More soup and a bit of a bread recipe

Went of to school all bright eyed and bushy tailed, but as soon as I rolled up there was someone waiting to harrass me about something. I've only got four days to go until the holidays, but I'm still trying to appreciate each day.

This concoction is kumera and pumpkin soup. It contains a big onion, a massive kumera, half of a pumpkin (leftover from the last batch of soup) and three rashers of this bacon:

This is New Zealand bacon which is from free-range pigs. You would think that in NZ bacon would be from piggies allowed to roam free, but don't be fooled. Most of the bacon on sale here is not NZ bacon. You need to look for specifically labelled products. Any ham off the bone that is available here is apparently imported too, in most cases. I don't want to contribute to sow crates where lady piggies are kept for their whole lives, unable to move around freely. I'm sure the conditions for the other pigs wouldn't be much better.

I blitzed up my ingredients in my food processor to save time as we had visitors. Then I added water and boiled it up. It was seasoned generously with smoked garlic seasoning and pepper. I was chatting to Meg on the phone and accidentally browned the bottom when I was cooking the onion and bacon, but that added great caramelised flavour. I really recommend this recipe, even though it was super simple. I think that it would be a good idea to cook the kumera before chopping it up because it maintained its grainy texture even though I boiled it forever. The pumpkin broke down much faster.

Now for Ryan, who need some bread-making tips. I made this yesterday:

I faced some time challenges when making this, so it didn't get to prove (rise) for as long as usual. Never mind, it was scrummy with butter while it was still steaming hot.

I make bread by random luck, so providing you follow my basic steps you can't go too far wrong.

1. Put about 1 dessertspoon full of granulated yeast (NOT EASYBAKE!!!) and 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey in a big bowl.
2. Add about 2 cups of lovely warm water and give it a wee stir around (I have it fairly warm so it will stay warm for a while, really hot will kill the yeast and too cold won't work).
3. Cover this and keep it warm (cover with a towel on a cold day or stand next to the fire).
4. Once it starts sort of foaming you know you are in business (10 mins approx.)
5. Add a good dollop of olive oil, about a dessertspoon full of salt, or a bit more, plus herby things if you want (mmm, sundried tomatoes, olives etc. Don't be stingy with the salt as bread needs it for the flavour. Pepper adds a nice zing too, if you add plenty.
6. Now add your high grade flour. Tip some in and stir it. Tip in more until you can stir it into a dough. Take your dough out and put it on a floured board. Knead for a while (until you get sick of it) so the dough goes lovely and elastic feeling (if you didn't get bored too soon). If you don't know how to knead, buy a breadmaker.
7. Flour the inside of your bowl and put your lovely ball of dough in again. Cover and keep warm until it is all fat and exciting looking (at least doubled in size). This depends on how warm you can keep it. I have resorted to standing the bowl in warm water in the sink and covering the sink with a towel.
8. Now for the weird bit. Take your plump, soft ball of dough out and put it on your board. Knead it for about a minute again. It will go all small again, which is very disappointing.
9. Shape your pitiful blob of dough into a loaf, rolls, a plaited twist with wheat sheaf trim etc and put it on a floured tray.
10. Leave in a warm place and I promise it will get fat again. Once it is fat and happy bung it in the oven and bake until golden. Tapping on the bottom of a cooked loaf makes a hollow sound.
11. The oven should be about 200 degrees celcius or around 180 on fanbake. I think you can have it hotter too.
12. Just remember not to burn yourself trying to cut it when you just got it out of the oven, and put it on a cooking rack to stop it getting a soggy bottom.

Some home truths about bread making:

• Using a bread maker does not mean you have made genuine handmade bread. It doesn't taste anything like it, plus you actually don't do anything, the breadmaker does.
• Easybake Yeast gives bread a nasty taste. I really don't like the stuff. I would love to try fresh yeast but it isn't very easy to come by.
• Bread requires quite a bit of time. Set aside about 2 hours for your first go at my recipe. There is plenty of reading time while the bread is rising, so you shouldn't be feeling like a slave to your oven.
• Homemade bread is usually gone the first day you make it, so make twice as much if you want some for the next day.
• There are thousands of bread recipes. I only do this one because I can whip it up without too much thinking.

