A few of our favourite things

Becs: My friend Anna was married last week, and instead of formal flower arrangements the tables featured a random array of glass jars filled with beautiful flowers and foliage.  I ransacked the Kerikeri opshops and was happy to score some really old Agee preserving jars for bargain prices, along with other beautiful old jam jars that must have been sitting in someones pantry for far too long judging by the age of the labels.  (The sort of thing they sell at vintage shops like the wonderful Flotsam and Jetsam and the like for ramped up prices) I was at the Christchurch EcoShop the other day, this is where the junk from the dump that is deemed saleable ends up.. and was thrilled to find half a dozen original Soda Stream bottles.  The rippled glass looks beautiful filled with water and a pretty bloom or two.

A few of our favourite things...

Becs: Is there a more perfectly fragrant flower than daphne? (Although freesias come a close second). My husband Mike loved it too, and used to pick sprigs of it to dot around the house, so now I love that it reminds me of him. I have both pink and white daphne plants, both in pots. They are easy enough to look after - keep them somewhere with a bit of shade - so if your home is daphneless I suggest a visit to the nursery.

Libby: Wellingtonians might have seen the Wellington book in local bookstores - it's a book of beautiful illustrations of all things Wellington by two very talented young artists. I bought a couple of prints from the website - this cute Mt Vic tunnel one and the other an "aerial view" of Wellington. I had them framed by Framing Online which is based in Kumeu. They offer such great service - really prompt and so accommodating of special requests. You just order the frame you want online, post off your prints and it arrives back (beautifully framed and carefully wrapped) a week later. Like a great big present to yourself!

Miriam: I'm really enjoying these blue peas from the Wright Sprouts. They're a good way to add a healthy crunch to salads, especially at this time of year when one starts to feel like salads but the fresh produce often isn't that good yet. They are also delicious when used as a base for pesto; you can find the recipe here.

A few of our favourite things...

Apples from the tree to the table....
Miriam: I spent the weekend at a friends beach house at Papamoa. Their apple tree needed harvesting, and so we put in a team effort of peeling and slicing, and I whipped up a crumble topping. I didn't have a recipe, so just freestyled it, with approx 1 cup of rolled oats, 1 cup flour, 1tsp cinnamon, 1tsp baking powder, 3/4 cup brown sugar and 150g butter. I melt the butter and add it to the dry ingredients, so no need to get my hands dirty rubbing the butter into the flour. Normally I'd add nuts to the topping too, but we were in a nut free zone. I think of crumbles as autumnal treats, but this was delicious as a summer desert too. It seems extra special (and delicious) when you can see the tree the apples come from!

Becs: I love coffee and love the Rocket espresso machine Mike and I received as a wedding gift. I just have one coffee a day and it needs to be good. This pink mug is another of my favourite things; I collect Crown Lynn colour glaze china and a recent acquisition was a set of 5 dainty mugs like that pictured above. They are lovely to hold and drink out of.

Libby: Lately I've been helping myself to these huge blue hydrangeas growing alongside the steps down to our flat. You don't need many stems to fill a vase, some are so enormous that just one will do! It's lovely to have fresh flowers on the table and even better that they're free!

a few of our favourite things...

Miriam: I planted poppies in the garden well over a month ago, and have been upset to see most of them battered around with all the wind and rain. However, Sunday was a beautiful day in Auckland, and after being out in the Waitakeres walking the stunning Omanawanui Track I was excited to come home and discover that this pink poppy had emerged. It looks oh so cheery and reminds me that summer is well and truly on its way.

Becs: I love my Mastrad mandoline, and use it regularly, mostly to finely shred cabbage, slice potatoes thinly and evenly for gratins, and apples for puddings. Not a kitchen tool for the faint-hearted - a steady hand is required - a mandoline makes quick and perfect work of vege prep. If you were so inclined you could also use the fancy rippled edge option to make retro garnishes...It's plastic, and pretty cheap at $60, compared to the stainless steel versions that can cost hundreds, but does the trick for a utensil used maybe once a week or so and is still nice and sharp a few years later. I bought my mandoline from one of my favourite sources of kitchenware - Table Pride. This little shop in Tauranga boasts an extenstive array of top brands, and their excellent website guarantees their prices to be the lowest online. Be sure to check their site before buying elsewhere!

A few of our favourite things...

Miriam: I spent the weekend at Flaxmill Bay on the Coromandel. While there, we had a wee trip to Cathedral Cove Macadamias. About 3km of dirt road takes you to this delightful wee stall, where you can sample the delicious array of macadamia based products. Brian was ever so friendly and we came away with quite a selection of treats – I’m looking forward to roasting some veges with the macadamia paste – Brian tells us it’s a real hit!

Here's a few of the macadamia goodies we came away with.

Becs: It has been a long, cold, wet winter here in Chistchurch, and the sight and smell of spring flowers is restorative for the soul. This lovely wee bunch of daffodils (they are tiny, it is a baby food jar!) was $2 at the market yesterday, and perfectly fills the brief of cheap and cheerful.

Libby: I have a new favourite sushi place. Yoshi opened on Tuesday in Featherston Street (Wellington) and so far I've been there twice! They do pick-your-own sushi so you can put together your own selection. It's all beautifully made and very fresh - the trays are continually replenished. Wellington has more than its fair share of sushi shops and Wellingtonians seem quite happy to queue for most of their lunch break at the best places. Yoshi has only been open for a few days so there's no queue snaking out the door yet but I'm sure it won't take long...