Category Archives: RADIO SHOW POSTS

Mushy tunnels… To soy or not to soy… Lilith sways a Libran way…

Talofa, this is Sister Rasela checking into the Belly House.

What better way to spend another rainy day than to catch up on housework. Time to tidy up in the online Belly kitchen by letting you know what we munched on today.

I started by tracking down a highly unusual yet perfectly suitable place to grow mushrooms… beneath a hillside near Mt Gibraltar (a small mountain between Baurel and Mittagong) in Southern NSW. Now, when I say ‘beneath’ the hillside I mean that literally, for there is a gentleman by the name of Neil Arrold who has converted a disused train tunnel into his very own mushroom farm. Unusual? Maybe. Appropriate? Absolutely!

The mushroom tunnel on the left, originally built in 1886 before being replaced by the double track tunnel on the right

The single-track tunnel along the Sydney to Canberra route was built back in 1886 but only used until 1919 when another track was built beside it. In the post World War II years alot of abandoned tunnels and bomb shelters were transformed into underground growing houses. Back in the 1930’s the incomplete Circular Quay to St James line was also used for these wild and fun gi’s to grow.
Here in his controlled, damp and dark dungeon-like mushy abode Dr Arrold culitvates a true treasure trove of exotic species – Shitake, Golden Enoki, Shimeji, King Brown, Oyster and many more. (Cut to mad scientist wringing his hairy hands.)

Shitake logs on racks in the Mittagong tunnel

In Australia more than 67,000 tonnes of mushrooms are consumed each year with a growing proportion of these being the more exotic types as the Ozzie palate becomes a touch more sofisticated. In fact consumption has lept from 0.6 kg’s per capita in 1974 to 3.1 kg’s last year… that’s about a five-fold leap!

Apparently customers are very keen on shitake and chestnut mushrooms mostly, but the fluorescent pink, blue and yellow oyster are gaining in popularity too, especially amongst old psychedelic hippies.

Down there in the Southern Highlands this grower produces 1.5 tonnes per week in the 1km long tunnel which keeps a constant temperature and humidity allowing the mushrooms to grow organically in a country that is not normally renowned for these dollops of delight.

Expand your tunnel vision and make the natural choice to buy local, organic mushrooms from a man with a different kind of tunnel vision.

Tour the tunnel. For information call 4871 2524 or go to siff.com.au.

To soy or not to soy… Soy is the question!

I’ve noticed a fair bit of talk going round recently in the circles I frequent regarding the ever confusing barrage of information around Soy and Soy products. Now, being a vegetarian/vegan for many many years, I have been presented with alternatives to meat, cheese, eggs, chicken, fish, milk, yogurt and a mammoth amount of other goods which I don’t care to eat. You see the reason behind my vegetarianism is that I don’t actually LIKE this stuff in it’s natural form so why would I go and eat a replication of it in a soy form? Further to that, having studied Nutrition it is my opinion that commercial, supermarket Soy products aint all that great for you.

There is good and bad in everyone and everything… the test we face is recognizing the difference.

The Good The Bad and umm.. The Ugly?

I share information that may or may not be of interest to you. My main aim is to bring awareness to certain things that I feel are not all that beneficial to your wellbeing. All I ask is that you consider what you hear or read and if you choose to research it further then great, if you don’t then that’s fine too… as long as you make your own choices. I feel that it is important to be able to make informed and educated decisions regarding what you consume in order to become aware of the health repercussions of that consumption.

I’m not going to bombard you with information in technical terms, I’m going to keep it as simple and sweet as possible and leave the rest to you.

Taken from –

Menopausal Years – The Wise Woman Way by Susan S. Weed

Healing with Wholefoods by Paul Pitchford

Soy is a member of the bean family. They have many health benefits when used correctly including being a natural source of Lecithin – a brain food, they are also high in protein and very alkalizing to the body.

There are certain substances that are contained within most beans called ‘Anti Nutritional Factors’ and what this means is that these substances interfere with our ability to use, create or liberate certain key nutrients such as Calcium, Zinc, vit B12 and Trypsin (an important substance produced in the pancreas and secreted into the small intestine to assist in the breakdown of proteins.)

In MOST instances soaking and cooking are sufficient to remove the Anti Nutritional Factors making the beans generally safe to eat but this is not always the case. Some beans retain their Anti Nutritional Factors unless they are treated in severe ways. SOY IS ONE SUCH BEAN.

Unless well cooked or fermented, soy beans inhibit the digestive enzyme Trypsin, making them very difficult to digest. Fermentation also destroy’s soy’s anti nutritional factors and increases it’s mineral availablity.

Fermented and recommended Soy products are L-R Miso, Natto and Tempeh.

Three types of Miso paste varying in flavour. Darkest is srtongest and saltiest. Lightest is sweeter and more subtle.

Raw Tempeh. It is far more apitising when cooked but if i show it to you cooked, you won't know what to buy!

Natto... a traditional Japanese food. Soy beans that have been left to ferment. Haven't tried it personally... yet!

Not recommended are – Tofu*, soy nuts, soy beverages, soy granules and fake soy foods (soy burgers, soy dogs, soy cheese… and so on)

Fried tofu. Wait a minute... is that a meatball?!

*A note on Tofu – Traditionally it is eaten with seaweed to offset it’s thyroid damaging effects and miso to offset it’s B12 disrupting effests and whenever possible fish and meat to offset it’s mineral depleting effects (although this is usually unlikely seeing as most people that eat tofu are vegetarians!)

When unfermented soy is eaten frequently in a diet low or lacking in animal protein (as in the case for many vegetarians and vegans) the anti nutritional factors can wreak havoc: brittle bones, thyroid problems, memory loss, vision impairment, irregular heartbeat, depression and vulnerability to infections.

Unfermented soy is also high in haemoglutin – clumping of red blood cells which may increase the risk of stroke.

Soy milk has it’s own story… Here’s a brief comparison between human milk, cow’s milk and soy milk that may be enlightening especially if you are considering it’s place in your infant or child’s diet. It’s important to note that I am NOT advocating cow’s milk here. Although it appears to resemble human breast milk in these particular components, it is way out of whack with what your body needs in many other areas, including being excessively high in casein which is used in high quality wood glue (ever wondered why many kids who consume lots of dairy are so congested and phlegm filled?) … but that’s a whole topic of it’s own that I will go into at a later date!

Q. Eeeny meeeny miny mo, on which one of these shall i spend my dough? A. None!

Taken from The Vegetarian Guide to Diet and Salad by Dr. N.W.Walker, D.Sc.

Human milk is composed of about 87% organic water, cow’s milk almost as much, while soy bean only contains little more than 10%.

Human milk contains a little more than 1 1/2% protein, cow’s milk a little more than 3 1/2% where as soy bean milk is composed of more than 33% protein.

Human milk contains a little more than 6% carbohydrates in the form of natural sugars, cow’s milk nearly 5%, while soy milk is composed of more than 33% starchy carbohydrates.

Human milk contains nearly 4% fat, cow’s milk a little more than 3 1/2%, while soy milk contains 17% fat.

In relation to the chemical composition of human milk and soy milk, we find that soy contains about 175% more phosphorous and about 400% more sulphur than does human milk, both these elements being acid forming.

Human milk contains 3,500% more chlorine, the cleansing element, than does soy milk.

These factors are of extreme importance when we consider that many cases of disturbances to the nervous system are due chiefly to the unbalanced proportion of these elements in our diet.

…And now on a much lighter note. Dreamy rather than creamy…

The ever lovely Lilith and her hula hips came a swayin’ our way to talk of Libran chefs and the characteristics of these well balanced (?) people in the world of food, with her “Cooking with the Stars” regular segment

I am currently awaiting an email to post her wonderful words and wisdom’s so you shall have to wait with me if you wish to gaze upon them.

