Suburban Lush

Goodbye 2009

Its hard to believe we've come to the end of 2009, and what a fantastic year (not to mention decade) it has been. I started 2009 in Berlin, and I've done so much since then: visited new countries, gotten to know my extended family better, eaten good food, fallen deeply in love with hiking, made many fantastic new friends, read some great books, seen some excellent films, explored Belfast and entertained visitors. However the three things that define 2009 for me are definitely travel, hiking and new friends. 

It has been a great year for travel, with trips to London, Sheffield, Italy & Switzerland, France and a couple of weekends away in Ireland. The most memorable? would have to be my trip to Italy & Switzerland with Colin and Christian. And I've been lucky enough to be able to explore Northern Ireland, both checking out Belfast and with day trips to surrounding towns and hills.

I feel some trepidation as 2010 approaches. It will be a big year full of changes, but it is very exciting, too. I'll be spending some time traveling on my own, I'll be moving back to New Zealand, and living on my own for the first time ever. I'll be turning 30, I'll be in a long-distance relationship, and most importantly of all (and the reason I'll be doing all of the above) I'll be a student again, challenging my brain, working on something I really love, forging my future and no doubt scamming free meals whenever possible!

And while I'm not making any resolutions there are a few things I would like to do in 2010. Take photography classes, use my camera more, and cultivate my creative side through photography. Keep hiking even though I don't have anyone to organise walks for me, and perhaps learn how to actually read a map, read a compass, and navigate for myself in the process. Eat more local produce, which should be easy enough with  access to orange trees, lemon trees, grapefruit trees, friends with laying chickens, family and friends with cows and sheep, and a weekly farmers market a short walk away from my house. And of course in 2010 I mostly want to be the very best person I can be.

I hope 2009 was all you wanted it to be, and that 2010 fulfills all your dreams.

A Little of Everything - Food, Drink, Parties & Paris

Hello! I have photos to show and stories to tell about Paris, but things have been go go go since we got back and I haven't managed even 10 seconds to plug my camera into my laptop so you will just have to wait. Don't believe me about the hectic-ness? Check it out:

We got home from the airport at around 12.30am on Sunday, and headed straight to bed. Monday morning I got up, made pancakes (yes, brunch is far more important than plugging in cameras) and a batch of cookies. I'd give you the recipe, but they are Christmas wreath cookies, so you'd have to wait for a year to make them and so teasing you with the recipe just feels mean. Once the cookies were done I managed a quick shower before shooting out the door to catch the bus (spectacular fail on that one) to my cousin's house for a family get together. I finally arrived, panting and breathless but at least carrying cookies, and she promptly started plying me with champagne. Not that I was complaining, mind you. All the family was there and we had a lovely afternoon eating and drinking. It was very nice. At 7.30 a friend picked me up and drove John and I out to a party, where I continued to drink bubbly and have a wonderful time. I'm not sure when we got home, but I think it was around 2am. Now, I'm one of those people who needs a lot of sleep (about 9-10 hours a night generally works) so getting up the next morning for work was painful. But it had to be done and I coped with the day, helped along by a sausage roll and two cans of coke. Straight after work I headed back to Alex's house for more drinks, this time with friends. I was a little more sensible though, and managed to get home, somewhat sober, around 12.30am. Today, its work again, then we're off to a birthday party tonight. And I'm pretty sure nobody will let me get out of celebrations on Thursday. I miss my couch.

So, how was your Christmas? Are you still full? I managed lots of walking and surprisingly far less eating then I usually manage in the season but, let me tell you, food we did eat was fantastic. Now, I know this is no life-changing revelation and everyone knows French food is good, but everything we ate was seriously amazing. Steak tartare for dinner on Christmas eve, croissants or pain chocolat for breakfast every day, mussels in a white wine garlic and gorgonzola sauce, roasted chestnuts from street vendors, croque monsieur. Mmmmm. Oh, and I discovered one of the best things in the world: walking along in the cold, you stop at a crepery. They cook your crepe as you are standing there, sprinkle it with sugar, and liberally douse it with Grand Marnier. I'm pretty sure there is no better way to warm up!We went out for dinner on Christmas day, and I had duck in a green peppercorn sauce, served with the creamiest sweet potato mash, perfectly seasoned. The green peppercorn sauce was pretty much browned butter and green peppercorns - divine - and John and I used bread to mop up every last drop of it. And of course, there was plenty of French champagne and red wine to wash it all down.

It's A Wonderful Life

The arthouse cinema in Belfast shows It's A Wonderful Life every year in the lead-up to Christmas, and a group of friends decided it would be a fun night out for the Monday before Christmas. They were all surprised when I told them that I'd never seen it, and they wanted to know what my traditional "Christmas movie" were.

