Happy Birthday to Me (and a Meme too)

It was my birthday on Tuesday. Thanks to those of you who've visited my site via Red Shoe Ramblings. And a special thank you to Deb for your birthday homage to me.

Bella’s is probably my favourite “special” restaurant. Alistair, the host, is always charming and makes you feel welcome and of course they have a great menu.

Spring is whitebait season in New Zealand and for fans of whitebait the season is all too short. For the uninitiated, whitebait is the name used in New Zealand for the young stage of the inanga or “minnow”, Galaxias attenuatus. The adults of this fish are 4–6 in. long, greenish-yellow in colour, and occur in practically all New Zealand's lowland rivers and streams, belonging to the “native trout” family (Galaxiidae). In autumn they move down stream to estuaries where, during high spring tides, the eggs are laid amongst aquatic vegetation. The eggs hatch when reached by the following spring tide (two weeks later) and the larvae pass out into the sea. It is uncertain whether the young fish return in the spring of the same or the following year; these juveniles are transparent when they enter fresh water, but quickly become pigmented. The same fish occurs in Australia and in South America.

As soon as I found out that whitebait was on the menu I immediately regretted not bringing my camera to dinner. Isn't your mouth watering at the sight of these?....... No?....... Really?
The typical way of serving whitebait is to make a fritter or pattie with a little egg and seasonings and not much else. Bella’s whitebait was cooked in a light tempura style batter so that the teeny weeny fish remained separate. They were served piled high in a mound alongside buttered white bread soldiers, a big wedge of char grilled lemon and a little bowl of tartare sauce. A little like this....
For my main I chose Fettucine Pollo which was as you might imagine, chicken with pasta! It is one the items on the classics menu and as often as we dine at Bella’s I’d never tried this dish before. It was delicious but the tomato cream sauce was very rich.

Although it was MY birthday I didn't feel the need for dessert because a friend from work had baked a delightful lemon curd cake for afternoon tea. I'll get the recipe soon.

To go with dinner we had a lovely bottle of Paddy Borthwick chardonnay from the Wairarapa region. The tasting notes say: “Lifted fruit aromas of nectarines and pineapple have integrated harmoniously with the oak to produce a wine of great texture with creamy, nutty characters on the palate. This wine shows depth of fruit and great palate weight that is enjoyable now and also in the ensuing years and will cellar for the next 8 years.” I’m not much of a connoisseur and about the only thing I could tell you I tasted was the oak.


All in all a lovely end to a lovely day.

As I promised Lis here's my reply to her recent meme.

I'M THINKING ABOUT:
What's for dinner tonight - the answer is chicken piccata, roasted yams and a humungous mixed salad and new season asparagus. I only realised just recently that I've been making chicken piccata for years but didn't know it had a name
I SAID:
You learn something new everyday
I WANT TO:
Own a boarding cattery one day - it's my semi retirement plan
I WISH:
I had a job I love as opposed to just something that pays the bills
I REGRET:
Not taking more advantage of my 3 years living in Kentucky. What a great jumping off point to visit the rest of the country
I HEAR:
Remnants of stupid songs in my head that I can't get rid of - Deb calls these "earworms"
I DANCE:
As often as I can - usallly around the house and always clothed but generally with no rhythm
I REGRET:
Stopping to hang out the washing and clean up the kitchen and thereby missing the birth of a friend's baby by a mere five minutes
I SING:
So badly that I imagine the neighbourhood dogs all joining in
I CRY:
At sad movies, weddings and of course funerals
I AM NOT:
My Mother or my Nana - even though my husband tells me I'm like them. I should take that as a compliment
I AM:
Queen of the exclamation mark OK!!!!!!
I WRITE:
To communicate with friends and share a bit of my life with them
I CONFUSE:
Myself - especially if it involves anything mathematical
I NEED:
More time to blog
I TAG:
Anyone who wants to play - do you?

My First Meme

This came from my friend Deb
who doesn't officially tag folk for memes - a practice which I think I might follow -especially since I don't yet have regular readers. If you like lists and want to play jump right in and consider yourself tagged. Let me know in the comments so I can check out your list and get to know you a bit better. Lis , your meme is up next - watch this space....

1. FIRST NAME?
Morven
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Not particularly. My mother just liked the name of someone she met
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?
Probably during some soppy movie
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
No but I like my printing. Everyone tells me I have very neat printing
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT?
Ham off the bone with grainy mustard please
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I'd like to think so
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?
Not since I was a young (and stupid) teen - yanno the old write naughty things in your journal and then your mother finds it and then you get in trouble scenario
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Defintely NOT. Not even for a million dollars - I seriously mean that
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Homemade muesli (granola) with fresh fruit
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Mostly. I am however, guilty of just pulling off my gym shoes after exercise
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Neither physically nor emotionally. I'm a big softy
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
A threeway tie - mocha chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip or raspberry white chocolate
14. SHOE SIZE?
7 for regular shoes 7.5 for my Nikes
15. FAVORITE COLOR?
Turquoise closely followed by lime green and cobalt blue
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Indecision, or was that procrastination?
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Far away friends
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Only if they want to
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Blue jeans and turquoise crocs
20. LAST THING YOU ATE?
Avocado and tomato on grainy toast with a grinding of black pepper and a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The washing machine on its spin cycle
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Turquoise of course
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Freesias (I just picked some from the garden), freshly laundered sheets, cinnamon, hot asphalt just after it rains (yeah I'm weird I know), fresh coffee and cooked bacon in the morning

