• Strawberry fields taking forever...
By now we'd normally expect to see local strawberries at the Otago Farmers Market, but the unusually cold spring weather this year has meant they are a week or two behind.
Heather Preedy of Ettrick Gardens says they won't be far - although they have not coloured, the birds are starting to eat them, which is a sure sign! Meanwhile, get your North Island strawberries from the supermarket.
I must remember to take a chilly bag and slicker pad to the market, so I can safely take home some of Gourmet Ice Cream's delicious products to go with them.
• ...sweet beetroot held up
Cold weather has also delayed the sweet new season's organic beetroot from Brydone Growers. When they appear in a few weeks they'll have fresh green leaves which you can cut off and use like silverbeet - two vegetables from one.
However, new potatoes from Kakanui are coming down in price, both at the market and even the supermarket. You'll find small boxes of little Jersey bennes, lisettas and desirees. Scrub them, cook with a sprig of mint and serve with a sliver of melted butter, sea salt and fresh parsley.
They are so delicious, I'm sure I'd eat a whole kilo if I could.
• Food website fascinating
Surfing the web can produce some fascinating results, as well as a lot of dross. One that had me reading many of its articles was http://nutritionwonderland.com. It's American but in today's global market, affects us as well.
It's particularly of interest to consumers concerned with where the food is coming from and how that food affects their health, and goes into the background, both scientific and political, behind many of the headlines and the spin of agribusiness and pharmaceutical companies.
• New pinot
Carrick in Central Otago recently launched the second release of Excelsior Pinot Noir 2006, at a long lunch designed by chef Janet Lyall to match Carrick wines.
One of the most fascinating combinations was the intense, minerally 2009 Sauvignon Blanc with almond-and-orange-crusted scallops on pea puree, fennel and tiny baby corn shoots.
Another unexpectedly harmonious pairing was the tense, limey, off-dry Josephine Riesling 2008 with a walnut, honey and thyme baklava with elderflower syrup and segments of blood orange.
The Excelsior 2006 hints of red berries with dried fruits in the background, and is tightly structured with a long finish. At $85, and with a painting by Grahame Sydney on the label, it is a suitable flagship for this leading winery - and it matched rare venison on Puy lentils with sour cherry sauce superbly.
Another new label from Carrick is Crown and Cross Pinot Noir, named after one of the old mines on the property. The crown was the reward for finding gold, and the cross the punishment for not, according to managing director and co-owner Steve Green.
Spicy with attractive fruit and firm oak, at about $35 it sits between the simple Carrick Unravelled (about $25) and the Carrick Pinot Noir (about $45). The Crown and Cross was just the thing to go with a strongly flavoured merino lamb terrine.
