More on stone fruit
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket and Fruit
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. These include fruit pickers and packers, transport business, and so on. A further $350,000 has been allocated to these people.
It is, of course, still unclear what affect this will have on fruit prices over the summer.
Broccoli & leek risotto
Posted by kathryn in Gluten-free, Vegetable recipes and Main courses
As I’ve said before , mid-week 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. In the evening I’m generally aiming to get at least three, if not four serves of vegies , so I’ve started putting together risottos which buck the normal trend and include lots and lots of vegetables.
This is a great dish for kids (and adults), that “don’t like vegies”. When I made this, I cut the broccoli up fairly small, so it would cook easily, but you could make it even smaller again. Then the zucchini and broccoli would just appear as little green flecks, in amongst the rice, barely detectable as vegetable. It’s a good strategy for getting the green stuff into your kids.
NB: As Richard is still away, I was cooking for one.
Brocolli&leek risotto
Serves
1
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small leek, wash well and cut into 1cm slices
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup (about 70g) brocolli, cut into small florets
- 1/2 zucchini, finely grated
- 1/3 cup (100g) arborio rice
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1/3 punnet (about 70g) cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon (10g) parmesan
Heat the oil in a pan on a medium-high heat and add the leek. Saute for 2 mins, then add the garlic and brocolli. Continue cooking for another 2 – 3 mins. Add the zucchini and cook for another 1 minute, stirring continuously to prevent it sticking.
While doing this, put the kettle on to boil.
Add the rice and thyme and stir to coat with the oil and vegies, for about 1 minute.
Turn up the heat and start adding the water 1/3 of a cup at a time. Gently stir the rice until the water is absorbed. Then add another 1/3 cupful and continue doing this, stirring frequently, until the rice is cooked through. I find the amount of water needed varies, but it will be about 2 cupfuls in total.
Once cooked, add the tomatoes and parmesan, stir through and serve immediately.
Nutritional information per serving:
- Total kilojoules: 1,987kJ
- Protein: 16.5g
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated fat: 2.7g
- Carbohydrate: 86g
- Fibre: 8.5g
- Sodium: 183mg
- Number of daily vegetable serves: 4
- Other nutrients: potassium, carotenes, iron, niacin, vitamin C, lutein, lycopene and other antioxidants
Poached eggs with asparagus
Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Vegetable recipes, Quick recipes and Main courses
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 some green beans, this is up to you.
I never had asparagus until I came to Australia, but have loved it from that first taste. I used to just steam it or add to stir-fries, however about three years ago I found this method, in Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian . By cooking the asparagus in only a few tablespoons of water, not a skerrick of flavour is lost. It’s still easy and makes all the difference.
I’ve always been a bit scared of poaching eggs, having tried many methods and had many disasters. No more, not since I discovered Orangette’s method and instructions. Follow them and you’ll have no problems.
This quick and easy recipe serves two people for a light lunch with some crusty bread, or you could split between four as a dinner entree.
Poached eggs with asparagus
Serves 2
- 2 bunches asparagus
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 70g olives (about 10), pitted and roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 4 eggs
Snap the woody ends off the asparagus.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and when hot, add the asparagus. Using tongs move the asparagus around in the oil until its completely coated (about 30 seconds). Add 3 tablespoons of water and cover the pan immediately (this will hiss and fizz a bit). Turn the heat to low and cook for 3 – 4 minutes. Add the olives and lemon juice, put the cover back on and put to one side to keep warm while you cook the eggs.
Poach the eggs for 3 – 4 minutes.
Place the asparagus and olives on two plates. Put the eggs on top and drizzle with any juices left in the pan.
N utritional information per serving:
- Total kilojoules: 912kJ
- Protein: 18g
- Fat: 17.5g
- Saturated fat: 3.8g
- Carbohydrate: 4.3g
- Fibre: 4.5g
- Sodium: 549g
- Number of vegetable serves towards your daily total: 2
- Other nutrients: iron, potassium, thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), folate , B12, beta-carotene, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin E
Oh no, not stone fruit as well?
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket, Health News and Fruit
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 is home to Australia’s largest tinned fruit processor – SPC Ardmona – and the region produces 75% of Australia’s apricots and 85% of its pears.