Many people here have certain movies which they watch to get into the Christmas spirit - Scrooged, Elf etc. And I don't. I couldn't quite figure out why this was, and then it came to me. We moved to New Zealand when I was 11, and began celebrating Christmas in the summer. So there is no need (or desire) to sit curled up in a warm house watching films. Instead we go out - for walks, swims, BBQs - and enjoy the long warm evenings. Now, before I was 11 we did have cold snowy Christmases in Canada, but I grew up in a house without TV, so evenings were spent reading, watching the fire, or chatting. And of course, I was young enough that I went to bed pretty early. So that's it - no traditional Christmas movies for me.

I do, however have several Christmas traditions, and Christmas day is always a fixed routine. My mom always makes mince pies, and we have our first taste while putting up the Christmas tree. Raffi's Christmas record must be played before anyone is allowed to put on more "grown-up" Christmas music. My Dad and I secure the tree and put up the lights while Mom warms the mince pies and dusts them with icing sugar. Once the lights are up, the tree is decorated by all of us (and Wombat if she's there). In the lead-up to Christmas Mom and I always make gingerbread cookies, shaped like Christmas trees and decorated with green icing and smarties. And Christmas eve I go shopping with Dad to pick up present's for Mom's stocking. That evening we have salmon, often BBQ'd whole, and a letter is written and left for Santa under the tree, along with snacks.

Christmas morning we wake up early and the "kids" (ie Wombat and I) take the stockings from under the tree and into Mom and Dad's room. Sitting on Mom and Dad's bed we read the letter that Santa has written us in return, and open our stockings. Then its up for showers and breakfast - grapefruit to start, then kippers and toast, and for those who are still hungry there is always toast and marmalade. Because I don't like orange juice, my Dad and I start on the Black Velvets, a mix of champagne and Guinness despised by the rest of the family. Once breakfast has been eaten, dishes done, kitchen cleaned, and everyone showered and dressed, we open the presents. We sit around the tree, and presents are opened one person at a time, drinking and munching on cookies and mince pies as we coo over each gift. The person who opened the previous present then chooses the next present to be opened and so on. It takes a while. After presents there is usually swimming, and eventually its time for Christmas dinner: turkey with all the fixings, onion sauce, strawberry and asparagus salad, and mom traditionally forgets the ham, realising half way through the meal that it is still sitting in the fridge. For desert its pavlova and summer pudding - no heavy Christmas pud for us. Its never just family by this stage. We always have a few visitors for Christmas dinner, and my best friend Percy almost always arrives for a visit just as desert is being served. After the meal we relax, perhaps have another swim, and sit reading the books we've inevitably gotten as gifts.

This year, though, we are breaking with tradition. John and I are heading to Paris on Christmas eve. And so, I wish you all a Joyeux Noel.

North Down Coastal Path

It snowed this weekend. Thick fluffy flakes which coated the ground while I was at a Christmas party. The weather has been unseasonably cold - Belfast rarely has snow in December - and everyone here is excited at the prospect of a white Christmas.

We had our "Christmas hike" on Sunday in the snow, the last hike of the year. It was an easy walk along the coast from Bangor to Holywood, which was perfect because a good number of us had been up late partying the night before. Proper paths, cake, mulled wine, good company, and a pint in a nice pub afterwards - it was bliss.

We parked the cars at Holywood and took the train to Bangor. The walk followed the coastal path along the South shore of Strangford Lough back to Holywood, passing Crawfordsburn Country Park, fancy houses and a fort. At the fort we were offered an impromptu tour. First the radio room, where the elderly tour guide showed us (and told us about) every single piece of equipment there, in nauseating detail. He was eventually interrupted by another elderly guide who wanted to show us around the fort. He pointed out everything, including the sewer, and, while telling us a story advised that one needed to use the term "coloured gents" these days to avoid offending people. It was very entertaining. After the tour we carried on, and ended our walk at The Dirty Duck - the pub that holds the quiz I attend on Tuesdays. It was a lovely day - cold and windy but clear - and we caught lovely glimpses of the snow-covered hills of Belfast

Grade: Easy
Distance: 8 miles/13km
Time: 4 hours approx.
Higest Point: 15m
Terrain: Flat, on well-maintained paths
Map: OSNI Sheet 15

Belfast Blues

I went to see play last night with a couple of friends. Belfast Blues is the autobiographical story of Geraldine Hughes. A one-woman show, Geraldine tells anecdotes and stories of growing up in Belfast during the troubles, sweet childlike tales interspersed with stories of bombings and shootings.

It was a fantastic performance, enhanced with excellent sound effects and an ever-changing backdrop of pictures of Belfast during the troubles. And that fact that it was playing in Belfast shows you just how far we've come.

Chaos

Last weekend was hectic, things haven't slowed down much during the week, and things look to be just as hectic this weekend. There has been no time to cook this week, although the big pot of creamy mashed potatoes complete with a cup of sour cream, 2 heaped tablespoons of butter, and a good sloshing of double cream that I made on Sunday night is allowing me to get away with laziness this week as far as my flatmates are concerned.

