Posted by kathryn in Blogging

Good Food Month is pretty much over and I’ve finished (for the moment) rabbiting on about carrots (yes I have been waiting all week to say that), so what’s next at Limes & Lycopene? Well, firstly, I have quite a backlog of recipes to post, so there will be lots more cooking over the next couple of weeks. I’ve got some ideas for healthy puddings, plus there’s going to be some blogging-by-request. I’ll post Novembers’ " what’s in season ":http://www.kathrynelliott.com.au/blog/2006/09/25/october-whats-in-season-fruit/ …

Read more No comments 31 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

Came across this at BuzzMachine, Amnesty International are asking bloggers to show their support for online freedom of speech and the bloggers who are being denied this human right. As Kate Allen, the UK Director of Amnesty International, writes in the Observer: bq. Governments still fear dissenting opinion and try to shut it down. While the internet has brought freedom of information to millions, for some it has led to imprisonment by a government seeking to curtail that freedom. They …

Read more No comments 30 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

Saturday was one of the main events, not only in the Good Food Month calendar, but also in any foodlover’s diary – the annual Sydney Food&Wine Fair. From its origins 16 years ago in the David Jones Food Hall, as Counter Aid, this event has morphed and grown every year to become the primary annual fundraising event of the AIDS Trust of Australia. More than 100 stallholders, including some of the top Sydney restaurants, donate their time, their produce …

Read more No comments 30 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

During this year’s Good Food Month I’ve most enjoyed the opportunities to try out new shopping locations and new places to buy produce. While not always following the official trail, by going out of my normal comfort zone, I’ve discovered new foods and ingredients – which have, of course, led to new recipes and eating experiences. Campsie, the Castle Hill growers’ market and Hawkesbury Farmgate Trail have led me to the tastiest of strawberries, vegetables fresh-picked that morning, four …

Read more 7 comments 29 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables

This is my 100th post, a milestone. And yet again, it’s about carrots. As I’ve said I don’t really like them. There are only two carrot “recipes” that actually get me excited. One of them is this sandwich and the other is young carrots baked in the oven. When they retired, my parents moved down to Jervis Bay and converted their garden into a vegie patch. For a couple of years I was regularly supplied with beautiful, young, just-picked, tender, …

Read more 1 comment 27 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables

While I don’t like carrots, I would be quite happy to try some of these recipes for carrot fritters. Making vegetables into fritters is a good way of getting more vegies into your diet. They look and taste quite different from vegetables in their raw or steamed form. And the flavour can be oomphed up with herbs, cheese, spices and other tasty assortments. * Bron Marshall has worked out Peter Rabbit’s favourite carrot & caraway fritters * Running with Tweezers …

Read more 4 comments 25 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables

Continuing the theme of encouraging non-vegetable eaters to like the green stuff, I was posting yesterday on the idea, that preparing vegies in different ways suits different people. A good example of this idea – while carrots are my least favourite vegetable, they’ve become one-quarter of my current favourite sandwich. And here it is – cream cheese, grated carrot and sultanas on grainy bread. The cream cheese is spread on both slices of bread. I use a whole carrot …

Read more 5 comments 25 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables

As I posted earlier today, carrots are really good for you. But that’s not startling information is it? Everyone knows vegetables are good for you . . . blah, blah, blah. Confession time. While I may be one of the biggest vegetable fans on the planet I don’t really like carrots. It’s not that I hate them, I just find them boring and a bit bland. Over the years, however, I’ve reached a truce with carrots. I eat them, …

Read more No comments 24 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables

Carrots are packed full of good nutrition. Not only are they high in fibre, low in fat and kilojoules, but they’re also an excellent source of the antioxidant and vitamin A precursor: beta-carotene. In fact carotenes are what make carrots their lovely orange colour. Carrots are also a useful vegetable and are generally cheap. They can be grated raw and put in salads and sandwiches, used in stir frys, baked in foil in the oven, steamed, used in soups …

