In last weekends newspaper liftout was a story about Kiwi born Melbourne chef Ben Shewry collecting wild nettles by the side of a Melbourne laneway. Collecting wild things is something that forms the basis of this chefs’ produce supply. But then again, this is a chef who describes one of his signature dishes as a potato cooked hangi style in a tin of its own soil. Can’t get much closer to nature than that.

I am not sure whether it was Saturn spending 2 ½ years in Virgo or something else, but I am now seeing every where a more healthy or earthly based cuisine. Or perhaps it is simply a function of the Sun in Virgo and a changing of the season? The cover of this months’ Australian Gourmet Traveller is one of the most naturally beautiful this year. Check it out here. With the quality and variety of produce available, it makes you want to, in the words of my Guru Edina Monsoon “eat food with the dirt still on it, darling.”

Whenever we talk about cooking simple and healthy foods (like the Quinoa, broad bean & preserve lemon salad on the front of this magazine) we are talking about Virgo. Whenever we discuss the latest superfood, such as this article about Black Rice (which incidentally is brilliant combined with coconut milk and turned into an Asian pudding) we are straying into Virgo territory.

Virgo can be as precise in her food preparation as she is with other things in her life. I know one Virgo who apologised before serving her meal because the recipe had called for desiree potatoes and she was only able to get Pontiacs, and she hoped we didn’t mind too much. Naturally we didn’t- she is a brilliant cook- she just wanted to make sure her meal was as good as it possibly could be.

Whilst Virgo can be discriminating when it comes to food choices, she may, with Libra on the 2^nd cusp, have just a tad of a weakness towards sugar and other sweet foods, but she does generally have the ability to make the wisest choice for her own health.

Having said that the Virgo/ Pisces, 6^th/12^th house axis is the axis of addictions, and it is in this axis that we can potentially see eating disorders…although that is very definitely a subject for an entirely different post (or set of posts).It is for this reason that Virgo can, particularly if their boundaries or sense of boundaries are compromised can either be addicted to food, or addicted to disordered eating patterns…although I would never be irresponsible enough to pronounce this without looking at an individual chart.

Virgo does well on earth based foods- grains, whole foods, anything to do with the harvest. Virgo also does well on semi vegetarian type diets (generally the ones where you don’t eat anything that has eyelashes) or food combining diets (things like not mixing dairy with flesh etc). Food is best quality for value produce, cooked well and simply under good food preparation conditions. Make sure you have some yoghurt for good digestive health and you are cooking with Virgo.

This months’ recipe comes from the pages of Australian Gourmet Traveller. This Seared Skirt Steak, Green Papaya and Roasted Rice salad by WA Chef Matt Stone is Virgo on a plate… why not give it a go this weekend? Perhaps with a chilled Riesling to satisfy the Piscean opposite.

For a vegetarian option, from the same website, here is a warm salad of Mushrooms with many Olives. I have prepared this one with a variety of mushrooms from the local farmers market and it is the perfect Sunday supper- especially for all you Northern hemisphere readers moving into Autumn. Enjoy.