Book of Days Tales

The 3^rd Wednesday in April is Administrative Professionals Day (also known as Secretaries Day or Admins Day) in New Zealand.  The day recognizes the work of secretaries, administrative assistants, executive assistants, personal assistants, receptionists, client services representatives, and other administrative support professionals. Typically, administrative professionals are given cards, flowers, chocolates, and lunches.

Finding what counts as a New Zealand recipe is no easier than looking for authentic Aussie dishes. The two countries fight over who invented pavlova – a fruit and cream filled meringue shell, but I am not going to be the referee on that one. New Zealanders are often called Kiwis – because of the bird, not the fruit. The bird is indigenous, but the fruit is not. If you can find a kiwi to roast, be my guest. Otherwise there is the muttonbird, aka shearwater, which is commonly eaten by both Maori and descendants of colonists.

The problem with all dishes that are supposedly authentically from New Zealand is that they almost always contain large quantities of ingredients that are not indigenous. New Zealand lamb is, however, ubiquitous these days. Here in Cambodia when I want to cook lamb (for Easter, for example) it’s always imported from New Zealand.

If you know the film Meet Joe Black, you will know about lamb sandwiches. I make them whenever I have a whole roast lamb dinner with plenty of leftovers. Toast the bread and slice the cold lamb as thin as you can. I spread a small amount of garlic butter on the toast for added flavor.