All posts filed under: Culinary Adventures

A Bunny Christmas

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This post is an entry for Sweet New Zealand, a monthly blogging event open to all Kiwi bloggers. Founded by Alessandra Zecchini, this month’s event is hosted by Bron Marshall. See here for more info on this month’s event. This week, my friend Miss A developed a deep and sudden obsession with making a gingerbread house. Her flash of enthusiasm roped me on board. I was super apprehensive about the mission as I’m not a baker. No sir! But I was keen to decorate a gingerbread house. So, with her leading the baking and I leading the decorating, we made this after work, over wine and 2 nights. We didn’t have much of a plan but we are stoked with how it turned out. All we knew is that we were going to make a house, but we ended up with a house, 4 trees, 3 bunnies, a fence and a snowman. Wafer makes a lightweight and authentic roof, but goes soft after just a day. We used this recipe by Tamara Jane of the Good Morning show for the gingerbread …

Prepare Ika Mata (Cook Islands raw fish salad)

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Raw fish is delish I fell in love with Ika Mata during our honeymoon in Rarotonga a couple of years ago. This raw fish and coconut cream salad is “cooked” in lemon juice and confettied with diced vegetables. I’ve eaten it a couple times in New Zealand, but never had the guts to make it at home until now. It’s absolutely a summertime dish and I’m glad to be able to cross it off this summer’s to do list. It was much easier than I anticipated. I don’t know what I haven’t made it sooner. Some raw fish dishes from around the world (alpha): Crudo, Italy Ceviche, South America Ika Mata, Cook Islands Kelaguen, Mariana Islands (Micronesia) Kinilaw, Philippines Kokoda, Fiji Ota ‘ika or Oka i’a, Tonga, Tahiti, Samoa Poisson Cru or E’ia Ota, Tahiti Poke, Hawaii Tiradito, Peru This recipe uses yellowfin tuna because it happens to be on special this week at Nosh, but you can use firm white fish such as kahawai or gurnard if the price is right. This is good eating, but can feel on the light side. If you are like …

Crave’s Community Paella

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There’s nothing that brings together a community than the promise of a good feed. Local cafe Crave had a paella street party yesterday with a 1.2 metre paella pan to feed 200. Crave is right by the Morningside train station and a cool industrial-looking cafe with exhibiting artworks. The decor may look cool, but this is a place you can find a slice of humble pie. Under a Christmas tree there, they currently have a gift drive for the Auckland City Mission. In their words: “We are a cafe with charitable status, all our profits go back into the local community and to global poverty issues.” When we arrived, the paella pan had chicken was cooking in a vivid broth so we relaxed and had a coffee and looked the paintings on display while others enjoyed their BYO. We met some lovely people and there was a great sense of community. It was fun to watch the paella ingredients being added one by one and excitement grew as it looked more and more festive with …

Advent Sausage

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I admit, I’m not much of a sweet tooth. My fondness for umami has me deemed as a “meat tooth”. So when I saw this design by German ad agency Butter for their client, Koenecke – a sausage company, I laughed out loud for real (while squealing with delight on the inside). Move over boring old Advent Calendar, here comes the Advent Sausage. *ok, it’s actually rather old news, this project won an award in 2008. Why on earth hasn’t this concept taken off?

Happy December!

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Summer’s here. It’s really here. There’s so many things to love about summer and it seems that the weather naturally puts people in a great mood. The start of summer in Auckland is lovely – before it gets too humid. I love the late sunsets, coming home in the afternoon and enjoying a drink on the deck, summer festivals, late nights, camping, baches, local beach missions after work, weekend further afield beach adventures…It’s not quite warm enough to swim yet, but give it a couple of weeks. I have been caught off-guard by the fierce sun already. One afternoon in the sun a week ago and my shoulders are peeling. No doubt there will be many feasts over the summer with outdoor barbecues, picnics as well as Christmas parties galore. We’ve got company Christmas party to look forward tonight complete with Christmas buffet and 2 hour comedy show. I think it’s nice to get Christmas parties done early and out of the way. No doubt we will be invited to other Christmas parties and events this month. …

