Bread Pudding

When you bake bread at home, nothing goes to waste.

I put together a bread pudding using some stale bread.

I based this bread pudding on the classic Joy of Baking: Bread Pudding Recipe.

I used vanilla sugar and soaked 1/2 cup of sultanas in cognac and orange zest and let them get happy until they plumped up.

Into the oven at 150C for one hour in a water bath, until it firms up. Delicious.

Go ahead. Make it. You know you want some...

It's All About The Pizza

I bought one of those posh pizza stones at a kitchen store. It didn't last long.

So I did a little search for a suitable replacement and found Middle Earth Tiles.

Only one way to find out if this stone was going to work. So, I got to work slicing mushrooms...

Whilst I slaved over a hot stove, Morgan helped choose some good cooking music.

How about Sopresso Nanno to go with those mushrooms?

A classic Napoletana pizza.

Mexican pizza

What's for dinner? Chili Lime Fish Tacos

Chili lime fish tacos with home-made corn tortillas, pickled red onion, diced brown onion, coriander, and lime with a side of Spanish rice.

Fresh made corn tortillas. I was actually able to get some of the tortillas to puff up, a good sign of a happy tortilla.

The fish fillets were marinated for 10 minutes in a combination of oil, chili powder, toasted ground cumin, lime zest, the juice of one lime, salt, and pepper and pan fried.

Taco plate up!

Big Manly Beach

Yesterday afternoon we drove up to Whangaparaoa Peninsula to visit with Janene, who runs North Auckland Dog Rescue. We were lucky to adopt Morgan from North Auckland Dog Rescue.

It was such a nice afternoon, we decided to take a walk along Big Manly Beach. The dogs were happy to get some exercise.

It was a great afternoon to be on the water.

Such a gorgeous beach. We'll have to visit in the Summer and go for a swim when the water is warmer.

We turned back just as the Sun set below the ridge.

Just time enough after our walk to have a feed at a local restaurant before heading back down to Central Auckland.

One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie)

Took the pup for a morning walk around the volcano in One Tree Hill and Cornwall Park this morning. What a beautiful day!

We walked up to the summit of the volcano for a better look.

Lamb's Neck Tacos

The other day I cooked up some lamb's neck and there were leftovers... Mexican food sounded good to me, so I decided to crisp up the lamb's neck meat like pork carnitas and make lamb's neck tacos.

I made a batch of pickled red onions and home-made corn tortillas and assembled the tacos. I topped the tacos with fresh diced brown onion, pickled red onion, coriander, a squeeze of lime, and a fire roasted jalapeño on the side. Delicious.

The Shaky Isles

On 20th July, Geonet posted a Volcanic Alert Bulletin for Mount Tongariro, due to increased seismic activity.

No need for panic, just yet...

An Alert Level 1 simply means there is a "Departure from typical background surface activity" and "Signs of volcano unrest."

Mount Tongariro now has a Volcanic Alert Level of 1. This means there are now three current Level 1 volcanic alerts for volcanoes around the North Island, including Tongariro, White Island, and Ruapehu.

The Shaky Isles is an apt description of New Zealand. There are quite a few volcanoes on the North Island. As a matter of fact, there are quite a few volcanoes just around Auckland. Depending on which geologist you talk to, there are about 50 volcanoes within the Auckland Volcanic Field.

The last volcanic eruption within the Auckland Volcanic Field was about 600 years ago and formed Rangitoto out in the middle of the Hauraki Gulf.

We live on the western slope of a volcanic cone called One Tree Hill.

Nice.

Luckily, the Auckland Volcanic Field is monogenetic, meaning the next eruption will likely form a new vent, rather than erupt from an existing volcano. Of course, you never really know just where the new vent may form...

In the event a volcano does erupt, a handy plan has been prepared.

More information about volcanic hazards in Auckland can be found here.

Update 24/07/2012

Geonet has issued another Volcanic Alert Bulletin (23/07/12):

As part of our routine monitoring, we have recorded a sequence of volcanic earthquakes at Mount Tongariro since July 13, peaking in activity on July 20, with only one event today. The earthquakes cluster in a zone between Emerald Lake and the Te Māri craters at 2-7km depth. Some members of the public have also reported gas smells.

Provisional analysis of the gas samples collected at the weekend indicates the presence of volcanic gas. Our historic sampling has shown there is a mix of volcanic and hydrothermal gases and fluids at Tongariro. However the sampling on Saturday has shown a marked increase in the volcanic gas component. These results are showing the volcanic unrest indicated by the seismic data is confirmed by the gas data. We are working to complete the analysis of the gases and water samples and planning further visits later in the week when the weather improves. GNS Science volcanologists are monitoring the unrest and further information will be released as necessary.

Morgan

I see what you did there.