FIG - Organic food co-op

Formation meeting

2012-02-07T19:31:00.001+11:00

The FIG Co-op is required to hold a Formation meeting as one of the final steps to becoming Incorporated, and this will be held on 18th February.

Time: 2pm
Date: Saturday, 18th February
Place: FIG Wyong co-op venue.

Full details and notifications of this meeting and a copy of the proposed model rules have been emailed and sent to members; if you are a current member and have not received your copy, then please let us know.

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And the winner is.......!

2012-01-21T06:33:00.002+11:00

Congratulations to Jane of Wyong who won a FREE FIG BOX this week in the Wyong Co-op's First Birthday Draw!

Each year, on FIG's birthday, we hold a draw, and it's almost hard to believe we have been at our Wyong venue for a whole year but there you go, we have.

If you would like to come and chat to us about organising a FIG box, have a look at the extensive extras table and hear about the fortnightly bulk fruit orders we place (for families who eat a lot of fruit or want extra potatoes, or for those who juice regularly or drink smoothies), then the Wyong hours are 3.00pm until 4.30 pm on Tuesdays in Room 5 at the Wyong Neighbourhood Centre in Wyong (map here).

We're also at Ourimbah on Mondays (except for public holidays) from 2.30pm until 5pm at the Bill Sohier Community Centre, Ken Cook Way, Ourimbah (map here).

It's FIG's third birthday at Ourimbah in February so we shall be holding another draw then. Although we have seen a lot of new members walk through the doors in that time, we still have many of the originals who continue to support the co-op and the local organic farmers, ordering their weekly or fortnightly FIG box containing organic or guaranteed chemical free produce grown locally*.

Plans for 2012 include a farm tour and workshops for members in Cheese Making, Preserving, and Sourdough Bread Making.

See you soon at the co-op...

* At times, depending on the season and what the local farmers are growing, we may need to top up from the Sydney markets to fill your box. Carrots are simply not grown locally and many of our members want fruit included, of which very little is grown locally - except for an abundant supply of beautiful citrus of course!

Welcome to the New Year

2012-01-09T09:37:00.001+11:00

FIG is back on deck today after a short break and will be found at the usual venues today and tomorrow at Ourimbah and Wyong.

With this weather, plants are practically jumping out of the ground and the local farmers have a good supply, particularly as their Sydney markets don't resume until later this month.

We are very happy to hear that Ed, a farmer in his 80's from Mangrove Mountain, has just been certified organic for the very first time - woohoo! It's quite a process, although becoming slightly easier we're told, and shows it's never too late and you're never too old for new ventures in your life. We're very excited at this news.

Incorporation has just come through as well so FIG will soon be known as the Food Integrity Group Co-operative Limited. We have received a swag of documentation about it to plough through and shall be required to hold a special meeting within the next couple of months and then, hopefully, it will be official!! FIG members will be kept informed via email and notices at the co-op.

This week we're taking orders for the beautiful certified organic Russian garlic - it's the one with the big, milder, cloves which also goes under the name of Elephant Garlic. Grown up on the north coast of NSW, we place orders this week for delivery soon. Members see us today or tomorrow for ordering, or email the form back you were sent over the weekend by Tuesday night at the latest - thanks.

2012 - "twenty-twelve" - and Year of the Farmer in Australia, is going to be a year of moving for FIG; we've yet to find suitable new venues for each of our co-ops however will be concentrating our efforts on this as if FIG is to become more efficient and to grow, larger venues must be found, with room for storage and refrigerators at our Monday venue.

We look forward to seeing you all again as you drift back from Summer holidays and remind you that FIG operates with volunteers to keep the wheels turning, so please write your names up on the roster in the red folder at the main desk.

See you at the co-op!

Maree

We're having a break!

2011-12-23T10:25:00.000+11:00

FIG is having a short break over Christmas and the New Year.

Our first day of operation for 2012 shall be Monday 9th January at Ourimbah, and Tuesday 10th January at Wyong.

If you are away and would like a food box ordered for you on either of those days, please email us at fig.centralcoast@gmail.com by Wednesday 4th January. Thank you.

"See you at the co-op!"

The co-op yesterday...

2011-12-13T09:42:00.001+11:00

Thank you to everyone who helped make yesterday work so well.

The roads around our normal FIG venue at Ourimbah were flooded and we could not get to it with our vehicles and the farmer's delivery truck, so an alternate venue had to be found - quickly! The Ourimbah Scouts came to the rescue and we camped out in their hall for the rest of the day. It was brilliant and the hall had a lovely feel to it, as many of you commented on.

Once we had unpacked and sorted out all the produce, the day progressed well.

Thank you to those members who alerted us to the problem, to those who stepped in at short notice to assist, and those who got in touch with other members not on email or not easily contactable. Everyone due to get a box yesterday did, except for a couple who are heading to Wyong today.

For the handful of people who turned up at the normal venue in the afternoon - yes, we know the waters subsided however it wasn't until just before opening time that we were able to get there in a four wheel drive vehicle and post notices of our change of venue on the doors at Bill Sohier Park Hall.

A huge thank you to Ourimbah Scouts for use of their lovely hall.

See you at the co-op!

CHANGE OF VENUE FOR TODAY

2011-12-12T10:13:00.001+11:00

Due to the intense flooding around the Central Coast this morning, we are unable to get to the Bill Sohier Park Hall to operate the co-op, or even put up a sign to advise where'll we'll be.

We have an alternate venue today for FIG and that is:

THE SCOUT HALL IN OURIMBAH.

The address is: 6 Ourimbah Creek Road, Ourimbah.

Turn at lights at Metro Service Station and the Scout Hall is the first building on left.

The link to a map is here.

If members are flooded in and cannot get to the co-op at all, you may be able to collect your produce from Wyong tomorrow or arrange a friend to collect it.

THANK YOU, SCOUTS!!!

FIG operating hours for December and January

2011-11-23T10:45:00.001+11:00

The FIG Christmas/New Year operating hours shall be as follows;

Monday 19th December - normal hours at Ourimbah & bulk order collection

Tuesday 20th December - normal hours at Wyong & bulk order collection

Monday 26th December - closed

Tuesday 27th December - closed

Monday 2nd January - closed

Tuesday 3rd January - closed

Monday 9th January - normal hours at Ourimbah

Tuesday 10th January - normal hours at Wyong - bulk orders due tonight for collection 16/17 Jan

Some recipes for FIG produce

2011-11-14T09:28:00.001+11:00

Thanks to some great Figgie members, we have some recipes they have shared with us for using various FIG produce.

First up, from Sara:

1) Potato and leek soup

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large leek, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g sebago potatoes, peeled, chopped
1 litre chicken stock
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until onion has softened. Add potato. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Add stock. Season with pepper. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until potato is tender. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
Blend, in batches, until smooth. Serve.

2) Creamy cauliflower and potato soup with bacon

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tablespoon olive oil
250g 97% fat-free bacon, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 leeks, halved, washed, thinly sliced
1/4 cauliflower, trimmed, cut into small florets
500g Sebago or Desiree potatoes, peeled, diced
6 cups reduced-salt chicken stock
1/4 cup light thickened cream
Toasted wholegrain bread, to serve

Method

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bacon. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes or until crisp. Remove to a plate lined with paper towel.
Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil, garlic and leek to pan. Cook, stirring often, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add cauliflower, potato and stock. Partially cover. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in half the bacon.
Blend soup, in batches, until smooth. Return to saucepan over low heat. Stir in cream. Heat, without boiling, until hot. Ladle into bowls. Top with remaining bacon. Sprinkle with pepper. Serve with toast

3) Potato Frittata

Ingredients (serves 6)

8 eggs
50ml milk
200g mild cheddar, grated
2 tbs olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
500g potatoes, peeled, cooked, sliced

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Beat eggs and milk in a large bowl. Add cheese and season.
Heat half the oil in an ovenproof frypan over low heat. Cook onion and garlic, stirring, for 5-6 minutes until soft. Remove and add to the egg mixture with the potato.
Wipe pan clean, then return to low heat with remaining oil. Pour in frittata mixture and using a palette knife, gently pull away from sides of the pan, allowing uncooked egg to run to edges. Once cooked around the outside (about 2-3 minutes), transfer pan to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until set. Turn out and cool.

4) Almond Crusted Fish with Potato and Leek

Cooking Time 30 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 large (about 350g) desiree potatoes, washed, thinly sliced
1 leek, pale section only, washed, thinly sliced
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
80ml (1/3 cup) olive oil
2 tbs pre-grated parmesan
1 x 100g pkt almond meal
2 eggs, lightly whisked
4 (about 500g) white fish fillets (such as smooth dory), cut in half lengthways
1/3 cup loosely packed chopped fresh continental parsley

Method

Preheat oven to 220°C. Arrange potato over a 17 x 24cm (base measurement) baking tray. Top with leek and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with 2 tbs of the olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake on the top shelf of preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the potato is tender and golden.
Meanwhile, place almond meal and egg in separate bowls. Dip 1 piece of fish in the egg, then the almond meal, pressing firmly to coat. Repeat with remaining pieces of fish.
Heat remaining oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook fish for 2 minutes each side or until cooked through.
Divide almond-crusted fish and potato and leek among serving plates. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately

5) Potato and Leek Quiches

Preparation Time 20 minutes

Cooking Time 25 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

400g potato, peeled, cut into 2.5cm chunks
1 tbs olive oil
1 leek, washed, sliced
2 tbs chopped fresh continental parsley
4 sheets filo pastry
Olive oil spray
3 eggs
1 cup (250ml) skim milk
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Method

Steam the sweet potato until just tender. Transfer to a bowl. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the leek and cook, stirring until soft. Add to the sweet potato with the parsley and toss to combine.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease 6 x 1 cup muffin pans. Spray a sheet of filo with the oil. Top with the remaining sheets, spraying with oil between each layer. Cut the sheets into 3 portions crossways, then cut each strip in half. Line each muffin pan with the filo.
Divide the sweet potato mixture among the pastry cases.
Whisk the eggs, milk and nutmeg together. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the filling. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until just set.

Notes: You can make this without the pastry......I've tried it and it's quite nice...particularly if you're gluten intolerant or don't like pastry very much. Just make sure that the trays or cooking dish is well oiled with either butter or olive oil :)

6) Apple and Oat Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup buttermilk
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup raisins
2 egg whites
¼ cup honey
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 apple, grated

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2) Mix buttermilk, oats, and raisins together in a large bowl. Add egg whites and honey; blend thoroughly.

3) In a separate large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add to oat mixture; mix to incorporate. Fold in grated apple.

4) Fill mixture in muffin tins ¾ full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in tins 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely.

And from Gini:

BAKED FENNEL

Cook Fennel first (steam, boil) - don't overcook

Heat oven to 200 deg. = HOT

Put Fennel in ovenproof dish and add garlic, some cherry tomatoes and a handful of olives to taste. and for colour! 1 cup or more white wine, according to quantity of fennel.

Leave for 1/2 hour in oven

They all seem yum to us!

Millet Bake

2011-11-05T08:13:00.000+11:00

Recently we found ourselves with surplus silverbeet and a pile of eggs... Hmmmm what to make - Millet Bake of course. I'm sure every Mumma probably has their own personal Millet Bake recipe, because really it is such a versatile meal, but I thought I'd share what went into ours this yummy evening recently.

::Millet Bake::

Ingredients;

1/2 a big bunch of silverbeet finely shredded

1 onion finely diced

1/4 block of Bulgarian Sheep's Feta crumbled

3C of fluffy, cooked millet (I love the way it goes all fluffy when it's cooked,
like a soft cuddly grain cloud!)

6 eggs

1C of your choice of milk

1T of mixed dried or fresh (of course you will need more than 1T if using fresh) herbs

1t of Himalayan Salt

Paprika to dust

Method;

• Oil lightly a deep sided baking dish

• Lay in the shredded silverbeet

• Sprinkle over the onion

• Crumble the feta over next

• Spoon in the fluffy millet

• In a bowl, mix the eggs with the milk, herbs and salt - whisk until well combined

• Pour over the top of the millet and make sure the egg mix covers the millet and is evenly dispersed in the dish

• Dust lightly with Paprika

• Cook in a pre-heated 180ºC oven for about 1 hour,
or until the top is golden and the bake is 'set'

• Top with Gomasio and serve with a
green Springtime salad drizzled with apple cider vinegar.

Changed hours at Wyong

2011-11-01T18:40:00.001+11:00

We made a decision today, after trialing shorter hours at Wyong and observing for some weeks when the last member had been through to collect their box, and effective next week, 8th November, the hours at Wyong shall be:

3pm until 4.30pm

Same starting time, earlier finishing time. Anyone running late can have their bag packed for them, to be collected whilst we're packing up.

For new enquiries, please arrive well before closing time so that there is something to see on the tables other than empty boxes!

See you at the co-op...

Mangrove Mountain Fair

2011-10-23T20:30:00.000+11:00

FIG had a stand at the great little country fair at Mangrove Mountain yesterday. It's the first time we have been there and the turn out was fantastic, with a very good atmosphere.

Our mission was of course to talk to prospective FIG members but also to try chat to farmers and encourage more of them to come on board and grow for us, organically of course! We made a few connections so time will tell if the day was successful in that regard.

It certainly helps - and puts weight behind such a quest - to have been in operation for about two-and-three-quarter years and to have settled into a good rhythm of operation, and it helps no end to have farmer Michael Champion singing our praises to anyone who will listen, from local farmers and families to the NSW Farmers Association, who were next door to us at the fair. We must be doing something right - or a whole lot of things, actually!

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers on the day - you know who you are! - and Permaculture Central Coast for the loan of their marquee; to Dawn for her wonderful little posies of colourful flowers and herbs which are delightful. Thanks, also, to visiting FIG members who came over for a chat as well.

I'm hoping David may have photographs of the day; we had a pile of organic magazines and material to hand out (thanks, Michael) and to read, hung photo boards, signs and mini posters and also the following, which prompted quite a few comments - and laughs!

Source unknown

See you at the co-op...

Maree :)

Catching up on what's happening...

2011-10-05T08:26:00.002+11:00

We had a smaller but successful day at Ourimbah yesterday, with our combined co-op due to the public holiday Monday. A number of members were away on school or uni holidays so it was a quieter and less-busy day than usual, made more so due to there being no school finishing time to get people out the door and off to FIG before collecting their children!

Co-op days and venues shall be back to normal next week, and it seems the rain will continue to be with us most of the time between now and then. Rain is important however also presents a challenge to farmers and backyard growers when it's heavy and consistent.

At Wyong, we are trialling a shorter opening time as most of our members have been and gone by about 4pm or shortly after. We are therefore now closing at 5pm, however packing up sees us there till about 5.30pm anyway, to catch anyone popping in making new enquiries. We shall see how that goes and if Wyong members continue to have been through and collected their produce earlier in the day, we may look at closing even earlier.

On the produce front, we have been a bit sad to learn that our local supply of eating apples has come to an end. Many of our members have commented that these have been The Best apples they have ever tasted, so we look forward to being on the receiving end of them again next year. We have a few apples left however from next week, the major supply will begin coming in from the organic wholesaler and our apples will come from further away.

We have been really pleased to have been offered some surplus produce from members new and old. Some of their produce you will find in the FIG boxes, some of it on the extras table. Thank you to all concerned.

Our FIG article writer and delicious recipe generator is moving away! We are therefore putting the call out for those members who like to cook and maybe also to write, to occasionally put together a few recipes and/or article for the blog or the website. Please email us at FIG if this seems like something you could do.

Some of the crops at Champion Mountain Organics which have ended up in our FIG boxes!

FIG is looking at having a stand at the Mangrove Mountain Fair on 22nd October, and one of the aims of the day is to talk to local farmers and encourage more to grow organically. For FIG to grow and to buy more local produce, we need more organic farmers!

That's all for today. See you at the co-op!

October long weekend trading

2011-09-13T09:12:00.002+10:00

We have another holiday Monday or long weekend coming up very soon.
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For the information of all our newer members, and to remind everyone else, we cannot have the Ourimbah hall on a Public Holiday Monday and have to move our co-op to the Tuesday instead.
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Of course, Tuesday is also the day we hold the Wyong co-op, and as that venue could not possibly house us all, we will have a combined co-op at Ourimbah.
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The details are as follows:
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Date: Tuesday 4th October
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Time: 2.30 until 5pm
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Address: Bill Sohier Park Hall, Ken Cook Way, Ourimbah.

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Map and directions are on the website here: http://fig.org.au/find_us.htm

Local happenings...

2011-08-28T13:51:00.002+10:00

Here's a reminder of some great local events and health happenings on the Central Coast:

First of all, there will be a screening this Monday in Cinema 5 at Cinema Paradiso, Ettalong Beach of the film "EATING". This is the latest movie being shown in the Diseaseproof Your Life Movie seminar series: 29th August 7.30 until 9.30pm.

EATING: "join over 40 million people throughout the world who have watched this award-winning film. It covers a lot of ground very comprehensively - and all within 88 short minutes.

The Eating DVD is used in wellness clinics throughout the world to motivate people to change their diets and restore their health. Topics include:

- Why we have an epidemic of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases.

- Why following federal nutrition guidelines will kill you.

- Why the government promotes foods that shorten lives.

- Why almost everyone has cancer by the time they're fifty - and don't even know it.

- Why doctors treat symptoms of disease, not causes.

- Why our most deadly diseases were rare before 1900.

- Why most school-age children already have heart disease."

Watch the trailer here.

To book call Jenny 0417206935 or Sue 0434018836

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Jenny is also conducting a Pantry Makeover Course, starting 6th September in East Gosford on Tuesday nights.

'Pantry Makeover' - 6 weeks course

There are a lot of sick people in the world and the truth is it doesn't have to be this way. The secret to health isn't really all that complicated. It's affordable to all and it is as simple as eating nature's foods, as close to nature as possible.

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Do you suffer from Allergies or Asthma, or are your stomach troubles ruining your life? Don’t suffer any longer, come find out how to heal your body and disease proof your life with raw and living foods.

No need to deny yourself the treats you love, it’s all about learning to make healthier alternatives.

In this 6 week course you will learn how one can stop making disease.. by learning the ‘truth about your food.’ You will also see how simply and quickly healthier food can be prepared.

Where: Evolve Wellness Centre- Suites A&B 78 York St East Gosford (upstairs)

When: 6 Tuesday nights starting the 6th September

Time: 7.30-9pm

Cost: $20 per person per night

Book now, call Jenny 0417206935 (Food as Medicine Coach) or the Evolve wellness Centre on 4322 8868

This is a limited group coaching session.

