Category Archives: COOKING WITH THE STARS

Belly Culture

Talofa lava … Sister Rasela of the nutritious delicious belly-licious kitchen here, returning to the airwaves this season along with the rest of the yummy belly sisters in our tasty radio family. If you're looking, you'll find me presenting the last show of each month which i endeavour to stuff full with immensely, intensely interesting food information and fabulous guests that share their wealth of knowledge and genuine passion for all things goooood.

Although some of you lovely locals may have missed us on the airwaves for the best part of the show this week, due to technical telstra glitches at the broadcasting tower, many of you would still have been streaming live on www.bayfm.org Remember this facility if you ever happen to switch on and hear nothing … for longer than usual.

It was not the most ideal return to the belly kitchen this season but that didn't stop me from powering on with the show albeit in a readjusted form. I was intending to bring you a show full of culture … and this i did … but the types of cultures i included came from the Pacific Islands and not from the fermented and cultured foods that are increasingly available to us in the Shire these days.

I had lined up guests to chat about the following –

Cultured Butter from the Bangalow Cheese Co.
Coconut Activated Charcoal from Pure Eden
Architectural Italian Restaurateur and her chef from the newest Bangalow eatery
Coconut Kefir drink from Peace, Love and Vegetables

… and then … and then … the only guest who remained locked in for the ride was our famous astrological interpreter and fabulous food writer and lover Lilith Rochas. As we were half way through the presentation we were alerted to the fact that we were once again LIVE TO AIR. A small cheer went up all round and we thanked our lucky stars for their intervention and the return of our beloved community radio station to the Byronshire's airwaves.

Thank you Lilith for weaving your magic .. here's what she had to say –

~~~~BELLY ASTROTIPPLES & NIBBLES – SAG NOV 25/13

*With the Sun sizzling away in the energetic sign of the ardent Archer, its time to wish our earnest, passionate, generous Sagittarians happy birthday and suggest a selection of astrologically suitable birthday tipples and nibbles that might delight their adventurous palates.

*BEING the zodiac sign of the traveller, the philosophical seeker, the adventurer, Saggies are the biggest collectors of exotic recipes – they like a meal that takes them travelling. So make something that creates a foreign ambience – give them the taste they love of faraway places with strange sounding names that remind them of where they’ve been and give them an excuse to launch into extravagant travel tales. Not that they need much encouragement because anyone who’s ever met a Sagittarian knows they love to talk…

So if you’re making a plate for a Sagittarian birthday, think multicultural world food – and if my memory serves me, which it increasingly doesn’t these days, beloved Bay FM elder Nancy Jo Falcone is a Sag (happy birthday Nancy Jo, hope Ive got that right) who introduced me to Pollo con mole, chicken in Mexican chocolate sauce which has become one of my all time favorite signature dishes. An example of extreme Sagittarianism is British superchef John Burton Race who spent his early years experiencing food from all round the world, and usually exploded in fury on TV foodie shows when unadventurous fellow contestants balked at eating kangaroo, crocodile or possum. Burton Race claims his next TV project will be Round the World in 80 Recipes attempting in situ ethnic extremes like cooking a whole camel in the Sahara.

Saggies like spicy, gamey tastes and there’s a United Nations of flavours to choose from, but preferably pick a dish from somewhere they’ve been: the Tunisian egg dish chakchouka cooked with onions, peppers and tomatoes, Meditteranean sardines marinated in grated orange rind, Vietnamese prawns and pork barbecued on sugar cane skewers, Sri Lankan goat kebabs…

MUSIC…. MANTRA MIX by Sacred Sound System 3.30

Peripatetic Sagittarians love nothing better than getting the hell outta the kitchen into their real love, the great outdoors and being a fire sign they adore food cooked over flames in front of them. While their ideal meal might be something you’ve just hunted, caught and flung onto a naked flame, even modern urban Archers love a barbie in the backyard, a picnic, any kind of al fresco dining in the garden or on the deck – that whiff of ozone and wild barbie smoke in their hair seems to do it for Sagittarians, so be aware you may have to prepare food to be carried, eaten or cooked outside. And that firm ingredients make the best travelling food: solid bread and cheeses, sausage, quiche, cold roast meats.

Loving to picnic anywhere from backyard to beach to their favourite nature place, they’d definitely appreciate a wild things menu of gourmet bush tucker: emu pate with bunya nut pesto, or if you want to be fancy barramundi cooked in paperbark with Warrigal greens, or lillipilli sorbet with Davidson plum coulis and lots of Aussie organic wine.

And for this month’s tidbit of astro trivia, it was a Sagittarian who invented the sandwich. Saggies are known to love a flutter, and when the English Earl of Sandwich was on a roll at the gaming table and way too excited to take time off, he ordered his servants to slap two loaves round a slab of venison and lo! the birth of the sandwich. So you might want to play a variation on any of the many ethnic sandwiches available: pita pockets, mexican rollups, lavash wraps, ricepaper rolls or leaves of mountain oat bread all wrapped round delicious fillings…

SAGITTARIAN VEGETARIANS will be happy throwing a prawn kebab or a tempe/vege brochette on the barbie, so long as there’s plenty of adventurous mustards, sambals and chutney accompaniments. They might also like a Moroccan orange and olive salad, some bean curd-stuffed eggplant in black bean gravy, or a mix of green leaves and fresh herbs that give the impression they’ve just been plucked from the wild,

DESSERT: If you prefer doing sweets, there’s a whole world of desserts to choose from: Lebanese pastries, Turkish delight, Italian nougat, Greek baklava,

For DRINKS: Of course they enjoy travellers' tipples:
jugs of margharitas, little cups of sake, ouzo, sambucca or absinthe. Or non-alcoholic fresh coconut water – every thirsty travellers' fantasy.

