From plot to plate, from terrace to table

On Thursday 14^th March 2013 I went with one of my best friends to a conference held at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne. The event was called “From plot to plate, from terrace to table”.

The Edible Balcony

An amazing discussion with some great and well-known food writers! The TV presenter, journalist and food writer Indira Naidoo moderated the talk with Stephanie Alexander, Rohan Anderson and Max Allen.

Indira Naidoo’s book “The Edible Balcony” gives valuable advice on how to grow herbs, vegetables and fruits on your balcony. She claims that you don’t need to have a big garden to have your own fresh organic produce.

Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids

Stephanie Alexander is known for the remarkable work that she undertakes with kids at the “Kitchen Garden Foundation”. She explained how rewarding it is to teach kids where vegies and fruits come from, to teach them how to plant and grow delicious tomatoes. She said that some parents say: “My son doesn’t eat vegetables”. But then when they actually grow their own vegetable and taste it they appreciate it and completely change their food habits. I think that it must be very exciting for a child to say: “Mum I grew this zucchini”! I remember myself when I was kid and we had to grow a bean by putting it in wet cotton. I remember that I was really excited when I first saw the little green plant growing from these beans!

Whole Larder Love

Rohan Anderson is the author of the book “The Whole Larder Love”. He is a controversial food writer who lives in Ballarat and basically eats what he has in his garden. And when he wants some meat, he takes his gun and shoots a rabbit in the bush. He shared with us his experience and explained that before he used to eat a lot of fast food, and what made him change his food habits so drastically. His book looks amazing! It gives great recipes and tips on fresh organic country produce and skills for the simpler life.

The History of Australian Wine

Max Allen writes about wine in Australia. He is the wine columnist for “The Weekend Australian Magazine” and G (Australia’s first ‘green lifestyle’ magazine) but also wine editor for Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine. During the talk he criticized the alcohol lobbying and compared it to the cigarette lobbying few years ago. I have heard that some people are trying to introduce unbranded packaging with pictures of car crashes on alcohol bottles the same way as we now have pictures of people dying from cancer on the cigarettes packs.

Personally I think that this is quite hypocritical, people get used to seeing those pictures and are not buying less cigarettes because of it. I think that people in Australia are buying fewer cigarettes because it’s very expensive and also some people are becoming more conscious of the bad effects of it. However I know a lot of people who are still smoking for pleasure and just got used to those horrible pictures on the packaging.

To summarise, the discussion was really interesting, lively and all the speakers were remarkably inspiring! I absolutely enjoyed being part of the audience. And at the end I got to talk to some of them and congratulate them on their wonderful work.

If you want to know more about the speakers here are the links to their blogs:

http://saucyonion.blogspot.com.au/

Home

http://wholelarderlove.com/

http://www.maxallen.com.au/index.html

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Growing lemons leaves

Valentines Day Inspiration

Valentines day is coming and we are getting inspired by magazines, Tv, Internet, social media and look what I found online! How cool is that?!

Playing with Valentines Day

Grow your own avocado plant

Did you know that you can use the seed from an avocado to grow your own avocado tree? Check this out!

1. Wash your avocado seed.
2. Secure toothpicks into the seed so that they sit out horizontally.
3. Suspend the seed with the heavy side down over a glass of water. About 3cm of the seed should be sitting in water.
4. Place the seed out of direct sunlight and top up the water as needed.
5. In 2-6 weeks, roots and stem should start to sprout.
6. When the stem is 15 to 18cm long, cut it back to about 8cm in length.
7. When the stem has grown leaves again and the roots are thick, plant it in a pot with half the seed exposed
8. Water the plant lightly and frequently, with an occasional deep soak. The soil should be moist but not saturated.
9. Make sure it’s getting plenty of sunlight.
10. When the stem is 30cm long, cut it back to 15cm. This will encourage new shoots.
11. Enjoy your own avocado tree!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easy herbs and olive oil

I found this picture on Facebook and I think that’s a great idea to preserve herbs and use in your pasta dishes. It is also healthy; there are no preservatives or anything artificial. It’s just some herbs and olive oil! So easy to use, how lovely is that?!

