Virgil Evetts I just had to share this picture. You are looking at one obscenely large plantain (starchy cooking banana), given to me last week by someone who takes pleasure in surprising me with strange fruit. Apparently it’s peak banana … Read more
Asparagus Alert – Lou Davey We are plum in the midst of asparagus season. There it is, pride of place in every supermarket veg section and going for (almost) a song. I can take it or leave it myself but … Read more
Virgil Evetts As a decidedly amateur grower of exotic and impractical food crops, I almost choked on my toast yesterday morning when I read about the big food news out of Tauranga – that a New Zealand company had achieved … Read more
Swimming with the Onions – Elaine Davey There’s much to be said for having a gadget-free kitchen. Especially when, like mine, its dimensions are about the same as a medium-sized executive home’s bathroom. And when I say my kitchen is … Read more
Virgil Evetts I was recently reminded of the buzz caused on the Foodlovers Forums by the arrival of Plantains (starchy cooking bananas) in local fruit shops earlier this year. Whilst shaking my head and smirking my way through an … Read more
Virgil Evetts Yes. Hello, I’m back at home now and I’ll be sure to bang on about the wonders of Italy, Singapore and London in gratuitous detail shortly, but first I need to address a more urgent matter. Vegemite iSnack 2.0. … Read more
Virgil Evetts I’m just grabbing a moment here in Florence to say a quick buongiorno, and to rub your nose in how very pleasant a time I’m having abroad. Thailand was wonderful, peaceful, pressure cooker-hot and, most importantly for the … Read more
Virgil Evetts Did I mention I was going away? Probably not. Ive got this whole middleclass guilt thing going on so, the fact that I’ve been planning a holiday in Tuscany has been more than a little embarrassing to me. Its … Read more
Lou Davey “It’s a naive domestic Burgundy without any breeding, but I think you’ll be amused by its presumption.” As wine opinions go, I have never found a pronouncement more indicative of the hoo-hah surrounding a bottle of plonk than … Read more
Virgil Evetts My garden is awash with the heartening signs of spring right now. One peach tree is already covered in tiny, fuzzy peach-letts, another is bursting into blousy pink bloom. My plum tree is a froth of honey-scented … Read more
Virgil Evetts Fromage fort- meaning strong, or possibly fortified cheese- is an exercise in frugality that only the French could have dreamt-up. Conceived, no doubt as way of using left-over cheese scraps and wine-dregs this ancient Gallic delight is sadly … Read more
Virgil Evetts One of the topics that bounced around the table at our very convivial Foodlovers get-together last week, was how hopelessly smitten we Aucklanders are with the cuisines of Asia. I have a bad habit of forgetting that not everyone shares this very regional … Read more
Virgil Evetts These rather ropey-looking fungi are widely available in most supermarkets, but are the sort of thing that, unless you’ve tried them before, you will probably instinctively ignore. I can’t say I blame you either – they look like … Read more
Virgil Evetts Since researching and writing about the whole free-range issue a while back I’ve been taking my stance in regards to free-range pork very seriously indeed (I haven’t touched conventionally farmed chicken for years). But as assured as I … Read more
