Whole Food Cooking

I'm Ready

2012-01-28T12:42:00.000+08:00

CRICKET SUMMER HARVEST QUINICHE (quinoa + quiche)

This is the holiday photo that I love - it's the evening of my Godfathers 80th birthday at Rottnest just 1 (probably 2 weeks by now!) week ago. It is filled with people I love - my beautiful daughter Nessie, my gorgeous cousin Fran and her children - Josh, Zac and Charli - Jane (they of the Wholefood for Children dedication). We all got time to spend together (Fran and children live in Melbourne) and I got to see extended family that I haven't seen for years. You can see the Rottnest homes are very simple - but what does one really need anyway? The picture reminds me of how I came to feel whilst there - I slowed down and did indeed knit soul and mind together. If I was a wool scarf, I would be truly coloured with deep and vibrant hues (no washing out) and no dropped stitches or odd bits - I think the scarf could be called beautiful. I feel calm and strong. I feel clear, whole and vital.

And I did read Joel Salatins' new book "Folks, This Ain't Normal - A Farmers Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People and a Better World" - in a word, loved it. Get it. My favourite bit....

" Long after the final i-gadget has been discovered, we'll still yearn for hugs, kisses and personal conversation. When we've travelled to the last exotic place and finished participating in the last recreational or entertainment venue on our list, we will want a haven and we will call it home".

And with apologies to Joel (not meaning to plagiarise him) I would say this...

Long after we've achieved everything we have on our list, long after we've tried to do it all and skipped meals, grabbed a snack on the run or eaten the latest, fastest, 30 minute or 4 ingredients only meal, or thrown a frozen meal in the microwave, we will still do best - and indeed thrive - with whole and real food, and we will still yearn to slow down, to come home to the welcome smell of food cooking, and to sit with people that matter and talk, share and eat.

The food we eat, the way we eat it and the pace of most lives today are just not normal. Certainly, yes people have worked very, very hard over the centuries and years, but they also understood the need for food as fuel, how food connects you to the earth (and the heavens I would add), when to stop and how important real, good and whole food is. They stopped and ate - and most often in some sort of community. This 'normal' that we see now? The prevailing view that skipping meals is fine, eating carbohydrate, sugar and caffeine drinks all day is fine? That good and true fats are evil? That's not normal and good food should come before the heading out of the home for the job, or sending the child of to school, and a piece of bread with jam is not breakfast. I know this has always been at the very core of my work, but Joel triggered for me a slightly different way of seeing it - the un - normalness of it all (if that indeed is a word).

This year? This year I'm going to focus on what's normal, and that's cooking real food and making time to eat it. To help you get back into the kitchen given everything that is going on - I know realistically that there are time constraints - indeed one of the most often requests I get is similar to this " how to survive the busy days". This is the work at hand.

I've gone on above because at Rottnest I began to feel normal again - but I suspect that when soul and mind are together, things feel right - normal. I'm going to hang on to that thought and feeling. I suspect the trick lies somewhere in stopping long enough to slow down just a little, and ensure that you have that space each day... and good food to fuel you each day. It's a true thing that when the body has the appropriate fuel, life, work, stress and everything is so much easier. It's funny how when a feeling surfaces, others pick it up too - you might also love reading Shauna James Aherns' blog on Going Quiet - there's a lot of wisdom there.

So 2012, life - I'm ready to dive in....

Zac and Nessie pitting the box of cherries and Santa Rosa Plums

Super Sized Trifle - the large baking tray was the only thing I could find to put it in, and it worked a treat - who says you need to spend a fortune on a glass trifle bowl ?

So, to the food.
Because it was a special occasion, I wanted to make dessert - trifle is perfect for this and it's a favourite, but it also reminds me of my Aunt Biddy (my godfathers mother and my aunt) who (as a single mother - her husband died after the war - and full time teacher) always presented the most fabulous table and trifle, at family gatherings in her home. She always found the time. It was my way of feeling she was there. The day before I made a proper berry jelly - I'm fussy about the gelatine I use and prefer the Bernard Jensen - it's made from healthy cows - I wouldn't touch anything else. You can get it here. I also added a slosh of the French Liqueur Chambord - traditionally made from red and black raspberries, oh my, it's so good - I also used it liberally on the sponge. Next step, I made a classic pastry cream (with lots of vanilla seed) and folded whipped cream into it. I layered it with a gluten free genoise I had made, the fruits Zac and Nessie had seeded, good sloshes of Chambord, jelly cubes and topped with the pastry cream and sprinkled with toasted almonds. No one complained.

Recipe Testing at Rottnest - Scones for Afternoon Tea

Back on the mainland, home and to the recipe for this blog. I needed something for a very hot summer evening, portable for the cricket. I had zucchini, rainbow chard, onion and basil in the garden. Eggs in the fridge and some cooked quinoa.

The End Result - Cricket Summer Harvest and Quiniche (get it ? - Quinoa = Quiche :) )

It was quick and simple (fits the time issue perfectly) - having said this I did have some quinoa already cooked in the fridge - but that is the other thing - make extra - because it's only going to save you the next day. That's not the best example in the photo above - I overcooked it - the eggs cook quickly - too long and it can be a bit dense, but it was still delicious. Extra delicious with a tomato relish. Lots of vegetables, egg and quinoa giving it a bit more nutrient density. It's not a huge recipe , so you may want to double it (3 of us woofed most of it down with salad).

CRICKET SUMMER HARVEST QUINICHE
Gluten Free

This sliced brilliantly, and was sturdy enough for me to grab a bit the next morning to eat in my hands whilst I watered the garden (= great for lunchboxes).
I used medium sized chard leaves - you may need more if they are very young. Include some of the stem, but not too much. Err on the side of using your fingers to feel that it is just cooked through, and if you need to put it under the grill (broiler) to brown the cheese.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil + extra for brushing on baking dish
small knob of butter
1 medium onion - finely chopped (mine was red, but anything will do)
3 - 4 medium leaves of silverbeet or rainbow chard - washed and sliced, stems chopped
2 cloves garlic - finely chopped
2 zucchini /200gm grated
sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
big handful fresh basil, roughly sliced
100 - 200 gm fetta, crumbled
1 cup cooked quinoa
3 eggs
Grated cheese to top - I used a cheddar and some parmesan

Gently heat the olive oil and butter in a medium frypan. Add the onion and chard stems, cook for 5 minutes or so over a medium heat, or the onions are becoming translucent, stirring from time to time. Add the chard leaves, garlic, zucchini and a good pinch of sea salt - cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then or until the zucchini and chard have released all of their waters. Then increase the heat and cook until the water has evaporated off and you can give them just a little fry to develop the flavour. Add the basil and stir through. Because I couldn't be bothered to wash the pan I set this aside to cool, and added the rest of the ingredients to the frypan. But if you need it sooner, you'll need to turn the mix into a bowl - the pan will be too hot and cook the eggs. Leave until the vegetable mix has cooled a little and add the fetta, quinoa, eggs and season to taste with extra salt if needed and the pepper.

Lightly oil a 20cm dish (I used a china one) now - don't do it too early or the oil will slide down the dish. Add the mix, spread evenly and top with the grated cheese and parmesan.
Bake in a moderate oven (180c - from 150 - 165c in a fan forced oven) for 10 - 15 minutes or until the egg is set. If the cheese is not golden enough, pop it under the grill.

Off on Holidays

2012-01-10T14:12:00.000+08:00

HELLO 2012, I'M NEARLY READY TO DIVE IN

Jen's pretty picture of the gluten /dairy free Cocoa Nib and Hazlenut Cookies

Nearly ready, but not quite. Still re- connecting mind and soul, not wanting to make any decisions whatsoever (way too hard) and still feeling not quite whole. And that's what it's all about really isn't it when it comes down to it? Being whole. That word is a big one for me and sums up my approach and beliefs to most things - my work is not called ' wholefood ' by mistake :) ! A whole life, expressing soul on the earthly plane is my interest, but I don't think you'd call me new agey at all. I just have this thing for beauty and feel very close to 'god or the universe' when I'm around it. And what's beauty for me? Something real, something true. But enough of that - this is a short post to say that other than knitting mind and soul together, I've been recipe testing and getting the garden ready for the heat. That's the cucumber and zucchini bed below going nuts - there are at least 30 baby cucumbers that will be ready next week !!

I had quite a few recipes that needed some checking - small things like how much ganache do I need for the cookie batch below and thus it goes.

A closer look at that delicious dairy free chocolate ganache

We are off to Rottnest for a week's holiday - lots of amazing fresh ocean air, and walks by the beach I suspect and lots of time for that knitting (mind and soul). The books I've packed? Joel Salatins' new one "Folks, This Ain't Normal" and Novella Carpenter's new one "The Essential Urban Gardener" (I love her first book " Farm City"). I also want to take the time also to re - evaluate what I want to express this year and how best to do that, so when I come back I'll be ready to dive in to my life in 2012 - with consciousness, vitality, joy and beauty - I'm know that's an easier thing when my mind and soul are equally balanced.

Cupboard (or Garden) Love Quick Beanie Mix ready for cooking - the yellow bits are heirloom carrots

But a recipe before I go - this is something quick and delicious to throw together. I've made mine above with what was in the garden, and cheated (using canned beans). But not just any old canned organic beans thankyou - I prefer the Eden Organic beans (black in this case) as I know they are soaked, cooked with Kombu and come in a BPA free can (this will link you to the American site, but in Australia are imported by Spiral Foods.) More expensive yes, imported yes, but they are a rare fall back position.

I'll see you soon - hope your knitting is going well too.

QUICK BEANIE MIX

I use what I have around in the garden - spring onions, beetroot and carrot. It doesn't matter if you don't have carrots - anything goes. If you don't have beetroot, replace them with an orange sweet potato (just a bit) - it's role is to sweeten the tomato. If using fresh tomato, it's tempting to add more water in the beginning, but don't add too much or you will dilute the flavour. Just put a lid on the pan and give them 20 minutes over a very gentle heat to sweat out their juice, then continue on. Find a good chilli powder - I like a touch of chipotle and the new mexican red. You might need to look around for a shop with a good range of chilli but it's worth it - certainly Essential Ingredient in Australia stock them. If I've got any coriander (rare at this time of the year), I'll throw that in but don't shy away from basil, of which I have lots. There's no rule that says you couldn't add some chard, silverbeet or kale towards the end either. Serve as desired (nachos are good), sour cream, avocado and I love the Australian Harvest (organic) sweet chilli sauce - sorry, couldn't find a link for it, but many stores stock it. Glorious stuff.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion roughly diced
2 carrots cut into 1 cm dice
2 medium size beetroot cut into 1 cm pieces
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon good quality chilli powder, or to taste
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 x 400 gm can pinto, borlotti or black beans, rinsed and drained
1 x 400 gm can tomatoes, or fresh to equal
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1cm dice

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the onion, carrot and beetroot. Saute over a gentle heat for 5 minutes. Add the cumin, chilli powder and garlic, stir well, then cook for a couple of minutes.

Stir in the beans, tomatoes and 250 ml water, then cover and gently simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are nearly cooked. Remove the lid and add the zucchini. Stirring frequently, cook at a hearty simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the mixture is thick but saucy.

Christmas Time is Near

2011-12-20T10:52:00.002+08:00

TWAS THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Strawberry Marshmallow Stars

I very nearly put a photo of my stunningly messy kitchen here, but thought better of it - way too embarrassing. This last week has been full on - shopping, catching up with my sister who is visiting from Switzerland, cooking (finally got that Christmas cake in the oven), lunch with neighbours, cricket yesterday evening, not to mention a bit of recipe testing thrown into the mix. That's our Christmas tree up there - we had a dream run this year. Cool day (thank you, thank you), found it in seconds and they even came and cut it down for us. I made Christmas muffins for us to take in case hunger struck - cherry and blackberry. I go prepared - I think I've given up trying to find an edible muffin in Perth. Morning tea in Fremantle last week was the straw that broke the camels back - here we are in summer, bountiful fruit all around and what were the muffins (at least they were made by the cafe) - apple, but even then, none left. Starving, I settled for the Curried Corn - a curious combination I thought - and so it proved true - inedible. You can find the recipe for the muffins here, just use what fruit or nut appeals, and I made mine with spelt.

I'm also in love with my Cherry tea towel from Wheel and Barrow.

Can I have this muffin please?

I know there are lots of photo's here, but I just couldn't resist some of them - jewels of colour all around me, bountiful nature. This is a photo collage of sorts, of whats been happening in my kitchen. We will get to the recipe for today .....

Heirloom beetroot from the garden, ready for roasting for salad - to take to neighbourhood lunch and cricket yesterday

Had a gorgeous day with my cousin Joanne on Saturday - she bought her nectarines (that she has grown I might add) and we made jam and chutney

Dairy Free Strawberry and Peach Trifle in the making for neighbourhood lunch - with the Almond Custard Cream

The recipe for the trifle? A more sophisticated version than this, as I made the agar strawberry jelly - for agar jelly see here (I cooked 500gm fresh strawberries with 1 cup water, strained to get 2 cups strawberry juice, sugar to taste, 1 1/4 teaspoons agar powder). And, lots of Chambourd.
Right, which brings us to today, and the recipe. Diamond (on my facebook page) asked if I was posting any treats. Hmmm, I thought, yes I should. And I've settled on Marshmallow. When I was in Melbourne this year, dining at one of my favourite places PM24, we were served a strawberry marshmallow - oh, insanely good - slightly tart, soft - heaven. This is my first attempt at that - it's not quite there, but it's a work in progress. This doesn't quite capture what I was after - lots of colour, fresh, slightly tart strawberry flavour, wild pink colour, but it's good. I'm in the mood for marshmallow - it's a light treat, and fun for the kids (once made). I based the recipe on the Miette version, but used more wholesome sweetening - the Billingtons Golden Castor Sugar (less refined) and a Brown Rice Syrup (in Australia I use the Spiral brand) rather than Light Corn Syrup - the brown rice syrup works fabulously. Oh, fresh strawberry puree and high quality gelatine, from healthy animals. As another thought, you could try using some of the dehydrated berry powder - available from Burch and Purchase (in Melbourne, lucky you if you live in Melbourne!!) both to add to the marshmallow and add to the coating mixture.

Thank you all for sharing this year with me - I have met some amazing people - like you. One of the clear messages that came out of meeting you all was that many of you feel isolated, as you try to provide real, sustainable and good food for yourself and your family. Though this path is gaining momentum, it can seem lonely at times. But know there are many of you, all across the world - each caring enough to keep on this path and how important this is. The other issue was that of time - our 2011 /12 lives are becoming quite crazy - Christmas can certainly be even busier. I hope you find some time to breathe and sigh, and that joy and peace can find a space in your home.

x Jude

STRAWBERRY MARSHMALLOW - gluten free
There are a couple of critical points here - firstly, I found I needed a fairly large pot for the sugar mixture - too small and it will boil over. Secondly, remember this is boiling syrup - be very careful it does not spill - it will burn badly, especially as it is so sticky. Keep the kids away until the marshmallow is set. I've used a very fiddly snowflake - some of those edges look a bit wonky !! Once set the mix is very pliable though, and great for kids. it will be much easier with a simpler shape such as a star. You will also need a candy thermometer.

fresh, ripe strawberries, green leaves removed
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup icing/powdered sugar ( I used the Billingtons Golden Icing Sugar)
2 tablespoons (20ml tablespoon) gelatine
80 ml strawberry puree
100 ml water
335gm golden castor sugar
100 ml brown rice syrup
3 large egg whites
pinch of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
pinch sea salt

Blend enough ripe strawberries that when put through a sieve (discard the seeds) to give you 80 ml
strawberry puree.

Sieve the cornstarch and icing sugar into a bowl and mix together. Lightly oil ( I used macadamia, but a similar light tasting oil is fine) a 20 x 30cm cake tin and dust it with a small amount of the cornstarch and icing sugar mixture. Set aside.

Add the strawberry puree to a small bowl and stir in the gelatine. Leave to soften.

In a good size saucepan combine the castor sugar, water and brown rice syrup. Do not stir now, or anytime during the process. Place on a low - medium heat, and when it looks like the sugar is beginning to melt, you can increase the heat a little. If you see little crystals of sugar around the edge of the pot, use a pastry brush dipped in waster to wash them back into the mixture. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan - you want it to reach 119c.

Fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add the egg whites and cream of tartar, and when the sugar mixture reaches 110c, begin to whisk slowly. When the it reaches 119c, the egg whites should be nicely whipped, though sometimes this last stage 110 - 119 can take some time. Immediately remove the syrup from the heat and whisk in the strawberry mixture, whisking until no lumps remain.

Carefully drizzle the sugar syrup into the egg whites - low to medium speed. If you were using the dehydrated berry powder, I would add that also. When all of the syrup has been added, add the vanilla paste, extract and salt, and increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture has cooled to room temperature and is thick. Don't get a shock when the mixture looks like it has deflated when you've added all the syrup, and be prepared for the whipping after this to take a considerable amount of time - easily 10 minutes if not more. It should look like this....

Ready to pour into the tray to set

Using a spatula, pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Cover and place in fridge to set for at least 12 hours. Using a lightly oiled knife (or dust the knife in the coating mix) cut the marshmallows as desired, or lightly oil a cookie cutter (or dredge it well in the coating mix). The mix is quite pliable and will pull out of the cutter easily. Dust the cut edges with the cornstarch and sugar mixture. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

The Smells and Flavours of Christmas

2011-12-13T16:07:00.003+08:00

BERRIES, BAKING AND BUTTERMILK HERB CRICKET CHICKEN

Lemon and Blueberry Scones

This is most likely going to be my big blog before Christmas, as things are begining to get a little hectic. During this next 2 weeks, I am trying to slow down, but also still need to get quite a few things done still - pay those bills (tick), clean my house and make some sense of the mess, write my Christmas cards, Christmas shopping and get my Christmas Cake cooked !!! It sits there on the kitchen bench soaking away in brandy and vino cotto - I will get to it - but at least all that soaking should result in a mighty fine cake. I'm sure it's a bit like this for you too. So, too the best bit - the food. These are the weeks I really, really like to make a bit special, and make a little more effort. I like the house to be full of the smells of food baking, roasting and cooking, and without doubt, these are the smells of the 2 weeks before Christmas, all mingled with the glorious pine of the Christmas tree (it's not up yet, we go to cut that baby down on Friday). It's got to be a real tree for me, and we get one from the Christmas tree farm. When it's finished, the leaves (thin as they are) get used to mulch the gardenias (or azalea's) but when dried, also make the best kindling for the winter fire. The log is dried over summer, ready to use for firewood during winter - so nothing has gone to waste.

