All posts tagged: Out Standing In Their Fields

Lemonade

A friend brought over a bag of real lemons. Real lemons are large, a deep yellow colour, with bumpy, thick skins. They smell super lemony – nothing like the anemic fake-looking lemons you get from supermarkets these days (what are they?!). Supermarket lemons make me frown. I was thirsty for something sweet and tart, so I made lemonade. I used a little of the J.Friend and Co honey that I received from a goodie bag for covering Out Standing In Their Fields a few weeks ago. The one I got is Vipers Bugloss. Don’t know what the heck that means? Me neither. Luckily, their website fills in all the gaps (it’s an alpine wild flower). It’s pretty awesome. You even get to know who the beekeepers are (Lucy and AJ), the vintage (2009) and where it is made (Clarence Valley, Muzzle Station). I’ve never needed to know that much about my honey, but it’s a nice touch. Especially in an age were ingredients come from all over the place. The first glass no doubt will …

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

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 …

Out Standing

On a beautiful Saturday morning, Parnell Farmers’ Market celebrated their “Hello Spring” event with face painting, Walnut the clown (making super balloon animal hats), Old Macdonald’s barnyard petting zoo and the main course: Julie Biuso’s Out Standing In Their Fields cooking demo. With 14 books under her belt and a 15th due out next month, Julie wears various foodie hats including writing, radio, television and teaching. I’m a subscriber to just one food magazine and Julie happens to be their food editor. Julie is well known for her accessible style of cooking and Taste magazine is my favourite for that same approach to food. Food shouldn’t be fussy! The first dish, a hot and sour pork salad was zingy and smart. Using asian exotics like lime, palm sugar, coriander, mint and fish sauce it has punchy flavours that bring out the freshness of the produce. Julie’s handy tips:  Use soft brown sugar as a substitute for palm sugar Refrigerate onions to save your eyes Don’t be scared about using fish sauce as a seasoning This …

Farmers’ Market Demos

Zo from Two Spoons recently brought my attention to the farmers’ market cooking demos that are running from 4 September 4th to 23 October in conjunction with the REAL New Zealand Festival. The demos are free. Yes! Free! One of my spring goals is to visit a new farmers market, so the timing is impeccable. There is a competition to be a Market VIP for the day with great prizes including a chance to meet with your local chef. Visit this link to enter. You can visit the schedule on their website or over on Facebook. The Auckland demonstrations are:  15 October 2011 at Parnell Farmers’ Market. (10am – noon) Chef: Julie Biuso   23 October 2011 at Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market. (10am – noon) Chef: David Schofield  More info on Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market can be found here. More info on Parnell Farmers’ Market can be found here.