Tribute to Black Saturday - 4 years on

This blog entry isn't about foods, or anything healthy. But it is something I wanted to share with people.

4 years ago today, Victoria suffered its worst bushfires in history. 173 people lost their lives, 2030 homes were lost and townships were burnt to ashes.

The fires tore apart communities and families, but the volunteers and Australian spirit of helping those who survived was absolutely amazing. My husband’s cousin lost his home and it was truly inspiring to see how much support he got from the community to help rebuild his property. My dad was one of the brave CFA volunteers who helped with these fires, as was my father-in-law and brother-in-law. This photo of my dad was taken by a Herald Sun photographer while he was out in the field. It's a shame I never got the original photo.

I can't believe its been 4 years already. My thoughts are with those families who lost loved ones and their homes.

This summer, Australians have been watching the news in awe, seeing all the bushfires occuring in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales, as well as record breaking heatwaves across the country. Australia is known for its hot summers and for bushfires to occur, but unless you experience it in some way, I don't think you can fully understand the extent of what these fires can do and what these people are going through.

I haven't been in the front lines, but I have experienced bushfires first hand and it was an eye opening and life changing event. I wrote about it in late 2008 and would like to share with you my experiences:


I just wanted to make people aware of something that happened in January this year. You may recall a sweltering day in Melbourne when all the power went out and everyone was without traffic lights, trains were running wild and homes were without air conditioning. BOO FRICKIN HOO. That day was put into perspective for me due to an event which happened close to where the power outage happened.

I'd first like to write about my parents. Last year my country born and bred dad decided he was fed up with the city life and wanted himself and my mum to move to the country. After some counselling from her beloved daughter, mum thought this idea would be fantastic. They started looking in the town of Mansfield - near Mt. Buller. After a month or two, they found a perfect home in the small township of Tolmie - 17 acres, mudbrick, handmade home and one of the most serene places I know.  They sold their family home in Camberwell and made the treechange. Dad did the country thing and joined the CFA. He had the local fire chief over for a beer where they were talking how they had not had a fire in this region for 80 years.

The following week they had a fire. A big one. Lightning strikes! Dad went into red alert, but could not help out as he had not performed the fire induction. He did work in the radio station however. These fires were not close to mum and dads however they needed to remain vigilant for burning embers. My boyfriend Jarod and I went up one weekend for ember watch but all we experienced was smoke. These fires destroyed a lot of bushland, but the worse for my parents was yet to come.

Lightning stikes twice! This time, a few km from my parents. I had remained fairly calm (checking the CFA website for fire updates every 10 minutes at work) until my mum wrote me an email talking about the heavy smoke and the burnt leaves and ash falling in their property. I left work 20 minutes later to go up and fight the fires. The smoke was ridiculous. Everything was eerilie calm that night. 

The next morning we headed to the CFA meeting to learn how close the fires were. These poor guys had not stopped since the fires in November - they saved other peoples homes and sacrificed their own. The fires were close to the township. Everyones face told a similar story - fear, worry and death. Dads cousin and one of his mates Neil and his came up to help clear the bush away from the house. We were on standby and everything was ok until that afternoon. The smoke got even heavier, the sky went yellowish and outside all you could here was the constant noise of what sounded like a plane going overhead - that was the fire. Dressed in old clothes, poised with a mop and bucket to put out fires, I watched the glow on the horizon of a ridge 500m away get stronger and stronger. I was scared. Neil told us if the fires come, the flies will first leave, then the birds, then the wind will get cool. I saw no flies, I saw no birds. I waited for a cool breeze. Ashes were getting heavier and as I sat on a rock watching the glow over the ridge I was thinking Bring it on... get it over and done with! when a miracle happened. The wind changed direction and the fires proceeded back towards the bush (right where the power cables broke and Melbourne was left without power!). After many yays, mum realised she flooded the house (she left the bath on, which needed filling in case the fires came to the house) and I called work to let them know the danger was over... sort of.

We were getting ready to leave when the wind changed again. We saw the fires climbing over the ridge. Neil said to us "if you're going to leave, you need to go right NOW." Do I stay or go? A difficult choice. We left, being told there was nothing we could  do, but in hindsight, I wish I stayed, as I spent most of the night worrying. In the car on the way home, I was very worried. We listened to the ABC radio fire update, but mainly heard about people complaining how there was no power and they were unable to cook that night. Jarod and I couldn't believe the selfishness and small mindedness of these people. Even the radio host was fed up with them.

