There’s a Crack in Everything (That’s How the Light Gets In), or The Old Lady Gets a Facelift!

“Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in.”

Leonard Cohen

I can hardly read that verse without my eyes welling up with tears. I’ve always loved the song, but in the last 6 months it has taken on a completely new meaning to me. When we heard Leonard Cohen sing it live last month in Christchurch (something we'd booked ages ago), it was ALL I could do to not burst out in hysterical sobbing.

For those of you who follow my blog, you may recall that last April, as we were entering winter and what seemed to be the toughest economic times ever, I wrote about our austerity campaign at the Cafe. I kept it light and cheerful, but the truth was a bit more grim. I really thought we might lose our business. But, we made some hard decisions, cut back, worked harder and smarter and by the time winter was drawing to end in August, we were feeling slightly more optimistic. Spring was in the air and customers would soon be venturing out, and if we kept up our work harder and smarter attitude, we’d probably be okay. Whew!

Now, my point. We have been at the Hilltop for almost seven years. However, the building has been let down in recent years, with very little attention being paid to her by her owner (we have the lease and are only responsible for the business). Gutters and the roof have been leaking, a quickie, cheapo paint job a few years back is flaking, the fence falls down every time one of those gale force winds packs a punch. About a year ago, our landlord informed us that she had finally sold the property and we would be getting a new landlord. Fantastic! Anyone buying the property would certainly want to look after it, right?

Ironically, the gentleman who bought the property died about 6 hours before the final signatures were to trade hands. The family did not want to lose the deposit, so they allowed the sale to go through. Then, the bickering started… We continued to pay rent, but had no idea who it was going to, and we continued to have no maintenance done. This added greatly to my despair during the austerity campaign!

In July, we decided not to pay the rent – not so much because we couldn’t, but because we wanted to get a rise out of someone. At the beginning of August we got a call from 'Dave'. The family had resolved things and he was our new landlord. We explained our frustration and he agreed to come up and see us. He also forgave us part of the arrears on the rent. He owns a number of properties in Christchurch and seems to be pretty switched on.

The following week he turned up with some builders, had a good look around, and to make this long story slightly shorter, about two weeks later we had a stunning new fence, fixed gutters, and the roof no longer leaked.

But, on September 4^th, we were violently awakened by a massive earthquake. Amazingly, no one was killed and few were injured. Sadly, many of Canterbury’s older buildings were damaged and had to come down. Three months on, Christchurch is still a maze of confusion with cranes, road diversions and rubble, but it is improving.

Built in 1932, The Old Lady (The Hilltop) is an old building. But she was built to weather those frequent gale force winds and snow, so the earthquake was not a big deal for her. Lots of superficial cracking in the exterior and interior plaster and a broken window were about the extent of the damage to the old girl. The gate on the new fence didn’t close anymore, though!

Dave came out again with another team of builders (they fixed the gate) and they completely surveyed the property. A few days later Dave called.

“I want to re-plaster the outside of the building. And then, of course, we’ll have to repaint. You need to start thinking about what colour you want. Is that alright?”

“And they are going to re-jib and re-plaster the upstairs bedrooms and stairwell, and of course, repaint that, too. Is that okay?”

“Oh, and the electrician will take the conduit off the outside of the building and hide it, and relocate the outside lights so they are in a better position. Will that be alright?”

“Oh, and that idea you had about opening up the gents toilet in the bar and making it disabled accessible and have a baby changing facility… Well, they want to start work on that on Monday. Is that okay with you?”

“Oh, and by the way, this team of builders is one of Christchurch’s best, and they want to use this renovation project as a sort of showcase of their work. You might get some publicity. Would that be okay?”

Well, the scaffolding crew arrived last Thursday, and spent all day Thursday and Friday erecting the metal frame. The Old Lady looked a bit grim in her new attire, but it was clear that something was happening – something big! We worked through the weekend, and planned to close Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week, as we felt the work would be a bit off putting to customers and it would give us a bit of a break before the crazy holiday season start.

Our "Old' Front Entrance with Cracks, Conduits and a Cheapo Paint Job

More Cracks, and Just Looking Very Sad... Not Inviting!

