Recipe: Stuffed 8 Ball Zucchini

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
1.5-2 cups chicken stock
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
1 bunch spinach or Warrigal Greens
1 big fistful of cherry tomatoes
4 x 8 Ball Zucchini
butter or oil for frying
Salt & pepper to taste
Squeeze of lemon

Method
Heat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
Cook quinoa with chicken stock for around 20 minutes until tender. The stock should all absorb into the quinoa. Add water if necessary.
Cut a lid off the zucchini and scoop out the flesh into a bowl (a melon baller is apparently good for this but a spoon will do). Add halved cherry tomatoes and chopped spinach.
Heat butter or oil in a frypan and add minced/chopped garlic.

Add zucchini mix and sautee for several minutes until the flesh reduces. Add quinoa and mix flavours together. Cook until the liquid disappears. Add seasoning.

Stuff zucchini and place into oven for around 40 minutes or until cooked.

The best home made chocolate in the history of home made chocolate

That's possibly an overstatement, but here at ChocolateObsessed.com, we reckon we've tried and tested enough chocolate to know what's good and what goes straight in the wheelie bin.

This uses our raw vegan chocolate recipe as the base, but then simply adds a cup of chopped/ground almonds (whizzed in a food processor, but not too long, keep some chunks in there) and 1/2 cup sultanas or dates. 

That recipe again is:

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted on low heat on the stove
1 1/3 cups raw cacao, sifted and stirred into the melted coconut oil
4-6 tablespoons organic raw coconut nectar/syrup

Add the nuts and fried fruit; spread onto a baking tray; freeze for 5-10 minutes, cut into squares; freeze again for about 20 minutes or until hard. Pop into a container and keep in the fridge or freezer.

Fresh from the Snowy

Snowy Mountains Fresh

During the period when the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme was being built, an engineer identified that the base of the Blowering Dam would be an excellent site for a trout farm.  As the ice from the Snowy Mountains melts over summer, the dam releases huge volumes of water which are released into nearby trout farms.  

The water is pristine, clear and clean.  The key with excellent trout is the quality of the water: if the water is excellent, so are the trout. 

James from Snowy Mountains Fresh is a man from Snowy River himself.  Many members of his family, including the uncle he was named after, worked on the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme, so he has spent a lot of quality time in the area sourcing the very best trout. His trout is from a trout farm in Tumut and is hot wood smoked, the traditional way - which means that it is a subtle smoked flavour which keeps the fish incredibly moist.

If you haven't yet tried his smoked trout products - two words: YOU MUST!  His smoked trout dip, tomato based pasta sauce, whole smoked trout and deboned fillets are off the hook.  They're so good in fact that he keeps selling out at the markets, so get in early!

Snowy Moutains Fresh comes to the Bondi Junction Village Markets every Thursday 9am-1.30pm; and the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets every Sunday, 9am-1.30pm.

[Image source tastespotting.com]

George Bush Snr was wrong

Before you change channels, the only political thing about this blog post will be contained in the statement that George Bush Snr did a massive disservice to humble broccoli.

He doesn't like it.  And proudly announced to the world media many years ago that he doesn't like it, he wouldn't eat it and that was that.

Millions of kids probably cheered around the world. And parents, nutritionists and vegetable-lovers were deflated.

Most of us were fairly confident of broccoli's super-health powers, however recent research published in the American Journal of Hypertension has added even more punch to broccoli's clout.

A compound produced in broccoli (and some other cruciferous veggies like cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, rocket and horseradish) called sulforaphane significantly improves blood pressure and kidney function.  This compound is highest in broccoli sprouts!

Sulphoraphane has also been shown to have antidiabetic and antimicrobial properties. But most impressive and perhaps even awe-inspiring, is that it kills cancer stem cells and slows tumour growth. Researchers believe that eliminating cancer stem cells may be the key to controlling cancer. 

How cool is that?  More evidence to suggest that a diet high in green veggies will help protect you from many Western diseases.  Hippocrates wasn't wrong when he said "Let food by thy medicine and medicine your food." At least one world leader had it right!

Rita's Farm Produce sells broccoli and broccolini (when in season) at Bondi Junction Village Markets every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and at Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets every Sunday.

Sorbello Tomatoes also sell seasonal broccolini at the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets every Sunday.

Raw vegan chocolate

Okay I'm going to say it. Twitter is great, when you make it work for you.

