Sweet green tomato tart, specialty from Canada and Quebec

This recipe was given and made by our special guests from Canada: Tim and Tracy with their 3 children Mialana, Micah and Zoe. Micah was really happy to show us how to do it! Thank you Micah! Everybody loved it.

Ingredients:

-        3 cups of green tomatos cut finely

-        1 cup of sugar

-        2 teaspoon of corn flour

-        2 teaspoon lemon juice

-        1 pinch of cinnamon, or ginger

-        2 tart crusts

1.     Preheat the oven 180 degrees

2.     Mixed all ingredients except the corn flour, and cook slowly in low/medium heat for 30 minutes

3.     Add the corn flour to thicken the mixture

4.     Pour the mixture on top of a home made crust or puff pastry, and add one layer of crust on top of the mixture

5.     Cook for about 40 minutes

Pumpkin soup by Matis: adding water and cooking (part 5)

Pumpkin soup by Matis: keeping the seeds, adding garlic (Part 4)

Matis pumkin soup PART 3

Pumpkin soup by Matis (part 2)

Pumpkin soup by Matis (Part 1)

Watch the videos! From Garden to plate...

What to do with Daikon

I have decided to set myself the challenge of trying to find creative ways of using up some of the more unusual items in our weekly veggie box. Last week I got a massive daikon in the box. At the end of the week I still had the massive daikon sitting untouched in the fridge. Time to google some daikon recipes. One thing you should know...I never follow a recipe exactly but rather use recipes as inspiration to create my own unique dishes from what I have on hand. For this reason I don't always measure the quantities accurately - it's more created by feel and taste. Try it - it's fun.

So the first recipe I attempted was ... 

Grated daikon, beetroot and carrot salad

A big chunk of Diakon

2 large carrots 

2 beetroots

Sesame oil

A small chunk of ginger, grated

Rice wine vinegar

Chilli garlic soy sauce

Lemon juice

Grate daikon, carrot and beetroot into a bowl. I used both golden and red beetroots. 

In a seperately bowl mix sesame oil, brown rice vinegar (or similar), grated ginger, and some chilli garlic soy (you could substitute this with whatever you have in the cupboard that would match). I put a bit too much of the chilli soy, so added some lemon juice. 

The verdict? Vicky says YUM! Next time I might add sesame seeds and some coriander or mint.

So after that was made there was still a large chunk of daikon left. So I decided to try roasting it with some other veggies.

 

Roast Diakon with other root veggies

Diakon 

Pumpkin 

Sweet potato

Garlic

Carrot

Potato

Olive oil

Salt

Chop all veggies. Coat with oil and salt. Place in a baking tray and bake at 200-220•C for about 30 mins or until golden. I mixed my roasties with couscous, chopped parsley and cubes of feta. 

So the last chunk of daikon was sliced and eaten raw and I even put some slices  on the pizza!

And the verdict... I say yum!

Lentil Shepherds Pie

This recipe is great for using up the end of the week's veggie box as really it doesn't matter what veggies you put in.  It was super popular with both the adults and the kids.

Lentil Shepherds Pie Ingredients

Topping
1 kg potatoes
1/2-1cup milk, salt, butter
Cheese, grated

 Filling
1 onion, diced
Veggies (I used carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, swede, turnip, kale, and pumpkin), diced
A can of lentils or 500g brown lentils (soaked)
400g Passata or a can of tomatoes
1 tbs Tomato paste
Fresh or dried herbs such as oregano, thyme, sage
Salt and pepper

Method
Chop potatoes and boil for 10-15 mins until soft
Drain excess water, add milk, salt and butter and mash.

While potatoes are boiling, fry the onion til soft, add the veggies (and lentils if not using canned). Cook for 5-10 mins. Add passata/canned tomatoes, herbs and tomato paste. Once veggies are cooked, season well. Add the canned lentils.

Put into baking dish and top with mashed potato and grated cheese.  Bake for approx 30 mins in moderate oven until top is golden brown.

YUM!

Cauliflower,parsnip and potato soup

This delicious thick and creamy soup is adapted from a thermomix recipe.  See those instructions at the end.  The parsnip adds a beautiful nutty flavour. 

Ingredients:

oil

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic (optional)

3 potatoes

1 small or 1/2 large cauliflower (I used the beautiful romanesco pictured)

1 small parsnip or 1/2 large

approx 750ml water or stock

salt

20g butter

2 tbs flour (corn flour if gluten free)

Method: 

Dice onion and garlic and fry in oil in a large saucepan.  Chop potatoes, cauliflower and parsnip into bite size pieces. Add to the saucepan with water/stock and salt.  Cook for approximately 20 mins until vegetables soft.  Add butter and cook for a few more minutes.  Blend and serve with a spring onion garnish.