Cracks in the Upstairs Living Area (we use for staff)

Scaffolding Day One -- Out Front

The Skip and the 'DANGER' tape Out Back

Well, when we arrived at 9:00 Monday morning, the scaffolders were back at it, the electricians van was parked outside, the interior plasterers were prepping the disabled toilet, the painter’s apprentice was prepping some woodwork while he was setting up to paint the re-modelled toilet, the builders were jibbing away upstairs and the exterior plasterers had neatly taped plastic over ALL the windows, including the big front ones that feature our view. ‘Danger! Building Site’ signs abounded. Chef Vojta diligently had muffins in the oven and had set up the deli, but The Man and I looked at each other and said, ’We’re not opening today are we?’ We met everyone, answered questions, inspected the work in progress, and then made them all cappuccinos, for which they were grateful. Seeing as how we had a deli full of baking that wouldn’t be selling anytime soon, we set out a plate of cookies, and really won them over!

So, that’s our routine this week! Go to work, be amazed at the progress, and prepare the workers ‘morning tea’, or ‘smoko’ and then work on our lengthy list of home chores and work chores.

The Front Entry Getting Prepped

Taped Up Windows

Umm, How About That View!!!

Speights - Our Major Beer Brand -- Nice Color Combo?

Speight's Navy in the Entrance

Speight's Pale Orange (aka 'Taranaki" by Resene) on the Building

Wow! That Beer Garden Looks Inviting!!!

While my eyes keep welling up with tears, I can’t quite wipe the stupid grin off my face! There really was a crack in everything……..but that’s how the light has gotten in!

We're not quite done yet, but this gives you a taste!

Luscious Lavosh and Terrific Terrine, or Perfect Party Pickings!

As many of you know, we are obsessed with food, therefore, we are obsessed with anything on TV that relates to food or cooking or growing food or serving food or eating out, and so forth! At least once a week, The Man will say “Write that down!” as we watch one show or another. I usually do, but fortunately, most of the recipes shown on the various shows are also available on the internet.

During the past couple of weeks, two ‘new’ dishes on TV caught our eye(s). While they were on different programs, we thought they’d be great together. They were!

The first tempting titbit was on a New Zealand TV show featuring our home-grown ‘cook’, Annabel Langbein. She’s a bit of an outdoorsy 'Nigella', and she’s great. One of her cookbooks is my ‘go-to’ when I need inspiration for dinner. So, this year, she finally has her own show, and it, too, is great.

On this particular episode, she was preparing Sesame Seed Lavosh, a Middle Eastern flat-bread, to go with hummus. Well, we make hummus ALL the time, and I’ve always fancied making my own crackers. Plus, if you ever see lavosh in the grocery store (it’ll be in the gourmet section) check out the price tag!!! YIKES!!! She made it look so easy, so we decided to give it a go. Her recipe called for black and white sesame seeds, but The Man (creatively) decided to also add a dash of quinnoa for the red effect (not to mention the health benefits). The first batch was fantastic, although we struggled to roll it as thin as it needs to be. Well, I scratched my head and said, ‘Why couldn’t you use the pasta machine to roll it? Then it would also be consistent!’ So, the second batch was perfectly thin, and consistent, and buttery, and crunchy, and melt in you mouth and morish!

It went on as one of our ‘Weekend Specials’ at the Hilltop along with a sun dried tomato hummus, and it was a hit! It is now a fixture on the menu!

Sesame & Quinnoa Lavosh

Then, as we were religiously watching Masterchef Australia one evening, George and Gary did a Ham Hock Terrine during the Masterclass. Oh boy! Did this look good? It also looked inexpensive, and elegant, not to mention, easy. They did it with Eggs Benedict, but we thought the terrine on its own looked very worthy. When we told Chef Lucky about it, he was so excited. Everyday, in his lovely Czech accent he would ask, ‘Are we getting the ham hocks today?’

We got the ham hocks and Lucky set about boiling them (and then making an amazing pea soup from the leftover stock) and picking the meat off. The proscuitto was carefully layered into the terrine, the ham and butter (I didn’t say it was low-fat!) and spices were added. The proscuitto was folded over the top and the terrine was carefully weighted down overnight.

Boiling the Ham Hocks

The next day, Lucky carefully unmolded the terrine and gently sliced off a slender slab for us all to try. WOW! It was truly hard to not want to eat the entire thing! We decided that the only thing that might make it better or possibly more interesting would be the addition of some dried cranberries and pistachio nuts.

Ham Hock Terrine with Cranberries & Pistchios

This week’s terrine had the additions, and it is perfect. It goes fantastically with the crispy yet delicate lavosh, along with a few cornichons (baby pickles) and a cranberry sauce.