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Shirley Hotchkiss is halfway through her "Sustainable eating" course at Woy Woy of a Sunday afternoon.

SustainableEating is a 4-week course which offers practicalapproaches to improving human and planetary health by eating raw food. Humansevolved onthe abundant plant food provided by our natural habitat, and it still supportsour body’s miraculous design. As Hippocrates said: let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.

Classeswill be interactive, friendly and fun with demonstrations,guest speakers, samples and snacks.Beprepared to laugh and get lighter. $50 per class, 1-4pm

There are two more dates: 4th and 18th September. Please email Shirley for details and bookings on Shirley.hotchkiss@openwindows.com, or phone her on 4341 9301. If you see this in time and want to get there this afternoon for session TWO, it's on at the Woy Woy CWA Hall, The Boulevard, Woy Woy.

National Food Plan

2011-08-22T09:01:00.001+10:00

Were you aware of a National Food Plan?

No, nor were we - until we heard that the deadline for submissions had been extended. The new deadline is Friday 2 September 2011, 5 pm EST.

Please go to this link - National Food Plan - for further information about what is proposed and how you can have your say on this very important issue.

Citrus Punch

2011-07-21T06:45:00.000+10:00

Last night, our fruit bowl over brimming with mandarins, I decided to make a mandarin juice. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it! But have you ever actually done it? Seriously - trade the oranges for mandarins in your juice and it's DELICIOUS! I remember the first time I eyed a big bundle of "mandy's" near the juicer and thought hmmm... surely they'd be delicious juiced - and they were. The thing that I love about the new juicer that we've been using that a friend passed onto us, is that it actually allowed quite a bit of the pulp of the mandarins through into the juice and I love that mix of pulp and juice in freshly squeezed orange or mandarin juice.

I've always thought Mother Earth was a pretty sassy lady. She seems to know what's going on, what's best for us and just when we need certain produce through the year... And our citrus is no accident that it is seasonal in our cooler months. Packed with a huge Vitamin C punch, these fruits are SO handy to have in their prime, seasonally picked, in local growing climates to deliver us a big fresh, juicy bundle of immune boosting goodness.

We've been so blessed to be having bundles of mandarins being offered each week in our wonderful Winter citrus mix at FIG. The varieties have been mixed; from the easy to peel and often seedless beauty of the puffed skin Hicksons or Imperials, to the tight little bundles like the Nova. Then there's the sweetness of Lady Murcott Mandarin, the golden glow of Miss Sunburst and the intense aroma of Mrs Daisy. Together they sing a sweet tune of Winter's grandest offerings. There's nothing quite like that refreshing aroma that bursts forth, as the mandarin skin oils jump into the air and dance on the breeze as you start to peel these golden, juicy, Winter delights.

The Aussie Mandarin site is packed with nutritional info of this Winter Seasonal fruit, recipe inspirations and pictures/descriptions of the various varieties. Some truly are more suited to cooking, eating raw or juicing, so be sure to pull up the mandarin variety chart when your deciding how to use the mandarins that grace our current FIG offerings.

Citrus Punch

Ingredients;

Any Winter citrus fruit;
oranges, lemons, mandarins and limes - all of one, a mix of two or a bouquet of everything Mother Nature offers in this Season!

Method;

Juice all and drink immediately.
Good any time of day, to make your immune system shine!

Using ripe avocados

2011-07-19T10:39:00.003+10:00

Yesterday at the co-op a tray of very ripe avocados arrived - unfortunately more ripe than we'd been expecting - however Gini, one of our many wonderful, creative, full-of-information members, came to the rescue and immediately wrote out a recipe on the spot which we'd like to share with you.

It's for Avocado Soup: apparently to be served cold but we think it could be warmed, for these crisp Winter days and nights....

No quantities given so add a cup of stock and keep adding until you reach the desired consistency, depending of course on how many avocados you have.

Ingredients:
Pureed avocados
A good chicken stock (this is important) or equally good quality vegetable stock.

Heat the two together and cool in Summer or if desired.

Serve in a bowl with a dot of sour cream and some cut chives.

Thank you, Gini! Some more of these avocados will be available at Wyong this afternoon...

Avocados are absolutely delicious in a smoothie which I only just discovered recently. I've been making green smoothies with just about any type of leafy green I had to hand, but a few short weeks ago tried them with avocado - YUMMO!

See you at the co-op...
Maree

Turmeric

2011-07-16T11:38:00.001+10:00

I love the treat of finding fresh tumeric to cook with. There's nothing like that initial spice fragrance of fresh ginger, turmeric and garlic hitting the pan, sizzling around and filling the kitchen with it's soft spicy aroma.

If you're conscious of the health benefits of raw foods, then there is nothing like using fresh turmeric. Whether you cook lightly with it or use the spice raw in your culinary adventures - fresh is definitely in this case, (as most often) the best! Dried powdered turmeric is obtained by boiling the fresh root for several hours, then drying in a very hot oven before being ground into the powder.

Turmeric is a rhizomatous plant from the ginger family. It is native to South Asia and grows best in climates of 20-30ºC where there is also consistent rainfall. In Southern Asia, turmeric grows wild!

Turmeric is used both for it's flavour and also it's colour. In the kitchen, turmeric is most commonly used in spiced dishes and curries, but can also be used in many applications such as icecream, yoghurt, baked and sweet goods for colouring.

It is thought that the very first use of turmeric in Ancient times, was probably as a dye. Turmeric is still used today, very successfully, in natural dyeing applications. It gives a gentle, golden glow. In Medieval Europe, turmeric was known as 'Indian Saffron' due to it's colouring qualities, and it was quite often used as a more economical option than the expensive saffron threads.

Whilst it is most commonly the root rhizomes that are used in culinary applications, the leaves are also used in cooking. The use of leaves are generally limited to wherever turmeric grows fresh, as the leaves are harvested and used in a fresh application. Some dishes use turmeric leaves to wrap and cook food as well as adding the leaves to meals such as curries.

The active ingredient in turmeric is 'curcumin'. Turmeric is said to be of the fire element and brings a peppery, warm but slightly bitter flavour. Ayurvedic medicine credits turmeric for it's anti inflammatory properties, as well as it's positive effects on the digestive system. Turmeric stimulates the gall bladder muscles, which in turn increases the bile flow which is required to digest fats. It is believed that if turmeric is consumed in a meal that it may bind to cholesterol substances, rendering them incapable of absorption by the body. Due to the positive digestive properties, turmeric is often used in alternative therapies, for gastro-intestinal balancing, IBS and other digestive disorders. When eaten raw, turmeric is said to also have cartilage strengthening properties as well as having a positive effect on bone structure. There's many reasons to incorporate turmeric into your diet, many of which you can read about here.

Turmeric is not only limited to culinary and dyeing uses. It is also highly revered in the cosmetics industry. Creams are made containing turmeric, for the antiseptic properties as well as it's reported anti-aging properties. Turmeric is used alot in ceremony around the world. From bride beautification in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, to other religious ceremonies around the world to invoke God's, given as offerings to the Spirit's and also in power and purification rituals.

If your climate conditions on your property are compatible with tumeric's ideal growing situation, and you are interested to grow turmeric yourself to have available fresh turmeric or to be able to use the leaves in your cooking, then Green Harvest carries the rhizomes to plant. In a garden environment, growing turmeric is said to repel ants.

And if you'd like just to pick up a handful of this amazing spice to give it a try fresh in your cooking, then be sure to keep an eye for this golden delight randomly gracing the extra's table at FIG!

Sources; Wikipedia

Eat Your Weeds!

2011-07-11T09:26:00.001+10:00

If you've ever chosen a packet of Fat Hen, Chick Weed or Nettles from the choices at FIG, then chances are you've seen this entertaining label on the packet you took home. This post is a long over due one, but despite my neglect in bringing you this post, I really wanted to still share with you the tour we were blessed to take at Michael Champion's farm in recent (YES! It still JUST classifies as RECENT... only JUST!) times.

You've gotta love Michael Champion. He really is a true Champion! NO pun intended... or maybe! :) With his quick wit, unique sense of humor and the tireless work he does to promote and motivate organic farming here in our Mountainous regions on the Coast - he really does deserve to wear proudly the name 'Champion'.

Now, I'm a bit new to all this permaculture, bio-dynamic and organic farming bizzo. We've been eating organics for quite a few years now and grow our own little patch with organic principles, but I'm not too clued up on all the in's and out's of this sustainable way of farming and all the inspirations/indications that come along with it.

So... imagine my surprise when I first came across Michael Champion's property. The path that meanders from the main sheds along and out the back of the property to the farming space is quite gorgeous. One may be forgiven for thinking (just for a moment) that they're in the European forests as they wander through pines, spot wild pine mushrooms and bounce along on a carpet of soft cushy brown pine needles underfoot. It's quite a serene little track.

Then you round the corner and come up upon the farming space. "Well, my, that's quite an overgrown little patch" I quietly think to myself. "Where does he find the space to grow all our food amongst that wild forest of WEEDS?" Now of course I kept my comments at this point to myself ;) Michael explained a bit about his farming techniques and I was really impressed at this principle of allowing the space to 'go wild' during it's rest time - and harvesting at the same time from this space - edible weeds! Brilliant!

Another brilliant thing is the weeds themselves. Seriously - these things are very, very smart. They are rich in a concentration of nutrients which work in brilliant ways to naturally rebalanced soil eco-systems. Permaculture Research Institute of Australia has a lovely page about the wonder of weeds and says "Weeds are grossly under-appreciated lifeforms. They are, by definition, plants that are not valued and proliferate with no human work at all. Since they are not valued, they are free. Since they proliferate, they are very concentrated sources of bulk organic matter. Since they are plants, they contain all the major and minor plant nutrients, in a good ratio."

Geoff Lawton, a permaculture teacher, gives some wonderful information on the site 'EcoFilms', in an article titled 'A Permaculture Perspective on Weeds'. In every square meter of soil, I am amazed to read, there is up to 2,000 potential germination seeds of weeds. These little weeds are very smart - and do you know which out of those 2,000 seeds will germinate? The one's that are going to best re-balance and put back into the soil, whatever is lacking! I told you SMART! So - you really have to think that when people see weeds as foe, it's the very smart farmer who works in harmony with these little intelligent folk, and realises that the TRUE farmer's friend - is indeed the humble WEED!

In his article on EcoFilms, Geoff gives an overview of various examples, to illustrate which weeds will germinate in particular conditions to re-generate the soil environment it finds itself in.
• Burnt landscape; Fire takes away all the potassium in the soil. If one stands back and watches after a fire has depleted an area, you would notice that among the first re-germinating plant life is the humble little weed. And not just any weed, but the weeds which have long, straggly roots. These long straggly roots harvest potassium from deep down and force it up to the surface.
• Compacted soil; When all the air is knocked out of the soil, the smart little weed that is sent forth to germinate from his weed community in these conditions, is often the dandelion or other similar deep tap rooted weeds. Their mission in life - to simply decompact the soil. The weed springs forth, thrives and when it dies back, it leaves in it's wake, a long tap root system, which is the perfect inroad for air, nutrient and water to journey deep into the soil structure and bring new life to the compacted matter.
• Overploughed soils; The weed that makes it's centre stage debut in this situation, are the graceful folk with the fine root system. In a soil environment of loose, crumbly soil susceptible to erosion, this tiny little dancer holds the soil particles together.
• Overworked soils; It's commonly known that in overworked and intensively farmed soils, nitrogen is one of the main nutrients majorly depleted in these soil environments. So of course, the weed to germinate in this condition is the nitrogen fixing weeds; peas, beans, legumes. Their roots contain a root attachment bacteria which is high in nitrogen, OF COURSE!

And, there is one time when weeds will NOT germinate! Yes, occasionally they do have no place, and when that place happens to appear, you know what, you won't even have to worry about weeds - because if they have no use.... they just DON'T GERMINATE! Want to know where you won't find weeds? In rich compost hummus. Where there is a perfect balance of all nutrients, soil condition is impeccable and it is then that the tireless working little weed seed rests. Because his work here, as they say, is done.

The farming folk at Champion's use a stirrup hoe and the gas burning technique to remove small weeds that germinate amongst the active planted beds. Whilst Michael works in harmony with the weeds and allows them to move in and do their thing during the resting stages, the weeds do need to be managed and reminded gently, to work in harmony with the farmer when it is his time to use the bed that the weeds have restored during rest. Michael likes the long handled stirrup hoe as it is easy to use, effective and kind to the body of the farmer, being able to be used from an upright standing position. This particular brand of stirrup hoe Michael uses, he pointed out was his favourite amongst what is available on the market, as the edge of the hoe has no point that protrudes out past the flush edge of the hoe. Often this is the case with many stirrup hoes, which can easily damage newly planted and establishing seedlings.

Such a wonderful farm tour. We thank you Michael for kindly and warmly opening up your space to show us where some of our locally grown food is produced. You can visit Champion's website and take a look around the wonderful information available on the site. In the blog section, there is an interview with Michael regarding organic farming and also a current post on those wild pine mushrooms that were recently on offer in our choices.

Membership for the new year

2011-06-28T09:25:00.007+10:00

Things are a-changing at FIG - but not too much!

The co-op is in the process of incorporating and shall be required to make some minor alterations such as the following:

The term "membership" will cease and in it's place we will be required to use "subscription"- yeeks!

All new and renewing members will be required to complete a new subscription form and pay a once-off joining fee of $10.

Annual subscription fees will remain the same as they are right now - see the end of this page on our website for information.

We shall begin taking membership/subscription fee payments from next Monday, 4th July, at Ourimbah and Tuesday 5th July at Wyong. The new subscription forms shall be emailed to our members this week and shall be available at the co-op from next week onwards.

Thank you...

Thank you to Kel

2011-06-22T08:22:00.005+10:00

We were very sad to hear that one of our wonderful farmers, Kel Johnston, has been given notice to finish farming on his leased land at Cooranbong and will not be supplying FIG after next week.

Kel has been with FIG from the start and we thank him wholeheartedly for his growing ethics and his support of FIG - and for introducing us to some unusual vegetables. The purple radishes and also the current black radishes are two such things, as well as the baby crookneck squash, kiwana (African Horned Cucumbers), etc (the list is long). We will miss the beautiful Russian Kale he has been supplying, the various heirloom squash and pumpkins and the recent coriander bunches; the Tigerella and striped plum tomatoes and many other heirloom or forgotten species. Maybe you're not aware, however at different times of the year, he has grown produce specifically with FIG members in mind, such as mini pumpkin and squash varieties just the right size for a family, and so forth.

He is taking this opportunity to move to his land on the northern coast of NSW and to grow more heirloom vegetables, along with increasing and introducing the production of some varieties he hasn't been able to grow due to the southerly climate restrictions (think frost, for a start!).

Whilst Kel reckons we haven't seen the last of him, it's unfortunately yet another case of another farmer gone from the local food growing area. We need MORE people growing for the increasing population, not less. And more ethical and chemical free farmers such as Kel, and Michael Champion, and Beulah Bill, and Jean, etc.

On a happier note, it seems that by the end of this year, Ed Morris of Mangrove Mountain may have his vegetable organic certification through, which is very exciting. We purchase quite a bit through Ed throughout the year and he is an inspirational man, proving that farming can be managed well into your eighties. Go, Ed!

Goodbye to Kel, and thank you. We wish you well and many years of happy and productive growing (and we know we'll catch up with you again).

Whilst we're here saying thank you, we will take this opportunity to say a VERY BIG THANK YOU to all the FIG farmers and the various people supplying this and that throughout the seasons.

Management Meeting

2011-06-19T15:06:00.004+10:00

Further to our last blog post in regards to postponing the management meeting the other day due to predicted flash flooding, the new date is Monday 20th June, straight after packing away co-op for the day at Ourimbah. An email has been sent to all FIG members advising them of this.

We anticipate the meeting to be starting at 6.30pm. All FIG members welcome.

Tonight's meeting - flood warning

2011-06-14T09:41:00.004+10:00

We have just sent out an email to all our members

advising that due to the forecast of heavy rain

and the risk of more flooding, a decision will be made early this afternoon

as to whether the meeting tonight will be postponed.

If you were planning on attending, please

check with us when you call by to collect your FIG box today,

or ring the FIG phone on 04166 47715.

Thank you. :)

Nettles!

2011-06-13T20:35:00.004+10:00

Nettles are best picked when there is an abundance of fresh green tops, just like we are getting at the FIG right now; as the leaves mature they get too tough to eat.

In all preparation and picking wear protective gloves as the leaves have tiny silica needles which ‘sting’. Do not let the ‘stinging’ deter you as this chlorophyll rich plant is high in Iron and is said to purify blood. If you don’t get around to cooking it, consider drying it and making tea, it mixes wonderfully with Calendula, mint or spearmint & chamomile.

Here are some great recipes:

Nettle Soup

I cant think of a better way to have nettles thán in soup, it is rich flavored, and creamy.

150 grams nettle

3 large potatoes peeled and diced

1 medium onion diced

Butter/oil for frying

Enough water or stock to cover (emit stock cube if you use stock)

Good quality stock cube or powder

Salt & pepper to taste

Sour cream to garnish

Sauté onions till golden, add peeled, diced potatoes till tender, add washed nettle, cover with stock or water, add seasonings, simmer 1o mins, the cool to blend or whiz with a Bamix, enjoy with a lashing of sour cream!

Nettle Pesto

Ingredients

6 cups (125g) fresh nettle, blanched in boiling water for a minute (this removes the "sting"), drained and roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/3 cup (50g) pine nuts

1/2 cup (60g) grated parmesan

1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Place the blanched nettle, pine nuts, parmesan, and a little salt and pepper, in a food processor. Blend the mixture until the mixture is smooth, scraping down the side occasionally. While the motor is running gradually pour in the olive oil until well distributed.

Place the Pesto in a sterilised jar and pour a little extra olive oil over the top and seal well with a lid. Refrigerate until ready to use. Pesto will keep for up to a month in well sealed jar in the refrigerator.

Nettle Rennet- ‘Green Cheese’

Boil a large pot of washed nettles with very little water for 20 minutes, straining it and adding about as much salt as will dissolve in it to the juice.

Bring a pan of milk almost to a boil, add in a tablespoon of yoghurt and two tablespoons of lemon juice or white wine vinegar to separate the whey, stir well, then add in a quarter cup of liquid nettle rennet.

