Corn and Zucchini Bake - Gluten Free

I'm always on a quest to cook healthy, nutritious and tasty dishes with locally sourced food, and lately I've had to tick even a few more boxes by trying to work 'gluten free' in there and 'high in calcium'.  And, as we have a lot of beautifully fresh corn and zucchini around at the moment it was time to do some experimenting in the kitchen.

I help out with the local 'Stepping On' class - a fantastic free programme run by NSW Department of Health, that is, essentially, a 'fall prevention' class - it's for those folk who have had a fall or are at risk of falling.  One of our sessions is all about diet, healthy eating and the necessity of calcium for strong bones and I had promised to cook for them a couple of 'calcium rich' dishes .  It just so happened that a few of the participants were also 'gluten free'.

This is really an adaptation of my previous recipe Zucchini Bake but, I think you will agree that this is a step up in yumminess - delicious hot or cold, in fact, over the last few days, we have had this for either breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Recipe Corn and Zucchini Bake

1 cup cooked corn kernels (1 cob)
2 large zucchini grated
1 cup grated strong cheddar
1/2 cup grated parmesan + 1 tablespoon
100g feta, crumbled
4 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk (or milk)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 rice flour (I use brown)
1/2 cup fine polenta
1tsp baking powder
3/4 cup parsley, dill and chives, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tomatoes, finely sliced for decoration

NOTE:  I experimented with various flours and took advice from gluten-free experts to come up with this combination.  I discovered that too much of one or the other was unsuccessful in both taste and texture - see what you think - I think this works fine?

Method
1.  Heat oven to 180-200oC
2.  Grease oblong baking dish
3.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flours and baking powder together
4.  Add everything else and stir to combine reserving 1 tablespoon of parmesan to sprinkle on top.
5.  Spread evenly in your dish and decorate with sliced tomatoes and parmesan.
6.  Bale in oven for about 40 minutes until firm and golden.

So Where's the Calcium?

• All fresh herbs are highly nutritious and parsley particularly so - handful of fresh herbs added to your meal is going to make it worth eating!
• Half a cup of parsley contains 54% of your daily vitamin C requirements, 14.5% of vitamin A, 11% of folate and iron, and roughly 5% each of copper, potassium, calcium, magnesium, fibre, and 3% of zinc, phosphorus, vitamin B3, B1 and manganese - wow - and it's only 11 calories!!
• 1 cup of parmesan, cheddar cheese and feta each contain, roughly, 35% of your daily calcium needs.
• 1 cup of milk contains about 25% of your daily calcium needs and each egg 3% 
• Leafy green vegetables are also rich in calcium - e.g. watercress, rocket, Asian greens, kale and broccoli.  Also on the list are fish with bones e.g. whitebait, sardines, anchovies and canned salmon.

Time for lunch - guess what I'm having?

Comfrey - The Gardener's Friend

Symphytum sp.
Comfrey, Russian Comfrey, Knit-bone, Bone-set
BORAGINACEAE 

Comfrey growing next to the compost bin

Comfrey is a real friend to the organic gardener and one of the most useful plants you can grow.

Gardeners need to be growing this Russian variety (Symphytum x uplandicum) and not the one that commonly grows wild in Europe (Syphytum officinale) - which has been used for centuries as a herbal remedy.  Russian comfrey is distinguished by large, hairy leaves and tubular, mauve flowers borne on tall stems (S.officinale is a a smaller plant with pink/white/yellow flowers).  If you have ever grown borage you will see that it is a similar looking plant to comfrey in fact, they are in the same family.

NOTE: Both the Russian and wild varieties have medicinal properties - it's just that the Russian one is better for our use as organic gardeners - it's a larger plant with bigger leaves.

Herbalists grow comfrey for its many healing and medicinal properties - and have been doing so for centuries.  A common wild plant native to Europe, comfrey is known as 'knitbone' for it's usefulness in reducing swelling, bruising and for setting bones.  It contains allantoin (a cell proliferant), in other words, it speeds healing.

