Another year, another Valentine’s day, another chance to talk about love and seduction. A couple of hours away from floods and destruction and bad news maybe. And with a bit of love, and chocolate, all the hard stuff is easier to deal with anyway.
This year we are starting with lots of chocolate, with Sarah Wheeler from Puremelt Chocolate, then seasonal love and gratitude with Miss February, Alison Drover, and music, sweets and the love goddess herself, Aphrodite, with Ilias Katsapouikidis. And of course music, markets, the belly bulletin including what lucky foods to eat for the Year of the Snake, and tasty courses at Byron College.
PUREMELT CHOCOLATES are available at various local markets, including the Mullumbimby farmers market every Friday. Sarah is one of the few chocolatiers who makes her chocolate from scratch rather than from bought chocolate drops. She uses many local ingredients and is constantly experimenting. If you’d like to do your own experiments, she also sells chocolate making kits online, and teaches occasional classes. Contact her here.
SECRET TO A LOVE IS SPICING IT UP…. VALENTINES DAY BY MISS FEBRUARY ALISON DROVER
Herbs not only help us but heal us as well…
Fenugreek seeds: Saponins which can be found in fenugreek seeds play a role in increasing the production of testosterone, the male hormones, which, in turn, causes the raise in male libido.
Cardamom: These green wonders increase energy and relieve fatigue, and help you rock your love making process.
Clove: They heat up the body and maybe that’s what increases the hotness quotient on bed!
Fennel: Saunf, as they are called in Hindi, contain an estrogen-like substance (estirol) that turns out libido. So careful before you grab a handful of it at a restaurant after dinner.
Ginseng: It helps improve male erectile dysfunction (ED)
Saffron: There’s a reason why old Hindi films had saasumas forcing bahus to add saffron to the milk on the first night. And you thought it was just for a fair child!
Nutmeg: It’s one of the most popular natural aphrodisiacs. Research proves that nutmeg has the same effect on mating behavior as Viagra. Sprinkle some in your kheer for a dirty night!
Cloves: They boost your energy levels. They also have one of the best aromatherapy scents that help improve your sexual behaviour.
Garlic: Eating green chilies with garlic is an old (tried and tested) way of enjoying sex for a longer period. Peel off its top layers, crush cloves and then fry in butter, and your partner is ready to be a nutter!
Ginger: Garlic’s ‘g’ brother helps you tingle the ‘G’ spot with ease. It increases sex drive and stimulates sexual performance.
CARDAMON, GINGER, STAR ANISE CHICKEN WITH LOCAL JASMINE FRAGRANT RICE… recipe by Alison Drover
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, microplaned
1 Tbsp garlic, pressed
2 tsp cardamom seeds, ground
6 star anise,ground
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt (we actually forgot to add the salt, but it hardly needed it)
1/4 tsp turmeric
8 chicken drumsticks or thighs, skin removed
oil
1 small red onion, diced
4 bay leaves, fresh or dried
2 cinnamon sticks
2 Tbsp coriander, chopped
8 oz baby spinach (optional)
yogurt or heavy cream (optional)
Combine the ginger, garlic, cardamom, cayenne, star anise, salt and turmeric and smear the resulting paste over the chicken pieces. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Heat a few spoonfuls of oil in a large skillet with a well-fitting lid. Add the onion, chicken, bay and cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and the chicken has browned, about 20 minutes.
Add a cup of water, scrape the pan bottom to deglaze it, bring to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook gently about 30 minutes, stirring once in a while. Stir in the coriander.
Remove the chicken to a platter and boil down the sauce in the pan until it thickens a bit. Toss in a pile of spinach leaves to wilt, if you like, and perhaps a half cup or so of plain yogurt or cream. Serve the greens and sauce with the chicken legs and some steamed basmati rice.
CHOCOLATE & CARAMEL TART – BY ILIAS
Short crust pastry
250g flour
60g sugar
180g butter
Caramel
225g sugar
80g cream
70g butter
Chocolate mousse
200g couveture choc
4x eggs separated
185g cream
40g caster sugar
Chocolate ganache
165g couveture chocolate
60g cream
40g butter
Mix flour and sugar in a bowl by hand and then add the cubed chilled butter. Mix until you have a breadcrumb texture and then add 40g of chilled water and mix until combined. Roll into a disc, wrap with glad wrap and rest in the fridge for 1/2 hour
Per heat oven 190c
Roll out the pastry and line a 26cm tart shell. Rest again for half hour in fridge. Line with baking paper and weights. Bake for 20 min, remove paper and weights and bake for another 8-10 min. Cool on a rack
To make caramel combine 250g water and sugar and cook on high heat in a saucepan until a golden caramel forms. Them add the cream and sugar off the heat ( careful mix will spit ) stir to combine and pour into pastry case. Chill in the fridge to set
To make mousse melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, cool and add egg yolks stirring to combine. Whisk cream to soft peaks and set aside. Whisk egg whites to soft peaks and them add the 40g of sugar and keep whisking till combined. Fold 1/2 the egg whites on the choc mix to lighten it then the cream and then the rest of the egg whites taken care to preserve as much air as possible in the mix. Spoon over the caramel and smooth the top flush with the edges and chill.
