 Barenuts is proud to announce we have been awarded Snail of Approval recognition as part of Australia's first Slow Food Noosa program!
Look out for Barenuts on the International Slow Food Planet app which is a global directory of producers, restaurants, food and beverage artisans, markets and farms who contribute to the quality, authenticity and sustainability of the local food supply.
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 These toasty Winter mornings are ideal porridge weather but let me introduce you to a special Farmer JoJo blend that your insides will thank you for.
Combine the following into a jar so it's ready to go each morning... 1 x cup raw buckwheat 1 x cup pearl barley 1 x cup gluten free whole oats 1 x cup freekah (cracked or whole) 1/2 cup linseeds 1/4 cup chia seeds 1 tablespoon organic ground cinnamon Give it a good shake and put 1/2 cup into a saucepan. Add 1 x cup macadamia milk* (no macca milk? Substitute for your fave - coconut milk is lovely too) Add 1/2 water Bring to the boil and simmer for 25 mins. If I am feeling fruity, I throw in a few fresh cherries or banana to stew in the milk. Get your walking shoes on and go for a walk! Rudi and I go for two walks around the farm every day, it's my favourite part of the day watching him run along, big smile on his face while he stops to lick the dew from the grass when he gets thirsty. Life just wouldn't be the same around here without him. Walk done = porridge ready! Pour your steamy porridge into a bowl... Squeeze with Barenuts Macadamia Nut Butter Drizzle with organic Canadian maple syrup Top with fresh raspberries, blueberries and passionfruit and viola perfect porridge every time! * simply soak 1kg macadamia nuts in water overnight - drain and viola you have milk Tip: blend the leftover soft macadamias and you have cheese, add some garlic, chilli and your favourite herbs/spices for a tasty crumbly cottage/cream cheese.  If you told me five years ago that one day I would be a farmer, I would have belly laughed until I cried. Honestly, I thought living in inner city Brisbane, catching the city cat to work everyday with the wind in my hair was appreciating the world around me. This blog documents how my whole world changed.
Three years ago, my then-boyfriend-now-husband Farmer Mick, asked me if I wanted to buy a macadamia nut farm? Despite feeling 'nuts' at the mere thought of leaving my solid well paid job, a huge part of me was intrigued and figured why not, we only get one life so why not live it? I was working as a media/communications advisor in Brisbane when this property came up, complete with a commercial kitchen so we snapped it up and haven’t looked back. Even though I am busier now that I have ever been in any comms job, I am so much more time-rich and not to mention happy. I never imagined that I would be doing what I am doing but I couldn't imagine doing anything else either. This tree change of mine literally happened overnight. I became Farmer JoJo overnight. Farmer Mick and I went from seeing each other every two weeks (he was FIFO at the time) to me resigning from my job, buying a farm and going into business together. I remember arriving at the farm full of butterflies because the realisation hadn't quite hit me yet....but the snake wrapped around the gas bottle on our first night at the farm made it sink in really fast! It took a few weeks to settle in and I remember asking Farmer Mick 'what's my occupation now?' Since I graduated from uni, I had only ever known myself as comms/media JoJo and all of a sudden JoJo wasn't in the city anymore? With a massive smile, Farmer Mick said 'farmer darling'. It suddenly dawned on me. I really was a farmer now. My 'you could be a farmer in those clothes' farm attire and Hunter gumboots I had purchased for Splendour many moons ago would finally get some real mud on them. A smile matching my Farmer's spread across my face. Born and bred bush boy Farmer Mick got busy farming, I got busy in the kitchen and Barenuts was born. I now lovingly handmade all of the Barenuts products in our fully certified gluten free kitchen at the farm....that's right, I snack on native nutty goodness all day long while making fresh tasty little treats that everyone can enjoy - that's right, all of our products contain NO NASTIES and they are everything 'free' but nut. As the saying goes, I am happy as a pig in sh@t! I’ve always been drawn to healthy food which is why I like to call myself 'The Health Nut’. From a young age, I always preferred carrots sticks in my lunch box than a roll-up. Unless my Mum was working in the tuckshop, I didn’t ‘do’ sandwiches that weren’t fresh. I have always listened to my body too so I know when I am lacking something because I naturally crave certain foods. I am a natural born foodie – always thinking about my next meal while eating and always looking at the menu before eating out – much to my husband’s distaste, but that’s why he always ends up with food envy because he hasn’t carefully considered the menu! My food philosophy has always been the same: keep food simple, fresh, seasonal, nourishing and as bare as possible. I love texture in my food so as long as I have barley, wild rice, freekah, quinoa, lots of fruit + veggies + fresh seafood then I am happy, oh and I pretty much refuse to cook without fresh herbs! As the crow flies, our farm is directly inland from Fraser Island (one of my favourite places in the whole world) so we consider ourselves pretty lucky when it comes to calling the Fraser Coast home. It’s a fairly diverse region and food bowl – red claw, rosella, lychee, pineapple, liquorish and sugar cane farms are all close by and we have access to some of the best seafood in Australia – which suits my pescetarian taste buds jusssssst fine! Naturally my food philosophy became the Barenuts philosophy which is to keep our ingredients as ‘totally bare’ as possible. I get really excited when I discover a new flavour combination and when it comes to macadamia nuts, well they are so bloody versatile that they pretty much find their way into every meal in our house, without even trying. Personally, nothing beats the buttery taste of a macadamia nut fresh from the tree, without any of the fuss that goes into making them flavoured. But in saying that, nothing beats the citrusy zest that only Australian natives like fresh Lemon Myrtle and Kaffir Lime can provide. When we first inspected the farm, I remember smelling the amazing Kaffir Lime tree before I actually saw it. She grows some of the biggest and juiciest limes + leaves that I had ever seen and is the sole provider of all our Kaffir Lime products. With an abundance of citrus trees including mandarins, limes, lemons, oranges and crazy amounts of bananas growing so freely, we knew we were sitting on some fertile soil and promptly planted a Lemon Myrtle tree once we moved in! If it can one day get to the size of the Kaffir Lime, I will be over the moon because you cannot go past freshly roasted Lemon Myrtle and Kaffir Lime leaves - it's the most divine smell in the world! I have always craved natural flavours, even from a young age I was very aware of flavours and never enjoyed the taste of red meat. When I noticed I was picking white meat out of every meal, I stopped buying it. I have been a pescetarian for 6 years and pescetarian and vegetarian food excites me – it’s definitely where I get my inspiration from. I hate wasting food too so I get a real kick out of creating meals using everything left in the fridge/cupboard. Some of my best meals and flavour combo’s have been born this way! That's pretty much Farmer JoJo in a nutshell...Farmer Mick + Rudi + macadamias + fresh food + wide open spaces. I finally found some time to start this blog because it was actually at the top of my to-do list when I arrived at the farm...famous last words as I quickly discovered there is never any 'down' time at a farm because there is ALWAYS something to do. As this blog follows the adventures of a city chick turned country chick, I ask you the question are you craving a tree, sea or mountain change? If there is even a flutter of butterflies deep within, then I encourage you to trust it and take a chance on yourself. I did and look where it lead me. Love + macadamias Farmer JoJo |
City Chick turned Country Chick living a wholesome, free range all round idyllic life with Farmer Mick, our Baby Barenut & Rudi the Staffy Red Cattle Dog at our Macadamia Nut Farm on the Fraser Coast. Archives
February 2018
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