3-4 thyme stems, parsley

In a large saucepan sauté the onion and garlic in a little of the olive oil until soft and fragrant. Add the celery and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes to soften the vegetables. Stir in the beans, tomatoes and cabbage leaves. Cook until the cabbage starts to wilt. Add the wine, chicken stock and thyme. Simmer gently for about 40 minutes. Add the bread to the pan. If it is very fresh dry it out in the oven to prevent it breaking up. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to rest for 30-40 minutes. Serve hot but not boiling drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and chopped parsley.

I finally managed to get some lamb mince – I’m getting used to new supermarkets but it is frustrating and annoying when you have to order something so basic as lamb mince or chicken frames for making stock. It was worth persevering because this Moussaka is seriously good. I made an extra dish to give away – many people are asking are we gaining weight here…. Don’t worry I am making our meals in small sizes.

Mousaka

1 kg potatoes, par-boiled 2 eggplants- aubergine, sliced 7mm thick, ½ cup olive oil, 1 large onion, 4 cloves garlic crushed, 1 carrot , 1 stick celery , 500 grams minced lamb, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon. ½ teaspoon ground allspice, 1/3 cup tomato paste, ½ cup red wine, 400 gram can peeled tomatoes Sauce :100 grams butter, ½ cup flour, 1 litre milk, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, 150 grams grated parmesan cheese, 3 egg yolks, 1 preserved lemon, flesh removed and diced finely, ½ cup olive oil

Combine the oil and garlic, brush the eggplant slices on each side. Grill on each side in batches until golden. In a food processor combine the onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Pulse until chopped finely. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and add the vegetables – called sofrito. cook until soft, Add the lamb and the spices and cook until well browned. Add the tomato paste, wine and tomatoes.  Bring to the boil and simmer slowly until the liquid is evaporated and the sauce is very thick. Sauce : Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and cook for 1 minute until frothy. Pour in the milk and stir until thick and just boiling. Remove from the heat and stir through the nutmeg, parmesan cheese and egg yolks.. Season with salt and pepper. Slice the potatoes into 7mm slices. Grease a 23x28cm baking dish. Line the base with overlapping slices of ½ the eggplant and all the potato. Pour over ¾ cup of the sauce, all the lamb mixture, remaining eggplant slices, then the remaining sauce. Top with fresh bay leaves and bake at 180 Celsius for 30- 40 minutes or until browned. Stand for 30 minutes.

Travel Memories

Cappadoccia is always so Special

The Cappadocia region is a huge contrast from the blue coastal Turkey and here the soft pinks, creams and sand colours accentuate the unusual landscape. It’s a semi-arid region in central Turkey and is known for its distinctive whimsical fairy chimneys and peculiar rock formations, tall cone-shaped rocks cluster in valleys called Monks Valley, Red Valley, Chicken Valley and many more, even throughout the touristy town of Göreme. These strange formations exist because of volcanic eruptions and were carved beautifully by the wind and erosion.
Cappadocia’s magic includes caves everywhere, inside the weird rock formations. The caves were built many centuries ago and some are still inhabited. Today lots have been given creative, imaginative, ingenious make overs and have been turned into rare unique hotels. We stayed at Hasan’s nephew’s cave hotel called Asawari suites. His love of Owls are everywhere and 4 days sleeping in our vast bedrooms was a relief. The caves stay cool and feel like a natural air conditioner. Eating our delicious Turkish breakfasts each morning of tomatoes, cucumbers, cheeses, olives fresh bread along with baked eggs, pancakes with rose jam and Turkish coffee, outside on a high terrace each morning was a real treat, but sleeping in comfortable temperatures was another.

Cappadocia shares its villages with many underground cities. These were created many centuries ago and some of them are more than ten levels deep and are connected to each other via tunnels. Our 3 days are like a mystery tour and I am sure my group think ‘What Next ‘ But what I love most is finding the unexpected and as we spied bread being loaded on a tractor trailor we had to stop. The most delicious flat bread was being made by women – some preparing the dough, others shaping and more baking the round bread in a wood fired oven and then cooking their beans in clay pots in the discarded ashes. To see this group carrying on their traditional role of bread making in literally a shed, baking in a very old oven and today transporting the bread by an open trailor on the back of a tractor (where the only man was responsible) was for me a highlight. They were generous with the bread and of course what tastes better than warm fresh bread straight from the oven.

I hope you are all watching Jamie Oliver on Wednesday nights. I don’t usually watch any foodie programmes but he is cooking up a treat using everyday ingredients.

