New Zealand Spring Lamb - Thai Curry

I've eaten a couple of other of New Zealand Lamb's prepared lamb dishes, Lamb Korma and Moroccan Lamb, both of which I liked for a quick but not so fresh meal (I mean, it left me wanting to make my own freshly). I had seen this one before, a Thai curry, but avoided it, because I though to make my own. This is supposed to be a Massaman curry (with Green Curry mixed in), made in South Thailand by Muslims, a recipe I had heard of before, and one dish on a long list of dishes I would like to try in Thailand. Looking through the ingredient listing, I am pleased that the ingredients look to be fairly authentic, they use coconut milk, fish sauce, green curry paste, massaman paste, tamarind pulp, rice bran oil (something I'm getting in to) and kaffir lime leaves - all fairly traditional Thai ingredients. Lamb, though, is not really a traditional Thai ingredient, you'd only find it made by Muslims in the South. I would say that I enjoyed the flavour of this, equal in flavour to the Moroccan Lamb, but, again, it left me wanting to make my own.

I see now that their website has lots of lamb recipes, I think I'll check them out!

New Zealand Spring Lamb - Moroccan Lamb

Having tried the Lamb Korma version of their ready-made product, I next tried their Moroccan lamb (which flavours I've enjoyed before). There is a Thai Lamb Curry that I didn't purchase, as it's not a dish that is familiar to my beautiful Bride, she says that lamb is not that popular in Thailand. Again I put both portions onto jasmine rice, microwaved it, and enjoyed the smell and flavour of the dish, better than the Lamb Korma (though it and the other prompted me to try and find one I could make myself). I have not seen this product in Loblaws since I purchased it, maybe an indication of its appeal.

New Zealand Spring Lamb - Lamb Korma

New Zealand is well known for producing Spring Lamb, a meat I have enjoyed on many occasions, but this is the first time I've seen lamb in a ready-made not-frozen product. Inside the box is a special fresh-seal pouch which keeps the lamb from spoiling, there are no added preservatives (I would say fresh is still far better, but so far I had kept an open mind). Opening the pouch and sliding the contents on to some white jasmine rice reveals a not-so-bad looking still tasty looking mound of meat and vegetables (though nothing like the box - I would guess that's what it looks like before it goes in the pouch), similar to if you had made it and stored it in the fridge. The box said two portions, but I would be eating very light if I took that advice, but I guess if you added side dishes, then it could be shared amongst two (ah well, my beautiful Bride doesn't like the lamb, so no need to divide). Heating it up in a microwave caused it to actually smell good and it did taste fairly good and filled me up, though again, it left me wanting for a fresh-cooked version.

Tentation Apple

This apple, also from New Zealand, is more like a Golden Delicious, and is actually a French cross between a Golden Delicious and an apple called Grifer. This cost almost $2/lb (essentially $1 per apple) and tastes very similar to a Golden Delicious, but has an orange blush to it. I think it's an okay apple (I don't really care for Golden Delicious, either), and too expensive to eat on a regular basis.

New Zealand Jazz Apple

Another new and interesting apple variety I found at Loblaws, for $1.99/lb, essentially $1 for each apple, is the Jazz, which comes from New Zealand (but also grown in France and Washington, USA). It is a cross between a Braeburn and a Gala apple. You can see the red/maroon colouring broken up by smaller areas of yellow or green or orange. This is a good-tasting apple, crisp, juicy and dense, but be careful, as it is a solid apple, and sensitive teeth may have an issue biting into it. I would say that I would buy this apple again, if it were comparable in price to the more ubiquitous supermarket apples.

Eve Apple

Another new apple I found for sale in the supermarket, is a variety called Eve, which comes from New Zealand. This is apparently a variety of red Braeburn, that is sweeter (and thus more suitable for the North American market). I find it sweet, too.