Celebrating 10yrs on the air is our very own homegrown soap [Shortland Street] which is centered around the comings and goings of the staff at Shortland Street hospital (fictional) in Auckland. It screens Monday - Friday on [TV2] and is reportedly watched by around 700,000 New Zealanders each night. Check out the [Stars] or swing by [Shortland Street] to see some video previews. Paul Reid (who plays Marshall Heywood) is also the lead singer in [Rubicon] you can check out their video Bruce at [nzmusic.com]


In just about any kitchen in NZ you're bound to find a wonderfully worn, well thumbed, much floured copy of the [Edmonds Sure to Rise Cookbook] no kiwi home is complete without and while Edmonds has changed hands (Bluebird Foods) you'll find that many a Mum hands her son/daughter as they walk out the door to venture into flatting life. It's a wee bit hard to track down a copy for purchase online but [newzealandbooks.co.nz] has it available at the moment for NZ$19.95. If you're in NZ and doing you're shopping online (what a time saver!) then you can also grab a copy from [woolworths.co.nz]


which leads me onto Food...
Funnily enough this is one of the top 5 questions that I'm asked... "What kind of food do you eat?" now I hate to burst any bubbles here but it really is plain ole kiwi tucker.. bangers and mash, lamb, the great kiwi pav (pavlova. I can hear the cries of the Australians as I write) and no pantry in NZ would be caught dead without the typical Kiwiana range...


The great Kiwi BBQ just wouldn't be complete without Watties Tomato Sauce (which every child in NZ must have been raised on) and Watties Beetroot slices. Now tomato sauce isn't limited to the BBQ.. what child hasn't trotted off to school armed with a sandwich plastered in just Tomato Sauce and what mother hasn't made the statement "... and would you like a sausage with your sauce dear?" Ahh Watties... where would we be without you...



The Kiwi pantry holds a wide variety of Kiwiana... a fair chunk of which is produced by the Sanitarium Health Food Company NZ, part of their "kiwiana" range is Sanitarium Weet-bix® ("Kiwi Kids are Weet-bix Kids" as the song goes), Sanitarium Marmite® and Sanitarium Ricies®. Sanitarium also has the annual event the Weet-bix Kiwi Kids Tryathlon (not a spelling error "Try" being "give it a try") which is becoming an institution in it's own right with thousands of Kiwi Kids between the ages of 8 and 15yrs taking part each year.

Speaking of Marmite®.. what is it? Basically its a yeast spread that looks like road tar, doesn't smell that great but tastes good. Many put it (sparingly!) on Weet-bix® with a banana... stomach churning to read but tastes mighty fine! Marmite® shouldn't be confused with Vegemite which is Australian ("Made in Australia by Australians, for Australians.." ) but we kiwi's have sorta flogged it as being our own.. but it's not.. it's something we "share" with our neighbours ;-)

Another product that is hotly debated with those across the ditch is "pav" (Pavlova).. is it Kiwi or is it Aussie? Well in the big picture of life it doesn't really bother me who had it first so long as it tastes good ;-) Now a pav is quite a marvelous creation, very similar to a huge meringue with a divine marshmallowcenter... heaven that melts in your mouth. I have fond memories of my mum's pav which I think originates from the [Edmonds Sure to Rise Cookbook], the recipe can be found at [International Recipes Online - New Zealand Pavlova] with International Recipes giving [credit to the Aussies] for it's origins... for the Kiwi version of it's origins check out [Cowells Genuine Pavlova - The Beginnings] speaking of, if you're mother isn't up to baking a pav and letting you have the beaters then a [Cowells Genuine Pavlova] is the next best thing.. and they export!

Keeping with the sweet tooth...
I wonder how many [Griffins] Gingernuts have been dunked in tea cups over the years? Quite a few I would imagine! From my perspective nothing beats the quick dunkin' of a gingernut although mine gets a good soaking in coffee ;-) Also worthy of a mention is the [Cadbury] Chocolate Fish which now days comes in a wrapper... but in the good old days the shop keeper would jam it in a white paper bag that was always to small so the tail poked out the top. Many a debt has been paid in chocolate fish... something I still do today and it's a tradition I hope my children will take up too :-) Tip Top's Hokey Pokey is definitely Kiwiana not sure what it's called elsewhere but for a quick run down on a Hokey Pokey recipe check out [Rainforestwebs.com - recipes -hokey pokey] there is also an alternative recipe for the [great "kiwi" pav] too. One of the main ingredients in Hokey Pokey is [Golden Syrup] which is manufactured by [chelsea.co.nz].. from ex-pat Kiwi's I believe [Golden Syrup] is a little hard to locate overseas which is a great shame as many a Kiwi recipe calls for it.. including another "shared" recipe the [ANZAC Biscuit]. For x-pat Kiwis the one stop place to shop online has to be [lonelykiwi.co.nz] as they ship around the world!

Slang...
Does our slang/lingo fit into kiwiana? not sure but here's a some of the words that often trip me up as I have to go back and "translate" what I mean

Ankle Biter - small child
Aussie - Australian
Across the Ditch - Australia
Banger - sausage
Bach - small holiday home
Biscuit - cookie
Bob's your Uncle - tada! no more, no less. Just like that. Simple as.
Bonnet - car hood
Boot - car trunk
Bugger - Damn! (the Toyota ad de-cussed this word)
Bugger all - not a lot
Buggered - exhausted, wasted, knacker and the like
Bush - forest
Carked it - died
Chemist - Pharmacy
Chips - French fries
Chippy - carpenter
Chook- chicken
College - high school
Corker - Great
Dairy -mini supermarket/convenience store
Ding - minor disaster.. usually a involving a car
Gander - take a look
Godzone - New Zealand
Flog – steal
Hard yakka - hard work
Hottie -hot water bottle
JAFA - (acronym) Just Another F****** Aucklander
Jelly – jello
Kneeknocker - small child
Milo - hot chocolate drink
Motorway - freeway
O.E. - (acronym) Overseas Experience. Usually refered to as The Big OE
Oz – Australia
Pushing up daisies - dead/buried
Rice bubbles - rice crispies
Rubbish -trash/garbage
Scone - a small cake of shortened bread raised with baking powder or soda
Sticking plaster - band-aid
Sucked the kumera - died
Togs - swimsuit
Wopwops – out rural

The best place for translating kiwi "slang" is [chemistry.co.nz/kiwi.htm]