I can't remember how I first stumbled on this raw, vegan chocolate recipe, or that such a beast even existed, but the ultimate result is that after following some fabulous raw foodies on Twitter, I found myself ogling this raw, vegan chocolate recipe and busting to try it.

Now: a note to self (that is, yourself): this might take you several attempts to perfect the recipe.  I think I'm up to version #10, but I've finally found a recipe that works for me that I'm happy with. Let me tell you, trialling 10 batches of chocolate is tough work, but someone's gotta do it :-)

The issue in perfecting this chocolate really lies in the type of sweetener you use and how much you use of it.  What I found is that as soon as the sweetener is added, the mixture thickens considerably, sometimes making it hard to work with and a bit too stiff to easily pour into the moulds.  And when you pop the set chocolates out of the moulds when they're set, they're not shiny happy chockies either.

I am sure there is a lot of science around chocolate making. In fact, I KNOW there is a lot of science around chocolate: there is tampering and working it and blah blah blah.  This recipe is not designed for the serious chocolate aficionado.  This is just for someone like me with a sweet tooth that wants to eat the healthier version of a wicked treat.

So how is it healthier, I hear you ask?  Raw cacao is the least processed version of cocoa and therefore still retains all of its lovely nutrients.  Recent studies have shown that raw cacao contain very high levels of antioxidants, magnesium and Vitamin C.  

Coconut oil is one of my favourite all time foods/remedies on the planet and could have its own blog post, hell it could have it's own book, it's so good.  I lather it all over my body.  I make home-made deodorant with it (yes, its true and most of the time I smell like lemon cheescake and I feel like licking my armpits).  But I digress.  Coconut oil improves heart health, increases metabolism and boosts the immune system.

These 2 ingredient alone are reason enough to eat chocolate. But we all know that raw cacao or cocoa aren't sweet, so we need to sweeten the mixture. This is where the health benefits get tricky, because if you chow down on too many of these chocolates, you'll still be consuming a lot of sugar. The trick is to just have one or two a day.  The good news is that this chocolate is quite rich, so you may find it more difficult to pig out and eat the whole batch in one go (and if you do: sheesh..... slow down!)

So let's talk about stevia, a natural sugar replacement that doesn't spike insulin levels.  I don't like it. Not one little bit.  When I added it to my lovely, chocolatey, velvety liquid it turned it all  thick and gritty and made me pull at cat's bum face.   There is no room for a cat's bum face where my cooking is concerned. But if you like it, go crazy and add it.  I decided on a half-half addition of raw organic agave and raw organic coconut syrup (which will give the chocolate a slight chewy consistency).

The original recipe made only half the amount of chocolate, but my family (ahem, me) all devour it so quickly that I always double the recipe. Sometimes I use half the mixture for chocolate in moulds and pour the other half over goji berries and organic dessicated coconut on a metal tray. Mmmm.

Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 1/3 cup raw cacao, sifted
3-4 tablespoons organic dark agave syrup
3-4 tablespoons organic coconut syrup
Peppermint oil/orange oil if you like

Method
Gently melt coconut oil over a low heat until just melted and turn off heat immediately. Stir in sifted cacao and mix well.  Add sweeteners and stir. The mixture will thicken but should still be liquid enough to pour into the silicon moulds with a couple of teaspoons.

Pour into silicon chocolate moulds. 

Freeze for around 20 minutes.  Pop out of moulds whilst still frozen and return to freezer or fridge.

And here is the chocolate with goji berries and coconut:

Make sure you keep it in the fridge because in warm weather the coconut oil will become just that: oil and your chocolate will be a mere puddle of its former self. Enjoy - and if you find any excellent natural sweeteners in your travels, let me know.

Oh, and yey for Twitter, the internet, blogs and all that stuff.

[P.S. I forgot to mention the reason this chocolate is "raw" is because the raw vegan community regards raw food as that which has not been heated beyond 46 degrees celcius (115F). As the coconut oil is only gently melted this doesn't take it over 46 degrees.]

Mushie for mushies

Mushroom madness

[Margin's Mushrooms growing in their disused cool room]

Mushrooms are fungi and are made up of 90% water and are virtually calorie-free.  They're also full of lean protein and fibre, so your body burns fat just breaking them down.  So magic mushies help to aid in fat loss. How good is that?

The vitamins C, B6 and B12 found in mushrooms assist in boosting your immune system and energy levels.  Marvellous mushrooms are also high in Vitamin D, Vitamin B6, protein, magnesium, iron, potassium and many other important minerals.  And we reckon they taste ah-may-zing.

