Z...is for zzz

Z... is for zzz
I love a good sleep in. Nothing beats a few extra zzz's on a Saturday or Sunday morning... or even better, mid week!

Y... is for...

Y... is for...
Well, I'll be honest with you, of all the letters in the alphabet this month, it was the second to last letter, the 25th letter of the alphabet so the Oxford English Dictionary (and years of singing the alphabet song) inform me, that stumped me.

I couldn't for the life of me think of something beginning with "Y" that would classify as one of my favourite things. So, it turned to the big blue book, and found a few things, I would include in a list of my favourites.

Starting with...
1. Yoghurt
I love yoghurt, guaranteed to have it at least once a day, usually over cereal and/or fresh fruit (think melons, bananas). It's the food that can be eaten at any time of the day - breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper... even midnight! And my favourite of all yoghurts? Why Fresh n Fruity of course!

2. YMCA
This has yet to become a real favourite, but I'm hoping it will as I've just signed up to a membership at the local "Y"' gym. I managed 50 lengths of the pool yesterday morning but after getting up in the early hours to watch the royal wedding, I haven't quite made it back there again today!

3. Yeoman Warder
Speaking of the royal wedding, and all things London, the term Yeoman Warder also popped up in the dictionary, and yep - I'd have to add it to the list. The Tower of London was one of the first places we visited on our arrival to the city and I still remember the jolly men in their uniforms, the ravens in the grounds, and of course the jewels.

4. Yoga
Now I've tried my hand a few times at this activity but have never quite managed to make practising the downward dog something of a routine. It's never too late though, right?

5. Yummy

Finally, yes anything "yummy" would certainly be on my list of favourite things: chocolate, ice cream, pumpkin soup, champagne, strawberries, pimms & lemonade, lamb burgers, persimmons, kiwifruit and fish (yes, a rather eclectic list there but I was doing my best to try and thing of yummy things that weren't simply chocolate versions of chocolate!). But one thing is for certain, Yorkshire pudding will never be added to the favourites list!

X... is for XOX

X... is for XOX

Nothing beats hugs and kisses - they're definitely a few of my favourite things!

W... is for Wellington

W... is for Wellington

Of all the cities in my home country of New Zealand, Wellington is my favourite! The capital of NZ, home to the beehive Parliament Building, yes it's known for its wind and rain, but Wellington has everything you could possibly want in a city: culture,concerts, and cuisine, arts, sporting events, shopping, and wineries.

But most of all, Wellington has a heart. The city centre converges on the harbour, and whether you're coming into town for a walk along the waterfront, a day trip to the national museum Te Papa, a week of commuting to the office, or simply to meet friends for a coffee, you make your way into the city centre which bubbles with energy and makes you feel welcome every single time.

So, if you fancy a trip to Wellington, these would be my recommendations of things to do:

1. Wholley Bagels
Order an "everything" bagel with sundried tomato cream cheese. Whatever activity you have planned for the day, this will be sure to set you up!

2. Visit Te Papa
It's NZ's national museum for a reason!

3. Rollerblade along Oriental Parade
Or, if rollerblading isn't quite your thing, walking or running shoes will also do the trick. Just be sure to take note of the beautiful literary inscriptions along the way!



4. Watch the buckets in Cuba Mall
This colourful fountain will splash tourists every time, so admire from a distance

5. Mt Victoria
Walk, bus, or drive to the top of Mt Victoria - you'll get the best view of the city... even if you do come away slightly windswept!

V... is for VW

V... is for VW

One NZ summer's day, husband was searching the internet for a car to buy. He'd was in the market for a volkswagen, so googled "VW". What should appear for sale but a beautiful, lime green, convertible VW beetle.


I'd always wanted a bug - and a lime green one was simply too good to resist. We didn't need two additional cars to add to the household, but no-one else did either, so the lime green love bug was purchased.

Pipphoto.co.nz

U... is for umbrellas

U... is for umbrellas
When one lives in London, you learn very quickly to always carry an umbrella. No matter how warm, how sunny, how blue the sky may be as you step outside - in London, any weather pattern can occur.

But it's no hardship to carry an umbrella with you: the littlest ones can easily fit into your handbag... and so began my love affair with umbrellas!