NOTE:  When I was a child, in the 1950's, I used to relish our holidays away from smoggy London to my uncle's farm in Hampshire.  It was another world and the folklore of the country was very much alive.  For example - falling out of the trees in the orchard seemed to be a regular occurrence for my brothers and I, and any bruises and bumps were treated, by my aunty Joyce, with a poultice of comfrey leaves plucked from the hedgerows that grew around the farm.  I can tell you that it worked! (Or, it may have been the thick slice of warm, homemade bread, topped with strawberry jam and clotted cream!)

Farmers have traditionally used comfrey for animal fodder as it is rich in protein and minerals particularly, nitrogen, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.  Chickens are pretty smart at knowing what's good for them too and comfrey is the first thing they go for if they are foraging around the garden.
TOP TIP: Plant comfrey around the chook house.

How is comfrey used by gardeners? 

• As a compost activator to produce and enrich compost
• To make liquid feed and compost tea fertilizers
• As a fertilizing mulch
• Comfrey has a large tap root that can grow to a depth of 3m and, for this reason it is a good idea to plant it where you intend to keep it and not move it around.  This large root system does the job of 'mining' minerals from the soil up into the leaves  - this is why it is such a fantastic 'dynamic accumulator'. 

Why use comfrey?

1. It has a high content of the three plant macro-nutrients NITROGEN(N), PHOSPHORUS(P) AND POTASSIUM(K).  Comfrey is higher in nitrogen and potassium than farmyard manures, garden compost and about the same for phosphorus.  Plants need nitrogen for healthy leaf growth, phosphorus for root growth and potassium to produce healthy flowers, fruit and seeds. (See previous post on understanding soils and pH) so it makes a lot of sense for organic gardeners to be growing comfrey - it does the work for you!
2. Comfrey leaves have a relatively low carbon to nitrogen ratio.  This means there is no risk of nitrogen 'robbery' when comfrey leaves are dug into the soil (which is what happens when you put fresh manures and lawn clippings on the garden).  It also has a low fibre content which means comfrey leaves decompose rapidly.  That's why it makes such a fantastic mulch plant - it quickly revitalizes the soil - you can quite happily pile the fresh leaves on the soil and watch them decompose into the most fantastic, richest mulch you will ever see!
3. Its low fibre content and high nutrient content means it breaks down quickly when added to water - releasing all those wonderful nutrients to make perfect liquid fertilizer.  (See previous post on how to make compost tea)
4. Adding a few comfrey leaves to your compost heap will help it break down more quickly.  Because it is so jam packed with nutrients it stimulates activity in the heap - that's why it known as a 'compost activator'.
   

Fresh comfrey leaves as mulch on one of my veggie patches

TOP TIP:  Have one comfrey plant next to your compost heap so you always have a few leaves to add every time you put in a load of something else - like kitchen scraps - it helps to break it down quicker.  Plant it in the 'dead' spots in your garden where is isn't taking up useful garden bed space.

To Propagate

• Divide large clumps at any time of the year.  Beware - the smallest root will produce a large clump. 
•  It also grows very rapidly - one plant giving up to 2.5kg per cut then regrowing to give up to ten cuts per year.
• Anyone can grow comfrey and is easy to establish on most soils.
• Comfrey rarely suffers from any serious pest and disease problems.

And You Thought Gardening Was Boring?
Researching topics leads me to trawl through the dusty shelves that is my library and I came up with this from a book By Robin Page called 'Cures and Remedies the Country Way'.  And I quote.  "Marriage - once again this is not an illness (although some would disagree)..............
For the girl who has lost her virginity she has great problems in concealing this from her prospective husband.  It is an old belief that she can conceal her past from her husband-to-be by having a long bath on the eve of her wedding in hot water and comfrey.  This will do-up whatever has been undone"

Girls - I would not rely on this if I were you but, I hope the rest of it has been useful!

SEE PREVIOUS POSTS:  Composting.  Hot Composting.  No-Dig Garden Beds.  Compost Tea

Nasi Goreng - Fried Rice

This is right where I would like to be cooking and eating nasi goreng - in my friend Victoria's open air kitchen on her front verandah in Ubud, Bali.  Victoria is a marvelous gardener and cook (she is also very clever with photoshop!).

You will find this Chinese inspired dish all over Indonesia, with regional variations, and for many people, me included, it is real comfort food.  I could eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner in fact, when I come to think of it, I probably have!

