SEASONAL & SUSTAINABLE LIVING - MARCH: TIPS ON HOW TO GIVE YOUR FOOD A SECOND LIFE...
7 March 2020 - Posted by The Sisterhood of Sustainability
March is here and so is our latest edition of seasonal and sustainable living inspiration! Make the most of this beautiful season by enjoying the fresh fruit and vegetables that are on offer and learn exactly how you can give your fresh produce a second lease on life and reduce waste at the same time! We've also got some really beautiful and delicious recipes to share for ingredients that aren't commonly used! Have fun exploring and creating in the kitchen!
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Fruits and vegetables in season this month
There are so many beautiful varieties of fruits and vegetables to choose from in March. On rainy days, enjoy warm soups and hearty meals and on the sunnier days dig into juicy and tropical fruits...
SEASONAL VEGETABLESAsian Greens – Bok Choy – Choy Sum – Avocados – Borlotti Beans – Butter Beans – Green Beans – Capsicum - Celery - Chilli - Cucumber - Daikon - Eggplant - Leek - Lettuce - Okra - Olive - Onions – Spring Onions - Peas - Potato - Pumpkin - Shallots - Silverbeet - Spinach - Squash - Sweetcorn - Sweet Potato - Tomato - Zucchini
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SEASONAL FRUITSApples – Bananas - Berries –Raspberries – Strawberries - Breadfruit - Feijoa - Figs - Grapes – Guava - Kiwifruit - Lemon - Limes - Mango - Mangosteen - Melons – Honeydew – Rockmelon - Nectarine - Oranges – Papaya - Passionfruit - Peach - Pears - Persimmon - Plums - Pomegranate - Rambutan - Rhubarb - Tamarillo
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Eco-friendly tips to give your food a second life
1. Re-sprout your celery and lettuces by chopping the stalks around 2-3cm from the base. Place the root of the plant in a shallow dish of water or upright in a glass and place next to a window. In a few days, you'll start to see the leaves shoot again and in a few weeks, you'll have a whole new lettuce or stalks of celery to eat!
2. Create new plant life by saving the seeds from your pumpkins, capsicums and tomatoes, place them into a small pot filled with nutrient rich soil and allow them to sprout whilst watering everyday and then transfer them into your garden once they've grown big enough.
3. If you've got parsley or coriander growing in your garden and it is starting to go to seed, rather than pulling the plants out and tossing them into the bin, continue to let them grow, let the seeds mature and then let the plant die. Next, collect the seeds, save a few another spot or to give to a friend and scatter the rest straight back into the garden.
4. Pick as you go! If you're growing your own fruits, herbs and vegetables, only harvest what you're going to use for the next meal and leave the rest on the plant so that the produce stays fresh and to minimise waste.
5. If you've had your onions and potatoes in the cupboard or fridge for too long and they've started to sprout, inside of throwing them out, dig a few medium sized holes in your garden bed, cover them in soil, give them a water and watch them come to life! Harvest, eat and cook once they're ripe and ready!
6. Get creative with fresh produce that is about to go to waste. Brown bananas make beautiful banana bread, mushy fruits make delicious smoothies when frozen and blended with yoghurt or milk and older vegetables make warm and hearty soups!
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There are plenty of other beautiful and creative ways to reduce waste and to give your food, scraps and seeds to life. We'd love to hear your favourite ideas...
SUSTAINABLE RECIPES FOR EGGPLANTS
Eggplants, or aubergines, are not sold by variety in Australia and are available all year round. Eggplants are tear-drop shaped, with glossy, deep purple skin and cream-coloured, spongy flesh. You may also find Lebanese eggplants - these are the same colour, but smaller and more elongated in shape.
BUYING
Select eggplants that are firm and plump, with glossy,
brightly coloured skin that is free from winkles and blemishes.
STORING
Eggplants can be stored at room temperature for 1-2 days
and will stay fresh in the crisper for up to a week.
Wrap sliced eggplant in beeswax wraps and store in the refrigerator,
but use as soon as possible.
Make an eggplant ‘lasagne’. Thinly slice 3 eggplants lengthwise and grill for 1-2 minutes per side. Layer slices with ricotta and colognes sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake at 180C for 30 minutes.