If you wish to find out more on the topics that are listed above then be sure to lend me your ears again on Dec 23rd when i shall once again return to the kitchen and stir up a few pots of love.

Alofa atu .. Sister Rasela

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

5th July – Spice Up Your Life, The Lovely Lilith: Cooking with the Stars – Cancerians, and “Danger! : Cheese on a Roll”

Aloha… this weeks Belly starts with tales of exotic spices from around the globe.

Take a trip from your kitchen to just about anywhere in the world by adding a pinch of this and a pinch of that…

Adding various herbs and spices to your food can literally ‘spice up your life’ by not only tantalising your taste buds but also treating your troubles with very little effort on your behalf. Learning which countries use which particular herbs and spices to create traditional and favorite dishes is a fascinating journey as we travel the globe without having to go any further than the kitchen…

SPICES are the buds, bark, roots, berries and seeds and HERBS are the leaves of plants, so when we use corriander leaf for example, we refer to it as a herb, but when we use corriander seed, we say we are using spice.

Australia’s best known spice man Ian “Herbie” Hemphill has a list of 20 from which he says you can create just about any dish from around the globe. These global essentials can be used in a variety of dishes, so build a spice rack or refill the missing gaps with any or all of the following –

CorianderCumin
Black Peppercorns
Cinnamon and Cassai
Cloves
Chilli
Ginger
Cardamon
Paprika
Star Anaise
Tumeric
Allspice (a milder version of Cloves)
Fennel (seeds)
Nutmeg
Thyme
Oregano
Caraway seeds
Fenugreek seeds
Saffron
Vanilla

A short rundown on countries and their spices –

INDIAN

One of the worlds top producers of spice and because of it’s size, the range canvary from chilli heat to aromatics.

Corriander seed, Tumeric, Cinnamon, Cumin, Mustard seed, Fenugreek, Ginger, Pepper, Chilli, Nutmeg, Clove, Cardamon, Tamarind, Saffron.

MORROCAN

The ports of this North African country have been used for centuries as an avenue for spices from across the globe. Think aromatic, slow cooked stews.

Corriander seed, Tumeric, Paprika (sweet), Cumin, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Black pepper, Chilli, Saffron (Beware fake Saffron which can be passed off by using the stamen of the crocus flower and not it’s stigma. It can also be created by using corn silk or plastic and dyed with the dangerous chemical tartrazine. Test by disolving in water. If the colour runs it is probably not saffron.)

MIDDLE EASTERN

Typified by dry spice mixes such as dukkah, Middle Eastern food is also about marinated meats cooked on a shish. For you meat eaters out there… think lamb skewers.

Paprika, Corriander seed, Sumac, Parsley, Thyme, Cumin, Cassia (from South East Asia and China. Has a stronger, sharper taste than cinnamon) Pomegranates (seed or molasses), Black Pepper, Cloves, Cardamon, Mastic, Mahlab

MALAY/SINGAPORE

Divided by a peninsula, Malays prefer curry powder in coconut milk mixed with lemongrass, galangal, chilli paste and tumeric. The Singaporeans borrow some Maklay ingredients but tend towards Chinese styly spices including pepper.

Corriander (seed and leaf), Fennel seed, Cinnamon and Cassia, Tumeric, Lemongrass, Candlenut, Cumin, Ginger, Pepper, Galangal, Cardamon, Tamarind, Chilli, Star Anaise

THAI

The king of aromatics. This is all about greenery and freshness and the particular predominance of each spice, depending on the dish, with a fresh hit of chilli.

Corriander leaf, Kaffir Lime, Lemongrass, Chilli (red and green), Tumeric, Garlic, Galangal, Cloves, Thai Cardamon (similar to normal cardamon but rounder and almost white)

CHINESE/VIETNAMESE

Similar to India, because if it’s size it is difficult to pin down a typicaldish. It varies from the chilli and Szechuan pepper in the north to cassia and star anaise in the south. For Vietnam, you can’t beat the soup dish Pho for it’s trademark spices.

Star Anaise, Fennel seed, Corriander (leaf and seed), Dill (Vietnam – leaves), Cassia, Ginger, Szechuan pepper, Black pepper, Chilli, Cloves

MEXICAN

Smoky flavours dominate this cuisine because of it’s use of chillies – which are native to Mexico – including ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle.

Paprika, Cumin, Corriander (leaf), Oregano, Cinnamon, Chilli, Epazote (hard to find in Australia), Anatto (seeds)

Source: Spice Notes and Recipes, Macmillan (2000), $59.95, by Ian Hemphill. Available from Herbies.com.au

Next, the lovely Lilith swayed in with talk of Cancerians this month in ‘Cooking with the Stars’

LILITH’S COOKING WITH THE STARS

Cancer: Crabs in the kitchen

This month we’re wishing happy birthday to our favourite Cancerian masterchefs like Sydney’s Neil Perry, co-owner of Rockpool, Blue Water Grill and Spice Temple who apparently has a food brand sold under his name, which
you’ll soon be able to check out at locally loathed Woolies.