Fine tunes that were played throughout the show were –

1. Oka Love – OKA – Oka Love Album

2. Element – Fyah Walk – Ocean Sounds Album

3. New People – Hemitude – Threads Album

4. Come Listen – Kooii – In This Life Album

5. Ancient Spirit – Fyah Walk – Ocean Sounds Album

6. Weaving Changes – Kooii – In This Life Album

7. The Dreaming – Oka – Oka Love Album

I shall be back floating on the airwaves on Monday 18th October while Sister Tess has her halo cleaned and Sister Bernadette repairs a feathered wing… Look forward to it!

Sister Rasela xxx

belly show 20.09.2010 : eat me – food writing at the 2010 Byron Bay Writers Festival

bucolic brain food at the writers festival

This was a special belly dedicated to a session on food writing at the Byron Bay Writers Festival. The session was called “Eat me : writing food glorious food” – chaired by Joanna Savill, with authors Victoria Cosford ,Luke Nguyen, and Ramona Koval.

Giorgio Conte – Cannelloni

Joanna Savill

Joanna Savill is inaugural director of the Sydney International Food Festival. She presented one of the best ever food series on Australian TV – The Food Lovers’ Guide to Australia – and she is co-editor of the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. She also writes for many newspapers and magazines on food and hosts events like the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and a Taste of Slow. And she laughs – a lot. At least during this session, which was full of funny stories about childhood and families. Audio of this and other sessions is being uploaded to the Byron Bay Writers Festival site.

All their books sound great, full of stories and a lot more than basic recipes.
Victoria Cosford :

Amore and Amaretti, Wakefield Press
a memoir of cooking and loving in Italy.

“Amore and Amaretti is a little different from the usual tale of people who travel aboard to find love and a farmhouse that needs renovating in Tuscany or some other beautiful part of the world. For starters, it has great descriptions of restaurant life and the dishes Cosford experiences – so enticingly described that you can almost taste them.”
Christine Salins www.foodwinetravel.com.au

Ramona Koval :

Jewish Cooking Jewish Cooks
Published by New Holland

“Jewish Cooking Jewish Cooks is a collection of delicious, well loved, tried and true Jewish recipes from around the world particularly Europe. It is also a collection of stories – all of which revolve, like much of Jewish life and tradition, around the subject of food.

From the most simple to the most celebratory of Jewish dishes, Ramona Koval presents a thriving, contemporary food culture founded on ancient tradition and laws that stretches beyond centuries and continents. Recipes range from latkes to lox, borscht, blintzes, and kugel to cabbage rolls, and compote as well as many vegetarian dishes.”
http://www.jewishaustralia.com/jewishcooking.htm

Luke Nguyen :
Secrets Of The Red Lantern: Stories And Vietnamese Recipes From The Heart
by Mark Jensen, Pauline Nguyen and Luke Nguyen

“If this book may be classified as a food memoir, it also rises above genre by virtue of the elegant prose used to relate the moving story, as well as through the recipes that feel part of the creators’ hearts. Either aspect of the book can stand alone: the saga of this family is compelling reading on its own, and the recipes (more than 275 of them) are all enticing. ”
Diana Farrell Serbe, here

The Songs of Sapa by Luke Nguyen, Murdoch Books

“As with many food tomes these days, this as much a travel book as a cookbook, each destination evoked by the dishes of the region…full of warmth and enthusiasm for the people, the food and the places. There’s also the occasional toe-curling account of experiences like swallowing whole a still-beating snake heart…”
Kerry Boyne, http://www.eatstreets.com.au/articles/book_reviews/the_songs_of_sapa

Thanks to the northern rivers writers centre for bringing all wonderful writers to town and allowing belly to record this session – thanks to sound guy Phil from SCU for his assistance – and if you’d like some more Monday 4 October Victoria Cosford is coming on belly with me to talk Italian food. And thanks to Marina and Lesley at Red Ginger for the abacus won by lucky subscriber Jenny.

And to finish all those great stories about food and families, a refreshingly sour EDIBLE QUOTE by the wonderful American food writer M.F.K. Fisher, from ‘An alphabet of gourmets’.

“F is for family…

The cold truth is that family dinners are more often than not an ordeal of nervous indigestion, preceded by hidden resentment and ennui and accompanied by psychosomatic jitters.”

But hei, even that would make a good story. If you have a good (or bad) food story to tell, get in touch with the bellysisters. You don’t have to have written a book or a blog, but if you have, especially if it is something not for mainstream publication, we’d love to hear your stories and share your flavours with the bayfm listeners.
Sister Tess

Apricot Rail – Pouring milk out the window

d.i.g. – Hot cakes

Spring has Sprung… Tis the season to get fresh… plus Raw Chocolate mmmmm say no more!

As always your taste buds can be tuned to the beautiful BayFM on a Monday morning where we serve up an hour of mouthwatering radio. Sister Rasela cooking up a storm for you today in the Belly kitchen and springing into action with talk of how this beautiful season allows us to connect with nature, our bodies and our taste buds.

SPRING… It’s a new beginning – the time of the year to rise early with the sun. You can’t help but notice plant life pushing upwards after winter slumber, just like many of us who feel the colour come back to our cheeks, having been hidden during these past cooler months.

Have you noticed the green colour of tender young shoots, the sight of which nourishes the soul through the eyes. The appetite for food decreases as the body naturally cleanses itself, not only of food residues but also of excessive desire and the accompanying emotions of dissatisfaction, impatience and anger.

The metaphorical membrane over the eyes and mind disappears and vision becomes clearer. Things are seen in new ways.This is a time for contacting your true nature and giving attention to self awareness and self expression.

Living in sync with nature is an incredible experience. When you buy local, seasonal, organic produce from farmers, growers and shops within your community, there is an energy which is quite pure and carried through all the stages of your foods life and into your life. You’ll know more what i mean if you grow and eat your own produce already.

Think about what you want to put in your mouth to nourish not only your body but your soul. It is not just a solid mass that lands in your stomach (well, sometimes it is) processed beyond all recognition and sealed in a plastic bag and ‘preserved’ (although goodness only knows what they are trying to ‘preserve’ as there is no goodness in it!)

Food that is natural, whole, fresh and seasonal is what you should be aiming for, then you may be able to experience the oneness with nature, the s i m p l i c i t y.

Don’t deny yourself ‘treats’ just think about what a ‘treat’ is. Are you really ‘treating’ your body when you put something into it that is a chemical concoction of synthetic flavour and colour…. i mean, why would you bother?

Mimicking the colours and flavours of fruit... synthetic chemicals wrapped in processed sugar. Yum?

So… back to SPRING FOODS

This is the season to attend to the liver and gall bladder.

In spring we naturally eat less to cleanse the body of the fats and the heavy foods of winter. The diet should be the lightest of the year and should contain foods that emphasize the ascending and expansive qualities of spring (like a bloom about to blossom).

Young plants, fresh greens, sprouts and wheat or cereal grasses are ideal. Salty foods such as soy sauce, tamari, miso and sodium rich meats all have a strong component of sinking energy and are best limited during springtime.

EAT ME, EAT ME!

The expansive rising quality of sweet and pungent flavoured food is recommended as a means of creating a ‘personal spring within’. You could use a little concentrated sweetener with pungent herbs such as honey and mint tea.

The pungent cooking herbs : Basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, dill and bay leaf are all quite desirable at this time.

Most of the complex carbohydrates such as grains, legumes (beans) and seeds have a primarily sweet flavour which increases with sprouting.

Young beets, carrots and other sweet, starchy veges such as sweet potatoes are good too.

Try to get out of the ‘habit’ of having the same thing for the same meal everyday. Our bodies change daily, monthly, seasonally, like the weather so we require different foods to maintain overall good health at different times in our lives and most certainly on different days..

RENEWAL AND RAW FOOD

Food preparation becomes simpler in spring and let’s face it, who doesn’t want more simplicity in life?

