This is our first official Vegan Revolution blog, so we figured we’d start off with a bang. The bang is tropical far north Queensland at the beginning of the rainy season. Meg and her partner went ‘bush’ so to speak for their holiday and encountered a life far removed from urban Melbourne.
Cape Tribulation is a remotish area about 140 km north of Cairns, hot steamy jungle, tropical fruits, cassowaries and the ever present danger of crocodiles. All in all a rather wonderful place so far removed from Melbourne you may as well be in another country. Here coconut trees grow like the weeds they are, and harvesting fresh coconuts is a matter of taking a walk along one of the breathtaking beaches.
This is the reason for our two week January absence from Queen Victoria Market.
We were met with disbelief as we mentioned we were heading up to Cape Tribulation for two weeks. The hotel manager in Cairns called us ‘brave’, the bus driver to the Cape exlaimed ‘two whole WEEKS?’. Even the locals at ‘Cape Trib’ seemed impressed with our marathon stay. Seems that people spend a night or two here at most.
This time of the year is the off season, and not just because of the regular rain. It’s jelly season, and those crystal blue ocean waters are filled with stinging Urukandji jellyfish and completely off limits. Urukandji Jellies deliver a sting that can cause severe pain, swelling and a number of very serious conditions, no thank you! Not to worry though, it made the discovery of the crocodile free waterholes all the more satisfying.
One of the highlights of the trip for foodies such as ourselves was the exotic fruit farm. Digby, a deeply tanned and bearded earthy type and his wise cracking wife 
Alison own a tropical fruit farm on the Cape which grows around 150 -200 types of tropical fruits from across the globe. At any one time there are around ten different fruits in season which can be sampled on the daily fruit tasting tours held at 2pm.
Delicacies such as Jackfruit, Rollinia, Soursop, Salak, Mamey Sapote, the native Davidson’s Plum and a host of other lovelies are rarely if ever found in fruit stores or supermarkets. For those that lust after the stinkbomb fruit Durian, this is is also grown at the farm. Meg thinks it smells like a gas leak and tastes approximately the same. Digby our accomodating host thinks it’s the tastiest fruit of all the ones they grow. Wonders will never cease.
Check out their website below for lots of great photos and interesting information:
We missed the season for this little beauty below, something that Meg is particularly sad about. One taste of the Miracle Fruit and your sour taste buds are tricked into becoming sweet tasting ones and a lemon suddenly becomes as sweet as an orange. Must be an experience and a half!
Here’s a great story on the Miracle Fruit tasting parties sweeping America:
We were lucky enough to buy some freshly harvested bananas and Rollinia from the farm. Very occasionally they have excess fruit and offer it to the tour people. We ate the Rollinia (a relative of the custard apple with a flesh that is sweeter, creamier and more custard-like) for breakfast with fresh made coconut milk, chopped dates and cinnamon. You’d be hard pressed to find a more delicious, healthy and satisfying morning meal.
The coconut milk we made daily from beach harvested coconuts. The simple recipe is outlined below.
Coconut Milk
Ingredients/equipment:
Meat from one mature brown coconut
1 cup of water, or enough to just cover the coconut meat in the blender
Large piece of cotton/muslin cloth or a cotton pillowslip
Method:
Slice brown skin off the coconut meat and chop into manageable pieces for your blender. Place the coconut meat into the blender.
Pour the water until it just covers the coconut. Blend until all the coconut pieces have been reduced to pulp.
Place the cloth or pillowslip into a jug, with the excess cloth smoothed over the rim in order to leave a cloth well.
Pour the coconut pulp into the cloth, lift the edges and strain the milk from the pulp into the jug.
You now have fresh creamy coconut milk! Store the co
conut milk in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. Sweetener can be added at the blending stage if desired.
Fresh coconut milk can be used in smoothies, on cereal, in ice creams or milky icy poles and in savoury dishes such as salad dressings or sauces.
The leftover pulp can be used in cakes, breads and biscuits or dried and used in any way that desiccated coconut is. The wet pulp can also be frozen until required.
That’s enough of Cape Tribulation for today, stay tuned to our blog and Youtube channel (HealthyandBeautiful). We will be offering you a host of natural health and beauty tips as well as delicious fresh food recipes and the lowdown on a bunch of interesting destinations.
All the best in health!
Meg and Jeff.
Photos by Jefah