I like. You should try.

What better way to spend summer than to have a picnic while listening to some of the best music New Zealand has to offer? Hundreds of other people think like us..

Fellow picnickers at Ascension Wine Estate

..Oh well, I don't mind sharing the good music and sunshine..

Snacks: Griffins Meal Mates, Mediterranean Roasted Capsicum Dip, Trident Smoked Oysters, Griffins "Cheddars" biscuits and Galaxy "Cambozola"

But this isn't about me sharing my summer time with these people, it's about the awesome snacks I got to try. Jason and I were quite hungover from the night before so the bright sun was not our friend. We spent the first hour in our sunglasses and hating ourselves for not bringing an umbrella.

From bottom to top: Meal Mate, Cambozola and Roasted Capsicum Dip

 The food made our headaches so much better and it wasn't long until we were back to our bright, happy and shiny selves again! Here are some things I think everyone should try.. And a few that I think you might want to stay away from..

Galaxy Cambozola -$4.39

I love Cheese. I love Camembert and I love Blue Cheese so it's no wonder that I have fallen head over heels for their love child, Cambozola. It is a triple cream cheese and Italian Gorgonzola. What a delicious blend! Cambozola has the sharp taste of blue while retaining the creamy milkiness of Camembert -the best of both worlds!

Ceres Litchi Sensation -$3.31

I am also in love with tropical fruits. Can anyone say deliciagasm in my mouth? Anyone who's experienced the taste of lychee before would know what I'm talking about. Litchi sensation has an incredibly fresh flavour which is accentuated by the addition of the mildly sweet pear.

Trident Oysters Whole Smoked -$3.59

 Hmm.. This is filed in the "try at your own risk" category. These smoked oysters just tasted like your generic, standard stock smoked seafood variety. The smokey flavour was too overpowering and masked the natural flavour of the oysters so this was kind of a miss for us. But if the smokey flavour is your thang (yeah, I said thang), go for it!

Mediterranean Chunky Dip -$3.99

 This is my new "thing to put on everything else." I'm actually eating it with some bacon and toast right now. Words cannot explain how much I love it. This savoury dip has chunks of cashew nuts spread throughout and the spicy capsicum and Parmesan just melts in your mouth.

Ferndale Blue Supreme -$6.99

Maybe we left it in the sun for too long before opening it, maybe it tastes better with other crackers or maybe we're just not refined enough for the VERY VERY STRONG TASTE of the Blue Supreme. I started off loving this cheese but, after a few crackers, I just couldn't handle its tangy flavour. Jase couldn't get past two. This would probably make a great tasting dressing for some crumbed chicken or in a cauliflour and blue cheese soup. Note to self: Buy this cheese for experiments.

Cinderella Mandarin Segments -$1.12

I only ever buy this product when it's on special and I always buy it on bulk when I do -for $0.99 a can, who could resist? I am always in the mood for some canned mandarins. With these, there is never any problem of having immensely sour mandarins -every single segment is sweet, full of flavour and swimming in a light syrup. When they light they mean LIGHT, not slightly weak syrup. It tastes great!

Canned mandarins go so well with Litchi and Pear Juice. Ignore the sleazy eyes.

They are also perfect with fruit juice! Also jelly, fruit salad and your favourite alcoholic beverages =)

Woodfried Pizza, I see these guys all over Auckland

Midway through Opshop, we got sick of munching on snacks and wanted to feed our hungry tummies so we went for a wander toward the food stalls. The woodfired pizza people come to Auckland University every Thursday for market day so we had already experienced, firsthand, how amazing they were. Their simple ingredients work so well together to create the tastiest pizzas!

Italian Sausage, Caramelised Onion and Olives -$15

 Am seriously considering getting a pizza oven when I move out. The base is to die for! Not too chewy, not incredibly crunchy -juuust right! It was so satisfying watching all the other picnickers eat their homemade ham buns while we had us some tasty tasty pizza. I can't wait till Thursdays at uni again!

The best thing about things you should try is that everything here is so easily accessible to you (well, maybe not the pizza but you can follow them here). All of the above can be found in your local New World, Countdown or Pak N Save supermarkets so go forth and enjoy, my pretties!

Rockin' out to Brooke Fraser

So what's the best way to enjoy summer? 

Definitely this.

What do you love about summer?