Rus and I had been looking forward to a trip to Blenheim since we arrived in New Zealand.  About four hours north of Christchurch, with slightly warmer and sunnier weather, Blenheim is home to New Zealand’s largest vineyard region, the Marlborough region - and over sixty-five wineries.  The bleak, cold Christchurch weather prodded us north…

I booked our stay at St. Leonard’s Cottage, a homestead nestled amongst the vines in the heart of Blenheim’s wine country. We rented a car, packed it up, and was on our way mid-afternoon on Saturday.  The ride north on State Highway 1 is immensely beautiful and actually a pleasure to experience.  Once we were near Kaikoura, nearly two hours into our trip, the snow-capped mountains came into view, alongside the blue ocean to the right.  With daylight fading, this sight gave a new meaning of “purple mountains’ majesty”!

Soon it was dark (and I mean dark - no lights anywhere), and the rain began to fall.  We were hoping for a weekend of dry, sunny weather, but it was starting to look like the damp cold was following us.  We drove through the town centre and after a few missed turns here and there, we found the road where our accommodation was located.  Down a long, dark driveway, we came upon the house, an old single-story character estate built in the early 1800’s, and were immediately greeted by Paul and Daphne, our hosts.  Paul showed us to our self-contained cottage, called “The Shearer’s Quarters”.  It was one big room with a queen and a twin bed, a kitchenette complete with table and four chairs, sitting area, and full bath. It was fabulous!  Under the impression that St. Leonard’s was bed-and-breakfast, I asked when breakfast would be served. Daphne kindly informed us that breakfast was in the fridge in the cottage - fresh eggs from their hens, freshly-squeezed orange juice from the oranges in the orchard, and homemade jelly and marmalade to eat with toast; we could make breakfast ourselves at our leisure.  Yum!  I couldn’t wait for breakfast in the morning; however, in the meantime, it was time to venture out in search of dinner.   It was after 8:00PM, and we were hungry!

We got back in the care and drove back into town in search of a restaurant Paul and Daphne recommended.  Surprisingly, there was little activity going on in the town centre on a  Saturday night!  The cold and drizzly weather might have been a deterent.  Or, perhaps as harvest had recently ended, all of the grape-pickers returned to their homes.  Anyway, we were able to get a table at a wine bar called Scotch right away.  Rus and I both ordered steak and a bottle of pinot noir - from Marlborough, of course!  It was a beautiful wine called Clayridge. The steak was decent; not the best but still quite nice.  We each had a glass of wine and planned on taking the rest back to the room; however, we were informed by our server that we could not take the bottle with us (the rules in Blenheim are different from Christchurch, where one is permitted to take an unfinished bottle home).  So, since Rus was driving and not wanting to “waste” a perfectly good bottle of wine, we talked and people-watched at the restaurant for another hour whilst I finished the rest of the bottle of wine (tough job, huh?).  Afterwards, we made our way back to the cottage.

After a nice, hot shower, we climbed into the most comfortable bed we had experienced in New Zealand before drifting off to rest up for Sunday’s activities…

Ginger cookies (or “biscuits”, as they are often called) are popular treats here in New Zealand - often as an accompaniment with tea or coffee, or to help settle an upset stomach.

Rus made ginger beer again over the weekend, and we were thinking of ways to use up the ginger left over after steeping.  The answer?  Ginger cookies!  So will they be a Delight or a Disaster?

The first thing I did was to Google “ginger cookies recipe”.  After viewing several, I chose the one from Southern Food.  Once again, I had all of the ingredients at my disposal (except molasses, but I used a great substitute which I will mention later); these included ginger (I used 1/4 cup fresh ginger instead of dried ground), flour, brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon, sugar (I use raw), baking soda, egg, and butter.  I substituted a mixture of honey and pure maple syrup for the molasses and real, hand-churned butter instead of margarine.  In addition, I included 1 tsp. pure vanilla, 1 tsp. ground nutmeg, and 1/8 cup flax seed (I love to add flax seed to cookies because it adds fibre, nutrients, and heart-healthy omega-3s!  Naturally, and unfortunately, with all the butter and sugar, this still does not make the cookies magically turn into health food!).

Here is what I did:

1. Combine flour, soda, flax seed, and spices in a bowl and set aside.

2. Cream sugar and butter. Beat in egg, vanilla, and honey/maple syrup mixture until light and fluffy.  Add fresh ginger and mix.

3. Stir in flour mixture just until blended.

4. Chill for 2 hours or more (I chilled overnight for convenience purposes).

5. Preheat oven to 190C (375F).

6. Shape dough into small balls, roll in granulated sugar, and place on lightly greased baking sheets about two inches apart.

7. Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar.

8. Bake about 8 to 10 minutes, until set.

Results:

These cookies turned out beautifully from the beginning to end; they are easy to make.  The crispy edges were fabulous, giving way to a moist centre.  I thought the raw sugar on the outside would make them too sweet; however, to my pleasant surprise, it gave the cookies a crunchy texture and almost made them sparkle like glitter!   Overall, the spices were not overpowering.  Furthermore, and amazingly enough, I could barely discern all of the fresh ginger.  Regarding cookie size, the first batch was a bit too large for my liking (eight per cookie tray), so I made the balls smaller.  This adjustment yielded me fourteen cookies each of the next two batches.    The recipe says it will yield 96 cookies; I produced about a third of that number total.

Flatmates Say:

Monique, Ryan, Leanne, and Dylan loved them.  Arno does not like ginger, so I could not get his opinion on this one.

These were some of the best cookies I have ever made.  Since they do not taste too sweet or rich, it is easy to eat too many!  This Tasty Tuesday Ginger Cookie recipe was definitely a DELIGHT!

The ski fields have just opened, winter storms are forecast….and the cherry blossoms are blooming.

Yes, despite the official start of Winter nearly one week away, the Signs of Spring are everywhere!

The daffodil shoots have emerged from their long Winter’s slumber, the birds are singing (actually, I do not think they took a break), lilies are in bloom, rhododendrons are budding, the magnolias have gorgeous, pink flowers on them with many more to follow.  These examples are plants just around our yard, but in other areas, flower gardens, hedges, climbing vines, and trees are acting like Spring has already arrived.  Winters (except for this one, apparently) are generally mild enough to sustain blooming roses year round, and many native plants have beautiful flowers on them throughout the seasons.

Clearly, these plants must be confused, as I am.  What’s going on?  Climate change?  Transplants (no pun intended) from the Northern Hemisphere?  Perhaps, as new Kiwis, we are simply not used to seeing this level of Springtime explosion so early.

So, does this mean that we can declare Winter over before it even officially begins?

My fiancé and I are getting married in August and are currently planning a wedding.  It is an exciting time for us (and our mothers), and naturally, friends and strangers alike are curious about the details.  Some of the frequently asked questions during this process have revolved around “The Dress”.  What does it look like?  Where was it purchased, etc.?

In my humble opinion (which is more strongly influenced by my wallet than I would like to admit at the moment), spending thousands of dollars on a single-use wedding gown is unnecessary.  In general (and especially in the current economic climate), spending a small fortune on a dress is not in the realm of possibility for most brides-to-be.  That being said, my personal style relegated purchasing a bargain gown off the sale rack of a mass-producer down to a last resort.  Designers, I reluctantly admitted, were my best bet in fulfilling my dress criteria - with stratospheric price tags to match.   So my mission became: Where can a future bride source “The Dress” for a fraction of the designer price?

The obvious first choice is to buy a used gown, so I immediately fired up the MacBook and visited TradeMe and eBay.  My goal was to familiarise myself with designers that fit my personal style and to check availability.  (Hint: When searching “wedding dress” on either of these sites, it becomes quickly apparent why including a designer name in your search is much more efficient!) Had I found a pre-owned dress I liked in my size, I would have hit the jackpot; however, I saw many listings for beautiful dresses with tattered or dirty trains and hems - deal-breakers for me. Overall, these initial searches taught me three things:

1. I wanted a new dress.

2. I liked a designer called Pronovias.

3. There was no way in H-E-double-hockey sticks I could afford a new Pronovias.

Since dress sizes can be atypical, it can require a serious leap of faith purchasing “The Dress” on the internet with neither seeing it in person nor trying it on.  To combat both of these dilemmas (clearly not discouraged by my lack of funds), I scheduled a consultation at a local Pronovias boutique, Robyn Cliffe, to sample a few.  I tried on twelve gowns, and it cost me a $50 fee in exchange for proper fitting and styling.  Did you know that wedding gowns have “model years”, like cars?  They do; and, like cars, they are most expensive during the current model year.   Luckily for me and thrifty brides everywhere, unless the model year is in the 90’s or earlier, it is unlikely that dresses preceding the current model year will seem too dated.

