super generic girl

the awesomely average life of a girl like all others

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Note to self and to others: a list of things to eat in Portugal (WIP)

I’m going to be home in more or less 50 days. By the time I land it will have been 20 months since my last visit which is just ridiculously stupid. I would describe to you how excited I am about going home but then this would turn into a really long blog post full of crazy-happy yays and squees, capital letters and multiple exclamation marks so I’ll save you from that.

Besides all the obvious things that I’m looking forward to (ie, squeezing all my family and friends real hard until they start wishing I’d just bugger off back to NZ so they can breathe normally again), I’m really excited about the food. Yes, the food. After the people, the food is the best thing about my country, hands down. I mean, it’s beyond awesome and no other country can replicate the level of culinary awesomeness that goes on in that little country, I tell you.

So the other day I started writing down all the things I cannot wait to eat when I’m there. Last time I visited, I thought I wouldn’t need a list and ended up forgetting to eat a bunch of delicious stuff that I can’t get here in Kiwiland so this time I decided a list was in order. Then I thought I should put the list on here so that it can serve two purposes: reminding myself of all those things and, just in case someone happens to be planning a trip to Portugal, they don’t act all crazy like I did last time and leave without trying some of this stuff.

Note that this list is a work in progress and I’m sure there are at least 456,550 other things that I’ll think of before I make my way back to the northern hemisphere. Also, apologies in advance for the lack of accents.

  • pao alentejano (without a doubt, the best bread in the world. Even my kiwi agrees that life without that bread is a tough one)
  • cafe delta (best coffee in the world and lalalalalala I can’t hear you if you disagree lalalalalala)
  • gomas vidal (a particular brand of lollies that are super soft and full of flavour. to die for!)
  • tuli creme (sort of like nutella but about a bazillion and a half times better)
  • chocapic (best. cereal. ever.)
  • grilled sardines (one of the advantages of visiting in summer)
  • snails (again, amen to a summer trip for allowing me to enjoy these, after 3 years of visiting in winter and missing out on them)
  • acorda alentejana (with lots of pao alentejano!)
  • morcela de arroz (again, on pao alentejano)
  • pasteis de nata (the tarts that I keep telling everyone I can’t live without)
  • ovos moles (egg overdose. nothing not to like)
  • bolas de berlim (it’s like what in NZ you’d call a donut but giant sized and with heaps of egg cream inside. to consume on the beach, preferably)
  • farturas (a type of fritters… with sugar and cinnamon – deliciousness!)
  • churros com doce de ovo (churros are pretty well known here… except these ones are super-sized and have an egg mix inside that makes them divine!)
  • sumol de ananas (a pineapple fizzy drink that I haven’t found anywhere else)
  • queijo fresco (on pao alentejano!)
  • rol (is it still available? I read it made a comeback but not sure if it was for a limited time only! One of the ice creams made by Ola – the same brand that in NZ is called Streets)
  • tomatada (a dish made of basically tomatos and egg that you eat with, yeah, you guessed it… pao alentejano!)

(to be continued)


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auckland from above

Apparently, I’m the kind of person that goes on a helicopter ride and forgets her camera. That’s what happened this morning when I started the day with a helicopter ride over Auckland and only realised I didn’t have my camera on me when I sat on the helicopter. You’d think I would have gone prepared, seeing I was actually quite excited about it.

I had to snap away with my crappy cell phone and thought it was okay because I could always edit the photos out later. Turns out I don’t completely dislike this washed-out look my cell phone gives Auckland so have decided to post them without any editing. For the record, though, it was much more colourful and prettier. You’d get better pictures if I wasn’t such a freakin’ retard. Ah well.


Rangitoto volcano


Northhead


Harbour Bridge


Sky Tower


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I know what I did last summer* – South Island edition

In the beginning of summer, my parents visited New Zealand for the first time and we took them on a little whirlwind tour of the country. It was a jam-packed month during which we tried to made sure they got to see the most amazing sites (including a couple of places I’d never been to either, like Milford Sound). We couldn’t believe how lucky we were with the weather (even if mum and dad found it a wee bit chilly most of the time). The sky was clear for 99.9% of their time here and the southern lakes were a real beauty.

