Summary

Nov 302013
 

Join a vibrant food culture, growing and eating local

Covering all matters food across North East Melbourne

Whether you are a local food producer, want to eat local food, grow veggies in your garden or just want to meet like-minded folks, Local Food Connect is for you. Join now.

Eltham Farmers’ Market, a Local Food Connect initiative, is held every Sunday.

The purpose of this website and associated newsletter is twofold: to promote all aspects of local food around North East Melbourne and to make people around North East Melbourne feel part of a local food community.

The material is centred on 5 databases:

  1. Upcoming local food-related events: all the upcoming events of various types, around 200 per month.
  2. Local food producers: pages on each of around 140 producers, both farmers and makers.
  3. Local community gardens: pages on each of the 70 community gardens in the area
  4. Local food swaps: details of the 30 food swaps in the area.
  5. Local food justice organisations: including ‘food is free’ sites, free food distribution organisations and free community meals.

These databases are brought together into an overall Local Food Directory which contains pages for each of 320 or so local food organisations.

In addition, there are articles written by a variety of local people on:

LFC News October 9

Oct 072024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Aya Pigdon, Connie Cao, Dorothy Kwak, James Thomas, Janet Sheard, Jennifer Jackson-Hall, Josephene Duffy, Kalina Cannon, Katherine Do, Linda Wall, Marilyn McFarland, Marjory Gardner, Monica Aing, Nicole Fernley, Olena Sheikh Sajjadieh, Robin Gale-Baker, Simone Broekman, Simone Gardiner, Soo Mei Leong, Vicki Jordan and Virginia Solomon.

The Incredible Edible Network is flourishing (by Robin Gale-Baker)

Back in 2008, two women (Pam Warhurst and Mary Clear) in Todmorden in West Yorkshire in the UK, founded a group called Incredible Edible Todmorden. They were looking for a way to tackle the big challenges of climate change and sustainability, as were many others. Incredible Edible has now grown into a network of around 1,150 initiatives around the world, including around 200 in the UK.

My husband Paul and I spent a month driving around the UK and in most towns we came across 2-4 beds of Incredible Edible vegetables, always well tended and available to the public. Scattered throughout these towns, on pieces of previously unused land, were more beds of herbs, vegetables and fruit trees. This led us to researching what we had known of as a single initiative just 16 years ago.

The second Incredible Edible group started in 2009, and 3 more in the following year. Then in 2012, Pam Warhurst did a TED talk that went viral and the movement was off and running.

Incredible Edible is based on the radical idea of growing food in unused spaces, with or without permission, and sharing that food around the community. Pam Warhurst and Mary Clear imagined this as a way to involve as many people as possible in a measure that would tackle climate change. It is also a model that can potentially be applied to almost anything – housing, energy, transport, etc – and is about not waiting for permission to act but taking things into your own hands as citizens and getting on with it. One of their catch phrases is that “it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission“.

Incredible Edible values “being positive, local, connected, brave and active” and their motto is “if you eat, you’re in“. They conceived of a model of 3 spinning plates (‘learning’, ‘community’ and ‘business’), with the idea that small actions matter and lead to big change and big conversations. Learning to grow food leads to increased connectedness and sense of community, and this in turn leads to an understanding of the importance of local food, and this then leads to people being purposeful in buying local and supporting local growers, farmers and retailers.

The network now includes more than 1,000 groups worldwide. Not bad for a group that didn’t ask for permission to begin, had no money, did not set up a bureaucracy and has made a substantial impact on the ways that we nurture the planet and live and support each other through ‘small actions’.

Shiso (by Connie Cao)

[To celebrate her new book, Your Asian veggie patch, Connie has been providing some material for this newsletter about some of her favourite Asian veggies that you can grow during the summer. This week’s subject is shiso. You can read her previous veggie contributions on our website. You can also buy her book online from (as they say) all good retailers, with the price varying between $21 and $40.

A popular herb in Japanese cooking, shiso has soft, feathery leaves and a delicate flavour with a minty, citrusy kick. Shiso is commonly used as a garnish in sushi and sashimi dishes – those plastic grass things you often see are meant to be fake shiso leaves! – or covered in batter and served as tempura.

