Ginger Beer – The French Alternative If you make your ginger beer using a ginger beer plant (a culture made with ginger and yeast) you can carry on ad infinitum! These plants are not really as scary as Jackie’s ginger monster, but they do have to be fed...
Herbal Medicines These days, alternative medicines are actually more popular than conventional medicines. Many of these alternative preparations are based on plant extracts, but the problem is very little research has been done to find out how well they work and if...
High Energy Diet If you feel you need an injection of energy around 4 o’clock in the afternoon don’t reach for chocolates or biscuits. Although chocolate tastes good and it contains a substance called phenylethylamine that puts many people in a good mood,...
Honey Bees forage on the flowers of the tea tree (Leptospermum scoparium) to make Manuka Honey. Manuka honey looks and tastes much the same as ordinary honey, but it is claimed to have some unique properties. Antibacterial action Honey attacks many strains of...
Italian Grilled Vegies Geoff Jansz harvested the last of his summer vegetable crop and used the produce to make a delicious southern Italian-style salad. Ingredients 1 capsicum 1 eggplant 1 zucchini 1 red onion 2 tomatoes, sliced salt & pepper, to taste pine nuts,...
Lamb Nachos Using this recipe from Geoff Jansz, you can turn the leftovers from the Sunday roast into fabulous spicy nachos! Geoff used roast lamb, but you could also use chicken or beef. Ingredients 2 onions, peeled and diced 1 red capsicum, finely diced 2 cloves...
Lilly Pilly Fruit Lilly pillies are handsome rainforest trees native to Australia and south-east Asia. They’ve become tremendously popular in Australian gardens, particularly for hedging and topiary. As well as having evergreen, glossy leaves and masses of...
Marshmallow Pudding On special occasions Peter Valder serves his guests a delicious mandarin marshmallow pudding. This dessert is very simple to make, and best of all, it can be prepared the night before the dinner party. Ingredients 4 egg whites 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup...
Chocolate Rice Tart 100g arborio rice 500ml milk 150g dark chocolate (Belgian quality if possible) 125g caster sugar 50g unsalted butter softened 2 eggs 25g walnuts 25g pine kernels 30g sultanas 30g candied orange (optional) 4ml Vecchia Romagna (or good quality...
This delicious, frozen dessert from Geoff Jansz is perfect to serve during summer heatwaves or after a heavy meal. Ingredients 1 rockmelon or cantaloupe 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup water small segment of vanilla bean, seeds removed (or use vanilla essence if you prefer) 1...