Monthly Archives: November 2011

liberating larders with love and linguistic lashings

Talofa Lava, sister Rasela with you for a scrumptious hour of belly – THE tastiest show on the airwaves, where we bring you stories, info and basically anything tasty, little or large, titbit or trailerload, delightfully dipped and carefully picked, bits and snipets.

As you can imagine it’s a never ending topic as everyone has their own story about food. Today we are joined by Chrissy Butler who has recently moved to the area as a vegetarian chef extraordinaire. Blessed in ways they may not yet be aware of, the homeless and hungry have this lovely lady volunteering her love, time and cooking skills to feed them all in the LIBERATION LARDER.

Just in case you don’t know, the Liberation Larder is located downstairs from the BayFM studios in the Community Centre Fletcher Street entrance and provides a free cooked meal to anyone in need every Monday at around 1.30pm. This meal of course does not miraculously appear out of nowhere. A team of vollies start at around 7am to gather, sort, chop, cook and serve donated food to the people in our community that really need it.

!! HERE’S WHERE YOU CAN HELP !!

LIBERATION LARDER IS DESPERATLEY SEEKING VOLUNTEERS FOR THE PERIOD LEADING UP TO XMAS AS THEY PLAN TO SERVE UP A MEAL ON XMAS DAY … alot of their vollies are away at the moment and it places extreme strain on the few that are left behind so PLEEEEEASE either just wander in and offer your help on ANY Monday or Thursday or organise to help at Xmas time by contacting –

Rhonda – 0431 523 310

Please help if you can, i saw Chrissy yesterday after they had shut up shop and she said she had to do the job of 3 people and was pleading with me to let anyone i know know .. know what i mean ? Happily she was on her way home to put her feet up and you could be too with a warm fuzzy heart, knowing you have done something for and within the community. We are all part of the same community and there are some asking for HELP right now.

Do it if you can …

There is more info to follow in this post relating to “Frauduent Quackery”. This may help you to know whether what you are reading on the internet or hearing people discuss is fact or in fact fiction.

In the words of a tired and yawning bellysister – I’ll be back … badder and better after a bitta sleep xx sista r

Italian regional food

On air on Byron Bay’s Bayfm 99.9 community radio on 21 November 2011

A Sicilian, a Roman and a Piemontese walked into a studio…and started talking about food – it could become the edible version of occupy Wall street, but lucky for the presenters who are on after us we will probably be quickly driven out by hunger. Well actually the Roman kind of got lost on the way to the forum…Hopefully I will get to talk to Valentina soon, she has done a course at one of my favourite Italian food mags, sites and now school, Gambero Rosso. But the capo degli amorevoli, wonderful Italian presenter Sergio from the Bayfm program ‘That’s Amore“, that has just returned to the summer broadcast, was on belly today. Sergio is from Sicily, but has lived in Rome, Pisa and also in Merano, at the border with Austria, while doing his duty as a sweet young conscript in the Italian army. I am from Piemonte, in the North near the Swiss/French border, but my parents have lived for years in Tuscany and Sicily, so between us we pretty much cover Italy, and many of its wonderful and very distinctive regional cuisines.

We are both keen to talk about some wonderful dishes from our bits of Italy , which are much less known than the standard pizzas and pastas. We went straight off into singing the praises of caponata, a gorgeous Sicilian summer dish, done in many different ways across the island. I have seen some very vibrant discussions among Sicilians about the best way to do this dish!

CAPONATA CATANESE – adapted from a recipe by Mimmetta Lo Monte in “Italy a Culinary Journey”

One 500 g eggplant

500g red and yellow capsicums

1 onion

60 g celery stalks and leaves

1 tbs capers, squeezed if in vinegar, rinsed and drained if in salt

6 large green olives, pitted and cut into pieces

2 tbs red wine vinegar

3/4 tsp sugar

6 canned tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped (or 6 very ripe tasty tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped)

salt

Peel a 2 cm strip of skin from the eggplant, stem end to bottom and back to the stem. Cut it into 2 cm cubes. Cover with water and 1 tsp salt. Weigh them so they stay underwater. Leave 30 minutes, drain, dry with paper or tea towels. Deep fry in 2 cm of oil on high heat, until dark gold. You may need to do this in batches. Set aside.

