Issue 30

MY HUSBAND IS IN HOSPITAL for his first treatment of chemotherapy for throat cancer (he is neither a smoker nor a drinker). I was given a copy of NZ Life & Leisure by my sister.

I sat down to read it this morning and was very interested to see the article Run rabbit, run (Issue 28) as I am a spinner and felt-maker and this was close to my heart. It`s given me something else to focus on and for that I am very grateful.

My spinning goal this year is to hand wash merino wool lock by lock and spin it into a very fine yarn so your story had great timing. I have entered the draw for the book (John Perriam’s Dust to Gold). If I`m not a winner I will be hunting down a copy to buy. Thanks for a top-class, well-timed piece.

Raeleen Bain, Te Awamutu

I REALLY ENJOYED the article about Yvonne Marsters, the only European woman on tiny Palmerston Island in the Pacific (The island where everyone knows your name, Issue 29).  The idea of living on such a beautiful island always seems idyllic but it must take a certain sort of person, like Yvonne, to adapt to such a different lifestyle.  I cannot imagine what it must be like planning the shopping list for five months at a time or waiting to use the communal telephone.  And possibly, like Yvonne, many people don't realize how isolated paradise is until you need a hospital or dentist in a hurry. 

Still, it seems that hurrying is the last thing on most of the islanders’ minds. The stunning beauty of the island is clear to see from the photographs of the lagoon and surroundings.  Yvonne does sound as if she was destined to go to Palmerston Island one day – she certainly has the right surname!

TELL ME IF THIS doesn’t make you laugh: it’s the end of the day; a commuter from Wellington arrives at her front gate deep in the Wairarapa heartland; she greets her pair of chocolate-coloured miniature ponies by revving her little sedan engine before shrieking “ready, set, GO” and they’re off … all three racing for the house. It’s a little family habit that enlivens the day’s routine for no reason other than it’s fun.

Gus Watson drives his ride-on mower through the house for the totally sensible reason that there is no other way to get from one side of his Queenstown property to the other. Anyway, he made the doors wide enough to do it. And this is not the half of it when it comes to the curious habits and happinesses of this successful painter.

Emilia Wickstead lives in London, loves the glamorous era of Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren and would never dream of leaving the house without looking as though she had just stepped from the screen in Fellini’s 8½. Why not dress to the nines every day of the week?

Frances Stead and Russell Hall have spent $2 million trying to put New Zealand equestrians back onto the medal podium at the 2012 London Olympics. Frances is long-time horse mad (as well as being one of New Zealand’s leading business people) and Russell loves nothing more than a challenging project. Good on them, we say.

Invercargill’s Paul Adams built an unsinkable boat for his paua-fishing mates and whaddya know? Stabicraft is now an international brand shipping recreational boats to the United States and Australia every other day or so.

Health is the new wealth. Here are some suggestions for building a portfolio of long-term good-health investments.

More skinny on fat

Having trouble sticking to your New Year’s diet resolutions? Mehmet Oz, the Turkish-American cardio-thoracic surgeon and integrated-medicine expert, picks three habits that will help keep you lean for life:

Eat before meals. Eating a 100-calorie snack half an hour before dinner causes your ghrelin levels to subside (ghrelin is the hormone associated with hunger), meaning you’ll actually eat far less when it comes to
mealtime.

Don’t drink soft drinks with dinner. Fructose, a sugar found in soft drinks, actually tricks the brain into thinking you should still be eating even though it has stored enough energy from food.

Eat more fibre at breakfast. A high-fibre breakfast moves slowly through the intestines, ensuring you stay full for longer and are less inclined to reach for a mid-morning snack.

Fat and happy?

Packed on the kilos as soon as you tied the knot? A University of North Carolina study has found that married couples are twice as likely to be obese as those who are dating.

Easy pain relief

Martinborough

More than 30 wineries, a main street full of boutiques, olive groves, gourmet food shops and fine-dining restaurants ... oh, and a golf course, scenic walks, horse and bike riding.  More than one weekend is needed to soak up all this Wairarapa town has to offer. But if one weekend it is, then we have to choose the Wine Trail as the prime attraction. (A map and opening hours of all vineyards is available from the Information Site, email martinborough@wairarapanz.com).

You might want to visit Martinborough for the Taste Martinborough weekend in November. They call it “New Zealand’s premier wine, food and music festival” and we cannot disagree. Tickets and accommodation sell out, so book early. toastmartinborough.co.nz

The Martinborough Fair is another premier Martinborough event, so popular it is now staged twice annually (2 February and 6 March this year) and being accepted as a stall-holder is a competitive business. martinboroughfair.org.nz
 

Both these events are day-long experiences, so a second day of wandering the shops and cafes is probably enough for most visitors. The town is laid out in the shape of the Union Jack, with streets names such as Naples, Panama and Cologne reflecting the travels of the town’s founder, Irishman John Martin. He set up New Zealand’s first sheep station here in 1881.

New gardens can be designed using sustainable principles and the same ideas can also be incorporated when retro-fitting established gardens. Words Bette Flagler.

