{"id":1347,"date":"2011-05-02T12:33:18","date_gmt":"2011-05-02T02:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/?p=1347"},"modified":"2011-05-10T19:19:26","modified_gmt":"2011-05-10T09:19:26","slug":"may-mushrooms-mandarins-and-mystery-sounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/?p=1347","title":{"rendered":"May: mushrooms, mandarins and mystery sounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

on air on Bayfm 99.9 on May 2, 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s the first belly of May, so as usual we talked about some of the delicious foods in season this month.\u00a0 Ms May (aka Alison Drover<\/a>) brought some\u00a0 cooler weather recipes, she’s been all over Australia to see what’s in season.
\nIt’s also the first belly of a new bayfm 6 month programming season, so I marked the occasion with our first ever mystery sound – so mysterious that nobody rang in – I would have been very surprised if anybody had recognised it in fact.<\/p>\n

MMMMMMISS MAY’S MONTHLY ROUNDUP<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Seasonal Fruit And Vegetables in Australia in May<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Fruits:<\/strong><\/p>\n

apples : bonza \u2013 braeburn \u2013 cox\u2019s orange pippins \u2013 fuji \u2013 gala \u2013 golden delicious \u2013 granny smith \u2013 jonagold \u2013 jonathan \u2013 mutso \u2013 pink lady \u2013 red delicious \u2013 snow \u2013 sundowner
\nbananas, cumquat, custard apple, feijoa,
\ngrapes : purple cornichon \u2013 waltham cross,
\nkiwifruit, lemons, limes,
\nmandarins, champagne melons,
\nnuts : chestnut \u2013 hazelnut \u2013 peanut \u2013 walnut,
\npears : howell \u2013 josephine \u2013 packham \u2013 red sensation \u2013 williams,
\npersimmon, quince, rhubarb.<\/p>\n

Vegetables<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

asian greens \u2013 bok choy, \u2013 choy sum \u2013 gai laan \u2013 wonga bok,
\navocados : fuerte \u2013 sharwill,
\nbeetroot, broccoli, brussels sprout, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, daikon, eggplant, fennel, garlic, ginger, horseradish, leeks, lettuce,
\nmushrooms : wild \u2013 field \u2013 pine \u2013 slippery jacks,
\nokra, olives,
\nonions : brown \u2013 spring,
\nparsnip, peas, potato, pumpkin, shallots, silverbeet, spinach, squash, swede, sweet potato, taro, tomato, turnip, witlof, zucchini.<\/p>\n

MANDARIN CAKE <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

makes one 24 cm cake, serves 10 \u2013 12<\/p>\n

3 mandarins
\n250g (1 cup) caster sugar
\n6 eggs
\n230g (2 cups) ground almonds
\nto serve
\n60g (\u00bc cup) caster sugar
\nzest of 2 oranges<\/p>\n

This is a great cake and ideal for all those that\u00a0 need gluten and wheat free. It is a cake that not only tastes good but the vibrancy of the orange mandarins\u00a0 that make it look so good. I often decorate it with nasturtium flowers and serve yogurt with it.<\/p>\n

Put the mandarins in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 hours, adding water when necessary to keep the mandarins covered at all times.
\nPreheat the oven to 160\u00b0C (325\u00b0F\/Gas 3).\u00a0 Grease a 24 cm (9 inch) springform cake tin well.
\nDrain the mandarins and cool to room temperature.\u00a0 Once cooled, split them open with your hands and remove any seeds.\u00a0 Puree the mandarins, including the skins, in a food processor.\u00a0 Add the sugar and eggs and mix together until combined.\u00a0 Add the ground almonds to the mandarin pur\u00e9e and stir thoroughly.
\nPour the mixture into prepared tin and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until the cake looks set in the middle, springs back when touched and comes away from the edges.\u00a0 Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.
\nWhile the cake is cooling, put the extra sugar in a saucepan with 60 ml (\u00bc cup) of water over a low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.\u00a0 Add the orange zest and boil the mixture until it just starts to caramelise.\u00a0 Lift the zest out with a fork and cool it on a plate.
\nServe the cake with caramelised citrus zest and a sprinkling of icing sugar.<\/p>\n

MUSHROOM BREAD SOUP<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This is an easy mushroom soup. May is a time that mushrooms grow well as the temperature is cooling down. Visit your local farmer market and see what is growing and be adventurous. With your mushroom types.<\/p>\n

500g mushrooms \u2013 try to buy from Farmers Market as you will taste the difference in flavor and be sure to find varieties that provide all the wonderful textures.
\n4 cups chicken stock
\n2 slices sourdough bread, crusts removed<\/p>\n

