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Camilla's Market Musings - Week 18

Hallo and happy first week of May to you!

This week we are delighted to be able to offer a fruit whose history goes back, maybe as far as The Garden of Eden - the luscious pomegranate.  This extraordinary fruit not only looks beautiful, with its luscious deep crimson seeds just bursting with flavour but is so packed with antioxidants that it is surely the queen of the superfoods.  Studies into what makes this fruit sing have revealed that it has properties that are anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-ageing.  Just one fruit contains 40% of your daily Vitamin C intake and it contains almost every type of anti-oxidant,.  Most importantly however, it tastes like a slice of heaven and makes a beautiful addition to salads and is an essential ingredient for Middle Eastern cooking.  If you have not yet introduced your taste buds to this incredible food, now is the time to treat yourself.

This week our supplier of pineapples has come up trumps, providing us with giant samples that pair up beautifully with their beautiful custard apples, complete with, as one of our market goers would say, the most wonderful "creamy crevices."  Add some of our freshly frozen organic passionfruit pulp and some homemade golden custard and you have yourself a dessert worthy of royalty.  Navel oranges have finally come out to play, and we also have a very limited supply of luscious ruby red organic strawberries along with island grown persimmons - life is truly sweet this time of year.

Sadly the spinach is a little thin on the ground at the moment, but we have made up for it with 3 different types of Kale - curly green, curly purple and our own fresh picked cavolo negro leaves, and the orange carrots are sweet, sweet, sweet!  The round red tomatoes are looking too good to eat, but twist my arm and I will happily combine them with my favourite farm basil and plenty of black pepper, just as a snack or cook them up into a flavour filled tomato and turmeric soup served with crunchy toasted olive and rosemary bread.  Yum!

Before I forget, for those of you that are mothers, wishing you in advance, the happiest of mother's days this Sunday and perhaps you can drop the hint that we have taken 5% off the price of our cheese making kits as well as our delicious range of organic chocolates.  I don't think we need an excuse to spoil our mothers, but I am always open to an official reason!

Well, that's about it from me this week - please don't forget to get your orders in by midday each Friday so that we can get cracking on creating you a box of organic food love.

Email orders:  theorganicmarketorders@gmail.com

Text orders:  0476 000 996

Yours in food love always

Camilla and all the happy folk that are The Organic Market on Macleay...

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Camilla's Market Musings - Week 17

Is it just me or is time spinning really quickly this year?  Week 17 already and the end of yet another month - no wonder I am hungry all the time!

This week our produce is a reflection of the best that this season has to offer and what better way to honour the season than by celebrating the arrival of the delicious Lemonade Fruit!  If you have never come across them before, this sweet citrus is a cross between a lemon and a navel orange or possibly mandarin, the jury still appears to be out on that one, and originally burst onto the scene in the 1980s.  Regardless of their obscure origins, as their name implies, they are as sweet as lemonade and whilst they look like a Meyer Lemon, they can be eaten straight, separating easily into segments just like a mandarin.  This versatile fruit can be eaten in many ways - sweet, savoury, raw, cooked, preserved or even pickled and like all members of the citrus family, are packed with Vitamin C goodness, so are perfect for fortifying the system as the weather cools and the winter bugs emerge.

Staying in the fruit department, another equally exciting addition to our organic seasonal produce this week, is the delicious Tasmanian Snow Apple.  These apples only appear for a short period each year and are a beautiful crisp apple with ruby red skin and snow white flesh and whilst they are obviously not locally grown, are well worth the indulgence.

On the vegetable front, yet again we have the most picturesque bouquet of Lettuces - Mignonette, Frilly and Cos, courtesy of our local Mt Cotton farmers and finally we have managed to get our hands on some beautiful plump round Tomatoes, whose absence over the last couple of weeks has left a hole in the flavour, texture and colour department.  I am looking forward to making a beautiful Napolitana sauce, loaded with organic onion, garlic, basil, parsley and rosemary to freeze, just in case they decide to beat a hasty retreat again.  Life just seems empty without the humble tomato to brighten up the dinner plate.  We also have some superb looking Fennel bulbs (but only a few), complete with fine feathery fronds, perfect roasted, turned into soup or eaten raw in a salad and those Jerusalem Artichokes are a wonderful addition to a warming Autumn stew.  Speaking of stews and soups, the Infinite Earth Store has an array of pulses well worth stocking up on at the moment including pearl barley, chick peas, lentils and black beans, so please let us know if you would like to add any of these to your weekly order.

