Posted by kathryn in Fruit and Spring

Reports today on the ABC confirm that about 50% of Goulburn Valley’s fruit crops were destroyed in frosts on Sunday night, primarily apricots and pears. Cherries and stone fruit in the Warby Ranges have also been affected, Steve Bracks, the Victorian Premier announced there will be $4.9 million for frost and drought affected farmers. And of course, it’s not just the farmers themselves affected, all the other workers and businesses that rely on the fruit harvest, have also been hit. …

Read more No comments 29 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Recipes, Grains, Dinners and Spring

As I’ve said before I love a one-pot meal. To be able to make a healthy, quick meal and only dirty one saucepan, is a good thing. Which makes risotto a good option – everything goes in together, to make a beautiful rich and creamy textured meal. However, for me, most risotto recipes just don’t include enough vegies. One way round this is to serve it with a salad, but sometimes I just want one bowl of steaming risotto goodness. …

Read more 1 comment 29 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Eggs, Recipes, Dinners and Spring

I’m gradually making my way through the glut of eggs, by adding them to salads, making lablabi , having them for breakfast and so on. My latest Lettuce Deliver box contained the first asparagus of the season, which is always an exciting addition – tangible evidence that summer is on its way. To celebrate, I put together this little concoction, which really lets the asparagus shine. The bunch of asparagus was quite small, so I bulked it up with …

Read more 3 comments 28 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Fruit and Spring

Frosts have destroyed much of Goulburn Valley’s pear and stone fruit harvest. Reports do vary, but at least half the region’s 300,000 tonnes of fruit has been wiped out. All of the apricots are gone, the pear crop is severly affected, while many smaller growers have also lost peaches, plums and nectarines. So far the damage is estimated to be at least $70 million, although the Victorian government has decided against declaring it a natural disaster area. The Goulburn Valley …

Read more 2 comments 27 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Recipes, Grains, Dinners, Spring and Dairy

I love cooking. Spending some time concentrated on beautiful ingredients and making a meal that both tastes good and is also healthy, is how I unwind. However, like most people, during the week I don’t want to faff around too much. If I can make something in 30 minutes and more importantly make minimal mess, then I’m happy. The ultimate mid-week meal for me, is one that contains all my food groups, including plenty of veg and most importantly, can …

Read more 3 comments 26 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Snacks

News in the herald this morning of a Choice report into cereal and muesli bars. While they’re easy and convenient – they aren’t a great snacking choice. h3. What’s wrong with cereal bars? While cereal and muesli bars are often marketed as healthy, they’re rarely a good snacking option. Choice found: * most contain more than 20 percent sugar * some have more saturated fat than a packet of chips. Of the bars Choice tested * seven contained more kilojoules …

Read more 2 comments 26 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Fruit

If fruit is still a problem for you, then why not: * make smoothies – put some berries in a blender with milk, yoghurt and ice and then whizz together * make a fabulous fruit salad – cardamon citrus fruit salad , summer fruit compote , or what about a dried fruit salad ? * use in salads, like a smashed green olive&grapefruit salad , or roasted beetroot salad with blueberry vinaigrette * if you get the 3 o’clock sugar …

Read more No comments 25 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Spring

Having blogged about ways to get more fruit in your diet , one thing I left out is the importance of buying what’s in season. It means you’ll be getting the greatest value for money and will be eating fruit at its peak – when it’s tasting the best. This is not the most exciting time of year for fruit – most of the winter crops are coming to an end, while the summer fruits are not quite ready (and …

Read more No comments 25 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Easier eating and Fruit

Yesterday I blogged about the problem with Fruit Roll-ups , as a snack and a source of fruit (they’re not). So what options does that leave, for those fussy non-fruit eaters out there? It can be hard to get some kids (and also some adults) to eat fruit, with complaints ranging from taste, through to fruits too messy. However, fruit is an important part of a healthy diet – it gives us vitamin C, valuable fibre, potassium, as well as …

Read more 2 comments 23 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Ethics & Sustainablity

Good Food Month is nearly upon us – from the beginning of October Sydney will be a hive of foodie activity. This year there is a sustainable / ethical eating theme running through a number of events – from Neil Perry’s Ethical Dinner at Rockpool , through Becasse’s organic degustation menu, as well as farmers’ market tours and the Hawkesbury farm gate trail . If you want to improve your kitchen skills then a ""hands on" class":http://gfm.smh.com.au/eventcategory_list.asp?intcategoryid=15 may suit. These …

Read more No comments 22 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Fruit, Junk Food and Labels & advertising