The Lavosh & Terrine Platter

These are two elegant yet easy dishes that married beautifully. Whilst we will continue to serve them at the Café, I took this to a party last night and it was most welcomed. Possibly a Holiday idea for some of you? Skip the store-bought crackers and pate, and give this a go! It’s fantastic!

As an afterthought, I spoke with one of my employees this morning. Her 13 year old daughter works for us occasionally as a dishwasher. Last weekend I let her sample the lavosh, as she always seems quite curious about the food we are serving. Last week, Sue (her mom) had reported that Gabrielle had presented her parents with a shopping list. Yesterday, she made the lavosh and it was exceptional, according to Sue! GO GABBY!

A REAL Reality Food Challenge, or a Christmas Dinner Crunch!

It’s enough that we own a café and surround ourselves with food 24/7, but then we go home and cook like maniacs, all while watching cooking shows on telly. Our favourite by far is the Australian version of Masterchef. It differs from the American, English and New Zealand shows in a few ways. First, it is a daily show, one hour, every day, so it’s easy to get addicted to. Next, each week not only features the reward challenge and the elimination challenge, but ‘masterclasses’ that focus on certain cooking techniques or ingredients. We have learned SO much from these, as well as been inspired to try some really fun new stuff. And, finally, and probably most importantly in my book, is the people. This is not a vicious, Survivor-style competition. The chefs have made true friendships and although it is a competition, they support each other and cheer each other on. There are tears every week when one more person has to leave.

So, a few months ago I had a call from ‘Graham’ inquiring about booking a Christmas dinner for the Manchester Unity Society for approximately 40 people. This was great news, as we were just coming out of a very bleak winter season and business was WAY down post-earthquake, so a private function would be good for the coffers. I pencilled in Wednesday November 18 on the calendar and put a quote together for Graham. I suggested a number of main courses and desserts, asking him to choose two of each. He got back to me a few weeks later having decided on glazed ham with applesauce and roast chicken with gravy and cranberry sauce, both to be served with mashed potatoes and fresh veggies. For dessert, he chose Crème Brulee and Fruit Trifle. According to the plan, he was to get back to me a week or so out with final numbers and orders, that is, how many ham and how many chicken.

I hadn’t heard from him by the weekend before, so I started calling and couldn’t reach him. Finally, I tracked him down on Sunday, which was good, because we place our order with our main supplier on Sunday for Monday delivery, which would include the supplies for Wednesday night. We would be able to start prep on Tuesday. Well, it was a good idea, anyway, but he explained that he had had trouble with the printing company, so the newsletter/invite had gone out two weeks late and he wouldn’t be able to give me numbers until Monday night. Uggghh! He did say that he understood the spot that put me in, so just plan on 50/50 for mains and dessert, rather than pre-orders.

Okay, so we decided to order potatoes and baby carrots for about forty. If we had too many, we could use them some other way. The Man normally goes to town on Mondays as well, but it was decided that we would wait until Graham’s Monday evening phone call and I would go to town on Tuesday to personally track down a good buy on ham and chickens, and pick up any other bits and pieces.

So, Monday evening the phone rings and a very disheartened Graham tells me he has had only 20 people RSVP. I told him that would be fine. My mind was thinking that 20 dinners is still better than no dinners. I believe he thought we would back out thinking it wouldn’t be worthwhile. He did off-handedly mention that there might be few people who would turn up extra without RSVP.

I headed to town and did my errands, stopping at ‘Pak ‘n’ Save’ for the meats. They had a good brand name ham on special, so I nabbed one. They also had twin packs of small chickens (just what I was after) at a great price, so I got eight. We were planning to spatch-cock and roast them, and serve them as halves. At this stage I was only planning on roasting 6 birds, or 12 portions, but thought two back-ups couldn’t hurt, plus The Man and I LOVE rotisserie chicken.

Meanwhile, at the Hilltop, Chef Vojta took it upon himself to make the Crème Brulees. Now, not only has he never made them before, he has never eaten one either! Good on him for his efforts, but….

Wednesday morning I went to the Hilltop to help the other chef, Lucky prep. We decided the Crème Brulee’s were a do-over; they were a bit grainy and not fully set. Lucky listened carefully to my instructions and produced 13 very nice desserts (He had never made or tasted them either). Meanwhile, I made 12 fresh fruit trifles using sponge (white cake) soaked in sherry, custard (AKA yesterdays cream brulee!), fresh strawberries, bananas and kiwifruit, and topped with fresh whipped cream. So, we had 25 lovely desserts – more than enough. I cleaned the baby carrots and cut up the broccoli. Lucky seemed to have everything under control so I went home for bit seeing as how it was going to be a late night.

