Merry Christmas and Happy everything, from the Summer Solstice to whatever wonderful feast you are celebrating or using as a thin excuse for getting together with friends and family. On this belly Christmas special we had Carols (yes! not nearly enough!), lots of listeners voices sharing their holiday cooking and eating plans, and the wonderful Alison Drover with lots of ideas to inspire you in your holiday cooking and shopping for food and presents. Also seasonal updates from the farmers markets and the Liberation Larder.
Alison Drover came on belly a couple of months ago when she organised the first Northern Rivers Regional Food Celebration, part of the 2010 Lismore Show. She has organised many other major food related events. The most entertaining thing for Sister B and myself during the show was watching Alison’s pen flying as I played the short interviews with various people around the community centre and the markets. Each comment sparked up at least 3 new ideas. These are a few of them, and we are still waiting for Alison to forward a few others. For more, go also to her site, The Alison Principle.
Waste – quality over quantity at Christmas
Leftovers – there should not be any – plan and don’t be greedy buy less.
Salads
Greens, roasted zucchini,
Nectarine, mint salads – great with seafood
Brown rice, currants, macadamia nut, cinnamon perfect for turkey for the
traditional dinners
Dessert
Last minute ideas which are not the pudding – Passionfruit roulade or
blueberry and strawberry summer pudding with double cream
Alcohol:
Make a punch, you can control the amount of alcohol and include a variety of ingredients, even beer
Sustainable Christmas
Alison believes in going beyond sustainable to inspirational.
“For example I make my nephews pillowcases , decorate them differently every year saves on
packaging and they love seeing what I have done better than the present!”
Giving at Christmas – think about how you can make a
difference at Christmas in some way and how rewarding this is.
I.e. – if you are making a Christmas Cake make another and take it in to a
refuge of shelter. Thinking about the people who made the things you are buying this Christmas and in landfill where they will go
Alison got in touch with the Fishermen’s Coop to check on most people’s favourite holiday food, prawns. Local is always better, not imported, as the industry is more controlled. You may see some black on local prawns at the moment because of the excessive rain, this does not affect quality or taste. More info on sustainable seafood in last week’s belly post.
And she brought us some lovely recipes!
CHRISTMAS COUNTRY TURKEY TERRINE
Important: Before you shop for your meat, give your butcher a call and ask
them to reserve it for you so it is ready and minced which will save you
time You can do this when you order your Christmas turkey.
12–14 slices rindless smoked bacon – buy from a Farmers’ Market or find a
local butcher which will do a free range pork bacon
1 bunch baby English spinach, stalks removed
300 g skinless turkey breast coarsely minced
200 g chicken livers, coarsely minced
300 g hard pork back fat, minced
1–2 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon black pepper
50 ml brandy
½ cup parsley, washed and roughly chopped
6 sage leaves
6 sprigs thyme
1 egg, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 160ºC.
Line a terrine mould, 25cm in length and 10cm high and wide, with baking
paper cut to size, and then layer with the strips of bacon lengthways to
create rows. Let the ends of the bacon hang over the edge of the terrine as
these will form the base.
Using a medium-sized bowl, mix all the ingredients together. If you have
time, leave the mixture for a few hours to marinate.
Spoon the mixture into the terrine, press down firmly and fold the
overhanging bits of bacon over the top like you are wrapping a Christmas
present. Cover the terrine with foil and place the dish in a bain marie
(water bath).
Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour. Reduce the temperature to 140ºC. and
cook until the internal temperature is 70ºC. If you do not have a
thermometer put a skewer in and the juices should run clear which will
indicate that the meat is cooked through.
Remove from the oven and the ban marie. Place something heavy on top (I use
a house brick wrapped in foil) until it cools. This ensures all the contents
come together.
PEACH, DATE AND GINGER CHUTNEY
Makes about 3½ cups of chutney depending on the size of peaches.
This is a versatile chutney for turkey, venison and chicken, and it is
especially good with the Country Turkey Terrine. It also makes a lovely gift
bottled for when you pop into Christmas parties, summer barbeques or
picnics. If you are fortunate enough to be near a farmers’ market which has
dried, chemical-free apricots and peaches you can add some of these
approximately ½ cup.
1 onion, finely chopped
6 large peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped
2 cups pitted dates, roughly chopped (not too small)
1 tablespoon freshly peeled and diced ginger
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon freshly grated ground nutmeg
In a frypan, fry onion in olive oil on a low heat until then are translucent
cooked through.
Add the cooked onion and all other ingredients to a slow cooker like a
stockpot which does not have a sticky bottom. Leave uncovered bringing it
to the boil, then reduce heat. The mixture will form a sticky mass and the
dates will soften. Stir to combine the ingredients but pay attention not to
overcook or squash the ingredients as part of the appeal of the chutney is
its chunky ingredients. Remove the lid and let it cool.
NECTARINE SALSA
Serves 6.
Perfect for leftover turkey, summer fish, barbecue prawns or chicken skewers
6 ripe nectarines – you can pop these on the BBQ beforehand for a few
minutes if you want to increase the flavor of the salsa.
1 red onion, diced
½ red chilli, seeded and finely chopped – optional
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
handful mint – about ½ cup
Slice nectarines in half and remove stone. Slice and cut into evenly shaped
pieces so that they are about double the size of a dice.
Remove stalks from the mint and tear mint into strips
Mix together all ingredients in a bowl, however, pay attention not to mash
them so you retain the appearance of the nectarines slices, the texture of
mint and the onion.
Alison is sending us a couple more party recipes soon. You can contact her at :
E: <mailto:contact@alisondrover.com> info@thealisonprinciple.com
MARKET UPDATE
A few fruit and veg in season from Don, Byron Bay/Bangalow Farmers Market manager.
Corn – very sweet this time of year
Blue berries- wonderful taste and high in anti oxidants, Bananas
Capsicums – yellow variety especially flavoursome
Egg plant, Beans – very crisp
Macadamia nuts and chocolate coated make a great gift
Beetroot – superb roasted and heaps of vitamin C
MUSIC
Santa claus is coming to town , by Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, from Cool Yule
White Christmas, sung by Elvis (in a white jumpsuit we hope), in memory of Alison’s dad
The Little Drummer Boy, by Bing Crosby – for the lovely Byron Muffin Men, who gave us lots of delicious stuff to give a couple of subscribers who didn’t have to cook anything for Christmas