Good luck. Go forth and give it a go! You can do it Ryan XXX

An interesting experience

Last night, while visiting Mr and Mrs CT, our lovely friend Maureen got out her healing hands and worked her Reiki magic on Mrs CT and I. Now I'm not a particularly spiritual person, but Reiki is quite an amazing experience for something that seems so simple. Maureen just lays her hands gently on your body (no, you don't have to strip down to nothing) and heals away. Mrs CT has a terrible sore shoulder and I've been having trouble with headaches. When Maureen put her hands on my neck it felt like waves rippling upwards. She wasn't moving her hands. My neck got very hot, then settled down. The most strange thing was when she had her hands on either side of my head there was a tingling line running from my eye down my left cheek. Not painful, but very distinct.

I had a wee look for information about Reiki. It is a controversial treatment that some say works because of the placebo effect. But feeling so calm and relaxed must be a good thing. This is a basic interpretation of the Reiki way of life:

The secret method of inviting good fortune.
The marvelous medicine for all sickness
Just for today:
Do not be angry
Do not be worried
Be grateful
Work hard (on improving yourself)
Be kind to others.

Sounds like a very positive philosophy for life. Have a lovely day! XXX

What is a kumara?

Look at these little fellows. If you are from New Zealand you will know them as kumara, and if not, as sweet potatoes. They are delicious!

These are quite wee ones, and I usually peel them for use. I am guessing that the skin has lots of good nutrients since it is so colourful. I visited www.kumara.co.nz and found this information about the history of kumara in New Zealand:

The kumara has a long history of cultivation in New Zealand. Brought here by the early Maori settlers over one thousand years ago from its Pacific Island source, it was widely grown especially in the semi-tropical regions of the North Island. Archeological diggings at the Waipoua Forest near Kaipara have revealed kumara cultivation from very early Pre-european Maori times.The Maori managed kumara growing with great horticultural skill, making use of the ideal growing climate and controlling kumara caterpillar with the use of tamed black-backed seagulls. Kumara caterpillar could devastate a crop almost overnight, hatching in their thousands. Pre-European Maori grew several different varieties of ‘bush’ kumara, but compared to the varieties we eat today, were very small in size, being no bigger than a person’s finger.The kumara we eat today has evolved from a larger American variety which grows on a creeping vine. It was imported in the early 1850’s, and was quickly adopted by the Maori for its superior size and taste. Over time a dark red variety developed and named Owairaka Red.In most other countries they are called sweet potatoes. New Zealand kumara are available in red, gold or orange varieties, each with a deliciously different colour and taste. The majority of kumara is grown in Northland.

I hope you all buy free range eggs. I won't buy anything else. Did you ever think that the food you buy may contain battery hen eggs? I know they are more expensive, but I would much rather spend more to ensure I'm not supporting cruel farming practices. Each egg should be treated with the respect it deserves. After all, Mrs. (or Miss) Hen went to quite a bit of effort to push that out! Did you know that kiwis have the biggest eggs in proportion to their body size? No wonder they are endangered.

Along with my kumara (microwaved and then browned with the bacon) and boiled eggs I threw some baby spinach, carrot, tomato, cucumber, bacon and a wee bit of cheese into a bowl and made a salad. I feel a bit guilty not being a vegetarian. I wonder what would happen to the world's animals if we were all vegetarians?

Pumpkin Soup Finished

I threw in a leftover bread roll with some goodies from the fridge. Yum.

A fresh start

Oh sadly neglected blog, it is time to resurrect you. For a while I have been thinking about the consumerist society. Packaging, country of origin, quality, processing etc. I hope I am ready to tackle the elements of my consumer activites that bother me. This blog is about my Good Life. I'll save Poppies and Daisies for hobbies, building and fun. So some new goals are in order. I will:

• Base as much of my diet as I can on unprocessed foods.
• Have a wide variety of food in my diet.


• Make as many things from scratch as I can.


• Buy New Zealand made products (food and otherwise) as much as possible.


• Make as many of my own clothes as I can.


• Hunt for great new products.


• Look for organic, cruelty free, Earth friendly products.


• Recycle/reuse as much as I can.


• Relax and have fun with food (and with life in general).

So on that note I present pumpkin soup.

Yes, this spawn-of-an-alien is the centre of a red pumpkin, which was purchased for 69c. What a bargain.

Garlic, onion, a carrot and 3 little potatoes joined it with some of this:

A fantastic local product. I love it for adding a smokey depth of flavour.

I got some of this divine natural yoghurt.

It is made in Canterbury. It is naturally mild and sweet. I might try making my own by using a spoonful of this in some warmed milk. Sounds like a very good idea.

I'm off to serve up some pumpkin soup. Hope it is good!