A bit of this, a dash of that

In this post I am going to show you some products I have run across and some photos that I've taken. It will be a hodge-podge of sorts.  

First, I'm going to show you a size comparison between New Zealand and the United States, because I'm guessing that most of you have never compared the two.  The population of NZ was 5.12 million in 2021. The population of the US in 2021 was 332 million. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Zealand_%E2%80%93_U.S._area_comparison.jpg

Here is an interesting product I recently ran across.  It was available from Whisky and More, a business I have been very impressed with, for a number of reasons, ever since I first ordered on-line spirits from them. 

This is the salty, olive-flavored brine that is left over after Telegraph Hill Olives produces their many choices of olives.  

They send recipe cards with their product that suggest all sorts of uses, including a 'dirty olive martini,' which is what the lady on the label is sipping, while she cooks.  

Jeanne used some of it once when she first, lightly boiled some Swiss chard, and then fried the chard with pork chops.  It was amazing. I have to admit that I haven't tried it in a martini yet.    

I have a special fondness for olives. Many years ago, I decided that I didn't want to throw out the brine when I finished a jar of olives.  Instead, I dropped boiled eggs into it and let it work it's magic for a couple of weeks. Then, voila,  "olive-pickled eggs" were born.  

When Jeanne and I moved to New Zealand, and discovered that canned quail eggs were available, I immediately tried a batch and found that they pickled much faster than chicken eggs did, as you might expect they would.  And the boys loved them.  They became almost a staple in our house.  

I tried making a batch of olive-pickled eggs with this brine, but found that it produced eggs that were too strongly flavored for our taste.  I haven't gotten around to trying a batch with diluted brine, but I plan to.  

This next product wins the prize for being the hottest (spiciest) drink I've ever encountered. I didn't think that Sweden was known for blistering beverages, but that's where this is produced. The Ghost Edition on the label refers to ghost peppers. In its bottled state, this stuff scares me. When I first opened the bottle, I tried the tiniest sip I could manage. There was a momentary pause, and then I thought I might have mistaken the shot glass for a red-hot nail. This stuff is beyond words-hot.  But let me tell you how I drink it. 

I measure out about half an ounce and dilute that by  8 to 10 times with either tonic water or club soda and toss in some ice besides.  The CO2 being released from the mixers causes a pleasant tickling of my nose and upper lip as I prepare to sip it, but if I inhale at that point, I will find myself coughing. The bubbles are actually carrying some of the capsaicin compounds from the peppers. It's incredible.  I've never run across anything like this before. 

It has a cinnamon flavor predominately, but other fruitiness comes through as well. At the dilution rate I mentioned, I feel only a very slight tingling of my taste buds, so I know that I have tamed it. However, I don't drink more than half and ounce at a time because I don't want to shock the lining of my stomach more than necessary. It does taste good but I think this bottle will last me quite a while.  

This is a tiny trial-sized bottle from Finland.  It tastes like salty licorice.  I'm glad I tried it, and I like the flavor of black licorice, but not when it's this salty.  

Recently, we went out to lunch with friends Judith, Les and Kevin at the Swanson RSA.  That stands for Returned Services Association and reminds me of our own VFW in many ways.  

One of the cold entrees available that day was a salad-like dish called 'ika mata' in the Cook Islands or 'raw fish' in New Zealand.  Jeanne and I both tried it and found it entirely acceptable, very good in fact.  The fish had been marinated with other ingredients that had given it a firm, semi-cooked texture.  The only thing I can compare it to is the texture of pickled herring, although the ika mata is not vinegary.  

When I mentioned that, Judith told us that she loves Rollmops.  I had no clue what she was talking about at the time.  However, the next day at the supermarket saw me investigating a refrigerated display where I found the jar you see below.  I bought a jar for Judith in thanks for telling us about it, and a jar for us to try.  

They turned out to be very similar to pickled herring.  The differences are that these fillets of herring are rolled up tightly and held in place with little wooden pegs, are not quite as sweet as the pickled herring I'm used to, have a stronger vinegar taste and also contain a hint of dill.  We finished the bottle quickly.  I found the vinegar a little strong for my taste but Jeanne liked them just the way they were.  

We were invited recently by Evelyn to a hat party.  I decided that my hat would celebrate my years as a beach comber.  The picture shows my hat during production, although regrettably, I did not take any pictures of the finished work.  And it has now been disassembled.  

On top of the hat is the upper portion of a snapper skull, perfectly cleaned and shellacked.  In front of the crown are the upper and lower jaws from a puffer fish.  The white thing is an eight inch long barb from a sting ray.  

Later, I added a small star fish, various sea shells, and a section from a colony of tube worms. I could have come up with quite a few more items, but the hat was getting heavy and I chose to limit myself.  

About a five minute walk from our village, is the carpark behind Falls Bistro.  Next to the car park is a bicycle rental business and they also offer the skateboard track that you see in the background.  This area also often boasts works of art that are periodically rotated around the Auckland area.  Not long ago, I showed you a 'rainbow maker' in this location.  Today, it is this arrangement of shapes and patterns that captures the attention of all those passing by.   

Early morning, looking toward the northeast.  That's Jupiter above the Sky Tower and the Moon joining in.  

A closer view of the Moon with its Golden Handle showing on the right.  

Jeanne found this large preying mantis on our balcony this past April.  

This magnolia near the African Garden is blossoming.  (Taken on June 30, 2023.

This picture was taken a few days ago and shows part of our Market Day. As usual, it was a success. 

This coming Friday is 'Matariki Day' here in New Zealand, which signals the beginning of the  Maori New Year. 

This is a picture of Matariki, taken last year on Matariki Day.  I've always known this star cluster as the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters.

Well, that's it for this week.  I hope you found at least a few of those pictures interesting.  

Next week, I'm going to take you for a walk from Britomart to the Fish Market in Auckland.  I've shown you pictures of that area before, but it has been a long time.  Certainly well before covid entered our world and messed up so much.  I enjoyed walking down there again after all this time and hopefully, you'll enjoy seeing what I saw. (like a young woman balancing by her toes high on the edge of the Sky Tower's SkyWalk platform.)     -djf