Matariki

Friday morning started early--6:45 down on the beach for a Maori New Year celebration known as Matariki.  Matariki also refers to the Pleiades or The Seven Sisters star cluster.  We gathered around a Maori community leader who explained the history and meaning of Matariki, then a Maori prayer / blessing was offered.

After the beach, many of us gathered at the neighborhood school for breakfast together.

The teachers prepared and served breakfast of porridge, cold cereal, toast, fruit, juice, tea, or Milo (a roasted barley, malt / chocolate drink).

The Principal was in the middle of it too.

After breakfast we went outside on the school grounds and planted a tree, and the kids sang Maori songs.

It's the beginning of the Maori New Year and nearly the end of our time in NZ.  We are sad to see it come to an end.  It has been a wonderful experience.

She'll Be Right, Mate

I saw this sign painted on the wall on the campus of Victoria University.

 
 Before coming to NZ, I had read about this saying and the positive attitude it represents among Kiwis.  Since coming, I've heard it repeated many times, and our NZ experience has borne the sentiment out over and over again.  I don't know if it's the power of positive thinking, good luck, or God's hand, but I'm grateful nonetheless.  Things have gone right in so many ways in NZ, I'm almost afraid to return to Provo.

Pumpin fritters and NZ yams

 For those who were wondering how the new recipe worked out, I loved it!  I thought you would be interested in some of the preparation.  It's winter here, so all of the winter foods are on.  Pumpkins in New Zealand are smaller, and mostly green looking, but still orange inside.  The flavor is similar.  They are used mostly for cooking.

 The recipe called for a food processor to make the sauce.  I don't have one, so I had to get creative.  I chopped all of the almonds and garlic very fine, and then ground them smaller in the mortar and pestle.  I added the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, salt and coriander to the nut mixture and whizzed it with the immersion blender.   I skipped the mint leaves called for in the recipe because I didn't have any.

 Mark roasted the NZ yams.  He also was a peach and shredded the raw pumpkin for me.   It all came together really well, but was a bit labor intensive.  I think the food processor in Utah will make this shredding, chopping and sauce-making much easier to do.

 The result really was yummy.  I especially loved the sauce.  It had a wonderful depth, savory complexity, and texture with the roasted nuts.  The fritters were lovely too, with great smokey-sagey pumpkin flavor.  Mark wished they had a little firmer structure; maybe I will add some bread crumbs next time?  It was really fun to try and I can't wait to experiment more with the rest of the Cuisine June issue.

The yams were delicious too.  Even the grumpy girls who solemnly swore they would never eat grub-looking food items thought it was their favorite part of dinner.  I still say the A+ item was the sauce!

Ferns and yarn

 I am trying to make something that reflects my time in New Zealand with wool from here. This merino yarn reminds me of the colors of the ocean, as well as paua shells. It is very fine, almost like thread. This will make a gossamer scarf that will feel and look a bit like sea foam.

I decided on arrowhead lace patterning for feeling connected to New Zealand; it reminds me of the motifs used in Maori tukutuku wall panels that are woven by hand for Marae (Maori meeting houses that are sacred). The chevron symbol varies from iwi to iwi (loosely translated as tribe); the most interesting meaning to me is “niho taniwha”---dragon teeth! A taniwha is a mythical monster; it reminds me a bit of Loch Ness, and is affiliated with the ocean when it gets wild or large lakes of New Zealand.  Like a dragon it also has sharp teeth and can fly.

Chevrons can also represent mountains.  Stacked chevrons, row after row, can symbolize a long journey.  Zig-zags can represent kao kao (human ribs), or arms doing the haka.  Tukutuku aside, the chevron design element mostly reminds me of the ferns in my back yard (fern photos really are from out back).  I feel satisfied that this pattern will be rich with symbolism and meaning for me.

There is a wonderful New Zealand website that is the country's online cultural encyclopedia.  Here are links to it that show the Te Arawa tukutuku pattern:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/te-arawa/1/1

Another example of a beautiful tukutuku wall surrounded by carvings:
 http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/te-waonui-a-tane-forest-mythology/4/2

This last link shows a gorgeous church with an interior that has traditional Maori art inside.  It beautifully showcases tukutuku weaving:
 http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/east-coast-places/2/2/2
 http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/east-coast-places/2/2/3

For those that are interested in learning about taniwha (say tahn'-i-fah) and other mythical creatures of the Maori tradition, this is a good place to start:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/taniwha/1

This is a youtube video where you will hear the stories and legends of Taniwha with all of the Maori spoken properly, Maori music on traditional instruments, and the gorgeous scenery of New Zealand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbCr7Hlp3rQ

Celebration of Learning

Last week Evelyn and Julia had a "Celebration of Learning," basically an assembly where they sing, dance and talk about all they have been studying.  It is satisfying to see all they have learned and that they have been making good friends.

New Zealand Yams

These are New Zealand yams: oxalis tuberosa.  Sounds like a spell Hermione Granger might use, doesn't it?   Everyone loves them here and we are going to try them tonight with another Kiwi recipe for pumpkin fritters.  The yams are little for potato-like vegetables, but they sure are pretty colors.  They give Julia the prickles to look at and she is agog at the idea that I am going to make her try something that looks a bit like a grub.  My response is similar to the one I learned from my own dad, "When in Rome...."

Here is a link to more info on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_tuberosa

The Pumpkin Fritter recipe I will be using comes from Cuisine magazine, the local foodie periodical.  I wanted to try them because they are really common on restaurant menus around here.  I have also like Donna Hay, the foodie mag from Australia.  The July issue is all about gnocchi!  I can't wait to try some of these.

You can find more about them here and try some recipes from down under yourself!
http://cuisine.co.nz/
http://www.donnahay.com.au/

Pumpkin and Bacon Fritters by Ginny Grant, published in Cuisine Magazine, June 2012 issue


Serves: 4 (makes 12 large fritters)This delicious brunch dish is also good served with wilted greens.


Almond & coriander salsa
1 small clove garlic
1⁄4 cup roasted almonds
pinch of chilli flakes
1 cup firmly packed coriander leaves
1⁄4 cup mint leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons thick Greek-style yoghurt
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
Process the garlic in a food processor until finely chopped then add the almonds and grind to a crumb. Add the remaining ingredients and blitz with 2-3 tablespoons water until the salsa has emulsified and has a smooth consistency. Reserve.

For the fritters
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
150g streaky bacon, finely diced
2 tablespoons finely chopped sage
500g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded, grated
1⁄4 cup flour
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
cos salad to serve
Heat the oil in a frying pan then fry the bacon until crisp. Add the sage and fry, stirring, for another minute. Remove from the frying pan and set aside.
Put the grated pumpkin in a bowl. Sift the flour and baking powder over the top and mix gently to combine. Add the eggs and mix well to combine. Fold the bacon and sage through the pumpkin mixture then season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat a little more oil in the frying pan you fried the bacon in then add large spoonfuls of the pumpkin mixture and fry, in batches, for 2 minutes each side or until the fritters are golden and cooked through. Keep warm in a low
oven while you cook the remaining fritters. Serve with the almond and coriander salsa and a cos salad.

Goodbye Jonny

 Jonathan's last day was great fun; while we were at church the house got ballooned.  He is a natural at making friends wherever he goes.  He needed to get back so we sent him on a plane to the states and we will be right behind him in just a few weeks.  We will miss him too!