With darker – and cooler – days and evenings that say that autumn is well and truly here, it is time to turn to the Wellington food and drink calendar. For yes, there is one, with The Food Show, Winetopia, Beervana and Wellington on a Plate all marked for the autumn and winter days to come. And of course there is the seasonal calendar for fruits and vegetables, with May being the time for apples, kiwi fruit, persimmons, feijoas, rhubarb, parsnips, fennel, green beans and pumpkins.
This weekend saw The Food Show roll into Wellington, and we went along on Saturday afternoon. It has been a few years since I last went, so it was quite fun to go along to the Westpac Stadium and stroll around trying different foods, wine, and this year, gins. The first tasting and purchasing was at the Wild Fennel Co stall, where I bought these three gourmet seasoning packets. We had the one for salmon on Saturday night, and I am looking forward to trying the one for venison was with its cocoa base.
I picked up some Bee’s Wrap food wraps made from organic cotton, beeswax, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin, and a large tub of one of my favourite coconut yoghurts from The Coconut Collaborative.
I also bought some wonderful Roquefort cheese from a stall full of French cheeses, and tasted some great goat cheese from Cranky Goat Ltd. The soft goat’s cheese was really good, but the new The Reginald, with its fine layer of ash, was sublime, and I will definitely be looking out for it next time I am looking for a special cheese. We also tried a few wines, and picked up these two bottles: a pinot noir from Kalex Wines and a Syrah from Hawke’s Ridge.
We also tried a couple of gins, and were very impressed with the one from Juno, which was so full of flavour, it sung out.
And finally…we did not forget Charlie, picking him up these treats from K9 Natural.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram@thistleandkiwis. As for Twitter….am totally inactive these days. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com
Blog post title from James Beard: Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
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