Category Archives: SWEEET

Love belly ’13

Another year, another Valentine’s day, another chance to talk about love and seduction. A couple of hours away from floods and destruction and bad news maybe. And with a bit of love, and chocolate, all the hard stuff is easier to deal with anyway.

This year we are starting with lots of chocolate, with Sarah Wheeler from Puremelt Chocolate, then seasonal love and gratitude with Miss February, Alison Drover, and music, sweets and the love goddess herself, Aphrodite, with Ilias Katsapouikidis. And of course music, markets, the belly bulletin including what lucky foods to eat for the Year of the Snake, and tasty courses at Byron College.

PUREMELT CHOCOLATES are available at various local markets, including the Mullumbimby farmers market every Friday. Sarah is one of the few chocolatiers who makes her chocolate from scratch rather than from bought chocolate drops. She uses many local ingredients and is constantly experimenting. If you’d like to do your own experiments, she also sells chocolate making kits online, and teaches occasional classes. Contact her here.

SECRET TO A LOVE IS SPICING IT UP…. VALENTINES DAY BY MISS FEBRUARY ALISON DROVER

Herbs not only help us but heal us as well…

Fenugreek seeds: Saponins which can be found in fenugreek seeds play a role in increasing the production of testosterone, the male hormones, which, in turn, causes the raise in male libido.

Cardamom: These green wonders increase energy and relieve fatigue, and help you rock your love making process.

Clove: They heat up the body and maybe that’s what increases the hotness quotient on bed!

Fennel: Saunf, as they are called in Hindi, contain an estrogen-like substance (estirol) that turns out libido. So careful before you grab a handful of it at a restaurant after dinner.

Ginseng: It helps improve male erectile dysfunction (ED)

Saffron: There’s a reason why old Hindi films had saasumas forcing bahus to add saffron to the milk on the first night. And you thought it was just for a fair child!

Nutmeg: It’s one of the most popular natural aphrodisiacs. Research proves that nutmeg has the same effect on mating behavior as Viagra. Sprinkle some in your kheer for a dirty night!

Cloves: They boost your energy levels. They also have one of the best aromatherapy scents that help improve your sexual behaviour.

Garlic: Eating green chilies with garlic is an old (tried and tested) way of enjoying sex for a longer period. Peel off its top layers, crush cloves and then fry in butter, and your partner is ready to be a nutter!

Ginger: Garlic’s ‘g’ brother helps you tingle the ‘G’ spot with ease. It increases sex drive and stimulates sexual performance.

CARDAMON, GINGER, STAR ANISE CHICKEN WITH LOCAL JASMINE FRAGRANT RICE… recipe by Alison Drover

2 Tbsp fresh ginger, microplaned

1 Tbsp garlic, pressed

2 tsp cardamom seeds, ground

6 star anise,ground

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 tsp salt (we actually forgot to add the salt, but it hardly needed it)

1/4 tsp turmeric

8 chicken drumsticks or thighs, skin removed

oil

1 small red onion, diced

4 bay leaves, fresh or dried

2 cinnamon sticks

2 Tbsp coriander, chopped

8 oz baby spinach (optional)

yogurt or heavy cream (optional)

Combine the ginger, garlic, cardamom, cayenne, star anise, salt and turmeric and smear the resulting paste over the chicken pieces. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Heat a few spoonfuls of oil in a large skillet with a well-fitting lid. Add the onion, chicken, bay and cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and the chicken has browned, about 20 minutes.

Add a cup of water, scrape the pan bottom to deglaze it, bring to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook gently about 30 minutes, stirring once in a while. Stir in the coriander.

Remove the chicken to a platter and boil down the sauce in the pan until it thickens a bit. Toss in a pile of spinach leaves to wilt, if you like, and perhaps a half cup or so of plain yogurt or cream. Serve the greens and sauce with the chicken legs and some steamed basmati rice.

CHOCOLATE & CARAMEL TART – BY ILIAS

Short crust pastry

250g flour
60g sugar
180g butter

Caramel

225g sugar
80g cream
70g butter

Chocolate mousse

200g couveture choc
4x eggs separated
185g cream
40g caster sugar

Chocolate ganache

165g couveture chocolate
60g cream
40g butter

Mix flour and sugar in a bowl by hand and then add the cubed chilled butter. Mix until you have a breadcrumb texture and then add 40g of chilled water and mix until combined. Roll into a disc, wrap with glad wrap and rest in the fridge for 1/2 hour

Per heat oven 190c

Roll out the pastry and line a 26cm tart shell. Rest again for half hour in fridge. Line with baking paper and weights. Bake for 20 min, remove paper and weights and bake for another 8-10 min. Cool on a rack

To make caramel combine 250g water and sugar and cook on high heat in a saucepan until a golden caramel forms. Them add the cream and sugar off the heat ( careful mix will spit ) stir to combine and pour into pastry case. Chill in the fridge to set

To make mousse melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, cool and add egg yolks stirring to combine. Whisk cream to soft peaks and set aside. Whisk egg whites to soft peaks and them add the 40g of sugar and keep whisking till combined. Fold 1/2 the egg whites on the choc mix to lighten it then the cream and then the rest of the egg whites taken care to preserve as much air as possible in the mix. Spoon over the caramel and smooth the top flush with the edges and chill.

To make ganache melt chocolate and cream in a Bain Marie and stir lovingly to avoid aerating the mix until combined and then add the butter off the heat. Clean the bottom of the bowl of any steam and cool. Then add the ganache while still fluid to top the top and smooth it with a pallette knife :^)

Rest until set and use a warm knife to cut portions

Serve it with vanilla ice cream

Or for an exciting taste sensation:

NIMBIN VALLEY BRIE ICE CREAM

500g milk

6x yolks

25g sugar

Pinch salt

8x drops Tabasco sauce

Small pinch cayenne pepper

300g Brie wheel from Nimbin Valley Dairy ( cut minimal crust off and slice onto thin slivers)

Heat milk in a saucepan

Whisk yolks, sugar & salt until pale yellow

When milk is just below boil add half to the yolk mix whilst whisking. Pour back into the saucepan and put on a low heat to thicken the custard whilst continually stirring the bottom with a wooden spoon until 80deg c on a thermometer.

Take off the heat, add the cheese and whisk until the cheese melts. Strain through a sieve and then pour into an ice cream maker and churn.

Enjoy this local delight as a palate cleanser, with rich desserts or eat it as is :^D

Yiasou!!!

BELLY BULLETIN

The price of a cup of tea could rise after the world’s biggest producers agreed to join forces . Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Indonesia, Malawi and Rwanda produce more than 50% of the world’s tea. They have announced the formation of the International Tea Producers’ Forum. Initially they will focus on sharing knowledge and boosting demand for tea to raise prices. Sri Lanka’s Plantations Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe, said in future they may try methods such as supply controls to increase tea prices. At the moment the global tea price is around $US2.5 a kilo, down from about $2.84 a year ago. In 1994 Sri Lanka unsuccessfully proposed a tea cartel similar to OPEC, the crude oil cartel.

Supermarket company Coles said last week that its discount milk prices are not to blame for cuts to farm gate prices for dairy farmers, at least in Victoria.

A south-west Victorian dairy farmers’ group, Farmer Power, along with south-east South Australian farmers, protested outside Warrnambool’s major supermarkets earlier this month. It is partly blaming the sale of milk at Coles and Woolworths of $1 a litre for lower dairy prices at the farm gate. However, Jim Cooper of Coles says farmers are more influenced by the global market and only 8 per cent of fresh milk produced in Victoria is sold in the state. “We understand that dairy farmers might see the milk on the shelf as the most visible sort of aspect of their business but the reality is that’s not what drives the farm gate price that they’re receiving.” he said.

Last month we mentioned that beef burgers in a UK supermarket had consumers worried after they were found to contain horsemeat. It looks like the source is one large plant in Ireland, which has now also affected the fast food chain Burger King in Europe. Small amounts of horse and pig DNA were found in Burger King beef burgers. They have now changed suppliers The Irish Silvercrest burger plant, one of the biggest in Europe, is closed for cleaning and a change in management. It appears that the meat came from one of their Polish suppliers.

CHOICE, the consumer advocacy group, is proposing reforms to simplify country of origin labelling in Australia, after a survey of its members found that 90% of respondents said country of origin labelling is unclear. “When choosing food, consumers tell us that knowing where it comes from is an important issue – second only to information on the ingredients it contains,” says CHOICE food policy advisor Angela McDougall. How important origin is varies by type of food. Respondents placed the most importance on primary produce such as meat and vegetables, followed by foods like dairy and bread. Origin was least important for highly processed foods like soft drinks and sweets.

To help shoppers, Choice is calling for labelling to be simplified to three claims:

‘Product of Australia’ and ‘Manufactured in Australia’ – claims about where the ingredients are from and where they are processed

‘Packaged in Australia’ – a basic claim to accommodate products which by law have to carry an origin declaration

Under CHOICE’s proposal, the claim ‘Made in Australia from local and imported ingredients’ would not be permitted. If manufacturers want to provide additional information, they should specify where any specific ingredient originates.

The Chinese year of the Black Female Water Snake starts today, New Years day is on Sunday February 10, and it’s time to eat those lucky foods, just in case. Uncut noodles, for represent longevity and long life. Melon, sunflower or pumpkin seeds if you’d like lots of children. Anything that looks like ancient money or gold ingots, like slices of sausage, dried apricots, cashews, dumplings or anything wrapped in leaves. Peaches will give you immortality, bananas a good education, & carrots money. Pumpkins will give you illustrious children – you have been warned. Bean sprouts bring you anything your heart desires. Whole animals & coconuts keep the family together. But stay away from white foods. You are supposed to clean the house & sweep the bad luck away. Red underpants also help apparently, especially if the snake is your birth year, to protect you & bring you luck. Kung Hei Fat Choy!

MORE COMING SOON : Sarah’s brownies

chicken, mangoes & dog biscuits…yum

on air on Byron Bay’s community radio bayfm 99.9 on January 7, 2013

Jude Fanton's green mango kasundi recipe - & gardener's fingers

For the first belly of the year Sister T & a first time bellysister, sister Michael aka sister Chicken Delight went a little silly. It was a chooky, pickled, furry & feisty show. Even Miss January, Alison Drover, got political along with the delicious in season suggestions. We got into two major issues that will potentially affect our food landscape in the Northern Rivers, as in so many other places – KFC & CSG. Behind the alphabet soup, everything from our water safety, to our streetscapes and beautiful bountiful hinterland could be churned up for short term profit soon. Lots of links below to find out more. We leavened the politics with lots of great recipes, masses of tasty ideas today. Easy & fun chicken recipes to give kid & health friendly alternatives. A genuine Southern Soul food chook made a little less fattening but just as delicious by ex-Byronite African American Aussie Dwane Jones. Lovely cold fruity semifreddo, & mango ripe or green ideas. To finish, our shaggy dog story, but also our pick for the next booming market business (really truly) – dog baking – woof!

TASTY & EASY CHICKEN SUGGESTIONS – FASTER THAN TRYING TO GET A PARKING SPOT IN IN SUMMER TO GET TAKEAWAY

FRANCA’S FLATTENED CHICKEN RECIPE

Franca is my mum. I think she made this when she couldn’t be bothered cooking and/or needed to soothe her soul with a bit of vigorous bashing. Though I remember doing most of the animal cutting and bashing from an early age.

1 smallish chicken, whole, cut open at the breast, and beaten flat. It is ok to break a few bones and mush up the skin, just be careful of bone fragments if you are feeding it to very young or very fast eaters. You can use just leg and thigh pieces if you like, the breast does end up a bit dry.

fresh rosemary sprigs – lots if you like it

a few garlic cloves in their skin

olive oil, butter, salt, pepper

You really need a wide pan for this, or split the chicken between 2 pans. And a plate or flat lid or oven tray that fits in your pan.

