Biking trip in Hawkes Bay

This week we had a wonderful time pedaling with friends around some of the fabulous bike trails in Napier and staying with said friends in their wonderful B & B, Hawkhill in Poraiti near Taradale. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a peaceful, beautiful stay in a picturesque setting with the best of hosts.
http://www.hawkhill.co.nz/

view from back of cottage

I couldn't get over the quality of the cycle tracks in Napier. The first one we did was along the shoreline, through wetlands, Haumoana, Te Awanga and Clifton with a delicious lunch at Clearview Winery.

wetlands on estuary

The next day we took a lovely ride along the Tuku Tuku River, lunching at the local pub   http://www.thepuketapu.co.nz/ and cycling back on the opposite side of the river, a magic day and a magic ride. Along the way we met so many people (of our vintage) enjoying the same pursuit. The cycle ways have become quite a tourist attraction in Hawkes Bay. We plan to return and do a few more of the rides on offer, they are hoping to have them all a bit more connected which would be great.
As you can imagine if you are exercising in this way you need sustenance each day (which we had in abundance) and as in previous trips each couple made a main dish and a dessert to share for an evening meal, along with matching wines of course. A great time was had by all. And I especially enjoyed the craft circle the women had in the evenings!
For my choice of meal I made a Chicken Pilaf - Ray McVinnie says it serves 6 but I have found it especially useful as it would serve more like 8-10 people.  It is perfect for a large gathering.
For dessert I made Lazy Mary's Lemon Tart which I have posted before on this blog, it never fails.
By the way I noticed Ray McVinnie earlier posted a similar chicken pilaf dish (made with brown rice) in Issue 91.
http://cuisine.co.nz/cuisine.nsf/recipes/brown-rice-chicken-pilaf?Opendocument&HighLight=2,chicken,pilaf
The cooking time is longer due to the brown rice and uses sultanas and spring onions. I am going to try this version as we prefer brown rice.
The following uses long-grain white rice, but once (when I ran low on rice) I used a mixture of basmati, brown and long-grain and it still worked well! I use home made stock but brought stock is fine too.
I forgot to take photos - sorry..... but trust me, it is delicious.
Chicken Pilaf – Cuisine Issue 134 May 2009

Ingredients

4tbsp olive oil

1 onion finely chopped

1 carrot finely chopped

1 stick of celery finely chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 cinnamon stick

½ cup currants

½ cup toasted pine nuts, plus extra for garnish

Peel of ½ preserved lemon, finely chopped

6 boneless chicken thighs, diced 2cm across the grain

½ tsp ground turmeric

2 cups long-grain white rice, well rinsed in plenty of cold water and well drained

4 cups of well flavoured chicken stock

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp chopped coriander

Spicy chutney to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C. In a stove-top and ovenproof casserole, heat the oil over a moderate heat and add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, currants, pine nuts, cinnamon stick, lemon peel and chicken. Fry gently, without browning for about 10 mins, until the onion is soft.

Add the turmeric, rice and stock, mix well, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil.

Cover tightly and place in an oven for 25 minutes. Do not uncover during this stage for any reason.

Remove from oven and uncover, fluff up with a fork and serve sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and coriander and with your favourite spicy chutney.

Serves 6