Author Archives: sister T

The belly love boat sails the world on Valentine’s day

The belly love boat went on a lovely world cruise today, thanks to a whole bunch of delicious romantics who shared their ideas for food and love with Sister T (captain T for today) and Sister B, on a special valentine edition of belly.  We have talked a lot about romantic meals in the past, this time we wanted to hear your ideas.  Luckily Sister B has a new friend called David who teaches at the Byron Bay English language school.  His students come from all over the world, and many know just how to be romantic, on Valentine Day or at any other time.  So much so that we think the school may have to hire security guards now.  Thank you very much to David (who is not advertising he says, but did mention he is single although I did not ask), Kim Yong Kyu from Korea, Dimitri from France, Carlos from Spain,Nawaf from Saudi Arabia, Marta from Catalunia, Ilona from Switzerland, Luca from Brazil, Kyoko from Japan, and Ashley from Korea.  And a couple of others that I couldn’t play because of technical  difficulties (radio term for ‘not pushing the right buttons’ ).

I also managed to find a few local romantics in the Brunswick Heads monthly market, a lovely smallish one held on the shores of the Brunswick river, not far from the beach.  Some good veggies and fruit too, not easy at the moment.  A drummer even improvised a whole riff on love and  food.  But it was hard to find people who would admit to planning a romantic or seductive meal.  So sad!  Even if you boycott Valentine’s Day and all its rampant commercialism, it really doesn’t take much to surprise someone occasionally.  As one woman said: “stick a candle in it and it’s romantic”.  A takeaway pizza with a candle in it is better than nothing!  Or a delicious picnic, pre-packed from your local deli.

A few tips from around the world:

Candles candles candles, chocolate, seafood especially lobster, strawberries, more chocolate and other sweet things, bubbles, the best you can afford – yes you’ve heard it before, but most people love them, from Mullumbimby to Montevideo.

If you are in a cold place, a cheese fondue in front of the fire – voted most romantic by 2 out of 2 Swiss women interviewed

If you are in a warm place – the beach, the outdoors, or somewhere beautiful – setting the scene is important

If you happen to live in the desert and your father owns a lot of camels, a camel ride in the moonlight works well

Women love a man who cooks, and everyone who cooks all the time loves not cooking occasionally

If you don’t have a sexy foreign accent, pretend

Expensive ingredients like lobster work because your loved one can see you are making an effort, but then cook them very simply and lightly.  And btw lobster is relatively affordable in Australia this year
Most food is sexier eaten with the hands (ok maybe not soup), even spaghetti says Sharna

If you are in the Byron area and want to cover a naked  someone in something delicious, go locally grown : macadamia paste not melted chocolate

AND FROM ROMANTIC BAYFM MONDAY PRESENTERS

Anna, Pregnancy Birth and Beyond :

I’m a fine wine and chocolate girl……..followed up by my husband on a plate! Ha!………the intensity of passion calls for light eating………which means to me of mouth watering morsels of delicious salads, exquisite tasting delicacies like marinated prawns, seafood or fish……………….I’m such a romantic!

Cruizy :

umm seductive meal ….
I’d keep it simple …….
I’d start with champagne
BBQ banana prawns &  scallops on a bed of oshitashi
(steamed spinach, with a soy and lemon dressing, dash of wasabi on side)
Mains would be lobster with virgin olive oil, lemon juice and some home
dried tomatoes  and a mango and pinenut leafy salad.
Dessert would be  lashings of strawberries with a dark chocolate and ginger
dipping sauce and a delicious chilled sauterne

The bellysisters just love Cruisy’s idea of simple – go girl!

EASY VALENTINE : THE BELLYSISTERS RECOMMEND

Melt chocolate slowly and cover pieces of fruit in season (not many strawberries sorry – but bananas, lychees, pears, much more)
Serve as individual pieces or make kebabs
Add more or less cream as you melt the chocolate depending on whether you’d like it hard or soft, maybe alcohol

Marinate fruit in season in a little spirit, cook pears in wine

Or make a slit in a Cavendish (not lady finger) banana skin and add rhum, cook in a dry pan or oven until soft, eat warm

EDIBLE QUOTES

We had to go for the love poetry book today of course
From “A POMEGRANATE” By Diodoros Zonas, About 100 BC

These are the gifts for Priapus, the god of love – well …of sex really

“A pomegranate just splitting, a peach just furry,
a fig with wrinkled flesh and juicy bottom,
a purple cluster (thick-berried well of wine),
nuts just skinned from their green peelings…”

And the full text of a gorgeous Pablo Neruda poem :

DRUNK AS DRUNK

“Drunk as drunk on turpentine
From your open kisses,
Your wet body wedged
Between my wet body and the strake
Of our boat that is made out of flowers,
Feasted, we guide it – our fingers
Like tallows adorned with yellow metal –
Over the sky’s hot rim,
The day’s last breath in our sails.

Pinned by the sun between solstice
And equinox, drowsy and tangled together
We drifted for months and woke
With the bitter taste of land on our lips,
Eyelids all sticky, and we longed for lime –
And the sound of a rope
Lowering a bucket down its well.  Then
We came by night to the Fortunate Isles,
And lay like fish
Under the net of our kisses.”

And if you recite this poem by candlelight, you probably don’t even need food….until afterwards.

Love and chocolate paint,

Sister T

Copyright © Soultravelmultimedia

MUSIC

The Love Boat theme

Bebel Gilberto, Summer Samba (So Nice), remixed by Mario Caldato Jr, from Tanto tempo remixes

Serge Gainbourg, La recette de l’Amour Fou

Asilah Island, Halim Love, from Bar Vista:Arabic

The Cruel Sea, Let’s lay down Here and Make Love

Joaquim Rodrigo, Tonadilla, allegro ma non troppo, Turibio Santos and Claudio Scimone on Spanish guitar

Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Look of Love

Positive Black Soul, Wooyuma

on air 24.1.11 : good food on a small boat and tasty ugly fruit

The bellysisters are happy members of the great sisterhood of substantial second helpings, and hopefully so are all our lovely listeners, people who love cooking eating and talking about good food.  On belly today, a story about food prices, and more food news at the end of the show.  But mostly I was talking with Brigitte Hendrix, a regular belly listener who loves to experiment with recipes, from the homey to molecular gastronomy, and who has lived and cooked and eaten from Mullumbimby to Umbria, and even on the high seas.

FOOD PRICES, or UGLY IS GOOD

It’s time to buy ugly food dear bellysisters!  Or discover local markets and independent shops.

