It's time to get real organic, naturally

Published Feb 23, 2010

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Eating organic food doesn't mean eating vegetables only. Nowadays you can buy nearly everything you need in the kitchen in an organic form, even prepared cereals.

As demand increases, organic vegetables are increasingly easy to find. But meat, chicken and dairy products are not as plentiful. It's still very difficult to get organic meat. Cheese is easier to find, if you like goat's milk cheese.

While you can buy free-range chickens and eggs, organic chicken is hard to come by, - because chicken feed includes genetically modified maize, which doesn't make the organic grade. In South Africa about 75 percent of our maize is genetically modified.

What exactly is organic food? Organic food may not contain GM products; they are grown using manure and compost, not chemical fertilisers; farmers may not use insecticides or chemical pesticides, or give animals antibiotics and growth hormones to prevent disease and speed up growth. In the processing of organic foods, no artificial colourants and preservatives can be used.

And that's just the beginning. There are myriad issues to consider when buying food (such as carbon miles, excess packaging), organic being only one of them.

Organic food is more expensive; the certification process is costly so smaller farmers cannot always afford it; some also question whether it's more nutritious .

The main arguments given for eating organic is health, and that organic farming is better for the environment as the farmer has to build up the health of the soil rather than feed it with chemicals.

Why should we worry? In the last 50 years our environment has been slowly poisoned with chemicals that affect our soil, water and air quality - and our food.

A 2005 study of the umbilical chords of babies found 287 chemical toxins present. Not all come from the food we eat, but many do.

As consumer demand grows, so does organic farming worldwide. Brazil, Kenya and Uganda have adopted aggressive organic farming programmes, says David Wolstenholme, director of the Natural and Organic Products Exhibition.

Brazil has created over two million new jobs, and Kenya a million, growing organic produce. They have both created vibrant export markets, raising cash-flow, paying good wages and in the cost of food at retail level has dropped by 15 percent over the past three years.

"That has clearly not happened here because we are addicted to GM crops. Imagine creating millions of new jobs and lowering food prices, taking care of our environment, rotating crops, managing water and protecting our soil. It's happening in Brazil and Kenya."

Preparing organic food is no different from other food. However, my experience has been that, on the whole, organic vegetables taste better, so it makes sense to maintain taste by minimising cooking, and eat them raw or lightly steamed.

I've looked around for recipes which incorporate food that's in season, and included one for quinoa, a more recent addition to the supermarket shelves. A friend confessed she had a packet in her cupboard, but didn't know how to cook it: rinse it well, then simmer in two cups of water to one cup of quinoa until water has been absorbed. Simple.

Larissa Green's recipe uses a variety of fresh ingredients, so use organic vegetables where possible.

I've also discovered raw beetroot - crunchy sweet and earthy - so I've included my recipe for a beetroot salad. Vary it as you like - sunflower seeds are a good addition.

I'm sold on raw food fundi Beryn Daniel's mango tart (from Rawlicious, their self-published book) which is easy to make and truly delicious. Beryn and Peter Daniel will have a Raw Food Bar at the Organic Exhibition, so look out for them. I've added a granadilla topping, because I find it offsets the sweetness of the mango perfectly.

Figs are in season now, sweet, juicy and great to eat fresh. I made some cinnamon figs, and used them in a rocket salad.

There are so many uses for tomatoes but I prefer them sliced, with a piece of cheese, pesto and a cracker. No recipe required.

- This weekend (from tomorrow) is the Natural and Organic Products exhibition at the CTICC. go to www.naturalandorganic.co.za

ROCKET SALAD WITH CINNAMON FIGS AND PINENUTS

This is an unusual but delicious salad.

The ingredients combine the different Mediterranean and spicy flavours - set off by rocket's bite - that complement each other perfectly, and that will earn you compliments from your guests.

Cinnamon figs

200g fresh ripe figs

2 tbs honey

1 tsp cold-pressed oil (olive or sunflower)

1 tsp cinnamon powder

Salad

Rocket

Red pepper

Pine nuts

Olive oil

Cut the figs into slices of about 2cm thick.

Mix the other ingredients and gently cover the fig pieces with it.

Place the fig pieces on a non-stick tray and dry in a low oven (70°C) for a few hours, or in a dehydrator if you have one.

Leave the figs to cool.

Wash and dry one cup of rocket leaves and then lay these on a flat plate.

Slice a red pepper lengthways and arrange with the figs on the rocket.

Sprinkle with pine nuts and a little olive oil.

MANGO TART

This recipe is from Beryn and Peter Daniels's book, Rawlicious, published by Soaring Free Superfoods.

My variation is to add granadilla pulp at the end.

I use half the quantities here, as this makes a very big tart.

Base

1189 cups cashews or almonds

3 cups desiccated coconut

1 tbs lemon juice

Seeds of 189 vanilla pod

189 cup honey

1 tbs coconut oil

Grind the nuts into a fine crumb mixture.

Add the coconut and other ingredients and mix until well combined.

Use a quiche tin with a removable base or a springform cake tin and press the mixture into the bottom.

Puncture holes into the base using a fork.

Put the mixture into fridge while you make the filling.

Mango mousse filling:

5 ripe mangoes

1 cup coconut oil

Seeds of 189 a vanilla pod

189 tsp Himalayan rock salt

Blend all the mousse ingredients together.

Get your base out of the fridge and pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate.

This will set within one to two hours. When set, spread the flesh and pips of three granadillas over the top.

Free the tart from the tin and serve.

BEETROOT AND YELLOW PEPPER SALAD

2 medium-sized beetroots

189 a yellow pepper, chopped finely

189 a tsp of Tamari (or 2 tsp soy sauce)

188 tsp grated ginger

1 tbs olive oil

2 tsp sesame seeds

Peel the beetroots and slice them into matchstick-sized bits; if you have a spiraliser, use this and cut any long strands into smaller bits.

Mix the Tamari, ginger and olive oil, and then stir into the beetroot.

Add yellow pepper and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

NUTTY QUINOA RAW FUSION SALAD

3 cups quinoa, cooked and cooled

189 cup of almonds

2 baby marrows, finely diced

3 radishes

2 patty pans, finely diced

2 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal

1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped

1 handful lemon balm, or watercress

1 tbs pumpkin seeds

I tbs flaxseeds

Dressing

3 tbs sunflower oil

1 tbs brown rice vinegar

1 tsp lemon rind, finely grated

2 tsp herb pesto

Black pepper, freshly ground

Sea salt

First make the dressing by blending the ingredients well. Toss together all the salad ingredients. Gently mix through the dressing before serving.

This recipe is from Larissa Green's Love Green Food, published by XLIBRIS.

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