Tag Archives: raw

pumpkins,passionfruit & perfect cakes

And slices and chutneys and iced Vo-Vos and all those old fashioned things, also many new and surprising bits of show cookery and many stories of fascinating country shows and cooks and – that's how you get perfection – tips from the judges, in Liz Harfull's "THE AUSTRALIAN BLUE RIBBON COOKBOOK". Sister D. talks with Liz on belly today.

Yes well that was the plan, until the technology gremlins got involved, and none of my prepared recorded material agreed to play. So the interview with Liz Harfull will be on belly on June 23, but you can find the book details and a recipe from the book, using abundant in season passionfruit, at the bottom of this post.

Please tune in next week June 9 with Sister Michael, who will play an interview with Kerrie Turner, director of the Tweed Foodie Fest, about some interesting farm tours and other food lovers' events coming up on June 13 to 15, and again later in the year.

Or check out http://www.tweedfoodiefest.com.au/

I have a whole lot of pumpkin songs that I could not play either, waiting for you to come on belly with your pumpkin ideas. It is such a good value, versatile and great tasting veg, great in both sweet and savoury dishes. So if you are pumpkin mad leave a comment below and come on the show.

Ronit Robaz, of Open Table Catering, who has been a very busy woman, helping feed the protesters at Bentley, and participating in the fabulous one year celebration dinner at the Kulcha Jam Food Coop, did manage to battle the Byron Bay traffic and turn up, for a very informative chat on pumpkins. She has been cooking mountains of pumpkins at Bentley, they are also taking over her garden, so possibly in self defence she has come up with some very innovative uses.

The recipe below is the one Ronit prepared for the Coop degustation dinner, where a bunch of chefs gave their time and talents to produce an absolutely delicious celebration of local whole foods. There were many really creative ideas, here are a few for you to try. And obviously everything is in season right now.

– a mildly spicy green raw soup as a starter

– green jackfruit used as a salad vegetable

– sprouting brown rice – AND using it to make a focaccia, with black olives: it was very moist in the middle and seared crisp on the outside

– serving risotto on cooked field mushrooms – Anthea used sweet potato and garlic, you could try blue cheese, or lots of fresh herbs, tomato, or anything that goes with mushrooms – even more mushrooms.

– making a macadamia (or other nut) cream, flavoured with honey and citrus, to serve on the side of a cake instead of cream – or with a crispy biscuit

BUTTERNUT PUMPKIN PASTA WITH MACADAMIA SAUCE RECIPE – by RONIT, Open Table Catering

1 spiralised butternut squash/pumpkin
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cold pressed sesame oil
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
pinch salt/tamari

Combine all ingredients.
Massage all ingredients in a bowl and leave to soften.

Orange segments, cut supreme and diced in a small bowl and set aside.

MACADAMIA MIXTURE

1 cup macadamia nuts, soaked 20 minutes
1 & 1/2 tsp tamari
1 tbsp tahini (optional)
2 cups fermented veggies/cabbage
4 good sized shiitake mushrooms, stalks removed and sliced

1. In a food processor, grind the macadamia, tamari and tahini
2. Remove from the food processor and add fermented veggies, stirring in by hand, along with the shiitake strips

To Serve

1. Mix the macadamia mixture with the butternut squash noodles
2. Top with the orange pieces and garnish with micro greens.

BELLYSISTER NOTES – SUBSTITUTIONS AND OPTIONS GALORE

During the show, we talked about a spiraliser, which is the tool you need to spiralise veggies (surprise!). Which means to turn them into tubular strips. Ronit said you can also use a mandolin, or julienne them by hand.
If you have to use your hands and get a lot of sap on yourself, wash your hands not the pumpkin, you will wash flavour away.
The tahini isn't in the original recipe, as it did not fit the 100 mile brief, but Ronit recommends it.
You can use other types of pumpkin.
If you don't make your own fermented veggies, buy traditionally fermented ones from a market or health food shop. They add the acid note to the dish, and balance the richness of macadamias.
You can use almonds to replace the macadamias.
Ronit had mandarins, so she used them instead of oranges.
We are lucky enough to have fresh shiitakes here, but you might be able to substitute with dried ones, soaked. Not sure on that one, experiment!

MEANTIME IN THE BELLY LAB….

I've been having a mullet feast with my friend Robert, and managed to convert him to the joy of the mullet. Still dirt cheap and far from dirty tasting, and very good for you. And hard to overcook. Try a simple seared fillet topped with a raw veggie salsa.

We also had a smoke fest on the bbq. Our smoked mullet is still a work in progress, but smoked octopus is fab – best straight on the smoker so the skin gets a good hit of smoke and doesn't go mushy, as it did when we tried to marinate it.

