It Was Delicious!

Veggie wrap, salad, and chips (Auckland, NZ)

The foods and wines of New Zealand and Australia: Outstanding for the most part.  What was interesting - nay shocking - was getting off the plane in Los Angeles after the trip and realizing I was back in America simply because there were so many overweight people milling about.  Down Under, I'm normal.  Not thin at all, really. 


[Coffee - "long black" - essentially, it is espresso diluted with water, add cream and sugar as needed.  There is no brewed coffee.  Tea is the drink of choice.  Every hotel room boasts a tea kettle.  If you want coffee in your room, it's "instant."]

That got Steve and I to wondering why that is.  I've since watched "Killer at Large," and have some ideas.   Steve, too, living in Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, had some thoughts as well.

[ THE best carrots I have ever tasted (New Zealand).  They were so sweet and had FLAVOR.  Nothing like the pathetic orange cello-bagged root that passes for food here (in most cases).]

[ Slice of vegetarian "pie" and a Bundaberg Ginger Beer.  Note, they're a big fan of cooking with pumpkin.]

Items of interest:

• No free refills on sodas.
• No free bread or salad - you want bread, it's extra.
• The portions are reasonably sized, not SUPER-sized.
• Beer is really, really expensive (AU$18.00 for a six pack), and the bottles are 11 ounces, not 12.
• People seem to walk more.
• Less processed food available at the market.

 Of course there is more to it, but it certainly makes one think...

[Standard: electric kettle, press - for tea, not coffee - tea chest.]

 

[Lunch: Artichoke dip, fresh bread, an apple, and Really Good Peanut Butter.  Another day I had THE best pear I have ever eaten, along with carrot-raisin salad and a date scone.]

 [The pastry case at the "Dangerous Kitchen."]

Pies!  Everywhere you can count on pies and what I mean by a "pie" is more like what we would call a "turnover" only it is filled with meat or vegetables or both or fruit or most anything in pretty much any combination you can imagine.  Savory, curried, sweet.  Standard fare both in New Zealand and Australia.  Feeling a bit peckish?  Time for a long black and a pie.

Notice the portion size?  This is my entire meal - a Mediterranean platter with tomatoes, olives, hummus, eggplant dip, and mint chutney with focacia.

We had a fabulous picnic lunch before sea kayaking in Abel-Tasman National Park in New Zealand.  Fresh juice, homemade pastries and sandwiches, apples, and, of course, hot tea.

 Fresh fruit plate that greeted us in our hotel room.  Fabulous!

Beer and Wine:  We had to try quite a bit of both (of course), and I hate to disappoint, but "Foster's" is not Australian for "beer," mate.  It is more likely translated as Australian for "swill that your brother-in-law pissed in, mate."  Yeah.  I was kind of sad to discover that Crocodile Dundee was probably laughing his ass off while he tipped back a pint of XXXX (Four X) beer at the local pub.  Good marketing and all that.  And the GIANT can?!  It's only a rich man's dream.

 [It's a sin to waste beer!]

Wines we tried:

• Devil's Staircase Pinot Noir - Central Otago, NZ
• Mills Reef Merlot/Cabernet - Hawkes Bay, NZ
• Montana South Island Pinot Noir
• Boundary King's Road Pinot Noir
• Riverlands Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia

 [Salad - Yum!]

[ Dessert - beautiful to look at but not an overpowering quantity of food.]

Vegemite versus Marmite:  Okay, Vegemite is the Australian version and Marmite is New Zealand.  They both consist of yeast extract which is loaded with B vitamins.  Yes, they eat Vegemite sandwiches.  I really like the Vegemite but it is quite salty.  Imagine a soy-sauce paste and you've pretty well nailed it. 

This was cereal and toast with Vegemite.  Yup, we really did (and still do), eat it.  It kills me that it is so expensive here, though.  I need a supplier!

Parting shot:  In Australia, "Burger King" is "Hungry Jack's."

BevMo! Shout Out! (A Brief Detour)

Okay, shopping on the internet is the coolest thing ever!  I just clicked over to BevMo!  Selected the 5 cent sale option, selected reds, and, voila! There they are!  Buy one at regular price, get the second bottle (same vintage) for a nickel!  Yeah, baby, Sweeeeet!

So, I ordered my case, paid for it, and then all I have to do is drive down to the BevMo! store and pick it up at the "will call."  I'ma lovin' it!

Well, today's case on top of the case I bought LAST week from Safeway, required some serious revision to my current wine storage strategy.  Frankly, I was running out of room.  This necessitated a visit to Cost Plus World Market, where my "Explorer" membership got me a 20% discount on some totally cute little table top wine racks that hold three bottles each.  I bought four of those, and again, voila! I've got a wine storage unit that actually looks half way decent.

That's pretty much my day.  Well, the non-Home-Tour-related part of it which even I am getting kind of sick of hearing about.  Cracked open the recently purchased "Irony Pinot Noir '07" just to make sure it was okay.

Now, since my eyelids pretty much are starting to feel like sandpaper scraping across my corneas, I just might have to call it a night - I always think that and then end up reading until about midnight (in the middle of a compelling book written by an archeologist who is infatuated with the Anasazi of the Southwest - which PC folks are trying to call "Ancestral Puebloans" but that is kind of going over like a turd in a punchbowl).

See, there I go rambling on.  Hard to get out a coherent sentence.  So, instead of more feeble attempts, I'll just show you a picture of my totally cool wine racks.

 

You know you want one.