I make it all the time - it's a very nutritious and simple way to use up yesterday's cooked rice just by adding a few simple ingredients.  You can make it with whatever you have to hand, but it is usually made with the inclusion of a little chicken, a few prawns, tofu - or simply vegetarian.  Today I am making it with green prawns.  This will feed 3-4.

• 250 g green prawns, peeled and cleaned
• OR 250 g chicken thigh fillet, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp peanut or coconut oil
• 1 small brown onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 long red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
• 2-3 cups finely shredded greens.  I am using kale and amaranth from the garden (bayam) and a few snake beans, plus some finely chopped cauliflower and a couple of mushrooms - because that is what I had! You could use any Asian greens or cabbage. Oh, I also had some cooked corn which I used.
• 1 tbsp kecap manis (Indonesian thick, sweet soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup - this is the secret ingredient and differentiates Indonesian fried rice from Chinese.
• 1 egg per person, lightly beaten with a few drops of sesame oil.
• 2 cups steamed rice., preferably a day old
• NOTE:  Nasi goreng is traditionally served with a fried egg on top - particularly for breakfast, but when you are making it for a few people I like to include the cooked eggs in the finished dish.

Method  Nasi goreng is very quick to make - the time is taken in the preparation - a few, cheap metal mixing bowls really help!

1.  Beat the eggs together with the sesame oil.  Heat your wok with a little of the peanut oil and quickly cook the egg - flipping it over so it gets a little brown on both sides - don't overcook.  Tip back into the bowl you beat them in to add at the end.

2.  Put chopped onion, garlic and chilli in a small bowl.

3.  Have all your other shredded vegetables in a separate bowl.

4.  Wash out and dry your wok (important it has no egg residue on it), add remaining oil and heat.

5.  Add onion, garlic and chilli to wok and stir fry for one minute.

6.  Add prawns (chicken, tofu etc) and toss on high heat for another minute.

7.  Add the bowl of shredded vegetables with the kecap manis, fish sauce and tomato ketchup.  The liquid will quickly evaporate - this should not be a 'wet' dish or your rice will go gluggy!  Toss for another minute.

8.  Add the rice and stir through.  Toss for another minute.

9.  Now it's done - about 4 minutes.  All you have to do is stir through the finely sliced egg and garnish with some fried shallots (you can buy them in a packet from Asian stores).

TOP TIPS FOR MAKING SUCCESSFUL Nasi Goreng.  

I used to be useless at making this, what is essentially, a very easy dish - that is until my daughter's friend, Anton, came to stay from Java, Indonesia.  He would make this every morning for breakfast and I would watch with interest and then eat the leftovers!

1.  You can use any rice, but long grain is best that has been washed a few times prior to cooking(removing some of the starch prevents this dish from being pudding-like)

NOTE:  I have just discovered a local, long grain, rain-fed brown rice that makes perfect fried rice.

2.  It's best to use rice that is a day old and not overcooked.

NOTE:  There have been recent press reports about the health hazards of keeping cooked rice.  This only applies to rice that has not been refrigerated.

3.  Have all your ingredients pre-prepared so that you can make it quickly.

4.  Use kecap manis and not ordinary soy sauce.

5.  Anton's secret ingredient (and famous Indonesian cook Janet de Neefe's) tomato ketchup!

Salamat makan

The backstreets of Ubud where I have spent many happy hours eating nasi goreng!

Pickled Dill Cucumbers

These pickles are sometimes referred to as bread and butter cucumbers, probably because they fit neatly in a sandwich and go with lots of sandwichy type things like; cheeses, cured meats, ham, pate', terrine and roast chicken.  In fact, they are a very handy thing to have a jar of in your fridge.  Oh, and did I say that these pickles are really easy and cheap to make?

Cucumbers are part of the important food family CUCURBITACEAE - along with; melons, squashes, pumpkins, zucchini and gourds that grow through the summer months on scrambling vines.

This years' dry summer has brought a bumper crop of cucumbers, but the recent humidity has brought the ubiquitous fungal problems - common to this whole family (see previous post on controlling fungal diseases with milk) and it was time to harvest what I had left and make some jars of pickles.  I always grow a kind of Lebanese cucumber because they are so crunchy and sweet with a non-bitter skin - you can happily eat the whole thing.

