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Oh what to do with this bounty of produce…

Getting Aquainted With Artichoke (Tea)

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Over the last year, Rick has planted two rows of artichoke. I had no idea how big those thistles become! Many of the plants are taller than I am, and after all this rain, we’re finding ourselves inundated with artichoke bulbs. Besides marinated artichoke hearts out of a jar from the supermarket, I’ve not really had any experience with this produce.

So, this past week Rick asked if I could learn to use them, so they don’t go to waste. They’re listed for sale of course, but it looks like we have more than we can sell, and I know there will be other people out there like me who have just not ever used fresh artichokes!

It turns out artichokes are great for your liver, may help with managing blood pressure, blood sugar…and many more benefits. I was impressed that they contain so many trace minerals, as mentioned in the nutrition facts below.

We’ve had a go at steaming them for 3 minutes and then eating them petal by petal, dipping them in aioli. That went down well. And then I also discovered artichoke tea. It’s earthy, with no bitterness (which some herbal teas are prone to), and it can be consumed hot or cold. I’ve tried both and will continue with artichoke tea every few days, for it’s health benefits.

It’s so simple to make, you just take about three artichokes, put them in an appropriate sized saucepan and barely cover them with water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20-30 minutes. I poured a cup of hot tea from the saucepan, and then tipped the rest of the liquid through a funnel into a glass bottle, to refrigerate and drink cold later on. I imagine other flavours could be infused into the tea, but I haven’t experimented with that yet. Maybe bubbling the chilled tea through a SodaKing would add an interesting twist?

You could eat the artichokes that were used to make the tea, but the texture isn’t the same as 3-minute artichokes. My 10 year-old, who loves them, said the 30-minutes artichokes had a funny texture.

According to the USDA’s info on artichoke nutrition data, one medium-sized, boiled artichoke (about 120 grams) contains approximately:

  • 63.6 calories
  • 14.3 grams carbohydrates
  • 3.5 grams protein
  • 0.4 grams fat
  • 10.3 grams fiber
  • 107 micrograms folate (27 percent DV)
  • 17.8 micrograms vitamin K (22 percent DV)
  • 8.9 milligrams vitamin C (15 percent DV)
  • 50.4 milligrams magnesium (13 percent DV)
  • 0.3 milligrams manganese (13 percent DV)
  • 343 milligrams potassium (10 percent DV)
  • 87.6 milligrams phosphorus (9 percent DV)
  • 0.2 milligrams copper (8 percent DV)
  • 1.3 milligrams niacin (7 percent DV)
  • 0.1 milligrams riboflavin (6 percent DV)
  • 0.1 milligrams vitamin B6 (5 percent DV)
  • 0.1 milligrams thiamine (4 percent DV)
  • 0.7 milligrams iron (4 percent DV)
  • 0.3 milligrams pantothenic acid (3 percent DV)
  • 25.2 milligrams calcium (3 percent DV)
  • 0.5 milligrams zinc (3 percent DV)

If you have a favourite recipe using fresh artichokes, let us know in the comments 🙂

October 31, 2022
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Olive Leaf Oxymel

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Olive leaf extract (which this is NOT a recipe for) is something I’ve found very effective in the past. Sure, it tastes nasty, but anytime a cough/cold was coming on, I’d take some and feel the difference. I wondered if it could be made at home, as so many extracts are as simple as steeping herbs in vodka.

Last year Rick gave our olive tree a heavy pruning, and mentioned there was a substantial pile of organic olive leaves that were available to use. Sadly they ended up shrivelling up and being forgotten.

This week, while we’ve had sickness passing through our family, I stumbled across a recipe for an oxymel (‘oxy’=acid + ‘mel’ = honey). This is as simple as mixing equal parts of apple cider vinegar and raw honey, and infusing this with a herb/root of choice for about four weeks. Fantastic! It sounded like just the way to create a homemade remedy with olive leaf. Olive leaf is also great for reducing inflammation, lowering blood pressure and reducing arthritis symptoms.

To make:

Grab a clean glass jar with a lid. Make a label, so you don’t lose track of what you’re brewing in there!

Fill up to half the jar with olive leaves, chopped nice and small (the more surface area, the better).

Add equal parts of apple cider vinegar and raw honey.

Mix well and let steep for about 4 weeks, in a cool, dark place. If you can remember to pull the jar out and give it a shake every few days, this is helpful.

Strain out the leaves.

To use, pour a teaspoon-full and take as a preventative, or if you are ill, take up to three teaspoon-fulls a day.

*Note: if you are keen to try this with some other herb/root, please do your research first and make sure it’s safe to be taken internally.

