Our own little Kiwi Thread ! page 77

[zoebird]

well, i wasn't trying to convince *you* not to eat it.

i was simply asserting that I don't care for the taste/texture and never have.

[JoanieL]

I love a lot of fish and shell fish, but I don't like snapper which is very popular here, and you couldn't get me to eat scallops unless like a million dollars was involved.

I'll tell you all a secret because it's already tomorrow there, so it doesn't count: I don't willfully go out of my way to eat veal or lamb. As a teenager, I once declared that I wouldn't eat babies, and everytime I think I should stop being silly, my inner teenager sneers, "So now you're going to eat babies?" haha

Actually, it's really tomorrow here also. How the heck did it get to be tomorrow already? My sleep patterns have been totally screwed since the cool weather kicked in.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

Hi Joanie, we all have secrets, and I suppose once they have been passed on - not secrets anymore !!!!! LOL
We had fish for dinner last night, but I am not very good at cooking it, I might need to start following a recipe. I am going to try making chowder today, should be interesting !
G

[seaweed]

well, i wasn't trying to convince *you* not to eat it.

lmao i got that bit, i was just saying we prob shouldnt be trying to convince you.

I love a lot of fish and shell fish, but I don't like snapper which is very popular here, and you couldn't get me to eat scallops unless like a million dollars was involved.

we get snapper here. mainly in the north island and poss in the north of the south island. i found if i got it from someone who had been out fishing that day, it tasted divine but if it came via a fish shop, it was bland and tasteless. if it is the same "snapper", it prob doesnt keep too well. scallops. cook with bacon and make a cream and pernod sauce. dont overcook them. you will die of pleasure lol

as to the babies. i may be wrong as i dont know alot about veal but here the lambs go about 9 months. other than the afore mentioned tailing incidents, they have generally just been cavorting around a paddock with their mums. they get weaned usually about xmas. hoggets i think are 1 or 1 1/2? they have still essentially just been cavorting around a paddock too. everyone i know who has cattle here keeps them for 2 yrs as they are all beef cattle. they just wander around a paddock somewhere too. they dont get tailed. dairy cows is a whole other ball game and i think poss that is where veal comes from? gwamma can prob correct me if i have gotten anything wrong?

and gwamma, you can cook so i am sure you will work the fish thing out. the trick is to cook it like a medium steak so you get the flavour of the fish. generally i just pan fry mine with butter and maybe some herb salt. or some thyme. sometimes i put lemon juice on it. if you put fish in anything, you need a firm fish species unless you want it to flake. you also dont want to overcook it or shellfish for that matter. let us know how your chowder turns out.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

as to the babies. i may be wrong as i dont know alot about veal but here the lambs go about 9 months. other than the afore mentioned tailing incidents, they have generally just been cavorting around a paddock with their mums. they get weaned usually about xmas. hoggets i think are 1 or 1 1/2? they have still essentially just been cavorting around a paddock too. everyone i know who has cattle here keeps them for 2 yrs as they are all beef cattle. they just wander around a paddock somewhere too. they dont get tailed. dairy cows is a whole other ball game and i think poss that is where veal comes from? gwamma can prob correct me if i have gotten anything wrong?

Seaweed, you are right.
If a farmer is keeping replacement ewes, the lamb becomes a hoggett at about 7-8 months old. Then a two tooth once its second teeth come up.
If however its a works lamb, they are technically a lamb until the october the year following of its birth. there is a huge grey area between a lamb and hoggett, and of course if it has its two teeth up - it becomes a 2 tooth !
Some early lambs go by christmas to meet that market, so if they are quick growers they could be gone in 4 months.

