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As we head into April and feel the temperatures dropping, realisation dawns that we need to get into the right mindset for a healthy, safe winter. It is no longer a quiz that eating healthy foods is the right course of action! Food is our best medicine and by preparing healthy delicious, exciting, and inviting meals using fresh produce, we can help change eating habits creatively. When you consider what our grandparents were forced to eat as vegetables back in the day, there was not a green in sight. The greens served were greyish brown, over-boiled and miserable, with the orange veggies covered in sugar.  We have come a long way – and whilst then parents had limited choices, nowadays we are spoilt for choice! Added to that we have to consider, the source of the product and make decisions that are right for the environment and our families. Our obligations to nature are greater and, everyday our learning journey to health and wellness continues, revealing and unlocking the medicinal magic of nature.

This week as promised, we invite Chef Mokgadi to provide us with insights and a recipe: “This season try to find creative ways to preserve and use what we usually refer to as food waste. Today’s recipe uses aubergines aka brinjal, one of my favourite autumn vegetables. This vegetable doesn’t last long in the fridge and goes mouldy quite quickly. I love making dips, pickles, croquettes and curries with aubergines, so I buy quite a lot of it. The pickle recipe lasts for months on the shelves in my pantry or in the fridge. It is delicious and goes into salads, on toast, inside wraps and in basically everything”  Thanks to Chef Mokgadi please see the bottom of this article for the recommended recipe.This is why we encourage you to visit our Feed the Soil meeting spots to stock up on fresh produce grown on urban farms, and these days our variety and quality is such that it is becoming a popular spot to shop!  We do understand that it is not always easy to get to one of our meeting spots. Bearing this in mind, we have teamed up with an online store partner for your convenience and can now proudly introduce.

www.UrbanFarmer.org.za who offers chemical free and organic food with genuine packaging sensitivity – their intention is to connect people to the elements of the ecosystem on which our life, and all life depends. When we were approached by The Urban Farmer, we felt their thinking aligned with our Feed the Soil ecosystem and the good news is they are now selling our ‘Food Waste Kits’ too. The cherry on the top was the fact that if you buy fresh products and produce, they will swop and drop your full food waste bucket as a complimentary service and cover the cost for the waste to be composted. Talking compost, do we ponder enough about how we depend on soil – to live, to eat, to breathe, to enjoy the beauty that is life? Not nearly enough. We need more people to join us in this headspace and to awaken and listen to what is being yelled at us. Without healthy soil, we cannot sustain healthy life a message being delivered loud and clear by Sadhguru with his incredibly powerful Save the Soil global movement.

MOKGADI ITSWENG’S AUBERGINE PICKLE:

Ingredients:

  • 500g aubergine, sliced
  • Olive oil for brushing

Pickling dressing:

  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 300ml vinegar
  • 80ml honey
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 120ml olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • Handful thyme sprigs

METHOD (Makes a one-litre jar):

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C
  2. Brush each aubergine slice with oil and place on a baking tray. Bake for 5minutes each side (until golden brown)
  3. While the aubergine cooks, mix all the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside
  4. Allow the aubergines to cool slightly, then pack them tightly into a clean sterilised jar, adding the thyme inside the jar. Pour the dressing over aubergine covering in completely.
  5. Tightly seal the jar and leave in a cool dry place until use. Once opened and used, make sure to refrigerate the pickle

Have a healthy, happy and conscious week and see you at the meeting spots!With gratitude and appreciation,Danny and the Team at Feed the Soil

www.ladlesoflove.org.za

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