It’s been a week of just hanging out and chilling with Lisa and Jake on the boat, lots of friends stopping by the boat to say hi and to check out Slow Flight, dinners at the Pipe’s house, some shopping at the little town stores, and trying new things : ) We all have plans to do a bit more adventuring outside of the town of Whangamata and maybe even a sail to a close by island for an overnighter, but since our mom and step-dad, Carole and John Seymour, are coming to visit us tomorrow, we thought we would just hang out and relax in the mean time.
Lisa eating a fresh and yummy pizza bread from the store…it’s only $3 nzd…Trevor actually almost forgot to get me one he told me…that would of been a bad idea (lol)You never know what it’s gonna taste like until you try it! It’s not bad…. it was like a Funnon.Green lipped mussels chilled…I am not sure Jake was super sold : )Trevor and Jake dropped the dinghy to see if they could fish a bit in the bay right behind the marina…no such luck this time….this is our view looking aft from our boat…the boat launch is packed every high tide with jet skies and floaty toys, and lots of people sunbathing on the beach…. at low tide the bay completely dries up…once we watch some silly tourist get stuck in the sand with their jet ski and try to pull it off the bank….
Paua: Maori for Abalone– This was another Jake special adventure but this time Trevor went. They took the dinghy and went passed the sand bar and into the outside bay (the ocean) where there are little islands just in front of the town and they anchored off a rocky shore.
They were in about 7-20 feet of water.The Paua would be in the grass and you would have to use a knife to “peel” them off the rocks.
It was time to prep these guys and off to the Pipe’s house for dinner. Trevor and I wanted to contribute and planned on cooking dinner: Potato Chip Snapper (Trevor usually does this recipe with Halibut but snapper is the favorite fish around here) and a plum crumble from plums given to us by David and Michelle, the couple we had Christmas dinner with. Of course Jake was going to prepare the Paua and Lisa prepped a salad from Pam’s garden.
Paua- the shell is flipped upside down here and the “foot” that is peeled off the rocks is the black part. Jake has already carved the “foot” out of the shell and has flipped them over inside the shell so the white you see would of been attached to the inside of the shell.Jake at the BBQ cutting out the “foot”So I guess the “foot” is super tough so you have to pound it or tenderize it before you can really do anything with it.After tenderizing it with a hammer…. Jake cut up little pieces. The shells were BEAUTIFUL!We had brought all of the cooking ingredients to make dinner and dessert. Here is my array of baking stuff…I am ready to try to bake my first crumble…..Sisters in the kitchen, we haven’t been in the same kitchen for probably 2 or more decades…it was great working side by side again…picked up where we left off and loving it!Crumble in the oven….Trevor getting anxious to get started on his Potato chip snapper dish…..Paua – all cooked up on the BBQ salt, pepper, and maybe some vinegar? It was AWESOME! It has the texture of a clam or mussel but a bit more chewy and had a fresh and light flavor to it. I guess there is another local way to cook it in coconut milk but served chilled.Dinner was great….we were all so hungry no photos this time. But this is a home grown tomatillo sprinkled with some brown sugar on it. I had never had one before it is was DIVINE! A blend between a kiwi fruit and a tomato… unfortunately it’s not in season right now…will have to wait until April I guess : )
New Years Eve “Boys Only” fishing trip– Totally ok with that, I stayed on the boat and cleaned up (easier when Trevor is out)… I made Trevor write the captions (lol)
Out fishing for the morning..at 6 am (ouch!)Our captian on the left and Robert (Jakes Dad) on the rightJake with the “hot” seatOur third fish (snapper) in the boat and still nothing but empty beer bottles in the “chilli bin” (New Zealand for cooler)
Happy New year...even though we are a day ahead of the US. We are having a slow and relaxing NYE on the boat…. we might even be in bed before midnight…man we are getting old!
One day, Lisa, ALice (Jake’s sister), and I went to town to do “girl stuff”…we shopped around and had a light bite at a local and new bar/restaurant with a bottle of local Rose. Lisa found Jake this little stuffed “Animal”, the character from the Muppets…if you remember back then. It was perfect for Jake since Jake is a drummer himself : )
Next up…..Mom’s visit to New Zealand: a mini family reunion!
