Sottise

I am so glad to read other people have freezers full of ex-pets. But not glad in a creepy way. Glad in a yay, I'm not a total freak way. I have a bag of ex-goldfish in my freezer - it started with a couple that lived to be almost 10, and I couldn't bring myself to flush them. Over the last couple of years as the little friends I bought to keep them company shuffled off the mortal coil, they've gone into the freezer too. For company. I fully intend to one day take the little fishy iceblock to a river or lake to return them to their ancestral home. And I've vowed not to add any more to the stash, so I guess I'm reformed. Or something.

I got a nice white serving platter, a set of pate / butter knives, a tiny little battery operated icecream maker (so I can see if I'll actually use it before investing in something hefty), a book on cookies, and Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Heaven. The other half scored himself a box of roasted and unroasted coffee beans and an air popper from my father, and I gave him a coffee grinder. So not a bad haul!

Yesterday was the traditional post-Christmas eve dinner pre-Christmas day lunch full breakfast cooked on the BBQ. Sausages, bacon, eggs, beans and toast. Completely unnecessary, but it's Christmas, so we make these sacrifices. Today it was lunch rather than breakfast or brunch, since we both slept in far too late. Boxing day hash: potatoes, asparagus, tomato and ham, cooked with cream and topped with a poached egg. Again, completely over the top - the bran cereal lurking in the cupboard would have been the virtuous (but not at all festively appropriate) choice.

It was just me for dinner last night, so quick and simple (lazy). Part 1: Grated potato and courgette smooshed into a pan with the last floppy bits of broccoli, fried into some Frankenstein's monster-esque hashbrown creation. Topped with a fried egg with nicely drippy yolk. Part 2: Sweet chili prawns with oyster sauce. The BF hates having to peel shrimp and whines when I make the heads-on unpeeled variety. Fair enough, more for me. Eaten at the sink, with various veiny bits going to the cat who was studiously attempting to climb up my leg. Part 3: Memphis Meltdown 'Big Nuts' - huge wodge of icecream and caramel onna stick, covered in chocolate and nut chunks. Considering I was shouted pizza for lunch, this makes me something of a sinner. Oh well, lots of veges tonight.

I made my first batch of meringues ever, to celebrate my grandmother passing her 51 year old Kenwood Chef mixer on to me. She makes meringues for every occasion, but has now decided she needs something a little less hefty (she's 81), so her loss is my gain! These were especially nice, caramel flavoured and just a little salty to take the edge off the sweet. The strawberry was the sole ripe one on my plants, and I choose to believe it completely makes up for the fact the rest of dessert was basically sugar and whipped cream. A successful first attempt really - and Bee almost managed to give them the lick of approval. He's moving so fast he's blurry, the little thief - he wasn't there when I pushed the button.

Love it! But then, that's practically a requirement round these parts. Lamb is my favourite of all red meats, and even hogget (older) and mutton (oldest) aren't to be sniffed at, though definitely stronger in taste. The unfortunate thing is, NZ exports so much lamb to everywhere else, it's disproportionately expensive here. You'd think in a country with 1 gazillion sheep, it'd be the cheapest meat around. Alas. So we compromise and force dad to BBQ a leg when we go to visit. Juicy meat with sticky, crispy skin and unctuous melted fatty goodness - and bones to gnaw on. Win!

I should know better than to read these boards at work - I always come home hungry. 'Bout time I shared something, really. Last night it was all about making something semi-exciting out of not much at all. So we ended up with an asian-ish dealy: roasted cauliflower (from my own garden, so proud), stir fried noodles, spinach and sweet chili shrimp. Topped off with a few chunks of grilled hoisin-marinated salmon - I could have eaten a lot more of this, so it's probably a good thing it's so expensive. Quite successful, and much appreciated by cats and humans alike. Now to work on the photography skills!

I have to vote for eggs. Not that potato salad is the artform here that it seems to be in the US, but there's something about the combination of eggs, potatoes and mayonnaise that makes me eat far more than I really should. And that's usually all my potato salad usually is; well seasoned boiled potatoes, chopped medium-hard boiled eggs, good mayonnaise - maybe with seeded mustard, maybe not. Comfort food for summer!

If what you're looking for is at the cheaper, more substantial end of the eating scale, you might like to try Hansan - a Vietnamese Restaurant in Mt Wellington. It was recommended to us by some friends, so we gave it a go last weekend. Really generous servings, and believe me it takes a lot to fill the hollow legs of my boyfriend. We spent less than $30 and had two appetisers and two mains - though my bowl of soup was more a bucket and I only managed to eat about half of it. Mains tend to be between $7-$9 so are definitely good value. I particularly recommend the ribs, although they are more chopped up chop than rib. Shouldn't quibble, they were tasty, tender and crispy in all the right places. Huge variety of soups and noodle dishes, and some nicely strange drinks and desserts if your kids feel like doing the whole 'I can eat grosser stuff than you' bit. To my palette the soup, noodles and rice dishes tended to be underseasoned, but there's sauces and chili and so forth on each table, so you can go mad. And free tea, which is always a good thing. Definitely the best value meal out we've had lately - our budget is fairly limited, so getting decent bang for the buck is always a major factor. The last few restaurants we've been to in town failed to make much of an impression and cost a lot more, so here's a vote for the cheap guys. And as an added bonus, the Silver Bell (Asian supermarket) is next door - great place to grab bargains. Almond Pepero... Mmm... By the way, I used to live out in Manukau, and I totally commiserate with the lack of decent restaurants out that way (really don't recommend either Broncos or Guada by the way). You might want to give Botany a try, as there are a few good Asian and Indian spots out that way - at the very least the Cock and Bull does substantial food, if you don't mind pub grub. Oh, and Malabar in Ellerslie does the best latte and most evil waffles (with banana, maple syrup and whipped cream, bacon on the side) if you're ever in need of a disgustingly unhealthy brunch fix. Highly recommended.