Victory parade (and the last rugby post for a long while)

Today has been wet, cold and windy. The kind of day where you should venture outdoors for as short a time as possible. However it was also the day that the All Blacks were going to roll through town on the back of trucks with their hard won, shiny trophy and so I, along with all of Wellington, headed into the CBD.

Here's the photos.

Time for me to go and shovel down some fish pie. I think I've earned it after getting completely drenching biking home in the rain!

All Blacks...what else?!

Like the rest of New Zealand, I am so insanely happy tonight!!!!

Finally, the world cup is ours. Like the last four world cups, a game of footy has brought me to tears, but this time they were tears of the good kind (and a few tears of the oh my gosh this is so intense I can hardly bear to watch it kind too). 

The atmosphere at Embassy Theatre, where we watched it, was incredible. More than 700 people stood and sang the national anthem and yelled and screamed at the screen for the entire game. There was chanting and biting of nails, and drinking of wine to calm the nerves. What a crowd! 

And being a big Stephen Donald fan, I'm extremely happy he got that kick over. Chuffed that our try was scored by a prop too. How cool is that?!

I'm proud to be a kiwi every day but even more so today. Let's all take the day off, shall we? Public holiday! 

That is all

A rugby-filled weekend

I apologize in advance to anybody who's sick of hearing all about the World Cup already. I have another picture update from the game I went to this weekend - Australia versus South Africa. I found time to watch three of the four quarterfinals, only missing the fourth because of that pesky thing called having to work. If only the bills paid themselves...

So here's the photos. It was a gorgeous day to be sitting in the sun, watching a very close game of rugby with a plastic cup of sauvignon blanc and a hotdog on a stick. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon. 

P.S. Go the All Blacks! And would everyone please stop slagging off Stephen Donald already?! By the Facebook updates it seems everyone's written off the ABs before they've even played the game. Think positive - we won't get any more injuries and we will roast some Wallaby!  

Pumas vs Georgia: some pictures

On Sunday I headed up to Palmerston North for the day to see Argentina kick some Georgian butt. Well, that was the plan, but not much butt-kicking was done because of a combination of a poor first half performance by the Pumas and Georgia putting up a very decent fight. Still, we won, and it was a fun day out. 

We (my sister and I) had flags and facepaint. I think we looked pretty awesome. She wore her flag as a toga. We had to hunt around for facepaint as the entire city was just about sold out of blue and white!

The Argentine fans kept up the singing and chanting throughout the match. Mostly this tune:

Soy Argentino, es un sentimiento, no puedo parar. Ole ole ole, ole ole ola, ole ole ole, cada dia te quiero mas!

Which means: I'm Argentine, it's a feeling, I can't stop. Ole ole ole..... every day I love you more!

I took a thermos of mate tea and shared some with random Argentines on the street. My sister didn't want to try any though. Not after the last time. With mate you put a whole lot of leaves (the yerba) into a cup (the mate) and then pour hot water over it and drink it with a special straw (the bombilla) that acts as a strainer. You keep pouring water over it, drinking it, pouring some more water etc until it loses its flavour and that's when you top it up with more yerba. Now the first mouthful can be very strong for the uninitiated. The last and only time my sister tried some she got this first taste and was gagging into the kitchen sink haha. 

There was also a free asado (bbq) in the square. It was well worth the wait in the queue. They'd also organised a small market/fair type thing with empanadas and even churros filled with caramel. I ate three! 

After the game we headed to a pub to watch the All Blacks and what a game that was! I can't wait for this Sunday as I am lucky enough to be going to the Wallabies vs Springbox quarterfinal (haven't decided who I'd rather win that) and then straight after that I'll be watching the All Blacks vs Pumas - I think I will do All Blacks facepaint with my pumas jersey for the occasion although I'm certain the All Blacks will win easily. They may be without Dan but Argentina is without both Hernandez and Fernandez Lobbe and don't have a kicker than can actually get the ball between the posts more than 30% of the time. I hope they don't lose by too high a margin.

Penny-pinching

Tonight we did our fortnightly grocery shop at Pak n Save. In honour of the occasion I prepped most of the dinner before I left for class so all it needed was to be popped into the oven for 30 minutes when I got home.

We had the vegetable crumble from the Comfort: Food for Sharing cookbook. If you don’t already own this book, buy it! Mine’s well-thumbed already – the lemon curd recipe is especially good.

Basically all it involves is a crumble topping – wholemeal flour, cheese, rolled oats, butter and herbs – and the filling is garlic, onion and pretty much any vegetables you have on hand with a tin of tomatoes chucked it. It’s perfect for using up leftover vegetables at the end of the week (makes a nice change from slow cooker ‘end of the week’ soup).

Because dinner was ready so early I had time to give the fridge a good clean and the freezer a de-icing while watching Shorty before heading off to do the shopping. It’s so much easier to do when the shelves are getting a bit bare!