But shall we get onto the food?

Fat, ripe blueberries

It's berry season here, and we often go blueberry picking at about this time. I know this is a traditional time for cookies, but these lemon and blueberry scones are so delicious and easy to make. Perfect with a cup of tea, warm out the oven for breakfast or morning tea, I find them a more substantial than cookies.
The Buttermilk Cricket Chicken? Well, we go to the evening 20/20 cricket ( a short version of the game) and I believe in taking a delicious (but easy) picnic. No packets of chips or commercial dips, or other seriously dodgy foods that I see most families eating when we are there, I want real, good food. This is the easiest thing to make, transports well, eats well and provides leftovers. What more can a woman want? (mind you, asking that question I can think of a few other things ....Santa Baby..... love that Christmas song, Eartha Kitt has the best version). I like to cook the chicken with small chunks of potato (toss them in a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and salt first) and tuck them around the chicken. The juices and fat from the chicken end up coating and baking with the potatoes. I find it's important to cook the chicken well, that chicken juice will have the opportunity to reduce and begin to gel around the potatoes - making them even more delicious. The chicken fat will also make them extra crispy. When serving remember to scrape off all those sticky chicken juices from the tray - that gelatine will help you digest the meat. Together with a yummy green salad, you have a delicious dinner. Dessert ? That will be mini pavlova with all my left over egg whites :) Topped with creme and berries. You know how much I hate hot summer days, but those evenings - glorious, outdoors where one should be on a summer night.

The finished Cricket Chicken

I love using left over chicken in salads and sandwiches - mixed with mayonnaise and herbs - it makes a quick and exceptionally nutrient dense lunch. If I have pesto floating around (and I do !) I would add that - even more delicious.

Lemon Thyme Mayonnaise - you can find the recipe in Wholefood for Children

I wish you a wonderful and joyous Christmas season - Happy Holidays!!! Thank you for sharing the year here with me, and may many blessings find there way to you. May there much joy and deliciousness in your life and at your table..............

Flattened, Buttermilk and Herb Crispy Chicken:

This is the simplest meal to put together, and left overs are excellent for lunch. Cutting out the backbone of the chicken allows you to flatten it, and thus cook quicker. You will need to marinate this 24 hours ahead of time. If you run out of time to marinate, just omit that step – it will still be delicious, and if you want an even quicker and crispier end result, you can cut the chicken into smaller pieces.

To Marinade

1 organic, grass pastured chicken

500 ml buttermilk

handful fresh herbs

The Herb Mix

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, lemon thyme, thyme and sage

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Potatoes for everyone – skin on, scrubbed and roughly cut into small – medium chunks

Lay the chicken breast side down on a chopping board. Using your kitchen or poultry shears cut out the backbone (freeze for stock). Turn the chicken over and flatten. Place in dish and pour the buttermilk and fresh herbs over the chicken, ensuring the buttermilk is evenly distributed. Cover and place in the fridge for 24 hours.

Pre heat oven to 200c or 180 c if fan forced

Prepare the herb mix by mixing the herbs and lemon together. Remove the chicken and place on a baking tray (the flatter the tray the better) and roughly pat dry – make sure to leave some buttermilk on the skin especially. Gently loosen the skin from the breast and stuff 2/3 of the herb mix under the skin. Sprinkle the rest on the chicken, with a generous amount of pepper and salt. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Toss the potatoes separately in a little olive oil (and herbs if desired) and scatter on the tray, close to the chicken – even tuck some underneath the chicken. Bake until the skin is crispy and golden approx. 40 - 60 minutes, or until the juices in the thigh run clean. If you find the skin is burning rather than just becoming golden, reduce the temperature.

Remove from oven and leave to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Lemon Glazed Blueberry Scones:

1 cup / 130 gm white spelt flour or 130 gm white, all purpose wheat flour

1 cup / 145gm wholemeal spelt flour or 130 gm wholemeal wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ tablespoons rapadura sugar

grated zest of 1 small lemon

½ teaspoon baking soda

100gm very cold unsalted butter, cut into rough 1 cm pieces

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

½ cup full cream, non – homogenised milk (+ 1 – 2 tablespoons more if using wheat)

½ cup buttermilk or yoghurt (+ 1 – 2 tablespoons more if using wheat)

For Dairy and Butter free:

80 ml macadamia or almond oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

½ cup rice milk

½ cup coconut milk

Lemon Glaze:

2 tablespoons brown rice syrup

2 tablespoons lemon juice – you may need more depending on the acidity of the lemon

Preparing to Bake:

Pre heat the oven to 200c or 180c if fan forced.

Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Put the flour, baking powder, sugar and zest in a bowl and sift in the baking soda. Mix through with a whisk to combine ingredients and break up any lumps of flour.

Add the vinegar to a cup measure, and add the milk and buttermilk. Set aside.

Cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs – some bits will be the size of a pea, this is fine. Add the blueberries and toss through to evenly distribute. Add ¾ cup of milk (the full cup if using wheat) and mix with a large spoon to just combine – take care not to over - mix as this is the main cause of heavy scones. Add the extra milk as needed, for spelt you will use just about the whole cup, for wheat you will use the whole cup and may need to add another 1 – 2 tablespoons. The mix should form into a moist, but not at all sloppy, dough. For dairy free, cut the oil into the flour as best you can, forming coarse breadcrumbs. Mix 3/4 cup of milk with the vinegar, and add as described.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Depending on wether you want a wedge or a square, cut the dough.

To make wedges pat (don’t knead) the dough to form a rough circle approx 20cm x 2.5 cm thick. You may need to lightly flour your hands. Using a sharp, floured knife, cut 12 wedges (you may well need to re flour the knife in between cuts) and place on the lined tray. You may need to use your knife to pick up the scones and don’t worry too much if they fall out of shape a bit, that is part of their charm. Alternatively, form (don’t knead) the dough into a rectangle approx 21cm x 16cm and approx 2.5cm deep. Cut 4 x 3.

Bake for 15 – 20 mins, or until golden and lightly browned and just cooked in the middle (you can break one open to check). Drizzle with the glaze and serve warm.

To make the glaze, add the ingredients to a small bowl, and mix together well – taste and adjust as needed the lemon juice as needed.

The Smells and Flavours of Christmas

2011-12-04T14:01:00.000+08:00

THE SMELL OF THE EARTH ON A HOT SUMMER MORNING - SUMMER BERRIES and CHERRIES

YES, YES, YES PLEASE - CHERRIES :)

Summer Breakfast Salad, a little earlier in the year, just as the strawberries and mulberries were cropping.

Right up, I can tell you I'm not a summer person, but I live in Perth, so honestly you'd think by now I would be accustomed to it. But the thing that I absolutely love about those very hot summer mornings is the smell of the earth. The east winds howl over the dessert and reach Perth on the very hot days - when they are howling, you know it's going to be a stinking hot day. But that smell - I 'm not sure how to describe it. It is the earth, but a very West Australian earth and slightly sweet. As I breathe it in I know I am meant to be here, and am part of this country. I feel grounded. Very early in the morning (around 5ish ) it is actually still cool. I'm up because the birds wake me up and it's light, and I go out and potter in the vegetable garden, water the pots and get what needs to be done outside done. But the thing is, you don't want to eat that much on a hot morning. So this is what I do, I make a summer breakfast salad. The idea came from a delicious salad I had at the Frog Hollow Farm in San Francisco some years back. The goat cheese and nuts give it a bit more nutrient density and keep you going. You can use any fruit (me? I'm using strawberries and cherries) and the trick is to try and match the dressing to the fruit - playing with the vinegars or oil. For example a raspberry vinegar is delicious with berries or balsamic with cherries or strawberries. If you have access to this delicious Wellwood Walnut Oil, I would most definitely use that - it's a Victorian brand, but I know that Alive Organics in West Australia certainly stocks it (and as they wholesale, other shops should be able to access it). But - make sure that walnut oil is not rancid - it is an Omega 3 oil, thus highly unstable to heat, light and oxygen. It should come from and be kept in the fridge and once open have a short life span.

I'll be back next week with some serious Christmas eating, but in the meantime, if you're doing Fruit Mince Tarts, have you got your fruit mince and pastry made? If not check out here and you might be game enough to put up some puff pastry for a quick treat - truly, it's not as hard as it looks....

Summer Breakfast Salad

Take as many lettuce and garden greens as you would like and scatter them on a platter. Sprinkle with fruit as desired – berries and stone fruit are especially good. Top with a soft goat cheese ( I like the Ringwould in WA and Holy Goat in Victoria) and drizzle with dressing. Top with fresh herbs.

The dressing should be simple – extra virgin olive oil (or if you have a fresh, not rancid, high quality nut oil such as walnut, use that), raspberry or balsamic vinegar, touch of mustard and salt. I keep garlic out of this. I use a classic ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, but rely more on taste - adding more vinegar if the fruit is very sweet. Make it how you like it.

Toasted nuts would be delicious and add a little more density.

The Smells and Flavours of Christmas

2011-11-23T11:49:00.000+08:00

GARDENIA - VANILLA

The stunning Professor Pucci

The gardenia is in bloom, it's perfume now fills my yard and home. Smell is a powerful thing, and the scent of gardenia for me, means one thing - Christmas. I remember living in New Orleans - come June the gardenia's would be in stunning full bloom, the heat making their scent even stronger and school holidays about to start - it was bizarre, because all those things to me, mean Christmas. I adore gardenias, but check out this divine David Austin rose I got as a bouquet last week - don't know which one it is, but how glorious is it!!!?

The unknown David Austin

Seasonal fruit sighing into the pillowy mousse. I couldn't resist drizzling with a bit of the Heilala Vanilla Syrup

But, before you begin to think this is turning into a blog about flowers ( I just had to show you that gorgeous David Austin rose) let's talk Vanilla. I thought as we head into the festive season, I would focus weekly on a smell and the associated flavour in my blogs. And the flavour that I associate with Gardenia, well that's vanilla. I tell you, if I'm not wearing a gardenia scent, I'm wearing vanilla and it's one of my most favourite flavours. All Vanilla is certainly not equal, and the vanilla I'm using more and more is the Heilala - I love that it's grown ethically and organically, is Fair Trade but most of all, it's intense flavour.

Looking all frothy and vanilla seedy

Check out those vanilla seeds

The recipe below is ridiculously easy to make, and makes a delicious breakfast, snack or dessert. It's a play on the Coconut Cream Pie from my book Coming Home to Eat - Wholefood for the Family. Make sure you use good quality coconut milk - no light versions, no gums, no additives at all. In Australia I have a preference for the Organic by Nature brand, but it's often hard to get (though if you google it, you will most likely be able to get it online at numerous places). If I don't have that, I use the Ayam - easily available at most supermarkets. When I want the vanilla to come through cleanly, I use a raw sugar (with a preference for the Billingtons Golden Castor Sugar) but if thats' not a big consideration I will use coconut palm sugar or maple syrup - both flavours compliment coconut really well, but can overtake the beauty of vanilla. I've specified 1/2 cup sweetener in the recipe, but if you don't want that much - reduce as you desire. If using this for breakfast, I would add 1/4 cup only of coconut palm sugar.

Check out also the Almond Custard Cream in this Summer Trifle also, and load it up with vanilla!!!

COCONUT CREAM with fruit salad
gluten free dairy free

I used to just pour this directly into the ramekin or tart shell, but have taken to putting it into the blender as soon as it's all cooked. Processing for 1 minute (no longer or you will break the set as it cools) incorporates a large amount of air bubbles and a lighter texture is the end result. Once set in the fridge, cover them with a sheet of plastic wrap to keep them perfect for 2 days.

2 x 400 cans coconut milk
1/2 cup raw/golden castor sugar, coconut palm sugar or maple syrup
½ teaspoon agar powder
pinch sea salt
1 vanilla bean or 1 - 2 teaspoons natural vanilla paste
1/4 cup cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch or kudzu

Put the coconut milk, sweetener and agar powder in a saucepan and whisk together well. If using a vanilla bean, cut it down the centre and add now. If using paste, leave to the last steps. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring and whisking frequently as the agar dissolves and sinks to the bottom of the pan and sticks. Simmer gently for 6 – 8 minutes from the time it comes to the boil, then remove from the heat. Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan, if using, then scrape the seeds back into the saucepan using the tip of a small knife. If using vanilla paste, stir it in now.

Put the cornstarch or kudzu into a small bowl and mix to a smooth slurry with the water. Whisk into the coconut milk mixture, then return the saucepan to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Allow to boil for few seconds, then remove from heat. Place in a blender, and process for a couple of minutes - it should be light and frothy. Pour immediately into individual ramekins, leave to sit at room temperature for 5 - 10 minutes, then place in the fridge until firm - approx 30 minutes.

Everyday with Wholefood – Seasonal Seminar – Summer 2011

2011-11-12T22:14:00.000+08:00

*** Please note Seminar Postponed to Early 2012***

‘Everyday with Wholefood’ is a seasonal seminar series bought to you by Jude Blereau and Whole Food Cooking. This time we take a look at a Summer and Festive favourite: fish and seafood. With fish stocks all over the world in trouble and more fish coming from overseas farms, what should you be throwing on the barbie today?

Our special guest and sustainable fisheries expert is Jeremy Prince, Associate Professor at Murdoch University’s Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research. Jeremy will talk about what to buy, where it comes from and what’s Seasonal, Local, Sustainable and Unfarmed in WA.

Jude will help inspire your Festive Fare with Quick, Simple and Delicious Meals and Treats for the Christmas Season including recipes and a menu plan using seasonal produce.

Plus we’ll have stallholders and a festive afternoon tea!

Event Program

Guest Speakers

Dr Jeremy Price
Associate Professor, Murdoch Uni

Jude Blereau
Natural Food Chef, Whole Food Cooking

For enquiries please email: events@wholefoodcooking.com.au

Refund Policy

Just like a concert or theatre, if you are unable to attend, the cost is not refunded. In some cases with enough notice, a credit may be given for another seminar.

Will The Real Muffin Please Stand Up

2011-11-08T09:32:00.000+08:00

REAL MUFFINS

Part of the testing batches for the new book

It started on the plane, flying to Sydney recently. I was presented with a plate of food (luckily I did take my own) and part of it, was something called an "Orange and Poppyseed Muffin". It didn't look like a muffin, and on opening the packet, it certainly didn't smell like any real food I knew - certainly not oranges. Turning over the packet, these were the ingredients: Muffin Mix (sugar, wheat flour, vegetable fat, emulsifiers (322, soy, 471, 477) antioxidant (320), milk solids, modified maize starch (1422) mineral salts,(can't read the two numbers), salt, flavour, vegetable gum (4150, vegetable oil (antioxidant 307), food acid (330), egg, canola oil, water, orange fruit paste (contains orange juice concentrate) poppy seeds, colour (water, colour 110), preservative (211), food acid (330). This, dear friend, is not a muffin - it is not anything real at all and a great example of our Matrix food world of illusion - this is an illusion of a muffin. Foods made with highly refined flour starches, sugar and oils with generous handfuls of chemicals in the form of preservatives, colour and flavour. I get too distressed when presented with these foods I know, but I can't help but feel a deep sense of betrayal when this happens. That muffin was a tragedy, as it offers no deliciousness whatsoever, and certainly no nourishment.

So let's talk real muffins - whole food style - no illusions here. Firstly, I rarely make mine with 100% wholemeal flours - even working with 50% will give you a bucketful of variables to deal with. Bear in mind though, that when I use a 'white' flour, in real, wholefood world, white wheat and spelt flours are made by grinding the whole grain, then sieving of various amounts of bran and germ - and certainly not bleached. So they remain a good and wholesome option, but I've also included some alternatives you might like to try. Good brands of these flours in Australia include Kialla, Demeter Mill and Four Leaf.

It actually looks like an apple and berry muffin

I use 400gm fruit and weigh it with the stone/peel in. Cut dryer fruits small (eg apple) - 1 - 1.5cm, and wet fruits (mango, stone etc) bigger. I like to use rapadura sugar - a whole dried sugar cane (also often called panela) - it adds delicious flavour and a subtle, whole sweetness. Maple syrup is also a good whole option. The trickiest part of making these is judging the amount of liquid to add - in Melbourne and Perth we used 3/4 cup milks (this is the amount I most commonly use) and in Sydney 1 1/4 cups - (though you will use more if using wheat flour) your batter should not clump, and move easily as the spoon moves through it. Don't over mix either - stir it as little as possible, and try to gauge ahead of time if you need a little more milk. If your muffin comes out of the oven looking fabulous but collapses as it cools, it was too moist. Bake it at a moderate temperature - 180c or 165c fan forced. A good guide for your oven is this muffin should take 30 - 35 minutes to cook - that's the right temperature. Finally make sure you weigh your flour to the measurements below... this helps to reduce the variables.

These muffins are best eaten the day they are made and frozen - they're not meant to last for 1 year (like the plane ones were)......

