life on the farm

The rains have come, I have never truly known the value of rain, well that is before I became a farmer.  Rain is something I would dance for, it's so exciting particularly because we had so many autumn seedlings go in today.  

For those of you that haven't yet visited our farm, we like to consider it to be 'beyond organic', we don't practice monoculture production nor do we enlist heavy machinery to do all our labour, we have people.  Everything that we do is done by hand with love, rain or as Summer has dictated heat..and it is looking amazing.  

  

I am so passionate in demonstrating that growing food can be aesthetically beautiful, as well as functional and our food forest is a perfect example of that.  We are using time honoured methods of food production as well as utilising the wisdom of the present and our organic produce is divine for it.  Despite the continuing heat, our summer crops are still going strong, we have cucumbers, apple and lebanese, silverbeet, all the herbs, eggplant, tomato, pumpkins, corn, amaranth, beans, lettuce, rocket and so much more and I can't wait till we open it up and share it with you all.  In the meantime you can rest assured that you can't get any fresher than straight from the farm, this defines slow food.  Imagine when we have completed the whole farm, imagine when the majority of your food is harvested on the day you purchase it, this concept is virtually unheard of in this day and age...we are bringing it back. Absolute freshness and amazing health.

That is what I want for you..healthy people make a good world and good world makes for the best life, so get healthy, we have our last juicing chart available online this week, this is no 5 and looks at juicing peaches to plums and all the juice inbetween.

Download it here

If you are lucky enough to live in Melbourne, you can take advantage of our home delivery service all throughout Metro Melbourne or you can come and choose your own from our farm store at 138 Monbulk Rd, Mt Evelyn

If you are interested in learning some new skills in food production, why not volunteer on our farm, register your interest here

  

As usual thanks for your amazing support, we are so grateful to build an amazing world with you,

  

Angela and the team at Organic Empire XX

"

"If food was no longer obliged to make intercontinental journeys, but stayed part of a system in which it can be consumed over short distances, we would save a lot of energy and carbon dioxide emissions. And just think of what we would save in ecological terms without long-distance transportation, refrigeration, and packaging--which ends up on the garbage dump anyway--and storage, which steals time, space, and vast portions of nature and beauty." 

Carlo Petrini 

Organic food home delivery melbourne, organic farm, organic food, farm fresh organics

Pesticides and the Dirty Dozen

Have you tried some of our strawberries? They are so sweet and divine...and soooo good for your health.  It is so important to make sure that you eat organic strawberries whenever you can, conventionally farmed strawberries have been found with over 60 different pesticide traces, thats pretty scary.  In fact, there are many chemicals used on conventional produce that remain once harvested....strawberries are one of the worst.  The Environmental Working Group, a non for profit US group has released a foldable pdf, titled the Dirty Dozen, a list complied based on pesticide residues with recommendations for the most heavily sprayed crops. This can be downloaded HERE.  (Even though its from the US, its still relevant to us in Australia)   Back to the sweetness of strawberries , these little wonder fruits are one of the best sources of Vitamin C,  the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrient content of strawberries is simply outstanding. Studies have found that the intake of strawberries on aged animals increased cognitive performance and motor function. The studies I think are most interesting are the ones based on digestion with recent studies finding that strawberries can improve the digestive state of those with inflammatory bowel problems including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.     TRY THEM THIS WEEK Come into the shop this week for some great specials on strawberries and lots of other divine produce.  We also have tempeh, yoghurts and cheeses in stock. I hope that you have a sensational happy healthy week, thanks for all your amazing support Angela and the team at Organic Empire XX 'Right now, this moment is the only one we're guaranteed. We make lists and plans.  We think we know what we'll do tomorrow, next week, next month. But really...all we have is right now. All we ever have is one wonderful now after another. So in this one golden moment of precious life-pick the strawberries.' AUTHOR UNKNOWN   ORGANIC FOOD, ORGANIC FOOD MELBOURNE, LOCAL ORGANIC FOOD, ORGANIC FOOD STORE, ORGANIC FOOD SCHOOL, ORGANIC EMPIRE

Go slow eat some organic food

You know in our region, the Yarra Valley and the greater Melbourne, we have so many fine artisans, masters in their craft, that could rival any. We are so blessed to live where we live, to have access to some of the highest quality, nutrient dense foods in the world and we have a responsibility to our kids to preserve these producers for they are the ones that will save us all.  I know that I can be quite melodramatic at times, but its true.  Imagine, if your choices were to only purchase your foods from one of two stores, these stores stocking mainly mass produced, mass farmed foods, primarily fast foods....what do you think the future would look like...is that one where you are in control of your destiny... I don't know about you, but I don't think that scenario is healthy for anyone.  

