eating like a local

i think i've mentioned janet before, the manager of the backpackers in russell where i've spent most of the last week. she's a fabulous host... has been feeding me little treats since i got here. when we left for the cape brett hike thursday morning, she had casually mentioned that friday was her birthday so there would be a bit of a barbeque friday night we might want to be back for. by friday afternoon, we had hiked enough to feel that familiar hiker hunger, and the barbeque invitation was suddenly VERY motivating.

but i should have known better than to believe this was going to be a mellow little gathering. lots of neighbors, some family drove up for the night... and they ushered janet into her 53rd year in quite a fashion. and invited us to share in the whole feast.

as promised, there were grilled burgers and chicken. we contributed a few steaks... and then there was the hangi. a maori tradition, usually cooked by digging a pit and lining it with heated rocks, this one was cooked in a substitute fashion that involved packing a modified keg instead of a hole in the ground. but it was SO good - potatoes, cabbage, kumera, pumpkin, pork - all slow cooked with lots of steam. lots of salads. and then dessert. ohmygod, i could have just eaten the dessert spread. two kinds of chocolate cakes, and two pavlova. pavlova. another local treat - some kind of creamy meringue sort of cake, topped with a kiwi fruit sauce. i'm salivating just remembering it.

and great craic. i was exhausted from the long day in the sun and hiking, but stayed up well into the night, drinking lion red and chatting with everyone. and feeling really lucky to be welcomed into their lives, if just for the evening... yup, this is how it happens that one could stop into russell for a couple days and find themselves there still a week later.