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My husband - we were making arrangements to go out for dinner
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU'RE ATTRACTED TO?
Their smile and their eyes
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
What kind of a question is that - who is going to say no?
27. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DRINK?
A really good champagne like Moet or a big oaky, buttery chardonnay or a nice fruity sauvignon blanc
28. FAVORITE SPORT?
I don't play sport. I like step aerobics though - it's the closest thing I can find to dancing
29. EYE COLOR?
Blue but I wish they were green
30. HAT SIZE?
I have a pin sized head (as opposed to "a heed like a pumpkin" - bonus points for guessing what movie that quote came from) - I hardly ever wear hats
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Yes
32. FAVORITE FOOD?
I don't have a favourite - I just like FOOD
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING?
Happy endings for sure. Scary movies give me nightmares
34. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Lime green tee with KENTUCKY emblazoned on it in blue. Any true blue cats fan would be rolling their eyes
35. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer although I am very fond of a white Christmas
36. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs because you can give them to and receive them from anyone you want to. Kisses from people other than your husband or family are a bit eepycray
37. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Something creamy - icecream, cheesecake, creme brulee
38. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?
The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simons which I'm struggling with but persevering on the recommendation of several colleagues. Next up a Faye Kellerman one
39. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? That would have to be my mouse!
40. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV?
Rove Live (Australian comedian/talk show). Don't normally watch much tv on a Friday since it's dinner out night
41. FAVORITE SOUNDS?
A cat purring, the ping of a "you've got mail" message, the sea, the sound of the garage dooer opening when my husband arrives home
42. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Stones
43. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME?
Canada
44. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT?
I'm a trivia queen
45. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Auckland, New Zealand
46. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Deb in a roundabout kind of way
47. NEWEST THING YOU'VE TRIED?
It's fairly safe to assume with me that it's a food item. Nestle's "Heaven" range of chocolate. IMHO not Heaven
48. WHAT ONE THING WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT YOURSELF?
I'd like better behaving hair - I always look at photos of myself and see a major bad hair day
49. WHO DID YOU LAST SEND A LETTER OR CARD TO?
A belated birthday card to my nephew Michael.
50. WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT IN THE WORLD IF MONEY WAS NO OBJECT?
Much as I can't go past travelling to the USA I'd really like to visit Tuscany

Marmite - Love it or Hate it?

In my BBM box of goodies for Lis of La Mia Cucina I included that "world famous in New Zealand" food item - Marmite. It's one of those things that you usually either love or hate and are seldom ambivalent about. I have tried to foist it on various American friends and so far no-one has taken a liking to it. Guess it's one of those cultural things that you really have to grow up with to appreciate - just like I don't care for grits! Lis told me that she was a little scared about trying the marmite (and was going to make her hubbs try it first - how evil is that?) because it looks so nasty. I don't blame her. Marmite is a dark brown, almost black paste with a slightly salty, yeasty smell. No surprise about the yeasty smell because that's what it's made of.

Marmite and Chippie Sandwich - the great Kiwi afterschool snack

Very fresh, soft white bread. (I'm normally a whole wheat girl but for this sammie it must be white)
Butter
Marmite
Plain, salted potato chips

Butter both pieces of bread - butter all the way to the edges so the chips will stick!!
THINLY schmear the marmite on one piece of bread
Top generously with potato chips
Smoosh together firmly
Hold on tight as you bite your sandwich or else all the chips will fall out

For Lis's benefit I demonstrate below the construction of the abovementioned sandwich. Note the deathgrip on the sandwich in the final photo.





Check out the Marmite website for all you'll ever need to know about this curious kiwi delicacy.

A Good Mail Day

I received my Blogging By Mail package from Heather in Kansas. Heather very thoughtfully put together a sampling of Kansas products.

I received: A beautiful scented candle, a sunflower cup, a big bag of tiny sunflower seed cookies (they're good), a sunflower candy on a stick, some honey sticks, a fascinating corn on the cob that you stick in the microwave and it makes popcorn! How cool is that? Finally there was aa cute notepad with a wine/drink motif. The corn on the cob package had been opened by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries but they must have deemed it acceptable because they just resealed the package. Can't wait to try the popcorn.

Thank you Heather for a fun package and thanks also to Stephanie for hosting this event.

Spring has Sprung

Cherry Tree
Originally uploaded by Morvalicious.

