Sausage Making

What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon, sausage making with expert tutors from UCOL. 
My lovely daughter gave me a sausage maker last xmas but I had not taken the next step and given sausage making a go. I thought I needed to buy cuts of meat to grind and I was worried it would be too hard with my damaged shoulders.  But no, the experts simply order the mince ground at 6mm from their butcher, how easy is that. 
The hardest part of the whole process is deciding the flavours you want. We made beef with beetroot chutney and lamb with minted peas.
The Sausage Class - part one.

And once we had mastered putting the skins onto the sausage press we made some to take home.

Using the Sausage Press

I am committed to buying a press, apparently they are readily available online.  Be another trade me purchase no doubt. Just took all the effort out of it.

And then of course the most difficult part of the whole process is the tying off and I captured all on video so I can watch and practise.

Creating the string of sausages

So we had a go in groups of 3 or 4 but in our case we had a group of 5, which at the end of the workshop meant we took home less sausages each, but hey it was a great afternoon.

Having a Go


Hubby wasn't that practised at getting the skin on the grinder but it is not easy first time  -says me who only videoed and did not actually make anything.  But of course I am confident if left to my own devices I will quickly become expert and confident.

Hubby puts the skin on the grinder

As a group we really did very well, I thought they looked very professional

Didn't we do well

The UCOL chef vacuumed packed the sausages for us all to take home.  Ours went straight into the fridge and were dinner saturday night and sunday night. They were the best sausies I have eaten maybe ever.

I cannot wait to show my son how to do it.  When he returned from living in the UK he rang me one evening from Auckland, I am in Wairarapa and asked where he could buy a proper sausage. I told him to drive to Cockle Bay butchers which he did and while he said they were not bad sausies, they were not a patch on british ones.  Well once I demonstrate this easy technique to him he can make quality sausages to his hearts content.  And you know it is much cheaper. Finding a butcher that stocks the skins may be a challenge but in Masterton Export Meats stocks them and I gather the Mad Butcher also stocks them nationwide.

Cooking With Foruged Foods

 Well I have now completed my Kokomai - Wairarapa Arts Festival - activities. I have enjoyed Cooking with Foruged Foods by Antony; michelin trained chef from London who now owns Wakelin House in Greytown. 
It was such a treat to be part of four participants who paid a modest $67 to be part of the workshop. 
The four trainee chefs!! did the prep and Antony did the cooking.

Firstly we had to identify foruged greens that Antony had collected from his Featherston Farmlet and some of it he collected from the garden at the rear of the restaurant.

 Meanwhile outside the library next door childrens theatre aound pirates was taking place.

So we did the preparation which including grating cheese, chopping wild fennel and mushrooms.

Our first recipe was panna cotta made with wild fennel and a fennel syrup.  I can tell you it was to die for.

Here we made a salsa of wild onion, olive oil and garlic. And as the photos below show we also made a mushroom sauce with cream, garlic, butter and loads of cream to accompany gnocchi.

We used only the best ingredient, organic egg yolks and local cheeses.

Every chef recommends the best mixing method is clean hands.

I thought gnocchi was one of the mysterious things that only experienced cooks could make. How wrong I was, it was the easiest recipe and to get the markings you place a small amount on the fork prongs and roll it off with your thumb.

Here is the onion weed salsa, easy and so tasty and from something most people consider a noxious weed.

 The gnocchi was cooked in hot salted water and then fried which is an option to brown but not essential. 

Our day concluded with us eating all that we made and was washed down with a lovely local pino gris. I have been left inspired to start using what until now I considered weeds, after all how many of you have battled with wild onion. Use it as a cooking ingredient in salsas, in place of onions and great as a stuffing ingredient.

Wakelin House, Main Street, Greytown. Inside is a beautiful restaurant, open fire, white tablecloths, silver service, top class. And a menu full of foruged local foods.

Elections Are Over And Life Moves On

Well Saturday the 12th October was local election day. Personally I was not holding out a lot of hope of getting elected to Lands Trust the first time I stood, but to my very pleasant surprise when the call came through - while I was out taking my walk -  I had been successfully elected. But even better than that I got the call from my friend standing for Mayor and hallelujah she beat off the incumbent Mayor and one other challenger.   And then to make it a real ladies night both the females standing for the Licensing Trust were elected.

I have had my first board meeting and it was everything I thought it would be. It will be a challenge but also one of the most interesting things I have undertaken and my term is for six years, before I have to seek re-election.

Before the elections hubby and I took the mini cooper for a drive to Whangamata to join the Britz at the Beach car rally.  We stayed in a lovely hotel just across the road from the headquarters, Whangamata Club. One whole day and two half day of activities, rallies and events.  Friday night was a hilarious tribute to British comedy acts and Saturday was dance followed by supper - very civilised.  I even got to drive while hubby read the rally instructions, that is a first and I am sure he would rather he drove but I get car sick reading while a car is moving.  We didn't really argue much throughout the rally which is surprising as we had to change direction every few hundred metres, go off road and find clues.

At the end of the rally we drove to Auckland to visit the kids.  And to see our daughters new townhouse which is just perfect for her. We hung pictures for her, moved furniture and walked the dogs.  Took them both out for dinner for their birthdays, 31 and 33 respectively.  I so enjoy our times together now they are adults and we can do adult things together.

Then we had a very pleasurable drive home from Auckland to Masterton via the Hawkes Bay.