mysite blog

Welcome

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +1100

At last we can share our fantastic recipes and nutritional information with you, along with class dates and times, events, products and articles. This website has been created with you in mind, so please feel free to contact us with your ideas and feedback. We really hope you enjoy our site and look forward catching up with you at a class or two this year. So, until then, I will finsh this maiden blog with a few words from a really great chef I know! 'Buon Appetito' - Helen

Into the garden

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +1000

<img class="leftAlone" src="assets/Images/_resampled/ResizedImage259332-Melbourne-Late-Summer-2009-060.jpg" hspace="null" vspace="null" width="259" height="332" align="null" alt="" />It's that time again in Melbourne where everyone seems to be at the market buying seeds, seedlings and plants for the garden. I must say that this year people seem to be more keen than ever to get the garden blooming, most likely due to the devastation reeked by the blistering weather earlier in the year. There's no doubt that watching new life bloom in the garden is soothing to the soul, with every drop of precious rain appreciated for the life it brings. We are very fortunate to have a fairly large back garden where we've been planting natives and food for the last five years. Tony's Italian heritage shines through with his olive and citrus trees, and a new fig replacing the one that died in the summer heat. We also have a recently harvested pear tree, pomegranate and a white plum which gave us over 40 fruits this year! The whole garden has been swathed in netting for the last few months to protect the fruit from the birds and possums. I'm pleased to say that the parrots managed to hang upside down from the nets and help themselves, tapping away at the skins and flesh until only a sliver of a core was left. A happy medium seems to be reached where we can both enjoy natures offerings. The most extraordinary success of the year has been the strawberry plants, even in the hottest part of the hottest day, the dark green leaves felt cool to the touch and the sweet fruit shaded below just thrived from it all, they even grew in love heart shapes! (see picture above) We have five plants in a half barrel close to the kitchen so we can pour all the excess water into the soil, just perfect for a breakfast treat. New seeds and seedlings went in at the weekend, peas, broccoli and lot's of greens including kale, rocket and boc choy. Hopefully they were not too chilly with the cold snap yesterday and will manage to settle in to the soil and thrive. I feel very lucky to have a garden to enjoy, I spent the most part of 20 years living in apartment blocks so it's been an enlightening experience to plant and watch a garden grow. I've made myself hungry now talking about food so will pop outside and pick some wild dandelion leaves for the omelette I'm planning for lunch!

Feeding the world

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +1000

<img class="leftAlone" src="assets/Images/_resampled/ResizedImage216216-For-individuals.jpg" hspace="null" vspace="null" width="216" height="216" align="null" alt="" /> <h3>Fill the Cup Campaign</h3>These young boys are waiting to receive a cup of food from the the worlds largest humanitarian organisation, the World Food Program.  Last year the WFP reached over 102 million people in 75 countries, delivering over 3.9 million mega tonnes of food to hungry people. It costs just 25cents to fill one of these boys red cups and $1.50 will feed one of them for a whole week! When you think that every 6 seconds a child dies from malnutrition, it makes no sense not to support organisations that can reach out to those in need.  If you would like to know more about the inspiring work of the WFP, then jump on to the website <a href="http://www.wfp.org/">www.wfp.org</a> and take a look at the projects they are involved with around the world, many of which can be seen on video diary. If you would like to make a donation but are a bit strapped for cash at the moment, then jump on the 'free rice' website where you can donate food for nothing! <a href="http://www.freerice.com/">www.freerice.com</a> ;

Ooops I did it again!

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +1100

<img class="leftAlone" src="assets/Images/_resampled/ResizedImage269235-mince-pie.jpg" hspace="null" vspace="null" width="269" height="235" align="null" alt="" /><h3>It's two weeks after Christmas and finally I'm getting back on track, after a little too much culinary indulgence. </h3>I love all the delicious treats of the festive season but I do have a spectacular passion for mince tarts. I just love them and make huge batches that sit in the freezer, waiting for guests, or just pleasurable moments. They remind me of English Christmas' and open fires, brandy and cold nights. They are important in my life for these reasons alone. When it come to the silly season I, like many people, throw all dietary goodness out the window and indulge in all the things that I would normally have in moderation, or not at all. I love it and the week before Christmas Day is spent in an idillic swirl of baking, slurping and more baking. The joy of feeding people indulgent food is just too good to be missed, it is not the time or place for holding back.  But now the festive season is over and the Christmas tree is leaning against the back fence, shedding it's pine needles all over the hot and dusty garden. It's time to get back on track with eating well. The problem is that once you start with the sugar and fat, it becomes ridiculously addictive, and 'normal', 'healthy' food just doesn't seem to cut it. I find myself back in the place of having to wean myself off highly concentrated flavours and foods, just like I had to do at the very beginning, when I changed to a more wholesome diet. As usual my body gave me some signs that I needed to stop my gastronomic party. I started struggling to get up in the morning and stay awake until night, my head felt foggy and my digestion was off kilter. I actually wondered what was wrong and was in total denial that food had anything to do with how I was feeling. Yes, I know I'm a Naturopath and should instinctively know better but I admit, I still find it incredible that food can have such a powerful effect on our bodies and minds. So, I bit the bullet and stopped all sugar, dairy and wheat at the beginning of the week and I kid you not, within 24 hours I woke up at 6.00am as bright as a button and ready for the day. My mood has been slower to improve, as have the aches and pains in my body but they have and now I'm feeling enthusiastic and raring to go. The thing that has struck me about all this is that it only took such a short time for me to feel off balance and grotty and how little of the rich stuff it took to get me there. I wonder how many people feel the way I did and are also wondering why and not attributing it too what they ate. I would be interested to find out if others, after abstaining from holiday fare for a period of time, find themselves feeling as bright and light as I now do? I will certainly never give up on my Christmas traditions, these rituals are all part of what it means to eat well. Perhaps rich, delicious but ultimately un-healthy foods play an important part in the overall scheme of things, when enjoyed to there fullest, on special occassions and always with family and friends.