Warmer weather this year had meant the fruit was more advanced than usual, which is why the frost has come at such a bad time. Cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, and grapes in the Warby Ranges have also been affected.
Following a similar frost in 2003 an early warning system had been implemented. Farmers have frost alarms that go off when the temperature falls below a certain level. The SMH reports on one farmer:
He had begun spraying the ground with water below his 20,000 fruit trees. It was not an easy decision to make in a drought year, with water costing $430 a megalitre.
But moist soil acts as a heat bank, helping to keep frost away, and in addition they had placed between the trees hundreds of burners filled with peach seed brickettes, firelighters and saw dust.
“We had about six of us with flame throwers ready to set them alight to keep the place a bit warmer,” Mr Costa said. “It can work down to about minus one, but we got down to minus 3.4. It was too much. We lost everything.”
It’s not yet clear what exactly this will mean for fruit prices over the next few months, although with bananas still exy , it will be a blow if stone fruit is also pricey.
On a more happy note, apparently it is looking like a fantastic mango season.
The quickie pasta sauce challenge
Posted by kathryn in Vegetable recipes, Quick recipes and Main courses
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 be cooked in one saucepan .
For many people, pasta is their easy back-up meal. Cook some pasta, throw over a pre-made sauce and Bob’s your uncle. However, while I get the convenience of it, I’ve always found pre-made pasta sauces annoyingly over-priced and disappointingly bland. Also, if you’re simply pouring a pre-made sauce over cooked pasta, I hate to be a killjoy, but it’s not a very well balanced meal. It’s a meal that has too much starchy carbohydrate and nowhere near enough vegetables .
Hence the quickie pasta sauce challenge . . . is it possible to make a healthy, better balanced sauce, in the time it takes to cook the pasta and without getting too frenetic?
Well this is something I’ve been working on for a while and I’ve come up with a number of variations on a theme. In this one I’ve quickly roasted cherry tomatoes on a high heat and then tossed these with olive oil, herbs and lemon juice to make a sauce-y dressing, which is then tossed through cooked pasta. It includes enough vegies for your daily quota. Sprinkle over some pinenuts and ricotta cheese, for the protein part of the meal and you’ve got a well balanced and tasty dinner.
Follow the instructions in the order I’ve written them and it’s made in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.
Quickie Pasta&Sauce
Serves 2
- 1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes, washed
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 100g green beans, cut into 2.5cm lengths
- 150g broccoli florets (8 – 9)
- 200g pasta (I used rigatoni)
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons fresh ricotta
For the Dressing:
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- juice of half a lemon
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/3 bunch parsley (or English spinach), finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
Switch the oven on to 220C.
Toss the cherry tomatoes in the olive oil and put on a baking tray.
Put the kettle on, to heat up water for the pasta and while waiting for this, prepare the vegies.
Put the tomatoes in the oven (for 8 – 10 minutes in total).
Once the water is boiled, pour into a large saucepan, put on a high heat and bring back to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beans and broccoli to the pasta water and cook until the pasta is al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl. Once the tomatoes have cooked, add these to the dressing and stir to combine, slightly mashing the tomatoes as you go.
Once the pasta and vegies are cooked, drain and then toss through the dressing. Serve immediately with the pine nuts and ricotta sprinkled over the top.
N utritional information per serving:
- Total kilojoules: 1,980kJ
- Protein: 16g
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrate: 10g
- Fibre: 9g
- Sodium: 50g
- Number of vegetable serves towards your daily total: 3
- Other nutrients: lycopene , iron, potassium, folate, niacin, thiamin, beta-carotene, calcium
Cereal and muesli bars
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket and Snacking
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.
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 than a Mars Bar
- fourteen only met one of the criteria set by Choice
- one of them failed on every count – Nice & Natural Yoghurt & Nut Bars
- Sunibrite Muesli Slices have more saturated fat than a fried breakfast
- Kellogg’s K-time Muffin Bars have more than three teaspoons of sugar per bar
Also, as they point out, some of the fruit in these bars “owes more to chemistry than agriculture”.