We’ve all heard that the Queensland floods  will affect food prices.  At the height of the floods, when the Brisbane central market was closed because it was underwater, a friend of mine witnessed  ‘supermarket rage’ as some shoppers didn’t understand why prices had gone up and were abusing staff.
However, the Fairfax papers report that  “much of the produce from Queensland had already been picked and packed when the floods hit and the season there was drawing to its end. Fruit markets [are] more dependent on produce from Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania at this time of year. ..The price rises will be due to wet weather down south rather than what is happening up north…Vegetables such as beans, broccoli, and celery might rise in price because of heavy rains in Victoria”
Some Queensland crops such as watermelons and tomatoes have been destroyed, leading to large price rises in produce from other parts of Australia,  but  ”It’s the long-term story from Queensland that’s the issue. The early autumn crops need to be put in the ground now.”  Queensland traditionally supplies most of our autumn and winter fruit and veg.  The floods have also removed topsoil in some areas, decreasing productivity.  So expect price rises right now and for a while to come.  In a front page update today, the smherald reports increases in watermelons,sweet potatoes,broccoli, zucchini,bananas, capsicum, tomatoes, mangoes and lettuces.  Forecast shortages include lettuces, potatoes,chillies, corn and cabbage.  So if you have a veggy patch, or room for a few pots, it may be a good year to grow a few of those things yourself.  Lettuces, chillies, sweet potatoes and tomatoes are all very easy to grow at home in our climate, even if you don’t have much space.   At times local produce is more expensive than food trucked in from other parts of Australia, and this year the bad weather has caused shortages and price rises here too.  But mostly market growers, and shops that stock a lot of local items, keep the prices of local produce pretty steady.   So it may be a good idea to support them year round.

If you do shop at supermarkets, buy ugly fruit and veg!  Coles has started stocking blemished fruit, and Woolworths is considering it too, but is afraid of customer reactions.  So tell them to bring it on!  The alternative to ugly Australian fruit and veg this year is perfect looking imported produce, which the big chains are considering in order to keep those overflowing bins full.

A DELICIOUS LISTENER – BRIGITTE HENDRIX

Brigitte now lives in Mullumbimby, but grew up in Victoria, the daughter of a Dutch mother and German pastry maker father, who used to let her help out at the factory on weekends and go delivering pastries with him to a network of traditional German and European restaurants.  She got bored with Melbourne as a young woman and went off to Asia and Europe.  She spent quite a lot of her travelling years eating and cooking, including a stint as the on board cook on a beautiful old wooden tugboat.  The owners wandered the shores of the Mediterranean, especially Corsica and the South of France, and she remembers fondly the smells of the boat and discovering many wonderful food markets.  She believes most people love having simple food cooked for them, where you can still taste the original ingredients.
At the same time, she loves playing with food a’ la Heston Blumenthal, fun and theatre and lots of kitchen gadgets.  We had a little rave about gorgeous local natives, the finger limes, which are a molecular gastronomy experiment by mother nature.  She has lots of creative ideas from her travels and would love to get together with others locally to set up a different kind of space or catering company.

Brigitte developed this recipe to share on belly, because, as we’ve been saying, there is a lot of fruit around that either doesn’t look great or goes off quickly.

NOT SO FRESH BUT SUPER TASTY FRUIT JELLY


Take any stone fruit, e.g.; cherries, peaches,  nectarines, lychees.  And/or other
fruits you might have such as  pineapple, apples, grapes, anything that
is wrinkly or not so tasty or just needs to be used  rather than thrown out.
More or less a kilo of fruit.

Roughly chunky chop everything (minus seeds) and place in  a heavy
pot.

Add one star anise ,cinnamon quill,anything else you like.
Add one cup juice {whatever you have} I like cherry.
Add half a cup brown sugar. Stir .
Bring to boil; spoon out half cup of juice and place in cup with  *2
sheets of gelatine till syrupy.
Then place back in pot and STIR .
I also like to add a dessert spoon of ghee this makes it glossy and
creamy. STIR till a lovely glossy rich thick consistency.
Pour into serving dish, allow to cool, place in fridge.
Serve when cold and firm.

*I’ve always had a problem with using gelatine and have now found
the one my mum uses (Rheingold schnell-losliche), so far it works
beautifully for me.

A FEW FAVOURITE THINGS

My favourite cookbook is Good Housekeeping (Step by step cookbook).
I got this book in 1993 and it has absolutely every recipe known in the
West. It’s so easy and everything works.  It has taught me the basic ground
rules and from that I’m able to experiment and elaborate.

My favourite food is kangaroo meat which is a beautiful lean healthy
clean meat; hazelnut ice-cream dreamy.  Healthy, top quality chocolate, nothing
more necessary; coffee yoghurt; great cleanser, and Italian cheese cake, decadent  and rare to find a good one  . My mouth’s watering.  And my favourite drink is Coopers vintage stout (no longer available).  Real milk (Dutch) and iced fresh mint mineral water with finger limes and Stevia.

Brigitte

THE BELLY BULLETIN

Fairfax papers have launched an investigation into rorts and fraud by the buyers for Coles and Woolworths supermarkets, which control 70% of the grocery market.
Bill Harvey, Woolworths’ national buyer for coffee, tea and sugar, was detained by police on Friday.  Food wholesalers pay so called ”promotional surcharges” of between 15 and 20 per cent to have their products stocked by Woolworths.
A big pot of money, which leads to temptations. It is alleged that Mr Harvey, who has a salary of about $150,000 a year, took a percentage of the promotional fees from coffee and tea suppliers who wanted to get their products on to Woolworths shelves.  In cash.  Possibly in little brown envelopes.
In similar cases, in October last year Woolworths dismissed three buyers from its fresh produce department after a tip-off that it was paying up to $20 per box too much for parsnips. Of all things.  And in 2006 Coles sacked an executive for a secret deal over lamb supplies.  The supermarkets and the sacked execs in these 2 cases deny allegations of criminal intent.  According to the blog www.insideretailing.com.au, Woolworths also had to bring criminal charges over 2 meat buyers a few years ago.
More tipoffs are welcome, to mhawthorne@theage.com.au

Another pest to watch out for is ‘Myrtle rust’.  According to the NSW department of Primary Industries Myrtle Rust  is a newly described fungus.  It affects a lot of locally grown plants and has recently been spotted in wholesale nurseries in Byron Bay and Alstonville according to the ABC, also from the NSW Central Coast to Queensland.  It affects, among others, a lot of lovely native food plants, like lemon myrtle, aniseed myrtle, native guava, rose apple and riberry, so the public is asked to inspect and report any infestation, as it may also spread into the bush.
Myrtle Rust is distinctive, as it produces masses of powdery bright yellow or orange-yellow spores on infected plant parts. It causes lesions on young actively growing leaves, shoots, flower buds and fruits. Leaves may become buckled or twisted or die.  Infection on highly susceptible plants may result in plant death.  More info, photos and how to deal with suspect plants, here.

Still on plants, if your chilli bushes, like mine, are either refusing to fruit, or the chillies are going from ripe to rotten in record time, spare a thought for the chilli addicts of Indonesia.  Chili prices have multiplied fivefold in Indonesia over the past year to around Rp 100,000 ($11) a kilogram, making it more expensive than beef.  Many people there cannot give up a chilli sambal and are cutting back on other food instead.  Chilli production has fallen because of excessive rains and the volcanic eruptions of Mount Merapi.  As a short-term solution to the chilli prices, Agriculture Minister Suswono said he was preparing a national campaign to encourage people to plant chilies. He said free seeds would be distributed to 100,000 households.  The government is also  moving to introduce new regulation making it easier to secure land for agriculture.  One comment to the story, from “Mamaku” complained of the large “amount of farm lands changing into real estates, malls or state highways.”  Sound familiar?

