Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries.
Vegemite is one of the world's richest known sources of B vitamins, specifically thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid.
I also have a strong suspicion that it does not taste very good. That is just a hunch though as I have never tasted it. However, since we are moving to Australia later this summer I will likely have ample opportunity to try it.
That's right, I said we are MOVING TO AUSTRALIA. Western Australia. Perth to be exact. Eric has a wonderful career opportunity and the twins and I have an equally wonderful opportunity to live in a Mediterranean climate. I'm already planning my wardrobe and considering what my new beach-friendly hair style will look like. Thankfully my husband is concerned with more practical matters like finding housing, shipping our goods, learning to drive on the other side of the road and other minor details.
With that said, we are very busy packing up our home in Steamboat and temporarily relocating back East while we wait for the work visa and the rest of the details to fall into place. The actual move to Australia should take place later this summer.
As such, our very own Jeannie is going to start contributing recipes, tips, tricks and the like to FullAtLast on a fairly regular basis. She's going to keep the torch burning while I attempt to keep my head above water. I will still be posting, as time permits, but we will be hearing more and more from Jeannie which makes sense since so many of my recipes and ideas are "liberated" from her anyway.
I also encourage other readers with a taste and flair for healthy living and cooking to share your recipes and ideas with us. You can still email fullatlast@gmail.com with your thoughts, inspirations and recipes and either Jeannie or myself will get back to you as soon as possible and/or publish your guest post on the blog.
Finally, I need Mel to send the recipe for the most amazing salad she whipped up this weekend. My mouth waters for this salad. It's a medley of baby spinach leaves, fresh corn, sweet potato, avocado, quinoa and I forget what else, in a tangy little vinaigrette. So delicious. So nutritious. So satisfying.
And, it's another use for quinoa which should make Kelly happy since she has a very large bag of it in her pantry just begging to be used.
My cousin is in Perth and loves it! Good luck on the relocation and glad you'll make a pit stop back East for a while.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great adventure for the whole family and what a treat for us! Not only because I heart Jeannie, but I am looking forward to FAL recipes with an Australian twist!
I must say that I do avoid most any brown concoction in a jar like the vegemite one, so I'll wait to hear the full report from your taste buds.
Bon voyage (almost)
Erin,
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for your family to have this adventure! And thank you for inviting me to contribute to FAL. If I do half the job you do, it will be a success.
As for the Vegamite - I'm leaving that to you, girl!
Can't wait for the salad recipe.
Chimmy: as we get closer to our move perhaps you could share some contact info for your cousin with me? We know exactly nobody so, well, that would be great. And I HIGHLY doubt I will actually try the vegemite b/c, well, it looks scary :)
ReplyDeletewow! that is so exciting! how long will yo be there?
ReplyDeletedef post the salad recipe. I need some new salad ideas.
This is the perfect age (the kids) to go on an adventure like this! And now with Skype, you'll still be able to 'talk' with grandparents regularly - something that was unheard of when we were growing up overseas.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great time you're looking forward to! My prayer is that it will be a great family-uniting, soul-nourishing, experience!
Here it is! The recipe you all have been waiting for!
ReplyDeleteThe Perfect Quinoa Salad
3 Cups Quinoa Cooked & Cooled
3 Sweet Potatoes - diced in 1/4 inch cubes
1 Tbls Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Toss potatoes in olive oil & Salt & pepper. Roast in the oven on 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until done/golden brown. Remove from oven, cool & add to quinoa.
4 Fresh Corn on the Cob--husks removed
1 TBLS Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Mix olive oil, salt & pepper in a bowl. Paint corn on the cob with the mix. This is a super fun activity to get the kids involved. It's fun & they can't really mess it up! Roast in the oven with potatoes about 20 minutes or until done. Rotate half way through. Remove from heat, cool & cut off the cob. Add to cooled Quinoa.
2 Bunches of Green Onions - chopped
3 Jalapenos--seeded & chopped
1 tsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Sautee green onions & jalapenos on the stove top with a bit of olive oil & salt & pepper until golden. Remove from heat, let cool & add to quinoa.
1 Bag Baby Spinach coarsely chopped
1 cup Pine Nuts
Add spinach & pine nuts to quinoa.
Dressing:
2 TBLS spoon Olive oil
3-4 limes juiced
1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
salt & pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a food processor & pour over the salad. You can always substitute water for the olive oil to make for a lighter version.
Toss it all together & serve either at room temperature or cold. Experiment with all sorts of other ingredients like mango, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, pecans etc.
Enjoy all Summer long!