Jersey Girls: legends in the milking
When I first moved to Hamilton I wondered why the Waikato – the land of dairy farms – didn’t have its own iconic milk brand. Now it does, and it’s called Jersey Girls. Most Sundays I bring home a couple of bottles of wonderful Jersey Girls milk from the farmers’...
Winter fruit
When you eat locally, you become very aware of what’s in season. Right now, in mid-September, there isn’t much fruit at the farmers’ market. There’s a new stall selling excellently ripe oranges grown at Ohinewai. There are plenty of lemons, and there are apples that...
Duck egg omelettes
The top favourite breakfast in my household is duck eggs. We’re lucky to get them from Ian, who has a property down Matangi Road, not far from where we live. Ian has a small flock of Buff Orpington ducks - free-range, of course. When he has spare eggs to sell, he...
A new home for the market
The Hamilton Farmers’ Market has recently moved to its new permanent home in Claudelands Park. The stallholders say they’re happy to be in a covered building. There are stalls outside as well, but it will definitely give the market more options in bad weather. Market...
Mizuna, mizuna
We bought some beautiful feathery red and green mizuna from David of Suncakes Gardens at the Farmers’ Market. When I seized it with enthusiasm, David asked me how I was planning to use it. Mizuna is a mild-tasting member of the mustard/cabbage family. It thrives in a...
Time for tea
I’m very fond of tea in all its forms. (No tea bags in our house!) And I’d often driven past the Zealong tea plantation on the road to Gordonton, but never been there. So when my tea-loving friend Melissa proposed a visit, I was more than happy to agree. On a wet...
What to do with daikon
A huge daikon radish arrived in the Ooooby box last week. It was over 1kg, with a crown of beautiful fresh green leaves. I have learned to love daikon, but some people have said to me that they’re not sure what to do with it. So, this is a post about what to do with...
Local sweetness
One of the biggest practical challenges when eating locally produced food is sugar. It’s an everyday food ingredient that is not grown in the Waikato. This became an issue when I was preserving this summer’s fruit harvest. All my favourite chutney recipes call for...
Organic kiwis in season
I’m delighted to report that we can now buy locally grown kiwifruit at Hamilton Farmers’ Market. And it gets even better – it’s superb, certified organic green and gold kiwifruit, at a very good price. This is kiwifruit as it's meant to taste. Try it and you'll see...
Autumn kitchen
The kitchen is full of autumnal produce. In the vege box there are plenty of pumpkins. Also beets, bok choi, feijoas, apples, nashi, and persimmons. Great potatoes, but this year’s kumara harvest is just about finished. A few sun-ripened outdoor tomatoes, eggplants...
Easter eggplants
There were eggplants galore at Hamilton Farmers’ Market this morning. David from Suncakes Gardens was selling excellent spray-free aubergines grown in Whatawhata, and there were eggplants on a couple of other stalls as well. Eggplant is the name most often used for...
Champion hot cross buns
This morning my favourite local baker, Meg Daly of Celtic Kitchen, was selling superb hot cross buns at the Hamilton Farmers' Market. The spicy raisin buns were topped off with a glaze of cider and whisky. I managed to get a photo shortly before the last one vanished...
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
We’re lucky in the Waikato - all kinds of herbs grow year-round in this region. This is a post about some of my favourite fresh herbs and what I do with them. It was inspired by a recent meeting of Hamilton Organic Gardeners. We met in Wendy's home garden, where she...
The art of bitter greens
Curly endive is the one salad green that grows in my garden all year round. It's my essential salad green. Right now the plants are going to seed. They have shot up into tall spikes with small purple flowers. But there are still frilly green leaves for the taking,...
Kawhia Kai Festival
The Kawhia Kai Festival is an annual food event celebrating Maori food and culture. It takes place at the remote, normally quiet settlement of Kawhia on Waitangi weekend, and this year I went for the first time. It's one of the Waikato’s most famous food festivals....