Category Archives: Seen and Done

Seen and heard at the Stadium Markets (Every Sunday)

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The quail eggs are selling well and many interested people visit my stall. The reactions of visitors never cease to amuse, and in some cases astound me! Going to the markets is really a fun pastime for anyone who has something to sell.  Every Sunday I have people pointing at the eggs or quails asking: ” I have never seen quail before!”, ‘”what are those ? ”  , ” can you eat the eggs?” , “can you eat the birds?”, ” ooh, lovely”, ” yuck!” , ” how can you eat such cute little things you heartless brute!”, ” I remember eating quail.. very yummy!”, ” I never thought I would be able to buy quail eggs and quails in Dunedin!”, and on and on.  Many people have shown real interest in quail keeping and some have purchased not only quail but also cages and food from me.  I hope they get as much enjoyment from their birds as I get from mine.

Today I ‘travelled’ to the East and to Spain and Italy! While there is a lot of local products there are imported items too, some new stalls and others that have been around for some time.

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The colourful items of Ali Rashidinejad bring something very unusual to the markets. His bags and shoes are made from Persian carpets and are imported. I love colour and eastern carpets and am very tempted by his bags. Ali has been a regular stall holder for some time, is busy with a PhD in food science, working on specialised cheeses. He is a very pleasant character to talk to,  his items are very fairly priced.  Nothing beats personal service so why shop anywhere else for gifts than at the markets on Sunday!

 

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Spain and Italy comes to the markets! Licorice from these countries are of the best quality and are irresistible.  It was the second time at the Sunday markets for these girls and we hope that they will have enough support from the public to make it worth their while to come again.

Lots more to talk about next week !

Seen and Heard at the Dunedin Stadium Markets (Every Sunday)

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It was a very quiet day for the stall holders at the markets on Sunday. The weather kept Dunedinites indoors and many vendors were unhappy by the end of the day.  Most of the people who were  around had attended the rugby match the evening before and came in for a quick feed before leaving for home and the food vendors did brisk business for a while.

I took along my new pet quail house that is for sale with one quail inside who embarrassed me by behaving like the juvenile delinquent he is. Promoting quails as pets and egg producers in small back yards is something I feel strongly about. Most urban gardeners have the vegetable part of their diet covered but need to add protein –  quails are ideal for this, producing an egg a day. I also took my usual quail eggs packaged by the dozen.  Should you need more information about quails and the Pet Quail House go to my blog, http://www.backyardfarmer.co.nz

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The fruit farmer had lovely large quinces as promised for a very good price, and he will be picking quinces for a few weeks from now on. He also brought fresh corn that he had picked the night before, sweet red plums. I could not resist and brought a lot of things home.

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Because it was quieter today I could wander around a bit and have a look at the local artists who work on site. Suzanne Emslie from SOFT CURVES sculpts her lovely stone figures at the markets every week. Have a look at her facebook page https://www.facebook.com/suzanne.emslie and her phone number is 027 739 6531

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Another interesting local artist is Tony Rowe with his colourful stencil art. Everything is priced at $10 so if you want to pick up a fun, original artwork as a gift or for yourself, this is a must see.

There are many more stalls to talk about next week!

Goatherd’s Lunch

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Today’s lunch is unusual because nothing was from my garden apart from the apples. In Italy the herders travel  light, climbing up the mountains with their animals carrying  a lunch of cheese, bread, fruit and wine in a bag. I did not travel on foot, but, on my way to get fresh milk I passed the farm of a friend who makes delicious cheese from the milk of her own goats and sheep and brought some home.  All organic of course, from happy sheep and goats, and she learnt her craft in Switzerland so I could not miss. I rushed home, started my ricotta and spread my treasures on the table along with my own bread and apples, and the neighbour’s pears. A true feast!

I took pictures of the stunning scenery on the way there – it was a bit misty but beautiful still – and only about 10 minutes from my house. Dunedin surprises me every day, it certainly is not only a small university city, it has many talented and gifted residents that revel the lifestyle that can only be had in this rather isolated beauty spot.

Seen and Heard at Stadium Markets (Every Sunday)

The markets were successful where the quail eggs were concerned, as I sold out fairly early.  The market for quails as pets with benefits (an egg a day from the hens) is growing and next week I shall have a small quail pet house, big enough for 4 females and one male complete with quails, sand bath, feeder and drinker for sale. The house can be moved from place to place and since the quails are effective pest destroyers (they love worms, grubs, slugs etc) you can keep your lawn or vegetable patch in a healthy condition without using pesticides by letting the Quails “free range” from time to time.

Of the fruit stalls the plums were really eye catching, I did not buy this week because I harvested apples and pears from my own trees this week, but last week’s greengage purchase was a big hit with the kids. The vendor says he will have quinces soon, perhaps by next week.  I am getting my recipes out – quince crumble is high on the agenda!

Food seems to always do well at the markets and the guy who sells pineapple burgers sold out of product before closing time, so he is worth investigating.

Lapis Lazuli

AZURLIS Skin Care : Cruelty free, 100 % natural, 100% vegan DUNEDIN MADE

Being an elderly guy, I am not that much into skin care, but organic stuff always interests me. I went over and had a chat with the  founder and director who was in the stall, and was very impressed with her philosophy regarding the product. The Azurlis® founder Dr Fernanda da Silva Tatley is a Dunedin based molecular medical microbiologist. Raised in Portugal she studied at the University of Cape Town completing a PhD in molecular medical microbiology.  To quote from the website : ‘We are mindful of what we use on our skin, as this is the largest organ of our body and a major contact surface with the environment. Thus, by encouraging environmentally friendly awareness and practices, we are contributing to the sustainability of our unique planet and our own wellbeing. We believe that this is best achieved through adherence to organic certification of food, farming and personal care products.”  Another Dunedin business worthy of support! (I got a free sample and expect to be quite lovely in a few days time ;-)).

Their contact details are in http:/www.azurlis.co, tel. 021 250 1457

Once again I had very little time to wander around but there are many more interesting things to talk about next week .

The Curse of the Cookbooks

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I had to photograph the result of a cooking discussion or, cooking bickering, if you must.

The great thing about being self sufficient and eating from the vegetable patch is the joy of harvesting something one grew oneself. It is organic and fresh even if, at time whatever is harvested is gnarled and puny it still tastes wonderful. The bad thing is that one is held hostage by the blackbird that eats all the seedlings the chickens overlooked when they were free ranging last time. The seasons and climate, especially here in Dunedin , dictate whether things grow or not and the person in control of the garden constantly suffers arched inquiries as to why in the world so much (or so little) of something was planted

Sometimes there is a glut of something and then the search for a great recipe, or, often many great recipes of one particular vegetable or fruit depending on the amount harvested. The frantic paging through the cookbooks begin, and since my 200 plus books are all about regional Italian cooking the search can not be narrowed down to, say, Indian or Chinese, and mutterings of  ‘ it was always in this book, where has it gone’ are commonplace. A lot of time is spent getting side tracked when I see something fondly remembered or something I always wanted to try. Once the recipe is selected sudden resistance from the household to the ingredients could flare up, prompting the beginning of a new search and the hauling out of more books!