Shiso is a perennial but is grown as an annual in the Melbourne climate. Sow and plant shiso seeds around the same time that you sow and plant basil. Plants will grow all through summer and autumn, and will die down as the weather cools. If you allow it to flower and set seed, it’ll likely come up in the same spot year after year.

The winners of, and other entries to, our Asian veggie patch competition

Here are the 15 entries, with the 3 winners highlighted. Congratulations to Dorothy Kwak, Jennifer Jackson-Hall and Josephene Duffy on winning and thanks to Connie Cao both for judging and for contributing copies of her book, Your Asian veggie patch.

Interestingly, just about all of the entries focussed on different vegetables or fruit, with only yuzu and bitter melon being the subject of multiple entries.

Asian chilli varieties (Katherine Do)

Looking forward to learning about using heat from Asian chilli varieties to make different condiments and sauces. Perhaps some preserving such as drying or frying to make a chilli crisp or use it in a soup base or for pickling. Besides looking very ornate, a little goes a long way.

Bitter gourd (Soo Mei Leong)

Bitter does not necessarily mean bad as it can be good is so many ways. Bitter gourd has always fascinated me with its many health benefits, including: reducing blood sugar and cholesterol level; containing vitamin C and its myriad range of valuable nutrients; and packing fibre without fat into our diet. Its unique taste leads to interesting, delicious and healthy recipes. The vine can be grown over a pergola giving visual delight to any garden. Being summer growing, it also has the advantage of giving shade during Australia hottest months.

Bitter melon (Linda Wall)

My answer for the ‘Asian Veggie Batch’ giveaway is bitter melon, although I’m also mildly addicted to ripe jujubes.

I discovered this vegetable when reading Jennifer McLagen’s excellent cookbook ‘Bitter’. In the book, she states: “bitter melon is probably the bitterest vegetable that you will encounter. It is bitter with sour notes.” Who wouldn’t want to try out a recipe with that challenge written in black and white?

Finally, after decades wandering past Asian greengrocers not knowing what most of the produce was, let alone knowing how to eat it dilemmas (can-I-eat-the-skin-or-will-it kill-me?), I could confidently buy some bitter melon, cook a meal (bitter melon in coconut milk) and experience a new taste sensation.

The idea of a whole book full of Asian vegetables, herbs and fruits is exciting, as it will see me confidently stride into that Asian grocery shop and know exactly what’s what, or throw down some plants into a garden bed and have my own Asian veggie patch. I just love a new tingle on my tastebuds.

Bok choy (Marjory Gardner)

I’m most excited to learn how to cook bok choy properly, instead of the sodden overcooked mess I usually create! Am also keen to learn about all the other veggies – who knew jujubes were even a real thing?!

Daikon (Marilyn McFarland)

I have found that daikon assists my health. I have IBS and daikon is used so that I do not get symptoms after eating. I do not have many recipes to use and mainly use in a pickle. Unfortunately I have daikons over and do not know how to use them. When purchased, the cheapest way is in a bunch so I would really like to have recipes that include daikon.

Gai choy (Jennifer Jackson-Hall) – WINNER!

I’d love to read about Asian veg and in particular any that can be pickled. I’ve never seen gai choy so I wonder how to get seeds, growing tips and potentially if I could pickle it.

Kai lan (Kalina Cannon)

We recently moved to a property of 3 acres and my husband and I have had many discussions about my vege patch and how big it should be (for me it’s the bigger the better!).

I have always liked growing my own vegetables however I’ve been limited in the past by the size of my block. Now I want to grow everything and be as self-sufficient as possible.

I guess my husband’s favourite Asian greens would be kai lan in oyster sauce (very basic I know) but I have dedicated a whole bed just to growing it for him! I would love to broaden my knowledge on preparing and growing Asian vegetables and Connie’s book would be a step forward in doing this. I love being in both the kitchen and the garden. They are my two happy places.