The “strawberry flavoured pieces” in Nestle Ski D’Lite Apple and Strawberry are made from “strawberry puree 2.3 percent, apple paste, pear paste, plum paste, invert sugar, sugar, humectant (422), wheat fibre, gelling agent (pectin), food acid (malic acid), flavour (elderberry concentrate)”
And the “red cherry fruit pieces” in Uncle Toby’s Chewy Forest Fruits contain “fruit (red cherry purée (2%), apple paste, pear paste), invert sugar, sugar, humectant (422), wheat fibre, vegetable fat [emulsifier (soy lecithin)], vegetable gum (pectin), food acid (lactic), flavour”
What are the best choices
The top five cereal and muesli bar choices have less than 600 kilojoules and comply with Choice’s nutritional criteria:
- Nestle Ski D’Lite
- Fit & Active Grains Delight
- Coles Farmland Chewy Muesli Bars Choc Chip
- Nice & Natural Apricot Muesli Bars
- Uncle Toby’s Chewy Muesli Bars (apricot or forest fruits)
The cereal bars were assessed on their total kiloujoules, amount of wholegrains, saturated fat, sugars and fibre content. The full table of results is here .
More ways to eat fruit
Posted by kathryn in Fruit and Kid's nutrition
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 craving then have a piece of fruit first, before the lollies
- grate an apple and mix in with your morning muesli
- if you don’t want to fiddle about with fruit yourself, then try and buy a fruit salad each day
- if you’re craving something sweet after dinner then try a couple of dates, or a bowl of fruit with some yoghurt
- toast some fruit bread (or a fruit muffin), spread with ricotta, sliced strawberries (or blueberries or banana) and a drizzle of maple syrup
Any more suggestions?
October: what's in season - fruit
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket and Fruit
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 what is available is expensive).
So, the list of what in season is quite short:
- oranges are still really good at the moment and I’ve also been seeing blood oranges around
- mandarins are just coming to the end of their season – about one more month we’ll be saying goodbye to these little beauties
- grapefruits, including rubies
- tangellos
- apples – fujis, sundowners, pink lady, lady williams, golden delicious, red delicious and granny smiths are all in season
- nashi pears are coming to the end of their season
- pears – beurre bosc and red sensation are just coming to the end of their season
- strawberries, while not normally in season this early, are really cheap at the moment – I’ve been buying them for $1.49 and $1.99 a punnet. They’re not top quality, but are pretty good for the price.
- black sapotes or chocolate pudding fruits
- passionfruits
Bananas should be in season, but are still expensive – $12.99 per kilo as of last week. Come November grapes, the first stone fruit and probably cherries will be available.
How to eat more fruit
Posted by kathryn in Antioxidants, Fruit and Kid's nutrition
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 many, many antioxidants. Without 2 – 3 pieces of fruit per day, your diet will be lacking in key nutrients and antioxidants.
Easy ways to eat more fruit
- Only buy the fruit you like – if you think apples are boring, bland and tasteless, then don’t buy them. From my experience people too often spend money on the cheaper fruit, stuff they don’t really like and then end up throwing it away at the end of the week. This is not helping your fruit consumption, so buy the fruit you actually like.
- Put together quick and easy fruit packs for yourself or your kids to take to work and school.
- Use a variety of fruit and make it easy to eat. I quite like using the little snaplock bags, they don’t leak, can fit in lunchboxes, give a good serving of easy-to-eat fruit, plus they can be washed and re-used.
For example, a bag of strawberries or blueberries. Simply wash the strawberries and leave the stalks on, so they’re easy to pick up.
A halved kiwi gold (or normal kiwi fruit) with a little spoon, to scoop out the flesh:
Or even a bag of dried fruit. Dried fruit definitely counts towards your daily total and many dried fruits are higher in calcium, potassium and iron. My little bag contains 3 apricots, some dried apple and a date:
But you could just as well include a little packet of sultanas:
Alternatively a little plastic container of fruit is just as good, for example I’ve cut up some rockmelon here, into bite-sized pieces and left the skin on, again so they’re easy to handle:
Or a little fruit salad, combining fresh and dried fruit – this one includes rockmelon, strawberries and dried apricot. You could also include a small spoon or fork, again to make it easy to eat:
Tinned fruit is also good
Alternatively, if you’re fed up with fresh, why not have some tinned fruit? It still contains a lot of useful nutrients.
