Our Food

10 things to know about growing walnuts
The fabulous walnut is a tasty treat for the home orchard owner, or a potential future crop with New Zealand’s climate meaning we can produce high quality nuts.

Grow your own ginkgo tea
This tree species survived the annihilation of dinosaurs and is still a garden favourite and makes a good cuppa too.

The 100 mile diet
In 2005, a city-living couple from Canada decided to try eating only food grown locally within a 100 mile radius of their home.

Grow a giant pumpkin
If you've ever wondered how people win pumpkin-growing competitions, get ready for some seriously strange gardening.

Recipe: Chocolate Stout Cake
Kristina Jenson brews up some great beer-based recipes, including a fabulously decadent chocolate cake.

Three amazing parsnip recipes
Don't overlook this gourmet low calorie vegetable. Jenny Somervell shares three tasty parsnip recipes.

Using herbs to aid stress
When she began she thought $100 was a good day's takings, now Brownwyn Lowe is helping hundreds of people cure the symptoms of stress.

Turn this peel into a cake
Don't throw away your banana peels, they are the secret ingredient in this cake.

Chilli facts for the chilly weather
What happens to your body when you eat chilli and how do you put out a chilli fire in your mouth? Jenny Somervell answers these burning questions.

Auckland edible flower business blooming
A South Auckland grower shares the secrets of her edible garden.

The perfect cup of tea
New Zealand has a good climate for growing tea. Here's our guide to making the perfect cuppa from garden to table.

Spiced Apple Cake (GF)
Pantry adventurer Duncan White shares this gluten-free alternative to this afternoon tea classic.

9 tips for growing beetroot plus 3 easy beetroot recipes
Easy to grow and delicious, beetroot are a versatile vegetable in the kitchen.

Maori macadamia industry tough to crack
Vanessa Hayes, aka the Nut Lady, is on a mission to establish a nut industry for Maori on the East Coast.

Kate's Favourite Norfolk Fruit Chutney
NZ Life & Leisure editor Kate Coughlan has been making this delicious chutney for more than 30 years.

Recipe: Roasted Carrot Salad with Goat's Cheese Cream
This recipe from Little Poms is made with a kaleidoscope of vegetables from Cultivate Christchurch’s gardens.