Nigger, please...

Slight digression here - I'm in the process of sorting out my first proper 'investigative' post (should be ready tomorrow). In the meantime, here's a wee story to keep you interested...

In setting up this blog, I was sorting through my cookbooks to see which I would place in my "Recommended Reading" list. When I came across my Good Housekeeping cookbook, I remembered the rather eye-catching recipe for children's party food listed inside:
Nigger Minstrel Cakes (the book was published in 1962)! While the racism may not be entirely surprising given the era, what catches me is the sheer nonchalance, the casual manner in which it's used - in this instance, a fun recipe for the kids. A picture of the cakes (click on the photo for a closer look):Finger's crossed, tomorrow's post will be about...lamb tails!

Wildfoods Festival - Hokitika, March 10th, 2007

Tickets go on sale from the 13th of November; $25 for adults, a fiver for 5 - 18 year olds & littlies are free. Buy them from the Wildfoods Festival website or at your local Postie + store. What will you find? Scallops, mussels, ostrich, west coast whitebait...and then sphagnum moss candy floss, gumboot milkshakes...not to mention magpie breast, huhu grubs, seagull bits, barbecued bollocks...I'm thinking a bucket and a change of clothes wouldn't go amiss should you decide to go (which I certainly intend doing).

The inaugural post!

What springs to mind when you think 'New Zealand food'? Salt-sweet mussels, scallops & paua; the freshest fruit & vegetables; not to mention our reknown beef & lamb. But how many of you have tried Romo? Or Karengo? Lamb tails? Toheroas? Mountain oysters? These foods & many more are held in high regard in certain circles. Outside these circles however, very little (and in some instances nothing) is known about these foods. The purpose of this blog is to record my experiences in finding, cooking & gobbling these quiet delicacies...