Author: Bunny Eats Design

Stunted growth or death by rabbit

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I have 3 brussels sprouts plants that are all the same age. 1 is over a metre high – a goliath living happily dwelling a deep planter. The other 2 struggle in pots and measure about 20cm. I think it is glaringly obvious that brussels sprouts need deep soil. There is no more space in the planter, so what to do? Make or buy another planter and spend another fortune filling it? Plant into the ground and pray that Tofu the rabbit ignores them? If they stay in pots, they’d never get any bigger and we would never be able to get a harvest. If I plant them into the ground, and Tofu ate them, then at least someone will be able enjoy them. So I’ve planted these into the ground. The smallest one has already been eaten. The others have been left alone so far. Perhaps the smallest one smelled the sweetest? Fingers crossed now that these two plants will reach full size (before becoming rabbit food). Russell the Goliath. The slackers.

First fava harvest!

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Our fava beans or broadbeans are finally ready for a small harvest. I knew that the first thing I wanted to cook with these would be something simple and delicately flavoured to compliment beans. A creamy prawn and rice concoction was just the ticket. I wrote this recipe down first, then cooked it and made a couple of adjustments. With the price of frozen prawns these days, I consider this dish to be suitable for a gourmet pauper. Fava pods bursting with potential. Shelled and waiting to be blanched. Not much meat from those pods. A sexy close up… Creamy Rice with Fava and Prawn Serves 2 Ingredients 1 cup shelled fresh fava (broadbeans) 1 cup whole shelled prawns or prawn meat, defrosted 4 garlic cloves 1/2 cup cream 1 and 1/2 cups long grain rice 1/3 cup white wine 1 cup chicken stock Butter Salt Black pepper 1 lemon Handful of fresh herbs, chopped Preparation Quickly fry the prawns in a little butter until just done. Remove from heat and set aside. Cook the …

A three course, nourishing, guilt-free meal!

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Sorry, I haven’t posted much food lately. My SLR is sick and being repaired. I hope to pick it up real soon, but in the meantime, I’ve had to make do with our point-and-shoot. I wasn’t going to make a 3 course meal. Honest. It was mid week and not a special occasion. I was just intending to use up a huge broccoli by making a soup, then serving a main course after that. Simple. But then I went to Nosh Food Market and got inspired to make an easy dessert. Piako yoghurt was on special and I spied some gorgeous strawberries at the vegetable shop. The vegetable shop were closed but I begged them to let me buy a punnet of strawberries. They relented. Yusss! I’ve been pondering about ethical meats lately, while reading Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book Hugh Fearlessly Eats It All. Not long ago, I thought free-range and organic was an expensive luxury for the kinds people that we are not. I’ve bought, cooked and eaten organic chicken. I wasn’t convinced of any …

Friday Favourites: Sumner Ham

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Big Bennie with ham (off the bone) I stayed in Sumner, Christchurch for 3 nights before our wedding last year and I had breakfast at Tart, 3 times in a row. There are a few other places to eat in Sumner, but we didn’t bother to try another cafe because Tart was divine. The interior is contemporary, fresh, bright and clean with plenty of tables outside. Someone has obviously taken care to decorate this place with just the right stylings. I’m a huge fan of ham so when I saw that beautiful hindquarter inside the glass cabinet, I was already drooling. Lucky for me, the eggs bennie comes with ham off the bone. I also ordered an OJ and a flat white. The flat white was really good. The OJ was huge and pulpy. Just how I like it. You really get the feeling that you are being nourished when you eat from here. The ingredients are top notch. My poached eggs were perfectly runny and had bright orange yolks and my friend who ordered …

Lo-what?

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On the way to the supermarket today, I passed by a tree heavy with fruit. I remember eating lots of these fruits in a family friend’s backyard as a kid. I haven’t seen them since. Today, I couldn’t resist picking one and biting into it. Delicious. Just the way I remembered it tasting. Loquats are a Chinese fruit and are also found in Japan where they were introduced many years ago. Loquats seem to do really well in Auckland climate. Why is this the first in 12 years that I’ve seen this fruit? Loquats have the grainy texture of a feijoa but are less tart and strong. Think of a milder, slightly peachier flavour of feijoa and you just about have it.