Remove from the heat, give another quick stir and let it set overnight.

This was a contribution from a FIG member... thank you! More nettle health benefits and information can be found here or here, for starters.

Bring on the Brussels

2011-06-07T21:19:00.002+10:00

It was about this time last year, that I remember the FIG weekly emails regularly coming out with a plea to please, please, please give the lesser loved Brassica Brother 'Brussels' a go. If you give him a chance, you may just end up falling in love with him! I envisaged Maree and David going bonkers with boxes of left over brussels at the end of each week. I'm sure Maree's chickens weren't so concerned about boxes of left over brussels that people had chosen to bypass on their 'way round the tables'!

In my foodie blog reading, I stumbled across a very yummy and simple looking brussel recipe. It inspired me to head to the kitchen and dig out those discoulouring brussels that were mounting by the week in the bottom of our crisper. I elaborated a bit on the basic recipe I found, creating a delicious meal with these brassica folk. The result - YUMMINESS! My bet - once this recipe gets out there - Maree and David will need to have brussels on the extras table each week - by the box full!

I won't bore you with all the nutritional facts and figures as to why you should be eating brussels. Of course you know they're good for you - but if you DO want all that info, then you can easily find all the health benefits of brussels with a quick google search. Brussels are also a really wonderful plant to grow in your Winter veggie garden. I had NO idea how interestingly brussels grew, until we planted them in our garden last Winter. It was amazing to watch these little brassicas grow all up and down the stem on the trunk of the plant. To be honest I'd never really even thought about how a brussel grows. But it's very interesting.

~Bring on the Brussels~

...Ingredients...
• 10-12 brussels, halved
• 1/4 cabbage, shredded
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1C of lentil sprouts
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2" knob of ginger, finely chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 1t of chilli infused oil (or one medium-hot chilli finely diced, seeds removed)
• 2t of Himalayan salt

...Method...
• Heat 2T of coconut oil in saucepan
• Fry onion and spices until fragrant
• Add vegetables to steam. Turn heat to medium, ensure a small amount of liquid in pan to avoid sticking/burning, cover and steam until brussels are just cooked.
• Take pan from heat and stir through lentil sprouts
• Serve over your choice of noodles
• Top with parmesan or your favourite vegetarian/vegan cheese alternative and garnish with freshly cracked black pepper.

Public holiday in June

2011-06-05T13:18:00.004+10:00

There is another public holiday due in June and as our longer term members would know, we cannot have the Ourimbah hall on public holidays due to sport being played at the grounds and the hall being used by the sporting clubs. We normally move to Tuesdays in that case.

This time around we have Tuesday co-op at Wyong to consider as well, so we have made the decision to have one big combined co-op at Ourimbah for both Ourimbah and Wyong members on Tuesday 14th June.

The hours at Ourimbah are 2.30 until 5.00pm and a map and directions can be found here. *

We hope you can all make it on the day. Ourimbah members may meet up once again with those members who moved over to Wyong months ago, and the newer Wyong members may get to see just how busy and different the large Ourimbah group actually is!

Please note: this means there will be no co-op at the Wyong Neighbourhood Centre on 14th June.

See you soon...

* http://www.fig.org.au/find_us.htm

Unique produce

2011-05-23T21:44:00.000+10:00

There's much I love about the blessing of having the wonderful folk of FIG, supply us with beautiful, fresh produce to nourish us all through our week. But one thing I've really been appreciating of late is the opportunity to try some less common produce that I definitely never found when shopping in a mainstream environment for our fresh fruit and veg.

We've been enjoying many unique and new produce items of late and I always look forward to seeing mysterious produce items in the choices list on Sunday night, then googling the new produce to see just what exactly these wonderful things are, and how I would use them!

For a while now we've been enjoying crook neck squash. They're so sweet with their little crook necks. They make cute little mini stuffed cups. We scoop out the middle, stuff with our favourite filling and bake. We make a savoury rice and mince mix, stuff it in the little squash cups, sprinkle with grated cheese and baked it in the oven. The shell goes nice and crispy, the squash is sweet and the cheese melts perfectly over the top. We roast the seeds and serve them sprinkled over the top. The perfect accompaniment to our warm Autumn meal.

The nettles that have been coming are wonderful! I must tell you that I was so keen to try them the first week we decided on nettles, that I promptly ripped the bag open, plunged my hand in and brought it straight back out of the bag covered in stings! OOOOPS! Yes, I did know they sting - and yes, I SHOULD have watched this video about how to handle nettles BEFORE I plunged my hand into the bag. We've been enjoying our nettles juiced in our morning green juices. They add a wonderful Autumn zing to the juice!

Kohlrabi has been back for guest appearances on the extras table. We have enjoyed the leaves and stalks roasted on oven trays, drizzled with a smidgen of oil, sprinkled with salt and roasted on a highish heat until crisp. Perfect, healthy, homemade crisps. A delicious Autumn treat.

We were so disappointed when we forgot to use our wild pine mushrooms. By the time I found them tucked away in the fridge at the end of the week, they weren't in the best using condition anymore. Mushrooms really do call to be used quite quickly. I was speaking today to someone who harvests some of FIG's wild pine mushrooms, and he told me that a customer in Sydney mentioned to him that the wild pine mushrooms can be frozen. I'll have to look into this. Also, I thought that they would probably be good to dry or dehydrate and use just as one does dried shitake... but I'm not sure if wild pine mushrooms take so well to this? They did look so pretty and quite unique when I opened their little bag up for a look inside when we got home. We are hoping that they are available again soon, as we were looking forward to trying this recipe with them.

And the turnip greens! Not so unusual the dear old turnip - but I've not often used the greens. When the turnips turned up with the most delicious and lush looking greens the other week, I jumped online to research if I could use the greens and what nutritious goodies they contain. Turns out that the whole turnip green v's the root vegetable is alot like the situation of the beet and the green that I wrote about a while back. The greens actually contain alot more goodies than the root itself. There is so much goodness in the turnip green. The flavour is slightly spicy and we have been juicing them into our green juices, which adds a nice little spice to the mix. The turnip greens are like mustard leaves, in that, in terms of flavour, you really do need to use them sparingly unless you LOVE alot of spice. They can be a little bitter, but they balance well when accompanied with other greens. You can use the turnip greens, or "turnip tops" as they are known in the UK, either raw or lightly steamed.

And to top it all off, today we picked up some 'Japanese Raisins' at the Mangrove Mountain Country Markets! They were delicious, and now we are madly saving the seeds as we eat the fruit, to see if we can grow our very own Japanese raisin tree!

A long time since Easter!

2011-05-23T10:06:00.006+10:00

It's been a few weeks since Easter and we've all been rather busy, running the co-op and ensuring, to the best of our abilities, that it goes along as smoothly as possible - and haven't returned to update the blog. Dearie me!

Our special Easter week co-op at Jilliby went well. Whilst there was a reduction in numbers due to the distance some of our members would need to drive, and no public transport, we still had orders for at least a third of our usual number of boxes and many of those commented on the beautiful surroundings, the peaceful valley and the great hall - and put forth the suggestion that co-op was held there every week! One of our Wyong members was overdue in having her baby and wasn't sure if she'd make it there that day. She did, but perhaps driving over that fairly short piece of rutted and corrugated road stirred up something more than a desire to get some land for her family and live out of town, as the very next day her baby was born! Congratulations to all.

The weather is growing colder as one would expect at this time of year and the more sensitive produce is slowing down or stopped for the year. Our Kirkconnell growers had 15 cms/6 inches of snow last week, and I think we were feeling the affects here on the Coast at the time.

Cold, frosty weather is good for sweetening up the oranges, we're told, so look out soon for yummy Navel oranges in the FIG boxes. We've already been enjoying mandarins, lemons and limes for a while now.

We've been trialling some potatoes from south of Sydney and they've been great, although a bit more expensive that what we normally pay. As with the produce from Kirkconnell, the potato farmer delivers to the Sydney organic markets and our driver collects them early Monday morning and then delivers it all to us. It's a great system and means no extra fuel or time is spent obtaining their vegetables. One trip does it all! For those of you keen to eat within a 160 km radius (as per the "100 mile diet"), both the Kirkconnell and Southern Highlands farms scrape in within that distance from Ourimbah.

This week we are going to be trying some Pink Lady apples from the Kirkconnell region as well. We've had some of their Gala apples and also a few Fujis, and Pink Ladies, a favourite of many, will be in the boxes today and tomorrow.

We're also hoping to have a few dragonfruit on the extras table to try, although they aren't grown locally. Kel will again be supplying his beautiful coriander and purple radishes and those superb turnips. Turnip leaves and nettle recipes will be posted here shortly.

Call back soon, or press the Follow button (scroll down in the right column) for instant notification whenever an article is published here.

See you at the co-op...

Easter co-op hours

2011-04-18T07:20:00.002+10:00

Due to there being two public holidays, on Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th April, and not being able to have either of our normal co-op venues or source a suitable alternative, we shall be conducting a combined Ourimbah/Wyong co-op on Wednesday, 27th April for the members who can get there.

This will be held at Jilliby, just out of Wyong - actually in the same hall we held our very first co-op over two years ago! We have sent a map and directions to all our members, however if you have somehow missed it or cannot open it up, contact us on the FIG phone (04166 47715) or email info@fig.org.au and we will have it ready for you next Monday at the co-op, or could fax or post it to you.

So... here's the schedule for the next couple of weeks:

Monday 18th Apr - normal co-op at Ourimbah, 2.30 until 5pm

Tuesday 19th April - normal co-op at Wyong, 3 until 5.30pm

Wednesday 27th April - combined co-op at Jilliby, 3pm until 4.30pm (no other co-op that week)

Cedar Valley Centre, 369 Little Jilliby Road, Jilliby

Come for a (short) drive to the country! Plenty of grassy paddock for the children to run around in and the kettle will be on... If unable to get there at all, we're sorry that you have to miss a week and we'll catch up with you the following week:

Monday 2nd May - normal Ourimbah co-op resumes

Tuesday 3rd May - normal Wyong co-op resumes

See you soon...

Cooking with grains

2011-04-17T21:38:00.000+10:00

How do you cook your grains? Sounds like a really silly question doesn't it - but lately, it's been something that I've been changing a little in our kitchen.

Again, after some time shared in the inspiring community kitchen that I am blessed to be guided by, I came upon the idea of soaking and cooking our grains with a stick of Kombu. I think this may be from the Macrobiotic indications, as the Alfalfa House food co-op website says in their section on Kombu (which is under the area of 'Macrobiotic'); "A stick of kombu can be added to pulses during cooking to soften them, increase their nutritional value and digestibility."

Sally Fallon of Nourishing Traditions talks alot about the benefits of soaking grains. In her introduction to Whole Grains on page 452, Fallon talks about the wisdom of our Ancestors who intuitively soaked and fermented all grains before using, cooking and eating them. She further goes on to talk about the mineral deficiency risk of a diet high in un-fermented grains.

Fallon recommends that the soaking of grains breaks down the phytic acid outer layer or bran that is contained in all grains. It is this phytic acid that can inhibit the absorption of vitamins and minerals from our bodies if it is consumed in an un-fermented state. The soaking of grains in warm water will also help to neutralise enzyme inhibitors and encourages production of other beneficial enzymes. (NT p452-453) In the online 'Nourished Magazine' there is two articles which reference the soaking of grains in specific applications; bread and also muesli. Both articles amongst the topic they are discussing, also talk about the general idea of why grains should be soaked before use/cooking/consumption.

We also try to eat a different grain on each day of the week. It doesn't always happen, but we try and in this attempt, our grain consumption is varied. In her book "The Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book", Lisa Hildreth references in her section 'A Grain a Day', the book "Cooking with Grains" by Emma Graf. In her book, Emma Graf talks about how each day of the week has a cosmic origin and how that cosmic force that comes through on that day can guide us to eat appropriate grains that correspond with the influencing Planets of each day. You can see the suggested grains for each day and the corresponding Planets on this link. In the book, Emma Graf also shares how each grain effects the body's nervous system, digestive system, body functions and energy forces of the body. A summary of these descriptions are also shared on page 25-26 of the Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book.

I always try to soak the grain we will be having every day. Breakfast grains are soaked the night before and evening grains are soaked in the morning or at the latest at lunchtime. I soak in warm water and add a pinch of Himalayan salt along with the stick of Kombu. Before cooking I generally skim off any froth that has risen out during soaking and then drain and rinse the grain before adding more water to the pot and cooking the grain very slowly by bringing to the boil and then reducing the heat to the lowest setting and cooking with the lid on. I've moved away from using a pressure cooking for any cooking at all after reading Fallon's words in NT about how pressure cookers cook foods too quickly and above the boiling point. (p68). I cook the grain with the stick of Kombu if the grain is to be used in a savory dish. Sometimes the Kombu will fall apart a little during the cooking and mix with the grain but it is not at all noticeable as a 'seaweed flavor' in the taste of the final dish.

I've really enjoyed this addition of soaking our grains with Kombu as it's an easy way to incorporate more sea vegetables into our diet and boost the nutritional benefits of the grains we eat.

The Season of apples

2011-03-30T06:40:00.002+11:00

Golden leaves, crunchy carpets, the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof, mud puddles for stomping, mist in the valley, the smell of the first woodfire drifting across the hillside and crimson apples dangling in abundance from the great old apple tree! I know many folk who proclaim this as their favourite time of year. Can you guess that I'm one of them? I love Autumn and everything it brings. It's fun, it's snuggly, it's yum and it's inspiring. This 'Wild Child' of Autumn really is an exciting little Season.

I love the harvest, the preserving, the resting and the preparation for renewal that this Season brings. And APPLES! How exciting are the crisp, crimson, crunchy little bundles that hang from the great old apple tree, like baubles on the Christmas tree. It's such a versatile fruit that the options for what one can make with this amazing little Autumn gift are just endless; apple sauce, apple pie, apple and cinnamon muffins, Waldorf salad, toffee apples, baked apples with custard, apple slice.... and then there's everything yum they can accompany like; roast pork, morning porridge, red cabbage, hash browns, stir fry's, roast veggies... or how about an apple and raspberry frappe, some apple cider or a nice warm apple and ginger spiced tea to warm those cooling evenings. All the apple recipes you could EVER need can be found all over the internet - but this link has a great range of various apple recipes to inspire and delight. Over 350 of them! If you like to share stories with your family around your Seasonal baking, then The apple cake is a lovely story that follows the journey of an old woman who sets out to find some apples for her apple cake. It's a story about giving and receiving and the value that different things have to different people. The book also has a delicious apple cake recipe which can be easily adapted if you prefer more whole foods ingredients in your apple cake!

Yesterday we baked some apple and cinnamon muffins. They were so delicious that 4 hours later, I had to bake another batch because the first batch had just vanished! I thought I'd share the recipe with you;

::Apple and Cinnamon muffins::
(My recipe inspiration came from here, but as you can tell - the recipe is slightly adapted)

Ingredients;
• 2C freshly ground flour (you could soak this flour in 2C yoghurt or kefir for 12-24 hours and then omit the milk referenced if you are into the whole soaking of grains. We generally are - but this time, the muffins were needed in a hurry!)
• 1T baking powder
• 2T of ground cinnamon (plus a little extra for dusting)
• 1/2C rapadura
• 3 apples peeled, cored and chopped into small cubes
• 1/2C coconut oil softened, not melted
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 3/4C oat milk
• 12 fresh blueberries

Method;
• Combine flour, powder, cinnamon and rapadura
• Add wet ingredients; oil, eggs and milk - mix well
• Add apples and stir through
• Line a 12 hole muffin tin with environmentally friendly unbleached baking paper
• Fill each paper cup with muffin mix
• Dust muffins with cinnamon
• Press a blueberry into the top of each muffin
• Bake in 180ºC oven for about 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
• Enjoy with your favourite Autumn herbal tea or a frothy hot chocolate!

And do you know about the secret that hides inside every shiny apple? A favourite Autumn activity with children is to 'apple stamp'.

::Apple Stamping::
• Take an apple (Grown up's job) and cut the four 'cheeks' off the apple.
• You'll be left with a little cube that encases the core
• Be sure the children are gathered around as you tell the little story;
"Who would think an apple
Red, gold, green and round
Would have a secret deep inside
When cut it can be found!
(this is a nice time to cut the apple core across the middle to reveal the 'secret')
I thought this secret only shone
In deep and darkest night
But when I cut my apple
It shines with five points bright!
And now you know the secret
Where shining stars are found
In every crunchy apple
Red, gold, green and round."
(Apple Secrets by Betty Jones)
• Have some heavy card paper available as well as some Autumn coloured paints or inks
• Make sure the seeds have been removed from the center of the star and then dab the 'apple stamp' into the paint/ink and then stamp into any starry pattern you like on your paper.

Apple candles are also another great Autumn activity. It's alot of fun to let children decorate their own taper candle with decorating wax, to sit in their apple candle holder. Apple candles add a wonderful energy to a Winter Solstice celebration or are lovely just to even illuminate those lengthening nights and create a snuggly family space.

Blessings on your crunchy, crisp Autumnal Harvest Season.

Beetroot Dip

2011-03-28T15:28:00.001+11:00

How amazing have the beets been that have been coming in the boxes! Hopefully you read my 'Are you throwing away the best part?' post from last year and have been making use of the WHOLE produce; root vegetable, greens and stems.

Last week at a gathering, a friend whipped some of her FIG beets into a delicious dip. I asked if she would ever so kindly share her recipe with the community because, honestly, this is THE BEST beet dip I have EVER tasted. DELICIOUS!

This friend is a Thermomix'er, so the recipe comes from the Thermomix forum - but is also easily made with a little adaption using a food processor to chop the ingredients as needed, and a frypan on the stove top to cook ingrdients as required.... But wouldn't a thermomix be lovely!! It's definitely on my kitchen wish list!

Anyway - here's the link to the thread where the roasted beetroot dip is found on the forum. My friend does note; "I don't like as much yogurt so today's dip had approx a heaped tablespoon of yogurt. It is nice without it also, especially if you use it more as a sandwich/wrap filler or as a bit of a side relish for patties etc." My friend also notes that she only uses a pinch of sugar and not the full amount listed in the recipe. Do let us know how you go with adapting it to process/cook without a Thermomix. The produce list for this week hasn't been posted as I sit and type this. But I'm really hoping that beets are in our boxes or at least our choices this week. I'm super keen to try this delicious recipe in our kitchen!