Thermomix instructions: Chop onion and garlic (3 sec speed 7) Add oil and fry (3 mins 100 deg speed 1). Add vegetables, water/stock and salt.  Cook (15 mins 100 deg speed 1).  Add butter and flour, cook (5 mins 100 deg speed 1) Blend (1 min going from speed 1-8).

Spicy Sweet Brown Rice Porridge

Both delicious & nutritious and a perfect start for cold winter mornings…

Works best with pre-cooked brown rice. I cook 2 cups of pre-soaked medium grain brown rice with 5 cups of water and a pinch of salt in a rice cooker until ready. Then store in refrigerator. This usually makes 2-3 breakfast meals

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

2 cups pre-cooked brown rice

2-3 cups of water (depending on how soupy you like it!)

1 inch knob of fresh ginger grated

zest of one lemon or orange

1 stick cinnamon

handful of assorted dried fruits & nuts including: sultanas, cranberries, pitted prunes, goji berries, dates,  pepitas, sunflower seeds, black sesame seeds

Cook on low heat for approximately 15-20 minutes stirring often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Serve with tahini, yoghurt, chopped fresh fruit such as; banana, pear, passion fruit, fresh berries and honey if desired. 

Even the most discerning kids will love it!

Parsley Soup

We have had an abundance of parsley here at Peace Farm and so I've figured this is the medicine of the moment! I was been searching for recipes that use a large amount of parsley and this is the winner...

Parsley Soup:

1 tbsn butter

1 tbsn olive oil

1 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

2 potatoes peeled & chopped

1 large bunch of parsley

1 litre of chicken stock

salt & pepper to taste

Optional: zest & juice of 1 lemon, sprig of thyme & small sprig of rosemary and garnish with parmesan cheese & grated nutmeg

Heat up the oil & butter in large pot then saute the onion & garlic. Add potatoes and the stock and cook for 10 minutes and then add parsley when the potatoes are cooked. Cook for a further 5 minutes and then blend soup in a food processor or with a hand blender.

When the parsley is only cooked for 5 minutes, this creates the most vibrant emerald soup and tastes amazing.

Enjoy!

Autumn Pumpkin, Adzudi, Shitaki Miso Stew

This is a wonderful warming Autumn stew that makes the most of the lovely root vegetables we are harvesting.

Serves 4

¼ large jap pumpkin coarsely chopped

1 large potato coarsely chopped

1 large onion chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 knob of fresh garlic grated

4 inch strip of kombu seaweed

2 medium carrots chopped

1 cup dried shitaki mushrooms (pre-soaked and retain liquid for stock)

1/2 cup adzuki beans (soaked overnight)

1 tspn cumin seed

1 stick cinnamon

Salt & pepper to taste

Miso to taste

Optional: nori (seaweed), gomasio (roasted sesame seeds & salt), flat leaf parsley to garnish

& add 1 tin coconut milk for a richer stew 5 minutes before serving

Saute onion and garlic and spices, then add ginger and all vegetables and beans. Cover generously with water and cook for 45 minutes stirring occasionally. When serving up, rub miso around each bowl, serve stew and top with garnish 

Enjoy!

Autumn Equinox celebration

As we say goodbye to summer and long days we welcome the dark back in to our lives and also celebrate the harvest. It has certainly been an amazing harvest this first summer at PEACE farm.

One of the many crates off to the shed. We have had the biggest harvest of tomatoes ever!

We decided to mark the occasion of the Autumn Equinox when the day and night are of equal length with a simple ritual and cake.  We walked around our mandala gardens and each collected something to recognise what we would like to let go of and something we wish to grow and nurture in our lives.

An autumn equinox cake, see recipe below

I baked a delicious chocolate hazelnut banana cake and we had one side with candles and the other with pine cones.  My symbol of letting go was a dying sunflower, I let go of the summer with gratitude for all it has given me. And my symbol of what I wish to create was some white sage, to bring rest, healing and the sacred into my life, and a strawberry to bring pleasure and succulence, and these combined are to bring more balance between full rest and full energy.

The children enjoyed the ritual and especially blowing out the candles and eating the cake.

Matt explains the Oxheart tomato symbolises his intention to live and communicate more from the heart.

Cat's chocolate hazelnut & banana cake

I used my thermomix to make this and so the thermomix instructions are in brackets but you can try just with a food processor if you don't have a thermomix.

Ingredients:

150g dark chocolate

100g almonds

150g hazelnuts

80g brown sugar

150g butter or oil

4 eggs

1 ripe banana

2ts baking powder

1ts cinnamon

2 tbs cocoa

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grate or mill chocolate and set aside (6 secs, speed 8). Process almonds and hazelnuts to a course meal (6 secs, speed 6). Add to chocolate.  Place remaining ingredients in TM bowl or food processor and mix (20 secs, speed 7). Add choc and nut mix and continue to mix (30 secs, speed 6). Pour mixture into greased pan lined with baking paper.  Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45min-1 hour.

