While summer is my favourite season, a crisp, sunny winter day is also a joy to behold. Put on a warm sweater and coat and you are set. Saturday at least began like that….then it rained, then the sun came out again…..you know, one of those days. Anyway, today (Monday) the sun is out and all looks well. The pictures below were taken on Saturday morning on my way to Pilates.
A good lunch
It was my birthday on Wednesday – as I already mentioned – and after Pilates (I go twice a week) I headed over to August Eatery for some lunch. I had been recommended their soup, and I was not disappointed in this gorgeous chicken, greens, butter bean and lemon delight with a chunk of sour dough bread. Excellent!
In the shopping basket
It was back to a Wonky Box delivery this week, and there was a leek, yet more onions (should I attmept to make an onion jam?), potatoes, avocados, tenderstem broccoli, parsnips and yams (oca). There was also more local garlic and a good sized piece of pumpkin. I picked up a fennel bulb, rainbow chard, cavolo nero and tamarillo on Wednesday, and also a pot of buffalo yoghirt with boysenberry. Grapefruit, red onions, lemons, red Brussels sprouts and yellow carrots were added on Saturday, the latter two only because they looked good!
A birthday dinner
On Saturday evening we headed over to Koji for a belated birthday dinner. We opted for the ‘just feed me’ chef’s menu of 9 dishes, which we did the last time we were there too. This time we had yellowfin sashimi, the wonderful venison pie tee, the yellow curry beef doughnut (top picture on the right), chicken and prawn dumplings, udon noodles with wagyu beef, hibachi roasted lamb, salmon with sesame, aubergine with miso and pepita with a mango and coconut ice-cream with black sesame seeds. We have been feasting a lot recently…..time to pause for a few weeks until Wellington on a Plate next month.
Out and about
On Friday I popped over to the Karori Arts & Crafts open day. There was a lot more to see than I expected, and I spent ages at the calligraphy stall, looking at all the fantastic works that people had produced. I did a 2 hour class last year which I loved, and would really like to do more, so need to think how I can explore this further.
Sunday saw us head out to the cinema to see a film we missed on the French film festival, The Taste of Things. I absolutely loved this film, a visual delight it also fed into all the other senses too – even taste and smell – as the cinematography really made you feel you could taste and smell the amazing food. The first half hour or so of the film are just taken up with people cooking and preparing food, and at one point I even exclaimed ‘I want to eat that’. The film stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel and directed by French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung. The Guardian gave it 4 stars – I would give it 5. Warning – eat before you watch!
Simple things
- Going to the library, finding a book from my ‘want to read’ list then going home to the sofa and a pot of tea to start reading.
- Having a lovely birthday week.
- Chatting to everyone at book club.
- Finishing up French classes for another term and registering for term 3.
- Baking and eating a cake.
- Getting back into the kitchen and cooking something new – pork and pumpkin meatballs from Lagom by Steffi Knowles-Dellner.
What were your small pleasures this week? Here are some other blog posts from a few fellow bloggers looking at the good things in life.
- Learn about Derbyshire well dressing over Now I’m 64.
- Anne of Something Over Tea enjoys cooking.
- Green Dreams makes a meal from her garden.
- Meanwhile, there is lots of good food from Portugal over at Retirement Reflections.
- Jo over at And Anyways takes us on a foodie trip round Melbourne.
- There are memories of the Tour de France over at Deb’s World
- Mr Tootlepedal has a visit from lots of jackdaws.
- Jude over at Cornwall in Colours shares six things from her July garden.
- Sue over at Women Living Well After 50 makes a Warm Greens, Sweet Potato & Cherry Tomato Salad.
- Natalie takes a walk in Treasure Island Park.
- You can always be sure of a good coffee and conversation over at Trent’s World.
- .…and all the other lovely bloggers out there. Sorry if I have missed anyone…..
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.com