A Tip From The Garden

Having caterpillar trouble with your brassicas (cabbage family) and don't want to lose your organic pride? Place netting to cost-effectivley stop the butterflies from laying their eggs on your plants.

Spencer and Elise's Colour Crunch. *(GF)

Ingredients:

Salad:
2 small carrots
1 small red capsicum
1/2 small green capsicum
2 large tomatoes
1 stick celery
1/2-1 cucumber (whatever suits you, I like a whole one)
1 medium red onion
salad leaves (optional, we use baby spinach and rocket)
1 avocado
1 small pumpkin (optional, we used butternut)

Dressing:
1/2 lemon or lime
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 small chilli
2 small cloves garlic
small nob ginger
(cut everything finely and add to salad)

Method:
dice all salad ingredients, (except leaves and avocado) place in a large bowl and toss through; pour dressing over salad and toss once more before adding the avocado and lightly mixing it through.

Serve on pile of leaves (if using them), and if using pumpkin trickle over the top.

Vegetarian Paella* (GF)

Ingredients

• 1 cup of white rice (or brown rice)
• 1 litre (4 cups) of Gluten free Vegetable stock 
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of Paprika (mild)
• 1 tsp of Turmeric
• 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1 small red chili (finely chopped)
• 1 red capsicum roughly chopped
• A handful of small cherry tomatoes roughly chopped
• A handful of pumpkin roughly chopped
• 1 carrot finely chopped
• 3-4 button mushrooms roughly chopped
• Bunch of parsley finely chopped
• Seasoning to taste

Method

1. Heat stock in saucepan
2. Fry onions, chilli, garlic, paprika and turmeric with olive oil in large saucepan.
3. Add pumpkin and fry for a couple of minutes, then add capsicum, carrot, and tomatoes.
4. Fry vegetables for a couple of minutes til a bit softened and then add rice and stir through.
5. Pour 3/4 of hot stock over the vegetables and rice and stir through.
6. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes occasionally stirring so rice doesn't stick to the pan.
7. After 20 mins stock should be absorbed and rice expanded, add the chopped mushrooms and remaining stock and stir through.
8. Leave to simmer for another 3-5 mins and add some finely chopped parsley and seasoning to serve.

Chocolate Brownie with Raspberries* (GF)

Ingredients

• 200g (7oz) Dark Chocolate, chopped
• 250g (8oz)  Butter
• 1 3/4 cups (205g/ 7 1/4oz) Brown Sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups (200g/ 7oz) Gluten Free Plain Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/3 cup (40g/ 1/12oz) Cocoa powder, sifted (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a 23cm (9inch)  baking tin with baking paper.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan until smooth and glossy.
3. Mix together the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
4. After melted chocolate mixture is cooled a bit, add it to the egg and sugar mixture while stirring quickly.
5. Sift in the gf plain flour and baking powder (and cocoa powder if desired).
6. Stir in half of the raspberries and pour the mixture into the baking tin.
7. Add the remaining raspberries sprinkled on top and put in the oven.
8. Bake for 45 mins or until set, while still a bit moist and fudgy in the middle. (Skewer need not come out completely clean).
9. Leave in tin for 5 mins and then leave to cool, then chop into pieces and dust with icing sugar to serve.

Note: This recipe is adapted from a Donna Hay recipe.

Mushroom Broth Soup* (GF)

Ingredients

• 1 litre of (GF) Vegetable or Chicken Stock 
• 1-2 sprigs of fresh Rosemary (finely chopped)
• 1-2 sprigs of fresh Thyme
• 1 large bag of fresh button mushrooms or dried shitaki mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp of Salt
• Pepper
• 1 tablespoon of Butter
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

Method

1. Chop up mushrooms and herbs and fry in a hot pan using olive oil and butter to make them crispy
2. Cook mushrooms for 5-10 mins or until cooked and crispy
3. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil
4. Add seasoning and bring heat down to a simmer
5. Leave to simmer for 1 hour.
6. Add seasoning to taste and serve hot with added fresh parsley or grated parmesan if desired.