More on that Food Co-op
July 30th, 2006
I’ve toyed with the idea of ordering a box of fruit and vege from The Organic Grocer, but never got around to it for various reasons. Having our weekly groceries home delivered would give me spare time and the head space to do other things (oh… like study!) but it also feels very indulgent for two people who are still in between studying and working. I also enjoy zipping over to Harris Farm Markets or my local shops for food stuffs of an evening or through the weekend and do a random shop of whatever is in season. Alas not all the stores I visit have reasonably priced organic produce, and the more I read on the commerical cycle of food I’m begining to want to be more diligent about the kind of food I eat. I don’t know enough about the organics debate yet, to have drawn any final conclusions - but if my tastebuds are to be my guide for now I suppose I’m sick of eating plastic tasting apples and bland vegetables.
This situation brought a round about decision to look for a food co-op close to home or work which I could become involved in. The food co-op I found was is based at the University of Sydney and services students, staff and the local community. It is run soley by volunteers which means the opening times can be sporadic and most of the co-ordination is done via a mailing list. I’m not sure how involved I want to be, so for now I am supporting it by becoming a dedicated buyer of their weekly fruit & vege boxes and free range eggs. They also sell an array of other products; coffee, tea, grains, legumes and very soon organic dark chocolate.
I picked up my first fruit & vege box last Wednesday and was impressed with the quality as well as the ease of getting the basics for the week. The produce comes from Eco-Farms; a certified supplier of organic product and packaged products based in Homebush. The boxes start at $10, which means a larger amount and variety of fruit and vegetables if you go up to larger sized boxes (in $10 increments).
Because it was the first time I was ordering I thought I’d start off with a $10 box to see if it would cater to our two person household. The $10 box is perfect for our day to day needs; enough vegetables for salads for lunch and dinners through the week. When I picked up the box I found a head of broccoli, one ear of corn, leeks, celery, carrots, sweet potato, snow peas, cucumber, tomatoes, and apples. Sure you don’t get to select the contents, but if last weeks box was any indication the selection is spot on for what I’d buy. However I am thinking about going to Eco-Farms on a monthly basis to stock up on things like garlic, ginger, onions and potatoes, which my Mother usually supplies us with when she does her bulk shops of 5kg bags of onions and potatoes.
It isn’t a fancy pants operation. Most of the volunteers are students from the university who seem liked dedicated supporters of “green eating”. You pick up your box from the small shopfront, you can either carry your box as is, or empty it into your own bags. They appreciate extra bags or boxes left for the shop to use during the week as well. It may not be for everyone; but it feels rather nice being part of a “community” rather than giving my money to big companies who sell us par average stock at inflated prices. Plus its a real bonus when you can leave work at quarter to six have your fruit & vege shop done and be home by 6:30 to have a sweet potato and corn soup on the boil before The Cook and The Chef starts.
University of Sydney Food Co-op
Wentworth Building, City Road, University of Sydney (Walk across the bridge and go up the stairs, you will see signs for the co-op)
Orders for fruit and vegetable boxes are made before Tuesday for collection on Wednesday 5pm - 6pm or by appointment
If you would like to know more send an email to the mailing list [usydfoodcoop AT yahoogroups DOT com DOT au]
Hot Mango Lassi
January 9th, 2006
On the first day of the year our household of two were wide awake after only four hours sleep. Being awake didn’t mean we were buzzing around fulfilling our new years resolutions (more exercise, more writing, more studying), we were tiered and suffering from heat exhaustion at 7:30am.
After a few refreshing glasses of water I set out to make breakfast. The first breakfast of the new year has been fairly important affair in our family homes. My mother usually made kiri bath and served it with it spicy and sweet accompaniments. There would also be a spread of summer fruits, cheeses, pannetone and even a small plate of wrapped up Christmas cake. At The Boy’s family home was often greeted with idli, thosais, coconut chutney and sambar - all popular breakfast dishes in South India.
