Macadamia cookies

get (all organic)

100g fine macadamia nut flakes
100g butter
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon powder
200g light spelt flour

do

Preheat oven to 180°c.
Mix butter and maple syrup with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Mix in cinnamon.

Grate the nuts with a medium hand grater into thin flakes and mix in. (See grater type in image)
Mix in enough flour gradually so that the mixture is not sticky.

Roll out the pastry on a tea towel. Use a cookie cutter to form cookies. Place them on a buttered tray. Bake on the second shelf from the bottom for about 15 minutes depending on the thickness. Remove from the tray and cool. Store in a tin.
This recipe is similar to apricot macadamia cookies but with a fine, light texture attributable in part to the nut flakes and not at all chewy.

Baked cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts

get
1 whole small cauliflower
250g broccoli
250g brussel sprouts
200g vegetarian cheese for baking, e.g. cheddar
4tbsp spelt flour
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
boiling water
200 ml milk
½ nutmeg

do
Clean, then steam the vegetables together until soft (not mushy).
Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan with the butter. When the butter has melted, add the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon. Fry for a short while but do not let it brown. Add the boiling water a little at a time while stirring. Do not allow it to go lumpy. When a thick sauce forms start stirring in the milk. Add enough milk for a smooth sauce to form. Cook it for about 15 minutes adding more milk if necessary.

Butter a baking dish and grate nutmeg onto it. Grate some nutmeg into the sauce too.
Arrange the steamed vegetables on the dish and pour the sauce evenly over them, covering them all.
Grate the cheese coarsely and evenly cover the vegetables with it.
Bake at 170°c on the bottom shelf of the oven for 20-30 minutes until it starts to change colour (golden).
Serve with steamed potatoes and a salad.
Any combination of these vegetables works well with this recipe.

Curly Kale with Soba Noodles and Sesame seeds

Get
2 heads of curly kale
1 cup of sesame seeds
3 cloves of garlic
400g Soba noodles
150 ml vegetable stock
2 Tbsp roast sesame oil

Do
Wash the curly kale leaves well. Discard outer leaves and dry well. Cut the leaves from the stem by sliding a knife along them and keep separate. Heat oil in a large pot as the initial amount can be rather bulky. Fry the chopped kale stems and garlic for 5 min. Roast sesame in a dry pan. Chop the vegetable rather finely. Add small amounts to the pot successively and stir. Start to boil the noodles. Pour on (some of) the hot stock, cover and allow to simmer for 15 min. Use more liquid till the kale is cooked to your liking. There shouldn't be too much stock left in the pot when you mix the noodles with the kale.
Serve immediately with the sesame seeds to be sprinkled over the dish.

This self-similar 'Australian' kale (click image) seems to be milder than the following European variety:
Curly kale and savoy cabbage

Make your own buckwheat soba noodle in silence, video

Quinoa Salad with Finger Limes

This Quinoa salad is very similar to Tabbouleh made with bulgur wheat.

GET
1 cup uncooked quinoa
½  red onion
2 tomatoes
1 small red bell pepper
1 small 'Lebanese' cucumber
2 large bunches of flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch of fresh coriander
3 pieces of garlic
olive oil
lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Finger lime (Microcitrus australasica)
1½ cups water 

DO
Boil the water. Place quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse well under running water. When the water is boiling, add the grain and cook for 5 min. Turn down the flame, cover and simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes. When the quinoa is cooked, turn off the heat and allow to stand for a while.

Chop the onion and pepper very fine, peel the tomatoes and cut them and the peeled cucumber into small cubes. Chop the green herbs finely.

Mince the garlic and make a rich dressing from the oil, lemon juice and the garlic.

Cut the finger limes lengthwise and scoop out the pulp.

Fluff up the quinoa in a bowl with a fork. Add the dressing, mix and then add all the vegetables and herbs and mix gently. Allow to settle for a while, mix again and sprinkle the citrus caviar over the dish. Serve hot or cold.

