The Midsummer Garden Quotes

“Pip loved watching undergrads picking their way through buckets of clams, cockles and pipis, trying to classify each species by the size and hue of the shell, counting basal threads dangling like silk, or holding a limpet up to the light and running their fingers over tiny yellow ridges skirting the shell, marveling at the perfect grey and white logarithmic spiral of the elephant snail.”
― Kirsty Manning, The Midsummer Garden

“WEDDING MENU FOR PIP ARNET AND JACK ROGERS
Canapés
Pacific oysters
Peking duck pancakes, hoisin sauce
Smoked eel crostini with fig paste
Crepes with sugar-cured salmon or ocean trout
Provençal vegetable tartlet with parmesan

Entrées
Pan-roasted blue eye trevalla
Scallops and saffron
Chilled tomato soup

Sidedishes
Glazed seasonal greens
Roasted potatoes, rosemary and sea salt

Mains
Crispy-skinned duck breast, spinach, potato puree, mushrooms, port jus
Slow-cooked Ashfield House lamb shoulder with fennel, braised lentils, roasted garlic and rosemary jus
Galantine of chicken and hazelnuts, cress salad, olives, radish, hazelnut vinaigrette
Baked mushroom tortellini with Gruyère

Dessert
Wedding cake plated and served with fresh berry compote and cream

So far, so standard. She hadn’t chosen a wedding cake yet— Jack was keen on chocolate mud. Everyone loved chocolate, he argued. She’d annotated the menu, noting changes to local seasonal fish, like line-caught couta or hapuka, and some herbs to dress it up like thyme, basil and fennel. She’d asked Dan to drop the scallops, Pacific oysters and salmon. Barbecued local clams and pipis would be nice for a starter. She could harvest a few buckets herself down near North West Bay. Were clams wedding-ish enough?”
― Kirsty Manning, The Midsummer Garden