Brain food: keeping up with cardoons

A big-breasted bird.

What do I do with cardoons? S. Lui
MY great mate Rosa Mitchell says that after the recent rain and burst of warmth, cardoons are sending up fresh tender leaves. This wild cousin of the thistle grows around Melbourne, particularly on disturbed ground.

Mitchell says only harvest the tender stems near the heart of the plant, trim away the leaves and boil the stems for 30 minutes to an hour, or until tender. She recommends you crumb and fry them until they're golden then serve them with a sprinkle of salt.

She says another great way to cook them is to mash the cooked stems with a little flour, an egg and some parmesan, then form patties and shallow fry them.

Cardoons can be found at the moment in some farmers' markets. Under no circumstances do you substitute thistle stalks for cardoons, as one unfortunate forager did, only to find they're about as palatable as echidna skins.

Can I feed my coeliac friend porridge for breakfast? M. Lawson

BEING a coeliac really limits your food choices. When a person with coeliac disease eats the protein in grains such as wheat, rye, barley and oats, the immune system recognises the proteins, commonly referred to as ''gluten'' - although they all have different names - as being foreign invaders. So the immune system produces T cells, which attack the intestine and not the proteins.

Some people with coeliac disease, however, can eat oats. Unfortunately, Australian oats are grown and processed in proximity to other grains so those coeliacs who can eat oats have to eat ''pure oats'' sourced from Scotland or the US. Look out for the brand Bob's Red Mill Oats. As much as I love porridge, it's not really something I would give a friend for breakfast. Consider fruit, eggs or perhaps a kipper?

What does ''Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee'' actually mean? J. Appleton
I EDITED out your comment about lemurs preferring to drink Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee because it went against the laws of nature and was terribly cheeky.
I have been to a Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee plantation in Mexico and can tell you exactly what one looks like. There is an over-story of rainforest trees that have been thinned out. Under these are planted coffee bushes. The floor of the plantation is thick with leaf litter and the forest is home to birds, deer, butterflies and too many spiders and serpents. The coffee is grown with fewer chemicals and tends to get a better price at the market. Unfortunately, the coffee I tried was made in a filter and had been stewed and tasted dreadful - which goes to prove that you can try to save the environment but it won't save you from a bad barista.

Where can I get an older, big-breasted chicken with good, firm thighs? L. Holworth
WHAT is it with you people this week? Taken a Benny Hill tablet or something? Anyway, L. Holworth, you are right. Most commercial chickens are slaughtered at about six weeks and although generally plump, the flesh is very tender, so you won't find those firm legs and thighs. Some growers, such as Milawa Free Range Poultry, grow their birds for 72 days and feed them a diet that contains corn, giving a big-breasted bird with firm flesh and yellow skin, the natural pigments in the corn accumulating in the fat. These are really good chooks, costing about $12 a kilogram for a whole free-range bird, or $17 a kilogram for an organic chook.