Stay Well xxx Jude

We seem to be in a weekday routine of Muesli, stewed apples and yoghurt for breakfast and soup for lunch (another pot of tomato soup) . Philip zooms all day in meetings and there is more than enough for me to do outside. I did manage to get some miniature blue irises on line at Nichols and planted some between Verbena Bonarensis in wine barrels and more in pots to sit on outside tables ready for the spring.

Simple day and simple dinner. Plain roasted chicken. ( Nothing better) I always butterfly my chicken. It cooks faster and evenly. Use kitchen scissors or a sharp knife and cut down the edge of the backbone – then flatten out. Drizzle with olive oil, season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Bake at 200 deg C for 30 – 40 minutes .

Traditional Caesar Salad

Cos lettuce leaves, 3 hard boiled eggs – cut in half , 5 rashers bacon – sliced in 4 – pan-fried and crisp, 1 cup bread cubes – roasted in a little olive oil, 1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese. Dressing : 4 anchovy fillets,, 1 clove garlic – crushed, 1 egg yolk, juice 1/2 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons grape seed oil, pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Layer the salad ingredients in a bowl, drizzle with dressing and toss very gently . Serves 2

The fruit trees are groaning with wonderful crops of apples all around us and look so colourful, beautiful and wanting to be picked .

Travel Memories

Exciting Istanbul

Istanbul, the city of 20 million inhabitants is a massive culture shock to first time visitors and everyone and they really don’t know what to feast their eyes on first. The big-ticket items are the Sultanahmet, which is the area with the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and the Basilica Cisterns which once made up almost the entirety of Constantinople and they sit side by side complementing the enormity of each other. No visit to Istanbul would be complete without the use of a good guide and plenty of time to immerse yourself in the history of Sultans, Christianity and the Moslem Faith. Seerdat is our guide once again and he puts everything in chronological order so the complex history of Istanbul can come to life. Shopping in Turkey is always lots of fun and the sensational Grand Bazaar is always a favourite visit. Very high quality cotton is grown here and buying beautiful towels is a must. Jennifer’s Hamam  came recommended and we followed the shop assistant like lambs to the slaughter, down narrow streets to the showroom. Eyes agog at the two floors of colourful organic cotton towels we then came under the spell of a charismatic Australian called Greg. Least to say two hours later there was a huge bag ready to be packed off and sent to NZ and some Christmas shopping done. Thank goodness our hotel has a magnificent roof top bar overlooking the Bosphorus to relax in looking at the Golden Horn and in the evenings at many enormous Mosques which line the skyline.

There was change of view today as we could see the rain approaching from Wanaka, although more often than not we can see the rain in the distance and it never reaches us. Rabbits are the trouble makers in Central Otago. Although we try and find the holes, drop in a little gas pellet and block them off it was demoralising to drive in later in the day to find so many dancing over our cleared site.

Tonight I made use of two little pork belly steaks I had in the fridge. I cooked them with apple slices and apple cider and served with roasted little potatoes with red onion, garlic, lemon, black olives and prosciutto along with a section of green vegetables.

Roasted Potatoes with Lemon, Olives and Prosciutto

12 small potatoes ( 6 each ) 1 lemon – sliced thinly, , 1 red onion – sliced, 3 cloves garlic – sliced thinly, 2-3 tablespoons olive oil , 1/4 cup black olives, 4 slices prosciutto ( or bacon ) – ripped into 4, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In a small roasting dish combine the potatoes, lemon, red onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss with olive oil. Bake in a hot oven 200 C for 20- 25 minutes. Add black olives and prosciutto and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Rub pork belly steaks ( can use pork steaks/ pork chops or fillet ) with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Panfry pork in a hot pan to brown on all sides. Add a peeled sliced apple and 1 cup apple cider or ginger ale. Place a lid on and cook for 10-15 minutes – Remove the lid and cook until sauce is reduced and thick . Season . My green vegetables were 1/2 sliced florence fennel, 1/2 leek sliced thinly, 1 cup blanched green beans. Sauté fennel and leek in a saucepan until they have softened. add blanched beans. Season and serve. Remember I am only serving two – although most nights you wouldn’t know that – Consequently the extras are nice to share.

Travel Memories

Garden Visits are always reflected in my tours . They are a passion for me and Philip have so much fun researching and becoming immersed in their history, plantings and totally thrilled when we can meet the owners.