 I know I constantly harp on about preserving food traditions, but its truly the single most important thing you can do for our food.  Cooking up a storm for your family and friends, does more than just fill the stomach, it fills the soul.  There is magic in a culture that values its food, and passes on this to their offspring.  These were the secrets of survival that stood the test of time and ensured starvation was kept at bay, and at least hunger was.  We are the first generation that mostly abandons this in favour of convenience and fast food, with research showing that our diet has changed more dramatically in the last 100 years than in the last 10,000 years of evolution.  Mostly not by choice, but need.  Our lives are so fast, that eating becomes refueling, more than it is enjoyment.  That's sad.  Make a stand, and make a change, you have the power in you!

It also so important to learn about where your food comes from, not only does this breed respect in the food (and reduces waste), but it also this connection that gives your food a face.  Meet some of our farmers here (this list is not complete, still awaiting some happy snaps of some of our other farmers;).

We are so committed to this, to fostering a community of people that want to learn, grow and share with the same common goal, to enjoy amazing food.  It's this passion, that drives us to create an independent space to foster this, our grocery lines in the store are produced from local artisans, our chefs, cooks and health professionals all local and committed to making your food the best.

So this week, we are going to go SLOW... FOOD, teach you how to make some sourdough culture for your bread, make biscotti, and a some other foods that have been around for centuries.  Join us on Facebook to learn more

Join us in preserving food, real organic food and place your ORDER NOW. 

FEEDBACK

Whilst we are on the subject of food...mmm am I not always, I was wondering if anyone has any special requests for cooking classes that they would like to attend at the farm.  Email us with your ideas...

IMPORTANT CHANGE

 Orders to the northern Suburbs, ie orders delivered on Tuesday's, will need to be made before 5pm Sunday's as of this next week.

  

THIS WEEK'S MENU

Ok so we had alot of requests for a high raw menu plan for this week, so tomorrow it will be available on the site.   

DON'T FORGET TO PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW.

GET A SMS REMINDER and BE ABLE TO TEXT ORDER  

Forgot to place your order??, register for our SMS reminder service and never miss getting the best organic produce delivered each week. REGISTER HERE.  Once you are registered you can then text through your seasonal box orders whenever you like.  How easy is that?  

DELIVERY DAYS

Don't forget that some delivery days and zones have changed, check here to see yours.  CHECK DELIVERY DAY/ZONES

  

To ensure you receive your delivery, why not ORDER NOW

  

WEEKLY PRODUCE REPORT

So the time has come, it is always pretty special when organic mandarins make an entrance into our lives, always right on time, when the Autumn variety of fruits tends to dwindle, these are the light. These are second picking, meaning that they are sweet and ready to eat.

We have fabulous ottway red potatoes...these are washed.  Yes its amazing.  These are a great all rounder potato too.

The organic leeks are amazing at the moment , flavoursome and huge.

Royal gala apples have now finished for the season, but don't despair it only gets better with Pink Lady apples being picked for us this week. Fresh from the trees.

  

 ORDER THEM IN OUR STORE NOW

Avocado, Apples, Banana,Fig,Grapes, Lemons, Nashi, Orange,Papaya,Pear,Plum, 

Artichoke
Asian greens,Avocado,Beans,Beetroot,Broccoli,Cabbage,Capsicum,Carrot, Cauliflower,Celery,Corn,Cucumber,Daikon,Eggplant,Kale,Leek,Lettuce,Mushrooms

,Onion,Onion, spring,Potato,Pumpkin ,Radish,Silverbeet, Spinach,Sweet potato,Tomato,Zucchini

 YOUR DAILY BREAD

    

  "You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself 

any direction you choose. 