When storing, place in a paper bag and keep refrigerated to keep them at prime freshness. DON’T STORE IN PLASTIC BAGS because they sweat and go slimy.

Did you know, when fully open the Swiss Browns are also known as Portobello Mushrooms? Swiss Brown Mushrooms are graded into 3 sizes: buttons (babies):

caps (half open):

and Portobello (fully open):

We love them on home made pizza and in pasta sauces with a little organic cream, parmesan and continental parsley and oven roasted with taleggio (a soft cheese).

Baked Mushrooms with fresh herbs & taleggio  

Ingredients

• 200g taleggio cheese, sliced, rind removed (replace with another soft cheese if you can't find taleggio)
• 75g butter (softened)
• 8 large Portabello mushrooms
• bunch (10g) fresh herbs of your choice
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method

Chop the herbs. In a bowl, mix together the herbs and butter.

Place the mushrooms onto a baking tray lined with foil or baking paper and divide the butter between the mushrooms, so that it sits in the open cups. Grind some black pepper onto the mushrooms.

Bake for about 15 minutes at 200 degrees C and baste the mushrooms halfway through with butter.

Once baked, place the sliced taleggio onto the mushrooms and bake for another 10-15 minutes until starting to brown.

Delicious served on some toasted Brasserie Bread.

Margins Mushrooms sell both white mushrooms and Swiss Browns and Rita's Farm Produce sells small amounts of Swiss Brown mushrooms at the Lane Cove Food & Farmers' Markets every Sunday.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary

How does your garden grow?

[Image Source: Lifeonthebalcony]

Does this sound familiar? You watch a gardening show on TV. You feel a rush of inspiration to create your own living sanctuary and within days you find yourself at your nearest nursery procuring some seeds and plant them in the garden or on your balcony in pots.

And then......

Those of us with 'black thumbs' remember to check the new garden when we need some coriander for that Thai curry for dinner, only to discover a wasteland where once a herb garden once stood.  

If you're keen to start a garden, learn from the mistakes of others (like me) try these tips for growing a successful herb garden or balcony garden:

• Start with a site assessment. Is it sunny? What do you want to grow: Herbs? Tomatoes? Flowers? Do some thinking before you start digging or buying seeds or seedlings.
• Work with what you've got - enhance what you love or hide what you don't like. Ugly fence? Use bamboo  fencing. It's cheap and hides things well.  Bamboo in pots also hides ugly unattractive walls or neighbours' windows and provides a lovely "green screen"
• Keep it simple.  Don't try to grow every vegetable you love. Do a bit of research on what grows well in your area/soil/terrain and work with what you have. If you have a shady area and you live in Sydney, your tropical frangipani tree probably won't be very happy.
• If you're unsure of how things will grow, try planting hardy herbs such as Thai coriander, garlic chives etc.
• If you have a balcony, think about the weight of lots of heavy pots. Use plastic instead but make sure you have good drainage.
• Use mulch!  It keeps moisture in. Or one canny trick we've seen is to use pebble tiles attached to mesh. Pop them on top of your pots to 
• And don't forget to water, especially if your plants are in pots.  They dry out really quickly and need TLC especially as the weather warms up.
• Use your vertical space. Fences, balcony walls are all waiting for some living things on it. Use shelves, hooks etc to make things grow upwards.  Unless you've just spent $100k on a sandstone fence or travertine tiled wall, in which case you should just make time to stare at it. A lot.

Here are some blogs and articles which contain some tips on growing a balcony garden (and many tips apply to a normal garden too)

http://lifeonthebalcony.com/

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/gardening/articles/a/-/5830991/how-to-grow-vegetables-on-your-balcony/

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/growing-a-garden-on-a-small-balcony.html

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/urban/balcony-vegetable-garden.htm

Plants Forever will be starting at the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets on Sunday 16 September where you can buy seedlings and other potted delights.

[Image Source: ncherb.org]

Macadamias are back

Joel from Hand N Hoe Organic Macadamia's will be back this week at the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets selling his organic macadamia's, choc covered macs, nut butters and macadamia nut oil.

Did you know that macadamia nut oil has one of the highest smoke points of any oil (210 C) so is excellent to cook with because it won't change the structure of the oil? So ditch the extra virgin olive oil (which shouldn't go above 160 C) and use some extra virgin, organic macadamia nut oil instead. It's also great for your skin, just use a small amount after a shower or bath when the skins is still a little wet. 

