All posts filed under: Culinary Adventures

Make Tzatziki

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Have you heard of Tzatziki? Tzatziki is a thick yogurt and cucumber dip that works with range of dishes. It’s cooling and lovely and surprisingly easy to make. Tzatziki has been on my foodie bucket list for a long time. I put it on there because The Koala was obsessed with Delisio Greek Tzatziki flavoured chips. He’s since moved on but the Tzatziki remained on my list. Had I known how easy and versatile it was to make, I probably wouldn’t have waited all these years. Below is a recipe for Tzatziki and a bonus 2 recipes that complement it. Tzatziki Recipe adapted from Nici Wicke’s recipe here. Makes about 2 cups Ingredients 1 cup Greek yogurt* 1 cup grated cucumber, squeezed of excess liquid ½ teaspoon salt 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon chopped mint 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon lemon juice Preparation Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Chill prior to use and stir before serving. Use as a dipping sauce, a side …

Just a quick meal plan

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I apologise for the rushed photos this week but as it gets closer to winter, the time between when I arrive home to sunset gets smaller and smaller. Soon there will be no more photos to accompany these posts because I can’t bear to use flash. This week, The Honesty Box delivered: Vegetables 20 mushrooms A bag of baby spinach 1 avocado 5 tomatoes 1 broccoli 2 capsicums 2 carrots 2 potatoes Pungents 1 garlic 1 lemon 2 onions (red and white) 1 spring onion A bag of herbs (rosemary and basil) Fruit 2 pears 4 apples 6 bananas 6 mandarins Here’s a guide to what we’re eating this week: BREAKFAST Omelette with parmesan, basil and tomato Banana smoothie with peanut butter and chia Lemon sugar pancakes Buttery mushrooms with scrambled eggs and grilled tomato and toast Chinese tea eggs LUNCH Kimchi fried rice with egg, tomato, garlic and spring onion Chicken wrap with baby spinach, avocado and lemon yogurt sauce Quinoa salad with roasted carrot, broccoli and toasted sunflower seeds Cheese and tomato toastie …

The Last Summer Barbecue

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I have been meaning to share this post for a while. When I was first diagnosed with Graves’ Disease at the end of summer, I did a lot of reading about what to eat. Being able to take control of something, even if it’s just diet made me feel less helpless about my health issues. Eating whole foods has been one positive change I’ve been making, dining out I usually make an exception but at festivals, where things like hot dog on a stick and greasy chips rule, it can be difficult to find something suitable to eat. A bunch of friends and I went to see The Opensouls reunion show mid-March at Phoenix Fest at Nixon Park, Kingsland. Back in 2007 and 2008, Phoenix Fest was just around the corner from our flat and a group of us would shake our asses off at the park and return home for further festivities. Phoenix Fest was on hiatus for 6 or so years and came back this year with a reunion show. How fitting! A …

More mushrooms!

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Another lovely box from The Honesty Box this week. It’s inspiring to get this bounty delivered to our door each week. I figure it’s not laziness, it’s making sure there’s plenty of nutritious stuff to eat each week. This is a better variety than I could have picked myself. The Koala and I were both impressed at the thoughtfully paper-bagged mushrooms. They arrived in perfect condition. We had two of them with dinner on the first night. Seasonal things come in fours, apparently: 4 portobello mushrooms 4 tamarillo 4 feijoa Delighted with yet another avocado. These things are having a long season this year and these tomatoes are still as good as in summer. Still, I’m finally carrying a jacket most days so soup weather is upon us. Here’s a guide to what we’re eating this week: BREAKFAST Porridge with sliced banana, chia and maple Fejioa and banana muffins and a steaming mug of tea Breakfast burrito with beans, scrambled egg, mushroom and guacamole Banana yogurt smoothie Turmeric and herb tomatoes on toast   LUNCH Chickpea, tomato …

Our Growing Edge April Round Up

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Dana from I’ve Got Cake has posted her round up of Our Growing Edge April. Perhaps the most colourful commentary in Our Growing Edge history and you can check out out here. 16 submissions with huge contrasts. Coconut & Lemongrass Tofu Soup vs Seal Flipper Stew. Never seen before udon bundles vs nostalgic Pastafrola (quince jam pie from Argentina). April also saw many Easter and spring time dishes. So inspiring and drool-worthy! May’s edition of Our Growing Edge is now open and you can join us via the button below.

