What’s GREAT at the Market this Week?
BEETROOT can be grown year round in the subtropics but can be cooked or eaten differently depending on the season. So when we are looking for warming, nourishing to the soul dishes during cooler weather beetroot offers some fascinating options. I was inspired by Sarah Smith (former stall holder – Crumbs and Stuff) and now owner of Food Smith Café and Pantry at Tweed Heads who made the most amazing Beetroot Chocolate Fudge Cake topped with lashings of cream and candied beetroot. It was so so VERY delicious and with a little adaptation – as Sarah did – it can be easily and deliciously made with gluten free flour. See the recipe below.
As Delicious Magazine says, “chocolate and beetroot are unlikely bedfellows” but I can assure you that this cake truly defies any such notion. Dark chocolate + expresso + beetroot are wonderful together. Topped with candied beetroot and beetroot syrup, you will be making this cake for dinner party now and into the future.
Beetroot is also extra delicious cubed and roasted then tossed with feta from Nimbin Valley Dairy on a bed of rocket or mixed salad greens and topped with fresh or lightly roasted pecans from Tweed River Pecans. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. As the day warms up this makessuch a delicious and nourishing lunch
Spice Palace makes the most delicious beetroot dip too. Serve this on warm or toasted sour dough bread from Crabbes Creek wood Fired or Deli Café and
Endurance tip: Did you know that beetroot is high in nitrate and has been shown to boost stamina in athletes? For more beetroot health benefits you may be interested in this link: https://breakingmuscle.com/healthy-eating/endurance-athletes-beetroot-can-improve-your-performance
Easy to grow: Beetroot like radishes is easy to grow so visit
One Organic this week if you would like some seedlings to pop into your garden. Best planted at temperatures between 7and 25 degrees C. So now is perfect!
One Organic Seedlings: If you want to grow your own beetroot Kieran and Lyndel said it is theperfect time. In fact this time of year is great for just about everything. Less bad bugs to deal with. Varieties that are especially good for now are rocket, coriander, lettuce, silverbeet, baby spinach, pak choy and of course broccoli, kale, shallots and more …..
One Organic also has effective micro-organisms and mineral concentrate formulas that are especially important to keep the soil healthy. They will assist in replenishing soils ready for spring plantings and are available at their stall every Wednesday.
RECIPE: Beetroot Chocolate Fudge cake
INGREDIENTS
- 250g dark chocolate, chopped
- 3 eggs
- 250g light muscovado sugar or brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/3 cup (50g) self-raising flour –
- 1/3 cup (50g) plain flour
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 cup (25g) cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup (50g) almond meal
- 250g beetroot, peeled, grated
- 100ml strong espresso, cooled
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- Whipped cream, to serve
NB: Substitute gluten free flour if required for both the wheat flours used above
Candied beetroot
- 1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
- 3 small beetroots, peeled, thinly sliced
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease and line a 20cm square cake pan.
- Place the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water), stirring occasionally, until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Beat eggs, sugar, golden syrup and honey together using electric beaters for 5 minutes or until thick. Sift in the flours, bicarb and cocoa, then fold in the almond meal. Place the grated beetroot in a sieve and press down to extract as much liquid as possible, then stir drained beetroot into the cake batter with the melted chocolate, espresso and oil.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, for the candied beetroot, combine sugar, vanilla pod and seeds, and 1 cup (250ml) water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add beetroot and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Remove beetroot using a slotted spoon and transfer to a wire rack set over a baking tray. Return liquid to medium heat and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup (125ml). Discard pod and set aside to cool.
- Spread the cake with cream, scatter with candied beetroot and drizzle with the beetroot syrup to serve.
CHANGES & COMING SOON + Seasonal produce updates
Our new Citrus Stall – Cousins Citrus is with us for perhaps the next month or so. Along with their Somnifera Soaps – so natural and with a great liquid shampoo replacement soap as well so pop in and say hi to Stephen this week.
