Boil-up with my twist and a tweaking.

I have heard various friends almost going into rapture when they talk about going home to a good old-fashioned boil-up. There would be very few Maori families out there who don't appreciate the idea of a weekend boil-up. As with most 'traditional' recipes in many cultures, each family has its won spin on the family favourite. Fro the most part, a boil-up consists of pork bones (maybe beef too) purchased from a 'favourite butcher (or even 'home kill') stuck in a large pot along with watercress or puha, various vegetables and possibly some salt and pepper. The idea is to keep it simple, cheap and with the addition of of some 'doughboys' near the end of the cooking process, the family has an easy meal.
I well remember a friend cooking the above version at school one day and the smell went right through the administration block, causing the principal at the time to jokingly banning us from doing that again. Of course, the Maori students, knew exactly what we were cooking and their smiles spoke volumes.
Yesterday, while I was shopping at the Aussie Butcher, I came across some water cress and a few metres along the aisle, I spotted some meaty, not too fatty pork bones. 'Flash,' my mind went: Maybe I could do what that clever chef does on Wednesday night TV, where he takes a 'favourite recipe and gives it a twist and a tweak.' I rushed home with my very cheap purchases and excitedly announced that I was about to 'experiment' with my version of a boil-up. Did that cause  equal excitement at home? No---not really, just a raising of eyebrows and a resignation that I was going to do something different----again! Here's what I did and yes, I know the 'purists' out there are going to have me 'hung drawn and quartered.'
I found my biggest pot. Damn, I shouldn't have sold that huge one on Trade Me.
I washed the pork bones and placed them in the pot.
I added the pork bones.
In went the water cress---heaps of it!
I chucked in a chopped carrot and an onion.
In went a little salt and pepper.
But, then I added some chilli flakes, garlic, a piece of ginger and a dash of Paprika, nutmeg and a pinch of sugar.
I also biffed in small bacon bone.
After boiling the kettle I poured that over the mixture until it covered everything nicely.
I slowly cooked the mix for three hours and turned it off.
Was it good?  Hell, yes! The fluid was divine and the meat just melted in mouth.
Why is it that families insist on buying crappy takeaways night after night when they can cook (the original versions) something as cheap and tasty as the 'boil-up?' Mrs Brown tasted my version and she said, 'That's feckin nice.'
www.authorneilcoleman.com

Honestly, It was magnificent!

 

'Talk To Me' will be joining 'Roskill' on Kindle soon.

Yesterday while I was tripping around the Bay of Plenty, I received the files for TALK TO ME that my hard working editor, Stephen Stratford has been working on.  As usual he has produced a clean and well-worked result. My job is to now go through it and then send it on to Mary Egan for the finishing touches and preparation for uploading onto Kindle. I wish that I had these two people behind me when I started this self-publishing journey. The money spent saves so much angst. Then again, the learning curve for me over the last few years has been huge and despite the pain and expense associated with that, I think I have emerged the better for it. I have two further books that will go through the same process, one of them a massive historical fiction 'epic' about three 'survivors of the Orpheus wreck in the 1860s.
Thanks for downloading (not many yet though) ROSKILL and watch out for my launch of  TALK TO ME in the next month or so. I shall stick up some advertising and a synopsis soon. We are also exploring the possibility of purchasing hard copy version on Amazon, as they are reworked.
www.authorneilcoleman.com

An experiment with my solar oven.

OK, so I have been really patient, trying to get my solar oven to reach temperatures consistently above 100c. It feels like it is just not going to happen then I realise that the day time temperatures have hardly hit 20c for more than four hours in Auckland. That means cooking meat is out of the question. hell, I don't want to kill anyone, especially me!
What to do? Bright idea! My mate, Martin gave some Bay leaves form his huge tree. I had read that drying such things is [possible at anything over 60c so guess what---yip, I am now dying a batch, a small one to start and it will work. I shall then ask for more and batch them up in little click-bags and sell them for $1. I better give Martin a cut and hey--- all those herbs I waste from my garden can go the same way and the energy won't cost a cent. Still--- I am going to need to sell a shit load of herbs etc. to even make a dent in the $200 it cost to buy my little solar oven. Jeeze, I'm a sucker for these things eh! I'm sure there's  book in this---ya reckon!
www.authorneilcoleman.com

My first 'drying experiment. Hell, I have to try something.

There was something on the pathway. Cornwall Park has a past and a 'presence.'

