Persimmon & Passionfruit Spelt Cake & Jeffers Market Beautiful Persimmon Farm

Persimmons are a fruit that not everyone is familiar with, or even has eaten and yet they have a long and vibrant history and have been used in places like China for over 2000 years.
Really high in antioxidants like catechins and gallocatechins (both anti inflammatory and anti hemorrhagic) and phyto-nutrients and anti tumour compound betulinic acid. Persimmons are said to help neutralize free radicals that cause degenerative diseases like cancer and even macula degeneration.

They are also said to be an excellent fruit to eat when wanting to lose weight as they are extremely low in calories while still being a good source of fibre and nutrients like vitamin c and b complex vitamins. Even manganese, copper and potassium.

Persimmons or kaki trees are grown worldwide, extensively in Asia and have an exciting flourishing industry in Australia too, in particular the stunning persimmon farm I recently had the delight to visit nestled near Nambour run by the Jeffers family, owners of the absolutely gorgeous Jeffers Market stores, what an absolute jewel for the Sunshine Coast and Australian seasonal produce.

On the lovely farm I met Stephen Jeffers, an inspirational advocate for real food, local and seasonal produce. What an amazing family the Jeffers are, not just successful business owners on the Sunshine Coast but also farmers from this area since 1954 through the generations with such strong links to the region and great Australian seasonal produce. When you hear Stephen talk you are taken in by his passion and dedication for real, fresh produce and his knowledge. One visit to the Jeffers market stores and you can see instantly their passion for organics, pesticide free produce, seasonal produce and local products and even natural and healthy living products and ingredients.

I had the absolute pleasure to listen to Stephen talk about Persimmons, a subject close to his heart and one that he is an expert on. Stephen has traveled the world talking about and studying Persimmons and how they are eaten, grown and loved around the world.
Persimmons have strong roots in many cultures including French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish cooking and were used as food and as medicine by many cultures including the Native Americans and early European Colonists and during the American civil war.
Persimmons are either astringent or non astringent and the variety the Jeffers grow are a non astringent variety called FuYu, and they are absolutely delicious!

For some reason these stunning fruits have been a little overlooked by shoppers in these modern times but they are fast making an exciting splash onto the seasonal, fresh produce scene and for good reason, not only are they vibrant and delicious but they are a really exciting ingredient for many sweet and savoury dishes.

Like my beautiful persimmon, passionfruit and pineapple spelt cake below!
You can find the gorgeous Jeffers persimons at either their Yandina or Maroochydore stores on the Sunshine Coast, Qld or in Brisbane at IFruit Kenmore, James st market or Ferry Rd Market.
 

Persimmon, Passionfruit and Pineapple Spelt Cake  

Ingredients
125 grams butter

2 very ripe large persimmons

4 passion fruit

1 pear, grated

1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped into small pieces
1 free range egg

3/4 cup dark coconut sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups wholemeal spelt flour

1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 very ripe persimmon

1 &1/2 cups Natvia stevia icing sugar

1 tablespoon butter, soft

Fresh sliced persimmon to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180ç

Cream the butter and coconut sugar together

Beat in the egg and then the vanilla

Scoop out the ripe persimmon flesh, it should be ripe enough to look like orange jelly.

Mix this through and then the grated pear and passionfruit.

Combine the flour and baking powder together.

Mix all together and pour into a well greased cake tin.

While cake is baking make the refined sugar free icing.

In a bowl blend the Nativa icing sugar and butter, gradually adding in the half jelly persimmon until you have a smooth icing mixture.

Set aside.

Remove cake from oven and allow to completely cool.

Top with the icing and then slices of fresh, crunchy persimmon for texture and flavour contrast (trust me - it goes beautifully)

Enjoy!

Notes

• My kids called this the letter P cake! So much fun to make with kids who are learning their alphabet and the older ones at school with all its P's with persimmon, pear, passionfruit and pineapple!
• Nice served with fresh whipped cream.
• Make a dairy free version by replcing butter with a suitable alternative and making a persimmon drizzle by placing the half jelly persimmon in a saucepan with a tablespoon of coconut sugar and stirring over a low heat until dissolved or tweaking the icing as described above.
• Pour this mixture over the cake while it is still warm and serve.
• This cake needs to be kept in the fridge, it is very moist and fudgey so is best eaten within 1-3 days.

Toddler Tips

• This is a rich cake so I serve just a small piece to my toddler with lots of chopped up fresh persimmon, pear and pineapple and drizzled with passionfruit.

Bek XX

Eat beautiful. Be Active. Live Well. Be Happy.
AND
Eat Seasonal! 

Spelt, Beetroot and Walnut Chocolate Brownies

It is school holidays here and the kids love to eat a lot, cook alot, do fun things, explore, run amok,  and did I mention eat a LOT?

The recipe below has been one of their favourite picks these holidays.

Spelt, Walnut & Beetroot Chocolate Brownies

We  made these brownies right after the grand opening of Coles in Nambour, yes, I was made delighted to go down for all the face-painting, balloon blowing, stilt walking, live music, games, colouring in, ring tossing and fun and festivities after my kids discovered everything that was going to be happening down there.