April 15, 2022
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Nutrient-Dense Nut Bars

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I love nut bars, but the commercial versions often contain undesirable ingredients. Here’s a recipe for a customisable homemade version that is tasty and nutritious.

1 1/2 Cups chopped Brazil nuts (or another nut, but I choose Brazil nuts because they are one of the highest known sources of dietary Selenium, and most my children don’t like eating them plain!)

1/3 C chopped walnuts (again, you can sub out for whatever nut you like, but walnuts are another one that I take the opportunity to hide in these bars so the children will get some in their diet)

1/3 C Pumpkin seeds

1/3 C Sunflower seeds

1/3 C Dark chocolate chunks (or cacao nibs if you want a lower-sugar alternative)

1/3 C Sultanas (or another chopped dried fruit)

1/3 C Honey ( I haven’t tried this, but I’m sure maple syrup would work, if you’d rather avoid honey)

1/2 C Hulled Tahini

1tsp Vanilla Extract (or vanilla paste)

Heat your oven to 180C

Mix all your dry ingredients in a large bowl.

The next step depends on the viscosity of your honey. If your honey is runny, then you are just going to mix it together with the vanilla and tahini until homogenised. If your honey is too thick, then gently heat it in a saucepan until runny, and then mix in your tahini and vanilla.

Bake at 180C for about 10 minutes…slightly longer if you prefer a browner, slightly crunchier bar.

Allow to cool. Then enjoy!

June 3, 2021
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Made For Mum

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Home

Interested in making some delicious (and nutritious) goodies for Mother’s Day? Check out WholefoodSimply. We’ve been making a variety of the slices (like Raspberry Ripe Slice), which happen to be GF, DF and often V (Honey is used in some, but can be substituted for maple syrup if needed).

They are heavy on the nuts and nut butters…just saying, in case nut allergies are an issue for you. If you’re after something wholesome and special, Wholefood Simply is definitely worth checking out.

May 4, 2021
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What to do With all that Pumpkin: #7 Cubed Roasted Pumpkin with Balsamic Glaze

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Simple, but tasty.

We were given a bottle of balsamic glaze at Christmas, and it’s added a lovely flavour to a variety of sides. It goes beautifully with pumpkin.

Recipe:

Approx 2kg of pumpkin, skinned and cubed

1 onion (red, if you have it), cut into wedges

Oil of choice, about 3Tbsp, we used macadamia oil

Salt, we used our Garlic and Sage seasoned salt

Balsamic glaze

Optional: crumbed feta cheese

Directions: Heat your oven to 180C (fan-forced)

Pour the oil onto a baking sheet, then add the cubed pumpkin and onion wedges and toss to distribute the oil.

Sprinkle with seasoning salt.

Bake for about 45 minutes (longer if you like a bit of char!)

Sprinkle with balsamic glaze and the feta, if you choose. Serve immediately (though it can be reheated).

March 23, 2021
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What to do With all that Pumpkin: #6 Pumpkin + Cashew Quiche

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Pumpkin and Cashew quiche…we’ve been making this for about 10 years!

Pictured is the following recipe with the filling tripled. With such a large tribe at our place, the single recipe just wasn’t enough. The crust however, doesn’t need to be doubled unless you want to split the recipe between multiple dishes.

NOTE: The recipe calls for roasted, cubed pumpkin. So you’re prepped accordingly, make sure you have the pumpkin roasted (or at least in the oven) before you start making the rest of the recipe.

The Crust:

2 Cups organic baking flour

125g butter (or coconut oil)

1/2tsp salt (I use a seasoned salt, like our garlic and sage salt)

Approx 120ml of water or broth

Turn your oven to 180 C, fan forced.

In a food processor, mix the flour, butter and salt until you get a fine crumb. Then with the motor running, slowly add the water/broth. You may not need all of it, depending on your flour. What you’re looking for is a cohesive lump of dough, that’s not too sticky.

If the dough is too soft, you can refrigerate it for half an hour before rolling out. Otherwise, go ahead and roll it out straight away. It will be enough, with a little surplus, to fill a 12″ pie dish.

Bake for 10 minutes.

While that crust is baking, prepare your filling ingredients.

200g (minimum, you can use more if desired) cubed, roasted pumpkin.

1/2 C cashews (for extra crunch, you can roast these too, if desired)

1/4 C cream

150g tasty cheese

a spring onion or shallot, finely chopped

3 eggs

1/2 tsp nutmeg

In your baked pie crust, arrange the pumpkin and cashews.

Whisk up your cream and eggs in a bowl, then add the cheese, onion and nutmeg.