And the smoked prawns were pretty good, both plain and after a simple oil/lemon marinade, they take a surprising amount of time to be just cooked in a hot smoking d.y.i arrangement, 15 minutes. (a rack over equal parts rice/tea/brown sugar, wait for it to smoke before adding fish etc, in a covered barbie). Happy experimenting.

BELLY BULLETIN

A judge in the WA Supreme Court has ruled against a West Australian organic farmer who claimed his neighbour contaminated his farm with genetically modified canola. Steve Marsh alleged he lost organic certification for more than half his farm after GM canola drifted onto his land from his neighbour's property. Mr Baxter, the neighbour, claimed he followed all regulations on buffer zones and notified his neighbours when he planted the GM canola.
The trial is believed to be the first of its kind in the world. Justice Kenneth Martin dismissed both common law causes of action against Mr Baxter – negligence involving the breach of a duty to ensure there was no escape of GM material, and private nuisance. Evidence at trial was that Roundup Ready canola swathes were harmless to animals, people and land unless the canola seed germinated in the soil and cross-fertilised. ‘There was no evidence at the trial of any genetic transference ,’ Justice Martin said. In 2011, eight GM canola plants were found and removed on the property and there were no others in subsequent years.
Justice Martin said there was no evidence of ‘any reasonable interference’ by Mr Baxter, who had used well-accepted harvest methodology, and he ruled Mr Baxter was not responsible for t removal of organic certification.
Slater & Gordon lawyer Mark Walter, who represented Mr Marsh for free, said it was a disappointing result and left non-genetically modified food farmers with no legal protection against contamination from neighbours.
Network of Concerned Farmers spokeswoman Julie Newman said farmers should never have been pitted against each other and urged the government to consider making legal changes to protect all farmers. State and federal governments have continuously stated that the solution to any GM contamination events is common law.

Check out ABC TV's Australian Story tonight (Monday 2 June, or online) for an insight on the world of reality TV cooking shows. Jules Allen, from Lennox Head, was a Masterchef contestant in 2013. She is a social worker and single mother who has fostered 29 children.
ABC online reports "She is clearly a very capable woman but she says her experience as a contestant [..] left her feeling like "a basket case"."
Ms Allen says : ""I think it's fair to say most of the contestants I kept in contact with found the hardest thing was the transition back into so-called normal life. "
Despite feeling bruised by her MasterChef experience, she acknowledges the doors that it opened. Her profile allowed her to pursue charity work, travelling to Cambodia to help abused women and children and working with Deborra-lee Furness as an ambassador for National Adoption Awareness Week.

Have a look at the Future Feeders– Growing young farmers from the ground up
The Future Feeders project is all about working to address the challenge around ageing farmers and lack of succession planning. It provides young people with opportunities in small scale farm management and ecological agricultural skills development. It helps them access land and move into careers in sustainable food production with an emphasis on our local food security. It aims to gather young people committed to feeding our community to be participating owner/members of a food production co-operative. The Future Feeders have launched a crowd funding campaign to get their project to the next level, including an educational facility to use as a base for an intern-ship program. To find out more go to the Future Feeders website: http://futurefeeders.weebly.com/

Finally, if you are thinking of heading away for the June long weekend, both the Mornington Peninsula and the McLaren Vale have food and wine weekends on, from the 7th to the 9th of June. Look for the McLaren Vale sea and Vines festival and the Mornington Peninsula winter wine weekend. Then call me if you need a food or wine taster. If you are heading to Sydney at the end of June – from Friday, 27th – to Sunday 29th Good Food and Wine Show is on at Sydney Olympic Park.

PASSIONFRUIT BUTTER RECIPE

by Cassandra, from Liz Harfull's "THE AUSTRALIAN BLUE RIBBON COOKBOOK", published by Allen & Unwin, RRP $39.99 out now

Ingredients

125 g (1/2 cup) passionfruit pulp
60 g unsalted butter
2 large eggs, beaten well
165 g (3/4 cup) white sugar

Method

1. Place the butter and sugar in the top of a double boiler and heat slowly over simmering water, stirring continuously until the butter melts.

2 . Combine the passionfruit pulp with the beaten eggs. Pour them into the butter mixture, whisking constantly until it is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.

3. Pour the passionfruit butter into small, hot sterilised jars and seal immediately.

Makes about 1 cup.

TIPS FROM THE COOK

You must not cook the mixture over a direct heat and do not allow it to boil or it will curdle.

The butter will only become really thick when it has cooled.

Make the passionfruit butter in small quantities as it will only keep for a few weeks. Always store it in the fridge.

TIPS FROM THE JUDGES

The butter should be smooth, with a creamy texture and the distinctive tang of passionfruit.
It must be of spreadable consistency and not too runny.

Consider straining the beaten eggs before adding them to the mixture to make sure they are well beaten and to avoid flecks of egg white in the butter.

Love and dark chocolate pumpkin muffins (I'm sure that would work),

Sister Tess

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 🙂