ENJOY!!! 

Zucchini Fest

We have soooo many zucchini's!!!

So, today I decided to have a zucchini fest! I got a little experimental and for lunch we had zucchini slice and for dinner we had both mini zucchini pizza's & also zucchini pasta with olive oil, garlic, walnuts & pine nuts. The winner for me was the good old favourite zucchini slice, so here's the recipe....

Zucchini Slice:

1 large zucchini grated and squeezed to rid of excess liquid
1 cup of spelt flour (could use any other flour)
1 tpsn of bicarbonate soda ( or 2 tspns baking powder)
1 onion sliced
2 cloves garlic finely sliced
Bunch of fresh herbs eg. sage, basil, parsley, thyme finely sliced
 2 tbsn olive oil
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup feta
1/2 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese
Finely grated nutmeg (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 C and well oil a baking dish. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Heat some oil in pan and saute onion and garlic and when turning soft, add zucchini. Cook for about 5 minutes. Then add all other ingredients (except parmesan & nutmeg) to the flour and pour into baking dish. Sprinkle parmesan and nutmeg on top and cook in oven for about 20 minutes. Insert a knife to make sure the slice is cooked in the centre. Serve with ample salad & home made chutney or relish!!

We are also experiencing a plum glut!! I have been dreaming of ice cream and today I made roasted blood plum frozen yoghurt. It is extremely yummy!! It was very simple to make and needs to be shared...

Roasted Blood Plum Frozen Yoghurt:

1 kg blood plums halved and stoned
1 tbsn brown sugar
Sprinkle of cinnamon powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup yoghurt
1-2 tbsn honey
1 tspn vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180 C. Roast plums on a well greased baking dish, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon for 20-40 minutes until soft and sticky but on browned. Cool to room temperature. Puree or press through a sieve if you want a smoother texture or just blend as is with the yoghurt, honey and vanilla essence. Chill and then mix in an ice cream maker or freeze until just hard and then whip up and serve. Enjoy!

Spiced Plum Chutney

This plum chutney is sweet & spicy! Made from our home grown plums and onions, it was  wonderful with our hand picked salad and home made chicken & herb sausage rolls...

Spiced Plum Chutney  Recipe

(adapted from a River Cottage recipe)

1 1/2  kg plums coarsely chopped

2 apples cored and chopped

3 small onions chopped

500g sultanas or raisins

500g light brown sugar

500ml red or white wine vinegar

25g fresh ginger grated

3 cloves

1 stick of cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 tspn cumin seeds

Place all ingredients in a large pot and cook for 20 minutes. Cool for a few hours, then bring to boil and then simmer for 2-4 hours to thicken and spoon into sterilized jars. Enjoy!!

Summer Harvest at Peace Farm

What abundance!

It's summer and the mandala gardens have gone wild! We have such an abundance of fresh produce and I have been delighting in cooking and preparing some wonderful fresh salads and chutneys too.
We had am amazing garlic harvest as well as basil & parsley. I have just made some beautiful basil & parsley pesto:

Basil Parsley Pesto:

1 1/2cups flat parsley
1/1/2cups basil
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients in a processor and drizzle in oil slowly, then, enjoy!

This is one of my staple recipes and one that I have fed just about all of our wwoofers and is great for a hearty breakfast any time of the year and uses whatever vegetables you may have in the garden...

Kitchardi (Indian spiced rice, vegetables & beans):

This is a very wholesome quick dish to prepare and is great for the digestive system and overall wellbeing!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 tspn ghee or other cooking oil

1 cup basmati rice

1 cup red lentils

1 cup of chopped vegetables (eg. potato, sweet potato, carrot, cauliflower)

handful of sultana & dried apricots (optional)

1 clove finely chopped garlic

I knob of fresh ginger grated

½ tspn curry powder

1 tspn cumin seed

1 stick cinnamon

3 cardamon pods

2 cloves

pinch or tumeric

1 tspn salt

Method:

Melt the ghee and add all spices, ginger & garlic, then add chopped vegetables and the rice & red lentils. Mix for a few seconds and then cover with boiling water so that none of the vegetables are uncovered. Cover lid and bring to boil and then turn to the lowest setting and cook for approximately 12 minutes. If it is looking too dry, add a little more boiling water and sit for another 5 minutes.

Serve with yoghurt (optional).

Enjoy!!

Recette fondant au chocolat

Here's one of my traditional chocolate cake recipe:
- 200g of dark chocolate
- 125 g of butter
- 100g sugar
- 100g flour
- 3 eggs

1. Melt the chocolate and butter together, with a tea spoon of water
2. Mix the eggs and sugar together until the mix become whitish
3. Add flour to mix egg/sugar
4. Add the melted chocolate and stir well
5. Cook for 15min in a preheated oven (180degree)
Bon Appetit!