The reason I’m boring you with the ins and outs of my grocery shop are because of an article I read on stuff today. There’s been a lot of talk lately about budgeting, rising food prices and families not being able to afford to eat healthily. We are most definitely not perfect in any way, but I thought I’d share some of the ways we keep our costs down while still enjoying healthy and most importantly, TASTY food.

·         Write a shopping list. This is stuck to the fridge so if you use the last of something write it up straight away. If it’s not on the list, it doesn’t get bought.

·         If you do run out of something, IMPROVISE.

·         Always keep milk powder in the pantry to avoid a dash to the dairy if you run out. If you live with someone who doesn’t like the idea of powdered milk, put it in the old milk bottle and they’ll never know the difference. We also buy enough milk for the two weeks and stash a bottle in the freezer until it’s needed.

·         On that note, use your freezer. If you’re cooking, make extra and put it in the freezer for a rainy day.  I also buy a tin of tomato paste and freeze it in ice cube trays before tipping it into a snap lock bag so it’s always on hand and nothing gets wasted. If you bake a cake or muffins, freeze half for later. Sometimes I don’t quite finish a bottle of wine – if you freeze it in a snap lock bag it’s great for adding to gravies, risottos and tomato sauces.  I also grate ¾ of the block of cheese and freeze it to make it last longer – stops anyone slicing off massive hunks.

·         Don’t waste anything. Make soup with any vegetables that are starting to look sad and freeze it for lunches. Any fruit that’s going a bit soft makes awesome crumble, smoothies or add it to some baking. 

·         Buy everything in its least processed form; it normally works out cheaper. I can’t believe people buy things like kidney beans, lentils and chickpeas in cans. It is so easy to cook them from dry and it works out at about a third of the price. As for ready-made pasta sauce, what’s wrong with a tin of tomatoes, some tomato paste, garlic, onion and fresh herbs?

·         Making things from scratch is much more fun and a lot more budget friendly. For a price of a jar of jam you can make several jars – and they make a great gift for friends. All you need is a kilo of sugar for each kilo of seasonal fruit (under $2 a kilo). I even ask my friends to give me their jars instead of recycling them – saves buying any!

·         Buy the house brand items if they are cheaper. They normally taste the same. There is a couple of exceptions to this rule – baked beans and bread. Nothing beats Vogels but we save it for toast and use a cheaper sandwich bread and even better, homemade bread for sandwiches.

·         If you are going to be busy later in the week, cook two meals at once and chuck one in the fridge/freezer – cheaper than takeaways. Also jazz leftovers up and you’ve got another meal e.g. cook more roast veges than you’ll need and chuck the leftovers on a pizza, through cous cous, in a risotto or on a toasted sandwich.

·         Don’t say no to anything that is free. Use your contacts. I am very lucky to have parents that farm and fish – not paying for snapper is a very sweet deal! This rule applies when hosting a dinner party too. When people ask if they can bring something, don’t be afraid to ask them to bring a bottle of cream or some berries for dessert for example.

·         You don’t need to eat meat every night. Vegetarian meals are often cheaper and nutritious too. We eat vegetarian or fish the majority of the time because my flatmate doesn’t eat meat, but even for all the meat eaters out there it’s worth having a meatless night once or twice a week. Vegetarian food isn’t bland or boring. Lentils are your friend! I recommend healthyfood.co.nz for recipe ideas.

·         Invest in an easiyo maker. Less than $3 for a kg of greek yoghurt and even cheaper if you nab the sachets when they’re on special.

·         Shop at a vege market if there’s one near you. We do a supermarket shop once a fortnight but a vegetable shop at our local school, weekly. The prices are a heck of a lot lower and $20 goes a long way. You can also get 36 eggs for $6-7. Often you can get things like very ripe bananas for under $1/kg – I chuck them in the freezer to use in baking. If something like broccoli is really cheap one week I’ll buy a couple and parboil then freeze it in snaplock bags – much cheaper than the stuff in the supermarket frozen section!

·         Buying in bulk sometimes works out cheaper (like for a 5kg bag of flour or 10kg bag of potatoes) but not always, so check the prices carefully. E.g. today I found 2x 500ml oil was cheaper than a 1 litre bottle.

·         Cleaning products – now this is where we save a fortune! Thanks to mum putting me onto Wendyl, we barely spend a cent on cleaning products at the supermarket. The only things we really buy are bleach (very occasionally), cloths (the cheapest brand) and dish washing liquid. I’m going to start trying to make the beauty products too – got to be better than putting all those chemicals on your skin.

·         In a flatting situation, do you all need separate toothpastes?

·         This one’s not to do with food shopping but not having a clothes dryer keeps our power bill right down. Clothes racks are a godsend (especially when you stick the dehumidifier next to it) and we try to only wash the sheets/towels when the weather’s nice.

·         Garden! Pots are cheap and I’ve managed to grow silverbeet and herbs very successfully in them. Right now I’ve got lettuce on the go too. Seeds are cheaper but you can’t go wrong with a 6 pack of vege plants for less than $2 at Bunnings.

