Cocktail Of The Week – The Tragic Slapper

I was planning to unleash the Raro Sling this week but it didn’t work out. Fortunately the Tragic Slapper (after a few false starts) saved the day.
This is a really nice sweet drink – but don’t make my mistake and use lime as a garnish, just use 3 whole glace cherries.

The Tragic Slapper
- Fresh pawpaw
- Gingerale
- Cherry Brandy Liqueur (I used Continental Cherry Brandy Liqueur)
- Glace cherries to garnish

Pulp the pawpaw and leave in the freezer until it becomes a nice icy slush. Spoon the icy pawpaw into a wineglass to about ¾ full. Top up the glass with gingerale. Don’t stir. Gently pour over the top one dessertspoon of cherry brandy liqueur. Add the glace cherry garnish. Drink ASAP.

[Acknowledgement: I saw the of combination pawpaw juice and gingerale in the Cook Islands Cook Book.]

Amusement of the Week – Homemade Pirate Ship

Last night when Chris and I went for a walk along Muri beach at sunset we spied this awesome little homemade boat. And they say Kiwis have ingenuity!

This vessel has been bound together with inner tubes and check out the stabiliser/float things – they’re rainwater down pipes – so clever!

The Waterline – Restaurant of the Week

Avast me wannebe pirates! Sail down to the western side where a suitable piratical dining experience awaits. Watch the sunset from the unique vestige that is the Waterline Restaurant and Bar.

Cosy up with good company in this compelling setting (that I think of as a pirates treehouse), complete with hurricane lanterns, shipping paraphernalia and look out across the moonlit ocean as it crashes over yonder reef.

Highly recommended: Raro Taro (vegetarian special made with local vegetables like Rukau, the stalks from the Taro plants) and the Pineapple and Coconut cake for dessert.

Baby Trees – So cute!

I never thought about coconuts actually being a seed until I saw people gathering these sprouting baby coconuts palms from the beach.

Sealife

Over the weekend when the tide was out we went exploring the shallow pools of the reef. We saw heaps of sea urchins, (we had to be very careful of our footing even with protective reef-shoes) some with 2cm long orange spines, others with 10cm long blue/blk spines. There were clams as big as a fist, they were an intense blue colour. There were orange and black sea slugs and sea cucumbers. Crabs and shrimps. A lion fish. A squid. And a large blue starfish.

Later when we were safely out of the water we saw these white with black spotted things gliding through the water that looked like sea-snakes—but with our handy sea creature chart we were able to identify them as eels. Phew! There were also a couple of stone-fish.

I’m not sure if I will go out there again too often. All the spiny things freaked me out but Chris had a great time.

Pillars of the Community

We had an eventful day yesterday. I spent the morning doing my first volunteering at the library.

The library here is tiny. About the size of a living room, although it connects through to the museum, which makes it seem larger. It also has a nice big garden and it’s located behind the historic chief’s palace and just up from the grand old CICC church. So it’s a very picturesque street to walk down. (But Chickens and roosters still wander around the palace grounds – they have no sense of decorum.)

And in he evening Chris appeared on the local news as he was interviewed to give his advice on the Kericare baby food recall that has occurred in NZ.

Tropical Bounty

Finally a coconut dropped from one of our palms. (The trees are very tall so we can’t climb them. Also one of the palms is very close to the house so I hope they don’t take the guttering off when they fall. I’m bracing myself for a gut-wrenching crash on the roof at 2am – still, if I’m lucky it will bounce off and take out a pesky rooster as well.)

We had an opening ceremony – which basically meant Chris hit it with a machete until it opened. I made the flesh into Pina Colada based on a recipe Jenny sent me.
Ahhh the good life…