- Pick fruit that’s canned in juice, rather than syrup.
- I also avoid the snackpacks, as I think they’re a rip-off. Most only contain 52 percent fruit, with the rest being juice. This just adds extra sugars and kilojoules, rather than fruity goodness.
- Buy a full tin and portion it out yourself:
I’ve added some yoghurt, passionfruit and silver sparkles to this one, to make it more interesting:
Stewed fruit
At this time of year I’m usually completely fed up with apples. However the summer fruit is not quite in season and expensive. I often make a batch of stewed apples and / or pears.
- spoon this on your cereal in the morning
- or take it to work as a snack with some yoghurt.
What about fruit juice?
Fruit juice is okay as an occasional alternative to eating actual fruit. However, it’s not as good as eating the actual fruit. While fruit juice contains most of the vitamins and minerals of fresh fruit, you’re missing out on all the fibre. Plus, because such a lot of fruit goes into making one juice, they can be high in kilojoules, so drink sparingly and not every day.
For more information, take a look at my post: how healthy are juices.
Other uses
- You can also put fruit on your cereal in the morning – if you’re avoiding bananas, then grate up some apple, or use some tinned fruit.
- Apples, oranges, grapefruits, dates can be added to salads.
- Grated apple also goes well with cream cheese and sultanas in a sandwich (one of my personal favourites).
Another non-fruit eater contemplates converting to rockmelon . . .
Good Food Month
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket, Health News and 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 may suit. These include Rowie Dillon of Rowie’s Cakes demonstrating a three course gluten-free dinner party. Plus a whole series of classes for kids .
Saturday 29th October is the annual Sydney Food&Wine Fair at Hyde Park, fundraising for the AIDS Trust. Rebecca’s post this morning reminded me they’re currently seeking volunteers to help out on the day. For more information have a look at the AIDS Trusts website
Fruit Roll-ups
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket, Health News, Food Labelling, Fruit and Kid's nutrition
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 the knuckles for
misrepresenting their products . Instead of 65% fruit, roll-ups actually contain only 25% fruit paste and 2% apple juice concentrate, with the other ingredients being:
- maize
- maltodextrin
- sugar
- hydrogenated canola oil
- emulsifier
- food acid (citric and malic)
- flavour
- 3 types of colour
All of which is a far cry from being close to fruit. Further adding to the negatives of Roll-ups are:
- a very high GI of 99 (table sugar is 68), whereas actual fruit mostly has a low GI, providing more long-term and sustained energy.
- they contain very little fibre – a Roll-up has about 0.2g of fibre, whereas an apple has 2g
Kids (and adults!) need better snacks than that. They need foods that contain vitamins and minerals, as well as fibre, that provide sustained energy to keep them going throughout the day. In an ideal situation all kids would eat fruit, but I realise that sometimes its difficult to get fruit into the little ones, hence the popularity of Roll-ups.
I’m putting together some alternate fruit snack ideas, suitable for both kids and adults, which I’ll write up in a post tomorrow. Update: the info is here and here .
Food blogging by post
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 a good-sized Filipino community, a fair few Filipino grocers in Australia and my cooking is quite ethnically diverse , I’ve never tried any food from the Philippines. I’ve even had to email Andrea for some advice on how to use a couple of the foods.
The most exciting thing for me was the packet of jackfruit crisps. I’ve wrestled with fresh jackfruit before, inadvertantly getting covered with the glue-like substance it exudes, but I didn’t know they were turned into crisps.
The rest of the package includes:
- Cassava chips ((both sweet and salty, with a pretty pinky-browny border around the edge of each chip)
- Egg crackers
- Garlic flavoured crispy fried corn
- Jacobina biscuits
- A packet of instant Bihon Guisado (which is a noodle and vegetable mix)
- Chocolate rice porridge mix
- Choc-nut lollies (which are like eating slightly-chocolatey-set peanut butter)
- Choc mallows (chocolate covered marshmallow biscuits) – these look very similar to Tunnock’s Tea Cakes that I’ve had in the UK
So, thank you to Andrea for her considerate and intriguing parcel, I’ll blog some more as I use up the foods.
