During this last week we've been sharing the house with a couple from France - Sylvan and Isabelle. We've been having a lot of fun hanging out with them and they have been more than generous with their time, camping gear and help with buying a car. They took us around to different car markets (since they have a car) and since they are finishing their tour of New Zealand, they gave us a lot of their camping gear. We have especially enjoyed hearing their stories of travels and working in an avocado packing plant on the North Island.
Last night they treated us to a meal that they learned to make while in Australia - "Beer Chicken." Maybe you have tried this recipe before and Sean said that it was pretty common in the U.S., but I had never heard of it. You take a can of beer, drink a little bit of it, and then put it on a little metal stand (that's apparently made just for this purpose) and stick the chicken on top of it. Isabelle rubbed the chicken beforehand with mustard, salt and pepper. She also cut up onions, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini and put them around the chicken on the pan. Then you just bake it all for about one hour and a half and a lot of the beer gets absorbed into the chicken and keeps it from getting too dry.
The end result was terrific and we had a great dinner together topped off with chocolate Cadbury and caramel ice cream. Isabelle and Sylvan are staying and working Christchurch for another two months as there is a lot of work for them (because of all the earthquake damage) since he is a carpenter and she is a painter. We are going to miss them!
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