Raw and sprouted foods can be emphasized more… now I’m not suggesting that you give up eating what you are currently eating to live off a couple of lettuce leaves and a bag of sprouts (although that may well suit some people), it’s just a great time to add these to your diet if you haven’t already and maybe replace one winter vegetable with something more fresh and alive. Gradually adapt, like the changing of the leaves on a tree… slowly, slowly but surely.

Sprouts and raw foods are cleansing and cooling.

Meet Eric, owner of the first raw food business in town

Spring represents youth and raw foods are thought to bring about renewal by reminding the body of the earlier more youthful states of human development. A time before the use of fire when man was extremely active, physically generating abundant heat; so early people found balance in the cooling effects of raw foods.

All the stages of our evolution are still encoded within us; going back through the layers of our evolution to more primal biological states is necessary if renewal is to be complete.

Raw food consumption should increase with signs of heat in the individual. If you are frail and cold then take it easy and don’t go too hardcore on the raw food, please!

It is both better and easier in warmer climates and during times of great physical activity although most people do well eating at least a little raw food in their diet each day, with greater amounts in the spring and summer.

Remember there are always limitations. Uncooked foods can weaken digestion in some people and even sometimes trigger excessive cleansing reactions. Not recommended for people with bowel inflammation or for people who are frail with signs of weakness. (Although you would have to try it yourself and see what suits you as an individual)

Intuitive eating… is listening to your body and is far easier to do when you are not changing your thoughts and emotions with chemicals and stimulants. Get real and discover life!

SPRING COOKING

If you live somewhere that is cold, it’s pretty much a necessity to cook your food. Winter time also calls for the need for warmth within.

In spring, food is best cooked for a shorter time but at higher temperatures. In this way food is not as thoroughly cooked – especially the inner part, retaining vital nutrients.

If oil is used (coconut is recommended as it can reach high temperatures without destroying it’s goodness), make sure it’s quick and at a high temperature – sautee method is good.

When cooking with water, light steaming or minimal simmering is ideal

When making Raw Chocolate it is always essential to ensure that the bowl and fingers are well licked and none is left to waste…. which brings me to our next topic for today and that is talking to the lovely Robin Jackson about Raw Chocolate, Cacao vs Cocoa and what happens in a raw chocolate preparation class… amongst other things.

RAW CHOCOLATE = RAW ECSTASY

From nibs....

Chocolate has been enjoyed for thousands of years as a way of connecting to the divine Love of the Universe. No food symbolizes Love more than chocolate.

We would like to reveal the ancient mystery the has been uncovered… here on the Belly Show, lerned after years of searching…..

….. the secret ingredient in EVERY recipe is L O V E!

Now we’re talking Raw Chocolate here and into the studio enters Robin Jackson, a woman full of Love for many things but today we are focussing on Raw ‘Chocolate’ – RAW cacaoa (ka-cow) and the inevitable temptations accompanying this superfood.

.... to this!

CACAO vs COCOA

A slight change in the lettering represents a major difference. Cocoa (co-co) powder has been treated with alkaline salts, is mixed with a number of chemicals during processing and has powdered milk added to it which blocks the bodies absorption of the healing nutrients of RAW cacao.

Knowing the nutritional benefits of RAW cacao helps to act as an important reminder that when we eat food in it’s natural state, we are able to harness the magic of the food, it’s healing powers, it’s full life force and health benefits.

Cacao pods

Raw cacao contains Magnesium, Chromium, Antioxidants, Vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, C, and E which are all present in significant quantities. It also contains fiber, iron, niacin, phosphorus, as well as containing ‘happy brain chemicals’ such as Theobromine, Phenylethylamine, Anandamide an Tryptophan the details of which are lengthy and interesting and can be googled at you own leisure. All you have to know is that it makes you feel GOOD.

The importance of RAW cacao in chocolate is emphasized in the fact that it remains caffeine free due to the natural state it remains in, unlike other chocolate where the theobromine is converted into caffeine when heated. This makes RAW cacao and raw chocolate a natural stimulant that is caffeine and comedown free 🙂

It is crucial that you think about where your chocolate comes from. 80% of cacao used by large companies in your average everyday chocolate bar is made with cacao that comes from West Africa, where horrible working conditions, including child slavery, degrade humanity on a daily basis (not to mention the pesticides!) So next time you reach for a mars bar or a packet of those chocolate biscuits you love so much, think about what it took to make. Some poor child’s life is hardly worth living just so you can get fat on a chocolate bar you don’t need anyway. Please, enjoy the good things in life, but not at the expense of others. Make your own or buy fair-trade, organic, RAW chocolate and be happy to eat it, guilt free in every way!

Look for the 'good stuff' when buying chocolate.

I was fascinated to hear Robin talk about the different forms Raw cacao comes in. It can be found in Beans/Nibs/Powder and Butter. Until today i thought each one was created for it’s own individual purpose but i learned that it starts as the bean, is blasted into the nibs, ground into powder and finally extracted into butter. Each form is just a step along the way and each form can also be tranformed into the most incredible chocolate delights you will ever have. Part of the enjoyment is knowing that this is GOOD for you!

Robin was lovely enough to offer a free place in her next Raw chocolate creation class which will be held on Sunday 26th September. If you wish to find out more info about anything to do with raw food, you can contact Robin from the info below. There is also a monthly newsletter that is released in conjunction with Raw Ecstasy so if you would like to be on the mailing list for that feel free to mention that in your email. Alternatively you can find the stand at the farmers markets on Thurs Byron, Fri Mullumbimby, Sat Bangalow and all of the Sunday/Weekend markets dotted around this wonderful Shire of ours.

Robin Jackson – robin.rawecstasy@gmail.com

Phone – 0449 133 418

See you at the markets!

P.S. This show featured the Album ‘Jiggy Jiggy’ by Shoebox… “it don’t take much to make me HAPPY” … lalalala 🙂

belly 6 September 2010 – springing into asparagus, TV chefs and happy pets

From today I will try taking the radio show posts straight from the show running sheet, so you can see something closer to what went to air.

It’s the first belly of spring, also the first belly of the month when we usually have a look at what’s in season around Oz,then today’s guest tells us all about allergies and elimination diets you can try in order to diagnose allergy – no not for you, for your cat,dog,cow,canary,chook,ferret – Matt the Vet will discuss the food allergies that your beloved companion animals may have, + food news, and a great recipe from Luke Nguyen’s new cookbook

[the belly cat has decided to sit on the laptop to supervise this one, and the belly dog on my feet-screen getting very hairy]

Cheeseburger in Paradise by Jimmy Buffett

DRAW for our lovely subscribers – Lentilicious 2 packs of lentil mixes(thanks Sharna and Anthea)

Right now there are so many TV food shows, so many, old ones dug up, and from all over the world – well mostly the UK but I saw one from New Zealand last week,had a very pretty lake view in it. And Kids Masterchef is starting next Sunday – Anyone with kids knows it should be really fun to watch, they are so passionate about food. One of the best is ‘cheese slices’ which reflects the cheesy obsession of Will Studd, cheese providore to many of Australia’s best restaurants and Qantas business and first class. One of my cheese spies – we’ll call him “deep cheddar” – tells me Will gave the program to the ABC very very cheap, just to improve our cheese knowledge presumably. A true cheese evangelist. And more importantly, Will has bought into our North Coast paradise, so hopefully there will soon be even more wonderful cheese all around us. Cheese slices is on ABC1 on Wednesdays. And Luke Nguyen’s Vietnamese food show has come back very quickly to SBS, so have a look if you missed it first time round. I’ve got Luke’s recipe – caramelised mackerel with pineapple to share with you.

