TÂKE Â WAY

We were busy today indoors (thunder and lightning and very heavy rain outside) baking bread, blanching and freezing garden vegetables and generally just mucking about. The Old Girl returned from Auckland yesterday and will not be doing any away trips for a month. She has worked very hard this year and is exhausted so it was no surprise that she fell asleep on the couch. I took a photo of her because she looked so cute but promised her that I wouldn't post it on the blog. She is very photogenic but I respect her privacy. When it came to dinner-time the planned leek/broccoli/cauliflower/spring onion/potato pie (all from the garden) didn't happen and we opted for Billy T James favourite kai from the local. Our local is a place named The Deck in McLeod Bay. It is a cafe/takeaway/dairy on an elevated site with spectacular views across the bay. When The Old Girl suggested fish and chips I was very sceptical. It is not Friday after all. Being Catholic educated the 'fish on Fridays' rule is ingrained and normally the only time that I have fish and chips is on a Friday. As a compromise we had fish burgers and chips. In my 'rules' this is permissible. At this point I should tell you that I drive The Old Girl crazy with my 'rules'. Some things should only be done in a certain way or at a certain time and otherwise should not be done. When it comes to food here are some of my 'rules':

• Marmalade should only ever be spread on toast, never on plain bread
• Poached eggs are a breakfast dish and must never be eaten in the PM
• Breakfast cereals may be eaten in the PM but as a dessert following a 'normal' dinner (note: this does not include porridge which must only be eaten for breakfast)
• Mushrooms must never be eaten but the flavour of mushrooms is permissible in cooking
• Tomato sauce is an OK filling for a sandwich but this must be fresh white bread only (never toast)
• The only permissible fruits in toasted sandwiches are pineapple when combined with cheese and banana when combined with tuna
• Fruit jams are allowable in sandwiches and on fresh bread. Combinations are ill-advised except for Vegemite or Marmite with raspberry jam
• Canned baked beans can be consumed at any time of day but canned spaghetti is not allowed at all
• Mint sauce must be put on roast potatoes but never on boiled, mashed or sautéed potatoes

There are many more 'rules' but I won't bore you with them.

The fish burgers were superb. The Deck use Snapper or Dory as their fish and it is freshly caught. They are traditional enough to offer beetroot in their burgers along with fresh salad vegetables and tartare sauce is an option to tomato sauce. The chips are always beautifully cooked and plentiful. Great.