Sayonara Spring

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Today is officially the last day of Spring before summer hits us tomorrow. I wrote a Spring To Do List at the start of September and managed to cross off 7 out of 10 items. The aim of the list is to tend to my growing edge. Your growing edge is the part of you that is still learning, trying new things and experimenting. It’s the area of your life that you are improving and working on. It’s often too easy to keep cooking your favourite tried and true dishes and while there’s nothing wrong with that, I feel like there’s so many delicious things to eat and and so little time so I need to push forward to get anywhere. I first started writing a seasonal list this winter (mid 2011) and you can read my winter summary here. Not only can you learn new things, but the unfamiliar or things that you shrink away from can become familiar to you with practice. It’s the initial leap that is the hardest. A couple on …

The Stars of Instant Noodles

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Let me get this out first. I am a rice girl. When given the choice, I will always pick rice over noodles. But while I love rice, I’m a rice addict rather than a connoisseur. With instant noodles, I’m a connoisseur. Instant noodles must be one of the world’s most accessible foods. A true “just add water” food and popular the world over. According to Wiki, “As of 2010, approximately 95 billion servings of instant noodles are eaten worldwide every year.”  That is an average of at least one serving a month for every person on earth. Impressive. Snack or meal? I’ve eaten noodles for breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and as a midnight snack. Not all in one day mind you! Noodles are eaten at any time of day all over Asia and while breakfast noodles may seem odd to some people, served in a mild broth, it can be the perfect way to start a day. The first meal I ate when we arrived in Vietnam on a wintery January morning was an eel noodle soup. It was a was …

Mamak

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We spent last Christmas and New Years in Malaysia (Borneo) and I’ll never forget the food we ate there. I can’t believe almost a year had gone by already. One fond memory of indulgence was our first day in KK. Upon seeing the tiny prices on the menu, we assumed the dishes were starter sized, so we ordered 2 dishes each. They were main sized. Generous. We ate till our eyes glazed over. I’d been reading about a new place called Mamak from various local Malaysian food bloggers. The word mamak refers to Malaysia’s Tamil-Muslim who run food stalls serving tasty snacks at all hours. Mamak Malaysian is a fairly new addition to the Chancery in Auckland city and it’s been operating under the radar (or at least my radar) for most of 2011. The first time I visited, there were lots of Malaysian people dining and this is surely a mark of authenticity. The Chancery has always been had a European feel about it and with posh retail on all sides, al fresco dining …

60 Beef Dumplings

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I love dumplings but you never really get enough when you order them at a restaurant. I learned how to make dumplings from my Dad when I was in my first year of uni, working at our family business. I didn’t really have any interest in cooking back then, but dumplings I could do. This time, I wrapped 60 beef dumplings. We ate 45 of them in 1 sitting. There were 2 of us. How many dumplings can you eat? I use chiffonade (ribbon cut) Chinese (napa) cabbage, grated carrot, sesame oil and soy sauce and a whole pack of store bought dumpling wrappers. You can see a recipe for a pork and onion variation of these dumplings here. This post has been submitted as part of Black and White Wednesday, a culinary photo event hosted by The Well-Seasoned Cook. More info here.

Prepare a raw meal

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One of my “To Do” activities this spring was to prepare a raw meal. Don’t worry, I’m not giving up hot meals just yet, I just thought it would be interesting and a challenge this spring to make something that was raw, good looking and edible. So I gave it a go. It was harder than I thought even without cooking involved. I picked ingredients based on flavour and colour. I used a few questionable ingredients that have been processed/fermented/pasturised like oil, soy sauce and milk. You can get raw versions of these things apparently. I didn’t for this experiment, but you could. I used gurnard and salmon and squeezed fresh orange and fresh lemon onto the lot. A happy ending via a strawberry smoothie.