Some good news now.  The fishing season for Southern bluefin tuna in the great Australian Bight has just started.  Fishing crews are reporting massive increases in fish numbers, possibly as a result of quotas  imposed in the 1980s by the main fishing nations Australia, Japan and New Zealand.  Southern bluefin tuna is listed as a critically endangered species, and not recommended as a sustainable fish choice, but maybe there is hope that populations are recovering.  Fishermen out of Port Lincoln in South Australia report numbers not seen in 25 years, and a good range of sizes and ages.  So the fiftieth tuna festival in Port Lincoln should be a happy event.  It’s on right now until January 26.  The centerpiece is a tuna tossing competition, which now involves a fake fish so as not to waste tuna.  And for the kids, a prawn tossing comp.  The world record toss of 37.23 metres was set in 1998.

And finally,the Australian Bureau of Statistics says that we are drinking less beer.  At the start of the 1960s, beer made up more than 75% of all the  alcohol we consumed.  Now beer is at 44 per cent.  Wine consumption has tripled to 36 per cent and spirit has almost doubled to 20 per cent over that time.
Australia’s peak per capita alcohol consumption was in the mid-1970s.  We drank an average of 13 litres of pure alcohol  per person per year.  That dropped to under 10 litres in the mid-1990s, but has since risen to nearly 10.5 litres, or 2.3 standard drinks, per person per day.  But the ABS admits that it overestimates consumption, because alcohol used in cooking, and waste are also included.  Which is a relief.

The belly bulletin today was sourced from ABC online, Fairfax papers, the Jakarta Globe and belly informers in your community and online, and brought to you by sister T.


EDIBLE QUOTE

Baron Lamington: “Those bloody poofy woolly biscuits”- Baron Lamington was governor of Queensland in the late 1800s when government house cooks, to feed unexpected guests, improvised by rolling stale cake in icing & coconut.  He obviously did not appreciate his name being linked to them – you never know what you will be remembered by, but it could be worse than a sweet that brought so many smiles, and dollars to charities all over Oz.

MUSIC

Claude Hay, Get me some, from  “Get me some”

Kate Rowe, Coffee my Lover, from Nature’s Little Game

Jazzerati, Cafe le Bop, from Live at Pix records

Mo Horizons, Pa Ma Estrada

Kristi Stassinopolou, Waves, from Nu Europe

love, chocolate cake and ugly fruit,

sister T

on air 17.1.11 : kids in the belly kitchen

Total takeover of belly today by the juniors : Audrey (6), Luca (9), Zoe (10), Abbie (11) and Jordan (12).  All fabulous cooks, with talented mothers and teachers Adele Wessell from Southern Cross University and Melanie Le Sueur from Bangalow Public School.  Eight of us in the not so very huge bayfm studio!

They were all involved one way or another with the TV program Junior Masterchef last year.

Audrey and Luca ready for the great pasta challenge

ADELE WESSELL is a lecturer at Southern Cross University in Lismore.  She teaches history but is also a food scholar, and the mother of Audrey and Luca.  She helped organise some fellow food scholars under the loose umbrella of the Masterchef TV program at the national conference of the Australasian cultural Studies Association, held in Byron Bay last December.

Adele presented a paper on the children’s version of Masterchef, which aired last year for the first time and was very successful with both kids and adults.  One of the reasons she did a study on it was to allow her to spend more time with Audrey and Luca, who love to get into the kitchen.  Out of the 5 kids in the studio, Luca is the only one who admitted he’d like a career in food, maybe with his own cafe.  He is handy with a kitchen blowtorch (essential for creme brulee these days), and also loves making potato gratin.  Audrey at 6 years old has her own knife and loves to “plate up”, and according to Adele will even eat more veg if she gets to arrange them.  Plating up, both the expression and the activity, is definitely a new favourite of Australian kids.

We touched on a few of the issues that Adele identified in her study:

* anxieties over exposing the kids to competition (which our little sample said they enjoy).
* anxieties over healthy food and obesity, which were not a focus of the adult program but were often brought up as essential in teaching kids to cook.  The adult programme was simply focused on the sheer pleasure of cooking.
* current entertainment trends focused on activities that may have been regarded as work, and the way this brings young people back into  domestic activities, allowing play and necessary household work to happen at the same time, and family members to spend time together.
* judging from ingredient sales, people were actually learning and doing the recipes on the show (although I suspect there are a lot of jars and bottles languishing in pantries as a result of MC).
* the cooking was sometimes seen as to complex, and the series cookbook contained much simpler recipes
* although the adult cooking competitors cried ALL THE TIME, the kids were supposed to be not just talented cooks from the start, but willing to take criticism and not prone to tears

Then it was time for a quick musical chairs moment, and Jordan, Abbie and Zoe,  3 of the 12 local kids  invited to a masterclass on Junior MC, and their teacher MELANIE LE SUEUR, shared their experiences.
Bangalow Public School was invited to participate because of the years of cooking and veggie patch programs that the school has put on.  Belly regular Leah Roland, who runs the Bangalow Cooking School, and Michael Malloy, who runs everything else in Byron Bay and Bangalow, have put endless volunteer hours into Kids in the Kitchen and other programs.  Many of the students now regularly cook for their families and friends.
Melanie is the mother of 2 kids at the school, has taught there for 5 years, and helped co-ordinate cooking classes at the school last year.  She went to Sydney with the kids for the shooting and witnessed all the drama.  The show producers actually tried to change the format and cancel the trip after they had all bought tickets, but Leah managed to convince them that they really didn’t want 12 very disappointed kids on their doorstep.  I think a group of diminutive picketers, beating whisks against bowls, shouting : ” Whaddowewant?  To learn to cook!  Whendowewannt? Now!” would have been fun on the news though.
Jordan can cook lots of tricky dishes but is a fan of the granita ice dessert, you will find a whole post on granita on the belly site, because the bellysisters agree it is a wonderful thing.  Abbie loved the Clafoutis that they made,and the school now has its own version (below).  Zoe learned to peel and beautifully dice tomatoes on MC, but seems more excited about having  played football (soccer) with George, one of the presenters.  And everyone agrees the time one of the kids forgot about her lapel mike, and whispered “You can see George’s bum crack” was a highlight.

The episode took 9 hours of shooting, with breaks mandatory to rest and feed the kids every 30 minutes.  They had fun, and learned a lot, although both Adele and Melanie regret that no washing up is shown or taught on the show.  That’s the price a lot of parents with young cooks pay – a LOT of washing up!

Thank you to Melanie and Bangalow Public School for sharing the recipes below.
If your school or group is doing something interesting with junior cooks, the bellysisters would love you to come on the show, or we may be able to come to you, or record something for us to play.
Thank you to Audrey, Zoe, Abbie, Luca and Jordan, who shared their stories and were such media pros in the bayfm studio.

Sister T (feeling much better about the Australian baby boom now)

PEACH OR NECTARINE CLAFOUTIS

You can use any many different types of fruit, depends on the season.
Peach nectarines, plums, rasperries, blueberries, boysenberries and cherries all work well!
Clafoutis all year round.

