Celebrate Summer Fruit

How to get things rolling again after a post like that? There's only one way, and that is to celebrate new life.

I'm loving going to the market right now, as the stalls are overflowing with beautiful fresh summer fruit, straight from the Hawkes Bay, Nelson or wherever all this lovely stuff comes from. We've been eating fresh plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, melon, cherries, strawberries, boysenberries, and blueberries in the last couple of weeks.
Yesterday I bought fresh cherries from a market stall for $5.00/kg!! They've been priced between $16.00 and $30.00/kg in the supermarket, and the ones I bought are perfectly ripe and delicious. I'm not even using them for cooking or desserts, just gobbling them straight out of the fruitbowl. This is a magical time of year. Berries are also in season and in plentiful supply. Again, what will cost you $5.00 in the supermarket for a punnet of berries you can find at the market for $2.00. Need I say it again? Get out to your local markets, people!
If you really feel the need to put these luscious summer beauties in the oven, try apple and boysenberry crumble with ice cream. Or just good old blueberry pancakes, hot off the stove, with a sprinkle of fresh blueberries on top. Get out there and enjoy it, it won't last long!

Alana Freer 15-2-78 - 24-12-08

On Christmas Eve we lost a good friend.

Alana was Isaac's godmother and wife to our dear friend Ian.A rough transcription of the eulogy I read at her funeral on Tuesday follows, for those who were not able to be there (preceded by a few background details for those who didn't know Alana).

When Alana was born she was diagnosed with polycystic kidneys. The doctors said that it was unlikely she would live even a few months, perhaps five years at most. However, even at that young age Alana was determined to the point of being stubborn, and refused to let her body beat her. At about fifteen she had one kidney replacement operation, and last year we were there to celebrate her 30th birthday. Wine was drunk and much karaoke was sung.

(I would point out here that it was not Alana drinking wine - that would have just been silly of her)

It is this tenacity that defined her, more than her illness ever did. Alana had a phenomenal capacity to disagree, as anyone who was ever on the wrong end of an argument with her will appreciate. If you went up against her with a different point of view, you had better be ready to defend your position with all your energy, because she certainly would. I really enjoyed getting into heated debates with Alana, and for the many that we had, I don't think I ever came away feeling like I had won a single one.

This was not because she was deliberately disagreeable, but rather because when she believed in something she really really believed in it. When making it through day after day of dialysis and medication requires vast reserves of inner strength and hope, there can be no room for doubt.

But although Alana and I disagreed on plenty of things, we also agreed very strongly on many things. The thing we agreed on the most, and one of the reasons for which I respected and admired her so much over and above her sheer endurance and strength of spirit, was this: We both agreed that big changes can be made in people's lives by normal people doing little things for others. Despite being dealt an unfair hand in life, Alana was a giver, never a taker. She shared, she cared, and she loved those around her with all her strength. And in doing so, she changed people's lives.
Another thing that we agreed on was food, particularly dumplings. I remember inviting Ian & Alana (Uncle I and Aunty A) to dinner, and telling Ian that we would be having stew. Alana said that if I made dumplings to go in the stew, then they'd come. Many discussions were had about dumplings, ingredients, cooking methods, and just how many I ought to do so that there would be enough for her on any given night. More was generally better.

About the only thing we disagreed on when it came to food was how much Uncle Ian was allowed to eat.

For us, Alana's life was not defined by her illness but by her determination not to be defined by her illness. She took every positive that came her way and made it a reason for celebration, usually in spite of whatever setback they might have been facing at the same time. She dedicated herself to helping others, working as a nanny and as a counsellor. She showed us all just how full and joyful and amazing life can be, and we are all better, stronger people for having shared in the blessing of her life.

It was an honour to have been asked to bear Alana to her final rest, and I'd like to thank Ian for asking me to join him and Alana's family members as a pallbearer.

Further tributes to Alana ca be found here.
I would also like to take a moment to pay tribute to Alana's husband Ian, my very good friend of many years, who has been Alana's caregiver ever since before they were married (just a couple of weeks after us, in fact. We recently all raised a glass to our six-year anniversaries). Ian selflessly dedicated himself to Alana, especially in the past 2 or more years since she moved onto regular dialysis and as her health gradually deteriorated. Ian deserves some sort of medal for the strength and courage he has shown supporting Alana through her final years. He indeed loved and cherished his wife, in sickness and in health, until death did they part, just as he vowed on their wedding day. Ian, you're my hero, and we're here for you as you well know.

It is due to this sad course of events that Freshly Ground has been quiet since before Christmas. We spent time at the hospice with Ian and Alana prior to her passing, and the funeral was just a couple of days ago. A little bit of quiet time for reflection was the least I could do for Ian and Alana's family during this difficult time. Normal transmission will resume very shortly.