Supermarket shopping
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket, Health News and A Balanced Diet
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 to negotiate, as discussed in an article by John Newton in the SMH . Reporting on a book by US nutritionist, Marion Nestle, called What to Eat: An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide to Savvy Food Choices , the article discusses the best ways to shop and ensure you’re getting healthier products for you and your family (as well as saving money).
As pointed out, supermarkets are commercial enterprises, they are there to make money, a goal which can be at odds with your desire to buy good quality, healthy food at a reasonable price:
“Supermarkets have one goal and one goal only,” she writes. “To sell food and make a profit, and as large a profit as possible.”
Supermarkets provide good food that is fresh, convenient and inexpensive but, Nestle writes, “You and the supermarket are likely to be at cross-purposes. The foods that sell the best and bring in the most profits are not necessarily the ones that are best for your health.”
This is also reflected in findings by Choice magazine about the freshness of fruits and vegetables available in supermarkets, as well as the “tricks of the “health food aisle in the supermarket.
So it is up to us, as consumers to be a bit more shopping smart, to be aware of some of the tricks and make the best choices we can.
The article ends with some good suggestions on how to be a supermarket savvy shopper:
- Don’t buy anything with long ingredient lists. The fewer ingredients, the less processed the foods are and the less “junky”.
- Be sceptical of health claims. Breakfast cereals, for example, may have a daily serve of folate, but can also be full of sugar. Junk food is often fortified and packaged to make it sound better than it is.
- Don’t buy anything for children with a cartoon promoting it. If it needs “pester power”, it’s unlikely to be healthy.
- Power bars and vitamin waters give you several hundred calories – and sugar in a hurry. You might as well eat a chocolate bar or have a banana.
- Always shop on the periphery of the supermarket, where the fruit and vegetables, deli and fresh foods are likely to be. Spend less time in the centre aisles, where most of the processed food is.
- If you must go into the centre aisles, don’t buy anything with more than five ingredients on the label.
bq.
Annato Seeds & Asapao
Posted by kathryn in Blogging, Vegan, Legumes and Main courses
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 I discovered annatto seeds.
My first port of call for spice information is the book Spice Notes by Ian Hemphill and at first glance annatto seemed a disappointment. Its use in food is largely confined to that of a red colouring agent for fish, rice and vegetable dishes and taste wise it’s pretty boring – no big and exciting new flavour, no huge zing in the mouth, just a slightly earthy, slightly bitter, mildly peppery flavour. It’s certainly not a spice you’d hang a meal on. However, it does have an interesting history and is used in many different ways all around the world.
Annatto seeds are native to the Caribbean, Mexico as well as parts of Central and Southern America. During the seventeenth century it was also transported to the Philippines by Spanish colonists. It’s a pretty plant, having glossy heart-shaped leaves , large pale pink flowers (similar to wild roses), as well as prickly bright red seed pods , meaning it’s often grown for purely ornamental reasons. The seeds themselves look like fishbowl gravel and are a russet-red colour.
Annatto’s has a history of use as a red colouring agent both for food, but also non-food uses. In textile manufacturing it’s a primary component of the colour ‘ox-blood’; it was applied as red body paint by Carib Indians (particularly to the lips, hence one of it’s other names – lipstick plant) and now it’s an E-additive – E1606, which is becoming more popular as an alternative to tartrazine (E102). In the seventeenth century it was used by European chocolate makers to deepen the colour.
Annatto was also used as a medicinal plant to control fevers and dysentry. More recent research shows that its high in the carotenoid antioxidants , which ( like lycopene ) are responsible for its bright red colour, with the primary one being bixin .
What about food? Annatto is a component of achiote, where it’s mixed with oregano, cumin seeds, allspice and black peppercorns to form a paste that’s used in Mexican cooking. In the Yucatan area annatto provides the red colour in the marinade pastes recado rojo and adobo . It’s also a component of the sofritos that are made in the Caribbean. Whereas in China, it’s used to colour roasts and preserve meats. Then over in the UK annatto is used to colour cheeses, giving its orange-red colour to both red Leicester and Cheshire cheese.