Balance

2011-03-27T21:33:00.002+11:00

What kind of balance do you aim for with your meals? I'm definitely no expert on this topic, so I'd love if others would share their views and thoughts in the comments. It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately and really being mindful of when I create meals for our family.

We are friends with an amazing family that is very inspiring to us with our food. Whenever I feel like I've gotten lazy with our meals and haven't been eating as well as I know we should, it only takes one meal at the community home of these friends to steer me back in the right direction and fill me with inspiration.

My inspiration from this community kitchen always leads me to consider the balance of what is in our meals. A few hours spent, nourished by the energy of being part of the cooking experience in this community space and then being blessed to share in the feasting of the variety of dishes offered from various backgrounds, cultures, beliefs and food modalities, is always so nourishing to not only my body and soul but also my mind.

After a recent visit again to this community, I looked at what I offer my family with each meal and the balance within that. My inspiration from this community leads me to try to offer with our main meal each day; a soaked and cooked grain, raw salad greens dressed with apple cider vinegar, lightly steamed veggies and a main meal dish. Our main meal dish varies a little from the vegan community kitchen, as we are omnivores, but often we do also enjoy bean and pulse based main meal dishes. We cook any salt into our meals, as we believe that raw salt (whatever the kind you use - whether a whole salt or otherwise) is very abrasive on the digestive system and needs to be cooked. The salt we use is Himalayan salt. Our meal is always offered with the condiments of Gomasio and Tahini Sauce. I thought I had shared a post on Gomasio on this blog, but it appears not, as I cannot find it to link to. I will have to very soon share the recipe and benefits of Gomasio.

The community kitchen that provides this amazing inspiration for me is Macrobiotic inspired, so I do see that in the culmination of what is offered at any meal there, is always an offering from each of the 'seven essential components'. Macrobiotics is something that I have moseyed around the edge of for a while and I am really finding myself increasingly interested in researching and finding out more about this health modality belief.

I'd love to hear what the balance is of the meals that you create and offer for your family.

Red or Green?

2011-03-27T20:57:00.002+11:00

Have you been choosing red or green for your cabbage the past few weeks? And what do you do with your cabbage? It's such a versatile vegetable with SO many different ways to cook. AND it's a very nutritious veggie.

With the size of last weeks green pieces, we've definitely had alot of sauerkraut being pressed in our kitchen of late. Our favourite kraut recipe is the NT Latin American Sauerkraut. We use the 'pressed vegetable' method for fermenting veggies that I posted about last year in 'Culturing Vegetables'. The post gives you the very simple and highly effective method using basic household equipment that we use in our home to create health promoting cultured veggies. The NT Latin American Kraut uses; cabbage, carrots, onions, chilli's (fresh or dried) and oregano. If you have the NT book, you can find the Latin American Kraut recipe on page 93.

Another of our favourite green cabbage recipes comes form NT on page 358-359. Either the spicy or oriental stuffed cabbages. If you don't have NT - basically you can create the recipe by cooking a savory mince or lentil mix, adding a grain (preferably soaked/cooked), steaming some cabbage leaves, rolling a few spoonfuls of the mince into each leaf, lining up in a casserole/baking dish and topping with a sauce. The sauce can be as easy as diced organic tomatoes if you need a quick and easy meal. Bake in a moderate oven for about an hour and the final dish is DELICIOUS!

In this post, I thought I would share with you a family recipe. My German grandmother's red cabbage. It's a favourite dish in our family and one that is requested often during Autumn and Winter. The flavours of the various ingredients compliment each other so beautifully and the taste is just divine!

::German Red Cabbage::

Ingredients;
• 1 small red cabbage (shredded finely)
• 1-2 onion (diced)
• 4-6 rashes bacon (diced) - ours was made with the Free Range bacon Jane sources, which I must say is probably some of the best bacon I have ever tasted! If you are of the preference to avoid meat, then you can easily omit the bacon, but if you do eat meat - the bacon is a key part of the amalgamation of flavours, I find. I can always tell when the bacon is missing in the red cabbage!
• 1 green apple (or red if you have no green) grated
• 1T of rapadura
• 1T butter or coconut oil
• 1C red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

• 3 bay leaves
• 1t caraway seeds
• Himalayan salt
• Water if needed

Method;
• Fry onion and bacon in a large saucepan
• Add other ingredients and mix well
• Monitor moisture in pot and add a little water as needed to avoid sticking/burning in pan
• Turn heat mid-low and simmer lightly with lid on for about 20 minutes or until cabbage is cooked through
• Remove bay leaves
• Serve with whatever you please, but optimally served with Chicken Schnitzel, Spätzle and lots of gravy (on the Schnitzel and Spätzle not the red cabbage!)

Seedy Summer Lentil Dip

2011-03-01T04:15:00.002+11:00

A little something we threw together for lunch yesterday, turned out rather yummy. We used this recipe for our base inspiration, but added a few variations. Here’s how ours went;

Ingredients:
• 2 Onions (sliced)
• 3 cloves of Garlic (sliced finely)
• 1/2t Coriander Seeds
• 1/2t Cumin Seeds
• 1/2t Caraway Seeds
• 1/2t Himalayan Salt
• 2C cooked green or red Lentils
• 1 small tin of Tomato paste
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 2T Tahini sauce
• 1 small handful of Basil leaves

Method:
• Heat 1T of coconut oil in a pan
• Fry onion and garlic until translucent
• Add seeds and salt - fry a few minutes until fragrant
• Add the lentils and mix through until warmed
• Add the tomato paste and simmer on medium-low for a few minutes
• Let the mixture cool slightly (enough to process in a food pro)
• Transfer mixture to a food processor and add the lemon juice, tahini sauce and basil leaves
• Blend well
• Serve warm with crudities - especially yummy with fresh cucumber from the garden
• Also can be eaten cold as a great ‘on the go’ nutritious lunch or snack

Bulk Dry Food

2011-02-27T17:23:00.002+11:00

Have you seen the bulk dry goods order form in your email as yet? I certainly have. The stocks in our home are getting low and we have been waiting with bated breath for the email to come in, letting us know it’s that crazy time again - bulk dry food ordering! I’ve been like a kid in a candy store with the list, going all googly-eyed at the yummy possibilities!

It’s a bit of a trend amongst the blogosphere world to share pics and notes on how one organises their cupboards and bulk dry foods. Bulk dry foods have really taken off in recent years as folk realise the multiple benefits of shopping in this manner. Kristen of Kristen’s Raw did a great article about how she organises her bulk foods. Of course she is raw and her ingredients are more inline with raw food eating - but the concept of how to store bulk dry goods is what I wanted to link to in this instance. There’s that old saying of ‘different strokes for different folks’ and again this comes true in bulk dry storage. One may feel bulk nuts need to be stored in a fridge or freezer, another may simply store at room temperature. We activate all our nuts before using so we store the bulk at room temperature in our ’home store’ then soak a small quantity, dry back and then store in our canister in the pantry for daily use.

So without further delay, Welcome to our ‘home store’!

It’s nothing too crazy or flash, but it serves a purpose and blends inconspicuously into it’s home along an out of the way wall of our home. In my studio room for arts and crafts, there was a vacant wall. We invested in some metal shelves from Bunnings, which are fairly inexpensive. You can also get similar shelves from Ikea. The appeal of this type of shelf is that they go together easily, they seem quite sturdy and they line up nicely along a wall to store HEAPS of bulk food. Of course depending on the weight you are going to store on the shelves, you need to consider the safety of the shelves to remain in a standing position, so you may need to fix the shelves to the wall for safety reasons.

The other thing we needed to set up our bulk dry food storage system was some tubs to put the bags of products into. The plastic bags that the produce comes in are quite thick, however the buckets serve as two fold; 1. They make lining up for storage easy, as well as fitting into the shelves well and 2. It stops any passing through rodents or bugs nibbling through the bag and stealing some of your precious produce! The buckets we use are empty mayonnaise buckets from the chicken shop! The charcoal chicken shop in Citygate at Wyoming sells off their empty buckets with a great sealing lid for $5 a piece, which we thought was a pretty good bargain, as well as finding a recycled purpose for these redundant buckets. Do ask around at local take away stores as they would more than likely be more than happy to have you take these buckets off their hands - if not for free, then for a mere few dollars. In comparison - a food grade bucket of the same size at Bunnings is around $12. After you give the mayonnaise buckets a good wash out, there is no oily residue, odour or product left in the bucket or on the lid.

So in these shelves we line up our buckets and categorise the buckets to have similar ingredients in the one bucket such as; dried fruits in one, grains in another, beans/legumes in one, chocolate powders and sugars in another, seeds in one etc etc. We then have jars and canisters in our pantry cupboard - again organised in a similar classing to our bulk dry buckets. We use ingredients from our pantry and then once a fortnight or so I have a big refill morning where I organise, refill and clean out our pantry. I refill jars in the pantry as much as possible as they run out or as I need more of that ingredient - but generally most things get refilled on our fortnightly refill morning.

Over the past six months, we have been building our bulk dry foods storage so it is now at a place where we only go to the store for minimal fresh ingredients such as any dairy, breads, personal care products or the occasional item that we have not been able to source in bulk, and of course our fruit and veg all comes to us weekly from the wonderful folk of the FIG co-op! The other consideration is items that we only use very small quantities of. We obviously do not buy bulk of these, but the majority of our food ingredients we do buy in bulk and store here in the home for ease and convenience. Rarely do we ‘run out’ of an ingredient, because if we do, our ‘store’ is only 5 seconds across the hall from the kitchen and bingo! Refilled rice jar in under 1 minute!

Our pantry is filled with canisters and jars. Some that we have bought but most of the jars are recycled food jars. Not all ours as well. We have friends and community connections (such as other LETS members) who save and pass jars on to us for our food storage. If you ask around, you’ll most probably find many folk who regularly throw large jars into their recycle bin, and they would be only too happy to save them, knowing they were going to be well used in your pantry cupboards. We have bought a few larger canisters from places such as BASE warehouse. Most discount homewares stores have large glass canisters for very reasonable prices. $10-$15 will get you an extremely large glass canister great for storing a batch of activated nuts in the pantry, with $5-$7 getting you a tall, thinner canister for items such as beans, grains and dried fruits.

Of course there is many other variations on our way to organise bulk dry foods. Kelly of Pulse, that kindly organises the bulk dry foods for us, linked to the website Provident Living in the email that came out with the bulk dry goods list. The Home Storage section of the Provident Living site gives some great information in their FAQ’s link, about the length of time foods can be stored if correctly packaged.

Now - the other big question is - “But why would I create my own ‘mini market’ in my home when I have a food store just down the road or 20 minutes away”. For me and my family, there are many many benefits to organising our food ingredients in a bulk manner. We definitely make less trips to the store, which we find to be quite a big advantage. With this latest bulk order, we are hoping to be in a position where we only need to visit a store once a month for those few products mentioned above that we still need to buy outside of bulk. If we require dairy, then we may have to visit once a fortnight, but our family consumes a very low amount of dairy - so really the main items we need outside of bulk can be purchased once a month. The advantages of not visiting the store so much include; picking up less ‘bits and pieces’ (even if you go to the store with a list, chances are there’s the odd ‘treat’ that sneaks into the shopping trolley!), not having children in over stimulating shopping spaces or out and about for hours in a car, and a much lower food bill as not only are you not often at the store with the temptations to ‘pick up extra bits and pieces’ but you are rewarded with very low per kg prices when you buy your main ingredients in bulk. In the initial months of setting up a bulk dry storage in your home, you will need to do a bit of extra food planning and consideration of what you use more of etc, but once your supply is set up and another order rolls around, all you are really doing is ‘refilling your refill station’!

Hopefully this article gives you some inspiration to realise the benefits of buying dry goods in bulk as well as a few ideas on how you can store bulk dry goods in the average family home. And if you already do buy in bulk, we’d love to hear how you manage it in your home. How do you store your bulk dry goods and what are the extra benefits you find to shopping in this way?

Living Foods Workshop No. 2

2011-01-31T07:43:00.005+11:00

Please note: this workshop is now full!

FIG is pleased to announce the second Living Foods Workshop, this time being held on a weekend, and run by Lani, one of FIG's founding members.

"Living food is an easy, inexpensive way to maintain health, vitality, and mental alertness. If you would like to learn how and why to include some basic living food preparations into your/family's/friend's diet....come on over. We'll just start with the basics....so all you raw fooders out there who'd like to come along and share your knowledge, please feel free to come along as well.

Time permitting we'll learn
*how easy it is to sprout nuts, seeds, grains.
*how to grow your own medicine....wheatgrass.
*how to make an amazing energy drink....rejuvelac
*how easy it is to get greens into your body with green smoothies!!"

Date: Saturday 19th February

Time: 10am until 12 noon

Place: Full address, directions and details will be advised to those attending.

Cost: Free to FIG members. If numbers permit, a friend may attend at the cost of $10 per person.

See us at FIG or email to reserve your seat.

January 2011

2011-01-24T06:59:00.003+11:00

Well, we're all back into the swing of things at the co-op... Wyong has begun and Ourimbah folk are filtering back after holidays. Summer rain has finished some veggie crops early, or put a dent in the harvesting for a while, and washed away the biological controls farmers used instead of synthetic chemicals and caterpillars have been munching steadily!

This week we hope to have more of the scrumptious and nutritious local blueberries, picked the morning of the co-op, and activities coming up are the weekend Living Foods Workshop, picnic to Peacock Grove (FIG BD olive, oil and beef supplier), and later on, helping with the olive harvest there as well.

See you at the co-op (s)!

2010-12-12T19:47:00.006+11:00

Here are a few updates, to let you know what's happening and the details of our Christmas/New Year operating hours.

CHRISTMAS HOURS

Our normal days of operating fall on public holidays and we know many of you go away as well, so FIG will be closed on Mondays 27th December and 3rd January. We shall be back to normal on Monday 10th January. If you will be wanting a FIG box or boxes on the 10th, please pay for them on the 20th December, or send an email no later than 3rd January, as we begin ordering from the farmers up to a week prior, remember!

Bulk orders over Christmas, New Year

We will be taking orders for bulk fruits on 13th December for collection on 20th December, and the next one will be 10th January, for collection 17th Jan.

FIG has another branch opening, at Wyong!

Ourimbah is continuing on as usual on Mondays and Wyong will operate on Tuesday afternoons, as identical to the Ourimbah operations as humanly possible!

FIG WYONG

An open day will be held at the Wyong Neighbourhood Centre from 3-5pm on Tuesday 14th December. On that day we will have some sample boxes and produce for those new to FIG and shall be taking orders for the first day of operation on Tuesday, 11th January. The address is Room 5, Old Primary School, Cnr Rankin Court and Alison Road, Wyong (up the hill from Wyong Village Central). We're pretty excited about this and thank Colette for getting this up and running. Our major farmer and super supporter, Michael Champion, hopes to pop his head in for a while as well this Tuesday.

Please forward the details along to anyone you know in the northern part of the coast who may be interested. If there are some of you coming to Ourimbah every week who would find Tuesdays at Wyong more convenient, please let us know either by email or in person at the co-op and if you would like to begin collecting FIG boxes on the 11th January.

Aquaponics Workshop, January

Tank to Table Aquaponics (FIG member) is holding a workshop on Sat 15th Jan and Sun 16th Jan. Here is a link to the workshop information. Please support our members and their businesses where you can, particularly those who, like Candy and others, endeavour to build a business promoting sustainable practises and/or healthy lifestyles, and if you are a FIG member, don't forget to...

... please advise all relevant details of your service or business if you would like it listed in an online member's directory. The Food Integrity Group reserves the right to refuse, edit or modify any listing or listing applications. Family friendly, please!

See you at the co-op!

Fermenting Folk

2010-12-06T09:22:00.000+11:00

A friend passed to me her copy of ‘Wild Fermentation’ by Sandor Katz. I’m a bit of a Sandor Katz groupie now! I think he is amazing; inspiring, talented, humorous, friendly and generous. His style of writing is down to Earth and has such a casual tone to it, you feel like you are sitting there having a conversation with him. A friend who lives in Tennessee recently attended a workshop where Sandor presented! She said it was wonderful and had a different energy to it to see him present live than just to read his words in a book. How very blessed she is to live so close to this wild food crafter. I ordered Sandor’s book ‘The revolution will not be microwaved’ and it arrived yesterday. With sorrel teaming over in our garden, I am keen to look up the ‘shav’ (cold sorrel soup) recipe in this book.

Once again, our benches have been taken over by crocks fermenting every type of vegetable, fruit juice, nuts and seeds. We love the flavours of these ferments and the amazing benefits such food offer to our bodies. At the moment we have honey mead bubbling away, a ‘kitchen sink kraut’ just gone down, and sour beets half way through their ferment. Recently we have bottled a Latin American Kraut which is being well received by all mouths it passes through, pickled some vine leaves from our grape vine and made stuffed vine leaves w. mint cashew aioli (we used cooked brown rice as opposed to making the ‘raw rice’ mostly because I had cooked rice on hand and no cauli or parsnip!), and our very first and yummy Kimchi. But fermenting is also a game of ‘you win some - you loose some. Yesterday I was mortified to realise I’d lost a batch of sour pickles. My first ever pickles. I was so excited. I'm a bit of a pickle fan and was SO looking forward to my own batch. I used a pasta bowl (which I now realise was too shallow) on top of the cucs in the crock and put two 1.25kg weights off some old dumb bells in the top. They are a bit rusty - but the plan is they don't touch the brine, they just sit dry in the bowl weighting the produce down. I opened my crock yesterday to check how the sour pickles were going and you can imagine my disappointment when I found the brine had expanded and the weights were now submerged in brine - GROSS! There was a rusty brown tinge to the brine. I felt like crying :( The chickens enjoyed the cucs and I have learnt from my novice mistake. Also, we tried to make an apple cider w. store bought apple juice, preservative free, organic etc - but it was on the shelf, so obviously has been heat treated or had some kind of treatment to allow it to be without refrigeration. So this cider just turned sour instead of fermenting. We will be retrying this with fresh squeezed apple juice from our FIG juicing apples.