Two of my avourite gardens in Normandy are close to Bayeux . The restored formal garden facing the De Brecy Chateau looked impeccable even on a wet afternoon. Layers of immaculately clipped topiary and hedges step up a hillside away from the chateau and provide a perfect vista all year round. I have fallen in love with French roses and even in the damp weather they still smell amazing .

But my all time favourite is the garden of Castillon. It is also set behind a Chateau hiding in the trees but created and developed over the past 40 years. We met Collette and her husband, the now very elderly couple responsible for the garden. He told us how he remembers the Nazi soldiers leaving the Chateau, where he lived with their grandmother on the 7th June 1944, one day after the landing at Omaha after they occupied their house for 4 years..Their creativity and expertise is evident as you walk from one room to another, each filled with different plantings and bound together with the neatest yew, box and hornbeam hedges.

Keep Safe Everyone and if your in the South Stay Warm

XXX Jude

As Jed Clampert used to say in the Hillbillies Oil that is, Black gold, Texas tea. Well.. we had black gold in another form and are extremely lucky to access the 2 year old piles of sheep manure scraped from underneath the wool shed at Cluden station . Maybe its Tarras Tea. We managed two trailer loads before the rain set in and let us start to prepare for our 200 trees that are meant to be arriving shortly.

We fired up the jet master fire for the first time and spent a Saturday evening with a glass of wine and finger food – cosy and safe while the welcomed rain continued outside. Again I’m back to a very favourite recipe that I used to make a lot in my catering days when we could buy real and proper Ricotta cheese and not the sloppy stuff we get in a pottle now . Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. It is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein has been used to make cheese. The clotted result is sold in baskets and you can slice it with a knife. I can never understand why we can’t do this in NZ when we make so much cheese. I did persevere with our pottle form although it was much sloppier and slightly more difficult to cook . I did end up with a reasonable result.

Ricotta Cakes with Broadbean Pesto and Slice Cold Smoked Salmon

400 grams ricotta, 125g fresh parmesan – grated, ¼ teaspoon salt, zest of a lemon, 5 tablepoons flour , olive oil.

In a bowl combine all the ingredients except the olive oil. Mix well to combine. Drop spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture into a bowl of extra flour. Shape into balls and flatten slightly, Pan fry in hot olive oil until golden brown on each side. Cool on paper towels. (If you have a non stick pan it would be better.)

Broadbean and Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

½ cup broad beans, blanched and peeled, ½ cup parsley, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons capers , 6 sundried tomatoes , 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs,
1 cup crustless stale white bread, juice of a lemon, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, ½ cup olive oil.

Place all the ingredients in a food processor except the olive oil. Slowly add the olive oil and process util smooth – (you may need a little more oil) Spoon a teaspoonful of broad bean pesto on the ricotta cakes and top with a slice of cold smoked salmon. Serve on a platter as a finger food – or In our case casual dinner. – I always have a packet of cold smoked salmon slices in the fridge from Harbour Fish – they are so useful and perfect for platters. You can also make the ricotta cakes larger and top with pesto and proscuitto and serve as a light meal or starter.

We also had a cheese platter with thinly sliced bread toasted in the toastie pie machine and cut into 3, a bowl with my pear and ginger chutney and a block of Kapiti cheese port wine cheddar, sliced.

Sometimes grazing platters are all you need – especially sitting around a fire.

Travel Memories

Highland Recommendations

Scotland has produced some of the world’s most revered poets. For centuries, Scotland’s mountains, forests and cities have inspired works of art: paintings, sculpture, sweeping novels and beautiful photographs. However, poetry is capable – in the right pair of hands – of doing something a little bit magical, but, as we travel back into the Highlands we don’t need to be poets to know that Scotland’s landscapes are inspirational.

On a beautiful sunny calm morning our arrival on the ferry from Stornaway was to the little port side village of Ullapool. It looked exquisite with its narrow streets lined with pure white cute terrace houses. I spotted a sign for a Smoke house so before leaving we made an impromptu visit to check out what they smoked and sold. The rough edged characterful owner came to meet us and I think he must have been impressed with our interest so he invited us on a spur of the moment tour of his small but extremely efficient operation. Using the left over stays of whisky barrels he smokes hand fed locally farmed salmon, to be sold all over Scotland and exported. The end product was superb and we certainly had an unforgettable unexpected treat. I did give him a packet of Napkins with NZ Native flowers on them. He did say thank you – but he commented ” Do I look the sort of guy that would use a napkin”.