Central District Field Days

Aunty's just back from the Field Days held in Feilding (yeah weird spelling) where I flogged over 100bags of Aunty's Muesli to the hoards of people who went. I think there were about 25,000 people! The weather wasn't that great which wasn't good for sales but in the grand scheme of things I think my little stall did rather well. One poor stall holder only sold 8 bottles of fruit wine one day. But there is a recession on and we all had a fabulous time. Old Busmans Bourbon tent was always pumping!

Little Oscar was a big fan of all the big farm machinery. There we digger races, tractor pulls and lumberjack comps & calf shows. He was a little disappointed with the chainsaw race which actually was 2 men assembling a chainsaw. We wanted noise & woodchips flying guys!



There were lots of helicopters too and the Red Checkers aerobatics were fantastic. Lucky the sun came out for that show but it was too difficult to capture on camera especially when I was peddling my new Pear & Almond Bircher to the masses!

We rented a beach bach at Himatangi Beach which is a little beach spot that seems trapped in a 1950s timewarp which we loved. Lots of kids getting round on dune buggies and you can drive on the beach. We spotted an older gent on a trailbike with 666 on the tank wearing only a leopard print thong on one of our beach walks. Hmmmm!



Managed to get in our last of the summer beach swims. Could have stayed longer but back to the Farmers Market this Sunday!

Chocberry Granola

At long last a new muesli variety! Chocberry Granola has been a long time in the making and I am really pleased with this one. Its a super crunchy muesli with NZ rolled oats, sunflower seeds, linseed & Manuka honey as the base with toasted almonds, sultanas, dates, coconut chips, dried cranberries and DARK CHOC CHIPS! All topped off with a new label design too.

I have so many ideas for different mueslis and would love to roll out a few more but the process is not that easy. Firstly I have to experiment with recipes and flavours & textures while still keeping the muesli healthy. Its really easy to boost flavours with oil & sugar but then I wouldn't be creating a healthy natural muesli! Each time I make a different recipe I have to run the ingredients through a Nutrition Calculator to see if I am happy with the calorie, fat, protein, carb & sugars content. Then more recipe adjusting. I have to be totally happy with this process before rolling it out as once I have my labels made up thats it - I have to stick with that recipe to ensure the nutrition levels are right for each batch. So each bag of muesli is a complete labour of love (-:

I highly recommend the Chocberry Granola sprinkled on top of Boysenberry Ice cream with some fresh berries thrown in. Yummo!

Taranaki Farmers Market Video

Eryn the Market Co-ordinator put this market montage together. Isn't she clever!

Endless Summer

Its really hot here in New Plymouth today. I can't wait for Oscar to wake up from his midday sleep so we can go & cool off in the water at the beach. AND I am still getting strawberries in February. True sign of a hot summer!

Treasure Chest Birthday Cake

A whole new world opened up to me today as I attempted my first themed party cake. Now I know why people pay big dollars for perfect looking cakes! I thought I would have a go at something simple like a Pirates Treasure Chest. What could be easier than icing 2 square cakes?

Well for starters I discovered you need to crumb coat icing on in a thin layer first then let that set then revive your icing to put a smooth coating on then thin it out more and apply a final layer. YAWN YAWN YAWN! Oh and don't forget not to slop icing on the platter. Then there is the finishing touches which at 9pm at night was tedious.

Stage 1 - 2 chocolate loaf cakes trimmed to make a Treasure chest. To build the "chest" slice off the rounded top from one of the choc loaves then make a triangle wedge and ice it onto the "flattened" loaf as seen in the loaf pictured on the right. Then sandwich the other loaf on top by "gluing" with icing.



Stage 2 - crumb coat a thing layer of icing all over, let this set in the fridge then put on final icing coats ( I did 3 coats in total refridgerating in between)

Finally - pile on the lollies to hide your stuff ups!

But I am really pleased with the result and the Pirate candle is perfect on top. I can't wait to see Oscar's face when this comes out at his party tomorrow!

RECIPE - Moroccan Lamb Salad

Balmy summer days on the deck call for BBQ style salads. My sister in law whipped this up when she came over to stay last year and I think i can recall the recipe but here is my version. Megsy - let me know what I forgot!

MOROCCAN LAMB SALAD (serves 6 or 4 very hungry people)
1kg of lamb back straps or lean lamb shoulder cuts
bag of baby spinach & rocket leaves
Moroccan spice mix
1 med red oinion
1 red capsicum
2 thinly sliced kumara
1/4 c Parmesan cheese - shaved
1/4 c toasted pine nuts
drizzle of olive oil & balsamic vinegar
ground rock salt & pepper

Bake the kumara slices at 200C for about 15-20 mins until golden brown. Roll the lamb back straps in Moroccan Spice mix then sear on the BBQ 5 mins each side making sure its slightly pink in the middle. Slice the lamb. Dice the onion & capsicum and lightly fry in olive oil. Toast the pine nuts in a small pan over a lowish heat.
Layer the salad in this order on a large flat platter - spinach and rocket leaves, roasted kumara, sliced lamb, onion & caps mix, drizzled oil & vinegar then top with Parmesan & pine nuts. Toss before serving with Turkish bread or warmed pitas.

Eat in the sunshine on your deck with a glass of wine. Or 2.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM AUNTY XXX

I must say this every Christmas but WHERE HAS THE YEAR GONE! Its been a busy one. Moving countries, house, careers, starting Aunty's, renovating & living out of a suitcase. temporarily again Endless list of madness but, hey I create it!

I am flying off to Oz tomorrow for Xmas with the in-laws in sunny (but windy) Geelong & I cant wait to sit on their deck with a big glass of bubbly in hand and watch Oscar play with his cousins and break new toys which is what Xmas is really all about. I had hoped to post a pic of Oscar inside Santa's Grotto on my blog but this is as far as we got as the grotto was pretty creepy & scary this year. Pauline Harper who designed it is legally blind with just 3% of her sight & paints/designs from memory & her dreams. Her interpretation of Santa's elves are more goblin like which I don't think little Oscar is ready for yet (he freaks out at wobbly eyed lions on Teletubbies!). So here we are on the outside of the grotto missing out on the wondrous world of Santaland .

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL, EAT LOTS AND SEE YOU IN 2011!!

Love Aunty Stef xx