A friend of mine, R., lives in a tiny row house near Regent’s Park in the Marylebone district of London. The door is painted bright yellow and there is a veritable garden on the front pavement and across the way, lined with trees in pots, flowers and other vegetation. Once, when I visited her, she served a small loaf of rye bread which had a tight crumb and toasted up beautifully with a crusty exterior and chewy insides. It was just right, spread with thin slices of pate, or sweet butter and homemade jam. Fruitlessly, I have looked for a loaf that resembles this memory a long time ago, and had given up finding such a tasty loaf of dark bread.

Recently, my daughter, M., mentioned that she baked a spelt/rye bread from a recipe a friend gave to her awhile ago. Nigel Slater, a cookery maven from England also…

In English, this fruit will call “cucumber tree” or “tree sorrel”. And, in Java, Indonesia, we call “Belimbing Wuluh”

This fruit tastes sour, but tasty.

Sudah jarang kita jumpai pohon belimbing ini. Apalagi di kota-kota besar Indonesia. Jika ada, mungkin hanyalah buahnya saja, itupun didatangkan dari kota-kota kecil atau desa-desa sekitarnya.

But, no problem. Yang penting kita tahu kegunaan dari ciptaan Tuhan yang satu ini. Baik bunga maupun buah belimbing ini mempunyai beberapa manfaat bagi kehidupan manusia, yaitu :

• Bunga

Bunga belimbing jika dibiarkan terus bertumbuh, bunga belimbing akan menjadi buah belimbing.

Bunga belimbing yang mulai matang akan berwarna merah, sebelum menjadi buah. Bunga ini bisa kita jadikan sebagai teh bunga.

Yes, we can make tea from this flower. So tasty and good for our health.

Teh bunga yang terbuat dari bunga belimbing mempunyai kegunaan untuk relaksasi dan dipercaya bisa mengobati penyakit batuk.

Seperti bunga lainnya yang digunakan untuk…

You have probably been told to “eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables”. This may seem silly, but I could not emphasize this idea enough; every color of food offers a different nutritional benefit. On this warm summer day, I can’t wait to sit down and enjoy a nice big glass of orange juice. Let’s explore the benefits of the color orange!

Orange vegetables are full of beta-carotene, which is a precursor for vitamin A. Vitamin A has been noted for enhancing eyesight as well as reducing the chances of cancer. According to the New York Times, “Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed alpha-carotene levels in blood samples from more than 15,000 adults who participated in a follow-up study of the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1988 to 1994. By 2006, researchers determined, 3,810 of the participants had died. Those with the highest…

We mentioned before when we made Beef and Lentil Sloppy Joes last August that Sloppy Joes were always a favourite meal growing up. Really, they’re a saucy, sloppy mess of a meal – what kid doesn’t love that?

The last time we made them, we decreased the beef and added lentils to lighten them up a bit and pack in some of the fibre and other nutrients that lentils have to offer. Well, we’ve done it again, but this time, we’ve taken out the beef entirely and made a completely vegetarian version of the classic!

And of course, we packed it full of veggies for an additional nutrition bonus!

Now, we know what some of you may be thinking “What? No beef?!?” but seriously, guys, don’t knock it ’till you try it! The flavour is all there, and the lentils add a great texture all their own, it’s really quite…

Have you all made your Thousand Island Dressing and your Creamy Brussel Sprout Salad yet?

We certainly hope so, because today we’re bringing you the final product of a trilogy of recipes, and we’re pretty excited about it!

So what do you get when you put Thousand Island Dressing and Creamy Brussel Sprout Salad together?

A Sandwich!

Ok so we realize you’re probably thinking What!?! All this build-up, and you give me a sandwich!?!

Yes. But just hear us out for a minute, and we promise you won’t leave disappointed.  There is a bit of a background story as to how this sandwich came about.

There’s this delicious vegan restaurant here in London called Veg Out that we have been to several times now, because it’s so delicious!  They have a seasonal menu, but some of the items are there year-round.  Most of the time, we both end up…