Read more No comments 24 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Miscellanea

The latest edition of Life etc came out today, with the Christmas recipes I was working on a couple of months ago. These were both a challenge and a joy to create. As per usual, with Life etc, it’s all about fuss free cooking – in fact the theme was don’t make it, fake it. Each dish is simple, easy and quick to cook. While not all of them fit in the Ten Minute category of my other recipes for …

Read more 1 comment 23 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables

Yet another GFM event I didn’t book in time was the Flavours of Sydney’s Hills Region tour. Not to be outdone, last weekend Richard and I set off (again) on our own, unofficial tour of the market and farmgate trail. The importance of the Hawkesbury as an agricultural region dates back to the very early days of European colonisation of Australia. Food was grown in this fertile area and transported by boat, down the Hawkesbury, out to sea and …

Read more 4 comments 21 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

On the second to last night of the GFM Night Noodle Markets I met up with a group of other Sydney bloggers: Grab Your Fork, Morsels&Musings, Cucina Rebecca, Initiales JB, PiCkLes PeRks, Jenius and Sweet Little Treat. It was lovely to put names to faces . . . or should I say blog names to fully-rounded, real-live human beings. It was also fun being with a group of people who don’t think twice about photographing their food and are probably …

Read more 1 comment 21 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables and Recipes

To say I love beetroot would probably be an understatement. To say I adore it, am obsessed by it, think about it far more than is healthy, is probably a more accurate statement. Which means, this has been a GREAT week. On the weekend I purchased the hugest bunch of fresh, baby beetroot I’ve ever seen. Plus, yet more beetroot arrived in my vegetable box this week. Oh dear, how awful, an excess of beetroot. It gave me the …

Read more 12 comments 20 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Fruit and Spring

One of the many fine things about summer in Australia is the fabulous fruit – mangoes, nectarines, peaches, cherries, melons, lychees are all grown in this country and quality is fabulous. However, it seems this summer is going to be a mixed season. While the mango harvest in the Northern Territory is going to be huge, there will be a shorter supply of other stonefruit.  A few weeks ago frosts in the Goulburn Valley destroyed a significant portion of their …

Read more 1 comment 18 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Ethics & Sustainablity

Interesting article by Mark Morford, entitled " The Sad Death of ’Organic ":http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2006/10/13/notes101306.DTL ‘. After seeing an advert for Kellogg’s Organic Rice Krispies, he ponders if this means the end of true organics? The point being, if you take the word “organic” to just mean pesticide and hormone free, then yes the Kellogg’s cereal is exactly that. However, up until now, organics has meant so much more than that. At it’s heart has been the ethos of farming and manufacturing …

Read more 3 comments 17 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

“:http://kochtopf.twoday.net/stories/2711089/ Who would have thought there’d be a World Bread Day? Well, according to the International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners, it’s today. A time to celebrate and honour both bread and the people who make it. While I’ve made bread heaps of times in the past, it’s definitely not something I do regularly. It takes time and elbow-grease to knead and there are so many fabulous breads available in Sydney, why would you bother? About two weeks ago, …

Read more 7 comments 16 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Fruit, Desserts, Eggs and Recipes

I grew up in the UK in the 70s and 80s, a time way before Jamie, Nigella, Gary, Ainslie, Rick, Gordon et al started redefining British food. This was the time of roast dinners, semolina pudding, Victoria sponges, steak and kidney pie, toad in the hole, gammon and pineapple. A time when kedgeree was exotic, pasta was a weird “foreign” meal and Angel Delight was considered sophisticated. In talking to my mum about the spices she used when I …

Read more 5 comments 16 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

Most nights I enjoy cooking a meal, I find it relaxing, engrossing and it gives me a sense of wellbeing, through nourishing and nurturing Richard and myself with good food. I’m also in the fortunate (?) position of having a partner who can (and is happy to) cook as well. We don’t eat out a lot, probably about once a week and we get take-away about once a fortnight. As well as enjoying cooking, eating at home gives me …