Rest well, Alana. You will be missed around our table.

And the time has gone... where?

Here we are in December already. Tomorrow's my last day of work for the year, next week is Christmas, then 2008 rolls over into 2009 and we start all over again.

It's time to wrap it up and decide where we've come in the past 12 months.

I have no complaints to mention (barring the political, but this is not the time), and I'm awfully grateful for that. I know that a lot of people have had a much worse year than we have, and we have done our best to support friends and even strangers through these hard times. Financially we've been pretty well insulated from the worst of things, so for that too we're very thankful.

As a family we came a long way. Isaac is now almost 2, and what a year of changes and lessons that has been. It can be characterised primarily by the number of things that have been altered in our house to accommodate him: A fence was built, we replaced one pane of glass with safety glass after a smashing incident, latches have been put on windows and doors, and Daddy now has to be careful to tidy up all the cr@p he used to leave around the yard.

I started a blog, to my own surprise, and to my even greater surprise, the novelty hasn't worn off and I'm even still posting here. This is the first time that I've really appreciated the internet as more than just an online dictionary and encyclopedia. This year I have discovered that out there in Webland there is a community. Hi, y'all.

Writing Freshly Ground has made me more aware of the issues out there surrounding food, and given me a voice to raise my views with more than just the guests of a given evening. It has also allowed me to share all the recipes I've been making up over the years, and what with the photos and all it gives the false impression that I might even be able to cook. But I won't let that get around.

I've also hit a fair few landmarks with my writing work, which only happens in and around work-work and family life, but I try to prioritise it as much as possible. I have completed a third draft of my novel and started the long and arduous process of sounding out an (increasingly less stable) publishing industry to try to get said novel read by an agent. This is more work than it sounds. But once again, I have discovered the online community of writers, agents, editors, and publishers, who are more than willing to share a wealth of information with the rest of the community about what they should or should not be doing. It has been one h~ll of an eye-opening journey. I won't say that it has been discouraging thus far, but it is at the very least massively daunting. One thing is clear: there's no point even starting into it with subpar writing, so lots of revision is underway. It's amazing how much more critical you can be of your own work when you think someone with an opinion that can make or break you might be reading it. Give me that big red pen...

Also, Urban Driftwood was finally completed and made available in print form. I have some plans to release it as a PDF in the new year, so watch this space if you haven't laid your hands on a hard copy yet.

Putting politics aside, I had a great twelve months, and I'm looking forward to more good times to come. The garden is going crazy, and hopefully by next planting season I'll have more of a clue about how to manage the little space we have to get some really sustainable crops ticking over, so that we can rely even more on ourselves and less on the carbon footprint of stores and markets. I keep thinking about building a chicken run, but I really have to clean up the yard before I can even consider that seriously. A big shout out to Obi for slapping up the shelves in the garage this week - that's the first step! Next we need to put some up in the tin shed.

Which brings me to next year. Over the summer we have some jobs to do, like painting the roof and fixing the drive, but what do I see in the next twelve months for me, and for us? Well, I'm already racing along a fairly complex trajectory of paid work, writing work, and stuff around home, so I'm not going to sign myself up for too much more just yet. If 1 going on 2 was hard work, just imagine what 2 going on 3 will be like! And with any luck, sometime soon we might be lucky enough to have another little bundle of joy in the house. Which is of course something that is not really in our hands.

We're also looking forward to at least one wedding in the new year, and a visit from LBS and Uncle Carlo in March. We don't really need to plan on getting busy and racing through another year; it's just going to happen.

Freshly Ground will continue in sporadic bursts over the next two weeks, around Christmas and New Years and maybe a little excursion to the South Island or something, but come January things will be back in full swing.

So take care everyone, have a safe and happy holiday, and either keep warm or wear sunscreen, depending on what part of the world you happen to be in.

Pumpkin Soup

I went and took photos for this, only to discover that I've already posted the recipe. There are a few differences from the original post in June, for example I peeled the pumpkin before roasting it. So here's a nice shot of some lovely roasted pumpkin.
And this is what happens to the skin left lying on the bench near the muffin trays, when 2-year-old is "helping" make the soup.

Shock! Horror! Vego Pizzas!

Yeah, it surprised me too.

As we were dressing our Friday night pizzas, I was overwhelmed by the amount of delicious ingredients we had handy that weren't meat. I still haven't had a pizza as nice as my Mussel and Chilli Pizza, but these were pretty good. In New Zealand we have a tendency to massively overdress our pizzas, a habit that we broke after eating real pizza in New York.
So as our pizzas usually go, these ones are a bit laden, but I enjoyed them no less for it.