One weekend trip to Copenhagen was taken in mid-June... summer, one might say. Not this weekend - it was wet, cold, and windy. A look back at my photo album shows the fate of the umbrellas in the city that weekend.

T... is for Tea

T... is for Tea

I'm sorry this isn't a very creative post, but tea does come under a few of my favourite things! Most probably because I'm not a coffee drinker. Never have been... and to be honest, I doubt I ever will be - but time will tell no doubt! The closest I get to a coffee is a Chai Tea Latte... and that's only because there's latte in the name!

So, for this (rather belated) post in the A-Z Blogging Challenge, I'm listing my five favourite teas, because nothing beats a cup of tea and a good book!

But do tell me if there's any others you recommend!

1. Camomile Tea
You just can't beat it, especially with a delicious teaspoon full of honey added to it.

2. Peach & Vanilla Tea - the German kind
A dear German friend introduced me to this tea and it is delicious! Another tea that goes great with a teaspoon full of honey as well, I think it's the added flavour of the vanilla that gets me every time!

3. Turkish Tea
The real stuff! Not the Turkish Apple tea that they serve up to tourists. Granted, the best way to have it is with cube after cube of sugar added to a tiny little Turkish tea glass, but there is something quite refreshing about this tea. I also love the orange tea as well - so much so, that on a trip to Istanbul we returned with a Turkish tea set!

4. Peppermint Tea
But it has to be served with a few squares of dark chocolate!

5. Lavender Tea
I've had a few cups of lavender tea of late - mainly because I've run out of camomile teabags and I've been too lazy to head to the supermarket! But it's another relaxing, and rather soothing, blend that I find just perfect to curl up with a mug of... as well as a book of course!


Oh, and I'm sorry this entry is a day - or two- late but Easter holidays meant time away from the computer (and I'll let you in on a secret.... it was just wonderful!)

S... is for Salt Spring Island

S... is for Salt Spring Island
I'm not sure if it's going to be one of my favourite things or not, but that's where I'm heading for a few days this Easter - starting today! The bikes (with hard seats and only three gears - but LOTS of character!) are loaded up, lunches are packed, raincoats are at the bottom of the bags (I'm an eternal optimist) and my rather unflattering cycle attire is on!

However, we are going to be staying in a little B&B of books! I can't wait. So, for the first time ever I am leaving the house n holiday without a book in tow. (What did I say about being an eternal optimist?!) But i'm sure any author, who also runs a B&B, will have plenty of reading material to choose from.

I'll report back!

R... is for Royal Wedding

R... is for Royal Wedding

Whether you love 'em, or hate'em or simply don't care - you've got to admit that next week's occasion is going to be quite a celebration. I have to admit, I'm quite looking forward to it. I know of friends holding a royal wedding party, others camping out on the street, some are planning to be glued to their TVs this Friday and I bet a few others won't even know what's happening.

The time difference isn't going to do my any favours. It will be the early hours of the morning when the bride makes her entrance, so I may just have to satisfy myself with a cup of tea to celebrate, rather than a glass of champagne!

But what about you?

Are you secretly a Kate & Will fan? Will you be glued to a TV, with union jack slippers on your feet?

Or are you determined that next Friday will pass by like any other "normal" Friday?

Q... is for Queen Cakes

Q... is for Queen Cakes
A couple of days ago, I mentioned a favourite sweet - Neenish Tarts. But I also revealed my soft spot for Queen Cakes. So today, I thought I'd share the recipe for Queen Cakes, taken from, none other than New Zealand's favourite (and greatest selling) cookbook, The Edmonds Cookbook.


Ingredients
125g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup standard plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sultanas (the magic ingredient!)

Method

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alittam/4395704904/

*Cream butter, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy.

*Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

*Sift flour and baking powder together. Fold into creamed mixture.

*Stir in 1/2 cup sultanas, then stir in milk.

*Place 18 paper patty cases in patty tins. Spoon mixture evenly into paper cases. Bake at 190C for 15minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly touched. Transfer to a wire rack. When cold, decorate as you wish.

