Author: Bunny Eats Design

Lamb Sausages and Grapes

Published by

Lamb is getting cheaper and cheaper here in NZ and I suspect it’s to do with our strong kiwi dollar. A lot of the lamb raised here gets shipped off to overseas markets so it’s a treat to be able to afford it. Still, if you don’t want the commitment of a whole lamb leg, lamb sausages are a cheap and tasty way to eat lamb. Nosh Food Market usually put a different sausage on special each week and last week was their really good lamb sausages for $11 kg. Nosh’s Black Rock Butchery are surprisingly good and their specials are very good and it’s no small feat that Nosh recently won the NZ Ham of the Year prize at the annual 100% Bacon and Ham competition. At Nosh, you can ask the butcher real foodie questions, like portion sizes and their cooking reccomendations. A stark contrast to the supermarket where I once asked the lady behind the seafood counter if they had any flounder left (on special that week). She did not know what …

No love

Published by

When you can’t decide what to order at an unfamiliar place, I’ve always figured your best bet is to go with their specialty. At a steak house? Order steak. Sushi shop? Order sushi. It should be a no brainer. If in doubt, don’t order the seafood platter in a burger joint. Don’t order the cheeseburger in a fish and chip shop. Both will usually contain frozen elements and possibly nuked back to life. There’s a trend for places to offer too wide a menu and instead of doing a few really things well, they do many things badly or average at best. An Australian coffee chain was offering “authentic” Thai cuisine not long ago. Really? I wish I could have a Thai fish cake with my espresso…said no one ever. The other day I went out for lunch with The Koala. Going out for lunch is a treat that every worker should reward themselves with once in a while. It breaks up the day and for a moment during the week, you can pretend you don’t …

Beasts of the Southern Food – Movie ticket giveaway

Published by

New Orleans is right up there on my bucket list as a place to eat my way through. Every time anything remotely New Orleansy (is that a word?) comes my way, my ears prick up and I’m on high alert. Crawfish boil, shrimp, gumbo, jambalaya, deep fried beignet, po-boys, Oysters Rockefeller, red beans and rice. Yes please. Director Benh Zeitlin and screen writer Lucy Alibar’s new film Beasts of the Southern Wild conjures up a magical fantasy world under chaos sometime in the not too distant future. Think Where The Wild Things Are and Pan’s Labyrinth meets New Orleans. Dubbed “the best movie about New Orleans ever” even though many claim that it isn’t about New Orleans at all, this hero tale is set in a fictional place called “The Bathtub”. No story accused of being about New Orleans would be complete without food references. This movie is going to be a good one. Films for Foodies Next month, as part of Rialto Cinema’s monthly Films for Foodies event at their Newmarket location, there will be a very special screening …

Monday Bunday: Rabbit Vase

Published by

The possibilities for this rabbit ears vase are endless. Leaves and long stemmed flowers would be obvious choices, but feathers, bunches of twigs, straw and even lollipops would also work. These vases come in colours, but I think the white or black would be my picks. More info on this vase at Japanese company Furnish: www.furnish.jp

Attempt Mozzarella

Published by

Last week, a friend delivered some raw, organic milk to us. Lucky! They were struggling to get through the milk this week with some family away and the cow producing a whopping four to six litres a day. A day! That’s mind boggling to me. The Koala and I can go through one day’s worth in a week if we try really hard. With that in mind, sharing a milking cow with up to six other households would be wonderful. Still on the cheese making buzz, I tried my hand at mozzarella. Something must have gone terribly awry because the texture wasn’t the mozzarella I was hoping for. Instead, the nubbly, slightly crumbly, cauliflower-like balls firmed up into firm white rubber. Not my finest cheese making moment, but if anyone is looking for cheese that looks like cauliflower, look no further! Still, we grated it and melted it onto home made pizzas: smoked chicken and black olive, smoked salmon and capers. It tasted just fine. I made pizza dough for the first time in forever …

And the winner is…

Published by

  Congratulations to Erin K! Your parcel of goodies will be on their way to you soon. Thanks for all who entered, especially those living in far away places. For those living in Auckland, I have another competition coming up this week just for you so check back this Wednesday.

