Author: Bunny Eats Design

Monday Bunday: Molang

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Happy National Potato Day! 19 August is National Potato Day and while “national” refers to USA, the internet makes the world such a small place. Potatoes are tasty, versatile and good for you. Not a week goes by that I don’t eat a potato and today’s Monday Bunday features a potato shaped rabbit who goes by the name Molang. Think of it as Korea’s answer to Sanrio’s Hello Kitty, My Melody and Little Twin Stars…only better. Molang is a small and lovable animal. He’s very curious and a big dreamer. Molang loves to have fun and to give kisses. But what he loves most is to eat strawberries. As soon as Molang catches a whiff of this fruit, its cheeks turn a little pinker and its eyes shine a little brighter. Molang loves strawberries but it also likes to eat everything else. He particularly loves traveling everywhere/around the world to discover new flavours and tastes. Then, Molang likes to share all his lucky finds with his friends. Hmmmm…I love strawberries, eating and travel. Oh my gawd. I …

The Honesty Box 2

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Way, way back in the late ’80s, a young boy at Glenholme Primary School in Rotorua, New Zealand accidentally slammed his fingers in the classroom door. I will never forget it because he also happened to be holding a tamarillo at that precise moment. The horrific tamarillo mess will be forever etched into my mind. As the news spread that someone had squished their fingers in the door, the fact that he was also holding a tamarillo dropped away. To our active imaginations, it was finger guts that bloodied the classroom entrance. I have honestly never bought a tamarillo in my  life. I guess subconsciously, finger guts are pretty far down on the list of my preferred fruit. It’s a shame really, because I just found out that The Koala adores tamarillos. This winter, I’m testing out a few CSA and produce delivery companies in Auckland. If you are curious about CSA and like see what other people around the world are getting each week in their boxes, please check out at the weekly link party What’s …

Street Eats Auckland 2013

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The Scene Thousands of Hungry Hungry Hippos Aucklanders flocked to Street Eats at Shed 10, Queens Wharf, yesterday to gorge themselves with cheap and cheerful eats. Local cafes and restaurants offered a handful of dishes each priced mostly $5 to $10 and the atmosphere was festive despite the “shed” location. Matched with a tipple of your choice, it was a fun way to try a bunch of food on a budget. Advertised as a family affair and appealing to the everyman, the crowds were larger than expected which was both a curse and a blessing. The event was advertised for 10am to 7pm but when my friend Coco and I arrived in the early afternoon some places had completely sold out. With the success of this inaugural event, it should mean many years of Street Eats to come. Street Eats is part of Auckland Restaurant month and more info can be found at: www.biglittlecity.co.nz/auckland-restaurant-month/ The Eats Even though we were low on cash, the EFTPOS line snaked back three days long so we decided to spend …

Slow Cooked Orange Pulled Pork (with crackling)

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We are hoarding oranges. We don’t eat oranges, but they keep turning up, hence the collection. I have good intentions, I mean to eat them, which is why I haven’t cancelled or blacklisted oranges. If we had a juicer we might get through what we we receive from our boxes. Therefore, the next best thing is to use orange as an ingredient. Luckily, we love our meat with fruit in this house and The Koala was eager for me to test out another pulled pork on him. I used a boneless pork shoulder for my Hoisin pulled pork recipe but this version uses one with bone in as it was cheaper this week. Feel free to use either. I am loving our first winter living with a slow cooker. A hand-me-down from Mum, it’s worth the extra space it takes up on our counter. To save on time and dishes, I used the ceramic pot and lid from our slow cooker to marinade in. This requires substantial fridge space so if you don’t have this, …

The Honest Box Menu 1

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Since the success of my first pulled pork, I’m doing another twice the size this week with plenty of leftovers to play with. The Koala does not mind one bit! This week we received a whole pumpkin from our F&V small box from The Honesty Box. Sharing a 2.4kg pumpkin between two means  it features heavily in this week’s menu. I’m not a fan of pumpkin but I know what I like and as long as it’s cooked with plenty of aromatic spices I’m good to go. The pouch of herbs will be thrown willy nilly into soups and stews. The Honesty Box Menu 1 Items in bold are from The Honesty Box. Orange pulled pork with smashed garlic, onion and bay leaves Pulled pork rolls with lettuce, red onion and sour cream Pulled Pork Tortillas (see notes below) Rice noodles with pulled pork and broccoli Spiced Pumpkin and kumara soup with smoked cheddar toasties Pumpkin and chickpea curry with garlic, onion and tomato paste. Served on rice with a dollop of sour cream Sirloin steak medium rare …

