Don't waste them - Eat your greens!

I know it's a little late, but finally... here's my rundown on Tasting Australia, Adelaide.

Could it be possible that we're actually becoming the foodie capital of Australia? I like to think so. I attended the free Tasting Australia: Feast for the Senses 2012 event held at Elder Park back in April/May. There were cooking demonstrations, book signings, celebrity chefs, local produce, wine and food tastings and lots of people. It was a lovely day, and it made me proud to be an Adelaide local.

Tasting Australia 'Feast for the Senses' - Elder Park, Adelaide

Kids in the Kitchen

One of the 'word of mouth' presentations I attended was 'Love Food, Hate Waste', a discussion with Maggie Beer, Ronni Kahn and Richard Fox.

Fox is an active supporter of the UK's love food hate waste initiative and has been touring around the UK and Australia on a road show, showcasing how to reduce waste and re-use leftovers.

Kahn is the mastermind behind Oz Harvest. If you haven't already heard of this great program, you should look into it. Oz Harvest goes around to various commercial food companies across Australia, rescuing left over food at the end of the day, which would otherwise be thrown out and end up in landfill. The rescued food is supplied to charities supporting the disadvantaged. To date, Oz Harvest have rescued more than 11,500,000 meals.

Maggie Beer is one of Adelaide's own favourite foodies and an ambassador for the love food hate waste campaign, as well as Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Foundation. The kitchen garden foundation is a school based program educating children on how to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, seasonal food. Beer is also from the age of 'waste not want not' and is well known for her leftover recipes and for using as much of her produce as possible - that's how her gourmet ice-cream range came about!

Personally, I've been considering the impact of waste on our environment more and more lately. I always try to use everything in my fridge, I freeze leftovers, shop at Farmer's Market's and compost anything I can't cook or eat fresh. I have also recently started my own veggie patch. But with all of this, I'm sure there's always more I can do.

I found the panel discussion inspiring, but my concern is that the people in the audience are those that already know about reducing waste and, like me, already do a lot to reduce their impact on the environment. It's the people out there that don't cook, garden or research the environmental impact they have that need to attend these sorts of events. Like the panelists said, it's all about education. Generations of people aren't being taught to cook because the western society thrives off of fast food and packaged meals. My husband is one of them. It's disheartening.

I am committed to helping people reduce their waste in this world, starting at home. So here's the segue (I know you were probably wondering when I'd get to it!)...

At the Adelaide farmer's market recently I bought bunches of purple radish, colourful carrots and some beetroot. When I got to the counter the stall holder asked if I'd like the tops cut off. I never have them removed because I do actually use them. And it made me think, do people realise they can eat the tops of these beautiful veggies? I use them like I would lettuce or spinach - as the base to salads or for a cleansing green juice. The taste is definitely different, and carrot tops can be particularly bitter so I use them sparingly in salad, and always with some particularly tasty home-made dressing.

Farmer's Market produce

Veggie tops ready for washing and chopping

Another way to boost the flavour is to cook them. So here's my take on yet another trusty Hugh recipe, and a brilliant way to use up those greens!

Green top frittata (vegetarian, dairy free, gluten free)
Serves 2-4

You will need...
About 2 cups roughly chopped greens (beet tops, carrot tops, spinach, lettuce, chard, etc) washed
1 red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced or finely diced
4 free range, organic eggs
1 tablespoon GF cornflour

Start by preheating your oven to 180 degrees C. In a fry pan saute the onions for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Turn the heat down to low. Meanwhile, blanch the chopped greens in a pot of boiling salted water for about 30 - 1 minute. Drain the greens and squeeze out any excess water. Stir the drained greens into the onions and cook for a further minute. Spoon the cooked onion and greens into a small-medium baking dish.

Whisk the eggs with the garlic until well combined and season with salt & pepper. Add the flour and whisk lightly to combine (don't over mix because it will thicken). Pour the egg mixture over the onion and greens and stir to combine.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the top of the frittata is golden brown. Serve warm slices with steamed broccoli.