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Happy New Year!!!

I wish you all a wonderful, environmentally friendly new year and hope that 2013 will be greener than 2012 😉

Happy Green Year!

 

Homemade Exfoliation

For a smooth and healthy skin

Exfoliation is essential to get rid of dead skin and to maintain healthy and glowing skin. Exfoliation also improves the absorption of any cream or lotion that you apply to your skin.

If you have never exfoliated before, be sure to give this a try! You will be amazed at the improvements it makes in your skin. If you have been exfoliating using one of the usual chemical products available on the market, give your skin a break before trying any of these natural recipes. Your skin will look gorgeous and you will save yourself some money 😉

There are many natural exfoliation recipes that you can easily make up at home. Here are some recipes that I recommend:

Face Exfoliation #1

Ingredients: lemon juice, brown sugar and cotton pads.

Mix the lemon juice and the brown sugar in a bowl; making sure the sugar completely dissolves. Then apply the mixture to your face with a cotton ball, and leave it on for 10 minutes before rinsing it off.

The lemon juice acts as both an AHA (Alpha hydroxy acid ) and a BHA (beta hydroxy acid). The brown sugar contains glycolic acid. The sugar is also a humectant and draws moisture to the skin.

After exfoliating with lemon juice, you should avoid the sun. At least make sure you use a good sunblock on your skin, as the lemon juice might cause photosensitivity to the sun and you wouldn’t want to get sunburn. A good sunblock should be a daily part of your skincare anyway!

Face Exfoliation #2

Ingredients: Sugar cane, Lemon juice, apple juice, grape juice.

Mix ¼ cup each of lemon juice, apple juice, grape juice and cane sugar in a glass jar, making sure the sugar completely dissolves. Then apply the mixture to your face with a cotton ball, and leave it on for 10 minutes before rinsing it off.

Body Exfoliation #1

Ingredients: 2 cups of coarsely ground coffee, 1 cup of sea salt and a few tablespoons of milk, buttermilk, massage oil or olive oil.

Mix 2 cups of coarsely ground coffee with a cup of sea salt and a few tablespoons of milk, buttermilk, massage oil or olive oil. First step is to prepare the mixture. Then have your shower as usual and while your skin is still wet, use the scrub making circular movements to improve your blood circulation.

Rinse it with water and pat dry with a towel afterwards. Your skin will be very smooth like baby.

Body Exfoliation #2

Ingredients: 8 cups of brown or white sugar, 2 cups of avocado and 1 cup of apricot, 1 tea bag of green tea, essential oil.

Combine 8 cups of raw sugar, 2 cups of avocado and 1 cup of apricot oil into a mixing bowl.

Stir all ingredients together until the mixture forms into a thick, smooth paste. Add more sugar to the mix if the paste is runny.

Open up a tea bag filled with green tea leaves and pour the contents into the mixture. Mash the ground tealeaves into the body scrub with a fork. Add six drops of essential oil to the body scrub and stir well. You can choose your favourite scent.

You can pack the green tea body scrub into a plastic container and seal shut with a lid. So you can use several times.

Tips & Warnings

• Replace the sugar by salt if desired.
• Add 1 to 2 tbsp. of honey to the mixture if it’s too dry.
• Use essential oils that are cosmetic grade soap fragrances. These fragrances are safe for the skin.

Face or Body Exfoliation

Ingredients: brown or white sugar, olive oil, grape seed oil or jojoba oil.

Mix about half cup of brown or white sugar with enough olive oil (grape seed or jojoba oil) to make a paste. Using circular motions gently massage the mixture into your skin and rinse well. This mixture is safe enough to use on both face and body.

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Homemade Hair Treatments

Did you know that eggs can be very good to treat all types of hair?  And what about avocado?

