Friday, May 7, 2010

Last minute Harvest before Byron


I decided to collect pepper from the local pepper tree in case they all fall on the ground before I get back in 3 weeks. They are a beautiful pink colour.

According to"The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs" by Leslie Taylor, all parts of this tree, seeds, fruit, leaves, and bark are useful medicinally, and have been used for many years in other countries. Ailments such as hypertension, menstrual disorders, fungal infections, and too many others to mention. This tree is a virtual pharmacy, with applications for practically any ailment, but it is also on the major weed list.
It has also been included in the 'Jumping the Garden Fence' report which examines the impact of invasive garden plants on Australian agricultural land and natural ecosystems. Michael and I suffer from some of the ailments that this amazing tree is supposed to heal, but actually, I just wanted to eat the pepper corns. I figure it should be very good for us as well - added bonus!


I removed these corns from the stems to dry, but Aarod (my genious in the making) suggested I hang the branches up to dry as the pepper corns may be easier to remove once they're dry - good plan I say, and an excellent excuse not to do it till I get back!


I am still not 100% well, and I found these beauties in the garden, they remind me of Mum's apple & rhubarb crumble, so I decided to make some for tonight's tea.


After cutting up the rhubarb and Mclaren Flat apples, I realised that I had no butter -not even in the freezer!

But found this in the fridge, so I thought it was worth a try substituting goat's curd from the Farmer's market for the butter. It might be a taste sensation!

The crumble looked a bit bereft, as I often add oats, sugar, coconut, seeds of some sort, to give it some oomph. Alas I had none of these, so I ground up some Willunga almonds, some cloves, and 1/2 a cinnamon stick (from pantry). I also added some honey to the fruit.


Finished product ready for the oven - yum.


Served with some BD yoghurt, it is very nice, not too sweet. You get a bit of an aftertaste from the goats curd but it is not overpowering, and the genious went back for seconds, so it can't be that bad.

No comments:

Post a Comment