07/12/2025
This evening, our dinner will be a classic "meat and three veg" – a beloved meal format that represents the heart of traditional home cooking across New Zealand and Australia. This inherited style of dining has been passed down through generations, cherished for its balanced yet refreshingly uncomplicated approach to nourishing the family.
The beauty of meat and three vegetables lies in its elegant simplicity: one generous portion of meat paired with three thoughtfully chosen sides. Traditionally, these sides consist of seasonal vegetables alongside a hearty carbohydrate, most commonly potatoes in their various glorious forms – mashed, roasted, or boiled until tender. However, tonight Rongjie and his friends Pang and Leo are putting their own twist on this time-honored formula by substituting rice and Singapore noodles for the usual spuds – a wonderful fusion that bridges cultures and adds its own unique character to the plate. It's this kind of gentle adaptation that keeps tradition alive while making it feel relevant and personal to our own lives.
The star of tonight's meal is lamb chops, gifted by Farmer Andy. There's something deeply satisfying, almost sacred, about preparing meat that was organically raised on a farm I know and trust – knowing exactly how the animals were cared for, understanding the land they grazed on, and appreciating the full journey from paddock to plate. The lamb carries with it not just exceptional flavour, but also the story of Andy's dedication, the story of his sheep grazing contentedly on green hillsides, and the care that goes into producing food that honours both the animal and the land. When I unwrap these chops, I'm reminded that good food begins long before it reaches the kitchen – it begins with respect, with stewardship, with someone like Andy who tends his flock with genuine care.
This style of cooking represents more than just sustenance to me. It's a thread connecting me to culinary traditions I have come to love and respect, a way of celebrating the ingredients our land offers so generously, and a reminder that some of the most memorable meals don't require complexity or pretension – just quality ingredients treated with respect and attention. There's profound comfort in knowing that tonight's dinner echoes countless family meals that came before it, served at tables across New Zealand and Australia for decades, while still feeling entirely our own. In a world that often moves too fast, that constantly demands innovation and novelty, there's quiet rebellion in choosing simplicity, in honoring what works, in gathering around a table for meat and three veg.
As they prepare these lamb chops, as the Singapore noodles cooked and the vegetables stir fried, I'm struck by how food connects us – to place, to people, to the past, and to each other. Tonight's meal is both an inheritance and an invention, both tradition and transformation. And that, I think, is exactly as it should be.