To make ganache melt chocolate and cream in a Bain Marie and stir lovingly to avoid aerating the mix until combined and then add the butter off the heat. Clean the bottom of the bowl of any steam and cool. Then add the ganache while still fluid to top the top and smooth it with a pallette knife :^)
Rest until set and use a warm knife to cut portions
Serve it with vanilla ice cream
Or for an exciting taste sensation:
NIMBIN VALLEY BRIE ICE CREAM
500g milk
6x yolks
25g sugar
Pinch salt
8x drops Tabasco sauce
Small pinch cayenne pepper
300g Brie wheel from Nimbin Valley Dairy ( cut minimal crust off and slice onto thin slivers)
Heat milk in a saucepan
Whisk yolks, sugar & salt until pale yellow
When milk is just below boil add half to the yolk mix whilst whisking. Pour back into the saucepan and put on a low heat to thicken the custard whilst continually stirring the bottom with a wooden spoon until 80deg c on a thermometer.
Take off the heat, add the cheese and whisk until the cheese melts. Strain through a sieve and then pour into an ice cream maker and churn.
Enjoy this local delight as a palate cleanser, with rich desserts or eat it as is :^D
Yiasou!!!
BELLY BULLETIN
The price of a cup of tea could rise after the world’s biggest producers agreed to join forces . Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Indonesia, Malawi and Rwanda produce more than 50% of the world’s tea. They have announced the formation of the International Tea Producers’ Forum. Initially they will focus on sharing knowledge and boosting demand for tea to raise prices. Sri Lanka’s Plantations Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe, said in future they may try methods such as supply controls to increase tea prices. At the moment the global tea price is around $US2.5 a kilo, down from about $2.84 a year ago. In 1994 Sri Lanka unsuccessfully proposed a tea cartel similar to OPEC, the crude oil cartel.
Supermarket company Coles said last week that its discount milk prices are not to blame for cuts to farm gate prices for dairy farmers, at least in Victoria.
A south-west Victorian dairy farmers’ group, Farmer Power, along with south-east South Australian farmers, protested outside Warrnambool’s major supermarkets earlier this month. It is partly blaming the sale of milk at Coles and Woolworths of $1 a litre for lower dairy prices at the farm gate. However, Jim Cooper of Coles says farmers are more influenced by the global market and only 8 per cent of fresh milk produced in Victoria is sold in the state. “We understand that dairy farmers might see the milk on the shelf as the most visible sort of aspect of their business but the reality is that’s not what drives the farm gate price that they’re receiving.” he said.
Last month we mentioned that beef burgers in a UK supermarket had consumers worried after they were found to contain horsemeat. It looks like the source is one large plant in Ireland, which has now also affected the fast food chain Burger King in Europe. Small amounts of horse and pig DNA were found in Burger King beef burgers. They have now changed suppliers The Irish Silvercrest burger plant, one of the biggest in Europe, is closed for cleaning and a change in management. It appears that the meat came from one of their Polish suppliers.
CHOICE, the consumer advocacy group, is proposing reforms to simplify country of origin labelling in Australia, after a survey of its members found that 90% of respondents said country of origin labelling is unclear. “When choosing food, consumers tell us that knowing where it comes from is an important issue – second only to information on the ingredients it contains,” says CHOICE food policy advisor Angela McDougall. How important origin is varies by type of food. Respondents placed the most importance on primary produce such as meat and vegetables, followed by foods like dairy and bread. Origin was least important for highly processed foods like soft drinks and sweets.
To help shoppers, Choice is calling for labelling to be simplified to three claims:
‘Product of Australia’ and ‘Manufactured in Australia’ – claims about where the ingredients are from and where they are processed
‘Packaged in Australia’ – a basic claim to accommodate products which by law have to carry an origin declaration
Under CHOICE’s proposal, the claim ‘Made in Australia from local and imported ingredients’ would not be permitted. If manufacturers want to provide additional information, they should specify where any specific ingredient originates.
The Chinese year of the Black Female Water Snake starts today, New Years day is on Sunday February 10, and it’s time to eat those lucky foods, just in case. Uncut noodles, for represent longevity and long life. Melon, sunflower or pumpkin seeds if you’d like lots of children. Anything that looks like ancient money or gold ingots, like slices of sausage, dried apricots, cashews, dumplings or anything wrapped in leaves. Peaches will give you immortality, bananas a good education, & carrots money. Pumpkins will give you illustrious children – you have been warned. Bean sprouts bring you anything your heart desires. Whole animals & coconuts keep the family together. But stay away from white foods. You are supposed to clean the house & sweep the bad luck away. Red underpants also help apparently, especially if the snake is your birth year, to protect you & bring you luck. Kung Hei Fat Choy!
MORE COMING SOON : Sarah’s brownies