Cut capsicum and 3/4 of the onion into 2 cm cubes. Heat 3 tbs of the eggplant cooking oil, add capsicum, onion and celery. Stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Reduce to low, cover and cook 8 more minutes. Uncover, raise heat to high, stir until veg start browning. Add capers, olives, vinegar, sugar.

Turn off heat, add eggplant, mix very gently.

Finely chop the last 1/4 onion. Heat 2 more tbs of the eggplant oil in a small pan.

Saute’ the onion, add tomatoes, cook on high heat until they sizzle. If you are using fresh tomatoes, start a little slower and cook them a little longer. Stir in salt to taste and add to the other veg.

Serve at room temperature. This gets better the next day, and will keep well for a few days.

As we said on the show, this is basically the primary layer of caponata, which you can adapt and add to to your heart’s delight. I have usually had it with pine nuts added. You can add a lot of seafood, mainly little octopus (octopussies?), but also firm fleshed fish, bottarga (dried mullet roe), prawns, even lobster. Or artichokes or asparagus. There is even apparently a chocolate and almond sauce you can add, called Saint Bernard’s sauce, salsa di San Bernardo. Play around, but try the basic version first.

SERGIO’S GNOCCHI WITH PESTO

This is a dish associated more with the North, and of course pesto is from Liguria, the region of Genova, but Sergio likes to make it as it is a low gluten dish, especially with spelt. Spelt is called farro in Italian and has made quite a comeback in recent years. Sergio said he likes to play around with Italian dishes, adding things like miso and tofu to Italian classics.

Gnocchi di Patate (4 people)

Ingredients

1kg Dutch (cream?) Potatoes, 200gr spelt Farina, 1 egg,

Steam the whole washed potatoes with their skin, in abundant water and a pinch of salt.

Let them cool down completely and then peel them, mash them till they are smooth.

Pour them on a floured wooden board, make a dimple in the middle and add the egg to it. Add the sieved flour little by little and mix it manually until it is hard and doesn’t stick to your hands. (Probably you will have to use only 3/5 of the flour)

Work it in long rolls of 1.5cm and cut it in 2cm pieces.

Use a fork to give them the right shape. (With a movement swift but firm). Put them on a well floured plate to keep them separated.

Boil them in an abundant (repeat abundant) salted water. When they rise scoop them with a holed ladle.

Mix the gnocchi with their sauce while still warm.

Recommended sauces: Burro e Salvia (Butter and Sage), Fresh tomato sauce and Basil, but you can try also with Pesto and grated Parmesan.

PESTO GENOVESE

(for 600 gr of pasta)

Ingredients

50 Gr of Fresh Basil leaves

½ glass of Extra-virgin olive oil

6 Tablespoons of Parmigiano Reggiano and 2 of Pecorino

2 garlic cloves

1 Tablespoon of pine nuts

A pinch of salt

For the traditional Pesto you should use a marble mortar and a wooden pestle.

Wash the basil leaves in cold water and place them to dry on a tea towel.

Pound the basil leaves and the garlic (a clove for thirty leaves) in the mortar with a slow circular movement.

When the basil releases its juice, add the pine nuts and then the grated cheeses. Finally add (slowly) the oil.

CORNMEAL BISCUITS – PASTE DI MELIGA By Sister T’s mum Franca Corino

A recipe from close to the mountains in Piemonte, where corn goes not only into polenta but into delicious light crunchy biscuits. I remember we always used to buy particularly good ones in a little town where we made regular pilgrimages to a big discount shoe shop. Half price Italian shoes and good biscuits : can a day be any more perfect? This recipe is my mother Franca’s, from a book we did together, along with other authors from the regions of Italy, called “Italy a culinary journey” (Angus and Robertson 1991, ed A. Luciano) – 20 years old now, which is a bit scary. [I just checked and you can get it on the internet for a massive $1 and 36 cents, + postage, but that is the American edition so I’m not sure if it would have the metric measurements as well]. The quantities are a little odd because the main market for the book was the US, you can play around a bit with the flour percentages. Also if you are making this in midsummer in Byron and room temperature is 30 degrees, use your butter straight from the fridge.