P... is for picnics

P... is for Picnics
A lot of my favourite things begin with P: pampering, persimmons, potatoes, but picnics are definitely high on my list of things I love to do. Take one chequered blanket, a fabulous picnic basket - we have a terrific picnic set complete with wine glasses, and napkins (a present from Hampstead workmates and therefore respectable enough to be seen with on the Heath!) - a chilled bottle of rose, nibbles of crunchy carrots, sweet grapes, hummus, breadsticks, and of course strawberries, fine company, sunshine... and a good book!

But, you've also got to get the right picnic spot. Last year, it was mother-in-law's birthday, so we headed to Hamilton Gardens, on the banks of the Waikato River, in Hamilton, New Zealand for a birthday picnic.

The gardens are a fabulous venue for picnics or afternoon summer strolls. There's the Italian Renaissance garden, the Indian Char Bagh garden, the American Modernist garden, Chinese Scholars garden, an English Flower garden, and a Japanese Garden of Contemplation.

Mother-in-law's birthday picnic came complete with outdoor theatre, a scone making test (of which I passed...phew!) , and a rather competitive game of badminton!

O... is for organisation

O... is for organisation
Colour coding, notes to self, timetables, spreadsheets, and a day set aside each year to set up the new diary... I confess, I do like to be organised!

Now, I'm certainly not as bad as Monica off Friends, but at times I wouldn't be far from it. Sticky notes? Got to have 'em. A pen with the choice of four colours? It's a must. A yearly calendar, colour coded with birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and special occasions - well everyone needs one of those... don't they?

This doesn't mean to say I am organised all the time though. I do have the occasional (well, perhaps frequent) slip up - I think it's the procrastination gene coming out in me.

But by balancing that need for being organised, with the inherent procrastination, I tend to get most things done. That was, until I entered the world of blogging - now time just seems to disappear, and no amount of coloured sticky notes can keep me on track!

N... is for Neenish Tarts

N... is for Neenish Tarts

As one remembers back to their childhood, there is always a delicacy they remember eating - whether only on special occasions, perhaps when visiting grandparents, or simply the staple baking Mum had in the pantry. For us it was Queen Cakes... delicious little vanilla type cupcakes with sultanas through them. Plain and simple but they always hit the spot... and still do!

When planning an afternoon tea last year (it was my hen's party and an introduction into all the skills I would need to be a housewife!), I was faced with the challenge of taking a plate. The catch was, the plate (well, the baking on the plate) had to be a recipe that was popular in the 1950s - so I decided to make Neenish Tarts.

Little did I know that Neenish Tarts to my father were the equivalent of Queen Cakes to me. Neenish Tarts were the sweet he always remembered his mother making, and the sweet he always enjoyed sampling.

Being my father's daughter, I have inherited a sweet tooth. Needless to say, after that one afternoon, Neenish Tarts quickly became one of my favourite things!

This is the recipe I made, taken from Ladies, A Plate: Traditional home baking, by Alexa Johnston

Published by Penguin Books. You can buy it here on Amazon

Neenish Tarts

Ingredients:

Sweet Short Crust Pastry

For the filling:

3ox/115g butter

2ox/55g icing sugar

1/2tsp vanilla essence

pinch cream of tartar

1 tsp gelatine

3 tbsp boiling water

For the icing:

1 cup/120g icing sugar

1tbsp hot water

1/4 tsp vanilla essence

1tbsp cocoa

1 tsp butter

Making the pastry cases

1. Roll out the pastry and use it to line 12-18 patty tins

2. Prick the bases lightly with a fork and chill the cases for about 30 minutes, before baking them at 350F/180C for about 10 minutes until they are golden brown and crisp.

Making the filling

1. Cream the softened butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, then mix in the vanilla essence and the cream of tartar.

2. Add the gelatine (dissolved in the boiling water), a teaspoon at a time. You should have a creamy mixture.

3. Fill the cooled cases, level the tops and leave in a cool place until firm.

Finishing

1. Put the icing sugar into a heatproof bowl, mix in 1tsbp hot water and heat over simmering water until the icing softens.Add the vanilla, then use immediately to ice on half of each tart.

2. Add the sifted cocoa and butter to the remaining icing, return the bowl to the heat and stir until glossy. Add more hot water if needed.