Cancerians tend to be obsessed with family and food and as chefs they’re strongly influenced by foods they ate as children. Crabs adore home cooked meals, love comfort food and traditional recipes like Mum used to make, and
are quite likely to still have her recipes. Food equals love to Cancers: a well stocked pantry makes them feel secure and a lot of their cooking pleasure comes from nurturing their loved ones and sharing meals with friends.

Cancerian chef Roy Yamaguchi, Hawaii’s first-ever James Beard Award winner, though born and raised in Tokyo, so vividly remembered the fish and lobster cooked fresh from the ocean on childhood visits to his grandparents on Maui, that he grew up to champion Hawaiian regional cuisine and develop his own style of Hawaiian Fusion food combining asian flavors, fresh local seafood, sushi and his signature Hawaiian martini made with, no prize for guessing, pineapple juice. Sounds dreadful, though the pineapple wine from the Volcano Winery on the Big Island’s quite nice the Hawaiians call it a party in the mouth. There are now 32 Roy’s restaurants in the U.S., Hawaii, Japan and Guam.

In traditional astrology Cancer’s ruled by the Moon, and they do seem to favor pale pearly foods: rice, potato, dairy and mayonnaise. They also seriously appreciate their cheeses and are probably responsible for the
kids story about the Moon being made of cheese – which does contain the cell salt Calcium fluoride which helps soothe their sensitive digestions. But as you can imagine when comfort food marries dairy and produces
bechamels, creamy sauces, fondue and cheesecake we’re talking serious kilojoules though its probably not worth your friendship to mention the Cancerian swear word, cholesterol… a major component of the splendidly rich, politically incorrect dishes of the popular British cooking series the Two Fat Ladies, famous for zooming round the countryside with their ample personages squeezed into a motorbike and sidecar – the Canceria half of this excessive pair was Clarissa Dickson-Wright, or to give her herfull title Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson-Wright.

Speaking of excess and politically incorrect Cancerian superchefs, my favorite is gonzo cowboy of the American food scene Anthony Bourdain, author of notorious best seller Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, which he followed up with A Cook’s Tour recounting his bizarre taste travels, written in conjunction with his award winning tv series of culinary adventures: No Reservations. After his third book The Nasty Bits, his fourth and latest, which came out this year, is Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook.

Bourdain’s the Hunter Thompson of food journalism, a 30-year veteran of professional kitchens and a personal life that reads like a cocktail of cocaine, cannabis, methaqualone, LSD, secobarbital, tuinal, amphetamine, codeine, heroin and honey-soaked psilocybin mushrooms used to sweeten tea naturally we’re not recommending you try this at home kiddies. Infamous for his sarcastic comments about vegans, vegetarians and fellow chefs Anthonycalled Californian restauranter Alice Waters “Pol Pot in a muumuu” and made playing Billy Joel or Abba in his kitchen grounds for instant dismissal.

Why is he so popular? Because he’s outrageous, funny and fearless – a great advocate of using all parts of an animal once its killed, and champion of the quality and deliciousness of street food in developing countries as compared to American fast food chains. Though he’s eaten sheep testicles in Morocco, ant eggs in Mexico, raw seal eyeballs with Inuit eskimos and a whole cobra in Vietnam, Bourdain still maintains the most disgusting thing he ever ate was a Chicken McNugget.

Did someone say chicken mcnugget?... Ggggrrrrr lemme at em!

Being the cardinal water sign Cancerians chefs often specialize in seafood, like the only female chef in France to hold three Michelin stars Cancerian Anne-Sophie Pic, one of whose signature dishes is sea bass steamed over
wakame kelp, served with oyster bonbons, cucumber chutney and vodka and lemon butter sauce how good does that sound?

If you’re DIYing the sumptuous sea feast at home, it might be easier to try a creamy lobster bisque, caviar-topped oysters, scallops in champagne, a truffled lobster or salmon steamed in seaweed with a home made, lemon
myrtle-infused olive oil and egg mayo. Or a slithery seductive manicotti stuffed with a trio of cheeses – ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan.

by Lilith

…and we finished with a giggle at what some people classify as a game – “Danger: Cheese on a Roll”… and we’re not talking bread!

This is the amusing yet serious story of a bunch of enthusiasts that find running down an extremely steep hill after a round block of cheese travelling at around 100 miles per hour…… fun. I think the picture says it all. If you are interested in more you can google Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling and have a giggle.

We also gave you a delicious recipe for a Ginger and Dark Treacle Steamed Pudding…

ooooh, please excuse me while i drool a little… this recipe is on it’s way i promise, i’m just giving you enough time to work up a real appetite!

sister Rasela

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 26 – war and food special and cooking with Taurus

a housewife takes aim - wall image from the Imperial War Museum, London, Ministry of Food exhibition

TOPICS

Lilith is cooking with the stars – this week : Taurus

Anzac day war and food special : internees, soldiers’ rations, rationing in Australia and UK, Napoleon’s favourite battle snack, spam sushi, victory gardens, expensive cooks and the downfall of the Roman Empire

GUEST : Lilith, belly astrogourmet and hula queen

GUEST RECIPE : by Lilith

BEEF WELLINGTON WITH MADEIRA AND BLACK TRUFFLE JUS

This special occasion dish was named for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of
Wellington, created to satisfy his love of beef, truffles, mushrooms,
Madeira wine, and pâté – its time consuming, but most of it can be prepared
in advance.