Season the chicken, throw everything else in the pan, add the flattened chicken skin side down. Cover straight away with the plate/lid/etc, put a weight on top. This keeps the chicken flat. Cook at a medium heat, turn half way through. The cover will hold some steam in and help keep the chicken moist, if it is too moist you can finish the cooking uncovered. You want it to be very brown and with lots of bits sticking to the pan by the end.

This is a simpler version of the popular Portuguese chicken, chilli free and kid friendly. Of course you could add a chilli dipping sauce if you wish. You can also do it on a bbq between two oven trays.

Chicken Delight’s unbelievably easy Moroccan Chicken Tagine RECIPE

Chicken Delight hates following recipes, mainly because he is an Aquarian and prefers to wing it (Chicken joke!). But here is a general guide for this uber -easy dish:

You can use:

One Whole free range chicken (or pieces if you prefer)

Rice bran oil

1 can Lite Coconut cream (to keep the calories down!)

2 X white onions

1 X Spanish onion

Chermoula, Dukkah, Zatar and a general Moroccan spice mix – all available at your local farmers market. Or use your fave combo.

1 X Can organic Chic Peas

1 Red Capsicum (for colour)

1 or 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped into small quarters

Whatever else you feel would be yummy!

Couscous to serve with

Sliced lemon or preserved lemon if you have some.

Method to the Madness:

Heat oil in Tagine to hot. Cube onions and add to hot pan with cut potatoes.

Dry chicken, cut into pieces and rub spices all over while humming a mindless tune and imagining you are belly dancing.

Avoid looking in the mirror at this moment

Place chicken pieces in Tagine and let sit for about 3 mins before moving (secret to having them not stick and tearing the flesh).

After 3 mins, turn the chicken to brown all over. Sprinkle with as much spice as you like. I go crazy (not a long journey!) and sprinkle everywhere (but not on the floor).

Slowly pour a little can of the lite coconut cream over the mix. Just do this until the colour starts to look slightly pale- you don’t want to weaken the spices though.

Give a quick stir to combine all the spices and place the Tagine lid on.

Cook on low for about 10 mins and check occasionally- add more coconut cream to avoid drying out and sprinkle more spice over everything, to taste. You should keep an eye on things while telling your guests about your fabulous holiday in Morocco and all the amazing adventures you had, while sipping something fresh and cool.

Prepare the cous cous- Chicken delight is too lazy to cook it properly in boiled water for 10 mins as you should (just read the packet directions), so chucks it in a saucepan and fills to a decent level with boiling water, puts a lid on it and just leaves it until serving time. You can throw in a few cut dates or sultanas to make it look like you know what you’re doing. Sometimes he even forgets to serve the cous cous but by that stage no one even notices. The next morning though, it’s looking a tad sad.

Serve with some sliced lemon or preserved lemon, yoghurt if you like it, dukkha on top. And a professional attitude. Enjoy!!!

DWONE’S SOUTHERN BAKED CHICKEN RECIPE – by Dwone Jones

750 g of the best chicken you can afford, if whole cut into 8 pieces

2 ‘stalks of escallions’, (shallots) finely chopped

1 sprig fresh thyme, finely chopped

2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp vinegar

herb/poultry seasoning – D recommends Herbamare

1 tsp sugar

3 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup white breadcrumbs, not brown

SAUCE

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup tomato ketchup

2 tbs melted margarine

Heat oven to 190 C

Mix sauce ingredients, leave to blend.

Rinse chicken in lime water, i.e. a basin of water in which you have squeezed 2 limes

put the chicken in so it is just covered.

In a blender, blend the vinegar, garlic, scallions (shallots) and thyme. Season the chicken and leave for 10 minutes.

Add the sauce and leave for 30 minutes.

Season the chicken with the dry ingredients, sugar, salt, pepper, Herbamare.

Put the chicken in a greased shallow baking tin, sprinkle on the breadcrumbs.

Bake for no more than about 1 hour but check after 40/45 minutes.

This chicken remains moist and is good hot or cold – fried chicken tends to go dry.

It is still good the next day and it is compulsory to eat it with your fingers.

Audio link – listen to Dwone talking about soul food and this recipe on bayfm a few years ago, with sister T & sister Bernadette

From memories of his grandmother’s farm to making soul food a little healthier without stripping out the soul, and the taste, it’s a lovely piece.

Dwone on healthier soul food, squirrel, chicken & those Crisco biscuits

KFC INFO

Since as usual it takes me ages to find time to put all the show info online, sister Michael has had time to check the submission to open a KFC right in the middle of Byron Bay.

Hello friends,

I’m sending this link to the Keep Byron Free from KFC face book where, if you are inclined, you can copy and post a submission form to Byron Shire Council try to stop it coming to Byron Bay. In their DA submission they want to remove a large tree from the street frontage of Woolies plaza to erect a large flouro KFC barrell sign. Just ugh. We don’t need this ugliness in our beautiful town! Cheers, Michael (aka Chicken Delight).

https://www.facebook.com/KeepByronFreeFromKFC

[sister T] – I think this is so ludicrous it may be one of those ambit claims, made to be shot down but allow the rest of the submission through. The effect on the streetscape was Michael’s main issue – I look forwards to a large bellysister in a chook costume waving a placard in Byron Bay. Go to the facebook site for lots more info, you don’t need to be on facebook to read the entries.

http://www.kfc.com.au/nutrition/index.asp – direct link to KFC Australia’s nutrition info. See the news tab for initiatives such as using canola oil & taking out kids’ toys – signs that putting pressure on the big boys does have an effect, even if many of us think they have a long way to go.

IN SEASON JANUARY BY MISS JANUARY ALISON DROVER

This is a particularly good tomato year so make sure you take advantage and roast them to bottle them and store away for winter months. Locally squash are good, capsicums, zucchini, eggplants, red peppers, cucumber, snake beans, chilli. It is a great time to make a cold ratatuille. Mangoes finally coming into their own and pomegranates and passionfruit. Herb wise basil, coriander, marjoram, oregano, sage, tarragon, thyme and mint, ginger and turmeric.

Wider to NSW in cooler regions we have : Apricots, raspberry, asparagus, avocado, banana, blueberry, capsicum, cherry, cucumber, eggplant, honey dew melons, lettuce, mangosteen, okra, onions, peach, peas, pineapple, plums, radish, raspberry, rock melon, squash, strawberry, tamarillo, watermelon, zucchini, zucchini flower

Seafood: Atlantic salmon, blue eye, blue swimmer crab, eel, flathead, flounder, garfish, kingfish, leather jacket, marron, mussels, ocean trout, prawns, rock lobster, scallop, snapper, squid, trevally

Alison has come up with a refreshing dessert for summer months, passionfruit semifreddo

And she is keen for us all to buy and use fair priced milk, rather than the excessively discounted milk in supermarkets that does not allow farmers to survive. And may result in higher prices in the long run anyway. She has forwarded us a link to a petition in support of dairy farmers that a campaigner called Lisa Claessen is sending to Coles. The link is here if you’d like to participate.

Semifreddo means half cold in Italian, it is half way to an ice cream and half as hard to make, you don’t need any special equipment to make it. Just a bit of whipping of lovely eggs & cream, a fruity syrup and a night in the the freezer.

PASSIONFRUIT SEMIFREDDO, RECIPE BY ALISON DROVER

8 egg yolks

250gm caster sugar

250 ml ( 1cup) passion fruit juice

scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean

juice of one lime

300gm double cream

150ml pouring cream, lightly whipped

pulp of 2 passion fruit plus extra to serve

Whisk egg yolks in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (5-7 minutes). Meanwhile, stir sugar, passionfruit juice and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, then simmer until syrupy (4-5 minutes) and add to egg yolks with lime juice, whisking continuously until mixture is cold (5-6 minutes).

Combine creams in a bowl, whisk until soft peaks form. Fold into passionfruit mixture, fold in pulp, spoon into an 8cm x 22cm plastic –lined rectangular cake time, smoothing top. Don’t worry if you have a little over. Freeze overnight until firm. Slice thickly and serve with extra pulp spooned over. You can add some mangoes on the side if you have these left over.

Meantime back in the belly kitchen, sister Michael & sister Tess were in a mango mood…

COAL SEAM GAS FREE MANGO DAQUIRIS for Two! by sister Michael

A hefty pour of Bacardi Rum ~ Blend two delicious mangoes, fresh mango juice, one citrus orange and a dash of lime and a dash of Midori (optional) and ice made from pure, unfracked water. Pour into fabulous looking cocktail glasses and garnish with a ‘Lock the Gate’ recycled paper cocktail umbrella. Drink with a clear conscience.

100% MANGO SORBET – a belly lab recipe by sister Tess

This one is inspired by the way many people make banana ice cream (freeze, peel, whizz, eat)

If you have good knives & spare fingers, and too many lovely ripe mangoes, toss a few in the freezer. When frozen, peel, cut into chunks, toss into a food processor or blender – perfect fluffy sorbet.

Or do the peeling & cubing while the mango is unfrozen, then freeze etc. You know which one I did don’t you? Will try it the sensible way next time.

GREEN MANGO PICKLES

It looks like a massive mango season coming up, judging by the number of people making green mango pickles. A great way to use them, along with Thai green mango salad (same as green papaya salad, som tum, very easy & healthy & delicious).

My lovely friend Paul has a simple Sri Lankan recipe here (28.12.12 post)

I tried a treatment that I give just about any new veg I come across these days, the impatient quick cure – slice with skin on, layer mango slices with salt,sugar, lemon juice, leave a few hours or a day (taste as you go). They turned out salty but great as an accent on plain salads or fish.

And the Fantons (founders of Seedsavers) took a green mango kasundi to a party which I think was my favourite new taste of 2012 (see top photo). Jude kindly shared her recipe (I need to check that mustard seed quantity though, use your own judgement in the meantime). There are many mango kasundi recipes online, mostly done as a mustardy paste, they look great too.

GREEN MANGO KASUNDI RECIPE – by Jude Fanton

Pick mangoes very green. You are going to use the whole fruit. Test that each mango is green enough by cutting through it – if the knife goes right through the seed, good. If there is too much fibre around the seed, it is too ripe and should be made into mango salad.

For 4kg of green mangoes:

Slice each mango, seed and all, it is up to you what size. [Optional – 200 – 500g red or green chillies split nearly up to the stem]. Put into a bowl with layers of 1kg salt and keep in the sun for one to three days (we like two days).

Drain mangoes, put in a large bowl, and add these spices:

200g ginger whirled in food processor

200g tamarind paste

5 tbspns of chilli powder (or less if you used chillies above)

Optional – 20 – 50 curry leaves

1kg mustard seeds, lightly roasted and ground

[Optional, though we have not tried these: fennel seeds; turmeric – powder or fresh whirled root –, coriander and cummin powder, fenugreek seeds soaked in vinegar overnight, vinegar itself]

Mix the spices around the mango pieces.

[I do this in two to four lots cos of the spitting oil] Heat one litre of mustard oil in a deep pan and add 20 – 50 curry leaves for 30 secs. Add the mango and spice mix and stir, heating for 3 to 20 mins [I give you the widest parameters in all the recipes, seems 5 mins is good]

Meanwhile you have sterilised some jars and they are hot. Spoon the kasaundi in, making sure there are no bubbles and that there is some mustard oil on top. Seal. You’re supposed to wait a month, but that has been totally impossible and evidently unnecessary.

BELLY BULLETIN

As a web extra on this MASSIVE post, sister Michael has a much more detailed explanation of what CFG is, and why you, a food lover, should care about this issue.