In your kitchen you have plenty of vitamins for your skin, hair and all type of beauty care. Check out these recipes that you can easily make up at home.

Not only they are green but they will save you money!

Eggs for everyone

For normal hair –> use the entire egg

For oily hair –> use egg whites only

For dry and brittle hair –> use egg yolks only

Use 1/2 cup of whichever egg mixture is appropriate for you and apply to clean, damp hair. If there isn’t enough egg to coat scalp and hair, use more as needed. Leave on for 20 minutes, rinse with cool water (to prevent egg from “cooking”) and shampoo hair.

Tips and tricks: Whole egg and egg yolks treatments can be applied once a month. Egg whites treatment can be applied every two weeks.

Avocado temptation for damaged and fuzzy hair

Any homemade beauty addict knows that avocado is a great option for hair and skin care. Rich in vitamins B and E avocado will definitely make the difference! Here is a quick recipe that I’m sure it will give you nice silky hair.

To Use: Mash up half an avocado and massage into clean, damp hair. Let sit for 15 minutes before rinsing with water.

For deeper hydration, combine mashed avocado with 1 to 2 Tbsp. of a hydrating ingredient, like sour cream, egg yolks or mayonnaise.

When: This treatment can be applied every two weeks.

Honey sweet honey for dry or damaged hair 

Hot water, sun overexposure, flat iron can make your hair very dry. Honey can help you to hydrate it. It works as a natural humectant, which means it attracts and locks in moisture.

To Use: Massage approximately 1/2 cup of honey into clean, damp hair, let sit for 20 minutes, then rinse with warm water. You can also add 1 to 2 Tbsp. of olive oil to loosen the honey for easier application.

For extremely sun-damaged hair, try mixing honey with 1 to 2 Tbsp. of a protein-rich ingredient, like avocado or egg yolk, which will help replenish the keratin protein bonds that UV rays attack.

When: This treatment can be applied once a month.

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Gardening idea

When I was browsing on Internet this week I came across this picture on Facebook. I really like the idea. I wonder if it works well?! I haven’t try, but the idea is pretty cool!

Natural Beauty Tips

Did you know that in your kitchen you have many beauty ingredients that are totally natural and chemical free? Do you want to know more about them? Check out these natural beauty tips.

Hands

Have you ever thought about using olive oil for silky smooth skin? Believe me, olive oil is miracle oil. You can use it in your hands instead of hand cream. You can also repair sore cuticles and cracked skin by simply soaking your fingers in olive oil for 15-20 min once a week. This will strengthen your nails and soften your cuticles.

Another way to use olive oil on your hands is to apply the oil to your hands, put on gloves and leave over night. Next day, wash off with soap and warm water and you will be amazed how your skin will be soft and smooth.

Face

Mix coconut oil, dark organic honey and lemon juice in equal measure and keep this mix in the fridge. You can use this homemade facial moisturizer for few days.

For a nice and smooth skin, I recommend a yogurt cucumber mask.

How to do it: Mix 2 tbsp. of full-fat plain yogurt with ^1/2 of a pureed cucumber and apply the mixture to your face. Cover your eyes with cucumber slices and relax for 15 minutes. Rinse with cool water.

This mask can be done once a week.

Body

As a moisturiser you can use many types of oil such as olive oil, almond oil, coconut oil, macadamia nut oil or grape seed oil. My favourite is almond oil. I like the smell and the texture of it. Almond oil is also great for pregnant women to help avoid stretch marks.

Hair

Olive oil can be used for almost everything including for your hair care. Before washing your hair, apply a generous amount of olive oil from the scalp to the ends and wrap your hair with a towel. Leave it for 1 hour or as long you can, than have your shower, wash your hair as usual and you will see your hair shine.

Tip: You can replace the olive oil by using aloe vera. Use the gel inside the plant and apply generously from the scalp to the ends.

I remember when my mum use to apply olive oil or aloe vera on her hair. It really makes a difference.

This will gives you shiny beautiful hair! Try it and send me your comment!

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