So the shortest day has now passed for us in the Southern Hemisphere, and the days will gradually begin to get longer. The weekend saw the big Midsummer celebrations in Sweden and elsewhere, while we wrapped up warm and stayed indoors. Anyway, it was a good week with lots of small pleasures.
A birthday
It was Karl’s birthday on Thursday so we headed out for dinner at Ortega Fish Shack, an excellent place to go for a celebration. I had oysters to start, from the Coromandel so not to be missed in my opinion. This was followed by snapper with mushrooms, celeriac pickle and purée, with crispy Brussels sprouts. Karl had duck liver paté and steak (with chips or fries depending where you come from). Unusually we also had dessert, but we were celebrating. I had the pannacotta with poached quince and Karl the crepes with a caramel orange sauce and ice-cream. We had wine pairings with each course – well, it was a birthday dinner!
In the basket
In the Wonky Box this week there was another spaghetti squash (which I hope keeps until next week), onions, carrots, tomatoes, avocados, potatoes, a leek and a bag of baby spinach leaves. I topped this up with mushrooms, two tiny fennel bulbs, a bunch of rainbow chard a couple of rangpur limes and lemonade fruit and a great find of Jerusalem artichokes to make soup on Wednesday.
Yet more food!
For lunch on Wednesday, I went to Te Korōria café next to St Mary’s Anglican church in Karori. I had an excellent tomato soup with gnocchi, served with a slice of toast and the lightest most fluffy cheese straw I have ever eaten. The place has a large soft play area, and clearly popular with mums and small children.
A colleague at work brought in some bay leaves from their garden, so I picked up a bunch to dry – any hints on the best way to do this welcome. Karl requested the cinnamon and apple cake I made the other week for his birthday treat, which I have to admit will be on the ‘repeat cycle’ for an autumn/winter cake. I served it up on this glass cake stand my mum gave me when I was in my 20s.
And yes – that is a burger. And yes we did go to Kiwi chain Burger Fuel after the cinema on Sunday as everywhere was full of people having brunch. The cardboard you can see next to the burger is a Doofer, a special holder for burgers to make them easier to eat. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a burger there, but was impressed with the amount of lettuce and tomato and very tasty patty.
Out and about
On Sunday morning, we went to another film on the French Film Festival The President’s Wife (or Bernadette en français). Catherine Deneuve plays the Bernadette Chirac (the wife of Jacques Chirac) in this comedy based on actual events when she was the president’s wife. A fun film and definitely worth watching.
Simple things
- Realising that it was a year since we were in Europe.
- Staying cosy on rainy days.
- Eating so much good food – think of the perfect winter dish of sausages, puy lentils and veggies on Sunday evening. Always tasty and so simple.
- Meeting a colleague’s baby for the first time – what joy to hold a 3 month old!
- Seeing a full moon.
- Spotting another little toadstool in the garden (apologies for it being slightly fuzzy)
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.
- There are pancakes, gooseberries and ‘Munro bagging’ over at Scribble & Scran.
- Green Dreams celebrates the summer solstice.
- Jo has some very sad news…but also makes some delicious sounding scones.
- Meanwhile, Deb’s World tells us about beauty.
- Mr Tootlepedal has a day of wine and pedalling.
- Jude over at Cornwall in Colours shares more wonderful pictures from her summer garden.
- Sue over at Women Living Well After 50 shares her recent reading.
- Natalie spends a day in Colmar.
- You can always be sure of a good coffee over at Trent’s World, even in hot weather.
- .…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
Thistles and Kiwis 
Hi Barbara, looks like a delicious birthday dinner for Karl. I note it is a year since you were in Europe – where has that time gone?? We’ve booked a Norwegian cruise for September 2025 and although that seems ages away, I’m sure it will be here before we know it. Plenty of living to do before then. x
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It was a great dinner I must say. You are so right – September 2025 will come round quicker than we can imagine – but as you say – lots of living to do before then!
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And our days are shortening🙁 – I just get used to the lovely light evenings when they start to disappear. From experience, I know I won’t notice much for a while, then – bam! They’ve gone.
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I know exactly what you mean – there suddenly comes a point when long evenings just disappear.
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Birthday wine pairings got to be done 🙌. Oysters something I’ve yet to try, heading to France coast in September thought I might tackle my fear then. Like the repeat cycle idea….especially if it’s cake!
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Do try – I was unsure the first time I tried one and then had a go. I would say though that some oysters are better than others, as you might expect.
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The squash should definitely last for another week. I once kept a butternut squash for 10 months and it was fine, though the skin had toughened up a little.
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Oh good!
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This sounds like a most pleasurable week! We were in Norway a year ago – difficult to imagine now. At least the sun is shining warmly today making for a cheerful day 🙂
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I can’t believe it was a whole year since you were in Norway!
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He looks a happy chap- and well he might do! That cake looks fabulous.
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He was 🙂 And he enjoyed the cake.
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That sounds like such a delicious birthday dinner! We went to the movies yesterday; I can’t remember the last time I went to see a movie in the theaters. It was the perfect escape from our heat.
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It was! What did you go to see?
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Bad Boys 4 (my husband’s pick but I enjoyed it).
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I must say that you do eat well. My small pleasure this week came from some Scottish strawberries.
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Oh strawberries! How lovely. I enjoy cooking, reading about food and eating. One of those people….
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I like cooking and love eating but I have never learned to be adventurous.
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You could try the method i use for drying herbs in the microwave. You put them on a piece of kitchen paper, and give them 20 second bursts till they are dry. Works for hard herbs like rosemary etc.
cheers
sherry https://sherryspickings.blogspot.com/
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Unfortunately we don’t own a microwave but that sounds good.
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That cake looks amazing. Will check out the movie…We are scrambling around for stuff to watch despite a gazillion streaming services. Happy birthday to your husband. #WeekendCoffeeShare
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Both comments made it through! Know what you mean about struggling to find things to watch! Thanks for the wishes for my husband.
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I LOVE the look of the apple cake. REcipe?
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The recipe is from The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment.
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I’m sure the spagetti squash will keep for at least a couple months. They are great for storage, if it’s not too hot, but I doubt that it is this time of the year? I’ve stored spagetti squash for up to 6 months in room temperature. I didn’t plant any this year, I should’ve.. The pie at the top looks so delicious.
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Hi – oh thanks about the spaghetti squash – we were away this weekend so I had no chance to cook. The cake was very good!
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The cake looks delicious. Happy birthday to your husband. Thank you for the mention and your weekend coffee share.
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Thanks! Always enjoy your posts.
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As always YUM!!! You visit some great places. I also always appreciate your “small plesures” it’s a great reminder to be mindful of little things.
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I have to say we had a great weekend!
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