Monthly Archives: March 2010

belly 29 March 2010 – travels with seedsavers, wild harvest, easter chocolate

TOPICS : Seedsavers catch up – travels, wild harvesting, autumn recipes; chocolate and more chocolate

GUEST : Jude Fanton, director of the Seedsavers Foundation

PRESENTER : sister T

JUDE AND MICHEL’S LATEST TRAVELS:

August – we were three weeks in Vanuatu to film for Centre for
International Research into Agriculture and Development (CIRAD) based in
Montpelier, with a long term programme in Vanuatu. We filmed in remote villages
(one 70km from roads – went in by canoe) a film called “Our Roots” that will be
out in a month. It covers the re-diversification of root crops (yam, taro,
cassava and sweet potato) through seed reproduction.

October – a three week speaking and filming tour for Biodiversity Network
in Japan.

Mid November to mid January – in Rajasthan and then a month in Malaysia to
mid Feb. We were filming agricultural biodiversity and resilience and trialling
the running of Seed Savers from afar. Thanks to iPhone and excellent mobile
phone coverage and wifi connectivity in both countries we were constantly
connected and could field emails and update our website.

Autumn is a good time for fruit harvests; beginning of
citrus; acerola; guavas of all types, e.g., cherry and strawberry guavas; Ceylon
hill berry; bananas; pomegranate.

Wild harvesting
Guavas – we have found two types on side of road.
Mushrooms though it does not seem a big season this year.
Pecans – story of tree in neighbouring lane cut down.
Mangoes – story of huge old trees cut down in three public carparks. We have
several seedlings of each growing in our gardens here as a rescue operation.

During the show Jude and sister T were throwing around ideas for saving fruit trees and vines that are on public land, before they suddenly disappear due to development or old age.

Possibilities :
* a map/register of fruit bearing plants so they aren’t wasted/annoy landowners/council with fallen fruit
* a course as part of the ACE sustainability series on how to take cuttings/seeds/graft
* Jude will look at putting info on seedsavers site/through local seed network
* cuttings/fruit should be taken for propagation from plants that you know give great fruit, well before they are at risk
* us bellysisters would be happy to collate information on the www.belly.net.au site if you send it in, or link to any info
* please comment!

GUEST RECIPES – from Jude

GUAVA JELLY

Cut up guavas roughly. Put them in a thick bottomed saucepan and add enough water to fill to one quarter the height of the guavas.
Boil twenty minutes to soften and bring out their juices.
Pour all this mush (don’t mush it) into a muslin bag or pillow case or bank bag and hang with a shoestring (!) over a bowl to allow juice to drip out overnight.
Do not squeeze, cajole or in any other way interfere with the dripping process, or the juice will go murky.
Weigh the juice and pour into the same saucepan as before. Add equal (or less, say two thirds) weight in sugar.
Boil slowly until setting point. Ah ha! How is that achieved? How judged? The jam and jelly makers’ dilemma!
It takes any time from 20 mins to an hour. It will take less time if you have put in a lot of sugar, and if you add pectin in the form of apple pips or Jamsetta.
It will take more time if you put in a lot of water in the first process, or little sugar in the second.
To test when you have reached setting point, take a cold plate and drip a bit of jelly on it. Let it cool and observe whether it is set by tipping it sideways.
Be careful at this point as setting point is reached fairly quickly.

VEGAN PALAK PANEER

Take any edible leaf that you normally use as spinach (i.e., cooked), such as
spinach, chicory (I used the prolific perennial spreading monk’s beard chicory),
dandelion, Brazilian spinach, farmers’ friends, other edible weeds – all called
horta in real Greek spanikopita. Boil in plenty of water for a few minutes,
drain and chop.
Fry chopped eschallots, or if you have to, onions in olive oil or similar. And
garlic if you like.
Add more oil and some flour to make a roux.
Add ground nuts (food processors do a good job) such as cashews, hazelnuts,
macadamias or almonds.
Add soya milk and/ or water, stirring til smooth and cook a few minutes.
Add salt and pepper and/ or nutmeg. I then blend it all with a bamix.

