Saturday - Sunday

I have been cooking quite a bit and really enjoying it. I really do like to cook, but it is well-known that I simply don’t, or didn’t, much at home. Now, with quite a bit more free time on my hands, I’ve been cooking pretty regularly. Especially after living in a hotel and then traveling for a few weeks, now that we are finally settled, we’ve been eating in as opposed to eating out so much.

So in addition to my kumara experiment, I’ve been whipping up other New Zealand treats. On this weeks’ menu is ricotta, lemon, and parsley on pasta; ham and leek pasties; and potato soup with cheese scones. I also made some afghans, a popular and delicious cookie, to take to a friend’s house. I’m not sure, really, if it is a good idea, as an outsider, to take the national cookie favorite to actual New Zealanders. We’ll see…

But, it hasn’t all been me slaving over a stove. We’ve been out to eat a few times (and I’ve noted how challenging this can be for us) and it’s been good. Twice now, though, we’ve had what I would consider “American” food. This has been with some mixed results…
One night, Cory was craving pizza and we were looking forward to going to a cozy Italian restaurant a block or two from our apartment. We stepped out of the drizzle, glad to be inside and looked for a table. I’d pointed out a table for two when the proprietress zoomed over to tell us she had no tables and would not until 9:30 or so. Bummer. On our walk back, we decided that we might try Hell’s Pizza, which we’d seen advertised. I mean, pizza from hell can’t be all bad. But they didn’t deliver and the restaurant was 20 minutes or so away. So we opted for Pizza Hut – a medium pepperoni. It came pretty promptly and, by then, we were ready for warm food. But the pepperoni was a little different, and the thick slabs were not exactly what we’d expected. Cory ate up, but I think I’ll hold off on Pizza Hut for awhile.

We had much better luck with a “fast food” burger. Now there are Burger Kings and McDonalds all over in the larger towns. (The smaller towns, however, have been spared. Fast food in most parts consists of the ever-present pie - and you know how I love a good pie)! There is a Burger King just down the block from us, though we haven’t chosen to partake. But Cory has had the craving for a burger. A friend brought him one at work one night and he’s found his oasis in BurgerFuel.

BurgerFuel doesn’t carry your typical, straight-up burgers. No tomatoes, lettuce, ketchup, mayo plainjane burgers. You can do a hamburger, a chicken burger, a fish burger, a veggie burger (a patty of mushrooms and chickpeas). The toppings include beetroot, parmesan, stilton, peanut satay, relishes, etc. The regular fries are served with aioli, but you can opt for kumara fries too. De-lish…

In amongst all this eating, we have been able to get out a little, too. Today we headed to Kaiate Falls. It was stunning. Driving in the countryside continues to awe me. I’m sure there is something to say for novel surroundings, but there is also just some unbelievable beauty here. The falls themselves were stunning. It was a misty morning, but the area was just lush. I can’t really do the views justice; you’ll have to use Cory’s photos as the best available stand-in.