315 g plain flour
90 g polenta flour
315 g butter, at room temperature
185 g sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tbs grated lemon rind

Preheat oven to 180 C.
Mix all ingredients lightly until the dough is similar to short crust pastry. Be careful not to overwork it or the biscuits will be tough rather than crumbly and light.
Roll out to a 1.5 cm sheet, cut into circles with a biscuit cutter.
Bake on a buttered oven tray for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden.
Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

BELLY BULLETIN

Where our food comes from, how it is produced and by whom, its impact on our lives and environment, the impact on our culture and on food security, will be some of the themes discussed at the Australasian Regional Food Cultures and Networks Conference. It will be held

At Peppers Resort, Kingscliff, on November 29 and 30, and is organised by Southern Cross University’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. The conference brings academics and industry together across a number of areas including food production, distribution, marketing, tourism and hospitality to explore key issues and opportunities for regional food.

Southern Cross University Professor Philip Hayward said the conference would specifically address local networking issues.

“Local food and low food miles are desirable. But to make local food industries sustainable we have to thoroughly rethink distribution systems, branding and appellation and how producers network with other members of the local supply chain,” he said.

School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Associate Professor Kevin Markwell said he believed regional food could become an engine for tourism.

” Food styles and products help create distinctiveness between regions which then has flow on effects in terms of attracting tourists

to regions to sample distinctive cuisine,” he said.

More info on the conference website, www.regionalfoodconference.com.au

AND BRIEFLY : 2013 has been declared the European Year against Food Waste, and Sikh immigrants are helping to save one of the most traditional of Italian food industries, Parmigiano Reggiano, as they are very skilled with cows, and willing to work the long hours required to bring us this wonderful cheese.

EDIBLE QUOTES – DETTI GUSTOSI

A few of the many many Italian sayings that involve food. There is a huge list here, although some of the translations are a bit off the mark.

A tavola non s’invecchia – you never get old sitting at the dinner table (not sure if this is because of the good food or the good company)

Non puoi avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca – you can’t have a full wine barrell and a drunk wife (both very desirable things)

i.e. – you can’t have your cake and eat it too

MUSIC

A big grazie to Sergio who always picks really interesting and varied music for That’s Amore, and brought all the tracks we played today.

Vacanze Romane – I Matia Bazar

Pronto – Zucchero

Rap Lamento – Frankie Hi-Nrg MC

Pasta al Pesto e Papadan – La banda di piazza Caricamento

Curre Curre Guaglio – 99 Posse

Love and caponata with chocolate sauce, sorella Mariateresa (aka sister T)

Love, fear and dumplings in Shanghai

Today Katrina Beikoff, author of “No chopsticks required: my family’s unexpected year in Shanghai”, was the delicious belly guest. She shared her stories and Ayi Tina’s dumplings.

AYI TINA’S DUMPLINGS

500g Pork Mince
Tbsp Soy sauce
Few drops sesame oil
Tsp Ginger
2 Tsp rice wine vinegar
1 clove garlic finely chopped
Handful Coriander inc stalks
Chives or spring onion
Salt
Pepper
Dumpling/wanton wrappers

Dipping sauce:
Vinegar
Coriander
Spring onion

Method:

Mix the pork mince and other filling ingredients. For extra crunch and a little Chinese cabbage, but Tina (and I) find the coriander stalks are enough.

Assemble various helpers (children) to construct dumplings. Alternatively, settle in front of daytime TV while assembling dumplings (choose a Chinese soap opera for the authentic experience).

Place about a teaspoon of the pork mixture in centre of round dumpling wrapper. The trick is then not only to fold wrapper into a half moon, but to tuck in each wing before sealing the semi-circle. Use water, or a slurry mix of water and corn flour, around the edge of the wrapper to help seal the dumpling. Pinch the edges together to create seal and give that lovely ripply edge to the dumpling.

Plunge dumplings carefully, a few at a time, into boiling water for about six minutes to cook.

Meanwhile make dipping sauce by adding favourite flavourings to vinegar: I prefer as much coriander as the vinegar can handle plus a smidge of chilli.