Recipe, or rather a treatment, for NON-TRADITIONAL PESTO

Use any herb such as coriander, oregano (with others as it is a bit strong),
parsley or fennel.
Use any nut such as cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias or almonds ground in food
processor.
Use any tree oil, such as olive or macadamia.
No need for parmesan cheese, garlic optional.

CHOCOLATE FOR EASTER:

Easter is named after Eostre, a version of Astarte/Kali, the goddess of fertility and birth, worshipped at the spring equinox. Of course Easter is spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Christian missionaries often adopted pagan events as Christian holidays to increase acceptance of their god.

Eggs are ancient symbols of fertility. In an Orphic myth, the goddess gave birth to a world egg – the 2 halves are heaven and earth, from the egg comes the god Eros – the bisexual god of love, the first ever surprise from an Easter egg – should keep everyone happy! The ancient Persians, the Chinese, many ancient cultures were also into eggs as a symbol of the new year starting in the spring.. And they were a forbidden food during Lent, so good reason to eat them when Lent is over. There are many Easter rituals associated with eggs, decorating, throwing, rolling or hiding them for kids to find.

The Easter bunny or rabbit comes from the hare, another ancient, pre-Christian symbol of fertility associated with spring & the goddess. In one story the goddess Eostara changed her pet bird into a rabbit to entertain a group of children, and the rabbit laid brightly coloured eggs for them.

And why are all these rabbits, eggs, chickens and bilbies now made of chocolate? Well, if you can make something out of chocolate – why wouldn’t you? This delicious development came much later though, in the 18th and 19th century when European confectionery geniuses were experimenting with their craft in many ways.

Easter is also a great time for chocoholics to stage their own war on drugs by converting all their addictions to chocolate.

Chocolate contains a variety of wonderful substances. So if you are hooked on:

CAFFEINE – chocolate can provide theobromine, chemically similar to caffeine.
POT – chocolate has anandamide – a cannabinoid which is also naturally produced in the human brain.
ECSTASY – party happy with tryptophan, an essential amino acid that is a precursor to Serotonin, an important neurotransmitter involved in regulating moods. This is the same way an E works.
SPEED – in chocolate there is phenylethylamine,a neurotransmitter from which amphetamine is derived. Often described as a ‘love chemical’. The wonderful wikipedia, to which I owe the rigorous scientific research, says that “it is quickly metabolised by monoamine oxidase, so it has no effect on the central nervous system”. Well we know the answer to that problem don’t we? Eat more chocolate, faster.

And remember, dark chocolate good for you – especially your circulation.

The 12-step chocoholics program:
NEVER BE MORE THAN 12 STEPS AWAY FROM CHOCOLATE!
get the t-shirt if you like this motto, at virtualchocolate, you will find lots of chocolate dipped quotes there too – many of these seem to have been copy/pasted all over the chocoweb, but you’ll see why, they are delicious [maybe chocoholics can’t resist the instant gratification of grabbing these]:

Twill make Old Women Young and Fresh; Create New Motions of the Flesh. And cause them long for you know what, If they but taste of chocolate.
from “A History of the Nature and Quality of Chocolate”, James Wadworth (1768-1844)

Put “eat chocolate” at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you’ll get one thing done.

Don’t wreck a sublime chocolate experience by feeling guilty. Chocolate isn’t like premarital sex. It will not make you pregnant. And it always feels good. Lora Brody, author of Growing Up on the Chocolate Diet

Life without chocolate is like a beach without water.

“Las cosas claras y el chocolate espeso.” (Ideas/things should be clear and chocolate thick.) Spanish proverb – and they should know, they have the best hot chocolate in the world – and churros, fried sugared dough to dip in bitter chocolate – perfect – good reason to visit the Spanish part of town

Forget love– I’d rather fall in chocolate!!!

If it ain’t chocolate, it ain’t breakfast!

