The Vegan Chocolate Mousse Fruit

Sapote ripening

Sapote eaten after ripening

Black Sapote is known as the Chocolate Pudding Fruit. Diospyros nigra is a species of persimmon (Sapotaceae). Like so many fruit, it has been cultured by the peoples of the Mexico, Central America and Colombia. The tropical fruit “has more than three times the amount of Vitamin C than an orange does."

Barlotti Zucchini Fritters

GET

2 cups of Barlotti beans (cooked)
3 med. zucchinis/ courgettes
1 plain bread roll
Some Pine nuts
1 egg
Some finely grated Parmesan cheese/ or feta
Some garlic
Some finely cut shallots
Some finely cut herbs (thyme, oregano, sage etc)
Pinch of black pepper (Tasmanian pepper)
A few spoons of flour
Olive oil

DO
Cook beans. Wash zucchinis and herbs. Grate zucchinis in long strips and drain in sieve for 10 min. Soak the bread roll in some of the bean cooking water for a few minutes. Beat one egg in a large bowl. Drain  the beans and use a potato masher to make them smooth. Squeeze the liquid from the bread roll. Both the zucchinis and the bread should be very well drained! Add beans and bread and mix. Chop the garlic, shallots, herbs and pepper. Add with the cheese and nuts to the mixture.
Leave mixture in the fridge for 30 min. or more. Should they feel 'soggy', add some flour to the mixture. Sprinkle some flour on a plate and form balls from the mixture. Flatten them on the flour, let them rest for a while.
Heat oil. When the oil is hot fry them till they are golden.

The fritters are best consumed hot on the first day. For two people you might want to do half of the measurements.

Serve with steamed taro or potatoes and green beans. A tzatziki cucumber salad complements the dish.

Banana Blueberry Cake

Get

200g organic macadamias
9 ripe bananas (more if small)
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
5 eggs separated
180g unsalted butter
about 100g flour
5 tsp baking powder (no aluminium or phosphate, quantity depends on the type of baking powder, do not use too much)

Do

Peel the bananas, cut them up.
Whip the egg whites until stiff, then add 1 tbsp honey and continue beating until stiff.
Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer until it is soft. Beat in alternately the egg yolks and 2 tbsp honey.
Beat well into a soft mixture.
Mix in half the banana pieces.
Grate the macadamias coarsely. Beat them into the mixture.
Add the cinnamon.
Add the flour a tablespoon at a time while beating. Alternately add the baking powder so it mixes in evenly. Only use enough flour so that the mixture is thick but still falls slowly - “heavily” - from the spoon (maybe only 3-4 tbsps). Beat well.
Lift the egg whites under the mixture. 

Preheat the oven to 190°. Butter a baking form and dust it with a little flour.
Add half of the mixture to the form and spread it evenly to cover the whole bottom. Place the remaining banana pieces on top and press in a little. Cover with the remaining mixture.
Sprinkle some fresh blueberries on top.
Bake on the 2nd shelf from the bottom for 40 minutes. If it starts to get too brown cover it with paper after 25 minutes. It should be golden. Test with a thin knife that it is cooked. The knife should come out clean. If it is not clean, return covered to the oven for another 10 minutes and test again.
Remove from form and cool.
Store in a glass dome.

Coffee and Snakes

Coffee plants are flowering and snakes rub against the rough jute bag. No, the coffee grounds do not deter snakes. Our favourite cup on the mid north coast:

Kale with Sesame, steamed Taro and Radicchio Salad

GET

1 bunch of Kale /Black Toscana (cavolo nero)
2 gloves of garlic
Fresh garlic, peeled, sliced
Half of a small lemon/ lime, juice
Same amount of tahini
Sesame seeds
Olive oil

Taro steamed

Radicchio/ Italian chicory 

DO

Wash and dry the dark green, crinkled, strap-like leaves of kale. Heat oil. Cut kale from the bottom up in small pieces, sauté bottom stems in olive oil first, then add chopped leaves. Add garlic and toss for a few minutes. Cover and cook for another few minutes.

Place the vegetables in a shallow casserole. Mix the lemon juice and tahini and cover evenly. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake till the seeds are golden. The dish is best consumed on the same day, as reheating dries the kale out.