Or use a tiny amount, rub into your hands and run your fingers through your hair. It really is a wonder-oil!

Hand N Hoe Organic Macadamias come to the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets every two weeks, and will be at the markets this Sunday 9 September and every fortnight thereafter.

Spring time means..... strawberries!

Did you know.... that strawberries are part of the rose family?  That would explain the heady sensation and sudden rush of romance associated with eating strawberries. No? Well perhaps its the anthocyanins doing their zesty work inside your body. 

Antho....what?

Anthocyanins are water soluble pigments that give strawberries their lusty red colouring. Not only do they make strawberries look oh-so-good to eat, but these funky colours also perform an impressive double-act as free-radical fighting antioxidants, which means they're awesome at preventing cancer, aging, inflammation and neurological diseases.

The humble strawberry also contains a truckload of vitamin C, which we all know keeps our immune system in tip-top shape and helps to combat colds, flus and scurvy ;-)

And these luscious lip-smackers also contain potassium (good for a steady heart rate and blood pressure), fluoride (for skin, bones and teeth), copper (needed for red blood cells production and iron (blood cell formation). Ker-pow!

But the best thing about strawberries?  They taste ah-mayzing!! In a juice (try it), fruit salad, with cream, in many a dessert or just on their Pat Malone, strawberries are one of the true delights of spring time.  Even better, they're very low in calories too, so you can pretty much feast on them at any time of day with a clear conscience. And possibly clear skin too.

Camilleri Berries are at the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets every Sunday and sell strawberries and other berries (such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries) when in season.

Rita's Farm Produce also sells a limited amount of strawberries at the Bondi Junction Village Markets when in season.

Magic (disappearing) mushrooms

Paul from The Fungi will be on holidays for a few weeks from 16 September so if you're a mushroom fan, stop by and see him this Sunday 9 September at the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets before he disappears....

Talk to a farmer

Yuri Hulak, from Orange, apple grower

We're going to declare September "talk to a farmer" month and challenge all our readers to talk to the farmers at our markets and learn one new thing.  We'd be interested in what you learn!

One of the best things about shopping at a farmers' market is not only buying the freshest produce, but talking to the person who grew or reared the food.  Through one simple conversation you might find that last Saturday morning the farms experienced incredible frost, unlike any beginning to spring that they'd seen....  

Or that heirloom green tomatoes actually are sweet and juicy, not unripe (which is how they look to an untrained, non-heirloom tomato buying set of eyes like mine) and just PERFECTION in a salad... 

Or that Monsanto are buying up all the seed companies and often sell their seeds for $1.50 each. $1.50 for one seed??????????

Or that chickens LOVE eating pumpkin and go a bit crazy for the stuff....

Or that if apples get frost on them their sugar is concentrated in the frosted areas and they're actually sweeter....

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  We'd love to hear your stories, tips, tricks, recipes or tid-bits of information that you learned by talking to a farmer, that you otherwise wouldn't have known.

Got any gems to share?

Break out of your culinary comfort zone

It's lunchtime, you drag out your white bread Vegemite sandwich, or you lash out and buy your lunch, one you always have - a sausage roll or some sushi. Blah....

You're feeling uninspired and IN A RUT.  Well folks, turn around and give yourself a little kick in the bee-hind, because spring has sprung and its time for a little lunchtime renewal.

Yes, it's time to try something different. Its time to play the "what if" game. Like "what if I stop playing it safe and seek some adventure?"

We promise, you won't die from the experience.  You might even discover a whole new world of lunchtime lusciousness.

If you're going to join us and play the "what if" game, we recommend A Taste of Ethiopia.  The delightful Haile has been coming to the Bondi Junction Village Markets for 2 years now and has a very loyal following of customers who, at some stage of their lunching careers, parachuted out of their culinary comfort zone and gave Ethiopian food a try.

Lentil wat

Haile cooks a selection of curries or wats (pronounced wots) which feature either lentils, chicken or beef. These aromatic dishes are then paired with a traditional Ethiopian sourdough flat bread known as injera, which is made from a fermented type of flour called teff.  The bread is quite sour but is perfect with the spiciness of the wats.  If sourdough isn't your thing, you can request rice as your accompaniment.

Injera

This is about as unprocessed as you get. Fermented bread, curries made from scratch full of lentils and veggies or protein like chicken or beef = a midday taste sensation.  There is a reason Haile has eager lunchtime groupies queueing for his tasty food.  