Money talks. Chocolate sings!

If chocolate is the answer, the question is irrelevant.

Once you consume chocolate, chocolate will consume you.

“Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate.” ~ Charles M. Schultz peanuts cartoon

Save the Earth! (It’s the only planet with chocolate.)

CONTACTS :

your bellysisters would love to hear from you – please leave a comment or send an email to belly@belly.net.au

Seedsavers (also in the local phonebook) :

PO Box 975, Byron Bay, NSW 2481, Australia,Tel (61) 02 6685 7560. Mobile 0432 549 825
02 6685 6624 is no longer in use.
See Seed Savers’ extensive and interactive website: www.seedsavers.net

Michel Fanton receives emails at michel@seedsavers.net

General enquiries should be sent to info@seedsavers.net

www.virtualchocolate.com – chocolate quotes, and chocoholic t-shirt

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 22 march 2010 – mullet, gotu kola, cucumbers

TOPICS : the mighty mullet, smokin’, eating your rampant pumpkin vine, healthy traditions – Sri Lanka (gotu kola), dr Siggi’s bad chef recipes – souffle’, Sister Rasela’s Morsels – odd uses for cucumbers

GUESTS/INTERVIEWS : Paul Van Reik, Sri Lankan born wonderful cook and food writer, and youthful father of many children
Dr Siggi Fried, bad cook freedom fighter
Sister Rasela – nutritionist and bellysister

PRESENTER : Sister T

FRESH REPORT

This week sr T is loving pineapples, sea mullet (extra fab to July as it goes North to spawn) and taming the pumpkin vines by shallow frying the flowers and marble size baby pumpkins (in a light flour and water batter).

The mighty Mullet

bake, pickle, smoke, bbq, make fish pastes and pate’, goes with tomatoes, oranges, fennel, mushrooms, onion, garlic, eggplant, all kinds of herbs, substitute for mackerel in Spanish and English recipes (much cheaper)

SMOKED MULLET OPEN SANDWICH – by Sr T

First, smoke yer mullet

1 wok, a metal cake rack, maybe foil, mullet fillets, skin on

Smoke mix :

1/2 cup each brown sugar, rice and tea leaves (I just used tea that was getting a bit old), a few leaves/sprigs of woody herbs, maybe a few fennel seeds, lemon myrtle – experiment

To smoke you need a wok, either an old one, or lined with foil, if you haven’t got a wok lid the foil has to be long enough to cover the fish.

Put the smoke mix in the wok, heaped in the middle. Then the metal rack, high enough to not touch the mix, the fish skin down on the rack. Cover with lid or crimp foil over so it seals the top but doesn’t touch the fish.

Cook on high until it starts to smoke, then 10 to 20 minutes on medium heat depending on size/your preference. If the mix goes out and you need to cook the fish a bit more, finish in a dry frypan, skin down.

Then you can use the mullet in many ways (lovely for pate’)

or make a herby garlicky green sauce – I whizzed olive oil, lemon juice, salt , pepper, garlic, parsley, mint, chives and fennel tops in a food processor

Made sourdough toast, thinly sliced tomatoes on top, then flaked mullet, then drizzled bright green sauce….mmm

And pretty too.

GUEST RECIPES:

HEALTHY TRADITIONS :

* is there a dish in your tradition that is supposed to be extra good for you? Please share it with the bellysisters, either on air or on the website.

In the Sri Lankan tradition, it is said that gotu kola keeps you youthful, and is good for your blood and rheumatism.

GOTU KOLA KANDA – from Paul

1 cup cooked rice (see below)

2 -3 tamped down cups of gotu kola leaves (1 bunch)

Boil rice in a lot of water until grains whole but mushy – a thick starchy soup/porridge consistency.

Pound leaves in a mortar, sieve out solids and keep juice or puree
with a little water in a blender and sieve out solids. Makes 2-4 tbs of bright green juice, add to cooked rice with a pinch of salt. It will have a minty/sharp/peppery flavour. Add jaggery to taste (or honey/plain sugar).

