Classic soda and siphon workshop

And now for something a little bit different. Last night's Wellington on a Plate event was a hands-on classic soda and siphon workshop at Six Barrel Soda Co. We pulled up seats at the soda fountain and had some fun making yummy drinks.

We started by getting up close and personal with a soda siphon. This involved shaking (and shaking and shaking) this contraption to carbonate the water.

Soda siphon

We then used it to make our own soda floats, a smoother version of the old ice cream spiders we grew up with. Fill the glass to 3/4 with ice, then 3/4 with carbonated water. Pour 35 ml of soda syrup over the top and let it settle into the glass. (That's the correct way to make a soda. If you use alcohol, pour it into the bottom of the glass to mix it.) Add a scoop of ice cream or gelato and then more carbonated water on top. This gives the ice cream a frothy look and means that you can drink it, rather than eat it as a sundae. This is my classic cherry pomegranate soda float.

Cherry pomegranate soda float

We then experimented with a range of flavoured syrups and garnishes to create our own uniquely flavoured sodas. The syrups are all made onsite and distributed around the world from this little upstairs soda bar. I tried out the raspberry lemon syrup, added a few drops of orange bitters and delicately garnished it with orange and lime wedges. Very refreshing!

Raspberry lemon and bitters soda

It was time to step things up a notch. I added a dash of ginger syrup, then some freshly picked mint, a cucumber slice, some more bitters ... you get the picture. It was so much fun adding splashes of syrup and other ingredients to create new flavours. The results are only limited by your imagination!

The taste of summer

We had summer on Monday. (Ha ha - this is an in-joke in Wellington, where all four seasons are known to be temperamental and likely to keep you guessing.) Although we got off to a stormy start and can look forward to a wet and windy week, we have been promised a warm, dry summer. Bring it on!

With each season comes seasonal food or tastes that just seems to match perfectly. I'm not really one for Pimm's, but there is something about a cool Pimm's cocktail in a tall glass that conjures up images of summer garden parties. In fact, almost any drink in a tall glass goes well in summer, much like roast dinners being synonymous with cold, wintery weekends.

Here are some of the tastes I'm enjoying (and looking forward to) this summer.

• Strawberries. It goes without saying that I will be gorging myself on these at every opportunity. Raspberries are also good, as is summer fruit in general.
• Cherries. Delicious, dark red cherries with flesh that falls off the pit.
• Cider, especially if it's Isaac's pear cider or Old Mout feijoa. So crisp and refreshing.
• Scallops. I'd forgotten how good these are. More fleshy than oysters and far more tender and tasty than paua, I think scallops are becoming my seafood of choice.
• Watermelon. Long hot days were made for cool, juicy watermelon. Vodka optional.
• Gelato. Although this is a year-round treat, Bon Bon Rocher gelato from Kaffee Eis is always a winner.

What's on your summer tasting list that I should add to mine?

Summer's coming

Spring is my favourite season of the year for many reasons, one of which is that summer is on the way and the best is still to come. I'm not a beach babe by any description and reach a melting point somewhere around 25°C, but the thought of long days and heaps of sunshine are a welcome tonic for my soul.

Signs that summer is almost here:

• I can safely wear 3/4 pants and short sleeve tops all day without worrying if the 5 spare layers of clothing I have brought with me will be enough to be keep me warm later in the day.
• My straw sunhat gradually becomes an essential item of clothing.
• White limbs are everywhere you look. Some are practically translucent!
• 50+ women proudly put their cankles on display. (I'll never understand this one.)
• Barbeques become the most commonly planned meal, even for those of us who are only just barbeque-tolerant.
• Days no longer end as soon as I arrive home from work. In fact, it's almost like there's still another half a day to go before bedtime. Bonus!
• Jandals become uniform footwear.
• Gelato becames my preferred means for ingesting calcium and dairy products. 
• Strawberries and other summer fruits start appearing in shops and gardens. 
• Lawnmowers and weedeaters provide the soundtrack during daylight hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
• I can get 17 loads of washing done and dried outside in a single day. *

 What are your telltale signs that summer is on the way?

* Actual numbers may vary, but you get the point.

An Auckland affair

My relationship with Auckland spans many years. It's not an entirely amicable relationship and usually involves a quick dash into the city to attend to whatever business I have there (a conference, a concert), quickly rushing over to the North Shore to visit my best friend and her family, then a relieved trip to the airport to go home again to Wellington. It's not to say that I hate Auckland, but our on-again off-again affair is always punctuated by frequent bad weather and general feelings of wanting to be elsewhere.

I am currently in Auckland on a mini-break while my sweetie is working here. I have loose plans to meet up with people but also a day to just hang out in downtown Auckland all by myself. What to do? I consulted the experts, aka the Auckland Twitterverse, for a few suggestions about the basics: food, coffee, gelato, sushi, etc. The ideas came thick and fast. Awesome!

We had dinner last night at Raviz Indian Cuisine in town, where our curries came with a satisfactory bite. We then got to meet Giapo, world famous in the Twitterverse and conveniently located just a block or two from our hotel. My first choice was the heavenly stracciatella over cookies and cream gelato. He gave us lots of other samples to try, so we'll definitely be back too see what other delights he has for us.

This morning, I spent a few hours wandering around downtown Auckland based on the recommendations of complete strangers. What an amazing way to see a city - through the eyes of other people! First up, after eating breakfast and reading the newspaper in the sun, I headed down Lorne Street. There are lots of little gems tucked away here and in its side streets, some of which resemble the outdoor malls of Melbourne. It's amazing to realise that all this is just one street over from the grimness of Queen Street and its multitude of stores selling sushi and tacky goods imported from Asia.

Egg roll hamburger

I was looking for La Caroume Bakery after reading about Delissimon's experience there. This gorgeous bakery makes the most creative cakes and buns and smells divine from the moment you walk in the door. I bought something called an egg roll hamburger to have for lunch. It looked like nothing I'd ever seen before and I was curious about whether it be savoury or sweet. It turned out to be a savoury treat set inside a delicate bread-type bun - a really unusual taste sensation.

Then it was coffee time. In Wellington, it is a common sight to see people in transit cradling a takeaway coffee cup in their hand. This is something I had never really associated with Auckland before but see this is now changing. Coffeeslewth had recommended Grind on High - great choice! This tiny café was positively humming mid-morning as a cast of regulars shuffled their way into its retro interior. I would never have found Grind on my own and can see why it is popular; baking fresh from the oven looked too good to resist and the service was unbelievably friendly. I enjoyed a freshly baked pesto cheese scone with my cappuccino. Bliss.

I ventured further down to the waterfront and saw a man walking around wearing a bright pink raincoat done up around the waist. I have no idea why this intrigued me so much; each to their own, I guess! Valentino's Gelato was my destination (another recommendation from Coffeeslewth) but I felt that eating gelato at 11am on a Friday was too indulgent even for my standards, so that will have to go on to tomorrow's list.

Auckland, I am delighted to see how you have grown up. I am warming to our sporadic affair and imagine it will continue for years to come. Don't worry, Wellington, I still love you the best. After all, there's no place like home, but I'm enjoying getting to know Auckland better.