The very fabulous Quentin and Katrina getting ready to cook up a storm

Sometimes none of the regular bellysisters can be in Byron to present the show – not sure why, we are all affected by wanderlust.  This is usually a bonus for listeners as there are so many wonderful food lovers among the Bayfm presenters.  Quentin Watts, who presents the very wonderful Q’s Jazz ‘nBlues on Bayfm, has presented belly before and always plays the most wonderful and obscure food-themed music.  Her sister Katrina has been a guest on belly, to talk about feeding Japanese, and Australian, sumo wrestlers.  For this show they teamed up and shared some family memories, and recipes.

Our father went to uni in London and learned to cook in the south of France, and a few dishes from various ski resorts he visited. He was such a good cook, our Mother told him she couldn’t cook at all : a lie as her mother – our gran, was a wonderful cook, Oz style so we always ate well – our mother would threaten to feed us meat pies and peas like other people ate if we were no so keen on some dish she had slaved over in the kitchen.

We two sisters got a taste for almond rocca via the Americans who my mother met in Sydney during WW2.  Plus she had a Spanish girlfriend who taught her some of her family’s favourite dishes. A very easy Spag bol using 6 cloves of garlic. olive oil, minced beef allspice, and cloves with concentrated tomato paste. Later in my own life I would make the left overs into chilli con carne by adding cumin, and a few other bits.  Plus we got to know more interesting foods through our own multicultural friends at primary school.

CHILLI  CON CARNE – FROM SCRATCH

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
700g lean minced beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp coriander seeds toasted and ground
1 – 2 fresh green jalapeños, (a small, hot green chilli) thinly sliced.
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
a few shakes of Tabasco sauce
If you like it Very Hot add a pinch, a 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper to taste.
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp tomato sauce
425g can tomatoes, chopped
180g 1 cup red kidney beans soaked overnight or a can of red kidney beans, drained and washed
200ml beer or red wine
Sea salt and pepper

Method

1. Place dried kidney beans in a saucepan, cover with cold water, soak overnight. Rinse add fresh water and bring to the boil. Cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside. Or use the tin of rinsed kidney beans.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and cook mince, breaking up with the back of a spoon, for 5 minutes or until brown, transfer to a plate. Add 1 tbsp oil to saucepan, add mince and cook for 5 minutes or until brown, then add remaining olive oil to pan, add onions, garlic and jalapeño chillies and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Return meat to pan with stock, tomatoes, oregano and spices. Season to taste with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and ground chilli. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours stirring occasionally until tender. Add beans and cook for another 20 minutes or until sauce is thick. Adjust seasoning and chilli heat to taste. Serve with boiled rice and 2 tbsp coriander to garnish with sour cream or toss with chopped avocado and tomato tossed with lime juice. You can serve this with corn chips as well.

SPANISH SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

500 – 700g lean beef minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 large cloves garlic chopped fine
1 heaped teaspoon of allspice
4 whole cloves
4 tablespoons of concentrated tomato paste
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Method
Gently heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large fry pan, add 6 large cloves of chopped garlic, and simmer till golden. Garlic can be removed for a more subtle flavour. Add 500 – 700g lean minced beef and fry on med heat until browned. Take care not to burn the garlic. Add 1 teaspoon allspice, 4 whole cloves, 4 tablespoons of concentrated tomato paste and black pepper to taste.

Stir in ingredients and cook tomato concentrate into the mince. Add water or beef stock to cover and simmer 1 hour. Taste for salt after one hour as some tomato pastes are slightly salty. Add salt to taste plus a jigger of brandy and a splash of red wine. Simmer for 1 hour. Remove the 4 whole cloves. Serve on spaghetti or other pasta with a topping of grated Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.

When using the leftover Spanish Spaghetti Bolognese

In a large pan place coriander seeds – lightly toast. Remove and set aside to cool in pestle and mortar. Crush finely when cool.

Add to the pan:

1tbspn olive oil
1 large onion chopped fine
1 clove of garlic chopped

Fry until softened and just golden, then add
1 – 2 fresh green jalapeños, (a small, hot green chilli) thinly sliced.

NB if you do not eat chilli, add a chopped green capsicum instead. Leave out the Tabasco, dried chilli flakes and cayenne pepper.

Cook chopped pepper or chillies into the onion and garlic.
If you like Very Hot Chill Con Carne add a pinch, or a 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper to taste. Less is best – Remember you can always add more later.

Add :
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
a few shakes of Tabasco sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Cook to combine flavours and add:
1 tbsp coriander seeds toasted and ground fine
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp dried oregano
425g can tomatoes, chopped
400g soaked overnight or a can of red kidney beans, drained and washed
Sea salt and pepper
Simmer on low for a few minutes as you gently stir through the cooked beans. Add the leftover Spanish Spaghetti Bolognese.
Add about 200ml red wine and simmer till wine has almost absorbed.

Serve on Boiled rice with 2 tbsp coriander to garnish and sour cream. Or toss chopped avocado and tomato with lime juice.

IN SEASON

Fruit:
avocados, bananas, blueberries, grapefruit, paw paws, peaches, strawberries, tamarillos. It’s berry season – so make the most of it.

Vegetables:
artichoke, asparagus, bok choi, broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflowers, chinese cabbage, celery, coriander, cucumbers, dill, fennel, garlic, leeks, lettuce, onions, potatoes, peas, silver beet, spring onions, squash, zucchini
and look out for fresh garlic at local Farmers Markets from now on.