Recipe

12 fresh, small cucumbers (about 2kg)

2 tbsp salt

1 small brown onion, sliced very thinly (I do this on a mandolin)

1 tsp black peppercorns

Small bunch fresh dill

1 tsp dill seeds

2 tbsp white sugar

2-3 cups water

11/2 cups white wine vinegar

Method

1. Sterilize the jars you are going to use

2. In a non-reactive saucepan, heat together sugar, 1 tbsp salt, vinegar and water.  When dissolved, turn off heat and leave to cool.

3. Thinly slice the cucumber, discarding both ends. Place them in a colander with the sliced onion and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of salt.  Leave for about 40 minutes.

NOTE:  Salting the cucumbers in this way draws out some of the moisture so that they remain crunchy when pickled.

4. Wash the cucumbers under a running tap and dry, as best you can, on a clean tea towel.  Give the fresh dill a rinse too.

5. Pack the cucumbers firmly into your jars, together with the onion, fresh dill, dill seeds and peppercorns. 

6. Pour the cooled vinegar mixture over the cucumbers until they are covered.  Give the jars a couple of bangs on the bench-top to get all the air bubbles to the surface.  Seal them tightly with a lid and leave for at least three weeks for them to cure.

Some jars of freshly made pickle and an almost finished jar that has been curing for a while.  They will turn from green to this 'cucumber pickle colour'.  

Luffa - Grow your own bathroom sponge

Luffa acuttangula
Luffa, loofah, Chinese okra
CUCURBITACEAE

This is another of those fantastic sub tropical plants that are largely ignored.  Mostly known for scrubbing purposes, luffa plants are actually gourds, (in the same family as cucumbers, pumpkins and melons) that produce edible flowers, and tasty young fruits - highly prized in some cultures for their versatile, okra like fruits.

If you have read any of my previous posts you will realize that I have a small suburban block and space is of a premium, therefore using plants that have more than one function and cover vertical spaces makes good, common sense gardening - the luffa plant is one these. This fast growing climbing plant makes a wonderful quick screen, you can eat the flowers, young fruit,  and then used the dried fruit as a bathroom sponge.  (As my son-in-law said, "Oh my gourd!")

DESCRIPTION

• Vigorous-growing annual vines with tendrils that enable them to climb - often to 10m.  Need a strong fence or support to grow up.  Have tough, but light stems.
• Sow seeds in the spring in the sub tropics.
• Part of the the zucchini, cucumber family are distinguished by typical yellow flowers.
• THESE ARE FUN PLANTS!

FOOD

• Flowers - The bright yellow flowers make a wonderful garnish, and can can be dipped in light batter and fried tempura.
• Very young luffa fruits - can be diced and used raw in salads.
• Young fruits - Young fruits can be prepared like courgettes, and can be stir fried with other vegetables to make ratatouille, or sliced and grilled with a little black pepper.  I made them into a Sicillian like caponata.
• Larger fruits - can be stuffed with rice and vegetables.  Just use young fruit - under about 15cm - otherwise you will be eating bath sponge.

NUTRITION

• The flesh of these luffa species have been found to contain appreciable amounts of antioxidants.  Luffa extracts are used in several herbal remedies to relieve hay fever symptoms, including sneezing, nasal discharge and blocked nose, and are prescribed to reduce allergic reaction.

OTHER USES

• Good as a fast growing screen against fences.
• To make luffa sponges, pick the fruits when they have turned yellow brown and keep dry until the outside skin peels off readily.
• Shake all the seeds from the inside and you are ready to scrub!!  It's that easy!
  

Luffa sponge, ready for picking!

Snake Beans - Top Plants

Vigna unguiculata
Snake Beans
FABACEAE (formerly LEGUMINOSAE)

Snake beans are another one of those largely overlooked crops that do very well in the sub-tropics but, because people are unfamiliar with them, they just don't grow them - even though they are going to do remarkably better than any other 'traditional' bean through the hot and wet summer months.

