A few of our favourite things...

Miriam: A couple of years ago, Becs gave me this lemon/lime squeezer as a birthday present. You place half the citrus, cut side down in the squeezer, then squeeze. The citrus is turned inside out, thus extracting every last bit of juice. There are wee slits in the bottom that don't allow any pips to creep through - genius!

Libby: Free rosemary! There's no need to grow your own rosemary in Wellington as it grows like a weed all over the place. It's particularly abundant just down the hill in Thorndon where I know of several spots I can pick a sprig or two from when I need it. This sprig was finely chopped along with a clove of garlic and lemon zest and sprinkled over a wintery beef and vegetable casserole. Yum!

Becs: At home we have a 'chocolate drawer' that is always full of packaged sweet treats, as well as chocolate for baking. You would think this drawer would be a constant temptation, however for some reason most of the time this doesn't seem to be the case, and often things remain in it for months or even years. However one recent addition to the chocolate drawer that I find impossible to resist is Whittakers Ghana Peppermint. I have always loved Whittaker's plain Ghana block for baking with, but this deliciously dark chocolate with the addition of a flowing peppermint centre it is seriously good. It is impossible to stop at one piece...