The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Newstalk ZB

Real Americans by Rachel Khong. A big multi-generational story told in 3 parts. In the beginning, Lily is living a penurious life in NYC when she meets a mega wealthy man at a party who whisks her off to Paris and they eventually marry. When their parents meet, the dynamics are very weird and uncomfortable. Lily eventually finds herself living on the other side of the country with her son Nick who has never met his father – doesn’t even know who he is – but manages to track him down and they start a relationship, albeit an awkward one. Nick then goes to San Francisco where he connects with his maternal grandmother who narrates the third part of the book – and tells of her marriage in China, set against the background of the Cultural Revolution. She and her husband eventually emigrated to America and she brings this story full circle, with the expose of family secrets. I loved it. 

The Coast Road by Alan Murrin. Set in Ireland in the 1990’s before divorce was legal and is primarily about two women, both of whose lives are entirely circumscribed by their husbands. Colette has recently moved into the town after running away from her husband and having a wild affair which didn’t work out – and she’s come to this small town to try and get her life back together – but she struggles – her life is chaotic and catastrophic. She befriends a local woman, Izzy – and when Colette’s husband bans her from seeing their children, Izzy offers to engineer a meeting between Colette and her boys. This is small village life done brilliantly. I reckon it might win prizes. 

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BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton shares her tips and tricks for getting around Disneyland - and unpacks the changes to their iconic rides and FastPass system.

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This week on the Sunday Panel, broadcaster and journalist Wilhelmina Shrimpton and partner at Freebairn and Hehir Lawyers, Liam Hehir, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week - and more! 

In light of Winston Peters' 'defamatory' comments, it seems like the coalition Government is having more and more internal clashes. A political podcast asked a group of National, NZ First and ACT MPs if the coalition will last- what do we think?

Green MP Julie Anne Genter has been accused of more aggressive outbursts off the back of her confrontation in Parliament- what can the Green Party do about this? Is this another Golriz Ghahraman situation waiting to happen? 

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We all have our moments where stress and anxiety are too much to bear - so how can we stop ourselves from feeling overwhelmed?

Anxiety has been found to weaken your stress coping abilities, and 'task paralysis' can add to anxieties.

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara explains how to get around the extra stresses of day-to-day life.

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Parsnips in a soup with curry oil 

Cook time: 35 minutes 

Prep time: 20 minutes 

Serves: 6-12 

1 kg parsnips, peeled and chopped  

3 white onions, peeled and chopped  

10 cloves garlic  

3 tbsp sunflower oil  

1 cup white wine  

1.5 ltr vegetable stock  

2 cups cream  

salt  

Curry oil  

1 tbsp coriander seeds  

1 tbsp cummin seeds  

2 tbsp garam masala  

1 tsp turmeric  

1/2 cup sunflower oil  

1 tsp salt 

Start by heat a large deep based pot over a medium heat.  

Add in the oil and then the onions and garlic, slowly cook them out but be careful, not to allow it the stick and start to colour up. The end result wants to be a white creamy soup not brown.  

Once soft, add the parsnips and continue to sauté for another minute before adding the wine. Once the wine is reduced add the stock and season with salt.  

Cook out for 30 minutes before testing.  

To make up curry oil, start by making a basic curry powder. Toast of the coriander seeds, cumin seeds until fragrant. Place into the pestle and mortar and crush. Add in the garam masala and turmeric. Bingo, you have just made a basic curry powder!! Place the curry powder into a pot with the oil and salt, bring to the simmer. Turn off and allow to cool before passing through a chux cloth.

Don't push it through, just allow it to drip. Blitz the soup and add in the cream, check the seasoning. 

Serve in bowls with a drizzle of oil.

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Why do we like our beer cold but our sake warm?

This was the question posed by two scientists who were out drinking together. Their results have just been published in the journal Matter.

The researchers measured the contact angle of different solutions that had varying concentrations of water and ethanol - which is the most common form of drinking alcohol.

This gave them insights into how molecules within the solution were interacting with each other.

At low alcohol concentrations like those found in beer, they found that at room temperature ethanol forms more pyramid-shaped structures around the water molecules.

Pyramid structures lead to a taste profile that is perceived as less alcoholic and so warm beer tastes like it has less alcohol in it.

When they reduced the temperature in the 5 percent ethanol (beer equivalent) solution from room temperature to 5C the ethanol transformed from a pyramid shape to a long chain-like structure.

These structures lead to a more of an alcohol taste on our tongue which is why professional tasters often report a stronger ethanol-like taste in beer after it has been in the fridge.

With ethanol being characterised by a bitter, slightly sweet taste, being able to taste it in beer is a desirable thing which explains why cold beer tastes better than warm beer.

From the study, the researchers suggest the perfect pint should be consumed at 5C, which luckily is about the temperature of your fridge.

So why do we like sake warm? Well, as the level of alcohol in a solution is increased, the ethanol naturally starts to arrange itself end-to-end in a chain structure giving high alcohol containing drinks like sake its potent alcohol taste at room temperature without you needing to cool it down. It is this chain-like structure that gives alcohol its burning sensation and ethanol taste that drinkers seem to like when consuming alcoholic beverages.

Not only can this research help us to serve up our favourite drinks at the perfect temperature but it could also help the alcoholic drinks industry to produce lower alcohol-containing drinks that still taste great when served at the correct temperature.

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