Wednesday 28 September 2011

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.

Tuesday 27 September 2011

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!

Sunday 25 September 2011

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

Friday 23 September 2011

Syndicate Bar and Bistro

Syndicate on the Strand, Tauranga. It's an awesome place to meet for after work drinks and has gained in popularity hugely over the last few months. Pretty good happy hour on offer ($5 tap beers and house wines) with a live jazz band most Fridays. 

The Syndicate Platter


Ridiculously cheap - $12.
Perfect for a snack to feed a group or as dinner for two!


Wednesday 21 September 2011

Satori Lounge

Sushi Restaurant and Bar
309 Mt Maunganui Road
Mt Maunganui


This is by far the best Japanese I have come across in the Bay. We popped in for a mid week dinner out, apparently reservations are recommended should you visit later in the week and on the weekend.

The staff were friendly and attentive. There were a number of other diners but the fact that it was a little quiet did not detract from the atmosphere. I cannot wait to return on a Friday or Saturday night . . . it would be the perfect place to meet for an evening of drinks and small bites!


Started with a miso which came with prawns- so. good.
Followed by the most delicious sushi, freshly rolled on order:



Ebi Tempura Hot Roll (prawns, salmon, cream cheese rolled in tempura)
and
Otate Roll (scallops & cream cheese rolled in avocado)



Highly Recommended. Can't wait to go back!

Monday 19 September 2011

Much Love Monday . . . Inspired by Etsy

A little while ago I posted about possible wedding gift ideas . . . in the end I decided to go all DIY and made a personalised framed print, inspired by a few I spotted on Etsy but knew I wouldn't be able to order in time. 

This is the finished product:



Right now I am loving finally getting myself unpacked after our mini vacation, while recovering from another weekend full of good times. Have a lovely week!



Sunday 18 September 2011

Real Tauranga Festival

Wow, this really crept up on me! The Real Tauranga Festival kicked off last week while we were away. It has been timed to coincide with the rugby world cup (9 Sept - 23 Oct)- Good to have something going on in Tauranga seeing as we missed out on hosting any games.
Last night I pottered down to the Strand for Multi Culjah - mainly attracted by The Patea Maori Club, famous for 'Poi E'. A number of other mostly Reggae type bands also performed, including my favourite of the night, 1814. 


Sorry, not the best quality photo, taken with my cellphone!

Nice to see the organisers put some thought into the food stalls to choose from - including Big Smoke BBQ and Kiwi Spit Roast - both local, delicious and well recommended catering companies.

I did get the impression that they expected a much bigger crowd . . . and I can only guess that people may have been put off a little by the price. $40 a ticket isn't that big a price tag, especially when there were 5 groups over five and a half hours, but I expect they would have attracted more people by dropping the prices just a little.

Awesome location for a concert. Hopefully successful enough to encourage more gigs down at the Strand. 

This morning, just to get into the swing of things I thought I'd pop down to the Multi-Cultural Markets. Got up early and wandered down, but was disappointed to find that they have actually been pushed back to the 16th of October. I'm hoping they will be worth the wait!  x

Thursday 15 September 2011

Shortbread Buttons!

These are the cutest biscuits ever. And tasty.


I made up a batch of Shortbread (from the Edmonds Cookbook so I knew they were going to be good!), added food colouring and voila!


Ingredients:

250g soft Butter
1 cup Icing Sugar
1 Cup Cornflour
2 Cups Plain Flour


Cream butter and icing sugar. 
I did this by hand as I currently have no electric mixer. Proud moment!



Add Cornflour and Flour. Knead well.
Divide into as many portions as you would like different coloured biscuits. 



Add a few drops of chosen food colouring and knead through. 
Ends up looking a bit like Play-Dough!



Roll out on a lightly floured board, cut into button shapes 
and pop onto greased oven trays



Bake at 150 degrees for 20 minutes



These took quite a bit of time to make . . . I was in the kitchen for about two hours! I know. I'm a shortbread rookie so not sure if that is because shortbread is hard to work with or what! Anyway, well worth it. This batch made up enough for both myself and my Husband to take a plate along to work for morning tea.

Thanks to Forty-Sixth at Grace for the idea!  :)


Tuesday 13 September 2011

Weekend Away . . . Brisbane!