Speaking of which, to place an order, please email us at:

theorganicmarketorders@gmail.com

or text:

0476 000 996

by 12.00pm Fridays and we will as always, prepare a beautiful produce box with that complementary ingredient, a bucket full of love.  Oh and if your order comes to $40 or more, we will even throw in a free box of tissues!

Yours in organic goodness always

Camilla and all the busy smiling folk at the Organic Market on Macleay

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Camilla's Market Musings - Week 16

 

Good evening to you!  We hope that you had a restful Easter break.

Tonight, as the wind swirls through the trees and the temperature starts to drop, I am ever so grateful for the steaming bowl of minestrone that is sitting patiently by my side as we begin another journey into the world of organic fruit and vegetables brought to you by the Organic Market on Macleay!

Excitement plus!  This week heralds the return of that essential cold weather friend to both warming stew and soup, the humble turnip.  Well actually I should say the not so humble turnip as we took delivery of the most sculpturesque organic specimens, which together with the multi-coloured carrots, creamy potatoes and generous sweet parsnips are definitely the start to something special.  All three are packed with dietary fibre and vitamin C, making them an ideal way to protect our bodies from those nasty cold and flu bugs that love to come out to play at this time of year.  Meanwhile, if salad is still something you are craving, our local Mt Cotton farmers did not disappoint this week, picking a special assortment of picture perfect frilly green lettuces that would take pride of place in a bouquet of flowers, just for us.  We also have two types of crisp green cucumbers from which to choose, and I am already eyeing off the green field cucumbers for my next batch of cucumber kimchi, a wondeful Korean pickle that is super high in Vitamin C, B vitamins and pre and probiotics - nature's pharmacy really does provide all the healthfulness we need.

Over in the fruit "department", we couldn't help snaffling a few of the crimson seedless grapes when they came in - well we can't sing the praises of our produce if we don't taste test it - and it really was hard to stop at just a couple.  The Fuji apples are still going strong, and this week's delivery have an aroma worth bottling.  Citrus is also beginning to come into its own, with beautiful Ruby Red grapefruits, again high in Vitamin C and a great way to beat the cholesterol, the Valencia oranges are perfect for juicing, eating straight up or baking into an orange and poppy seed cake and the Meyer lemons are looking and tasting wonderful.  On the tropical front, the Panama passion fruit may have taken a beating from the recent wild weather, but inside the flavour is Summer personified, the bananas a startling electric yellow on the outside and creamy perfection on the inside and, if you didn't get to try the Custard Apples last week, they are back again this Saturday, but in limited numbers, and together with the sweet red fleshed Dragonfruit, and a generous serving of Barambah yoghurt are a great way to start the day.

Finally, just to let you know, in honour of Earth Day, this Saturday we are offering a 10% special off our range of natural cleaning products - a chemical free world really does begin at home.

As always, if you wish to pre-order one of our delectable boxes of fruit and vegetables, please make sure that you either send your order via

email: theorganicmarketorders@gmail.com

or

text: 0476 000 996

by midday Friday and we will do our very best to bring you the very best that our market has to offer.  (and yes, I have been a little bit sneaky, the time has been brought forward slightly as the number of boxes is steadily growing).

Have a wonderfilled evening

Yours in organic food heavenliness always

Camilla and all the merry people that are The Organic Market on Macleay

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Camilla's Market Musings - Week 15

Welcome once again to that time of the week when we get to select some of the finest organic produce that our local farmers are so happy to provide.