You will be familiar with them if you have visited Asia or seen them stacked in bunches in your local Asian grocer - with individual pods anything from 30cm - 1m long!  I first encountered them in Indonesia where they are a staple ingredient of all kinds of stir-fries and curries and taste delicious, buttery, crunchy and sweet.

NOTE: Another top food plant for the sub tropics is amaranth - also used in Asian cooking.

Description

• These beans grow on a vine that need support.  They are quite vigorous and will get to a height of 2m+.
• They are an abundant cropper, so 4-5 vines are enough for one family.
• The beans grow quickly and need to be picked regularly while they are still green - they can go yellowish and tough very quickly.
• Snake beans are a legume (this means that they fix nitrogen), and are very useful in rotation with hungry plants (like corn, tomatoes and beetroot/carrots) helping to restore depleted soils.

Cultivation

• I have tried buying snake bean seeds from many sources and not had much luck with them.  I have had my best crop this year with seeds I got from Grace, my egg lady, so my advice is to source seeds locally - and then save some.
• Plant two seeds about 10cm apart and when they are about 10cm high, snip off the weaker one.  These seeds are best planted straight in the ground.
• While an all year round crop in the tropics, one crop lasts for about nine months here in the sub tropics, so it's best to plant the seeds when the winter cold is over - in the early springtime and treat it as a warm season crop.  They don't like to dry out.
• Flowers are in pairs and may be white, mauvish or creamy yellow - so be careful when you are picking the beans not to destroy the ripening pod next to the one your picking,(this is the voice of experience talking!).

FOOD

• All beans, including snake beans, have good amounts of protein, often 12-20% and have traditionally been an important part of our diet - this is particularly so for vegetarians.  
• They also contain amino acids, B vitamins, fibre and also vitamin A.
• Snake beans need to be fresh and lightly cooked.  They have a slightly different flavour and texture and, if like me, you enjoy cooking Asian food including curries or stir fries, then this is the bean for you.

For a quick and easy stir fry recipe with seafood, go to this link.

High Cholesterol and Thyroid Disease

This is not something I would normally write about, but I think it is so important and revelatory that I feel compelled to share it with you.  I also know, from talking to my doctor and friends and family, that most people are unaware of the relationship between thyroid disease and consequent high 'bad' cholesterol levels and resulting heart disease.

Let me start at the beginning.  Last year I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease - an autoimmune disease of the thyroid, leading to hypothyroidism - an underactive thyroid - which results in stopping the important hormone thyroxine from being produced.  This disease, often hereditary in origin, produces a range of symptoms.  There are a range of conditions and diseases associated with the thyroid - Hashimoto's is one of the most common.

Symptoms of Hashimoto’s disease

Hashimoto’s disease progresses very slowly over many years, so the symptoms may go unnoticed. The symptoms and signs vary depending on individual factors including the severity of the condition, but may include:

1. Unrelenting fatigue

2. Feeling the cold

3. Constipation

4. Swollen face

5. Dry, coarsened skin

6. Dry hair that is prone to breakage, hair loss

7. Voice changes, such as persistent hoarseness

8. Fluid retention (oedema)

9. Sudden weight gain that cannot be explained by dietary or lifestyle changes

10. High blood cholesterol

11. Stiff and tender joints, particularly in the hands, feet and knees

12. Cognitive changes, such as depression or forgetfulness

13. .Enlargement of the thyroid gland (goitre)

14. In women, heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia).

Sometimes Hashimoto’s disease does not cause any noticeable symptoms. The condition may be discovered during investigations for other, perhaps unrelated, 

medical problems. Deptartment of Health, Victorian Gov. website

How did I end up with this diagnosis?  I was pretty well symptom free - apart from  unrelenting fatigue, always feeling the cold and painful hands and joints (the rest of it I just put down to age and my usual battiness).  Suddenly, I had a persistent pain in my head - which told me that my blood pressure might be unusually high and I could tell that my pulse rate was running high (I could hear it in my ears) - so off I went to the doctor.  I did not know, at this stage, that having a high cholesterol reading was also a symptom of hypothyroidism.

