progressing along the hols...
had a lovely and interesting weekend with my sweetheart :)
on friday after sleeping off the migraine and spending the day plant shopping/gardening he came home with a surprise video and we had a surprise movie date at home (i love B.O.B.! anyone else love B.O.B.? he's hilarious!) and on Sat afternoon we went along to the aquarium on the peninsula which is run by the uni which i've always meant to visit. they were running a session on seaweed! there was an educational bit where we watched a doco and we were introduced to various species (apparently nz has 1000 species and there are many, many undiscovered/unnamed species in the world) including the famous nori (jap name)/karengo (maori name)/pophyra (scientific name) and the more common bladder kelp. and the "gorse of the sea" the wakame... i liked how they were categorised: the reds, the browns, and the greens. simple! and even better that other than being good for you, free for the picking, available year round etc etc, they are all (apparently) not poisonous so you don't even have to identify them to eat them. best!
we went to the touch pool to touch some species which had been collected for us and one of the staff showed us all the wonderful things that can be made with bull kelp and a knife - jandals, a bouncy rubber ball, a handbag etc
then we traipsed down to the shore (didn't bring my gum boots but neither did most people) to harvest some seaweed before heading back in to taste an amazing spread made with the tasty stuff. i was quite impressed with the variety of stuff you can make with this ingredient, i tasted oatmeal cookies, chocolate brownies, asian flavoured relish, cheese sticks, kelp scones, "shark teeth", fried kelp chips, it was also tasty served fresh on crackers with cream cheese (different sorts having their own taste and texture) and dried, it can be flaked as a condiment or ground as a flour substitute. fresh it is used as a vegetable substitute. it's incredible!
i can't wait for my next seaside trip after lik's exams with a big plastic bag or two! we came away with several sheets of recipes too :)
have made more progress in the garden and while nowhere as prolific as last year (well year two was famous for being full on) i think we're coming on nicely.
and as a last minute sponsored holiday we're heading back from 1-15 jan. it was %@&^$@#$ hard to book with tickets disappearing from right under our noses!!! but anyway we've got them so yay. it's time i reckon to meet up with some old friends!
on friday after sleeping off the migraine and spending the day plant shopping/gardening he came home with a surprise video and we had a surprise movie date at home (i love B.O.B.! anyone else love B.O.B.? he's hilarious!) and on Sat afternoon we went along to the aquarium on the peninsula which is run by the uni which i've always meant to visit. they were running a session on seaweed! there was an educational bit where we watched a doco and we were introduced to various species (apparently nz has 1000 species and there are many, many undiscovered/unnamed species in the world) including the famous nori (jap name)/karengo (maori name)/pophyra (scientific name) and the more common bladder kelp. and the "gorse of the sea" the wakame... i liked how they were categorised: the reds, the browns, and the greens. simple! and even better that other than being good for you, free for the picking, available year round etc etc, they are all (apparently) not poisonous so you don't even have to identify them to eat them. best!
we went to the touch pool to touch some species which had been collected for us and one of the staff showed us all the wonderful things that can be made with bull kelp and a knife - jandals, a bouncy rubber ball, a handbag etc
then we traipsed down to the shore (didn't bring my gum boots but neither did most people) to harvest some seaweed before heading back in to taste an amazing spread made with the tasty stuff. i was quite impressed with the variety of stuff you can make with this ingredient, i tasted oatmeal cookies, chocolate brownies, asian flavoured relish, cheese sticks, kelp scones, "shark teeth", fried kelp chips, it was also tasty served fresh on crackers with cream cheese (different sorts having their own taste and texture) and dried, it can be flaked as a condiment or ground as a flour substitute. fresh it is used as a vegetable substitute. it's incredible!
i can't wait for my next seaside trip after lik's exams with a big plastic bag or two! we came away with several sheets of recipes too :)
have made more progress in the garden and while nowhere as prolific as last year (well year two was famous for being full on) i think we're coming on nicely.
and as a last minute sponsored holiday we're heading back from 1-15 jan. it was %@&^$@#$ hard to book with tickets disappearing from right under our noses!!! but anyway we've got them so yay. it's time i reckon to meet up with some old friends!