That night in Tolmie, the fire came over the ridge. It came within 50m of the pub - 1km away. CFA trucks drove up the driveway and asked my parents what needed saving. Mum told them where all the beer was stored, so that was top priority. The CFA made sure the fires never reached my folks, but my heart goes out to the many souls who lost their homes, livestock and land.

My parents are fine now - loving the country life. It makes me realise how many people in Melbourne have no idea what is going on in the world and are very full of themselves. I've attached some pics Jarod and I took when the fires were nearby (and we weren't in immediate danger!) I hope you enjoyed this blog - I just wanted to tell one of the many stories which happened north of Melbourne while people were complaining about food going off in the fridge.

View from my parents verandah - this smoke plume was about 0.5km away

Watching Elvis - the fire fighting helicopter - take water from a neighbouring dam

This yellow effect isn't a filter, this was the light. These are local parrots who came to shelter with us!

Yellow sky and smoke in the distance - preparing for the worst.

Summer meal favourites - exotic barbeque and salad

Summertime in Australia calls for the numero uno cooking device to come out and play - the barbeque. While charring meat is not good for you, the slow grilling of meat can be very healthy. And barbeques don't need to be all about sausages! You can make a barbeque an exotic affair with a bit of imagination and motivation, which hopefully this meal will inspire!

It was a gorgeous summer evening in Melbourne, so it calls for a meal to match it - barbequed turkey steaks marinaded in my own home made thai marinade, charred asparagus and zucchini spiced with cumin, mango, spinach & mint salad and a glass of Queensland mango wine. 

A healthy, whole food meal and would be great for a detox (minus the wine!)

Watch out, its sunburn season!

Ok people, listen up... you know I'm a big advocate for walks in the sunshine without sunscreen, as its important to help get your daily dose of vitamin D. But this heatwave... these 35° Celsius (95° Fahrenheit) plus days call for sunscreen to be worn when going outside and to be reapplied. This is not your happy sun. This is EVIL sun!

Sunscreens - a toxic jumper for your skin

Buying sunscreens is hard enough, as you really don't know what they put in it. Sunscreens are basically lathering your skin in a toxic bath in chemicals known to be carcinogenic, and these soaks into your pores and go through your bloodstream. There are chemical free alternatives out there, but be careful - even some chemical free alternatives still contains some dodgy ingredients.

Read the ingredients labels to see for yourself. Try to avoid any sunscreen product containing ingredients that sound like chemicals:  Methyl... Propyl... Butyl... Ethyl... Trieth... Dieth... etc.

Always buy unscented sunscreen unless for some reason you just enjoy coating your skin with artificial perfume chemicals. A typical sunscreen product is made with over a dozen cancer-causing fragrance chemicals.


You don't need to go to extremes by going out and buying SPF 50,000, in fact, there isn't a lot of difference in cover between SPF 30 and anything above it. And if you are sunbaking for hours in this heat, avoid the reef oil - the smell of your cooking skin may turn your fellow beach gatherers into cannibals wanting to feast on your tasty coconut smelling crispy goodness. Oh, and it will make your skin leathery. But the cannibalism aspect is the bigger issue! :)

Sunburn tips...

In case you are extremely lucky (like winning lotto lucky), in Australia, you are going to experience some sunburn at some point of your life. Not matter how much you try, you may miss that one spot, forget to reapply after going in water, or sunscreen gets rubbed off before you know it, sunburn can occur and it is horrid. Really evil sunburn can take a few hours to show, and you will feel that heating, almost pulsating glow on your skin when you go to bed. Here is a couple of natural remedy tips to help you conquer the experience:

• When you get home from your sunny outing and you believe you may be at risk of burn, take a shower. This can help cool the skin down, and also removes your chemical jumper of sunscreen!