Malabar spinach (Vicki Jordan)

I would be most interested in growing and trying malabar spinach. Why? Because I need to increase the greens in my diet and from what I have read it can be quite a prolific climber. I don’t know if it is as susceptible to insect damage as ordinary spinach, but I would like to try. Hopefully the book will provide guidelines.

Pandan (Dorothy Kwak) – WINNER!

I love Asian food and had my real introduction back in 1975 when I back-packed from Australia to Britain via SE Asia. I lived off street food all the way, and learned a lot watching my fresh meals unfold before my eyes as innumerable local, fresh ingredients were thrown into woks or boiling cauldrons. I’ve been hooked ever since.

I would like to see if I could grow pandan in Panton Hill, and have a greenhouse which I might have to resort to, to keep humidity and temperature levels comfortable for it.

It reminds me of some of the sweet treats I enjoyed back then and more recently when I visited one of my own kids living in Singapore. You can smell the bush before you even see it and all the memories come flooding back.

Purslane, chickweed and mustard greens (Monica Aing)

I’m super interested in reading, learning about and hopefully cooking with common ‘weeds’ that are used and valued by Asian cultures such as purslane and chickweed.

I’d also love to cook and pickle mustard greens to honour the memory of my grandmother who I miss dearly. She always had jars of mustard greens pickling in the windowsills!

Snake beans (Aya Pigdon)

I am really excited to learn more about snake beans in Connie’s cookbook. I love their crispness and flavour in a stir fry but most of all, I love how they are so long! What an incredible veggie. It would be fantastic to learn more about different way to cook snake beans and other way to use them in dishes other than the usually stir fry.

Thai holi basil (James Thomas)

I’d be most excited by Thai holi basil. I am, to put it mildly, becoming obsessed with Thai food / food culture. Just spent a week in Bangkok dedicated to street food and markets. I’m constantly amazed by the endless variation and influence of every other cuisine across Asia in Thai food and am keen to explore holi basil beyond trusty pad krapow!

Yuzu (Josephene Duffy) – WINNER!

I’m looking forward to learning how to grow yuzu! This is because we are massive citrus fans and have many other citrus trees growing in our yard, but yuzu has failed every time. We’ve never tasted fresh yuzu and would love our first time to be from our very own tree.

Yuzu and bitter melon (Janet Sheard)

Two vegetables I’m particularly interested in are yuzu and bitter melon; how to grow and how to cook with.

Various (Simone Broekman)

At the rooftop farm at Burwood Brickworks, we (Cultivating Community) love growing long melon, hairy melon and snake gourd; they are always such showy crops that get a lot of questions and queries. We also run workshops for CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) communities on growing culturally appropriate food; this book would be a great resource to show and use.

EML Art Cookies

[A few weeks ago, we ran an article about Olena Sheikh Sajjadieh and her Eastern European baked goods. We have now included a page about Olena’s bakery business – EML Art Cookies – in our Local Food Directory.]

EML Art Cookies, who are based in Thomastown, make a range of cookies and pies. They specialise in custom and printed iced cookies that celebrate particular occasions such as birthdays or weddings. These cookies are made with a soft sugar cookie base, topped with edible prints. Custom cookies can be commission. The pies are fruit pies.

Owner Olena Sheikh Sajjadieh is a refugee from Ukraine now living in Australia with her husband and three daughters (whose initials are E, M and L). Because her medical qualifications are not recognised in Australia, she had to channel her passions in another direction, namely baking.

You can buy EML Art Cookies products either online (www.emlcookies.com/shop-2) or at Eltham Farmers’ Market on the 1st Sunday of each month.

Read their page in our Local Food Directory. Go to their website. Go to their Facebook page. Contact Olena by phone (0467 727 229) or email (emlartcookies@gmail.com).

More on the Mooroolbark Community Garden drone photos

In last week’s newsletter, I included some stunning drone photos of Mooroolbark Community Garden. Nicole Fernley has now written in to say that she thought that they were probably taken by Jason East from Jason East Photography. However, I have since spoken with Jason and he says that he didn’t take them.

Having looked at Jason’s website, I can see why Nicole thought that he had taken the photos. For example, here is a stunning drone photo by Jason of the Tesselaar Kabloom Festival of Flowers in Silvan.