Can I tell you before I go, what a fabulous time I had in Melbourne and Sydney - in class I met the most wonderful, lovely people. Can you believe that Rachel and Davina drove from Canberra to be at class - with their two gorgeous babies !!! ? It truly was a Nourishing Young Children class. Thank you, each and every one of you for being there - I love and feel so honoured to be a part of your lives (including you Sarah and Shar) - sitting in your kitchens, through my books. What a beautiful and deeply nourishing community we are building. In Sydney we were lucky enough to have my dear friend Holly Davis teach with me - Holly is such a wealth of wisdom and experience, and it just made it extra special. For those of you in Sydney - do check out Holly's classes. We both have a very similar background, believe the same things but express them differently - as we all do - we all have our own song. Belinda graduated from the Whole and Natural Foods Chef Training Program last year, and flew down from the Sunshine Coast to help me - could not have pulled it off without Bel.

Indeed, our patchwork community of real and nourishing food, and a meaningful life blessed with beauty in all it's many forms is growing. Thank you all.....

Belinda, myself and Holly Davis - exhausted but happy at the end of a long and very warm weekend of Nourishing Young Children in Sydney

The amazing Karen Ward from the amazing Honest to Goodness and myself

MY CLASSIC MUFFIN
Dairy Free Option
Makes 9 - 10 good size muffins

Topping:

½ cup roughly chopped nuts

2 tablespoons desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons coconut palm or rapadura sugar

Other Ratios and Mixtures of Flours:

• Light + Fluffy:

2 cups white unbleached spelt flour or all purpose wheat flour

• A Little Bit Chewy:

1 cup unbleached spelt flour or all purpose wheat flour + ½ cup wholemeal spelt or wheat flour + ½ cup rolled oat or spelt

• 100% Wholemeal, Moist and More Chewy

1 cup wholemeal spelt or wheat flour + ½ cup oatmeal + ½ cup rolled oats

• High Protein

1 cup white unbleached spelt flour or all purpose wheat flour + ½ cup Quinoa flour + ½ cup Quinoa flakes

DRY MIX
1 cup /130gm unbleached/white spelt flour or 130 gm all purpose white wheat flour
1 cup /145 gm wholemeal spelt flour or 130 gm wholemeal wheat flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ cup rapadura sugar

WET MIX
1 egg
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
80gm butter unsalted – melted and cooled a little, or 1/3 cup macadamia or almond oil
½ cup full cream, non – homogenized milk
½ cup buttermilk, kefir or yoghurt
(plus extra as needed, especially if using wheat flour)
OR
½ cup each rice milk and coconut milk (plus extra as needed) with 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar added.
400 gm fruit

Preparing to Bake
Pre heat the oven to 180c or 165c if fan forced. Place muffin papers into a 12 - hole muffin tin. Have your topping prepared and ready, and your fruits cut.

Place flours, baking powder, and sugar into a bowl and stir through with a whisk to lighten and break up the flours, and sugar clumps. Add the fruit (except if using berries) and stir gently to distribute evenly.

Place the egg, vanilla, butter and ¾ cup (or 1 cup if using wheat) mixed milks into a jug and whisk together. If using rice and coconut milk, add the apple cider vinegar also. Add to the dry ingredients and gently mix together taking great care not to over- mix and work your batter. Add the remaining milk as needed, and gently fold through berries if using.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins, generously sprinkle with the topping and bake for 30 – 40 minutes, or until golden. Cool for 10 minutes in the tins, then remove and cool on wire racks.

Images of Melbourne

2011-10-29T04:20:00.000+08:00

Hello Beautiful Fresh Flowers at Babka

The winning Danish -Rhubarb and Pear from Loafers

I've arrived in Sydney for classes, after a wonderful week or so in Melbourne. A couple of quick images of much beauty !!! Classes were deeply rewarding for me in Melbourne, and again in Sydney-just finished the Nourishing Wisdom course. I get to meet such amazing people and see that we are all keen to change - it's just how to go about it. But whilst I was in Melbourne, I made it my mission to taste the best Danish's in the Fitzroy area before class - up early for a cup of tea and Danish (yes I did have a solid egg/asparagus/greens breakfast before class!!)... my little working holiday treat. Favourites? Raspberry Danish at Babka, and most favourite the organic Loafers in North Fitzroy...

I'll be back shortly .... Nourishing Young Children course in Sydney today, and I'm off to the market to shop for fresh produce before setting up....

The Many Roles of Agar

2011-09-27T11:26:00.003+08:00

LUSCIOUS LEMON BARS

Luscious Lemon Bars with 3 teaspoons agar powder

Agar has been calling me to attention lately. Tash had tried to make the Luscious Lemon Bars and they didn't set. My daughter's friend was making an agar jelly for a childrens' birthday party and they did exactly what my book said - and it didn't set! Let me tell you a bit about agar first - it's a flavourless sea vegetable, that behaves as a gelling agent. Agar sets quickly, provides a sturdy structure and holds well at room temperature, but has a clunky texture. Gelatine on the other hand takes hours to set, does not hold well in hot weather, but is infinitely flexible and smoothly textured. Agar comes in flakes, powder and bars, but I prefer flakes and especially powder - it's easy to measure out and gives reliable results (not that Tash or Nessie would agree with that bit!). As mentioned, agar will set at room temperature and can be boiled and re - heated without loosing its gelling ability. I am using powder more often as it does give more reliable results.

To achieve a good, but not too solid a jelly, the basic equation is 3 teaspoons (or ¾ of a 20ml tablespoon) agar flakes or ½ teaspoon powder - 1cup liquid. This is the equation I most commonly use and work from. Over the past 12 months however, I’ve had to reduce the ratio of flakes to 2 teaspoons per cup. For a very firm jelly that you want to turn out and cut into shapes increase the amount of agar used. Agar dissolves best in high pectin juices like apple, but works in most fruit juices. Agar will not set in Distilled and Wine vinegars, or in food containing large amounts of oxalic acid or acid such as chocolate, rhubarb or spinach. When using high acid juices such as lemon or lime, or pinapple juice you will need to double the agar - especially when freshly pressed.

When using flakes and powder in recipes, it needs to be dissolved slowly over a gentle boil and stirred frequently to stop it from clumping or sticking to the bottom of the pan (as it dissolves). Powder needs to be whisked in to the cold mixture well, whisking and stirring frequently as it is dissolving and takes approx 6 - 8 mins from the boil and flakes up to 25 mins.

So, back to the not setting. You can see my lemon bars are pretty well set - not rock solid, but good. Acidity is all, and lemons vary in acidity and I thought I had compensated for this - obviously, not enough. So, I've adjusted the recipe and instructions - below. And my daughters jelly? Well, the juice was made from apple and freshly pressed new season strawberries - again, these are very acidic and quite different to a bought (albeit organic) apple and strawberry juice which looses its acidity with processing. Now when I said to her that this bit about acidity was in my books, she said no it is not - yes it is I said, no mother dear, it is not. And (as usual) she was right - the line about high acid juices and doubling the agar - gone. I understood why - during editing a book will be rearranged at least 5 times - lines, paragraphs and recipes rearranged - and the author must hold the whole in her (or his) head whilst going through it. I missed this bit. A very important bit. But agar is worth getting the hang of, it's such a brilliant tool when dealing with food intolerances such as egg or dairy free and an even more brilliant tool when combined with kudzu or cornstarch. You can make amazing things with agar and I love that it holds when the weather is hot. Another thing about the agar + kudzu (or cornstarch) relationship and these lemon bars, is they are so much lighter than cream on a hot day or the days you just want something yummy but not too rich.

If you are just making a simple jelly (agar into juice) and you’re worried the jelly will be too soft or too hard, test your set: when you have cooked and dissolved the flakes or powder, simply place a little in a small bowl, pop it in the fridge (or freezer) until cold. If it is too soft, add it back to the mix, along with a little more agar and cook until dissolved. If it’s too firm, add more liquid and cook for a couple of minutes more. It's a bit trickier when dealing with an Agar + Kudzu (or Cornstarch) relationship, and you see how I've addressed that in the recipe below.

As a last word - buy good quality agar powder - not the white (often mixed with colour and sugar) that you find in many an Asian store. It should be freely available in health, whole and natural food stores.

Why not try setting some coconut milk to add extra deliciousness and nutrient density to a bowl of new seasons fruit? 1/2 teaspoon agar powder to 1 cup coconut milk (not light or stabilised, but simply coconut milk).

LUSCIOUS LEMON BARS:
Dairy free Gluten free. Makes 16

Absolutely luscious, and easy to make. These are best the day made, but will keep for a couple of days in an air tight container - though the base will soften a little, they will still be delicious. You can alternatively pour the filling into a pre cooked 24cm tart shell. This is the original recipe with 3 teaspoons agar, and that should be enough to account for variations in acidity. Obviously not well enough for Tashs' bars. The thing is - once you have added the starch to thicken the mix (thus providing a creamy texture) you can't do the freeze and check thing, as you can't 'dissolve' the cooked cornstarch again (or any starch). So, I would suggest using 1/4 teaspoon extra of agar and when the lemon mix is finished, immediately put a small portion in a little bowl and into the freezer. Keep the remaining mix on the stove, no heat, but still hot. You have to move fast here because you don't want the lemon mix to start setting. If the tester comes out of the freezer too thick, add a little more coconut milk and that should loosen the set.

Base
¾ cup brown rice flour
¼ cup dessicated coconut
2/3 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons maple syrup
80ml /1/3 cup coconut oil, if solid, melted for measuring
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

Topping
¾ cup lemon juice
3 teaspoons agar powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups coconut milk
½ cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Pre heat the oven to 180c or 165c if fan forced. Line a 20cm square biscuit tin and press it in - folding, not cutting the corners to fit.

Add the rice flour, coconut and almond meal to a bowl and whisk through to combine. In a small bowl mix the maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla together well, add to the dry and mix to combine. The mix will be quite wet and oily - this is fine as it softens the harsh brown rice flour and results in a lovely shortbread. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and press it with your hands. Bake for 15 – 20 mins or until lightly golden. Set aside to cool.

To make the topping, whisk the agar into the lemon juice, making sure the agar is evenly distributed and has not clumped together. Place over a very gentle heat for about 5 mins, stirring often, then increase the heat to bring it to a gentle boil. Continue to cook at a very gentle simmer for 8 mins, stirring often - the agar will go through stages of being very thick, before dissolving and loosening again.

Meanwhile add the cornstarch to a bowl with ½ cup coconut milk and mix to a smooth slurry. Add the remaining coconut milk, brown rice, maple syrup and mix together. When the lemon agar has simmered for 8 mins, remove it from the heat and add the coconut mix, whisking constantly. Return to the heat and bring to the boil, using a spoon to stir constantly until boiled. Do not over boil. Remove from heat and add the lemon zest and turmeric – taking care not to use too much turmeric, or the colour can be a little too bright. Let cool a little before GENTLY pouring the mix onto the base. Let cool for about 30 mins before gently removing to a fridge to set. Cut into 16 squares.

Variation: If you would prefer not to use a gluten free base, try this spelt one.

1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup white spelt flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup coconut oil – liquid
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

Add the coconut, spelt and baking powder to a bowl and whisk through to combine. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla to a small bowl and mix together. Add the wet to the dry and mix through – it will be a bit crumbly. Put into the biscuit tin and press out.

Pancakes For Breakfast

2011-09-07T15:10:00.002+08:00

OAT, APPLE AND BUCKWHEAT PIKELETS

Can you feel the early morning spring sunshine coming through the kitchen window?

When I was down in Augusta recently, I was reminded of the power of the pancake - or really, as I like to make them, a pikelet (a fatter and smaller version of the said pancake). Brendan made the most spectacular, enormous light and fluffy pancakes I've ever seen and served them on the deck (amidst the pink jasmine blossom) with a delicious cinnamon apple sauce, toasted nuts and seeds, honey or maple syrup, home made peach jam and yoghurt. This is a set Sunday breakfast at 8am. I want to be there every Sunday at 8am !!! And it reminded me just what a great breakfast (and indeed snack) a good pikelet can be, especially at this time of the year as the weather warms. Porridge can become a bit heavy and boring, and really a good wholegrain pikelet is just a porridge in another, albeit lighter, form.

I'm a big fan of soaking grains for porridge (lot's of recipes for these in my books) as this makes them more digestible. Phytic Acid is broken down (ensuring that you do indeed absorb all those wonderful minerals in whole grains), as are enzyme inhibitors and in the gluten grains, gluten. Soaking a grain really makes it so much more digestible and most people notice an enormous difference in how they digest it. You can take this concept of soaking on to include all wholegrain flours - now when it comes to cakes and cookies, I'm not much of a fan. I'm not a purist and it will often result in heavy end results. But, when it comes to pikelets or pancakes, it's truly such a easy and wonderful thing to do. You'll notice a little salt in the soaking recipe - I use this when soaking a flour - with so much endosperm (and thus starch and thus, sugar) available, salt just helps to slow it all down, a little control factor. I really prefer to add something lacto - fermented like
whey, yoghurt or kefir - it really helps to bump up the said lacto - fermentation.

I prefer to cook these babies in coconut oil - a great oil for heating, and it makes the edges so deliciously crispy, but you also use ghee or butter, or a combination. A word about cooking - make sure your pan is hot, but never so hot that the coconut oil is rippling or smoking. The batter should sizzle as it hits the oil, and should take 3 or so minutes until it is ready to turn. The pikelets will most likely have absorbed the oil (this is fine), and you can see in picture below, the the edges have 'dried' out so to speak, and there are lots of little holes. Now is the time to turn them. If the pan is too hot, they will cook on the outside, before the inside is cooked. If you'd like to add a little more oil (1 teaspoon at the most) after you've turned them you can, otherwise don't worry.

Ready for turning - lots of little air holes, and the batter has become cooked out around the edges. You can see they have absorbed most of the coconut oil.

Golden after turning - the pan is quite dry, and if you'd like to add more coconut oil, go for it.

As we are only just coming into spring (thus very little fresh fruit around), I used apples for the fruit and to make a simple apple sauce I just peeled and chopped 3 apples into my favourite Reiss enamel pan, with 1 tablespoon rapadura sugar, a touch of cinnamon and 1/4 cup water. Cover and let cook very slowly for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring often and breaking down the apples. When cooked, I grated in a little lemon zest. But now that strawberries are on their way (how exciting is this !!), I'd most likely make a simple poached strawberry number (in both Coming Home to Eat, and Wholefood for Children) and use a banana to mash into the pancake instead of the apple.
Yoghurt, Cultured Cream (Wholefood for Children) and Cream Fraiche, all are wonderful options for serving as they add more good bugs to help with the digestion. The Cultured Dried Apricot and Fig Puree from Wholefood for Children is another excellent lacto -fermented option and dairy free.
Don't worry too much if you see an oily residue on the plate where they've been - this is the coconut oil. They won't taste too oily, only delicious with crunchy edges - just take care not to let your oil smoke when you are cooking them. And leftovers? Brilliant heated up for breakfast the next day, or for a lunchbox snack. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I'll see you at your place around 8am Sunday?

OAT AND APPLE PIKLETS OR PANCAKES
Wheat Free, Low Gluten. Can be dairy free.
Makes 10 medium - large pikelets

In Australia, Four Leaf makes a great Oat Meal. If you cannot find oatmeal, grind up some rolled oats into a meal, and then measure the amount from this - you may need to add a little extra milk (1 tablespoon is plenty) to the batter the next morning as the rolled oats absorb a bit more liquid.
If you’d like to make these a little softer for rolling (like a pancake) add a little more milk or egg. They can also be topped with berries or other fruits as desired.

½ cup oat meal
½ cup buckwheat flour
tiny pinch sea salt
1 cup milk or ½ cup coconut milk and ½ cup rice milk
2 teaspoons whey, yoghurt or kefir
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon rapadura sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter, ghee or coconut oil
1 – 2 small apples 170gm approx/ peeled and grated
¾ teaspoon baking powder
ghee, butter or coconut oil for frying

SOAKED:
Add the oat meal, buckwheat flour, salt, milks and whey to a small bowl – stir together well. Cover and leave on the bench (or in the fridge) to stand overnight.

The next morning add the cinnamon, sugar, melted fat of choice, and grated apple. Sift in the baking powder and gently stir together.

Gently heat enough ghee, butter or coconut oil to coat the base of a frypan. Add 1 tablespoon (or more as desired) of the mixture to the pan. Cook well on one side for 2 - 3 minutes and is golden – you should also see small bubbles appearing in the batter – before turning it over. Cook on the other side for 1minute approx.

UNSOAKED – OMIT THE SALT

Combine the flours, cinnamon, sugar and sifted baking powder in a bowl – whisk through to mix. Add the grated apple, milk and fat of choice, mix together well before cooking.

Dream, Ramble and Roam

2011-08-21T14:40:00.001+08:00

WISHED FOR AND LOVED

Fancy a cup of tea? I love this mug - nice fine china, and just holds a perfect amount

This idea of a 'Wished for and Loved ' came to me from the gorgeous Heidi Swanson's 'Favourites' that she includes once a month in her fabulous site. I'm inspired by the title Dream, Ramble and Roam and it came to me from a lady ringing in to the radio, saying that her grandmother told her how important it was to dream, ramble and roam. So that's what we are going to do. Here's my current wished for and loved:

Vanilla. Please give it to me, pure and gorgeous. I like the Neilson Massey brand, and in Australia you can get it here. The organic one is more expensive, and I often use the non organic also, including the beans and the paste. I also love the Heilala, and love that you pronounce it 'hey - la -la'. It makes me feel as if I am in Hawaii with a gardenia lei.
I want to go here. Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic retreat in Texas. I love Texas, especially the food. I'm lusting after these sheets and how gorgeous are these.
I need a new Reiss Enamel Rose Pink Milk Pot, but also happy for the Apple Green. I've literally worn mine out, but really by brewing a lemon ginger number in it, and the acid has worn down the enamel - really, not a wise thing to do! I love this product and many other places stock it. I wrote about this product here, it's beautiful to work with. You cannot help but be happy when you cook with such gorgeous colours.
My new apron and can I say I'm very partial also to the Rafelle tablecloth
I love Flour Sack Tea Towels, and in Peony. I find the only way for me here in Australia to get them is here, but they are the best tea towels I know, large, dry dishes incredibly well and as they wear become light and perfect for throwing over food to protect them from flies etc.
I'm passionately in love with Vino Cotto and in Australia you will find Maggie Beer brand the easiest to source. Also, Fig Vino Cotto - taste it and weep. I'm very much wanting to find an organic one but haven't as yet, though I'm sure in other countries you will find one easily. This is a glorious sweetener to use with dried fruits and grain flours such as barley and oats. Maggie has some wonderful ways also to use it especially this Chocolate, Quince and Almond Tart.
Dr Hauschka biodynamic skin care, and oversea's here. My skin is just a very different thing when I use it.

