Showing posts with label alcohol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alcohol. Show all posts
Grapes
My parents dropped by for a visit this week and when they arrived they yelled out to me to come to the car to collect a surprise present - a crate full of grapes from their vine at home. My husband is well known for his homemade wine. So far he has made the most delicious fruit wine from homegrown or gifted fruit. We've had feijoa, strawberry, grapefruit, grapefruit and mint and plum (my personal favourite). Until now we have not made grape wine, so this will be an interesting experiment. I spent last night washing and plucking grapes from bunches and then we crushed them in a stock pot (with a potato masher by the way, and not our feet!). The juice is drained from the pulp and water and yeast is added. The mix is now fermenting in a glass carboy and will be bubbling away for a few weeks until it is ready to bottle. We didn't really have enough grapes for a decent batch of wine, so we're not expecting something toast-worthy. I just hope that my parents have a bumper crop of grapes next year so that we can try again.. with enough left over to eat. They were delicious!
Lucha Lounge
I must have been one of the last people in Auckland to discover The Lucha Lounge, but I finally got there last Friday, on my way to the movies to see the-film-of-the-year, Drive. The biggest drawcard for me (aside from the very cool Mexican wrestler theme) was the promise of Mexican food for under $10. I had a couple of soft shell tacoes with free range chicken which were not too shabby. Cheap and healthy eats are balanced with some sinfully delicious cocktails. I love, love, love their Apple Pie Margarita, and the bartender made a damn good Mojito too.
This is a bar, not a restaurant, so the place is grungy and casual. It is also tiny, with the 'al fresco' area (back alley) devoted to smokers. I'll definitely be back for more cocktails, but only if I can get a quiet spot indoors. If anything, the biggest impression the place has made on me is that I now have a craving to re-read about Maggie the Mechanic and Mexican Wrestlers in the comic series Love and Rockets
This is a bar, not a restaurant, so the place is grungy and casual. It is also tiny, with the 'al fresco' area (back alley) devoted to smokers. I'll definitely be back for more cocktails, but only if I can get a quiet spot indoors. If anything, the biggest impression the place has made on me is that I now have a craving to re-read about Maggie the Mechanic and Mexican Wrestlers in the comic series Love and Rockets
Davidson Sloe Gin
Back in January my friend Kate came to visit me at work to drop off a birthday present. Upon arriving she exclaimed that we had a rare Davidson Plum tree fruiting outside our office. I had walked past it everyday without noticing its existence, and so Kate took me outside to introduce me to the tree. This is what I found:
The Davidson Plum is unusual not only because the fruit grows off the trunk in bunches like grapes, but also because it is usually pollinated by bats. The Davidson Plum is native to New South Wales and in the wild is considered a rare species. It has been saved from endangerment by it's novelty.
Since Kate introduced me to the Davidson, I have been paying more attention to the landscaping at the University where I work. I remembered the pineapple my manager pointed out, growing by the car park. I noticed when some students stripped guavas from a tree outside my office. I watched for weeks as an abundance of figs in the art school driveway dropped and rotted on the ground. And I have been eyeballing the oranges in the architecture driveway, daydreaming about marmalade. I haven't managed to rescue any other wasting fruit, but back in January I did take some of the Davidson Plums home to make Sloe Gin. I also planted the stones in paper coffee cups to sit on my windowsill, where they are now flourishing. I plan to plant three of my own Davidson Plum trees in my garden.
While I have been typing this, I have been enjoying a glass of my Davidson Sloe Gin. It may be a little early in the day, but it has been a particularly rough week.
Davidson Sloe Gin
Wash and chop up the Davidson Plum's into small chunks, removing the stones. Put the plum flesh into a swing-top jar along with white sugar and gin. For quantities - use 100g of sugar and 100g of plum for every litre of gin. Shake to stir and leave in a dark cupboard to infuse for 3 months before sampling. Damson Plums would make a good substitute for this recipe as they are also bitter. I suspect you could also use a standard plum and use less sugar to compensate.
Since Kate introduced me to the Davidson, I have been paying more attention to the landscaping at the University where I work. I remembered the pineapple my manager pointed out, growing by the car park. I noticed when some students stripped guavas from a tree outside my office. I watched for weeks as an abundance of figs in the art school driveway dropped and rotted on the ground. And I have been eyeballing the oranges in the architecture driveway, daydreaming about marmalade. I haven't managed to rescue any other wasting fruit, but back in January I did take some of the Davidson Plums home to make Sloe Gin. I also planted the stones in paper coffee cups to sit on my windowsill, where they are now flourishing. I plan to plant three of my own Davidson Plum trees in my garden.
While I have been typing this, I have been enjoying a glass of my Davidson Sloe Gin. It may be a little early in the day, but it has been a particularly rough week.
Wash and chop up the Davidson Plum's into small chunks, removing the stones. Put the plum flesh into a swing-top jar along with white sugar and gin. For quantities - use 100g of sugar and 100g of plum for every litre of gin. Shake to stir and leave in a dark cupboard to infuse for 3 months before sampling. Damson Plums would make a good substitute for this recipe as they are also bitter. I suspect you could also use a standard plum and use less sugar to compensate.
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