LittleKiwiChook

about me

I love cooking but I don't like doing the dishes afterwards (that's why I have a boyfriend - he even kills spiders as well - what more could I ask for!).

I really like Recipezaar as it has been a good place to find new ideas & experiment. The site has motivated me to actively find different recipes to cook instead of relying on old favourites. With a boyfriend who eats anything it's been great - I can cook away to my heart's content & know it will get eaten.

I also love wine & have a cupboard with some nice wines in it. The challenge is wading through the recipes on here to try and find things to match.

(By the way the photo is of the Bamberg Reiter, which is located in one of the churches in Bamberg, Germany - a World Heritage Site & probably one of the most beautiful man-made places I we visited in Europe - outside of Brugge in Belgium).

My Rating System

Please find an explanation of my rating system. I don't think 4 stars is harsh, but want to explain because I know that others may not understand where I am coming from. It's all a matter of taste & preferences anyway. I'm not a fussy eater either - having tried mountain oysters, bulls brain pate & other nasty things I think I'm pretty open minded!

5 stars - exceptional, wished I had thought of it myself. Is a definite keeper.

4 stars - loved it lots, but missing just that superstar moment that would shoot it to a 5. Would make this again without hesitation & has gone straight into my recipe book/s.

3 stars - it was OK. Probably wouldn't make it again, at least not without a few alterations here and there.

2 stars - didn't really like it much. Would not make again without major alterations.

1 star - didn't like it at all and won't be making it again.

Favorite Foods:

Real Belgium & Italian food. The Italians cook lovely simple food relying on fresh ingredients (even the takeaway pizza is something else), and the Belgians have a definite French influence on their food (with a bit of beer thrown in) but served in hearty Flemish portions - yum!

The beer in Belgium is fantastic as well (it should be one of the major food groups) - one of my best memories is of standing in The Grand Place/Grote Markt in Brussels sipping on a beer on a balmy summer night at a beer festival (very sedate & mature festival as well - no vomiting, idiots etc) for 2 Euro 50 with the locals.

I also have a weakness for good cheese, NZ cheesemaking has grown in leaps and bounds, I absolutely love going to the local cheesemongers and trying the new local cheeses they have.

I'm also going through a curry phase & completed an Indian cooking course recently, which really broadened my horizons.

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