As we wandered through the pathways in Cornwall Park, the big beautiful reserve that Aucklanders so love, we came across three little lambs sitting quietly as their mum watched on. Perdy strained at her lead, wanting to go and investigate. Of course I was not about to let her off, knowing her propensity to chase anything that moves and these 'objects' of her attention looked very much like some of her toys and from expensive experience I know that they do not last long when she gets her teeth into them.
Head Momma bleated and the lambs ran off, one though taking a curious look at Perdy. Maybe she wanted to play. I pulled her back and we continued on our way. Jack Russells hate to be constrained too often. they prefer the freedom of running, exploring, chasing and creating mayhem. That is not possible in the inner city parks, so the leads the rule.
We came across a water feature and Perdy delighted in running along the wall and drinking the cooling waters. It seems that at every turn there is a different vista in the park and it is possible to spend a few hours there seeking out all the corners and niches. Whether you want to play ball, run, relax under a tree or picnic with your friends, Cornwall Park never seems too crowded; all this just a short distance from the centre of Auckland. Governor Grey did well leaving this park to us, although some of the original people  (Tangata Whenua) may take umbrage at this. After all, it was Grey who launched the invasion on the People of the Waikato in the 1860s.
Just think about the history of this place as you wander through the peaceful glades and wide open green areas but take strength from the fresh air and the views from the higher points. Cornwall Park; a true treasure and a Jack Russell's delight.
www.authorneilcoleman.com

 

We came across these little packages of mischief

Just taking a break.

 

A unique solution to having a china cabinet that is overflowing!

I shall let the picture speak for itself. When the china cabinet is full of 'stuff' then you have to look for solutions that work. Yes, the items in the picture, consisting of English china, are for sale or will be very soon. They will be on Trade Me. If you cant see the pictures on Twitter and Face Book, then go to my site and follow the blog; that is after you have downloaded ROSKILL  of course.
www.authorneilcoleman.com

Its all for sale---fish tank and the English China. 

Vote!---Don't bitch about how things are bad.

Yes, it's local body election time and you are confronted with a plethora of candidates, all promising to either spend all of your money or save you heaps. In that since, you really do have a choice. For those candidates promising to keep the rates down, you can safely assume that there will be little in the way of 'infrastructure' spending, meaning that services will suffer and you will be moaning about this and that not being done, leaving it all for another election cycle for some other group to play catch up, so before you tick the box for so-called austerity candidates, take a deep breath. You are gonna pay one way or the other; it's just a question of when. Then, we have candidates who promise 'free this, and free that.' That too comes at a cost, the difference being that, maybe they have a point, especially when it comes to getting people out of their cars and freeing up cash for projects other than expensive motorways and the destruction they cause to local communities as they rip through the heart of our suburbs.
Then there is the consideration about who the candidates align themselves too, in terms of political parties or ideology. There are of course those 'independent' candidates who claim no political allegiance. The only way to know who they and what they purport to stand for is to meet them, go to meetings  (its getting a bit late for that) to read about them or to go online. There are other ways too. If you favour a certain political party then you can sometimes assume that the billboards with lots of red on them generally favour Labour and those with blue, National. Of coursed that is a pretty rude measuring device, so if you really care, you will have to make the effort to find out more.
I cringe when I hear how some people make their choices. They vote for those at the top of the list, they choose better looking ones, they avoid names that they perceive to being too different (read in race factors!) or they vote for people that others tell them to vote for. Is that any different from what people do for General elections? Democracy comes with a price. it is only as good as the manner in which we vote and hold our candidates accountable and the knowledge used to make decisions is only as good as the information people use to make their choices. That doesn't say much for the process, does it. Oh well; go and make your choices and don't bitch about how things are stuffed, if you don't' get off your butt and do it. Have I done it? Of course I have---TODAY.
www.authorneilcoleman.com

Kindle---is it as good as the real thing?

I have been reading from my Kindle now for about 6 months and in that time I have only been to my local library about twice. Is this the beginning of the end for books in the hard copy version? I don't think so. Yes, I enjoy the Kindle and I have been imploring you all to download ROSKILL and other books to come but that does not mean that I have given away the idea of holding a book in my hands. I suspect that many bookstores will have to change and redirect their focus about what they sell and what new directions they will need to take in order to survive, but survive they will.
I enjoy the functionality of my Kindle and there sheer convenience and I seem to get hooked on an author and search out their other books. I find myself reading a series that excites me and sometimes I settle on a particular genre before breaking free and trying something else.
The Kindle stays charged for quite a few books before needing recharging; mind you I only have a basic one--no colour or extra backlighting for me, so it needs to read in good light, but then again, so do hard copy books. I guess there are kids out there who are reading their Kindles with a torchlight under the blankets, because they simply can't stop reading their 'story of the moment,' so in a sense, nothing has changed.
I shall continue to read books, no matter what the form. I hope you do too---just make sure that you download mine. Go to my website and followed the link to the 'Book  shop' and click on the Kindle version of Roskill. Please write a review.
www.authorneilcoleman.com