Basically annatto can go with many different foods, because of it’s neutral flavour, although spice-wise it combines well with allspice, chillies, cumin, oregano, paprika and pepper. To use annatto, you can grind it together with other spices and mix this with a small amount of water and garlic to make a paste that can be rubbed on meat or fish. You can also make an infusion by simmering together 1 teaspoon annatto with 4 tablespoons of water, which can be used with rice or vegetables. The alternative is to make annatto oil, as I have done.
Annatto Oil
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup annatto seeds
Heat the oil and annatto in a small saucepan over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 4 – 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn or fry the seeds, they just need to gently infuse. Turn off the heat and leave to cool completely before straining the oil. Store in the fridge.
Asapao – Pigeon Pea&Rice Stew
Asapao is a soupy-stew from Latin America made with rice and vegetables. It’s usually made with meat, but in my version I’ve used pigeon peas. It would also work with tinned red kidney beans, if you don’t want to faff around soaking and cooking pigeon peas. This is a hearty, full-flavour one-pot meal.
Serves 2
- 1/2 cup rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 dried red chilli
- 1/2 red capsicum, chopped into 1cm dice
- 1/2 green capsicum, chopped into 1 cm dice
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely diced
- 1 tomato, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup cooked pigeon peas (or use red kidney beans)
- 3 tablespoons green olives
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 teaspoons annatto seed oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, roughly chopped.
Mix the rice and water together in a bowl and put to one side to soak while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Heat the olive in a large pan (with a lid) over a medium-high heat. Add the dried chilli and cook for 1 minute. Then add the capsicum, onion and garlic and saute for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the fresh tomato and oregano, stir to combine and then cook on for 2 – 3 minutes until thickened. At this point, put in the rice add the rice with its soaking water, the pigeon peas, olives, capers and annatto seed oil. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 15 minutes.
Stir through the coriander and serve immediately.
Bush tomato, spinach & mushroom risotto
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket, Vegetable recipes and Main courses
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 years. This seems a bit crazy and I want to know more.
I’ve been investigating bush tomato (also known as desert raisin or akudjara) this week. It’s from the Solanaceae family, so it’s a relative of the classic tomato and it grows in Central and Western Australia. The fruits are quite little and are a purplish-yellow colour when ripe, although they have to be dried before they can be eaten. Bush tomatoes have a strong place in the dreaming of the Warlpiri and Anmatyerr people of Central Australia. As with many native plants, bush tomatoes go crazy after bushfires – the fire stimulates them to fruit prolifically
Bush tomatoes have a kind of fruity, slightly bitter, sun-dried tomato mixed with a bit of caramel flavour, which means they should be good in both sweet and savoury dishes.
I really wasn’t sure what to do with them at first, but fortunately the back of the packet had a recipe for Bush Tomato Risotto. Given the multicultural city I live in, I thought this mixture of Italian and traditional Australian culture seemed appropriate. I have (of course) changed the recipe around quite a lot and I have to say, it’s really, really good. I loved the flavour given to the risotto by the bush tomato. It’s tomato-y, but there’s a whole lot more going on than just straight tomato flavour – the caramel and the sweetness really come through, especially in combination with the basil. I’m pretty chuffed with this dish.
I often use ricotta with my pasta and risottos, instead of parmesan – I like the creamy texture it gives, plus it keeps the saturated fat content under control. I also think this would work with a few pinenuts sprinkled through, for a contrast in texture.
Bush Tomato, Spinach&Mushroom Risotto
Serves 2
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons ground bush tomato (akadjura)
- 200g (1 cup) arborio rice
- 100g (1 cup) peas – fresh or frozen
- 1 litre hot water
- 100g mushrooms, stalks removed and cut in half
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- 1 large handful basil
- 1/3 bunch spinach
- 2 tablespoons fresh ricotta
Put the oil in a medium sized, heavy based pan and set over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and gently stir fry for 3 – 4 minutes, until softened. Add the bush tomato and stir, coating the onions for about 1 minute. Then add the rice and peas to the pan, continuing to stir and fry for another minute.
Add 1 cup of water to the rice and stir to combine. Once this is absorbed, add another cupful and keep doing this until all the water has been used up – this should take about 20 minutes. Add the mushrooms, tomato, basil and spinach. Stir through and cook for another 2 minutes, until the spinach and basil are wilted.
Serve immediately with the ricotta cheese on top and a green salad.