Quentin and Katrina also spoke with Louise and Bruno Bouget from Mullumbimby French restaurant La Table – and gave away a voucher  to a lucky subscriber.
The second anniversary of La Table is around the corner & to celebrate they are hosting a special Provencale Dinner with accompanying Aperitif and Wines from Provence – Friday 3th and Saturday 4th of December.  The event will also feature Live Piano, Guitar & Chanson with a European flavour, offered by discerning local musicians Vasudha and Jem. Plus two very special guests from Provence who will be dining at the Long Table with those who enjoy the age old French tradition of a shared meal.  And the launch of ‘Green Food Generation – A Culinary Adventure’ by Hayden Wood, a new book that features a chapter on ‘La Table’…  “This delectable collection of chefs restauranteurs, caterers, and food personalities are a new generation of conscientious consumers and creative cooks, as passionate about Green Food as they are about the planet”

La Table Restaurant & Cafe 72 Burringbar St, Mullumbimby NSW 2482 02-66842227 www.latable.com.au

Another lucky BayFM subscriber won a packet of Australian Sea Salt from our good friends at Australian Sea Salt Pty Ltd. This salt retains all naturally occurring trace elements, has no silicon or aluminium, no bleaches or free flow agents.  auscsalt@easy.com.au.

THE PEPPERCORN TREE

Also called a Pepperina – Schinus molle is a quick growing evergreen tree that grows to 15 meters (50 feet) tall and 5-10 meters (16-33 feet) wide. It is unrelated to true pepper Piper Nigrum but like the berries of its close relative, they are sold as “pink peppercorns” and often blended with commercial pepper.
The fruit and leaves are, however, potentially poisonous to poultry, pigs and possibly calves. The sticky, clear sap may cause dermatitis in sensitive individuals. When flowering, the tree may cause respiratory irritation, sinus congestion and headache. Records also exist of young children who have experienced vomiting and diarrhoea after eating the fruit.
Extracts of S. molle have been used as a flavour in drinks and syrups.
The Inca used the sweet outer part of ripe fruit to make a drink. Berries were rubbed carefully to avoid mixing with the bitter inner parts, the mix strained and then left for a few days to produce a refreshing and wholesome drink. It was also boiled down for syrup or mixed with maize to make nourishing gruel.
There is also significant archaeological evidence that the fruits of S. molle were used extensively in the Central Andes around 550-1000 AD for producing chichi or chichia a fermented alcoholic beverage.

In traditional medicine, fruit of the peppercorn tree, S. molle was used in treating a variety of wounds and infections due to its antibacterial and antiseptic properties. It has also been used as an antidepressant and diuretic, and for toothache, rheumatism and menstrual disorders, with recent studies providing some support for its antidepressant effects. It has also been speculated that S. molle’s insecticidal properties make it a good candidate for use as an alternative to synthetic chemicals in pest control.

Belly Roll Phil Woods This Is How I Feel About Quincy (Quincy  Jones) Jazzed Media Allegro #1004  Brian Lynch tpt, flhn; Bobby Routch flhn, fh hn; Richard Chamberlain tbn, euphonium; Nelson Hill fl, bar, t sax; Phil Woods cl, a sax; Bill Charlap p; Steve Gilmore b; Bill Goodwin d. 2007

Peel Me A Grape Anita O’Day & Cal Tjader Time For Two (David L Frishberg)  Polygram #559808    *1962 Anita O’Day voc; Cal Tjader d, bvoc; vibes; Lonnie Hewitt p; Robert Corwin p. 2003

Peppercorn Trees Tinpan Orange The Bottom of the Lake (Emily Zmira Lubitz) VItamin Records Jesse Lubitz and sister Emily Lubitz voc, g; Alex Burkoy v, g, mandolin. 2009 Mullum Fest

Pass the Salt Higher Ground Black & White – Faded and Torn (Dave Devlin) Orchard #966 *L+ Higher Ground: Fred Bolton voc, g; Duke Weddington voc, bj; Dianne Lujan vocals; Dave Devlin mandolin, dobro; Mark Smith bass. 2005 Protected

Cos’ Groove Steve Herberman Action:Reaction Steve Herberman CD Baby.Com/Indys #105933    *L+ Steve Herberman g; Drew Gress b; Mark Ferber d. 2006

Swedish Pastry Stan Hasselgard Sextet West Coast Jazz – Early Years (Barney Kessel) MC #046    Stan Hasselgard cl; Red Norvo vibes; Arnold Ross p; Barney Kessel g; Rolo Garberg b; Frank Bode d. 18/12/1947 LA

Red Beans and Rice Charmaine Neville Band Up Up Up (Horace Silver)
Gert Town #1116 *D Charmaine Neville voc; Amasa Miller keybds; Reggie Houston sax; Detriot Brooks g; Jefferey Cardarelli b; Jesse Boyd db; Gerald French d. release date May, 21, 1996  CD 2003

I can tell you sitting for two hours playing music was like a holiday after the exciting pace of Belly. You sisters do a wonderful show every week – hope it was not too carnivorous for your listeners.  Hope we didn’t sound like the silly sisters.

Love and Light, Quentin and Katrina

I’d love to stay home and listen to the silly sisters every Monday – thank you Quentin and Katrina, extra chocolate cake for you – sister T