The processes of unconventional mining for gas, which includes fracking , use high pressure gas to fracture coal and rock seams deep underground, to release natural gas. Fracking involves injecting water, sand and chemical additives (including acids, salts, gelatine and enzymes) into the well under extremely high pressure, which then expands the fractures in the coal seams. As the name suggests, the gas is captive in coal seams relatively close to the surface and close to, or in contact with, underground water supplies. Those supplies are a valuable agricultural resource and a significant proportion of the state’s agricultural production is watered by bores tapping into those aquifers. The gas released from the coal beds is methane, and has about four times the impact that carbon dioxide has as a greenhouse gas. People, who live in areas attractive to the coal seam gas industry, are in imminent danger of having their livelihood and way of life destroyed . But that’s not all, fracking has the potential to cause many more serious long term problems, with the loss of valuable water and fertile land for producing food. This is a very important issue that will affect everyone, even those who don’t live in the areas of interest to the CSG companies. Unfortunately the government and mining companies can smell the money, and they are focused on large profits! We can’t afford to let them make arbitrary decisions, which could have such a drastic affect on all our futures. Once our water tables are made toxic through this mining method nothing can be done in the short term to restore water levels in affected wells. It would take many decades – perhaps even centuries – to restore pressures throughout aquifers and the pollution of the water tables would likely be permanent. Some CSG wells, in particular in Queensland, will produce tens of millions of litres of waste water each year. Much of this water is saline and, if released, has the potential to alter the temperature, acidity and chemistry of local streams and lakes, wiping out plants and animals. Even with best practices adopted, accidents still happen. In the Pilliga, for example, thousands of litres of saline water have already been released, killing trees near one CSG drilling site. The chemistry of untreated saline water can cause topsoils to break down and wash away so, in this form, it can’t be recycled for agriculture. To date, most CSG waste has been stored in ponds, but this is an unsatisfactory solution. As the water evaporates, the salts in it concentrate, forming brines. Over time, there’s a risk that the ponds will leak into underlying aquifers, or the brines will escape into the surface water during floods. Our regulatory framework is playing catch-up: creating guidelines on the fly .This isn’t inspiring confidence in the expansion of the sector, and as mistakes are made, the effects will be felt for generations.

And on Monday everything was happening locally on the anti-CSG protest front, with constant news updates of protestors arrested & chaining themselves to equipment – further info on this issue:

csgfree Byron Bay: face book: csgfreebyronbay

e-mail: csgfree byronbay@gmail.com

Lock the Gate website: https://lockthegate.org.au/

CSGFREE northern Rivers: http://www.csgfreenorthernrivers.org/

There are updates on both these issues in the Wed 8.1.13 issue (and probably lots more to come) of the local paper, The Echo

see www.echonetdaily.net.au

British chef Jamie Oliver again dominated Australian non-fiction book sales, with 2 cookbooks selling more than 4 times as many copies as the number 3 on the list, the Guinness Book of Records. On the general bestseller list, he was only beaten by the trilogies of 50 Shades of Grey and the Hunger Games. So a starving Jamie being pursued through a forest by a dominatrix, as he whips up 2 minute recipes with grass & the odd ant would be an obvious winner.

Meantime scientists at Newcastle Uni in the UK has found that supermarket ready to eat meals are healthier than the recipes of the top celebrity TV chefs in Britain, including Jamie. The researchers found the recipes of the TV chefs included much more energy, protein, fat and saturated fat, and less fibre. The chefs included Nigella Lawson & a baking book, so no surprise there on fat content, but I am a bit surprised that Jamie Oliver’s recipes were also found to be quite unhealthy. The researchers however did not examine the micronutrient content or the presence of artificial preservatives, flavours, colourings, or stabilisers. The study also says no recipe from a television chef or any ready-to-cook meal met World Health Organisation guidelines on avoiding diseases caused by diet.

A wonderful mysterious corporate donor has given the Bangalow Museum and Tea Room, a volunteer organisation that runs a bunch of community and charity projects, a new chook pen and raised garden beds. And 14 workers from the company will help out with the project.

Good things happening in Mullum – Dirt Club is a series of fun educational workshops for kids running for three Wednesdays this January at the Mullumbimby Community Garden. At the workshops your children can learn about the garden and the dynamic relationships in nature that create a rich and yummy food patch.

They will learn how we coexist with the creatures in the natural world, how to nurture seedlings, conjure up fantastic compost, and of course share the abundance of the harvest from the garden.

Parents are welcome join in or just be near by. It is ok to tag team with your mates and bring a few kids in. The workshops start on Wednesday January 9 with “dirtgirl day’, get those Dirtgirl fans along, then Wednesdays January 16 and 23

It is $20 for half a day, and $30 for a whole day. If you are really keen, there are ways to get involved in exchange for free places. Ring Saintinna on 0402170846

BAKING FOR DOGS

Look for this very very pink book in your local library : Baking for your dog, by Ingeborg Pils, Parragon Publishing

Go on youtube for many many videos on baking treats/biscuits at home, I recommend the Divas can Cook video for the great voice alone.

And the Divas can Cook blogger is the one that opened my eyes to a large network of dog bakeries in the USA, it sounds like there is one in every neighbourhood – not a bad idea for a little local business.

Even if you will never in your life cook for your pet, there is an interesting article here on all the foods that could harm your dog, including some local favourites like avocado and macadamias. Just a few macas could kill your dog apparently.

http://divascancook.com/2012/06/easy-dog-treats-recipe-healthy-gourmet-biscuits.html

love and chocolate from sister Tess, who has finally worked out why carob was invented – to put in dog food.

citruses, choko cake and a farmers market in the volcano

ON AIR ON BYRON BAY’S BAYFM 99.9 ON MONDAY APRIL 4, 2011

Today on belly our seasonal bellysister Alison was talking about the good things of April, even a choko cake if you want a very different birthday. Also a new farmers market is starting up in Murwillumbah, so we had an interview with the new market manger Deborah Fuller about all the tasty produce of the Murwillumbah/Tweed area, and lots of local news. So grab a snack to stop the belly rumbles and stay right here with sister Tess.

THE FRESH REPORT – IN SEASON IN APRIL

April is the month of conserving and preserving what’s left over as it is a little bit of an in between time as it is not late enough for the winter vegetables the brassicas broccoli, kale and cabbages yet its evening cardigan time so we need something a little heavier on our plates.

Pumpkins are abundant and especially in my garden. Warm salads are great for April. There is some rocket around and new lettuces coming up with the cooler weather.

It is a good time to buy citrus fruits on the side of the road limes and lemons so make marmalade or on your trees or neighbours. Marmalade is a great was to glaze meat and ensures that you are not using sauces with added chemicals and additives and your saving money.

Seasons

It is important to note that seasonal guides really vary from region to region and within a region so that as an immediate start you need to look to buying and cooking with what is in your area.

This is our wrap up of what is in season around NSW and then for the Northern Rivers.

April is the season for:

Apples
Beans
Capsicum
Dragonfruit
Eggplant
Grapes
Lettuce
Persimmon
Pumpkin
Quince
Tomatoes

Northern Rivers

Pumpkins
Rocket
Shallot
Silverbeet
Snowpeas
Beans
Eggplant – still around
Sweet potato
Pineapples
Chokos of course
Bananas

CHOKOS

Chokos are like tripes they can be really amazing if cooked well. Yes it is amazing but true.
Whatever you do don’t boil them

Contain fibre, vitamin C, they’re low in fat and they can even taste good!

CHOKO CHIPS

Peel the chokos. Cut in halves lengthwise.
Pop out the seeds.
Cut into chip shapes.
Pan fry or deep fry until crispy on the outside.
Serve with salt and pepper to taste.

Choko vines everywhere are bearing now (Autumn) – when other veggies are a bit scarce (This veggie is technically a fruit). The choko originated in South America and was still ‘new’ in Australia in the 1880’s.

Recipes by Alison Drover www.thealisonprinciple.com

CHOKO AND PECAN CAKE WITH LIME MARMALADE AND SOUR CREAM FROSTING

CHOKO CAKE

•    2 cups plain flour
•    1 teaspoon bicarb soda
•    2 teaspoons ground ginger
•    1 cup brown sugar 100g butter melted (careful to do so slowly so your butter does not split)
•    2 eggs lightly beaten
•    1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts
•    2 cups grated pecans
•    (about 2 chokos)

Combine flour, soda, ginger and sugar in bowl, add butter & eggs, and mix well. Stir in choko and pecans. Put into greased 14cm x 21cm loaf tin. Bake at 190 degrees for 80 minutes or until cook

This is great served alone however if it is a special occasion it is great with icing.

LIME SOUR CREAM ICING

11/2 cups icing sugar mixture
¼ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon of lime marmalade – see recipe

Other ideas

Chokos are great in pear crumble they take on the flavour of the pears and caramelize if you add brown sugar, & add cinnamon – very good.

ROASTED PUMPKIN, RED CAPSICUM, DUKKA SALAD WITH LOCAL GOATS CHEESE

•    ½ Pumpkin or more depending on how many you have to feed
•    a small bunch Oregano
•    2 teaspoons Paprika
•    2 teaspoon Cinnamon
•    Salt
•    1 tablespoon brown sugar
•    200grams Goats curd – this region has great cheeses try Tweed Valley Whey, Nimbin, Bangalow
•    3 tablespoons of Dukka – buy a local one made from macadamias
•    4 tablespoons Olive oil or macadamia oil
•    1 -2 capsicums

Cut up pumpkin and slice it wedges. Try not to make these too thin they should be about 5 cm diameter. Mix up your spices and rub pumpkin with salt, paprika, cinnamon, and oregano

Place pumpkins flat in a deep oven proof baking tray.

Slice capsicums in half remove seeds and then slice capsicums in strips and then place alongside pumpkin.

Place tray in the pre heated 220 oven and roast for 15 -20 minutes
Hint: the pumpkin needs to caramelize as it will sweeten and should hold its shape but not break up.

Take pumpkin out of the oven and place on a platter. Sprinkle Dukka mix over the pumpkin and arrange roasted capsicums. Arrange cheese over the pumpkin and some fresh oregano leaves.

LIME AND LEMONGRASS MARMALADE CHICKEN

Organic chicken is widely available from supermarkets and farmers’ markets, so there is no excuse.
•    1 unwaxed organic lime– hopefully off your or a friend’s lime tree
•    4 cloves of local garlic, chopped
•    1 x 1.6 whole, organic chicken
•    125g butter, room temperature
•    2 tablespoons lime marmalade
•    Lemon grass
•    pinch of sea salt
•    black pepper, to taste
Pre-heat oven to 190° Celsius fan-forced (slightly less for a regular oven).
Zest the lime and chop the zest finely. Set aside the rest of the lime for later.
In a medium bowl place your butter, lemongrass all of the garlic, the lime zest, salt and pepper. Mix together with a spoon.
Place your chicken on a baking tray. If you have a wire rack, place the chicken on top of this and then in the tray.
Carefully lift the skin on the top of the chicken and push your butter mix under the skin on both sides. Using a wooden spoon or spatula helps.
Warm your marmalade a little by placing it out of the fridge on very low heat for few minutes and then taking it off.
Take a pastry brush and then brush over the chicken
Cut the lime in half. Squeeze over the chicken. Rub the salt and pepper over the outside of the chicken.
Place in the oven and cook for approximately 60 minutes.
Place a skewer or knife into the chicken. Juice will run from the chicken. This should be clear. If you notice the skin is pink or there seems to be colour in the juice return to the oven for another 10 minutes and check again.
Remove the chicken from the oven and serve.

LIME & KAFFIR LIME MARMALADE

•    12 limes
•    6 Kaffir Limes
•    White granulated sugar

Makes about 2.5kg (5lb 8oz)
12 limes,
6 kaffir lime leaves, bruised
about 1.75kg (5lb) white granulated sugar, warmed in a low oven
Wash the limes. Cut them in half and juice them (reserve the juice). Cover the skins in cold water and refrigerate overnight. The next day drain the skins, cut into quarters and scrape out the flesh and membrane. Put this on to a 40cm (16in) square of muslin and tie into a bag with string. Slice the skins into fine shreds lengthways. Place a small plate in the fridge to chill.
Put the shredded limes into a preserving pan with the muslin bag, lime leaves, 2 litres (3½ pints) water and the juice, cover tightly and cook gently for an hour and a half or until the fruit is soft. Limes have tough skins; so make sure you are happy with the softness – once the sugar is added the skins will harden slightly. You don’t want to lose too much water, so cook it gently. Remove the lime leaves and the bag, squeezing out as much pectin-filled juice as you can; squeeze it between two plates for maximum efficiency.