Nutritional information per serving:
- Total kilojoules: 2,050kJ
- Protein: 15g
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated fat: 1.8g
- Carbohydrate: 87g
- Fibre: 10g
- Sodium: 14-mg
- Number of daily vegetable serves: 4 (not including salad)
- Other nutrients: potassium, carotenes, iron, niacin, vitamin C, lutein and other antioxidants
What's in the box?
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 at the contents here .
Cinnamon scented egg, pasta and lemon soup
Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Soups and Quick recipes
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. It took me about fifteen minutes.
The quantities I’ve given here would serve one hungry person as a main meal, or two people as an entree / light meal.
Cinnamon-scented egg, lemon & pasta soup
Adapted from Vegetarian Pasta by Marlena Spieler (HarperCollins, 1995). Serves 1 – 2
- 3 cups weak, low salt vegetable stock
- 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 handful macaroni (c. 40g)
- 1.5 cups mixed vegetable, cut into small pieces (I used brocolli, green beans and zucchini)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- Juice of 1 lemon
Cooking the soup: combine the stock, garlic, cinnamon stick and pasta in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the vegetables and continue simmering for another 5 minutes.
Adding the eggs: take the soup off the heat. Mix the beaten eggs with the lemon juice, then add a ladleful of the hot soup, whisking quickly so the eggs don’t scramble. Add another ladleful of soup and continue whisking.
Then, pour the egg and lemon mixture into the soup and return the pan to the heat. Cook for a further 3 – 4 minutes, stirring continuously, until the soup slightly thickens.
Serve immediately.
Nutrition information based on 1 serving
- Total kilojoules: 1,349kJ
- Protein: 19g
- Fat: 10.3g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Carbohydrate: 34g
- Fibre: 6.5g
- Sodium: 231mg
- Number of vegetable serves: 3
- Other nutrients: potassium, beta-carotene, niacin, vitamin C, iron, folate, lutein
Kicking off the 3 week egg-fest
Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Legumes and Main courses
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
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 recipe slightly.
I found this recipe quite hot, but I’m a chilli-wimp. Feel free to increase / decrease the number of chillies according to your tastes.
I made up this full batch and had one serving with the eggs that night. I ate some more as a soup the next day, with a dollop of yoghurt and put the rest in the freezer.
- 300g split red lentils, washed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 dried red chillies
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 8cm of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1 onion, sliced into fine half-rings
- 1/2 tin tomatoes
- 8 hard boiled eggs, halved
- lemon wedges for serving
Cook the lentils: put the red lentils, turmeric and 1 litre of water into a heavy based pan and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and partially cover with a lid. Cook for about 40 minutes until softened and then add the salt.
Make the curry paste: While the lentils are cooking put the chillies, garlic and ginger into a food processor, with 3 tablespoons of boiling water and whizz together until smooth.
Cook the curry sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the onions and fry until cooked through. Add the chilli mixture and tomatoes and continue cooking for 5 – 6 minutes or until thickened.
Once the lentils are cooked, add this onion mixture, stir to combine and continue to gently cook for 1 – 2 minutes.
To serve: place the boiled eggs into individual bowls and pour over some curry sauce, leaving the eggs visible. Serve with wedges of lemon.
101 things to do with an egg
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket, The Micronutrients, Folate, Fat, Food & Health Myths and Eggs
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.
Nutrition information
Eggs contain good quality protein (about 6g per egg), magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), folate, B12, vitamin E and iron. They’re also a relatively cheap food, so you’re getting a lot of nutrition for your money.
Eggs have both a yolk and a white and they each contain different nutrients. For example the yolk has all the vitamins (A and E), thiamin and most of the iron, whereas the white is mostly protein and water (about 87%).
The yolk also contains all the fat, which is made up of a mixture of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated fats. More recently Omega 3 eggs have become available, which are produced by feeding the hens a diet rich in Omega 3 fats. Each egg contains about 110mg of Omega 3s, which is roughly 20% of your daily requirement.
Eggs & cholesterol
There has been concern in recent years about the fat content of eggs, in particular their levels of saturated fat and cholesterol and this has led many people to cut eggs out of their diet. However a bit of a reality check is needed here. One egg contains about 5g of fat and while this is made up of some saturated (about 1.5g), the vast majority is the more healthy unsaturated fat. Eggs are also free of trans fats and are an affordable and highly nutritious food. In the past year eggs have been given a Heart Foundation tick.
