COASTAL - Living the Coastal life
By Carl Muir
If, like me, you are always on the lookout for simple ideas to obtain self-sufficiency, and inspiration for a lifestyle more in tune with our planet, then Deborah Hide-Bayne’s new book, ‘Coastal’, is definitely worth having on the bookshelf.
I was stoked when Deb sent me a copy to look through and review.
Coastal is a unique collection of seasonal recipes for the kitchen, tips for kickstarting your own gardening journey and DIY projects, combined with the story of a family putting their roots down in Coromandel town and building their own dream home.
There is plenty in this 168 page, easy to navigate book that caught my eye.
Top of the list were three dishes I’ve decided to try myself and share with the family; Boston Baked Beans - a wholesome take on a very Kiwi dish; Roasted Kumara and orange salad with gin; and Brussel Sprout Breakfast Hash. All packed full of flavour and I cannot wait to try them.
There’s some easy to follow food preservation tips, including fermenting your own kimchi, and a really yummy looking, lime pickle.
I’ve you’re like me and love pottering in the backyard Deb has her own backyard DIY guides, including making your own compost, making your own fish smoker, and ideas for planting by season. This season I’ve had zucchini’s coming out the wazu in my own garden, and so was stoked to find plenty of zucchini recipes featuring in Debs book that.
A collection of Coro recipes wouldn’t be complete without plenty of seafood recipes, and ‘Coastal’ does not disappoint there, cockles, mussels, scallops and feature prominently, and my favourite - tempura oysters!!! Get me some of that goodness!
Our diet at home, where possible, leans towards paleo and ketogenic, so we go through free range eggs like they are going out of fashion. I was delighted to see a section in there dedicated to keeping hens.
The Coromandel has always been known for its plant medicine, there’s so much goodness growing here. It is good to see this featuring as well, with Deb sharing her own tips for making your own skin care products. For those with a crafty nature, there are all sorts of projects in tlike making your own stuffed toys, recycled chairs and loads more.
I first met Deb, not long after she had immigrated to New Zealand. Deb ran an art gallery and organised the ‘first ever’ Coromandel arts trail. It is awesome to see Deb put her roots down on the Coromandel, well and truly, and a large part of ‘Coastal’ is documenting the process of building her family’s dream home, alongside her husband Duncan.
Dreams don’t happen overnight. They take many years, and often a belief that “I can do that’. I love that ‘Coastal’ shares many ways for others to do just that, become more self-sufficient, and enjoy the many gifts on offer with the Coromandel lifestyle.
Buy it, read it, and try emulating some of Debs magic yourself!
You can purchase a copy of Coastal from Deb’s website https://coastalflavour.nz/books/