The theme of the class was a Christmas Barbie that you can prepare ahead of time. We made Thai fish cakes, Saffron, fruit, and cashew basmati rice, Vegetable Kebabs, and Chili and Brown Sugar grilled Pineapple. Definitely not the traditional Christmas dinner fare where I’m from, but it was delicious nonetheless!
The class of about twenty people, all of whom were locals and most of who were over thirty, sat in a semi-circle table formation in front of Peter’s kitchen. We listened to technique and tips before helping prepare the simply scrumptious dishes and finally, chowing down.
It was such a wonderful experience, cooking with Peter. He’s so warm and knowledgeable and creates smart, simple, and savory dishes. No wonder why Madonna hired him as her personal chef way back in the day during her Blonde Ambition Tour!
I walked away with a full tummy and my very own autographed copy of Peter’s newest cookbook, Rock Around the Kitchen. Believe you me, I cannot wait until I get to Rock around my own Kitchen once again!
After purchasing my $34NZ ticket, I hopped on a ferry to the other side of Lake Ohakuri, where I began my thermal journey. It was fascinating walking around steaming, bubbling, gurgling Earth; the smell, not so cool, in fact rather nauseating! The craziest thing is that approximately 20 million liters of hot water trickles thru these streams into the lake each day!
Everything about the walk was enchanting. Around every bend was a natural treasure more striking than its predecessor. Highlights include:
The turquoise pool at the bottom of the cave was warm to the touch, stunning to look at, and can even remove the tarnish from your silver jewelry. Too bad I left the Tiffany’s at home!
If you venture to the North Island of New Zealand, Orakei Korako is something you absolutely must see. Because it is on an island it is one of the only places in the world that looks like it did millions of years ago.
Hokey Pokey Ice Cream: You may not have to put your left foot in and shake it all about, but Hokey Pokey Ice Cream is definitely what it’s all about! Hokey Pokey, a chocolate-covered-honey-comb-candy, only gets better when surrounded by the creamiest, fattiest, silkiest, hokey pokey flavored ice cream imaginable. While there are many brands of this tasty treat, by far the best kind is Tip Top, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, was not only the original New Zealand ice creamery, but also the creator of Hokey Pokey ice cream.
Having really large cutouts at the entrance of town: This is especially popular in the Central North Island. A Lemon&Paeroa bottle, a carrot, a paint pallet, a trout, whatever the city is known for greets you at the border in a larger-than-life size. My personal favorite? The gumboot in Taihape.
Walking around Barefoot: The grocery store, the gas station, public toilets, city streets, it seems that shoes are in fact optional in all of these places! Slightly bizarre to me, but hey, so long as I can still wear my jandals (flip-flops) it makes no difference to me.
Driving 120km on super narrow roads: First off, most roads here in New Zealand are single lane roads that sharply curve around mountain after mountain under the guise of two-lane State roads. Second, Kiwi drivers are speed demons, taking the hills and curves at a minimum of 110km. Poor old Freda hated going up hill and often refused to exceed 60km, much to the displeasure of surrounding drivers. I can’t even count the number of screams of terror that escaped my mouth when freight trucks came barreling around the corner destined to hit our little car!
Despising Auckland: No joke, everybody hates Auckland unless s/he lives there. It’s so strange, the rage and blunt disgust people have for that place. The funny thing is, at least on the North Island, Auckland most resembles every other city I’ve been to in America and England, so what must the Kiwis’ think of the world when they leave the Island?!
Sweet as…: This lovely little phrase is hugely popular with the Kiwis, and the closest American phrase I can think of is “cool,” (which, ironically, isn’t nearly as cool as sweet as!). But it also can mean “no worries” or “awesome” or “the best” etc, etc, etc, and if you’re like my super-fit and quirkily-charming caving guide, you find it necessary to utter “sweet as” every fifth word.
Saying heaps….well, heaps: Another favorite word for New Zealanders. I’m sure it’s just because it’s not a part of my American English vocabulary, but I find “heaps” way more positive a word than “loads;” it’s lighter and somehow sounds more optimistic.
Honey Honey Honey: Yes, New Zealanders love their honey and in fact are rather famous for it. Manuka honey is quite popular here (see flowers to left), but the options are endless. I passed numerous honey stands during my road trip, each place decked out in honeybee festiveness.
We spend the mornings waging war against the gorse that has overrun the property fence line. It’s difficult physical work, especially in the heat, not to mention the constant painful pricks from the gorse’s thistles, but I quite like using my handsaw to destroy the prickly pests. Honestly, some of the gorse “bushes” are proper trees, with at least a 6-inch trunk!
The afternoons are usually spent exploring the beautiful countryside or the river inside the hidden valley, but today mine was full of culinary adventures. I first made whole wheat orange and date muffins for our morning tea break. I baked them in Ian and Lou’s fire-operated oven; Allison and I used the dead gorse tree trunks to light the fire, boy did that feel great! The recipe called for a 200 degree Celsius oven and I’m pretty sure we never got the oven much about 50 degrees, but they still cooked perfectly in about an hours time.
With the muffins out of the oven, I took a wee stroll down to the garden by the chicken coop and picked three gorgeous leeks. Then I harvested some massive broad bean pods and returned to the house to prepare dinner: Pumpkin, leek, and beans served over coconut and cinnamon rice.
I had so much fun using a fire-oven and small gas burners to prepare the food I picked fresh from the garden—what a great new challenge! However, the best part of my day was sitting down to a lovely meal, modest though it was, with my new friends. They spoke English. I spoke French. They spoke French. I spoke English. It was wonderful practicing my French and being able to understand them at full speed! Allison and Aline spoke about their families; then I told them about mine. We shared hopes, dreams, and future travel plans. We laughed and laughed and laughed. Mrs. Wagner would be so proud.