INGREDIENTS to serve 8

1.35 kg of beef tenderloin fillet
2 tablespoons olive oil
30g unsalted butter
175g foie gras or whatever pate
you can afford
1 beaten egg
450g puff pastry

Mushroom Stuffing
55g unsalted butter
small onion, finely chopped
220g flat black mushrooms,
finely chopped
3 tablespoons heavy double cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Madeira and truffle jus
3/4 cup Madeira wine – you can use red if that’s what
you have
3/4 cup beef stock, knob of unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped black truffles (optional)
watercress to garnish

METHOD

First the stuffing: Heat butter in a frying pan, and saute chopped onion a
few minutes till soft and golden. Add chopped mushrooms and sauté till
moisture evaporates. Add cream, season with salt and fresh black pepper,
cook over a low heat till reduced to a thick pureé. Remove from heat, mix
in chopped parsley, allow to cool and refrigerate till needed.

Then the beef: Heat olive oil and butter in a large pan. Season beef with
salt and black pepper, brown on all sides over a high heat for a few
minutes. Remove from pan and let it cool, reserving any juices. On a
floured surface, roll out the puff pastry 3mm thick to an oblong big enough
to fit your piece of beef. Spread the pâté across centre of the pastry,
same width as the beef. Spread the mushroom stuffing over the pâté.
Place the beef on top of the stuffing and gently settle it into the mix. Cut
away the middle of the pastry ends and brush all edges with beaten egg.
Carefully fold the pastry up to completely envelope the beef, tucking in the
ends and very carefully turn the parcel over onto a large buttered baking
tray. With a sharp knife make a few small incisions in the pastry, decorate
the top with pastry leaves cut out of the leftovers and refrigerate
uncovered for half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450F/230C/gas mark 8. Brush wellington all over with
beaten egg and bake at high heat for 10 minutes. Then turn it down to
375F/190C/gas mark 5 for a further 20-25 minutes till pastry¹s golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let it rest uncovered for 10 minutes.

While its baking, do the jus. Simmer reserved juices from the beef pan with
the wine and beef stock till reduced by half. Add finely chopped truffles
(if using them), and simmer another 2 minutes. Take pan off the heat, add a
knob of butter, let it melt to give a shine to the sauce and season to
taste.

TO SERVE: Cut wellington into thick slices and arrange on warm plates. Pour
over some Jus, garnish with fresh watercress.

This is a very rich complex recipe, so keep accompaniments simple: new
potatoes, green beans, an orange and watercress salad.

If this all sounds a bit too gouty, our local chef Nadine Abensur has a
gorgeous recipe for Mushroom Wellington which I personally prefer.

COOKING WITH TAURUS

Taurans, the earthiest earth sign, are often described as touchy, feely,
hungry and horny and it’s true they engage with life through their senses.
This is not the sign of dieting, lean cuisine, small portions or fussy
little canapes. Taurans like big servings, especially smorgasbords where
they can graze at leisure and heap up their plates with their favorite nosh:
which tends to be solid, satisfying and usually fleshy. Apologies to any
Tauran vegetarians out there, but a salad just won’t cut it for these hearty
eaters who love nothing better than a no-nonsense roast followed by a good
pud all washed down with a full-bodied red.

Tauran favourites may include the Bullshot – beef consomme, tabasco, lemon juice, ice and vodka from the freezer, and robust, uncomplicated flavours like steak and kidney pie with garlic mash,roast beef with carrot and parsnip puree,and mixed grills with crumbed brains and spicy sausages.

SOME TAURUS CHEFS

Matt Moran of ARIA, one of Sydney’s premier restaurants overlooking the Opera House a country boy from Tamworth who was told by a teacher he was a loser who’d never amount to anything, Matt left school at 15 to become an apprentice chef. A true Tauran, he describes his kitchen style as hands on.

Gary Rhodes, English celebrity chef who became famous reviving
British classics like braised oxtails, bread and butter pudding and faggots
– meatballs made from leftovers.

these are faggots - photo taken by sister T at the Brixton farmers market, London

Anthony Worral-Thompson, whose godfather was Richard Burton, had his recipe for Snickers Pie nominated by an independent
food watchdog as one of the most unhealthy recipes ever invented – being
Snickers bars, marscapone, sugar and eggs in puff pastry, and weighing in at
1,250 calories a slice, its no mystery why the ever-charming Gordon Ramsay
once called Worral the Teletubby chef. [in Adelaide right now for Taste Australia]

Epitomizing Taurans’ love of the good life, the Dean of American Cuisine
James Beard was a great big man of large appetites – an endearing teacher
who loved people, loved gossip, loved food and loved a good time.
Bedridden with malaria at the age of three, he grew to love the food prepared by his mother and their Chinese cook, resulting in a life time mission to defend good cooking with fresh
ingredients against, quoting James: the assault of the Jell-O-mold and
domestic scientists. Expelled from college for being gay, Beard started his
own gourmet catering business and became star of the first American TV
cooking show titled, with typical Tauran subtlety: I Love To Eat. His legacy
lives on in twenty books, the Citymeals On Wheels he founded to feed New
York’s home-bound elderly and The James Beard Foundation which provides
scholarships, champions American fine dining and honours industry
professionals with annual awards for best chefs, restaurants, journalists
and cookbook authors.