THE HONESTY BOX 1

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This winter, I’m testing out a few CSA and produce delivery companies in Auckland. If you are curious about CSA and like see what other people around the world are getting each week in their boxes, please check out at the weekly link party What’s In The Box over at Heather’s blog In Her Chucks. The Lowdown The Honesty Box has a great name and refers to unmanned roadside stalls all over the New Zealand countryside, where you purchase produce by leaving money behind in the honesty box. I don’t know if this is common in other countries but around here, it’s looked upon fondly, though dishonesty is slowly taking over and honesty boxes are less and less common. With The Honesty Box, the name actually refers to their corporate programme where companies can purchase a box of fruit for the office and employees can buy fruit at work by way of honest box. A healthy alternative to the chocolate bar and chips snack box. The Honesty Box also offer home deliveries which is what we went are …

Hoisin Pulled Pork

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The Koala asked me if I had any plans for the weekend. I replied “pulled pork” which he thought it was code and I that was feeling frisky. To be fair, he wasn’t disappointed with what I had in mind. I frequent blogs and forums with US inhabitants and I often suffer from major food envy. Pulled pork has been the object of my affection. Pulled pork is not a common dish in New Zealand though this is slowly changing. There are American-Mexican joints in Auckland now who all serve slow cooked pork in tortillas. This recipe is incredibly easy to make and could be doubled or even tripled if you are feeding a larger group. This recipe fed five adults for dinner but judging by how quickly it disappeared, it would be better suited for four. Pork has this annoying habit of shrinking which is a good reason to buy slightly more than you think you need. No one ever complained about pulled pork leftovers! Hoisin means “seafood” I added a Chinese touch by …

Tofu Tuesday: Mystic Unicorn Beanie Baby Twins

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Demystifying the common unicorn. Like the common horse, the unicorn grazes on tall grasses and enjoys socialising with their own species. Unicorns behave like any other wild, docile creature and shy away from people unless tamed. Tame unicorns love to eat fresh carrots and apples from your hand and doing so may encourage them trust to you and build a lifelong friendship. Unicorns are not so mystical, just misunderstood and a bit horny.

Auckland Restaurant Month on a budget

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I enjoy eating out just as much as I enjoy cooking and in a few days it will be Auckland Restaurant Month. Testing out the promotional menus is a great way to get out of a winter hibernation funk. With over 20 foodie events and 120 restaurants participating, get into Auckland and eat something new this month. More info can be found at: www.biglittlecity.co.nz/auckland-restaurant-month/ Street Eats at Shed 10 The number one foodie event I’m looking forward to during next month is Street Eats at Shed 10 on Queens Wharf. Entry is free and you can expect a feast from 10.30am to 7.00pm on Saturday 10 August 2013. “Taking place at Shed 10 on Queens Wharf, Street Eats is a family friendly event with our favourite chefs serving up their most beloved street food.” I am hoping Street like the restaurant section of my favourite food festivals but without the entry fee. The lineup for Street Eats includes: Besos Latinos Atico Cocina Ima Cuisine Mecca Cafe Toto Merchants of Venice Monsoon Poon Faro Korean Restaurant Thai Street …

NATURALLY ORGANIC MENU 3

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We didn’t receive a lot of vegetables in our Naturally Organic this week so our meal plan reflects this. Hope to stretch a few meals so we can have leftovers for lunch but it might not happen. Plenty of fruit to snack on this week though! Naturally Organic Menu 3 Items in bold are from our Naturally Organic box. Hoisin pulled pork with apple slaw on floury baps (pictured) Chicken and leek soup with garlic butter toast Bangers and mash with kiwi caramalised onions (see recipe below) with sautéed garlic silverbeet Spicy udon with beef, onion, egg and cabbage, topped with pinenuts Pumpkin and silverbeet curry with home made roti Orange roasted chicken drumsticks with pumpkin and carrot Apple hand pies with butterscotch sauce and ice cream Butterscotch and banana smoothie I’d like to share a quickie recipe with you that I whip out for bangers and mash occasions. Call it a lazyman’s chutney. It’s chunky and delicious. The flavours of caramalised onion, kiwi and butter work really well together and this would be great with steak, sausages, chops or chicken. This …

