Author: Bunny Eats Design

First Thursday – review

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Oops, my first First Thursday was a bit of a fail. There are 5 venues to the event and I only got to one of them. We checked out the stalls in St Kevin’s Arcade, had a beer at Alleluja Cafe, had dinner across the road at the food court and then it was 9pm and First Thursdays was over. Next time, dinner at home before we go and beer only if it’s on “the course”. Here are a few photos from what little I did see. Illustrated Jewellery by Hunter Gatherer. Good books. Ferrit stall. Sweet, sewn goods. The fabric candle and flowers on the left corner is a little shrine to the Pike River miners. Live music. St Kevin’s Arcade. Moon Gazing Rabbit with Sake Bowls by JM. St Kevin’s Arcarde from the comfort of my beer at Allelujah Cafe. Knitted stuff. Yes! Woolen glasses! Bird in a Bunny Suit. Earrings for a foodie.

Community Supported Fishery

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CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is when people from the community provide financial support to their local growers in return for a weekly bounty of seasonal produce. Maybe this has come out of the locavore movement: people preferring to eat locally grown and produced food. Well, now there is the next step for seafood lovers out there. CSF stands for Community Supported Fishery and for a fee or a share a supporter receives a weekly portion of the catch during a season. It means that fishermen can have cash in advance of the season. With CSF, fishermen are paid a flat rate per season instead of being paid for the fish they catch. The usual model means that fishermen are forced to chase whatever fish fetches the highest price. Instead, this model discourages fishermen from overfishing the most popular more lucrative fish as there is no bonus for doing so. It means the supporter can get to try all sorts of bounty from the sea rather than the limited range supermarkets sell these …

Clucky.

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One day, I want to be a chicken keeper. Chickens can lay 5 eggs a week. The poultry keeping limit in Auckland city is 6 hens which would more than enough for me and The Koala. 4 chickens would probably be a good number. We would have enough for us and some to give away and to trade with. We eat a lot of eggs at our place and we always run out of eggs before the next big shopping trip. A tray of 30 eggs generally lasts 2-3 weeks. There are only 2 of us at home. Luckily, roosters are outlawed in Auckland urban areas. I remember when we were holidaying in Niue and hearing the rooster choir begin at 4am. I started counting them and I could count over 70 rooster crows per minute. Chickens are great for eating weeds and chicken scraps (on top of their chicken feed). Chickens will also dig up soil so you can place a chicken coop on top of your planned vegetable garden. Once the soil is …

Friday Favourites: Local weekday treat

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Wanted: Local. Good food. Nice surroundings. Sun. Beer. Eden Cloak Room is pretty close to home and work and I have heard good things about them. We drive or walk past here very often when doing other Mt Eden things and it looks like a great time. I’ve been wanting to come here for aaaages, but they are usually super busy and we don’t like crowded places with limited seating. An early weekday lunch was the perfect solution. We arrived just before noon and were the first to order lunch. I ordered the fish and chips and The Koala got the the lamb burger. Solid, kiwi fare. We both had Radlers to accompany our meals. A perfectly summery concoction. We had our pick our seats so we picked an outside table. The food arrived in good time and it was presented beautifully. I like how even though my fish and chips come on a plate, there is a sheet of newspaper for added presentation. Fish and chips and newspaper just looks right. The minted mashed peas …

A very hungry caterpillar

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A very hungry caterpillar slaughtered my cauliflower. Bones. I am furious that they just left bones. With that out of my system, on to better gardening news. You might remember that I planted some basil seeds a while back. Well, here they are. I think they’re just about old enough to leave their shell. The advice I’ve read always suggests sowing 2 or more seeds in seedling trays and then culling back the weakest seedlings to make way for the strongest one. I can’t bear to destroy on any of these basil seedlings so I separated the roots out very carefully. Fingers crossed they all make it and I haven’t damaged them all. That’s right, 10 basil seedlings. If I get a bumper crop, I plan on making pesto with my own basil and with macadamias from our backyard nut tree. Wouldn’t that be freakin’ awesome?! This sage plant was grown from a cutting. I’ve now taken 3 cuttings from this plant and I’m hoping that they will grow into more plants. I love sage. There’s …

Om nom…

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It’s the first of the December and what better way to start this month of eating, drinking and festivities than with this perfectly suitable necklace called Omnomatopoeia by tuxessories. “This glossy white laser-cut acrylic pendant hangs from a silver ball chain necklace.” Only $10US each from Tuxessories.

Tuesday breakfast

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This morning, as I was eating this pretty breakfast of beetroot chutney and avocado on toast, I spied someone else enjoying their breakfast… More specifically, I saw someone else enjoy a silverbeet in my garden. Not just the tops, but the roots too. Busted!

Balloon Stickers and the “Art Park”

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The walls around the empty lot at the end of my street are constantly in a state of art, paint over, art, paint over. I really do wonder why they just don’t give up. The painter overs I mean, not the artists. Apparently this area was supposed to be turned into apartments years ago but the company went bust or something because it’s still an empty lot now. People have broken into the space and planted trees and plants, made trails and steps, sculptures and set up old furniture. It needs a little more TLC, but for now, it has a rough charm to it. There are gaping holes in the ground, some filled with shopping trolleys and other debris that find their way into places like these. It’s really an empty lot with potential, but I think of it as the art park. Here are photos of the balloon stickers I drew and stuck up on Friday. Come break my chains come help me out. A bunny and a Bob Marley quote scrawled on the wall. …

