Delicious Meals for People with Diabetes (that the whole family will love)
A few months ago I found out it was National Diabetics week and I regretted not knowing about it so I could have posted a blog that week. Weeks and weeks later I am still determined to get a blog post out to you as it is a subject close to home. My father has type two diabetes and even though he has had it for more than twenty years I am only just beginning to understand what Diabetes is.
My Very Personal Story of Giving up Coffee (what is yours?)
Are you coffee addicted? Are you trying to give up coffee or have you recently given up. Its a big journey to give up an addiction and I want to share my journey with those of you who are interested.
Avocados
At the age of fourteen doing work experience at the Darwin Travelodge to see if cheffing would be my chosen career, I came across avocado for the first time. Avocados had newly arrived in Darwin and I had heard of them as my best friend's mum loved them on toast but had never actually seen or tasted one. One of the chefs supervising me cut an avo in half proclaiming how delicious they were. He waited for my response and I said that I wasn't sure why people raved about them. He assured me that avocados were an acquired taste and I would one day 'get' avocados.
Organic Cold Pressed Oils
What oils do you use? It is a big question, for me the number one importance is that the oil is organic and secondly that it is cold pressed. Ever since I left home at the age of eighteen I have used good quality cold pressed olive oil. It was the only oil I used for decades. In recent years though becoming aware of heating points of oils things have changed. Basically, I still predominantly use olive oil but this is added usually at the end of cooking or if I can't resist I will add it to a pan on a low heat.
Mange Tout (Snow Peas)
Growing up in a small town in the Northern Territory I remember very well the times my mum would come home with an exciting new fruit or vegetable. She would describe what she thought they tasted like before giving them to us and then my brother and I would decide if we agreed or not, we were like miniature connoisseurs. Mandarins, kiwi fruit, eggplant, silver beet, rambutans and snow peas were the ones I remembered well. It is snow peas that I dedicate this blog post to this week.
Quinoa
Fifteen years ago quinoa first appeared in my life, my then housemate Bodhitara introduced it to me. I had never eaten anything quite like it and was instantly in love. In those days local produce wasn't a concept I really considered and ate it regularly not realising it had flown thousands of kilometers to reach my plate.
Mexican Inspired Lettuce Cups
I have been promising this recipe to a few people for a while now and before the Mango season dries up I think I better get it to you all. This is a refreshing summer recipe. When I first made it I made it in individual bowls with big lettuce leaves, it was a very wholesome lunch. Recently though in the cooking classes here in the Byron shire we have been making it in small lettuce cups and displaying them like canape- either way they are wonderful.
Vandana Shiva and Millet Recipes
The recent Uplift festival had many highlights for me and the first was listening to Vandana Shiva's talk. I had catered for Vandana Shiva the week prior to the festival and hadn't actually realised how famous or how influential she has been in the world. When catering for Vandana Shiva I instantly liked her but wasn't quite sure why. After hearing her speak I felt truly honored that I had been asked to cater for her. Vandana Shiva's work in the world has been beneficial to all of our lives and she continues to campaign for our right to eat non GMO food.
Christmas Ideas and Healthy alternatives for Eating Salmon
This is an extra blog post this week to give you some wonderful ideas for Christmas and keep you from reaching for a packet salmon. I am not entirely sure why but in the last few weeks it has been bought to my attention how much salmon is being consumed these days.This led me to look into why people are eating salmon and how it is farmed. Alarmingly salmon is grown with very few ethics and in my opinion eating a piece of salmon is no different from eating caged eggs. Many people are under the illusion that salmon grown in Tasmania is ecologically sound and free of antibiotics but a few studies show that this is often not the case. You can check out some information in the following article.
Uplift Festival and Mango Salsa Recipe
My next stint of work is going to be big and as I write I am thinking about how utterly blessed I am to be catering for such incredible people. I start with catering lunches for Gangaji and Eli’s last retreat in Australia. It will be a complete honor to provide delicious food made of exceptionally high quality ingredients to a beautiful group of people. Then that retreat leads straight into Flo Fenton’s yoga retreat. Flo attracts such sweet people and I love the retreats she provides and the enthusiasm that the people have for good quality vegetarian food.
