I can't think of anything. Do any of you have a food that you think is a quintessential kiwi thing? I have my trusty Edmunds Cookery book, but cant think of anything worthy of an international snack day at my kids' school.

if you have the Edmonds book you have all that you need

What about ANZAC biscuits? Or Afghans? Maybe Pavlova with kiwifruit is a bit extreme for a kids school thing, but you can make mini ones. Or there are always Lamingtons, Or Hokey Pokey biscuits, or sausage rolls and tomato sauce (kiwi-style with more sausage than pastry). I dont think kids get into things like mussels and oysters, but what about home-made fish and chips (with a choice of Tartare and/or Tomato sauce) Pity we can't get Kumara here for Kumara chips or stuffed kumara, and mini paua fritters are just right out of the question! and OMG I would kill for a good hangi right now.

This site http://www.foodlovers.co.nz/ might have some ideas too.

And if anyone here knows where to find whitebait in the Netherlands, please post the location...

Whenever I think of kiwi food I just think of super fresh ingredients and simple flavours. Just-caught-Snapper on the BBQ with avocado oil and black pepper and a squeeze of lime, with fresh vege salad picked an hour ago followed by tree ripened fruit (oh I miss my Golden Queens!) drizzled with fresh cream... When it comes to kiwi cuisine I think anything grown and eaten there qualifies, it doesnt have to have a 500 year old tradition to be a real kiwi dish We can make whatever the hell we like and call it kiwi!

oh, and mini muffins are always popular with kids - most people here dont know the savoury variety, Alison Holst did some awesome recipes for those if you can find any: here a link to one - Zucchini and Parmesan muffins http://www.radionz.co.nz/popular/recipes/n...rmesan_muffins2

oh and here you go:
Recipe: Champion Cheese Muffins (Alison Holst)

Put 2 cups (200g) grated tasty cheese, 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour*, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp sugar and a pinch of cayenne pepper into a large bowl. Mix lightly with your fingers to combine.

In a small container beat 1 egg and 1 cup milk until evenly combined. Pour all the liquid onto the dry ingredients, then fold the two mixtures together, taking care not to overmix.

Spoon the mixture into 12 medium muffin pans, which have been buttered or sprayed with non-stick spray.

Optional toppings: Sprinkle with a little extra cheese and paprika or chilli powder.

Bake at 210 degrees celcius for about 12 minutes, until the muffins spring back when pressed in the middle and are golden brown.

*If you don't have self-raising flour, you can just use ordinary flour and 1 1/2 tsp baking powde

oh clickit, you are such a star. Hokey pokey biscuits might be the one. There is a new zealand teacher at school who will have a giggle.
Know what you mean about the sausage rolls. I have found a 'kumara like' object at the grocer, is same shape and outside colouring but not as rich in flavour. A good second! Makes a good pumpkin and kumara winter soup.
The food I miss the most is pearl sweet corn. I buy loads of it when we return every year, so fresh, juicy and sweet. Not like the cow fodder they have here. I refuse to eat any corn at all!

the corn you get here is only made worse by them ripping off most of the husk and whacking off the end to fit it into their plastic wrap trays in an attempt to make it last longer on the shelves

The kumara like thing you found is a sweet potato - seems to me most like the golden kumara, but youre right, it misses the creamy texture and richer flavour of our kiwi kumara. And thank goodness they now sell pumpkin here, when I first arrived they were considered more decorative than edible and its only the last couple of years they have been regularly in the supermarket. I loooove pumpkin soup! And recently with Halloween the garden/flower shops have been selling a great range of little ones (for decoration) and have been buying them to eat! Stuffed pumpkin, yum! I stlll havent found a good (green skinned) squash, but I am hoping

now... I wonder how to make Hokey Pokey ice cream. That would be something eh!

you'll need to plan ahead to get cream of tarter to make the hokeypokey, it is so hard to get here. shopping is always so hit and miss. I now make a habit of when i see certain items in a store (toko, ah) I buy up all their stock (2 items) and stock pile. Anyone would think there is a war on.

yeah I discovered our local AH started selling Colmans mustard, so I bought a whole bunch hoping to encourage them to keep selling it. I also bought all their pre-rolled pastry (well the last three) - they had the large sheets not just the small pieces suitable only for appelflap. They still havent restocked and that was a couple of weeks ago already

You can get the cream of tarter in the tokos usually, or the more expensive expat shops (the british ones usually have it). I stocked up while in Italy last but like yo said, you definately have to plan these things well ahead, especially if youre not living in a town with a toko, like me...

these companies, albeit "groothandels" deal in whitebait, maybe you could either give them a call or drop by if you happen to be in the vicinity and ask which retailers they sell whitebait to.

AB Seafood B.V.

Klifweg 20
8321 EJ URK
Telephone: +31-527-687075
Assortment: Whitebait
Export to: Benelux

Dayseaday Fresh B.V. / Dayseaday Frozen B.V. Schulpengat 9
8321 WC URK
Telephone: +31-527-684684
Assortment: Whitebait
Export to: Benelux


Interseafish B.V.

Molenvlietsestraat 12 / P.O. Box 22
4690 AA THOLEN
Telephone: +31-166-604040
Assortment: Whitebait
Export to: Benelux

not sure if this is so NZ, but I always have it in NZ and it's dead easy.

Grilled Mussels

Steam the mussels until almost cooked, then remove the top empty shell so that the mussel is sitting in the bottom shell, lay them out on a oven tray, put a teaspoon of pasta sauce over each mussel, sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese, and grill for 5 mins.

Or roast lamb and mint sauce rolls, used to love them.