Breaking Bread

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Look Good Feel Better is the only international cancer support charity that provides practical, effective and free services for people going through cancer treatment. You can find out more about them here. Bakers Delight bakeries across New Zealand will be donating $1 from every Cape Seed Loaf and Chia & Fruit Loaf to Look Good Feel Better from 24 April – 14 May 2014. “Bakers Delight Cape Seed Loaves are made with 100 per cent wholegrain flour. With the goodness of whole grains and seeds it is rich in antioxidants and low GI. Bakers Delight Chia & Fruit Loaves are made with wholemeal dough, juicy dates, sultanas and a hint of mixed spice. It is a great source of omega-3 ALA and also contains magnesium, iron and thiamine.” Shared bread Bread is best shared with friends and I have two x $10 Bakers Delight NZ vouchers to give away to one of you and a friend. All you have to do is visit the Bunny Eats Design Facebook page, find the contest photo and tag your friend in the …

May Day

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Happy first of May! For those celebrating May Day, I hope your day is filled with freshness and warmer weather. For us in the southern hemisphere, we have a gorgeously crisp Autumn day. A new month brings a new edition of Our Growing Edge. If you plan on cooking or eating something new this month, please join us via the submission link below. More info about the event on the Our Growing Edge page here.  

Goodbye April, Hello Meal Plan

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The Honesty Box delivers again! We’re most excited about the two tamarillo and two portobello. The Koala ate a tamarillo (ahem, his tamarillo) immediately after I took this photo. Quite likely, he’ start eyeing up my tamarillo and I’ll either split it with him or let him have it. I am an older sister and he is a younger brother and it was like that in both our families. The Koala’s big brother and I would save and The Koala and my little sister would feast. Then start eyeing up their older sibling’s uneaten bounty. Was it like that in your family? Tamarillo are still a like bit finger guts to me, but I admit the intense savoury flavour is exciting and unique. They’re still too rare for me to to cook with but I’ll work up to that when the novelty wears off. Feijoa season is intense and short here in Auckland. Our landlord had our feijoa tree removed (for reasons that baffle me). So we’re grateful for any feijoa that come our way. For those …

We have a winner!

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Congratulations to Chris (SimpleLifeOfChris) who has won the $100 worth of Auckland restaurant vouchers courtesy of the restaurant review website Zomato. A big thank you to all who entered and better luck next time! If you would like to keep up to date with news including future competitions, you can subscribe to this blog (link on the right) or to my Facebook page here. For those in Australia and New Zealand, we are celebrating a special year with consecutive Easter and ANZAC holidays. For the price of 3 annual leaves days, we can receive 10 consecutive days off work. Naturally, the last 3 days have been really quiet in the city. Wishing you all a safe holiday season. Please be extra safe if you are driving home this weekend.

A Healthier Meal Plan

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We are getting this The Honesty Box delivered every week now. For $39.40 including delivery to Auckland central, our F&V small is 8kg (sometimes 10kg) of fresh fruit and vegetables. Shared between The Koala and I, this needs careful planning to eat everything before the next box arrives. I’ve been testing out gluten-free recipes and I think avoiding processed food is good practice regardless of my health concerns. I’m seeing an Endocrinologist (for the first time) today and hopefully there will be time to discuss diet and Graves Disease with him. I’m fairly adamant at this stage I want to try medication and diet only before than permanent options like surgery or radiation. If possible, I’d like to stay away from radiation. It’s starting to get cooler but since we’re still receiving salad ingredients, we shall eat salad this week. Here’s a guide to what we’re eating this week: BREAKFAST Avocado and tomato on toast Banana and peanut butter smoothie Cumin hash brown with a fried egg and grilled tomatoes Fruit and vege juice and soft boiled eggs Rice noodle soup …

