A Holiday by the Sea

We've just returned from 7 nights in the Coromandel.  We stayed at Kuaotunu and aside from the joys of walking on the beach & swimming, (yes! your eyes do not deceive - bathing in the sea did occur), we enjoyed the local produce which mostly comprised "fruits de mer".
On our way from Auckland we stopped at Coromandel Town which is a really delightful town that I heartily recommend.  Coromandel offered many delights.  Our first stop was the Coromandel Oyster Company which is essentially a roadside stall selling primarily oysters but also other shellfish products.  We bought Coromandel oysters on the half shell which we enjoyed with a slice of delicious bread we bought at the Chai Tea House (scroll to the bottom of the page).
We also bought a tub of Mussel Chowder which we enjoyed for lunch the following day again with the delicious Tea House bread.  It was a dense seedy sourdough loaf. 
Next stop was the Coromandel Smoking Company where we bought some smoked scallops & prawns along with a fillet of smoked kingfish which we prepared in a salad comprising potatoes, eggs & spring onions mixed with mayonnaise and served on a bed of lettuce.  This was a variation of a smoked fish salad we regularly have at home.  Unfortunately you can no longer buy Coromandel Smoking Company fish in Wellington as far as I know.  If you know something I don't please let me know.
We were staying in a bach at the back of a house & I had noticed some mint in the garden which gave me the idea of cooking a lamb steak served with roasted potatoes & yoghurt mixed with mint.  Lamb steaks are something I often cook on holiday because you don't need the resources of the pantry.  We always travel with coffee & our trusty espresso pot, along with a bottle of olive oil, grainy mustard, white wine vinegar, the pepper grinder & a jar of cumin.   We are well prepared for whatever culinary treat presents itself.
To our delight our host went out fishing one morning & presented us with a plate of freshly caught snapper fillets.  We served these simply pan fried with a squeeze of lemon, more roasted potatoes & a salad.  This was the most delicious snapper I have ever eaten so we were delighted when another few fillets came our way the next day.  We had plans for dinner so we used them in a salad for our lunch.
We also visited the local eating establishments.  One of the highlights for me was a visit to Colenso Country Cafe where I enjoyed a slice of plum cake so delicious I had to return a few days later & have another slice.  Speaking of plums, which did put in multiple appearances on this holiday, we visited The Artists' House at Whenuakite and on our arrival the artist (Julie) offered us a plum straight from the tree.  This was a magical plum experience - a Luisa plum which was egg shaped with firm yellow flesh.  I find most yellow fleshed plums floury & tasteless but this was firm fleshed & truly delicious.  Unfortunately I suspect they would not do well in Karori.  The artist was planning to make plum brandy with her surplus.
One evening we treated ourselves to a meal at Salt Restaurant in Whitianga.  I had the Coromandel mussels followed by the market fish.  Both were superbly cooked & presented.  On a return visit to Coromandel Town via the 309 Road (check out Stuart's pigs), we bought a tub of Oyster Bisque from the Oyster Company for our dinner.  We lunched at Umu Cafe (third down the page) and Peter & I shared a mussel platter.  If you are a fan of mussels you will love this.  There were smoked mussels, crumbed mussels, chowder, pate.  This was mussel heaven.
We will certainly be returning to those sandy beaches and enjoying more delights of the sea.  On the return journey we spent a couple of nights with relatives who were suffering, like the artist above, from a surplus of plums.  We are now enjoying Aunty Lorraine's plum jam on our morning toast.  They also had tired of apple cucumbers and we returned home with a large box.  I have since produced 16 jars of my grandma's cucumber pickle.  This is really simple.  You need
1 doz apple cucumbers or 6 long green (peeled)
3 lb onions
2 lb white sugar
2 pints vinegar
Chop cucumbers & onions.  Sprinkle with salt & leave 2-3 hrs.  Drain & add vinegar, leaving out 1 cup to mix with thickening.  Add sugar, boil till soft (1-2 hours).


Thicken with:
1 c flour
1 dsp curry powder
1 dsp turmeric
1 tbsp mustard powder
mixed with remaining cup vinegar
Boil till thick – 5-10 mins
Makes 8-9 jars (my 16 jars were probably smaller than Grandma's)
Give me a shout if you would like a jar.