Finally, regarding Mooroolbark Community Garden, Nicole says “The addition of this green space is beautiful, it is so nice!”

Another new article from Angelo Eliades

Kale growing guide.

Read more of Angelo’s articles about food growing.

A video for you to watch

Gardening Australia recently featured ECOSS, which is a “an environmental and educational not-for-profit community hub committed to showcasing sustainable solutions” based in Wesburn. Much of what they do is about food growing. Watch the video.

Critter of the week from my garden – spider hunting wasp

The animal at the top is a mountain huntsman (Isopeda montana).

The animal at the bottom is a spider hunting wasp (Fabriogenia unknown in family Pompilidae).

What appears to have been happening is that the wasp was trying to sting the spider whilst avoiding being bitten itself. If successful, the wasp would have stung the huntsman to immobilise it, removed each of its legs at the first joint, carried it back to its nest, laid an egg on its defenceless body, then sealed it in. The egg would later hatch and the wasp grub would feed on the internal juices of the spider before pupating and then emerging as an adult wasp.

Read about my previous insects (or other critters) of the week on our website.

If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (13th October, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), Ann and Amy will interview permie elders John and Mal. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was Angelo’s zucchini growing guide.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming Bundoora Urban Agriculture Centre & Community Hub pre-launch site tours on various dates in November.

b33e661f-c100-4ebe-9ffa-847952e0da4e.jpgJoke (or pun) of the week

Charles Schulz died as one of the richest Americans of the 20th century despite the fact that he got his start making Peanuts.

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

North East Region Permaculture (NERP) will have a stall at Sunday’s Eltham Farmers’ Market where their theme will be preparing for summer. They will also be giving away some seeds.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Shedfest – Yarra Valley Wine Festival; on Saturday, 12th October and Sunday, 13th October, both 11am-5pm; $35; various locations.

[In last week’s newsletter, I (Guy) discussed the upcoming Shedfest wine festival and, somewhat unfairly in retrospect, characterised it as ‘not local’. In fact, more than half of the participating wineries can be considered as being in North East Melbourne.]

Now in its 21st year. Visit 14 of the smaller wineries in the Yarra Valley, with your ticket providing access to tastings at all 14. 2 wineries – Helen’s Hill Estate and Yileena Park – will be participating for the first time. Meals will be available for purchase at all of the wineries and there will also be live music, petting zoos, classic car displays and lawn games.

Of the 14 wineries, 8 can be considered as being in North East Melbourne, namely Billanook Estate (Chirnside Park), Helen’s Hill (Lilydale), Kellybrook Winery (Wonga Park), Steels Gate Wines (Dixons Creek), Sutherland Estate (Dixons Creek), Tokar Estate (Coldstream), Yering Farm Wines (Yering) and Yileena Park (Yarra Glen).

Living a permaculture life; on Saturday, 19th October at 11am and again at 1.30pm; $10; Research.

Visit Virginia Solomon’s house and garden. Virginia will share her thought processes from her 40+ years of living a permaculture life plus a few simple hacks. One of her main interests is the idea of ageing in place. Organised by NERP.

Open Cellars of Nillumbik; on Saturday, 19th October and Sunday, 20th October, both 11am-5pm; free; various locations.

Visit any or all of the family-owned wineries in Nillumbik. This is a chance to sample wines at wineries not always open to the public. You will also find food to complement the wine, as well as live music and artworks from local artists at some venues. There is no entry fee, or tasting fee, at any of the venues.

The participating wineries usually include: Buttermans Track, Easthill Estate, Hildebrand Ridge Organic Vineyard, Kings of Kangaroo Ground, Nillumbik Estate, Oscar Hermann Wines, Panton Hill Vineyard & Winery, Punch Wines, Shaws Road Winery, Swipers Gully Vineyard, Watson’s Creek Wines, Wedgetail Estate and Yarrambat Estate Vineyard.

The Whittlesea Show; on Saturday, 2nd November and Sunday, 3rd November, both 9am-5pm; $26; Whittlesea.