Have a bowl each morning, you can re-cook any leftover dry rice until it is mushy to make this.

The following recipe is from Paul’s website, where you will find many more delicious Sri Lankan recipes

LEAFY VEGETABLE MALLUNG

This is a standard preparation you can make with any leafy green – spinach, silver beet, kankun, amaranth, chrysanthemum, radish and turnip leaves, chickweed and so on. If you can get them, there are two Sri Lankan greens in particular that do well with this treatment – gotukola, also called pennywort, and often available in the growing season from good South East Asian suppliers; mukunawena, a quite specific Sri Lankan herb which you may find at Sri Lankan grocers.

Ingredients:
1 bunch leafy green vegetables
1 tsp black mustard seed
1 tsp turmeric
pinch of salt
1 tbsp grated coconut (fresh is best, frozen is also fine, desiccated is a no-no)
1 tbsp Maldive fish ground fine (you can substitute dried prawns)
vegetable oil

Method:

Wash the leaves and shred them fine.

Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan big enough to hold all the shredded leaves.

Put in the mustard seeds and fry till your hear them pop. Immediately add the leafy vegetables and stir rapidly. You want to try and coat all the leaves with oil and seed.

Add the turmeric, salt and Maldive fish, stirring all the time to prevent the leaves burning, like in a Chinese stir fry.

When the leaves have darkened and gone limp, add the coconut and mix it through for a minute or two at the most. You just want it to take on the colour of the turmeric and be thoroughly integrated with the leaves.

Taste, and adjust the seasoning. If you like, squeeze some lime juice over it. Take it off the stove. You don’t usually serve mallungs hot, so let it cool down a bit before eating.

DOKTOR SIGGI FRIED’S COOKBOOK FOR BAD COOKS

LEYTON’S SOUFFLE’

Look up any good cookbook for a souffle’ recipe. Prepare as suggested but don’t worry about using precise amounts as all souffles will collapse in the end. However, ther is a trick that Leyton Hewitt, the famous tennis player, uses to create perfect souffles (almost) every time…when the souffle is cooking, stare at it intensely and shout : ” Come On” at least 3 times.

EDIBLE QUOTES:

So much said about the poor cucumber (great for cleaning metal according to Sr Rasela – not sure if this is a compliment)

“A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing.”
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer

“Raw cucumber makes the churchyards prosperous” – English Proverb

“He had been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers, which were to be put into vials hermetically sealed, and let out to warm the air in raw, inclement summer.” Jonathan Swift (Irish writer)
“Cucumbers are like virgins, they do not keep long” – Dutch Proverb

CONTACTS/LINKS:

good mullet info :

http://www.sea-ex.com/fishphotos/seamullet.htm
http://www.australianseafood.com.au/species.php?f=78&v=f

wok smoking :

http://www.foodista.com/technique/CYZGZ2ZV/wok-smoking
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pohskitchen/cooking_tips/

http://www.buthkuddeh.com.au/ – Paul Van Reyk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centella_asiatica – lots of good gotu kola info and pictures

www.kopping.com – dr Siggi

belly 15.3.10 – kefir and fresh cheeses

TOPICS : The mighty KEFIR, the making of, health benefits, micro flora, dairy intolerances.

GUESTS : Debra Allard of Tweed Valley Farmhouse Cheeses, farmers wife, kefir/cheese lover/maker and effervescent being.

Sue’s husband Rob is a fourth generation dairy farmer, his cows graze the lush
pastures of Burringbar. As soon as the morning milking is completed Debra and Sue
pasteurise the milk and spend the day making creamy yoghurts, cottage cheese,
quark, various fetas, haloumi, labna, brie and camembert. They also make kefir
a live yeast, live bacteria health drink.