CARAMELISED MACKEREL WITH PINEAPPLE – KA THU KO KHOM

This recipe is a marriage of many different elements, balanced together
perfectly. It is a lighter version of the popular traditional dish of caramelised fish,
ca kho. I have balanced the salt with the pineapple, the fish sauce with sugar and added
dark soy sauce for colour. If you don’t often use pineapple in cooking, give this a try; you’ll
be pleasantly surprised.
When using a clay pot for the first time, make sure you immerse it in cold water for a few
hours. This will ensure that it does not crack over intense heat. Clay pots release earthy,
smoky flavours into your food and they maintain their heat well.

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 spring onions (scallions), white
part only, bruised
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
3 mackerel cutlets (600 g/1 lb
5 oz in total)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
300 g (101/2 oz) pineapple, cut into
bite-sized pieces
200 ml (7 fl oz) chicken stock
(page 328)
1 tablespoon fried garlic
(page 329)
1 tablespoon garlic oil (page 329)
2 spring onions (scallions), green
part only, sliced
1 small handful coriander (cilantro)
leaves
1 bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped
1 Lebanese (short) cucumber,
sliced

In a bowl, combine half the garlic, the white spring onion, the fish sauce,
dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Coat the fish with
the mixture, then cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 15 minutes,
reserving any leftover marinade.
Place a frying pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of the vegetable
oil. Add the pineapple and stir-fry for 1 minute, then remove from the pan
and set aside. Add the remaining oil and heat over medium heat, then
brown the fish cutlets on both sides.
Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the fish to a chopping board.
Chop each fish cutlet into four pieces with a heavy cleaver. Transfer the fish
and pineapple to a clay pot and pour in the reserved marinade. Place the
clay pot on the stovetop, turn the heat to high and bring to the boil. Add
the chicken stock and bring back to the boil, skimming any impurities off
the surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the
liquid has reduced by half.
Add the remaining chopped garlic to the pot along with the fried garlic,
garlic oil and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and stir to combine.
Spoon the sauce over the fish. Remove the clay pot from the heat, garnish
with the spring onion, coriander and chilli, and serve with a side bowl of
cucumber and jasmine rice.

serves 4–6 as part of a shared meal

Caramelised Mackerel with Pineapple

Recipe and image from The Songs of Sapa by Luke Nguyen, published by
Murdoch Books, photography by Alan Benson.

I played the belly interview with Luke last week, and the last few minutes this week, where he suggests using any firm fish as substitute for the mackerel. If you don’t have a clay pot, I think you can try using any deep heavy bottomed pot. Also maybe just add more fresh garlic to the recipe if you don’t have a big bottle of garlic oil handy. The crispy (but not burned) fried garlic would definitely add lovely texture to the dish. And make sure you use beautiful ripe fresh local pineapple.
Luke and his partner/photographer Susanna Boyd also mentioned the Little Lantern foundation they are setting up to help kids in Vietnam.

And straight on to the watermelon man and what’s in season in Oz in September.

Asparagus – in season from now to December, some Australian growers go til march. The season a bit slow this year. It has been cold,wet where most asparagus is grown, a lot comes all the way from Peru right now. According to the Australian Asparagus Council, 93% comes from around a small town called Koo Wee Rup, S-E of Melbourne. Yes there is an Australian Asparagus Council, the website is asparagus.com.au, lots of facts and recipes, though a lot of their recipes look a bit dodgy. Asparagus is very easy and quick to prepare, it is the shoot of a feathery plant in the lily family. The Roman Emperor Augustus had a saying “faster than cooking asparagus ” for doing something very very fast. The worst thing you can do is boil the hell out of it, but you can bbq it or put it with rich flavours like eggs and cheese, baked in the oven, or use in cold or hot soups, usually reserving the tips to add whole at the end. Or stir fry or very quickly steam. The ancients thought it is so good for you that it deserves ‘officinalis’ in its name, meaning medicinal. It does have a lot of folate, vitamins b and c and anti-oxidants. Unfortunately it doesn’t grow easily around here. I’ve tried in the veggie patch and mine gave a few spears then went to asparagus heaven. I’ve now found out that you shouldn’t pick every spear that pokes up, just the first few from now to November, maybe December, then let the plant form leaves and grow strong, especially the first couple of years.
– some other veg and fruit : artichokes, choose heavy and not wilted looking, they are the flower bud of a big thistle, you don’t want to eat wilted buds.
avocados – one more recipe, from farmer Chris Casagrande in the Byron Shire Echo : a chocolate dip for bananas, to freeze or use as cake icing. Mash avocados with cocoa and a little lemon – he swears it’s great. Also broad beans, young garlic, spring cabbages,lots of greens, pinapple,lots of citruses including blood oranges and cumquats. locally I’ve seen good rhubarb, papayas,lots of strawberries, new season pecans and rice.

Grapefruit,juicy fruit by Jimmy Buffett

The Meat Lovers song from Dr Siggy, aka Greetings from Switzerland

– Matt Allworth aka Matt the Vet gave us some great information about food allergies in pets and elimination diets we can try at home if our favourite animals start to have symptoms like itchy feet, intestinal disturbances or rashes. Some of the most common allergens are beef for dogs and fish for cats. Vegetarian animals can also develop allergies. Oh and we discovered that it’s a bad idea to try to turn your ferret into a vegetarian. For lots more info see http://communityvet.net/2010/03/diy-elimination-diet-for-the-dog-an-cat/

And Matt was a great barrel girl

Lena Horne – I want a little doggie

The BELLY BULLETIN

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – enterprising Chinese have been making fake Australian wine, from small Boutique labels to Penfolds. Investigators have found wine labelled Benfolds, or Penfolds bin 888, which is a lucky number in China. The copies have very similar bottles and labels to the originals. China is Australia’s fastest growing export wine market.
And global champagne sales have risen by about 40% in the first half of this year, so you can stop worrying about those poor champagne makers who were doing it tough in the GFC. And the bonuses that are again flowing into the pockets of investment bankers are obviously being put to good use.
In local news, Tweed tourism have just launched a seafood discovery tour, that you can download or pick up at a tourism office, and follow your fishy way from Cabarita to Corrumbin. Restaurants, fish shops, picnic spots,oyster farms and even crab catching tours.
seafooddiscoverytrail.com
Or go to sustainfood.com.au for lots of local food stories and links, including right now an initiative you can join called the Grow your own food challenge, which over 12 weeks encourages as many people as possible to register the amount of garden space they are devoting to food production. At the same time gardening expert Phil Dudman will give a week by week guide to establishing your own food garden. The challenge has already started, but you can join at any time, and there are already gardening videos online.
And congratulations to The Byron Beach Cafe which has won “Best Tourism Restaurant & Catering Service” at the inaugural North
Coast Tourism Awards

EDIBLE QUOTE – As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists. Joan Gussow

Seaman Dan – Follow the sun

Love and chocolate cake, sister T

The L O V E show…

Be yummy and subscribe anytime on 02 66 807 999

Eating is a sensual pleasure which starts when we are no more than a roaring digestive system needing oceans of warm milk to fill our hungry void. As adults we still remember our beginnings. We talk about food when we talk about L O V E.
“YOU’RE DELICIOUS” “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I COULD EAT YOU” (and sometimes we proceed to prove it.) Did you know that not long ago a sexy woman was called a tomato? A girl can be known as a chick, even the heart is sweet and we call our sweethearts food-love names like ‘Honey’ ‘Sweety Pie’ or if you’re very unlucky… ‘Lamb Chop’. Breasts are melons (or in some cases raisins… or even fried eggs!) lips are like strawberries, LOVE is intoxicating, it’s delectable and delicious!

“If you don’t like my peaches” says the blues lyric “then don’t shake my tree.” “It must be jelly” sings another “cause jam don’t shake like that” and the stoned Stones sang about some “brown sugar”.

AJ Lieling described Lilian Russell, a lucious woman from a time when more was better (she weighed over 200 pounds) as – “A butterscotch sundae of a woman, as beautiful as a tulip of beer with a high white collar”

Lillian Russell... before one too many tulips of beer....?