This is one of Victoria’s largest agricultural shows. Its purpose is to educate, inform and entertain – bringing agriculture, farming and rural knowledge to the wider public, and showcasing changing farming practices through machinery, animals and ways of life. There will be lots of free activities and entertainment throughout the weekend, including: food expo; historical machinery; animal nursery; working sheep dogs; show jumping; chook racing; reptile display; and grand parade.

Plant guilds, companion planting and polycultures workshop; Saturday, 9th November, 10am-midday; free; Richmond.

Make the most out of your growing space by learning about which plants grow well together, help keep away pests, feed the soil, accumulate nutrients and increase plant health. Participants will pot up some seedlings and take home plant bed plans and a bad companion guide. Teacher: Kath Jones. Organised by Richmond Neighbourhood Centre.

Veggie seedling propagation workshop – Caring Farms Coop; Thursday, 14th November, 6-7.30pm; free; Greensborough.

Join Caring Farms Coop and The Veggie Empire to propagate some spring and summer veggies and herbs to take home for your patch. Also take the opportunity to your their fully operational urban farm.

Small space gardening; Saturday, 23rd November, 10am-3pm; $115 ($23 per hour); CERES.

You will learn: how to maximise your small space to create an abundant oasis of food, herbs and ornamentals; and container gardening techniques and principles. Presenter: Donna Livermore.

Italian cheese and wine masterclass; Saturday, 30th November, 2-5pm; $135 ($45 per hour); Thomastown.

Begin with a cheese-making demonstration by Giorgio Linguanti, founder of That’s Amore Cheese. Watch as he creates warm whey and stretches curd to produce fresh, artisanal cheese right before your eyes. Then explore a handpicked selection of That’s Amore cheeses (such as Lavato, Stella Alpina, Diavoletti and Cacio) paired with Italian cheeses (Mauri Taleggio, Grana Ambrosi and Grana Padano), all perfectly matched with Aussie wines.

Plants and permaculture; Sunday, 1st December, 10am-3pm; $145 ($29 per hour); CERES.

This workshop is for those interested in living a permaculture lifestyle in relation to plants and how to use them in the kitchen and garden. You will learn how to utilise plants for food, medicine, fodder and fibre, whilst also providing habitat and systemic stability. Presenter: Taj Scicluna.

Getting ready for the summer harvest (part 2); Wednesday, 4th December, 7-9pm; free; Doncaster.

Sustainable Gardening Australia will cover everything you need to know about preparing your garden (in spring) for a bumper summer harvest. They will cover: garden maintenance and preparation; selecting what to plant and when to plant it; summer veggies in pots; mulching; smart watering and managing hot weather; introducing sustainable ways to improve productivity, starting with seeds and seedlings; tips for sustainably avoiding and managing pests and diseases; and feeding the soil and summer crops. The presentation will start at 7pm but there will be sandwiches and a food swap at 6.45pm.

In October
In November

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Handmade gnocchi masterclass and lunch; Saturday, 30th November, 11am-2pm; $153 ($51 per hour); Brunswick.

Learn how to make gnocchi from scratch using traditional Italian techniques, shaping your own gnocchi under guidance. Then eat gnocchi Napoli paired with a glass of Italian wine.

Mexican cooking; Saturday, 30th November, 10am-3pm; $150 ($30 per hour); CERES.

You will learn how to work with fresh seasonal ingredients, traditional spices and ancient grains to create authentic Mexican meals. At the end of the workshop, you will sit down together for a shared feast of your own making. The menu will include corn tortillas (make your own), guacamole, traditional salsa verde, Mexican rice, re-fried pinto beans, Juanita’s pulled pork tacos, mole poblano (with chicken) and agua de jamaica. Presenter: Juanita from Juanita’s Kitchen.

Sourdough bread baking; Sunday, 1st December, 9am-5pm; $220 ($28 per hour); CERES.

You will: make a variety of different breads, gaining the skills and confidence to make your own at home; enjoy some of your own handmade pizza for lunch; and take home some leaven to get you started baking bread at home.
Presenter: Ken Hercott.

In October
In November