I used to have my own herd of nurse cows, and those calves were often gone by 16 months. But generally they are gone at 2 years.
I have never eaten veal thou. Not sure at what age that is all about.
Anyway thats the long drawn out version. We tend to eat our lambs as hoggetts, or lambs that are nearly a year old.
But i cannot eat anything with a name !!!!!! Althou we did make Daisy the cow into patties.... but she was an absolute bitch to all her babies !!!!
off to get my hair done

[seaweed]

i used to try not to eat anything with a name but i have gotten to the stage where if it has had a nice life and it went quickly, i dont flinch if someone else chooses to do it that way. i def dont stand in judgement of them for eating daisy. i dont have good enough fences to get a lamb or a calf. or really enuf land. i have had the odd person trying to give me a piglet to pen but i am scared it would be like a dog and then i wouldnt be able to eat it. rationally tho the reason i have issue with eating dogs is coz they are so useful that it would be counter productive to eat one, not coz they are so intelligent and loyal. i just dont want to end up with a huge pig and not know what to do with it.
enjoy the hairdresser gwamma. i am getting mine done in 2 weeks. eek!

[NZ primal Gwamma]

Pigs ay - we have a pet kunekune, actually I think she was a cross between an Auckland island and a Kune, but her name was Priscilla Petunia. Absolutely amazing intelligence ! She loved me to bits, and always wanted to be near me , but once she became 300 + kg, on these wee short legs, quite dangerous. She kept getting out onto the main road, and at that weight - you can't just pick em up and pop em into the car !!!!!!
Had THE most fantastic night last night. Met Rachel Hunter, I even gave her a big hug. We had our picture taken, so if I get a copy I shall try and post it, just so you believe me !!!!!!!!

anyways more cleaning and tidying today. yaaaay

[Lizzielou]

Ooooh gwamma, what a name dropper you are! I'm not a huge Rachel fan, she kinda looks frumpy to me.......and I've been enjoying watching NZ's got Talent, but honestly she's not the sharpest tool in the shed is she? Or maybe (having actually met her in the flesh Gwamma) she's more intelligent IRL?

Oh boy I'm tired this morning, not at all on my game today. I had a super busy day at work yesturday with a meeting for 25 that I had to provide lunch for (and be the gracious host) followed by an aunt stopping by for a cuppa after tea, and then up half the night with a scratchy 3 year old who claimed to have ear ache. She's fine this morning.......grrrrrrr......! Its very quiet here at work this morning and I'm struggling to keep awake already. I've got my first cooking class for the term starting tonight too, so no early night for me.

Pleased to see before I left for work this morning that our house painter was finally applying the first coat of paint, after putting off our house for the last month (you're next on the list he's been telling us for ever) and taking 3 days just to prep the house. He seems to do shorter days than I do as he's just setting up when I leave for work and he's gone by the time I get home in the afternoon, and I'm only gone 6 hours a day! It'll be lovely to have the house looking good this summer as we had to put off the painting a year ago so its been needing for a while now.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

LL, how exciting about the painting. We are having a few bits n pieces done by EQC, at some stage. The problem is thou, that they don't just paint a wall, they paint the whole room !!!! I can understand this in certain incidences, but every full room with a weeny teeny crack ???? Helloooooo !!!!!
I always thought that Rachel was a bit ditsy too, until I began watching NZ got talent, and last night really proved me wrong. She is a lovely grounded down to earth Kiwi girl, who just happens to be famous. I was very impressed !

I am so worried about all those poor people in America. 6 million without power, 50 + dead, all sorts of damage.
Lots and lots of aroha coming to you all from us in little old New Zealand
x

[Lizzielou]

LL, how exciting about the painting. We are having a few bits n pieces done by EQC, at some stage. The problem is thou, that they don't just paint a wall, they paint the whole room !!!! I can understand this in certain incidences, but every full room with a weeny teeny crack ???? Helloooooo !!!!!

Maybe we need to get EQC into our house then? Heh! Our builder ran out of money during the build of our house (he quoted too low and took too long) so he tried to cut costs with the decorating stuff. This is why we are now re-painting the exterior of our 7 year old home and most of our walls and ceilings need re-doing on the inside too. Much is the pity that we have to pay to get it all done too, no insurance cover for that sort of thing.

Yes I've been watching the news about the US in the last few days. Looks awful. There was a thread on here a few months back where we were discussing disaster planning, so hopefully that geared a few people to get things in order in time. At least they did get a day or two's notice about the storm, not like an earthquake eh?