But here’s the reality check. In decades gone by, when families lived with several generations on one property - they lived and worked in communities that supported each other. Nanna Josie was the sourdough queen, Aunt Bessie was always good with the fermented vegetables and Uncle Ted was the one who had his Great-Great-Great grandfathers recipe for creating the sweetest mead you’ve ever tasted. Then it all came together at meal time. No one person was in their kitchen from sunrise to sunset and even longer hours still; grinding grain, fermenting flours, tending sourdough cultures, fermenting vegetables, checking miso crocks, stirring bubbling meads, culturing dairy, pressing vinegar’s and straining curds for cheese making. It takes a community to SHARE what they are doing for the health of all. So whilst I’m not suggesting we all deck ourselves out in colonial garments, move to a property where we all reside and each takes their own role in this community of conscious living. I do have a vision and a dream... "I have a dream" - Martin Luther King Jr.

I wonder if there are any other folk out there who would like to come together with other ‘fermenting folk’. Not formally - just as a casual group of friends, no different to the informal group of mothers that meet once a week at the park and take a walk or the parents that sit together and chat at squad group whilst their children swim back and forth. My idea is that we could come together and share. Share ideas, experiences, successes and failures - but most importantly also ferments. My basic idea is that we could meet once a month at a nice space in nature. Have a picnic, whether a shared pot luck or each bring their own food. We would each bring (for example) 5 containers of our latest ferment. It would be placed on a sharing table and each person takes home 5 containers of various other ferments from other folk. We could all be in touch via email so as if Betty put down a batch of kraut, she could email us all and let us know she planned to bring that to the next gathering so that we didn’t all arrive with 5 containers of kraut. Whilst kraut is good, that’s ALOT of kraut! The idea is we are forming a community of folk where we share amongst ourselves and no one person is trying to ferment a zillion different recipes in the average home kitchen with the average modern day time.

Some folk may have different fermentation books or guides and that is fine. But if you are looking to purchase an affordable, easy to read, inspiring and recipe filled fermenting book, I would recommend Wild Fermentation. It is a great all rounder book. Betterworld books is great place to purchase the book. US$16.50 and US$3.97 shipping worldwide. BWB also has a really great business philosophy with funding literacy programs in third world countries as well as saving millions of books from landfill. I also find that most often their books are much cheaper (even new books) than elsewhere.

If you are interested in coming together in this informal group to share ferments and experiences, then please email fermentingfolk (at) gmail.com (without the spaces and with an @ symbol replacing (at) in the address). As this group is stemming out of a community of folk mindful of conscious eating, it would be asked that all food used in the ferments be organic - not necessarily certified - but definitely organic in nature; whether that be store bought, FIG supplied, home grown or community garden harvested etc.

Amaranth

2010-11-26T09:32:00.002+11:00

Have you noticed a little green leafed offering on the extra’s table over the past few weeks? Chances are you may have been intrigued, picked up a bunch to inspect it and been a little put off by the somewhat light furry or bristle texture of the leaves. That bunch of rough textured greens is called Amaranth and it is DELICIOUS and SO nutritious.

When our whole foods, organic journey delved a little deeper a few years back, I was amazed when I started reading about this somewhat ‘super green’ and ‘super grain’. Whilst running probably (and I guess this is individual view) but probably a close second to quinoea in terms of a vegetarian super offering, amaranth is really a power house of nutrition.

At the moment at FIG, we have the amaranth greens, which can be used fresh in salads (don’t be discouraged by the rougher texture of the leaves, it really is not at all noticeable as you eat them), lightly steamed, or used in any number of creative ways for vegetarian dishes. Amaranth greens have a higher nutritional content than spinach! Certain strains of Amaranth are actually considered WEEDS! Can you believe it. As one source says “If the weeds in your garden turn out to be the ubiquitous green amaranth, give thanks to Mother Nature and make the best of it” - Asian online recipes

Whilst we have been enjoying the greens through FIG, most people are probably more familiar with Amaranth as a grain, and whilst it is referred to as a grain, the amaranth grain is actually a seed. You can sprout the seed as you would an alfalfa seed and enjoy a nutritious little protein boost from this versatile gift from nature. Many people are also probably used to seeing amaranth as a puffed cereal offering in natural health stored. Whilst FIG doesn’t take the position of telling folk what they should or shouldn’t eat, we do like to keep the flow of information that we find interesting, open to the FIG community. So if you are used to eating amaranth seed as a puffed cereal, then you may want to consider some of the researched dangers of eating puffed cereals.

But aside from the puffed offerings, amaranth is available in many forms; greens, seed and amaranth flour. Of course if you have your own grain mill at home, the best way to have the freshest and most nutritious flour is to obtain the seed and then grind the seed through your mill to obtain fresh, nutrient rich flour. Unfortunately due to the way flour nowadays is milled, stored, transported etc, it quite often arrives in our homes devoid of much goodness at all, and has quite often turned rancid if it has not been processed to remove the oils, if it has then we are receiving a refined flour product which as mentioned above is devoid of it’s full potential nutrient density... But that’s a whole other issue for a whole other day. If you are interested in this point - you may like to read the ‘Whole Grains’ section of Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions. There is also some basic information about this issue on Health Banquet.

Back to amaranth flour. You can buy amaranth flour at the store, and if you do not have a grain mill, then to obtain the flour already ground is the next best option to use this nutritious seed as a flour. If you are interested in bringing a grain mill to your kitchen, then Skippy Grain Mills offer really beautiful mills. We use the Billy 100 in or kitchen and I would definitely recommend it to other folk interested in a grain mill for their family. It has served us very well and continues to do so. Amaranth Flour is a wonderful gluten free flour that can be successfully used in many baking applications. Amaranth flour also has 8 times the iron that wheat flour has.

We actually grow some amaranth ourselves last year and it was such a pleasure to have in the garden. Continuous pick greens with a delicious looking pink/red tinge to them. They produced on and on through the summer and when they finally went to seed we bagged up the seed heads and have them hanging, collecting the seed. We will use some of the seed and replant some more - although I have noticed little baby amaranth plants springing form the earth in the space they were growing last year, already!

However you enjoy amaranth; greens or seed; freshly ground or sprouted; raw, baked or steamed - one thing is for sure, your body will sing with the nutrient boost this gift from nature offers.

References; wikipedia, ripe organics, asian online recipes, nourished magazine

Berry-de-licious

2010-11-26T09:29:00.004+11:00

Nothing sings Summer quite like the arrival of berry’s in every shape and size. When you see the extra’s table filled with red delicious berries, you know that Summer is just a heartbeat away. I love the sweet, delicious taste of all the Summer berries. They are scrumptious on their own and are so versatile in such a plethora of recipes; raw, cooked, frozen, stewed, baked... however you have your berries and whatever your favourite berry recipe is, I’m sure it’s something we all long for in the Summer months.

I’ve been longing for the berries of Summer to try some of the amazing raw food recipes I see that are filled with berries of every kind. However, even though I brought home TWO punnets of both strawberries AND boysenberries (yes, that equals FOUR punnets of berrys!) the other day - NONE made it into any recipe creations. All were eaten and enjoyed, fresh, just as is. All in about 48hours as well! We discovered a wonderful taste treat. I love how the flavour type of one food can enhance the flavour type of another food when eaten successively. Previously we have done this with californian dates and nuts - mostly walnuts and pecans. Eating the date first brings out the sweetness of the pecan or walnut, really changing the typical flavour we experience from these nuts. We discovered the other day, that to eat 3-4 boysenberries with their sharp, tart flavour and then to follow it with one of those juicy little strawberries - OH MY GOODNESS! The strawberry is SO sweet - it actually tasted like one of those strawberry and cream lollies! Beautiful!

Now for the strawberry tech info... The other day I was intrigued by a passing comment by someone I had just met at a gathering. This person is from Germany and has an Anthroposophical background. In our conversation, this person mentioned to me how traditional Anthroposophical folk will not eat strawberries as they are seen as a seductive fruit, with the seeds on the outside. This got me searching the internet for more information on this - I found it really interesting. I could definitely see how the fruit could have this kind of energy associated with it, as it definitely is a very alluring fruit which has long been associated with love and romance. Strawberries with Champagne and a wee piece of chocolate probably feature in the congratulations basket of most honeymoon suites around the world. The three most romantic associated food and drink items! Whilst I couldn’t find any information about this particular point of reference with Anthroposophy, I was interested with the information I did find about the facts of strawberries. Strawberries, by botanists are most often not even classified as a ‘berry’ because of the fact that they do not contain their seeds on the inside like other berries. However, what some folk view as the seeds on the outside of the berry, are in fact not actual seeds. Those little yellow dots on the outside are the actual fruit! There are over 200 of these on every strawberry. Inside each of these ‘fruits’ is a little seed. Wikipedia has a great microscope image of these fruits showing the seed inside. What we normally think of as the strawberry fruit is actually a swollen stem, like a rose hip. The MadSci network has some interesting information on this as well as some great strawberry facts and trivia on Pick Your Own.

Too much thought? That’s what I’m thinking... I just like to enjoy one of the best fruits of Summer - the strawberry, even if it’s not a fruit itself and even if it’s not a berry and AH.... too much thinking - I think I’ll just enjoy them without thinking about whether I’m eating a fruit or a berry or a seed or a stem......

Cumin Roasted Wedges

2010-11-26T09:28:00.002+11:00

A friend recently mentioned to me that they picked up a great little recipe from the Weight Watchers book - Cumin Dusted Roast Wedges. This recipe was verbally passed to me, so if anyone has a reference book and page I can quote, please do leave it in the comments section. But the recipe, if you can even call it that is so simple - 1 step really with 1 ingredient... Does that even qualify as a recipe?

• Cut up washed potatoes, skin on, into thick wedges.

• Pop in a bag or dish and dust in Cumin. Shake around to evenly coat wedges.

• You can either bake them on a tray with a little olive oil or you can grill them on the BBQ.

We grilled ours on the BBQ with some fresh salmon fillets and served w. steamed vegetables drizzled in a healthy oil, sprinkled w. gamasio - DELICIOUS!

A snapshot of Beulah

2010-11-26T09:05:00.002+11:00

We were privileged to be shown around the property of Beulah one recent the weekend by the very passionate farmer and owner of the property, Bill. Bill has this energy of genuine concern and mindfulness that surrounds him. He speaks with such passion about what he does and the food he grows for our families. It is obvious that in every piece of produce that comes out of Beulah, a small piece of Bill’s heart and soul is in the essence of that fruit or vegetable. It fills me with such intense appreciation to know that there is someone like Bill, growing our food - who is genuinely concerned about what he is putting on my family’s meal plates. One day, as we sat eating at our meal table, I said, “We are so blessed to have farmers who grow our food for us” and our child responded with “and so lucky to have people to grow this beautiful food without chemicals”. Hear Hear!

Bill showed us around his farm, the outdoor growing spaces, the greenhouse and the orchards. Our tour led down to the pristine water source of the farm where the children were delighted to scoop their hands in and be able to drink right from that refreshing source. Bill spoke to us about his background. Coming 5 years ago from a trade background, with no farming knowledge or experience he poses the question “If I can grow food like this, how can folk who have lived in the soil their whole lives not do the same”. Bill goes on to say that organic farming is so much more than just not spraying. It’s about living in harmony with the land, respecting the soil, reading the signs, listening to the messages that Mother Nature openly shares with those who will listen. When Bill stands there and with the most loving gesture waves his hand to the ground, he says “God put the grass there for a reason, to keep the soil moist and protected - you spray, you loose all of that - then the problems start...” As he trails off from this sentence, Bill shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head in dismay and confusion as to why people would do this. I nearly wept tears of such extreme respect when I stood there is Bill’s presence and heard how he speaks with such love and understanding about how natural, farming can and should be. He has an amazing ability to generate this extreme reverence in us for the gifts of nature that we are blessed to receive.

It was wonderful to hear Bill share his experiences, learnings, suggestions and ideas with us. He was not at all guarded about techniques he uses and openly shared many, many suggestions with the group who frantically tried to scribble down each piece of organic growing advice as the next one flowed in Bill’s words.

We left the property with a deeper level of appreciation for where our food comes from and an amazing respect for the folk like Bill who consciously grow nutritious food to feed, heal and grow our bodies every single day. I love the final lines from Food Inc and it seems appropriate to close this article with those words; that we make three main votes every day on what kind of food we want produced. Whenever we run a food item through a supermarket scanner, we vote, one way or another - which way do you choose to vote?

Organic Eating Out

2010-11-26T04:47:00.001+11:00

If you make the decision to eat only organic foods, then your options for eating out can be quite limited. There are a few places on the Coast that serve ‘conscious food’; free range eggs, Lilydale chicken, organic milk and cream etc etc. But still, eating at some of these places can be difficult when you want an entirely organic meal.

We were very impressed to hear that a local Organic store was now serving ORGANIC bacon and egg rolls with organic coffee on a Saturday morning (the organic coffee, hot chocolate and chai is available every day!). There are other items on the menu as well such as corn fritters, sausage rolls and from this Saturday, the plan is to have a BBQ available as well with ORGANIC meat and salads. With the corn fritters and sausage rolls, you would need to check that everything is organic in these pieces. I think the corn fritters are mostly organic ingredients and I know the sausage rolls are all organic filling, but have a conventional pastry on the outside. BUT - the great thing is that there is a FULLY ORGANIC OPTION! Generally, the bacon and egg rolls are served with conventional nitrate free bacon, but all you need do is ask for ORGANIC bacon as you order and this is happily done for you. There is a small $2 charge for the Organic bacon substitute, but DEFINITELY worth it, they are DELICIOUS! Organic roll, organic butter, organic bacon, Lisa Edward’s eggs, organic tomato sauce AH! Yes, ladies and gentlemen it appears Ooomph Fresh at East Gosford is setting a standard for organic food café offerings on the Coast.

If you would like to find out more about the latest organic café offerings at Ooomph then you can call and speak with the very vibrant character, Andrew on 4321 1133.

I just received the following information in an email from Andrew and thought I would share it with anyone interested. Darren will also be there at Andrew's on Saturday with his Organic Seedlings!

Raw Peach Recipes

2010-11-15T05:39:00.003+11:00

The peaches that have been coming from FIG over the past few weeks via the extra's table have been delicious! Local, early season peaches that have really impressed with their fresh, juicy, promise of all things refreshing to come with the Summer months ahead! The first week these appeared, FIG actually ended up with some seconds from the supplier, but with just slight damage to the skin, these peaches lent themselves wonderfully to whipping up a quick raw peach chutney (we used the KR recipe from her ebook 'Sides and Snacks'; 'Romantic Peach Chutney'.) and enjoyed it on raw oatmeal (again a KR recipe from the same book; 'Good Ol Oatmeal') for breakfast. You can find recipes for peach chutney (I'd be sub'ing any vinegar with unfiltered raw apple cider vinegar and any sugar with rapadura. Of course I always use Himalayan as our choice of salt.) on the internet quite easily through google, but most are cooked. The KR recipe had a wonderful polarity of sweet and spicy using both agave and ground mustard seeds in the recipe. It was delicious!

It was actually quite timely when FIG announced their first peaches of the season, as just the day before I had been drooling over the recipe for 'Gourmet Raw Georgia Stuffed Peaches' in the KR desserts ebook. I was longing for the freshness of juicy Summer fruit to get creating with some fancy raw vegan sweet creations, when the very next day, FIG offered peaches! I couldn't believe it! So a few of our first bundle of peaches went toward being created into stuffed peaches which were such a wonderfully yummy treat! Again, a google search will bring up a raw stuffed peach recipe (scroll to the bottom of this post, it's after the noodle recipe), a little different to the one we made, but looks yummy all the same.

We've also rekindled our love of fermenting again, with reading a most wonderfully amazing book 'Wild Fermentation' by Sandor Ellix Katz. If you are interested in this book and the easy handcraft of fermenting, then you can preview the book through google books. There is quite a large portion of the book previewed there, but of course scrolling through a book online is never the same (I find) as sitting curled up with a hard copy of the book, engrossing oneself in the world of the words on each page. Anyway, we used a few of our peaches last week (which were perfect, no seconds last week, all perfect looking Summer specimens!) for Sandor's fruit kimchi recipe. We have been tasting this every few days and it is delicious - it should be ready in another few days, but we might let it sit just a little longer. We also used FIG provided pears, apples and pineapple in our kimchi. There is an online kimchi recipe in this link, but the recipe from Wild Fermentation is much simpler and there is a pure fruit kimchi recipe. I also love Sandor's information that he shares about different ferments, their history and cultural associations. Alongside this, his style of writing wonderfully carry's his very beautiful nature and great sense of humor. His way of writing is warm, simple and encouraging.

We're so excited that peaches were one of our box choices this week. Did you choose peaches? If so, be sure to comment below and tell us what wonderful creations you put together with your furry skinned fruit friends. Or did you just simply bite into the pure fruit piece and experience that joy of having Summer fruit sweetness explode in your mouth and dribble down your arm a little! Doesn't that always happen with peaches!

Farm Tours

2010-11-14T12:25:00.003+11:00

An email has gone out to FIG members (contact us on fig.centralcoast@gmail.com if you did not see it or are not receiving weekly updates) advising of the upcoming Farm Tours and Picnic on Sunday 21st November.

We are very excited to be visiting both Tuckerflora Organic Farm and Beulah Organic Farm, which both supply FIG with fantastic produce throughout the year.

This activity is open to FIG members and their families, so if you are interested in coming along to visit two of our farms in the Mangrove Mountain and Somersby areas and to have a relaxing picnic in the fresh mountain air on one of the farms, please RSVP to the above email address with names, number of people attending and a contact phone number.

Spring Tea

2010-11-08T07:11:00.001+11:00

We’ve been enjoying some wonderful cups of very refreshing Spring tea with herbs picked freshly from our garden each morning. Spring is such a lovely time of year, very refreshing in itself, that a nice cup of fresh garden herbal just compliments the energy of the Season so beautifully.

We have been picking geranium (lemon and rose), salad burnet and mint to infuse in our Springtime teas. Spring has really landed here on the Coast and our gardens are full of wonderful little treasures that can be used in the most delightful ways in our culinary experiments.

::Fresh Springtime Garden tea::
    •    Take 1 large handful of tea friendly Spring herbs from your garden
    •    Place in your tea pot
    •    Pour boiled water into the pot
    •    Allow tea to infuse for 3-5 minutes
    •    Pour - drink - relax - enjoy

We’d love to hear what fragrant and tasty herbs you have flourishing in abundance in your gardens at the moment, and your favourite recipe’s for these herbs. And did you know that you can make pesto and capers out of Nasturtiums?

Amaranth Tabouli Mushroom cups

2010-11-07T21:16:00.004+11:00

Just as we have a small supply of amaranth coming in to the co-op, one FIG member has written about a recipe for amaranth grain... the leaves can be used in curries and smoothies, etc.

