Fun at the Farmers Market!

Every Saturday morning, the car park next to Dunedin Railway Station buzzes with people. It's time for the Otago Farmers Market, a year round, weekly market where vendors from all over Otago come to sell their produce.

I like to go to the Farmers Market whenever I have a Saturday morning off work, except for perhaps when it is bucketing down with rain. Sometimes it's just a quick visit to buy a few veggies, or to meet up with a friend and get a coffee and a yummy crepe from the French man at La Crepe.

In a bid to be a bit healthier and buy more local produce, I decided last Saturday I would try and buy most of my groceries for the week/fortnight. I budgeted myself $60 for the food. Normally I would go to the supermarket for a 'big shop' about once a fortnight and I would always be shocked at the amount of money I spent compared to what I had bought.

I went to the market fairly early in the morning - about 9am - when the selection is better. It usually runs from 8am until 12ish - although there isn't much left by then!

Here's what I bought:

Some of this will last me longer than a week, which is probably a good thing as I'm working night shifts next weekend, so might not quite be up for visiting the market after work!

The big plus of buying local produce is that you are buying in season. I bought carrots and parsnips, spinach (I love spinach and I definitely need the iron!), broccoli, 2kg of potatoes, and yummy Braeburn and Granny Smith apples. I rarely used to eat apples but have developed a taste for them again. I also bought a loaf of multi grain bread and a loaf of sour dough bread and half a dozen free range eggs. I bought 2 large chicken breasts for $8, which will easily last me for four meals, and some yummy bacon from Happy Hogs. That's a bit of a guilty pleasure, I love bacon!

Then I looked in my wallet and realised I still had plenty of money left, so on a whim I bought some hummus and a pot of mixed seeds to sprinkle on cereal etc. And I still hadn't broken the budget! It was time for a celebratory crepe!

I was pretty pleased with my purchases, the bread will only last a few days but the rest will easily last me a week or two. I haven't done a price comparison with the supermarket, but some things definitely seemed cheaper, and then there is the added bonus of not buying snacks and packaged food I don't really need. There are plenty of other things on offer at the Farmers Market too, from fish and venison to jam, beer, cheese and even plants and seedlings. Last year I bought my cherry tomato plants from the Farmers Market and they produced very well for me all summer.

And yes, after the shopping it was time for hummus on sour dough for lunch!

Tonga Holiday, part 5

Leaving 'Eua was a lot simpler than our journey there - we took the plane back instead of the ferry. This is probably the shortest commercial flight in the world, being just over 8 minutes long. The plane was small, only fitting around 12 passengers, but as the ferry was not running, it was the only way off the island. I have to say, I'm not a big fan of small planes, but I managed to hold myself together for the short flight.

Our last few days we planned to spend at a beach resort, Vakaloa. This resort was once favoured by the old King. It actually wasn't too pricey, although a bit more than our earlier budget accommodation. When we arrived, we also realised that they had upgraded us for free! Our last few days were spent in luxury!

The verandah outside the rooms.

My bed - the room was massive, and there was another big bed opposite this one, as well as a sofa and other furniture. And an ensuite with hot water shower! Look closely and you can even see the roses decorating the bed!

The beach at the resort.

There were very few people staying there, and we were pretty much the only people on the beach that day. We also went swimming and snorkelling too - saw a few interesting fish underneath the waves! Unfortunately a tropical storm was closing in on the region so the weather started to turn the day we spent on the beach, but we still had a great day.

One of the main reasons we chose to stay at Vakaloa is because they held a Tongan feast and cultural show, and we had missed out on the one at Hina Cave. Surprisingly there were only a handful of foreigners there, many of the guests were Tongans. I think a lot of the groups were families who had brought their visiting relatives, or work groups coming for a night out.

The feast was huge, with many traditional vegetables and dishes. I confess I steered clear of the seafood ones, but I was told they were also delicious!

Roast pig anyone?

Guests going up for seconds.

After the meal, the show began. There were several different types of dance represented, not just Tongan, but also other Pacific island dances. The costumes were beautiful too.

One of the guests a German/Kiwi guy who was at our table, volunteered to play the drums, and actually did a fantastic job - the other drummers were impressed!

I believe this young schoolgirl has recently won competitions for her dancing.

Then came the highlight - fire dancing!

Usually this is done outside on the deck or beach, but because of the storm the winds were too strong, so a modified version was performed instead. I caught some on video too!

The next day it was time for me to leave Tonga and say goodbye to my friend R, who was heading back home to Canada! So a pretty sad day for me. She was heading back to the capital, Nuku'alofa to spend another couple of days in Tonga. Unfortunately I had to go back to work. Actually it turned out I was pretty lucky to leave on the day I did, as not long afterwards the cyclone hit Tonga and wreaked havoc. Luckily my friend stayed safe and eventually made it home herself.

I had a great, relaxing holiday in Tonga, even managed a bit of a tan (novelty for me!) It was a wonderful first taste of the Pacific Islands, and I'll certainly be back one day. Not to mention visit a few of the other places in the Pacific. I wish I was there right now actually, as I am writing this in the middle of freezing cold Dunedin winter!

Yum! It's sushi time!

Tonight I made sushi :)

It was the first time I've ever made sushi, and it was surprisingly easy. I bought a bamboo sushi mat from an Asian food store a while ago, which made rolling the sushi a lot easier. I think I will get better with practice too.

My sushi contains tuna, carrot, red pepper, avocado, snow peas and baby spinach. I made too much, but that just means there is some for when I'm hungry later on tonight when I can't sleep. I've just finished working night shifts, so my body clock is a little screwed up...

I love sushi, it is one of my go to lunches when I'm out and need something quick and yummy. Funnily enough I never ate it before moving to NZ. There are a lot of foods I never ate before moving here actually. There is such a range to choose from in Dunedin, particularly Asian foods, my taste buds have become a lot more adventurous!