PRESENTER : sister Rasela

RECIPES :

COOL KEFIR DRESSING – from sister Rasela

2 cups fresh Kefir
1 heaped Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 heaped Tbsp fresh chives
1 heaped Tbsp lemon zest, finely chopped
1 heaped Tbsp fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp Herbamare
1/2 tsp Xanthan gum

1. Combine all ingredients (except Xanthan Gum) and blend thoroughly.
2. Slowly add xanthan gum and continue to blend until mixture thickens.
3. Full flavour will develop after 6 to 8 hours.

GUEST RECIPES : from Debra

RICOTTA PIKELETS

2 eggs
4 tablespoons sugar
2 cups SR Flour
1 & ½ cups milk
½ teaspoon Bicarb Soda
250g TVWFC Ricotta

Beat egg & sugar. Add flour alternately with the milk in which the Bicarb Soda has been dissolved. Beat the ricotta into mix and leave for 30 mins. Gently fry in a slightly buttered pan, in small batches.

Top with Tweed Valley Whey Farmhouse Bondon (Cream Cheese) and honey. YUM!

ZUCCHINI & HALOUMI FRITTERS WITH YOGHURT SAUCE

500g grated Zucchini (about 4 large ones)
½ teaspoon ground Sea salt
1 onion, finely chopped
125g TVWFC Haloumi, grated
1 cup roughly chopped baby spinach
2 eggs. beaten
60g (1/4 cup) plain flour
½ cup olive oil or Rice Bran Oil for frying

Put the grated zucchini in a colander, sprinkle with ground
sea salt, toss lightly and set aside for 30 minutes. Squeeze out the excess liquid
from the zucchini and pat dry with paper towels.

Put the zucchini, finely chopped onion, grated Haloumi, baby
spinach & beaten eggs in a bowl and stir until combined. Stir in the flour
and add pepper if desired.

Heat the oil in a non stick fry pan until hot and drop batter
into fry pan flattening gently with the back of the spatula. Cook until well
browned on both sides. Drain on paper towel and serve with yoghurt sauce and
lime wedges.

Yoghurt Sauce

Place 1 finely minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 125g TVWFC plain yoghurt, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, salt & pepper in a bowl and stir.

CONTACTS :

Tweed Valley Whey Farmhouse Cheeses (available at Byron farmers market)

p 0266771111
m 0404 812 011
e tweedcheese@bigpond.com

Also see the story at :
http://www.tweedecho.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=794&Itemid=538

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 1 march 2010 – autumn harvest

TOPICS: autumn fruit and vegetables, cooler weather salads, salad dressings, setting up as a small food producer, danger dogs, grapes

PRESENTERS: sister T & sister Bernadette of the miraculous muscatel

GUEST : Amanda Bannatyne, salad queen and proprietor of Mullumbimby Magic Foods

SISTER RASELA’S MORSELS

This weeks morsels highlighted the DANGER of the DOG!!!… the hot dog that is.. and all other nitrite and nitrate containing cured and processed meats.. and root veges due to commercial fertilizer use. Also the connection between these toxins, linked diseases, and fast foods.

GUEST RECIPES : from Amanda

WARM POTATO SALAD

Ingredients:

Firm potatoes (my favourite are kipfler)

Red onion

Capers

Handful of Italian parsley

Hard-boiled free-range eggs (optional)

DRESSING

Good quality mayonnaise (I like Norganic)

Mullumbimby Magic Classic Salad Dressing

(Mix enough salad dressing with mayo to make it the consistency of thick cream).

1. Scrub potatoes (peel if really dirty) and simmer until tender. Drain and cool slightly.

2. Place finely sliced red onion, chopped parsley and some capers in the bottom of your salad bowl.

3. Mix together several spoons of mayo and a good slug of Mullumbimby Magic Classic Salad Dressing and add to bowl.

4. Slice (or quarter) warm potato into bite-sized pieces. Add to bowl and gently toss through dressing.

5. Dice a couple of eggs if that’s your thing, and fold through gently.

6. Garnish with a little extra chopped parsley.

ROAST BEETROOT, FETA AND ROCKET SALAD

Ingredients:

*Bunch of baby beets or 2 medium beetroot (scrubbed and trimmed)

Juice of 1 lemon

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Feta (cow or goat milk)

Rocket (washed and dried)

1. Quarter beets (if large) and put in a small baking dish.

2. Squeeze over lemon and drizzle with olive oil.

3. Season and mix around.

4. Roast 30-45 minutes or until tender. Cool.

5. Place warm beetroot and any juices in salad bowl.

6. Toss through a handful of rocket for each person and crumble over some fetta.

7. Drizzle with a little more olive oil.

*The beetroot can be replaced by sweet roast pumpkin chunks if you wish.