Balancing act

When Carl Pickens, landscape architect and owner of Christchurch-based One Earth Matters, discusses the principles of sustainable landscape design with clients, one of the first things he talks about is the appropriate use of plants. It’s not uncommon, he says, to see established gardens with plants that have grown too big and are not only cramping each other but shading the house. When choosing plants to use on a site, he considers soil type, temperature, sunshine hours, frost and rainfall. Notice how nature does it: natural habitats and ecosystems balance themselves with many varieties of plants and are home to birds and insects. A sustainable garden should offer the same, so include nectar-producing plants and trees to attract birds, insects and butterflies. While there is a place for plant repetition in certain situations, if you plant vegetables from only one family, for example, you could end up being inundated with one kind of bug. But if there is biodiversity in the garden, you’ll attract beneficial insects that will eat the bugs and achieve a more natural balance.

Sustainability

Traditional landscape design has sometimes left us with gardens full of inappropriately placed plants and deficient soil. It harms our biodiversity, consumes ridiculous amounts of natural resources and is costly to maintain – both environmentally and economically. Sustainable landscapes function as systems; they thrive with less effort and require fewer resources than traditional landscapes. They enhance soil quality, create habitats for insects and birds and are sensitive to the characteristics of a site. 

The respective owners of a 50-year-old caravan and an even more venerable car join forces to show off their treasured conveyances. Words: Ann Warnock; Photographs: Guy Frederick.

IN DESPERATION Rose Fuller advertised in newspapers in a bid to buy a real McCoy bubble caravan and it worked. “I knew exactly what I wanted – a 1959 Starliner Standard. I’d looked for two years without success so I advertised in local rags from the West Coast and Marlborough to Canterbury and Southland,” says the Christchurch licensed property agent. “I asked people to email photos. I got pictures of caravans with hay in them; one was even used as a pigsty. Then I heard from a lovely man in Invercargill and the search was over. This is it. I’ve been told it’s the best example of its kind in the country.”

What’s big in new-season hair and make-up? We have the newest trends and the cosmetics that make them work. Words: Tracey Strange; Photos: Belinda Merrie.

In the same way that you’d want your face to age – gracefully – beauty trends move gradually from season to season. Autumn 2010 is no exception, with the inclusion of long-standing favourites such as red lips and smoky eyes and the evolution of upcomers such as metallics, contouring and glitter. There are no major revolutions but, as always, beauty companies have developed counter-loads of covetable cosmetics, the majority of them easy to use and flattering to all. Here are the latest trends and some of the products that make them beautiful.

GOING GREY

Perhaps the biggest colour for the season, grey is fashionable on eyes, nails and (if you dare) lips. Its best application is in eye-shadow, where its very smokiness makes it both sexy and sophisticated. From silver to sooty, grey can be an everyday option or a dramatic definer for night. But for a different take on the smoky eye, big-name make-up artists are currently creating a more diffuse look by leaving off the liner, or by combining shades of grey and brown to give a slightly mousey effect.

My friend Daniele Delpeuch shared this wonderful recipe with me. It is a classic from the kitchens of south- western France and such a simple way to make a truly delicious terrine. Make it 4 to 10 days before you plan to serve it to allow the flavours to develop.

• 175ml cognac
• 2 big handfuls herbs, eg tarragon, chervil, parsley
• 2 skinless duck breasts, fat removed
• 1 kg coarse-cut fatty pork mince or ground
• skinless pork belly
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Place cognac in a pot with herbs (stems on) and bring just to a boil. Take off heat and when cool squeeze out the herbs into the cognac to extract all their flavour. Discard herbs.

Pour infused cognac over duck breasts. Leave to marinate for about 1 hour. Mix mince with salt and pepper. Fill the base of a 6-cup terrine dish with half the mince mixture. Lift duck breasts out of infused cognac (reserving the liquid) and place the length of the terrine dish on top of the mince. Place rest of mince on top, pressing down firmly. Pour over reserved cognac and let sit to absorb for about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 190°C. Bake terrine in a water bath for about 50 minutes or until it bounces back when pressed on top; if it is still squidgy, return to oven until cooked through. Juices may be lightly pink from the duck breast. Cool terrine and then weight down for several hours (I cover with tinfoil and sit a couple of cans on top). Chill for at least 48 hours before serving. Serves 6-8

• 3 medium beets (800g), peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons dried currants
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Place all ingredients in a pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove lid and carry on cooking until liquid has all but evaporated and beets are tender and glossy. Stored in the fridge, it will keep for a couple of weeks. Great with cold meats and as the base for a savoury tart with feta and rosemary. Makes 3 cups

Use the balsamic beetroot relish to make this savoury tart.

For one individual tart, roll out 50g shortcrust pastry into a thin disc about 10cm in diameter.

Place on a baking tray. Spread 1 heaped tablespoon beetroot relish over the pastry, leaving 1.5cm around the edge and fold this up into a rim. Top with 15-20g feta cheese and finish with a few rosemary leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes until pastry is crisp and golden.