Green Banana Rissoles-Cakes

Oven baked green banana savoury cake

• Boil and mash sufficient green bananas (or plantains) to replace the meat in a traditional rissole recipe.

• Blend with plain flour (wholemeal, half wholemeal is preferred), an egg if you like, crushed nuts, finely chopped vegetables, seasonings (cumin works well) and herbs of your choice until you have a mix that can be shaped into small rissoles.

• Fry in a frypan using coconut or olive oil or bake in the oven to avoid oils. These little savoury cakes go well to nibble with pumpkin soup or serve with a savoury sauce.

Recipe: Green Vegetable Bake.

The half demolished Bake

I am always looking for recipes that utilise our abundant garden greens. The accompanying picture looks unappetising but the leftovers were refridgerated


 1. Collect your greens and any other vegetables. I prefer to use tomatoes in a salad rather than a bake but I use any of the following in a mix of greens :

• Small chokoes  • pumpkin leaves, • Katuk • Okinawa Spinach, • Ceylon Spinach, spinach • silver beet or beet leaves • Surinam Spinach • Brazil Spinach  •sweet potato leaves  • some chili or capsicum leaves • capsicum • various herbs • spring onions • Moringa leaves and flowers • cooked Chaya Spinach Tree leaves • cooked Warrigal Greens •mustard • rocket • zucchini 

2. Rinse well if required.

3. Fry some garlic and onion in oil (I prefer olive oil but coconut oil also works) .

4. In a 'kitchen whizz' chop a layer of hard vegetables such as pumpkin and carrot with the cooked onion and garlic. Add an egg or two and some cream or a little milk or yoghurt. Season. Also add some tasty cheese or feta cheese.

5. Layer the chopped vegetables in an oiled or buttered oven proof dish.

6.  'Whizz"/chop the green vegetables along with some seasoning,  eggs and a little milk or cream and add as another layer to the ovenproof dish. Keep the amounts of liquids small because the greens generate plenty of liquid. If you like you can just mix everything into one layer.

7. Bake for close to an hour in a moderate oven until dry on top.

8. Optional: Top with cheese (feta, tasty or parmesan) and bake for another 5 minutes.

9. Serve warm or cold with a salad.

See also:

Eat your Pumpkin leaves and links to vegetable recipes using indigenous plants

Using Herbs in Everyday Life Workshop

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia is hosting a 'Using Herbs in Everyday Life' Workshop on Thursday 30th March  at 25 Nobles Lane, East Bellingen.

It is also hosting a visit by CEO of SEKEM Community in Egypt (A Biodynamic Sustainable Community of 3000 people in the desert) -Helmy Abouleish on Thursday 21st April (workshops and forum), and Thursday evening (public talk and Q and A session. See www.sekem.com

Gathering April 2014 at Jodi & Michael's

Bellingen Seed Savers' Gathering at Jodi, Michael and Quinn's hugely productive property in Dorrigo in April 2014. 

Here's a glimpse of their ever-evolving piece of paradise,  achieved by creativity, innovation and sheer hard work. 

View from the terrace

The chicken tractor fits the terrace beds and is moved frequently 

New swales will gently guide water into the new dam - when it rains!

Like-minded friends share their joy in their surroundings

The large variety of fruit trees are all grown from seed

The blue recycled half-barrels hold strawberries and hard-to-confine herbs such as mint.
Flowers are grown throughout the garden to attract beneficial insects and delight the eye. 

Jodi finds that the most efficient way of raising seedlings is to sow into soil blockers
To look at the equipment used click on soil blockers

Quinn enjoys foraging in the garden for
wonderful nutritious, truly local food.

Another successful Plant Fair

Excerpt from Irene's mail out to members about our stall at the Bellingen Autumn Plant Fair on March 8.

"I was very happy at the level of enthusiasm of so many people who came to the stall.   They asked lots of questions, acquired well over 300 packets of seeds and much plant material  - then went away smiling. We have another 24 people to add to the 340 already on our mailing list.  Best of all - two people who came to the stall actually brought us seeds.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, time, plants and friendship.

The March Newsletter will be with you shortly.

Setting up starts at 7.00 am

We also share useful food plants.

Click to enlarge to see the seed varieties.

For more photographs click here

Artist Fiona Morgan - artist, gardener and seed saver - exhibition at Nexus Gallery all this month.

Hi Seed Savers

Artist Fiona Morgan - artist, gardener and seed saver - exhibition at Nexus Gallery  all this month.  Here are the details.

Best wishes

Irene, Bellingen Seed Savers

Bellingen Seed Savers at Autumn Plant Fair 2013

Bellingen Seed Savers

at the Autumn Plant Fair

Saturday 9 March 2013

We provided a wide variety of interesting, resilient fruit, herb and vegetable seeds and plant material raised by our members and suitable for our climate.

Our new seed display and labels. Click to enlarge and read.

Next Gathering:

Thursday 6 October 1pm  

Coronation Street, Bellingen

This will be a lovely place to spend a Spring afternoon.  This mature garden is delightful and quite different from any that we have been to before.  The extensive use of pavings with a huge raised and netted herb and vegetable bed, surrounded by densely planted borders, makes for a low maintenance, creative garden.  There is a lot to learn in this garden and I hope you can come and enjoy it.  One of the delights is the sound of the water feature.

Please let me know if you can be there.  It is very helpful to our host to have a reasonable idea of how many people to expect.  I will send the address and let you know of anything you need to bring.

Cheers

Irene