Alice Louise Waters is another American restaurateur whose edible education
ideas have been introduced into the Berkeley school system to try and combat
the current crisis in childhood obesity. Waters advocates seasonal local
produce, believing the international shipment of mass-produced food harms
the environment and gives consumers an inferior product.

In case I make them sound too boofy, Taurans are ruled by Venus so they’re
lovers of beauty and Taurus wild boy of art Salvador Dali published the
extraordinary cookbook Les Diners de Gala a sumptuously illustrated
gastro-aethetic feast for eyes, mind and palate featuring exotic recipes for
frogs, snails and aphrodisiacs things like ” Pierced Heart” and “Ox Snouts
in Pastry Shells” – all lavish, fattening and expensive, though to be fair
he does kick off with the Tauran warning: “Do not look for dietetic formulas
here.” It’s a collector’s item now, but I once owned it and remember
attempting the Eels in Tequila recipe (what was I thinking).

Lilith

FROM THE BELLY LAB :

CHICKEN MARENGO

adapted from the many versions of this historical recipe by sister Tess

Napoleon definitely won the battle of Marengo, a place in Italy near my grandmother’s hometown of Alessandria in southern Piemonte, Italy. He beat the Austrian army and then he was hungry, so he ate a chicken dish which is said to have become a great favourite of his because either it reminded him of the victory, or he was like a sportsperson who always wears the lucky underpants on the day of a big match – it was his lucky dish.

He was separated from his food wagons (for a great fictional account of being Nap’s cook, read Jeannette Winterson’s “The Passion”), and either his French chef stole some chickens and a few bits and pieces to rustle up a quick meal (say the French texts), or they went to a simple local restaurant and ordered the cook to snap to it (say many Italian versions). The only thing that is definitely in chicken Marengo is chicken – there may also be fried eggs, mushrooms, freshwater prawns, croutons, brandy, tomatoes, wine – or not. I have translated and adapted one of the simplest versions, in an Italian cookbook that is well over 100 years old, by Pellegrino Artusi, called “Science in the Kitchen and the art of eating well”.

for 4 people (or 2 x 2)

1 small young free-range chicken, about 1kg or the smallest you can find – I used a size 13, which is a 1.3 Kg chook

flour
100 mL/1 glass white wine
flat leaf parsley, chopped, about 1/2 cup
stock (chicken or veg)
stale good bread, sliced
1 lemon
butter, olive oil
salt, pepper, nutmeg
opt. – 2-3 mushrooms per person

Rinse, dry and cut the chicken into large pieces, about 8-12 depending on size. Dust with flour.
Lightly brown in a little oil and butter, a few pieces at a time, seasoning with salt, pepper and nutmeg as you go. When all the chicken pieces are browned, put them together and add the wine, when it is absorbed add 1-2 cups of stock and cover to finish cooking over a gentle heat. If you find that you’ve added too much stock, just leave the cover off towards the end.
Just before serving, brush the mushrooms with olive oil and cook in a dry pan. Keep warm while you add a little more oil to the pan to toast the slices of bread.
Add the parsley to the chicken, and lemon juice to taste, stir and turn the heat off.
Serve surrounded by mushrooms and toast.

You could go the full I-just-conquered-another-great-big-piece-of-the-map and fry an egg each in oil, steam a few prawns in the white wine, and serve those too.

I tried making a thin plain omelette and serving it cut in strips with the chicken. It was ok, but it didn’t really add anything. But the chook/toast/mushroom combo was delicious and very simple to make.

We were only two eating this, so the next day I added fresh peeled, seeded, chopped tomatoes to the chicken while it was re-heating, as most recipes for chicken Marengo include tomato. It was ok, but there are much better recipes for tomatoey chicken around, and probably not what Napoleon ate, as it took a long time for tomatoes to conquer Europe after they came from America.

EDIBLE QUOTE

Today’s quote is by the Roman historian Livy, he was writing about Roman soldiers in the days when Romans were rough and tough and simple people, going off to conquer the Greeks and other softer and more civilised people in Asia, and coming home with souvenirs and bad habits

“The beginnings of foreign luxury were brought to Rome by the army of Asia. .. Harp girls and other festive amusements became features of dinner parties. The feasts themselves began to be arranged with greater meticulousness and expense. The cook,cheapest and most despised of slaves in our fore father’s times, increased in price. His work, once seen as servile, was now considered an Art. These, scarcely noticed by contemporaries, were the seeds of corruption” Livy writing about a time around 200 bc – and all downhill from there

THE MINISTRY OF FOOD EXHIBITION AT THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM, LONDON

In the kitchen a housewife checks the size of a slice of bread against a chart supplied by the Wartime Social Survey, a government fact-finding organisation set up in April 1940. There was no bread rationing during the war, but it had to be introduced on 21st July 1946. It remained in force for exactly two years. © Imperial War Museum

I’ve got a sticker that says “make chocolate not war” on the car. Us bellysisters are peace loving, sybaritic souls. So I don’t normally visit museums dedicated to guns and co. But I thoroughly enjoyed the current exhibition at the IWM. It’s quite amazing how many of the preoccupations of wartime Britain are again very topical.

