the livin' is easy

I'm off to the beach again, having spent the majority of the last two weeks there already. There was Christmas in the sunshine, and boxing day in the sunshine, and lots and lots and lots of eating and drinking.  The rain then began and didn't seem to stop, and that simply meant more eating and more drinking: christmas cake, cups of tea, gourmet leftover ham toasted sandwiches, gins, bubbles and beers.  

I've now got plenty of freckles and a permanent food baby and so many exciting things to look forward to while the sun still shines, as well as a very very exciting year ahead.

 

Christmas day, we began as usual, with freshly baked croissants, wood smoked salmon, fresh avocado, berries and bubbles. After exchanging presents under our makeshift hat-stand-turned-christmas-tree (with the help of some gold stars and some pohutakawa flowers) I marinaded our lamb leg with lots of fresh rosemary, salt and pepper, a whole lot of fresh NZ garlic, and some village press olive oil. That went in the oven, Mum and Dad went to the beach, and after talking to our big-sister overseas, little-sister and I hit the gins on the deck, thank you Santa. 

We ate about 3.30pm, complete with barbecued asparagus, fresh cos lettuce and beans from the garden, new baby potatoes, the best gravy Mum's ever made, and a minty-saucy-dressing: chop a huge handful of mint, put in a jug with a squeeze of lemon, a dash of dijon, salt and pepper and fancy olive oil. Whisk well with a fork and season to taste - amazing on the spuds and made for lamb.

Said little sister then bullied me into drunkenly making that chocolate mousse tart she'd seen on Good Morning, and although it didn't set in time and was thus a big gooey mess, our family friends we enjoyed it, and christmas pudding, with later on in the evening didn't seem to mind too much. 

On boxing day, my friend Alice and I hit the beach for my first beach swim of the summer, as well as a loll about in the sand, soaking up a few rays and an overdue goss-swap. Back at the house we had a Nigella-inspired late lunch, turning leftover lamb into a delicious salad, simply assembled on each plate and served with slightly over-toasted ciabatta: 

Finely chop some lettuce (cos from your garden if you have it!) and chop over some ripe avocado cubes. Add goats cheese (ours was a brie-styled goat's cheese from Whitestone Cheese, delicious) and then shred over as much leftover lamb as your heart desires. Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds and a minty dressing, as above.  

New Year's day we welcomed in 2012 with Nigella's ricotta hotcakes, with caramelised strawberries and blueberries, and piako yoghurt, as well as bubbles, and then ice cream, and then of course, fish and chips. The night before though, before things got very merry, we began celebrations and talked resolutions over a festive cocktail: 

Half fill a glass with ice, add Absolut vanilla vodka, smush in a couple of ripe strawberries, top with ginger beer and garnish with fresh blueberries. Best enjoyed with a few good friends and ridiculous music. 

Other recent culinary (and other) highlights have included road-trip pies, post mini-golf ciders (and yes, I'm still terrible at mini-golf, despite a hole-in-one) karaoke and shots, smoked fresh fish, discovering the Coromandel's best coffee, more ice cream, more gin, more old friends, exciting phone calls, bottomless beers and lots and lots of laughs.

The back to work detox is going to be interesting, but before I even think about it there's the Tairua Wine and Food festival tomorrow and another road trip to avoid pies and argue over music on. Fun in the sun and plenty more to come. Happy New Year! It's going to be a goodie.