Feijoa

Yay - its Feijoa time! In the autumn the feijoa ripens. This is a little green smooth skinned fruit, about the size of a kiwifruit. It is sometimes called the pineapple guava and is closely related to the guava. It originated (according to Wikipedia) from the highlands of Brazil.

It has a sweet, aromatic flavor. The flesh is juicy and is divided into a clear jelly-like seed pulp and a firmer, slightly gritty opaque flesh nearer the skin. The fruit drops when ripe, but can be picked from the tree prior to the drop to prevent bruising.

It is also possible to buy Feijoa yoghurt, fruit drinks, ice-cream. It can be freeze dried and is used in a popular NZ made breakfast cereal. The Feijoa can also be cooked and used in dishes where one would use stewed fruit.

The feijoa has a relatively short shelf life so is not exported in great quantities.

I love feijoas in a smoothie with a banana as well. We have a tree at our beach house so come home all stocked up with this delicious little fruit. When we run out of them there are always bags out by the roadside - usually $2 for a big bag. The trees are prolific bearers and everyone who has a tree usually are trying to give away or sell the surplus!

Roast Veges

My roast veges that I prepared for dinner tonight looked so colourful I thought that I would share them with you!

In the pan I have baby onions, Maori potatoes, pumpkin, white potatoes, and kumera. I sometimes also add (if they are in season) parsnips, yams, other varieties of kumera(sweet potato), capsicum, and carrots.

I cut them into small pieces and coat them well in this mixture:

2 Tbs oil,
3Tbs lemon juice,
1 Tbs brown sugar,
1 tsp ground cumin,
1 tsp basil,
1 tsp salt.

They take about 40 minutes to bake in a 200 degree C oven.

I am cooking far too much for the two of us, but the left overs will make a very nice salad (or reheated) for dinner tomorrow night.

Its Hibiscus time

Hibiscus seem to have a flush of flowers right when other plants are winding down for the approaching winter. They remind us that winter has a while before it descends upon us!

"I'm Freezing!"

I have just received a heartfelt text from our youngest son who has now arrived in the UK. "Its freezing here - can you send me some Possum Merino gloves please!"

So on my way back from our Easter break at the beach I stopped by the Merino shop and bought him these. Possumdown gloves are extremely warm.

They are made of a blend of possum fur and superfine merino wool and are unique to New Zealand. They are 50% Merino wool, 40% Possum fur, and 10% Nylon.

The Brushtail Possum was introduced from Australia sometime last century and rapidly became a pest. About 80 million of these nocturnal marsupials cause enormous damage to our forests and native birds. We are all a bit indifferent to a possums endearing qualities! (likewise with rabbits.)

In Australia they are a protected animal but in New Zealand they have multiplied horrendously and are a pest we could do without. The fur for the wool comes from trapped wild animals, they are not allowed to be farmed.

Possums would be our most common 'roadkill' animal, often found on country roads having been hit by a vehicle. Their fur is usually a dark rich reddish brown although some are lighter in colour. Being a marsupial they carry their little one in their pouch. They are a different animal from the American possum which I believe is more like a rodent.

Digging for Gold (iron ore?)

I always liken digging up our home grown potatoes to 'digging for gold'. But digging up these little 'Maori potatoes' (Tutai kuri) might be more like looking for lumps of iron! They are so very hard to see, and really do resemble the literal translation of their name (something a dog leaves behind).

Its only when you scrub away the dirt that the beautiful purple colour is revealed.

Bargain hunting

Inspired by Tismee's post I have to show you our bargains. My daughter and I went off to the second hand (junk) shops in Whangamata and found some treasures.

She likes 'retro' china and found this dear little blue carnival glass bowl and a vase. Carnival glass is sometimes called depression glass as it is from the depression era. The vase has a pattern etched into the side.

She also bought an old mirror with an outline of a lady in a crinoline dress etched into one corner. It is quite striking and when she eventually gets a home of her own will be quite a talking piece. For the moment it hangs in our bach!

Rural scene

A typical rural scene in the Hinuera valley as I was driving home yesterday - a farmer on his quad bike bringing the cows in for milking.