I have had a high cholesterol reading for as long as I can remember (7.8) and have been nagged by various doctors to take statins.  I was resistant to do this for various reasons, not least of which are the possible side effects (from which I have seen my mother hospitalized and very ill). I also, in a previous life, worked for the pharmaceutical industry and know that's what it is - an industry.  I also did not have other risk factors WHICH IS WHAT YOU WILL HAVE TO ASSESS.  I have a healthy diet, exercise regularly and am a healthy weight for my height and age - the only downside is a query that my mother has a 'heart problem'.  

Blood tests revealed that my thyroid was 'stuffed' - or, as my doctor said "it was like an out-of-control bushfire" and she was surprised that I was on two feet.  Further tests revealed an inflamed thyroid with two fairly large nodules and the 'c' word was bandied around until biopsies discounted that.  This GP was the first person who ever told me that my high cholesterol reading could be related to thyroid disease.  I was prescribed thyroxine to supplement what my own thyroid was not making - this I will have to take forever - as prolonged thyroid disease usually results in it's irreparable damage.  She also said that I had probably had a malfunctioning thyroid for a very long time that had gone undetected because I was relatively symptom free.

The Happy Ending

After three months of taking thyroxine my thyroid levels are back to normal and more importantly my cholesterol reading is now a healthy 2.3.  The Sword of Damocles has been lifted.

The Moral of this Story

On the way out of the my doctor's surgery, while still trying to absorb this amazing news and marvelling at the bodies' intricate complexities, I asked her. "So should everyone who has a high cholesterol reading get their thyroid checked " and her reply "Of course".  Her complete advice of what your doctor should do when you go for a thyroid check is the following:

• A thorough family and medical history.
• Physical examination.
• Blood tests for T4, T3, and TSH and antibody levels.

I hope you find this useful and I am sorry that there are no pretty pictures to accompany this post - all I had was an ultrasound image of my nodulated thyroid and I didn't think you'd want to see that!  Good luck.

Baklava -Mediterranean Nut Pastries

Strictly speaking, the heading should be Middle Eastern and Mediterranean nut pastries for you will find these tasty little filo pastry treats in every cake and coffee shop from North Africa, through all parts of the Arab speaking world,  Israel and around into Greece.  Migrants to our shores, from the old Ottoman empire, have brought  with them all kinds of fabulous food and baklava is one of them - unfortunately we usually get a poor version of it with, heaven forbid, peanuts!  In baklava's homelands they are always made with pistachios, walnuts and almonds - separately, or a mixture of any of the three.

Baklava is the generic term for these sweetmeats that come in all shapes and sizes, with local variations on the basic recipe - I just like making the cigar shaped ones based on a Greek recipe - they are easy to make, store and serve up. Their lemony tang takes the edge off the sweet syrup.  Baklava is actually a Farsi word (the Persian language of Iran and Afghanistan) for 'many leaves' and, if you have eaten them, you will know why.  Nuts and honey, along with a wide variety of vegetables and olive oil are also an integral part of the nutritious and healthy traditional Mediterranean diet.  

Ingredients

1 pack filo pastry, with the sheets cut in half.  Reseal the unused sheets and store in the fridge - they will keep for another couple of weeks and can be used to make cheese and spinach pie, more baklava or some tasty savoury triangles.  Filo pastry is very versatile.

300g mixed whole pistachios, walnuts and almonds that have been toasted in the oven on 180oC for ten minutes.

150 g butter, melted.

For the Syrup

200 ml water

1 stick cinnamon and 5 whole cloves

1 cup honey

Juice of one lemon

Method

1.  Turn oven on to 180oC and toast nuts

2.  Brush non-reactive baking dish 20 x 34cm with melted butter

3.  Pulse nuts in food processor until roughly chopped and size of large breadcrumbs.

NOTE: Don't over-pulse the nuts of they will go oily.

4.  Cut filo pastry in half.

5.  Brush top sheet of pastry with melted butter.  You will brush every subsequent sheet in the same way.

NOTE: Place the filo sheets on a dry bench, otherwise you will make the same mistake I made once and the bottom few sheets of pastry disintegrate before you get to them.

6.  Put one desertspoon of nuts in the middle of the bottom of the sheet - about 5cm from the edge of the sheet.  YOU WILL ONLY BE USING ONE SHEET AT A TIME.

