Best way to spend a Sunday . . .

Sushi in the sun at The Satori Lounge 

Followed by a few Magners next door at Armazem

Lovely! 

Mexican Night: Lime poached fish

Feel like something a bit different for dinner tonight?  We are so spoilt for fresh seafood with the fish market right in town and so I am always trying to come up with new recipes. This is pretty much poaching fish in a mexican cocktail! Yum.

Lime poached fish

2 large fish fillets (this was Blue Moki)
1/4 of a finely chopped onion
1/2 cup of lime juice 
(I used bottled juice as limes are so damn expensive here!)
1/2 t cayenne pepper
Dash of tequila!

In a pan place fish fillets in a single layer.

Mix together all ingredients, and pour over fish. Add enough water to just about cover the fillets. Slowly bring the water to a simmer. Let the fish cook through for approximately five minutes before flipping and allowing other side to cook through too. 

Serve with mexican rice and salsa.

Mexican Rice - Into my rice cooker goes:
1.5 cups of rice
1/4 of a finely chopped red onion
1 can of chopped tomatoes
2.5 cups of vegetable stock
1t crushed garlic
1/2 t cayenne pepper

Flick on to cook and wait. Stir regularly.



Salsa

Two chopped tomatoes
Two chopped avocados
1/2 can of corn
1/4 of a finely chopped red onion
Juice of one lime

Mix together all ingredients. That is all. 

Delicious. This is unbelievably easy but looks and tastes quite impressive.  

My kind of cooking!! Enjoy xx

Chantilly Cream

Chantilly Cream - Vintage Tea Shop 

130 Devonport Road

Tauranga

This darling little place opened just last week. I popped in a few days later for a devonshire tea lunch and am now slightly obsessed . . . My visits have quickly become the highlight of my week!

Vintage decor, fine china, cupcakes, lollies and tea cosies - what is not to love. And for coffee addicts, yes they do fresh coffee that I can vouch for. Yum.

And did I mention the devonshire teas?
With the most divine Lemon curd I have ever tasted!

This is a refreshingly different cafe from the Tauranga usuals, a step back in time. Everything is reasonably priced, you can even enjoy High Tea for only twenty dollars (although they I have been advised that for this they do recommend that you pre-book to ensure all of the goodies are available.)

Definitely the perfect place to meet for a ladies luncheon or morning tea.

 

Christmas is coming!!!

Oh yes it is. 

Today I pulled out all of my christmas decorations to admire

I like to decorate nice and early in order to 

make the most of the festive season 

and will be doing so very soon. Cannot wait! 

 In the meantime I have being scouring pinterest for xmas-y ideas.

Here are a few of my favourites . . .

 

ho ho ho 

Slack!

Wow. I have been super slack lately. Following the whole lemon detox diet thing I think I actually lost the will to live for a while there!! Plus it has been super busy here, what with environmental disasters and the excitement of the World Cup. 

I'm a little sad the Rugby World Cup is now over and done with, but just like the rest of NZ so relieved the All Blacks came out on top! 

And the best part?  

I won my bet! 

Maybe not a bet I couldn't afford to lose as far as $$$ go,

but it was a bet the whole of the country couldn't afford for me to lose! 

So I think this counts toward another of my 30 Little Things. 

Yippeee!

Lemon Detox Diet- Done.

I did it. Don't quite know how I managed to, but I lasted ten days. And then I decided that enough was enough! I don't want to make too much of this as the lemon detox diet and detoxing in general seem to be quite controversial subjects, but here is a bit of a mini review of my experience:

How much did it cost? 
The below pack cost $141 incl postage from here.

What do you get for that?
Enough syrup, cayanne pepper, salt and senna tea for a 14 day detox, plus the book and promotional material. The only ingredient you need on top of this is fresh lemons (I went through 3 a day).

How does it work? 

For a 7 or 10-14 day period you live on a liquid source of nutrition (syrup, cayanne pepper, lemon juice and water) which you drink throughout the day along with at least two litres of water. This is to give your digestive system a rest, allowing your body to use the energy saved in the detoxing process. Apparently the detoxification depends hugely on the 'elimination' of wastes from the body, which is where the salt water flush and senna tea come in.

The first day (Monday) was definately the hardest, I woke up early to do the salt water flush (so unpleasant I only repeated it one other day while doing this and instead replaced with a cup of senna tea). All I could taste all day was the salt, so the lemon detox drink tasted awful at first.

Tuesday to Friday I was fine during the day but would get home from work, and an hour later be ready for bed! I walk for approx forty minutes a day (back and forth from work) and that was all the exercise I could manage. After that I was fine, just bored, bored, bored - with the lack of variety, with not having enough energy for proper workouts and with life in general . . . felt like I was just wishing my life away over a ten day period. By day 8 it was fairly plain sailing, I could have easily gone for longer but I was just so over it by that stage!

I was making up three 600ml bottles of the drink containing 30ml syrup, juice from 1 lemon, pinch cayanne pepper and water at breakfast, lunch and dinner and sipping throughout the day. I went through one bottle of the syrup so still have a full bottle sitting at home, should I be brave enough to try this again a few months down the track.

I did not feel hungry once during the whole ten days - just deprived which was more of a mental thing, I felt like I was missing out on everything! Couldn't wait to start eating normal food again but craved 'healthy' food only (fresh fruit and veges especially).

I've lost just over 4 kilos, but I'm sure some will come back now I am eating properly again. I just feel better somehow - healthier, less bloated, clear headed. My skin is clearer, and people at work who I didn't tell that I was doing this have commented on how well I am looking.