Try a warm roast vegetable salad. Cut 1 small eggplant, 1 red capsicum and 1 red onion into chunks. Toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 2 minced garlic cloves. Bake at 180C for 20 minutes. Add a squeeze lemon juice, 1/4 cup of fresh ricotta and 2 tablespoons each chopped fresh thyme and parsley.
Try this healthy dip. Roast a large, whole eggplant for 35-40 minutes at 200C. Cool for 15 minutes before scooping out cooked flesh. Chop flesh and combine with 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons tahini and 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice. Roughly mash and stir in 3 sliced green onions.
SUSTAINABLE RECIPES FOR RHUBARB
While rhubarb is actually a vegetable, it is often treated as a fruit and used in many dessert recipes.
BUYING
Choose rhubarb with long, firm, brightly coloured red stalks.
STORING
Tightly wrap rhubarb in reusable wrapping and store in the fridge for up to four days.
Serve poached rhubarb with Greek yogurt. Heat 2 cups red wine, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon honey, a cinnamon stick and 2 whole cloves over medium heat. Add 450g chopped rhubarb (in batches) to pan and cook until tender. Remove form pan and continue cooking sauce until it reduces slightly. Pour sauce over rhubarb and yogurt.
Tart rhubarb adds great flavour to lentil soup. Spray a saucepan with oil and sauté 2 cups each finely chopped carrots and celery and 1 1/2 cups chopped onion for 3 minutes. Add 2 cups chopped rhubarb and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add 1/2 ten lentils and 1/4 cup chopped parsley to pan. Stir in 2 cups vegetable stock and 2 cups water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Cool slightly, then blend in a food processor.
Make your favourite cake and muffin recipes healthier by replacing half the butter with stewed rhubarb.
SUSTAINABLE RECIPES FOR FIGS
This pear-shaped fruit has a thin, edible skin that ranges in colour from pale green to dark purple, or even black, when fully ripe. The soft, sweet flesh is filled with tiny edible seeds and is generally a purple-red colour.
BUYING
Choose plump-looking figs that feel heavy for their size.
They should be soft to the touch, but not mushy.
Avoid figs that have split or bruised skin.
STORING
Figs don’t last long and should be eaten as soon as possible after purchasing.
Ripe figs can be stored in the fridge for only 1-2 days.
For an easy and deliciously sweet dessert, remove stems from figs and cut a cross into the top of each one. Drizzle a little honey into each cut and bake at 200C for 15 minutes. Serve with yoghurt or ice-cream.
For a rustic-looking starter, serve fig toasties. Lightly spray crusty bread with oil and grill until toasted. Spread each slice with fresh ricotta and top with sliced figs and a drizzle of honey. Serve with cracked pepper.
Serve this yummy couscous with Moroccan-spiced lamb. In a large saucepan, sauté a small diced zucchini and onion until cooked. Add ground coriander and cinnamon (1 teaspoon each) and cook for 1 minute more. Add 3/4 cup boiling water and 2/3 cup couscous. Stir to combine, cover and remove form heat. Stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, quarter fresh figs and chargrill or pan-fry until soft and juicy. Add to couscous, with 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, just before serving.
Keep your eye out each month for our seasonal and sustainable living article because we’ll be sharing plenty of ways that you can reduce your impact through your food habits as well as learning some wonderful and fresh new recipes.
We’ve teamed up with Hannah Thompson @bramblyorchard and Camilla Jorvad @sigridsminde for this blog series and will be sharing their photos and little snippets of inspiration from them throughout each post.
All photos displayed in this blog post have been styled, created and supplied by Camillia Jorvad from @sigridsminde. Camilla who is currently re-wilding a family farm on Ero Island in Denmark. She uses gardening and living mindfully and seasonally as a way of managing stress and depression shares beautiful and creative photos of life on the land.
All photos displayed in this blog post have been styled, created and supplied by Camillia Jorvad from @sigridsminde. Camilla who is currently re-wilding a family farm on Ero Island in Denmark. She uses gardening and living mindfully and seasonally as a way of managing stress and depression shares beautiful and creative photos of life on the land.
