I must admit I’ve been a little dismissive of carrots in the past. I saw them as stock-pot vegetables first and foremost; essential building blocks in many great dishes to be sure, but not really worthy of closer inspection. That … Read more
Virgil Evetts As a small boy I felt oddly powerful eating rock cakes. I fancied them as a man’s sort of cake – big, rugged and rocky. This was a rare, and rather convoluted, expression of masculinity I suppose. Fact … Read more
Virgil Evetts Following on from last week’s cake-fuelled dawdle down memory lane… I do like a Chelsea bun. Soft, sweet, spice- flecked bread studded with sticky raisins and crudely stuccoed with icing. As a small boy with an obscenely sweet … Read more
Virgil Evetts When I was very small, I couldn’t be reasoned with about Sally Lunn. To my mother’s vexation I refused to allow so much as a sliver to pass my lips, but greedily wolfed down other very similar breads. Eventually she learned … Read more
Virgil Evetts I’m going through a bit of internal conflict just now. Fish. I enjoy eating it or them very much, and considering some of the other things I eat, the nutritional benefits can’t hurt either. No I don’t enjoy … Read more
Virgil Evetts As tempting as it can be to sneak a wedge unadorned from the fridge, it’s worth going the extra mile to make an occasion out of good cheese. Most cheeses are improved beyond measure with the right little … Read more
Virgil Evetts To most New Zealanders, a guava is a small red fruit, used almost exclusively for making jellies and jams. With the exception of a few morbidly obese and pathologically indiscriminate Kereru, nobody really eats them because they’re gritty, sharp … Read more
Virgil Evetts There is always room on my palate and plate for a smidgeon of relish, sambal, sauce or chutney. I’ve never been one to settle for default settings, so I like to customise every mouthful. It’s theses final flourishes and accessories to a … Read more
Virgil Evetts This week, while reorganising the sizeable portion of my pantry set aside for spices, it occurred to me that a number of the things that I use everyday are probably all but unknown to many. And I feel it’s … Read more
Virgil Evetts I’ve said it before I’m sure, but I don’t like substitutions. Not in cooking or in any other aspect of my life. When I was a child back in the now distant 80s, dietary substitutions were all the rage, from … Read more
Virgil Evetts Dear very nice people at Fresh As freeze dried foods. I’m really sorry I haven’t delivered on the article I promised when I asked for some sample product. You were so very generous and, despite my best efforts, … Read more
Virgil Evetts I always liked cardamom well enough. I’d throw a few pods in a pot of rice or add them ground to an unctuously cashew-rich korma, but mostly because that’s what I was taught to do. I didn’t dwell … Read more
Virgil Evetts Today the variety of Italian cheese available in New Zealand is broad and exciting, but to many consumers they remain a pricey mystery. So, being quite the Italio-phile and a prodigious consumer of the nation’s cheeses, I … Read more
Virgil Evetts A few years ago I wrote an article about my favourite kitchen gadgets and appliances .And while my ‘best of’ list remains pretty much unchanged, its counterpart of useless items and ill- conceived follies grows ever longer.