To sterilise your jars wash them and the lids in warm soapy water and place in an oven preheated to 110°C/225°F/gas mark ¼ for half an hour. It’s easier to lift them in and out if you put them in a large roasting tin. Leave them in the oven while you finish the jam. The jam has to be potted in warm sterilised jars. You should also sterillise the ladle you use and any jam funnel in boiling water.

Weigh the fruit and liquid, then put it back in the pan and add the same weight of sugar. Gently heat the mixture until the sugar has dissolved, then turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Once it has reached boiling point, test for a set. This jam has a very high pectin level so setting point is reached quickly. Jams set at 105°C on a sugar thermometer, but if you use the ‘wrinkle test’ you can manage without a thermometer: put a teaspoonful of the mixture on the cold plate, leave it to cool for a minute then see if it wrinkles when pushed with your finger. Take the pan off the heat while you do the test, so you don’t overcook the jam. If it hasn’t reached setting point, put it back on the heat for four minutes and try again.
Stir and remove any scum from the top of the marmalade while it is still warm. Once the marmalade has reached setting point leave it to cool for about 12 minutes (this helps distribute the rind more evenly in the jars) then pot in the warm, sterilized jars and seal.

The April Fresh report and all recipes by Miss April herself, Alison Drover

Australia's groovy chestnut mascot : Mr Chesty!

CHESTNUTS

Absolute comfort and nostalgia food for sister Tess. Like many foods, they are a poor people’s staple which is now a bit of a luxury. In season briefly now in Australia. You must always slit the skin before cooking to avoid exploding chestnuts. The easiest way to cook them is in boiling water with dill or fennel tops or seeds. Taste, ready when soft. You can eat them hot or cold, or use them in recipes after boiling.
Or put holes in an old thin, definitely not non-stick coated frypan, and roast over coals. Eat hot. mmm

THE NEW CALDERA (MURWILLUMBAH) FARMERS MARKET

From this Wednesday April 6, the Caldera Farmers’ Market will be held every Wednesday from 7am to 11am in

The Dairy Pavilion (enter via the Harry Williams Gate),
Murwillumbah Showground
Queensland Road, Murwillumbah NSW

It will focus on the wide variety of fruits and vegetables grown in the surrounding Tweed Valley. And it is called caldera in honour of the beautiful huge volcanic formation that Murwillumbah sits in, and of the Caldera Institute that has championed the market.

Thank you to Deb Fuller, market manager, for speaking to belly. She can be reached on 0401 306 818.

“As we are starting as a growers market, only farmers who already provide
value added products such as relishes & jams from their farms will be
permitted to sell them.
One of main objectives is to strengthen the local economy by providing a regular income for farm businesses therefore keeping the money within the local community as well as shorten the food supply chain within the area which hopefully will lead to reduced food miles and fuel costs. The primary driver is to assist the area in
becoming self sustainable longer term. Our preference has be given to
farmers within the Murwillumbah area. Our growers must reside within a 50km
radius of Murwillumbah. Whilst we have selected our first round of growers
we would love to hear from others in the area.” Deb Fuller

Deb also told belly that the market is particularly looking for a breadmaker, and that hopefully at a later stage the range of food on offer will be broader, especially if they get lots of customer support, so get thee to the market, bellysister!

BELLY BULLETIN

Lots of local happenings in the belly bulletin this week.

The Byron Bay Slow Food group is closing. It used to be one of the largest Australian rural groups for the international group that fights for good, clean and fair food. Secretary Janene Jervis believes other local groups have now taken up the fight. And they have a bit of spare cash to give away to a suitable local group, maybe a community or school food garden. Contact janene via email, janenejarvis@bigpond.com

If you make, bake or grow something delicious, and you like in Byron, Ballina. Lismore or Tweed councils, you may want to take it along to a special Easter beachside market on saturday 23 April, in Byron Bay. Contact the Byron Community centre or www.byronmarkets.com.au

And the Echo reports that people living near the Myocum tip are suffering severely from stinky fumes at the moment, identified as mostly methane, carbon dioxide and rotten egg gas. Which all sounds very much like the gases produced by food and garden refuse, so wouldn’t it be good if we had a separate organics rubbish collection in Byron Shire. Meantime, I strongly recommend the composting and waste course run cheaply by Byron Community College.

And if you are involved in a sustainable local food business, contact Byron council. They are producing a sustainable food guide to distribute at tourist and council outlets, also an online version will be available.

Another good council initiative is the Foodlinks Project – a regional sustainable food initiative of the 7 Northern Rivers Councils and Rous Water.

Last week, Foodlinks facilitator Sharon Gibson delivered a workshop for YAC students to learn about growing organic food and they helped build a beautiful vegetable garden to feed young people attending courses at the YAC. Local businesses donated goods and skills for the project.

Composting workshops will be held at the City Centre Produce Market on Thursday 7th April. Many short free demonstrations will be conducted from 4.30 to 6.30 in Magellan St Lismore. Sharon Gibson will be demonstrating how to turn your kitchen scraps and garden weeds into soil building compost. Bring your questions and get inspired!

And Leah Roland of the Bangalow Cooking School is running several kids cooking workshops starting next week, and welcoming kids accompanied by an adult to her adult classes. If you’d like your kids to be as talented in the kitchen as those at the Bangalow Public school, check out the bangalow cooking school website. Then lend me your children so they can make me dinner.

Finally, if you enjoyed our Thai belly with Thome, the Thai New year celebration, Songkran, is on this Sunday april 10 from 9.30 to 5 at the Bodhi Tree Forest Monastery. There will be chanting, offerings to the monks, Thai dancers, and most importantly lots of free delicious Thai food. Everyone welcome. See www.buddhanet.net

EDIBLE QUOTE

from the Godfather movie : “Leave the gun; take the cannoli.”
Which obviously is good advice – if you point delicious ricotta filled, chocolate covered cannoli at someone, they will do anything you ask and you can’t shoot yourself in the foot.

Love and chocolate cannoli, sister T

MUSIC

Yma Sumac – gopha mambo

Abbie Cardwell and her leading men – future’s so bright

Harry Belafonte – the banana boat song

Arrow Tour – mahalo hotel, from Fish smell like cat

Nina Simone – here comes the sun

Juryman mix of felicidade- from Suba Tributo

And our regularly played tracks are:

The Mighty Imperials, Thunder Chicken

on air March 7: Italian in season flavours, women’s voices & Danish Mardi Gras

It was a March hare’s mad tea party of a show today. Alison Drover was our guest fresh reporter and she was in an Italian mood, she prepared a whole lot of info on fruit and veg in season in March, especially zucchini eggplant and figs, then she couldn’t get to the studio so sister T has to pretend to be much blonder and nicer and better dressed (you can tell in the voice) and read out all Alison’s info and recipes. On the first belly in April though, she will be live on air in person. Also, straight from the belly lab, a wonderful new discovery, lychee choc tops, the belly bulletin featuring breast milk ice cream, stories from fabulous community radio food shows, lots of women’s voices to celebrate 100 years of International Women’s day, Danish mardi gras, and this week’s markets as usual.

ALISON’S GUEST FRESH REPORT : IN SEASON AROUND AUSTRALIA IN MARCH

This month March and I tend to think I am very Italian because it is the season for many fruits and vegetables, which characterize a lot of Italian cooking… The fig, the zucchini flower, the eggplant, the zucchini, pumpkins and basil.

It is about using the seasons in abundance having a lot of something like eggplant and adding something special to it like an artisan cheese or some prosciutto but taking time to prepare the vegetables well. The Italians are inherently sustainable in the kitchen and supplement vegetables, which are low carbon footprint with small amounts of meat or often than not any meat and also make flavorsome cheeses, curds and intense pestos.

Zucchini Flowers – are at the markets however they disappear. Harris Farm and other groceries stock them however it is worth talking to your grower and even asking to reserve some. They are fragile and therefore you need to consider this with regards to price. They price can vary from anything to $4.00 a punnet upwards. The best incentive to grow food is to taste it. The recipe that I have provided is for zucchini flowers and is a little “special” however worthwhile and then another that can be whipped up easily.

Corn …is ready and its arrival was celebrated in Corndale at the Chicken and Corn night in a few weeks ago at the Community Hall.

March is the month of figs. This is a time to seek them out and dedicate meals to them. I love figs grilled with cheese, salad, balsamic and roasted macadamias however they are good in so many ways especially on top of cakes. Finding the Fig – figs are not going to be everywhere like the custard apple or the lime however this makes them more treasured. Look for them at local stores ie Bexhill Store has some great ones bought in by locals or the markets. They have only a very short window at their peak so check out the local market now to see if you can get them. Figs grow quite well on the North Coast, despite coming from a more Mediterranean climate. The delicious plump fruits are highly perishable and can only be stored in the fridge for a few days. You can poach, grill and bake figs and add them to salads.

Custard Apples – love to grow in this region and are plentiful and often found on the side of the road at stalls as well as at the markets. More and more recipes for using them http://www.custardapple.com.au Peter Gilmore from the Quay restaurant in Sydney made them famous with the Custard Apple ice cream which is great.

Eggplants are glossy purple and in abundance. Many people overlook this vegetable however it is such diversity. The recipe I have included is for an eggplant stack with roasted tomato sauce, feta and basil. Whole eggplants can stored for two weeks in the fridge but once cut, they quickly discolour. Eggplant can be sliced and fried for use in lasagna but this method soaks up a lot of oil. Whole eggplants can be sliced lengthways and roasted for half an hour or so in a moderate oven until they collapse. The skin can be easily peeled off and the flesh pureed with tahini, lemon juice, a hint of crushed garlic, a teaspoon of cumin and a little olive oil and salt to make a brilliant dip – Baba Ganoush. Of course you can mix eggplant with other ‘in season’ vegies such as tomatoes and zucchini to make a ratatouille, which is basically a mixed, or roasted vegetables and onion in a tomato sauce. I take out all the tomatoes that I harvested in December from the freezer and mix them with the zucchini and eggplant.

Zucchini are robust and will keep in the fridge for a while and can be grated to make fritters with, chargrilled and layered like the eggplant, diced and fried with pasta or can be oven roasted with oil and garlic and rosemary make a great salad for a bbq.

March is the month for harvesting and eating beans, beetroot and Bok Choy. Beans of all sizes and shapes including green (or French), butter beans (yellow), scarlet (actually purple) and runner beans are in season now. One idea is steamed with basil, chopped boiled egg, macadamia oil and some red onion.

Baby beetroot should also be ready now and available at your local market. If you grow your own, you have the added bonus of using the tops – the smaller leaves in salads or the larger leaves in cooking, as you would use spinach. The roots are good sources of vitamins B1; B2 and the leaves are high in Vitamin C.

March is the month for:

• Making lime cordial so that you can top up your vitamin C in winter when limes are going to be very expensive

• Celebrating the fig – bake a cake, roast them poach them grill them

• Eating eggplant every which way and how

• Enjoying berries blueberries and strawberries before they disappear.

