Author: Bunny Eats Design

Bloggers love dumplings

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Last month, on a glorious Sunday morning, down near La Cigale French Markets in Parnell, a group of bloggers gathered. This was to be my second #brunchclub event and we were here at Sachie’s Kitchen to make and eat dumplings. Sachie Nomura is well known in the NZ foodie circuit for her TV appearances, books and her cooking demonstrations at various events around NZ. She makes Japanese cooking at home easy and accessible. Sachie’s Kitchen offers Asian cuisines including Japanese, Malaysia, Vietnamese, Thai and Indian classes. We were guests of Contiki, a travel company founded in the ’60s by an intrepid and enterprising New Zealander. Contiki focuses on tours for ages 18-35 and their latest itinerary is a 13 day exploration of Japan. What better way to celebrate than with dumplings? Sachie and her team were friendly and put us at ease (while allowing us to get strangely competitive). I loved the team building competitiveness of the class, it was a good way to get to know some new faces. Contiki staff were there to represent …

5 NZ Wines paired with 5 NZ Cheeses

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I prefer to buy New Zealand cheese and wine. We have such wonderful products here it seems a pity to buy imported. I recently bought some NZ wine from the Advintage Online Wine Store who – like many New Zealand wines – are based in the Hawkes Bay region. Advintage offer a range of wines including wines from NZ, Australia, France, Spain Italy, and USA. What I liked about the Advintage website is you can easily sort wines by price, region and variety. They also have a few useful categories such as SPECIALS, CLASSICS or HIGH ROLLERS depending on how your shopping/drinking style. Prices are per bottle or per case with good savings for both. I found it super cool that their case pricing applies to mixed cases. You don’t have to buy all the same wine take advantage of their case pricing, as long as you buy 12 bottles of any wine, you’ll pay the case rate. I selected five New Zealand wines priced from $18-$22 on Advintage but actually retail at $24-$35 elsewhere. The wines I picked where ones …

Monday Bunday: Oma Rapeti

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Starting this Friday at the Haus of Flox Showrooms at 13 Great North Road, Michel Tuffery, Flox and invited guest artists will be showing an Auckland version of the Oma Rapeti exhibition. “Oma rapeti” means “run rabbit” and any kiwi will fondly remember the song we sung as kids. The exhibition began at Pataka Gallery in Porirua and is traveling to various locations around New Zealand. More info here: https://www.facebook.com/N8VLaB and here: https://www.facebook.com/floxnz?fref=ts Here are a few pieces from the show.

MiNDFOOD CheeseFest Double Pass Giveaway Winner!

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With special thanks to MiNDFOOD CheeseFest, I am pleased to announce the winner for the double pass for. Drawn by Random.org, the winner is… **drum roll please!** Natallia Yanachkina!   Thanks to all who entered, I loved reading your cheese answers and reminded me to eat more cheese. If you would like to find out more or purchase tickets, details are below. MiNDFOOD CheeseFest Wednesday 18 March 2015 5pm to 8.30pm The Great Room at The Langham, 83 Symonds Street, Auckland Tickets are $30 from Eventfinder or $35 at the door. See you there! Links you might love: New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association http://www.cheeselovers.co.nz CheeseLoversNZ on Facebook To keep up with announcements including giveaways, make sure you follow me on Bloglovin’ or Facebook.

‘Gram Whores R Us

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Hi I’m Genie and I used to take horrible photos of food. Almost as bad as Martha Stewart. These days I’m comfortable behind my DSLR and I got there through practice. Most bloggers wouldn’t point you in the direction of their embarrassingly horrific early photos and blog posts, but I’m not most bloggers. I don’t care that I started off as a shitty photographer. Look at the photos here and here. Seriously, check them out, especially that first one. Ewww! Even though I love photography, I hate taking photos on my phone. Even though my camera is heavy, I carry it around if I think I’ll come across something I’d like to take a photo of. I was one of those people that owned a Nokia brick when my friends were getting their first iPhone. I finally got a decent smartphone last year – a Galaxy S4 mini to be precise. I was reluctant that I would want or enjoy using a smartphone, but now I’m a convert. I am obsessed addicted a frequent user of Pinterest and Facebook. …