7.  Fold up the bottom edge over the nuts.

8.  Fold the left side over the nuts, and then the right.  Roll up into a cigar shape and start placing them in your greased baking dish - seam side down.

9.  Pour over the remaining melted butter and you should have something that ends up looking like this.  Place in oven on 180oC for 20-25 minutes until puffed up and golden.

Dear reader, you are having the benefit of my previous 'experimental' batches of odd shaped baklavas that usually involved bits of nuts and filo all over the floor.  This is easy once you get the hang of it - I actually find it quite therapeutic - you just need a clear bench top, a clear head and a bit of time.

10.  While the pastries are baking, make the syrup.  Put all the ingredients together in a saucepan and simmer for about 20 minutes.

11.  When the pastries are cooked, strain the syrup over them.  When they are cool, I store them in sealed plastic boxes in the fridge.  They seem to keep until we have eaten them all - which is not very long!

My ten year old granddaughter, Leila, quickly mastering the art of baklava making

Bougatsa - another Greek filo pastry treat that I am mildly addicted to.  These are usually warm when you get them and filled with a lemony flavoured, sweet curd cheese called mizithra, similar to ricotta.

Amaranth - Top Plants

Amaranthus bicolour  variety 'Red Calaloo'
Amaranth, love-lies-bleeding, pigweed, spinach grass
CHENOPIDACEAE 

One of the things I really love about writing this blog is how much I learn - I just never know where a chance encounter with a plant, food or people is going to take me.  

The Balinese kitchen garden - amaranth growing in the foreground (also notice the yummy snake beans on the right)

Now take  Amaranth - such a useful plant for the subtropical kitchen garden, incredibly underused and virtually unknown in this part of the world.  I first encountered it in my Balinese kitchen garden where it was a staple crop and used by the locals in anything where 'greens' were needed.  They call it bayam.  I noticed then that it was very prolific and virtually unaffected by pests.

I have had the red/green leaved amaranth ('Red Calaloo') happily growing in my kitchen garden for the past few months surviving all the vagaries of Mullumbimby summer weather and pests.

FACT:  Amaranth is in the CHENOPIDACEAE family - it is not in the cabbage family (BRASSICACEAE) so does get affected by pests in that family e.g. caterpillar of the cabbage white butterfly (click here for more information).

Bunches of amaranth for sale in Sydney (Amaranth biclour 'Red Calaloo')

There is always a trigger that sends me up the garden path and makes me want to write a story about something.  With amaranth it was seeing big, beautiful bunches of it for sale in a shopping centre in Sydney (Randwick) - something I don't remember when I lived there - it was labelled as en choy.  I asked the shop assistant who mostly bought it and he said Greek and Asian people. 

Then I remembered that I had also seen it for sale in Greece where it is used as a substitute spinach and part of their horta (wild greens) repertoire.  The diet of the average Greek has changed, but grasses, weeds and leafy greens have always constituted a regular part of a native Greek's traditional daily meals.  There are many different varieties of amaranth and in Greece the green leaf kind (grown under dry conditions) is known as vliti and the red/green mottled variety (which needs wetter coditions) referred to as papagalos or "parrot" - the kind I have growing in my garden and the same for sale in Sydney.

Local vegetables for sale on the Greek Island of Ios - the black crate at the back is full of the green leaf amaranth (vliti)

WHY SHOULD WE BE PLANTING AMARANTH? Firstly, this is a summer vegetable that survives the wet and heat of summer when just about everything else has turned up its toes.  Secondly, it is extremely nutritious and versatile to cook with - think substitute for spinach. Lastly, as I have mentioned, it is largely unaffected by pests. 

DESCRIPTION

• Amaranth species are broad-leaved annuals, usually single stemmed, growing up to 2m in a season.
• They are grown for two main purposes; their protein-rich grain and nutritious leafy greens.
• Ornamental varieties are also grown for their showy plumes of flowers in shades of pink,scarlet, orange, yellow and purple (Prince of Wales Feather and Joesph's Coat)
• Propagate readily from seed sown in spring.
  
  Amaranth growing in my garden (also next to snake beans!)

CULTIVATION.  A very fast-growing, tough, easy-to-grow plant.

