All posts filed under: Organic

Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Pie

Published by

When life gives you lemons, make a lemon meringue pie. You may already know about the brand I Love Food Co. – they make the scrumptious I Love Pies (my favourite being the Free Range Butter Chicken) and sausage rolls, plus the I Love Baking Cookies – love the Peanut Butter Choc Chunk ones!  All of their pies and sausage rolls are made with their homemade light and delicate sour cream pastry, which uses sour cream and New Zealand butter – no palm oil in sight! And, after the demand for it by consumers, supermarkets and gourmet food stores are now stocking their delicious pastry around the country. Check out their stockists here.  I was recently sent some of I Love Food Co.’s Sour Cream Pastry, plus their gluten free version. Having never used gluten free pastry before, I wanted to try it out! And, having never ever made a Lemon Meringue Pie, I thought I would do that too! This Lemon Meringue Pie was super fun to make, and tasted heavenly. Adapted slightly from this recipe here.  …

Gold Coast Eats

Published by

If you are looking for a short, relaxing break, then I highly recommend the Gold Coast. There are beautiful beaches, shopping, and of course, many places to eat and drink. The last time I visited the Gold Coast was 6 years ago, before my obsession with food started, before I even had Instagram or my blog. On that trip, we enjoyed going to the theme parks and beaches. Fast forward to this year, I have made a few trips to the Gold Coast – mainly to relax, try out the food scene and for the first time, visit Byron Bay and the surrounds. Below, I list my favourite eats in the Gold Coast and beyond. I have listed them by area, so it makes it easier for you when you visit the Gold Coast! Enjoy! Main Beach Local & Co First things first, BEST Nutella Thickshakes EVER!!! Secondly, after reading great reviews on TripAdvisor and the fact that Local & Co was just round the corner from where we were staying in the Gold Coast, …

Go Green Expo + Better Food Fair

Published by

Today I attended the Go Green Expo, which is New Zealand’s largest sustainable lifestyle show, held at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland. The show covers everything related to organics, eco home and living, beauty, health and wellness, and of course, your chance to try delicious healthy food and beverage products. I have been going for the last few years and it is always a fun day out! This year also saw the new addition of the Better Food Fair with stalls selling street food and drinks from organic, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, and raw vendors. I tried dishes from Judge Bao, House of Dumplings, Soul Boul and Nitro Cow. Along with sampling food related products and trying yummy dishes, the Go Green Expo and Better Food Fair are also holding seminars and workshops. Workshops and seminars that sound interesting on Sunday are the Plant-Based Everyday Workshop with Buffy Ellen of Be Good Organics (tickets here, includes a 90 minute workshop, goodie bags and three recipe demonstrations), La Boca Loca – ‘Making free tortillas at home’ seminar (included in your ticket) …

AndSushi

Published by

Thanks to The Denizen, I was super excited when I read that a new sushi bar had just opened up in Newmarket. And even more so to find out that as well as serving modern style and creative sushi, a range of Japanese and Korean dishes were on the menu as well – my favourite cuisines! Plus an awesome beverage list – think Kokako cold brew coffee, Daily Organics kombucha and Cocoloco coconut water. Now, this sounded like my kind of place! Fast forward a few months where I have been frequenting &Sushi on the weekends, with the aim to try everything on their mouthwatering menu. So far, my favourites have definitely been their sushi – every piece is beautifully presented and has some surprising decorations, like edible flowers, wasabi creams and strawberry slices! Each roll is clearly marked with the ingredients and some of their sushi is vegan and vegetarian. Their purple rice sushi with cream cheese, salmon and topped with avocado and pink wasabi cream is a clear favourite, as well as the sushi pockets filled with perfectly chopped salmon and avocado pieces. All …

The Caker aka Jordan Rondel

Published by

  [Jordan Rondel aka The Caker + her sister, Anouk]  I have a very fond memory of when I first tried one of Jordan Rondel’s cakes. It was early 2013, and the High Street Market was on at Freyburg Square. As soon as the clock struck 1pm, I rushed down to the square, determined to try only one thing: cake. Ever since devouring a slice of Jordan’s Dark Chocolate, Pear + Pistachio cake that day, I have been following her journey ever since. The same year, Jordan released her first cookbook titled ’50 New and Unusual Recipes’ and yes, her creations are interesting, but they work. What I love about Jordan’s cakes (and other delights) is that you won’t find anything similar in Auckland. They are also not your usual carrot cake, banana cake or simple chocolate cake. For example, in her book you will find recipes such as a ‘Rhubarb + Black Doris Plum cake’, ‘Vegan Triple Coconut + Raspberry cake’, ‘Sweet + Salty Potato Chip Cookies’ and ‘Raw Hazelnut + Chai Brownies’. Her aim is to use organic ingredients and some of her cakes are vegan, dairy and gluten …

Scarecrow

Published by

Walking into Scarecrow reminded me a bit of The Wizard of Oz, probably because there’s a giant scarecrow on a bike in the window! Aside from that, this new pop up grocer/cafe has just re-opened up on Victoria Street (corner of Kitchener Street) and is seriously the coolest place I’ve been to this year! Scarecrow is a collaboration between POPdining, Kokako, Karma Cola, Nice Blocks and the AUT Hospitality School. The concept is to showcase seasonal produce and artisan products from around Auckland and beyond, whether it be trying out one of their breakfasts, lunches, dinners or cabinet food from their cafe or fresh produce and breads from their grocer. Chef Ben Barton is the mastermind behind all the meals – he prepares them all the night before at the AUT Kitchens and puts them together the next day at a small workstation (which is located at the back of the grocer). Today as I was trying to figure out what to have for lunch (not many options, but still hard to choose!), I got …

Little Bird Unbakery, Ponsonby

Published by

I first visited Little Bird Unbakery with a friend in late 2013. After having trouble finding a park in Ponsonby, we were told we would have to wait an hour for a table. All that driving around made us ravenous and we couldn’t wait that long, so instead we grabbed a Raw Mixed Berry Cheesecake from the cabinet and headed up to the main road for some quick (and healthy) food. A few weekends ago, I decided to try out Little Bird for brunch one Saturday. It is an incredibly popular place and one of the waitresses told us that it is normal in the weekends to wait about an hour for a table. To fill in time, I suggest browsing through the products they sell, which you can buy online here (the cacao and raspberry macaroons are delicious), scanning the menu, reading through their recently published cookbook and last but not least, deciding which sweet treat you will have after your main meal, because even though you may be full, you won’t want to go …

The Food Show, Auckland

Published by

  I don’t know about you, but every year I get very excited about the Auckland Food Show, held over three days in July/August at ASB Showgrounds. I love it because it gives you a chance to meet all your favourite product owners, try new foods, take home free samples/goodie bags and taste, taste, taste! Last year, I discovered The Lucky Taco at The Food Show and it is definitely one of my favourite foodie experiences to date! Delicious tacos in either a corn or flour tortilla plus an agua de horchata (sweetened, iced rice milk infused with cinnamon) and you’re all set for the day! I attended the show on Friday and was instantly surprised at how much bigger the event was compared to last year. I was also excited to see that many new companies have popped up over the last year and that really gave me a chance to talk to the owners about their product, which is what I really love. My new favourite products that I tasted included the Deluxe Hot Chocolate by West Coast Cocoa, Coconut Flour …