Showing posts with label ecology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ecology. Show all posts

Monday, October 10, 2016

Soft tofu and avocado sashimi served on homemade disposable bamboo dishers made with bamboo leaf sheath



There is no much to this dish really, just soft tofu with grated ginger and avocado (add wasabi and say sauce) plus some pickles, mostly bought except for the cucumber (recipe here).

The exciting thing for me here are the bamboo platters! I have some bamboo in the garden and it is shedding leaf sheaths. I love those fancy bamboo disposable dishes that you can buy in home stores, so I though of making my own. To clean the sheaths I just placed them in the dishwasher! Some rolled up a bit, but after a couple of days they were flat again! The dishwasher took away the dirt but some black stains remained, which makes me wonder how ecologically they treat the commercial plates, since they are so pale and spotless! But now I can make my own and doesn't matter if they are a little stained, they are natural and lovely to look at!

Photo and Recipe by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Two New Zealand birds in my garden; tui and kererū

I love the fact that I can use my phone to video the birds I see out of the window. We are surrounded by native forest, including plenty of nikau palms, so we have lots of kereru, and we also have flowering trees like puriri, and a one exotic, an Australian frangipani, that tui love! In fact this morning there was quite a fight between two tui for the control of the frangipani, it was like living in a Attemborough's documentary. Here tui and kereru feeding (in peace).



The Tui is an endemic bird of New Zealand that mostly feed on nectar. Here is feeding on an Australia frangipani tree (Hymenosporum flavum).



The New Zealand pigeon or kererū is a bird endemic to New Zealand. The nikau is the only palm native to New Zealand. Filmed in the Waitakere Ranges, Auckland.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Next Saturday in Auckland: Glen Eden Food Festival, Free Entry


Finally a good, clean and fair Food Festival for everyone! Slow Food Waitakere has been working very hard with several West Auckland organisations and the Waitakere Ranges Local Board to create the first Food Festival in Glen Eden. 

Free Entry!

Come and enjoy:

Stalls from different local community groups to help you with all your gardening needs, from composting to free seeds to community gardening and even a produce swap. 

Free cooking demos by experts to show you how to prepare yummy and healthy food, preserve and bottle produce, make cheese etc., including Regina from Slow Food Waitakere dishing up some fashionable 'Pacific Beat' dishes (free tastings). Scroll down for the full demo timetable.

Live music and entertainment plus lots of kids' activities, including face painting and give-aways at our Slow Food Waitakere table.

Hot and yummy hot food from around the world cooked by the New Lynn Night Market WISE Collective Hub (former refugee women) for your Saturday lunch.


Glen Eden Food Festival Cooking Demonstrations

10:30-11:10    Cheesemaking workshop: Halloumi and Ricotta with Virginia Best and Madeleine Collins 
Madeleine Collins and Virginia Best will demonstrate making ricotta and halloumi at home using simple ingredients.  They will demonstrate how to cut the curd and press cheese.  You don’t need any fancy equipment to make cheese and this workshop will give you the confidence to make your own cheese at home.

11:15- 11:45     Preserving talk with Julie Craig of Oak and Thistle

Julie Craig lives self-sustainably in an urban environment and has done for many years. With a young family to provide for, Julie has learned the arts of cooking, preserving, jamming & jellying, herb growing and their uses, home gardening and livestock maintenance.

In this workshop Julie will speak about many aspects of preserving the harvest, from fruits and vegetables to herbs, extracts, and more.  Julie will teach you what you need to get started and give some great ideas for making your own basic equipment.  She’ll go through the steps of making healthy and tasty edible foods to keep on hand so that you can preserve at home.  There will be an opportunity to see examples of preserves and more, and have a taste of some of Julie’s deliciously preserved harvest.

11:50-12:20     Indian Vegetarian Cooking demonstration with Indira Vallabh

In this fun and informative workshop, you’ll come away feeling confident about preparing delicious, authentic, and healthy Indian dishes at home.  All dishes are gluten free and recipes will be provided.  Indira Vallabh is an experienced Indian cook and has a popular Indian Vegetarian Food stall at the Grey Lynn Farmers Market.  Indira will demonstrate a delicious vegetarian curry and either a raita or chutney as an accompaniment.  Tastings will be available at the end of the class.

12:25-12:55     Pacific Cooking demonstration with Regina Wypych of Pacific Heartbeat 
Regina Wypych of Pacific Heartbeat will bring a Pacific Island flavour to the Glen Eden Food Festival with two simple, delicious, and heart-healthy recipes.  The first dish, Vermicelli Chicken Lemon Salad, is a fresh zingy Pacific chicken salad.  The second will be a tasty Oka i’a, raw fish salad.  You will have a chance to taste both of these dishes, and recipes will be available to take home.

1:00-1:30    Simple Meals at Home with Peter Clifton-Sprigg of Vision West
 
Learn how to prepare “Pan Fried Moroccan Chicken Breast served with Mini Rostis and a Seasonal Dressed Salad” with chef Peter Clifton-Sprig of VisionWest. This impressive dish is cheap, fast, easy, nutritious, awesome tasting and beautifully presented, with lots of possible variations to try out at home. Ingredients will include fresh raw beetroot, carrots and parsnips or golden kumara, fresh chicken with a deliciously fresh seasonal salad including green, red, orange and yellow vegetables.

See you there!

Friday, April 6, 2012

All I want for Easter is to save the Maui dolphins



I think that I will skip the chocolate egg post this Easter, I have posted enough Easter treats anyway, but I would love you to take a minute to read this, or a few minutes to watch this video.







NZ's tiny indigenous Maui's dolphin is on the brink of extinction. Maui's dolphins are the worlds smallest marine dolphin species – and the rarest. This month the Department of Conservation revealed that only around fifty five of these small dolphins exist. I repeat, only 55! And fishing nets are the number one threat. NIWA (National Institute for Water & Atmospheric Research) estimates that 110-150 Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins were killed in fishing nets each year between 2000 and 2006, that is a lot of dolphins! Unless substantial action is taken very soon, we will lose them forever. 

If you like to learn more about the Dolphin Mayday please go to the NZ Greenpeace page and read this article Maui's Dolphin Mayday | GREENPEACE New Zealand

The New Zealand Government has proposed some interim action but it is not enough - if you are in New Zealand please sign this message to Primary Industries Minister David Carter now urging stronger action. We have until April 11 to sign the petition. And if you are in other countries you can sing the petition here, and here, spread the word, and even write to our NZ Minister of Tourism (who is also our Prime Minister) to let him know what you think (the email address is in the video).


Thank you and Happy Easter to all. 

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