I have to be honest and say we were a bit disappointed with the main lift not working and traipsing across to the next one and then all the way around to the said open new shop and through non automatic doors (you notice these things pushing a pram or trolley) and we had been hoping to see more specialty stores, when it is not so busy I would recommend parking up the top rather than underneath if you have a pram, I think a lot of Nambour and surrounds was excited and eager to see what specialty stores were going with it, I was naturally hoping for a kitchen ware shop ;) I can't say I am a huge fan of the design of these shops being wrapped around outside in the heat instead of inside a shopping centre design with air con, I don't tend to browse a lot when we are all hot but I am very happy to see Coles is moving with times and taking great strides like teaming up with WWF to source and supply sustainability caught seafood.
And we were all very impressed with Not Just For Kids entertainment that was put on and the general atmosphere was great and staff were very happy and friendly, it is good to see more jobs in the region and growth in Nambour.

Couldn't believe she stayed so still!

Lily is always a fan of free balloons and promotional giveaways!

AND I was very surprised and happy that this Coles had a lot of organic and healthy food items that you just don't often see in such a large supermarket chain store and at very family budget friendly prices, which when you are on a tight budget can make a big difference to what you can actually buy and make for your family each fortnight.
The organic, wholemeal spelt flour in a large bag I was very happy to see and it was that we used for these brownies.

Spelt, Walnut & Beetroot Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

• 2 cups wholemeal, organic spelt flour
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 4 free range eggs
• 1/2 cup raw honey (or to taste)
• 1 cup walnuts, roughly smashed - see notes
• 200g dark chocolate of choice - see notes
• 1 cup firmly packed grated, raw beetroot
• 1/2 teaspoon pink himalayan salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• baking paper - I use If You Care non toxic baking paper

Method

• Pre-heat oven to 180ç. 
• Grease and then line a suitable baking dis with baking paper.
• Over a low heat melt the chocolate and butter together. (You can of course do this double boiler if you want too but I find over a low heat as it is with butter (and as a busy mum) I often just do it this way).
• Remove from heat.
• Stir honey into chocolate mixture.
• In a large bowl combine the spelt flour, salt, baking powder.
• Add in the eggs, mix together.
• Mix in the walnuts and beetroot.
• Combine it all together and pour into the prepared tin.
• Bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes or until nice and golden and firm on top but you want the skewer to come out a little sticky in spots so that your brownies are still lovely and chocolately gooeyness in some places but still quite firm. Sometimes ovens vary so a lot will depend on how yours cooks too.
• Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack, cut into squares.
• My kids especially liked theirs drizzled with Maleny Dairies fresh, nothing added real cream, by themselves and with a chocolate sauce.

Notes

• You don't want to over-smash your walnuts as you want mostly crumbly with some bigger chunks through it.
• Use your preferred dark chocolate, you could even use Sweet Williams sugar free or an organic bitter dark - just remember to taste your batter in case it is not sweet enough if the chocolate is really bitter- unless you like it that way!
• Use a GF flour to make these gluten free.

Happy Cooking!

Bek XX

Note: this was not a sponsored post

Growing Tomatoes and A Tasty Spelt Tomato Tart

I love tomatoes. I love cooking with them, eating them, and especially growing them. This is a great recipe to really showcase their taste and beauty.

Tasty Spelt Home Grown Tomato Tart

This recipe was featured in Holistic Bliss Magazine

Ingredients
• 1 & ½ cups mixed fresh home grown tomatoes ( I have used heirloom varieties here)
• ½ medium sized leek
• 3 free range egg yolks
• 1 & ½ cups spelt flour
• ¼ cup fresh parmesan cheese, finely grated
• ¼ cup cheddar cheese, finely grated
• 85 g goats cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, stalks removed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, stalks removed
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 125g butter, chilled and cut up into small cubes

Method
• Pre heat oven to approximately 180’c.
• Grease a tin or dish for your tomato tart.
• Wash and then dry the tomatoes.
• Sift flour into a bowl.
• Add in the chilled butter, rub into the flour using your fingers, working your way through the mixture until it looks a little bit like breadcrumbs.
• Add in the rosemary, mix through.
• Add in the egg yolks and the water, kneading it into a smooth looking dough.
• Wrap and chill in the fridge for around 20 minutes.
• Remove from fridge and roll it out between 2 sheets of baking paper to make a reasonably thin large shape.
• Cut to shape to fit your prepared tin, pressing edges into place around the pan.
• Layer the pastry with the leek, followed by the grated cheeses.
• Break up the goat’s cheese and place in segments around the tart.
• Slice all the tomatoes to a similar thickness and arrange on the tart. Trying not to have it too thick in any one place and a nice even coverage, sprinkle the thyme over the top.
• Bake in a medium hot oven for approximately 30 minutes or until pastry is cooked. Pastry should be golden and cooked and tomatoes should be visibly cooked on top.
• Serve with a fresh green salad.