LOVE has it’s seasons. There is a time for laughter and a time for absentmindedness. There is the need to say the others name out loud, to give LOVE ‘presence’ by speaking it’s magic word. There is a moment for first sharing the same spoon and there’s also a time for discovering shared memories of food. What JOY! Obviously they were predestined to find each other, two souls in this whirling world whose passion remains hokey pokey ice cream with caramel sauce… (ok, ok, so that’s MY favorite)

: Hokey-Pokey from the land of the long white icecream

In a world where sophistication can be measured by what books one keeps in their bathroom or the brand of water that is sipped with lunch, lovers bring the greatest innocence to the discovery that they share the same lusts – not only for each other, but also for food.

WEDDING CAKES

Wedding cakes go far back in the history of celebrations. Wheat has always been a symbol of LOVE and fertility (bummer for all those ceoliacs out there) and one reason that special bread or cake and not a special meatloaf has been central to our wedding rituals, at least since the Greeks and Romans.

Greek brides baked cakes to give to their grooms. Later roman couples offered wheat cakes to Jupiter. The priest who served the God, burned the cake over a flame and this sacrifice symbolized that the woman was now under the jurisdiction and protection of her husband (old skool jargon) it also demonstrated that the marriage was both legal and sacred.

At Roman weddings the bride carried wheat as a good luck charm. At medieval weddings grains of wheat were thrown at the happy couple with exactly the same wishes – Luck, LOVE and fertility – as today’s rice and confetti.

So we’ve gone from chucking bread rolls at the happy couple to the ‘coeliac friendly’ version of gluten free rice or recycled paper confetti (how very modern)

The Anglo Saxons went one better and crumbled small cakes (bread or oatcakes) over the brides head to foretell fertility to follow (or to disguise a bad case of dandruff on that special day).

Romans eventually took to making their flour and water wedding cakes a little easier to swallow and there became less wastage and more eating (now that’s what i like to hear!) Spices and flavourings were added and before long the cakes were topped with white sugar and bitter almonds, chosen to represent the pleasures and pains that would inevitably follow.

Today the wedding cake is resplendent. It’s fragrant heart is sometimes covered in swirls of white icing, on top are tiny replicas of the bride and groom or more modestly a bed of flowers or some other such creation. It is, to the last crumb, a delicious physiological symbol.

FOOD IS LOVING, COOKING IS FOREPLAY AND EATING IS MAKING LOVE.

Poem…

“Honeysuckle Rose” by Fats Waller and Andy Razaf

I don’t buy sugar
You just have to touch my cup

You’re my sugar

It’s sweet when you stir it up
When I’m taking sips from your tasty lips
Then the honey fairly drips
You’re confection, goodness knows

Honeysuckle Rose

16 August 2010 – e-books,love and polenta

A pretty crazy show on day one of our major subscriber drive aka radiothon. Sister T was answering phones for the previous show, Andrew Davie’s luscious Lighthouse Lounge, chatting up subscribers, and she ain’t a morning girl (why do you think we’re sponsored by a coffee company?) Sister B had been to the gim for the first time in a loooong time and looked like she had been run over by a cement mixer. And our lovely guest, presenter Karin Kolbe from Bayfm’s ‘the spin cycle’, is learning to surf.

She had all the glory ot standing up and all the pain of a solid fall in a few short seconds, and turned up full of painkillers. But also full of beans, great info on her and TOOT’s (Train on our Tracks) campaign to bring back train transport, which would also make our food more sustainable. And on where e-publishing, is going, as she is a publisher and ‘internetty person’. We look forwards ot electronic cookbooks with a stack of extra features as soon as publishers and authors get more creative. And she shared her favourite, tried and tested cake recipe, from a tattered exercise book – with alphabetical tabs though, obviously an organised woman.

POLENTA AND YOGHURT CAKE

Ingredients :

300 g. plain yoghurt

100 g. polenta

grated rind of 1 orange

125 g. softened,chopped unsalted butter

220 g. caster sugar

3 eggs

200 g. self raising flour

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

85 g. chopped raisins

80 g pine nuts [or try macadamias in our area – n.d.sr.T]

citrus syrup :

1 lemon and 1 orange (preferably organic)

200 g. caster sugar

30 mL Cointreau (more is more, says Karin)

and cream to serve!

KK says that this cake is magic because first off you put the yoghurt and polenta and grated rind together to chat for an hour in a bowl.

Heat oven to 180C.

Toast nuts well in a little olive oil in a pan on low heat, it makes them come alive, but careful not to let them burn.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well. Sift together the flour and bicarbonate and fold gently into the butter mixture. Toss the raisins in a tbs of flour. Add yoghurt/polenta mix to batter, fold in nuts and raisins.

Butter and flour a 2 litre/21 cm kugelhopf (holey) cake mould. Pour in cake batter and cook 30-45 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

While the cake cooks, make the citrus syrup.

Make small threads of zest from the orange and lemon and juice them. Put all ingredients except Cointreau in a saucepan, bring to the boil, lower heat and reduce volume by half. Turn off heat and add Cointreau.

To assemble, turn cake onto a rack for 10 minutes, then slide onto a plate and and pour hot syrup on top. Serve with cream.

Don't you love those spattered old recipe collections? Instead of star ratings they have spatter & scribble ratings

WHAT’S ON

for farmer’s and weekend markets please go to our markets page, but here’s a couple of other local events:

Organic farm share meetings – remember the people from herdshare, who were in the news a while ago with their scheme to own a bit of a cow so you can have your own organic, maybe even raw, milk – now calling themselves farm share

info meetings

NORTHERN NSW

Murwillumbah – Mon Aug 16, 7pm to 8:30pm

South Golden Beach – Fri Aug 20, 1pm to 2:30pm

Broken Head – Fri Aug 20, 6pm to 7:30pm

more info on website – http://organicfarmshare.com

BARISTA COURSE
TUESDAY 17th OF AUGUST
4.00PM TO 7.00PM
$75 call the Byron Youth Service – 6685 7777

Thanks again to everyone who subscribed to Bayfm today – we are getting together a few tasty bits and pieces for a post radiothon draw for belly supporters, and anyone listening on the first show after radiothon. Also while you call in, tell the volunteer answering the phone if you’d like to go on the belly listeners page that we are assembling, leave an email address and the sisters will get in touch.

To go in the big prize draw you need to call (02) 6680 7999 by the morning of 29 August 2010.

Details on bayfm site.

LOVE FOOD

whole and split nutmeg

In honour of the ‘love your radio’ fortnight we are talking love foods for 2 weeks – keeping it seasonal for the Australian winter, unlike the summery Valentine Day recipes – and we wanted to change a bit from the constant oysters, strawberries and chocolate that our lovers serve us up. Did you know you can make sexy pumpkin soup? Just add freshly grated nutmeg at the beginning of cooking. Nutmeg was considered an aphrodisiac by the Arabs and the Chinese. Apparently you can also rub nutmeg oil on the genitals to ‘excite sexual passion’, but you might just give yourself a nasty rash. I put a few drops of mace (the covering of the nutmeg ) essential oil in the bath a few years ago and had to get out very quickly.

Byron Bay writers festival report, flatmates, Rob’s olives

A new bellysister joined Sister Tess for this belly show, the lovely Sister Robert. Sister Rob came to Byron from Sydney for the 2010 Byron Writers Festival. He went to several foodie events at the Festival, including a workshop by Vietnamese Australian chef Luke Nguyen and local writer Victoria Cosford’s launch of her first book, “Amore and Amaretti”. As well as several non-food related events, just for balance. Sisters T and R agree that the foodies were by far the most charming and best behaved people at the Writers Festival. Victoria’s launch was packed and very lively, there were tears, wine and delicious food, and a heartfelt introduction by Joanna Savill. Joanna and Victoria studied Italian together in Canberra, and Joanna first invited Victoria to join her in Bologna (and then tried unsuccessfully to stop Victoria from smiling back at the hordes of men who followed her around). Victoria read delicious extracts from her book, we played a snippet from her visit to Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence. The audience was in pain, you could hear the sighs. Luke Nguyen is a very charming man. One chairperson’s researcher summed him up as “cook, Vietnam, good guy”.