A favourite Cath Kidston tablecloth, with my much loved cushions that my niece Lisa made for me, Christmas 2010

I know from this that you may well have let you in on a secret - yes I love pink. But I like to think I don't go overboard, and I'm certainly not a prissy pink girl in any way shape or form. And this is a place to dream, ramble or roam.... so anything is allowed, and I think it's also important to love what you love. The heart has it's own reason, and mine loves pink.

I'm gearing up for classes also - the kitchen is looking pretty clean, and the pantry is being stocked. I'm thrilled to be running classes in Melbourne and Sydney as well as Perth this year and you can find the class schedule here and also the upcoming Seasonal Seminar about Allergies and Gut Health with my dear friend Holly Davis here. Holly loves a good cup of tea as much as I do, so those pink spotty mugs will be put to a lot of use when she is here - woo hoo !!! I can't wait - Holly and I have can talk each others heads off and we both love it. And that is another wished for and loved - to sit and have a cuppa with a good friend - I hope you get to enjoy such a delicious and simple pleasure over the next couple of weeks too.

Everyday with Wholefood – Seasonal Seminar – Spring 2011

2011-08-13T22:55:00.002+08:00

Saturday 10th September 2011 ****ONLINE BOOKINGS NOW CLOSED - COD SALES AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR *****

Help! I’m/My kids are allergic to everything!

This time we address the real story on the foods we’re allergic to and discuss some wholesome alternatives. I’ll also be covering spring – what’s in season and how to plan a delicious seasonal menu.

Our special guest speaker is Holly Davis from Sydney. Holly is a wholefood chef with a long history preparing ‘real food’ including studying macrobiotics and fermentation practices. Holly will cover good bugs (probiotics), gut ecology and gut health.

Event Program

Guest Speakers

Holly Davis – food by holly davis
Wholefood chef, catering and classes Sydney

Jude Blereau – Whole Food Cooking
Wholefood chef and cooking school Perth

Booking Details

Date: Saturday 10 September, 2011
Time: 1.00pm – 4.00pm (approx) (Doors open from 12.15pm)
Venue: FJ Clarke Lecture Theatre
P Block, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands. Access off Caladenia Ave (via Monash Ave)
Price: $38.50 inc GST (seating is unallocated, tiered theatre-style)

Books, local produce and other merchandise will be on display and sale from 12.15pm

*** No tickets issued – your Paypal receipt is your proof of purchase ***

For enquiries please email: events@wholefoodcooking.com.au

Refund Policy
Just like a concert or theatre, if you are unable to attend, the cost is not refunded. In some cases with enough notice, a credit may be given for another seminar.

No Fresh Cherries in July

2011-08-07T13:33:00.003+08:00

CARROT AND CORIANDER FRITTERS

Hagrids' Carrots

This blog began when I walked into my local Coles (large supermarket chain) to get the few bits I do buy there (toilet paper, organic butter etc), and stood gobsmacked at the truly staggering amount of fresh cherries that was on show. Firstly, my brain was going a bit nuts - "Brr, it's cold, it's July, it's not Christmas, is this an illusion? My brain, dear reader could simply not compute fresh cherries in the middle of winter. Then I saw the price - $9.95 - another shock, given I've never, ever seen cherries in Western Australia cheaper than say $15.00kg (and organic never less than $30.00) and for most of my life about 4 times that amount - this was special fruit, that usually was so expensive for most of my life that Santa left a few in our sacks. On closer inspection, they were from the U.S. And then the issue followed me, as I sat with Chris Taylor from Fraser's restaurant, and Rachel Mc Sweeney from Masterchef (now working with Chris) as we sat on a panel about Restaurant vs Home Cooked meals, at the Mundaring Truffle Festival last weekend.

Kate Nelson put forth a meal she had recently (thus the dead of winter) in our food rich, wine growing Margaret River area, where rather than be served the abundant fruits of the land, she was served raspberries - what did we think she asked? Poor Chris, as he felt that was fine given that many apples (and pears) at this time of the year, are now coming from a cool room. What about rhubarb, citrus, dried or bottled fruits we suggested! What about Lime or Lemon Meringue I thought all excited ! My view was that we should be using what is available and seeing their beauty, rather than using imported frozen berries in our deep, dark winter? But, to be fair, I didn't realize until later, that those berries may well have been frozen in summer by the people that served them, so I stand corrected!

The issue is this - here we are in what Jessica Prentice from her glorious book " Full Moon Feast" would call, and has traditionally been known as the " Hunger Moon". Now, it's been a very, very long time since that actually has been the case in the more affluent countries, but come late winter and very early spring, there is very little left in the fruit world that is fresh - similar for milk, meat and vegetables. We are disconnected from this natural cycle by the wealth of foods now available, and indeed the fact that it is a warmer climate here in Western Australia. But, even still I cannot get Lamb or Hogget for another few weeks, there is little West Australian goats cheese to be had, and no garlic.

This is the time of the year to reap the harvest of the hard work of summer - the bottling, drying and preserving. Now, I was going on to do a dessert that used dried fruit - and was planning a Dried Apricot Pie, or Sago Plum Pudding or Upside Down Buttermilk Cake with Jewell Fruits - but was afraid you might yell " oh, not another dessert Jude !!! Is that all you eat!!!!? ". I do love dessert, especially at this time of the year, but I restrained myself.

Peaches, sitting in the pantry, bottled using the Vacola System

Thus I turned to the carrots you can see at the top of the page - they look like the kind of carrot that Hagrid (from Harry Potter) would grow. I was a bit suspicious of these carrots 4 weeks ago at the Subiaco Farmers Market, but given they were organic, and local (very few organic carrots in WA are actually from WA, but older ones from the East Coast - often sprouting) I bought some. Revelation - they were the sweetest carrots I have ever eaten, better than my own. This grower knew how to grow carrots. So yesterday at the market, these were the last he said, so I bought them all. With lunch to be made, and a vow to do it with what was on hand, I turned to Nigel Slater and his book Tender - A cook and his vegetable patch. I adore this man and if only he lived in WAustralia rather than England. But I trust him, so I pretty well followed his recipe (you can read about that below) and served it with a simple fennel, celery and parsley salad with a sharp lemon dressing - a variation on this. The fennel and celery were also from the farmers market and local, and the parsley was growing nuts in my rose pots. That is no place for parsley, so I pulled it up and am putting it to good use. For dessert, we did, dear reader, have dried organic apricot pie with cream. It made a wonderful lunch on a sunny but cold winters day.

The finished fritters on paper

Nigel Slater's Carrot and Coriander Fritters

This is my adaptation of Nigel's recipe, using what I had on hand. I made approx 10 - 12 good size fritters. I chose to grate my carrots quite finely, and felt they had a softer texture than if I had used the larger grate. I threw in a huge handful of fresh coriander, and also spring onion greens finely chopped - but they were very fine and young. Nigel calls for 150 ml double cream, I felt that was excessive (as I was planning cream on the pie) and used only a dollop of sour cream, and as I only had a sharp vintage cheddar in the fridge used that for the cheese. They were fabulous. He is a good man that Nigel.

handful spring onion greens, finely chopped

handful fresh corainder, roughly chopped

1 heaped tablespoon white spelt flour

grated cheddar - approx 2 - 3 tablespoons, I used a Vintage Cheddar

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

300 approx gram carrot, scrubbed and finely grated

1 clove garlic (I had literally, 1 left), finely grated

sour cream, 2 tablespoons

2 eggs

extra virgin olive oil for frying

Add spring onion, coriander, spelt flour, cheese, sea salt and pepper to a medium size bowl and mix together. Add the carrot and garlic and toss it through with your hands. Whisk the cream and eggs together, and stir through the carrot mix, until well combined.

Add enough oil to coat the base of a frypan well. When hot (but not at all rippling or smoking) drop approx 1/4 cup or large tablespoon into the oil - it should sizzle. Cook for approx 5 - 8 minutes before turning - I found they must be very well cooked and sealed before turning, otherwise they are too fragile. Turn and cook until golden another 5 or so minutes. Remove and drain on paper towel before serving.

The Tools That Count

2011-07-25T16:05:00.000+08:00

EQUIPPING THE WHOLEFOOD KITCHEN

My kitchen in a cleaner moment, last year. The stainless steel shelf has been replaced by my new bench below. You can see some of my favourite pieces here: the bench made from an old Jarrah desk, and my old white stove - the oven is wonderful. The stainless steel gas stove top and oven is next to it.

This is first in a series on your wholefood kitchen, with a focus on one of the things I am most often asked about - what equipment is best to buy? And, it's likely not quite what you think. Before we start, I'd like to say that I am not paid by any of these brands to promote their goods - I like to stay independent, but have asked favourite brands to support the Whole and Natural Foods Chef Training Progam with equipment, which they have generously done. So... you do not need to spends thousands to get a good, functional kitchen and I'm not a fan of the glitz and glamour of many a kitchen. You do need to spend money on core ingredients - these will last you a lifetime - and I mean this in all sincerity.

But before we start, a word about Non - Stick.

I never, ever use non-stick, and cannot recommend anything made with them. Newer non-stick cookware is being advertised as a wonderfully healthful option, and whilst the coating is now no longer simply coated over the base, a polymer is mingled with the anodised metal surface. The view of any company making these is that this surface will only off gas noxious fumes, if the temperature is heated to 260c. After much experience with people cooking, I can tell you the common denominator is that most people cook at too high a temperature – especially using a wok (can I say here, this is actually designed for high heat). I also don’t use the silicon bake-ware (and bear in mind it is only FDA approved up to 220c). IF you are going to buy this to bake in, please buy the French high quality silicon ware – it’s going to cost (a lot) but a much better option than the many knock offs now available.

Non-stick is absolutely not necessary. This is a technology developed from an erroneous and poorly formed view that good quality fat is bad for you. I don’t care if the manufacturer says to you it may have a Titanium base – if it is being sold as non-stick, it will have polymers there to make it be non-stick.

Sticking is the main reason cited for buying a non-stick pan (thus making it easy to wash also). If you don’t want food to stick to your pan, make sure it is heated well before you add the ingredients. Not to an extreme, but so that it is hot. Fat should not ripple or smoke. For example pancakes and pikelets, the fat should gently sizzle when the batter hits the pan. Remember also that browning food is an incredibly vital step in developing flavour, meat and non – meat. Sugars caramelise, flavours concentrate and these are then de-glazed (adding a liquid back to the pot) to lift all that delicious flavour into the meal being cooked.

POTS AND PANS

Stainless Steel

Literally, the nuts and bolts of a kitchen. Sizes range from 14cm (and even less in some cases) to 20cm for saucepans, and above this (22, 26 etc) change in name – stewpan, dutch oven, etc. Stainless steel is a good option for pots up to 20cm, and beyond that, I believe Cast Iron is best. Pots are generally protected from heat transferring to quickly with an extra layer of some sorts on the outside base – in many cases, this is aluminium and this is referred to as an induction base. In many of the newer pots however, technology has replaced the induction base with many layers of different metals bonded together. Materials used are generally a combination, which offers a superior ability to diffuse and disperse heat. The materials used are stainless steel, copper and aluminium – the stainless steel on the inside (and sometimes outside), copper and aluminium on the inside.

Generally with stainless steel, you get what you pay for. With the advent of the global giant manufacturer China, there are hundreds of stainless steel pots and pans on the market. It’s a very easy thing for a designer or celebrity chef to knock out a range – they are generally, but not always, made in China, and not always fabulous pots. You should always look for heavy gauge or surgical grade stainless steel. I am a fan of high quality stainless steel, and there are 2 ranges I really like. The American All Clad (still made in America), and can be bought in Australia (though not the whole range) and the German WMF - Combi Nation range (but not as easy to get in Australia). They are both beautifully designed, transfer heat in a diffused manner, and are a joy to use. All Clad is not cheap, but it is worth every, single cent. Favourite pieces I use every single day include the Saucier (both sizes), butter warmer and 8inch (yes inch) frypan.

In summary, good things to have in Stainless Steel are

• 14 – 20cm pots. Glass lids are best as they let you see what’s happening without removing the lid

• steamer insert (though bamboo ones are great also)

• frypan or skillet (though cast iron -enamel coated or not- is brilliant also)

• stock-pots

Never scrub your good stainless steel with a scourer, be gentle. If it’s really burnt, sprinkle it with baking soda and let it sit. Then soak it and let it sit. Also, please, try not to put good saucepans in a dishwasher.

Enamelware

I love beautiful things, and I do love cooking with the Reiss Enamel Ware (I've left this for you to google - there are so many places to buy it). Still made in Austria, every pot is shaped from a single piece of steel, spayed in four layers of enamel and baked between coats. The enamelware is non-porous and is a great surface to cook on, inert and non –reactive. I’ve found it to diffuse heat beautifully (not at all like the enamel coated tin you might find in camping stores). Did I say the colours are beautiful - I'm a soft touch for the Rose, White and soft green.

Again, go gently, don’t scrub, please don’t put it in the dishwasher.

Stewpans, Dutch Ovens – no matter what shape, oval or round – 22cm upwards

The clear winner here is cast iron. Plain Jane, camping ovens are perfectly good (but please, no acid) and if you want to go a step further, buy the enamel coated. Here again, you do get what you pay for. There are many cheaper brands bringing out enamel - coated cast iron, Le Creuset is still the leader. There's a reason other brands are cheaper - enamel coating is not as thick, and chips easily, especially those made in China. This is a product designed to last for your lifetime, and go on into the next generation. Again, no harsh scrubbing, no putting in the dishwasher, just let it soak.

Nothing can compare to cast iron for retaining, diffusing, holding and reflecting heat. Meals cooked in them will taste more delicious and intense. Again, high quality enamel is an inert surface and non-reactive. Le Creuset pots can be re-enamelled.

Roasting dishes, Grill Plates and Wok

For superior roasting, look to enamel coated cast iron (this will provide you with the best roast ever, and the crispiest vegetables) (my favourite is the Le Creuset) or the old enamel coated tin. Grill plates should be cast iron (Le Creuset Reversible Grill) and a wok the good old carbon steel from the Asian store.

TOOLS FOR TURNING PATTIES/FLIPPING EGGS, AND STIRRING
Other than wooden spoons (see below) some good stainless steel large spoons for stirring stocks, stews and soups etc. Use wooden spoons in your lovely enamel coated pots so the bottom is not scratched. Spatulas, turners and the such - do not buy those plastic ones - apart from the fact they're plastic and the such, they are useless. With a thick edge, it makes it very difficult to 'cut' a pattie or pancake off the base of your pan. I definitely prefer stainless steel, and have a range of sizes- larger for fish etc, average and very small ones which are wonderful for small patties. There's no perfect brand, I look for these kind of things in every kitchen shop I go into with a favourite being the flexible s/s spatula I bought in the U.S for $3.95. I'm in love with it and want to marry it.

KNIVES
You need to spend money on your knife, it is your primary tool, but really you only need 3. Not a whole block, just 3. A Cooks/Chef's knife, a parer and a bread knife. Maybe a cleaver and kitchen scissors, but really you can survive with just 3. I have definite favourites - you will absolutely get what you pay for with a knife. The brands I love are Mac Knives, Wusthof Trident and certain Global knives.

Cooks/Chefs Knife and Parer
This is your basic all purpose tool, and you could survive with just this, so buy well. 20cm is a good way to go for a woman, a little more for a man. You can go plain, granton edge (which helps the food to not stick to the blade) - a favourite brand is the Mac Knives, they are easy and light to hold (great for women) and are easy to sharpen. But, Wusthof is equally as good, they just take more understanding of sharpening and are heavier. For a parer, an 8cm is a good place to start.

Santoku / East West

I love this version of a Chef's knife - with a wider blade and heel, it makes cutting much easier - especially on the shoulder - more chop for less work. I like the Mac Santoku 17cm and the Global 18cm Vegetable Knife (I use this all the time).

My eclectic collection of bowls and plates - Oh, but my favourite pink batter jug is missing!

TOOLS FOR MIXING, STIRRING, SIEVING AND STRAINING

Bowls
I can’t have enough bowls - I love them, preferably china, and the prettier the better with many found in op shops.

Stand Mixer and Small Hand Held Electric Beaters
I have both, but then I bake a lot. If I had to choose, I’d probably go for the Stand Mixer, it gives you such a great end result and you can walk away while it keeps doing the job. I prefer the Kitchen Aid. Small, hand held electric beaters are so easy to whip out for a small job, but a wooden spoon can easily step in to mix butter into sugar (as our mothers and grandmothers used) and a whisk can quickly beat some egg whites or cream.

Wooden spoons, Spatula’s and Whisks:
Wooden spoons are not created equal, and good ones will be your favourites for years. A good one will be fairly thick, and have a flattish bottom, giving you more surface area of the spoon to contact the bowl or pot. For stirring pastry creams and curds as they come to the boil, you need a wooden spoon with that has no curve – simply straight across the bottom, which again, will give you a large amount of surface contact as you stir. I like the silicone spatula’s that are slightly cupped – they are great for scraping down the sides of a bowl, keeping the mix together and getting it out of the bowl, and I keep a variety of sizes. A whisk is a very personal thing, and it should fit comfortably in your hand. I use stainless steel (never non – stick) whisks and prefer a balloon whisk and one that is less of a balloon and more elongated. I like them slightly flexible, with thinner wires and not too stiff.

