The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/48969
BOOKS DINING THE AITUTAKI WAY This is more than a cook book. Sonja and her husband Tauono started a plantation at Anaunga on Aitutaki in the Cook Islands in 1995. Sonja can cook, garden and speaks several languages, while Tauono takes tourists fishing. Sonja's Kitchen, written by Dee Pigneguy and Sonja Raela, was born as the tourists wanted their catch cooked. Sonja had the nutritious vegetables, herbs and fruit and the match was made in Sonja's kitchen. Dee and her husband Mike spent two months each year between 2001 and 2008 managing the café. During this time Dee studied the botany of the island, how things grew, what the locals used for cooking and how they prepared it. Dee and Sonja teamed up in Sonja's Kitchen (Papawai Press, $39.95 or see www.papawai.co.nz) to inspire you to make these dishes. In the Botanical Aitutaki section at the beginning of the book, plants, fruit and flowers are introduced along with stunning photographs. The Eating Aitutaki section includes recipes using the island's important food plants. Blackened tuna tails, Aitutaki coconut cake made from freshly grated coconut, cherimoya ice- cream and chocolate banana fig cake are just a sample. If you love tasty food, have been to Aitutaki or are looking for a present for someone who has, this is the book for you. HOME ON THE RANGE Allyson Gofton has travelled New Zealand, visiting orchards, high country farms, fishing towns and other places which have featured on the television show Country Calendar over the last 45 years. The recipes in Country Calendar Cookbook with Allyson Gofton relate to what the families cultivate, rear or grow, from slow roasted fillet of beef and baked rabbit with thyme and mustard, to peppered venison casserole, pears in verjuice with caramel sauce and peanut butter cookies This cookbook (Penguin Group NZ, $50) is a great selection for any taste and with family stories to go along with them. We recommend the peanut butter cookies as a treat to behold. The recipes are simple and easy to make, and your children will love you, including the big kid of the house. This book reveals the secrets of wholesome country cooking at its best. THE MOON'S A WEATHER BALLOON The fourteenth edition of this popular almanac (Random House New Zealand $50) will allow the reader to calculate the weather for any day in the year ahead, dispelling the myth you can only predict the weather a few days ahead. Ken Ring's method of predicting the weather by the cycles of the moon continues to generate widespread interest. However, his high hit rate for reliably predicting the weather reguarly silences his critics. According to Ring, 2012 will be a mixed bag, with heatwaves in the first two months, flooding in parts of Canterbury and Otago during January, and a mainly fine Easter over the country. LIFE ON THE ROAD The steady growth in motorhomes in New Zealand can be traced to an ageing population as baby boomers find time to travel, along with the advertising campaign "Don't leave home 'til you've seen the country". The increasing number of motorhomes on our roads is far outstripping growth in yachts and launches. Ask any motorhome enthusiast why they travel that way and some talk of the simplicity of travel and not needing to pack and unpack each day, while others savour the independence. The slower pace of travel and the cameradie among travellers add to the attraction. The Great Kiwi Motorhome (Random House New Zealand, $45) by Jill Malcolm and Bill Savidan is designed to help those new to motorhomes, as well as those who already know the secret joys and pleasures of this mode of travel. Their guide includes choosing a motorhome, what to pack, how to use a dump station and valuable information on campsites all over New Zealand. SLOW FOOD BUT NOT STODGY Joan Bishop is the doyenne of crock pot cooking in New Zealand, with sales of her books exceeding 120,000 copies. Many users of crock pots and slow cookers will be aware that slow cookers have become hotter and their cooking times shorter, but no-one told us. Modern pots do not cook nearly as slowly as earlier models, and many of the old recipes no longer work. To address this, Joan Bishop's New Zealand Crockpot & Slow Cooker Cookbook reviews each recipe, changing the cooking times and in some cases the quanitity of liquid. You can forget about outdated misconceptions of stodgy, slow- cooked food, as Joan's book (Random House New Zealand, $34) is now filled with healthy, low-fat and budget meals. Crock pots are not just about winter cooking of hearty, meaty meals or the all-in-a-pot stew. Her recipes include lighter, summer delights and desserts. GOT OLD, UNLOVED MARITIME BOOKS GATHERING DUST? Professional Skipper is looking for unwanted books featuring all aspects of New Zealand's maritime history, from shipping to fi shing to the waterfront, to add to our growing in-house reference library. CONTACT: The Editor, Keith Ingram Professional Skipper, 4 Prince Regent Drive Half Moon Bay, Manukau City 2012 PHONE 09 533 4336 email: keith@skipper.co.nz November/December 2011 Professional Skipper 73