You're on your own. 

And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...."

Dr Suess Oh! The Places You'll Go

We thank you for your support as always, we are very grateful that you are making your body healthier, your kids stronger and the world a better place to be.  

  

 Thanks you are awesome, look forward to serving you, have a healthy week

Angela Gioffre 

(Your nutritionist) and the team at Organic Empire XXX

Free weekly menu's, get super healthy. Organic ruby red grapefruit, great deal on garlic

So the weather's definitely alot chiller than I dare remember, especially here on the farm.  It really doesn't seem to warm up much more past -3 degrees, ok perhaps a slight exaggeration..This weather lends itself to slowing down though, it's the natural rhythm of this universe, when the temperature drops the activity slows.  Its at this time of the year that life goes underground, with the large majority of root vegetable flourishing, perhaps this is a perfect analogy of what happens to humans, its often at this time of the year we become a lot more reflective, refocusing and comforting ourselves with food.

We have been doing this already and have some fabulous things happening.

This week begins the first week our menu planners, completed, nutritionally sound and delicious created by our very own resident nutritionist....me.  We understand that life is busy and sometimes you just need some guidance, so every week we will have a new menu available for you to download and create a feast everyday.  This week's menu is a very light refreshing high green, high raw menu to start a fresh.  These menu's do not include meat, but if you enjoy meat, please add wherever, -except for in the smoothies and juices ;).

You can also purchase the menu box which comes complete with all the ingredients required to make this week's meals, great for 2-3 people.

In the next couple of weeks we will also have a new shopping experience, with a new shopping cart being installed on the store.  This will mean that it will be more interactive, which in turn makes it more functional and efficient.  This has been constructed with your feedback in mind and if there is anything that you think we need, email us.

Our store is coming along, we are just awaiting the kitchen now, it is being made from over 100 year old recycled floor boards, it is gorgeous and we can't wait for you to see it.  We have a fabulous line up of foodies, chef's, cook's who can't wait to share their magic with you either.  It's so nice when things come together, our aim with the store was to re-construct the disheveled interior with sustainable recycled materials as much as possible and we have quite successful in doing this, we polished the existing floors, after stripping back over 70 years of flooring.  Its going to quite a culinary experience.

DON'T FORGET TO PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW.

WEEKLY PRODUCE REPORT

We have amazing organic garlic from the Orbost region at a sensational price.  A great immune booster, and a sensational source of sulphur.

We have local organic watercress coming in this week, Organic Watercress is a member of the nasturtium family, which is the edible flower family.  Loved for its rather bitter and peppery taste.  Can be added to salads, smoothies or used as a garnish or flavouring. Powerhouse of nutrients, excellent source of  vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, E, manganese, and carotenes. It also a good source of calcium, fiber, iron and copper.

Organic Ruby Red grapefruit are in this week juicy and slightly sour.  If you are into grapefruit you will love them.

The organic cauliflowers are definitely coming into  their own, with the heads bright white.  Don't forget that you can eat the greens that surround the head.

 ORDER THEM IN OUR STORE NOW

YOUR DAILY BREAD

    

  "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

Confucius 

We thank you for your support as always, we are very grateful that you are making your body healthier, your kids stronger and the world a better place to be.  

  

 Thanks you are awesome, look forward to serving you, have a healthy week

Angela Gioffre 

(Your nutritionist) and the team at Organic Empire XXX

ORGANIC EMPIRE, LOCAL ORGANIC FOOD, ORGANIC HOME DELIVERY, ORGANIC FOOD HOME DELIVERY MELBOURNE

Putting LOVE into your food

This article written by our own Angela Gioffre, Nutritionist about the importance of putting love in your food.

Download it here

Beet the sugar

So in a time gone by, when mass farming, production and processing of our foods wasn't centralised to one area, when foods were not highly refined,....there was sugar beets, beta vulgaris var altissima.  


The desire for sweetness is an inbuilt one in humans, an innate understanding that sugar = energy in the form of simple carbohydrates, once broken down provide fuel for all the cells in the body.  (interestingly most big food companies know that, and that's why you find sugar as the main ingredient in most foods, even savoury ones.)

