A HodgePodge of Things

Kia Ora! This post is just a hodge podge of pictures and everyday things that happened in the next few weeks (end of July) of our lives here in New Zealand. Enjoy!

Brad and I went to Texas Pete's for our date night. Thought we'd give it a try. It was okay. I don't think we'll ever go back. I wish I had taken a picture of the dessert we shared. It was $15 and it came in a tiny aluminum foil pan - it was a biscoff caramel pie or some such thing. It was okay, but most places here give me a $15 dessert that at least comes on a real plate! One thing of note, they have A&W in cans, $5 per can. It's the only place we had seen A&W. May have to splurge for someone's birthday and share a can amongst the family!

We tried New Zealand's Pizza Hut pizza. And, honestly, it wasn't bad. And it's cheap, the cheapest way to feed our family "eating out" (though we picked it up and brought it hom). It was $122 and we had enough leftover for lunch the next day. For this order we stuck with more American flavors. Decided to try them out before venturing out a bit.

Just wanted to show you another glimpse into food prices. Now, I don't know what makes this bone broth so special, but you are reading that correctly - $45 for a 125 gram can (just over 4 ounces). Though it is a powder and it says it has 15 servings in it, so I suppose that isn't as bad as it first seems. But, still. It's a lot.

Here's a hot food item at the deli counter at a local grocery store. "American Hot Dog". I haven't tried one, maybe they're delicious. And $4 is a bit of a steal. Maybe some day we'll try one.

Ahhh, the gherkins of New Zealand. So, Autumn and I quite like pickles, at least we do back in America. We are struggling, however, trying to find pickles here that don't have added sugar. Not bread & butter pickles, just regular supposedly non sweet pickles that aren't made sweet. We bought these, but they were sweetened. They sell sweet pickles - like bread & butter - these aren't marketed as sweet (and are less sweet than those type of pickles). But, when I am looking for a crunchy, savory snack, I want a pickle with NO sugar at all. And definitely, when I'm making potato salad I don't want sugary pickles! I am happy to report that I have since found a pickle that is much closer to American pickles, enough so that we can use it in potato salad, but if you eat it on your own it's still just not quite right.

Our lease is up in December (with the option to renew monthly up to 3 times or something like that). I had thought that meant I wouldn't be able to have a garden, but I was wrong. With the warmer climate here I can have a winter garden! Yay!! And there just happened to be some vege boxes (what I have seen them called here, aka garden boxes). I planted broccoli, lettuce, spinach and spring (aka green) onions. There was already parsley planted (on the left of the picture) as well as mint (in the other box, where Ryan planted some herbs). I do love having a garden.

It didn't take me long to realize that I missed my Instant Pot. (I sold mine, knowing it wouldn't work here in NZ without a step down converter) I began looking on FB marketplace and Trade Me (a NZ online place to sell things). However, all the pressure cookers I found had non-stick interiors and I knew, I just knew, that I did not want a non-stick interior. It's not long before that non-stick coating starts flaking off and you can't use any metal utensil with it. (Sure enough, when I read reviews for pressure cookers with non-stick interiors nearly all had complaints of the coating flaking off within a few months). Well, I kept watching, waiting and hoping. And before long I found an Instant Pot with a stainless steel interior that looked like it was in awesome condition. The price was a bit higher than I had hoped to pay, I made a lower offer. They countered. I countered. They accepted and I made a quick 30 minute drive to Cambridge to pick up my Instant Pot! WooHoo! However, I am quite sad to report that they do not sell pinto beans here. Anywhere. Nowhere has them! And before the move I would make homemade refried beans pretty much weekly. So, while my IP doesn't get as much use as my old one in the states, it still gets used fairly often and I am glad I have it. Oh, and it was in awesome shape, I think they probably only used it once or twice, if that.

In this picture, on the left are lemons (from our very own lemon tree) and on the right are limes. Limes here in NZ are yellow. Not green. Let that be a lesson to you.

Okay, if/when you come visit us in New Zealand you really have to buy a package of Snacka Changi chips. They are the best. I mean, they taste as good as a good potato chip, but their packaging is hilarious. Not only the pictures, but the descriptions. I am going to do a whole post just for Snacka Changi chips. Here's a sneak peek for you.

All right, here we have Dark Chocolate Compound Chips. I didn't know when I bought them that they'd be like tiny little logs. I also didn't know they'd be like almond bark. Now, don't get me wrong. I love the white almond bark. Oh man, it is good stuff and makes good stuff. I do not like the chocolate flavored almond bark. And that's all this is, chopped up gross almond bark. I used it up in banana pancakes for my kids. But, lesson learned. If it's cheap, there's a reason. I am happy to report, however, that the white chocolate compound buttons are every bit as tasty as white almond bark.

And check out these two. Brotherly love. I love how close these two are. Though I know I will have my work cut out for me when James leaves for his mission. Daniel will most likely be one sad little boy.

With love from New Zealand,

Lyndsay