Caramelizing the Top of the Creme Brulee

Browned Creme Brulee

When The Man and I returned to the Hilltop, Lucky had glazed and baked the ham, and had 6 of the birds ready to roast. He reckoned we had about 13 portions of ham and with six chicks, 12 portions there, for a total of 25 dinners. So, if there was a 25% increase in turnout, we’d be covered. In speaking with a friend who used to be in hospitality, he said he used to budget 20% under, because there were always no-shows and he didn’t want to over-buy. But, at least in our situation, we can always use up things like ham, chicken and veggies in quiches and pies.

About 5:00, ‘Keith’, a local that I sort of know, called to say that he’d been baling hay all day and hadn’t planned on coming but had finished early, and could we fit two more in. I said sure. And then I got this feeling… Should we put the last two birds in, just in case?

I talked to The Man, and he said, ‘Well, they only confirmed 20, and you are prepared for 25. It’s not your fault if there isn’t enough.’ I said, ‘I know it’s not my fault, but I’m thinking about the bill!’. So, I had Lucky pop two more birds in.

At 6:30, guests started arriving and by 6:45 we had about 20 people ordering beer and wine in bar. All was good. I was helping Lucky split the chickens, he was straining a beautiful gravy, the carrots and broccoli were ready to be steamed and the potatoes were set for mashing. I went to help The Man in the bar and two more trickled in. And, two more. And, two more… I had a word with Graham, and he basically said, ‘I’ll leave it in your capable hands.’ By 7:15 we had 34 hungry people ready, and expecting, to be fed!

Time to plate up – YIKES! Well, the Society is largely an elderly bunch, so I figured that a few of the more senior ladies probably wouldn’t be able to manage an entire half chicken anyway. So, about four or five of them got a chicken quarter and a small piece of ham. We stretched the ham out pretty well, too. Lucky’s initial idea was that it would be about 13 large portions, but I think we managed to get about 16 smaller servings. There was plenty of potatoes and gravy. Lucky had prepped some additional carrots when I kept reporting on the increasing number of guests coming through. By 7:35, 34 people had a plate of beautiful food in front of them! Unfortunately, I was too busy doing portion control and serving food, that I wasn't able to get any pics of the mains! But, I thought it all looked pretty good!

So, onto tea and coffee set-up, getting the brulee and trifle out of the chill room, and oh, trying to come up with another 7 desserts. Well, we had at least ten pieces of the lovely Czech style apple strudel we serve in the deli, so out they came. Plates cleared, dessert served. One woman slightly grumbled at the The Man when she wasn’t given a choice on her dessert, and he explained that ‘a few more than expected’ had turned up and he was sorry. We did manage to sort out a strudel for her (her first choice), and alas, we had 2 brulee left that someone had to eat!.

By now, we are in full clean-up mode, and the group is doing their speeches. Unbeknownst to us, during one of the talks, the numbers debacle was explained to the guests, who for the most part had been clueless about our dilemma. Well, they had already been quite pleased with the meal, but now they were absolutely gushing! The woman who had grumbled made a special effort to tell us how great everything was.

Hmmm... Two Left! Who will eat them????

I think we are safe from elimination this week!!! In fact, I think we won a reward challenge!!!

It’s that time of year again, finally! We have survived the cold, quiet (not too mention quaky-shaky) winter season. The daffodils have popped and the lambs are gambolling in the fields (jumping wildly, NOT playing poker, Gderr!). The Man’s greenhouse is on the verge of exploding – three types of tomatoes, plus courgettes, cucumbers, eggplants, tomatillos, numerous varieties of chillies, and, of course, herbs and micro-greens, all from seed! He has done a particularly good job this year, starting his seeds in the sunny kitchen bay-type window, then moving the small seedlings to the greenhouse and eventually planting out the plants when they are ready. They are his babies!

Rhododendron in Bloom

Crabapple in Bloom - Next Season's Jelly!

Now, we’ve always had herbs, with moderate success. But this year, we’ve re-doubled our efforts and are keen to have an ample supply of mint, rosemary, dill and especially coriander. The mint and rosemary are not a problem – they grow like weeds. We’ve done pretty well with dill before, but have always failed in the coriander department. Coriander is my most favourite herb, and dang it, I WANT fresh coriander!

The rosemary goes into the lamb-burger patties, and the mint goes into the minted mayo that we drizzle on top of them! The dill is to garnish the beautiful Akaroa Salmon that we grill and serve over a warm potato salad.

