Unimpressed.

via

Volare

Volare

The Strand

Downtown Tauranga

In the mood for a posh night out, we ventured out to Volare for an Italian feed. Best to book ahead, especially when requesting a coveted window seat (perfect for date night!). Set in a restored warehouse, this restaurant has ambiance in bucket-loads. And the food?

We started with the mixed breads:

And I followed up with the Gnocchi +  Mills Reef
Gotta love that this local vineyard is less than 10kms away!

And I've got to say, possibly one of my best dining experiences ever.
The gnocchi was melt-in-your-mouth with a rich blue cheese sauce.
Mmmmm mmm. 

Maybe picked up a few ideas for next time I try this at home?  

My only regret was not leaving enough room for dessert! 

A Little List

Inspired by the Lovely Lauren Conrad

The Hub

The Hub

Devonport Road

Tauranga

I recently discovered the joy that is The Hub. I think it has been around for a while, I just hadn't discovered it before now! My new favourite because 1. They give you a jaffa with your coffee 2. they are accepting the new Downtown Tauranga Loyalty card and 3. I like the NZ art up on the walls. And they are super friendly.

And, I went for brunch and it was delicious!

Nom Nom Nom

Spinach Gnocchi

I do so love trawling the internet for new recipes, but find it hard to stick to them exactly. This is can be my downfall as kitchen experimentation doesn't always pay off!

So, I made Spinach Gnocchi, based on this recipe. I personally think that Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is just a little overrated so I substituted for Parmesan, and thank goodness for me, these tasted pretty darn good.

Delicious!

And just take a look at these babies:

I've been meaning to give Caprese Bites a go since spotting these. 
Wish I had done it sooner! Next time will try with fresh mozzarella.

Bargain Hunting in Tauranga

Since moving to Tauranga I havn't settled into the routine of having my hair done at one particular salon. The place I was frequenting in Papamoa shutdown, I was going to Lesley James for a while (but only because I felt like I had to commit to someone), and have brought a few vouchers on GrabOne and similar websites.

I also have a really bad habit of snipping out any split ends I spot in my hair between cuts (drives my Husband craaazy!)

Anyway, as I walk past Hair to Train everyday and their prices seemed just too good to be true, I thought I would try them out. Basically this is a hairdressing/ beauty academy where the students practise on customers. A little scary, but I reasoned that my hair is long enough that they couldn't muck it up too much. Luckily I was right!

The salon was pretty crammed and a little noisy, nothing flash. The girl who cut my hair was lovely, but painfully slow (on a positive note very, very careful, which is a good thing). I had my hair washed, cut and straightened. Took 1.5 hours. Cost me 8 dollars. I repeat, 8 dollars.

Not sure that I would have a colour done here, 1. as they don't open on the weekend or do late nights so I would need to take time off work and 2. a few of the students working in the salon didn't have very nice colours (and I assume they must also be practising on each other?) 

Will definately be doing this again sometime soon . . . saving 50 or so dollars a cut is just too good to pass up! I do love a good bargain.

I am even contemplating booking myself in for a one hour facial later in the week, which will set me back another $12. Awesome. I am not brave enough to test the waxing services though! 



Tandoori Chicken

Have to admit, I thought attempting Tandoori Chicken was just a tad ambitious but thanks to this guy it seems not! This turned out looking and tasting just as good as in an Indian restaurant. Great success.

Ingredients:

Two chicken breasts

1 t of Salt and Chilli Powder

1 Lime (or lemon)

6 T Plain Yoghurt

1 t each of: Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Pepper, Garam Masala, Tumeric, crushed Ginger and Garlic

1 T red food colouring

Oil

Carefully cut slits into both sides of the chicken breasts.

Mix together the salt, chilli powder and juice from half of the lime. Use your hands to rub this mixture into the slits made in the chicken.  

Tandoori chicken marinade: Combine the yoghurt with all of the remaining spices etc, juice from the other half of the lime and a half teaspoon of salt. This should be a paste like consistency. Add red food colouring and mix well. Please don't use your hands for this (if you watch the You Tube tutorial you will know what I mean!)

