The long overdue last post

We finished the week with a fantastic feast among other local food challengers. With a three course meal of

Cassava bread and babaganush
Baked barramundi in bana leaves
Cucumber, lime, chilli, coconut, star fruit salad
Sweet pumpkin custard tart with casava and coconut base

Unfortunately I was not so onto the photography so you really just get the aftermath and dessert.

Almost the last super

This is going to be a short version, I just wrote a mammoth post and lost it.

6 days running and I am not sick of my poached egg and green combo.  With cassava leaf, kang kong, pumpkin stems, Brazilian spinach, ceylonese spinach, loofah, wing beans, eggplant, snake beans, and garlic chives to choose from no wonder I'm not sick of it, especially when the eggs yokes are soft and they spill and make a rich sauce combined with the greens. Mmmmmmm!

Sans pic you know what my eggs and greens look like.
I also ate lots of ripe paw paw today, the season is about to start Yah!

But it was green banana day and that is what I am here to write about.

As I was preparing to make my green bananas for breakfast I had the idea that I could make green banana flat bread, just like I did With the cassava.  So I peeled them, boiled them, mashed them with salt and oil and baked them. Yum bloody oh! Especially with my stir fried greens ( ceylonese spinach, snake beans, loofah) and roasted pumpkin.

Tomorrow is the last day of the challenge and I am looking forward to a dinner prepared with others on the challenge and lots of talking about food.  It's also market day so an opportunity to stock up on lots of fresh local food.  But how will I proceed into the new week. I am looking fwd to a cup of coffee and toast with cheese, because this food prep thing is pretty full on, but am I going to feel as good afterwards?

And this local food thing is not for young kids, we definitely cannot go another week of preparing 

separate meals, so I guess we will have to find a middle ground.

Green banana day

It is the day of what can I do with green bananas. With a few limp ochre and loofah in the bottom of the fridge and few left overs of roasted pumpkin, buffalo stew, the day is not looking bright on the food front.  But we have lots of unrepentant bananas.

So for breakfast I did the humble deep fried green bananas. They basically tasted like potatoe chips and with a crack of salt and drizzle of honey I was happy. And they kept me going for a surprising long time.

Tiny little things they were!

Tiny little things they were!

Cassava cassava cassava

It's all I can think about is cassava and how I can get more....anyone.....

Is anyone out there reading this anyway?

 I have rediscover boiled eggs, what an amazing food source and so tasty just in its own. But with most things in life I have a hard time detecting the edge and often go over... By the end of the day I never wanted to see another egg.

So breakfast was boiled eggs, sweet leaf, cucumber, herbal tea and fresh out of the oven cassava bread with lashings of honey. Mmmm, instead of savouring my last cassava bread I generously gave it to a starved Michael, who declared it delicious... About the first thing this week he has said delicious too. Which is quite the opposite to what he had to say about dinner.

I almost forgot to mention my usual eggs for morning tea. Poached with last night left over loofah and bamboo shoot. 

Wow I eat a lot eh!

Lunch was roasted pumpkin fleshed harvest from garden, with a roasted eggplant cucumber and sweet leaf salad. Delish!

As for dinner, I got home late from an amazing yoga class with James murphy, so elated I didn't think I was hungry.  But when the local food authority declared that dinner was inedible, I thought I better get myself a big plate of it and show (him) otherwise.

I forgot to Take a photo. Not a bad forgetting... It was not the most attractive looking dish. Buffalo meat and yes I confess not from 100km away but about 400km (oenpeli) so I declared it local. And thats not what the authorities had a problem with ....it was my flavour combination. I slow cooked it with curry leaves, galangal, turmeric and the juice of a coconut as I did not have the means to make milk and I also grated in green/pink paw paw... Anyway it was totally edible the cassava chips and roasted pumpkin were the perfect accompaniment.

Before bed I googled images of cassava.... and moaned and groaned and salivated over the lack of... I guess if they aren't in the garden I can't expect Michael to go out and harvest for me... But I keep
asking in hope he will just appear with the golden fruit.

Alas he is not in the garden of eden harvesting me any cassava tubers. He is lying next to me declaring "i'm hungry and fear i might have to prepare myself something to eat'

As cassava is off the menu I'm looking into what I can do with green bananas. I'm running out of loot. And feeling desperate.

I feel like its getting easier and more natural

When I arrived home from work, the rest of the family and two dinner guests were ready to sit down to spag bol! About the most unlocal thing you can think of, but putting the kids on the challenge would be harder than I have the stamina for.

So with very little time, I through together a delicious dinner of fried loofah, bamboo shoots barramundi fish and my new favourite casava crisp bread, which was perfect for topping and mopping up loofah which is so juicy and flavoursome you have to wonder why we go to the effort of growing zucchini, with all the hand pollination and rats eating the young fruit.

And I know there was some serious converting of my meal going on at the table.

Now that I have a 'bread' substitute I can relax about breakfast, perhaps it will be honey on cassava bread.... Mmmm probably would need a good lashing of butter and cup of coffee to wash it down....or is that just my old taste buds talking.

Until tomorrow morning. Three days to go!

Then what.... Will I revert back to my old ways...seems unlikely with all my new found knowledge of the garden and produce and what potential there is, but in the reality it is time consuming and life is busy and I can see how easily and quickly opening a packet will be the chosen option... Or maybe not!

Good neighbour

Before I start going on about what I ate blah blah blah... The biggest thanks to Georgia who delivered a care package of cassava, eggs and coconuts all from her garden.  They will be put to good use. All contributions welcome.

Breakfasts are getting better by the day. Today k8 inspired Gulum jamans. When I made them last night I tried and thought ok edible, but this morning they were that much better because they had been sitting in the syrup all night and got all fat and juicy and soft. 

And lunch well it was good old greens and eggs, but the addition of my cassava flat bread made it. and you al know how i like my sourdough artisan bread... well step aside cassava flat bread here we come. I considered how good a coffee would be and got a glass of rain water with a squeeze of lime.

I always thought cassava had to be deep fried to be any good, but have I discovered a thing or two this week about the root veg that is littered all over our garden. These are defiantly worth including in the cook book.

Ps they are papaya seeds trying on the plate behind which we use as a pepper substitute.

Breakfast lunch and dinner

It may look like it cam from a take away shop, but it's just my prepared lunch for a day at work....why so much you ask? Cos I get hungry!

Breakfast fruit slaps with roasted paw paw, carambola, grapefruit, banana, lime , honey and steamed casava cakes. Good but I don't want to eat it again. I will have to come up with something else to use the steamed cakes.

Lunch and afternoon tea left over jackfruit curry and bananas

Fr anyone concerned that I have a quantity consumption issue, don't worry I did not eat one of the containers, I had it for dinner instead with delicious fish oven roasted with herbs. Thanks Michael!

So after dinner the usual preparation for the following day. I have made casava flat bread. It is awesome. And turned the steamed casava cakes into a dish inspired by gulum jamans for. Breakfast. Too tired to spell check that one. 

Goodnight full tummy!