Make Hollandaise Sauce

Published by

I made a ten egg hollandaise sauce once. Don’t be impressed, it wasn’t my intention. Years ago, long before I got into cooking, I tried to make hollandaise sauce. The sauce split on me. The recipe I found had the tip to salvage split sauce by adding it to egg yolks in place of butter. So I took my split sauce and added it to two egg yolks. It failed. So I tried to salvage it again. Ten eggs later, I had ten egg hollandaise sauce. That experience meant that for years, I didn’t attempt hollandaise sauce again for fear it would take ten eggs to get right. Well, it was time to put on my big girl pants and give it another try. Here in New Zealand, Eggs Bennie (Benedict) are held in high regard. On their own or with couple of strips of streaky bacon or smoked salmon and the compulsory toast or toasted English muffin, this dish can be found in cafes in every nook and cranny of the country. It takes …

BookTrack and the extinction of books

Published by

On Saturday I had opportunity to attend a sold out TEDx event here in Auckland. If you are unfamiliar with TED, it is a series of talks based on the notion that brilliant ideas are worth spreading. I’m a fan of TED and I love that I can experience brilliant ideas from brilliant minds and be inspired not only by creatives, but from many different industries. One of Saturday’s speakers, Paul Cameron, CEO of BookTrack spoke about their innovative new product. But first, let me share some statistics. It would only take a generation or two in this direction before reading for pleasure became a lost art. Reading is pleasurable because it is engrossing. When I read a good book, I see the world through that book. I think about the characters when I’m not reading. Reading also shares deep dark feelings between author and reader. You don’t get a meaningful inner monologue when watching a movie. Reading presents ideas in ways that video alone cannot. I’m a perpetual list maker and one of my …

Another local foodie mecca

Published by

At the end of the month or in November, there’s to be (yet another) supposed foodie mecca around here called Ponsonby Central. There will be cafes, specialist food stores, a street food strip, a fresh produce market and even an in-house radio station. It looks like there may also be some character office space available so if I stumble across a wad of cash, this might just be where I’ll plonk our new design company. Dreams are free. The focus on the process of making fresh food is sure to appeal to your average foodie. On site there will be coffee being roasted and bread being baked. At the butchery, carcasses will be hanging up and these will be cut behind glass doors for all to see. Sustainability and recycling are also big issues at Ponsonby Central and the old building was pulled apart and the materials re-used. All businesses have signed on to a recycling initiative as part of their contract. Stores to include Produce market Bakery Fish monger Butchery Cheese shop Street food …

Halloumi with Balsamic Reduction

Published by

There is an almost unbearable smugness that comes with frying up a piece of home made halloumi. It might be a bit of work, but the satisfaction and the cheese is completely worth the journey. A couple of weekends ago, I roped in my best friend Coco into a day of cheese making. She is more adventurous than I when it comes to cheese, but we have a mutual love of squeaky cheese or halloumi. As a virgin cheesemaker, I didn’t have a single specialty item I needed to make cheese, so instead of buying each new item on it’s own, I opted for the easy way out and bought a Mad Millie Fresh Cheese kit. There are several kits available, but for me, the fresh cheese kit meant quick results so fresh cheese it was. The fresh cheese kit also makes feta, quark, cottage cheese, cream cheese and ricotta. It’s not cheap at $70NZ but the items soon add up when bought individually and at least I knew I have all required pieces. The …

Tofu Tuesday: Tofu’s Nursery

Published by

We recently picked up a new sideboard for the kitchen which meant a bit of rearranging and we bumped a set of white drawers into Tofu’s “room”. With a few items from our bunny collection, Tofu’s room now reminds me of a baby’s nursery. Sloth painting bottom right is by my sister Joanne Ho. Tofu seems to like it. He said it is totally reminiscent of bunny Ikea.

Monday Bunday: Interior Design with Real Bunnies

Published by

When a new person comes to visit, we notice them noticing our rabbit running loose indoors. We are accustomed to seeing a rabbit around the house. Tofu isn’t a prop, he’s a legitimate member of the household. Still, I always get a kick out of seeing other rabbits in other indoor settings. Especially beautifully styled homes or hanging out on beautiful furniture. When you have a beautifully designed room or piece of furniture, you need two other things. A rabbit and a talented photographer. For your viewing pleasure, I have collected these images from around the world, relating to bunnies with beautiful interiors or architecture. I hope you enjoy these as much as I have. Cécile de Vries Lola on a blue floral armchair Reposted with permission Lola on pink floral armchair Reposted with permission Into The Land Of My Dreams (with Charlie and Lola) Reposted with permission Cécile is a photographer with two Teddy Widder rabbits named Lola and Charlie. The three of them are very beautiful, have excellent taste and a gorgeous home in The Netherlands. You can view more of …

Didn’t we do well?

