A lovely summery canape that is fresh and easy enough to make. As is commonly the case with raw recipes, you'll need to plan ahead a little. Sprouting the quinoa adds some nutritional punch so it's very worthwhile doing.

Ingredients
4 medium tomatoes
2 cups sprouted quinoa
2/3 cup pesto


Method

1. First you'll need to sprout your quinoa. Soak a cup of organic quinoa - try some lovely Tasmanian quinoa from Kindred Organics - for a few hours, rinse very thoroughly and then let it sit overnight to sprout.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half and carefully scoop out the flesh. Keep it, you can use it for something else :-). Rub some salt on the inside of the tomatoes and put them upside down on a paper towel.
3. While the tomatoes are softening you can make some pesto. Traditionally basil leaves are the main ingredient but I also like to add in various edible leaves from my garden: spinach, sorrel, radish, broccoli, kale, etc. Blend some generous handfuls of leaves with a little cold-pressed olive oil, lemon juice, a few nuts (pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, etc. are all fine), garlic and nutritional yeast until you have a uniform paste. Season to taste.
4. Next, fold the sprouted quinoa into the pesto until it's well-mixed. Use a spoon to ladle the mixture into the tomato shells and garnish with a basil leaf if desired. Serve cold or at room temperature. Makes 8 tomato portions..

This burger was demonstrated at the Sustainable Living Festival in Hobart on Sat 9 November. It holds together beautifully and is a chewy, wholesome burger for winter or summer.

Ingredients
1 medium potato
1 Tbs olive oil
200g mushrooms (any)
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup barley (cooked)
seasoning to taste, say 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper
Method
1. Steam potato until tender. Mash with a fork until reasonably smooth.
2. Chop mushrooms roughly. Preheat oven to 190C.
3. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan and heat. Sautee mushrooms until they begin to sweat. Add thyme and cook a little longer until the liquid has dried up.
4. Meanwhile measure the cooked barley into a medium-sized bowl. Add the salt and pepper. Add the mashed potato.
5. When the mushrooms are ready, put them in a blender with 1 teaspoon of cider vinegar and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add them to the other ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir until they are well combined.
6. Lightly grease a frying pan and heat. Shape the burger mix into four medium-sized patties and fry approximately 3 minutes per side until golden.
7. Transfer to a baking tray and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until the burgers are firm and cooked through. Serve with condiments of your choice!

Servings: 4 medium-sized burgers
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

At the SLF I also used a small amount of minced black truffle and some truffle-infused olive oil to give it some added depth.