Lifestyle

Reflection of the landscape

SOPHIE PREECE - The Marlborough Express

A collaborative effort between owners and architect resulted in a perfect home in Marlborough.

Top of the pops

JAN BILTON - The Marlborough Express

The latest sweet-tooth favourite in the United States is cake pops – and they're threatening to overtake the ever-popular cupcake.

A walk on the wild side

GEOFF GRIGGS - The Marlborough Express

Next weekend I'll be in Nelson to host a beer tasting for a small family group.

Well-hidden treasure

SOPHIE PREECE - The Marlborough Express

Sophie Preece visits a house perfectly tuned to the idiosyncrasies of its owners, with a hint of marauding pirates and Japan's snowy mountains.

Tahr pie a dish fit for a king

JARED NICOLL - The Marlborough Express

It's not every day you get to sink your teeth into meat so lean and tasty it has to be sourced by helicopter from the top of a mountain.

Jo's floating bach

SOPHIE PREECE - The Marlborough Express

Jo Ivory has a bach at Governors Bay, Lochmara, D'Urville Island, Ruakaka, a few in Tonga and Vanuatu, and indeed anywhere else she can drop her anchor

The party kicks off

CLAIRE CONNELL - The Marlborough Express

It's 3am and already the fireworks have begun. The date? January 23, the start of Asia's biggest festival, Chinese New Year.

Forget champagne; what a beer!

GEOFF GRIGGS - The Marlborough Express

I guess my mother-in-law must have finally forgiven me for marrying her daughter, because for my birthday last July she bought me a $50 bottle of beer. I was mightily impressed I can tell you. And very grateful.

Cheese, please

JAN BILTON - The Marlborough Express

One of my accomplishments last year was to create delicious ricotta at a local cheese-making class tutored by Lisa Harper, of Sherrington Grange.

The gamble of maintaining a cellar

DEBORAH WALTON-DERRY & PETER MORICE - The Marlborough Express

I approached the bottle with trepidation, because it wasn't a pretty sight. On one side of the slightly scuffed label was a brownish-red stain – the cork from another bottle elsewhere in the cellar had obviously "given up the ghost".

It's crying time again

CHRIS FORTUNE - The Marlborough Express

"I understand the big food companies are developing a tearless onion. I think they can do it – after all, they've already given us tasteless bread." – Robert Orben, American comedy writer

Chicken full of flavour

Community Cook

JARED NICOLL - The Marlborough Express

Finding and cooking environmentally-sound food can be hard enough without having to guard against gluten at the same time.

Breathe fire into your food

JAN BILTON - The Marlborough Express

The Year of the Dragon is a good excuse to spice up your meals with interesting Chinese ingredients

Early birds catch the fish

CHRIS FORTUNE - The Marlborough Express

The recipe is as old as the Edmonds Cookbook and has been a favourite for all, providing the perfect mix, not too thick and not too thin, smooth but still with texture.

Riesling deserves this attention

DEBORAH WALTON-DERRY & PETER MORICE - The Marlborough Express

As we continue our wait for summer to ramp up the action and deliver the weather we deserve, there's New Zealand's first "Summer of Riesling" to inspire sunny thoughts.

Wanaka Beerworks' surprising seasonals

GEOFF GRIGGS - The Marlborough Express

It wasn't so long ago that Wanaka Beerworks was in a bit of a backwater. I don't mean geographically – although the attractive Central Otago lakeside town isn't exactly on the main road to anywhere – but more in terms of its beers and where the business was heading.

Berry appealing

JAN BILTON - The Marlborough Express

Long recognised as nutritional powerhouses, blueberries are a luscious source of vitamin C: one cup supplies almost one-third of the recommended daily allowance.

DAB golden lager great quencher

GEOFF GRIGGS - The Marlborough Express

Now that the warmer weather seems to have finally arrived, it's a good time for me to write about one of my favourite thirst-quenching golden lagers.

Catering to all tastes

DEBORAH WALTON-DERRY & PETER MORICE - The Marlborough Express

What better way to start the new year than with a bit of a whine – a beer and wine whinge to be more precise. We'll start with the beer, or lack thereof.

Crimson power packs a punch

CHRIS FORTUNE - The Marlborough Express

"No, you cannot do that, you are simply not old enough to help out. You might make a mess of it and you will have to wait a few more years until you're ready."

Confiscating contraband to cooking

ROBIN RAYMOND - The Marlborough Express

She has done everything from being a security guard to a postmaster and a DJ, but Gina Williams has finally found her perfect job in Picton.

