Rimu & Rain

“The smell of wood smoke… the taste of food that has been cooked over a fire… these things are embedded in our DNA. They take us back to a time when we sat around a fire and told stories, and looked at the stars.”
— Mark Hix, Chef

Being outdoors, slow cooking over a fire, sitting under the stars. Another pleasure of simple living in the bush.

The clearing around the Shut is sheltered by tall trees and dense native bush creating a sanctuary where the air is still and quiet. A perfect spot to sit in front of the fire pit watching the flames flicker in the receding light. It is time to rest with the setting of the sun, another reality of living off-grid, we work and rest in unison with the sun and the moon.

We have finished work for the day. I rest my wool covered toes on the edge of the fire pit inviting the heat closer. We often sit here at the end of the day, rugged up against the cold at a time of year we would never venture outside to relax when at home. As the fire burns and we wait for the hot coals to gather we listen to an audio book together, or discuss the day’s work and plan tomorrow. We share ideas, spin yarns, disagree, relent, and compromise. Most importantly, we relax, have a laugh and feel grateful. We are adventurers, living in the bush.

Fire is elemental, it is another way to connect with the earth and nature. Cooking over fire is a pleasure we enjoy when being on the land.

For entree we cook bread over the fire wrapped around a manuka branch stripped of its bark. This Scandinavian tradition is a simple recipe using flour, water, yeast, oil, salt, and sugar. Patience is required, if you hold the bread too close to the fire the crust will burn and the dough remains unbaked. This bread is delicious dipped in olive oil and home made dukkah.

Jacket potatoes cooked on hot coals are my favorite. I try to find two similar sized medium potatoes, spray them with oil, season well, and double wrap in tin foil. Depending on the size of the potato they usually take between 40-60 minutes to cook turning every ten minutes or so. The result is a crispy dark skin and creamy white inner. We add a little butter and grated cheese before consuming – yum!

Other food we have cooked on the fire are sausages, hamburgers, corn on the cob, pumpkin, and chicken. The possibilities are endless and we continue to challenge ourselves to keep trying out new ideas.

Cooking over fire is a sensory experience and this is translated into the food through smokiness and char that adds flavour by infusing the essence of the bush into the food. This is the antithesis of surburban convenience. It’s slower, dirtier, and requires our constant attention. But as we sit there with full bellies and the scent of woodsmoke in our hair, listening to the Weka squawk in the darkness, we’re reminded that it isn’t just how we cook our food. It is how we feed our souls.