Notes
• This is a great recipe for home grown tomatoes, especially organic, interesting heirloom varieties. If you don’t grow your own you can use bought tomatoes like cherry, roma or other varieties. If you don't have your own tomatoes look out for a packet of heirloom tomatoes when you are shopping.
• Tomatoes are an easy and rewarding crop to grow and one I recommend highly for kids.

Tomatoes

Solanum lycopersicum, Tomatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow and they have so much reward, and because of this they are great for getting kids interested in real foods and gardening. Kids love being able to pick tomatoes and eat them fresh straight from the garden, especially cherry tomatoes.

Belonging to the nightshade family and originating from Mexico and eaten widely around the world there are estimated to be more than 7 and 1/2 thousand cultivars and several wild varieties and some of these are truly incredible but for me it is the older, heirloom varieties that interest me the most along with some of the trusty favourites.

My top tomato growing tips:

• Tomatoes love and need lots of SUN. Make sure where you plan to grow them gets lots of lovely full sun.
• Get the soil right. I say this all the time in gardening workshops, one thing you should never scrimp on in gardening is getting your soil the best it can be. This means compost, manure, lots of organic matter, and for tomatoes some lime and a little potash too all prepared into a beautiful, rich soil mix before planting. The more effort and time you spend here in the beginning, the better, healthier and stronger plants you will get. 
• Water right. Try really hard not to be a sposmadic waterer. Get yourself into a routine. Don't give them heaps one day and then forget them for a week only to drown them again. Try and water them well (not drowned) on a regular basis, and water at the roots rather than spraying water on their leaves. 
• Keep them healthy. Strong tomatoes are pretty hardy, but tomatoes are of course susceptible to a few pests and diseases. Prevention is always better than cure. Tomatoes can get a disease from calcium deficiency, hence why it is good to add lime to to soil when you prepare it, before planting, another tip > back in my nursery days the best tomato grower I knew, an elderly Italian man with his prize winning tomatoes gave his epsom salts, how do they work? They give the plants magnesium, when plants are deficient in magnesium it makes it hard for them to absorb other nutrients they need and they can be weak and even get sick. A good rich soil should provide them with this but you could also try just a little, every so often watered in around the roots at a weak ratio.
• Seasol. Seaweed emulsions and fish emulsions are my favourite fertiliser. Seasol can be added to your watering can and poured right over the entire plant, it is one of the safest of all fertilisers, even safe with orchids, and protects and strengthens plants making them better able to cope with stress, frost, drought, winds even salt spray and plants fertilised with it are much less likely to suffer insect attack.
• Companion plant. I plant carrots, basil, mint, parsley, marigolds and chives around my tomatoes.
• If you see just a few insects, don't panic straight away! It is important in an organic garden to encourage natural predators and many of these will be insects too, killing all bugs kills them as well so this means letting a good balance develop in your garden and only treating insects in large numbers or hand removal if possible. If your plants are healthy and strong, well nourished and watered, they are far less likely to be attacked so focus on keeping them healthy, right from the start.
• Support them, remember to stake and trellis where needed.
• As much as you can, try and grow them organically. Avoid the synthetic fertilisers and if you do have to spray try natural remedies. 
• Grow to your climate. Tomatoes are pretty versatile and in a lot of Australia will grow pretty much all year round but if you live in a specific area like a cold climate or really tropical spot - check with your local nursery for varieties that grow really well where you live as some will be more suited than others and you may also need to grow only in a set season or with some added tools.
• Be adventurous. Tomatoes vary from tiny pea sized to giant beefsteak varieties, so don't be frightened to try a few different ones, look out for heirloom, organic and unusual varieties. I would recommend getting seed from seed saver clubs as well as seeing what your local nurseries have to offer.
• Growing in pots. Yes tomatoes can be grown in pots, if needed, some varieties are much better suited than others and go for a nice, really large pot and a really good potting mix with plenty of added compost.
• Get the kids involved, right from the start. Let them help choose seed or seedlings, prepare the soil, I always tell my kids it is like a giant cake mix and you need all the ingredients just right. Let them help water and why not make it an experiment and let them keep a journal, writing down each step and taking measurements at how they are growing right through to their first harvest. They can then look up recipes and you can do some fun cooking together with your own home grown tomatoes!
  Why not check out a gorgeous PLANET ECO kids gardening gift pack!
• Stay interested. One of the biggest thing I have seen is people starting out really well but losing interest after a few weeks and then plants get neglected and neglect usually leads to weak plants which leads to sick plants or insect attack and so on.
  I recommend planting some very pretty annuals along the edges of your garden bed, seems such a little thing, but it truly can help you interested and enjoy being out their more watering etc it makes the whole area inviting and beautiful. I often grow vegetables in amongst flowers, to me vegetables are gorgeous plants well worth showing off and make stunning centre pieces too.

Happy Cooking & Gardening!

Bek XX

recipe, text and photography (c)RebeccaMugridge2013