As I mentioned in my last post, we recently had an amazing time in the Nelson-Tasman area. We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Mapua and nature was all around. Plant and animal life is so different just a few short hours (and a ferry ride) away from Wellington, and it was awesome hanging out with tui, quails, fantails, geese, and many baby pukeko. So fluffy, so cute. Jason took these photos, most with his macro lens on digital and the first and last on his minolta.

I have been having a marvelous summer, I’ve ticked off so many things on my Summer Goals list without even meaning to, only about five things left to go! I thought I’d start my return to blogging by sharing my summer instagrams with you.

Wellington: Eating, drinking, Christmas parties, and more recently, gigs. This weekend I went to Fleet Foxes and Beirut – too much fun.

Auckland: Awesome Christmas family time, shopping and strolling in Cornwall Park. All the food.

Raumati: Holidaying in a spacious bach with lots of good people. Rain, sunshine, barbeques, fancy NYE dinner complete with cat’s ears, fluffy neighbour kittens, and I Have Never in the best fort ever.

Nelson: The ferry, a bed and breakfast with a glorious garden full of tuis and friendly cats, beer tasting, magical treehouses. Not pictured: Emma’s amazing wedding! I was too busy helping Jason take the official photos to grab any snaps.

Sorry for such photo-heaviness, I only put up about half of what I wanted to! If you’d like to follow me on instagram, search for kate_mcleod.

Props to my friend Willow for making me want to make my own Summer Goals.

Help cook Christmas dinner.
Picnic.
Read a billion books.
Eat fish and chips (sans fish) by the sea.
Take film photos.
Drink smoothies galore.
Find delightful dresses in small-town op shops.
Write in parks and cafes.
Discover new music.
Make tomato pie.
Wear flowers in my hair.
Have a fancy dinner on NYE.
Go to weddings in Nelson and Whakatane.
Drink at a winery.
Tell ghost stories or play truth or dare in a blanket fort.
Make new animal friends.
Cook halloumi, asparagus and portobello mushrooms on a barbeque.
Plan overseas adventures.
Share homemade brunch with friends.
Turn somersaults (FLIPS) in the ocean.
Eat blueberries on chocolate cereal.

The Gentlewoman is basically the best thing ever. Except maybe for my new Nathalie Lete designed hankerchief that my dear friend Lizzie brought me from Paris. Ooh la la!

Charlotte Taylor, cutest! via calivintage.

Hey guys. Sorry I haven’t been around. The week before last I found out my cat Ella was really sick, and she had to be put to sleep. She lived at my Mum’s house so I wasn’t able to be there. Thankfully I visited for my birthday and spent a lot of time sneaking her into my room to snooze on my bed. I’ve wanted to write about this all week, but it’s been so much harder than I expected. Poor little kitty, I’ll miss her so much.

Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
My favourite Murakami, alongside Kafka on the shore. This beautiful cover is illustrated by M. S. Corley.

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Rarely am I affected by a book as much as this. Haunting and heart-rending.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
I think everyone I have recommended this to has enjoyed it.

Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte
I’m such a fan girl. I yearn for a Nanny/Jane Eyre crossover with Fran Drescher shouting “OH, MR ROCHESTER!”

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
It was hard to get into the first time I tried, but well worth it when I did. This and Alias Grace are two of her most satisfying books. I also loved Oryx and Crake but after not enjoying its companion book The Year of the Flood, I wonder if I was wrong about it. Time for a reread.

Leviathan, or, The Whale by Philip Hoare
I saw Philip Hoare speak at the readers and writers festival a year or two back, he’s such an interesting man. And BFFs with John Waters! I haven’t read Moby Dick (it looms on the shelf), which plays a large part in the book, but I really love whales.

What’s the best thing you’ve read lately?

Oh my, her hair. Love these pictures of Kiki, via The Velvet Bow.

Also relevant: “I’m currently cleaning out my closet of childish dresses. I want to start dressing like I’m 30. Some of the things I have are like, I can’t wear this anymore, it’s not cute.” I KNOW BUT I’M NOT *QUITE* READY.

A long weekend lunch of caramelised garlic tart, pesto potato and green bean salad, ribboned asparagus salad, club sandwiches, and plum yoghurt cake for dessert.

Ottolenghi’s caramelised garlic tart, from Plenty. It’s a wee bit of work but very, very worth it. I subbed the hard goat’s cheese for some grated cheddar.

Ingredients

• 13 oz/375g all-butter puff pastry
• 3 medium heads of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup/220ml water
• ¾ tbsp fine/caster sugar
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• 1 tsp chopped thyme, plus a few whole sprigs to finish
• 4 ¼ oz/120g soft, creamy goat’s cheese
• 4 ¼ oz/120g hard, mature goat’s cheese
• 2 free-range eggs
• ½ cup/100ml heavy/double cream
• ½ cup/100ml crème fraîche
• salt and black pepper

Have ready a shallow, loose-bottomed, 28cm fluted tart tin. Roll out the puff pastry into a circle that will line the bottom and sides of the tin, plus a little extra. Line the tin with the pastry. Place a large circle of greaseproof paper on the bottom and fill up with baking beans. Leave to rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4. Place the tart case in the oven and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and paper, then bake for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Set aside. Leave the oven on.

While the tart case is baking, make the caramelized garlic. Put the cloves in a small saucepan and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a simmer and blanch for 3 minutes, then drain well.

Dry the saucepan, return the cloves to it and add the olive oil. Fry the garlic cloves on a high heat for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and water and bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Add the sugar, rosemary, chopped thyme and ¼ teaspoon salt. Continue simmering on a medium flame for 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the garlic cloves are coated in a dark caramel syrup. Set aside.

To assemble the tart, break both types of goat’s cheese into pieces and scatter in the pastry case. Spoon the garlic cloves and syrup evenly over the cheese.

In a jug whisk together the eggs, creams, ½ teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Pour this custard over the tart filling to fill the gaps, making sure that you can still see the garlic and cheese over the surface.

Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/Gas Mark 3 and place the tart inside. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the tart filling has set and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little.

Then take out of tin, trim the pastry edge if needed, lay a few sprigs of thyme on top and serve warm (it reheats well!) with a crisp salad.

It’s a chilly one here in Wellington, a perfect time to post these pictures and remember what fun my friends and I had on our new years bach holiday at Waitarere, and think longingly about the fun we’ll have this coming summer.

All photos by Jason.

On new years eve we put on our glad rags (I wore a dress I bought from an op shop that very day), drank bubbles or gin, and had a fancy dinner before dancing into the night.  I’m hoping for the same again this year, and some sort of pagan picnic (barefoot frolicking! red wine! crown of foliage in our hair!) on new years day.