PAREKURA!!!!!!

We were alerted to this a few days ago. It's the work of the great chef and healthy eater of our times Parekura Horomia on TVNZ Good Morning Show. The former Minister of Food and Travel.

Anyway this is the show here - he claims the stew is healthy, using tinned corn beef , a few veges and some tinned spagetti..black sauce and mussels

My mum reckoned it looked truly hideous.. A bit like a chuck up after a Saturday nite beer and chinese takeaway.

And healthy ? Nah - its probably got your salt and fat intake for a week

And hell it would give you a serious case of flatulence.

For the brave and adventurous or perhaps the foolhardy - Heres the recipe

2 tins Hellaby's corned beef (or bully beef) 2 medium or 1 large onion, chopped) 2 potatoes, cut in small chunks 2 kumara, cut same size as potatoes 2-3 carrots, diced to same thickness of potatoes and kumara 3 zucchini, diced same as carrots 1 kg green tip mussels (fresh, not marinated)

Note: Cooking time will normally be 2 hours as time limit-may pay to half cook all veges (steamed) before putting in pot.

Place onions, and vegetables, into a medium- to large-size pot.

Break corned beef up into pieces and place into pot as well.

Add pepper for seasoning (no salt as beef is salty enough).

Cover with water and cook slowly until vegetables are done. Normally up to 2 hours. If vegetables are cut small, this will reduce cooking time.

Once all this is cooked add your mussels to the pot and simmer for about 10 minutes.

If you feel the stew is too watery, mix a tablespoon of cornflour a beef stock cube, and a quarter of a cup of water together. Stir this into the stew, until it thickens.

Best served with rewana bread.

THE MYSTERY OF THE SOUTHERN CHEESE ROLL.

Its MSG!.

We watched TV in awe as last night the secret Southland cheese roll recipe was revealed. It's sharp bitey cheddar, evaporated milk, mustard, nestles onion soup., a bit of chopped up onion and boiled it up till it thickens and spread it on thin white bread.

There is a cheese onion and pineapple version that includes tinned pineapple in syrup.

The MSG is in the soup mix. It's reason why the onion dip for chips is sooo bloody addictive.

For the record we love the ones from Zookeepers Cafe in Invercargill - no MSG.

Its one of those foods that is soooo good because it is sooo baad...

HAMMING IT UP

Wow, we have never been all that jealous of the PM and his goldfish bowl existence but we were today when we found out he had been given the worlds finest ham.   Iberico bellota ham
Crikey. We are greener than Kermit.

What we would do for a slice of that.  Actually we think a lot of people would like a slice of that and pay good money for it..  Could be a bloody good fundraiser

We would even consider swapping one of our prized bucket of muttonbirds for it.. 

Go on John  - its a good swap and we reckon our bucket of muttonbirds would be a bloody good peace offering for those sulky miffed Tuhoe up there in the mist.  We will even help ya cook the birds if you swap us that ham. 

True.