INGREDIENTS
600gm of fruit
If using peaches and nectarines cut into wedges
A little butter for greasing the baking dish
For the batter
250 gm Self Raising flour
250 gm of sugar
500ml milk
6 eggs

UTENSILS
2 large ceramic baking trays or quiche flan, whisk, spatula, mixing bowl,

METHOD

Turn oven onto 180degrees Celsius.
If using peaches and nectarines destine and cut into thin wedges. If the fruit is a little hard you might like to poach them in water and sugar beforehand.
Grease your baking tray.
Mix the batter to a thick consistency with a whisk.
Arrange fruit in the baking tray and pour batter on top.
Bake in oven for 30- 40minutes until brown on top
Serve with ice-cream or yummy lemon myrtle yoghurt (lemon myrtle is a lemon scented eucalyptus native to the North coast of NSW)

To make lemon Myrtle yoghurt :

 Mix together 500g yoghurt, 1tsp ground lemon myrtle and add honey to taste.

FRUIT GALETTE

Ingredients
4 sheets Puff pastry
1kg fruit such as peaches, nectarines, pears or apples.
½ – ¾  soft cup brown sugar
Cinnamon (optional)
50ml milk and 1 egg (mix to make an egg wash)

UTENSILS
Flat baking tray, knife, chopping board, baking paper, bowls pastry brush.

METHOD
Check oven is on 180 degrees Celsius
De-stone peaches (or de-core apples pears etc) Thinly slice your fruit place in bowl and mix with sugar and cinnamon.
Cut puff pastry into long rectangles about 5-7 cm wide brush with milk and egg wash
Place fruit in a fan layered way  on top of pastry.
Bake in a preheated oven for 25-35 minutes until pastry has puffed up and is browned

SALSA VERDE


INGREDIENTS
2 cups herbs – basil, parsley, mint or coriander or a combinations
4 garlic cloves
½ cup capers
100-150mls olive oil
20mls red wine vinegar
6 anchovies fillets and 1 gherkin (optional)

UTENSILS
Salad bowl, blender/food processor, Mortar and pestle or garlic crusher, spatula

METHOD
Pick leaves off herbs and place into food processor.
Add chopped garlic and gherkins, anchovies and capers and vinegar.
Lightly blend until chopped coarsely then drizzle in olive oil until you reach a chunky paste like consistency.
Place in a bowl and drizzle oil on top or cover with cling film to stop from browning.
Use on your favourite pasta or grilled vegetable meat or fish.

The whole episode with the Bangalow students is available online, and is well worth watching.

And these are a couple of articles about the school

http://www.masterchef.com.au/9654.htm

http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/holidaytype/kidsfamily/8169203/cooking-classes-for-mini-master-chefs

http://www.heartbeat.net.au/?p=131_bangalow_masterchef

Adele Wessell has a number of articles on food online, do a search or just have a look here

MUSIC

Beady Belle – Goldilocks, from ‘Ladies in Nu-Jazz’

Dropwise Dubs, Yes Please, from Bass Bucket

Herbie Hancock, Watermelon Man instrumental, from ‘Watermelon man the ultimate Hancock!’

TM Juke – Playground Games, from Nu jazz anthology

Stacey Kent and Jan Lundgren trio, Street of Dreams, from Nu Jazz anthology

Oka, Pandanus, from LMR 4ZZZ, The Dreaming 2010

on air January 10 – Toorak to Rome, Lilith to Elvis, with campfire cherries

The wonderful Lilith was  in the studio today for our last episode of ‘Cooking with the Stars’.  Today’s episode is for Capricorns and those who love them and everyone who would like to hear about some of Lilith’s own adventures – the stuff of legend.  And a whole lot of famous Capricorn chefs, even a recipe today.  In the second half of belly I played an interview recorded in December at the 2010 National conference of the Australasian Cultural Studies Association. Sounds serious and it was, even though I went to hear a couple of panels all about Masterchef. Lots of learned scholars discussing food issues in a thoroughly enjoyable way, including Liv Hamilton from Macquarie Uni in Sydney. She is looking at how politics and unease about migrants in Italy is reflected in battles over what kids should be eating in Italian schools.  The dark side of the Mediterranean diet!
And lots of Elvis, straight from the great Parkes Elvis Festival.  Or so  he told me, and you don’t argue with the King (aah-hu!).  Of course you don’t need a reason to play Elvis, but Liv was just back from a road trip that included all the sequins and karaoke of Parkes, so… Liv adds that she was camping with 4 foodies and “best dessert of the trip was marshmallow fondue with cherries, made in our little skillet on the gas burner. And of course we took our coffee pot, for fresh coffee every morning.”  I do that too, the Italian caffettiera works well on a barbie.
Although I was a bit rude about the cherry fondue on air (well we can’t ALL like marshmallows), I might see if I can get Liv to share the recipe for you marshmallow lovers.
Liv is from a part Italian background, but is vegetarian and gluten intolerant, which helped lead her to some places and people well away from tourist postcard versions of Italy.  During our interview, she discussed some aspects of her doctoral thesis, which “examines the ways in which immigrants and minorities in the city of Rome construct their identities in place, making claims to belong in a city in which they are often conceived as outsiders.”  We talked about the outrage in some sections of the community and the press when Rome tried to bring in ‘ethnic’ menus in schools, as a way of learning about the major immigrant groups in the city.  Now the government and the policy have changed, and Liv writes :

“Authorities encourage children to eat a ‘Mediterranean’ (Italian) diet through provisions in school canteens. 2010 is the first year that a national policy on school canteen food has been released (previously this had been managed at the local level).  This policy  requires  school canteens to use fresh, local products and recipes, and does not allow  individual schools to introduce ‘ethnic’ menus.

Children of immigrants are described (in this same document) as being at high risk of obesity due to attempts to maintain the family’s traditional diet at the same time as eating an Italian diet (thus causing ‘excess’), while their families’ low incomes lead to consumption of high-fat foods (something common to all children of low socio-economic background, but in this document specifically attributed to children of immigrants – with no statistical data provided on how many of these families earn low incomes).

Essentially, the assumption is that the Mediterranean diet is the healthier choice and
children should be encouraged to adopt it even at home, with the food provided at school seen as an educational tool and a way to promote ‘integration’.”

We also talked about how some Italian towns (eg Lucca in Tuscany) are trying to ban non-Italian restaurants from historic centres, so as not to detract from their Italian-ness.  And most importantly, if you happen to need a break from Italian food in Rome, Liv recommends “Il Guru delle Spezie” – the guru of spice Indian restaurant.

Sister T

LILITH IS COOKING WITH THE STARS : CAPRICORN

Today we belatedly wish happy birthday to all our hardworking, ambitious Capricorns, those Goats who can digest almost anything if they have to, but
are usually choosy about their food, preferring it simple, unfussy, elegant, classy and classic. Their tastes tend towards the best restaurants, traditional linen and silver, top quality ingredients impeccably prepared and served,  so of course many respected chefs are Capricorns – in Japan, which now has more Michelin stars than any nation, their two most famous TV chefs, Chen Kenichi and Rokusaburo Michiba are both Capricorns.
The traditional dishes Capricorns tend to favour are often rich: steak and kidney pie enriched with truffles and field mushrooms, or Chateubriand followed by tarte tatin, port and a fine fromage.