• After your shower, after sun lotions can be a blessing. Again, check the ingredients for a chemical storm. There are some good natural ones out there. 
• Some lotions contain the plant aloe vera, which has an amazing soothing property when applied to sunburn. If you can get hold of the real plant, its even better. Just snip off a leaf, split it open and apply the gooey gel directly onto the burn. It will feel sticky, but I have always had instant relief with this. 
• Lavender oil is excellent for burns. There was a great story I head about this guy who worked at a lavender processing plant and he burnt himself badly on one of the machines. He instinctively put his arm into a vat of lavender oil and it ended up not scarring. Of course, sunburn is slightly different, but the anti-inflammatory properties are still the same!
• Calendula oil is ultra soothing and also anti-inflammatory on the skin. I'm afraid I don't have any awesome stories about calendula, but it is one of my favourite herbs. :)
• Some lotions contain vitamin E, which is a great antioxidant and is both soothing & repairing for the skin, but be aware if you have sensitive skin - it has been known to cause allergic reactions in some people.
• Lotions usually come in either a gel or cream variety. For an extra soothing effect, put the gel in fridge. 
• Remember to reapply - don't expect full results from just one application! Reapply often - every 2 hours if you have the time. 

• Rubbing a cucumber onto your burns is not only refreshing and leaves you smelling like cucumber, but also helps hydrate the skin and it contains a small amount of vitamin C, which reduces inflammation.

• A home remedy that helps take the heat out of sunburn is black tea. Black tea contains tannins, which are astringent and help draw the heat out of the burn. I've tried this and it worked really well, and left me smelling like a strong cup of tea. What to do...
• Put 8-10 tea bags into a 500ml jug. 
• Pour 500ml boiling water over them and allow it to steep until the water is black. Boiling water is used as this helps infuse the tea, this cannot be done with luke warm water. 
• You also want the water to cool - I'm not going to torture you by telling you to put a boiling hot liquid onto burns, I'm not sadistic!
• Once the water is luke warm to cool, use a cloth or paper towel and soak it in the tea mixture. Put the cloth onto the burn and leave it on for 5 minutes like a compress. 
• After 5 minutes, you will feel that the cloth is quite warm, so wring it out and do it again. Continue doing this until you feel the heat go out of the burn.
• This can be repeated several times if you wish, depending on the severity of the burn.

Taste the rainbow of goodness!

• Food can help, who would have thought it?
• Drink plenty of water - chances are you are dehydrated!
• Eat antioxidant rich foods - your skin has undergone a massive oxidation, so antioxidants will help replenish your body and also help with skin repair. Not sure where to find antioxidants? Think lots of colourful fruits and vegies!
• Antioxidant rich foods, especially those rich in carotenoids (carrots, dark leafy greens), lycopene (tomatoes, watermelon) and vitamin C (citrus, kiwi, berries) help provide an anti-sunburn effect on the skin when eaten regularly before going out in the sun. Another reason why a whole food diet is so important!

There are more remedies out there for people in pain, these are just a few of my favourites. If you have any you would like to tell me about, please comment below. I wish you all the best for this summer season, good luck in the sun! :)

Sun baking mushrooms

An absolutely stunning Melbourne day... time to get the mushrooms out to sunbake! Wait, say what??

Did you know that mushrooms can produce their own vitamin D? Vitamin D is important not only for bone health, but also for immunity and mood!

Our bodies produce vitamin D when we expose our skin to the sun without suncreen. Exactly the same for mushrooms! Put your mushrooms out in the sun for 5-10 minutes, then your mushrooms will start producing vitamin D! The chemical process can take a while, so leave your mushrooms for about 2 days before eating. The vitamin D is heat stable, which means it will still be bioavailable in your cooking.

Some companies expose their mushrooms to UV light prior to shipping, so if you see a label 'Vitamin D enriched' on your mushies, you know they have been exposed.

One mushroom is equivalent to taking 1 vitamin D capsule - what an amazing super food!

My favourite summer salad - mango mint nom nom

This combination of flavours has to be my all time favourite summer salad and is very popular amongst my family and friends. The best part? It's really super easy to make!

Toast some pine nuts in a fry pan with a little oil. Watch them carefully - they go from nicely toasted to burnt very quickly. When they start to smell fragrant, toss them around to brown both sides. Remove from heat when cooked and allow them to cool on a plate.

Slice a mango, wash spinach leaves, tear up mint leaves, chop up a capsicum and combine with the pine nuts. add some cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and toss. The flavours of the fruit and vegies are so strong, a potent dressing isn't needed.

Don't feel obliged to stay with just these ingredients - depending on what is in the fridge, I may add extras - spring onions, avocado, cucumber and sundried tomatoes have all made guest appearances to the salad.

The mango and mint hit is so refreshing and summery, it is great with barbeques and grilled fish or meats.