Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

This Latin American classic is guaranteed to produce mouthwatering, spicy results. · Add a tin of kidney beans, rinsed, to the sauce with the meatballs if you like. Mexican oregano is stronger than Mediterranean, but you can substitute in normal dried oregano and a pinch of ground fennel. · Either way, it makes a perfect mid week meal.  · Ingredients · - For the meatballs - 600g minced beef - 1 small onion, very finely chopped - 2 garlic…

David Seymour has been sworn in as New Zealand’s deputy prime minister, replacing Winston Peters under the coalition agreement. · Both men used the handover to assert political freedom and sharpen their party strategies ahead of 2026. · Seymour downplayed the shift in power but made clear he won’t be moderating his tone in the new role. “I certainly won’t be losing my freedom to think and to speak,” he said. Asked if the job would change him,…

The English claimed many offenses against Joan of Arc. But when they burned her at the stake in Rouen, France on May 30, 1431, they not only immortalized the 19-year-old, but made her a national symbol for the French cause during the long-fought Hundred Years’ War. · Born a peasant in a small French village, the illiterate girl claimed to hear divine voices and see visions of St. Michael, St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Margaret of Antioch…

A celebration of a much-loved teatime treat, these bakes turn out looking like super-chocolatey Bourbon biscuit bricks, and happen to go amazingly well with a brew of builder’s tea. · Ingredients · - 200g Bourbon biscuits (these can be found in Crackerjack) - 100g butter, roughly chopped, plus extra for greasing - 2 tbsp golden syrup - 200g caster sugar - 200g dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces - 2 tsp vanilla extract - 100g…

The steamer Wairuna, en route from Auckland to San Francisco, was captured by the German raider SMS Wolf on June 2, 1917 and later sunk near the Kermadec Islands. The crew was taken prisoner. · The Union Steam Ship Company’s Wairuna (3947 tons) was passing the Kermadec Islands (these lie 800–1000 km north-east of the North Island) when a seaplane flew overhead and dropped a weighted canvas bag on the forecastle head. Inside was a note ordering…

A group of former MPs led by Dame Marilyn Waring is forming an unofficial “people’s select committee” to scrutinise the coalition government’s recent changes to pay equity law. · The move comes after public protests and claims that the reforms were rushed through under urgency without proper consultation. · The committee includes ex-lawmakers from across the political spectrum, including Labour’s Lianne Dalziel, National’s Jackie Blue, and the…

In 1921, a London rare book dealer named Dr. Wilfred M. Voynich toured the United States with pages from a mysterious ancient manuscript that he claimed would “startle the scientific world.” · "When the time comes," Voynich said, "I will prove to the world that the black magic of the Middle Ages consisted in discoveries far in advance of 20th-century science.” · The Voynich Manuscript—as it came to be known—appears in many ways to be a typical…

Drawing parallels with other species, not naming names, the voices of female frogs are being drowned out by their much louder male counterparts – so much so we only know how 1.4% of the ladies actually sound. · New research out of Brazil's Universidade de São Paulo has shockingly found that of all the frog species known to scientists, we barely know the vocalizations of any females. Essentially 98.6% of female frog calls are a mystery. ·…

A beekeeper from New Zealand, Edmund Hillary, and the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to stand on the summit of the world’s highest peak on May 29th, 1953. · After climbing with British teams in the Himalayas in 1951 and 1952, Hillary and another New Zealander, George Lowe, were invited to join John Hunt’s 1953 British Everest Expedition. On 29 May – four days before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II – the chosen pair,…

Hand-crushed cumin seeds and peppercorns make a fragrant marinade for this rich, nutty meat · I think this dish tastes best if the cumin seeds and the peppercorns are pounded using a pestle and mortar, but if you already have ground spices, use them instead. · Requires overnight marinating and resting time. · Ingredients · For the pork and peppers · - 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped - 3 tsp cumin seeds - 3 tsp whole black peppercorns -…