I hope that didn’t come across too preachy. We manage on $30 per person a week ($90 total) including rubbish bags etc. We definitely could cut that down if we were on the bones of our arses but that much keeps us not wanting for anything (like cheese and butter and the occasional tub of ice cream).

I love hearing new ways to save money and make meals go further. The destitute gourmet Facebook page is a treasure trove of followers’ ideas. Is there something you do that isn’t on my list?

Soy argentino, es un sentimiento no puedo parar...

Well Sunday was a day I've been hanging out for for quite some time. It was the day of the Pumas versus Scotland game, and we had tickets!

We started off having a couple of Quilmes and fernet and cokes while painting on our faces. How awesome is it that you can buy Argentine beer and spirits right here in Wellington?! Three cheers for Moore Wilsons!

Then it was off to the stadium for a very close game. We moved seats to be amongst all the Argentine fans. Not that you needed seats as we were standing up chanting, yelling, hugging the people around us when we finally got a try etc etc. Pumas supporters are the most passionate I've ever seen. It was amazing to be a part of. 

I painted a sign on a pillow case and hung it down the front in the hopes my grandparents in Argentina might spot it on the telly, and low and behold apparently it did indeed appear for a split second 18 minutes into the game. How cool is that?!

Once the game was won nobody wanted to leave the stadium. They were all dancing and chanting (with drums even). My friend dragged me right into the thick of it. The stadium floor was moving up and down with all the people dancing. It was truely awesome!

From there it was off to the hotel they were staying at to await players' arrival. That was an experience in itself.

Later in the evening (or early morning by this time) we hung out in the same pub as the players. I met a few including Felipe, the bald goal kicker and Lucas, who scored the winning try.

What a night! I'm so excited to be going to Palmerston North (probably the only time I'll ever say that!) to see them play again this weekend. I won't, however, be repeating Monday's hangover! I remember why now I don't drink like that anymore. Fuerza Argentina!

Game on

Well the rugby world cup has kicked off and there are three teams in particular I'm supporting...

• The All Blacks - that's a given. And the two Richard/Richies in particular, for their sporting prowess of course, not just for their amazingly good looks. I missed the ABs first game working and am not a huge fan of Sonny Bill Williams, but let's just say, I won't be complaining if he removes his shirt again.

dug this shot out of retirement - ABs vs Ireland in 2008

• The Pumas. Fuerza Argentina!

watching the game last night at the waterfront FanZone

• Oh and Samoa of course in the pool of death. Poor sods have to play South Africa, Wales and Fiji. But, you know, anything's possible!

the world in union...

What does this song mean to you?

It was just announced tonight that Hayley Westenra will be singing the ITV rugby world cup theme song this year. Not exactly knock your socks off, earth-shattering news for most people, and not for me either. But... all evening it's been stuck in my head which is a) getting a bit annoying b) making me really excited for world cup to begin and c) brought back some of the most traumatising memories of my childhood.

I hear this song and am taken back to being 11 years old watching this game. Heartbreaking stuff. Also a little traumatising is remembering the small crush I had on Justin Marshall when he had the blonde streaks through his hair. Ugh.

Of course my real loyalty lay with Bruce Reihana and my biggest memory of the 2003 world cup (apart from Johnny Wilkinson's very awkward kicking style and John Mitchell's shiny scalp) is being really peeved off about his absence from the squad. "BRING BACK BRUCE!"

A fonder, and probably my first ever rugby memory, is of Jonah Lomu running through players to the try line way back in 1995. My pet cow gave birth on the day of one of those matches and her calf was given tag number 11 in his honour. And also named Miss Lomu (shortened to Missy; she was the one we used to ride around on, although she was a little too pudgy to do this...). I also remember playing 'Jonah Lomu' in the backyard which involved one person clinging to the others legs and being dragged along the ground while the other ran in slow motion (well practiced while playing 'Bay watch' with a red flutterboard) towards a mock try line.

The most hardcore I have gone thus far for my rugby team.

Not long until rugby world cup begins which I am getting more and more excited about, spurred along by picking up my tickets last weekend. Not that I'm watching any Allblacks games (have you seen how much tickets costs?!) but I will be decked out in blue and white to support the second greatest team in the world, from the country with the best empanadas, Argentina. Go Pumas!

I have the rugby jersey, the flag and now to make the banner saying "Casate conmigo, Hernandez" (Marry me, Hernandez). Though no Dan Carter in the looks department, he (and the Pumas' unexpected success) were the highlight of the 2007 tournament for me - the light in the darkness of having to finish a bottle of wine at breakfast time to numb the pain of watching the Allblacks lose. God I hope that ref isn't going to be reffing any of their games this time around!
P.S. Here's a (pretty bad) photo of some kids playing their daily game of footy at the beach on Manono Island, Samoa. A blog entry about my trip there is on its way; I've just been so busy holidaying, then working, uni-ing, knitting and stuffing my face with the louise cake my flatmate baked today. It had homemade jam in it too :-D