Ady Breeds Eating with Ady www.sunlive.co.nz

Easter has come and gone, along with one of our most revered days, all in the same weekend and now all the recrimination has started.
Me, I have my views, but being a young bitch about town, my solitary bark probably will not mean a thing, but here is my opinion.
Public holidays…besides essential services, like hospitals, selected gas stations and dog food retailers, all shops should be closed. So there is one line in the sand, if you step over it, a fine of something like $10k will make you think again. But by saying that, the only days that everything is closed should only be Christmas day, Good Friday and Anzac day until 1pm, the rest of them, retailers can do what they like –if they want to open and pay all the penal rates to staff, it is their choice.
Tauranga 'Jazz Festival”...this is a goody, as I am sure there is going to be a fair bit of pointing over this.
On the nose
To blame the tragic events in Christchurch, which some are doing, is a bit on the nose. If the organisers had asked anyone involved in the hospitality industry 10 months ago their thoughts on what was happening in the party world, I am sure they would have been told that there had been a dramatic downturn in trade. As such, the organisers should have known that this year would have been the time to bring this wonderful fixture back into a more compact event.
They could have made more use of the many incredibly talented Tauranga musicians and not tried to charge punters $80 a ticket to listen to somebody most people have never heard off, no matter how talented they are. To my way of thinking, and to what did occur, they all went, (well those that did venture out) down to The Strand to party for free.
Another gripe
My other gripe, is that some are saying the event was unlucky with the weather, well bollocks to that, I would say they were extremely lucky – if the deluge that arrived Monday had happened on Saturday as forecast, the entire event would have been in deeper poo than it is already in. No worries though, someone will sort it out, and I guess we can always hire some consultant for $300 an hour to tell us what we already know.
Me, well I got the hell out of town on Sunday and braved the roads. With the apprentice boy driving, we headed up the coast to prepare ourselves for the pending festival of fun, which he calls the duck shooting season. Being on the roads over Easter is a mission in itself, and I had to bury myself as far as I could to get away from a very irate boss man behind the wheel.
The language was, shall we say, unbecoming to a bitch of my standing – not many road users were spared a torrent of abuse, from camper vans doing 60km/h on the open highway, to cyclists riding two abreast on narrow hilly roads.
It was very fortunate we arrived at our destination, him with his blood pressure up the 'wazoo”, and me wanting to escape the confines of the vehicle, to see that the boys had set up our shooting pozzie and were already into it.
So with orange clay things flying, and my two-legger companions trying to hit them, things slowly got back to normal. I was taking shelter in the shed, thinking, we have to make the return journey yet.
No worries though, as the boy was a lot more relaxed on the return journey. Damm, a shooting must be good for him, not that it does a lot for my nerves.
The only thing I could think of was getting my laughing gear around one of Johnny the Aussie Butcher boy's prime cuts. As big D once told me, no one beats Johnny's meat, so I hope you are getting down to his shop in Gate Pa and giving him a stir up, as he loves a good laugh.
Well that's all from me for another week, and I must be off to do what I do best – that is use my female charms to worm my way under the duvet, as it is getting a mite cooler these days.
Here's something to warm up with:
Lamb and winter vege stew
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound lamb stew meat, cubed
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• • 2 cups peeled, seeded, and sliced butternut squash
• 1 cup peeled, sliced parsnips
• 1 cup peeled, chopped sweet potatoes
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and brown the lamb meat on all sides. Drain fat, and stir in the beef broth and wine. Season with garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
Mix in the squash, parsnips, sweet potatoes, celery, and onion.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and flour. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup of the hot stew mixture. Stir the sour cream mixture into the saucepan. Continue to cook and stir until thickened.