Quirky Salads, Festival Fever & more - Julie Biuso

Quirky Salads, Festival Fever & more I love heading into the kitchen with a bunch of fresh food and seeing what ideas spring to mind. Smoked fish and nectarines? Yeah, of course, it's kind of Greekish. I had some Waiheke-grown edible flowers to hand, heaps of herbs and salad leaves, the first of the baby Hawke's Bay nectarines, and whammo! An interesting salad. Nectarine & Smoked Fish Salad Cauliflower is never boring in my house. I treat it like a blank canvass and add all manner of things. This version is quite tame compared to some of the creations I have made! Tasty nonetheless. It's got a bit of a sweet-sour thing going on. Green Cauliflower Salad And fennel, delicious fennel. This is sooooo good, simply sliced and steamed in extra virgin olive oil and wine or verjuice, then left to sizzle a few minutes until it takes on a shiny glaze. Chuck in a handful of Sicilian green olives and you've got a power-packed dish perfect to serve with fish, chicken or pork, or as a star of a vegetable line-up. I can't resist a handful of parmesan on top. Fennel with Sicilian Green Olives If you are desperate to get yourself new knives – you know, ones that actually cut and that are easy to stay sharp – look no further than here. FURI KNIVES These are FANTASTIC knives which I have been using for 15 years and I highly recommend them. You'll be astonished at the price! They're affordable and make a great Christmas present, too. As does my book Julie Biuso At Home. Got a foodie friend? Perfect pressie! Well, got to plug myself if nothing else! This Saturday I'll be at Rangihoua Olive Estate taking part in the Te Matuku Oyster Festival. These oysters are sensational, and are well worth a short ferry ride to try. Great music too, and other foodie treats available (I'll have knives and books there to check out.) The following week is the renowned Waiheke Island Garden Safari. It's a charity event so you can feel good about sticky-beaking around some of the island's most coveted gardens and homes. I'll be back at Rangihoua for the Massive Plant Sale, with a market stall with preserves and cakes and bits and bobs. You'll also notice that I have put up new dates for cooking classes during December (November is festival time – I'm also appearing at Taste of NZ Festival 17th-20th, so no classes during this month). HEY! Why don't you come on over to Waiheke Island and see what all the noise is about! Love to see you!