Our Growing Edge March 2015 – Intro

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A new month means a new edition of Our Growing Edge. I founded Our Growing Edge to encourage fellow bloggers to experience and share new food adventures. Every month I push myself to do something a little unexpected and different in the kitchen (or outdoors as I was barbecuing last month). Here are a few submissions from February’s collection of Our Growing Edge, the full round up to be published on Love Live Life by Kim shortly. Pictured: Top Row: Supper Lovin’, Vittles and Voyages, Bunny Eats Design. Second Row: Think Eat Repeat, The Kiwi Diaries, Christy’s Food Rush. Third Row: The Cook’s Pyjamas, Searching For Spice, Andre’s The Home Baker Fourth Row: Spicy, Quirky and Serendipitous, Love The Little Bakery, Joie De Vivre and Cupcakes. Host This month’s host is Cynthia from Eat Munch Love. Cynthia is a passionate foodie from Vancouver who loves developing scrumptious recipes, and living healthfully. If you would like to host an event, contact me and we can arrange a month for you. To find out more on how to join Our Growing Edge including the link to submit, see the event …

Tofu Tuesday: Juice Pulp

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I made a juice the other day and had just emptied the juice pulp into our worm farm when suddenly a rabbit stopped me in my tracks. He demanded that I hand over the juice pulp container, which I did. He proceeded to investigate. Too late buddy, that was worm food. Click here to see more editions of Tofu Tuesday.

Splore Food 2015

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This time last week, we were elbow deep in Splore. Splore is an extremely well run, three day festival of music and art. This was easily my favourite festival and it was over too quick. I’m a little ashamed to say I only ate 4 meals over 3 days because the food on offer is incredible. I did have plenty to drink…don’t worry, it wasn’t all Jägermeister and cider, I also managed a banana-berry smoothie and a green juice . Here’s a run down on some of the food we ate. Aloisio Brazilian BBQ Halloumi and Free range Harmony chorizo breakfast bun. Brazilian Churrasco. Chicken, beef and Brazilian sausage served with rice, black beans and vinaigrette topped with farofa (seasoned cassava flour). I only had a single meal during Day One and this plate of barbecued goodness from Aloisio kept me going for the whole the day (and night). Most people we saw shared a plate but The Koala and I had one each. No regrets! I loved the help yourself farofa which is a seasoned cassava flour and naturally …

10 tips for charcoal barbecue noobs

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The Koala doesn’t spend much time in my kitchen our kitchen, but like most red-blooded kiwi males, The Koala is happy behind a barbecue (with beer in hand). We haven’t had a barbecue for a few years so The Koala and I bought ourselves a charcoal barbecue for Christmas. Introducing our Charmate 57cm Premium Charcoal BBQ. There were 3 options for this size which we dubbed the cheapie ($80), the middle of the road ($200) and the Weber ($400). We went for the $200 option and also picked up a cover, a barbecue tool set, a lighter, Manuka wood chips and 2 bags of hardwood lump coal. Yes, we got ourselves coal for Christmas! We must have been bad this year.   Gas barbecues are super popular here in New Zealand because they are quick, convenient and cheap to run. But we figure, we cook with gas in our kitchen every day. We know what gas cooking tastes like. We would like a new experience please!   Charcoal is different to gas (no shit). You get a …

Tofu Tuesday: Pietje’s Cupboard

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Tofu the bunny posing with a rabbit and toadstool in a jar from Pietje’s Cupboard. Pietje’s is pronounced “peaches” and are all about whimsical woodland goodies with toadstools and furry friends. Check out more of Pietje’s Cupboard’s work, including moose, unicorns, foxes, deer and racoons here on their Facebook page. The Koala and I attended the Auckland Fair in December last year to buy some Christmas gifts (for other people). We accidentally came home with this rabbit for ourselves. Click here to see more editions of Tofu Tuesday.

A guide to Splore food

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Splore starts tomorrow! Splore is a 3-day music and art astival at Tapapakanga Regional Park on the outskirts of Auckland, New Zealand. Originally held every two years, last year, Splore decided to become an annual event. As Splore also happens to land on The Koala’s birthday, we’ve pretty much got his birthday party sorted for all of time. Splore is now celebrating its 11th festival and this year will be The Koala and my 7th Splore. They have a great sustainable green ethos and the arty atmosphere and beachy location make it unique. You can float in the sea or lie on the beach while watching international and kiwi artists on the main stage. Up on the hills and scattered throughout the site are never seen before artworks to keen you entertained and amused. There are various workshops and markets if you want to broaden your mind or wardrobe. If you like music, art and the beach, this is a winner.  Home The theme this year’s theme is “Home”. Home isn’t a place, it is where …

Gong Hei Faht Choy!

