The clocks have now gone back an hour and we have to finally admit that autumn is here. French classes have almost finished for the term, and I have signed up for another 10 weeks after the autumn break. Tickets were booked for forthcoming dance and comedy events, and a friend and I attended an interesting discussion panel on the role of the critic in the world of dance at the New Zealand School of Dance. And I found new ways of cooking veggies from our delivery box, so a pretty decent week all round.
I had a medical appointment on Wednesday, and before hand went for a walk in town, including down Egmont Street. It was good to get out and about and clear my head too.
In the basket…
In our delivery this week, was a massive kumara, onions, carrots, tomatoes, another leek, courgettes, a bunch of choy sum and (not shown) a bag of Brussels sprouts. I also picked up this gorgeous bunch of cavolo nero (used with leek and spicy sausages in a pasta dish on Sunday), several apples, a small bunch of purple sprouting broccoli and some more blueberries which we enjoyed for dessert after the pasta with some Duck Island ice cream.
There was only one sandwich this week…a very good one too from the cafe in the library…
But we did have dinner out…
On Saturday we headed over to Chaat Street for dinner. This was our third time there, and would highly recommend it if you should be in Wellington. The food is always full of really fresh flavours, and the owner, Vaibhav Vishen, is usually there to recommend dishes. We ate dahi puri (first picture below, very tasty), one of the specials of the day a fish moilee (with mushrooms and oh so delicious), Kashmiri kanti (a very delicious lamb dish) and chicken tikka. The middle picture is the fish, the bottom one shows the bread and lamb in the background, and I forgot to take one of the chicken.
Simple things
- Smiling at this wonderful description of the joy of cooking from Scribble and Scran.
- Finding time to read
- Enjoying autumn sunshine
- Appreciating the extra hour on Sunday.
- Realising there is a lot to look forward to in the diary.
- Getting to the garden centre and picking up some replacement herbs and miniature daffodil bulbs, as well as some potting compost and new gardening gloves.
What were your small pleasures this week? Here are some other blog posts from a few fellow bloggers looking at the good things in life. Also entered in the weekend coffee share hosted by Natalie.
- Green Dreams serves some delicious looking pie and tells us how to make some easy fertiliser.
- Boondock Ramblings shares her weekly Sunday bookends and goes to a book sale.
- There are some feisty birds and choral evensong over at Tootlepedal’s Blog.
- Anne of Something Over Tea meets a lonely farmer.
- Deb of Deb’s World shares an extra chocolatey treat.
- Sue over at Women Living Well After 50 reminds us to unlock life’s potential (a great series Sue!).
- Donna of Retirement Reflections has a meatless March.
- Some gorgeous food over at And Anyways….. don’t read if you are hungry!
- Lisa of Southern Patches writes about a Dogwood winter.
- And Natalie shares more postcards from Italy.
- .…and all the other lovely bloggers out there. Sorry if I have missed anyone…..
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.com
Thistles and Kiwis 
It feels good to be at home after our time away and to connect with peaceful posts such as this one!
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Thank you Anne!
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In Maine, autumn, or fall as we call it here, is my favorite season. Hope autumn brings many joys to you.
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Thank you Laurie. We don’t get the same amount of beautiful colours you do but it is a time to be cosy.
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I like the vegetables you have in your basket, on our visits to New Zealand the food is always fresh and delicious, just as it looks in your post. ..including the Chaat Street dishes..
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I think we are very lucky and people don’t always appreciate it.
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My small pleasure was definitely the choral evensong. Your apples look delicious.
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As I mentioned before, I love the choral evensong service.
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Thank you so much for including a link to my substack, that’s very kind and so pleased it brought a smile.
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It sounds like a nice week. If I am ever in your area I will definitely try Chaat Street. Thank you for sharing my post.
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I enjoyed this post as I learned a few unfamiliar terms for some of my favorite vegetables such as Sweet Potatoes are called Kumara, and Dragon Kale is called Cavolo Nero. The rest of the meals look divine. Thanks for sharing!
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I enjoy reading about your weather & seasons since we are opposites & in my 2 favorite seasons, spring & fall. The 1st picture of food is interesting, I’ve never seen anything like it before.
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The first food picture was of puri – little pastry shells filled with good things. And thanks for your comment too – yes we are always the opposite in terms of seasons down here!
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I love the look of Egmont Street. It just has this feeling that makes me want to stroll down the street carrying a coffee. As always, your food pictures look tasty.
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There is an amazing candle shop on that street – actually a factory shop – and a good restaurant but it is a nice street to wander down.
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I’d love to eat at Chaat Street if I got to visit Wellington. Your veggie box and items from the garden centre all look so good. Thank you for the mention and for your weekend coffee share.
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Sounds like you’ve had a good week. I did visit Wellington off a cruise ship just for the day. All I remember is that we did a long walk and it was so windy we could hardly stand. We did have a great coffee. Your veggie box looks great. I spent quite a bit of time, and money, at the garden centre this weekend.
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Would you say that you are happy with your summer? And that autumn is welcome in your world? I really love how you highlight the small pleasures every week. I always look forward to reading about them. Thank you!
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The summer was good and seemed to last a decent amount of time. Autumn is a bit different here as things stay green…only a few trees change colour. Thanks for stopping by and reading my posts!
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That kind of autumn sound wonderful, similar to what I experienced in California.
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