Takapuna Markets – A Culinary Tour

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My friend Miss C suggested we hit Takapuna Markets yesterday morning. It’s been years since I have been to Taka Markets, but I lived on the North Shore for about 10 years and we visited the Taka Markets religiously back then. My parents always bought vegetables and flowers, me and my sister mostly bought junk. From my teenage point of view, Takapuna markets wasn’t a foodie paradise. There are plenty of clothes, jewelry, toys, secondhand stalls, crafts, plants and end of line or seconds to grab my attention instead. Sure, I ate the street food on offer, but I never bought ingredients. Oh how things have changed. These days, I love markets, but I usually go to ones that are close to me. Britomart and Parnell Markets are foodie heaven, but it’s no secret that these places are not cheap. There are usually a few bargains to be had at city markets, but generally, you go for quality and specialty goods. I only started cooking a few years ago, so this Sunday was going to be …

A magic wand from my love

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Our blender is about 5 years old and has a crack in it so I am very, very careful when blending hot soup. It’s had a good life and was actually a birthday present from my friend Sarah about 5 years ago. The highlight of its career was probably cocktail parties at home and on holiday (yes, I pack a blender with me while on holiday, don’t you?). Fruit, ice, booze, no trouble. But it’s time it was replaced. By something younger, slimmer and prettier. The Koala surprised me with this magic wand for my birthday (strawberry smoothies not included). Yes! It’s red! It’s a Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender. But I’m just going to call it my magic wand. Now I can use this magic wand for those soups and cocktails. Less clean up too 🙂

Coffee Italiano Cook Off

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I was invited to a dinner at my friend Linh’s flat. I thought it was just going to be your average potluck dinner. She did mention themes and prizes but I’ve never been to a cook off before. I might have upped my game if I had realised it was competitive. The 2 categories were Italian for mains and Coffee for dessert and there was a prize for the winner of each category. There was a crown for each winner and a crown (but no prize) for the best failure. Everyone had to try every dish and vote for their favourite in each category. I roasted portabello and button mushrooms with red wine, balsamic vinegar and garlic. It was well received but didn’t win. That’s ok. The 3 other entries were lasagna, risotto and pizza. All very Italian. The lasagna with it’s whole portabellos, eggplant, blue cheese and mince was the winner on the day. It was delicious. Maybe I’m starting to warm to blue cheese after all. As an ingredient mind you, not as …

Balloon stickers

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There was a sheet of label stock lying about in my office so I took a Sharpie to it after lunch. Stuck these stickers up on my walk home around the abandoned lot near the end of my street. Hopefully they brighten someone’s day. If not, at least I get to see them twice a day – on my way to and from work. Hopefully someone leaves another sheet of label stock in my office again sometime. Click image for a slightly larger view.

Friday Favourites: Dai Jahp Hai

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Some of the most cherished meals are seasonal. There is something about eating a dish at the same time (and sometimes with the same folks) every year that makes it special. Perhaps it’s more delicious knowing that if you miss out this year, then you must wait a whole year for your next chance? What if you are in a different country during that special season? 13 years ago, we visited Hong Kong in Autumn and I still think of an amazing feast we had. Steamed (or was it boiled?) crabs and served at the family table over disposable tablecloths. A sweet, vinegar based dipping sauce on offer and it’s pretty much just a free for all. There are various spoons, scissors and implements and everyone has a great time working for their edible prize. In Western cuisine, crab is prized for it’s meat. The large grapple factor (big effort for minimal meat) deters many Westerners from eating crab. In Hong Kong, it’s not the meat that is prized, but the roe. Male crabs have more …

Tofu and Molly

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We received this drawing in our letterbox today. Isn’t it precious? I love how Tofu has a round bunny tail and Molly has a long cat tail. Molly the cat is our neighbour and often comes over to play with Tofu so I suspect Sophie is the little girl next door. I’m going to pop this response in their letterbox tomorrow morning: A few photos of our muses… Tofu tutoring Molly on the chewing of branches. Molly and Tofu hanging out in our kitchen doorway.

A goaty epiphany

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I’ve never liked goat cheese. I find it too goaty. In Cantonese, there is a word for it: sohw. It suggests a smelly, savoury flavour. Well, last weekend at the Lyttelton Farmers Markets, there was no cheese for sale except for goat cheese. You can’t have a farmers market lunch platter without cheese, so goat cheese it was. I ate it wrapped up in lettuce, salami and hummus. I enjoyed goat cheese for the first time. I had an epiphany. Goat cheese isn’t a food that you reach for when you need a snack. It’s an ingredient. Just like a spoon of fish sauce or a raw clove of garlic would be nasty on its own, when used with other ingredients that enhance or compliment it’s pungent flavour, it’s good. So, next time you shy away from a food that you don’t like, try looking at it again as an ingredient. It would make Happy Goat very happy.

Birthday Dinner on the Tramway Restaurant

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Surprise birthday gift from parents-in-law: A 4-course dinner for on the Tramway Restaurant. Yes, I know! Spoilt! Tablecloths, linen napkin, lots of cutlery, air conditioning, smooth music in a colonial style dining tram – this was the works! The menu is short and sweet. Perfect for a chef on a tram. The tram seats about 35 diners and there is a tiny kitchen in the centre of the tram. There are no doors so both dining areas can see into the kitchen space. 35 diners with 4 courses in a tiny kitchen over 3 hours. The chef is a genius! We shared bread and dips, I had a lamb entree, salmon main, brownie with compote for dessert. I wasn’t expecting salmon to appear on their limited menu. This was local salmon and beautifully cooked. I even ate all my asparagus. The others had a vegetable tart, porterhouse steak, cajan chicken breast, coconut creme brulee and a cheeseboard. Everything was delicious. We shared 2 bottles of Church Road Merlot and were tipsy and pleasantly full by the …