Sieves
You need a range of decent good quality sieves, and I use even for baking. There is nothing wrong with the traditional sifter, it’s just I prefer the simple sieve and use them to sieve flours and strain all sorts of things. Look for high quality stainless steel, in a fine and medium mesh – they will cost more but last forever, and I am a big fan of the Rosle brand here, but it's incredibly difficult to get in Australia now - again, you get what you pay for. It’s handy to have a medium size for larger bowls, and small for smaller bowls. Another thing I tend to buy when I travel.

TOOLS FOR WEIGHING AND MEASURING

Scales
A good set of scales is incredibly important – it is essential to know what some of your ingredients (especially flour) actually weighs. Generally, you will get what you pay for. I prefer scales that have both a metric and imperial option, and a low graduation – that is it weighs in increments of amounts of 1 or 2grams. Mine weighs in 1 gm increments, and is thus close and precise. It should tare easily – that is you can re-set the weight to 0, and weigh more ingredients. Some now convert to measure liquids, I’m not fussed about that, I prefer my liquid measure cups. Good brands include Salter and Teraillon.

Measuring Cups – Dry and Liquid
These are not all equal – a cup measure varies throughout the world, so you need to check the numbers on the cup. You need to know what cup measure you are using, and indeed what the cup (and tablespoon) measure used by the particular book or magazine you are reading, is. An Australian cup measures 250ml, an American Cup 237 ml, and an English cup 285ml. A set generally contains a 1 cup, ½ cup, 1/3 cup and ¼ cup measures, with lines marked inside also.
A liquid measure cup is usually glass, with graduated lines to show measurements in ml and fluid ounces. Its worthwhile to have a 1 and 2 cup, they’re incredibly handy. When measuring a liquid you should have your eye level with the measure – it can be very deceptive looking down on it.

Measuring Spoons
Again, you need to know what tablespoon measure you are dealing with, as an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml (4 teaspoons), English can commonly be 20 or 15 ml and an American is 15ml (3 teaspoons). They are essential for good baking.

FOR GRATING AND ZESTING
Any stainless steel grater will do, but a microplane for zesting will make life much easier, and give you beautiful zest.

FOOD PROCESSORS/BLENDERS AND SUCH
It's worthwhile remembering that the original processor was a mortar and pestle, or a mouli. I prefer my mortar and pestle to be granite, and very large - mine is 20cm with an 18cm depression. A mouli is invaluable - stainless steel please, and my preference is for the Rosle brand - this link takes you to the brand to see it, but is an English link - they are now very difficult to get in Australia. At the least, it should be stainless steel. Finally, if you are going to buy a food processor or blender and use electricity, you should just cut to the chase and buy a Thermomix - it will do the work of both, plus more and has the superior engine - and when it comes to a food processor, really it's all about the engine. I love my Thermomix and use it regularly.

GRAIN MILL
Finally, if you can include a grain mill. Both electric or hand, what you buy will depend on your budget. I love the Shnitzer brand, and you can get a good look here (in Australia). I'm in love with the Shnitzer Vario.

Apple Brown Betty

2011-07-11T11:54:00.002+08:00

This is my idea of a perfect winter dessert. It's mostly apple, with a bit of lemon zest, sugar and stale bread, cooked down to a caramelised (if you look hard at the picture, you can see that on the lower right hand side) soft, crispy luscious mess. I've just had left overs for breakfast. The bread makes it quite filling (even though there's not to much there) and it finishes off a meal of soup perfectly. Did I mention it's easy and quick?

The Betty is a seriously old fashioned dessert - very often made with bread crumbs. I prefer to cut the bread into small dice (always sourdough) - I think it gets too mushy and confused with the crumbs. Almost certainly American (and southern at that), Mum tells me that Grandma used to make this when she was little but would cover the dessert for cooking with the apple peels (rather than paper and foil - see recipe).I first came across the recipe when reading In Pursuit of Flavour, by Edna Lewis - a much loved book and an inspiring woman. I often find myself wondering who was the Betty that inspired or created this if indeed there was one....

A couple of things in the cooking. I've found the best dish to use is cast iron - it holds the heat and gives you better caramelisation - in truth, it was my daughter Nessie who used the 24cm Le Creuset first, in a flash of inspiration. The lid makes it all so much easier. You'll still get great results using a china dish, which you cover (see recipe), but the cast iron gives you sticky, gooey yummy bits. You can use just about any apple, but one that collapse a bit are best - Granny Smith, Mutsu are both good and make sure to slice them very thinly - approx 3 mm. Freshly grate your nutmeg - it makes the world of difference, as much of those glorious flavours diminish rapidly after grating. You can use any sugar, but I do prefer a crystallised sugar here and go for the larger demerara, but can't see why you couldn't give a rapadura a go if you'd like.

Do give it a try, and I hope you love it as much as I do. Oh, and before I go - yes, I agree the font is way too small, and we're in the works of updating the blog site....

Layered and ready for the oven

APPLE BROWN BETTY

serves 4

If using a china dish, choose a dish with a good surface area rather than a similar capacity that is deeper with less surface area - 22cm diameter x 4.5cm depth, with a capacity of 5 cups is good.

4 – 5 pieces good sour – dough bread, crusts removed cut into 1 cm dice. You need 3 cups approx (gently packed) bread cubes.
½ cup raw or demarara sugar
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
grated zest from 1 lemon
40 gm unsalted butter - melted
800 gm apples – if bruised, extra to compensate

Pre heat oven to 200c or 180 if fan forced.

Combine the nutmeg and sugar in a medium size bowl – remove 2 tablespoons of this and set aside. Add the bread cubes to this bowl (that has the larger amount of sugar) together with the lemon zest and toss through to mix with the sugar and nutmeg. Add the melted butter and toss through to distribute the butter evenly.

Peel the apples and cut into quarters. Remove the core and cut into 3 – 4 slices, approx 1 cm thick. Place 1 cup of the bread cubes on the base of the baking dish or 24cm cast iron French oven. Layer half the apples over the bread, then top with ½ cup bread cubes. Layer the remaining apples and drizzle 60 ml water over them. Top with the remaining bread cubes, and sprinkle the reserved sugar and spice over this. It will be very, very full but will bake down. Pat down and best you can, and cover with a piece of baking paper and foil, with the foil on the outside, and the baking paper touching the apples.

Bake in oven for 40 – 45 mins, or until the apples are bubbling and noticeably cooked. Remove the foil and paper (or lid) and bake for a further 15 mins or until lightly golden, crispy and caramelised.

Going Green

2011-07-01T14:21:00.002+08:00

Hearty Winter Meals from the Vegetable Garden

I have more greens in my garden than I can handle - the winter rains (thank goodness) have made everything grow, grow, grow - honestly, I think they grow as I stand there watching them. Because my garden went in late this year (Anzac Day - 25th April), the big boys have not yet matured - broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and leeks, but the greens - silverbeet, rainbow chard, Tuscan black kale, freckles lettuce, english spinach and coriander have -they're all grown up and are ready to party.

Rainbow Chard

If you look hard you can see the freckles lettuce (an heirloom variety), and the english spinach with the sugar snap peas beginning to climb.

So what to do with this bounty? For breakfast I'm picking big, fat leaves of english spinach and folding it into an egg scramble (but would also be good with a tofu scramble - there is a recipe for that in Wholefood - heal, nourish, delight) with coriander thrown in at the last minute. The smaller leaves are going into salads (my current fave is the Beetroot, Goats Cheese salad from Coming Home to Eat, Wholefood for the Family), or tossed simply into butter to wilt with salt, pepper and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg as a side dish, or folded into the soups at the last minute - the young Tuscan black kale leaves are great for that also. But with it's oxalic acid, silverbeet/chard is best cooked - so it's going into lasagne, quiche, Hunza Pie from Wholefood - heal, nourish, delight, and the silverbeet and pasta gratin from that book also (as does the english spinach and kale). I also made the yummiest 'sausage' rolls the other night, with cooked silverbeet (you can see it cut on the table in the picture above), drained well, chopped up and mixed with some cooked onion and mushroom, pesto (made in late summer and stored in the freezer) and ricotta. A young goats cheese (I would use the Ringwould Blanc, here in Western Australia) or if you wanted a dairy free version of this, you could use the tofu ricotta from Wholefood - heal, nourish, delight. So - lots, and lots of options!! Heidi Swanson also has a great recipe for chard (silverbeet) and white beans, in her book Super Natural Cooking, it's simple and delicious. But, I thought we'd do this - Chard, Mushroom and Rice Bake. This is the dish I was making as I wrote my introduction to my previous book, Coming Home to Eat. I’ve been cooking it for years and it was a regular as my daughter Nessie was growing up, in one version or another. This version sees the addition of the high protein grain, Amaranth. When served with a dessert, it makes a simple and sustaining dinner, it packs well in a lunch box, or can be gently warmed for breakfast. It keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days.

I'd love to hear about your meals from the winter garden, and whilst we are updating this blog page so we can chat freely, facebook is also a great forum. I'll look forward to hearing about them!

A note to anonymous who asked about cocao powder - I'm going to answer that on facebook!

As a note, I really prefer to blanch my silverbeet/chard in a large pot of boiling, salted water rather than fry it in a pan - it gives a much softer texture. Place them in the pot stem first, and cook for 2 - 5 minutes, depending on how old or tough the stems are.

Still a few tomatoes left from my farmer!! I like to do this in cast iron, this is a favourite Mario Batali one I got for $20.00 (yes you read right) in the U.S

Cooked and Yummy

Mushroom, Chard or Silverbeet, Rice Bake

You can bake this in virtually any ovenproof dish, but a loaf shaped dish makes it great for cutting. I use my favourite cast iron loaf pan, measuring 28cm x 8cm, with a depth of 4cm, taking 85 mins to cook. The fundamental rule is the deeper the dish, the longer it will take to cook.

1/4 cup medium grain brown rice

1 teaspoons amaranth.

1 teaspoon whey or lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons butter or ghee

1 onion, finely sliced

150 gm mushrooms, sliced 5mm thick and roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

300 gm Rainbow Chard or Silverbeet, any thick stem chopped off.

½ cup grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

250 gm ricotta cheese

2 eggs

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tomato thinly sliced

¼ cup pine nuts, roughly chopped

Add the rice, amaranth, whey and ½ cup water to a small bowl. Cover and leave to sit out on the bench (or in the fridge when the weather is warmer) over night or during the day.

Because amaranth is so fine, draining the soaking liquid really doesn’t work. Just place the entire contents – rice, amaranth and soaking water, in a small pot, cover and gently bring to the boil. Cook over low heat, making sure no steam escapes through the lid. Cook for 45 – 50 mins from the time it comes to the boil. Check at about 40 mins, and if you’re absolutely sure there’s not enough water, add a touch more. Amaranth doesn’t cook pretty – it may all look a bit stodgy, but will be fine when embraced by all the other ingredients. When cooked turn into a medium size mixing bowl.

Pre heat the oven to 180c

Add the olive oil and butter to a medium frying pan with the onion and mushrooms. Cook over a medium – high heat for approx 5 mins, stirring every now and then. The mushroom should be lightly browned and there should be no liquid in the pan. Add the garlic, and stir through, cooking for another minute. Add the mushroom mix to the grains. Add the rainbow chard and 1 tablespoon water, and cook over a gentle heat, turning a few times, until it is well wilted. Give it a squeeze with some tongs, and drain off any liquid that remains. Add the chard to the mushroom and grain mix, stirring through. Leave to cool for a few minutes before adding the parmesan, ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper, and stir through well.

Place the mixture into a baking dish, patting it down. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on top and sprinkle with the pine nuts. Bake for 60 – 80 mins, or until the centre is set. It will ooze and bubble around the sides a little, this is fine, and will add to the flavour. Allow to cool a little before serving.

Phew, time to take a deep breath

2011-06-16T14:23:00.001+08:00

Well, that's it. The flour has settled, and the manuscript is in. If you're wondering why there has been no posts, and where I've been, I've been a mighty long way down the rabbit hole - quite a few of them actually. It's interesting, when I write a book, I inhabit it body and soul and my mind resides in whatever recipe I'm working on - literally, dreaming about them. Many recipes can be challenging, some cakes more so than others, and I find recipe development a good spiritual test to stay grounded, whilst all around you chaos reigns. The picture above is from final cake testing week, with a good long list of all the things I thought needed some double checking. Vanessa came to help me and below, is her daughter Ariel snapped one cold winters night in her pajama's, without knowing, enjoying the fruits of our work.

Today is my first second day since sending it in and I feel a bit like I've just finished high school - ready to go nuts, but not sure in which capacity to go nuts first. I'm unwinding, but yesterday was my daughters birthday, so I cooked dinner and took it over to my Mum's, where we had Nessie's choice of dinner - slow roasted organic lamb shanks, mash and brussels, and Delia Smith's Lemon Curd Steamed Pudding. On a freezing cold winters night (oh glory, it's cold) it was the perfect meal. There's been a lot of debate going on this past two weeks about the role of meat in our diets after the revelations about the slaughter of our cattle in Indonesia, with many calling for a vegetarian diet. I can't agree with this, and think it represents a shallow response to the entire issue. I couldn't even watch the Four Corners program on this, I knew I would be to distressed, as I have been for the past 20 years with how we grow, treat, feed and behave in general to our animals, but also to all our food. I have for the past 20 years felt very strongly that we should only be eating animals that have been able to live their pigness, cowness or sheepness (or whatever), allowed to eat the food they are meant to eat (and for many that is grass/pasture and not grain), that do not have their lives devalued and disrespected by the accepted value that any means justifies the financial end, they are loved and respected in their lives, and in their death. That all parts of the animal are eaten, and that thanks is given. I love that first scene in the movie The Last of the Mohican's (one of my favourite movies), where the deer is killed, and before anything else is done, they give respect to it's speed, give thanks for it's life and gratitude for the exceptionally nutrient dense food it will provide.

Whilst I am absolutely respectful of a persons choice not to eat meat, I think that we should understand the vital role animals play in organic and bio dynamic farming systems, and the exceptionally nutrient dense foods they provide. One of favourite books in the last year has been The Vegetarian Myth, by Lierre Keith. I found this hard going, but very interesting reading and can highly recommend it. The question to eat or not to eat meat because death is involved, or the impact of animals on ecosystems is enormously complex and deserves a good deal of thought. I am a huge believer that to eat is take life - no matter what we grow, some death is involved - pests, microbes and the concept of consciousness applies just as much to vegetables as to animals in my book. I do however absolutely agree that we cannot continue to eat meat how we have been - frequently, and picking out bits whilst discarding others, and I'd like to see respect and honour re enter our farming and food production systems. If you live in Western Australia, try here and here and here and here - these are all certified organic or bio - dynamic by people passionate about what they do, that honour and respect animals.

I'll be back with recipes and life - I'm heading off for a week in the rain forrest to visit my dear friend Jeanie and her daughter Violet, as they move in the house they built. Much food will be cooked, wine will be drunk and thanks will be given for good food and friendship.

x Jude

Pistachio Cupcake with a Fresh Strawberry and Rose Better Buttercream (from the new book)

How Does Your Garden Grow - Seasonal Seminar Winter 2011

2011-05-23T22:56:00.003+08:00

Everyday with Wholefood - Seasonal Seminar Series
Saturday 25th June 2011

How Does Your Garden Grow? *** Door Sales Only Now***

This time we are talking of gardens. Vegetable gardens. I’m very excited to say that the Winter Seasonal Seminar is about growing your own vegetables and herbs.

How Does Your Garden Grow? is about giving you as much information and practical knowledge to help you grow your own, in whatever space you may live. Speakers and guests will include: Your Organic Patch, Lockridge Community Garden, Leesa Caldwell, president of the Organic Growers Association WA (and her business, The Greenhouse – organic seeds and seedlings) and Green Life Soil.

I hope you’re as excited by that as I am! You won’t get a better group of people that will be able to help you plan and make your own vegetable garden for Spring a workable reality.

Event Program

Guest Speakers
Gardening Specialists – Various
Jude Blereau – Whole Food Cooking
Winter warmers & menu planning

Booking Details
Saturday 25 June, 2011
Time: 1.00pm – 4.30pm (approx) (Doors open from 12.15pm)
Venue: FJ Clarke Lecture Theatre, P Block, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands.
Access off Caladenia Ave (via Monash Ave)
parking: is available free in Car Park 3 only (boom gate will be open). All other parking around the hospital is paid. Please follow signage around to P Block (the area is under development).
Price: $38.50 inc GST (seating is unallocated, tiered theatre-style) - CASH ONLY DOOR SALES.

Books, local produce and other merchandise will be on display and sale from 12.15pm

Enquiries

events@wholefoodcooking.com.au

Please note: your Paypal receipt is your ticket. Tickets are not issued for this event. There are no refunds available if you are unable to attend.

Cupboard Love Minestrone

2011-05-09T09:40:00.000+08:00

An Easter Weekend

After a beautiful week down south over the Easter break, it's back into my kitchen, and head down. We were lucky enough to be there for the Giant Pumpkin Festival - (I didn't put in a bid in the silent auction for a pregnant goat, who was eating all the iris in the garden) great fun, and popped into the CWA (picture above) to get some wonderful fruit. Alas, they weren't doing morning tea - not enough of them the lady said, there were only a few of the older ones left to run the branch. That's incredibly sad, those country women are amazing, and the association a national treasure.
But, back to my kitchen - when you're deep into plain crumb cakes and they are playing with your head, you need a good grounding dinner - and one that's quick.

Thus, I've harvested the last of my borlotti beans, and put together a quick minestrone made from what was in the fridge. I love these beans when they are fresh - so creamy - you should be able to find these available - they are often called Cranberry Beans. A very generous dollop of home made pesto (I still have masses of basil) and I am a happy girl. I am off the firm belief that a house is not a home at this time of the year without pesto. This recipe is very forgiving, and open to your own interpretation - it's principal based, rather than ingredient based. I know I've done this recipe before - but there are infinite variations upon the theme and you can tell how much I love it at this time of the year.

