New Zealand cheese

I would like to compose an ode to New Zealand bulk cheese. Unfortunately I don't think I could do it justice. It looks and tastes a little like the Tillamook aged white cheddar in the black label packages. Maybe not quite as aged, but definitely with more of a kick than your ordinary US cheddar.

At first Mark didn't like it. He thought it was too strong. He was kind of upset that I'd gone to Ah Liki wholesalers and bought a 2 kg package (about 4.4 lbs) for 51 tala. It didn't take long for him to become a believer, though. This is the 3rd block of cheese that we've bought since we've been here! I was sad to find out that they've raised the price to 62 tala. Oh well, we still felt like it was a bargain. We use it all the time here.














One of our favorite uses is in Eggplant Parmesan. The name is a little deceptive. There is not even a shaving of parmesan in my creation.

The eggplant here are cheap. A bag of a dozen beautiful, fresh, medium-sized eggplant is usually 6 tala (or less than 3 dollars). You can also buy huge bags of the small Japanese-type eggplant for the same price. My favorite is a bag mixed with both varieties. As with everything in Samoa, it's pot luck which is available.

I really liked this eggplant. It kind of reminded me of an eggplant Mr. Potato head.




To make my eggplant casserole I peel and slice about 6 medium eggplant in thin rounds and then fry them in a little EVOO until they are soft. Then I do two layers of eggplant, shredded cheese, cottage cheese, and spaghetti sauce. Farmer Joe's carries cans of Hunt's tomato sauce so that's what I use. I bake this in a 170 degree Celsius oven (about 350 degree Fahrenheit) for about 30 to 45 minutes, or until it is bubbly and bakes down just a bit.

Simple but declicious - one of our favorite meals here.










Chicken Enchiladas
Another favorite cheese dish we like to make is chicken enchiladas. We don't buy much meat here. A chicken breast now and again is all we buy. Most of the stores that have a small meat department here have a stench that makes me sick. It kind of smells like an antiseptic wash sprayed on rotting meat. Farmer Joe's in Vaitele is the only store that I can even stand to walk into their meat department. It still has a bit of that smell. After I cook the chicken I can sometimes even taste it. Mark says it's just my imagination. Maybe. I do have a strong imagination.

We can sometimes find flour tortillas here. When we do they are quite expensive, but we buy them anyway. The mushroom soup here is not creamy like the Campbell's variety. It is more brownish and quite mushroomy and delicious.

We mix salsa, sour cream, sliced olives, cream of mushroom soup, a large can of mushrooms with chopped, cooked chicken. We place some on a tortilla with a handful of shredded cheese and roll it up. We top this with enchilada sauce, a few handfuls shredded cheese and bake at 170 degrees C for about 30 minutes.