This week,when the produce arrived and I found my thoughts once again straying to steaming bubbling pots of autumn vegetable stews and soups, it occurred to me how truly lucky we are to have such a sweet orchestra of seasonally and,wherever possible, locally grown organic and chemical free produce from which to select each week.  More than that however, since Eleesa, supported by her extraordinary family, first acted on her vision for a chemical free, sustainable island community by opening the market and providing the choice to eat organically, 5 and a half years ago, the Organic Market has gone on to become a vital heartbeat that feeds a community; a beautiful network of people that choose to come together at the Organic Farm either by proxy, (by ordering one of our made with love produce boxes for delivery), or by being there in person every Saturday.  If as Hippocrates once so famously declared  we are what we eat. then here we are, a living example of the nurturing power of food.  Thank you for being a part of it all.

So now a quick tour through the world of Autumn produce.  My pick for Week 15 is the picturesque globe artichoke.  I get really excited when the first of these beautiful vegetables comes into season, as like most good food, they are one of those childhood favourites, boiled then gently cooked in the oven with loads of herbs picked fresh from the garden, homemade vegetable stock and steaming Dutch Cream Potatoes, that's my idea of Autumn heaven!  Not only do they taste beautiful, but their health benefits earn them the title of "Superfood!"

The colours of the produce this week, again are a reminder of the cooling of the day, and the wonderful meals that can be made to do justice to the nature given colour wheel.  From the rich orange of the Stripy Butternut and Jap Pumpkins, to the trio of purple, gold and bright Orange Carrots, the duskiness of the Sweet Potatoes to the delicious pop of the golden yellow sweet corn, the shiny purple coat of the Eggplants and the deep forest green of the English Spinach and the curly Kale, everything is singing "Autumn is here!"

On the fruit front, the Fujis are still the market crew (including Dweezel Dog)'s favourite apple with a crisp, and we are excited to announce the first baby steps of the creamy Custard Apple, along with some Panama Passionfruit and more of that aromatic Pineapple from our Sunshine Coast farmers.  For a change the grapes are crimson, but still seedless and perfect for Easter picnics served with some of the Organic Blue, Brie and Cheddar Cheeses that we have ordered in especially for the holidays, with a few slices of Packham or Beure Bosc Pears and dried organic fruit on the side.  Before I forget, the plums this week are deliciously sweet Moyas, irresistible fresh but also perfect turned into an old fashioned compote, baked in a cake or preserved as jam to be used over and over the winter months - I love the excuse to release my Inner Baker! Tea and cake anyone?

Finally, if you would like anything from the Infinite Earth Store or any of our range of Demeter, Kialla or other Flours and Rice, now is the time to stock up as we are having a 20% off Easter Sale.  Just let me know if you would like us to add any additional items when placing this week's order...

Box orders are generally due by 1.00pm each Friday but as it is Easter Friday, if you can have your orders in by 11am this week, we would be most grateful....

email: theorganicmarketorders@gmail.com.au

or text: 0476 000 996

From all the food dreamers at The Organic Market Macleay

Have a wonderfilled Easter

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Camilla's Market Musings - Week 14

Hallo and welcome to another mouth watering meandering as I take you on a journey through this week's wonderfilled market produce...and all I can say is Organic Spelt Hot Cross Buns!!!!

 

This afternoon, we just couldn't resist sampling these irresistible offerings from our favourite baker - well we thought it only fair that we tried them out on behalf of our customers, just in case.  As you can see from the picture, even Dweezel Dog got in on the act, snatching one from the hands of a distracted Eleesa, whilst she was engaged in conversation.  We have a limited number on offer this Saturday, but will be taking orders for next week and, for a change, words fail me - they are really too delicious for mere words!  If you want to try them for yourself, just make sure your orders are in by Tuesday at the very latest and we will put away an Easter stash, just for you.

Moving on to produce, this week we have taken delivery of the most exquisite little Fuji and Royal Gala apples.  Crunchy, sweet and pretty as a picture, they are tailor made for snacking.  Green Mutsus are also still on the scene, just for this week, and as the weather cools down what better way to end a meal than with baked apples crammed full of organic sultanas, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a smidgen of lemon rind, finished off with Barambah cream.  Heaven on a plate! 