3. Ice the other halves of the tarts (By heating the icing you ensure that it will set quickly and avoid the two colours running together). This is just enough icing for 12 tarts; make more if you need to!

 

M... is for Manuka Honey

M... is for Manuka Honey


This is the New Zealander coming out in me again, but one of my favourite things is Manuka honey. Not for eating, however - my favourite honey for consumption is extracted by my father, from my father's bees, made in his honey house and sent to me where-ever I am in the world!


But I use Manuka honey for medicinal purposes.. and it's never failed me yet! Whether it's a sore throat, a wound that won't heel, cracked or dry skin, or even a gash on the leg that needs a second skin... manuka honey is the answer.


Have a read for yourself: 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3787867.stm

L... is for London

L... is for London
Four years ago this month, husband (to-be, at that stage!) and I packed our bags and headed off on our Kiwi OE. We left houseloads of furniture with little brother, possessions with friends, and anything else we couldn't part with, in the wardrobes of our parents houses.

Three months of travelling later and we settled in London - along with thousands of other Kiwis - in the great tradition that is the overseas experience.

London quickly became a city I loved, and although leaving it early this year, I'm sure I'll be back.
In the meantime, here are my top ten favourite things to do in the wonderful city that is London

1. Catching the best view of London atop Primrose Hill

www.portobellovillage.com

2. Exploring the stalls along Portobello Road on a Saturday morning

3. Visiting Churchill's War Cabinet Rooms

4. Devouring a sticky donut at Camden Markets on a Sunday

5. Running around Regents Park

6. Watching the buskers along Southbank


7. Walking through the cobbled streets of Hampstead and Highgate

8. Spending a winter's afternoon in the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden - one of the best museums in the city

9. Eating as much ice cream as you like at the Ben & Jerry's ice cream festival in Clapham Common

10. Losing yourself in Daunt Books' signature store on Marylebone High Street

K... is for Kiwi

K... is for Kiwi

Kiwi - a small, flightless bird

Kiwi - a sweet (and sometimes tart) fruit

Kiwi - a New Zealander 

Those people who can do anything with number 8 wire, have a passion for a game that sees grown men chase after a funny shaped ball of pigskin (well they used to be), are creators of the pavlova, and most of all, know how to have fun!

J... is for J, J and J

J... is for J, J and J


And J, J and J are my father, mother and mother-in law. Special people in my life, all of whom begin with the letter J. Not only that, but these three J's have a habit of escaping all of life's realities on weekday afternoons and heading to the local cinema to watch screenings of the Met Opera - broadcast from New York!

And who should go along with them but friends J, J and J! Amazing how so many people's names can begin with the same letter.

What is your most popular letter among friends?

I... is for ice cream

I... is for ice cream

It's probably rather obvious to you by now that food features regularly when I'm listing a few of my favourite things. But top of the foodchain, and my all time favourite (yes, even above chocolate), would be ice cream.

I blame - or should I thank - my father for my love of ice cream. Every road trip we took to visit the big smoke, to see grandparents, visit the farm or return from the airport after a trip overseas, involved stopping off at a little place called Pokeno.

There's not a lot at Pokeno, other than a petrol station, a butcher's shop - for Pokeno also has great bacon - and an ice cream shop, advertising the biggest ice creams in New Zealand... and it's not kidding. We've yet to find a shop that rivals the sizeable scoops we always walk out with.

So here are a few of my favourite flavours. Fortunately, the Pokeno ice cream shop can fit a lot of scoops on one cone! Ask for a three scoop ice cream and you'll walk out with five flavours. Don't ask me about the math - just enjoy it!

Photo courtesy of malansjan

1. Hokey Pokey (Mum's choice - I think! Although she's much more self-disciplined than father and I when it comes to ice cream)
2. Goody goody gum drops (My absolute favourite!)
3. Caramel Ripple (Dad and I have a love of this one!)
4. Strawberry Ripple (Dad's favourite - although it would be a close call with caramel ripple)
5. Coconut & Marshmallow
6. Jelly tip (Husband's favourite)
7. Boysenberry ripple
8. Apricot
9. Goldrush
10. Rum & Raisin (A 40-year-old friend's favourite!)