Serve with steamed taro and some finely sliced dark reddish-purple radicchio (Italian chicory/Witlof?) salad to alleviate insomnia.

Kent pumpkin stuffed with nuts and herbs

Get

1 Kent pumpkin
Some shallot greens
2-3 chopped medium champignons
Tahini , 2 tbsp
100g macadamia nuts
fresh thyme tips, lemon thyme, marjoram or oregano
1 clove garlic
olive oil
150g cheese for baking, e.g. young gouda, or matured cheddar

Do

Cut pumpkin across in two. Remove the seeds.
Steam or bake the halves until quite soft. Not too soft or it will become unstable. Let it cool down briefly for handling.
Place the halves face up in two baking dishes or in one large one.
Scrape out most of the flesh into a bowl leaving about 1 cm depth above the skin.
Mash the flesh. Add the finely chopped shallots. Grate in the macadamia nuts with a hand grater. Add the chopped thyme.
Add the mushrooms and tahini.
Mix these ingredients together .
Fill the mash into the pumpkin shells.
Mix the crushed garlic with the olive oil and spread it on top.
Top with cheese. 

Bake at 130°C on the second shelf of the oven for 30 minutes, then increase the temperature to 180°C for 10 minutes until they are golden.
Tip This dish is also delicious without the pumpkin and with more mushrooms instead.
Leave off the cheese and it is vegan.

Kale and macadamia pesto

get

1 bunch black kale 
1 medium peeled clove garlic
300g raw macadamia nuts (or hazel nuts, almonds)
1 cup olive oil 

all organic

do

Remove the stems from the kale.
Put all ingredients into a large bowl and blend together with a hand blender capable of blending hard nuts (blender stick, magic wand, …).
Put into a serving bowl with a little oil on top.
Decorate with pine nuts 

or

Wash and finely chop the kale with a large sharp knife and place in a large bowl.
Add the peeled and crushed garlic.
Grate the nuts with a medium grater. Mix under the other ingredients.
Stir in enough olive oil to make a smooth paste.
Flatten the surface of the pesto in a serving bowl and dribble some oil on top.
Serve cool.

Goes well with potatoes, noodles, brussel sprouts and parmesan.

Athertonia Nut Biscuits and Nut Roll

This season there is a shortage of bunya nuts but an abundance of Atherton Nuts. After collecting the nuts in between Jack jumper ants nests, their beautiful skin needs removing. The cracking is best done with a hammer or a rock. After blanching, the nuts are ready for use.

Here are some more pastry wonders from Jan and Ross. The nut roll is filled with pure nuts and honey. The small pastries are reminiscent of the famous Frankfurt pastry Bethmännchen (German for "a little Bethmann") which are made with almonds and sugar. Not being bankers, there is only one nut on top. They are pure nuts with honey and they are delicious.

It's Atherton Nut Time Again

It's Atherton nut time again. Athertonia diversifolia is a rainforest tree closely related to the macadamia. The proteaceae is endemic to north-east Queensland, but produces generously on the Mid North Coast of NSW. Nectar eating birds love the food tree.

The Atherton oak tree still has its name from a colonial pastoralist who associated it with the English oak back home. The Yidinji people of north-east Queensland who most likely have cultured the nut have their own name that might soon awake from the amnesia in the botanical nomenclature. 

The task is to get the seeds from the ground as quickly as possible. After spending some time admiring the colour/s and patterns, peel off the blue/white coat surrounding the shell. A very short time of airing the seeds and then cracking the woody seed with a hammer. The nut then has a tight coat like an almond. Pour some boiling water on them for a quick soak. Blanch like almonds.
The cripy white/ivory like nut is best consumed immediately. If they need to be stored, make sure they are dry and are kept in a sealed container in the fridge.

The taste it is said is similar to macadamia. But the oral tactile sensation of chewing the fresh nut is nothing like a macadamia or almond. Both of these nuts are quickly reduced to a mush in the mouth, whereas the Athertonia nut has different stages of decomposition. The end result is reminiscent of coconut fiber. It is delicious and like no other nut.

Should you have to store the nut for some time it might be best to roast the nuts to regain their crispness.
The empty woody shells could make for decorative mulch or craft projects.
Jan and Ross made a cake with Athertonia nuts. It was most likely the first Atherton nut cake in the universe.