Weekend Dinners

We had a fabulous dinner on Saturday night.

We baked the Caramelized Onion Cibatta we got from the Farmer’s Market

We enjoyed it by dipping pieces in warm Garden Vegetable Marinara Sauce

and Herb Oil. So easy to make!  I just whisk Italian Herb Paste together with some EVOO

Yes, we ate the whole thing.  It was fantastic!

We thought about making a salad, too.

Nah.

We planned to go out dancing, but couldn’t decide how to do our hair…

“I look like Justin Bieber!”  said I.

That’s a silly hairstyle my friend Kaitlyn used to do during field hockey practice in middle school (or maybe lacrosse? )  You make a bun on the top of your head and let the ends hand on your forehead like bangs.  Do it, you deserve a laugh!

Darn the humidity, it spoils my locks!  (Don’t worry, I just wore my classic half-clipped.)  Also darn our favorite dance club for being EMPTY.  Lame.  We left to go to Father Ted’s, our go-to spot, and we were happy to see our study abroad adviser and his band rocking out!  We were even more pleased to see some friends.  So the night wasn’t a complete flop!

Neither was dinner tonight!

Sauteed silver beet/chard (from the market), tomatoes, and onions with smoked trevally (again, from the market) and quinoa.  It was so filling!  Leftovers for lunch tomorrow

Of course it wasn’t too filling to have one (or two?) of these:

We had to have them.  Both Hannah and I are pretty homesick today.  We blame the weather + hearing from our friends back home.  (Guys! You aren’t supposed to be having fun without us!)  I skyped with my good friend Dani for so long today, and as an added bonus, she had a bunch of our FeelGood friends over and I got to see them, too!  (Have you helped out the Pitt’s FeelGood yet?)  I was so happy to see everyone, but I won’t lie: it made me a bit sad   I figured brownies with “heaps of mini M&M’s” would help me cheer up.

That’s what brownies are for, right?

What did you have for dinner this weekend?

Namaste.

A Day in the Life of Kiwi-Made Jam: Lunch!

Stage two of the Kiwi-Jam Day Challenge!

The star of lunch today was Tomato Relish (Traditional Tomato Jam)!

In my Classic Hummus Sammie (I always laugh because my sister’s name is Sammi!)

Start with two slices of Whole Multi-Grain Bread.  Schlepp-on some hummus on one side, tomato relish on the other.

Then top with a big handful of field greens, thick slices of cheddar cheese (Vermont, if you have it, ), and even thicker slices of tomato.  I eat this sandwich a few days a week, but without the tomato jam, and usually on a toasty pita (but finally whole grain bread was on sale!).  But this was so yummy! The tomato jam definitely took it to the next level.  It tastes like a more substantial ketchup, with a much bigger and natural flavor.  I wish I had toasted the bread, but it’s so hearty and delicious that I didn’t end up caring.

Ok I have to go to class now!  Yes, sometimes I do go to class here…

Namaste.

A Day in the Life of Kiwi-Made Jams: Breakfast

One of the new foods we’ve tried here in New Zealand is tomato jam!

They put it on everything!  We’ve had it on a turkey sandwich, hot dog, and a cheese platter.  It’s really tasty and unique to New Zealand, so we were set on getting our own jar of the stuff.

At the Farmer’s Market, there is a woman who owns a jamming company called Relish the Thought.  We’ve tasted her jams before (delicious!) so we decided she would be a perfect source for our first jar of tomato jam.

She offers a great deal where you can buy four mini jars for nz$10 (us$7.50), plus we got to pick the four different flavors to try!  We decided to get two sweet jams and two savory jams.

I’ve tried them all and they are all so tasty! Today, I decided to work one of the jams into everything that I make in the kitchen.

First off, breakfast, of course!  I decided to make Cinnamon Almond Muesli (what Kiwis call Oatmeal)

with Plum & Rum Jam!  I started by getting the oatmeal cooking (1/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup milk, a few dashes of cinnamon, and a few pinches of sugar).

Then, I chopped up some almonds and threw them in to add a bit of crunch and some protein to my breakfast.

Then, to finish it off, i topped my bowl of oatmeal with a spoonful of Plum & Rum Jam and some more almonds, for garnish.

It was WONDERFUL!

The jam has a pretty strong rum flavor! After I mixed it all in and it was thoroughly combined throughout the whole bowl, it added the perfect amount of bitterness to balance out the sweet!

Great way to start the day!  Where will I use jam next…

Namaste.