Things I love to Cook/Bake...
I love to cook, but I really love to bake.  I think this comes from a very young age about 8 years old I think, when my mother
(a school teacher) use to teach us and then leave us (my sister Leanne and I) to do all our baking on a Sunday afternoon ready for our weeks school lunches.  We would make marshmallow slices, rice bubble cakes, pikelets and the list just goes on.  I remember she use to always say "once it's gone it's gone that's your lunches for the week" as Leanne and I would sneak slices of our own baking. 

I don't know about you but I can really taste the difference between homemade and bought.  Bought baking tastes so processed (a little like cardboard and tasteless) and it is full of unnecessary chemicals, colourings and preservatives.  I think when you cook or bake for family and friends you do it for love, otherwise you'd take the easy option and just buy it - so
cooking for me is an act of love, and actually my baking recipes are yum and really easy. 

One of my favourite pass times is cooking what is in season and fresh, either by growing it myself, getting it at bargain prices from stalls on the side of the road or gratefully gaining it from family and friends.  Even if I'm too busy I'll often freeze produce and pull them out at a later time to cook or bake with.

In Spring in the Bay of Plenty the following are in season, so make the most of in season fruit and vegetables:

FRUIT
Apples
Avocados
Bananas
Cape gooseberries
Coconuts
Dates
Grapefruit
Guavas
Lemons
Nectarines
Oranges
Pawpaws or papaya
Pears
Pineapples
Strawberries  

VEGETABLES
Artichokes
Asparagus
Aubergines or Eggplants
Baby marrows
Beetroot
Brussels sprouts
Spinach
Corn on the cob
Parsnips
Red onions
Rhubarb
Turnips
Watercress

In November look out for:
Apricots
Blackberries
Cherries
Plums
Prunes
Raspberries
Watermelon