• Eating plums the last of the stoned fruit although in this area look for the sugar plums as they grow better here

Fruits in season this month:

• Apples – galas and red delicious have been in the shops for a few weeks, while Jonathons are coming off the trees at the moment

• Avocadoes – Hass are finishing up, but Shephards are coming into season

• Bananas

• Berries – this is the end of the season, but blueberries and blackberries are still very good

• Figs

• Fuji fruit

• Guava

• Mangoes – Kensington Prides have finished but the end of season Palmer mangoes are beautiful

• Pears – William, Sensation and Bosc

• Pineapples – Bethongas are still great

• Plums are gorgeous at the moment – particularly radiance and I’ve seen the first of the tiny sugar plums

• Pomegranates – mostly still fruit from the US, but the local supply will start later in March

• Quinces

• Rhubarb

Vegetables in season this month:

• Asian greens

• Beans

• Broccoli

• Brussels sprouts – the season is just starting

• Capsicums are good and cheap

• Cucumbers

• Chestnuts should be coming in later in the month

• Chillies

• Eggplant – the long thin Italian eggplants are particularly good

• Lettuce – although they’ve been small recently

• Mushrooms

• Okra

• Potatoes – Dutch cream and Sebagoes are the best

• Snow peas

• Sugar snap peas

• Sweetcorn

• Sweet potato

. Zucchini – excellent small zucchini available at the moment

ZUCCHINI FLOWERS STUFFED WITH FETA AND WHITE WINE BATTER – by Alison

Tips – If you open a bottle of wine mid week and don’t finish it take a freeze bag and freeze it and write across it “White White” . This is a great way of ensuring you have wine for cooking when you need it without opening a bottle especially

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, to deep fry

140g feta (try to go to the Farmers Market and get a local feta as it has so much flavor and you are supporting farmers who we rely on for the skills of traditional cheesemaking)

¼ cup parmesan, grated

2 Tbs thickened cream

6 zucchini flowers

1 cup plain flour

1/3 cup white wine

½ cup corn flour

Method:

Fill a saucepan half full with oil and place over a medium heat until hot enough to deep fry.

Combine the feta, parmesan and cream in a small bowl, season with salt and pepper. Spoon into a piping bag, pipe the mixture into the zucchini flowers and twist the flowers closed.

Place the flour, and white wine in a bowl, add a cup of water and using a whisk, whisk to make a batter.

Coat the zucchini flowers in corn flour, then carefully place in the hot oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden and crispy. Drain onto a plate lined with kitchen paper. Sprinkle with salt to serve.

ALISON’S RAT (ATUILLE)

If you have some left over bread make it into breadcrumbs lay them on a tray with some olive oil on low heat to crunch them up and you can use this as a topping. I also add some finely chopped rosemary and thyme from the garden which I have hung to dry.

5 red capsicum

70 ml olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced –(please use local garlic)

1 onion, finely chopped

4 cups peeled and diced tomatoes -passata

800 gm eggplant (about 2), cut widthways into 5mm-thick slices

400 gm green zucchini, cut widthways into 5mm-thick slices

6 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced horizontally

140 gm (2 cups) fresh coarse breadcrumbs or leftover bread finely chopped

100 gm finely grated cheddar or your choice hard cheese

2 tsp thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 180C. Place capsicum in a roasting pan, drizzle with 2 tsp olive oil and roast until skin is blistered (10-15 minutes). Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cool. When cool, peel and remove seeds (discarding peel and seeds), thinly slice lengthways and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté until soft (5-7 minutes). Add tomatoes, season to taste and simmer, stirring occasionally to combine (4-5 minutes), then pour evenly into the base of a 3 litre-capacity deep baking dish.

Layer eggplant, overlapping slightly, over prepared base. Season to taste and repeat with zucchini and roast capsicum. Scatter anchovies over and finish with a layer of Roma tomatoes.

Combine breadcrumbs, cheddar or your choice of hard cheese and thyme in a bowl. Season to taste, then scatter over vegetables and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Pop in the oven and bake until top is golden about 55 minutes.

Alison Drover

FROM THE BELLY LAB

One other delicious thing in season this month is lychees, a bit of an odd up and down season this year, but there are quite a lot around at the moment. Look out for small stone ones, a whole lot more flesh in even the small looking ones. I had a lovely lychee martini in Brisbane recently, the best part was 3 frozen lychees on a stick as decoration/swizzle stick. I took the idea back to the belly lab, and after much product testing, highly recommend to you…

LYCHEE CHOC TOPS

Peel and remove the stone from lychees, trying not to open them up too much.

Soak in a white spirit – white rum works well, vodka is drier and lets you taste the fruit more. Skip for kids of course.

Freeze. When frozen, coat in warm tempered chocolate and re-freeze.

Eat straight from freezer with great delight.

You could also experiment with filling the centre of the lychees with nuts, chocolate ganache, another fruit….too much is always good!

DANISH MARDI GRAS

Yes they are dancing in the streets in the biggest Carnival in the world today, in Rio, and all over Brazil and the Catholic world, celebrating life and love and rich food before we all get very serious and give up all animal products and sugar until Easter.

Most of us have heard of the Rio mardi gras, and the Sydney one, but have you heard about Danish mardi gras, or fastelavn? It evolved out of the Catholic tradition, but as Denmark became mostly Protestant, it turned into “a time for children’s fun and family games” like whipping your parents. It is celebrated the Sunday or Monday before Ash wednesday.

Some towns in Denmark hold large Fastelavn parades and festivities , including hitting a wooden effigy of a cat filled with sweets – which once used to contain an actual cat.

Of course there is a special food associated with Danish carnival, a sweet bun sometimes filled with cream. It is made with potatoes, flour, egg, sugar and butter and deep fried. Typical carnival food, sweet fried dough seems to be popular all over the world for mardi gras.

The other typical Danish tradition is a good flogging, now done mostly by children to wake up parents on the Sunday of fastelavn. They use bunches of twigs or willow, decorated with sweets or feathers, egg-shells, storks and little figures of babies. Apparently it started as a fertility ritual, when it was mainly the young women and the infertile who were flogged. Then very pious parents would flog their kids to remind them of Christ’s suffering. Now the kids get their revenge. But the flogged ones always get a sweet bun in return. If you are living at home with mum and dad, you could just go multicultural and be Danish for a day.

FASTELAVN BUNS – from this unadorned but great collection of Danish recipes, a lot from his mum, bless him.

* ½ pound potatoes

* 1 cup potato water

* 1 package dry yeast

* ½ cup water

* 2 cups flour — sifted

* 2 tablespoons soft butter

* 1 egg — beaten

* ¾ cup sugar

* ½ cup warm water

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 5 cups flour

Cook potatoes. Drain and reserve potato water. Mash potatoes. Mix mashed potatoes, potato water, yeast cake soaked in the 1/2 cup water, and the 2 cups flour. Let stand overnight.

In the morning add the butter, the egg and the sugar, and cream well. Add the lukewarm water, salt and the 5 cups flour. Beat well. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Punch down and roll ½ inch thick. Cut into rounds with a cookie cutter and drop each round into hot fat, browning on both sides. Remove and drain on paper towels. Roll in sugar while still warm.

AND TO CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

I played a few minutes from a couple of my favourite community radio food shows. Because on community radio you can be involved no matter your gender, colour, sexual orientation or fanciability.

This is a story from the American network NPR, by those other fabulous sisters, the Kitchen Sisters, about an indomitable woman who fed and helped the black civil rights campaigners, including ML King.

And this is from the Melbourne station 3CR, a piece from their long running food show ‘Food Fight’. If you are chasing up info on all the benefits of coffee grounds for your garden, or you are thinking of starting up a coffee grounds recycling system where you are, the website is http://groundtoground.org/

AND FINALLY …. sometimes it’s hard to believe belly only goes for one hour:

THE BELLY BULLETIN

CARE Australia is launching the Walk In Her Shoes challenge in celebration of the 100th year of International Women’s Day. Women and girls make up 60 per cent of the 1.4 billion people currently living in poverty. Millions walk over six kilometres a day in search of food, water and firewood. This leaves little time for anything else. So if you want to Help break this cycle of poverty, Walk 10,000 steps per day for one week and get sponsored – the week is Monday 28 March to Sunday 3 April 2011.
You can raise money towards firewood, water, food, health care, safety or education to reduce the burden. Go to www.careaustralia.org.au for details.

In other news, the 2 big supermarkets are fighting over milk, Mallams has closed down in Mullum, but I’d rather tell you about life-saving honey, soggy pizza and breast milk ice cream.

Honey made from an Australian native myrtle tree has been found to have the most powerful anti-bacterial properties of any honey in the world and could be used to treat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections that commonly occur in hospitals and nursing homes. The myrtle is (leptospermum polygalifolium), which grows along the Australian eastern seaboard from the south coast of NSW to Cape York. The honey is being tested by a Brisbane-based research group. Meantime cover yourself in honey, it can’t hurt, just watch out for ants.

What does it take to break the the record for the world’s longest pizza? One-and-a-half tonnes of flour, 650 kilos of mozzarella, 1,500 litres of water, 30 or 40 kilos of salt and about 15 kilos of yeast, also one-and-a-half kilometres of chicken wire, and a special oven that can cook one-and-a-half metres of pizza per minute.
And no rain. So maybe they never should have tried this in Melbourne, especially this year.
More than 40 chefs from Melbourne pizza restaurants were working since midnight last weekend on Lygon street, to make the 1.2-kilometre long pizza and were halfway through when rain-affected soggy dough brought the attempt to an end.
The pizza was going to be distributed to charities across Melbourne.
Judges from the Guinness World Records Association were there to decide if the pizza broke the previous record which is held by Poland.
Organisers say they might try again next year.

On my last belly show I told you about how popular baby food is with many adults. Now you can go straight for the ultimate baby food. A cafe in London has started selling ice cream made from women’s breast milk. It is called Baby Gaga, and it’s made with milk expressed by 15 women who replied to an ad on an online mothers’ forum. One of the milk donors, Victoria Hiley, said that if adults realised how tasty breast milk was then more new mothers would feel happier about breastfeeding. She expressed the milk at the cafe and it was pasteurised before lemon zest and vanilla pods were added as it was churned. Ms Hiley, is paid $23 for every 10 ounces of milk.
The man behind Baby Gaga icecream, Matt O’Connor, said he could not understand people being squeamish about the product. “If it’s good enough for our children, it’s good enough for the rest of us,” he said. “Some people will hear about it and go yuck – but actually it’s pure organic, free-range and totally natural.”
Already a pretty good story, but now it’s much better because singer Lady Gaga has had her lawyer send a stern legal letter telling the ice-cream makers to : “cease and desist from in any other way associating with Lady Gaga any ice-cream you are offering,” . The letter accuses The cafe of “taking unfair advantage of, and riding on the coat-tails of” Lady Gaga’s trademarks in a manner that is “deliberately provocative and, to many people, nausea-inducing”.
The ice-cream was a big hit. One serve costs $22.50 and it’s brought out by waitresses wearing flamboyant outfits, a bit of a Lady Gaga trademark. But breast milk icecream is now off the menu because Westminster City Council seized it for health and safety checks. “We are taking the ice-cream away for samples,” a spokeswoman said. “It’s not a ban. The owner has voluntarily agreed not to make any more or sell any more until we’ve got all the results.” Breast milk could carry viral infections, including hepatitis, she explained.
The manufacturers have said they use the same screening procedures as blood donation centres or milk banks in London.

MUSIC

Still celebrating wonderful crazy community radio, the tracks I played today were from a compilation done to support a Sydney community radio licence aspirant station that unfortunately never became permanent, Out Fm.

From “Inside Out”, Warner records 1999

authority over the fish – by artificial

flowers in the sky – by boo boo and mace

miss del ray – by jo jo smith

love and chocolate cake, sister T

on air 17.1.11 : kids in the belly kitchen

Total takeover of belly today by the juniors : Audrey (6), Luca (9), Zoe (10), Abbie (11) and Jordan (12). All fabulous cooks, with talented mothers and teachers Adele Wessell from Southern Cross University and Melanie Le Sueur from Bangalow Public School. Eight of us in the not so very huge bayfm studio!

They were all involved one way or another with the TV program Junior Masterchef last year.

Audrey and Luca ready for the great pasta challenge

ADELE WESSELL is a lecturer at Southern Cross University in Lismore. She teaches history but is also a food scholar, and the mother of Audrey and Luca. She helped organise some fellow food scholars under the loose umbrella of the Masterchef TV program at the national conference of the Australasian cultural Studies Association, held in Byron Bay last December.

Adele presented a paper on the children’s version of Masterchef, which aired last year for the first time and was very successful with both kids and adults. One of the reasons she did a study on it was to allow her to spend more time with Audrey and Luca, who love to get into the kitchen. Out of the 5 kids in the studio, Luca is the only one who admitted he’d like a career in food, maybe with his own cafe. He is handy with a kitchen blowtorch (essential for creme brulee these days), and also loves making potato gratin. Audrey at 6 years old has her own knife and loves to “plate up”, and according to Adele will even eat more veg if she gets to arrange them. Plating up, both the expression and the activity, is definitely a new favourite of Australian kids.