We Want Your Kitchen Waste, John M Gilroy, IWM PST 14742 © Imperial War Museum

From eat more veggies to grow your own, to avoiding food that needs long range transport (because of German subs not food miles), to recycling and using underused land for small scale food production. The reasons may be different, but the messages are the same. And often these days we are told to look to wartime methods and values to avoid environmental catastrophy, or just to have access to better, healthier food. The first major Slow Food event in San Francisco last year, for example, included a temporary but very lush “Victory Garden” in the centre of the city.

So it makes sense to go along and see how the British Government, and people, very successfully not only increased domestic food production war, but ended up with a healthier, better fed population – in the middle of a war!

Grow Your Own Food, Abram Games, 1942, IWM PST 2893 © Imperial War Museum

There are propaganda videos, songs and radio programs, lots of posters and

Use Spades Not Ships Grow Your Own Food and Supply Your Own Cookhouse, Abram Games, IWM PST 2916 © Imperial War Museum

photos, and recreations of a kitchen, shop and greenhouse. Design students would get a lot out of it too, such great posters they used to do.

And all sorts of media were used to communicate techniques and tips on all sorts of subjects from nutrition to cooking methods to gardening.

I particularly like this way of telling a good bug from a bad bug.

And while most of us are probably aware that rationing existed, this show explains some of the less obvious aspects.
Rationing was meant to ensure that both rich and poor had access to scarce food, and that as much as possible was left for the troops. There was a big supply web between Britain and us colonials. Many merchant sailors died transporting food, and many people in Australia endured rationing to supply food to Britain and the various armed forces.

IWM cafe food

The one thing that is really hard to take is the supposed recreation of wartime cooking in the Museum cafe. One of the sponsors is responsible for this, and the whole museum smells pretty unappetising. As one of the people serving it up said to me : “I think they had better food during the war”.

¨Food Chart Eat Something From Each Group Every Day, © Imperial War Museum In 1944, the Ministry of Food Public Relations Division spent £600,000 on posters and other forms of publicity.

However, see this wartime nutrition chart – we are all familiar with eating from all the food groups. If you could get hold of them, you could follow this dietary advice by eating just butter, cheese, and potatoes. Ahh, those were the days. But then you could work it all off digging and dancing.

If you can’t get to London, check out the videos available on the net – I posted a list below.

Carrots Keep You Healthy and Help You See in the Blackout, IWM PST 6015 © Imperial War Museum

LINKS :

The Kitchen Sisters story on US public radio, about American Japanese internees during WW2 – anyone with 1/16th of Japanese blood – and the odd new foods they learned to love, like spam – recipes and audio, including that fab spam sushi recipe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_aldlRKzvQ&feature=related – the BBC US army ration story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKyO84pYy0c&feature=related – this one is silent, so not in the radio show, but lovely historical images of soldiers with those ever-present tins!

http://www.6thcorpsmusic.us/ – lots more music like the tracks I played on the show, thanks to the US IV Army Corps Combat Engineers

give us this day – the full version of the Australian rationing ad – this website is a wonderful archive of Australian film

http://london.iwm.org.uk/server/show/conEvent.3167 – the Ministry of Food exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, London

Dig for Victory ad

Dig For Victory, 1942, IWM PST 0059 © Imperial War Museum The Dig For Victory campaign was launched in October 1939 by the Minister of Agriculture Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith.

this is the one I call “Mrs White sees the Minister” – love a talking chicken!

and a couple of rationing films that I didn’t have time to play:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcaSJCtmt7c&feature=related – the announcement of rationing in the UK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2evv45stEHw&feature=related – 2 cooks and a cabbage

but there are so many more great wartime clips on youtube! we just don’t do propaganda like we used to. If you follow the links above you will find many more, including a whole heap of soldiers just opening up and heating army rations, to show exactly what they look like – no words usually, just preserved food bubbling away on camp stoves – very odd.

and for a dark, distopian and disturbingly likely future of rationing, National Meat loaf and veggie gardens, read Fay Weldon’s 2009 novel “Chalcot Crescent”

radio show 5 April 2010 – markets,fat ladies,Aries and pineapples

TOPICS : markets, in season April, cooking with the stars – Aries, choosing pineapples

GUEST : Lilith, astrogourmet and hula queen

PRESENTERS : sister T and sister B

FARMER’S TIP : PINEAPPLE TRICKS

A second generation pineapple farmer at the local market told sister T that – shock horror – the famous pull-the-leaf-out-to-see-if-the-pineapple-is-ripe trick is all a lie. He remembers a pineapple ad when he was a child recommending this, and his pineapple farmer father scoffing : “Rubbish!”. Apparently they just come out when the pineapple has been picked for 1 to 2 weeks. Or it gets sick of getting its leaves pulled I suppose, and lets go.
Pineapples should be picked ripe, they don’t ripen after picking as they have no starches to convert into sugars, they just soften.
So – smell your fruit, should smell ripe but not fermenting.
And look at the base, where it was cut from the plant : moist and clean means cut ripe within a day of getting to you, dark or mottled with a little fungal growth means cut ripe within 2-3 days. Totally dry and clean means cut unripe.
Straight from the farmer’s mouth – may your pineapples be always sweet and juicy.

GUEST RECIPE : an Aries recommendation by Lilith

Speedy Aries are fond of no fuss meals they can whip up in minutes, but
fast needn’t mean nasty. So in the spirit of their love for red, hot,
quick, raw and politically unpc food in this anti-cattle, semi-vegetarian
community, I have a recipe for Steak Tartare – raw beef – as taught to me by
a Belgian boyfriend.

