Winter Cooking is fun!

So much colour and vibrancy!

Help the environment and live longer!

Whoo!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/vegetarians-live-longer.php

Real Food Film Nights #3

Lost in Palm Oil
Wednesday 9th July, 6.30pm
Loop Bar, 23 Myers Place, Melbourne

The feature documentary ‘Lost in Palm Oil’ (63 min) investigates the negative impacts that oil palm plantations have on forests, climate change, water pollution, biodiversity, with a focus on Indigenous communities in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. How does this relate to food? Palm oil shows us that food issues, forests, people, culture and animals are interconnected. Palm Oil is used in 1 in 10 supermarket products, yet there no requirement for it to be labelled.

Guest speaker Jessica McKelson from the Melbourne Zoo Orangutan Sanctuary will present an uplifting slide show of her recent trip to Nyaru Menteng Gunung Leseur National Park in Indonesia where she saw the impacts of Palm Oil on the Orangutan population first hand. The wild organutan population is heading towards extinction, but the rescues and release work witnessed by Jess gives us hope that there is a future for them.

The film nights so far have been awesome! I strongly recommend this one. To find out more check out FOE

C is for Cabbage!

I live in fear of residing in one of those rental properties that smell like boiled cabbage. I also hate storemade coleslaw. But I love the frilliness of cabbage:

Click here for more arty cabbage picks

When searching for saucy cabbage picks I came across the infamous Cabbage Soup Diet-you all know that's a piece of poo, right?

 VEGETARIAN CABBAGE ROLLS
(no picture but they sound yum!)
 Ingredients:
    2  Cabbage heads
                     
FILING:

• 3/4 c Barley
• 3/4 c Bulgur
• 6 c Water -- salted if desired
• 1 c Rice
• 1 lg Onions
• 1 tb Paprika
• 1/2 ts Chili powder
• 4 Garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 c Pine nuts
• 10 1/2 oz Tofu, firm
• 1/2 bn Parsley -- chopped
• 6 tb Sauce, soy
• 4 tb Molasses
• 2 tb Oil, sesame

• -----SAUCE, PER BATCH-----

• 2 c Prego
• 1/4 ts Sea salt
• 1/4 ts Onion powder
• 1/8 ts Garlic powder
• 1/8 ts Chili powder
• 1 tb Sugar, brown
• 1 1/2 tb Vinegar, wine

• -----SAUCE, REMAINING BATCHES-----
• 6 c Prego
• 3/4 ts Sea salt
• 3/4 ts Onion powder
• 3/8 ts Garlic powder
• 3/8 ts Chili powder
• 3 tb Sugar, brown
• 4 1/2 tb Vinegar, wine

 
   Filling:  Precook grains in water until done.  Crush tofu.  Saute
   remaining ingredients in oil until cooked and add cooked grains.

   Sauce:  Season tomato sauce with remaining ingredients.

   Cabbage: Core cabbage and cook in boiling water for several minutes.
   Pull leaves away as they soften.  Cut out hard core of leaf. Cut
   largest leaves in half.

   Preheat oven to 300.  Oil 9"x13″ casserole.  Place enough tomato
   sauce to cover bottom.  Fill cabbage leaves with cooked filling and
   wrap, tucking sides and ends in to form neat rolls. Place rolls
   snugly in casserole against each other. Spoon remaining sauce over.
   Cover tightly and bake 2 hours. Leave in oven until serving time.


Colcannon
This stuff is seriously good, I had it at some dodgy Irish pub in London
and loved it!

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 900g sebago (brushed) potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 50g butter
• 300g savoy cabbage, hard core removed, shredded
• 60ml (1/4 cup) milk
• 60ml (1/4 cup) pouring cream
• White pepper

Method

1. Place potato in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to the pan. Use a potato masher to mash until smooth. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl.
2. Melt half the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes or until the cabbage softens.
3. Add the mashed potato and remaining butter to the pan and stir to combine. Gradually add the milk and cream, and stir to combine. Season with salt and white pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.