In contrast, Brett Eason Ellis decided to be a very naughty boy at his first ever writers festival. Ramona Koval from the ABC reminded us that she has 3 grandkids and she doesn’t believe in letting naughty boys play too many silly games. It sounds like he was just after the Australian holiday. And Gretel Pinniger aka Madam Lash made photographers happy by pretending to burn her biography, and looking ready to eat her biographer – not in a good way. And various panellists were talking as usual about climate change, population and other environmental concerns, sounding desperate enough in the leadup to this Australian federal election to incite revolution. Or “a social tipping point”. Or at least a vote for the Greens, or anyone game enough to whisper that we need to change from a growth model to a steady state one. Look it up, to some of us belly sisters it sounds like the last chance to stop the veggie patch from going underwater. Meantime, the sun shone on the whole festival and it was easy to revel in the beauty of the North Beach site and all the wonderful brain food. There were even a few more panellists discussing their topics rather than just plugging their books, or we were just lucky to pick panels with good chairpeople.
Meantime, back in the kitchen, Luke’s cooking workshop was very interesting and hands on. It was great to find out that we can get most of the ingredients for Vietnamese food locally. And who knew that soft shell crab is available frozen at the fish shop? A few good tips :

Use a dusting of potato starch for deep frying for a light crunchy texture
Use a chopstick to check oil temperature (lots of bubbles=hot)
Less is more – food will keep cooking after you take it out
Buy the best, light, first press fish sauce you can find
Rice paper rolls – don’t leave them in water to soften, just a quick dip is enough
Don’t overfill
And – lots of herbs is barely enough!

Sister Rob did our first ever cookbook review, of Luke’s “The songs of Sapa”, even after hearing local writer Alan Close take to task reviewer Rosemarie Sorensen for a negative review 19 years ago! Rob says he sometimes forgets to actually read recipe books rather than just focus on the recipes,
· Luke’s book also offers insights into Vietnamese culture e.g his father’s story from fighting in the war.
· The recipes are good although some ingredients may be hard to find.

Some of Luke Nguyen’s recipes are online, see here

Sister Tess did an interview with Luke and his partner/photographer, Susanna Boyd, and recorded several sessions of the festival, so listen up to belly for more – and remember our major subscriber drive/radiothon is starting, subscribe online here. Most of us bring you great radio for free, but the gear and rent have to be paid, so please help if you can. You can even nominate your favourite show (hint?)

Sister Rob was lucky enough to have a mother who was a skilful and enthusiastic cook. He was asked to bring his favourite cookbook on belly, and he turned up with a very well used (trashed!)
scrapbook of recipes, the oldest were handwritten 70s gems from his mum (aww). Like many of us, Sisters T and R both discovered that not everybody knows what good food tastes like, let alone how it is made, when they had…..(horror music)…. flatmates! A chance to share war stories : Rob’s most memorable was hearing a squeak, opening the crumb tray under the toaster and finding a dead mouse. Sister T’s was the special occasion roast chook a flatmete splurged on – but she didn’t know that you take the chicken out of the plastic bag before you put it in the oven. We’d love to share your best stories on air if you comment on this post, or email us
belly@belly.net.au

Rob also made the best ever pickled olives – yes starting from raw olives – get in touch if you know where to get some in the Northern Rivers.

SISTER ROBERT’S HOME PICKLED OLIVES

On a recent visit to sister R, sister T had the pleasure of tasting the best home pickled olives ever. Sister R has helped friends harvest olives both out in the country and in central Sydney, of all places, so he’s learned how to get them from bitter little fruits to delicious, long lasting snacks. This is a traditional home skill of Australians of Mediterranean descent, but somehow very Anglo sister Rob does a better job! He also focused on methods that use the mildest possible ingredients to remove the olive bitterness. And if you want to just remove excessive saltyness from shop-bought olives, or just improve their taste and keep them longer, jump straight to the oil steps.

“Well there are many, many methods for pickling olives but here I give the two methods that have worked well for me loosely based on my friend Paul’s [see buthkuddeh link below] method:

Method 1 – Good for green and for black firm olives

1.2. Give each olive a small slit with a sharp knife or bash with the bottom of a bottle to break the skin only
2. Soak olives in plain water changing the water fully each day. You need to do this long enough for the strong acid flavour to leach out. Taste an olive and see how bitter it is. Think about an olive you have liked and what degree of bitterness or otherwise it had. When the olives taste ok move to the next stage.
3. Prepare brine solution by placing a fresh egg into a bucket with water and keep adding salt and stirring it in slowly until the egg floats to the surface and shows a circle of shell about the size of a five cent coin.
4. Soak the olives in the brine until the olives taste salty enough for you. Don’t change the brine solution until you are happy with the level of saltiness of the olive. Give the olives a bit of a tumble each day. Do not forget them in the brine otherwise they will undergo cellular collapse and go soft.
5. When they are ready for bottling, drain them and wash them to get excess brine off.
6. Sterilise some old bottles or preserving jars. Pop the olives in. As you do you can add whatever flavourings you like – thinly sliced garlic is always welcome, as is crushed dried oregano, or a split red chilli, , Sage and thyme go well, peppercorns too. Fill the jar with a good quality olive oil. Don’t fill it with brine like I did once as the olives will have that cellular collapse you don’t want. Leave them in the pickling oil for at least 3 -4 weeks before eating.

Method 2 – To end up with dry salted black olives only

1.Again, start with nice firm olives, but make these ones also nice and plump.
2. Get a white plastic bucket with tight fitting lid and make holes in the bottom and the lid.
3. Put a layer of salt on the bottom of the box. Toss the olives on top – don’t slit them. Cover with another thick layer of salt and repeat the process.
6.Leave untouched for three or four days. Then, each day, mix the olives and salt together by turning the bucket over.
7. What should happen is that the salt will get wetter and go a nice mauve colour as it drains the moisture out of the olive.
8. As the moisture drains out, and put some new salt in and mix it with the olives.
9. When the olives have shriveled up and are nice and salty (check those olives!), take them out of the salt, wash them, dry them and store them in an airtight container in a little oil just coating the olives. You can at this stage put in some finely chopped garlic, crushed oregano, and maybe some chili flakes.
Websites for further research:
www.buthkuddeh.com.au (look for ‘olives’ under recipe link)
www.sbs.com.au/food (search on olives and Steve Manfredi)
www.abc.net.au (Gardening Australia factsheet on olives)

EDIBLE QUOTE

Today’s came from Luke Nguyen’s cookbook The Songs of Sapa, which has lots of traditional Vietnames sayings and their meanings scattered among the recipes.

When drinking water, remember where it flowed from; when eating fruit, remember who planted the tree.

In life, always be thankful for how you got there, and remember who helped you get there.

July 19 radio show: tasting the Byron Bay Writers Festival

Today Srs T and B were having such a good time talking with the Director of the Byron Bay Writers Festival and the Northern Rivers Writer Centre, Jeni Caffin, that we ended up spending most of the show with her. It turns out that the whole staff of the NRWC (about 4 people who work enough for 20) are completely food obsessed – that explains all the great food events at the festival. And the way they make sure the many volunteers get tasty and healthy food on their shifts. And Jeni’s 19 year old cat wears a small tea cosy as a hat right through winter – who knew?

