If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…

Thistles and Kiwis,

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…we would be sipping some plain old English breakfast tea and enjoying a little chocolate chip cookie from our local deli on this cold, winter’s day.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…you would ask me if I had cooked anything interesting recently. I say, well, we enjoyed the spiced meatballs I made for the Brookford Kitchen Diaries Italian cook book challenge, and I am already planning to cook the next dish this weekend for August’s challenge. You say are you making? And I say…all will be revealed.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea I would tell you about the pumpkin and cheese scones I made last Saturday. You say oh those sound good and I say well they tasted fantastic and looked pretty when cut but they didn’t rise which didn’t come as too much of a surprise as I thought the mixture too wet. Anyway, we ate a couple (or four) and I froze the rest.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…we would talk about the good food we ate in July including my birthday outing to Jano Bistro and a mid month treat at Rosella. You say it all looks so good and I say it was.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…we would talk about books we had read, the ones we loved (The Names by Florence Knapp) and the ones that disappointed (A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan).

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea….we would talk about the recent performance by the Royal New Zealand Ballet, note we hadn’t been to the cinema this month, and remark on all the things we had been watching on the small screen from Australian Masterchef to finishing all four seasons of Borgen.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…I would tell you I was up in Auckland this week for work. I say it all went very well and that the flights were both on time, and I got double cheese and biscuits on the koru hour flight back to Wellington. You laugh.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…we would talk about the tsunami alarm that went off on our phones following the earthquake in Russia. I say the first one went off when I was in the lounge at the airport and you say that must have been interesting and I say yes, but when we all read what it was about, possible high waves at midnight, we knew our flights weren’t disrupted at least. You say the 06:30 follow up alarm woke you up the next today. I say I was up already, and you laugh.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…I would ask you if you would like to stay for dinner, and you say yes. I say let’s go to the butcher and see what we can find to go with these little potatoes and you say that sounds good, and don’t forget the wine….and we get ready for another evening of conversation.

Entered in what’s been on your calendar? – hosted by Debbie, Jo and Sue and Donna.

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

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Published by Thistles and Kiwis

Loves summer, sunshine and cats. Beginner gardener, likes eating, cooking and reading about food

52 Comments

  4. The pumpkin and cheese scones do sound like a tasty combination! Glad the tsunami warning didn’t interfere with your travel plans (or your sleep). We get tornado warnings like that sometime… which is odd since tornadoes aren’t that common in New England.

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    1. The scones tasted very good despite not rising that much. It was clear on the tsunami warning that the high tides were expected at midnight and the warning came at 16:30. The noise though is scary!

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  7. If we were having all that coffee…or even a cup of tea…I imagine I’d spend a lot of my time in the toilet!

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  8. I always enjoy these posts so much! So very glad that earth quake didn’t produce a major tsunami. Must be a little scary to get those alarms. I have added Borgen to my TBW list.

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  9. Another delightful post – especially pleasing as our power has come on at last after 31 hours without. High winds broke cables and knocked poles over. Your pumpkin and cheese scones must have been filling.

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  14. The system for the tsunami alarms is good. It must give the forecasters a lot of worry though as if it is triggered and the tsunami is not as bad as expected, people will stop listening to the alarm.

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  16. Hi Barbara what a full month. I think I know the Accountant at The Royal New Zealand Ballet. I used to work with her many years ago. The tsunami warning must have been concerning for you all. The Italian meatballs as well as the pumpkin and cheese scones sound delicious. I currently have a slow cook chicken and mushroom on the go as it is very cold (by Brisbane standards) and windy today so a nourishing warm dinner awaits us. Thanks so much for sharing at #WBOYC? and have a lovely week ahead. Sue L x

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  17. Oh what fun that you know the accountant at RNZB! An excuse to visit when they are performing? The scones were good even though they didn’t rise much. Your dinner sounds good – roasted root vegetables here to use up lots of things in the fridge, with our local butcher’s sausages. Enjoy the week ahead!

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  18. Did I spy Tilly Pamenter’s new book in that pile? You lucky thing! And a double by Peter Gordon… plotting and planning for this month’s BKD cookbook challenge, I wonder?

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  19. Yes – the new Tilly Pamenter is just as full of ideas as expected! I was going to make the pumpkin and prune scones, but my dear husband said no, hence the ones with cheese 🙂

    And yes….I am plotting and planning for the BKD challenge! And even thinking of next month’s one too which is hard (but fun).

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  21. I am happy to hear that you weren’t affected by any tsunami and that your flight was on time. We’ve had a lot of disruptions and delays with our trains in Sweden this year. Like a lot more than usual! It is on the news almost daily. Transportation that you can count on is so important.

    Your eating sounds so yummy! I also made meatballs the other day. They disappeared quickly!

    Have a wonderful new week 🙂

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  23. These are always such entertaining posts Barbara! I did think of you when I heard about the tsunami alert, what a worry that would have been at the time. Have a great month ahead.

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  24. Pingback: This week’s small pleasures #451 – Thistles and Kiwis

  26. Hi Barbara. I finally got around to finding and following you. I’m looking forward to reading your posts. And I see you’re a fan of Australian Masterchef. I just finished the newest season after being a bit behind. 🙂 Your pumpkin and cheese scones look very tasty. 🙂

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