Minestrone Soup
If you don't mind a bit of organic, nitrate free bacon you can chop that up first and cook it in the pan, allowing it to render out some of it's precious and nutrient dense fat to then cook the onions. You don't need a lot, and it provides amazing flavour. If you want to make this even more sustaining, try adding 1 - 2 tablespoons pearled or natural barley - just be sure to soak it overnight first (in some water with a tablespoon whey or 2 teaspoons yoghurt or kefir). Drain and add this in the beginning - it will take a good 80 minutes to be nice and soupy creamy.

good splosh of e.v.olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or a good stem of fresh
small stem fresh rosemary - finely chopped to equal 1 teaspoon
1 cup fresh borlotti beans
2 medium carrots - dice approx 1 cm
2 - 3 ribs celery - cut approx 1 cm
1 bulb fennel - cut into 1 cm slices approx
5 - 6 tomatoes roughly chopped into small pieces or 1 440gm can
1 medium zucchini - cut into small pieces

Firstly, develop a flavour base. Add the oil to a medium size stew pan (I use my 24cm dutch oven), onion, garlic and dried and fresh herbs. Cook over a gentle heat for approx 10 mins, not frying, just developing a little colour. For Fresh Beans - You will need to give them a head start - add the beans, and cover by 3 cm with water (or stock if you are lucky enough to have some). Cover, leaving the lid ajar, and cook for 40 mins on a gentle simmer before adding the other ingredients. For Cooked Beans (from a can or your freezer), simply add the drained and rinsed beans. Add the carrots, celery, fennel (if it has some of those lovely fronds, chop those up and add those too) and the tomatoes. If they are fresh tomatoes, give them a bit of time to sweat out their juices, so leave it to very gently cook with the lid on for about 20 minutes, then continue on. Barely cover with water or stock and gently simmer until the vegetables are cooked - approx 30 minutes. If you've added barley, you may need longer. If the soup is too thin, increase the heat and reduce it down - play with this - the liquid should take on a thicker appearance, and not be watery. Taste, add a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (I haven't added the salt earlier on as it toughens the beans). Add the zucchini and cook for another 5 - 8 minutes. I don't bother with a sweetener to balance the acidity of the tomato here, because the pesto will help with that, but if you need maybe a touch of something sweet - rapadura sugar, apple juice, vino cotto - just a tiny touch of something. Serve with a good dollop of pesto.

Pesto - Classic
This keeps brilliantly - freeze in small bags for a cold winters day, or place in an clean glass jar, covered with olive oil by approx 3 mm, in the fridge for 2 - 3 weeks - if indeed, it lasts that long and is not eaten.

100 gm pine nuts
good pinch sea salt - coarse is good
2 large handfuls of fresh basil
50 gm grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
3 cloves garlic - crushed
80 ml e.v.olive oil

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Try not to blend for too long - pesto should be chunky, not a smooth homogenous blend. Alternatively, to make it by hand (with less washing) use a mortar and pestle: place the salt, nuts and cheese into a mortar and pound until you have a rough mix. Add the basil a bit at a time, and pound it down - when it's all broken down, add the olive oil and gently mix through.

Pesto - Dairy Free:
100 gm pine nuts
3 large handfuls fresh basil
2 teaspoons white (shiro) miso
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
100 ml e.v.olive oil

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined but still a little chunky. Taste and adjust for flavour - you can also lightly roast the pine nuts.

A Cake for the Easter Weekend

2011-04-19T09:18:00.003+08:00

Walnut and Yoghurt Cake

I do love Easter weekend - the weather is cooler and it's not as rushed. Especially this time around, with a 5 day long weekend. Ahhhh - big sigh. Sometime over those five days you are going to want a piece of cake with a cup of tea or coffee. Nothing too rich or time consuming, but wholesome and simple. The cake I'm going to introduce you to, is a sneak look from the new book (nowhere near yet ready - and not available until next year), but this cake is perfect for the Easter weekend. Very simple to throw together, not too sweet and keeps very well - in fact just gets better.

A couple of things about the recipe - I call for a thick yoghurt. Now most of those - even organic, will be thickened with milk solids - yuk, and not good for you. Look for a real one - just milk and cultures. True yoghurt is fairly thinish. I've made my own here, and it's too easy (oh, and very good). I've used a natural yoghurt (I like the Paris Creek and Shultz) and let the whey drip off. Roughly 1 kg real, full cream, non - homogenized yoghurt will give you 500 gm labne and 500ml whey. Just line a sieve with 4 layers of muslin over a bowl, and leave it too sit for 3 - 4 hours (if it's hot, do this in the fridge). Secondly, your olive oil is critical - all extra virgin olive oils are certainly not equal - even organic. Choose one that has a full and fragrant flavour, and it goes without saying it should not be rancid (or your nuts for that matter). Rancidity in your nuts or oil will make the cake bitter and nasty. Finally I call for quality cinnamon - something fresh and alive - ground cinnamon looses it's oomph very quickly, so it might be time for you to buy a new batch, or if you have a Thermomix or Prep Mill, to get some wonderful organic cinnamon quills and grind them to a fine powder.

This cake is also lovely served without the syrup - you could add honey and cinnamon to the left over yoghurt (to taste) and serve it with that - seriously good. Enjoy the long weekend.....

Walnut and Yoghurt Cake

The Dry Mix

1 cup / 110 gm walnuts, lightly roasted and roughly chopped

1 cup / 145 gm wholemeal spelt flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon quality cinnamon

grated zest of ½ lemon and 1 small orange

The Wet Mix:

2 eggs

1/3 cup quality extra virgin olive oil

¾ cup thick yoghurt

½ cup rapadura sugar

The Syrup:

Juice 1 small lemon (or ½ larger lemon) and 1 large orange

1 cinnamon quill

¼ - ½ cup honey

Pre heat oven to 180c or 165c if fan forced.

Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper – do not cut the paper to fit the tin, but rather fold it, so the syrup that is poured on later doesn’t seep through the paper.

Add the dry mix ingredients to a mixing bowl, and whisk through to evenly distribute.

Add the wet mix ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together. Add to the dry and stir through until just combined. Turn into the baking tin, and bak for 30 – 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

While the cake is cooking, add the lemon, orange juice and cinnamon quill to a small saucepan and simmer over a medium heat for apprx 10 minutes or until reduced to a third of it’s original volume. Remove from heat and add ¼ cup honey, stirring to dissolve. Taste and add more honey as desired. When cake is cooked, use the skewer to make a few holes in the cake, and immediately pour the syrup over the cake. Leave to sit for 15 – 30 minutes to soak through.

What's in the Bag - Repeat Everyday with Wholefood Seminar

2011-04-17T19:37:00.003+08:00

What’s in the bag?
Nourishing lunches for children at school and adults at work and play!

Thursday 16th June from 7pm to 10pm **** SOLD OUT - NO DOOR SALES *****
with Jude Blereau & Julie Eady

Due to popular demand we are repeating the Autumn 2011 Seminar! During the seminar we will attempt to answer one of the eternal questions we ask daily. What can I eat for lunch?? Lunch is an often overlooked meal, and it’s very easy to be seduced by a quick sandwich. We'll look at feeding children and adults and also take a look at menu planning!

I’m very excited to say that Julie Eady from Additive Alert will once again join me as a guest speaker. If you’ve not had the opportunity to hear Julie, I would highly recommend it. Julie is a full time Mum to three young children who developed her interest in food additives and their effects on health after the birth of her first child. She was shocked to discover what was actually in much of the food commercially available. Many of the additives she found are banned in most other countries. Julie is a well informed and inspirational speaker, and will give you up to date information on food additives, their dangers and what you can do to avoid them. Jude will then go on to give you ideas for wholesome and delicious lunchboxes, with recipes.

Booking Details ***** SOLD OUT ******

Date: Thursday 16th June, 2011

Time: 7pm – 10pm (Doors open from 6.15pm)

Venue: FJ Clarke Lecture Theatre, P Block, QEII Medical Centre,
Nedlands. Access off Caladenia Ave (via Monash Ave)*

Price: ******** SOLD OUT ***************

Books and other merchandise will be on display and sale.

* please note that parking is available in carparks off Monash Ave and in other carparks around the uni and hospital. Please leave time to find parking in the event that the immediate carpark is full

If you are not already a subscriber I recommend you join my newsletter mailing list for information about this and future seminars and events:www.wholefoodcooking.com.au

A Hearty Autumnal Ploughmans Lunch

2011-04-08T16:15:00.000+08:00

I've promised to post the recipes from the Trust Organic Festival last Saturday - it's taken me a few days, but here I am. The crackers have way laid me - that is the crackers I've been working on for the Baking book, and I have been deep into cracker land. Here's a peek at the Barley, Wheat and Rosemary Crackers - very crisp and very yummy. That's salt you can see dusted on top of them.

The photo up the top and below - that's my glorious Mexican Rose vine, which seems to be undaunted by the hideously hot weather that this summer has bestowed upon us. It remains unashamed of who she is, climbs freely, and is deliciously pink. And below - that is the ceiling of my front verandah - who would not want a ceiling like that ? I certainly do want it, love it - the flowers are like pink jewels, dripping down. I will cut this back to nothing (and I mean nothing - short sticks really) in about 2 months time, and it will without fail, come to life to take over the front verandah again next summer. I am a very lucky woman. But for another photo of beautiful flowers, check out this and this. Heidi Swanson is a most gifted photographer and I wish her camera and eye could catch my Mexican Rose - I'm sure it would do it better justice than mine!

But, to the Ploughmans Lunch. Gosh I love them, my favourite way to eat - a bit of this and a bit of that. There's going to be a few recipes - but that will make up for all the times I don't give you any at all and I did promise to post them, but alas I didn't take a photo - it was a mad, bad (in the sense that is was fabulous) day. I made two versions - a meat based, and vegetarian/vegan based. The Waldorf Salad was a mix of fresh Gala apples and the inside celery greens and stems - both very finely chopped, mixed with greens available on the day. Tossed with some home made mayonnaise flavoured with just a touch of sweet curry spices, and nice and lemony. Oh, and a few roasted new season walnuts! I also served the Vegetarian Plate with a good slab of cheese - preferably goats, but on the day, we used the Over the Moon Organic Feta, but can I tell you the Lentil and Walnut Pate with Goats Cheese is a winner combination....

Meat Based:

1. Slow Braised Shoulder Pork (Spencers Brook Farm)

2. Waldorf Salad

3. Apple Jelly

4. Apple Chutney

5. Yallingup Wood Fired Bread - grilled

Vegetarian:

1. Lentil and Walnut Pate (Mt Zero, Victoria)

2. Waldorf Salad

3. Apple Jelly

4. Apple Chutney

5. Yallingup Wood Fired Bread - grilled

LENTIL & WALNUT PATE

Dairy free - gluten free - vegan

Serves approx 12 - 16

A simple and delicious pate, which can be served as is, or left to set so it is easy to slice. Can be frozen and keeps for approx 3 - 4 days when refrigerated.

2/3 cup green lentils - sorted and rinsed well

1 bay leaf

2 cups walnuts

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium purple onion - finely diced

3/4 tablespoon dried basil

3 teaspoons minced garlic

3 teaspoons mirin

1/4 -1/2 teaspoon umeboshi paste or salt

1 tablespoon shiro miso

Pre – Heat your oven to 180c or 165c if fan forced.

Place lentils in pot and cover with water to reach approx 2 cm above lentils. Bring to the boil, lower heat and simmer until lentils are tender, approx 30 - 45 minutes. Drain lentils and set aside.

Roast the walnuts until just aromatic - approx 10mins. Walnuts burn easily - when they are lightly browned they can be overdone.

Very gently sauté the onions, basil and garlic in oil, over a low heat approx 10 - 15 minutes until soft. You are cooking, not frying the onions.

Combine all ingredients together in food processor. Check for taste, adding more mirin, salt or miso as needed. Serve as is for a soft dip, or place into desired dish and refrigerate until cold to slice.

· Shiro Miso helps bind and give body to this vegetarian pate. I prefer to use Spiral brand.

· Mirin balances the astringency of the lentils beautifully, and again I prefer Spiral brand

A QUICK AND SIMPLE APPLE CHUTNEY:
Gluten free / Vegan

3 - 4 medium apples – peeled, any bruised spots discarded, cut into small dice

½ cup approx raisins or sultana’s

½ medium onion, finely chopped

½ cup apple juice

½ cup approx rapadura sugar

2 - 3 teaspoons approx, fresh ginger, cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon good garam masala

½ stick cinnamon

1 cup approx apple cider vinegar

Add ingredients to a 24cm pot and gently simmer, stirring often. After approx 15 mins, check and adjust the sugar and vinegar for flavour, adding more of each as needed to get the flavour I wanted - sharp, and not too sweet. You can add more spice as desired.

Continue to simmer for 50 mins or until the apple has cooked, the mix has reduced and thickened. Store in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

* Rapadura Sugar is a whole cane sugar, where the cane juice is filtered, and the water is evaporated off at low temperature. It is rich in minerals and vitamins and considered one of the most nourishing of sweeteners. It gives the chutney the most luscious, not too sweet and rich flavour.

FRUIT JELLIES - traditional and vegetarian
Gluten free

You can make it with either gelatine - which provides great nutrition, or with Agar sea vegetable, which provides a wealth of minerals. Gelatine will give a smoother textured jelly, but takes a long time to set, whereas agar will set as it cools, but has a coarser texture. I will only use a very high quality and pure gelatine - Bernard Jensen is the brand and you can get it here. When the jelly has set, turn it out and slice as desired.

Agar based jelly:

Agar dissolves best in high pectin and low acid juices. Simple juices such as Apple, Apricot, Pear, with some Strawberry or Guava are all good choices. Avoid high citrus, grape and pineapple juices. I’ve included fruits in this jelly, but you can easily leave them out, and have a simple jelled fruit juice.

Kitchen Notes:

Adding Kudzu to the jelly: will give an agar jelly a smoother texture.

Mix 1 ½ teaspoons kudzu with 1 tablespoon juice. Once the agar has dissolved, whisk this into the pot and allow to come to the boil, stirring constantly.

2 cups freshly pressed apple juice - any scum removed

1 teaspoon agar powder

Place juice into a saucepan and whisk in the agar powder. Gently bring to the boil and cook at a gentle simmer for 8 mins from the time it first came to the boil. Stir frequently with a whisk or spoon to prevent the agar from sinking to the bottom. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Pour the jelly into dish of choice. Cool slightly and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until set.

Gelatine Based Jelly:

Kitchen Notes:

You’ll need 1½ teaspoons of gelatine to set 1 cup of jelly to a wobbly consistency, which is great for young toddlers. For a firmer set jelly, increase the gelatine to 2 teaspoons per cup.

2 cups freshly pressed apple juice - any scum removed

3 teaspoons gelatine

Place juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil and immediately turn off. Add the gelatine to the hot liquid and stir through until it dissolves.

Pour the jelly into dish of choice. Cool slightly and refrigerate for 5 – 8 hours, or until set.

Pork Along the Lines of Cath Claringbold’s Pulled Pork:

Cath made an amazing pulled pork terrine for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival - this is my rough version, using the Spencers Brook Pork, shoulder neck/collar butt. I didn't have any chicken stock, so cheated and used water, with a chicken carcass in the pot and made the stock as it cooked!

1 pork neck/shoulder collar butt - approx 1 kg
1 tablespoon good quality Garam Masala (a nice fragrant one)
good sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
60 gm olive oil

2 brown onions, cut into large dice

3 cloves garlic

good splosh white wine

500 ml chicken stock

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 sprig fresh sage

5 gm fennel seed

Pre heat oven to 120c. If fan forced, this may need to be approx 110c

Rub the garam masala, salt and pepper over the meat. If possible, leave this to marinate overnight (if doing this, don't use the salt, rub that on the next day). Heat the oil in a large cast iron casserole dish, add the pork should and cook over a medium heat, turning the meat to lightly brown all sides evenly.

Remove the pork to a plate.

Lower the heat and add the onion and cook gently until browned, then add the onion and cook gently until browned then add the garlic cloves and soften them slightly (if you haven't got chicken stock and are using a carcass, add this now so it browns with the onion.)

Add the white wine and half of the chicken stock, thyme, sage and fennel. Place the pork shoulder back in the pot, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Leave to cook gently, basting occasionally and gradually adding the remaining wine and chicken stock throughout a 5 - 7 hour cooking period. If like me, you don't have chicken stock, simply use water.

When the pork is ready it should pull away from the bone.

Lift the pork shoulder carefully out of the pot and set aside to cool a little. Leave the pork until it is cool enough to handle and then pull the meat apart into small strips. Cut off any dry outside pieces there may be.
Place the stock and chicken carcass back on the stove and reduce over a high heat until thick and delicious - pour this over the meat.

The Things I Loved about the Melbourne Wine and Food Festival

2011-03-23T08:47:00.000+08:00

A Wholly Edible Garden

I've just returned home after 2 weeks in Melbourne, honoured to be a part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. It was very, very special, and to borrow a description from the Food and Wine Team, soul enriching. Food is again making sense, providence counts, the way it's grown counts and most of all, it's again doing the profound thing it's always should do - feed people, and meet the hunger for food and connection (and this I know is a borrow from Jessica Prentice - her book titled Full Moon Feast, Food and the Hunger for Connection) (and it's a brilliant and beautiful book). To take a line from Terry Durack and his 50 Things I Learnt at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, here are the things (amongst so many) I loved.