Coat the chicken in marinade before splashing with a little oil. Applying oil on top of the marinade apparently helps it to stick to the chicken. Marinate in the fridge for as long or as little as you like (we left for approximately four hours). 

When you are ready to cook, do so in a very hot oven preheated to 220 degrees, for approximately half an hour, until the chicken starts to blacken ever so  slightly. 

Served on a bed of steamed cabbage with spiced rice. With a side of Poppadoms, homemade lime pickle & mango chutney and Raita (cucumber dip).

I still cannot believe how well this turned out. New signature dish.

Why, Hello weekend. I've been expecting you!

The weather forecast leaves a lot to be desired, Sooo I am planning to huddle up and be a bit of a homebody this weekend . . .

 

Will be spending lots of time here . . .

. . . drinking far too many of these.  via

 

My weekend reading material.

 

Ready to keep the fire going all weekend.



Off to get my hair did today,

So thought I might whip up a DIY

hair mask to treat my tresses post chop!



I'm planning a closet clean ala gala darling
Summer = out of sight, out of mind.    via

 



And in the kitchen . . .
Something hot and spicy to ward off the cold!



 TGIF!

gawker.com

Oh, the excitement.

While planning our wedding I spent literally half a lifetime browsing weddinggawker. I obsessively checked into this website every single day over about a six month period. So, just imagine my excitement / shock at discovering that the gawker.com websites extend beyond just mere wedding planning these days. There is a whole empire . . .

http://www.foodgawker.com/

http://www.craftgawker.com/

http://www.dwellinggawker.com/

And, just for old-times sakes:

http://www.weddinggawker.com

Uh-Oh! Inspiration Overload!

Macadamia Crusted Fish with Kumara Fries

a.k.a posh Fish 'n' Chips

For the Macadamia Crust mix together one cup of crushed Macadamias,

one teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper and a 1/4 cup of Coconut Flakes.

Coat Fish (in this case fresh Kahawai) with Flour,

then in Egg, and finally with the Macadamia crusting.

Sprinkle with Kosher Salt (just a little!)

Cook for 20-30 minutes at 200 degress, till lightly browned.

And in the meantime, shallow fry peeled and chopped Kumara:

Ta Da!

Inspired by the last meal of our Honeymoon while dining at

Dukes Waikiki, this dish was perfect for a Romantic Night in.

♥ Made with Aloha ♥

Fun Little Finds

As the Boss is still off sick I took the opportunity to pop out for a bit of a potter around the City Centre shops. Here are a few fun little things spotted along the way:



Babushkas Dolls @ Stevens



Golliwogs @ Save the Children

 

Owls @ Farmers

So cute. I want one of each, please.

Pumpkin Lasagne

Credit where credit is due, this is actually my Husband's speciality dish - and as he likes cooking it, I like eating it, and pumpkins are in season, we have been having this for dinner fairly regularly in the last little while.

Skin, cube and boil approx 1kg of pumpkin. Mash.

Add one and a half cups of Greek Yoghurt to taste.

Season with salt, pepper and chilli powder (to add a bit of a kick).

Layer pumpkin mixture and lasagne sheets in cooking dish.

Top with either a sprinkle of cheese or cheese sauce.

Cook for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

And for something a little different

subsitute or combine a little mashed kumara /sweet potato.

Really good.

Another day, Another dollar

Another beautiful day in Tauranga . . . 

And not to be negative, but another morning of wondering why there are so many empty spaces/shops and places closing down in Tauranga City?

I don't like to criticize as I know it is hard for people to stay in business even in the best of times, but this is Tauranga, not Ngaruawahia. Bit of a worry. Thank goodness the council are trying to do something about it by introducing free parking on the weekends! 

Anyways, thought I would have a wander on my way to work to see just how many of these I could spot and I didn't even have to go out of my way to get up to ten:

Pretty shocking really. Makes me feel like I should be spending more money in the City just to do my bit to keep the shops we've got!