traveling cuisine

I found, while traveling through New Zealand and Australia that, while their foods are quite similar to what we eat in North America, there are a few differences in cuisine. Lamb is a popular source of meat protein. Mexican meals are hard to come by. Vegemite is often an option with toast. I found a few things that I like a lot: kiwi chocolate, ginger beer, the marshmallows down south (pictured with my mocha in the blog-header above), and pavlova.

One unexpected treat I found along the way was in a small town restaurant, in Australia's tropical fruit region, where Storey and I stopped for a late breakfast one morning. After waiting a few minutes for them to open, we walked through a stubborn screen door into the one-room establishment and found they had grilled pineapple and avocado sandwich with mozzarella cheese. I'm a huge fan of grilled cheese and tomato and I love avocado sandwiches, but had never thought to put pineapple on my sandwich (except in the case of the Bonzai Burger at Red Robin). I tried it and like my tasty little meal, so I made one yesterday for myself. If you're in the mood to try something fresh and a bit different, I'd highly recommend this healthy sandwich!

If you're wondering how to easily cut an avocado, Storey gave me a quick lesson in serving it up with next-to-no mess. First, cut the avocado in half from top to bottom, around the pit. Then make vertical slices in each half of the avocado about 1/4 inch apart down to the peel. Then gently squeeze the outside of the peel until the slices slide out. Voila!