Eat Well Issue #36 2021

Chartreuse is a liqueur containing no less than 130 different herbs. This French infusion owes its origins to an order of devout Catholic monks, the Carthusians, who settled in the Chartreuse Mountains in France in the 12th century. It was in 1605, in Vauvert, near Paris, when the Carthusian monks received a copy of a recipe for an “Elixir of Long Life”. This potent recipe called for a base of 70 per cent wine, plus 130 herbs and spices. By the 1700s the monks were creating a medicinal elixir based on this recipe that became known as “chartreuse”. In the 1800s they had expanded to include Green Chartreuse (at 55 per cent alcohol) and Yellow Chartreuse (at a mild 40 per cent). As the fame of Chartreuse spread, the French…

What is the shape of your life? In truth, in my case, “shape” is a generous term for what often feels like a riotously morphing and ill-fitting series of events. Life is a maelstrom, and the shape of it is something that only really makes itself plain in retrospect, when seen from a distance. Looking back, I can see that my life and the life of my family have distinct changes in shape during the year. My daughters are school age and during holidays, whether they’re at the end of the year or the breaks between terms, the shape of days is ovoid and long. During holidays, things can be done when you want and you do largely what you want. The oval nature of things is comfortable and accommodating; there…

Pears ripen from the inside out so when looking for a pear that is ready to eat, you should gently press around the flesh of the stem. If the pear is ripe, the flesh around the stem will give a little. Beware though, if the bottom of the pear is also soft then it is overripe. Store your unripe pears in a bowl but once ripe, a pear will keep in the fridge for two to three weeks. Of course, pears can be enjoyed as a simple raw snack, but they also go well with cheese, in a salad, or poached on a low heat in red wine or port.…

Danielle Minnebo Danielle is a university-qualified nutritionist, a passionate home cook and founder of Food to Nourish. Danielle’s love affair with cooking started at a very young age in the kitchen, where she was taught to cook by her mother. She went on to complete an Advanced Diploma in Nutritional Medicine and a Bachelor of Health Science in Complementary Medicine. She is completing her Master of Human Nutrition through Deakin University. Danielle is passionate about helping people form a better understanding of nutrition and a healthier relationship with the food they eat. In fact, she’s on a mission to help spread the real food message to as many people as possible. This involves breaking common diet myths and re-educating people on what real food is actually about. This means ditching the low-fat products…

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgarum) was a symbol of success in ancient Greece, where they nicknamed it “marathon” in memory of the race. Ancients believed it would guard against unseen evil and the poet Longfellow implied that it could help restore lost vision. In cooking fennel goes beautifully in salads but can also be lightly cooked and tossed through pasta or sliced thinly and shallow fried or added to stews. It is the seeds of fennel that provide the most medicinal benefit. They have powerful “carminative” effects, meaning they relax the smooth muscle of the intestines. The seeds also help in the treatment of kidney stones and are used by herbalists in the treatment of cystitis.…

“As the French have realised, Jerusalem artichokes are a marvellous soup vegetable.” Although they share a common name, globe artichokes and Jerusalem artichokes are quite different plants. Jerusalem artichoke is native to North America and is a part of the sunflower family of plants. The tuber of the Jerusalem artichoke grows up to 10 centimetres long and four to five centimetres thick. Sometime during the 17th century, the Jerusalem artichoke made its way to Europe and it has been popular there ever since, especially in France, and in fact it won the title “best soup vegetable” in the 2002 Nice Festival for the Heritage of the French Cuisine. Globe artichoke is like a thistle and has a long history of use as a culinary delicacy and a useful medicine. Unlike the Jerusalem…