• Amaranth grows best in full sun and does not tolerate shade.
• There is a variety to suit every location, but Amaranth bicolour is best for the sub-tropics. Check with your local seed supplier to find the best one for your location.
• A.bicolour is not pH fussy but grows best in a lightly acid soil of 6.
• It is tolerant of heat and wet conditions, but not water logged soil.
• Grows best in soils that have been compost enriched and then mulched to prevent drying out.
  
  This red flowering variety of amaranth is often sold, around our way, as a food plant and while, undoubtedly, you could eat it - it is really best for feeding to the chooks.  It goes to seeds very quickly and produces little in the way of edible leaves.  You can't go past the 'Red Calaloo' for eating.

FOOD.  Both Leaves, young stalk and seeds of this plant can be used.

• Young stalks can be lightly cooked and are asparagus like in taste.
• Young leaves are either lightly steamed or stir-fried, and have a mild, spinach-like flavour - the leaves are added to curries in India. 
• In Greece leaves are used as a substitute for spinach in pies and fritters. With wild greens of any kind (horta) the traditional way to prepare them is to blanch the leaves in boiling water then toss them in olive oil, lemon juice, a little garlic and salt and pepper.
• I have no experience of cooking the seeds - I just know that chickens love the seeds heads and they always know what's good for them!  They are one of the most protein rich seeds so maybe that has something to do with it.

NUTRITION:

• The plants contain an unusual chemical called squalene (also found in shark's liver), which is a powerful antioxidant and has been used to boost the immune system and to treat hypertension, skin problems and metabolic disorders.
• Plants contain betalain, which give the plant much of its red colouring.  These powerful antioxidant compounds are fairly unusual in the plant world, and have significant nutritional benefits.
• The seeds are very high in proteins:15-18% and low in gluten They are also a good source of calcium, iron, phosphates and vitamin A.*

RECIPE:  Stir-fried amaranth with prawns and calamari. 5 minutes cooking time (30 minutes preparation!)

A bowl of vegetables from my kitchen garden - including amaranth

I always look forward to coming home after being away for a while and I am always hoping that I have something in the untended garden to either make a salad or a stir-fry with.  I was not disappointed - lots of lovely amaranth, snake beans, kale, capsicum and chillies.  Add some Thai basil, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves and dinner was on it's way. Luckily my flight comes into Ballina, that has one of the few remaining seafood markets - and you just never know what the fishermen have pulled up.  A quick detour on my way home brought up some very cheap baby squid and green prawns - I was just not that happy that cleaning them was the first job I had to do when I walked in the door!

All cleaned - baby squid and green prawns

1 bunch amaranth, roughly chopped.

500g mixed fresh seafood - you could use firm, white fish. (I sliced the squid into circles/slices)

1 small brown onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed,

1 long red chilli, finely sliced (adjust to taste for hotness)

1 bunch snake beans, chopped into small pieces

1 stem lemongrass, white part only, finely sliced

small bunch kale, finely chopped

handful Thai basil leaves

4 kaffir lime leaves

1 tbs peanut oil

2 tbs fish sauce

2 tbs light soy sauce

1 tbs shaved palm sugar

1 tsp ground white pepper

juice of half a lime

1.  Heat oil in wok and add onion.  Stir for 1 minute.

2.  Make sure wok is very hot then add seafood and toss around for another minute.

3.  Add chopped vegetables, garlic, chilli, kaffir lime leaves and chopped lemon grass.  Toss for 1 minute.

4.  Add everything else , except lime juice, and toss for another minute.  Squeeze over lime juice just before serving.  Serve with rice.  Enough for 4

NOTE:  Stir-fry's are very flexible dishes - which is probably why thy are so popular.  You could swap the seafood for chicken and use any greens/beans/broccoli/cauliflower/snow peas/capsicum/carrots/bean sprouts/cashew nuts etc.

The name Amaranth comes from the Greek amaranthos (αμάρανθος) the "un-withering," or “fadeless” (flower). Associated since the most ancient times with the goddess of the hunt, Artemis (Diana) - I knew there had to be a reason why I was going up this particular garden path!

*Discovering Vegetables, Herbs, Spices, Dr. Susanna Lyle, CSIRO Publishing.2009