"Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days Of Summer"

Oh dear, it seems I am getting into a 'every 2 months' rhythm of blog updates. I am going to endeavour to keep my posts shorter, that way there will be more of them and hopefully more frequent posts! Of course many people have tried to limit my talking over the years...they all failed. But hey, it's worth a try. Wish me luck!

Over the Summer holidays, my boyfriend and I were lucky enough to spend a couple of nights in paradise. This paradise exists in the Coromandel and it is really something else. Here is the view from the front porch:

We spent our time lounging about reading and soaking up the Sun or out on the water fishing or watching our friends free dive spear fishing. Between us we caught kingfish, kahawai and snapper and for dinner we had an entree of kokoda/poisson cru. It's super easy to make and such a nice way to eat fish! There's a range of ways to make it, dependent on personal tastes, but this is how I like to make it:

Kokoda/Poisson Cru

2 fillets of fresh fish
2-3 large lemons
a cucumber
a red capsicum
a red onion and/or 2-3 spring onions
2 tomatoes
a chilli (optional)
some fresh coriander (YUCK!)
a tin of coconut cream

Cut up the fish into roughly 1cm pieces, put them in a bowl, squeeze over enough lemon juice to just cover the fish then cover the bowl and place in the fridge. It depends how cooked you want the fish as to how long you let the lemon juice cook it, I love sashimi so I usually only let it 'cook' for up to 3 hours. When you're ready cut up the cucumber, capsicum, onion, spring onion, tomatoes and chilli (if you're using it), remove the fish from the fridge, pour off 3/4 of the lemon juice and add the chopped ingredients and the coconut cream. Serve with some chopped fresh coriander on the side. Yum!

For our main we had some crispy potatoes and fillets of kingfish that were coated in a thin layer of flour or cajun spiced flour and fried on the barbeque, and a yummy salsa verde inspired salad. Then we rolled ourselves off to bed ready to do it all again the next day - bliss!

Those days seem very far away as I sit here in Wellington as it grows colder by the minute and I am alternating typing hands so I can keep the free hand firmly clasped around my cup of tea for warmth! If you are suffering through the recent cold here in Wellington, you should head down to the recently opened 'August' on Garrett Street for a delicious People's coffee to warm you up.

August is both a cafe and an exhibition space, providing excellent takeaway coffee, yummy filled croissants and baguettes and frequently changing art for you to browse while you wait. It's run by the same lovely trio as 'Milk Crate' and I have had to increase my coffee intake in order to visit both each day - go and check it out!

x Hungry Lab