Jenny Garing

Yes it is that time of year again. Feijoas lying on the ground at all the local bays, at the mercy of roaming wekas and possums. Unless I can get there first. This lot were from Pam’s at Ohingaroa and they include some of the biggest feijoas I have ever seen! Here are a couple […]

One of the things I fell in love with at our new home in the Marlborough Sounds, was the huge fig tree at the end of the deck. By the end of summer it was completely covered in masses and masses of figs. I had dreams about all the things I was going to do […]

Kiwi, Korean and Japanese influences all paid a part in the creating of this dish. I had been on a bit of a Korean gochuchang binge anyway, loving its umami bite. And I wanted some soba. I had a bit of a hankering for my time spent living in Japan- truth be told. And with […]

The year of the Monkey has just begun in the lunar calendar. Often called Chinese New Year, it is also celebrated by other Asian countries to various degrees. I have been lucky enough to have been living in China and Korea at different times, and have celebrated this amazing holiday in both cultures. There is […]

I know that fermented food is good for you. It is all the rage from kombucha to kimchi, sauerkraut to sourdough, kefir to kashk. People have got the fermentation bug. I absolutely hate sauerkraut, but adore kimchi. Go figure; both are variations on fermented cabbage. I guess I need that chilli hit. I also really […]

Having bought a packet of fresh curry leaves from my local Indian supermarket, I was determined not to waste any. You can’t get fresh ones all the time (usually only dried) so I wanted to make the most of them. Curry leaves do not taste like curry. They are called curry leaves because they are […]

Whenever we have a good length of time in a foreign country, we hire a rental car and just go where the moment takes us. We’re notoriously lax at planning in advance so, using local maps, a Tom-Tom or our phones, we often head out without bookings or a plan and just trust in following […]

I make my own cheese, which produces a lot of whey. But rather than tip it out, there is so much that can be done with this “by-product”. When you make cheese, enzymes added to the milk causing it to separate into solids and liquid. The solids, or curds, are strained and become the cheese. The […]

  I started feeding my Border-Collie/Labrador cross  home-made food a year ago. The lab in her wins out too often and she gets too fat on commercial food. I wanted food that wasn’t full of fillers and additives, or suspect ingredients. She is not allergic to any foods that I know of, but I wanted […]

I have a recipe asking for Black Cardamom. Is that the same as Green? Can I use them interchangeably? In a word; NO! Most recipes calling for cardamom mean the fragrant green cardamom. Black cardamom is much stronger and smokier. Although they are related, they have completely different appearances and flavours. Green cardamom is a […]