SISTER T’S SERMON – ‘THE GLORY OF THE GRAPE’

Sister B of the miraculous muscatel, sister Amanda, dearly beloved listener, let us celebrate the glory of the grape. Grapes tend to turn up in our shops all year, as they are grown in every Australian state and harvested from October in Northern Queensland to May in Tasmania, but the local harvest is from January to March mostly, so now is the time to enjoy them. Grapes are an ancient fruit. The main cultivated grape ancestor was a wild vine from the southern shores of the Caspian and the Black sea, vitis vinifera, it has been grown for food and drink since ancient times. There are paintings of fat grapes on trellises in Egyptian tombs from 4 and a half thousand years ago. The Romans loved the grape and took it around their empire. One big use of grapes was as a sweetener, before our modern sugars became available, They were concentrated to different degrees as syrups.The Turks and Arabs still make grape syrups, called pekmez or dibs. They might be worth searching out if you are a fan of the Italian vin cotto, which is also a concentrated grape juice, currently trendy and very expensive. Of course a lot of preserves and mixed juices still use grape juice as a sweetener. Sour verjuice is also ancient, made from unripe grapes and popular before the mass production of vinegars.
There are native grapevines in every continent except Australia and Antartica, and they have been interbred over the centuries so that now there are more than 8000 varieties of grapes, but less than 100 are commercially important,and many are wine grapes. Which are delicious usually, intense in flavour, just more work to eat. Most of our table grapes now have fat seedless raisins.
If you would like to enjoy 2 great fruits of autumn go to the Apple and Grape Harvest Festival in Stanthorpe, just west of most of us, north of Tenterfield in the granite belt winemaking region. It’s on this friday, Saturday and sunday, with a Gala Ball, Wine Fiesta, Grand Parade, Queensland Grape Crushing Championships, Fireworks, Multicultural Music Festival, markets, an apple peeling competition, fruit packing competition and lantern parade.

Apple & Grape Harvest Festival – Home

Or just enjoy grapes while they are at their peak – on a cheese platter of course
on tarts, in fruit salads, but there are many interesting grape recipes. You can make a layer of grapes in a baking dish, top them with mascarpone, panna cotta or creme caramel mix, set then caramelise sugar on top for a grape brulee. Or make grape jam or a savoury sauce to use with pork. Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer have lots of grape recipes, like sago cooked with red grape juice, a traditional Barossa German dish; white gazpacho, with almonds and white grapes; chicken stuffed with grapes, roasted and served with a sauce of the pan juices and more grapes; grape bread, and upside down grape cake. Grapes go well with liver and liver pates. You can also preserve grapes in spirit,pickle or candy them. Try Israeli grape soup or Armenian grape paste. Or just toss them into a salad, they are great with sharp flavoured leaves.
Thus endeth sister T’s grape sermon.

* a lot of the historical information is from the wonderful (and huge) “The Oxford Companion to Food” Alan Davidson – ed

EDIBLE QUOTE:

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.”
Luciano Pavarotti, My Own Story

CONTACTS:

www.belly.net.au – our new website, check it out

or email us on belly@belly.net.au

To get information if you are starting out as a local food producer, Amanda recommends:

Lois Kelly, Regional Coordinator, Northern Rivers Food

Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers

Ph: +61 02 6622 4011 Mob: 0432 476 926 Fax: +61 02 6621 4609

Email: food@rdanorthernrivers.org.au