Armed with the knowledge of my Pronovias gown size and a few that I liked, I returned to the internet.  Within a matter of days, I honed in on a new gown on eBay that met all of my criteria. It was listed by a supplier in Los Angeles that specialises in selling new, previous model-year Pronovias dresses.   A quick feedback check reassured me the seller was legit.  After a nail-biting auction (which saved another US$150 off the “Buy It Now” price) during which I was the sole bidder, I purchased “The Dress”, my wedding dress, 80% off its original price!  The dress arrived less than week later in ready-to-wear condition; no steaming required.  It fits perfectly, it looks beautiful, I am proud of it - and it was within the price range of mere mortals.

Mission: Accomplished!

When Rus and I stopped by Lake Tekapo months ago on the way back from Queenstown, we purchased some amazing salmon.  This salmon is organically farmed in the glacial canals that connect Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki in the middle of the South Island.

I decided to make a quick, tasty salmon dish.  Delight or Disaster?

Using just green onions, red onions, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, basmati rice, a leaf of lettuce, and the salmon, here is what I did:

1. Remove skin from salmon; cut into approximately 250g fillets.

2. In a medium sauce pan, place one cup rinsed basmati rice in two cups of water on high heat.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer until rice is cooked.

3. Chop onion, garlic, ginger, and saute in olive oil on medium-high heat.

4. Once onions start carmelizing, place salmon in pan (the idea is to pan sear the salmon fillets).

5. Once crispy, flip and cook the other side.  Make sure the fish is cooked on the inside (sometimes it helps to cover the pan to achieve this).

6. The onions, etc. should be crispy at this point.  Turn off heat.

7. On a plate, lay down a rinsed leaf of lettuce.  Place a serving of the basmati rice on top.

8. Serve salmon on top of the rice, with a generous sprinkling of the onions on top.  Add salt and fresh lemon to taste.  Enjoy with a chilled glass of Chardonnay

Prep time: 25 minutes; serves 3

Rus and I loved this simple salmon dish.  The fish was amazing, no doubt because it is raised in water with a high mineral content.  The crispy onions added a nice complementary texture against the smooth texture of the fish.  The plain rice balanced the other stronger flavours nicely.  All in all, this was a DELIGHT!

Our humble blog has continued to post impressive numbers!  Once again, I feel a bit behind the eight ball with heavy-duty wedding planning taking up a lot of time.  May was often cold and rather miserable - not exactly the inspirational environment for creative writing!

At any rate, May 2009’s statistics summary for www.thestarbuckreport.com is as follows:

Reported period: Month May 2009

First visit: 01 May 2009 - 00:10

Last visit: 31 May 2009 - 23:56

Unique visitors: 339

Number of visits: 1276 (3.76 visits/visitor)

Pages: 5433 (4.25 pages/visit)

Overall, it was a good month in terms of numbers!

As usual, thanks to all of our faithful readers, and a big Kia Ora (welcome) to our new readers!  I encourage you to join our RSS and leave your comments in each article’s comment section.

A few things to look forward to in June:

- More Tasty Tuesdays

- Trip to Blenheim re-cap

- First USA visitor in New Zealand, including a day trip to Hanmer Springs

Stay tuned!

Rus and I returned from Blenheim with hundreds of freshly picked, ripe, New Zealand oranges and grapefruit we picked at the homestead where we stayed while we were there.  There was entirely too much to eat, and we love fresh orange juice (who doesn’t!?), so we decided: “Let’s squeeze ‘em!

This Tasty Tuesday - freshly-squeezed orange juice: Delight or Disaster? Basically, this was going to taste heavenly no matter what.  The “disaster” potential lies in the amount of orange we waste, if the juice has too much pulp, seeds, etc.

Our house is not equipped with a juicer (does it seem from these posts that the house is not stocked with anything?  I assure you it’s not as bad as it seems!), so we went off in search of an inexpensive juicer.  We found one at The Warehouse, plastic (ugh), with a filter built in, for a few dollars a piece; we bought two. Upon returning, we immediately and eagerly started squeezing!

Here is what we did:

1. Rus cut the fruit around the equator.  He squeezed and handed me juicer #1.

2. I dumped the juice into a funnel, which led to a 1.5 litre bottle ready for the finished product.

3. Manually wipe the juicer of extra flesh and seeds into an additional strainer (we used a sifter and a filter bag (normally used for straining hops for beer-making).

4. Pick up juicer #2 and repeat.

5. Squeeze additional juice out of strainers.

Twenty minutes and about fifty oranges later, and we had a beautiful finished product!

The moment of truth: The juice was as delicious, sweet, and tangy as we expected - absolutely spectacular.  Thankfully, over the next few days, we were able to squeeze nearly FIVE LITRES of juice.  We can’t wait to go back to Blenheim for more fruit and do it all again!

This Tasty Tuesday was definitely a Delight!