In the 18th century, scientists found that root vegetables, in particular sugar beet were sweet as 'sugar'. By mid 19th century most of the sugar in Europe was produced using beetroot.  Even Melbourne had a go, constructing a railway from St Kilda to Oakleigh that was to be dedicated to sugar beet production, finally Maffra in Victoria's east was the production mecca, that was until 1948.

Now most of our sugar (sugar cane) comes from South America, in particular Brazil with no commercial quantities of organic sugar any longer being farmed in Australia.  All of the commercial agave coming in from Mexico.  Sugar beets are still grown commercially, and Genetically Modified crops have been approved for cultivation...ouch.Why not make your sweetener at home??  Get local, get organic and get cooking....

Step 1.  Grow your own, we will have the organic sugar beet seeds available soon.(Organic Empire).
Step 2.  Plant in early spring and harvest in autumn.
Step 3. Add the leaves to your salad.
Step 4. Wash and chop, slice or grate beetroots finely.
Step 5. Cover with water and simmer till soft and tender, this is usually around 30 mins.
Step 6.  Strain beetroots and RETAIN the water, this is your sugar syrup.  Do not discard the beetroots instead using in a salad or for preserving.
Step 7. Return the beetroot water to the stove and simmer till liquid thickens up and produces the syrup.  Remove from the heat.
Step 8. Cool then place in a container.  This beetroot juice/syrup over time will then crystallise just like honey does.  As this process occurs its important to break them up and over time forming sugar crystals. Or you can further reduce syrup so that this process is sped up, and this is done by cooking for longer until the crystals begin to appear.

NB You can just use from Step 7 as a sweetener in a syrup form.

100kg fresh sugar beet can give 12 - 15kg sucrose, 3.5kg molasses, 4.5kg dried pulp and varying amounts of filter cake.

Bearing in mind that even though this sugar is made from beetroot, its still a sugar just like any other sweetener and has the same effect on the human body, raising blood glucose, providing simple pure carbohydrate to our bodies... this is not the best, so like everything in life use in moderation.

Thanks to Lorri for opening up the conversation.



ORGANIC EMPIRE, LOCAL ORGANIC FOODS, ORGANIC HOME DELIVERY MELBOURNE, ORGANIC FOOD, ORGANIC DELIVERY MELBOURNE

Growing Change

So I often don't get time to watch much Television, which I think is quite a blessing.  Occasionally though I will sit, rather hesitantly to watch some amazing shows... Growing Change is one of them.  I thought it necessary to open the conversation....
What do you believe in?  Do you believe that humans and life on this planet are meant to thrive without mass corporations controlling our world...with people in charge of our most important commodities...us and our lives

Do you think that humans are capable of producing their own food?? Do you think that we are capable of pure health I do, do you think that our food need to be grown with oil based fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides I DON'T..I believe in clean food produced by people; farmers .
Why do we poison our waterways?, make extinct so much life?  think its ok to patent our food, to create sterile seeds? to genetically modify our foods?  Why do we give control of our lives to mass corporations that grow our food with chemicals that make us sick then medicate the masses with more toxins.
I believe that we can live the best life with good clean food, grown organically, I believe that we can change, that everyone can have access to food, health giving food...
When people are healthy, they think better, with clarity, we can create a new world, one where hunger and famine don't exist, free of disease, full of possibilities....let's get to it!  Lets get informed, speak up, connect with others, eat well, feed those you love well with organic fresh produce..


ORGANIC EMPIRE, ORGANIC HOME DELIVERY MELBOURNE, LOCAL ORGANIC FOODS

SUN DAMAGED.. Saved by the ...carrot

Not just rabbit food...Did you know that you can boost the bodies ability to heal and repair with organic foods... the magic word is 'antioxidants' and carrots contain an antioxidant called beta carotene which helps the skin retain moisture, repairs cells after damage and wait for it also increases the bodies natural sun protection factor, otherwise known as SPF.

What are you waiting for, make like a rabbit and munch...

ORGANIC EMPIRE, LOCAL ORGANIC FOODS, ORGANIC FOOD HOME DELIVERY MELBOURNE