Like chef ALAIN CHAPEL, supposedly a pioneer of nouvelle cuisine, whose signature dishes included stuffed calves’ ears with fried parsley, truffle-stuffed chicken in a pork bladder cooked in a rich broth and gateau de foies blonds, a mousse of pureed chicken livers and beef marrow served in a lobster cream sauce ­ one Capricorn’s version of nouvelle cuisine.

Capricorn chef KEITH FLOYD‘s wine-fuelled TV presentations endeared him to millions of viewers in 40 countries because when things went wrong he just threw them in the bin and carried on. Floyd’s last meal was oysters and partridge with champagne.

But they’re a loveable combination of the earthy and the posh – for all their posh preferences, they’re a down to earth sign with cold systems that love slow-cooked hot food and solid hearty nosh: roasted game, dark fruits and rich wines, and it was Capricorn ELIZABETH DAVID, pre-eminent cookery writer of the mid 20th century, who brought regional and rural Mediterranean
cooking to Brits worn down by post-war rationing and dull food at a time when Meditteranean ingredients were mostly unavailable and olive oil only obtainable from pharmacies.
Liz took off early adventuring round the Meditteranean on a boat with her married lover, hung out in the Greek islands with famous writers and lived with various boyfriends in Crete, Alexandria and Cairo.  She pioneered the modern writing style of describing
food in its context and historical background with anecdotal asides.

Capricorn chefs love roasted or baked recipes that take hours to prepare because cooking’s their therapy that helps them unwind and release those pent-up emotions at the chopping board.

Capricorn chef BERNARD LOISEAU‘s discerning palate, fanatic attention to detail and frenetic work ethic won him the coveted 3 Michelin stars along with the highest possible honours awarded by the French government, but after the Gault Millau guide downgraded his restaurant from 19/20 to 17/20 Loiseau shot himself ­ a cautionary tale of how some Capricorns can take themselves way too seriously.

Unlike my favorite domestic goddess, kitchen queen and food porn star the Honorable NIGELLA LAWSON, who won a thousand pound bet by eating 30 pickled eggs in ten minutes.  She went into labour with her daughter while eating a
slice of pizza and hanging onto a bookshelf in agony, but when her sister kindly tried to relieve her of the pizza she snarled don’t touch my food.  Channeling Miss Piggy with her lush descriptions of the joys of comfort food, the divine Miss Nigella says: “When I see a picture of someone who’s hugely fat I don’t think how hideous, I think how delicious it must have been to get there.”

And lastly, my friend and personal favorite Capricorn chef, Australia’s godfather of cooking TONY BILSON.  We shared a house when he left home in Colac Victoria and moved in with his Larousse cookbook under his arm to a Toorak Rd mansion full of people off their faces on experimental substances.  Through all the madness Bilson just kept turning out beautiful French food on one of those Aussie Early Kooka gas stoves, which we in no way appreciated and were usually too wasted to taste.  I did stints in the kitchen at several of his restaurants (Albion, Tony’s Bon Gout, Berowra Waters) just because they were the most happening places to be, because Tony’s genius was for orchestrating the marriage of food and people – the Bon Gout was the place to eat during the Whitlam years, and at Kinsela’s he brought restaurant and theatre worlds together in the throbbing hub of Oxford Street.
Typically Tony talks in terms of ‘the experience’, because for him the art of cooking is turning food into a celebration of being alive.  And with trademark Capricorn earthiness he says : “It’s a fabulous craft to be involved in, so ephemeral. A great dish today, shit tomorrow.”

One of the recipes he cooked at Toorak Rd in the Sixties:

MOHR IM HEMD (MOOR IN HIS NIGHTSHIRT)

for 6:

Ingredients:

100 g (4 oz) butter
100 g sugar
100 g plain grated chocolate
100 g ground almonds
6 eggs, separated
5 ml (1 tsp) coffee essence [not seen in shops since the 60s, so we think a strong sweetened espresso would work – careful not to add too much liquid]

Sauce: 175 g (6 oz) plain chocolate
175 ml water
75 g unsalted butter

Cream: 150 ml (1/4 pt) single cream
150 ml double cream
15 – 30 ml (1 – 2 tbsp) icing sugar
a few drops vanilla extract.

Method:

1. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Add chocolate, almonds and extract.
3. Whisk egg whites until stiff, fold gently into chocolate mixture.
4. Butter + dust with caster sugar 6 souffle dishes. Pour in choc  mix.
5. Place in a roasting tin, half full of hot water. Bake in oven at 180°C (350°F) Gas 4 for 30 – 40 minutes until puffed and just firm.
Cool for a few minutes.
6. For sauce put chocolate and water in pan. Stir over low heat until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
7. Whisk single + double creams together till fluffy.  Add icing sugar + vanilla.
8. Spoon a little sauce on to each serving plate. Invert puddings onto sauce
and cover with whipped cream.

Lilith

on air 27 December 2010 – wrapping up a delicious decade

The final belly of the year, and a favourite final guest, the very charming Belinda Jeffery.  Belinda has made time for belly over the years even though she is a multi media foodie dynamo, several years presenter on Better Homes and Gardens, award winning cookbook writer, regular columnist for ABC Delicious magazine, regular on another radio station – she’s even famous in the Netherlands!  We almost thought Belinda would be flooded in today, as one of the wettest Christmases we can remember keeps the Northern NSW frog population very happy.  But she made it and we had a lovely chat about the most delicious people and food developments of the year just ending.  And the decade, as we just managed to work out.  Belinda loves some of the changes she has seen since moving here, the booming farmers markets, the emphasis on local,organic and sustainable food, the school veggie patches and cooking programs.  We both remembered the dreaded Swiss roll as the only thing we had learned in our own school home ec classes.

Belinda’s latest book is The Country Cookbook: Seasonal Jottings and Recipes (Lantern, 2010), and she is aware that she has been very indiscreet, talking so glowingly about the Northern NSW area.  The secret is well and truly out now.  It is a beautiful book, full of photos of local wildlife and plants, stories and Belinda’s trademark carefully explained recipes.   Madam Zaza, occasional Belly assistant, who was dragged in to help out on this public holiday Monday, said it is the first time she actually feels like trying out something in a cookbook.  Congratulations to Bayfm subscriber and regular listener Bridget, who was a very very happy winner of a copy.

For the rest of us, Belinda also brought in a recipe that she particularly recommends for this time of year, when many of our homes are full of visitors.  Easy to make and easy to multiply.

COCONUT CHICKEN WITH SPICY CUCUMBER RIBBONS

This scrumptious chicken dish is perfect for times when you’ve been out and
about much of the day and the thought of getting home and cooking something
from scratch is less than inspiring. The marinade only takes a few minutes
to make and basically you just plonk the chicken into it the night before
you need it, make sure it’s well coated (and covered, or your fridge will
smell rather exotic!) and leave it be until you’re ready to cook it.

