2015-07-29: Faux Farmers

I quite like cooking. I am a lazy cook so I tend towards the peasant foods of more cuisines; the type of stuff where you do some quick prep work then let it cook for ages. Lots of famous chefs and whatever People that eat but do it better than the rest of do it call themselves at the moment love this kind of food because "the flavours blend and the essential nature of the ingredients come out". My opinion is this is bullshit; chefs love it because they rarely get to eat it, up themselves eating people simply regurgitate what the chefs say.

Not a huge Farmers Market, but close by!

I figure the reason chefs rarely get to eat it is simply because few people have the free time to do this type of cooking and those people are usually the mothers of the chefs. It is not exactly hard food to cook. Fortunately I am rich in time (as opposed to skill).

Sort of like what I think a Provence farmer Lady would look like if she visited Japan.

If we were proper followers of the Cool Food People path we would go to farmers markets to support local farmers and because the produce is better and blah blah blah. As it stands there is a farmers market across the road so let's pretend we went for those reasons and not out of laziness.

We were told to check the garden before buying stuff but I forgot.

Part of my lack of skill tends towards just buying a crap load of things and putting them all in a pot or a pan. So we bought most of the vegetables. Then I had to think of how to cook them. There are three recipes that I know; cook in liquid, fry or roast. Everything I make is just a bit of a variation of one of those.

They didn't have a wheelbarrow so we didn't buy everything

I figured we would go for roast.
In the opinion of Kiwis and Poles alike A Roast means meat is needed . Our host is Filipino, I think they like meat too. If not I will claim I am exposing him to different cuisines in a cross cultural exchange. The farmers market didn't have any meat. I guess they are not very cultural farmers.
Obtaining meat means transport is needed. In my Base Of Operations mode the other day I checked out options for bicycles locally. Renting one will cost more than buying one. They are not super cheap but I like bikes more than I like trains or Uber. Plus the boxing gym doesn't have a station nearby I don't think. I have rationalised this by asking our host if we can leave the bikes with him when we leave, that way when if return we have bikes. It's an investment in the future.

I am cunning and take photos of the serial numbers etc of things. Just a shame I am a sucky photographer. I can at least tell the policeman the tires were black with confidence.

With that agreement reached we now have to be model guests so that we are allowed to return. I will leave that aspect of the operation in Ewa's hands. I can be a model something but often it is not a something which encourages repeated exposure.

Found a tray that fits it all. Cooking by tray sizing is easier than cooking by portion sizing.

New Zealand lamb is graded as lamb based on the number of teeth the animal has. As far as I am aware the Australian sheep industry has been pushing for older animals still being classed as lamb (which I think would be moving into hogget by NZ terminology).

Girlfriend for scale. Leg is bigger than hers. Big Lamb I guess.

I believe this is why NZ legs of lamb are smaller than the Australian ones. I can only assume that the American rules for labelling something as Lamb are even further along this scale. I only had my backpack to carry it in and it didn't fit so I rode along with half a lamb leg hanging out the top.

This is only about half the lamb. I shall have to make something else with the leftovers... Maybe I am getting better at being a model guest.

And then we feasted. Filipinos do like meat and feasts. Successful Cultural Exchange!