The Coriander WILL be an important flavour in the Asparagus and Goat Cheese Quesadilla this summer

But, enough about herbs! The real reason I’ve invited you here today is MICROGREENS! Again, it’s that time of year again, when we get re-inspired and vow to up our game, do more, do better, do fresher, do interesting and do exciting. Last year, it was ‘Project Bread’. This year it is Micro-greens! Thanks to a certain AR master gardener (Cathill), I learned about ‘amaranth’ a few months ago. Upon research, I found it was commonly used as a micro-green, and with the red varieties, it not only flavours up a dish, but adds a zing of colour, too. Then, at a recent food show, I spied a box of the most gorgeous looking green ‘fluff’, labelled ‘pea feathers’. Now, this particular greens vendor has refused to do business with me; at least, after many phone calls to him, he just can’t be bothered to work with me! Well, OK, one of my chef’s did work for him until he quit, to come to work for me… Anyway, I researched the pea feathers to find that they are called ‘Fiji Pea Feathers’ and are a variety of pea bred specifically for their shoots, as a micro-green

So, it was The Man’s task to find the amaranth seed and Fiji pea feather peas to cultivate. Along the way, he also picked up some ‘Bull’s Blood Beets’, which are also grown as a micro-green.

Seeds were planted, seeds grew, and we now have the beginnings of our own micro-green garden.

Mixed Tray of Micro-Greens in Greenhouse

Last week, the first trays went up to the Hilltop to live in the sunny laundry room window. The laundry room is just next to the kitchen and handy for snipping! This weekend, the hanging basket of dill also went up to the kitchen to hang-out outside the kitchen door! And, next week the ‘slowbolt coriander’ will be sturdy enough and ready for regular snipping, to join its botanical cousins.

Dill in Hanging Basket

Slow Bolt Coriander, from seed

The pea feathers are my favourite! They are so delicate and interesting looking, and they taste just like baby peas, sweet and tender.

'Fiji Pea Feathers very young, close up...

The Bull’s Blood is growing strong and has a gorgeous color and just a faint beetroot flavour. I’m not a big fan of beets, but the mild flavour of the greens is a nice addition to a salad or garnish.

'Bull's Blood Beetroot' Sprouts

The amaranth has taken the longest to get to a good snippable stage, but is now ready, and again offers a special burst of color to the plate with a mild spinach-like taste.

'Red Mekong Amaranth' Sprouts

Now, while Project Bread was a bit of a tough sell last year, the greens seem to have been met with positive reactions! I have had to continuously remind them to use the micro-greens, but I think they just aren’t in the habit yet. It will come…

So, how is Project Bread fairing a year on??? Yesterday, we needed rolls for the steak sandwich. Lucky came running to me, almost panicked, saying “I don’t have a recipe card for them! Can you tell me the recipe or find it for me?” Well, I punched up Soft and Fluffy Hamburger Buns and copied it off for him. About 2 ½ hours later we had the most gorgeous, oval shaped, golden brown steak sammie rolls you can imagine.

Remembering 'Project Bread'

Even better, though? There was NO suggestion that we should buy rolls. There was no ‘YOU need to make rolls’. There were not 17 reasons why it was too hard/bothersome/time-consuming, etc. Today, Vojta happily made Raisin Bread with no problem. I asked if he need any other bread, and he simply replied, you can make some soup rolls, if you want. HIP HIP HOORAY!!!

SHAKEN, and Stirred by AR, or YOU Rock My World!!!

The last four days have been bumpy, scary and thought provoking. On Saturday morning at 4:36 AM, we were awakened by what what felt like someone thrashing our bed-frame. It would ease up and then come back with a vengeance. On about the third wave, we started to hearing crashing. Yes, it was an earthquake, and it was a big one, 7.1 on the Richter Scale.

We jumped out of bed and noticed the power was off. Poor Bessie was barking and confused. We made our way to the kitchen where we have a wall mounted torch (flashlight) that glows in the dark without power. We quickly surveyed the damage in the house, and in spite of the crashes we'd heard, very little was broken - at least nothing of importance, and the house seemed to be okay. We got dressed quickly and then hooked up the hard-wired 'land-line' we keep handy for power outages. I called Chef Vojta on his iPhone -- the poor kid was at the Hilltop; he'd climbed out his bedroom window and was sitting on the fire escape in 3 degree C weather (about 37 F?), scared to death.