Published by

It’s Saturday and I’m so glad the challenge is over. This week has been torturous, emotionally, physically and mentally draining. Here’s a rough visual on what I ate while living below the line this week. I didn’t take photos of every freaking peanut butter sandwich or toast, so each picture of toast is just a symbol for the slice/s of toast or sandwiches I ate. I stuck to 3 meals a day over the first two days, but I soon found out that the portions were either too small or not nutritious enough and I wasn’t coping. So from day three onwards, I had more meals. Note a whopping five meals on day four! I can’t get over how tired I was all week and even light headed and dizzy at times. I was super forgetful and felt stupid and foggy a lot of the time. It could be caffeine and sugar withdrawal as well as lack of nutrients. Most days after work, I ate something and then napped for a few hours, got up, …

LBTL Challenge: Day 5

Published by

Day 5 Menu Congee 2 or 3 slices of peanut butter toast Satay fried noodles with a fried egg More congee New Zealand welfare has many great things going for it including benefits, healthcare and education, but school lunches do not exist. Even though school lunches in other countries are regarded as culinary horrors, the truth is that a culinary horror is better than no food at all. If you would like to know the state of the lunches of our kids, please watch this interesting 8 minute video on a recent social experiment. Too many children go without lunch in this country and it is heartbreaking. Living on $2.25 a day this week, for the Live Below The Line Challenge has highlighted to me how distracting hunger can be. I haven’t missed a single meal. I’m eating 3 meals a day, sometimes more and I still feel foggy. I have trouble concentrating, I’ve had dizzy spells, I am weak and tire and need naps and bed early. If kids in this country are hungry, they …

LBTL Challenge: Day 4

Published by

Day 4 Menu 2 slices of french toast and 1 sliced banana A small bowl of leftover egg fried rice (from dinner last night) Chicken noodle soup Satay fried noodles with a fried egg 1 slice of peanut butter toast I’m getting into the swing of things now by giving myself enough to eat during the day. Eating 4-5 times a day is working for me. I didn’t have good start to the day when I found that a quarter of my banana was black and slimy because of how I’d ripped it off the bunch at the store. When you have a single piece of fruit for the week, quarter of a banana is a lot of banana to miss out on. I took a lemon and 3 slivers of ginger to work today to add to my steaming hot mugs of water. It’s like a flavour explosion compared to plain water. I’m drinking a cup of ginger tea while I’m typing this. Just a slice of ginger and hot water. Simple but beats …

LBTL Challenge: Day 3

Published by

Day 3 Menu 1 bowl of Congee (made with 2 cups of chicken stock, no meat, garnished with a clove of garlic and ginger matchsticks) 2 Peanut butter sandwiches 2 slices of toast with peanut butter Egg fried rice Today I’m halfway through the 5 day Live Below The Line challenge. I feel good in the morning and at night, but at work, I haven’t allocated enough to eat. This afternoon in the office, I felt lightheaded and dizzy and started seeing stars. Generally, I feel foggy from a couple hours after a meal until the next meal and god help me if I have to do any work that requires a lot of concentration. I wouldn’t trust myself to operate heavy machinery or drive. Luckily, I don’t have to do either. Breakfast was yummy and the 1/4 cup of rice that sounded like so much yesterday was gone too quick. I ate one sandwich at morning tea and the other at lunch and I was still very hungry so it was a long, long …

LBTL Challenge: Congee Recipe

Published by

Congee is a simple rice soup or porridge that has been eaten all over Asia for centuries. The two essential ingredients are rice and water but many different meats, vegetables, sauces and spices can be added to it. Congee is a cheap dish and quite filling considering and it is eaten as comfort food for the unwell, the very young and the very old. It is usually eaten for breakfast, but also lunch or dinner. It is so common that even McDonald’s sells congee in many Asian countries. I’ve eaten congee from when I was a tiny baby and I’ve eaten rice soup and porridge in many Asian countries in my travels. I always find it very comforting, especially for a traveller’s tummy. When I first signed onto the Live Below The Line challenge, I thought I wouldn’t be eating meat. But when I saw chicken frames at $1.99 per kilogram at my local Chinese supermarket, I knew I had to use it. So at the start of this week, I cooked up one kilogram …