Look at my garden's early birthday present to me. I thought I'd better take a photo before the winds blow all the blossom away. The tree has probably got a good 2-3 weeks blooming in it yet.

Potluck Italiano

Recently we joined two other couples for a potluck dinner with an Italian theme. To begin the evening we enjoyed a glass of sparkly Prosecco while listening to Deano singing Volare. The stage was set! We started off the evening with an antipasto platter and I made baked ricotta to go with sundried tomatoes, olives, pesto, prosciutto wrapped melon and some ciabatta.

My friends all thought it was hilarious when I pulled out my camera to take photos of the food during the night. The pictures are not the best but you'll get the idea. Here's our next course - Insalata Caprese as prepared by my husband. It's not quite how I would have assembled it but hey - he was in charge and that's all that mattered. As you'll learn over time, he doesn't cook!

Primo was a dish prepared by our host which I approached with much trepidation but was pleasantly surprised by. It's a traditional Sicilian dish called Bucatini con sarde. That's Pasta with SARDINES if you want a translation. The ingredients included fennel bulb, saffron, raisins and pinenuts and was absolutely delicious and not at all fishy. This photo was definitely not well posed but you get the idea. I will post Potluck Italiano #2 when I get the hang of writing and will include recipes.

Secondo was also a fish dish and alas I do not (yet) have the recipe nor can I remember the name. Let's just call it Snapper and Potatoes with Olives and Lemons. The snapper was cubed and dusted in flour and ground cumin, then pan fried in a little olive oil. Previously roasted potatoes were tossed in and the sauce was made with quartered onions, quartered lemons and black olives and then finished off with some chili and finally red wine vinegar. It was a perfect combination of sweet and sour.

Dolce was Vanilla Panacotta with Raspberries - silky creamy deliciousness which offset the tangy raspberries to perfection.





To serve with coffee I made Ossi de Mordere which translates to "bones to bite". They are little chewy chocolate almond cookies but I'll save my stories about them for another post as I in the near future with a different theme. It was a lot of fun. Recipes to follow sometime soon I promise.

Fun with Filo

If anyone has recently stumbled across my blog they're probably wondering why on earth I'm bothering because I haven't posted since my first entry. We'll you see I'm having a few problems with my photos (the first problem being that they suck! and the second that I can't figure out how to upload the stupid things!) and I figure that a food blog without photos is like a cookbook without pretty pictures - not worth the bother of reading. I'm sure that just as my quilting improved with practice, so shall my photography. Please bear with me.
The main reason I plunged into blogging without having some draft posts and pictures up my sleeve for future use is that I wanted to participate in the current Blogging by Mail event, hosted by Stephanie, the Happy Sorceress, from Dispensing Happiness. The rules are simple - no blog - no play. The deadline for mailing is 15 September which sounds like a long way away but I am a terrible procrastinator. However, I'm pleased to say that my package is winging its way to somewhere overseas and has an ETA of about 7 days. Who will be the lucky recipient? I hope she likes what I chose.


I had leftover rotisserie chicken and based on the fresh veggies I had in my fridge I decided to recreate that old Pampered Chef chicken and broccoli dish that appears on many recipe sites online. It's one of those dishes that transports me back to when I was living in Kentucky and I don't make it often enough. True to the quote on my first blog entry aspects of which I attributed to my mother, I didn't follow a recipe, I was missing a vital ingredient and I didn't have a key utensil!! In New Zealand we do not have any sort of packaged bread that comes in a tube so I had to improvise. I thought I'd make little filo pies in muffin pans. Slight technical hitch - I didn't have a Texas muffin pan and had to use regular a regular size one. I am not a big fan of dill but in this recipe the dill is one of the flavours that adds oomph to the taste. The finished dish didn't taste quite as good as I remembered it but I guess that's what happens when you guesstimate your proportions. Here's the recipe if you're doing the crescent roll thing:

Chicken and Broccoli Braid

12 oz. cooked chicken, chopped (2 cups - about 3 cooked boneless skinless chicken breast halves)
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 oz sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (1 cup)
1/2 cup. mayonnaise
2 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp slivered almonds (I like more)
2 pkg (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)
In a large bowl, toss together chicken, broccoli, red bell pepper, garlic, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, dill, salt, almonds and onion
Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough. Using a knife or scissors, cut 1 inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side. Spread the chicken mixture along the center strip. Fold the side strips over chicken mixture, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal. Brush braided dough with the egg white.
Bake in the preheated oven 25 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown.

If you want to make filo muffin cases take a sheet of pastry, brush it with oil or butter, fold it in half and brush with more oil, fold it in half again etc etc til you get down to a size that will fit your muffin pan (I think it was three folds for a regular sized muffin pan). Press the filo into the muffin pan and fill with the chicken mixture. Bake about 20 minutes.

I served my little pies with creamy mashed potato, partly to appease my husband who loves his spuds, and partly because I thought the creamy mash would be a nice foil to the flaky pastry.