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It is Chinese New Year today and it is the year of the goat (a.k.a. sheep / ram). My Chinese parents are both born under this year. It is custom to eat only vegetarian food on this special day. Avoiding meat on the first day of the year is believed to give you a long life because idea that nothing should be killed on the first day of the year promotes Buddhist beliefs and traditions. If you’re in need of an extra karma boost, say no to bacon, steak, chicken wings and ribs for just one day. In honour of this meat-free tradition, here are are a few of my favourite vegetarian recipes. Click on the images to view the full recipes. 1. Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms 2. Spiced Carrot and Coconut Soup 3. Caprese Salad 4. Eggplant Misocheese 5. Jubilee Rice 6. Grilled Cabbage Wedges with Lemon Thyme Dressing 7. Cumin Hash Browns 8. Halloumi with Balsamic Reduction 9. Beetroot and Goats Cheese Risotto 10. Tzatziki with Chunky Turmeric Vege Chips   Wishing you a wonderful Chinese New …

Monday Bunday: Air New Zealand Tortoise and Hare Video

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For an airline for a tiny country like New Zealand, Air New Zealand sure do get their branding right. From their their many humorous, sexy, or epic safety videos, to their award winning, left of centre uniforms, they might take time to grow on you or you might like them instantly. Here is Air New Zealand’s brand spanking new commercial called The Tortoise and the Hare. Featuring a tortoise, a hare, a red fox in red heels, mountain biking, a cheese board, a chopper and all shot in the beautiful scenery around Wanaka, New Zealand. The Koala and I did a little road trip around this area two years ago. Check out my write up on it here.

Happy Valentines Day!

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Wishing you a wonderful day whatever you might be doing. The Koala and I have been together for about 13 years now and we eat dinner together most nights. While we have celebrated Valentines Day by a dinner out several times, it’s not really our thing. It’s just so cheesy and expected. So, I’ve planned a antipasto potluck with friends in our backyard tonight. There will be sangria, olives, cheese, seafood, cold cuts, candles, a tablecloth and heart shaped sunglasses (pictured, modelled by Tofu the bunny). There will be a tw couples and a lots of singles. Any excuse for a feast 🙂 Do you have a romantic dinner for two planned? Is it going to be something like this?

Heart Shaped food for Valentines Day

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So, it’s Valentines Day tomorrow and I look at every celebration as an excuse to eat. Don’t you? Here are a couple of easy recipes with puff pastry that I’ve made in the past: Strawberry Heart Puffs and Lemon Sugar Palmiers. Seriously easy stuff. Get the recipes here and here. These two got me curious about other heart shaped foods for your Valentines. There are heaps out there so I leaned towards ones that The Koala and I would actually enjoy eating. Heart Shaped Foods for Valentines Day 1. Heart shaped pizza with heart shaped pepperoni Originally made by Dominos, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t make this yourself. Image found via Rebloggy. This would be an easy ticket into The Koala’s heart. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. Hands off my husband. 2. Heart shaped Toad in a Hole. Got a heart shaped cookie cutter a slice of bread and an egg? You’ve got breakfast. Found via Neatarama, made by Petite Kitchenesse. You could even make heart-shaped nutella sandwiches or heart-shaped french toast …

MiNDFOOD CheeseFest: Double Pass Giveaway

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Do you love cheese? Yes? Then keep reading. The ultimate cheese adventure is coming to Auckland. Thanks to MiNDFOOD CheeseFest, I have a double pass to give away (retail value $60) to the CheeseFest next month. To enter, please fill in the contact form below, including a skill question. What you can look forward to at the CheeseFest: Unlimited free samples of the best NZ cheese Mingling with the winners of the 2015 NZ Champions of Cheese Awards Learn how great cheese is made Cheese sale tables Complimentary beverage on arrival (thanks to Crossroads Wine and Epic Beer) MiNDFOOD CheeseFest Wednesday 18 March 2015 5pm to 8.30pm The Great Room at The Langham, 83 Symonds Street, Auckland Tickets are $30 from Eventfinder or $35 at the door. See you there! Links you might love: New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association http://www.cheeselovers.co.nz CheeseLoversNZ on Facebook Terms and conditions 1 entry per person. This competition is open to Auckland residents only. It is the responsibility of the prize winner to redeem their prize. Prize includes a double pass only. You …

Alison’s Pantry Giveaway Winner

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With special thanks to Alison’s Pantry, I am pleased to announce the winner for the prize pack containing eight different platter products (Valued at $120). Drawn by Random.org, the winner is… **drum roll please!** Rhiannon Young!   Thanks to all who entered and if you are in Auckland and love cheese, please check back this afternoon for an exciting new giveaway. To keep up with announcements including giveaways, make sure you follow me on Bloglovin’ or Facebook.