For most people, cholesterol levels are affected by their intake of saturated and trans fats and eggs are not going to be a problem. If you do have a cholesterol issue, then I’d advise checking with your health professional.
How to cook
Eggs can be cooked in a huge variety of ways from boiled through to scrambled, in cakes and pastry and so on. One of my favourite ways is poaching and Orangette has the best instructions I’ve seen so far, it’s right at the end of this post. Delia Smith has other more general information about eggs.
For more ways to cook eggs have a look at my egg archives.
Muesli
Posted by kathryn in The Micronutrients, Folate, A Balanced Diet, Breakfast and Quick recipes
As promised, here is the recipe for my home-made muesli.
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 in carotenoids and other antioxidants
- lecithin is good for your liver and gallbladder
- flaxseeds add Omega 3 essential fatty acids
All of that, plus it’s low GI, low in fat and tastes good.
Varying the recipe
It’s a VERY flexible recipe. Feel free to change it around as much as you want. I like variety and lots of textures, so I tend to use different grains, lots of fruit, nuts and seeds.
To save time I make up a big batch, using the quantities below. This lasts a good couple of months, stored in an airtight container.
As soon as I get up I measure out my muesli, pour over some milk and leave it to soak while I shower and dress. I then spoon over some yoghurt and fresh fruit, and eat it while reading the paper.
Home-made muesli
Serves: heaps
- 6 cups rolled grains – I often buy a five-grain porridge mix as the base
- 2 cups puffed grains – I buy a mixture of rice, sorghum and wheat
- 1.5 cups seeds – pepitas and sunflower seeds
- 1 cup nuts – I use almonds
- 1/2 cup lecithin granules – available from health food shops
- 3 cups dried fruit – I vary this around, but my latest batch includes raisins, dried apple, apricots and cranberries
- 1 cup ground flaxseeds
- 4 teaspoons (in total) spices – I use allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg
Combine all the ingredients and store in an airtight container.
The most important meal of the day?
Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet
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).
Hadar at Vegetable Adventures has been blogging about breakfast conservatism, which I’m certainly guilty of. While I’ll eat all different foods for the rest of the day, my breakfast choices are limited to cereal, toast, yoghurt, fruit and the occasional egg – which really shows up my British heritage.
However, I also like my breakfast to be a healthy choice, something full of nutrition and low GI. One of my favourite choices is my own home-made muesli. While there are many, many choices of muesli in the supermarket, ranging from the bland to the super-gourmet, making my own means I can have it just the way I like it. Most shop-bought mueslis are just not interesting enough for me – I like different grains, lots of nuts, a variety of dried fruit and lots of texture. Over all this, however, I want it to TASTE GOOD.
Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day and while I tend to think that all meals are important, breakfast is probably the most frequently missed meal. I see many clients who don’t eat breakfast, for all sorts of reasons – lack of time or hunger, or they complain if they have breakfast they’re hungry two hours later.
However studies have continually shown the importance and benefits of eating breakfast. From improved concentration throughout the day, to helping with weight loss , breakfast is also linked to reducing the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. If you’re not having breakfast, now is the time to start.
My personal top ten favourite breakfasts are:
- My home-made muesli with milk, yoghurt and some stewed apple
- Porridge with maple syrup and banana
- Left over brown rice mixed with yoghurt, sultanas and maple syrup
- Wholegrain sourdough toast with fresh avocado and sliced tomato
- Boiled egg and vegemite soldiers (!)
- Smoothie made with low fat milk, yoghurt, fresh berries and honey
- Baked beans on wholegrain toast
- Richard’s French toast
- Really good fruit bread toasted with ricotta and jam
- Sauteed mushrooms, tomato and spinach on wholegrain toast
If you’re not used to having breakfast, then why not start with a smoothie each morning. They’re easy to “eat” and you can whizz one up at home in minutes, using fresh or frozen berries, some low fat milk and yoghurt.
I’ve made a batch of muesli today, so I’ll post some pictures and the recipe tomorrow.
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29 September, 2006