TARTARE STEAK

Ingredients:

Best quality eye fillet beef
1 egg per person
red onion, finely chopped
capers
flat leaf parsley, very finely chopped
paprika, fine salt crystals, cracked black pepper
Worcester sauce, Tabasco, Dijon mustard, home made mayonnaise
Optional: anchovy fillets

Method:

Mince beef as finely as you can by hand, never in a mincer, and mound each
portion in centre of a plate.
Break an egg in half, separate whites and retain yolk in the half shell.
Place eggshell in centre of the meat mound.
Surround central mound with smaller mounds of red onion, capers, parsley,
paprika, black pepper, salt crystals (mortar and pestled if they’re too
coarse), mustard, mayo and if you like them, anchovy fillets.
Serve with Worcester, Tabasco, pommes frites with lashings more mayo and
because there’s nothing like blood, heat and alcohol to excite an Aries,
plenty of chilled chili vodka.

FROM THE BELLY LAB

Sister T loves to play with raw meat too, but in the slightly more mellow form of carpaccios – an Italian classic that is easily adapted and improvised.

CLASSIC CARPACCIO

is just thinly sliced beef fillet or rump – as thin as you can get it, easier if the meat is slightly frozen. You lay the slices on a plate and dress with salt, pepper, good olive oil and lemon juice at the last minute. On top you can add slivers of Parmesan and/or some rocket leaves.

NEO-CLASSIC CARPACCIO

Carpaccios are popular in restaurants because they are so easy to do at the last minute, and to change. They can be a light and flavourful entree, or a light main with green leaves (or more of those pommes frites)

You can play with different herbs and dressings, but don’t let them sit on the meat and cook it. Or you can use a slab of thinly sliced fish like tuna or salmon, or sear the meat or fish on the outside before slicing.

EDIBLE QUOTES :

“Delicious, despite its vegetarian overtones”
“That’s what I like to see, a whole jug of double cream!”

both by Jennifer Paterson, of the Two Fat Ladies cooking show

CONTACTS :

belly@belly.net.au – get in touch with the bellysisters

Renee Searles cd launch – at the Drill Hall, Mullum, April 16
tickets from bruns hds health foods…yummy homemade chai and cakes….7pm…$20
Renee Searles PO Box 27 Brunswick Heads NSW 2483 Phone: 02 6685 0223
Email: renee@divineshe.com www.divineshe.com
farmers markets and weekend markets links and info – see markets page of
www.belly.net.au

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9EwIRp-76U&feature=related – video of the “Two fat ladies” at the Cotswold pony club
lots more 2FL on youtube

belly 8.3.10 – glitter’s glorious grains and cooking with pisces

TOPICS : food labelling laws, tuna, website launch, quinoa, millet and buckwheat, autumn foods, cooking with the stars for pisces

GUESTS: Glitter Girl, bayfm presenter, poet and grain lover
Lilith, astrogourmet and hula dancer

PRESENTERS : Sister B and sister T

GUEST RECIPES:

MILLET AND MUSHROOM BAKE adapted by sister Glitter from: Food for the Seasons : Eat well and stay healthy the traditional Chinese way, by Professor Lun Wong and Kath Knapsey

Serves 4

Like all the grains, millet is fine for any season. But it is particularly good for autumn as it gets rid of heat (that maybe a summer leftover), moistens dryness(the most common autumn problem) and supports yin and kidneys for the upcoming winter. Mushrooms ease coughs and get rid of phlegm as well as strengthening the lungs. If you have a great deal of phlegm, swap the millet for rice.

3 cups millet
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of olive oil/ or avocado oil
1/2 cup of flour (unrefined) can be millet, rice, buckwheat
1/2 onion, chopped
200 gm mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons tamari
bunch parsley

Soak millet in water overnight. Drain. Add millet, fresh water (8 cups) and salt to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes.

While you prepare other ingredients, preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place millet in an oiled casserole dish. In a frying pan, saute onions and mushrooms
until soft. Then add flour, and stir in with the mushrooms and onions, before adding 1 1/2 cups of water. Stirring continuously. Bring almost to the boil, then
cover, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Add tamari and simmer for a further ten minutes. Pour contents of frying pan into the casserole dish and stir very lightly
with millet. Bake for 20 minutes. Cut into four slices, garnish with parsley and serve with lightly steamed spinach.

This could also be accompanied with steamed carrots, pumpkin, and asparagus

BUCKWHEAT NUT LOAF – a sister Glitter favourite from : The Australian and New Zealand Book of Wholemeals, by Marcea Weber

Serves 4-6

1 1/2 cups of buckwheat (roasted)
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon of himalayan pink salt
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tbs minced ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup grated carrot
4 tablespoons of coconut oil/ avocado oil/ ricebran or olive oil (cold
pressed)
6 large cabbage leaves
1 cup roasted, ground almonds or walnuts
3 organic eggs, beaten
2 tbs miso (young)
1/2 teaspoon each thyme, basil, oregano (dried)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
3/4 cup of LSA (linseed sunflower and almond) or millet meal

Firstly bake buckwheat kernels in 200 degree C preheated oven until lightly
browned.
