This website is an odd mix of my interests as a writer, entomologist, naturalist, gardener, and educator. You’ll find blog posts about rural New Zealand life, links to my books, and some of my favourite recipes. Feel free to explore, drop me a line, and sign up for my e-mail list.
Apple and Quince Pie
Sometimes inspiration strikes and it’s glorious.
That’s what happened yesterday afternoon when I decided I had to do something with the remaining apples and quince before they went bad.
I wondered…was apple quince pie a thing?
A quick glance at the internet told me it was, and confirmed my suspicions that the quince needed to be cooked before being put in the pie.
So, making it up as I went, I created this absolutely stunning pie. It was fabulous warm with whipped cream, but I think it was even better at room temperature the following day. More work than your average apple pie, but this isn’t your average apple pie.
4 cups sliced quinces
4 cups sliced apples
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbs flour
Pie dough for a single-crust pie
Topping:
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
5 Tbs butter, melted
Place quince slices in a medium saucepan with a few tablespoons of water and cook gently until soft (5-10 minutes). In a bowl, combine apples, flour, sugar and spices. Stir the cooked quince into the apple mixture. Roll out your crust and place it in a pie plate. Combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork until crumbly. Pour the apple mixture into the pie crust and top with the topping. Bake 50 minutes at 190ºC (375ºF).
Happy Book Birthday!
As of today, all editions of The Dragon Defence League are available: print, e-book, and dyslexia-friendly print edition!
Bringing down an international dragon smuggling ring requires bravery, teamwork, quick thinking, and a touch of arson.
Do Ella, Nathan, Tui, and Oliver have what it takes, or will they become casualties in their own war against the smugglers?
This is book 3 of my Dragon Slayer series. I’m currently writing book 4–Taniwha.
The Indispensable Hoe
I was preparing the garden for my winter crops on Saturday when disaster struck.
Okay, it wasn’t really a disaster, but it did effectively end my work for the day.
My hoe broke.
This has happened before. This particular hoe has been held together for years by duct tape after I cracked the handle on a particularly difficult clump of grass. Unfortunately, duct tape wasn’t going to fix this failure—this one was terminal, at least for the handle.
A few back-of-the-envelope calculations reveal that this hoe has done about 6,300 hours of work for me over its lifetime. It has measured and prepared garden beds, dug furrows for seeds, removed weeds, cleared paths, and mixed concrete. And it’s done all this with almost no maintenance—some sharpening, some cleaning, a little duct tape.
It’s no wonder the hoe is one of the oldest garden tools. The first evidence of hoes comes from cave paintings made in about 5000 B.C. Although there are many variations in hoe design, the basic idea has changed little for thousands of years; it’s a tried and true design that does the job well.
So this week I’ll find a replacement for my expired hoe. It’s not a tool I can do without.
Wear Your Hair with Pride
“Why do you have white hair?” asked the young girl, impertinent as only a seven-year-old can be.
“Because I’m getting old,” I replied.
“No, I mean why don’t you dye it?”
“Because my white hair is beautiful–it’s actually silver and sparkly.”
She wrinkled her nose. “It’s not silver. It’s white.” She snorted and stroked her own hair, brown and straight. “When I get that old, I’ll dye my hair.”
There was no point arguing with her. Silver hair is a beauty a seven-year-old can’t possibly appreciate.
But even beyond the fact that my silver hair has come in with body and curl that my youthful hair never had (it sat on my head like a wet dish rag), my silver hair is beautiful for what it represents.
Like ANZAC poppies that remind us to never forget those who died for our freedom, each silver hair is a reminder.
Lest we forget the struggles over which we have triumphed:
• As a parent, the screaming newborns, toddler tantrums and teenage rebellion
• Mental health lows
• Physical pain and illness
• Emotional pain—loved ones lost, relationships shattered
• Natural disasters and those made by humans
• The acts of violence against ourselves, against those we love, against our neighbours.
Every silver hair reminds me I have not only survived, but thrived. Every silver hair is a badge of honour, a challenge met, a goal surpassed.
Dye my hair?
Why would I ever hide my hard-won medals?
Strength.
Bravery.
Perseverance.
Patience.
Sheer bloody-minded stubbornness.
I wear these badges of honour with pride—my silver sparkling medals that streak my hair and remind me what I’m made of.
Vilma’s Eggplant–better late than never
I’ve blogged about Vilma’s Eggplant in the past, but it’s worth repeating a recipe this good.
This year’s eggplants took a long time to get going, and it’s only now that summer is over that they’re really giving well. But it’s never too late for Vilma’s Marinated Eggplant. This stuff could make an eggplant lover out of anyone.
Vilma was the sister of our host mother during Peace Corps training in Costa Rica. She was loud and fiery-tempered, and regularly stayed with our host family when she was fighting with her partner.
When she was with us, she cooked—glorious Italian food she’d learned to make from her partner. Her food was a flavourful gift in a house where vegetables were usually boiled to death and served plain.
One of the most wonderful things Vilma made was thinly sliced eggplant marinated in garlicky vinegar. She’d leave a jar of it in the fridge when she left, and we would savour it for a week on our sandwiches or with our mushy, flavourless boiled vegetables.
I foolishly never asked Vilma for the recipe, but a bit of trial and error was all it took to recreate Vilma’s marinated eggplant.
This recipe mostly fills a quart-sized jar. It keeps for a long time in the fridge and makes a lovely addition to sandwiches. Serve it on crackers for party appetisers—it’s not the prettiest food, but after one bite, none of your guests will care.
2 small to medium eggplants
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Peel eggplants and slice very thin (1-2 mm). Steam until the slices are tender and limp (but not falling apart completely). Whisk all the other ingredients together in a small bowl, and toss them gently with the hot steamed eggplant. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving (the longer the better, as the eggplant will soak up more marinade).
Sand Dragon Competition Results
Thanks to the fabulous kids who made sand dragons and sent photos to me! Congratulations to Paikea Bennett who won the competition with his fantastic dragon that included driftwood wings, shell scales and teeth, and kelp fire. Well done! Great creativity!
While you all were making sand dragons at the beach, I was busy putting the final touches on The Dragon Defence League, Book 3 in the Dragon Slayer series. The official release date for The Dragon Defence League is 15 April, and it’s available for preorder now.
Embracing Autumn
Our summer has finally turned to autumn. Cooler temperatures and more rain mean the grass has begun to grow again, green shoots sprouting through rain-driven drifts of dead vegetation.
The tomatoes are browning, spent after summer’s excess, and while I mourn their loss, I welcome the fruits of autumn—pumpkin, wild boletes, black beans, apples and a return of leafy greens. I welcome warming soups and casseroles. I welcome the smell of baking pie, simmering beans, and sautéing mushrooms.
I welcome the reduced workload in the garden, too. There’s still plenty of harvesting to be done, and I’ll be clearing away dead plants throughout autumn and winter, but soon I’ll release the chickens into the garden to keep the weeds and pests in check until spring.
It’s time now to take stock. Plenty of summer soup, pickles and jam in the cupboard; strings of onions and garlic hanging in the kitchen; pesto, peas and corn in the freezer. Jars of popcorn and dry beans line the shelf, and a basket of apples sits in the kitchen. We will eat well this winter, food and effort stored in jars and freezer boxes to be released and enjoyed on dark, cold evenings.
So I will savour the warmth and sun that remains, but embrace the cold to come.