Simmer sliced mushrooms in stock with bread for 10 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Blend soup and season to taste. Garnish with chives and creme fraiche.<\/p>\n

VEGETABLE STOCK<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Celery stalks, coarsely chopped
\nCarrots coarsely chopped
\nLeeks white parts only, coarsely chopped
\nOnion coarsely chopped
\nGarlic cloves bruised
\nWhite peppercorns
\nBouquet garni \u2013 this is a mixture of herbs used to flavour the stock. You can make this easily by using parsley stalks, thyme sprigs, rosemary, bay leaf, clove of garlic and tying them together so they are enclosed in a piece of muslin. The bag of herbs is placed in the stock and removed afterwards.<\/p>\n

For vegetable stock, combine ingredients in a saucepan and add bouquet garni. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil over medium heat, then reduce to low and lightly simmer, skimming occasionally until stock is flavoured (30-40 minutes). Remove from heat, strain through a muslin-lined fine sieve (discard solids). Cool to room temperature then refrigerate stock until chilled (2-4 hours). Makes about 2 litres. Stock will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen for up to several months<\/p>\n

PLANTING IN MAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Miss May says time is running out so get out in the garden and start planting so that you will have the abundance of vegetables through to winter.
\nNow is the time to plant broccoli, broad beans, beetroot, coriander, cabbages and Asian greens. Visit the Sustain Food website<\/a> for a local regional planting guide. http:\/\/sustainfood.com.au\/index.php?page=grow-what-s-in-season-vegetables.<\/p>\n

This is also the time to save seeds from your summer crops so that you have them for the next year. Saving seeds helps safeguard the food security of the plant and is also a great way to ensure that the seeds you sow grow.
\nI have some heritage tomato seeds that my neighbour gave to me in Sydney and she has had them for over 30years. They grow and are so resistant and produce the juiciest tomatoes.<\/p>\n

Alison Drover<\/a> a.k.a. Miss May<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE MANDARIN POEM<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes the beautiful mandarin, loved in China for many centuries as much for its scent as for its taste.\u00a0 This is a poem about the first mandarin of the season being presented at the imperial palace.<\/p>\n

LIU HSUN\u00a0 – AD 462 -521<\/p>\n

On the morning of the first frost,<\/p>\n

the gardener plucks and presents it;<\/p>\n

its perfume extends to all the seats of the guests,<\/p>\n

when opened, its fragrant mist spurts upon the people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE MYSTERY SOUND<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Apologies to anyone who thought their radio was broken – the mystery sound was very odd<\/p>\n

If you’d like to listen, go to<\/p>\n

http:\/\/austringer.net\/wp\/index.php\/2010\/06\/25\/listening-to-snapping-shrimp\/<\/a><\/p>\n

and for sound + good explanation<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.ieee-uffc.org\/ultrasonics\/symposia\/2003\/hawaii03\/plenary_session.html<\/a><\/p>\n

The loudest sound under the sea, would you believe, is prawns, or shrimp – usually called snapping shrimp.\u00a0 They make a sound that can be over 200 decibels, louder than a jumbo taking off.\u00a0 They use the sound for hunting, to stun their prey.\u00a0 They are very common in sub-tropical waters, and they are spreading with warming seas, so don’t be surprised if your bucket of prawns makes strange noises.<\/p>\n

If you know of any other edible animals (or plants!) that make odd noises, or you have a good cooking sound that doesn’t just sound like static and would be good for a guessing game, please send it to the bellysisters.\u00a0 Next time I will try to organise a prize for the first correct guess.\u00a0 Of course the glory is probably enough.<\/p>\n

Love and chocolate covered prawns,\u00a0 sister T<\/p>\n

MUSIC<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Bellydance, Undercover (with ya lover)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

James Grehan, Miss Mayhem<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, a bunch of whales and dolphins, Jean-Pierre Jacquillat conducting, Danse Lente, from Trois Danses by Durufle’<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Burt Bacharach, Another spring will rise<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Keren Ann, the end of May<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bianca Meier, Walk the earth
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

on air on Bayfm 99.9 on May 2, 2011 It’s the first belly of May, so as usual we talked about some of the delicious foods in season this month.\u00a0 Ms May (aka Alison Drover) brought some\u00a0 cooler weather recipes, she’s been all over Australia to see what’s in season. It’s also the first belly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[188,93,189,119],"class_list":["post-1347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-radio-show-posts","tag-mandarins","tag-mushrooms","tag-prawns","tag-soup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1347"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1364,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1347\/revisions\/1364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}