We arrived at the Hilltop about 15 minutes later and quickly surveyed the damage. Impressive, but not as bad as it could have been. We sat in the car, listening to the radio for the next few hours waiting for the light of day and eager for news about what was happening. Aftershocks kept coming every few minutes. It was also very windy and we tried to convince ourselves that the aftershocks were wind. But, wind gusts don't make the car go up and down... Or make the chimney on the building sway...

So, this was the beginning to a long and terrifying day. We cleaned up as much as we could without power. It was a stunningly beautiful spring day, and had we been able to open (No power = no food or coffee) we would have been very busy. Our catering event for 100 that evening was cancelled. So, we came home and worked in the garden, which was good for the soul, plus we didn't really want to be inside listening to the rattle of aftershocks. As we weeded the soon to be veggie bed (Flo & Myrtle were happy help, of course!), we discussed how fortunate we'd been, how much worse it could have been and at the end of the day, all would be fine. About 3 PM our power came on. I'd already phoned my sister in California, but I was eager to get an e-mail out and post on Facebook.

Imagine my surprise when I found e-mails not only from my 'real' friends, but a number of AR peeps! Then, when I got to FB, it was alive with "Are you OK? We are worried." and so forth. I felt touched. Then I saw a post that referenced 'talking' about me on the Recipe Exchange. Sure enough, I went back and found a thread where everyone was wondering about me, as well as Chicken, who lives right in Christchurch. Now, I was really feeling the emotion! I kept telling The Man, "These guys are really concerned about us!" He was impressed.

Now, by this time, I was tired, I was stressed and frankly, I needed an 'earthquake free' five minutes. So, I decided to look at the blogs for a few minutes. First blog I see? Mike Harvey: New Zealand Earthquake. Okay, that's when my heart quaked, my water mains burst and as I'd long suspected, YOU GUYS rock my world!

Thanks to each and everyone of you who thought of us, posted on AR or FB, sent me an e-mail, or wrote a blog of concern for us! During difficult times, your love and support has been a huge help! (And The Man now 'gets' my obsession!)

Here are a few of the pictures from the Hilltop that morning...

The back entry way into the kitchen... A few small butter/sauce ramekins broken,

but just a mess, really.

The Baking Room: again, mostly a mess. The Magi-Mix food processor

bowl/lid was damaged, though

The Deli Area: Chef Gino is scheduled for re-constructive surgery next week.

The Dining Room: A patch of ceiling open up where an old chimney used to be

and dumped rubble, and ummm, a worse for wear small mammal...

More debris from the ceiling -- I was choking on the dust...

A pile of espresso saucers toppled...

The Big Chiller: A bit dark, but broken beer, juice, soda and wine bottles...

The Big Chiller: The rear of the beer fridge; it's amazing more didn't fall out.

The Front of the Beer Chiller

The Bar: A bottle of Brandy and Galliano -- that's all!

The Front of the Building: We are pretty certain these cracks are superficial,

but there are a lot of them!

Hmmm... A bit of a fissure in the parking lot!

Actually, there are a few of them...

And the sun rose on a beautiful day!

The View From The Floor, or Singing for My Supper!!!

Well, Mom’s been busy lately and I know she feels bad about not updating her blog recently, so I thought I might just sneak in and give her a hand. I know she doesn’t want all of her loyal readers to feel neglected. And, believe me, I know about things like being loyal!

Speaking of feeling neglected… Part of the reason Mom’s been so busy lately is that she is spending quite a bit of time in the kitchen at the Hilltop. She is filling in for Chef Vojta on his days off, usually 2 – 3 day a week in the winter time. Plus, he was really sick with the flue a few weeks ago, and I reckon she was stuck in that kitchen for about 10 days straight. Well, it just isn’t right! She is in the kitchen and The Man and I are out front; I MISS her! Plus, The Man can, and does, go back to see her, but I am STRICTLY not allowed in the kitchen. So, sometimes, I am out front, all alone, for like minutes, all by my lonely all alone self! And, it doesn’t help that they are in the KITCHEN, you know the FOOD ROOM! Like today, she was back there for awhile, and then she comes out smelling all beefy and chickeny! I say, it just ain’t fair! The PACK needs to stay together, doggone it!

ME! Staying out of the Hilltop Kitchen! Yes, that REALLY is our carpet!

But, they keep telling me how good I am! They seem to be trying to get me to do things different, like come when I’m called instead of pretending I don’t hear them. Well, on the plus side, Mom has been bringing little special treats home, like those tasty bits of brown chicken that people don’t seem to like nearly SO MUCH as I do. If she has a few of those on hand, my hearing is suddenly extremely GOOD!