We touched on a few of the issues that Adele identified in her study:

* anxieties over exposing the kids to competition (which our little sample said they enjoy).
* anxieties over healthy food and obesity, which were not a focus of the adult program but were often brought up as essential in teaching kids to cook. The adult programme was simply focused on the sheer pleasure of cooking.
* current entertainment trends focused on activities that may have been regarded as work, and the way this brings young people back into domestic activities, allowing play and necessary household work to happen at the same time, and family members to spend time together.
* judging from ingredient sales, people were actually learning and doing the recipes on the show (although I suspect there are a lot of jars and bottles languishing in pantries as a result of MC).
* the cooking was sometimes seen as to complex, and the series cookbook contained much simpler recipes
* although the adult cooking competitors cried ALL THE TIME, the kids were supposed to be not just talented cooks from the start, but willing to take criticism and not prone to tears

Then it was time for a quick musical chairs moment, and Jordan, Abbie and Zoe, 3 of the 12 local kids invited to a masterclass on Junior MC, and their teacher MELANIE LE SUEUR, shared their experiences.
Bangalow Public School was invited to participate because of the years of cooking and veggie patch programs that the school has put on. Belly regular Leah Roland, who runs the Bangalow Cooking School, and Michael Malloy, who runs everything else in Byron Bay and Bangalow, have put endless volunteer hours into Kids in the Kitchen and other programs. Many of the students now regularly cook for their families and friends.
Melanie is the mother of 2 kids at the school, has taught there for 5 years, and helped co-ordinate cooking classes at the school last year. She went to Sydney with the kids for the shooting and witnessed all the drama. The show producers actually tried to change the format and cancel the trip after they had all bought tickets, but Leah managed to convince them that they really didn’t want 12 very disappointed kids on their doorstep. I think a group of diminutive picketers, beating whisks against bowls, shouting : ” Whaddowewant? To learn to cook! Whendowewannt? Now!” would have been fun on the news though.
Jordan can cook lots of tricky dishes but is a fan of the granita ice dessert, you will find a whole post on granita on the belly site, because the bellysisters agree it is a wonderful thing. Abbie loved the Clafoutis that they made,and the school now has its own version (below). Zoe learned to peel and beautifully dice tomatoes on MC, but seems more excited about having played football (soccer) with George, one of the presenters. And everyone agrees the time one of the kids forgot about her lapel mike, and whispered “You can see George’s bum crack” was a highlight.

The episode took 9 hours of shooting, with breaks mandatory to rest and feed the kids every 30 minutes. They had fun, and learned a lot, although both Adele and Melanie regret that no washing up is shown or taught on the show. That’s the price a lot of parents with young cooks pay – a LOT of washing up!

Thank you to Melanie and Bangalow Public School for sharing the recipes below.
If your school or group is doing something interesting with junior cooks, the bellysisters would love you to come on the show, or we may be able to come to you, or record something for us to play.
Thank you to Audrey, Zoe, Abbie, Luca and Jordan, who shared their stories and were such media pros in the bayfm studio.

Sister T (feeling much better about the Australian baby boom now)

PEACH OR NECTARINE CLAFOUTIS

You can use any many different types of fruit, depends on the season.
Peach nectarines, plums, rasperries, blueberries, boysenberries and cherries all work well!
Clafoutis all year round.

INGREDIENTS
600gm of fruit
If using peaches and nectarines cut into wedges
A little butter for greasing the baking dish
For the batter
250 gm Self Raising flour
250 gm of sugar
500ml milk
6 eggs

UTENSILS
2 large ceramic baking trays or quiche flan, whisk, spatula, mixing bowl,

METHOD

Turn oven onto 180degrees Celsius.
If using peaches and nectarines destine and cut into thin wedges. If the fruit is a little hard you might like to poach them in water and sugar beforehand.
Grease your baking tray.
Mix the batter to a thick consistency with a whisk.
Arrange fruit in the baking tray and pour batter on top.
Bake in oven for 30- 40minutes until brown on top
Serve with ice-cream or yummy lemon myrtle yoghurt (lemon myrtle is a lemon scented eucalyptus native to the North coast of NSW)

To make lemon Myrtle yoghurt :

 Mix together 500g yoghurt, 1tsp ground lemon myrtle and add honey to taste.

FRUIT GALETTE

Ingredients
4 sheets Puff pastry
1kg fruit such as peaches, nectarines, pears or apples.
½ – ¾ soft cup brown sugar
Cinnamon (optional)
50ml milk and 1 egg (mix to make an egg wash)

UTENSILS
Flat baking tray, knife, chopping board, baking paper, bowls pastry brush.

METHOD
Check oven is on 180 degrees Celsius
De-stone peaches (or de-core apples pears etc) Thinly slice your fruit place in bowl and mix with sugar and cinnamon.
Cut puff pastry into long rectangles about 5-7 cm wide brush with milk and egg wash
Place fruit in a fan layered way on top of pastry.
Bake in a preheated oven for 25-35 minutes until pastry has puffed up and is browned

SALSA VERDE

INGREDIENTS
2 cups herbs – basil, parsley, mint or coriander or a combinations
4 garlic cloves
½ cup capers
100-150mls olive oil
20mls red wine vinegar
6 anchovies fillets and 1 gherkin (optional)

UTENSILS
Salad bowl, blender/food processor, Mortar and pestle or garlic crusher, spatula

METHOD
Pick leaves off herbs and place into food processor.
Add chopped garlic and gherkins, anchovies and capers and vinegar.
Lightly blend until chopped coarsely then drizzle in olive oil until you reach a chunky paste like consistency.
Place in a bowl and drizzle oil on top or cover with cling film to stop from browning.
Use on your favourite pasta or grilled vegetable meat or fish.

The whole episode with the Bangalow students is available online, and is well worth watching.

And these are a couple of articles about the school

http://www.masterchef.com.au/9654.htm

http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/holidaytype/kidsfamily/8169203/cooking-classes-for-mini-master-chefs

http://www.heartbeat.net.au/?p=131_bangalow_masterchef

Adele Wessell has a number of articles on food online, do a search or just have a look here

MUSIC

Beady Belle – Goldilocks, from ‘Ladies in Nu-Jazz’

Dropwise Dubs, Yes Please, from Bass Bucket

Herbie Hancock, Watermelon Man instrumental, from ‘Watermelon man the ultimate Hancock!’

TM Juke – Playground Games, from Nu jazz anthology

Stacey Kent and Jan Lundgren trio, Street of Dreams, from Nu Jazz anthology

Oka, Pandanus, from LMR 4ZZZ, The Dreaming 2010

on air January 10 – Toorak to Rome, Lilith to Elvis, with campfire cherries

The wonderful Lilith was in the studio today for our last episode of ‘Cooking with the Stars’. Today’s episode is for Capricorns and those who love them and everyone who would like to hear about some of Lilith’s own adventures – the stuff of legend. And a whole lot of famous Capricorn chefs, even a recipe today. In the second half of belly I played an interview recorded in December at the 2010 National conference of the Australasian Cultural Studies Association. Sounds serious and it was, even though I went to hear a couple of panels all about Masterchef. Lots of learned scholars discussing food issues in a thoroughly enjoyable way, including Liv Hamilton from Macquarie Uni in Sydney. She is looking at how politics and unease about migrants in Italy is reflected in battles over what kids should be eating in Italian schools. The dark side of the Mediterranean diet!
And lots of Elvis, straight from the great Parkes Elvis Festival. Or so he told me, and you don’t argue with the King (aah-hu!). Of course you don’t need a reason to play Elvis, but Liv was just back from a road trip that included all the sequins and karaoke of Parkes, so… Liv adds that she was camping with 4 foodies and “best dessert of the trip was marshmallow fondue with cherries, made in our little skillet on the gas burner. And of course we took our coffee pot, for fresh coffee every morning.” I do that too, the Italian caffettiera works well on a barbie.
Although I was a bit rude about the cherry fondue on air (well we can’t ALL like marshmallows), I might see if I can get Liv to share the recipe for you marshmallow lovers.
Liv is from a part Italian background, but is vegetarian and gluten intolerant, which helped lead her to some places and people well away from tourist postcard versions of Italy. During our interview, she discussed some aspects of her doctoral thesis, which “examines the ways in which immigrants and minorities in the city of Rome construct their identities in place, making claims to belong in a city in which they are often conceived as outsiders.” We talked about the outrage in some sections of the community and the press when Rome tried to bring in ‘ethnic’ menus in schools, as a way of learning about the major immigrant groups in the city. Now the government and the policy have changed, and Liv writes :

“Authorities encourage children to eat a ‘Mediterranean’ (Italian) diet through provisions in school canteens. 2010 is the first year that a national policy on school canteen food has been released (previously this had been managed at the local level). This policy requires school canteens to use fresh, local products and recipes, and does not allow individual schools to introduce ‘ethnic’ menus.

Children of immigrants are described (in this same document) as being at high risk of obesity due to attempts to maintain the family’s traditional diet at the same time as eating an Italian diet (thus causing ‘excess’), while their families’ low incomes lead to consumption of high-fat foods (something common to all children of low socio-economic background, but in this document specifically attributed to children of immigrants – with no statistical data provided on how many of these families earn low incomes).

Essentially, the assumption is that the Mediterranean diet is the healthier choice and
children should be encouraged to adopt it even at home, with the food provided at school seen as an educational tool and a way to promote ‘integration’.”

We also talked about how some Italian towns (eg Lucca in Tuscany) are trying to ban non-Italian restaurants from historic centres, so as not to detract from their Italian-ness. And most importantly, if you happen to need a break from Italian food in Rome, Liv recommends “Il Guru delle Spezie” – the guru of spice Indian restaurant.

Sister T

LILITH IS COOKING WITH THE STARS : CAPRICORN

Today we belatedly wish happy birthday to all our hardworking, ambitious Capricorns, those Goats who can digest almost anything if they have to, but
are usually choosy about their food, preferring it simple, unfussy, elegant, classy and classic. Their tastes tend towards the best restaurants, traditional linen and silver, top quality ingredients impeccably prepared and served, so of course many respected chefs are Capricorns – in Japan, which now has more Michelin stars than any nation, their two most famous TV chefs, Chen Kenichi and Rokusaburo Michiba are both Capricorns.
The traditional dishes Capricorns tend to favour are often rich: steak and kidney pie enriched with truffles and field mushrooms, or Chateubriand followed by tarte tatin, port and a fine fromage.

Like chef ALAIN CHAPEL, supposedly a pioneer of nouvelle cuisine, whose signature dishes included stuffed calves’ ears with fried parsley, truffle-stuffed chicken in a pork bladder cooked in a rich broth and gateau de foies blonds, a mousse of pureed chicken livers and beef marrow served in a lobster cream sauce one Capricorn’s version of nouvelle cuisine.

Capricorn chef KEITH FLOYD‘s wine-fuelled TV presentations endeared him to millions of viewers in 40 countries because when things went wrong he just threw them in the bin and carried on. Floyd’s last meal was oysters and partridge with champagne.

But they’re a loveable combination of the earthy and the posh – for all their posh preferences, they’re a down to earth sign with cold systems that love slow-cooked hot food and solid hearty nosh: roasted game, dark fruits and rich wines, and it was Capricorn ELIZABETH DAVID, pre-eminent cookery writer of the mid 20th century, who brought regional and rural Mediterranean
cooking to Brits worn down by post-war rationing and dull food at a time when Meditteranean ingredients were mostly unavailable and olive oil only obtainable from pharmacies.
Liz took off early adventuring round the Meditteranean on a boat with her married lover, hung out in the Greek islands with famous writers and lived with various boyfriends in Crete, Alexandria and Cairo. She pioneered the modern writing style of describing
food in its context and historical background with anecdotal asides.