Here’s a little recipe that just came about at lunchtime yesterday in our kitchen that I thought others might like to try. Of course, it made maximum use of all our fresh, tasty, organic FIG produce that we are blessed to receive from our local farming friends.

::Amaranth tabouli mushroom cups::

Ingredients
    •    1/2C (dry) amaranth grain
    •    2T apple cider vinegar with ‘Mother’
    •    1 schallot - chopped
    •    large handful of parsley - chopped
    •    carrot - spiralised
    •    mushroom cups

Method
    •    Cover amaranth grain with water, add 1/2t of Himalayan salt and bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until soft, about 20 minutes
    •    Strain in a fine strainer and rinse
    •    Place in a large mixing bowl
    •    Add chopped schallot, parsley, apple cider vinegar and mix thoroughly
    •    Destalk about 10 medium size mushroom cups
    •    Spoon tabouli mix into mushroom cups
    •    Garnish with garden greens (we used the greens from our asparagus spears that we didn’t pick before they sprouted), gomasio and spiralised carrot
    •    Serve with fresh lettuce drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon

Culturing Vegetables

2010-11-04T21:53:00.002+11:00

When we started out Nourishing Traditions (NT) journey, we also started culturing some vegetables. The benefits to our digestion and our bodies of cultured vegetable eating are amazing, wide and varied. Amongst the many health promoting properties, cultured vegetables assist in resorting our inner ecosystem as they are packed with friendly gut bacteria - cheap and a much more natural probiotic option! The other wonderful thing is that if you are passionate about raw food, but conscious of the macrobiotic suggestion to not consume raw brassica’s due to the fact that they can inhibit thyroid hormone production, then this is a great option as the culturing of the brassica's removes this risk of raw brassica eating.

We found the NT way of culturing a little hit and miss and quite involved. We felt very blessed to attend a workshop with Khannah of Inana, where it was shared with us the very simple and effective method of PRESSING vegetables to culture them. This method uses, instead of trying to remove, the surrounding air. The technique used here is quite explanatory in the name of the method, it literally uses a weight to PRESS the vegetables and in turn culture them through their own juices that they are immersed in. Here’s the very simple method;

::Ingredients and utensils needed::
    •    Lots of fresh organic vegetables and herbs, you can use any vegetable and herbs but salad greens such as lettuce and rocket that wilt easily are not recommended as they do not have the most desirable effect)
    •    Himalayan salt
    •    chopping board and knife
    •    Two big buckets (We get ours from the local chicken shop which sells old coleslaw buckets for $5 with the lid! Of course we give them a good wash out before culturing in them! These buckets do have ink on the outside though, so it is best to have a bucket with no ink around on the outside as the bucket that will be pressed down inside the vegetable holding bucket. Obviously the juices of the culturing process come up around the outside of the internal bucket, so one with ink is not best. Bunnings sells food grade white buckets with lids for around $12 and these have no ink on the outside (they have a sticker which easily peels off)
    •    A weight to go inside the pressing bucket which will be put inside the other bucket containing the vegetables. (We have our pressing bucket holding our grain that we grind as our flour. But you can just as easily find some old weight bench weights to put in this bucket. You need around 20kg in the pressing bucket)

::Gather your produce and herbs. You can use a mix of many different vegetables or just some specific one’s. Cabbage is always a good ingredient to include no matter what else you are including. We have done mixed vegetable batches and at the moment have a batch of the NT Latin American Sauerkraut in pressing::

::Chop your vegetables into the size pieces you would like to eat them. You can have a variation in amongst your vegetables as well. Culturing is a fun community activity. If you have a kitchen bench that is large enough, grab a few friends together and stand around chopping and chatting. It’s a wonderful social activity!::

::Slide the chopped veggies into the bucket from the board::

::The salt is the most important ingredient as this is what draws the moisture from the vegetables and cultures the vegetables. The rule of thumb is that for every layer of vegetables, you put about 1 large/generous teaspoon sprinkled over the top. Then at the end, add 1-2t just for luck!::

::Once all the vegetables and salt are in, mix it all around. Children love to help with putting the vegetables in, the salt and then mixing all around. It’s a great kitchen handwork task for them to be involved in::

::As you mix, you should notice alot of water coming out of the vegetables - if not, there is not enough salt - add more. The vegetables need to be quite wet::

::Press the vegetables down the sides so as to ensure they are all together. Culturing vegetables are like a big happy family, they like to be all snuggled in together. Leave your mix for an hour or so and then check it. When you lightly press on top of the veggies with the back of your hand, liquid should come out and cover your hand. If not, add more salt and mix around and let stand, or if you have added alot of salt and are concerned they will be too salty for taste in the end, then you can add a small amount of water - but this is not normally necessary. Remember, cultured vegetables do have a rather salty flavour in the end, but also that alot of the salt flavour will disperse with the culturing. If you would like to test - then taste a few pieces of the vegetables::

::Add your weighted bucket on top of the vegetables. Be sure that the bottom of the weighted bucket reaches and presses the vegetables in the holding bucket - this is very important as the pressing causes the liquid to rise and it is the liquid that cultures and prevents spoiling. Leave your vegetables for three weeks, but feel free to check them a few times in this space if you want to be sure the top bucket is pressing/the liquid is covering the vegetables for correct culturing. After a week or so, you will notice a very strong fermenting smell. It is not at all pleasant, but does not indicate spoilage - this is a normal part of the process. For this reason, you may choose to put the buckets somewhere not in a main living space - but where it is still safe from bugs, insects and rodents::

::After three weeks you can see if your vegetables are ready to bottle. Do not be concerned if you do not get to them in three weeks, they are fine in the bucket - but after three weeks you can generally bottle and start to enjoy your cultured vegetables. When bottling, spoon vegetables into clean glass jars that have sealable lids. Pour liquid into each jar after you have finished spooning out the vegetables. The jars should not be more than 3/4 filled once vegetables and liquid are in. Again, you need to ensure that the vegetables are all covered with liquid, so if there is not enough culturing liquid, you can fill the jars with a little water. It is also important that once you are using your vegetables, that you ensure the little family of veggies all stay snuggled together under that blanket of liquid. If you have excess liquid, you can add this to the next batch of culturing vegetables that you ferment, as an inoculant - but it is not necessary::

Living Foods Workshop

2010-11-02T07:25:00.000+11:00

From time to time the co-op hosts an activity which members and their families can attend.

The next one coming up is our Living Foods Workshop, on Wednesday 24th November, held minutes away from the FIG clubhouse. For FIG members only, and free. It's nearly booked out already, so see us at FIG on Monday or email to respond.

"Living food is an easy, inexpensive way to maintain health, vitality, and mental alertness. If you would like to learn how and why to include some basic living food preparations into your/family's/friend's diet....come on over. We'll just start with the basics....so all you raw fooders out there who'd like to come along and share your knowledge, please feel free to come along as well.

Time permitting we'll learn
       *how easy it is to sprout nuts, seeds, grains.
       *how to grow your own medicine....wheatgrass.
       *how to make an amazing energy drink....rejuvelac
       *how easy it is to get greens into your body with green smoothies!!"

Depending on numbers, we may hold another weekday workshop, or arrange one on a weekend.

Spring Smoothies

2010-11-01T19:42:00.001+11:00

We normally compliment whatever we enjoy for breakfast with a smoothie of some type. This past few weeks we have been LOVING the english and native spinach (that has been coming in the FIG boxes) in our morning smoothies. This week we were delighted to be able to include some fresh organic pineapple in our morning smoothies. The pineapples on the extra’s table recently have been wonderful. Fresh, sweet, juicy and SO tasty.

::Springtime Breakfast Smoothie::

Ingredients
    •    1/2 pineapple chopped
    •    2 fresh bananas (or frozen if that is all you have on hand - fresh banana = creamy smoothie | frozen banana = thicker smoothie)
    •    1 large handful of english or native spinach
    •    Water or organic young coconut water
    •    Various additions such as; macca, lucuma, pea protein, rice protein, cacao powder, chia seeds, flax seed*

Method
    •    Place all in blender
    •    Fill with water or coconut water
    •    Whizz around
    •    Enjoy

NB: Please disregard the above photo colour - your smoothie should most probably be green in colour unless you have added cacao or a similar dark coloured powder. This smoothie was actually a combination of left over green smoothie from my breakfast and our daughters left over ‘berry bang’ breakfast smoothie (berry bang smoothie; banana (fresh or frozen), berries (fresh or frozen), water or coconut water, plus a little cacao, pea protein, rice protein or macca, lucuma powder* - all whizzed up!)

*please do check whatever 'powders' you plan to include, with your Natural Health Care Practitioner to check if they are suitable for yourself and your children.

Egg rolls for lunch

2010-11-01T10:45:00.006+11:00

The thing about raw food eating is that it inspires me to look outside of
bread for ways to serve certain foods. Somedays I feel like I’ve stepped
back into my Grandparent’s home when I review my day of an evening
and see each meal served with bread. I have childhood memories of
seeing my Grandparents eat toast after their cereal for breakfast, have a
sandwich for lunch and then have bread and butter on the side with
their dinner! When I am rushed, stressed, feeling uninspired in the
kitchen or a little unorganised - bread is the easiest ingredient to grab
and pop something on top of it to call a meal!

We are very blessed at FIG to have the; wonderful, fresh, organic,
baked with love, and made from freshly ground grains, bread of our
dear friend Antje. And the breads Antje creates include some amazing,
tasty and very nutritious ingredients such as the seeds and alternative
grains that Antje bakes with. Antje’s exquisite fresh bread is a world
away from the heavily processed, nutrient lacking bread that is
common place in society today.

Most food pyramid diagrams recommend bread, but most will also give
indications that bread should be the more minor part of our daily
whole grain consumption. The Michio Kushi's Macrobiotic Food
Pyramid (the basic food guidance of all macrobiotic eating folk)
recommends 40-60% of our daily food (by weight) should be whole
grains, with the minor portion of this being from bread products.

So whilst my intention in writing this article is not to suggest you do not
use bread, my writing of this article is to share with you how much we
have been enjoying the raw food influence in our kitchen, which
inspires us to think a little outside of just using bread as a first resort
every time we need a base to eat something else on. We have been
impressed with how versatile greens are and how capable they are in
acting as a ‘bread’ as such. It is a tasty change, doesn’t have the ‘heavy’
feeling that bread can often leave our system with and it’s a GREAT,
EASY way to increase greens in this raw, detoxing, refreshing, exhaling
time of year. Spinach, Kale and Lettuce leaves all make wonderful
‘slices of bread’ in a raw way of eating! You can take a green leaf, lay it
out, place a patty of any description (raw or cooked) on the leaf, top
with a bit of garnish, add another greens leaf atop that and VOILA -
BURGER! Today for lunch, we used some greens from our garden to
make ‘egg rolls’.

::Egg rolls::

Ingredients
• Greens leaves
• 4 Eggs
• 2T Mayonnaise (‘Norganic’ is a good natural brand mayo, or even
better - you can use your own homemade one!)
• 2t of curry powder
• Gomasio
• Sprouts

Method
• Hard boil eggs, peel away shell and place egg in bowl
• Mash the eggs with a fork
• Add mayo and curry powder - mix around well
• Take a greens leaf
• Spoon 1-2T in the centre of the leaf
• Sprinkle with Gomasio and add sprouts or whatever other filling
you prefer
• Roll the greens leaf up
• Enjoy the increase of cleansing, nutrient dense greens you just
added so easily to your diet!

A few October updates...

2010-10-08T10:04:00.008+11:00

When you become a FIG member you receive weekly email updates of what’s happening, produce tips, etc, however this week we simply had too much to share! Once again there is information and also some events happening which Figgies like to know about, so here are a few of them, in this, the National Organic Week! (Updated Friday evening 8th Oct)

The co-op is not in the business of telling anyone what and how to eat!

However, we do encourage the eating of more vegetables and fruit, grown, of course, minus the chemicals! Whether you’re a vegan, raw foodie, you eat meat twice a day or twice a year, or prefer cooked food and only eat an occasional salad, the consensus amongst many in the health profession seems to be that the more fresh plant food we can consume, the better. We’re finding all sorts of information, all the time, and even found this: a short clip of former USA President, Bill Clinton, whom has experienced heart problems in the past with by-pass surgery highly reported in the media world-wide and more to insert some stents, and who has now been following the advice of two medical doctors, Esselstyn and Ornish, and eating a diet rich in plant-based foods.

We encourage you to make your own enquiries about your health and to learn what’s best for YOU and your family.

One FIG member is a Naturopath and she has given us the following information on detoxing for Spring...

A Spring clean!
I wonder if you would like to inform your people, through your newsletter, of the importance of this spring season to start cooking up their organic garlic and lemons... The formula is 30 cloves of organic garlic and 5 whole lemons: chop as small as possible or use a food processor, then add 1 litre water; bring to the boil and turn off. You may eat as is or strain off. 30 Mls for adults to consume daily and 10-20 mls for children. Keep in the fridge once cold, and take a dose each day anytime. In 3 weeks, one''s blood and arteries may be unblocked and as well the lungs being clearer of mucus as the liver also gets assistance of blood purifying from the sourness combined with the pungent, to clean us out. Repeat this process again in Autumn.

Three weeks is usually enough however, if you wish to do again, break a week after the 3 weeks and cook up again another batch for another 3 weeks, especially if you are suffering from high cholesterol.. This detox does not interfere with any medication, nor does it leave any bad odour or garlic smell as the boiling process with the lemons skins and all make it taste rather nice, with no after taste or smell of the garlic on the breath.

From your friendly local naturopath, Catherine.

(Note: FIG has ordered extra garlic and lemons for this coming Monday if you want to try this, and will do so in future weeks on request).

Permaculture Central Coast, Tuesday, 19^th October
Ecological Thinking and Action - Healthy Living Soils = Healthy Living People

Peter Rutherford will be talking about the health of soils and the food we grow in those soils directly in relation to the health of us. Promises to be a fabulous talk, and begins at 7pm in the Tuggerah Hall, 9 Anzac Road, Tuggerah. Entry by donation.

The topic for next week's Insight program on SBS will be on Organic produce – 7.30pm on Tuesday 12th October, repeated at 1.30 Friday.

The Sydney Food Fairness Alliance presents two lively and thought provoking Q&A style forums as part of the Sydney International Food Festival!

When food systems collide

When Food Systems Collide is a Q&A style forum, moderated by Daily Telegraph restaurant critic Simon Thomsen, that will explore the costs and benefits of our current food system and examine the value of alternative models of production and distribution. The audience is invited to ask challenging questions of a panel of experts including CEO of Garden Organic UK, Myles Bremner; new Green member of the NSW Legislative Council, Cate Faehrmann; Woolworths Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Andrew Hall; and Founder of the Organic Traders' and Consumers' Network, Catriona Macmillan.

When: 6.30pm on Wednesday 13 October 2010

Where: Sydney Mechanics School of the Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney.

Cost: $15 or $10 for members or concession (cash only on the night)

RSVP: info@sydneyfoodfairness.org.au

Helping Ourselves

Restaurant critic for the Daily Telegraph Simon Thomsen will moderate this Q&A style forum that will explore the innovative ways that people are providing for themselves and debate how to best work to foster access to enough, healthy food for all Sydneysiders. Audience members are invited to asks questions of a panel of experts including The Reverend Bill Crews from The Exodus Foundation; Ronni Kahn from Oz Harvest; and Simon Gregory from Food For Life community supermarket.

When: 6.30pm on Thursday 21 October 2010

Where: Sydney Mechanics School of the Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney.

Cost: $15 or $10 for members and concession (cash only on the night)

RSVP: info@sydneyfoodfairness.org.au

Refreshments from Agape Restaurant, Iggy's Bakery and B-d Paris Creek Farm will be served at both these functions.

Think Global, Eat Local

TAFE Outreach, Wyong, is holding a 6 week course from Thurs 28th Oct until 2nd Dec, 9.30 - 2.00pm. Learn more about Permaculture, and how it can provide some solutions to living more sustainably. Have you always wanted to grow your own vegies? The focus will be on local food production, and developing practical skills to create your own vegie and herb garden. For bookings in this FREE course, ring 4350 2370.

Woytopia Festival
Woy Woy's festival of Sustainability, Arts, Music & Community
Where: Woy Woy South Primary School - Woy Woy - Entrance via Waterloo Avenue
Date : Sunday 31st October 2010
Time : 10am - 4pm

Junkbusters!

The marketing of unhealthy food to children has been recognised as a probable causal factor in childhood overweight and obesity. With one in four Australian children and adolescents either overweight or obese it is time to take action. Cancer Council NSW has launched Junkbusters, a one stop shop to help parents navigate the complex food marketing regulations. Junkbusters helps concerned people take action against inappropriate food marketing targeting children. The Junkbusters website will collect information reflecting public concern about food marketing to children, and record outcomes from formal complaint processes. This information will provide an independent indicator of the effectiveness of current regulations and identify if there's a need for national statutory regulation to reduce children's exposure to unhealthy food marketing. Be a Junkbuster!

Aussie kids aren't guinea pigs, label GM Now

Independent testing conducted by Greenpeace has discovered that some of Australia's leading brands of infant formula are contaminated with traces of genetically modified (GM) organisms. These GM organisms have never been proven safe for people to eat; and have certainly never been proven safe for babies to eat. Because these products carry no GM label, Australian parents currently have no idea they are feeding GM to their babies. Please help stop this from happening. Demand that all GM foods be labelled. Visit http://www.greenpeace.org.au/gmbaby and take action now!

Vegie growers concerned about imports:

See here for full article: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/vegie-growers-worried-about-imports-20100929-15wmm.html Not to mention the questionable growing methods in some other countries or the spraying of produce upon arrival in Australia!

Organic farmers try to get a bite of the apple

“Rural Australia is really hurting. And the cuts to services really hurt. Health services are cut, banks close, schools close, farmers suicide. Areas have 21% unemployment. We are bleeding people in the country… Yet organic farming is a sunrise and success story going against the trend,” said Andre Leu, a tropical fruit farmer from northern Queensland, chair of the Organic Federation of Australia (OFA) and vice-president of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Read the full article here, http://blogs.crikey.com.au/rooted/2010/08/27/organic-farmers-try-to-get-a-bite-of-the-apple/ which also includes: “Moving from conventional to organic farming takes a few years, but results in more drought hardy soil with better water absorption, thanks to increased humus content. Carmel Righetti, a Victorian sheep farmer who supplies organic wool to luxury fashion labels Metalicus and Gorman, says “conventional farmers need to be freed from the burden and oppression of big multinationals”, who often control supply, debt and pesticides used by conventional farmers. Australia has more hectares of land used for organic production than any other nation in the world. Global organic sales are worth $50 billion annually, and the beggest markets are the US and Europe, although the Asian market is growing 15-20% annually.