Pour this mix over your pumpkin and cashews. Bake at 180 C for approx. 35 minutes. All ovens are slightly different, so just check on the quiche after about 25 minutes, to check how much longer it needs. Our tripled recipe needed almost 40 minutes.

Can be eaten warm or cold…some of us even like it for breakfast 🙂

March 19, 2021
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What to do With all that Pumpkin: #3 Chicken and Pumpkin Chowder

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With the weather turned cold and damp this week, soup is definitely on the menu. I was looking for some savoury pumpkin ideas, and came across this one. I was impressed that so many people mentioned their children liked this recipe. I made it yesterday, and about half my children tested it for breakfast (I know for some, the idea of soup at breakfast is weird, but to me it makes perfect sense to eat a nutrient dense, easily digested meal like soup for breakfast).

I will say that the base recipe from Wholefully is comforting, but also a little plain (no doubt why so many children enjoy it). To make a slightly more adult version, I added some homemade sweet chilli sauce, upon serving. Wondering if using coconut cream instead of dairy cream, and adding some adobo hot sauce during cooking would add a delicious twist…?

I loved the addition of quinoa to the soup…definitely like a chunkier soup, and quinoa thickened the mix beautifully.

A lot of pumpkin is used in this recipe. A whole small pumpkin cubed, plus a cup of pumpkin puree!

March 17, 2021
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Caramelised Onion and Beetroot Relish

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1/4C extra virgin olive oil

1kg onions, thinly sliced

1/2 C coconut sugar (or brown sugar, but I’ve been using coconut)

1/3C raw sugar

1/2 C Balsamic Vinegar

4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked

1 bay leaf

1/2tsp ground cloves

450g tin of beetroot (we use home canned pickled beetroot)

salt and pepper to taste


1) Heat oil in a large heavy based saucepan over a medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 20 minutes, or until just softened. Stir in sugars, vinegar, thyme, bay leaf and ground cloves. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved.


2) Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring, for 20 minutes until relish is thick. (I don’t stand over the stove the whole time, but stay nearby and stir periodically)


3) Meanwhile, drain beetroot, reserving 1/2C of the liquid. Finely chop beets and add, along with the reserved liquid, to pan. Cook, stirring for a further 5 minutes until rich in colour. Season to taste.


4) Ladle into sterilised jars and seal tightly. Store in a cool place for 1 month. Once opened, keep chilled and consume within 2 weeks. (I don’t heat process them, but do put the jars in the cold room once they’ve cooled down, just to be careful. We also don’t usually consume a whole jar in two weeks, but have not had any go off yet!)

November 26, 2020
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Bread and Butter Pickles

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3 different varieties, made on our organic produce

The Bread and Butter Pickles here at Birdsong have been so popular! Occasionally I’m asked if we share the recipes…yes, we do.

We’ve made B&B pickles on both zucchini and cucumber, it works both ways. Just be aware that the first step involves salting your veg overnight…it’s a 2 day process making these pickles.

You will need:

Approx. 6 Lebanese cucumbers, or 3 medium sized zucchini, sliced finely (food processors make short work of this)

2 Capsicum (optional, but adds a beautiful colour contrast), seeds removed and finely sliced

A large onion, sliced finely

50g macrobiotic sea salt (Himalayan pink salt is fine too)

400ml Apple Cider Vinegar

200g either raw sugar or coconut sugar. Coconut sugar will give you a darker pickle.

1tsp each of turmeric, mustard powder, fennel seed

  1. Slice your cucumber, onion and capsicum finely. I do it all in the food processor.
  2. Put all these vegetables in a casserole dish or bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Toss the salt through, then cover the dish with cloth/wrap and leave overnight. This step is important, as it reduces the water content of the finished product.
  3. In the morning, put your salted veg in a colander and rinse them under cold water, then place out on clean tea towels to drain.
  4. Take a large saucepan and combine the vinegar, sugar and spices. Bring to the boil and then let simmer for 10 minutes.
  5. Now you can add in the sliced vegetables to the pot and let the mixture come to a boil for one minute. Then turn off the heat.
  6. Using sterilised jars with vinegar-proof lids (and a canning funnel if you have one, they save a lot of mess!), pack the mixture and then pour over remaining liquid to submerge the vegetables.
  7. Seal, label and store somewhere cool and dark (3 month shelf life stored like this), or store in the fridge for longer shelf life. And always store you opened jars in the fridge.

November 26, 2020
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Pumpkin and Cashew Dip

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Pumpkins! They thrived this year, and we had hundreds of them.