Capricorn chefs love roasted or baked recipes that take hours to prepare because cooking’s their therapy that helps them unwind and release those pent-up emotions at the chopping board.

Capricorn chef BERNARD LOISEAU‘s discerning palate, fanatic attention to detail and frenetic work ethic won him the coveted 3 Michelin stars along with the highest possible honours awarded by the French government, but after the Gault Millau guide downgraded his restaurant from 19/20 to 17/20 Loiseau shot himself a cautionary tale of how some Capricorns can take themselves way too seriously.

Unlike my favorite domestic goddess, kitchen queen and food porn star the Honorable NIGELLA LAWSON, who won a thousand pound bet by eating 30 pickled eggs in ten minutes. She went into labour with her daughter while eating a
slice of pizza and hanging onto a bookshelf in agony, but when her sister kindly tried to relieve her of the pizza she snarled don’t touch my food. Channeling Miss Piggy with her lush descriptions of the joys of comfort food, the divine Miss Nigella says: “When I see a picture of someone who’s hugely fat I don’t think how hideous, I think how delicious it must have been to get there.”

And lastly, my friend and personal favorite Capricorn chef, Australia’s godfather of cooking TONY BILSON. We shared a house when he left home in Colac Victoria and moved in with his Larousse cookbook under his arm to a Toorak Rd mansion full of people off their faces on experimental substances. Through all the madness Bilson just kept turning out beautiful French food on one of those Aussie Early Kooka gas stoves, which we in no way appreciated and were usually too wasted to taste. I did stints in the kitchen at several of his restaurants (Albion, Tony’s Bon Gout, Berowra Waters) just because they were the most happening places to be, because Tony’s genius was for orchestrating the marriage of food and people – the Bon Gout was the place to eat during the Whitlam years, and at Kinsela’s he brought restaurant and theatre worlds together in the throbbing hub of Oxford Street.
Typically Tony talks in terms of ‘the experience’, because for him the art of cooking is turning food into a celebration of being alive. And with trademark Capricorn earthiness he says : “It’s a fabulous craft to be involved in, so ephemeral. A great dish today, shit tomorrow.”

One of the recipes he cooked at Toorak Rd in the Sixties:

MOHR IM HEMD (MOOR IN HIS NIGHTSHIRT)

for 6:

Ingredients:

100 g (4 oz) butter
100 g sugar
100 g plain grated chocolate
100 g ground almonds
6 eggs, separated
5 ml (1 tsp) coffee essence [not seen in shops since the 60s, so we think a strong sweetened espresso would work – careful not to add too much liquid]

Sauce: 175 g (6 oz) plain chocolate
175 ml water
75 g unsalted butter

Cream: 150 ml (1/4 pt) single cream
150 ml double cream
15 – 30 ml (1 – 2 tbsp) icing sugar
a few drops vanilla extract.

Method:

1. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Add chocolate, almonds and extract.
3. Whisk egg whites until stiff, fold gently into chocolate mixture.
4. Butter + dust with caster sugar 6 souffle dishes. Pour in choc mix.
5. Place in a roasting tin, half full of hot water. Bake in oven at 180°C (350°F) Gas 4 for 30 – 40 minutes until puffed and just firm.
Cool for a few minutes.
6. For sauce put chocolate and water in pan. Stir over low heat until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
7. Whisk single + double creams together till fluffy. Add icing sugar + vanilla.
8. Spoon a little sauce on to each serving plate. Invert puddings onto sauce
and cover with whipped cream.

Lilith

radio show 24 May 2010 : veggie warriors, geminis and chestnuts

…yes a bit of an odd mix when you put it like that. It’s a bit hard to explain what Kieran is doing in 2 words, go to the fundraiser and let him explain. Today’s topics were the dangers of industrial food and seed production and some grass (or veggie patch) roots solutions, the deliciousness of chestnuts, and Lilith is cooking with the stars for Gemini. And at least one famous Gemini chef, Jamie Oliver, is a bit of a veggie patch warrior too.

GUESTS : Kieran Weston, organic heirloom seedling grower
Lilith, astrogourmet

KIERAN’S SCHOOL/NURSING HOME PROJECT :

“Seed Sowers Organic Seedlings with Life Changing Documentaries is hosting a fund raising movie night at the Byron Services Club on the 1/6/2010 [at 4 pm and 6 pm]
The not for profit event is focused on raising awareness of major issues that confront our local and global communities along with future generations.
Proceeds from the evening are intended to fund the installation of Organic Gardens in Schools, and assist in the formation of community cooperative programs, which are hoped to foster a closer community.
The first 200 people to register online for this event will be invited to participate in the installation of the garden at the school,at which time Seed Sowers Organic and friends will conduct free workshops related to Gardening, Fermentation, and Raw Food Preparation.
Seed Sowers Organic would welcome expressions of interest on the night from schools retirement villages and other community groups that feel they would like to be involved. ”
[see contacts/links below]

Seed Sowers last school garden workshop...

...and the flourishing vegetable garden

GUEST RECIPES :

SOME HEALTHY SMOOTHIES FROM KIERAN :

Abundant Vegetable Smoothie

2 roma tomatoes
1 small carrot
1 small zucchini
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon onion
2 stalks celery
1 red bell pepper
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
2 cups water
1 Avocado
Blend all ingredients together until creamy.

Contributed by: Brenda Cobb (www.LivingFoodsInstitute.com)

“When I Eat This, Life is Bliss” Smoothie

3 bananas
1 cup raspberries
2 golden delicious apples
2 big handfuls of spinach
½ – 1 cup of water

Blend and indulge!
(best if your blender is 800 watts or more for the ultimate consistency)

ESPRESSO GRANITA SPIKED WITH COFFEE VODKA – from LILITH

like Geminis it’s light, but it’s got bite

Ingredients: 2 cups brewed espresso, sugar to taste, coffee vodka.
Garnish: Dark chocolate curls, fresh pomegranate, Italian cats tongue biscotti, up
to you…

Directions: Combine espresso and sugar in a bowl and stir till sugar is
dissolved. Pour into shallow dish and freeze till ice granules start to

form around the edges, about 1 hour, then stir with a fork to break up
granules. Refreeze and restir every 20 minutes till the mix becomes an icy
slush, about 2 hours.

To Serve: Spoon crystals into goblets, pour coffee vodka over, garnish as
you fancy.

Australia's groovy chestnut mascot : Mr Chesty!

FROM THE BELLY LAB – by sister Tess

BOILED CHESTNUTS:

choose fat, shiny chestnuts, with skin that feels tight and full, make a small cut on each so they don’t explode

boil in plenty of water with a few few fennel fronds or a good pinch of fennel seed, and a pinch of salt, until the inside is soft

cut one open to check

eat warm or cold after peeling off both the outer and the inner skin, they keep for 2-3 days in their skins
or peel and use in various recipes (labour of love)

LILITH IS COOKING WITH THE STARS : GEMINI

Today we’re wishing happy birthday to all the Shire’s busy Geminis, for whom constant change and variety are the spice of life, and who just love eating with others: they adore the stimulating buzz of gossip over plutonic coffee while snacking on interesting nibbles at the latest nook with the look, or doing lunch at the newest smart little eatery serving tiny portions for high prices to celebs.

So it’s no surprise that Gemini celebrity chef Delia Smith baked the cake on the cover of the Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed, and received an OBE last year for her contribution to British cooking. She shot to fame with Delias How To Cook TV series which actually taught Brits how to boil an egg, a show which led to a 10% rise in egg sales. From bread machines to pasta makers to panini grills, Geminis love their gadgets, and Smith’s use of particular kitchen utensils caused overnight sell-outs a phenomenon which came to be known as the Delia Effect, and that phrase is now in common use to describe a run on a product as a result of a high profile media recommendation.

Gemini chefs also tend to be ultra moderns who love coming up with novel combinations and techniques like Gemini kitchen chemist Heston Blumenthal whose signature dishes include snail porridge, parsnip cereal and bacon-and-egg ice cream (must have an Aquarian ascendant). Famous for his scientific approach to cooking, culinary alchemist and molecular gastronomist Blumenthal promotes the use of vacuum jar cooking, cooking in sealed bags and low temperature, ultraslow cooking of meat that doesn’t melt fat or release juices, keeping the meat so moist it doesn’t need sauce.

His Fat Duck restaurant was voted best in the UK and best in the world, and his TV program Heston’s Feasts recreate Victorian, Medieval, Tudor and Roman themed dinner banquets with celebrity guests all very Gemini. The Edwardian feast was based on the last meal
eaten on the Titanic and the Christmas feast included dormouse, hot ice cream and a dish made from gold, frankincense and myrrh.

While they’re the zodiac’s people people, Gemini chefs aren’t all celebrity showponies turning out moreish little morsels of elegant party tucker and Naked Chef Jamie Oliver, restaurateur and frequently outspoken media personality, has been awarded an MBE, voted Most Inspiring Political Figure of 2005 for lobbying the British government about British kids being served junk school lunches, and for creating a foundation which takes 15young adults a year from disadvantaged backgrounds, and trains them in the restaurant business. Another cheffy success story who left school at 16 with no qualifications, his TV series continually emphasize fresh organic produce and interesting low joule cuisine, and campaign to change poor cooking habits andunhealthy diets.

Sophie Grigson is another Gemini cookand author who’s a keen supporter of organic local food suppliers andadvocate for healthy children’s food.

by Lilith

radio hula pic by KK - just to prove that Lilith really does wonderful hula performances while us bellysisters vainly try to keep the show on the rails

EDIBLE QUOTE :

“For any chef, supermarkets are like a factory. I buy from specialist growers, organic suppliers and farmers”.

by Jamie Oliver, who got into a bit of trouble for saying this because he does ads for UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s

CONTACTS/LINKS:

http://lifechangingdocos.com/northernnsw/blog – to book for the Future of Food screening in Byron Bay

Seed Sowers Organic seedlings are at several markets and farmers markets around the Northern Rivers, including Byron Bay and Mullumbimby

http://www.chestnutsaustralia.com.au/recipes.html – oodles of chestnut recipes aand tips and the fabulous Mr Chesty

a few links to the attempted Jamie Oliver US conquest:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/

http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/25/jamie-oliver-us-healthy-eating – worth clicking just to see him dressed as a pea

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/west-virginia-eats-jamie-oliver-for-breakfast-1925393.html – good article on the uphill battle Jamie is facing in the US

some more healthy veggies planted in by the student volunteers and Seed Sowers at a local school

belly radio show April 19,2010 – petty crime to head chef, with lamingtons

TOPICS :

young chef Matthew McKenzie aka Outback Mattie talks about turning his life around, from a tough childhood, to Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Melbourne program, to a cooking and TV career, and reveals the origin of the lamington!
Mad cook Dr Siggi Fried gives a cooking demonstration as her family demands edible food.
The bellysisters tell stories of fish fondling, paying your restaurant bills by cycling, and the ash cloud that will soon keep asparagus and pre-packed lettuce mixes off British tables

GUEST RECIPE : from Matthew

Bruschetta of Grilled Honey Seeded Mustard Haloumi Cheese with Roasted Vine Ripened Cherry Tomatoes

This is the perfect recipe for a quick afternoon snack or for those unexpected guests. It only takes 15 minutes to prepare and cook. The best bit is you get that delicious sweet & salty flavour from the haloumi cheese, & those mouth watering bursts from the cherry tomatoes.

Ingredients: for 2 people

100gr Haloumi Cheese
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Seeded Mustard

12 Vine Ripened Cherry Tomatoes
1/4 Bunch of Basil

1 Loaf of Ciabatta bread
1 Garlic Clove

1 tbsp Good Olive Oil
Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. In a oven tray place your cherry tomatoes, drizzle with good olive oil, season with sea salt & cracked black pepper. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until skin starts to split away. Remove from oven.

2. Slice your haloumi cheese 1cm thick (4 pieces), spread a layer of seeded mustard, drizzle with honey. Now in a pan on a medium heat cook both sides for 1 minute until golden brown in colour.

3. Slice your ciabatta bread thinly and toast. Once toasted cut your garlic clove in half and rub the garlic clove hard against the crispy toasted bread (garlic bread).

