Lately i’ve been thinking, how do you have Christmas drinks without the sugar and processed nasties? I am particularly partial to a cocktail and, also love drinking Kombucha in place of soft drinks. That is where the Strawberry, lemon, and ginger Kombucha, mojito was born. These have been tried and tested one hot afternoon this week. A friend and I spent last weekend putting up a Kmart pool in the backyard with the specific plan of drinking these while standing knee deep in the cool water, and watching the world go by. It was a was roaring success. I highly suggest you try these drinks, with a friend, in a shady spot on a hot arvo. They will not disappoint. (they are also low sugar and filled with gut loving probiotics, it’s win win)

Fresh lemons, strawberries and mint naturally flavour the cocktail

Ginger and lemon kombucha with ice cold Grey Goose Vodka

Christmas Kombucha Cocktail

Serving suggestion- a pool and a shady spot

What you will need

4 mint leaves, stems removed

3/4 cups fresh strawberries, stems removed and sliced

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

120ml of vodka or white rum (4 shots)

1 750ml Ginger and Lemon Remedy Kombucha

1 cup ice

Strawberries, lemon wedges and mint leaves for garnish

Method

In mortar and pestle, or small bowl, muddle the mint leaves, strawberries and lemon  until strawberries form a puree. You can also puree in a blender or food processor but don’t overwork or you will end up with strawberry juice.

Fill two short glasses with lots of ice and divide the puree amongst two cocktail glasses.

Add 60ml of vodka to each glass, top with lemon and ginger kombucha and garnish with mint, strawberries and lemon.

Enjoy pool or riverside!

Serves 2

I promise you, the only thing easier than making these Pancakes is eating them! At Jack’s Store we stock an amazing pancake mix from The Protein Bread Co. The mixture makes up to 30 pancakes depending on the size, has 21g of protein and only 3g of carbs. They are keto friendly, have no added sugar, are gluten free and all natural. The mix is made up of lupin flour, almond meal, flax meal, chia seeds and coconut flour. On the weekend I topped mine with an easy berry compote, greek yoghurt, almond butter, and organic maple syrup.

Pancakes and berry compote

Pancakes topped with berry compote, greek yoghurt, nut butter and maple syrup

The Protein Bread Co- Protein Pancakes

---

What you will need

1/4 cup Protein Pancakes Mix

1 Cup of mixed frozen berries

2 TBSp of organic maple syrup (1 for compote 1 for topping pancakes)

1 TBSP Water

1/4 Cup Eat greek yoghurt

1/2 TBSP of Noya Almond 1 Butter

1 Egg

1/4 Milk

Method

Pancakes

Combine 1/4 cup of the pancake mix with 1 egg and 1/4 of milk of your choice. Spray non stick pan with oil until very hot, turn to a medium heat and spoon mixture into pan forming three pancakes, around 9cm in diameter. Cook until bubbles begin to appear then flip and cook until golden brown- about two minutes per side.

Berry Compote

Add berries, a tbsp of water and, the maple syrup to a small saucepan and cook on low heat until the berries begin to break down and a jammy syrup forms.

Place pancakes in a stack on a plate, top with berry mixture, greek yoghurt, nut butter and maple syrup.

Serves 1

Pancakes topped with berries, maple syrup, nut butter and greek yoghurt

Bake until golden brown and set in the middle.

Is it just me, or has the weather been weird? Hot, cold, hot, cold, and back to hot again. On that 40 degree day last week I couldn’t decide what to make for dinner and, I didn’t really feel like cooking. That’s when I remembered that delicious recipe for Zucchini, feta, and dill pie by Belinda Jeffery. it ticks all the boxes, quick, easy, nutritious, and guaranteed leftovers. My friends and family ate it for days! We used to make individual serves to sell in the shop and, they were always a big hit. We tweaked them a little depending on what cheeses we had in the fridge, and what fresh herbs we had growing the garden. The great thing about this recipe is you can make small changes depending on what you have in the fridge. We used gluten free flour, but you can use any flour you like. It can be eaten hot or cold and, works well for breakfast, lunch, dinner, lunchboxes, and snacks. That’s what make it ‘anytime’ pie.

Milawa Organic free range eggs, Meredith Chevre, Simmons Organic Cheese, flour, and, fresh veg are all available at Jack’s Store Online and from the Greengrocers

The mixture before baking.

Garnish with cherry tomatoes.

A slice of ‘anytime’ pie.

