Get Wild with Australian Bush foods

Marketing is an amazing thing, focusing on eating non indigenous animals as a symbol of being Australian.. I'd prefer to market something truly Australian, bush foods.  Foods that have the fed the indigenous Aborigine's for thousands of years, as nomadic hunters and gatherers, they learnt what was safe and nutritious and what was to be avoided.  These foods flourish wherever you are, because they are indigenous to our soils and adapt to water availablity, soil type and structure.  And are something that we should all promote, enjoy and grow.
I have found a great site 'How to Grow Australian', they have lots of resources that will help you find indigenous stock wherever in Australia or overseas you may be.   On this Australia Day why not do something truly Australian and make a difference to your life, grow Australian....


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Feeling the heat

Its definitely heating up in Melbourne and what a blessing that is....that is of course if you can cool down. Do you know that nature has tailored seasonal foods to cool us down in the heat...amazing but true. 


Vegetables, try cucumber, leafy greens (except spinach), cooked beetroot, cabbage, celery, potato, sweet potato, sprouts, fennel, asparagus, beans, zucchini, carrot, artichoke, snow peas, coriander, broccoli, cauliflower, 
peas, rocket, watercress, lettuce, endive, pumpkin, kale, radicchio and parsnip.
Herbs, try coriander, mint and basil.
Fruits, of course watermelon, mango, cherries, lemons, oranges berries-blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, grapes ...anything high in water content

Interestingly these foods contain a high water content, which helps thin the blood  and release the heat...


Want to stay cool as a cucumber: AVOID salty and fried foods..


Why not relax with a Watermelon and mint juice or a Fattoush Salad, perhaps a lemon granita or some fresh homemade lemonade


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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.



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Salad Days

This divine Melbourne heat is the perfect time to eat fresh food in its most natural state, raw and preferably organic, but that doesn't mean boring.  Fresh raw foods provide your body with an optimal opportunity to absorb and utilise the vitamins, minerals and enzymes within the food.  If this is not enough they taste amazing too.
I am known in many circles as the Salad Queen I could live on them.. I virtually do most of the year, so for me salads need to be everything, satisfying, full of texture, appealing to the eye and most of all nutritious... Without further adieu allow me to give you just a taste of the 3 summer favourites at the moment.

Vegan Vietnamese Salad- inspired by food from a market stall food vendor I had here in Melbourne, I had to recreate it.  It's divine and full of amazing flavours.

Tomato Salad- if you have access to heirloom tomatoes , use these.

Fattoush Salad- this salad makes use of summer's amazing bounty with the addition of optional wholemeal pitta bread for texture.

For more super salad ideas, check out the website.

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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..


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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...

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THE ORGANIC DEBATE

It's truly this SIMPLE........the message again is to go ORGANIC


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