Once in demand overseas even Australians pay attention: Citrus caviar plucked from the obscurity of the Australian rainforest... 14012015

Sweet Potato, Carrot and Turmeric Soup

Turmeric peeled

Get
2 large red sweet potatoes / kumeras
2 large white sweet potatoes/ (Ipomoea batatas)
1 bunch of young carrots
4 parsnips
1 leek/ shallot

Turmeric fresh and unpeeled

3 Turmeric roots (fresh, each small finger sized)
5 Garlic cloves
1 Chili pepper
1 Lemongrass bottom white of the stalk
3 Kaffir lime leaves (Citrus hystrix)
Fresh coriander and flat parsley
Some black pepper seeds
Olive oil

White sweet potato

Do
Stock
Boil 1 liter of water in a pot, add black pepper, chopped lemon grass, 1 kaffir leaf
Add clean peelings and vegetable off cuts as you go. Simmer while preparing vegetables.

Soup
Clean, peel and chop leek, carrots, parsnips and turmeric. Keep the tender tips of carrots and turmeric aside. Fry leek, add turmeric in large pieces and fry, till all is golden. Add the chili pepper and the carrots/turmeric, stir. Strain some of the hot stock on to the vegetables, cover and simmer for 10 min. Cut the peeled sweet potato in large chunks, keeping a few pieces aside. Add 3 garlic and 1 kaffir leaf. Simmer in covered pot. After 40 minutes add the remaining tender vegetable bits, the remaining sweet potao pieces, and some chopped coriander/parsley.
Just before serving add the keffir lime leaf for fragrance and the last bit of coriander/ parsley.

Infusion of Raspberries and Passionfruit

get
5 ripe native raspberries
1 ripe passionfruit
Some lemon juice
4 mugs of filtered boiling water

do
Wash berries, scoop out passionfruit and put into a jug. Add a few drops of lemon and pour over the boiling water. Mash fruit a bit with a spoon and allow to stand for 3-5 min with a cover.
Strain into cups (hot) or glasses (when cold) and decorate with some extra berries or lime wedges.

The drink is nice as a hot 'tea', but can also be served cold with endless variations.


See
Queensland Raspberries
Native Raspberry Leaf Tea and Fruit (Rubus rosifolius)
Cold drinks from finger limes or passion fruit

Apricot macadamia cookies

get (all organic)

80g finely chopped unsulphured dried apricots
80g finely chopped macadamia nuts
100g butter
2 tbsp maple syrup  
1 tsp cinnamon powder
200g light spelt flour

do

Preheat oven to 180°c.
Mix butter and maple syrup with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Mix in cinnamon.
Mix in apricots and nuts.
Mix in enough flour gradually so that the mixture is not sticky.

Roll out the pastry on a tea towel. Use a cookie cutter to form cookies. Place them on a buttered tray. Bake on the second shelf from the bottom for about 15 minutes depending on the thickeness. Remove from the tray and cool. Store in a tin.

How coffee could help against neurodegenerative diseases in a world of ubiquitous pesticides

In a world doused with pesticides living beings suffer from neurodegenerative diseases. A study has found that drinking a lot of coffee might protect against Parkinson's, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.

Naomi Yamada-Fowler, Mats Fredrikson, Peter Söderkvist. Caffeine Interaction with Glutamate Receptor Gene GRIN2A: Parkinson's Disease in Swedish Population. PLoS ONE, 2014; 9 (6): e99294 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099294

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Slow Coffee

Queensland Raspberries

Rubus probus is a widespread tropical raspberry that occurs in Queensland and in Papua New Guinea. Like the NSW Rubus rosifolius it is edible. It can be used like all other raspberries either raw - it has a slight crunch - stewed or in cakes. It also is cultured on the north coast of NSW. It is rather prickly and can form impenetrable thickets if left unpruned.

see
Native Raspberry Tea and Fruit (Rubus rosifolius)
Infusion of Raspberries and Passionfruit
Green salad with Native Raspberries and Violets