Read more 2 comments 13 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Dinners, Spring, Summer, Vegetables and Recipes

Fritters are a great way to make vegetables a bit different. If you struggle to get your daily vegetable quota, or find it impossible to get your kids to eat vegies, then fritters are a good option. They don’t really look or taste like vegetables and don’t have an obvious vegetable texture. They can be “sold” to kids as burgers, something all kids recognise (certainly in Australia). Fritters are also quick and easy to cook – grate some vegetables; …

Read more 10 comments 13 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables

I blogged last week about fresh vs frozen vegetables. While frozen vegies have lots of good points nutritionally, up until recently, one of the problems here in Australia, has been the limited choice. For a long time frozen vegies meant bags of peas, or peas, corn and carrot, or frozen spinach. There was nothing much else available. However in the last couple of years food manufacturers have cottoned on to the growth in stir-fries as a common dinner. We’ve become …

Read more 1 comment 12 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

Apart from my foodie tour of Campsie, I haven’t posted much this week, as I’ve been working on new recipes for Ten Minute Kitchen in Life etc. With Sydney only just gearing up for summer, I’ve been compiling autumn and winter recipes for March and June next year. I’ve also been pitching new ideas to Wellbeing magazine, so it’s been a writing week so far. In amongst this I have, of course, still been cooking, eating and thinking about health. …

Read more No comments 12 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Miscellanea

This seem to be shaping up as the Good Food Month (GFM) I didn’t quite make. I pored over the programme when it was released, picked out classes (ice-cream making at Serendipity); tours ( Sydney Markets with Jared Ingersoll); and various events. However, by the time I actually tried to book, places were taken, classes were full, there was no room at the table. No problem, I thought, there are still loads of outdoor and general entry events, plenty that …

Read more 5 comments 10 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables and Fruit

Many parents struggle to get their children to eat vegetables. Whenever I talk to parents about kid’s nutrition, it’s the primary question everyone wants an answer to. A report today in the Good Living section of the SMH suggests a system of rewards and prizes. During August the Sydney Market’s Fresh for Kids programme trialled a campaign in NSW, ACT and Queensland. Called get on board and win *the trial resulted in a 97% increase in the amount of …

Read more 4 comments 10 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Miscellanea

It’s Good Food Month and strangely the first “event” I went to didn’t involve eating a single thing! Shoot the Chef is a photographic exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. I had some free time on Friday and thought I’d take a look. Known last year for its fabulous picture of Simmone Logue in a dress made of cupcakes, Shoot the Chef gives a rare and fascinating insight into the world of the professional (and some non-professional) chefs. …

Read more 2 comments 07 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables and Easier eating

Another topic I’m frequently asked about is frozen vegetables: is there any point in eating them? h3. Why do we eat vegetables? We eat vegetables for many reasons. They contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that we need, and can’t get from other foods. Vegies are also high in fibre, which is important for bowel health. Without vegetables in your diet, you’re likely to be deficient in key nutrients and missing out on important antioxidants. Diets low in vegetables are …

Read more 2 comments 06 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Easier eating

The weather is warm, I’ve had asparagus in my last two vegetable deliveries, the jasmine is smelling gorgeous and the magpies have gone feral . . . yup, spring is definitely upon us. After a winter of inactivity, eating a bit too much, colds and viruses, spring is the time when everyone re-concentrates on their health. There’s also the thought of summer clothes (and exposing a bit of flesh) encouraging you to lose those few kilos put on over winter. …

Read more 2 comments 05 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Fruit and Spring

While stonefruit may be a problem this year, it seems the Northern Territory (NT) is heading for a bumper mango crop. Estimates are they will send 2.5 million trays to market. Given that melons and mangoes will be in peak season at the same time, according to the ABC, there may be a shortage of the refrigerated trucks used to transport the mangoes down to Sydney (oh yes and other places too). In fact, growers may be forced to send …

Read more No comments 04 October, 2006