We started off our southern roadtrip in Christchurch (which my parents were fortunate enough to visit pre-earthquake) and headed west across Arthur’s Pass to Greymouth. From there, we drove south to the glaciers and then to Wanaka and Queenstown, before heading to Te Anau and Milford South, and all the way down to Invercargill before starting the journey back up north through Dunedin, Oamaru, and a bunch of other cute little towns, back to Christchurch again.

The poor rental car clocked up a lot of kilometres but we still had plenty of time to stop and enjoy the amazing landscapes. I honestly can’t remember how many photos we took of this lake (Lake Pukaki) but we just couldn’t believe how beautiful it looked. We had driven past it earlier in the day and it hadn’t been quite like that but I guess the real still air with zero wind caused this image in the afternoon. I was so pleased they got to see it like that too.

This was my third trip to the South Island and every time I go I’m reminded of why New Zealand is considered one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It’s not that the North Island isn’t pretty – it is! – but the South Island is truly spectacular.

 

P.s.: Dear tourists travelling to New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup in September: if you come all the way to the bottom of the world and don’t take the extra drive/flight to the South Island, you’ll be missing out on the most amazing landscapes ever. Consider yourself warned.

* As winter reaches New Zealand, I thought the next best thing about warm coats, hot cups of coffee and comfortable knitwear would be to remind myself of how much I enjoyed the past summer. It is also a good reminder of the good times to look forward to when the next summer comes around. Oh yes it is! This is the third post of the series.The first one was about Rarotonga and the second was about White Island.


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I know what I did last last summer* – White Island edition

(warning: picture-heavy blog post. just because.)

I had wanted to visit White Island since I’d first heard about it, roughly three years ago. The thought of being able to step on an active volcano sounded only a few hours of driving plus a boat trip away was too good to pass on. Plus, we had to wear gas masks. I mean, coolness to the power of… I don’t know, quite a high number. Over the Easter break, a group of us headed down to Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty and got on what turned out to be the most horrible boat ride of my life to visit Whakaari/ White Island. And by horrible I mean really rough. Fortunately I’m far too classy to share with you how many barf bags I went through on the way to the island… oh what the heck! THREE! Three barf bags! As the boat bounced, I kept thinking to myself “this better be a FRIGGIN’ AMAZING volcano!” – It was.

The volcano is about 48km (30 miles) off the coast of Bay of Plenty in New Zealand and is constantly bubbling and steaming. It’s apparently full of sulphur and they did attempt to mine it but had to abandon it in 1914 after all 10 workers were killed, proving how unstable and active the volcano was/is.

These days, the volcano is actually private property – apparently bought by someone who just thought it would be cool to own a volcano (dear volcano owner, if you’re reading this, we’d be great friends) and, other than the touristic tours like the one we did, it’s only used for scientific research.

This is New Zealand’s only active marine volcano and the fact that it is so accessible makes it a great place for scientists.

The entire trip takes about 6 hours, from Whakatane to White Island and then back to Whakatane. Once you land on the volcano, you walk around for a couple of hours. There are no marked tracks so you just have to trust that your tour guide knows what’s safe to step on and what isn’t. The smell can be a little bit overwhelming at times and we soon discovered that the gas masks weren’t just a prop (we had them on for quite some time while on the island and were still coughing our lungs out).

If you’re going:

  • Pee Jay Tours operates daily tours of White Island, from Whakatane (weather permitting). Bookings are required but can only be confirmed the day before.
  • The tour costs NZ$185 and includes lunch on the boat.
  • You should wear a good waterproof jacket, sturdy walking boots, sunscreen and a drink.

* Technically, this happened in autumn in New Zealand but I was still wearing short sleeves on some of the days of that month so my global-warming-affected-mentality chooses to think of that as summer. Because it wasn’t winter, you see. Nevermind. Anyway, winter is well and truly here now and so I’m re-living summer (autumn, whatever) through these posts. This is the second of the series. The first one was about Rarotonga and you can read it here.


