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Sounds daft? But it is true! Because beer
is nearly a food itself, its range of flavours,
aromas, colours and textures complement
many different foods.
Beer and food transform each other. The wine world
has done a great job of convincing us that it is the
only acceptable drink for fine dining! Well that’s
just tosh! Sommeliers (if you can get a beer or two
in them) will grudgingly admit that wine has lots of
foods that it does not go with: soup, salad, veggies,
dessert and every spicy menu you can shake a stick
at. Yet guess what–beer goes great with all these. We
find that wine coats the tongue while beers cleanse the
tongue, therefore scrubbing your palate and letting you
really taste the food served with beer! Try it for yourself.
I have been having some fun cooking with our own brew.
Why not add a bottle of good beer to meat in your slow
cooker? Add beer to your batter for fish and chips, even to
your chocolate dessert. MMMMM! Scrummy!
Try this recipe that features our latest beer, a Belgian Blonde style
which we have delightfully called a
Dizzy Blonde
(to be released
later this year). If you like our Pilsner,
Good as Gold
, you will
love this one.
The Belgians favour an artisan approach to brewing
beer and consider the brewer an artiste who does
not conform to tradition. Belgians take their beer seriously–and with good reason. The
country has enjoyed an unparalleled reputation for specialty beers since the Middle
Ages. Connoisseurs favour their beers for their variety, real flavour and character.
Belgium boasts over 450 different beers, with many brews demanding their own shape
of glass to best enhance distinct flavours.
Our new Belgian Blonde goes well with a wide range of food but more particularly
salmon, chicken and spicy–Thai food is a great match.
Crepes: Makes 12.
1c—plain flour
1 tbsp—castor sugar
1/2 C—milk
1/2 C—Belgian blonde beer
2—free range eggs
Pinch sea salt
2 tsp—unsalted butter for
shallow frying
Filling
1.5 C—ricotta cheese
200 gm—cream cheese
softened
2—free-range eggs
1/4 c—castor sugar
3 tsp—grated orange zest
3 tsp—grated lemon zest
Orange Beer Syrup
1 C—orange juice
1 C— Belgian blonde beer
3 tbsp—castor sugar
To finish
2 heaped tbsp—melted butter
1 tbsp—superfine castor sugar
Sweet crepes with orange beer syrup
Preheat oven to 180˚ (350 F). Line tray with
baking paper. Whisk all crepe ingredients (not
butter) in a bowl until smooth. Set aside.
Make syrup and filling. Combine syrup
ingredients in a pan over medium heat; reduce
by half, set aside. Filling: use electric beater to
combine well.
Make crepes by adding mixture to pan only when
butter foams.
For thinner crepes, add more beer.
Spoon 2 tbsp filling in the middle of crepe and
fold into a little parcel; pat down gently. Place on
baking tray folded side down, brush with melted
butter and sprinkle with castor sugar. Bake 15
mins. Remove from oven and pour syrup over
before serving.
Serves 6, 2 crepes each.
“Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! Good people of Tairua, be it noted that October five
through seven be declared ‘Brits at the Beach!’”
Tairua’s “gone batty” over this yearly celebration of all things English. Be sure to “dress up”
for the occasion! Classic cars, grand parade, a Great Britain Village Fete, Brit swap meet,
prizes, dog show, kids games, music, food stalls, special dishes at local restaurants and
more. Pick up a T-shirt and find your official programme at the Info Centre.
Two ticketed parties are Friday Nights’ Beatles tribute band, the
Beatmobiles
, and the
GeeBees
performing at Saturday night’s Jubilee Party. Sunday morning loosen your
britches for
The Great British Breakfast
at various restaurants around town. Or check out
the
Brits Quiz
at Punters Bar and
Rovers Return
at the Tairua Country Club.
Businesses are brainstorming ways to get involved and overcome their stiff-upper-lip and
openly embrace their inner Empire. Most beachy events happen at Cory Park Domain,
but look for events area wide. Refer to
schedule and
registration forms. On festival days, tune to 97.9FM Kool Britannia FM for live updates.
There’s still time to get involved–as volunteers, participants or businesses. Contact Lynette
at Tairua Info Centre, 07 864 7575
Bowlers and Bobbies and Beatles,
oh dear! It’s
BRITS AT THE BEACH
in its very third year.
Nigel Cattell, the town crier.
(Watch him at
watch?v=dUXsiOoBhCY.)
The love of full-flavoured hand crafted beers is what inspired Neil and Karen Vowles to
create
Coromandel Brewing Company
, which produces several varieties–Easy Rider
(pale ale), Good as Gold (pilsner), Just Buzzin (unique Honey & Rye), The Dark Side
(dark lager), Cloud Nine (wheat beer), and now Dizzy Blonde. Look for these craft beers
throughout the Coromandel at many bars, restaurants, Tairua’s Golddiggers, New World
and Pak N Save. Learn more, visit
by Karen Vowles, the Brewers wife!
“If a recipe’s got liquid in it,
it might as well be beer!”
Mark your calendar, abolish your diet plans, for chocolate commeth
30 November through 2 December. The plan is to make this an
annual event, but let’s hear it for monthly!
The Chocolate Festival will encompass both sides of the harbour and include
The Beer Chocolate Affair
at Punters,
A Chocolate Degustation Evening
at
Puka Park, a
Hot Chocolate Pyjama Party
at Tairua Library,
Mole Sauce And
Chocolate Chilli
at Pauanui Garden & Art,
Just Dessert
at The Old Mill, edible
arts, wine matching dinners, liqueur matching, a music festival, chocolate fishing
and recipe swapping.
“We also hope to have a chocolate ice-cream eating competition and lots more,”
says coordinator Paul Schrader. “And since the Pohutukawa is our kiwi Christmas
tree, many events will be Christmas and Santa related and include parades and
concerts (see calendar p12-13).
“Our aim is to involve everyone in the local area to celebrate the place we call
home and invite people from the rest of the country to come and join the party”.
(Not hard to do when you’re using chocolate as the bait.)
There’s room for more, so get your business in on the excitement.
Contact
Lynette at 864 7575 for more info.
Tairua/Pauanui
Chocolate Festival
debuts as part of