On another positive note, part of the reason she has let her blog slip is that there is a new Telly show on around the time she is usually AR’ing. It is ‘Masterchef Australia’. Well, I have to say that the whole family is NUTS about it, including ME! The American version with Gordon just started here and we aren’t sure if it will be as good, but BOY, the Aussie one is fantastic. At about 5PM every night, I hear the Channel One music start and it gently nudges me out of my post-dinner nap on the sofa.

Relaxing on the sofa! From here I can keep and eye on Mom, the Kitchen and the Telly!

Next, the Masterchef music starts!!!!!!! It is the BEST music ever (it takes awhile for the music to start here, but it was the best I could find!)– even better than opera, and that’s saying a lot! I go to my special place on the sofa, proudly stretch out my neck and HOWL WITH JOY! And, it’s a long intro! I get to sing for a good minute or two! And, sometimes, they re-wind it and let me have a second go!

"OW-OOOooo! Come On, Let's Go!" The Masterchef Australia Song!

"OOOooo-EEeee" It's STILL Playing!

Sometimes I get off the sofa and dance a little, too!

Then, Mom sits down on the sofa and The Man brings her a glass of the not-so-fresh grape juice, I snuggle up on her lap, The Man sits down in his chair, and we all watch. But, they pause the show, like every two seconds, and discuss what is happening. They talk like they just met each other. It’s so definitely my favourite time of the day. The Pack is all together, just like we should be. Sometimes, I get up from Mom and go jump up on The Man’s tummy so he doesn’t feel left out!

So, in spite of what they keep calling a bad re-session, life is good. Yesterday, we all went to town. Mom and The Man have a big birthday party they are catering on Saturday, so we had SO many errands: bank, wholesale grocery, stationary store, fruit & veg shop, fishmonger, first butcher, second butcher, normal grocery… but I was a patient girl, knowing that the second butcher has the BEST bones, and The Man would get me one for dinnies! I was so good, that when we stopped at the grocery (last stop) I didn’t even try to find the other butcher foods. I still remember how disappointed they were with me after that massive steak incident last year…

By the way, a little tip from me! It is very, VERY difficult to sing the Masterchef Song while working on a big bone! I tried the other day but it's really hard!

Til next time, gentle readers!

Bessie Cocker

(PS: Mom has spent heaps of time trying to figure out exactly what the Masterchef Song is, but apparently it is different on the NZ version than the Aussie one, so the credits aren't helpful. She thinks it's a Kylie Minogue song. If anyone has any ideas, please let her know so I can sing it more often!)

It's a Wrap! or, Fiddling with Won Tons and Rice Paper

No matter what kind of restaurant you find yourself in, there is bound to be at least one type of 'wrapped' food on offer, Asian restaurants in particular. Whether it's Thai, Chinese, Japanese or Vietnamese cuisine, you will be tempted by lovely little spring rolls, pot stickers, Gyoza, dumplings and endless other dishes with endless other names. I have been making these types of things for years, without much thought apart from following a recipe, but last week, I decided to delve into things a bit deeper.

Asian 'wraps' tend to involve two main types of 'wrapper': Won Tons skins and Rice Paper. Purists and Dim Sum masters would add Shui Mai skins to the list. Shui Mai skins are very similar to Won Tons skins, just slightly thinner and more delicate. Won Ton skins come in small and large squares, as well as small rounds. The dough is very similar to pasta dough, in fact I have used won tons skins to make ravioli before! Rice Paper generally comes in the larger size, but can be either square or round. Rice Paper is very thin and dry, like, well, paper! When placed in warm water the sheets quickly soften and become pliable. Both are easily found in Asian markets or well-stocked grocery stores, and are inexpensive. Won Ton skins must be kept refrigerated and have a relatively short shelf life, but they can be frozen for a much longer period of time.

The list of ingredients that can go into the fillings is almost limitless. Ground pork and chicken are the most common meats used. Shrimp is very common, too. Tofu is common, as are vermicelli (rice noodles), bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, shredded cabbage, grated carrots and spring onions.

Seasonings include all the great Asian flavors of fresh herbs and roots, combined with sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, Chinese Rice Wine and other Asian sauces.

Clockwise, from top left: lemon grass, chilli peppers, coriander/cilantro, ginger, galangal and kaffir lime leaves

To start with, I looked at lots of recipes, both on AllRecipes.com and in my vast library of cookbooks. What I quickly came to realize, is that while there are 'traditional' dishes, there is lots of variation and no hard, set rules. For example, the cooking technique for pot stickers doesn't really vary, but the fillings can vary greatly.