I definately think that this would not be a good idea for everyone, it was really tough going. I saw it as a bit of a kickstart to a healthier lifestyle and as that I think it has served me well. I just needed a bit of a reset to make me aware of just how much crap I was putting into my body! I also think that this will help me appreciate my food more - appreciating tastes and savouring food rather then mindless eating.

 

Today (Friday) is my first day of being 100% back to (normal)! Woke up early, did a workout, fresh fruit for breakfast. No caffeine cravings, no desire to eat crap (for now). Will be interesting to see how long that lasts!

Much Love Monday

Life has been fairly quiet for me the last week or so, what with not being able to eat and all! I am still perservering with the lemon detox diet and kept my resolve, despite illness which hasn't helped things . . .  

via

Sooo . . . this week I am loving my ability to surprise even myself with my determination to stick at this. Go me! x

Little bits and pieces . . .

Finally got my chance for involvement in the Rugby World Cup! My Husband took me along to the Ireland vs Russia game in Rotorua last Sunday. What an atmosphere! It was so fun I didn't even mind getting rained on a little :)

And look, a double rainbow!

We have an english friend staying with us at the moment, making for a little friendly rivalry rugby wise! As he's been living in Malaysia/ Thailand the last year I am looking forward to his cooking nights as am sure he will have a few interesting and authentic recipes to share!

Finally got my hands on the newest Frankie . . . it was about time! 

Absolutely love the jam recipe with free jam jar labels! It is getting to the time of year when I start to think about possible christmas present ideas and I think a little picnic hamper with homemade jam might go down a treat!

 
MIL has been experimenting with painting native plants onto corrugated iron for hanging in a friend's bbq area . . . isn't she clever?

And (drum roll please) tomorrow I start the Lemon Detox Diet. I am half excited, half scared, but determined to finish the full 14 day program and come out the other side feeling am-a-zing!

 Wish me luck! x

The weekend is near!

Well, kind of. 

The first of The Little Big Markets are happening this Saturday at the Mount, fingers crossed for some sunshine!

Aaaand the Warriors are in the NRL Grand Final on Sunday. My Husband managed to resist buying tickets and flitting across to Sydney for the game so he is going to appease himself by firing up the barbie here Sunday afternoon. First weekend of Daylight savings, first BBQ of the Summer!


So I feel like I have a lot to look forward to this weekend, only two sleeps to go! (For me, Friday is the weekend, having to endure that last 8 hour day at work is just a technicality!) Cannot wait.

Seafood Paella

Thought I'd have a go at Seafood Paella . . . made for a good afternoon in the kitchen! This is (I like to think) slightly healthier then your average paella with the use of brown rice. Not exactly authentic but very tasty.

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice 

1 medium onion, diced

2 t crushed garlic

1 small red capsicum, chopped

2t smoked paprika

1t tumeric

1 large tomato, chopped

1 cup white wine

1 litre stock (I used half and half vege/fish stock)

knob of butter

1 small salmon fillet (skinned, boned and cut into small squares)

200g seafood marinara mix

1 cup baby peas

Garnish: chopped parsley + lemon wedges

Precook the brown rice. I used my rice cooker for this.

In a pan brown onion before adding garlic and capsicum and cooking through.

Add rice and 1.5 teaspoon of the paprika and tumeric. stir through and cook for a few minutes before adding tomato and doing the same.

Add the white wine. Turn the heat of the pan down low to simmer for a few minutes. Over the next hour or so, add small quantities of stock, allow to reduce before adding another small amount - about a cup at a time.

When you are down to your last few cups of stock heat a smaller pan. Melt knob of butter and add half a teaspoon of paprika. Add salmon to pan, cover with butter liquid and cook through for a few minutes before adding to the rice. 

Allow salmon to cook for 5-10 minutes before browning seafood marinara mix in another small pan. Add seafood and peas to paella mix along with the last cup of stock.

Once the last of the liquid has reduced down, it is ready to serve.

Garnished with chopped parsley and a lemon wedge. Yum!

Frusion Soft Drinks - NZ Girl Review

I absolutely love receiving parcels in the mail, even better should that parcel contain free stuff! Needless to say I was pretty happy when a box of Frusion sodas arrived on Friday thanks to NZGirl. This is my first Influencer Review, and should I be lucky enough to do another I have to say it will now have a lot to live up to!

I’m not much of a soft drink drinker. Apart from Diet Coke and Sprite Zero I don’t really stray too far into this ‘genre’ of drink due to the high sugar content of most soft drinks. So the fact that these are pitched as low in sugar was appealing.

Seeing as the labels read ‘to keep things interesting until the end of the night, whenever that may be’, thought I would crack a few of these open Saturday night and consume as I’m sure the makers intended, good old mixers! 

The three flavours are Soda, Lime and Bitters, Tropical Guava and Gingerbeer and Lime. They are all pretty tasty – I was at first surprised by the lack of fizz, maybe I shouldn’t have been though as they are a fusion of natural juices and sparkling water rather then your usual over carbonated sodas.

Gingerbeer and Lime is perfect for mixing yourself an El Diablo.
In a glass pour one shot of tequila, top up with the soda before adding a dash of blackcurrent liqueur (or cordial).

Soda, Lime and Bitters is (unsurprisingly) perfect with a little Vodka. Would be fine with Gin or white rum too, should that be your preference.

Tropical Guava was by far my favourite of the three flavours. I decided I would try this with a dash of Captain Morgan spiced rum! Delicious. The vanilla this brought out complimented the delicate guava flavour perfectly. Very tropical indeed!

The backs of the bottle caps are pretty awesome too, with witty comments and facts etc. By far my favourite was ‘Can I be your new favourite drink?’ Your wish is my command! x