Tofu and spring onion skewers

My friends Astuko and Hideko often send me this dried tofu which I find super versatile! I just soak it in water (or stock) and then use it in a variety of dishes. This time I just soaked it in water and then cut each blog into four pieces, and put them in a skewer (soak the skewers too!) with some spring onions. 

I sautéed the skewers on both sides with a little rice bran oil to which I added a few drops of sesame oil, then I brushed the tofu and spring onions with a sauce made by simmering a teaspoon of honey (use sugar or molasses if you are vegan) with two tbsp of water, two of soy sauce (gluten free please use tamari) and a pinch of freshly grated ginger. I turned the skewers over one more time and then I served them, hot and yummy! The scrapings from the pan were delicious on plain rice too!

And this is a picture of Karekare from a walk last Sunday, the Hau Hau track going up, and the Coman on the way down. Splendid! Click here if you like to see more photos of the views from these tracks.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Summer in Auckland

Some of my favourite spots in Auckland

Piha at the start of the School Holidays

Karekare on Christmas Day

Five days (and New Year's Eve) in Waiheke on board of Timetama

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

The Karekare Beach Races

Avete visto il film Lezioni di piano? Ebbene, questa è la spiaggia, ed il primo posto dove vi porterei se mai verrete a trovarmi.

Today we went to the Karekare Beach Races, the iconic event that raises funds for the local community. This year's beneficiaries were Lone Kauri Community School and Karekare Surf Lifesaving Club.

This is West Auckland at its best: unspoiled wild beaches, horses, fun, and informality.

Bob Harvey signing copies of The Iron-Bound Coast, published by Libro International

My daughter spent the day helping with the pony rides for the little ones.

She and her riding friends nicely groomed the horses and then took them to the beach. They worked all day, and so did the ponies!

My boy spent a good part of the day sliding down the big sand dunes.

Mamma, look at my feet!

It was a great day out. See you all next year!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Karekare, and the winner is...

The other day I went to Karekare, my local beach. This is one of my favourite places in New Zealand. If you have seen the movie The Piano, you may recognize it, this is a popular spot for filming.

In fact the light here is unique, the sand is black, and the landscape wild and breathtaking.

To reach the beach you must cross a stream (up to your knees, so wear shorts, or a skirt, and sandals).

Every two weeks my kids do surf life saving here, and to reach the surf life saving club house you must also cross the lagoon (up to your belly button, depending on your height, of course!)

Here is the surf life saving club house

I like to go to Karekare in the afternoon, the light is at his best, and for me this is a place for long beach walks: the current is too strong for me to swim, and I don't surf, but it is great to see my kinds learning to handle big waves. Surf life savers patrol the beach and they are all volunteers. They start training young, like my kids, and most of them are locals.

But this afternoon for the kids was horse riding rather than wave surfing. They go every Monday afternoon, after school, in the bush. Today they had a long ride, they were taking the horses from the bush paddock down to the beach paddock.

At twilight they reached the beach, and took the horses to roll on the sand. They are really lucky to learn to ride in an environment like this. My 11 years old girl has been riding for a few years now, she loves horses (a real girl!). Her younger brother is learning now, it is going to be good for him: when he grows up he wants to be an archologist-explorer.

 

After each day at Karekare they come home so hungry, they eat like wolves, go to bed early, and sleep like logs!

 

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

And now for the winner of last week Giveaway:

List Randomizer

There were 22 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Civette
2. Arabafelice
3. Frances
4. Anna Luisa e Fabio
5. Zia Elle
6. Arfi
7. Enza
8. Torie
9. Astrofiammante
10. Peasepudding
11. Eleonora
12. Elifla
13. BarbaraGF
14. Barbara
15. Feliz
16. Claudia
17. MariCrea
18. Red nomad
19. Ananda
20. Swati
21. Angela
22. Mary

Timestamp: 2011-02-19 20:22:32 UTC

Congratulations Civette! Congratulazioni civettine, mandatemi il vostro indirizzo a alessandra@clear.net.nz
Thank you to all who took part, till next time
ciao
A.