 |
| Brunch beachside. |
After a year of perpetual motion Pip and I opted out of family Christmas and headed north to spend two days on our own, reflecting on the year and starting to recharge our very empty batteries! Our idea was to forage for our Xmas kai and revel in the essence of what it is to have Christmas on a Pacific island, so far removed from northern hemisphere traditions and winter weather which makes sense of all the roasting and feasting that goes hand in hand with the festive season. Joining us were Mcgregor and Chalky, the newest member of the family (belonging to Pip's mum), who managed to get filthy dirty within minutes of hitting the beach!
Christmas morning dawned fine and warm, Pip and cousin Mark hefted a very heavy table off the deck to set it by the creek and beach. As we brunched on our own kiwi verson of huevos rancheros made with eggs from local hens, washed down with NZ bubbles, followed by brownie and divinely creamy Piako yogurt with mango, the orange nasturtium plucked from grasses above the tideline, we felt super privileged to be able to experience such difference.
Later we took out kayaks and collected rock oysters and pipi's (surf clams) for Christmas dinner, I have to make my Dad's pink cocktail sauce to go with an oyster or two (it's a nostalgic taste I love)....my recipe is given a big kick with a good hit of vodka and lemon....the pipi's were steamed and eaten Eastern Seaboard style dipped in melted butter...once again all washed down with more bubbles. The surprising piece de resistance was my take on Maggie Beer's lime, coffee and walnut meringues. I switched the recipe by using coffee, lemon and almonds, dreamy pillows of espresso flavoured crunch sandwiched by coffee butter cream...this time washed down with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot we'd kept all year to drink when we finally felt we could celebrate being back in NZ!
For the coffee, lime and walnut meringue recipe follow this link.
Substitute quantities of lime zest and nuts for lemon zest and chopped slithered almonds if you wish. Make sure espresso is cold when adding to egg whites, Maggie's tip, fold in the zest, nuts and then espresso at the very end and fold in gently so there are still ribbons of coffee running through the meringue mixture. Bake on baking paper and make quite big dollops. Recipe makes 10 largish meringues. I have doubled recipe without a lot of success, meringues were smaller and less puffed when baked on two or three racks at same time.
Merry Christmas to one and all. x