Please note measurements are only a rough guide, adjust sauces etc to taste preference.

MORE COMING, SORRY, VERY BUSY WEEK (OR 2)

Life and Death – ooh yes – planting spring veg, food and death

On air on Byron Bay’s Bayfm99.9 community radio on 7.11.11

The first belly of November today is about life and death – there is lots of new life to encourage – & then eat, in your veggie patch and in that gorgeous big patch, the Mullumbimby Community Garden. Miss November Alison Drover told us all about their very successful food festival, then she pulled on her gumboots and got down and dirty planting spring veg both to eat and to grow as presents. Then the woman who has steered some of the best weddings and burials, or as we like to say in Byron, celebrations of lives, Zenith Virago came on belly to talk about food and death.

BLISSFUL BERRIES AND BROAD BEANS ON BELLY

by Miss November Alison Drover

www.forkinthefield www.thealisonprinciple.com

My best day in October was the Mullum Community Garden Local Food Day it was so inspiring. I hosted a class with the children a kitchen garden tour, cooking and growing it was blissful. Thank you to Joel and Sophie and Ian and Kate for their help and to the garden for creating such an amazing space.

If you would like to receive the Fork in the Field newsletter please email contact@alisondrover.com.

Broad beans, blueberries, basil and Belly

Mmm November get down and get dirty in the garden and pop a blueberry in your mouth and you can stay away from any pills as they are like wonder foods. This month is celebrating the broad bean, as this is the month when they are at they best and as they are not around for long I suggest having them as often as you can.

Broad beans are good sources of protein, fibre, vitamins A and C, potassium and iron. They also contain levodopa (L-dopa), a chemical the body uses to produce dopamine (the neurotransmitter associated with the brain’s reward and motivation system).

What we are celebrating at our markets locally

• broad beans, blueberries, avocados and soon to come basil and eggplants. In our gardens baby tomatoes on vines.

What’s in season in NSW

Avocado, asparagus, rocket, kale, lettuce, cabbage, beans, peas, fennel, beetroot, potatoes, ginger, passion fruit, bananas, herbs , watercress, strawberries, spinach, artichoke, broccoli (less around), silver beet, eggplant, cucumber, lettuce, mint, oregano, papaya, watercress, pears, oranges (Riverina), grapefruit, kale, okra, mushrooms, corn, zucchini (coming on), coriander

Fork in the Field Recipes – by Alison Drover

BROAD BEAN, MINT, PECORINO – perfect for picnics on baguette

2 cups shelled broad beans

1 cup of pecorino cheese grated

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons lemon juice

150 mls olive oil

pepper, salt

Put a large pot of water on to boil. When it’s at a rolling boil, add the broad beans a few at a time so that it does not go off the boil. This ensures that the colour is retained in the beans. Cook until tender.

Refresh under running cold water then remove the outer skin from the broad beans to reveal the green inner part of the beans.

I prefer a mortar and pestle than food processor as you lose the shape and form of the bean and food becomes like baby food not good.

So if you are using a mortar and pestle place the beans, lemon juice and salt and pepper and smash. Add olive oil a little at a time.

If you have a food processor do this while the motor is running. Keep adding oil until the mixture reaches a creamy consistency suitable for a dip. The amount of olive oil you need to add will depend on the age of the beans.

Add the pecorino cheese. Just before serving add chopped mint. If you put this in beforehand it will go brown.

BLUEBERRY, MULBERRY, STRAWBERRY SUMMER PUDDING

add some native raspberries

This can be made in individual ramekins or as a whole summer pudding

• 1 kg mixed fresh berries blueberries, strawberries, mulberries

• 50 ml water

• 175 g caster sugar

• 8 or so stale slices good white bread, thinly sliced or you can use croissants, panettone (great at Christmas way to use this up)

• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

• Note: If you have any odd jars of berry jam in your fridge, which you would like to use up, add these when you are heating the berries.

Notes: make sure you use a combination of robust berries and some of the more delicate ones for example a good amount of strawberries and blueberries combined with mulberries.

