Granita

Hey!

Like I said in my last post, it's getting hot here.

Yesterday, I decided to make a really yummy treat called granita. It is an icy dessert from Sicily, and it's basically teensy little flavoured ice crystals {or I could just say snow}. It's kind of like a sorbet. I made mine coffee flavoured.

This is the recipe I used:

2 cups hot water
1/3 to 1/2 a cup sugar - depending on how sweet you want the granita
2 teaspoons strong, instant espresso

That's it! Easy, right?

Okay, so basically, mix the three ingredients together in a wide, shallow dish (that can fit nicely in your freezer) until all the sugar and coffee is dissolved. Let the hot mixture cool, then place in the freezer. This is where your patience will be tested. Every half an hour to one hour, take a fork and scrape the ice. It will gradually dry out and you will be able to serve it. If you haven't already eaten it first.

Ciao!

Tina

Avocados

Hello!

*warning* this post is about avocados (if that wasn't made clear by the title), so if you don't like them, read no further - although, that would be quite rude, so maybe read a little bit...hehe)

I know I already wrote a post today, but the whole summer thing got me awondering (that's not a word, I know, it just sounded right) and I thought, why not dedicate a whole post to the majestic avocado?

...

According to the Oxford Dictionary (not the actual huge set, I just Googled it here ): an avocado is a pear-shaped fruit with a rough leathery skin and smooth, oily, edible flesh.

My definition: a fantastically versatile food that is healthy, yummy and adds a pop of colour to any dish. Yum yum.

Avocados have many health benefits, but don't go overboard. Everything should be eaten in moderation. My favourite way to eat these babies is to have them in big sandwiches. Get some good quality deli meat (my favorite is shaved champagne ham), some mustard (I put on my Grandpa's chili mustard-it's really good) and avocado slices, pile 'em up on a large chunk of baguette and chomp down!

Or, if you want, guacamole is really good too. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:
2 small ripe avocados
1/2 a red onion
a lemon (squeezed)
one tomato
coriander/cilantro
tabasco and/or a finely chopped red chili (depending on your heat preference)
salt and pepper
taco chips/corn chips (call them whatever)

Method

1. Peel the avocados, take out the stone  (if you're new to preparing avocados, you might want to Google this) and cut into small-ish pieces. Using a fork, smush until you have your desired texture. 
2. De-seed and chop the tomato into fairly small, equal pieces, chop the onion too, and add to the avocado.
3. Add tabasco and/or chili (this is completely up to you) and mix well. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to your preference too.
4. Chop the coriander finely, sprinkle over and serve with the chips.

And so, with that, my epic avocado post has ended.

Tina

P.S. If you are leaving avocado out (for a salad, maybe?), make sure you squeeze some lemon juice over it to prevent any browning from oxidization. Or, keep it sealed up tight to prevent contact with air.

Rotorua

Hey there!

I've just come back from a three-day trip to Rotorua, where we stayed in a little house near the city.Or somewhere. Huh. I guess I didn't really pay attention to the signs.

My photo diary. Most of the pics are taken while I was moving, so excuse the bad photography.

#1. The best way to start a road trip.

#2. As Janice Ians would say (go, Mean Girls!), this is bleak.

#3. Doubly bleak.

#4. My first snowfall!

#5. Snowball!

#6. Awww...

#7. I was totally frozen by the time we got to the car. The car was also frozen.

#8. No joke, this is the same day. That's New Zealand for you. Full of surprises.

#9. Also the same day. 

#10. Pretty trees on the way back from the mountain.

#11. Fantastique, non?

#12. Bush walk. I felt very short comparatively. 

#13. Hurried shot of some pretty tulips beside the road. 

#14. Ice cream stop on the way home. They mean what they say. The ice creams are HUGE.

#15. Perfection. (Not my ice cream. I had already eaten mine...)

Okay, so I'm off to watch The Vampire Diaries and/or Gossip Girl. It's amazing how easily you can become addicted to these programs.

Tina

French Lunch

Bonjour!

Okay, another food related post...my French teacher organised a fantastic lunch for our class this afternoon. We all went to the city, to a cute restaurant called Pastis.

It was absolutely fabulous, the food was amazing but I think the best bit was just relaxing and chatting to each other without worrying about exams - which are in a month - so it was pretty cool. I didn't take a whole heap of photos, but I do want to announce :

I ate a snail.

Yeah, yeah, I know for a lot of people, this might be totally ordinary and not at all a really big deal, but remember that I am totally terrified of oysters, so imagine how I felt, eating a snail. It wasn't actually that bad (tasty, actually), but the texture was definitely not my cup of tea.

Onion Soup (heavenly!!!)

Beef Bourguignon 

Basque Chicken (I sneaked a taste from my friend and nearly passed out from how good it was)

 Really amazing chocolate mousse that I polished off 'til the glass was clean.

So, you can probably tell that I stuffed myself full and couldn't eat another bite, except for a teensy little canelé that I bought from the French deli near the bus stop.

À bientôt,

Tina