Eggplant Misocheese recipe by Bunny Eats Design

Do Something With Eggplant Part 2: Eggplant Misocheese

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A couple of years ago I tried to conquer my most loathed vegetable: the eggplant. The slimy fruit of nobody, I never thought I could like it. I grilled it and paired it with orzo salad and we ate it for dinner one night. The Koala left most of his eggplant on his plate. He wasn’t a fan either. I thought I had cooked it correctly but the evidence was clear. Eggplant 1, Genie 0. Your comments told me that I should give eggplant another chance (at some stage). Let’s call that experiment Part 1. Two years later, I have a different view on eggplant. Let’s call this Part 2. A few weeks ago, a group of us dined at Nishiki in Freeman’s Bay. I was delagated the pleasure of ordering for all (one of my favourite pastimes). One of Nishiki’s best dishes is the Bei-naso Misocheese (eggplant miso cheese) and I ordered 3 for the table. $9NZ for half an eggplant may seem steep but if you’ve ever tasted it, you’ll agree that it is …

Hot Cross Buns with Custard and Cognac

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  I’m not much of a baker so we feast on store-bought hot cross buns every Easter. No shame. If you’re itching for something a little fancy this Easter, I recommend trying this version of bread and butter pudding. This recipe serves six adults (or two giant gluttons with regret). Bread & Butter Pudding Hot Cross Buns with Custard and Cognac (adapted from jamieoliver.com) Serves 6 Ingredients 2 cups milk 2 cups cream 1 vanilla pod or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste 4 eggs 3/4 cups white sugar 6 hot cross buns, cut in half and smeared with butter butter for buns 1 handful of sultanas soaked in 2 tablespoons Cognac overnight 1 tablespoon Cognac Icing sugar for dusting 1-2 cups cream for serving Preparation Pre-heat oven to 170°C / 325°F. In a large pot, bring the milk and cream to just before simmering point. Cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds into the pan. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with sugar until pale, then pour egg and sugar mix into the …

Something Something Fritters

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Fritters are a New Zealand summer icon. Any neighborhood fish and chip shop sells mussel fritters, paua (abalone) fritters, even pineapple fritters. These are usually deep fried, but at home, most kiwis pan fry or bbq (grill) fritters. I had never tried making a fritter. It was one of those simple iconic New Zealand foods that had somehow escaped me. A few weeks ago, with sweetcorn the cheapest it will ever get, 5 ears for 2 bucks, it was time to fritter. Sweetcorn fritters with salsa cream Makes 4 giant fritters or about 20 to 30 fun size fritters Recipe adapted from Lifestylefood.com.au Ingredients for fritters Sweetcorn kernals cut from 2 cobs 1/4 cup sliced spring onion A handful of coriander, chopped 1 cup grated cheese 1 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder paprika salt freshly ground black pepper 2 eggs, beaten 3/4 cups milk vegetable oil Preparation In a large bowl, combine corn, spring onion, coriander, grated cheese, flour, baking powder, salt, paprika and pepper. Stir to distribute ingredients evenly. Add beaten eggs and milk and …

9 items

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The Food I thought I would do a separate post for the meal I enjoyed with ten other bloggers at The Paddington, Parnell. There were 9 dishes (10 if you include the fries) and I ate every single one of them. I started with a glass of Rabbit Ranch (of course) pinot noir and stuck with the reds for the evening. Even though it was pretty much an open bar, everyone was on their best behavior. It was a school night afterall. From The Paddington’s Finger Food Menu Hoegaarden cured salmon in cucumber ribbons Confit vine tomato bruschetta From The Paddington’s Appetisers Menu Homemade mushroom wontons with chili dipping sauce Honey soy beef skewers with a chili lime dressing The Paddington’s Signature Dishes Mini portions of Seafood chowder Caesar salad to share with options, chicken and calamari to taste From The Paddington’s Mains Menu Slice of Pizza: Salami chicken and caramelised red onion with bbq sauce Sliders: Pork Belly Burger with Japanese mayonnaise slaw and fries From The Paddington’s Functions Menu Guinness & Baileys Cheesecake …