By 8 am the temperature had reached 35 degrees with reports that it would travel up to 45 degrees by mid afternoon (and the reports; they were true). With this in mind I didn’t feel up to the task of spending much time in the kitchen. So out came a couple of mangoes, a tub of natural yoghurt, some milk, a bottle of rosewater, sugar and ice cubes.
On the first day of the month, we were to breakfast on sweet and chilled mango lassi. I went the traditional route and made a sugar syrup to sweeten the yoghurt-mango mixture and also added some rosewater for extra flavour. You could omit both, however it would then be less of a lassi and more of a shake.
Mango Lassi
2 ripe mangoes
1/2 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of caster sugar
1 cup of water for boiling
1/2 cup of milk
2 teaspoon of rosewater
Make a sugar syrup by adding the sugar to boiling water, stiring until sugar has dissolved. You could add more sugar according to your own sweet threshold. I prefer the sweetness of the fruit over the sugar syrup in fruit based lassi’s. Once dissolved, set aside to cool completely.
Peel and dice mangoes. Using a blender or bamix, pulverize the mangoes until soft texture. Add the milk, and continue mixing, slowly adding the yoghurt until it becomes a relatively thick. Stir in the rosewater and sugar syrup.
Serve with crushed ice in a tall glass, allowing as much slurping as possible.
(Serves 2 - 4)
A Drink of Breakfast
November 2nd, 2005
Under B in my notebook of ideas, recipes, scribbles, sketches of all things food centric I have written ” I must have a drink of breakfast”, by W.C Fields.
And a drink of breakfast is what I had yesterday. I thought it best to start the birthday morning with something healthy, if only to combat the cupcakes and any other sinful delights which were sure to come my way.
This allowed me the opportunity to try out some of the yoghurt I had made over the weekend, a process I shall document when I try again next weekend for all the yoghurt has disappeared over the course of the week sans photograph. I am to blame you see, because every time I checked the fridge I had a taste.
So breakfast; a tumbler, a glass, in with blueberries first, then some natural yoghurt; tangy and thick, a drizzle of lemon honey. Repeat until your glass is full. And so this year, the glass is full.
Various & Sundry
October 23rd, 2005
Yes, this is a post about chocolate, almonds and pink measuring cups. Sometimes a grown person needs a chance for show & tell.
I am sure many of us living in Sydney have seen the advertising for the newish Peanut Butter Kit Kats. I had one when they were released a few months ago, and even liked the peanut butter flavouring. Would have been great if they used the real stuff, but being a Reeces PB cup aficionado means I get to have the same experience with a wafer crunch in the centre. Santos wrote up a funtastico review of the various Kit Kat flavours out at the moment. I would say the PB is a winner so far.
While at the fruit market yesterday I saw a group of mischievous kids throwing these green almonds at one another. When I realised what they were I nearly clouted the ring leader. Alas I am against violence so I just glared at them, and asked the ring leader if he had tried to open one. Met with a weird look then curiosity, all five kids stopped throwing these furry green gems and started opening them up to see what was inside. Inside you will find a moist jelly like centre and a white firm shell, which will become the ripe almond we are more familiar with. I bought a handful because I wanted to
Also, a few Friday’s ago I spent a good portion of my lunch break at Wheel & Barrow checking out the newest kitchen essentials. I saw a iron baking tray, which could bake twelve mini tartlets at once. My heart did a little dance of joy and then tripped when I saw the price. Alas I will have to stick to individual tart cases for a while, as the tray costs a fair amount. But the story for the pink measuring cups is that the Saturday after, Bowb kindly gave me a gift, all wrapped and ribboned. I am unsure what made me ask if they were measuring cups, before unwrapping the gift, but once opened there they were; three and in pink. The thing is that I was going to buy them the day before, but couldn’t decide between the green, blue or pink. I was leaning towards the pink of course, and thank you Bowb for making what should have been a simple decision much easier on a gal. I have already used them to make a walnut-chocolate-coconut cake!
Something Pretty For Friday
June 10th, 2005
Boy-bloggers probably don’t like my blog that much, because I post photographs that may be considered too pretty and fussy. But I like raspberries, and I am guessing there are a few people out there who might understand. Happy Friday!