Guest blogger: Joey and friends in Omaha

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I present to you, photos from my very first guest blogger: my sister Joanne Ho, who visited Omaha last weekend and ate all sorts of scrumptious things with her friends. Omaha is a beach about an hour north of Auckland. I like to think that this is how all New Zealanders eat while on holiday. Roast chicken with fresh rosemary – cooked in a barbeque with cover. Delicious tender meat and light crispy skin. (Matt Pont) Dinner table – breads, dips, salami, cheeses and salads (collective) Mini halloween cuppycakes – pumpkin and cinnamon with cream cheese icing Midnight snack – made with all the fillings by a beerpong and flipcup contestant (Nick Thorne) Bunny rabbit – Omaha Pufferfish with no eyeballs – Omaha beach You can see her other adventures over at her blog.

A tribute to seafood lovers!

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I love seeing another creature enjoying their food. Even better when it’s an adorable sea otter. These unlikely gourmands enjoy eating abalone, mussel, crab, clams, sea urchins, prawns, squid, snails and sometimes fish. They eat 30% of their body weight so that they can keep warm. A sea otter can eat 5 to 10kg of fresh seafood daily and there is often conflict between local fishermen and sea otters. Sea otters prefer large items of food over small and have been known to completely ignore small clams if larger species are available. Since large crabs, large abalone and large sea urchins fetch higher prices than small ones, fishermen are usually chasing the same catch. Sea otters spend most of their life floating on their backs and are one of the few animals to use tools. They put a rock on their belly smash shells against it to get to the meat inside. They dive for food and bring it all up to the surface by carrying extra stuff in their armpits. Yes! Even spiky sea …

Happy Halloween!

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What better way to celebrate Halloween than with a post about Etsy seller The Decorated House. A little creepy, a little lagamorphic, a little too appropriate! The Decorated House blog can be found here. Also, a reminder that today is the last day to enter the draw for the very special prize pack. I will be drawing the winner tomorrow! All you have to do is make a comment on any post on this blog today. See more about it here.

On eating rabbits

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Now, I’m sure rabbit meat is utterly delicious, but I do not eat rabbit meat out of courtesy. It is just good manners not to eat your friends. As for rabbit shaped foods, they are fair game! Here is a collection of rabbit shaped food I’ve found from around the interwebs. Steamed Bunny Buns by Just Hungry Baked Bunny Buns Ghost Mochi Bunnies Bunny cupcake by Elimey Bunny Brioche by Sweet Sensation Bunny Bento from Reiko’s Bento Lab Bunny Bento by Lucky Sundae Another Bunny Bento by Lucky Sundae Ok, just 1 more by Lucky Sundae. If you want to see more, just visit their link above! Bunny Kimchi Fried Rice Bento Some Bunny Bento from aibento.net Bunny Cookies with cute ribbons Iced Bunny Cookie Bunny Pretzel

Friday Favourites: Ham roll

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Let the world know that I have a special place in my heart for ham on the bone. Maybe it’s the excess it represents. You can’t get a small ham on the bone. It’s usually enough to feed a party. Maybe it’s the sweet glaze on that fatty exterior. Maybe it’s that savoury, flavourful meat that’s tender and can be eaten hot or cold. Gee, just writing about it makes me salivate. In any case, I always make it a point to eat ham outside of Christmas. I once met a random guy outside a bar. He was a friend of a friend of a friend. He said that he recognised me from a party at a bar years ago. He remembered that this party had ham. It was my 22nd birthday and the ham was a gift from my parents. We had an art exhibition at a bar and served up ham rolls to all that came. What a wonderful thing to be remembered for. Here lies Bunny.Eats.Design. She partied with Ham. Anyway, enough hamming …

Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills

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Napoleon: I don’t even have any good skills. Pedro: What do you mean? Napoleon: You know, like nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills… Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills. The top 3 foodie skills I most covet for myself are: Fish Catch, scale, gut and fillet a fish. Charcuterie Curing bacon, ham etc. If I ever have pigs, I’m going to need these skills. Knife skills How to wield a blade like a professional.

Labour Weekend in the sunshine

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We had the most beautiful weather ever for Labour Weekend. The best weather that I can remember – blue skies and hot sun. Our friend Elijah invited us to his 30th birthday celebration at his fiancee Kristie’s family spot in Tairua. We drove down on Saturday around noon, partied it up on Saturday night, had a little bit of sleep and managed to do touristy, summertime activities on Sunday before we drove back to Auckland. Caught up with old friends, found new friends. Climbed the peak at Tairua and witness the amazing views as well as being fairly close to the stunt planes showing off in the area. Went for the first swim of the summer – in the river rather than the beach. I loved it, even if it was a little cold. Sunday night at home was a complete write off but Monday was spent eating with friends. We had the summer’s first BBQ at home — what a great way to end the long weekend. Here are a few pics from the …