The 2010 Festival will include breakfasts lunches and dinners with writers, a cooking workshop with the Red Lantern’s Luke Nguyen, a book launch by popular local food writer Victoria Cosford, and plenty of sessions that touch on food, especially “Eat me: writing food, glorious food” on the Saturday. Jeni’s advice is to look out for these authors : Monica Trapaga, Ramona Koval, Luke Nguyen, Victoria Cosford, Juanita Phillips, Joanna Savill and Simon Marnie.

Go to the Festival site for author biographies and details of all the events.

And of course here’s the eggplant tart – a tartless tart, well tested by everyone at the writers centre, guaranteed to work and be delicious.

Jeni's glamorous cat, Perfect Tiger, recommends wearing a stylish tea cosy in winter

EGGPLANT TART

For a round tart made in a dish about 8 inches across and about 2 inches

deep you will need approximately:

3 medium eggplant;

2-3 large brown onions;

a little balsamic vinegar and sugar to taste to caramelise the onions

a large cup of grated parmesan;

herbs to taste, whatever you like, I use basil and parsley

olive oil with crushed garlic in it, to taste

Cut the stem end off and slice the eggplant in 5mm widths lengthways,

discarding the first skin slice on each side. Brush both sides with garlic oil

Put baking paper or alfoil down and grill each side till lightly golden and

transparent

Cook the onions, balsamic and sugar slowly till caramelised. Lightly grease your tin

Lay the eggplant slices, overlapping to fill gaps,

Put caramelised onion, cheese and herbs mixed in between each layer of eggplant

Press down firmly each layer of eggplant. Last layer should be eggplant slices

Bake in moderate oven for 45 mins, allow to cool down to eating temperature

before putting a plate on top and inverting it.

belly 12 July 2010 – tender herbs and starfruit

This was Sister Tess’s first show after a trip to the North and South extremities of Europe, Finland (where they have porridge for lunch) and Sicily (where they have icecream in a bun for breakfast). More about those two fascinating places soon. During this show Sisters T and B talked about the wonderful carambola or starfruit, a delicious and beautiful golden fruit that grows well in our area. And sister T played an interview recorded at the Byron Bay Herb Nursery with Debbie Shortis, the fabulous belly herbologist. Deb talked about ways to use herbs in mixes. The traditional bouquet garni , woody herbs like thyme, sage, rosemary, bay, tied together so they can be easily removed at the end of cooking. Herbes fines, or tender herbs like chervil, tarragon, parsley, fennel tops, dill, that are great chopped together and added at the very end of cooking to zest up winter dishes : soups, mashes, casseroles. And her own invention, an Asian bouquet garni to tie together,add to curries and remove, choosing from kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, cinnamon, ginger, curry leaf, coriander root or horseradish root.

These are a couple of recipes that get Deb’s fresh and herbal seal of approval. The crepe is inspired by one on “The Cook and the Chef” ABC TV show.

HERB CREPE
Serves 4
(To go in any soup)
2 tablespoons flour
2 eggs
3-4 tablespoons milk
Salt and pepper
‘fines herbes’- 1 tablespoon each of parsley, tarragon, chives, chervil and dill frond,
all chopped very finely.
Put flour in a bowl, stir in the eggs and then gradually beat in the milk to make a thin batter. Season, add herbs and let rest for 30 mins. This crepe is about the herbs more than it is about the crepe. The batter is just a boat to carry the herbs upon the soup.
Heat a heavy pan and brush lightly with both a little oil and butter. Add crepe mix and swirl around the pan to form a thin crepe. Cook on very low heat without adding much colour, flip and set aside. Roll the crepe and cut into thin strips.
Place a few strands of crepe ribbon in the bottom of each serving bowl before adding the soup of your choice.

CARROT AND CHERVIL SOUP
50gms butter
275grams chopped carrots
50gms plain flour
1ltre chicken stock
½ cup of chopped chervil
Salt and pepper
Melt butter in saucepan and gently sauté the carrots for 5 mins. Stir in the flour, then stock and seasoning. Bring soup to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 30mins. Allow to cool slightly then purée the soup in a blender. Return to pan add the chervil and gently bring back to the boil. Serve hot or chilled with a swirl of cream or yogurt and a chervil garnish.
(recipe from “ The Complete Book of Herbs” by Lesley Bremness 1990)

For lots more recipes and herb information, go to the Byron Bay Herb Nursery site
www.byronherbs.com.au

FROM THE BELLY LAB : MUSSELS WITH TENDER HERBS by sister T

I made this the night before the interview, inspired by Deb’s enthusiasm for mixing up lots of fresh green things. I just went around the garden and picked lots of whatever was looking good, parsley and chervil and chives, a little nasturtium and a few mustard leaves. There was at least a loosely packed cup of chopped greens. I opened the mussels in a big pot with chopped garlic, butter and a glass of wine (one for the pot, one for the cook), and just tossed the herbs in at the end. Much nicer than plain old parsley moules marinieres.

starfruit photo by Pratheep P S, www.pratheep.com

STAR FRUIT OR CARAMBOLA

The star fruit has been grown in parts of Asia for hundreds of years— it may have originated in Sri Lanka and Indonesian Moluccas.
They are best consumed when ripe, when they are yellow with a light shade of green. It will also have brown ridges at the five edges and feel firm. An overripe fruit will be yellow with brown spots (so the sources say – we still like them that ripe, obviously minus the brown bits).

The fruit is entirely edible, including the slightly waxy skin. It is sweet yet tart, a complex tropical flavour, and extremely juicy.

Carambola is rich in antioxidants and vitamin C , you may need to be careful of overconsumption if you have liver problems possibly cos of their oxalic acid content.

– To grow : tropical, sub tropical small tree, full sun,water, good drainage, fertilise 3 x year, can propagate by air layering – wrap soil around a branch and wait for roots. If you grow them from seed they may bear sour fruit.

– To prepare : wash, remove ends and ridges and seeds

– To cook :
fruit salads – the main way you will see starfruit, but there is so much more you can do! In China and India unripe fruit is used cooked as a veg.
Spicy thai salads (even rosepetal with chicken and prawn http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaisnacks/r/rosepetalsalad.htm) they introduce a sweet/sour element.
Juices, drink decoration, cake topping eg pavlova, upside down cake, muffins – substitute in pineapple recipes, the star slices hold their shape if you are a bit gentle.
Salsas with eg cucumber, mint, chilli to put on fish or chicken
Raita – the yogurt side dish, serve with curry, instead of cucumber raita
Pickle whole

5th July – Spice Up Your Life, The Lovely Lilith: Cooking with the Stars – Cancerians, and “Danger! : Cheese on a Roll”

Aloha… this weeks Belly starts with tales of exotic spices from around the globe.

Take a trip from your kitchen to just about anywhere in the world by adding a pinch of this and a pinch of that…

Adding various herbs and spices to your food can literally ‘spice up your life’ by not only tantalising your taste buds but also treating your troubles with very little effort on your behalf. Learning which countries use which particular herbs and spices to create traditional and favorite dishes is a fascinating journey as we travel the globe without having to go any further than the kitchen…

SPICES are the buds, bark, roots, berries and seeds and HERBS are the leaves of plants, so when we use corriander leaf for example, we refer to it as a herb, but when we use corriander seed, we say we are using spice.

Australia’s best known spice man Ian “Herbie” Hemphill has a list of 20 from which he says you can create just about any dish from around the globe. These global essentials can be used in a variety of dishes, so build a spice rack or refill the missing gaps with any or all of the following –

CorianderCumin
Black Peppercorns
Cinnamon and Cassai
Cloves
Chilli
Ginger
Cardamon
Paprika
Star Anaise
Tumeric
Allspice (a milder version of Cloves)
Fennel (seeds)
Nutmeg
Thyme
Oregano
Caraway seeds
Fenugreek seeds
Saffron
Vanilla

A short rundown on countries and their spices –

INDIAN

One of the worlds top producers of spice and because of it’s size, the range canvary from chilli heat to aromatics.