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where are you wearing today?

About three years ago, I read Kelsey Timmerman‘s Where Am I Wearing. Once I got over the jealousy of his amazing travel adventure, I spent quite some time going through my closet and drawers, checking the labels of all my clothes.

My suspicions were confirmed: my love for cheap bargains put me in the same basked as the least sustainable consumers on earth. I may eat free-range chicken and free-range eggs and free-range whatever else, but I’m still doing it in my Made in Bangladesh tshirt and Made in China jeans. So, I thought to myself, I’m failing at this citizen of the world thing.

And then I thought some more about what Kelsey Timmerman wrote in his book, especially his dialogue with the sweatshop worker who said it would be a disgrace for her and her colleagues if the western world stopped buying the garments she gets paid $0.00000001 (or something equally low) to make.

And then I got really confused (which happens really easily, anyway).

If filling my closet with $15 tops keeps these people employed, shouldn’t I just head to the mall right now instead of finishing this post?

Well, not quite.

No matter what the self-righteous western world thinks about it, the sweatshop worker is right: if we stop buying, they will lose their jobs. So that can’t be the best solution. But am I just holding onto this particular point because I want to somehow justify my love for clothing bargains? Quite possibly.

So the fact is that I’m still not sure what should be done. In an ideal world, companies would pay their workers better and that wouldn’t affect prices and consumers could happily buy the stuff they like without being supposed to feel guilty. In the real world, I’m not entirely sure what would work to improve the situation.

Recommending this book to you makes me feel ever so slightly less guilty about the top I’m wearing today. The label says made in China and it cost me about NZ$15, if I’m not mistaken. I bought it because I thought it was pretty and didn’t really think about where it had come from. I’m helping someone in China keep their job but it’s a shit job and they should have something better. My  purchase isn’t helping them get anything better.

Reading that book, as well as Joe Bennett’s Where underpants come from, which I read shortly after, was eye-opening. I haven’t made as many changes to my consumer habits as I wish I had, since then, but it got me thinking about it often. The problem I have is the problem that so many people have: I can’t always afford to have the social conscience I wish I had.

A month or two ago, thanks the lovely Fatima, I found the IOU Project. I thought “well, if this isn’t the solution, then it’s at least a giant step in the right direction”. I can’t afford an entire wardrobe at those prices but, without going all patronising and high-horse-y on you, I think its our duty to invest in projects such as this one.

Or, at the very least, I should try to be a bit more frugal when it comes to cheap stuff I don’t actually need (this coming from the girl with 80+ pairs of shoes). And reading labels. I should do that more often too.

Today, for example, I’m wearing flats made in China, jeans made in China, a top made in China, a scarf made in India and a jacket made in China. Points for knowing a bargain when I see one: 10. Points for social responsibility in my clothing options: -5000.

(image credit: IOU Project)


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I know what I did last summer* – Rarotonga edition

I was going to write a blog post about the cool stuff I’m hoping to do this year and then it occurred to me I probably shouldn’t ignore the cool stuff I’ve already done so far – some of that, as far as I’m concerned, is very much worth writing about.

Like, for example, when I went to Rarotonga for Valentine’s Day and miscalculated everything and ended up letting the International Dateline eliminate the 14th of February 2011 out of our lives (we left Rarotonga at the end of the 13th of February and, four hours later, landed in New Zealand, where it was already the 15th of February. And yes, C. totally used that as an excuse not to get me a present. But then again, so did I).

That has been, so far, my most amazing experience this year. Why? Well, for one thing, it was a total last minute kind of trip, which I love. Much like the trip to Beijing in 2009 (which shall be blogged about too, just for the record), this was a last-minute spur of the moment kind of thing… one of those situations where you’re munching on your lunch at work, browsing websites, and come across an awesome promotion that you think you’d be silly to pass on. A few days after booking the tickets, we were boarding the flight to the biggest of the Cook Islands.

