BOB's Kitchen 1st March Welcome Autumn

Monday 3/1/10 - BOB

BOB’s Kitchen 1st March

THE SUGAR-PLUM TREE

by: Eugene Field (1850-1895)

AVE you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?

'T is a marvel of great renown!

It blooms on the shore of the Lollipop sea

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town;

The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet

(As those who have tasted it say)

That good little children have only to eat

Of that fruit to be happy next day.

 The sugar plum is a small plum with red to dark red skin and sweet yellow flesh. It arrives late in the summer, because it takes its time to ripen, the sugar plum is one of the sweetest of all the plums. Unlike many other plums, its skin is not astringent; it is thin and breaks down easily once cooked, making the sugar plum ideal for jams. Bubbled in a pot for 10 minutes or so with tangy rhubarb and a little sugar, it makes a wonderful filling for pancakes, scones or a sponge cake with cream, ice cream or marscapone. Check out this recipe for a treat! http://www.smh.com.au/news/interactive-cook/ sugar-plums/2007/03/08/1173166881103.html

 

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In BOBs Kitchen at the start of Autumn you will be able to nourish yourself with beautiful and abundant:

Veggies:

Fresh Round Beans (Nasaa, Tim Hamilton)

Brocolli (OFC Kirconnel )

Mesculin Mix (A Morris,  Nasaa)

Zucchini (ID Ross, OZ QUAL),

Eggplant (Caffa,NASSA)

Bok Choy (Rivendel Organics, OGA)

Flat White Mushrooms (Price’s Mushroom Farm, ACO)

Spanish Red Onion (Caffra, NASAA)

Butternut Pumpkin (Garry Harm)

And not forgetting some very large Carrots

 

Fruit:

Red Delicious (ACO)

Grapes Premiu white seedless (NASSA)

Sugar plums (Fairly, D&G, NASSA)

 

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Storage tips

How to store Bok Choy?: Store wrapped in a paper towel and in a plastic bag in your refrigerator for up to 4-5 days, wash before use. The leaves have the most nutritional value, but the stocks are delicious as well. Bok choy does not freeze well due to it's high water content.

How to store Pumpkin: Once cut , wrap in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for up to 7 days.

 

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BOB’s nutrition advice: Eat your greeeeens (without added chemicals!)

Todays BOB contains beautiful greens such as Bok Choy (eat the leaves!), round green beans, broccoli which is really really fresh, Zucchini and mesculin mixed salad.

The minimum recommendation for greens by the US department for Agriculture is 3 cups a week – that’s nothing but some people struggle to achieve this! OMG in BOB you will be getting triple that just adding a side of greens to every meal and you will be adding vital nutrition including vitamins such as C, K, A and folic acid and also minerals such as iron and calcium and cancer fighting compounds called antioxidants to your diet.

They’re all high in chlorophyll too and are packed full of live enzymes (to help break down other foods you eat) and fibre that assist the digestion and cleaning process and boosting metabolism. Most of them are alkaline to help normalize the body’s pH level which is normally too acidic due to a diet high in sugary foods, white carbohydrates and fats.

 Antioxidants bind with free radicals (unstable molecules that damage body tissues) to make them stable, and in this way contribute to ensuring that the body is keeping on top of all the daily free radical producers, such as processed foods, smoke from cigarettes and city smog, and also from airborne pesticides.

(Adapted from an article on http://www.naturalhealth.net.au/articles/ nutrition/green-vegetables)

 

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Recipes for this week

Balsamic Mushrooms with Lime (courtesy of the Food Coach)

1/2cup walnut halves, chopped

0.16 cup olive oil

1 cloves garlic

1/2 red chilli deseeded and finely chopped

250 grams button mushrooms, trimmed

1 tsp brown rice syrup

1/2tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp lime juice

Heat a wok over high heat. Add the walnuts and cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes or until hot. Remove and set aside.

Add oil, garlic and chilli to the wok and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until the mushrooms are just tender.

Combine the balsamic vinegar and rice syrup, add to the mushrooms and stir-fry 30 seconds or until well coated.

Remove from the heat, stir in the walnuts and lime juice. Serve with steamed basmati rice.

Makes 2 Servings

 

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Organic Gluten Free Pizza with Pumpkin, Zucchini and Goats Feta,

1 x Organiic Gluten Free Pizza Base

100g Pumpkin

1-2 Tomato crushed or a tomato paste

1 x chopped red onions

1/2 sliced Zucchini

20g Goats Feta

Roast Pumpkin until soft

Meanwhile chop and slice all red onion, zucchini and sofen for 5 minutes in a frying pan in a teaspoon of olive oil

Prepare the pizza base with the tomato sauce I like to crush some fresh tomatoes and mix with a little tomato paste

Sprinkle the feta all over the pizza, add all the veggies and put in the oven to bake!

 

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Minty, garlicky green beans

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb green beans, trimmed, cut in half and steamed for 5 minutes

2 tablespoons garlic, chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 lemon, zested

 Heat the olive oil in a large, nonstick frying pan over medium high heat.

Add the steamed green beans and cook until just starting to turn brown, about 7 minutes, stirring or tossing often.

Reduce the heat to medium low and stir in the garlic, salt and pepper.

Cook for two minutes and stir in the mint, lemon juice and zest.

Cook for one minute, stirring to combine all the ingredients and remove from the heat.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

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