Tofu Tuesday: Sangria

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One of my “To Do” activities this spring was to make white sangria. I first tried it this year at Urbis Design Day and thought it was a lighter, refreshing version of red sangria (which I also love). We had a few friends over in the weekend so I made both red and white. The white was yummy, but the red was even better. I’ve grown out of love with white wine over the last year or so and while I don’t like chardonnay, I picked it because it’s less acidic to me than the other whites. Thanks Mum for this cool blue drink set for my early birthday present! I’ve put it to good use already. I made a simple sugar syrup with 2 cups of sugar dissolved in 2 cups of water. Boiled for 5 minutes (stirring occasionally just for fun) and then cooled and stored in a glass bottle. I used fresh strawberries (sliced) and canned fruit salad with additional canned mixed berries for the red sangria. Tofu the bunny gets the green …

Out Standing 2: David Schofield at Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market

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David Schofield is the 2011 New Zealand Chef of the Year this year and it was a pleasure to see him whip up some quick and delicious dishes on Sunday morning at the Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market. This was the very last of a national series of cooking demonstrations at farmers’ markets organised by Kylie and Blair from Out Standing In Their Fields. Farmers’ markets celebrate seasonal, local food and buying at your local producers is a great way to show your support. The stars were hot smoked salmon, flounder, oysters, and free range bacon. David had a wealth of knowledge and it was clear how passionate he was about his food by the trivia he shared with the crowd. He encouraged questions and interaction from the audience. Having plenty to talk about, David disclosed right from the start, “I waffle”. His veering was hardly offcourse, never pointless or uninteresting and I enjoyed his tidbits of foodie folklore. Toothsome trivia from David: The demand for perfect produce encourages imports. If we happily buy odd shaped and …

Taste at The Cloud

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Taste at the Cloud has been running at the Cloud on Queens Wharf since September 13th. Today is the last day. I highly recommend you check this out today if you are heading around the city. It’s your last chance! There is no entry fee, you only pay for your food and drink ticket. Tickets come your choice of 2, 4, 6 or 8 dishes with matching beverage. Prices $17, $28, $42 or $54. The more dishes you buy, the cheaper the average price per dish. We didn’t realise until after we had bought our three separate tickets that we could split 1 or 2 big tickets between us. Oh well. Hopefully this info benefits someone else. There are menus from four themed kitchens: Seaside, Urban, Rural and Winery/Orchard. Each offering four kiwi showcase dishes. You can choose to mix and match any of the menus. You simply queue at the kitchen of your choice, collect your food and then your drink. We checked out the food at the Cloud yesterday and Now I wish …

Taste of New Zealand 2011

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It was a stunning day on Thursday when we visited Taste of New Zealand at Victoria Park, Auckland. The rain the night before had turned the grounds into a moist chocolate cake. I was at this culinary festival with 3 of my favourite people and my trusty camera. We tried a several dishes, several beers and several wines and plenty of free samples in between. I hit 3 out of the 4 dishes I had my eye on. Not too bad. I could have drank less and eaten more, but I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun. My evening started with a glass rose from Tohu Wines and the lovely lady there shared her tips on the festival including where to find free lamb and which restaurants were the best value. From my experience, for the average diner, Taste is not for a cheap night out. Tickets, plus meals, plus drinks, plus products can quickly add up. It’s a treat and you pay a fraction of the price of what you would pay at some …

Transferable skills

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I was at work and in my fist was a small piece of paper that said “Italy”. During the world cup season, we each had to bring in a morning tea based on our drawn countries. What to bring? There are many yummy Italian foods. Pizza, pasta, antipasto, breads…. Being a terrible baker, I challenged myself to bake for everyone at work. Chinese fighting muffins Light, fluffy bread and moist cakes? Never! It’s not my style. My baking is generally hard and dry. So I figured, why not harness my natural talent for making Chinese fighting muffins? Look upon it as a transferable skill. Maybe you have a negative cooking skill that could be turned right given the perfect recipe? Biscotti is hard and never moist. Biscotti is classy. Biscotti would be perfect. I found this online chocolate biscotti recipe by Susan from Farmgirl Fare. If I’m afraid of making something, the words easy and beginners in the heading makes a big difference. I worried about burning these since it’s hard to tell if dark brown biscotti …

Tasting, tasting, 1, 2, 3.

