a few of our favourite things

Daisy...and her Mama, Granny et al...are loving this gorgeous wee merino hat knitted last week by her Great Aunty Marg. It is actually hat #2 for her, as she was given one exactly the same by a friend when she was a newborn, which she sadly outgrew. It will be perfect for keeping her snug (and oh-so cute!) during the cold Christchurch winter.

Becs: Last week I learned from a friend about a food shop in Christchurch that I had never been to. The next day I made a visit to Mefco, which sells lots of Middle Eastern foodstuffs. They have their own halal butchery, bake their own pita bread (the flat thin kind used in kebab shops) and make their own yoghurt, labneh (yoghurt cheese) and haloumi. For $30 I came away with a 10-pack of the pita, a pottle of labneh, a big bag of roasted chickpeas, Israeli couscous and black sesame seeds, and half a kilo of natural almonds.

Miriam: While in Hokitika last month, I purchased these handy wee toast tongs made by Marc Zuckerman of MZ Design. They have a magnet on one side, so attach to the toaster, and are great for retrieving stuck toast without fear of electrocuting yourself. They've been particularly handy during hot cross bun season, as toasted hot cross buns always seem to get stuck in the toaster.

Libby: A microplane zester grater is one of my most-used kitchen tools - perfect for grating Parmesan and chocolate, zesting citrus, and if I'm not careful, shaving the skin off my knuckles! This weekend I found a new use for the microplane: removing the burnt bottoms off peanut brownies! It shaves off just the right amount and leaves the biscuit intact (and the biscuit-eater none the wiser).