The Big Chill

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +1000

<img class="leftAlone" src="assets/Images/_resampled/ResizedImage181162-Tom-Soup.jpg" hspace="null" vspace="null" width="181" height="162" align="null" alt="" />I know, it's getting cold. There are a few brave souls still walking around in sandals, in the vain hope that the day will get warmer but for the rest of us, socks are officially on and boots are out and about. Apparently, because of my British origins, I'm not entitled to complain about the cold, should'nt you be used to it by now is the usual cattle call. But every year when those first few cold night's arrive, I never feel like I'm quite ready for them.  The blessing that arrives with these shorter days and chilly night's, is the novelty of the open fire once again and the return of my favourite foods. I just love soups, stews, and roasted vegetables, I guess you can take the girl out of England... Curling up on the sofa with a bowl of bramley crumble, hot from the oven, is just sheer exquisite pleasure.    I make mine with a gluten free topping which is light and wholesome. Simply grind up a handful or two of fresh nuts, I'm mad on hazelnuts at the moment, mix it with coconut or other gluten free flour and some desicated coconut if you like it. Then add enough rice bran oil and a tablespoon of maple syrup to make a crumbly textured topping. Sprinkle this over some finely sliced bramley apples, which have been doused in a little lemon and apple juice and sprinkled with cinnamon. Cover with foil and slow bake on a moderate oven until the apples have softened, then finish off without the foil to produce a crispy top.   Slip on some warm socks and share with someone special, guaranteed to warm your cockles, enjoy!

GM Foods

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +1000

<h3 class="RedText">Genetically Modified Foods in Supermarkets </h3> If you buy non organic foods from the supermarket it's very likely that a GM ingredient has been used in it's production, however this information may not end up on the label. When speaking to the supermarket representatives last week, they assured me that none of there fresh produce contained GM ingredients and all their branded products are strictly assessed and will be marked as containing GM ingredients if detected. However, we are advised to contact the supplier directly, as the supermarket cannot guarantee other products, both made in Australia and imported, are free from genetically modifed ingredients. I've since found out that only random testing of imported and locally produced products are done by the state and territory health departments, to assess for GM ingredients, so making a call is the only way to find out. Food Standards Australia state that all foods containing approved GM ingredients must be labelled by law. Derivaties of corn, soy and wheat are used to bulk up an estimated 75% of processed foods found on supermarket shelves and these just happen to be the most common genetically modified crops. However, I've been searching supermarket isles and products and have not yet seen a label that states the product contains GM ingredients, how can this be? Well there are exemptons to GE food labeling that are detailed in the fine print of the food standards document 1.5.2 which says that highly refined ingredients such as cooking oils, sugars and starches found in most processed foods, do not have to be declared on labels. Also, if less than 1% of GM material is found in each ingredient of a product, through cross contamination, this too does not have to be declared. Another loop hole is the identification of genetically modified feed given to animals. Approximately 80% of GM crops end up as animal feed so it's likely that non-organic chickens, eggs, yoghurt and even honey contain GM material, a fact that will not show up on the label. It is however currently illegal to sell animal meats that have been genetically modified. Recently COLES made a decision to stop GM feed going to chickens sold in their supermarkets and this decision was made due to public pressure. GM crops and ingredients have been approved for use in this country based on Toxocology reports provided by the multinational companies who create, patent and sell GM seeds. There is a distinct lack of adequate independant testing being done on the effect that these genes have on both human health, the environment and wildlife for fear of a price rise. So, what do we do if like the Europeans we decide to avoid GM foods? Ask the questions and suppliers will respond, there are many wonderful producers of food out there who are shunning GM ingredients, you just have to take the time to make a phone call and check it out. There is no way they GM crops can flourish if consumers will not buy them, it's as simple as that.  If we demand safe, fresh food then that is what we will get. Buying organic and biodynamic foods assures that GM feed and seeds have not been used, so if your serious about avoiding these foods you will need to transfer over to organic meats and dairy, which has been proven not to be as expensive as people think. One supermarket representative believes that most products in the supermarket will contain GM ingredients in the near future and certainly more and more crops are being grown in Australia every year. Once geneticaly modified crops infiltrate the biosphere they won't every go away and we will only be able to see the consequences of this experiment in future years when it will be too late to do anything. Next year there will be and independent review on the food labelling that will include how GM is identified, perhaps things will go the way of the Europeans where every GM ingredient and contaminated equipment used in the production of a product must be labelled. So until this type of transparency is available in Australia and adequate investigation of the effects of these gene foods are done, you may wish to avoid being part of a random uncontrolled or policed experiment and buy fresh GM free food. Remember every food we choose and ever bite we take has an impact on someone, somewhere, so make it the best choice ever. You can go to <a href="http://truefood.org" target="_blank">www.truefood.org</a>; for more details and print off chart that shows common products that contain GM ingredients, such as Freddo Frogs and Blackmores supplements.