The main purpose for our visit was a wedding, and it was so lovely. By far my favourite detail on the day was all of the button bouquets teamed with button button holes for the bridal party, made by the bride herself!




Highlights of the trip included a quick visit
to the man made beach at Southbank . . . 





I had such a lovely long weekend away . . . but I do feel a bit bad for neglecting my blog over the last week or so, and I was having such a great time I didn't really take a lot of photos, with hindsight I wish I'd taken a million more!


Fun weekend away.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

mmmmm Sushi!

We are definitely spoilt for choice when it comes to Sushi places in Tauranga City. There are four pretty much on the same block on Devonport Road, not too shabby! However, I still cannot resist a trip out to Fraser Cove for my good old favourite, St Pierres.

St Pierres Sushi
Fraser Cove
Tauranga

I'm a big fan of the 'pick your own' sushi setup but sometimes its nice to grab a 6 or 8 pack without all of the indecisiveness! St Pierres may not have the variety of some of the central Sushi outlets, but it has quality and it's pretty reasonable in comparison. Especially the $4.90 'Sushi of the Day'. Bargain!


I tend to go for the sushi of the seafood variety - with miso!


Yuum sushi is sooo good!

Must attempt making my own one of these days . . .

Sunday 4 September 2011

Mexican Night: Chicken Chimichangas!

Sometimes if you want to do something right you've got to do it yourself! Unfortunately with the recent close of Mundo Mexicano for renovations we are left with slim pickings for a mexican restaurant in the vicinity. There is Flying Burrito Brothers, but while their cocktails are tasty I would recommend that you steer clear if you are looking for a really authentic mexican meal.

So Saturday night we decided to do a little experimentation and whip up a few chicken chimichangas in the comfort of our own home. These are basically fried burritos, not the healthiest option, but occasional indulgence never hurts!


Chicken Chimichangas (5 servings)

Ingredients:
1 diced onion
2 finely chopped chilli peppers
Half cup chopped jalapenos
1t chilli powder  
1t minced garlic
2 chicken breasts, oven cooked and shredded
salt and pepper
1 cup cooked rice
Coriander
Extra large tortillas
Oil 
1 cup Grated cheese 
Wooden toothpicks

 
In a pan saute onions until soft. Add garlic, spices and jalapenos (the ratios above made for quite a spicy mix, if you prefer your mexican mild just reduce quantities or leave out completely, although this is not recommended!). Add chicken and rice and season with salt and pepper. 


Preheat oil for shallow frying (using an electric fry pan is always a good option) 

Now comes the assembly - warm tortillas in microwave. Lay flat on counter and spoon about half a cup of the chicken mix into the middle. Add cheese and torn coriander. 


Fold in from four sides and secure with toothpick.


Fry on each side until nicely browned. If you don't have a large pan and need to fry these one by one you could also pop in an oven preheated to 180 degrees, just to be sure everything is at good temperature for serving. You will come out with a lovely crispy tortilla outer, almost tasting like pastry!


Serve with guacamole, sour cream, kaitaia fire (for the brave!)



Enjoy! x

Saturday 3 September 2011

Bargain Hunting in Tauranga: The Outlet Store

The Outlet Store
Chapel Street
Tauranga

This place is awesome. Great for picking up cheap beauty products you didn't even know you needed! I heard that these guys sell all the castoff stock from 1day. I popped in today and walked away with a bit of a swag:



To a grand total of $12!


Inventory:
Travel sized Garnier shampoo & conditioner - $2 each
Neutrogena facial wipes - $2
Neutrogena spot gel - 3 for $1
Garnier Bronzer - $3
Cutex Nail Polish Remover $2


Friday 2 September 2011

De Bier House

De Bier House is the best bar in Tauranga City, let's admit it! Yes, sure the Cornerstone is maybe a little more popular, and Syndicate is up and coming with cheaper food, but De Bier House is a mainstay. Always busy, awesome live music and a barman who looks like the guy out of One Tree Hill. It's true.

This is my 'local'. 
And tonight I arrived to discover a new addition: blankies. 

That's right, if you feel the chill and outside gas heaters don't quite do the trick, grab a blankie and you'll be right.  And they stock Little Creatures beer. Maybe the only Tauranga bar which does? 


Sorry, bit of a blurry shot! But you get the idea! (Cosy!)