Place all the berries carefully in a saucepan and gently heat until the sugar has dissolved. Take care with your berries so you don’t mush them around. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Taste – depending on the berries you may need to add more sugar.

Remove the crusts from the bread or if you have croissants remove any very dry crunchy bits.

Take a piece of bread or stretch out croissants (you may need 2) and place it on the bottom of your bowl and the place all around the bowl. The idea of this is to create the shell for the pudding. Now that you have the pieces of the jigsaw so to speak dip them in the juice and then place it back in position.

With a slotted spoon take the berries and place them in the bowl and then add the juice. Finally take the remaining bread or croissants and place across the top so as to cover the fruit. The juice should now be staining the bread as it seeps from below and to ensure it is well-soaked press on it a little. Cover with cling film and then place a large plate on top to weight it down.

Refrigerate overnight. Take out of the fridge and remove cling wrap.

Just before serving. Remove cling film. Ensure the plate you have covering the pudding fits across the pudding. Turn it upside down over the sink in case excess juice should spill out.

Result – you will see your creation a dome pudding which is filled with berries. Use the remaining juice that you have kept aside and spoon over the pudding. Serve with real cream or creme fraiche.

Community Gardens – join one, volunteer one or start one – Alison Drover

Here is a link to the Mullumbimby Community Garden.

Here is a link to an amazing resource for Community Gardens, and if you check it out some great how to compost, grow and garden guides for free!

Next month : Edible gifts for Christmas – please email us your ideas : belly(at)belly(dot)net(dot)au

x Alison

FOOD AND DEATH

This is a direct link to the Carnivale of Life and Death, happening in Mullumbimby on November 11 to 13.

BONES OF THE DEAD/BONES TO BITE – OSSA DEI MORTI/OSSA DA MORDERE

This is a type of biscuit that is made all over Italy around the time of the Day of the Dead, November 2, the traditional day to go visit loved ones at the cemetery. This day looks like it is being swamped by Halloween, as in every other country. These little bone shaped biscuits would be great for both, or to take along to the Mullum event. This version comes from my region, Piemonte. I translated and adapted it from an Italian website. The author got it from his grandmother, and shared it on a site that seems designed to share recipes among Carabinieri, the Italian military police who wear those glamorous uniforms with a broad red stripe down their trouser leg, and a big red plume on their dress caps. And they can cook up a storm!

INGREDIENTS

300 to 350 g. flour, possibly Italian ’00’ soft flour
100 g. hazelnuts, 100 g. almonds, 100 g. pinenuts

[or make it Northern Rivers bones by using 150 g. each of macadamias and pecans)
400 g. sugar
3 egg whites, beaten to firm peaks
juice of 1 lemon

MAKING BONES

Toast nuts lightly, chop coarsely the hazelnuts and almonds, separately, adding a little sugar in the food processor.
Mix nuts, 250 g of the flour, and sugar in a bowl, remove any lumps.
Fold in lemon juice and beaten egg whites
Mix with hands, add more flour (if needed) until the dough no longer sticks to your hands (this may be easier if you get someone to help)The recipe is very flexible about the flour quantity because eggs come in many different sizes. Also lemons vary in size and juicyness and acidity, so try to use an average lemon or maybe use only half.
Cut into small pieces, roll them into sticks and shape the ends to look like small bones
Cook in a 180 C oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown

Makes 20 to 25 little bones – very high in calories, so you probably only need one – well maybe two.

If you want to really go for the bleached bone look you could cover them with white chocolate, or just icing sugar.

BLESSED ARE THE CHEESEMAKERS

Camembert, Fetta, Quark, Ricotta, Mascarpone & Greek Style Yoghurt – learn how to make them all at one day courses this fri and sat from
travelling cheese teachers, linked up with the Byron region Community College. Check out byroncollege.org.au & while you are there look at their many other cooking courses. Did you know they won 2011 Adult Learning program of the year?

EDIBLE QUOTE

Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between, Harper Lee, from the novel “to kill a mockingbird”

MUSIC

Lots of veggie patch tracks from Dirt Girl World

Black Box Recorder – seasons in the sun

Nigel Sabin – Resting Point, from Points of Departure

Love and chocolate covered little crunchy bone biscuits, sister T