You can even drop by at the end of each market day. Haile's hearty food is also perfect for dinner.  Try it. You won't be disappointed and it will give that Vegemite sandwich a run for its money.

A Taste of Ethiopia comes to the Bondi Junction Village Markets every Thursday, 9am-5pm.

Father's Day Competition!

Make sure you bring Dad to the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets this Sunday 2 September. Spend over $20 at any one stall and go into the draw to win a Market Meat Hamper. 

While you're at the markets, buy all your produce for a perfect Dad's Day Dinner, and grab a bacon & egg roll for Dad, or a Turkish Brekkie Gozleme and wash it all down with a piping hot Toby's Estate Coffee.

Terms & Conditions

(LANE COVE PUBLIC SCHOOL FOOD & FARMERS' MARKETS ONLY)

1. The competition will be advertised on Facebook, Twitter and our website.
2. Entrants must spend at least $20 at any one stall and be given an entry voucher by the relevant stallholder.
3. Vouchers must be placed in the entry box at the Market Management stall at the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' by 12.00pm on Sunday 2 September.
4. All entrants must supply all details correctly with a valid email address on each voucher to be eligible.
3. Only one entry per person.
4. Only one winner will be randomly drawn from the entry box and the winner will be drawn at 12.30pm on Sunday 2 September and will be notified on that day.
5. The composition of each hamper will be subject to Management’s sole discretion and may be subject to produce availability and seasonality. The prize must be collected in person from the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets at the time/s specified by Your Local Markets.
6. Prizes are not redeemable for cash or transferable and must submitted into the entry box before 12.00pm on Sunday 2 September 2012.
7. Information collected during this competition may be used for marketing and other purposes and subject to Your Local Markets’ Privacy Policy. See www.yourlocalmarkets.com.au for details of our Privacy Policy.

Our Terms and Conditions are also on our website.

Popeye's fave

Spinach is thought to have originated in ancient Persia; Arab traders then carried spinach into India, and the plant was then introduced into ancient China, where it was known as "Persian vegetable". The earliest available record of the spinach plant was recorded in Chinese.

Spinach first appeared in England and France in the 14th century, probably via Spain, and it gained quick popularity because it appeared in early spring, when other vegetables were scarce. In 1533 Catherine de Medici became queen of France and she loved spinach so much that she insisted it be served at every meal. To this day, dishes made with spinach are known as "Florentine", reflecting Catherine's birth in Florence.

During World War I, wine fortified with spinach juice was given to French soldiers weakened by hemorrhage. 

The cartoon character Popeye ate a lot of spinach, which purportedly made him stronger. It is said that the reason for his affinity with spinach was based on faulty calculations of the iron content in spinach. Apparently a misplaced a decimal point in an 1870 measurement of spinach's iron content led to an iron value 10 times higher than it should have been and this faulty measurement wasn't noticed until the 1930s.

Our favourite way of eating spinach is quickly flash fried with a tiny bit of oil, garlic and good quality salt and pepper. For breakfast with eggs or dinner with any dish, spinach is a super-hero veggie.

Buy your spinach and other seasonal produce from Sorbello Tomatoes and Rita's Farm Produce at the Lane Cove Food & Farmers' Markets every Sunday 9am-1.30pm; and Rita's Farm Produce at the Bondi Junction Village Markets every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 9am-5pm. All our markets are open every week except public holidays.

Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers' Markets a HIT!

Sunshine. Colour. Bustle. And the smell of bacon sizzling.  It doesn’t get much better than this on a Sunday morning in Sydney and our Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers’ Market launched with a bang.

Hundreds of enthusiastic shoppers have started flocking to the newest foodie hub and we'd like to think it's already shaping up to be the best around, by far.

With stallholders like Brasserie Bread, Toby’s Estate Coffee, Over the Moon Milk, Binnorie Dairy, Thirlmere Poultry, The Free Range Butcher, Sorbello Tomatoes, Watkins Mandarins, Bob’s Farm Avocados, River Flats Estate Olive Oil, Portland Free Range Eggs, the Bacon & Egg Barn, Jonima Flowers, Sweetness the Patisserie, Gourmet Gozleme, Saltbush Lamb and Roar Energy Drinks, it’s no wonder.