Corriander seed, Tumeric, Cinnamon, Cumin, Mustard seed, Fenugreek, Ginger, Pepper, Chilli, Nutmeg, Clove, Cardamon, Tamarind, Saffron.

MORROCAN

The ports of this North African country have been used for centuries as an avenue for spices from across the globe. Think aromatic, slow cooked stews.

Corriander seed, Tumeric, Paprika (sweet), Cumin, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Black pepper, Chilli, Saffron (Beware fake Saffron which can be passed off by using the stamen of the crocus flower and not it’s stigma. It can also be created by using corn silk or plastic and dyed with the dangerous chemical tartrazine. Test by disolving in water. If the colour runs it is probably not saffron.)

MIDDLE EASTERN

Typified by dry spice mixes such as dukkah, Middle Eastern food is also about marinated meats cooked on a shish. For you meat eaters out there… think lamb skewers.

Paprika, Corriander seed, Sumac, Parsley, Thyme, Cumin, Cassia (from South East Asia and China. Has a stronger, sharper taste than cinnamon) Pomegranates (seed or molasses), Black Pepper, Cloves, Cardamon, Mastic, Mahlab

MALAY/SINGAPORE

Divided by a peninsula, Malays prefer curry powder in coconut milk mixed with lemongrass, galangal, chilli paste and tumeric. The Singaporeans borrow some Maklay ingredients but tend towards Chinese styly spices including pepper.

Corriander (seed and leaf), Fennel seed, Cinnamon and Cassia, Tumeric, Lemongrass, Candlenut, Cumin, Ginger, Pepper, Galangal, Cardamon, Tamarind, Chilli, Star Anaise

THAI

The king of aromatics. This is all about greenery and freshness and the particular predominance of each spice, depending on the dish, with a fresh hit of chilli.

Corriander leaf, Kaffir Lime, Lemongrass, Chilli (red and green), Tumeric, Garlic, Galangal, Cloves, Thai Cardamon (similar to normal cardamon but rounder and almost white)

CHINESE/VIETNAMESE

Similar to India, because if it’s size it is difficult to pin down a typicaldish. It varies from the chilli and Szechuan pepper in the north to cassia and star anaise in the south. For Vietnam, you can’t beat the soup dish Pho for it’s trademark spices.

Star Anaise, Fennel seed, Corriander (leaf and seed), Dill (Vietnam – leaves), Cassia, Ginger, Szechuan pepper, Black pepper, Chilli, Cloves

MEXICAN

Smoky flavours dominate this cuisine because of it’s use of chillies – which are native to Mexico – including ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle.

Paprika, Cumin, Corriander (leaf), Oregano, Cinnamon, Chilli, Epazote (hard to find in Australia), Anatto (seeds)

Source: Spice Notes and Recipes, Macmillan (2000), $59.95, by Ian Hemphill. Available from Herbies.com.au

Next, the lovely Lilith swayed in with talk of Cancerians this month in ‘Cooking with the Stars’

LILITH’S COOKING WITH THE STARS

Cancer: Crabs in the kitchen

This month we’re wishing happy birthday to our favourite Cancerian masterchefs like Sydney’s Neil Perry, co-owner of Rockpool, Blue Water Grill and Spice Temple who apparently has a food brand sold under his name, which
you’ll soon be able to check out at locally loathed Woolies.

Cancerians tend to be obsessed with family and food and as chefs they’re strongly influenced by foods they ate as children. Crabs adore home cooked meals, love comfort food and traditional recipes like Mum used to make, and
are quite likely to still have her recipes. Food equals love to Cancers: a well stocked pantry makes them feel secure and a lot of their cooking pleasure comes from nurturing their loved ones and sharing meals with friends.

Cancerian chef Roy Yamaguchi, Hawaii’s first-ever James Beard Award winner, though born and raised in Tokyo, so vividly remembered the fish and lobster cooked fresh from the ocean on childhood visits to his grandparents on Maui, that he grew up to champion Hawaiian regional cuisine and develop his own style of Hawaiian Fusion food combining asian flavors, fresh local seafood, sushi and his signature Hawaiian martini made with, no prize for guessing, pineapple juice. Sounds dreadful, though the pineapple wine from the Volcano Winery on the Big Island’s quite nice the Hawaiians call it a party in the mouth. There are now 32 Roy’s restaurants in the U.S., Hawaii, Japan and Guam.

In traditional astrology Cancer’s ruled by the Moon, and they do seem to favor pale pearly foods: rice, potato, dairy and mayonnaise. They also seriously appreciate their cheeses and are probably responsible for the
kids story about the Moon being made of cheese – which does contain the cell salt Calcium fluoride which helps soothe their sensitive digestions. But as you can imagine when comfort food marries dairy and produces
bechamels, creamy sauces, fondue and cheesecake we’re talking serious kilojoules though its probably not worth your friendship to mention the Cancerian swear word, cholesterol… a major component of the splendidly rich, politically incorrect dishes of the popular British cooking series the Two Fat Ladies, famous for zooming round the countryside with their ample personages squeezed into a motorbike and sidecar – the Canceria half of this excessive pair was Clarissa Dickson-Wright, or to give her herfull title Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson-Wright.

Speaking of excess and politically incorrect Cancerian superchefs, my favorite is gonzo cowboy of the American food scene Anthony Bourdain, author of notorious best seller Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, which he followed up with A Cook’s Tour recounting his bizarre taste travels, written in conjunction with his award winning tv series of culinary adventures: No Reservations. After his third book The Nasty Bits, his fourth and latest, which came out this year, is Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook.

Bourdain’s the Hunter Thompson of food journalism, a 30-year veteran of professional kitchens and a personal life that reads like a cocktail of cocaine, cannabis, methaqualone, LSD, secobarbital, tuinal, amphetamine, codeine, heroin and honey-soaked psilocybin mushrooms used to sweeten tea naturally we’re not recommending you try this at home kiddies. Infamous for his sarcastic comments about vegans, vegetarians and fellow chefs Anthonycalled Californian restauranter Alice Waters “Pol Pot in a muumuu” and made playing Billy Joel or Abba in his kitchen grounds for instant dismissal.

Why is he so popular? Because he’s outrageous, funny and fearless – a great advocate of using all parts of an animal once its killed, and champion of the quality and deliciousness of street food in developing countries as compared to American fast food chains. Though he’s eaten sheep testicles in Morocco, ant eggs in Mexico, raw seal eyeballs with Inuit eskimos and a whole cobra in Vietnam, Bourdain still maintains the most disgusting thing he ever ate was a Chicken McNugget.

Did someone say chicken mcnugget?... Ggggrrrrr lemme at em!

Being the cardinal water sign Cancerians chefs often specialize in seafood, like the only female chef in France to hold three Michelin stars Cancerian Anne-Sophie Pic, one of whose signature dishes is sea bass steamed over
wakame kelp, served with oyster bonbons, cucumber chutney and vodka and lemon butter sauce how good does that sound?

If you’re DIYing the sumptuous sea feast at home, it might be easier to try a creamy lobster bisque, caviar-topped oysters, scallops in champagne, a truffled lobster or salmon steamed in seaweed with a home made, lemon
myrtle-infused olive oil and egg mayo. Or a slithery seductive manicotti stuffed with a trio of cheeses – ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan.

by Lilith

…and we finished with a giggle at what some people classify as a game – “Danger: Cheese on a Roll”… and we’re not talking bread!

This is the amusing yet serious story of a bunch of enthusiasts that find running down an extremely steep hill after a round block of cheese travelling at around 100 miles per hour…… fun. I think the picture says it all. If you are interested in more you can google Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling and have a giggle.

We also gave you a delicious recipe for a Ginger and Dark Treacle Steamed Pudding…

ooooh, please excuse me while i drool a little… this recipe is on it’s way i promise, i’m just giving you enough time to work up a real appetite!

sister Rasela