I nearly always serve this with a bowl of jasmine rice and something
cucumber-y, as their cool freshness is a lovely balance for the spicy
chicken. The cucumber ribbons look really pretty but if time isn’t on my
side I’m just as likely to seed and slice the cucumbers then mix them with a
little plain yogurt, fresh mint and salt, and serve this instead.

2x 270ml cans coconut cream
3 heaped tablespoons of your favourite curry paste
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
Inner hearts of 3 stalks of lemongrass, finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped coriander
8 chicken chops (or 8 skin-on chicken thighs)

Salad:
800g Lebanese cucumbers, washed and dried
2 tablespoons light olive oil
2 tablespoons very finely shredded ginger
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon rice (or white wine) vinegar
1 teaspoon caster sugar
2 small red chillies, finely chopped
3 teaspoons sesame oil
Up to 1 tablespoon lime juice
Sea salt, to taste
Garnish: a few lacy coriander leaves (and, if you are lucky enough to have
them, coriander flowers too)

# I use Patak’s terrific Tikka Masala curry paste for this

In a large bowl thoroughly mix together the coconut cream, curry paste,
ginger, lemongrass and coriander.

Line a container that will fit the chicken chops with a large sturdy plastic
bag. Sit the chicken pieces in the bag and scoop the marinade over the top.
Tie a knot in the top of the bag, then squish it about in your hands so that
the chicken is thoroughly coated in the marinade. (Make sure you use a good
strong bag for this or, as I’ve found to my cost, as you squish the chicken
about, if the bag is too thin it can tear making rather a horrible mess!)
Put the bag back into the container and cover it tightly with a lid. Now
just pop the lot into the fridge for at least 3-4 hours, or better still,
overnight. If you remember, from time to time give the chicken pieces
another squish so every part of them is well coated.

When you’re ready to cook the chicken, preheat your oven to 190C. Line a
shallow oven tray with baking paper and sit the chicken pieces on it,
skin-side up. Squeeze any leftover marinade in the bag over the chicken.
Slip the tray into the oven and cook the chicken for about 40 minutes, until
it is deep golden-brown on top.

While the chicken is cooking, make the cucumber ribbons. To do this, run a
vegetable peeler, repeatedly down the length of a cucumber to form long
narrow ribbons; stopping when you get to the seeds. Rotate the cucumber and
do the same again. Repeat this with the remaining cucumbers. Put the ribbons
into a large bowl, cover them with cling film and chill them. (I discard the
seedy cores and the first ribbons on each side as they are all skin and a
bit chewy.)

When the chicken is nearly done, put all the remaining ingredients, except
the lime juice and salt, into a small saucepan and mix them together. Sit
the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to the boil. As soon as it
boils, remove it from the heat and stir in a little of the lime juice. Taste
it and add salt and more lime juice, if necessary. Pour this over the
cucumbers and thoroughly mix it in.

When the chicken is ready, sit one or two pieces on each plate and scoop a
little cucumber salad alongside. Finish off with a sprinkling of coriander
leaves. This is delicious with a bowl of jasmine rice. Serves 4 hearty
eaters or 6 lighter ones.

We also had the first ever Belly Awards – yes not the Oscars, the Bellys!

Queasy for the naughty ones, happy for the nice ones – feel free to contribute yours, just email belly@belly.net.au

BELLY AWARDS

Queasy    Bellys

– worst food porn – Eat, pray, love the movie, with Julia Roberts- extreme Hollywood version of food porn – overdone visuals, soft music, slowed motion, only eaten by beautiful people. And size 8 women struggling into skinny jeans are not very believable saying admittedly admirable things about not letting a few extra kilos get in the way of a wonderful eating experience – super clean super pretty food porn – not sexy.  A sister T award, yes I know lots of people loved the food in this, I just like my food porn a bit less Disney.

– mobile phone behaviour – cafe and restaurant patrons on the phone while ordering a meal or paying – a sister B award on behalf of exasperated restaurant staff and patrons – some local cafes have signage that you will not be served while on the phone – good on them.

– most dubious restaurant practice – ringing up 10% extra on my credit card bill when I left the tip line blank on the card receipt, and left a cash tip – in Byron Bay!  I carefully fill in every line in most places, will do so here too in future.

Happy Bellys

The Belinda Jeffery Blessed are the Cheesemakers Happy Belly award goes to all 3 wonderful local cheesemakers, all sprung up in the last 5-6 years, all inventive and delicious, each very different : Bangalow Cheese, Nimbin Valley goat cheeses, and Moo Ball’s Tweed Valley Whey.  From market and local shops.

From Sister T :

– best new leaf – broad bean tops – seasonally at the markets or grow your own
– most cooked from new cookbook – Vefa’s Kitchen, a big beautiful blue and white bible of Greek cooking, lots of unusual recipes that work
– strange but good flavour combination – eggplant and chocolate
– best thinking food lover’s publication – Griffith Review – quarterly essays and stories published by Griffith University –  # 27 is called “Food Chain” – lots of info on sustainability and ethical eating, agriculture and the food industry, and fiction

From sister B :

– best new addiction and dentist’s friend – chocolate covered peanut brittle

From listeners
Nicky : best episode of a tv food show – Heston Blumenthal’s recreation of Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory, with lickable wallpaper;
and best food movie – the German movie Soul Kitchen
Isabelle : best new member of the pumpkin family : little green squashes sold as Mexican squash (a pointier version of the little yellow ones, with much better flavour) – from markets

If any winners want to get in touch with the bellysisters, they can have a signed copy of Sister T’s belly as a prize, otherwise just the glory.  Please comment if you agree/disagree with the awards, or have suggestions.

Speaking of markets – remember farmers markets are on rain or shine, in case of really major flooding local radio will broadcast cancellation advice.  This week Bangalow Farmers Market is on Friday not Saturday.  Byron, New Brighton, Mullumbimby as normal, others check with contact numbers on belly market page.

And we finished the show and the year with some useful advice on food and music combining, and the legal definitions of murder, manslaughter and bad cooking (really) by bad cook evangelist Dr Siggi Fried.  Follow at your own peril.

And I did not have time for a very 2010 Happy New Year message(oh, ok, I forgot to take this in to the studio).  If you are so with it that you not only send all your greetings by sms, but you don’t even bother writing your own, this is the place for you – http://sms4smile.com/category/new-year-sms/

A couple of examples :

My wishes for you in year 2011
Great start for Jan,
Love for Feb,
Peace for march,
No worries for April
Fun for May,
Joy for June to Nov,
Happiness for Dec,
Have a lucky and wonderful 2011.

Oh my Dear, Forget ur Fear,
Let all ur Dreams be Clear,
Never put Tear, Please Hear,
I want to tell one thing in ur Ear
Wishing u a very “Happy NEW YEAR“!

And my personal fave :
There have been many time in 2010
when I may disturbed you
troubled u
irritated u
bugged u
.
today I just wanna tell you
.
I plan to continue it in 2011.