What you will need

• 700g zucchini, coarsely grated

• 5 x 60g eggs lightly whisked

• ½ cup (125ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing

• 1 cup chopped herbs (mint, dill, chives, spring onions, parsley. basil)

• 50g Meredith dill chevre

• 200g feta

• 150g freshly grated parmesan

• sea salt, to taste

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 1 cup (150g) gluten free self-raising flour

• 8-12 cherry tomatoes, halved

Method

Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a 22cm square baking dish or cake tin.

Place grated Zucchini in a large sieve and squeeze excess water, add them to a large bowl. Add lightly whisked eggs to the same bowl with the olive oil, crumbled feta, chevre, and grated parmesan. Add the fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Mix with the flour until well combined, but don’t over mix. add to baking dish and garnish with sliced cherry tomatoes. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Let sit for ten minutes before serving. Goes great with a dressed green salad.

Enjoy Anytime!

P x

Serves- 6

Hi Guys, Peta here! Some of you might already know that I recently got married and honeymooned in beautiful Bali. The people, the culture, the sights, and, the weather were spectacular. If you ever get the chance to go and visit, I highly recommend it. We especially liked getting into the jungle areas of Ubud. it was in Ubud that we did an agroforestry, eco cycling tour, that took us through small villages and rice fields. When we finished, we were lucky enough to get a traditional Balinese cooking lesson. We made a Bali favourite, satay chicken, fresh, vibrant stir fried watercress, and, the recipe I am going to share today, celebration rice. The rice is full of turmeric, aromats and coconut cream. It is high in good fats and anti- inflammatory, adding both flavour and nutrition to a simple rice dish.

Al and I visiting Bali’s oldest and largest temple.

Visiting the protected monkey forest in Ubud

Learning to grind the spice paste for the satay

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of organic rice (or substitute with a grain of your choice)

1 Tbsp of fresh turmeric (2 tsps is using dried, ground)

1 cup of organic coconut cream or milk

1 stalk of lemongrass (make sure you bash to release the flavour)

1 dried bay leaf

Method

Par cook your rice on the stove using absorption method until is has begun to soften and set aside

In a small bowl add your coconut cream and turmeric, and mix until well combined.

Add the lemongrass and bay leaf to your rice and pour over tumeric and coconut mixture. If using fresh turmeric strain the mixture as you pour it over your par cooked rice. Return to the stovetop and simmer on low with a lid on until the rice is fully cooked and the liquid is absorbed.

Turn the heat off and let sit with the lid on for at least five minutes, as you would when cooking normal, white rice.

Serve immediately with an indonesian curry of your choice. I recommend satay chicken and some stir fried greens.

All ingredients can be found on our website and from the green grocers.

traditional cooking lesson

Celebration rice, satay chicken and, stir fried green served on traditional banana leaf.

Spring is finally here. Still a light chill in the air and snow on the mountains but the warm sun on your back is sign of beautiful days to come.

Farran’s Lookout Photo By Joshua Collings

Barb In the garden Photo by Joshua Collings

Barb has been busy in the garden composting and preparing news beds for Spring. At Jacks we don’t like to waste a thing.We practice what we preach. We aim to do the best we can for zero waste not just for July but all year round.

Worm Compost by Joshua Collings

Nothing goes to waste. All food scrapes, coffee beans and left overs end up in the worm farm to create beautiful compost for the trees and veggie beds.

Flower by Joshua Collings

The Flowers are in bloom and looking beautiful. This has to be one of the most beautiful times to visit the Upper Murray.

Mandarines Photo by Joshua Collings

Apples photo by Joshua Collings

Mandarin’s are coming to the end of the season. Its been such a great year for them. We often have some in the shop or beautiful Meyer lemons which we use in our Lemon Yogurt Cakes.

backyard tree

Yard from above photo by Joshua Collings

Whats Cooking?

We are making nourishing soups and they are available in Store as well as Take Away. Add a loaf of Bicycle Baker or Nord Sour Dough and you are set for your trip up the mountain.

---

What you will need

For the Soup

• 1 Onion

• 1 Sweet Potato

• 1 /2 head Celery

• 2 Carrots

• 1 Leek

Method

Finely diced and sautéed in Olive Oil with Garlic

Add Vegetable or Chicken Stock We alternate between Homemade Stock the Stock Merchant depending on how busy we have been

Add softened Borlotti Beans or the Mount Zero Soup Mix the preference is yours

Add a tin of Australian Organic diced tomatoes

Simmer for as long as you can to infuse the flavours

Add Sliced Kale or Silver beet 5 minutes before serving

Serve with Crusty Sour Dough and Organic Parmesan grated on top

Serves 6

Our brand new online business is up and going on the website.We have had a few hiccups but we will only get better so please be patient. We will be regularly blogging and sharing recipes on the site. Have a look www.jacksstore.com.au!