We’ve had pumpkin in salads, roasts, desserts…and this week since we also have loads of violet cauliflower, which is gorgeous eaten raw with a decent dip, I’ve just made a pumpkin and cashew dip.

Here’s the recipe:

About half a kilo of pumpkin and sweet potato, roasted. You can use pumpkin alone, but we just happened to have them both leftover after a roast. If you are purposefully roasting the pumpkin to make the dip you’ll need to peel, seed and dice the pumpkin, then roast at 180C for about half an hour.

1/2 Cup Cashews…or another nut if you prefer

2 Tbsp Seasoning. I used YIAH Cinco Pepper Enchilada seasoning (which is completely herbs and spices). Otherwise Moroccan Seasoning is a good option.

3/4 Cup greek yoghurt. Try coconut yoghurt if you’re going dairy free

Method: Using a blender or food processor, mix all ingredients until smooth.

Simple, isn’t it?

 

June 28, 2018
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Thai Cashew Chicken

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Happy Saturday! It’s our day off, and today was one of those lovely days where we had nothing planned. So there’s been time to potter around in the kitchen.

Chilies abound at the moment, so I’ve been trying a few Thai recipes, and thought I’d share this one with you…

Thai Cashew Chicken…with coconut rice

Coconut Rice: 2 C basmati rice

4C liquid (I use 1 can of organic coconut cream and make the rest of the liquid up with chicken broth)

Chicken: 500g chicken (we used organic chicken thighs), chopped to your preferred size

2-3 Tbsp plain flour

1/3 cup macadamia oil (if you don’t have macadamia, use another oil with a mild flavour)

Vegetables: 1 Tbsp garlic, crushed or finely chopped

1 small tropea red onion, sliced length ways into wedges

5-6 Thai chilies, finely chopped

1 C raw cashews

1 C capsicums, julienned

1 C carrots, julienned

2 shallots, finely sliced

Sauce: 2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Dash of salt

Dash of honey

1 C chicken broth/stock

2 Tbsp cornflour

Method:

Get your rice going first. I put the rice and liquid in the saucepan and cook, absorption method, with the lid on. Just keep an eye on the rice to make sure the heat is shut off when the liquid gets low.

Mix your sauce ingredients in a jar and set aside.

Pour you oil into a wok or large frypan and heat. While that is heating, toss your chopped chicken in the flour to coat.

Fry the raw cashews until they start to brown, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Now add your floured chicken and the chili to the hot oil in the pan and fry until golden and delicious. Remove the chicken from the oil and set aside.

To that same oil, add all your veg except the shallots and fry until the onion is translucent.

Add your sauce and while that cooks through, get your cornflour and mix with a little water and add this to the pan to thicken the sauce.

Your chicken and cashews can now get back in the pan. Stir until the sauce has coated everything and then add your shallots for just a minute or two of cooking before you serve.

I liked the heat level of this combo. It was mild enough that flavours other than heat could be enjoyed, but hot enough to have a kick to it 🙂 If you love heat and don’t have children to accommodate, you might like to add more chili.

March 24, 2018
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Balsamic BBQ Sauce

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A while ago I posted the recipe for the best tomato sauce we’ve found…well that recipe is a great base for making your own BBQ sauce. It does still contain sugar, if that’s an issue for you, but it’s a lot more wholesome than store bought BBQ sauce!

Balsamic BBQ Sauce

3/4 Cup Tomato sauce

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar (we used organic balsamic from Wrays due to the fact that balsamic vinegar is made from grapes, which are a heavily sprayed crop unless you buy organic)

Garlic- 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic is great, but you can use 1Tbsp powdered or minced garlic if that’s what you have on hand

1/2 Tsp each of salt and pepper

1Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup coconut sugar (or organic raw sugar)

A nice easy recipe…all you do is mix all those ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and simmer away for about 15 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved and you have a consistency you’re happy with. Then pour into a clean bottle.

I couldn’t tell you precisely how long it lasts, because it’s consumed long before we have to get concerned with use by dates 🙂 But given the high level of vinegar and sugar, you should get at least 12 months of shelf life.

January 14, 2018
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The Best Tomato Sauce Recipe We’ve Found…Plus a Workshop

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Since we started growing veg, summer is synonymous with an abundance of fresh fruit and veg…more than we can use right away. Not that I mind, as I love to have shelves full of homemade preserves so when things like tomatoes are finished for the year, we can still be eating organic remineralised products made from those tomatoes for a long time to come.

Tomato sauce (as in, what you would eat with sausages etc) is one product we wanted to be making for ourselves. And it took a while to find a recipe we were happy with, because the children didn’t like so many that we tried, so kept asking for bought tomato sauce!