Then bring 3 cups of water to the boil. Add buckwheat, salt, cover and lower
heat, simmer 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the rest of the vegetables. Heat the 2
tablespoons of chosen oil and saute mushrooms for 5 minutes. Remove from skillet or wok, set aside and add the 2 remaining tablespoons of oil to wok. Saute the rest of the vegetables in order listed above. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Now, bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add cabbage and blanch 1-2
minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.
Preheat oven to 190 degrees
Roast and grind nuts.
Oil bread tin. Line tin with cabbage leaves, covering the bottom and sides. Leave enough overhang to fold over and cover the top.

Combine half the buckwheat with the cooked vegetables and the roasted nuts.
Beat eggs and miso, combine with buckwheat mixture and add the rest of the ingredients.
Spoon into cabbage-lined loaf tin (9 1/2 cm x 23 cm) ( 4 x 9 inch), press down firmly and fold overhanging leaves over the mixture. Cover the pan with a double layer of oiled paper.
Reserve other half of buckwheat for another recipe ( e.g. stewed fruit and buckwheat )

Place the loaf pan in a baking dish and pour enough water into the
baking dish, so that it reaches halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until firm to the touch.
Cool before slicing.

Serve with steamed spinach, bokchoy or kale and steamed squash and sliced
avocado..

LILITH’S COOKING WITH THE STARS – PISCES

Fish live in water and water sign PISCES more than any other sign need
to keep their fluids up, they’re notoriously fond of liquid refreshments
they drink like fish, and are usually partial to liquid rituals around food:
dipping chilled grapes in dessert wine in a pool strewn with rose petals,
sipping exotic liqueurs beside a moonlit sea or eating mangoes in the bath:
undeniably the most appropriate setting.

As you’d imagine they favour sensuous slithery food: oysters, rice noodles, the sexy texture of melting brie, the perfume of lusciously succulent, juicy fruits. Mood is as important as food to a Pisces. They need a feel-good ambience because romantic Pisces likes to feel the luuurve in the cooking,to eat with loved ones and yes, you can open that wine now.

Famous fish foodies include the exuberant “Dances with Saucepans” Ainsley
Harriott of the BBC cooking show More Nosh, Less Dosh among many others –
posh Swiss chef Anton Mossimann who runs his own exclusive private dining
club in London – and the photogenic Hell’s Kitchen gourmet spunk
Jean-Christophe Novelli who became personal chef to the Rothschilds at the
age of 20.

Other well known Fish are Mrs. Beeton, the most famous
cookery writer in British history, and the notorious and formidable Fanny
Craddock. Even though her only claim to culinary fame appears to be the creation of the prawn cocktail she was billed as the Queen Of The Kitchen, probably because she presented her TV shows in ballgowns, big jewels and mega-make up when nineteen-fifties housewifes all wore aprons. One of the pitfalls of being a fabulous Piscean is a constitutional vulnerability to substance abuse,and Fanny had a major amphetamine habit which made her so explosive and rude to her guests the BBC had to sack her.

And another Pisces foodie was Adelle Davis, the American health author who
pioneered the fledgling field of nutrition during the mid-20th century,
advocated whole unprocessed foods , recommended dietary supplements to prevent disease and was an outspoken critic of food additives, but also published in 1961,
under the pen name Jane Dunlap, a classic of psychedelic literature
called Exploring Inner Space: Personal Experiences Under LSD.

Being the sea creatures they are, Pisces are ruled by Neptune and I’ve
chosen one of my personal favorite recipes for the healthy protein of their
totems

GRAVLAX SALMON A Scandinavian recipe for raw salmon cold-cured with salt,
sugar, pepper, dill and alcohol. No cooking is required, but it does take
2-3 days to cure.

Ingredients:
1 fresh salmon, and it must be fresh
3 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 good-size bunch dill, roughly chopped, stems and all
1 tablespoon spirits: aquavit, lemon vodka, your choice..

Method:
Fillet the salmon, or have the fishmonger do it for you; it needn’t be
scaled, but leave skin on.

Lay both halves, skin side down, on a plate. Sprinkle with the salt, sugar
and pepper, spread with all of the dill, splash over all of the spirits.
Sandwich the fillets together, tail to tail, then wrap tightly in plastic
wrap. Cover with another plate and weigh down with something heavy on top.
Refrigerate.

Open the package every 6-12 hours and baste, inside and out, with the
accumulated juices. On the second or third day, when the flesh has lost its
translucence, remove skin and slice thinly on the bias, and serve as you
would smoked salmon – with rye bread or pumpernickel, potatoes and home made
mayo, anything really.

BY Lilith

EDIBLE QUOTE

we ran out of time to tell you our Pisces icon Mrs Beeton quote – we would have had to interrupt Lilith’s hula dance, unthinkable!

but just so good for international women’s day, so here it is:

“The rank which a people occupy in the grand scale may be measured by their way of taking their meals, as well as by their way of treating their women. The nation which knows how to dine has learnt the leading lesson of progress.”

CONTACTS:

http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/issues/overfishing/our-work/save-our-tuna
to find out more about the best brands of tinned tuna and sign the Greenpeace petition

http://www.foodlabellingreview.gov.au/internet/foodlabelling/publishing.nsf/Content/pubconsult
to contribute to the government review of all food labelling issues – submissions due by May 14 – or go to the food label review page of this site

[I have to close comments on this page as it is generating a ridiculous amount of comment spam]

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