Popovers
Join me on facebook! : www.facebook.com RECIPE: Ingredients 2 cups milk, warmed 4 eggs 2 cups flour 2 tsp salt 1 cups grated Gruyere cheese Place ...
Supper Popover
1 lb. ground beef 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce 1/4 c. chopped green pepper 2 tbsp. flour 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. parsley flakes 2 c. (about 8 oz ...
The French connection
On the North Island's rugged west coast, Angela Walker finds a getaway where continental flair meets country life.
Friday, 1.30pm: We've been instructed to collect the key for the lodge from the Awakino hotel next door. I walk in to be greeted by a row of wild boar heads mounted above the bar. Turns out the pub doubles as the clubrooms for the local Tainui Pighunting Club. I feel more at home when I spot a pretty decent bottle of pinot noir for $18.
1.40pm: Unlikely doesn't begin to describe this gorgeous getaway. At Awakino River Lodge, 79km southwest of Te Kuiti and 98km northeast of New Plymouth, the south of France meets backblocks New Zealand - so "back" there's the blessing of no mobile coverage. The lodge - the original Awakino general store, built in 1884 - was bought by Auckland banker Garry Wycherley in 2004 and over four years, pretty much rebuilt from the ground up. It now marries Provence with the provinces in a truly winning way. The vast living area features a collection of antique and reproduction furniture and furnishings, the dining table, fashioned from old railway sleepers, could easily seat 12 and big red leather couches are just too easy to fall into and somehow its spaciousness still manages to feel comfy and cosy. French doors open out on to a terrace and garden area with olive trees, topiaried bushes and a potager featuring an enviable bay tree and bushes of thyme and rosemary swarming with big fat bumblebees. All that's missing to round out the south of France vibe is the sound of cicadas, though I'm guessing they'll make their appearance in summer. And while for starters I'm a bit fazed by the big windows on the street front - it all feels a bit too open to passers-by - in Awakino, population 60, we soon realise there simply aren't any.