Fruit Roll-ups are flat strips of sticky, violently coloured, chewy stuff. They’re sweet, but don’t really look, smell or taste like fruit. Roll-ups are heavily marketed to both kids and parents as a tasty snack, made of real fruit and therefore a good alternative to packing a piece of fruit in lunch-boxes. However, as I’ve said before, you really can’t believe everything food manufacturers tell you and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has just rapped Uncle Toby’s on …

Read more No comments 22 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

My Food Blogging By Post (FBBP) parcel arrived this morning – all the way from Sugar Cocoon in Los Angeles. Andrea is originally from the Philippines and so her parcel contained an assortment of Filipino goodies. This is my first FBBP and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was hoping for some foods or ingredients that I’d never tried before – something new to play with. Well my parcel is exactly what I wanted. While there is definitely …

Read more 1 comment 21 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Miscellanea and Labels & advertising

While I avoid supermarkets most of the time, by getting vegetables delivered, going to growers’ markets, as well as local shops and delis, I realise I’m in a lucky position. I live in the inner city of Sydney where there are small shops and grocers within walking distance, so it’s easy to pick up a few items on the way home. For most people, because of location or time, supermarkets are the only option. However supermarkets can be difficult places …

Read more No comments 19 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Recipes, Dinners and Vegan

Annatto seeds – have you ever heard of them? Well I hadn’t, until this month’s Tigers & Strawberries Spice is Right challenge, called Back to School. The aim is to use a new spice, one you haven’t tried before or don’t know a lot about. My highly technical spice selection process involved going to my favourite spice shop, starting at the beginning of the alphabet and picking the first spice I hadn’t heard of, which didn’t take long as …

Read more 1 comment 16 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Recipes, Grains and Dinners

Since cooking with wattleseeds for the Spice is Right food blogging event and then finding lots of other ways to use them, I’ve been thinking more about Australian native spices. While I regularly cook foods from around the world, I’ve never used these home-grown flavours and spices before. I’m comfortable cooking Indian, Italian, Greek, South American, North African and yet I don’t know where to start with foods that have been grown and eaten in Australia for thousands of …

Read more No comments 12 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

A mystery parcel . . . no, it’s not for me, this is my Food Blogging By Post parcel. Organised this time by The Happy Sorceress , FBBP is a worldwide event where foodie parcels get swapped around the world by bloggers. This is my parcel that’s heading off overseas . . . _Update: and my parcel has arrived – it was sent to Andy of rightee.com – glad you like the package Andy.  You can have a look …

Read more 1 comment 11 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Recipes and Soups

I’m in the middle of a three week egg-fest. My normal egg repertoire is limited: omelettes and frittatas. Plus I often add a poached or boiled egg to something, to bump up its protein content. However, when you have three dozen eggs in the house, it’s time to try something new. I found this recipe in an old, old cookery book that I hardly use anymore: Vegetarian Pasta by Marlena Spieler. It’s similar to the Greek egg-lemon soup called avolgemono. …

Read more No comments 11 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Legumes, Recipes and Dinners

As I mentioned, I have a lot of eggs in the pantry at the moment. For the next three weeks I’m going to be eating a LOT of eggs. Which is fine, because I love eggs, plus . . . they’re very good for you. Here is the first of my egg-fest recipes h3. Hard boiled eggs in red lentil curry sauce Serves 4 This is an Anglo-Indian recipe adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Ultimate Curry Bible. I’ve simplified the …

Read more No comments 09 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Fats & oils, Nutrition and Myths

Through a variety of circumstances and shopping errors I’ve ended up with over three dozen eggs in the house. They’re all lovely fresh and organic, but Richard is away and I’m thinking that’s a LOT of eggs to get though by myself. I HATE wasting food, so expect a few egg recipe posts over the next couple of weeks! Fortunately I’m a great admirer of the egg, they’re such a perfect little nutrition pack, easy to use and highly adaptable. …

Read more 2 comments 08 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast and Recipes

As promised, here is the recipe for my home-made muesli. h3. Why have muesli for breakfast? This muesli is a great way to start the day: * the combination of grains contain potassium, magnesium, iron, fibre and protein * the nuts and seeds add more protein, potassium and magnesium, as well as zinc, folate and Omega 3 essential fatty acids * the dried fruit provides iron, yet more potassium and fibre, while fruits like apricots and cranberries also add …

Read more No comments 07 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, sorry about that – I’ve been visiting the whales up in sunny Hervey Bay, but I’m now back, I’m cooking and thinking about brekkie. I’ve never been one of those people able to miss breakfast. Without breakfast I’m both vague and stroppy at the same time, which is not much fun (for me or the rest of the world). h3. What do I look for when choosing breakfast? Hadar at Vegetable Adventures has …

Read more 7 comments 06 September, 2006