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2011 will be my third Taste festival and I’m looking forward to trying and buying new delicious things and soaking up the good atmosphere down at Victoria Park. Taste of New Zealand kicks off this evening in Victoria Park, Auckland and the menu can be found on their website here or scroll to the bottom of this post. The dishes range from 8 to 20 crowns and a crown costs $1. This year, there are 13 restaurants offering 35 dishes. Quick breakdown: Dessert 5 Shellfish 5 Fish 5 Venison 3 Beef 3 Pork 3 Lamb 3 Duck 2 Chicken 2 Rabbit 1 Mixed grill 1 Vegetarian 1 There are loads of dishes for omnis and pescis, but only 1 vege dish of portobello mushroom. I ordered 4 dishes last year (all the ones on my wishlist) and I recommend 3 or 4 dishes per person for dinner. Don’t forget to make room for all the samples on offer. It’s great to have someone with you so you can sample their dishes too. Last year, we tasted …

Oysters Hong Kong

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  Since we’re messing around with oysters this week, I figured I could mess around with Oysters Kilpatrick. My asian-inspired version uses ingredients like lap cheong, spring onions and black vinegar which you can find in any Cantonese kitchen. I’ve named it Oysters Hong Kong. From a previous post:  “Chinese dried sausages or Lap Cheong are dry cured sausages normally made of pork and fat. These are smoked, sweetened, seasoned and taste like awesome. The sausages I buy from my local are vacuum packed and hail from Canada. You might like these if you like streaky bacon cooked in maple syrup.”   Oysters Hong Kong Ingredients 12 fresh Pacific oysters (opened) 2 Chinese sausages (Lap Cheong) 3 tablespoons black vinegar 3 tablespoons spring onion, chopped Preparation Turn on grill to 200°C. Slice the Chinese sausages into thin rounds and fry until brown. Set the oysters on an oven tray lined with foil. Bunch up the foil so they oysters have a nice bed to lay upon. Top with the cooked sausage and black vinegar. Grill for 2-5 minutes. …

Make Oysters Kilpatrick

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I usually prefer my oysters fresh and unmolested, but things have changed since trying Oysters Kilpatrick for the first time at Mikano in April. They were Bluff and they were divine, but at $5 each, they are a special occasion treat. Oysters Kilpatrick is a dish from Australia and this 70’s retro-to-the-gills recipe isn’t for the faint hearted. Can you taste the oysters at their full potential? Maybe not. Are they delicious? Yes sir! I’ve always said Worcestershire rather awkwardly and today I noticed this month’s edition of Taste Magazine sorts me right out: How do I say…Worcestershire? The famous secret-recipe sauce named for its English home county has lost a syllable over time: ‘Wuss-tuh-shuh’ or just ‘Wuss-tuh’ for short. I’ve been ordering my oysters from New Zealand Seafoods (www.nzseafoods.co.nz) for years. They own oyster farms in Mahurangi Harbour and offer fresh, shucked Pacific oysters for $50NZ (about $40US) for 5 dozen. It’s about $6 to deliver which I consider money well spent. The oysters are always well packaged (export quality) and ready to eat. Oysters Kilpatrick …

Spring Comfort Food

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Happy first of October! It’s absolutely spring time now. Some days are warm, others are chilly. The weather is lovely. It’s not quite time to put the heater away or to hang up your coats for the season. Your meals are probably getting lighter and you may have eaten outdoors a couple of times already. I have. We don’t have a table or chairs outside so we’re going for 1 bowl or a plate of food that can be eaten with just a fork. There’s something very comforting and casual about eating without a table or a knife. When I think of comfort food, I think of stuff that you can eat with a bowl and a spoon. Wrapped in a blanket on the couch. That’s what real comfort is. Now that it’s spring and getting warmer, is the bowl of warmth less appropriate? Top 5 spring time comfort foods: Potato salad (with spring onion, boiled eggs and mayo, bacon optional) Quiche (with smoked salmon and fresh herbs) Noodle soup (Pho) Pasta salad Chowder, light on …