Free workshops in the Lake Macquarie district

New Waste Not Want Not Workshop

Find out ways to reuse and recycle in more ways than you thought imaginable! Create something new from reclaimed items

When: Friday 15 October 2010

Where: Charlestown Mulit-purpose Centre

Time: 11am - 2pm

Cost: Free

Delightful Decomposition

Come and learn how to break things down with worms and compost, only to build things up again in a no-dig vegie patch

Workshop 1

When: Wednesday 3 November 2010

Where: Charlestown Swim Centre

Time: 8:30am -11:30am

Cost: Free

Workshop 2

When: Saturday 13 November 2010

Where: St Luke's Church Belmont

Time: 8:30am -11:30am

Cost: Free

Last but not least, a few words from Dr Max Gerson: ‎"Our modern food, the 'normal' food people eat is bottled, poisoned, canned, color added, powdered, frozen, dipped in acids, sprayed--no longer normal. We no longer have living, normal food, our food and drink is a mass of dead, poisoned material, and one cannot cure very sick people by adding poisons to their systems.”

And he said that a few decades ago! Time to revert to a natural way of eating, methinks...

Thanks to our members who have submitted some of the information and links for this post today… See you at the co-op!

Alkalising

2010-10-05T21:19:00.004+11:00

We recently attended a wonderful evening presented by Khannah and Raimunda from ‘Footprint of a Windhorse’. Footprint of a Windhorse is a health village centre in Wamberal offering Holistic Pulsing, Colon Hydrotherapy and Health Awareness gatherings. The topic for their Health Awareness gathering was ‘Acid/Alkaline balance’. Khannah and Raimunda are both extremely knowledgeable, inspiring and nurturing folk. The evening offered all those in attendance a wonderful understanding of how to be mindful of alkalising our bodies and also opened our eyes to the effects that an over acidic state in our body can cause on other areas of the body. When the body is acidic, it automatically tries to restore balance and alkalise itself. When we have an acidic environment in the body, our body will draw the minerals needed to alkalise from other areas of the body, hence depleting those areas. This is when we see unexpected chronic illness in our population effecting a vast array of folk, of all ages. Obviously, this illustrates the importance of keeping an ideal acid/alkaline balance in our bodies so that our body is in harmony.

The gathering commenced with the serving of miso soup. A very alkalising soup, ideal to start a meal with, especially after a day of what could well have been acid forming activity and food/drink. We each introduced ourselves around the circle and then our inspiring leaders shared with us some general information about alkalising; how we eat, what we eat and even our state of being - these all have an effect on the acid/alkaline balance in the body. It was briefly revised about the importance of chewing and how with this very simple, but highly effective action, we can actually change an acidic food into having an alkalising effect on the body - if we mindfully and skilfully chew our food. Yes - chewing is a real art, that in our modern day, busy lives - we are fast loosing the ability to undertake this very important action in a skilful and effective way. Digestion begins in the mouth and this very subject was the entire topic of the previous Health Awareness gathering - that’s just how important CHEWING is!

We were all invited to share a loving prepared, nourishing vegan meal which demonstrated to us the balance of a meal that offers an alkalising effect on the body. Whilst Khannah and Raimunda are both themselves vegan, they do not insist that everyone must be vegan or vegetarian to create alkalinity. However, the reality is that meat and animal products are highly acidic on the body and therefore if one does choose to eat these food products, it is necessary, if one is mindful of the acid/alkaline balance - to create balance with the other portions of the meal. Out of this, stemmed some interesting discussions around the group on how one finds all the minerals and vitamins necessary to provide the body with all it needs when eating a diet excluding meat and animal products. Amongst many other suggestions, one main recommendation was the inclusion of sea vegetables daily in the diet - not only for their alkalising effect, but because of the minerals contained in these amazing foods.

Briefly, the evening touched on the importance of salt in our diets - and not just any type of salt, but one very particularly nourishing type of pure, unrefined salt. Not only is it important that we use this salt in our diets, but also HOW we use it is extremely important. With such an interesting and somewhat controversial subject being presented, I am sure this next Health Awareness gathering will fill up quickly once the date is announced. If you would like to join this gathering, then be sure to email Khannah on inana(@)activ8(.)net(.)au (with the brackets removed in the email address) and ask to have your name added to the Health Awareness Gathering email alert, so that you may be notified of the next thought provoking and inspiring evening these talented ladies will be presenting. You may notice from Khannah’s email address, that Khannah is also one of the very passionate folk at the nourishing bush retreat community Inana, which is located on 300 remote acres in the Watagan Mountain Range just at the top of our Central Coast Mountain Region, in Bucketty.

The evening closed with us all enjoying an alkalising dessert and sipping mugs of freshly brewed Bancha tea. (Bancha tea is also known as Kukicha tea). This tea has quite an alkalinising effect on the body and was a lovely way to close a very inspiring and uplifting evening.

* The two books referenced in the evening were; “This works, crutches don’t” and “Alkalise or Die”

Edited to add: A list of alkalising foods can be found here or here...

Events and activities

2010-09-11T09:40:00.009+10:00

Spring is in the air! The Flora Festival is on at Mt Penang until Sunday and a few Figgies are helping out at the Permaculture Central Coast stand (near the big green dome) during the four days there. Tomorrow FIG is off to the winery when the kiwi fruit we chopped up a couple of months ago is due to be moved to stainless steel vats where it will sit for quite some time and "become wine". Next Monday, 13th September, we are holding a FIG management meeting, after pack up of the co-op (somewhere between 5.30 and 6pm). All members are very welcome.

Whilst none of the following events are FIG organised, many of our members are interested in such activities and express disappointment if they only get to hear about them AFTER they'd been held. There's a lot happening so we've decided to list a few of them for you: ***Edited to add a couple more events.

Sustainable House Day - 12th September
A few FIG members have opened up their homes to the public in previous years and are giving it a break or are away this time, but there are plenty of homes to visit between northern Sydney, the Lake Macquarie district and Newcastle if you would like to visit some and see exactly how they have set their homes and gardens up, and chat to the owners. Have a look here for details.

Living Smart Festival, Lake Macquarie - 12th September
The Living Smart Festival is an inspirational and educational celebration of sustainable living in Lake Macquarie. The first of it's kind in Lake Macquarie, there will be music, art, fashion, food, market stalls, free workshops, kids entertainment and plenty of interesting displays to keep you amused.
What: Living Smart Festival
Where: Speers Point Park, Speers Point
When: 12th September 2010, 9.30-5pm
Further information here.

Gosford Climate Change Forum - Saturday 18th September
Time: 1:30pm to 4pm
Where: Gosford Senior Citizens Centre, 217 Albany Street North, Gosford

Dr Richard Corkish, Head of School Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, NSW University

Dr Adam Lucas, Lecturer Science and Technology Studies, Wollongong University.

Booking are essential for the forum and the forum is free.

To register or for more information – phone 4349 4756 or email: coolit@cen.org.au

Permaculture Central Coast meeting - Tuesday 21st September
7pm at the Tuggerah Hall, Anzac Road, Tuggerah. This evening, several members will be giving a talk about their backyards and other Permaculture related topics! See the PCC website for details and a map.

Don Tolman - in Sydney Wednesday, 22nd September
If you haven't heard of Don Tolman before and are interested in looking for more effective ways to increase your energy, heal your body and start feeling healthy and truly alive, this is the guy to see! He will be speaking in Sydney at the Shangri-La Hotel, 176 Cumberland St, The Rocks, from 7 until 9.30pm... it‘s two-and-a-half hours of down-to-earth wisdom that could just change your life. Tickets must be booked as soon as possible at Don Tolman Events (quote the privilege code FORTUNE for free tickets).

Green Living Fair, Gosford - Saturday 25th September
Green Living Fair in Kibble Park, Gosford on Saturday 25 September from 9am - 4pm. The FIG co-op will be there... contact us if you can help out on the stand for a while during the day.

Spring Equinox Festival - 25th September
Purple Pear Organics are hosting a festival with music, free workshops and demonstrations on their farm in Anambah, via Maitland. Email them for further information at info@purplepear.net.au.

Permaculture Design Course - October
Purple Pear Organics will be running a two week intensive Permaculture Design Course starting on 25th October. Contact Mark for details at info@purplepear.net.au

More events will be listed as we have the details...

Golden Local Fruits

2010-08-26T10:03:00.005+10:00

How amazing have the local bio-dynamic paw paw and papaya’s been that have been available on the extra’s table the past couple of weeks! We bought both a paw paw and papaya the week of Monday 16 August and have had them both sitting on our bench ripening over the past week. We are still waiting for our papaya to ripen up, but our paw paw was definitely ready to be sliced up and enjoyed. You will notice from the two picture links given that the papaya is the fruit, which is more of an elongated shape, where as the paw paw is the more oval looking fruit. The two fruits are often confused, and if you google the difference between the two fruits, you will even find some information telling you there is no difference, it is two different names for the same fruit! But here is a link to some good short info that explains the difference between papaya and paw paw. Both fruits are packed with lots of essential Vitamins, Minerals and Enzymes as well as being highly regarded for their ease of being digested and for having a positive effect on the digestive system. There is more in-depth information on the health benefits of both papaya and paw paw with these individual links.

We spread some fresh paw paw slices over our breakfast this morning of chia pudding and sprinkled some of our raw trail mix over for a bit of morning crunch! A delicious and very nutritious rawsome breakfast.

~ Quick and Dirty Chia pudding for breakfast – recipe from ‘Bitt of Raw’ ~

Ingredients;
• 1 tablespoon nut butter (we used this amazing choc hazelnut spread from KR, alternatively you can just put a handful of nuts and 1T of raw cocao powder in the blender with the banana and water, instead of using a nut-butter.)
• 1/2 banana (or more… we use about 2 bananas to 2C water with 2T of nut-butter and 1C chia seeds generally)
• 1/4 cup chia seeds, unsoaked
• dash cinnamon
• sliced paw paw, fresh berries and/or raisins (you can use frozen berries that have defrosted at room temp over night – the juice from the berries adds extra yumminess to the pudding!)
• you can also use raw honey and shredded coconut as toppings,
but we used our raw trail mix*!

Method;
• Blend nut butter with 1 cup water and 1/2 banana. This makes a quick nutnanna milk.
• Put chia seeds into a bowl then add the liquid from step 1.
• Add cinnamon.
• Stir well.
• Put in some raisins and berries now or at the end.
• Allow to soak for 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge. (we did ours overnight so breakfast was ready to go when we woke!)
• Top with freshly sliced fruit of choice and Enjoy a rawsome start to your day!

* homemade raw trail mix; I put together a trail mix to sprinkle over dishes as we need for some superfood goodness. Here’s what I combine in our trail mix in proportions that just look right as I mix it all up; sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, coconut shreds, goji berries, slivered almonds, cacao nibs

Once the papaya ripens and we enjoy that, we will be saving the seeds to make the papaya pepper as suggested by Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions - “The papaya seed is rich in enzymes and can be used in place of pepper in any recipe.”

~ Papaya Pepper (NT p157) ~

Ingredients;
• Seeds from 1 papaya

Method;
• Place seeds with adhering pulp in warm water
and work with hands to remove the pulp.
• Let stand about 10 minutes.
The pulp will rise to the surface where it can be skimmed off.
• Let seeds soak, covered about 7 hours.
• Rinse seeds in a strainer and spread in a stainless steel baking pan.
• Bake at 65ºC overnight or until completely dry. Alternatively you can spread on a teflex tray and place in the dehydrator on the appropriate setting until dry.
• To use grind in a pepper mill.

Raw for Spring

2010-08-26T09:55:00.005+10:00

Hello once again... We've added a couple of new recipes to the recipe page (see link on the left side bar) and have got the FIG website up and running, here. A huge thank you to David for all his work and great pictures, and to Nick Baron of the Bean Farm for his assistance in hosting the site. Much appreciated.

We're keeping this blog and will use it for articles, news and the produce updates on a Sunday evening.

Today we have an article written by a FIG member on getting healthy for Spring:

A few years back, our Naturopath recommended to us that Spring was the perfect time to increase raw foods in our diet. The reason being is that Spring is a time where the energy of the Earth is naturally expelling toxins - it is an outward breath time of year. Our bodies naturally start to detox in the Spring, so to cleanse our bodies and aid the detoxing with fresh, raw, organic; fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, complimented with nuts and seeds, gives our bodies the chance to fully exhale and expel the toxins that build up in our bodies. Now before I begin this article, I wanted to say, I am not here to spout the vegan or raw, way of life as a must do way of eating - but when we found out a lot of the information relating to Spring, detoxing, vegan eating during this time and raw foods, it all seemed to make sense to us - so I thought to share it here with other folk who are probably similarly minded.

Our Naturopath told us that as the Earth exhales and our bodies start to detox - so too do all other animals on the Earth. Therefore, animals are expelling their toxins into their exit avenues from the body and some of these places are - flesh, blood, and other bodily fluids such as milk (just as a breast-feeding mother is advised not to detox as her body will expel toxins into her milk that is then ingested by the baby). So you can see that if we eat meat or animal products that have been slaughtered/collected during this natural detoxing period of the year, then we are in actual fact eating meat or animal products that are higher in toxins than is normally present in these products.

When we first started with 'Spring detoxing' and the naturopath mentioned to eat 'raw' for six weeks from the start of Spring, I was a little confused? I had never heard of ‘Raw food’ as a community of people as such – my response was; “so you just want us to eat salad and raw veggies three times a day and snack on fruit in between for SIX WEEKS? WHAT?” Our naturopath recommended the book “Turn over a new leaf” (TOaNL) which is a full six week meal plan (three meals a day with snack recipe's and suggestions included). The book even includes shopping lists for each week, pantry stock you need to check your cupboard for each week and a preparation guide for things to make ahead of starting the detox, and freeze in batches for snacks/ease of meal prep throughout the detox. It is an amazing book and the meals are delicious. It is not 100% raw, but any cooking is via light steaming etc. There is a high component of raw food meals, but it really is a world away from what I originally envisaged as RAW! Raw can be and is, so creative and wonderfully delicious. Did I also mention it is SO quick and SO easy to cook... well um... create. I kind of feel a little strange using the word 'cook' to describe raw food preparation because, well - there is no cooking.

Another concern I have found, that folk can sometimes have, is that raw food requires a dehydrator. Whilst to get really fancy with raw food a dehydrator does come in handy - it is not essential. Russell James has a book in his ‘The Raw Chef Recipe series’ called ‘No dehydrator needed’. You will also find an abundance of raw food recipes online which do not require a dehydrator. And if you would like to try a dehydrated recipe and have not a dehydrator, then a low oven (not above 46ºC) will suffice for you to create this recipe. Equipment pieces that will make life a little easier for raw food and the TOaNL eating plan are; a food processor (one with good grunt if possible) and a blender. TOaNL also recommends a pressure cooker for cooking beans etc - but if you have read any of Sally Fallon’s NT words, you will know that this is probably not the most nutrient dense way to cook your beans. The good ol’ fashion soak for 24hrs then slow cook over 6-8 hours - low heat on the stove, results in a much more nutrient dense cooked bean. Kristen Suzanne just wrote a blog post about the equipment you need if you are new to raw food.

Of course, it can be a little difficult if one member of a family is inclined to increase raw food in their diet, but the other members are a little hesitant. Bill Murphy wrote a great article on ‘Raw Pleasure’ recently about this exact topic- which is quite a common issue, so if that situation is of consideration for your family, you may find some of his suggestions helpful in his article; “Being the Partner of a Raw Foodie”. I think the most important point is to remember that everyone is at different points on their personal journey, even if we are walking a path together. Different things resonate more deeply with others at various times and then surprisingly that changes again, sometimes very quickly, as our thoughts evolve with time, research, experiences and various inspirations. If you are wanting to include more raw food in your diet but have some resistance from family members, are you able to perhaps start to include raw food in certain aspects of the overall eating plan? Say perhaps a smoothie, green or fruit with breakfast a few times a week, then start to experiment with some various raw breakfasts. Perhaps you can include a few snacks of raw food through the week, perhaps a decadent desert or two to sweeten the offering? Lunches and Dinners can easily have a ‘raw component’ added to them so there is still a balance that pleases all. Look online and find some exquisite looking recipes (which are always simple and quick to prepare despite their gourmet appearance) as these will give other family members a ‘taste of raw’ without ‘going raw’. Again, of course, different things suit different families, but if you are interested in raw, see if you can just start to introduce a few recipes into your weekly meal plan and in no time (especially as the weather warms) I am sure you will find some real family favourites and have those hesitant members of the family probably requesting your new raw food recipes!

So what's the big buzz about Raw Foodism anyway? Kristen Suzanne puts it into words beautifully in her ebook ‘The Easy way to get started with Raw food and succeed ’ – “We’ve all heard time and again that we should eat more fruits and vegetables. The difference between that statement in the past versus today is that we now have exciting, delicious, and innovative ways to prepare whole fruits and vegetables as evidenced by the popularity of “Raw food,” emerging as a new cuisine all of its own. “Raw” no longer means boring salads and fruit plates. With Raw food cuisine, your world has now opened up to experiencing fresh whole fruits and vegetables like you never imagined they could be... incredible!” But why do we NEED to be increasing raw food in our diet. Kristen Suzanne goes on to say - “Eating more Raw food is one of the most amazing things you can do for yourself. If you’re looking to experience life at its fullest, then you definitely need to start incorporating more Raw food into your daily food choices. If you’re looking to be the happiest you’ve ever been, then this is the answer. The Raw Lifestyle is, hands down, the easiest way to help lose unwanted weight, eliminate or reduce cellulite, improve digestion, experience restful sleep, gain incredible amounts of energy, have brighter eyes, radiate with beautiful, glowing, and younger looking skin, experience mental clarity and energy like never before, and have a new lease on life... literally, including the prevention and even reversal of many diseases.”