Happy meat makes me happy

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I’ve always wanted to buy meat direct from a farm, but I thought that was reserved for people with chest freezers in the basement. We have neither chest freezer or a basement. We are really lucky here in New Zealand to have many independent farms who offer meat to the public. If you follow Bunny Eats Design on Facebook, you might have noticed me recently gloating about the 20 or so kilos of beef we have in the freezer. The skinny Steve and Pip delivered the meat from their 1300 acres in Wairarapa direct to our home. It really doesn’t get much easier. Eketahuna Country Meats raise their own deer, lamb and Angus beef. Eketahuna Country Meats offer: Angus beef (whole $1300, 20kg packs $300, half or quarter*) Lamb (whole $220*) Pork (whole $600, half $300*) Someone who has been buying beef this way for years gave me a wise tip: Don’t eat all the steak first. With 9 packs of mince and 7 packs of sausages in our lot, I can see why. The …

Tofu Tuesday: Bunny Bliss

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  Click on the images for full screen view. Tofu the bunny’s most recent foray into the modeling world. Bunny Bliss is a luxury day spa for lagomorphs. Their growing client list includes celebrities such as The Energizer Bunny, Miffy, Babs Bunny and Fifi Lapin. Treat the bunny in your life today.

Monday Bunday: Lepus Australis

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An old friend of mine living in Australia  shared news of this recent exhibition with me. Kind of a amazing and mind blowing if you like rabbits and art. I dunno, maybe you get a rabbity-arty vibe off me? Lepus Australis was an art exhibition celebrating domestic bunnies in Australia. 1000 origami bunnies was showcased along with art from 40 Australian artists at No Vacancy Gallery in Melbourne. All those origimi rabbits. I kind of wish I had thought of origami rabbits for our wedding. That would have been way cooler than the lame origami cranes I folded for months. “Lepus Australis aims to remember the lives of the beautiful bunnies lost to myxomatosis and highlight the need for a myxo vaccine in Australia.” Please visit their tumblr site http://www.lepusaustralis.tumblr.com for more information including a full list of artists and links.

Naturally Organic 3

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This winter, I’m testing out a few CSA and produce delivery companies in Auckland. I have already tried Foodbox.co.nz and now I am trying is Naturally Organic. Naturally Organic is a market based in Albany, Auckland and their produce boxes are only a small part of what they offer. Unlike other companies that have a set delivery day, Naturally Organic offer 6 day delivery. Check their website out for specific details for your area, but I can order up to 7 days in advance and get same day delivery Monday to Friday if I order by 9.30am. First impression Our first Two Person Box was overwhelming and the One Person Box wasn’t really enough so this round I requested the Two Person Box with more vegetables than fruit. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen and once again we received heaps of fruit. 44 pieces of fruit! As before the produce is of excellent organic quality and the box was huge but felt a bit empty. I ordered some chicken this week and these were were individually wrapped in …

Bastille Day Wine Tasting

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Our Bastille Day Cheese and Wine Tasting was a barrel of laughs. Tasting different wines side by side was awesome. You taste a little of each and then go back for more until it’s all gone. The wines changed as we drank them and some that I didn’t like at the start were delicious at the end. I suspect a combination of booze and air affected the taste. At our wine tasting, there were ten wine tasters and six bottles of red wine. There were three French wines in honour of Bastille Day, two Australian wines and one New Zealand wine. A good mix. I asked each guest to bring either  cheese or a red wine that they hadn’t tried before, with a price limit of $20. Loose lips and dutch rudders Being the slightly crazy foodie that I am, everyone was encouraged to take notes on the wines based on some key points. Strong opinions and poetic license were held in high regard. Our rating system from 0 to 10: 0 = yuck 5 = …