Turmeric and Ginger

I absolutely love growing my own produce. Growing ginger and turmeric for me comes quite easily, not sure if thats because it is so easy to grow or I just manage to get it right. Either way I manage to get quite a substantial crop, probably more than the average family would use in one year. Unlike other crops that you can see the growth of your harvest as it matures, ginger and turmeric are an under ground crop so its a guessing game to determine how much there is. I love looking out from my kitchen window and seeing the beautiful leaves of these crops,they really do bring an alive and thriving element to the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know exactly how much I have harvested this year and I still have a few (6 different spots) to do, but so far I reckon I have dug up, combined around 15kg to 20kg and I reckon there will be at least another 10gk to come. So what do I do with such a large amount produce all in one go, cos as you can imagine we don’t consume that amount fresh. We have several different preserving methods here as we like to use the produce in different ways. Our most common ways is to turn them into pastes and freeze them is small jars, I also like to dehydrate them and turn them into powders.

Turmeric & Ginger Paste
I now have a freezer full of this beautiful paste to use throughout the year. I use this paste for to make,

? Turmeric latte.
? Curries.
? Stews.
? Spaghetti Bolognese.
Just to name a few things.

? Turmeric & Ginger Paste Recipe ?

? Equal parts Turmeric and Ginger
? dōTERRA Black Pepper oil (you can purchase it from here)
? Coconut oil enough to make the mixture a paste.

I’m very much someone who just estimates quantity’s but for every 100g of turmeric and ginger I use a drop of Black Pepper oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dehydrated Turmeric & Ginger

The pantry is full with jars of dehydrated home grown turmeric and ginger. Wow the endless uses for these two powders, my favourite way is to put them into capsules and taking them internally to help with inflammation and gut issues.

With the freezer and pantry full with goodness for the years, I have plenty of time to get on with all the other important day to day runnings.

SMOOTHIE

What a busy time it’s been for me lately. Getting settled for a little while, and starting the kids with their home schooling. This home schooling thing has been a little bit of a challenge (not for the kids, just for me getting my head around the back to basics).  Now that we are getting into the swing of things I can start to test out and post up some more recipes.

I think I’ve kept you waiting long enough now for a new post so I should get on with it.

 

WOW what a great find on the Internet, I never thought of using dates and chia seeds in a smoothie but it dose turn out quite delicious. Dates add the sweetness that is nice in a smoothie, and also adds a little bit of thickness. Chia seeds adds thickness to the smoothie and acts a little like putting in a dollop of ice cream for body and thickness but without the dairy. Chia seeds are also full of omega-3, antioxidants, fibre, calcium and protein. So why wouldn’t you add them to your next smoothie.

I did change this recipe around a bit to suit our tastes.

 

Smoothie

 

Add to blender

 

1/2 – 1 cup frozen berries or 2 bananas

8 pitted dates, soaked to soften them

1 tbsp Chia Seeds (you can grind them in a coffee grinder if you wish)

3 to 4 cups rice, almond, coconut milk

 

Blend

I put my milk and dates in a jug to soak at breakfast time. This way when I’m ready for a smoothie the smoothie is almost ready for me.

MANGO MADNESS

MANGO MADNESS

Well it’s mango madness time of the year here in the tropics and I sure am loving all these fresh mangoes. Most years we freeze a whole heap of mango cheeks and use them throughout the year, but this year we won’t have the freezer space so we are in overdrive drying as many as we can.

 

 

 

 

 

We can’t dry all the mangos, we do have to eat them fresh as well. Fresh mango and cherry salad with coconut cream seems to be on the cards for me most days for afternoon tea.

The girls are hooking into the mango smoothies, and Matt is eating them chilled straight off the cheek.

MANGO SMOOTHIE

1 Mango peeled and cut

Rice, almond, coconut Milk

then blend and chill.   Delish

What is your favourite way to eat mangoes?

Do you have a great DF, GF mango recipe?

ICED COFFEE

I have been having this huge craving for iced coffee, which is peculiar for me because before starting this diet I couldn’t even drink coffee due to really bad stomach cramps which would last a couple of hours. After going gluten and dairy free for about 2 months I thought I would give coffee a go and ‘wa lah’ no more cramps.

1 shot of nespresso coffee
Rice, Almond, Coconut milk

Combine the two ingredients and mix well. I then like to place it in the freezer for a couple of hours to get nice and icy. Mix well again (should look like a slushy) and then drink up. This is sooooo good.