The term "Raw food" relates to foods that have been prepared in a way, that they have never been heated above 46ºC. People often interchange the word "Raw" with "Living" foods. The term Living implies that we are eating food that is pure, in it's state that nature provided it - the enzymes in the food are active and awake - our food is ALIVE. Nuts and seeds are an exception to this ‘raw’ eating. They are not in an ‘awakened’ state when we buy nuts that have been stored for some time after harvesting. Until a stored nut or seed is soaked, it is not regarded as "Living" as the nut or seed has enzyme inhibitors that have 'hardened' the nut and 'locked up' all the goodies in the nut. Our bodies have a difficult time digesting the nut or seed and absorbing the nutrient from them, often this just passes through, unused by the body. This is actually a protection mechanism by the nut and seed, to ensure future ability to sprout (re-germinate) and not go rancid in a period of dormant being. When we soak the nut or seed, we 'awaken' it. It starts to 'sprout' and the enzyme inhibitors are broken down. We then have a nut or seed that we can digest and absorb maximum nutrient from. The nut, seed and even when we do this with grains, have now become a green food instead of a 'dormant' food. We now have a "living" nut, seed or grain. With raw food transition, many traditional foodies can be a little concerned about their protein levels. With my research into raw food, I have come to believe that if one is eating a wide variety of plant based foods with a high leafy green intake, then one will be feeding the body all it needs to function, evolve, heal, repair and be well. Sprouted nuts, seeds and grains (such as wheat grass) are an excellent way to get a protein boost into your diet. When the seed starts to sprout - it effectively is preparing for and changing into life ('living food') so it puts all it's best energy into the effort to sprout, hence why sprouts are so highly regarded as a protein goodie in the raw food community. There is a particular school of Raw food thought out there – the 80/10/10 diet which suggests to limit the amount of nuts, seeds etc that one eats in a Raw food diet and mostly eat fresh organic fruit and vegetable. There is no creative food prep as such from what I understand about 80/10/10, it is mostly just raw fresh produce, not raw food creations. Again, it’s something where you have to let instinct guide you. For me and our family, the 80/10/10 doesn’t really resonate that wholly with us and we are, at the moment, just loving the array of raw food recipes we are able to create and enjoy.

The other ultimate protein food is of course hemp foods which are hemp seed derived. Hemp seed is extremely high in protein. Hemp as a food in Australia is something that is currently under review by our Government and a decision will be made at the end of 2011 by the powers that be. Hemp is extremely high in protein and is a great ingredient in the raw foodies kitchen. America has much more accommodating laws in regards to Hemp as a Food. Unfortunately our current situation in Australia means that we cannot purchase Hemp in any form for use in food. There are various forms of Hemp Food sources. A few are; Hemp Protein, Hemp oil and Hulled Hemp seeds. These are all available in Australia, but are not sold as a food item, it is intended that these products not be consumed by humans. Hemp Protein is the meal that is left after the hemp oil has been pressed out. This can be used in raw protein bars, protein shakes or put into many dips and sauces to accompany raw food creations. It can even be ground in a grain mill and then used as a flour. The Hemp oil is used in the same way one would use Flax oil, as Hemp oil does have the same heat sensitive properties as Flax oil – but the oil can be used in salad dressings, drizzled over essene bread/toast or used as a dipping with dukkah. Hemp oil is a great source of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s). Hulled hemp seed can be used in patties, pizza crusts, cookies and many other raw food applications as well as wonderful applications such as making hemp milk, hemp cheese and hemp tofu – a great soy alternative for those who prefer to avoid soy. If you are interested in Hemp as a Food or anything hempy, there is a wonderful hemp store on the Coast, down the Peninsula - Gnostic Hemporium. Owned and Operated by a man of much hemp knowledge - Richie, it is worth visiting either online or in person if you are interested in signing the petition to support being able to use this super protein food in a raw diet. “Hemp must NOT be confused with marijuana. The level of THC (the psychoactive ingredient that gets people high) is so low in industrial hemp (0.03%) that it has no effect if smoked.” – Gnostic Hemporium ‘Hemp as a Food’ petition. If you are interested in reading more in-depth information about the Hemp as a Food issue in Australia, Guy Stewart has a great article “Why Hemp as a food is still illegal”.

Back to the major component of a Raw food diet - fresh organic fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices... the major and most essential part of the Raw food diet, the part that the folk at FIG very generously work hard to deliver to us every week - and with low food miles! We are so blessed to be able to eat fresh, LOCAL, organic produce. People the world over that convert to a High Raw (HR) diet report amazing changes in energy levels, general well being, stabilizing ideal weight, release from many debilitating ailments; from headaches, migraines and allergies to more serious chronic conditions being cured or greatly alleviated by this style of eating. As our family has tethered back and forth through our transition to HR, I can honestly say the heavy and lethargic feeling from eating cooked meals is definitely noticeable once you have nourished your body with the goodness of raw foods. And you know - it is hard to transition to something so extreme and different to what one is normally used to eating, so no-one ever says that it has to be done 100%. When we first started transitioning, it was suggested to me that one easy way to increase our raw intake was to include a green smoothie in our diet every day. My suggestion is, that if you feel like an old favourite, cooked meal - then make it. It will actually probably be very rewarding as you too may well notice the difference between the feeling of HR and a traditional cooked diet. I'm not here to spout a righteous way of being. Just last Friday we found preservative and additive free taco shells in our local organic store. Corn, oil and water - only ingredients. So straight away, it set a craving in place for me. Our child had never had taco's as the taco shells generally available have a few additives that I really think do not belong in food products! It was such a treat for us. We picked up some organic; chicken, cheese and sheep's yoghurt (in place of the sour cream!) topped them with a raw salsa (had to have some raw in there somewhere) and they were delish. To see the grin and experience of taco's on our child's face was worth it. They were a yummy treat and enjoyed by the whole family! As I said, I'm not here to create a righteous 'raw is the best' article, but I am just here to let you know the benefits of including a little more raw in your diet and especially in Spring, as I have explained above.

Every one is aware that when we cook our fresh produce food, nutrients start to leach from and deplete in the food. We can all remember stories of great-granny and how she boiled her broccoli until it was not even a green colour anymore - more of a greyish yellow colour. "THEN it was COOKED love!" I once heard someone say it would then be more nutritious to throw the broccoli away and drink the water it was boiled in! Heat kills the enzymes in our fresh produce. As the heat increases, the enzymes are damaged and the longer they stay at higher temperatures the more they deplete until they are themselves also fried! The most nutritious way to eat our fresh produce is raw. (Of course, there is a few exceptions, and the Body Ecology site has a great article about the family of vegetables that do require light steaming for particular digestion/metabolism reasons. But if you are committed to a raw way of eating, you can always ferment these vegetables to eliminate the properties in these vegetables that effect the thyroid and other bodily functions.) But if one is still preferring 'cooked' food then to lightly steam the produce so it is still crisp when eating is the most ideal after raw consumption. Now if you have a mind like me that thinks "OK, raw, so I can do crudities, garden salad, green salad, um.... hmmm... oh well I could dice the vegetables in a salad, that might look different.. but how long could I eat this same taste food?" I am here to share with you that there is SO many different ways to prepare fresh raw produce into the most delicious meal arrangements – we are never bored with the food we eat and never at a loss for a wonderful recipe to try… the hardest part is deciding on WHICH recipe to prepare! I feel so filled with nutritious, wonderful food - this will sound corny (no raw food pun intended there!), but you can just hear your body sing. It is such an energetic and clear state of being when eating a raw diet. Kristen Suzanne of Kristen’s Raw says "Raw is for people who want to feel vibrant and alive, and want to enjoy life like never before". OK - I'll put my hand up for a double serving of that thank you!

A few of my favourite raw food sites for inspiration and recipe’s are; Kristen’s Raw; Russell James Raw Food Chef; Yummy Raw Kitchen; Catherine et les fees (if you go back to her March 2010 and onward posts you will find lots of raw food recipes in her Spring (Canadian) raw food transition); Bitt of Raw; Sweetly Raw; The Sunny Raw Kitchen… and I could go on and on. Enjoy and have a Rawsome Spring!

Disclaimer; This article is NOT written by a health trained professional. It is written by a raw food eating person with a strong interest in health. This information is not intended as health advice. Please consult with your own natural health practitioner and discuss with that health professional any of these ideas you may be interested in, before making any changes in your diet/eating style. Significant changes in diet and eating styles that bring about detoxing effects on the body need to be monitored carefully by a natural health professional and are not suitable for everyone. FIG and the author of this article accept no liability for decisions you make about your style of eating based on the information in this article.

Note: for those interested in learning about incorporating more raw dishes into their daily meal plans, there is a workshop called Introduction to Healthy Eating with Raw Food on at Wyee on Saturday, 28th August from 1-5pm. Bookings can be made with Sophie on 0428 108 723 or email sophie@rawcoasties.com.

Updates, mid August

2010-08-15T11:56:00.002+10:00

Just a quick update today...

Fingers crossed we'll have some paw paw and papaya on the extras table tomorrow, grown locally in a Permaculture back yard! Yum!!

Kel from Cooranbong is back with his lovely kale (as well as other produce of course, including those amazing purple radishes) so we have oodles of that tomorrow as well.

The first Aquaponics tour and talk went well and we look forward to the next one, on the 28th August. The kiwi wine is in the drums and is sitting there fermenting away for a few more weeks before being transferred to the stainless steel vat, and unfortunately the family day at the kiwi fruit vines was rained out and it seems we may not have another weekend spare to organise another date. We hope to have a picking day on a Monday and this will be announced to our members soon.

Please check out the recipe page (link in sidebar on the left) for a growing selection of recipes shared by FIG members and others. We're gathering together a recipe team who will cover recipes for both cooked and raw dishes and cooking tips for the produce you find in your FIG boxes.

That's all for today! See you at the co-op...

Are you throwing away the best part?

2010-07-22T10:52:00.004+10:00

Just thought I’d stop in very quickly (I know you are probably thinking there is no such thing as ‘just a few words’ from me!) with just a few short words. Hasn’t the beetroot been beautiful in our boxes these last few weeks? Beetroot always is so wonderful, but something about having it local and fresh makes it all the more beautiful! So – what does everyone do with their beetroot greens (the leaves on top) and the stalks that lead off the beet bulb to the leaves? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section with your favourite beet green and stalk/stem usage suggestions. Hopefully everyone makes great use of these parts of the beets and doesn’t just lop them off and toss them in the compost. Although they still have use in the compost in breaking down into rich hummus to feed our gardens and restore our soil – they are equally beneficial for our body. Very nourishing and quite tasty. In actual fact, the stems and greens have a higher nutritional content than the root bulb! So if you are throwing the stems and greens away – you’re throwing out the best bit! Don’t believe me? Check out some info on beet green nutrition here.

Beet greens are closely related to spinach and kale, so you use them as you would these ingredients. You can use them raw, lightly steamed, in stir-fries or make some tasty combinations out of them on their own with a few spices added. Lots of wonderful beet green/stalk ideas here. Be sure to store your beet greens in your fridge, in a salad leaf crisper container as they will wilt if left loose in the fridge – just as salad leaves do.

This morning in our kitchen, we did a little experimenting with the beet greens and stalks through our slow juicer. The result was wonderful. I wasn’t really expecting a whole lot of juice out of them – I was surprised at how much juice came out! I thought I would share with you our result. It actually created a cappuccino froth effect as well! Raw Cappuccino – who would have thought it!

Raw Winter Sunrise Cappuccino – serves 4

• 1 bunch of beetroot leaves and stalks
• 1/2 large bunch of kale, stalks, stem and all
• 4 carrots
• 2 large stalks of celery
• 3 apples
• 3 thin slices of a large ginger knob (you can add more if you would like more zing!)
• Juice all through a slow juicer making sure to alternate tougher leaves/stems with softer apple pieces or the like – it’s kinder to your juicer
• With a spoon, hold back the froth of the juice and fill a tall glass to within 2″ of the glass top
• Spoon froth onto top of juice to fill glass
• You can even dust with cinnamon or nutmeg for a more authentic ‘cappuccino’ feel!

• Drink immediately and feel your body sing!

And does anyone have an abundance of oranges and kiwi that they are wanting to find a nutritious use for? Here’s the answer:

East Coast Winter Rainbow – serves 4

• 6 oranges (peeled)
• 10 small kiwifruit (peeled)
• 2 carrots
• 1 small beetroot
• Two large handfuls of wheatgrass and chia seed sprouts (if you don’t have these, then still go ahead and make the juice, but the green food boost of these is wonderful)
• 3 thin slices of a large ginger knob (again, you can add more if you would like more zing!)

• Juice all, drink immediately and feel the energy boost!

Welcoming ‘Sprinter’ in our gardens

2010-07-18T21:10:00.001+10:00

I've been thinking to write an article titled "How is your garden growing?", with some suggestions on how we can be tending and caring for our gardens, soil and plants through this restorative and restful period of the year. I was planning to share with you how over-grown and neglected our little garden space has been over this period and how desperately we needed to get out into our yard and tend to our gardens. But as I now do actually sit here to write, there has been a shift in our gardens. Haven't the last few days been very unseasonably warm? Yesterday, our family actually frolicked around in the yard in short sleeve tee shirts! Dare I say that we may be approaching that un-official season of 'Sprinter'? I think it appears that we may well be heading into this time of our year.

My plan for this article was to share with you one of the primary focus’ we should have in our gardens at this restorative time of year. Our soil. Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) has a beautiful section on soil; Healthy Soil - boring, but important!

Haven't we had a very wet Winter? One of the wettest I remember for a long time. And whilst this higher rainfall is wonderful for our commercial farmers around the country, it has made getting out and about in our own little patches, for those home space gardeners of us - a little difficult, especially if you have a yard like us, that has turned into a mini swimming pool with all this rainfall!

Over the past few days whilst amongst our garden space; removing spent plants, pottering and tending to the renewing of this space - I have discovered many little Winter treasures that have been quietly growing and producing along their way through Winter. We have dandelion chicory, rocket, sorrel, geraniums, cape gooseberry, mandarins, spinach and chards, winter salad leaves, beets, a few missed pumpkins from our Autumn harvest that were hiding under the over grown Winter garden, brassica's that are finally looking like they may produce some veggies for us (after nearly being wiped out by multiple attacks of the white cabbage moth caterpillars!), some wonderful winter shallots, beautiful celery, various Winter herbs and a MOUNTAIN of worm wee! Isn't worm wee just the most amazing nutrient boost for the gardens! We have a very basic, but very effective homemade worm farm and I am planning for you, that the article following this one, will be a piece about how to create your own worm farm with free materials! You will need to purchase the correct type of worms for your farm, but there are quite a few folk on our local LETS community that offer a tub of worms for a very reasonable shell rate. Around 20 shells I think when at most local hardware stores, the worms to start the farm (just the worms by themselves, no farm materials) are around $100, from what I have been told. If you do not as yet have a worm farm yourself, but would like to use some of this nutrient rich worm wee on your gardens during this restorative time - to feed your soil, then there are also many folk on the CC LETS network that offer a 1-2L bottle of worm wee for around 2-4 shells. If you are not a member of LETS - why not? It is such a wonderful community where you can share in a very generous, friendly and supportive community of folk, and have access to many new and exciting things one may not otherwise be aware of. Just this week we ate our first yacon from a community member and have some tubers to plant once they sprout!

So, I have digressed...let’s get back to the topic at hand… restoring our gardens during this restful time of year. I once heard some very wise words "never feed your plants - only ever feed your soil" - and soil is what it is all about in this restorative time of year, well, it's always about the soil I guess, but in this restorative time of year, we need to put the focus of our energies into this aspect of our gardens. The SGA website has a wealth of information about soil. The link to their index of soil info is here.

I have a great little book simply titled 'Grow Vegetables' - this Australian version is wonderful. My favourite part is the section that has a month by month plan of what the home gardener wanting to produce their own vegetables, needs to be doing at that particular time. At the moment, as you would guess, most of the advice stems around restoring our patch and nourishing our soil. Some of the mid-Winter suggestions are; clear away remains of any plants that have finished cropping, spread well rotted compost over beds, PH test soil (some great info here on SGA about adjusting the acid/alkaline balance of our soil), cover selected areas with whatever material you prefer to start warming the soil and avoid soil becoming water logged, dig over garden beds. If we have been hard working little home gardeners, we may well be harvesting; cauliflower, brussels, leeks, kale, radishes, salad leaves, cress, mibuna, mizuna, parsnips and celeriac, along with other Winter herbs. To stay on track with our produce, now is the time to; plant garlic, sow onion seeds, plant out our first shallots and onions if it is not too wet, buy seed potatoes and start to 'chit' them, 'force' rhubarb and order seeds. The SGA site has a great month by month section as well, which details tasks to undertake at the relevant time of the year. Check out June and July to see what we should be doing now in our gardens and once you've accomplished all that, have a nice warm cup of herbal whilst you read and prepare for the tasks of August!

Co-op Events

2010-07-15T14:45:00.007+10:00

We are very pleased to announce some events coming up in the near future for co-op members, starting with:

The first KIWI FRUIT WINE making session this Saturday, in a joint venture between FIG and the Firescreek Winery. This is the first of an ongoing process spanning at least eighteen months, so let us know if you would like to be part of the small team making occasional trips to the winery for the wine making process. RSVP a.s.a.p. to fig.centralcoast@gmail.com.

Next, a COMMUNITY HARVEST & PRUNING DAY will be held at the end of this month. Bring your families and a picnic, and enjoy a day amongst the vines at the Kiwi Fruit Farm.

When: 11am until 3pm, Saturday 31st July

Where: Ourimbah. Full details provided upon your RSVP.

What to bring: Picnic, seats or picnic rug, hats, gloves, water to drink. Whilst we will be picking the remaining fruit, the main focus will be on pruning, and a list of equipment to bring, if you have it, will be provided. Bring a bucket to take home some kiwi fruit!

RSVP: yes please! Send an email to fig.centralcoast@gmail.com.

Families who have attended this activity before have enjoyed it immensely. This will probably be our last community day at the vines this year, so please make time to come along if you're able, even for part of the day...

AQUACULTURE TOUR
2pm, Saturday 7th August
Please email your expression of interest for the tour of a local working Aquaculture system, both large and small, on the northern end of the Coast. There is a maximum limit on attendance at this event so we suggest our members respond quickly.

FARM TOUR
Details will be announced shortly for an early Spring Farm Tour for co-op members. Bring your families and a picnic lunch, meet the farmers and learn about how some of our food is grown. Enjoy a day in the fresh air up in the Mangrove Mountain region of the Central Coast...

That's all for today...