On the vegetable front, the Cavolo Nero Kale is back and looking mighty fine, we have plump and shiny deep purple chemical free Eggplants courtesy of our wonderful Mt Cotton farmers, along with Okra and stunning bunches of deep green Eschallots.  The Green Beans are snap fresh, Golden Sweet Potatoes just begging to be added to a spicy dahl, simply baked whole or turned into chips, the English Spinach bunches are looking as fresh as, well, English Spinach and I can't wait to cook up a creamy mushroom and pesto risotto with the most perfect looking button mushrooms - well, I ordered flat whites, but they look more like big buttons to me.

Finally, in honour of Easter, our delicious range of Fair Trade Artisan chocolates are all on special this week, so beat the Easter Bunny to the chase by nurturing your inner child and indulge in dark Sicilian hazlenut, Almond, Mint or Coconut and Raspberry chocolate delights.  Don't you just love an excuse to eat more chocolate?!

As always, we are ready and waiting to take your box orders, so please send through your selection k by 1pm Friday afternoons to:

theorganicmarketorders@gmail.com

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or text us on:

0476 000 996

Happy week's end to you

Yours in organic food love always

Camilla and all your favourite people at The Organic Market on Macleay

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Camilla's Market Musings - Week 13

 
There is a saying regarding being careful what you wish for, and after such a dry summer, it seems that today there may have been a few too many of us wishing for rain!  On the plus side, the parched earth is ever so grateful, but on the minus side it has had a bit of an impact on produce this week.  Luckily I had been thinking on focusing on our staples of which we have plenty, and mighty pretty it is looking too.

Rain always takes me to my favourite cooking and eating staple which is a hot bowl of steaming soup.  In fact, as I write this the delicious aroma of borscht, a vegetable soup of Polish/Russian origins, made from the most magnificent organic beetroot, celery, carrots, garlic and ginger, is making my mouth water in excited anticipation of tonight's dinner.  Served with hot crusty bread and a generous dollop of sour cream, this easy to prepare soup was my grandmother's speciality, and I like to think that I do her proud with my own version, that has the added advantage of being based on a rich vegetable stock, made from the organic vegetable left overs that I dutifully freeze to make sure that nothing is ever wasted.

Whilst we are on the subject of food of Eastern European origin, this week we are spoilt for choice in the potato department with Dutch Creams, Sebagoes, Desiree, Melody and tiny Ruby Lous.  Whether you are into simple boiled potatoes served with lashings of butter and fresh farm herbs, the old comfort food a la mashed potatoes, potato salad with sweet red onions and sour cream or good old potatoes baked in their jackets with grated Barambah cheddar and more of that sour cream or yoghurt, there is no denying that the humble potato is a vegetable whose versatility is limited only by your imagination.

Once again this week, we have a wonderful trio of colourful orange, yellow and purple carrots that will brighten up your dinner table with a splash of healthy colour and the rich orange of the sweet butternut pumpkins, is just begging to be combined with creamy Meredith Farm's marinated goat's cheese sprinkled with sunflower seeds and fresh basil and popped onto one of our margherita or 4 cheese pizzas to make a quick and easy meal guaranteed to delight both the big as well as the little kids in the family.

In the fruit department, those spicy Mutsu apples are back for a brief visit - so please get in quick as after this week they surely will be gone.  We also have beautiful Cavendish and Lady Finger Bananas, a last hurrah from the Torpedo Watermelons, sweet kisses from the modest honey dew melon and more of those incredible crimson seedless grapes that literally flew off the fruit display at last week's market.  Williams pears are always perfect for snacktime, Sunshine pineapples are in full sweet swing, and why buy orange juice, when you can squeeze organic Valencias daily, for a wonderful hit of Vitamin C?!

As always, if you wish to pre-order a box of organic goodness prior to Saturday's market, just send your order through no later than midday on Friday to:

theorganicmarketorders@gmail.com

or text us on 0476 000 996

and we will happily create you a box of organic food love.

One final note before I go, just a reminder that you are warmly invited to come and share High Tea this Sunday afternoon between 3 and 5pm, to celebrate the opening of The Healing Room at the Organic Farm with island naturopath Mary, along with island homeopath me, Camilla.  It will be wonderful to see you there.

Until then, stay dry and don't forget to eat more soup!

Bye for now from Camilla and all at the Organic Market on Macleay