You have been warned.  Happy New Year,

Sister T

MUSIC

Two tracks brought in by Belinda Jeffery :

Renee Fleming, Hallelujah, from the release Dark Hope

Melody Gardot, , Baby I’m a Fool, from My one and only Thrill

Babylon Circus,  Ici [‘here’], from La Belle Etoile

Cygnet Repu – We Sing Kumbaya – From the release entitled Home -A collection of songs from QLD Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists.  A solo indigenous artist from Torres Strait – Mabuiag Island

Faux Pas – Chasing Waterfalls -From the release entitled Noiseworks
A solo electronic act from Melbourne, VIC

Christmas belly 2010

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

W:   www.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

on air 6.12.10 : December’s fish and fruit and fiery Sagittarians

Today the belly astrogourmet Lilith beamed down to the belly kitchen to talk Sagittarius for her regular “Cooking with the Stars” segment, we went around Australia to see what’s in season in December, lots of fruit and veg as usual but a fish focus this month as it is so popular leading up to the holidays, lots of local events in our Belly Bulletin , and some of your holiday cooking and eating and drinking plans.

Cherries in a Chinese Bowl, by Gatya Kelly, part of the Eat/Paint/Love opening Friday 10.12.10 at Still At the Centre in Byron Bay. © Gatya Kelly

IN SEASON IN DECEMBER:

FISH AND SEAFOOD

All you need to know is on 2 really good websites – the Sydney Fish Market and the  Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS).

The Sydney Fish Market has a season guide, what’s in peak season or good availability so cheaper,better fish that hasn’t travelled the world to get to you.
Peak in December -Sydney rock oysters, school prawns (lovely Yamba prawns locally), loligo squid peak but southern calamari good availability, blue swimmer crabs – lots in local fish shops
Fish peak availability – atlantic salmon, tiger flathead, gold band snapper and big eye tuna, but unfortunately all problematic according to the AMCS – on their avoid list

The good news is that  on the AMCS better choice list,  there are lots of choices of fish and seafood in season:
wild australian salmon, blue mussels and blue swimmer crabs, all farmed oysters, school and bay or greentail prawns in NSW, the squids, farmed scallops, whitings and trevally

Lots of recipes on the fish markets site too.  And you can even find out how to tell the gender of a squid.  If you want to.

VEGETABLES

Asparagus, Hass avocadoes, beans, beetroot especially small young ‘uns, broccoli, capsicum (skip the green ones, they are just unripe red and yellow caps), celery, cucumbers fat and thin, eggplant, onions, peas, radishes, corn, tomatoes hit full flavour, and zucchini and their flowers if the rain doesn’t rot them all.  Try pumpkin flowers if you have a vine.

FRUIT

As we said in the bulletin, rain is really playing havoc this year, and not just locally for once.  But look for stone fruit now : glorious cherries and apricots,  berries (locally strawberries on their way out), blueberries in full swing, raspberries, rock, water and honeydew melons, bananas, mangoes, valencia oranges, passionfruit, pineapple, and starting a bit late, so maybe at the end of the month, lychees.

BELLY BULLETIN

Honu tells us the  Liberation Larder Christmas is on, free and veg and delicious at the Byron Community Centre, 12.30 on December 25th.  All welcome.

This Friday December 10 the Eat, Paint, Love art exhibition kicks off with plenty of real food and drink and music at Still at the Centre Art gallery on the Byron arts and industry estate.  But look closely at what you put in your mouth, as they have gathered more than 60 artists and 90 artworks all on, or around, food.  Table Manners  a ceramic installation by various artists will also be on for 2 days only, the 10th and 11th. Veet, will launch “Veet’s Cuisine” her first cookbook with 100 Vegetarian Recipes and beautiful drawings.  The exhibition runs until the end of January.  For more info listen to Arts canvass on bayfm around 9.30 this Thursday.

Look out for a new local magazine, focused on Northern rivers cooks and food producers, a quarterly called Sample.  It is edited by the Echo’s food writer Victoria Cosford, and produced by Remy Tancred of Lennox Heads, who was behind that handy guide to local restaurants, and record of many great girl nights out, Ate Phat Ducks.  You can find some tastes online, including a scallop risotto and an interview with the very successful macadamia producers from Brookfarm, at www.samplennsw.com

And wonderful Mullumbimby cook and food writer Belinda Jeffery has a new book out, called “the country cookbook”.  In Belinda’s own words, “This book… chronicles a year of my life in one of the most beautiful corners of Australia, the Far North Coast of NSW. It really is a celebration of the ‘Rainbow Country’ as it’s called, and of the simple pleasures and food that mean so much to me.”

If you are into learning to grow and cook with plants suited to our sub-tropical environment, check out the Starseed Nursery website or see them at a Farmers market.  They sound like they are doing really interesting projects, and we plan to get them on belly soon.  Lotus, mushrooms and papaya are all upcoming workshops, as well as the fabulously named coconut day.  This weekend, 11 and 12 December, they are cooking in and with bamboo, exploring bamboo and fire, and making bamboo bio-char which is a soil conditioner. It’s a 2 day workshop with food and music.  www.starseed.co

In national news, cereal company Kelloggs has been crowned Australia’s most misleading junk food advertiser for the fourth year running in this year’s Fame and Shame Awards.  They are organised by advocacy group The Parents Jury, which fights against junk food advertising to children.  Kellogs won both the pester award for their LCM snack bars, and the Smoke and Mirrors Award for claiming Nutri-Grain is good for aspiring athletes.

If your favourite Christmas food is fruit, be ready to pay more and accept slightly damaged fruit.   Australia’s wettest spring on record and a rainy start to summer threatens fruit and grain harvests all across the south-east.  Hail and rain has wiped out 80 per cent of some cherry crops at Young in New South Wales.
Mango growers in Queensland and the Northern Territory are also badly affected.Trevor Dunmall from the Australian Mango Industry Association says the wet conditions are damaging what was already a light crop. He says there will be fewer mangos around this season, and those that make it into the supermarkets will be slightly damaged. “To pick mangos you really need dry conditions, the rain can damage the skin and leads to easier marking and blemishes … so the appearance may not be ideal,” he said.
The National Farmers Federation says fruit and grain harvests across the south-east are under serious and continued threat.

But we like to finish on a positive note, so if you are on social networking site facebook, you may soon be getting slices of virtual pizza.  And if your facebook  friends send you enough virtual pizza you will be able to redeem it for slices of real pizza.  Well sort of…real major chain fast food pizza.  And of course you can find the branches with the GPS on your mobile phone.

And if your food dreams are more of the fancy restaurant variety, you don’t need to go all the way to France to eat in a 3 Michelin star place.  There are now as many 3 star restaurants in Japan as in France, 26.  Japan also has more than twice as many restaurants as France, roughly 500 thousand to 200 thousand.  So just pop off up the road to Japan and make a start.

Lilith’s Cooking with the Stars for

Sagittarius is here

or click above the rainbow

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL ON BELLY DECEMBER 20

You don’t do Christmas?  We are happy to hear about whatever you like to use as a reason to get around a table with loved ones, and most importantly, what you will eat!  As I type this I remember the Christmas phonecalls to grandparents, in the dark days before skipe or cheap calls of any kind.  One of the first questions was always : “What are you eating?”  And the longest, most detailed answers.

