Dixie Lounge

Resting up, by the lake in Rotorua.

I have been listening to talking books while knitting. Latest 'listen' is Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. I think he is wonderful. The reader on this one is an adolescent boy, fitting for this semi-autobiographical coming-of-age vignette set in Thatcher's England.

I could have called this post Black Swan Blue, but that doesn't work quite so well. Nice conjunction anyway.

Bizarre things you see

This is the window of a butcher's shop in a suburb in Christchurch. Whatever.

Coromandel

 

Mt Maunganui

Every few weeks I have been staying overnight by the beach at Papamoa, in Bill and Fay's driveway (they are off in Australia for 6 months). I like to drive along to the Mount to have breakfast. The harbourside is a lovely place to park the van and linger a while with the newspaper or a book.

Rolling Dixie

Have been living in Dixie the van since coming back from Australia. It is so easy and very comfortable. I have a pile of good books on board and bags of threads and wools but somehow manage to keep so busy that I never get around to stitching or reading. How easy it is to fill in whole days when you are not tied up with working.

Went to the Tauranga Embroiderers' Guild exhibition last weekend. I'd share some pictures of my favorite works but I couldn't take any because I have lost my camera. I'm trying to be philosophical about it - things come and go - but I do really miss it. I also miss having easy access to broadband. I wonder about adding a satellite dish to the van, would that work?

Back in Rotorua

style="">I'm in the stinky place (love that smell) again, on a brief house-sitting assignment that comes with two dogs. I have just been out early, crunching across a frosty paddock with socks on my paws, so the dogs could have a run. Hopefully the puppy is not going to be successful in his mission to dig to Africa from the suburban backyard.

I made an apple pie using this recipe from Helen's Spanish cookbook.

BASQUE APPLE PIE

SERVES SIX

INGREDIENTS

215g / scant 2 cups plain (allpurpose) flour, plus extra for rolling

5ml /1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

75gm /4oz / half cup cold unsalted (sweet) butter, cubed

finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon

scant half cup caster (superfine) sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2 small eggs

3 eating apples, peeled, cored and cubed

ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

whipped cream, to serve

1 Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a food processor. Add the butter and grated lemon rind and process briefly to combine, then add the sugar, 1 whole egg and the yolk of the second egg to the flour mixture and process to make a soft dough.

2 Divide the dough into two pieces, one portion nearly double the size of the other. Pat the dough into two flat cakes. Wrap tightly in clear film (plastic wrap) and chill for at least 2 hours until firm.

3 Preheat the oven to 180"C/350"F/ Gas 4. Place a baking sheet in the oven and grease a 20cml8tn loose-based flan tin.

Place the larger piece of dough on lightly floured piece of plastic wrap and cover with another piece of film. Roll out to a 25cm round. Remove the top layer of film and lift up the dough on the second film. Place the dough face down in the tin and peel off the film. Press into the tin so that it stands just clear of the top.

5 Pack the tin with the apples and sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll out the second piece of dough in the same way, to exactly the same size as the tin. Lay the dough on top of the apples and fold the overlapping edges of the bottom piece of dough inward. Gently press the edges together with a fork, to seal.

6 Prick the dough a few times, brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Place on the hot baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160"C/325"F/Gas 3 for a further 25-30 minutes until golden.

Leave the tart to cool in the tin for 30 minutes, and serve with cream/ice cream. Or, as we did last night, with custard made from the good old Edmonds custard powder.

Bat tree

On the way to Tamborine Mountain we passed a grove of trees just filled with fruit bats. Millions of bats. You smell them before you see them.

We spent a few hours doing the Gallery Walk in Mt Tamborine. There is a canopy walk in the national park which will have to wait for the next visit.