The most photographed wontons in the world

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Last night, tucked away in a pub in Parnell, ten Auckland bloggers gathered and feasted upon a nine dish tasting menu. Hosted by restaurant review website Zomato and The Paddington, this was an opportunity to show off the venue and a new menu. Zomato Zomato (rhymes with tomoto) launched here mid 2013 and is the newest review website in New Zealand. Zomato are gaining a good market share of reviews with their easy to navigate, clean design. As a graphic designer, I love a sleek website and I’m sure you do too. Their data collecting technique is mind boggling. Their data collectors have included over 3000 Auckland restaurants with more added weekly. I signed up to Zomato earlier this year and use it to get a feel for unfamiliar restaurants. With a tiered points system, reviewers on Zomato gain social status based on their activity. Almost any activity on Zomato will gain points and you can choose to follow reviewers with similar tastes. For those that love sharing and looking at food porn, you upload photos to restaurant listings and …

Our Growing Edge March

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The start of March marks the beginning of Autumn here in New Zealand. Autumn is my favourite season and autumn in Auckland means warm days without humidity and crisp, cool nights. With a new month, comes a new round up of Our Growing Edge. Medha from Mimi’s Mommy blog is hosting the March edition of Our Growing Edge. If you have a blog and are looking at cooking or eating something new this month (or this year), please join us. Submission deadline is at the end of this month. Check out this page for more info.

Final call for Our Growing Edge February

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This is the final call for Our Growing Edge February. It feels like a short month. I feel cheated of those missing days. Our host this month is Kindra from California Cavegirl Kindra. Kindra eats and cooks as clean as possible, following a mostly Paleo, grain-free, gluten-free, raw dairy, locavore mission. I’m always looking out for local food producers and celebrating local eating is good for every community. Look out for the round up on California Cavegirl Kindra coming up soon! Our Growing Edge is a celebration of new food related experiences. If you have a blog and are looking at eating or cooking something new this month, submit your post here. More information about the event can be found on the Our    Growing Edge Page here.

Heads and wings

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Dear reader, I have fallen in love with some weird fish bits. Creamy, fatty, sweet, savoury and undeniably moreish. They are wings. Salmon wings. Salmon wings (also known as salmon collars) are one of those budget cuts that will probably become too popular (like pork belly, beef brisket and lamb shanks) and see a price increase. Get them while they are still cheap! If you have never had salmon wings before, think of them as ribs or buffalo wings of the sea. You may get your hands dirty but it’s worth it. One day I was just ambling through my local supermarket, minding my own business when I spied a tray with 2 large salmon heads. I didn’t expect to see salmon wings at the supermarket. I’ve never cooked with salmon wings but I’d seen a few blogs mention them before so I grabbed them instantly. The salmon heads cost about $2.22NZ ($1.84US) each and had plenty of eating on them. If you are not confident with fish bones or are serving less adventurous eaters, …

Tofu Tuesday: Splore Food Guide

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It is Splore this weekend! Splore is a 3-day music and art festival at Tapapakanga Regional Park on the outskirts of Auckland, New Zealand. Held every two years, Splore also happens to land on The Koala’s birthday. Now in it’s tenth edition, this year will be our sixth Splore. What makes Splore unique is it’s atmosphere and location. You can float in the sea while watching international and kiwi artists. If you like music, art and the beach, this is a winner. Each year there is a broad dress-up theme and this year’s theme (due to Valentine’s day) is “Spread the Love”. Our camp is dressing up with a hint of tribal and I have my feathers and fur all ready to go.  Tofu only needs feathers, the fur part of his costume was already supplied. 😉 Please note this is only for a photo and Tofu isn’t really going to the festival. Splore have strict “no pets policy” and we wouldn’t do that do our pet. We once brought our own food to the …