Having only traded for 3 weeks since the launch on Sunday 5 August, Brasserie Bread fights hard each week to keep up with demand for its artisan sourdough and you’ll be hard pressed to find any of Yuri’s apples or Watkins Orchard mandarins left at the end of each market. Mental note: arrive early!

Interest in Sorbello Tomatoes’ show-stopping heirloom tomatoes and exotic herbs (chocolate mint, anyone?) continues to climb each week as curious locals engage in long conversations with Sorbello family members about different varieties of tomatoes, other specialty veggies and cooking and growing advice.  We suspect this may be the cause of a recent bout of laryngitis in the family!

Those keen to explore more than just button mushrooms have found nirvana with The Fungi, who has the most awe-inspiring varieties of mushrooms. His seriously impressive range includes Masterchef celebrities such as the magestic King George and international mushrooms-of-mystery, such as nameko, enoki, shitake and shemeji. Fungus never looked so tempting or sounded so exotic.

The folk from Over the Moon milk receive such a positive response to their question: “Want to try some REAL milk?” that soon they’ll need to call in the Johnson’s Farmgate cavalry, as shoppers make a stampede for a free sample of oh-so-creamy non-homogenised milk from happy free-range jersey cows.  Their milk is literally walking out the front gates, in droves.

The 3 kiddies’ playgrounds are munchkin-magnets and provide welcome respite for parents keen for a Toby’s Estate coffee and crispy bacon & egg roll; whilst the smooth sounds of Mike Harvey and his crowd-pleasing hits provide the perfect ambiance in the leafy courtyard. Sounds like Sunday perfection to us!

The Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmers’ Markets are open every Sunday, rain or shine, at Lane Cove Public School, 145-153 Longueville Road, Lane Cove. 9am – 1.30pm.

New weekly food & farmers' markets at Lane Cove!

On Sunday 5 August new weekly food & farmers' markets will be starting at Lane Cove Public School! See map here.


Nestled in the village of Lane Cove, the markets will take place every Sunday from 9.00am - 1.30pm on the grounds of Lane Cove Public School.

We're thrilled to announce the following stallholders will be coming to the Lane Cove Public School Food & Farmer's markets:

• Rita's Farm Produce
• Camilleri Berries
• Watkins Orchard mandarins
• Sorbello Tomatoes
• The Funghi
• Highland Potatoes
• Jonima Flowers
• Riverflats Estate
• Brasserie Bread
• Emilia Pasta
• Over The Moon Milk
• Binnorie Dairy cheese
• Thirlmere Poultry
• Isis River Farms free-range grass-fed beef & lamb
• Toby's Estate Coffee
• Sweetness The Patisserie
• Ivee Rose Cakes
• B'Sweet Pastries
• Eco World Wear upcycled market bags
• Growmax worm farms & compost bins
• Gourmet Gozleme
• Bacon & Egg Barn
• Stuffed olives, confectionary and more

More information can be found at our Facebook page here and on our website here.


For any enquiries, call Lisa on 0418 46 1846 or email admin@yourlocalmarkets.com.au

Recipe: Gluten free Anzac biscuits

I wasn't going to make Anzac biscuits this year as I'm moving away from a lot of sugary baking and investigating healthier options. However when Teresa Cutter's "Paleo Anzacs" popped into my email inbox I wanted to give them a try. You can find her original recipe here (and check out her blog, it's fantastic!)


These are gluten free and delicious. Teresa's recipe calls for honey instead of golden syrup.  I agonised over this for a minute or two; however knowing that when honey is heated it loses its health benefits, I decided to dive in with golden syrup instead just for a more traditional taste.


Also: I highly recommend using a less flavoursome oil than olive oil in the recipe.  Macadamia oil might be a better option if you don't want the bikkies reminding you of pasta.


Tweaking aside, these bickies rock and if "I won't eat anything remotely healthy" Mr will eat them, well, that says it all, really.


Gluten-free Anzac biscuits1 cup (100 g) almond meal (ground almonds)1 cup (100 g) flaked almonds1 cup (75 g) desiccated coconut1/4 (80 g) cup honey or golden syrup1/4 cup (60 ml) macadamia nut, almond or olive oil (i don't recommend olive oil)1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda1 tablespoon water

MethodCombine almond meal, flaked almonds and coconut.

Combine honey and oil into a small pot and heat gently.

Mix the bicarb and water and then pour into the honey/oil mix and stir until it starts to froth.  Pour this over the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Form into small biscuits (around 22).


Bake at 120 degrees C (248 F) for about 30 minutes until golden.

Yum!