One pizza had the following toppings, with pizza sauce on the base (homemade, of course), and a crumbly mix of cheeses on top - mozzarella, edam and parmesan.
Chopped Fresh Tomato
Chopped Onion
Sliced Mushroom
Finely Sliced Garlic
Grated Lemon Zest
Cubed Feta Cheese The other had the following toppings:
Chopped Fresh Tomato
Pineapple Chunks
Sweet Thai Chilli Sauce
Cubed Feta Cheese
Spoonfuls of Ricotta Cheese
I didn't even notice the lack of pepperoni or salami or sausage or any of that. When it comes to pizza, less really is more.

Anniversary Pork

I've made mention in the past about how I reckon that I can cook at least as well as the places we can afford to go out to eat, if not a little better (IMHO). But that's not to say we don't like to go out to eat, not by any means. However, there are certain harsh realities that simply must be faced, and I'm sure that a lot of people out there have been there too. Since we went from the lazy hazy life of a working couple to the non-stop rigours of parenthood, we've found ourselves short both the time and the money to go out to dinner very often. I can recall one night out at a restaurant since Isaac came along, not counting family affairs.

It's at times like this that I really appreciate that someone, somewhere along the way, taught me how to cook. Besides what my mum drummed into me, a lot of my culinary skills I picked up by trial and error, from waiting and bar jobs in the hospitality industry, and a fair amount I've just made up as I went along and hoped it turned out well, but all those things add up. I've read lots of cookbooks (and then ignored a lot of recipes), watched a lot of TV cooking shows (and been equal parts awed and incredulous by what I've seen - for example, who really uses all those little glass bowls for prepped ingredients? People with paid kitchenhands, I'd say. But I digress.), talked to butchers and chefs, tried lots of different things when we did go out, listened to the cooking guests on the radio, and more recently, read lots of other food blogs.

I will point out at this point that before starting Freshly Ground, I had read one blog. I had no idea what a cooking blog looked like, so I pretty much allowed myself to create my own format here. Thus the food, the politics, the ramblings, the humour (or so I like to think of it). Freshly Ground is a food blog because food is something that I find integrally important to so many aspects of life: Health, Family, Economics, the Environment, Entertainment. It could have been any number of things, but food is something that, while not being any sort of catering professional, I'm rather passionate about and can write about with at least a modicum of experience and authority. And if anyone disagrees with me, well, that's just a matter of taste, isn't it?

Do I have a point (you'll be starting to wonder, I'm sure)?

The point is that recently we had our wedding anniversary, and for the reasons mentioned above, we didn't treat ourselves to a night out; instead, we stayed home and I cooked up a roast pork. Did we feel like we'd missed out on something special? Not at all. As usual, I just made up dinner as I went along, dragging together whatever I could find in the cupboards and garden.

It's not about being able to go out and blow a hundred bucks on dinner. It's about sharing good food with good people.

I've covered all the basics of roasting pork already, with one minor addendum: after the initial salt crusting, wash the salt off. Yip. Sounds obvious, doesn't it. Did to me too, when I was told. Ah, well. So to make things interesting, I decided to crust the pork in something a bit more flavoursome than flour.
I coated the pork with olive oil and dressed it with: Freshly ground pepper, chopped fresh sage leaves, dukkah, brown sugar, cider vinegar, and a dusting of semolina flour.
Then I deliberately salted the rind to make it go extra crispy and placed the meat in an oven dish on a raised tray and popped it in the oven at 210C. After 20 minutes I turned the oven down to 190C and cooked for a further 3 1/2 hours, turning the meat and basting every 40 minutes or so.
I always let the meat rest out of the oven for 5-10 minutes before carving.
The end result was a bit spicier than Dessert Chef likes, but with a roast this big, its pretty easy to find slices everyone will enjoy. The best thing about this, of course, is that it went on to feed us leftovers for lunch and dinner for two or three days.

So here's my final point: you don't need to pay big money to eat well. You have the power in your hands. Use it.

First Barbeque of the Season

Summer is most certainly upon us now. It rained today, but it was warm. That must just about prove it.

In honour of the season of long slow evenings, sandflies, mosquitoes, sunburn, and sand in places where it shouldn't be, we have duly broken out the barbeque and given it a run, to ...er... season it ... for the season.
Cooking here we have: Wai-ora Lamb and Mint Sausages; Gluten-Free Sausages; Homemade Gluten-Free Meat Patties; and Egg-Free, Gluten-Free Meatballs (I just did a couple of meatballs before I added the egg to make the patties, and squashed them down really tight so they didn't fall apart). When everything else is done - since all of the above can happily sit on the edge of the BBQ and stay warm - we drop in the steak. Hammered with the back of a knife, seasoned with freshly ground pepper and salt, crushed garlic and olive oil, and cooked as per my Perfect Steak Technique.

Serve up with fresh bread and crisp green salad, sauce and a cold beer for a perfect summer evening's dining. May there be many more to come.