The Kogi Team - Roy Choi, Alice, Natasha and Caroline. These gorgeous people are sitting right, smack in the middle of the universal flow of all things good. They are 21st century angels just dressed a little differently. Roy loves rap, they are funky as but they cook and do what they do because they want to feed people. Take this quote (borrowed from Terry Durack) "You might think tacos are just a quick cheap snack. When you're a Mexican labourer earning 30 cents an hour' says Roy Choi, 'the taco is that one moment in life when you realise the shit isn't that bad'. And this - not a direct quote but close -"whether we like it or not, there are a large number of people who buy cheap take out, because it's all they can afford. If we can sell them something real and delicious at the same price, then we can begin change. We can make it delicious and special, and when we are in a street, people eat together, and we can start to build and strengthen a community" This is my kind of spiritual.
Cath Claringbold - Cath is such a knowledgeable, generous and creative cook and had asked me to come over and present Master Class with her. Thank you Cath. Cath has championed the use of the Tasmanian grown Quinoa now available, and made the most delicious quinoa pudding along the lines of rice pudding, cooking it in whey - was very, very good I can tell you. Cath is now busy helping her husband Darren Purchese and his partner Ian Burch to set up Burch & Purchase, Sweet Studio. Yum!
Tasmanian Quinoa. The Damons are growing it (along with Spelt) and Mt Zero are distributing it. I haven't used it as yet, but will get onto it - from what i see, much more of the Saponin (a natural insecticide the plant produces) is on it, so it needs a good wash in a sieve, and seems to take less time to cook - but, don't quote me on that. They also bought along the Quinoa leaves, and wow, they taste like Quinoa - delicious in a salad!
Nigella Lawson: Now, I readily admit I have not been her biggest fan, but I am a convert. I loved that she spoke so deeply to the issue that the food we cook at home to eat and sustain us, is not the pretty, perfect food we often see on TV, magazines or restaurants. That we might have our failures, and that is fine. And, as Nigella continued and even was icing her cake, you could literally see the peoples shoulders relax - ahh (big sigh) - the icing on their cake didn't need to look as perfect as on MasterChef. No one was going to appear in their home and grade them.
The Violet dessert plate at Cutler and Co: Okay, they probably used a refined white sugar, but this is how I like refined white evil to be used - seductively, with restraint and an eye to allowing the true flavour to come through. Violet Sorbet, Chocolate Ganache, Sour Cherry and Clove Meringue - ooh, it was tart, the chocolate intense and a touch bitter and insanely good.
The Organic Roast Chicken and vegetables at PM 24. Phillipe Mouchel makes proper food, simple and sublimely delicious that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. He cares about the food and you. This dish is seriously good. And cheap. Truly it puts the Perth boys and girls to shame.
The Jelly Boys - Bompass and Parr. Wow. Go to their website now and read about them, you will love it. I asked them how on earth they decided to become 'jellymongers' - " we got drunk one night" was the answer. These young men are a really heartwarming assurance that a younger generation are taking all that science and intellect, and mixing it with great heart and tradition - creating their own new versions of how they want to be in the world. Ask Harry about something jelly and his eyes will sparkle as he tells you about the things they build. Ask Sam and he will tell you about about the funeral convention (of sorts) they went to whilst in Melbourne to discuss funeral jelly. I ask you - how cool is that? Apparently, jelly is a traditional English food at funerals, but the convention was about the role of food at funerals. I'm so interested in this, of course it's important - and an essential part of how we mark any big moment in our life journey, and I can't believe I haven't thought about it before. These boys rock.
The Edible Garden: Once again Diggers (this is where I get a lot of my seeds for my garden) set up a beautiful, abundant, wholly edible organic garden smack bang in the middle of the city. Free cooking demonstrations for all at lunch and dinner - you can see me below getting started at one, oh and the car filled with pumpkins at the top..
Vassette: The most gorgeous attitude to flowers I've seen outside of San Francisco. Flower shop in Brunswick.
But should maybe be number 1. Coffee at Market Lane Coffee. Full cream, non- homogenised organic, Victorian milk. Mmmmm. Five Senses Coffee - the Perth boys made good - smmoooth, delicious flavour.... MMmmmmmmm. Now I know that some of you reading this will remember I've not been drinking coffee - it does stress me out. But being in Melbourne, kind of on holiday a bit, it was wonderful.
Fashion. I still love it - you can take the girl out of the fashion designer label she once had back in the 80's, but you can't take the love of it out of the girl. Every woman - especially those from the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Team, looked stunning. Dressed to suit their bodies and style - Melbourne women care about how they look. I did buy a Melbourne dress and plan to give it a good wearing!
Rachel Allen from Ireland - such a lovely, lovely woman - I have 2 of her books, and can recommend them for good family cooking.

At the Edible Garden Demonstration

Cath Claringold and myself - Cath is holding a Quinoa Flower!

The Damons from Tasmania

Decent Scone, Jam and Cream from my favourite Cuppa Cottage in Sandringham

My dear friend Jeanie who came down from NSW to help me throughout the festival - couldn't have done it without her

The Water Lily

2011-03-01T15:30:00.000+08:00

The past few weeks (well months really) have been hot and unrelenting. My garden is weary and I am weary from the effort of trying to keep my brain intact and clear!! I've given up trying to keep flowers in the house, everything wilts and dies under the heat (even with some air - conditioning). But on Sunday last, after the busy days of cooking for the Seasonal Seminar, work and life in general, I was shopping and felt a flower was needed to lift the spirits. A pink flower. And there was the water lily - a robust and wonderful thing, looking up at me with a smiling face, and colour flowing into my body and soul.

One of the treats we cooked for afternoon tea at the seasonal seminar, was a zucchini loaf - this is zucchini time, they are cheap and plentiful at the moment. This is a simple, quick and easy to make loaf that lasts well.

A couple of notes - the recipe calls for white spelt flour (1 cup = 130gm) and 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour (165gm). Make sure the wholemeal weighs more like 145gm, so that means the cup is very lightly packed. Weight has a huge (huge) bearing on how your end result will turn out, and I find that 145gm is a good measurement for 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour. Now, if you want to do this with wheat flour, yes - you can, but just keep to the same weight measurements. Forgo the cup entirely and just weigh. Don't stress if you don't have dulse flakes - they are a great way to slip in a little more mineral goodness, but the loaf will taste fine without them. I like butter in this recipe, but if you would like to use coconut oil, just know that it will be a little more crumbly when cool, and the crumb won't be as gorgeous. You could always just use a macadamia, almond or even extra virgin olive oil too.

Oh, your oven. You will see the recipe calls for 180c - a moderate oven. If you have a fan forced oven, this will be anywhere from 150c (my oven) to 165c.

I've simply taken a photo this time of the recipe from my book Wholefood for Children, Nourishing Young Children with Whole and Organic Foods, it seemed the easier thing to do! Add all the ingredients to a big bowl, mix it with your hands, and add the wet !! The amount of milk should be fine with that measurement of flour, but it should not be too firm a mix - you can see the picture below. If so, add a little more milk, even yoghurt is fine.

That's all there is too it - it freezes well, and best of all, eats well. Enjoy.

Next week I am off to Melbourne (and it's cooler weather) for the Melbourne Wine and Food Festival - the wonderful Cath Claringbold and I will be doing a Seasonal Salvation Masterclass, and I'm going to be at the Edible Garden also. Amazing, a whole organic garden right in the city !!! Days of meeting amazing people and talking about food!! But especially sustainable, good, real food. I'll update you, so stay tuned....

Full Moon

2011-02-18T20:31:00.000+08:00

Full Moon from the Front Verandah Friday 18th Feb

My phone buzzed with a message " Mum, check out the moon" and indeed, it was worth checking out. Rising full after another too hot a day, thank goodness we are heading towards Autumn, and leaving summer. Mind you, there will be more heat, but it's been a hot summer. In fact, a very hot week - this is what I've been turning too for breakfast - you know, when you need something fresh, but with a bit of body. Now, this salad pictured is using strawberries and mulberries, and was taken a few weeks ago - those fruits have gone, and I've been using late season peaches. Same plan - greens (whatever you have), ripe gorgeous fruit and a soft cheese - I love goat, in particular the Ringwould Blanc. Located in the South Western Australia, the Saunders family took on Gabrielle Kervella's legendary goats, and transplanted the business from the dry hills of Gidge, to the lush green of the south west. It's a beautiful, young cheese, but I would just as easily use the Frais.

Toss it together with a delicious dressing - I've used a fruity oil (Agonis Ridge Olive Oil pressed with Orange - a West Australian Organic Olive Oil) but if I had any good quality Walnut Oil left, I would have used that. Vinegar - definitely depends on the fruit - but balsamic is a great choice for those dark mulberries, but for peaches I've been using a raspberry wine vinegar my sister gave me for Christmas. Salt, pepper and just a touch of maple syrup if needed - I've kept the garlic out of it. Taste and play with the dressing - really it just needs a touch of sharpness, oilyness, salt and it's delicious.Toasted nuts would also be a great addition - and a little more nutrient density to keep you going.

Just so you can see that I haven't been slacking off, a photo of the testing that's been going on in the kitchen. I am in Baking Book land, currently in biscuit and bar land. The terrain is interesting, I am even

dreaming of them. Yesterday I was absolutely seduced by the idea of a World Peace cookie, having seen Dorie Greenspan's chocolate cookie of the same name (she is a fabulous baker), but I felt the chocolate shortbread wouldn't be quite enough to induce world peace, and thus indeed, found myself dreaming of said World Peace cookie last night - I'm still not quite there, but in my dreams it looked golden and flecked with orange and dark cherry, and in that dreaming way, absolutely knew that this was the one. Mmm, must be that full moon.

So onwards I go searching for the World Peace Holy Grail of cookies - wishing you full moon insights, love and deliciousness

x Jude

Everyday with Wholefood - Autumn 2011 Seasonal Seminar

2011-02-04T22:07:00.002+08:00

What’s in the bag?
Nourishing lunches for children at school and adults at work and play!

Saturday 26th February 2011 - 1pm to 4.30pm **** FULLY BOOKED ****

Wholefood Cooking Seasonal Seminars are designed to give you information on what foods are in season, idea’s on how to use them and to introduce you to the many growers and people in Perth doing amazing things with whole and real food. Each seminar has a central them as it’s focus, and for our Autumn Seminar on Saturday 26th February, we will attempt to answer one of the eternal questions we ask daily. What can I eat for lunch?? For children heading back to school and for ourselves. Lunch is an often overlooked meal, and it’s very easy to be seduced by a quick sandwich.

I’m very excited to say that Julie Eady from Additive Alert will be our guest speaker, and if you’ve not had the opportunity to hear Julie, I would highly recommend it. Julie is a full time Mum to three young children who developed her interest in food additives and their effects on health after the birth of her first child and was shocked to discover what was actually in much of the food commercially available. Many of the additives she found are banned in most other countries. Julie is a well informed and inspirational speaker, and will give you up to date information on food additives, their dangers and what you can do to avoid them. Jude will then go on to give you ideas for wholesome and delicious lunchboxes, with recipes.

Booking Details ****** FULLY BOOKED ****

Date: Saturday 26 February, 2011

Time: 1pm – 4.30pm (Doors open from 12.15pm)

Venue: FJ Clarke Lecture Theatre, P Block, QEII Medical Centre,
Nedlands. Access off Caladenia Ave (via Monash Ave)*

* please note that parking is available in carparks off Monash Ave and in other carparks around the uni and hospital. Please leave time to find parking in the event that the immediate carpark is full

Repeat seminar - we may try and repeat this seminat in June please register your interest in attending a second seminar by leaving your details at: events@wholefoodcooking.com.au

If you are not already a subscriber I recommend you join my newsletter mailing list for information about this and future seminars and events:www.wholefoodcooking.com.au

Food After Christmas

2011-01-16T13:22:00.001+08:00

The beginnings of corn chowder

One of the best things left after Christmas was the Organic Turkey carcass, with roasted wings still attached. I made that into a simple stock with the last of the carrots and leeks from the garden (in truth, they were a tad dodgy for delicious eating - it's been crazy hot, and the garden was at it's end), some bay leaves and a few peppercorns and a generous splash of white wine. I let it simmer from first light to sundown and it was a stunner - the king of stocks. I also reduced it down a fair bit and it was silky with a deeply coloured hue. Smelling it reminded me instantly of chicken soup we had when we were children. When cold it wibbled and wobbled showing that a fair amount of gelatine was in the stock. Excellent. I've frozen a fair bit, but dinner this night was corn chowder. The corn has started to crop here in Perth, and fresh from my favourite growers at the Subiaco Farmers Market, Hamel Home Grown it was unbelievably sweet and perfect. The soup was rich, creamy, chunky and just perfect for a summers night, with left overs for breakfast.

corn chowder in a bowl- silky from the duck stock.

But that's not all that we've been eating - the apricots have been some of the best I've seen for years, and these were simply halved, sprinkled with coconut palm sugar, vanilla paste and butter and roasted in the oven. We ate these with the last of the ice - cream my daughter made for Christmas Day - a simple, perfect dessert in every way.

This is me going cracker dog. My daughter (at 28) has felt I've neglected her need for Lemon Meringue of the past year, so I made one. I've got to say, this was the best one I think I've ever done. In the picture below the curd hadn't quite set, but we ate it anyway. The meringue was an Italian Meringue, where you make a sugar syrup (I did it with a less refined, golden castor sugar) beating that into the whites. This gives you a very, very stable meringue, which lasts. Indeed this one lasted 3 days in the fridge, with no deterioration to the meringue at all. Very happy. Also I did a lime/lemon curd - I am a huge fan of the lime, and these Tahitian limes were gorgeous. Yes, we had a sliver for breakfast also.

And the cooking goes on - the board in the kitchen looks quite empty at the moment, with just a reminder to culture the cream with kefir, but will undoubtably fill up over the coming weeks and year. I'm starting work on my new book - on baking - and I'll be keeping you updated. But summer also rolls on, and I hope to share with you some of the simple meals that keep me going everyday, especially important when there will be so much cake around!! New Years Resolution - make sure I do walk most mornings in the cool, I have to taste those biscuits, muffins, cakes and pies after all to make sure they are perfect for you. I wish you the most wonderful new year, may you be nourished in every way.

x Jude

CORN CHOWDER:

will only be gluten free if the tamari used is wheat free

A delicious, quick and easy dinner in mid - summer when the corn is abundant. Coriander is a great addition to this if available, added at the last minute. Because corn has such a touch outer skin, you may like to sieve the soup after blending. It's very forgiving with ingredients - I didn't have onions (but had leeks), and left celery out all together.

2 tablespoons ghee, butter or olive oil

1 large, or 2 small onions, cut into small dice

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

4 stalks celery, cut into small dice

4 medium / 250 gm carrots, well scrubbed and cut into small dice

2 medium potatoes / 360 gm, well scrubbed and cut into small dice

Generous handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped

4 corn, kernels cut off

pinch sea salt

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

7 medium leaves / 45 gm Tuscan Black kale, finely sliced. If the kale is very large (such as Curly or Russian), reduce the amount,

finely slice, and then roughly chop.

Wheat free tamari for balancing

Mirin for balancing

Add the ghee to a 24 cm pot with the onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, basil, corn kernels, salt and cook over a gentle heat for 8 mins or so, stirring every now and then. Add the stock, partly cover with a lid and cook at a gentle simmer for 30 mins or until the vegetables are soft.

Remove approx 1/3 – ½ (one third – half) of the mixture and blend to a puree (taking care not to burn yourself), and return to the pot. Check for taste, adjusting the flavours if need be – chicken stock will generally be sweeter than a vegetable. Add a little tamari or mirin if needed ½ (half) - 1 teaspoon. Add the kale, stir though and cook at a gentle simmer for 10 minutes.

Peach or Apricot and Berry Cake

2010-12-10T16:15:00.000+08:00

After a very dry winter, and early summer the only upside I can see is that the fruit is early and delicious. What can one do other than go crazy eating apricots and peaches, with juices dripping down your hands? Yes, definitely preserve them, but how about a quick, simple cake that makes the body and soul sing.
This recipe is a riff on one of my favourites from my first book Wholefood, and is a simple butter cake enriched with nuts. I did make this with almonds, but now the organic macadamia's are finally available (and can I tell you they are very, very good), I would probably use those. In the more relaxed weeks leading into Christmas, this has even been known to constitute breakfast. Truly. Because it's got a large amount of fruit in it, left overs will need to be stored in the fridge in our hot weather. For those of you lucky enough to be in winter, this idea still works - I would suggest apple and frozen berries (but don't thaw the berries first, just add them frozen). I've always dreamed of a white christmas, but I think I'm a product of my southern hemisphere life - when we lived in New Orleans, come July, school holidays, heat and gardenia's in bloom, all I could think (and feel) was Christmas! It's a perfect cake for the warmer weather, not at all heavy or rich, but light, fruity and delicious.

As you head into your Christmas season, give this tried and true a try!!

Seasonal Fruit Teacake

This is fabulous with plums, but really you can use whatever fruit you have on hand. - This cake is best made using electric beaters—the butter and sugar must be well creamed and eggs must be added 1 at a time. Because this cake has a large amount of butter, it is not as essential that the batter be slightly wetter than normal. If not using plums, go from the picture above as to how much raw fruit to add - really, go crazy, as you will be amazed how it reduces in size when cooked.

1 x 24 cm springform cake tin - but I used a 30 x 21cm baking dish

1 cup unbleached plain flour – I like to use spelt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup almond meal

1 1/4 cups wholemeal flour - I use spelt

250 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup rapadura

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla essence

1/4 cup (60ml) milk

15 plums (blood, maraposa, or ruby blood)

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 teaspoon approx ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).

Lightly grease a 24 cm springform cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper.

Sieve the unbleached plain flour together with the baking powder. Add the almond meal and wholemeal flour, whisk through and set aside.

Using electric beaters, cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until creamy. Add vanilla, then gently mix in flours and almond meal. Add milk if needed. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin.

