A real scoop
Icecream of the crop
2 cups fresh mint leaves
1 cup milk
2 cups cream
3⁄4 cup sugar
5 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
Few drops green food colour
3⁄4 cup good-quality dark chocolate chips
Clap mint leaves lightly between your hands to bruise them. Put into a medium saucepan and add milk and 1 cup of the cream. Heat until nearly simmering then turn off the heat, cover and leave to steep for 1 hour.
Strain out the mint leaves, pressing all the liquid out, and return milk mixture to the pot. Add sugar and salt and heat again until dissolved and nearly simmering.
Lightly whisk egg yolks in a heatproof jug then slowly pour the milk mixture over the yolks, whisking all the while. Pour back into the saucepan and stir over medium heat until thickened.
Sieve back into the jug and add remaining 1 cup cream and food colour. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly before churning in an icecream maker.
Once the mixture has churned, scrape into a ceramic or metal container and fold in chocolate chips. Cover and freeze until firm. Makes about 1.5 litres
6
The national leader tucks into the gaudy trimming (7)
Had a go at the customised diet around the end of summer (5)
Unwanted message about tinned meat? (4)
It could be a wide painting outside school (10) Kicks up a fuss when the nuisances admit corruption (8)
Submits that the jobs include the international leader (6)
Even characters in Memphis city are huge (4) Reportedly remained sober (5)
Unfasten some of the gun dogs (4)
More timid losing one useful cat (6)
They’re not important when there’s no evidence of murders (8)
Signs of being scared when the politician enters the coach after a bird (10)
Don’t start to stalk the bird (4)
Look around the outskirts of Raumati for a nest (5) Runs through the church that divides the promenades (7)
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13
15 17 18 19 20
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26 27 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 12
Meat portions for the percussionist? (10) Meanies overlook embracing the queen (6)
It’s off to be isolated and it’s in to be confined (4) Bound to be short of funds (8)
The tree in the Manapouri murals (4)
A grape is arranged for someone gawking (5) Conscripted the doctor behind Edward (7)
The boyfriend put the skin head on the old wagon (5)
Doubtful perhaps to follow part of a movie (10) Suggest there’s plain writing about the work (7) The bush on the garden plot is axed (8)
The Queen is behind the statue of Mr Keaton (6) Iniquities Elvis revealed (5)
A lowly worker could ride the crest of the wave I hear (4)
Sulk because the motorcycle is unfinished (4)
14 16 17 21 22 24
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A $50 gift card goes to the first correct entry opened for Barbara Brown’s Weekend Prize Crossword. Send it in an envelope with your name and address to Your Weekend Prize Crossword, Stuff, PO Box 6341, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141 or email answers to cryptic@stuff.co.nz. The competition closes at noon on Friday and the solution will be published next week. Winner of the $50 voucher for crossword 591 on December 21, 2019, is Howard Jamieson from Christchurch. Congratulations, Howard.
Across:
1 Prissy, 4 Trades, 8 Psalter, 9 Saviour, 11 Tragically, 12 Ends, 13 Delhi, 14 Gibbston, 16 Hired gun, 18 Cliff, 20 Efts, 21 Dill pickle, 23 Belgian, 24 Actions, 25 Sister, 26 Usages.
1 Poser, 2 Illegal, 3 Sketching, 5 Ready, 6 Drivers, 7 Sounds off, 10 Elegantly, 13 Dripfeeds, 15 Backpacks, 17 Ensigns, 19 Itching, 21 Drake, 22 Lands.
Down:
His father called my mother the next day to say they wouldn’t be pursuing the alliance. My mother was angry at me and told me I needed to be nicer and toe the line. As a punishment, she put me on a 6pm curfew for a while.
A few months later, I put a post on Facebook that Hari liked and we started chatting by WhatsApp. We got on really well as friends and got to know each other. We both love photography and reading so we bonded over that.
He came to India in 2014 to see his family and we had a coffee. By then, I’d totally changed my mind about him. When he proposed a few days later, I couldn’t believe it. We got engaged three weeks later and married four months after that in a traditional ceremony with 1000 people.
Hari had to go back to New Zealand but it took two months to get my visa, so it was hard getting married and then having to be apart. It was even harder getting used to life here – I couldn’t get a job for a year and really missed my family and friends. I wanted to go home a few times.
Hari is tall and handsome and he’s also really funny. He’s also the calm one in the family – I can get angry quickly but he calms me down. And he’s great at motivating me – I can be a bit lazy about routines or going to the gym but Hari is good at getting me back on track.
The negatives? Hari loves himself and will happily stand in front of the mirror for ages. But that comes from a place of self-confidence and it took me a while to understand that. Because he lived on his own for so long, he can also be a bit messy.
But our marriage works because we’re friends and we talk everything out. We both love our families and respect each other. We’ll text during the day – just things like ‘‘How’s your day going?’’ – and he’ll pack a note in with my lunch which is so sweet.