Darren Bevan: Movies
Bad Moms - Cast: Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Christina Applegate, Jada Pinkett Smith, Annie Mumolo, Clark Duke
Directors: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Darren's Verdict: http://bit.ly/bad-moms-review
Ben Hur - Cast: Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Pilou Asbaek, Rodrigo Santoro
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Darren's Verdict: http://bit.ly/ben-hur-review
Nici Wickes: Food
Nici is getting ready for the annual Whitianga Scallop Festival on September 10! Get your tickets here: scallopfestival.co.nz
Pan-Fried Scallops with Cauliflower Puree & Choriz
Serves 2 or 4 as an entrée
2 doz scallops, orange coral/roe pierced
2 cups cauliflower florets
½ cup milk
75mls cream
Salt & white pepper
50g chorizo, diced
Chopped flat leaf parsley to garnish
Olive oil to drizzle
- Cook cauliflower in small saucepan with milk, until soft. Add cream and blitz in food processor until very smooth. Add more cream if you need to. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
- Sauté chorizo until crispy, remove from pan. Wipe pan clean.
- Melt butter in pan on medium to high heat and when it bubbles and foams add 12 scallops to the pan, placing them in a clockwise direction around the pan – the first ones will be ready to turn when you have laid the last one’s down. Repeat with second dozen.
- Smear two large tablespoons of puree onto each of two plates, add scallops then sprinkle over cooked chorizo, drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of parsley.
Lynda Hallinan: Gardening
The gardens in Hamilton feature all the main garden design styles, from Italian renaissance to Japanese to English cottage garden and American modernism, but they also have an excellent range of ideas for Kiwi backyards, including a permaculture garden, so I thought let's talk about simple ways to be a bit more sustainable in your back garden:
1. As the calendar ticks over into spring, and you suddenly start buying lots of plants in plastic pots, ask your local garden centre if they offer recycling. Many will have a collection area for pots to be recycled. Or, stack them up neatly and use them when sowing seeds or taking cuttings or potting up divisions of your favourite plants to share with others. Don't just biff them in the rubbish.
2. Making compost is a no-brainer but it can be quite difficult in a small garden. An easier, no-fuss, no-stink way to recycle kitchen scraps is to dig a long trench across your vegetable garden, about 30cm deep, and bury your scraps in a layer 10cm deep. Cover with soil and plant salad greens and leafy vegetables on top.
3. Wilt your weeds before you compost them. If you attack your garden in a gung-ho, get-it-all-done-in-one-weekend sort of fashion, you invariably end up with a huge pile of green waste that fills your entire compost heap. So, if you have a concrete path or driveway, dump the weeds on that for a week until they wilt; they'll shrink in volume by a third, then put them in your bin. Or rot weeds down in a barrel of water with some comfrey and seaweed and chook manure to make liquid fertiliser.
4. Reserve an area for bee and beneficial insect fodder, which means flowers. Chuck in a packet of wildflower seeds and let them go to it.
5. Don't spray. Or if you do spray, choose more natural options.
And if any of you have burning horticultural questions, bring them along to the Get Growing Roadshow from 11am today and tomorrow at Hamilton Gardens and Lynda will hand out some free advice.
Bob Campbell: Wine
Bob's just returned from Sydney where I have been a selector/judge at the Six Nations Wine Competition where six countries each submit their best 100 wines to find out who makes the best wines by type and which country makes the best wines overall.
The countries are New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Chile, Canada and the USA. Around 600 wines are divided into 15 categories such as sparkling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir etc. and judged blind by the six judges.
- How long has the competition been going?
It started 14 years ago in 2003. In the beginning there was only New Zealand, Australia and South Africa but other countries have joined been added. This is the first year that Canada has competed in the Six Nations Wine Challenge.
- I suppose each country has their own particular strengths?
Yes, New Zealand seems to win Sauvignon Blanc most years. You’d expect Australia to come out top in the Shiraz class and Chile to do fairly well with Merlot although that’s not always the case.
- How did each country perform this year?
This year New Zealand won “Top Country” trophy as well as winning seven out of the 15 classes, a great achievement given the overall quality of wines judged. The country placings were:
FIRST: New Zealand
SECOND: Australia
THIRD: USA
FOURTH: South Africa
FIFTH: Canada
SIXTH: Chile
- How often has New Zealand won the competition in 14 years?
This is only the third time we’ve come out top. Australia was first on ten occasions although this is now the third year in a row that we’ve won it, which is encouraging.
- When do we find out the names of the winning wines?
The results are embargoed until October 6th when they are announced at a gala event in Sydney. You can be sure that I will reveal the winners on this show.
- What’s your wine of the week?
It’s a delicious red that’s perfect for winter weather: Villa Maria 2014 Cellar Selection Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, a mouth-filling wine with masses of flavour that punches well above its weight.
Bob has more recommendations at bobcampbell.nz
Mike Yardley: Travel
Alpine fun in Aoraki/Mt.Cook
For more trip tips in the Mackenzie check out Mike's travel articles on our website.
www.newstalkzb.co.nz/lifestyle
Catherine Raynes: Books
Girl in Green, Derek B Miller, Scribe, $34.99
From the author of Norwegian by Night, a novel about two men on a misbegotten quest to save the girl they failed to save decades before
Commonwealth, Ann Patchett, HarperCollins, $27.99
Patchett draws from personal experience for a funny, sad, and ultimately heart-wrenching family portrait: a collage of parents, children, stepchildren, siblings, and stepsiblings.
Andrew Dickens: Music
Christine and the Queens: Self Titled Debut Album. Andrew's verdict: 8/10
A unique, singular voice. An electronic landscape not too dissimilar to Lorde's combined with a visual style combining Michael Jackson inspired dance moves and a moving back story. Not everyone's cup of team but Andrew loves it. Sad but joyous all at once.
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