Cut plums in halves (or quarters if large), discarding the seeds and press into cake batter, cut side down. If using peaches, peel first and slice into fairly good size. The plums will reduce as they cook, so try and fit in as many as you can. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and cinnamon. Bake for 1-1 1/2 hours, until the centre is cooked and a skewer comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then remove and cool on a wire rack - or cut and eat warm.

Rustic Tart - At Last

2010-11-09T14:37:00.001+08:00

Finally, at long last here is the Rustic Tart, as promised. It's a glorious dessert - really, just lots of fruit, and a little bit of pastry. If you have some pastry in the freezer all the better - it will take you even less time to put it together. I like to use a sweet shortcrust for this, but you could also (if you must) buy a good quality one like the Careme (available from good supermarkets and specialist food stores throughout Australia). I like to make it with spelt, and the results are no different than if I did it with wheat, it's just a little more digestible. I love cooking with spelt flour, it's gluten structure is far more easily tolerated than wheat, and it's more water soluble - also easier on the digestive system.
Now, making pastry. You can do this. It's not hard, you just need to know the rules for shortcrust world - namely keep everything cold. The entire aim is to not overwork the butter into the flour and the heat from your hands melt it. Don't play with it, don't keep mixing it - once you've added the water this will only help develop gluten, and make it tough. When rolling, make sure your pastry is cold - if it starts to soften, and the butter smears, don't just keep adding more flour - pop it on a tray lined with baking paper, back into the fridge so it chills a little (just a couple of minutes or so) then take it out and go again. Remember, cold pastry into a very hot oven. As it cooks, butter should sizzle around the base of the tart. In the one here, I've used juicing apples (cheap), a handful of strawberries (expensive, but delicious) and a handful of mulberries picked by a student for class. Very soon though it will time for apricots!!!!! My daughter Nessie made a mulberry ice-cream (yes, it's mulberry season) and it was glorious with the tart.

Make sure it's well chilled before going into the oven, and don't be afraid to pile it up with fruit, it will cook down.

Leftovers make a nourishing (for the soul) and delicious breakfast the next morning.

The Pastry:

2 cups unbleached plain flour - wheat or spelt

1 1/2 tablespoon raw or golden castor sugar added.

180 gm unsalted butter

6 - 11 tablespoons ice cold water

The Filling:

740 gm apples, peeled, cored, cut into quarters and thinly sliced

300 gm blackberries

1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons raw sugar or maple syrup (taste your fruit first and see how

sweet it is, remember there is sugar in the pastry.

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch or flour

Preheat your oven to 200c or 190 c if fan forced

Make the pastry:

Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour and sugar until it is incorporated into the flour, but still quite chunky. The chunks do need to be small, but it is quite okay if some of them are a little smaller than a kidney bean. If using a food processor, pulse one or two times, or until ready and turn out into a bowl. Don’t be tempted to add the water to the food processor, it is too easy to overwork the pastry.

Using a bread and butter knife, begin to mix the cold water into the flour and butter. This is the step most people need to keep practicing - you will never use the same amount of water twice - it depends on the freshness of the flour, the humidity, the temperature and if any of your butter has melted. Also, the higher the percentage of wholemeal flour, the more water needed. The idea is to add a small amount of water, begin to cut and mix it in with the knife. As you continue to add the water, little bit by little bit, you are cutting the wet bits into the dry bits, cutting, mixing and stirring. You use only as much water as you need. By cutting the wet dough into the dry bits, you avoid using too much water (another reason for tough pastry). Once all the mix looks moist, bring it together into a ball, DO NOT KNEAD OR PLAY WITH IT. Flatten the ball, wrap and chill long enough to take the softness of the butter - approx 20 mins.

Roll out pastry in between baking paper to approx 30 - 35cm diameter circle. After each 2 - 3 rolls, remove the top piece of paper, then replace it (this detaches the pastry from the paper and allows it to move over the paper as you roll), gently turn over and then repeat with the paper underneath, adding another sheet of baking paper if the pastry becomes too large.

Between rolling, sprinkle the pastry and paper with a little flour - this will enable you to easily fold the edges, later on. If the weather is warm, pop the pastry on a tray (still in between the baking paper) and into the fridge to chill slightly, while you prepare the filling. Depending on the size of the tray, it may overhang the sides a little.

Making the Tart:

Add the apples to a bowl, together with the sugar or maple syrup and cornstarch and toss through gently. Add the frozen blackberries and quickly and gently toss through.

Remove pastry from fridge and peel off top sheet of paper. The pastry should be chilled but not so firm that you can’t fold the sides inward. If you do not already have a tray under the pastry, slide one under now. Either arrange prepared fruit in an attractive pattern, or simply pile it into the middle and gently spread to leave a border of approx 8cm. Fold pastry border over fruit, peeling it from the paper underneath as you go. Sprinkle with a little extra golden castor sugar if desired. If required, trim the sides of the baking paper to fit the tray.

Place into a hot oven for approx 15 mins, then reduce to a moderate oven for approx 35 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly golden, and juices are bubbling. Don’t be worried if the juices look too watery, they will thicken as they cool a little.

With the open structure of the rustic tart, finely chopped nuts (especially walnuts) make a delicious addition, sprinkled over before baking.

Preserving the Summer Bounty - Seminar

2010-10-13T21:14:00.002+08:00

Everyday with Wholefood Seminar

Sunday 21 November 2010

1pm to 4.30pm

In our final seminar for 2010, ‘Everyday with Wholefoods’ takes a look at summer and all the beautiful fruits coming into season. Jude’s focus will be on Preserving including Jams, Chutneys and Bottling. She’ll also talk of menu planning for summer and provide a menu plan and recipes to take home!

Our guest speaker will be Annie Kavanagh of Spencers Brook Farm, who specialise in rare breeds including Berkshire pigs, Long Horned Wiltshire sheep and Dexter cattle all farmed to the highest organic and free range standards. They also offer a premium range of preservative and gluten free hams perfect for Christmas! Come and hear their story!

We also hope to bring you local organic orchardists with news on how to get the best fruit for preserving.

We’ll also have a great range of local producers and retailers on hand for pre and post seminar shopping!

Special door prize: Preserving Pack kindly donated by KitchenWarehouse along with a discount voucher for everyone!

Event Program

Local organic orchardist – to be confirmed

Annie Kavanagh – Spencers Brook Farm

Organic animal farming, Christmas hams

Jude Blereau –Whole Food Cooking

Preserving and summer menu planning

Booking Details

Sunday 21 November 2010

Time: 1pm – 4.30pm (Doors open from 12.15pm)

Venue: FJ Clarke Lecture Theatre

P Block, QEII Medical Centre,

Nedlands. Access off Caladenia Ave, (via Monash Ave)

Price: $38.50 incl GST

(seating is unallocated, tiered theatre-style - door sales will be available - cash only)

Discount available for Thermomix consultants only – Consultant No. must be supplied with booking details

Books, local produce and other merchandise will be on display and sale from 12.15pm

Please leave time for parking. Parking is available at various carparks around the Medical Centre on Sundays.

DOOR SALES (CASH) ONLY - TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE JUST TURN UP ON THE DAY.

Get Ready for Summer - Seasonal Seminars

2010-10-08T12:08:00.000+08:00

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH WEST BUSH

Mum and Nessie walking through the Wisteria

The view in the early morning from the verandah

Fennel Salad

It was a fabulous holiday down south, and one of the loveliest times of the year to be there., with all the flowers just coming into blossom. I wish these photo's could be scratch and sniff, because the smell of blossom - wisteria, gum blossom, pink jasmine and bush was everywhere. Lots of kangaroos at night coming to nibble the grass, and lots of kookaburras carrying on in the early morning to wake us up. But it was just the holiday I needed - a time for relaxing, grounding and restoring body and soul - nothing does that better for me than the bush. We ate simply, but the fennel salad was my favourite lunch - very, very finely (grab a very sharp knife) shaved fennel (I'm buying mine from the Subiaco Farmers Market, Hamel Home Grown Organic Stand) with finely sliced celery (those lovely soft inside stems and leaves), finely sliced pear and avocado, lots of chopped coriander and a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and garlic (I did need to balance it out a bit with a drop or two of maple syrup). Salt and pepper, some fine shaves of the local Cambray Pecorino (also at the Subi Farmers Market) and yummy!!!! All these foods are in season now, and I adore fennel in a salad with pear, lemon and pecorino cheese. It also needs to be well salted. I also read lots - favourite reading included the book A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (given to me by my dear friend Nene and all around book genius) and urge you to get this book, and go to this blog. Love the way she writes. In it was the funniest description of a sprout dinner that was made for her, and I secretly thought my fennel salad would have been much yummier.

I've come back ready for the year and the classes to come. Also, on the 21st November, will be the Seasonal Seminar: Focus for this will be on Preserving the summer bounty -we will talk Jams, Chutneys and Bottling - and menu planning for summer. As usual, we will have guests for you to meet (fruit growers) and farmers and producers to buy from,plus you will receive a menu-plan to take home! The link for this will be up by the weekend, and you can book on line. But we will talk before then.... and cook before then.....

Amazing Women and Group Dinners

2010-09-19T12:42:00.000+08:00

Work to Do!

One of the girls final assessments for the Whole and Natural Foods Chef Training Program, was a Group Dinner. Divided into 2 groups, each presented (planned, developed, sourced and produced) a dinner for 45 people. Let me say, these women are amazing. Not at all girls, just simply amazing women, each and every one of them. It was a hard task, long days, lots of work (just what it's like in the real world) but an amazing opportunity to get a feel for what's involved. The food - well, can I tell you, it was beautiful. Truly. I'm not just saying it. Guests were invited from the students family and friends, from my mailing list, and some of the many that have helped make this program work (in that, I have been blessed). The students all worked so hard, but produced such a wonderful end result. I was so proud - of them, each and every one of them.
Since then, I have been slowly trying to get body, brain and soul together, as one, again - it's taking it's time, but getting there. I'm heading off tomorrow for 10 days in our beautiful South - West, which at this time of the year (or any time really) is just gorgeous. This afternoon, I plan to make a simple butter- cake to take - so for those of you bemoaning my lack of recipes on the blog, get ready. It's a good example of adapting a classic recipe.
All in all, though an enormous amount of work, it has been a deeply rewarding experience - I have met 10 amazing women, all who will go out and in their own way, do amazing things. That I have been a part of their journey, is humbling, and deeply enriching.

Group 1 Menu

Leanne and Angie get the Rustic Ratatouille Tarts ready

Group 2 Table

Group 1 Long Table with guests arriving

Jeanie - where would we have been without my best friend coming over to help?

This is the kind of cake I am making - simple butter, but I'm doing a passionfruit icing. This is Sue's (incredibly delicious) version, with lime - you can see Sue below finishing it off.

This is my version of a classic butter cake – using a white spelt, a less refined sugar, and lessof it. It’s a very good cake, and will give you a moist yet sturdy crumb, which will last well.This is the kind of cake you would have traditionally find in a tin, ready for lunches or afternoon teas. You could easily flavour the cake with finely grated orange or lemon zest.

This batter makes 1 x 22xm tin. Cut in half, this is a good depth for a child’s cake.

Also makes 9 – 12 cupcakes

Kitchen Notes:

· You will need to asses your white spelt for this recipe. If you have a lovely white spelt with very little bran or germ it will be fine. But if it looks more like a light wholemeal, I would recommend sieving 1¼ cups first, using a fine sieve. This will catch most of the germ and bran, which you can discard. Measure your quantity from this sifted flour.

· It is very important that the butter is soft – the consistency should be similar to that of a face cream. The main technique used to raise the cake in this recipe, is by beating air into the butter and sugar, and for this you need a soft butter – not melted, but soft.

· I use an unrefined ‘golden’ castor sugar for this cake (In Australia, I use the Billingtons Golden Icing Sugar) but you could also use the slightly larger unrefined ‘ golden’ raw sugar.

2 cups white spelt flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

250gm unsalted butter – softened and at room temperature

170 gm unrefined, golden castor or raw sugar

4 eggs – at room temperature

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

¼ - ½ cup whole, non – homogenised full cream milk

Pre heat oven to 170c.

Grease and line the base of a 22m cake tin.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl and set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in a medium size mixing bowl, and using electric beater, beat until pale, thick and creamy.

Add the eggs, beating well after each addition. If you find the mix begins to ‘split’ and look curdled, it is because the mix has become too cold to incorporate the eggs. A good trick is to place the mixing bowl in a little warm water for a few minutes – this will soften the butter again and allow it to take up the eggs. Add the vanilla extract and beat well.

Add the flour and ¼ cup milk, and gently beat into the mix – if using electric beaters, start them off very slowly to avoid the flour going everywhere. Beat until smooth and the flour and milk are well incorporated. Only add the extra milk if the mix is very, very heavy (this will generally be because of the presence of bran and germ from the flour).

Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 60 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack

Quick and Simple Butter Icing: Makes 2 cups

This is a classic butter icing – quick to make, and always delivers great end results.

Again, the butter must be very, very soft, with the texture of face cream – this will enable you to get a light end result.

Kitchen Notes:

· I like add a little lemon juice to this to balance out the sweetness – you can omit this if desired.

· Because this icing is a butter base, it is very flexible. You can incorporate flavours as desired into this – raspberry puree, lemon, lime or orange zest, rose water and passionfruit are all delicious.

· You can replace the dairy milk with coconut milk if desired

125 gm unsalted butter, softened

3 cups unrefined, golden icing sugar

¼ cup milk

1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice

colour as desired

Place the butter, icing sugar and milk in a medium mixing bowl. Using electric beaters, begin to mix, starting on a low speed, increasing the speed as it comes together. Beat until very smooth, thick and creamy – approx 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and beat through.

More From the Whole and Natural Foods Chef Training Kitchen

2010-08-01T07:59:00.000+08:00

The past few weeks since the great cake bake, has seen a lot of cooking and learning in the kitchen - a trip to Merri Bee Organic Farm, meat, fish and pasta to name a few. I know that many readers are missing a recipe, I promise I will get to that, it's just been so busy that I thought at least I could put some pictures up here to show you what we have been doing and stay connected to you. It's a beautiful space, and there is some amazing food and relationships coming out of this kitchen. Angie said to me this week " Jude, you should call this a course on life skills", and she is right. Kitchens are the heart of any home, or any space and food is essentially the sun and life force, shaped into a package our physical bodies can use. To cook is to nourish, in every sense of the word, but to cook for many and learn the many variables that whole and real foods throw up, to cook is also to be challenged in every area - mentally, physically, emotionally and spirtually. So what do we in our kitchen do? And you in your kitchen do when the going gets tough? We dig in, we know our work is of value, we connect ourselves to the understanding that - in the words of the poet, Kahil Gibran - our work is love made visible, we ground ourselves, take a breath and finish the cooking. We sit down at our big wooden table (which also helps to ground and earth us all, and embraces us as a group when we sit) and eat. We are invariably - almost always - restored and nourished, and though tired, live to see another day.

Amelie, Angie and Sarah after milking at Merri Bee Organic Farm

Some freshly pulled vegetable from my home garden

The Meat Boys - Don Hancey, Vince Gareffa, Darcey Hodgkinson and Sonny de Ocampo

Nell filleting her Black Bream

Crabs !!! Yummmmmmm

Having made the Pasta (Sue is still putting hers through the machine, Bel and Angie make Ravioli

More Pasta

Cakes !!!!!

2010-07-07T07:50:00.000+08:00

Life is Uncertain - Eat Dessert First !

Over the past few weeks the girls have been baking - wonderful, delicious cakes. We have covered a broad range - from butter and egg, to dairy free, from spelt to oat and barley, and gluten free, with our goal being a beautiful crumb and delicious flavour. We've used a variety of whole and less refined flours, and whole and less refined sugars and stable fats. I can tell you, there has been some great flavours wafting from the kitchen!!! I thought you'd like to see some of the end results and going's on......

Bel infusing Cocao Nibs into Cream for Panna Cotta

Angie Icing with Passionfruit Butter Cream

The End Result

Yes, we have chocolate - Organic and Dark

Flourless, Dark and Dense Chocolate Cake

Oat and Berry Cake and Asja Decorating her cake

Cakes !!! Cakes !!!

Happy Faces, and Look At that Crumb !! Alas, yes we have to taste everything...

Everyday with Wholefood – Winter 2010

2010-05-31T23:12:00.003+08:00

Seasonal Seminar Series
Sunday 27th June

Slow and Comforting Wintertime
This quarter ‘Everyday with Wholefoods’ brings you slow, warm and comforting seminar with hearty Winter food, wine and a seasonal roundup on the menu.

We're sure you'll be as delighted as we are by our guest speakers. We are pleased to welcome John and Yvonne Herriot of Herriot Wines in Manjimup, biodynamic winemakers. Learn all about the production of organic wines, traditionally made on an integrated family farm.

Also meet local chef, food writer and consultant Sophie Zalokar. Leading slow food advocate and tree-changer, Sophie and her family moved to Pemberton in 2005 to develop a 19-acre small farm and eco-tourism property. Sophie was born and raised in the Barossa Valley, SA and trained with Maggie Beer before traveling the world and settling here in Perth.

And of course, Jude will share her seasonal knowledge with information about what's in season and what to do with it to nourish and comfort your family during the cooler months ahead.

Booking Details

Date: Sunday 27th June 2010
Time: 1pm – 4.30pm (Doors open from 12.15pm)
Venue: FJ Clarke Lecture Theatre P Block, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands Access off Caladenia Ave (via Monash Ave)*
Price: $38.50 inc GST (seating is unallocated, tiered theatre-style)

Books, local produce and other merchandise will be on display and sale from 12.15pm

* please note that parking is available in carparks off Monash Ave and in other carparks around the uni and hospital. Please leave time to find parking in the event that the immediate carpark is full

Online ticketing for this event is now closed. There are door sales available on the day - cash only. We have quite a few stallholders coming to this event - come in early and have a browse!

For all enquiries please send an email to events@wholefoodcooking.com.au