Matt Preston’s Tomato Sauce, which he says is a recipe from his mother-in-law, is the best we’ve found. http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/matt-prestons-tomato-sauce/751a8855-76c1-4f9f-b6e4-3ad781c9e73d

The only changes I made to the ingredients in that recipe (you can follow the above link to check it out) were:

-using organic raw sugar instead of plain sugar

-using apple cider vinegar instead of malt vinegar

-leaving the spices in there and blitzing them in with a stick blender at the end.

And if you’re making it at home, sourcing homegrown tomatoes is going to produce a much richer flavour than using supermarket (or mass farmed) tomatoes. Tomatoes farms are also usually subject to toxic sprays (like I mentioned in the post on glyphosate), so making sauce from them…or eating them at all, is really not ideal if you value your health.

The change I made to the method, was in using all the tomato, and not peeling them or sieving out the seeds. We like the whole-tomato texture (and it saves a lot of time!).

Now, at the moment we have loads of tomatoes, and I also have organic vinegar, spices and sugar that we’ve sourced to make a huge pot of this sauce. I thought it would be fun to get together with other people who are interested, work together to make a huge pot of sauce and everyone can take a 1L glass bottle of it home. I have enough glass bottles, but if you would rather spread the 1L between several smaller jars, then BYO and that’s fine too.

Cost will be $25 and sorry for the short notice (but I was waiting for the organic vinegar to arrive!), the class will be this Wednesday 20th December, 2pm at Birdsong Market Garden. If you’re interested, you’ll need to RSVP, as we’ll have to cap numbers at 5-6 people (participating adults). Email me at racheal@birdsongmarketgarden.com.au to let me know if you’d like to come. You can pay on the day (and we have paypass facilities if you need).

December 16, 2017
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Zucchini Chocolate Cake…with Walnuts

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Zucchini…it’s prolific! It seems like one day you’ll have a few tiny zucchini forming, and within the next day or two you go back to the patch and they’re almost 1kg each!

We’ve been having zucchini in a lot of meals lately, but I thought it was time to try zucchini chocolate cake. This is a recipe I adapted from a less healthy version.

2 cups plain flour (we used biodynamic stoneground flour)

300g coconut sugar

65g cacao powder (we sell this)

2 tsp bicarb soda

1/2tsp salt

1tsp ground cinnamon

4 eggs (we used duck eggs)

350ml macadamia oil (we sell this)

100g chopped walnuts (we sell this)

500g grated zucchini (you already know we sell these!)

Turn your oven to 180 C (fan forced) and prepare your cake tin or muffin tray.

In a large bowl, mix all your dry ingredients.

Now add the eggs and oil and mix in well.

Lightly mix in the zucchini and walnuts until evenly distributed

Bake for about 55 minutes.

Hide from your children 🙂

When cool we iced it with a chocolate Vienna cream icing…not so healthy…but it was organic sugar, so at least there was no roundup in there (sugar cane is sometimes sprayed with roundup as a desiccant after harvest).

This is a really moist cake, and I love the touch of crunch provided by the walnuts.

November 2, 2017
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Birdsong Coleslaw

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Summer Staples

As soon as the weather starts heating up, out come our summer staples. One of which is coleslaw.

A few years back we held homeschool markets, and Rick made pulled pork and coleslaw rolls for lunch. Wow! They were good…and much of that goodness was due to the amazing coleslaw dressing recipe he used. We’ve tweaked it a bit since, and here it is…

The Dressing:

1Tbsp mustard, dijon is preferable

1Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2Tbsp lemon juice

1Tbsp honey (or natural sweetener of choice)

1tsp sea salt or Himalayan rock salt

1/2 Cup aioli (we love the flavour of Heinz Seriously Good Garlic Aioli, but it’s not organic, and made on canola oil…so if you have any wholesome alternative to suggest for me, post it in the comments!)

You can also add 1/4 cup sour cream if desired. Up until this point it’s a dairy free recipe though, so depends who you’re making it for!

Just mix all these ingredients well in a bowl and set aside while you prepare the slaw.

The Slaw:

This can vary according to what’s in the garden, but the pictured coleslaw is:

1/2 small red cabbage, shredded

1/2 small sugar loaf cabbage, shredded

1 coccozelle zucchini, grated

2 carrots, grated

1 shallot, finely sliced

5 small radish, grated

I usually do all the slicing/grating with a food processor, but it can be done by hand with a little extra time. Mix everything in a large bowl, pour the dressing over, mix it in…and enjoy!

Flavour Variations: Try various chopped herbs, like coriander or parsley for a little twist

September 20, 2017
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