The Waikato is still looking very dry as they have not had nearly enough rain this summer to sustain a good pasture. Normally the valley is lush with summer feed.

Many farmers have had to give the animals hay and silage which would normally be held for the winter months. Some have dried off their stock earlier than normal as non lactating cows don't have such a high food requirement.

'Over the Hill"

This weekend I went 'over the hills' (the Kaimai ranges) to the Waikato region to a wedding. These are a few photos I took on the way home.

Most of the photos have a tree fern in them, they are looking very pretty at the moment with their brilliant green new growth. In fact there were all the shades of green you could imagine along my drive home. The tree ferns are the variety known as the black tree fern or mamaku. They grow very tall and have a characteristic black trunk.

The silver tree fern, another common one, has a different shape and of course has the amazing silver colour on the underside of the fronds. The silver fern is one of our country's icons. I hope to have a photo of a silver fern later.

And at the wedding the bridesmaids wore green. Mamaku tree fern green.

More Goodbyes!

Godwits leave New Zealand for Alaska

12:36PM Monday March 10, 2008

Hundreds of people gathered in Christchurch last night to farewell the bar-tailed godwits as they begin their long, hazardous journey back to Alaska.

Thousands of godwits regularly spend the summer in New Zealand before making the 11,000km flight back to Alaska, via China, for the northern hemisphere summer.

Ranger Andrew Crossland said that around 500 people gathered at Christchurch's Southshore Spit last night to see the first of the birds leave on the eight-day journey.

The birds leave in groups of between five and 30 over a four-week period and when they have all left, the bells of the Christchurch Cathedral will toll.

(NZ Herald, 10th March 2008)

Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Pokarekare Ana

Goodbyes

I have been away again, taking two of our sons up to Auckland for farewells at the airport. One going back to London, he has been there already for two years. And our youngest also heading off on his OE and also going to England for his first big venture away from NZ.

They are returning to their roots when they go to England, their forebears left there in their small boats at various times in the 1800's. The first were missionaries in 1818, others came later in 1842 and 1843 as settlers -stonemasons, farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, ministers and lay preachers.

They too would have left families behind, in their case many never ever saw their family again.

At least, today, I know that our children will return. It is sad to have to say goodbye, but they need to leave New Zealand and have their own adventures. It is something of a tradition here now for our young people to leave the country. We are just a small country and relatively isolated. We have to leave the place and look at it from a distance.

We have to leave in order to find ourselves, find our place in the world, and many of us, as I did 38 years ago, return. When we return we generally do so knowing that this is where we want to be.

We have seen what the world has to offer, we have lived amongst other people, other cultures, but when we want to raise a family we return home like nesting birds.

This is home. Our turangawaewae.

Tūrangawaewae is one of the most well-known and powerful Māori concepts. Literally tūranga (standing place), waewae (feet), it is often translated as ‘a place to stand’. Tūrangawaewae are places where we feel especially empowered and connected. They are our foundation, our place in the world, our home.

Do you or Don't you?

There is a custom here in New Zealand to take our shoes off and leave them by the door when entering a dwelling. Not everyone complies, but probably around 85 - 90% do.

I am not sure how the custom originated but as a child my family always took our shoes off when entering the house. I was raised on a farm so we would have been wearing gumboots or had dirty shoes.

But households in town do the same, my own family always remove their shoes as do most visitors. In the winter we wear slippers or socks around inside the house, in the summer everyone is barefoot.

On a marae (Maori meeting place) it is customary for all to remove footwear before entering. It is extremely bad manners not to.

What is the custom in your house?

Another new fruit

There was an item on the TV news last week about a new type of peach that is now on sale in our fruit shops and supermarkets. They are called Flattos and are really a peach but grow in a flat shape with a very small stone. They are packaged in a pack stacked neatly on their sides and are marketed as being very suitable for childrens packed school lunches.

Of course I had to try some! And they are very sweet and juicy with a typical peach flavour. I think that they will be popular for their novelty value, convenience for people who have to carry a packed lunch, and of course for their lovely peach flavour. They are also easy to eat as you sort of eat them like a doughnut!

I have found a website which gives more information about the Flatto peach.

http://www.flatto.co.nz/index.html