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Speaker: Dancing with Dingoes, Part II

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  • Islander, in reply to ChrisW,

    Mmmmmmmm droool - will repeat this over the hill this coming week-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • ChrisW, in reply to Islander,

    Over the hill - yes, no doubt the walnut trees there are more prolific than those of Big O! Perhaps you can bring a half-sack of walnuts back with you.

    It's been a lovely aromatic walnut-focused day. As well as the cake, the green walnuts are instead thoroughly black afer a week's soaking, today boiled up with cloves, allspice and cinnamon, and now slowly subsiding into a hot brew of malt vinegar and sugar to end up well more pickled than I am on my glass of cab sav. And a visiting tui calls from my walnut tree in the dusk, a fine affirmation.

    Gisborne • Since Apr 2009 • 851 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    Glory to tui! (I think she and a good gull, blackbilled) should make our bird pantheon-
    o do shut up all you other nohoshiningcuckoopukekokoukouputakitakiatama et al
    I love you all equally-(some people will notice that edible ones for me arnt included)
    there is a walnut tree in Big O: weirdly, Mr Minehan, in the month before he died, shifted a tree his partner didnt love into what is our private memorial place...it hasnt yet produced.
    But
    over the ther side of The Hill -yup , walnut (hazelnut ditto) heavenhavenheapining-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • ChrisW, in reply to Islander,

    Best wishes for the future fruitfulness of Bill Minehan's walnut tree. Though perhaps as a memorial tree its emphasis is not on fertility?

    Still, Bill produced Debbie - please pass on my best wishes to her and Ian too. Their warm hospitality to me much appreciated, 12 years ago on the occasion of the powhiri for the return arrival and release of the first kiwi/rowi juveniles artificially incubated and grown to stoat-resistant size on Motuara in the Marlborough Sounds.

    Could you add to your list of special birds the koekoea/ long tailed cuckoo? One called insightfully throughout that thoroughly memorable powhiri and release ceremony - not at all musically, but I was sure it was offering positive commentary on the good sense of the foster-parenting approach to breeding and the raising of offspring. I attempted to persuade the TV reporter there to include reference to this in her piece, but such was way too subtle for a 60-second fragment.

    Gisborne • Since Apr 2009 • 851 posts Report Reply

  • Islander, in reply to ChrisW,

    Chris W, will certainly pass on your best wishes to Deb (who is definitely one of life's good people, as was her dad.) And to Ian. I love koekoea, but pipiwharauraroa better (we have juveniles overwintering here, so you can hear that call at v. strange times of the year...)And your comment re that powhiri is pure gold!

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • dyan campbell,

    Report-back on the brown walnut cake - 'twas great, verified by independent witnesses, so thanks for the inspiration and information.

    (less flour than chopped walnuts?) meant a very sloppy mix, added another 3/4 cup

    I'm glad you liked it - even with the extra flour - for me the very high ratio of nuts, eggs and glace ginger to flour was a big part of the appeal. The huge amount of walnuts soak up most of the liquid in the mix, and it bakes into a moist, dense slab, rather than a springy cake. It can take a while, and you want to bake it low in the oven, shelf-wise.

    I toned down the ground ginger a bit, and used straight cinnamon rather than mixed spice as in the 1924 "

    The recipe does call for a huge amount of both glace & powdered ginger - but in those old recipes they used high, high quantities of spice in some recipes - cloves, allspice, mixed spice fresh nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, fine quality cinnamon - the kind of baking that was going on in Truman Capote's story.

    auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 595 posts Report Reply

  • ChrisW,

    It's still pretty solid, but I'll try with a bit less milk next time.

    Gisborne • Since Apr 2009 • 851 posts Report Reply

  • dyan campbell,

    It's still pretty solid, but I'll try with a bit less milk next time.

    It's not less milk you need, it's less flour. The mixture before baking is extremely liquid, but you just take bung it into a cake tin lined with baking paper, bake it low in the oven and schluup all the walnuts soak up the liquid & the small amount of highly spiced flour sets the walnuts in a dense slice. If you added more flour and used less glace ginger, walnuts & spice, it would take longer to cook and taste less sweet/flavoursome and have a drier, harder texture (less chewy and fudge-brownie like). But if it still tasted good, that's great!

    auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 595 posts Report Reply

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