Feijoa fortnight: Green eggs
This week there are feijoas everywhere in our neighbourhood. Green eggs start dropping off trees around Easter time. For a fortnight – maybe a bit longer – there is an amazing abundance of feijoas. We currently have four buckets full at the back door. I love feijoas...
O Kale! Enjoy this virtuous vegetable
At the farmers’ market at this time of year, the standout seasonal green is kale. I buy mine from the Catos, who also sell excellent potatoes and garlic. This weekend they had two kinds of kale: green and red, which is actually more like purple. It’ll be even sweeter...
Blueberry fields forever
Monavale blueberries are one of the great treats of my Sunday visit to the farmers’ market. And at this time of year they're at their best. There’s usually a line of people waiting to get their weekly fix of the delicious organic icecreams and smoothies. And they also...
Plums, plums, plums
Meet Mr Billington, my wonderful plum tree. (Or maybe it’s Mrs Billington?) Either way, this tree is having a great summer. We have an amazing abundance of plums right now. We have so many plums that the birds can’t eat them all. Mr Billington is a mere six years...
Glorious artichokes
Globe artichokes have always been a favourite part of a New Zealand summer for me. They’re beautiful sculptural plants, which look like giant, non-spiny thistles. Globe artichokes are delicious and they're pretty easy to grow, if you have a sunny, sheltered garden and...
Volare: our daily bread
This summer my top choice of bread has to be Volare’s beautiful sourdough buns and Italian-style ciabatta. They’re perfect with a barbecue (or any other time actually). We’re so lucky to have Volare in Hamilton. Volare is a fairly young business, started six or seven...