So now everyone within radio or computer or phone range can join that conversation.  So go on, tell your bellysisters, what are you eating this year, and who will be around your table?  (don’t do tables?  that’s ok too)

Sister T

MELLOW SUMMER TUNES (rain? what rain?)


Watermelon Man, sung by Les Mc Cann
Summertime, delicious version by Angelique Kidjo
Distant Shore by Chieko Kinbara
Sarah Vaughan with Gotan Project – Whatever Lola Wants

What are you cooking or eating this Christmas?

December has only just begun but it feels like the holiday season has been going on for months.  I refuse to talk about it until at least  December, even though if you are the pudding making type you would have your baby all made and wrapped up well before now.  So I’m told, anyway.  My Christmas cake making frenzy involves stuffing a panettone with tipsy creme patissiere and covering it with lashings of chocolate, so I only need to start a day ahead.  (See “Dressed up Panettone” in the belly sweets).  If you are already planning your Christmas meal, or looking forwards to whatever your family whips up every year, look out for Sister T at the Byron Farmers Market this Thursday December 2.  I will be running around with a mike to find out what our Christmas will taste like.  And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, but have a feast for some other occasion at this time of year, I would very much like to hear from you.  If you don’t catch me at the market, please leave a comment below or send us an email: belly@belly.net.au

I will play/read your comments on December 6 and 20 on belly.  I’ve just asked a few of the bayfm presenters and volunteers and have some great responses already, I think we may have to have a monthly “burning belly question”.  Leave suggestions if you like.

So :

what are you/your loved ones cooking this holiday season?

what do you remember/miss eating in the past?

who are you eating with this year?

And if you’d like some help, the very creative Alison Drover will be on belly on December 20 to talk about doing it sustainably, and I don’t think she means honey roasted chokos instead of the ham or turkey – but if you want beautiful local ethically raised animals on your plate, you’d better order them soon – it’s almost Christmas!

ho ho ho , sister T

on air 22 November ’10 : Quentin and Katrina’s family recipes

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

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 Watt, who presents the very wonderful Q’s Jazz and Blues 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.

CHILL 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

on air 15 November 2010 – journeys in time and space to Mexico and the ’70s

Mexican belts - photo © Shutterstock

The belly kitchen was bubbling today, 3 wonderful women  shared stories of what cafes and restaurants were like in this area back in the 70s – some of you not born,some just can’t remember anything from that era, the rest of us have probably forgotten how fast Australian restaurant food has changed.  And we’re also off to Mexico, to the region of Tampico with Nancy Jo and her Tampico aunts and cousins, and to modern Australian Mexican food with writer and reviewer Barbara Sweeney. The first wonderful woman was hula goddess Lilith, ready to Cook with the Stars for Scorpio, seasoned with a little sultry Scorpio tango from Gotan Project.  Who are touring Australia in early December, even coming to Brisbane, but not Byron Bay unfortunately.

Nancy Jo Falcone is a classic Aussie, she grew up in the  US with an Italian father, Chilean step grandfather, and mum and grandma Mexican from the region of Tampico, today we talked about the Mexican bit. Nancy Jo is has also been involved in  bayfm for a long time, right now she is on our program team, she is the Monday mentor, so blame her if the bellysisters stuff up please.  She started a Mexican restaurant in Coolangatta in 1974 , with some of her mother’s recipes.  About 10 years ago she wen to Tampico and managed to link up again with lots of long lost aunts and cousins, and discover many wonderful new recipes.  Tampico  is on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, reportedly a very friendly place, and there is so much water and seafood there that the inhabitants are known as ‘crabs’.   But it is also known for the Tampico style bbq beef, and sauces made with pumpkin seeds.

See these websites for more information about Tampico, and lots of recipes:

http://www.hackwriters.com/Tampico.htm

http://www.travellady.com/Issues/January07/3797FoodTampico.htm

http://www.foodbanter.com/mexican-cooking/119293-tampico.html

Nancy Jo almost never uses recipes, but she gave us two favourite salsas.  She is especially in love with the pineapple one, much more than the sum of its parts.

PINEAPPLE CHILLI SALSA

Makes one cup (Great with roast chicken)

sombrero muy lindo - image © Shutterstock

1/2 cup Finely chopped pineapple
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped Jalapeno or mild green chillies

Mix together, store in airtight jar in fridge.
Will last for over one week.

TRADITIONAL SALSA

Makes around one cup

3 small roma tomatoes blanched and peeled
1/4 cup finely sliced spring onion/or finely diced onion
1 clove garlic crushed to smooth paste
1 small jalapeno chilli chopped fine
1.4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano
1/2-teaspoon cumin powder
1-tablespoon olive oil
1-tablespoon lemon or lime juice
Salt to taste

Chop tomatoes fine (Do not put in blender)
Add all other ingredients
Mix together, store in airtight jar in fridge.

Our other delicious guest was Barbara Sweeney. She was visiting from Sydney, in theory having a writing working holiday, but we managed to distract her for a while.  She is  food and features writer with Country Style magazine, organises major food events, is a restaurant reviewer, and used to edit that student bible, Cheap Eats.  She suggests a few places to get good Mexican food if you can’t get to Tampico, or Nancy Jo’s house.

happy Mexican men after a good meal

Guzman y Gomez
Californian-style Mexican food.
Seven outlets in Sydney
and one to open in Fortitude Valley,
Brisbane in December.
www.guzmanygomez.com

Vera Cruz
Once of the first Mexican restaurants
in Sydney to go beyond Tex-Mex
314 Military Road, Cremorne. (02) 9904 5818

Fireworks Foods
Supplies Mexican ingredients
including fresh corn tortillas.
www.fireworksfoods.com.au

And I can’t resist sharing this other gorgeous man with you,

a delicious bed of corn chips

an image from a commercial spoofing the great

“American Beauty” bed of roses

We did also manage to head off to the 70s in Lismore briefly, as Barbara ran a cafe in Lismore as sweet 19 year old, in 1979.   Her claim to fame is that for six months they had the first and only real coffee brewer in town, until a much bigger cafe got an espresso machine.  Think of this as you drive or fly past all the coffee plantations in the Northern Rivers.  They had to go to Sydney to get the beans, and for those six magic months the first coffee maker in Lismore, that pulled coffee lovers in the door by their noses, was … a drippolator.  Yes, everybody else was serving instant, or tea of course.  But they had great shoes!  (Shoes are important)

Love and mole (Lilith has promised to bring her renowned Mexican mole recipe back to belly soon, the last version has gone to cyber heaven)

sister T

Lilith’s Cooking with the Stars for Scorpio is here


THE SONGLIST :

Gotan Project : Epoca  (look out for this fab Paris based group, touring Australia at the moment)

And a few favourite Mexican songs chosen by Nancy Jo:

La Calaco :  Rogaciano

La Calaco :  El Tecolote (The Owl)

Los Bravos Del Norte De Ramon Ayala :  Andan Deciendo (They Go Around
Saying)