Let's do a little post about food shall we? We ate our way through New Zealand, that's for sure. Let me share with you a few of our eating adventures while in Golden Bay...
This is the breakfast hamper that our wonderful hosts, Gordon and Bess, brought to us everyday for breakfast. You got to choose whether you wanted the "English" or the "Continental" breakfast. Blane went with the English because he likes himself a good 'ole American breakfast, and the English came with two eggs, veggies, fresh bread and thick cut bacon. Everything was locally made or home grown. I always went with the Continental because I'm more inclined to the yogurt, muesli (granola) and fresh fruit that it came with, not to mention that the yogurt was homemade. Mmmm :)
Here's a look at our breakfast spread. Each morning Blane would scramble his farm eggs, slice his tomatoes and fry up that bacon. On the left in those cute jars are the homemade yogurt and muesli. Heaven in a bowl people, trust me. The meal also came with fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh bread, both of which Blane couldn't get enough of :). I opted for the espresso press for my daily dose of caffeine instead. I can smell it now...
Oh yea-and a look at our morning view too ;)
After we had braved the winds and rain of Farewell Spit and visited the clear waters of Pupu Springs, Blane and I went into Takaka again to do some local grocery shopping. I think one of the most interesting things to do in another country is to go to the grocery store. There's so much to see and try in there!
We bought fresh veggies, homemade bread, meat and some yummy local olive oil so that we could prepare our own dinner at "home" this night. We had lemon grilled chicken (with sauteed mushrooms for me!), roasted potatoes and carrots, salad and bruschetta. It was nice to eat in after eating out so much and it was fun to cook together and just enjoy the sunset from our front porch ocean view too :).
Oh the life!
My hubby enjoys helping out in the kitchen. In fact, he made the main dish this evening! I was regulated to chopping and washing veggies and cutting bread. He did a great job!
Our little cottage had placemats and cloth napkins so I set the table (because who doesn't like eating at a nicely set table?!?). It also came equipped with real plates, bowls, silverware and glasses-no paper plates here! It was a simple, elegant dinner and we really enjoyed it.
Just a few more pics of some of the other food that we had while we were in Golden Bay...
This was my lemon pesto salmon fettucini and it was melt-in-your-mouth good. We found a place in Takaka one afternoon that was humming with locals so we decided that it must be good and we went in to check it out. The owner is big on natural, local, organic food that doesn't sacrifice on taste, quality or richness. Case in point was my fettucini-they make the noodles by hand every day! It looks rich, but it was light and the flavor was fantastic.
This was my favorite meal during out four days in G. Bay. I never order lasagnas and stuff like that, but somehow it appealed to me while we were dining at our host-recommended Mussel Inn. It was an eclectic place that looked like a cross between a barn and an old saloon from the Western days. They hand make everything on the menu, including their specialty drinks (Blane tried the cranberry iced tea) and beers. But back to my vegetable lasagna. I mean, just look at it. It was hearty and not too cheesy and chock-full of yummy veggies...so satisfying! And the salad and baked potato sides were delish too. I cleaned this entire plate! I can just taste it now...Mmmm...:D
This was what Blane had that same night. He also really enjoyed his meal, and he finished his entire steak and his plate (minus the sour cream part of the potato that he gave to me :) If you're ever in Golden Bay, we highly recommend Mussel Inn! Don't be fooled by it's haphazard exterior! Haha
And finally, this pic. I love that my husband has a soft heart...we were driving and we saw these two girls selling homemade lemonade on the side of the road. So we made a u-turn and went to buy a cup. They were really animated at cars speeding by but once we pulled up, they got really shy. Awww :). Blane bought a cup from these two and we chatted and took this photo. Fortunately he didn't drink anything out of his cup because I noticed that there was a humongous dead fly floating around in the little girl's jug (the one in her hands) where she had just poured Blane some juice from! Hahahahaha. So although the juice smelled "amazing", according to Blane, he nor I tasted any of it. Bless these young girls and their business-adventure hearts!
But we didn't just gorge ourselves on food the entire time we were in the Bay. In fact, one of the main reasons that we came to Golden Bay was because of the Abel Tasman National Park in the area. It's the smallest of New Zealand's national parks, but it's also the most visited too. We had read plenty on its beauty so we were excited to venture out and explore it a bit ourselves.
Next up: We conquer Abel Tasman!
Still craving that lasagna...
Aim
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