We start with another lovely meal that I cooked up in that amazing cast iron casserole: slow cooked beef cheeks. I found the recipe in a pamphlet at the butcher and it turned out to be quite tasty. Would absolutely cook again!
So the wonderful ice cream flavour, Jelly Tip (vanilla with raspberry jelly and chocolate) has become incarnated in a chocolate block form and a biscuit. Both tasted pretty great but, given the option, I would always take the ice cream...
So for Canada Day, we decided to try and whip up the quintessentially Quebec (and Canadian) dish Poutine. We substituted shredded cheese for cheese curds, so it didn't quite hit the ultimate levels of authenticity, but we did the best we could!
Then we went ice skating! Jess & Chelsea did their best figure skating pairs impression.
Later that week, I got a wonderful opportunity to see Bic Runga perform with Tiny Ruins at the Winter Garden in the Civic Theatre.
I didn't get any great pictures, but I heard some amazing music (a bit of new to go along with some of the old favourites). What a night.
AMERICA! They lit up the Sky Tower just in time for the 4th!
So they did this big foodie gathering at Shed 10 (a big empty warehouse) on the waterfront. We arrived (a little late) on the first night and it turned out to be a bit of an organizational nightmare. Ridiculously long queues, some places which ran out of food and just a mess. It took about an hour to get the burger you see above (kalbi flavoured). Tasty, but the people who ran this event should've done a better job. *Side note: in subsequent weeks, they did an even worse job as they raised the fee for vendors and charged an admission fee which caused attendance to tank bringing about the eventual demise of the event...
Being the hugely patriotic person that you all know me to be (U-S-A!!!), I organised a 4th of July party at the flat for a group of workmates. It turned out exceptionally well and we somehow crammed about 15 people into our tiny flat. Looking through my photos, I have absolutely no pictures of people...only pictures of food. So let's start with this bacon and jalapeño cornbread baked in a cast iron skillet. Yum.
And this Korean-influenced bbq sauce slathered beef roast. The marinade included gochujang, Hoisin, shoyu and honey to give it a sweet and spicy Asian kick. It turned out pretty fantastically. Hat tip to Noelle's mom for sharing a link to the recipe!
Another dinner thrown together during the week, this Italian-style meatball dish with tomato sauce turned out pretty well for something that I improvised from a couple different recipes. And thanks a bunch to Paul for loaning me the cast iron skillet! I did my best to find ways to put it to use!
Thanks to Chrysbe & co, I got used to elaborate lunchtime potlucks at work. I brought up the idea in conversation a few times with a few folks on my team, before I finally got a plan together and organised something. So here we have the beginnings of a bit of the
We did a French potluck with a bunch of dishes including an Onion tart, roasted veggies, ham & cheese baguette and
One of the neighbourhoods in Auckland, Remuera, threw a little Bastille Day festival of their own during the weekend and I dropped by to see what might be going on. Unfortunately, a heavy rain drove away people and kinda dampened the celebration a bit. The sun eventually did come out and it kinda coincided with me finding a little crepe stand in an alley where I got a lovely banana & chocolate crepe. Très bien!
My first repeat dish that I've cooked since moving to NZ: another batch of Chicken 40 cloves. That garlic....so delicious.
Sue organised a Korean food outing with Irene, Jon, Liz and I, but due to extenuating circumstances, we ended up not at the place we intended but at this hole in the wall Korean place in Panmure (and with only a few of the original group). Nonetheless we made the best of the situation and got some KFC - Korean Fried Chicken!
I'm doing my best to get back into the swing of things. Some days turn out better than others, and I've got to rely more on self-motivation (rather than my fellow Prometheans), but it feels good to make a bit of progress.
Managed to get in and see the 2015 World Press Photo exhibition before it left the city. So many amazing photos out there all around the world capturing some pretty fantastic events. Seeing that OBJ photo never gets old as an NYG fan (bottom left), but so many of the other photos (particularly those related to Ukraine, Ebola and the Modernisation of China) really outshone it in terms of gravitas. We live in an awesome, horrible world and seeing these pictures captures that pretty well.
This past Saturday marked the 2015 FPH Annual Ball. I had heard mixed things from various friends about previous years' festivities and had originally decided against going before being peer pressured by my team. So, after scrounging up a serviceable "Film Noir" appropriate outfit, I arrived at Eden Park for the shindig.
I wish I got a better picture, but they had scenes from old noir films playing throughout the night on the stadium big screen. So cool. And, I will say, what a lovely pitch.
Some of the crazy, fun people I work with. Thanks for dragging me to this event. I had a great time!
And then the next morning I went back over to help clear out all that wood from the tree we chopped down months ago and move it over to my grandparents' property (finally). We'll stack it up for it to dry out through the spring and then chop it all up for firewood (to be consumed next winter). While we move one step closer, the work will continue...Also, well done Taran. Just think of this as cross-training for soccer.
What will August bring? Tune in next time!
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