I've been going for a short run most evenings to keep me sane from the stress at work, and to allow me my evenings out guilt-free. I managed a night at home on Wednesday and, too fried to read any Infinite Jest, I'm embarrassed to say I picked up a book I'd already read just so that I could entertain myself without having to think. Curled up in bed with a hot water bottle and a few chapters was bliss.

I'm still getting over my cold and the hectic schedule probably isn't helping any, but there are far too many parties, pub quizzes, dinners with friends and nights at the Christmas market this time of year to allow a measly little cold to slow me down.

Frosty Night Walk - Clandeboye Way

I'm not sure how to explain my Saturday afternoon walk and make it sound fun. But it was!  We had a Frosty Night walk which started at 2:30 pm, which was convenient because we'd had our hiking group Christmas dinner the night before.

We met at the centre of Helen's Bay, and started off through a wooded lane before crossing the highway and carrying along up the Ulster Way through the Clandeboye Estate. The walk itself is hard to describe, as it got dark around 4pm. The track was very muddy in places and, as we walked along with head-torches it began to rain slightly. So yes, how do you make a muddy walk in the cold, dark and rain sound like fun? I'm not sure, but we had a great time.

On most walks these days we have over 20 people, but on this particular walk there were only 8 of us - a nice intimate number. We chatted and laughed as we walked and, even though we were following a decent path, there was a real sense of adventure.

We stopped for coffee and cake before heading up the final stretch to Helen's Tower. While our leader was kind enough to supply us all with cake, she did admit that she hadn't recci'd the final stretch. As a result we missed the tower, and eventually had to turn around to re-trace our steps. We never made it to the tower.

It was a fun walk, and an excellent way to wake up after a 4am bedtime. We were home by 7:30, which gave me a little bit of time to eat, shower and get dressed for another night out (and another 4am bedtime).

Resolution Redux - November Edition

Its hard to believe that we are now in December, which means I've been trying to stick to my resolutions for almost a whole year. How have I done this month?

See more movies: I saw The Men Who Stare at Goats and New Moon, both of which I enjoyed, particularly as they are totally different types of movies. The Men Who Stare at Goats was whip-smart and funny with great acting, while New Moon was a great "bubblegum for the brain" film.

Read more non-fiction books: I tried reading Portrait of a Killer by Patricia Cornwell, which is her theory about who Jack the Ripper really was. I found it condescending and badly written, so gave up half way through. I'm now reading A Long way Gone by Ishmael Beah. This is a true story of Ishmael Beah's life as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. Its an amazing (if difficult at times) read.

Try two new recipes a month: I've made Smitten Kitchen's Lemon & Cranberry Scones (although I found the recipe needed a little tweaking), and Smashed Chickpea Salad. I made both of these for the first time on November 29th, so they only just squeaked in for the month.

Explore local sights: I've been very slack with this one this month, but I have a few things planned for December, including trying out a local Champagne bar and doing a tour of the City Hall.

Do more hiking and work to improve my overall fitness levels: I've only been on one hike this month, but am trying to get outside more. The weather isn't helping things.

Say yes more and take all opportunities presented to me: cooking classes, a charity quiz, meeting up with new friends - I think I've done ok on this.

Hiking Cookies

I had the best intentions to go hiking on Sunday, and so I made cookies on Saturday to take with me. Unfortunately due to a sore foot I didn't make it out hiking, but don't let the name fool you - these cookies still taste good when you're curled up on the couch with a cup of tea. The cookies are almost trail-mix in cookie form and they are infinitely adaptable - use whatever dried fruit/nuts/seeds you like best, or do what I did and use up all the little odds and ends left in the cupboard from previous baking experiments. This time, mine had slivered almonds, raisins, craisins, and pumpkin seeds, but they are good with sunflower seeds, chopped dried apricots, chopped almonds or walnuts - basically anything you'd put in trail mix. If you've got kids going along for the hike, try throwing in some chocolate chips.

The sugar means these cookies are a quick pick-me-up, while the oatmeal, molasses, dried fruit and nuts give slow-burning energy. They are not the most attractive of cookies, and the molasses makes them a little sticky so they need to be kept separated (I wrap them individually with glad wrap, perfect for throwing into the front pocket of my backpack to grab as a quick snack). I think they'd probably freeze well, but there have never been any left for me to experiment with.

Ingredients (makes about 2 dozen cookies):

• 115 grams butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds
• 1 cup mixed nuts/dried fruit/seeds, chopped so they are all roughly the size of raisins

Preheat oven to 190C. Grease a cookie sheet. Beat the butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until well mixed. Add eggs and molasses, and beat until combined. Add spices and flour, and beat until batter is smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Drop the dough, by the tablespoon, onto the cookie sheet (hey don't spread much, so I managed to fit 12 cookies per tray) and bake for 12 - 15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on a rack.

Movies

I saw The Men Who Stare At Goats this week, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Smart, funny and quirky, with great acting (Jeff Bridges in particular was fantastic).

Now I'm ruining all credibility by going to the midnight premier of New Moon tonight. Oh dear!