Rough crossing

BRENDA WEBB - The Marlborough Express

After a 14-day sail across the Atlantic Ocean, Kiwi sailors Brenda Webb and David Morgan arrive on the Caribbean island of Barbados, eager to explore but desperate for sleep

Bit of Africa in Rapaura

SOPHIE PREECE - © Fairfax NZ News

Marlborough's dry landscape is a happy home for an African-themed garden in Rapaura. Sophie Preece explores a beautiful space created out of love for a child

Tiki owes flavour intensity to subalpine conditions

DEBORAH WALTON-DERRY & PETER MORICE - The Marlborough Express

Tiki Wines is a reasonably new name on the New Zealand wine scene. We were keen to try some wines from Tiki's Wairau Valley, Marlborough, vineyards because we could easily imagine the location throwing some big challenges at the growers, not least of which is a short growing season with heightened threat of frost late spring and early autumn.

Delighting in differences

JAN BILTON - The Marlborough Express

Sitting on my desk is the seriously weighty tome 1001 Foods You Must Try Before You Die. It's a fascinating read, but because of its 1.95 kilograms, not suitable for browsing in bed.

Here's to your very good health

GEOFF GRIGGS - The Marlborough Express

When it comes to their contribution to a healthy diet, the world's most popular alcoholic beverages are often viewed very differently.

Relishing the taste of local garlic

CHRIS FORTUNE - The Marlborough Express

What has been grown since 2000BC, loves Marlborough's long, hot, dry summers and cool winters? It has a mythical history of keeping vampires at bay and curing toothache if held in the palm of the hand.

Hard living in a poor port

BRENDA WEBB - The Marlborough Express

Sal, a remote, barren, windswept and water-short island in the Cape Verde archipelago, is an interesting stopover en route to the Caribbean, says Brenda Webb

Gardening effort bears fruit

CHRIS FORTUNE - The Marlborough Express

The old year is now a memory and we have to look forward to a new year with new goals, objectives and achievements.

What's in a name? Quite a lot, really

DEBORAH WALTON-DERRY & PETER MORICE - The Marlborough Express

This week, we take a look at two wines named for the tanks they were fermented in. Malcolm Rees-Francis, winemaker at Rockburn in Central Otago, says the names Spitfire Gewurztraminer and Tigermoth Riesling celebrate the individuality of the wines and one of the people who has worked in the winery – "Doc" Adam Robinson.

Swift, simple party fare

JAN BILTON - The Marlborough Express

Entertaining after Christmas is so much more relaxed. The pressures of the big day are done and dusted and one can celebrate the new year with throw-together party food.

Beerfest bonanza ahead

GEOFF GRIGGS - The Marlborough Express

Returning to work after the Christmas and New Year holidays may seem slightly depressing, but there's still plenty of cause for celebration – we're fast approaching beer festival season.

Exotic sights, smells

BRENDA WEBB - The Marlborough Express

Finding food has never been so hard.

The shed out west

MAIKE VAN DER HEIDE - The Marlborough Express

A former shed in a picturesque valley west of Renwick has been transformed into a beautiful home, thanks to the hard work of one dedicated Blenheim couple.

Wide variety for all palates

DEBORAH WALTON-DERRY AND PETER MORICE - The Marlborough Express

We're all thinking about enjoying some time off and with that in mind we will spend the next two weeks looking at a wide range of wines at different price points.

2011 a year of beer

GEOFF GRIGGS - The Marlborough Express

With 2012 almost here, now is the perfect time to review the Kiwi beer scene over the last 12 months.

Picking a raspberry smile

CHRIS FORTUNE - The Marlborough Express

One of my favourite summer fruits is the elusive raspberry, that perfectly ripe and sun-sweetened berryfruit bursting with flavour and warmth, which is the main ingredient of the elusive Raspberry Smile.

Recipes for bach, beach or boat

JAN BILTON - The Marlborough Express

For me, summer is a time when living should be easy – especially when it comes to cooking family holiday meals. This week's recipes are for the bach, the beach or the boat.

Aboard a Barbados-bound Bandit

BRENDA WEBB - The Marlborough Express

The final Atlantic stop for many sailors setting out for the Caribbean is Mindelo, the second largest city in the Cape Verde islands. Brenda Webb enjoys the Caribbean-style atmosphere and does last-minute provisioning before Bandit sets sail for Barbados.