For my pot stickers, I used ground pork, finely chopped spring onion, sesame oil and a bit of corn starch. I thoroughly mixed the filling, and then laid out about 6 small, square wonton wrappers on my cutting board. I put a spoonful of filling on each wrapper, and using my fingers, brushed some water around the edges of each wrapper to help them stick, or seal. I pulled the corners together above the filling and gently twisted and squeezed to seal the packet. If you want to be fancy, you can use a bit of spring onion or rice noodle to 'tie' up the little bundles. These are sometimes called 'moneybags' because they look like little sacks of cash, and are considered 'auspicious' or lucky in some cultures.

Making the Pot Stickers, six at a time...

The Pot Sticker Army! At this stage, these little guys can be frozen. When un-expected guests turn up, you can have them thawed and cooked in very little time. Way better than cheese and crackers!

Next, the Pot Stickers are fried in a little peanut oil, just until their bottoms begin to brown. They are called potstickers, because at this stage, they tend to 'stick to the pot'.

Pot Stickers Beginning to Fry...

...just until they're bottoms are browned. Then, I added about 1/2 inch of water to the pan, (WARNING: It WILL splatter! Be Prepared!) covered it and let the pot stickers steam for about 8 minutes. (I used an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperture for doneness.)

Plated and served with Soy-Sesame Sauce, Sweet Chilli Sauce and Soy Ginger Sauce

For my next dish, I decided to try an open topped steamed dumpling. Purists (and I'm sure this will be pointed out) would use a shao mai wrapper or dumpling skin rather than a won ton skin, which is a bit thicker. Many Asian markets do stock these, as well.

For my filling I used ground chicken, finely chopped mushrooms, spring onion, garlic and soy sauce. I filled the wrappers the same way I did for the pot stickers, but instead of pulling the corners all the way together at the top, I 'pleated' them together.

I also decided to try some other shapes and styles of dumplings
This 'fold' is decsribed in Mr. Kirk's Won Ton recipe on AR - a bit like a tortelini.

My variety of dumplings:

I steamed them in a traditional bamboo steam basket, but you can use a vegetable steamer or your rice maker.

Steamed and Plated!

This blog is proudly supported and sponsored by The Man's Veggie Garden! All carrots, spring onions and Bok Choy used were created there.

Now, a vegetarian Vietnamese Spring roll. I have briefly (20 seconds) soaked the sheet of rice paper in some warm water and placed it on my cutting board. I had also soaked some vermicelli noodles. I took a small handful of the noodles and cut them a bit shorter than the width of the paper and laid them down. Next, I added some grated carrot, fresh mint, fresh coriander, pea shoots and bok choy.

To roll, take the bottom edge or the sheet and fold in over the veggies.

Next, fold the sides in...

And, then fold the top down. Slice on the diagonal and plate! We had these with a Soy Dipping Sauce.

The Man, who is a strict Carnivore actually LOVED these vegetarian rolls!

Next, I wanted to try a fried rice paper roll. For the filling, I used ground chicken, finely grated ginger, finely chopped kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped red pepper, toasted sesame oil and a bit of corn starch.

Unlike the pot stickers and dumplings, I cooked the chicken mix before making the rolls.

I fried the rolls in some peanut oil in the wok and until they were nicely browned.

We enjoyed these with some Sweet Chilli Sauce. They were very good. In fact, it was lucky that the filling made it into the rice paper before someone ate it all!

And, finally, my favorite! I cut my rice paper in half, beacuse I am making small parcels. I have placed a few coriander/cilantro leaves in the center...

Then, I placed a small piece(about 1 inch square) of fresh salmon down, and folded up the sides.

Then, I steamed these on the steam rack in my rice cooker for about 4 minutes.

They look fantastic and taste even better! We enjoyed these with a Soy-Sesame Sauce, but my recipe calls for an Asian Pesto made of garlic, cashews. coriander/cilantro, basil and peanut oil.

So, next time you are planning an 'appy' night or a finger-food get-together, why not get fiddly with some Asian appetizers? The won-tons/potstickers/dumplings can be done ahead and frozen, and then just steamed on the day. The rice paper rolls can be done ahead and held in the fridge for a few hours. The 'fresh' roll can be served as is, the fried one would only require a few minutes to fry and would hold well in the oven.

Have fun!