The first night was spent at the cheapest possible backpackers, which we nicknamed “cockroach palace”. We didn’t turn the light off to sleep, we didn’t even take our shoes off or open our bags, to avoid letting any creepy crawlies in – yep, that bad.

Luckily, the following nights were spent at what I believe to be the most amazing room at the most amazing resort on the island (I mean, it has to be because anything better would just blow up the scale of awesomeness). I ticked off the bucket list two things I’d never done before: snorkeling and kayaking.

The best part of the trip was, without a doubt, the cross-island trek with our local guide, Pa. I know it sounds lame but it was kind of life-changing. So amazing I should probably write a separate blog post about it but, in the mean time, I’ll just say that if you’re going to Rarotonga, you better book a hike with Pa otherwise you’ll be missing out on an amazing experience.

The island, albeit small (you can drive around the whole island in about 45 minutes), has a lot to see. The jungle is filled with little treasures and the beaches are much more beautiful than I could describe to you.

I know Rarotonga is out of reach for many people in the world – and that’s okay, you’ve got other little slices of paradise close to you. But the Cook Islands are too accessible to New Zealand and Australia to justify any Kiwi or Aussie missing out on them. Go. Go now. I tell you that, even if you miss out on Valentine’s Day, it’ll still be the best non-existent Valentine’s Day ever.

* As winter reaches New Zealand, I thought the next best thing about warm coats, hot cups of coffee and comfortable knitwear would be to remind myself of how much I enjoyed the past summer. It is also a good reminder of the good times to look forward to when the next summer comes around. Oh yes it is!


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easiest apple tart ever

Yes, this is another post about food – more specifically, it’s a post about cake (my favourite of all food groups – and what do you mean ‘cake isn’t a food group?’).

A few days ago, I baked my first ever apple tart (tart, not pie – take it easy!). Why, you ask? Well, because I remembered I had found what looked like the easiest recipe ever, even for a noob like me.

Anyway, in the absence of anything smart to say here, I thought I’d share another recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 250g butter (soft but not melted)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • grated rind of one orange
  • 2 1/2 cups flour (self-raising)
  • diced apple (I used a tin of apples I had at home, not sure how many apples to use, perhaps 4 or 5)
  • icing sugar to dust on top
Mix together butter, sugar, egg, vanilla essence and orange rind until nice and creamy. Add flour and mix well. Spread 2/3 of the mix in a cake tin (make sure it’s greased and floured). Spread the diced apple over it and dot the remaining mixture over the top. Bake at 190ºC for about 40 minutes. Let it cool down and dust with icing sugar.

I can’t remember where I got the recipe from, as I wrote it down a while ago and it has been sitting in the “to try” queue.

The result was very positive, even though the bottom was a wee bit burnt (less time in the oven next time, I guess). I’m looking forward to giving it another go, perhaps adding blueberries to it.


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queijadas de laranja

I went a wee bit baking-mad this weekend and, among other things, made these delicious queijadas de laranja, which I had been craving for a while. Queijadas are a Portuguese treat that can have different flavours. These are orange. I saw someone online describe queijadas as cheesecakes but I don’t think that’s quite right. They’re sort of halfway between a cheesecake and a muffin – cakey but really moist inside. Read: delicious!

Anyway, thought I’d leave the recipe I used here because they are so easy to make everyone should give it a go! Awesome with a hot cup of coffee!

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Queijadas de laranja

  • 1/2L milk
  • 175g flour (self-raising)
  • 40g butter (softened)
  • 300g sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • juice and rind of 1 orange
  • optional: icing sugar and/or cinnamon

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC. Heat up the milk in a saucepan and, once it starts to boil, add the butter.

Separately, mix flour and sugar and then add the eggs. Mix it all, then add the orange juice and rind and slowly add the milk, always beating well.

Pour the mixture into a muffin tray and cook it in the oven for 25 minutes.

You can choose to dust some icing sugar or cinnamon on top, once they’ve cooled down.

NB: these measurements were enough to make 23 queijadas so, all in all, a very inexpensive little treat!

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