4. To assemble the dish; tear some basil on the base of the toast, next lay the haloumi cheese, tear some more basil, finish by topping with roasted vine ripened cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of good olive oil. Enjoy!

RESTAURANTS that Matthew recommends in Brisbane and the Gold Coast:

Old Government House, Aria, Restaurant Two, or for cheaper options The Thai Bar, or Italian or Asian restaurants in the South Bank area, and Absynthe on the Gold Coast

EDIBLE QUOTE :

By the Greek philosopher Diogenes the Cynic (I think he was the one who lived in a barrel) – If only it was as easy to banish hunger by rubbing the belly as it is to masturbate.

CONTACTS :

www.belly.net.au – please get in touch with the bellysisters

www.matthewmckenzie.com.au – see videos of Matthew, hear his life story, get lots of recipes

including:

http://www.matthewmckenzie.com.au/lamington.html – the original lamington recipe

invented at Matthew’s restaurant, Old Government House in Brisbane – also a bit of history to settle the great lamington controversy, and the revelation that (shock horror) “the lamington was first whipped up in a hurry to disguise the staleness of the sponge”

seedsavers 2005 Byron Bay feast

Seedsavers is a wonderful organisation started in Byron Bay by Jude and Michel Fanton, in a suburban house and (bare) garden. Seedsavers now has projects around the world, supporting biodiversity and traditional farmers and home gardeners too.

And occasionally they have wonderful get-togethers in their garden (which now is a paradise of food plants from all over the world), talk and share wisdom and of course cook and eat. In 2005 sister T watched this being cooked over an open fire – right in Byron Bay, not on a small tropical island.

Solomon Fast Food! – Roots in Fire with Johnson of the Solomon Islands

Bamboo (we used Dendrocalamus latiflorus) cut between 2 nodes approx 45cm long
Cut up any root crops eg. Taro, cassava, yam, sweet potato, … & place in bamboo tubes according to type of root (don’t mix) & stuff open end with banana leaves.
Put bamboo in fire flames & cook, turning often, until bamboo is black
Transfer bamboo tubes to fire’s embers & wait until the tubes steam & smell cooked.
Bamboo wall thickness affects cooking times – thinner bamboo walls means the roots cook more quickly & different root crops take different times to cook
approx. 40mins on average.

Fish in Palm Leaf with Atai of East Timor

Make a fire and let it burn down to the coals.
Take: Any fresh fish
Herbs, eg. Fennel
Garlic
Salad: Lettuce, garlic & tomato
Stones that are hot from the fire
Put all in one parcel made of a big banana leaf & tie together.
Put on top of embers & cover with stones & more whole banana leaves for one to one and a half hours.

Fish Wing Parcel with Atai

Big fish wings marinaded in bush lime juice for 1/2 hour, garlic, onion, pepper, (curry powder can also be added), Lemon Grass, Salt, (Finely chopped Chilli can also be added)
Put all ingredients in Banana Palm Leaves & stitch up using palm fronds along the sides of the parcels.
Put parcels on the fire’s hot coals & cook for half to one hour.
Enjoy!

And there were more good things from the Fanton kitchen, which is a hungry alchemist’s dream of jars filled with strange preserved things – all from the garden of course.

Pickled Bamboo by Jude Fanton of Seed Savers

Dendrocalamus latiflorus & Bambusa oldhamii (which can grow in cool climates eg. NZ)
Harvest in hot months
Cut longitudinally then peel off husks
Boil 20mins (if still bitter then pour off & reboil)
Pickle in strong brine
LATER: Slice & soak to remove salt
Lime juice, fish sauce
Lemon, lime juice lemongrass Kaffir LIme leaves & young cinnamon leaves (+palm sugar or something to sweeten if desired)
Leave to marinate.

Yacon (Polymnia sonchifolia) by Jude Fanton of Seed Savers

“The Yacón is a perennial plant grown in the Andes for its crisp, sweet-tasting tubers. The texture and flavour have been described as a cross between a fresh apple and watermelon which is why it is sometimes referred to as the apple of the earth.” Thank you wikipedia!
Slice then marinade half an hour or so in orange, lime or mandarin juice

Curry Powder

In heavy frypan, put coriander, cumin and fennel seeds and dry roast.
Warm some mustard seeds towards the end.
Chilli if desired.

And it must have been lima bean season…

Lima Beans can be cooked in the following three ways:

Lemon/Lime Lima (Madagascar) Beans with Jude Fanton of Seed Savers

Fresh Madagascar Lima Beans (if green don’t need to soak ie. If they’re just been picked from vine. If dried, soak and boil until soft)
Add any citrus and any oil and any herbs (for example, you could use chervil)

Hommus

To make hommus, mix cooked lima beans with tahini and any citrus.

Fried Lima Beans

Soak and then boil lima beans until soft (with no salt) and then drain.
Refry with onion, garlic and curry powder (see above recipe).

And to finish, after all that healthy home-made vegetarian goodness, a healthy home made cake!

Johnson’s Birthday Cake

( also an excellent all-round cake mix) from Jude Fanton of Seed Savers

2 eggs – separates yolks from whites and beat egg whites with sugar
Add some liquid such as coconut milk, orange juice or any citrus
Could put some butter or oil in.
Add any dry ingredients, such as millet flour, wheat flour, linseed or almond meal plus a teaspoon of a raising agent, such as cake raising mix (1 teaspoon to every cup of flour)
Mix everything together and bake in a moderate oven.

Yummy Caramel Cake Topping from Mara of Puerto Rico

Mix together 1 – 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of lime/ lemon/ orange in a pan on the stove top and stir until sugar dissolves but don’t caramelise it (ie. Remove before it darkens)
At that point of caramelisation, add cream until it’s a bit runny.
You can also add a bit more citrus so it doesn’t harden too much.
Then mix cocoa from the seed and mix with macadamia, cardamon and cinnamon in a mortar and pestle.
Sprinkle over cake and caramel topping – bon appetit!

But wait there’s more recipes! Maybe this was the next day – they have fun on those Seedsavers conferences.

Pigeon Peas by Rob

Soak pigeon peas overnight in hot or boiling water and then drain off.
In a pan, fry some onions, curry powder, garlic, ginger.
Add soya sauce to deglaze (ie. To get the caramel off the pan).
Add hot water, bay leaf and thyme.
Cook for 1/2 hour on stove.

Chilli Guacamole (Guacamole Picante) by Pablo of Argentina

3 soft avocados, 5-6 cherry tomatoes, a little spoon of coriander, 1 chilli, 1/2 an onion, and juice of half an orange or lemon, pinch of salt, 3 soup spoons of olive oil.
Mix all ingredients in the blender to make a paste.

Golden Oven Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes (Papas Doradas) by Pablo of Argentina

Cut potatoes into cubes and put in a pan with olive oil and a little salt
Place in a hot oven of 230 – 250 degrees Celsius
Leave for approx. 45 mins
For sweet potato do the same as for potato and cook for 20 minutes.

BBQ Leg of Lamb (Pierna de Oveja Asada) by Pablo of Argentina

Can’t get any simpler than this…
Cook leg of lamb with sprinkled salt on bbq.

Green Salad (Ensalada Verde) by Pablo of Argentina

Lettuce, onions, fennel bulb with olive oil and salt.

Aussie Fish Cakes by June

Fresh fish (or tinned, eg. Mackerel, Salmon, or Fish Cutlets)
Mashed Potato (double the quantity of the fish)
1 egg
1 small onion
herbs (e.g. Parsley, thyme & oregano)

cook & mash potatoes
mix all ingredients together
make into patties
roll in flour
shallow fry for approx. 5 minutes on each side

Not enough? Here‘s a link to another feast (this a recent one in India)

belly 15 february 2010 – great food markets and cooking with aquarians

TOPICS : the new Mullumbimbi farmers market, great food markets around the world, ‘cooking with the stars’, cooking styles and famous cooks of each star sign – today aquarius

GUESTS:

Judy McDonald, world-wide marketologist and head wrangler at the North Byron Farmers Market

Lilith, belly astrogourmet and hula queen

A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITE OVERSEAS MARKETS:

* Hong Kong island food market
* Barcelona, both the large central market and smaller local ones
* in Paris, place Monge and boulevard Richard Lenoir/Bastille (this is a big favourite of both Sister T and Judy’s)
* in London, sister T likes the Borough market, Judy has checked out many more and recommends :
Brick Lane
Ridley Road [last of on the original London barrow markets [Dalston]..very
Afro/Carribean
Stoke Newington Organic Market
Angel Islington Farmers Market -more inner London trendy
* there are so many more great markets around the world, we’d love to hear about your favourites, and what do you think about getting some covered market structures here?

GUEST RECIPE: an Aquarian-friendly suggestion from Lilith

– see more about Aquarians in the kitchen in the Cooking with the Stars section

“Obviously classic recipes are a yawn for Aquarians so keeping in mind their
love of the esoteric and obscure I’ve chosen a retro recipe from the Vogue
Autumn Collection of 1987 as a suitable surprise for an Aquarian birthday.”
Lilith

TOMATO ICECREAM WITH TOMATO COINTREAU SAUCE

Ingredients for Icecream:

4 medium tomatoes chopped
grated rind of 2 lemons, juice 1 lemon
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk, dash vanilla
300 mL thickened cream

Ingredients for Sauce:
6 tomatoes chopped, peeled, seeded
grated rind + juice of half lemon,
grated rind + juice of half orange
half cup sugar
generous Graham Kerr size slosh of Cointreau
sweet basil leaves to garnish

Method for Icecream: Cook tomatoes till the consistency of thin jam and let
cool. Puree the cooled mix, pass through a sieve, discard solids, add lemon
rind and juice, set aside. Beat egg yolks and sugar together, add milk and
vanilla, cook over low heat till mix coats back of a spoon, let cool. Then
combine the 2 mixtures together, add cream and freeze.

Method for Sauce: Cook all ingredients except Cointreau to a thin jam.
Puree in blender, pass through sieve, discard solids, add Cointreau to
remainder and chill.

Serve a little sauce on each chilled dessert plate with tomato icecream in
the centre garnished with a sweet basil leaf.

EDIBLE QUOTE:

this week in honour of the year of the tiger, a Chinese proverb from about.com:
“Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think.”
AND A GOOD BOOK:

Look out for a book about the markets of Paris, with lots of recipes and an introduction by one of our featured Aquarians, the great chef Paul Bocuse (yes it is all connected, grasshopper)

Nicolle Aimee Meyer and Amanda Pilar Smith: Paris in a Basket, Konemann 2000

“Above all, do not forget to give a word of encouragement to the vendors when you find quality products. They value your opinion and it helps them to keep their stand and forge ahead in their continuing fight against industrialized products.” Paul Bocuse

WEBLINKS AND CONTACTS:

belly@belly.net.au – please get in touch

mullummarket@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or 0413 610 222 if you would like to be a stallholder or volunteer at the new Mullum farmers market

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/parismarkets.php – a great list of the Paris markets from a highly regarded blog

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/nov/28/paris-markets-shopping-trips-france?page=all – article about a few of the markets including Richard Lenoir

http://gohongkong.about.com/od/photosofhongkong/ig/Hong-Kong-Food-Market/ –

some pics of Hong Kong markets, but to get the flavour read:

http://www.travelintelligence.com/travel-writing/food-markets-hong-kong

http//wwwtimeoutcom/london/shopping/features/1968/Londons_best_food_markets.html
– lots of London markets in this article, learn even more from the comments of other Londoners

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/travel/travel_to_eat/slow_food_and_markets_in_barcelona.shtml – I want to go back!

http://www.grahamkerr.com/gk.php – a wonderful Aquarian – this is his site, lots of recipes

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=61716293699 – blue curacao caviar – you can’t get more Aquarian than this

http://www.alifewortheating.com/france/paul-bocuse/ – a blog entry that takes you through a meal at Paul Bocuse’s in technicolour, dish by dish – so when you get there you can keep the camera in your bag