The Veggie Eaters
I’m not sure w=
hat the
tipping point was, whether I was coming down with something or whether
I’d overindulged for too long but when I bought the bundles of meat h=
ome
from the shops I’d lost my appetite for meat.
This was a shame as
I’d gone mental and answered “Yes” whenever Simon the but=
cher
asked “Just a bit over – that O.K.?” So now I had about
another three meals worth of stuff I didn’t feel like facing. Now the=
re
is nothing inferior about the meat I buy from my butcher, it is first class=
and
they know the provenance as Simon goes personally to buy it. We joke that we
know the lamb’s mothers by their first names.
“That’s
it!” I declared, “We’re eating veggies for the next week.=
No
more meat!” This drew a bemused smile from My Beloved who’s hea=
rd
this sort of unilateral declaration before and it usually descends into a r=
ant
about the State of
So it came to pass t=
hat we
began our 7 days of non-meat eating.
Day 1
Tofu with spicy sauce and rice
An easy day as My Be=
loved
was at a conference in
Day 2
Pumpkin & cumin soup
Baked potato and Spinach balls
Saturday was Sunrays=
ia
Farmers’ Market day so a weeks’ worth of veggies were purchased=
. I
bought Silverbeet, spring onions, brown onions, turnips, beetroot, carrot,
eggplant and some yummy honey and almond biscuits.
The pumpkin soup was=
made on
day one as a supper with scones in case My Beloved was peckish after the fl=
ight
home. I forgot the method for the spinach balls so rather than proud tasty
hillocks of silverbeet, feta, eggs and breadcrumbs, they were more like
omelettes with lumps of silverbeet, feta, eggs and breadcrumbs on them R=
11;
tasty all the same.
Day 3
Baked eggs, omelette
Roasted beetroot, Moroccan carrot
salad, weed pie
Sunday was baking da=
y and My
Beloved had found a recipe for baked eggs in the Saturday paper so that was
lunch. The Lodger had requested an omelette.
Day 4
Left overs
Eggplant parmigiana, brown rice a=
nd
split pea pilaf
You know, when the d=
iet is
as varied as this, left-overs are never boring and, as I always say, “=
;if
you can’t eat it cold then it wasn’t worth eating in the first
place”.
Day 5
Left overs
Cornish pasties
Mush research went i=
nto the
search for the traditional Cornish pasty. There was much controversy, howev=
er,
as some recipes stated definitely NO carrots. However, I had carrots so I
won’t be and honorary ‘Cousin Jack’!
Day 6
Leftovers
Chlo=
dnik & kartoffelpuffer
=
Great food
from the east of
Day 7
Leftovers
Tofu and eggs in spicy coconut sa=
uce
& rice
The Lodger was getti=
ng
challenged by all of this so it was time for the favourite fried tofu but t=
his
time with a coconut milk gravy with fresh madrasi
masala paste I made on day 6. Two boiled eggs were added for My Beloved who
hates tofu. Some tomato oil pickle gave it a fresh zing.
So that’s the =
end of
seven days non-meat eating and how do I feel? I feel great! I’ve lost=
the
podge and the irritability I had a week ago. The belt is one hole smaller. I
haven’t felt hungry. And I have no craving for meat.
This week has challe=
nged me
to think above the convenience and, I think, laziness of a meat eating regi=
me
to a more varied and interesting diet.
And with few excepti=
ons the
food came from within a 30km radius of home.
Locally yours,
Garry Mann
Garry Mann is a caterer, racon=
teur
and bon vivant. His knowledge of art, wine and food and vegetables is
unfathomable.
&curre=
n;¤¤¤¤¤●●●●χ=
9;¤¤¤¤¤¤
GAZ’S FAVOURITE FRUIT CAKE
Welcome to the simplest and most delicious fruit cake recipe.
This recipe was made live on air on Gaz’s=
Cooking Advice, 9:00 p.m. Friday 13th April on HOTFM 106.7 Mildu=
ra,
90.7 Wentworth & Robinvale!
Dean and Gaz want to make fruitcake cool again!
And this is the way!
Measure, mix, make and masticate!
1.5 kg best mixed dried fruit (Sunbeam or
½ cup sherry or port, brandy, whisky, rum, eau de vie, grappa,
slivovitz
1 granny smith apple peeled, cored and grated
1 tablespoon honey (local mallee or yellow box) or golden syrup
½ cup brown sugar
250 gm unsalted butter, melted and cool
4 free range eggs
1.5 cups plain flour
½ cup self raising flour
1 generous teaspoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons extra sherry, port or spirits
Take a 28cm springform tin and line bottom and sides with baking pap=
er.
Preheat oven to 150 C.
In a large mixing bowl place mixed fruit, sherry or spirits, apple,
honey or golden syrup, and brown sugar. Mix very well with a wooden spoon to
break up any lumps of fruit and get the honey and sugar evenly distributed.=
Add the melted butter and the eggs one at a time mixing well after e= ach addition. Mixing well starts to fluff the egg-whites giving a lighter mix.<= o:p>
Sift in the flours and mixed spice and mix thoroughly until the mix
looks smooth and a little stringy & stretchy.
Pour mixture into springform tin and smooth the top.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 3.5 hours.
Lick the bowl and spoon.
Remove from oven and sprinkle over the extra sherry, port or spirits=
and
cover completely with aluminium foil.
Allow to cool in the tin on a cake rack.
When cool, remove the cake from the tin, wrap the cake in the baking
paper and foil and store in a sealed container. The cake can be cut into pi=
eces
and each piece wrapped.
This cake will keep well for 6 months if wrapped and stored well.
&curre=
n;¤¤¤¤¤●●●●χ=
9;¤¤¤¤¤¤
Gaz’s<=
/u> Seasonal Cooking Advice
At this time of year mulberries beco=
me
freely available and many fall on the ground from our own or neighbourhood
trees.
Gaz’s
Mulberry Cake
You will need:
250 gm bu=
tter
250 gm ca=
ster
sugar
250 gm SR=
flour
2 eggs
Mulberrie=
s
Extra
caster sugar for dusting.
Pre-heat =
an oven
to 200 degrees. Melt together the sugar and butter and allow to
cool a little. Beat the mix until glossy. Beat in the eggs one at a
time. Add the flour and mix to a smooth silky batter. P=
our
batter into a buttered and floured or baking paper-lined tray or tin (30cm
square or round). Pile on the fruit and dust with extra caster sugar=
.
Bake for =
about 35
mins or until springy in the middle and lightly browned.
Good slig=
htly warm
or room temperature.