Mama's Got A Brand New Bag #2

I wrote this random post and filed it away in draft but since I've not been baking much lately I figured it was time for this little piece of randomness to be used.

Some time ago I had a day to myself in Wellington, my home town. Well actually Upper Hutt is my home town but Wellington is where I worked for over 15 years. They say you can't beat Wellington on a good day. Unfortunately the day I visited was drab and drizzly. This is a photo I took of Wellington harbour from the bus to Upper Hutt looking out towards Oriental Bay.


Here's a look at the sea from the east coast of New Zealand, this time looking across to Kapiti island. This was on my bus trip home to Palmerston North.



I had a lovely wander around Wellington and took the opportunity to snap a few photos. Here's a sculpture on Featherston Street that caught my eye.


And here's a picture of one of New Zealand's cultural icons - buzzy bee. It's right beside the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere.


It's quite appropriate that Buzzy Bee is not far away from "the beehive" - our parliament building.


I did a little shopping at Moore Wilson's which is an Aladdin's cave of foodie accessories. When I spied the little blow torch in my favourite shade of turquoise and at a reasonable price I just had to have it; similarly the lime green kitchen timer. I usually use the timer on my microwave but many's the time I've either forgotten to put the timer on or wanted to use the microwave for something else in the middle of baking. My new timer is magnetic and will stick to the fridge. It's also big enough to take with me if I leave the room to go update my Facebook page or whatever else might be on the agenda for the day. Here's a tip for you re timing in general which is quite useful. As you put your cake in the oven, note down the time on a piece of paper. Sure it won't help you if you leave the room and get distracted by something but it's a good standby if you are in the kitchen and had forgotten to put the timer on. The tea towels - well they're in my favourite colours and I couldn't pass them by. Lastly some Maldon sea salt which has been smoked - I've not tried it yet and I'm sure it'll be good although I'll be judicious about what I use it on/in. Once I made a rogan josh curry which called for paprika but all I had was Spanish smoked paprika. I can tell you it does NOT have any place in a curry and it's a fusion combination that doesn't work. I am the laughing stock of my Indian friends who take great joy in reminding me of my faux pas.


If you are in doubt about my favourite colours check out my shoes....