Mad Mountain Family Farm returns as our week 3 POP UP stall with unusual potted herbs 
– 20 types of chilli plants including rare varieties; permaculture plants that encourage beneficial insects; perennials such as gingers, lemon grass, aloe, hibiscus and comfrey and some fruit trees such as paw paw, papaya and tamarillo + herbal teas made with their own grown herbs.
ABSENT THIS WEEK ONLY
Nudgel Nuts is absent – this week ONLY
Byron Cane Juice – this week ONLY due to a fire in the cane fields that burnt equipment and car.
Blueberry Fields returns in July. The berries are a little behind anticipated ripening dates due to the hail damage sustained in November 2017.
Narbey’s Best Avocados back in July with new season Hass
Weather: Mostly sunny. Overnight temperatures falling to between 7 and 10 with daytime temperatures reaching between 18 and 21.
*REMEMBER* ATM at the market!
We have an ATM onsite for your shopping convenience.
Entertainment: Guy Kachel
Produce of the week (newest season produce is in bold):
- Apples
- Avocados – at JRA only this week
- Bananas
- Beans
- Beetroot
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflowers
- Capsicum
- Celeriac
- Citrus in abundance
- Cucumbers
- Fennel
- Lettuce
- Macadamia Nuts
- Passionfruit
- PEAS – snow peas
- Pecan nuts
- Paw Paw
- Pears
- Raspberries
- Snow Peas
- Sweet potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
Seasonal Produce List Updated:
Vegetables
Beans (+organic), Beetroot (+organic), Bok Choy, (+organic) Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Capsicum (+organic), Cauliflower, Chard (organic), Chilli (+organic), Cucumber (+organic), Corn, Eggplant (+organic), Fennel, Garlic (+organic), Herbs (+ organic basil, coriander, fennel, ginger, rocket, turmeric and more), Kale (+organic), Lettuce (cos organic), Fancy Lettuce and mixed salad greens, Micro greens (+ wide variety of organic such as alfalfa, barley greens, sunflower, broccoli, chick pea, radish and pea srouts), Peas incl snow peas (+organic), Mizuna, Onion (+organic), Mushrooms, Pak Choi (organic), Potato (Sebago) , Potatoes (kipfler ++), Pumpkin (+organic), Salad Mix, Silver Beet, Sprouts (+organic), Spinach (+organic), + Egyptian spinach, Sweet Potato (+organi
c), Tatsoi (organic), Swedes, Tomatoes (+organic), Taro, Turnip, Watercress, Zucchini (+organic).
Fruit (changes seasonally)
Apples, Apricots, Avocados, Bananas (Cavendish, Lady Fingers (organic also), Black muscat grapes,Blueberries, Carambola (star fruit), Custard apples, Dragon Fruit, Grapefruit, Grapes, Kiwi fruit (organic), Lemons + Limes (incl organic), Lychees, Mangoes, Mandarin (organic), Oranges (organic), Passionfruit, Paw Paw, Pears, Plums, Raspberries, Rock melons, Sapotes, Strawberries, Watermelons.
Flowers – Gerberas, Lisianthus, Roses, Tropical flowers – sassy heliconias.
Eggs – including organic
Nuts – Pecan nuts and macadamia nuts, nut oils, butters and choc coated nuts
Dairy – Cows milk, cheeses and yoghurt, kefir, cultured butter ++ Goats milk and soft cheeses, kefir AND award winning St Billie goats cheese.
Honey – Raw unprocessed Caldera honey, creamed honey and creamed honey with cinnamon! And bees wax candle
Breads – A variety of artisan sour dough breads baked with a diversity of organic flours (including spelt and rye) and many flavours that use local market products including macadamia nut bread!
Mushrooms – Gourmet mushrooms – king oysters, white oysters, pink oysters, blue oysters, shiitake and Shimeji available at Wollumbin Gourmet Mushrooms.
Meat – Beef, pork and goat (All Natural Meat Company produced), Salami (Nimbin Valley Diary) periodically + lamb and chicken sourced within the broader market radius and locally caught fish – very seasonal.