Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Colleen Duggan, Leah Lux Tame, Lucinda Flynn, Megan Goodman, Robin Gale-Baker and Vasundhara Kandpal.

A local producer of preserves and foraged produce – Spurrell Foraging

Spurrell Foraging, from Warrandyte South, sell both preserves and foraged produce.

Their preserves include chutneys, cordials, sauces, jams, marmalades, pastes, pickles, relishes and salts. They use Australian native botanicals and some foraged produce.

A list of their foraged produce, together with its prices, can also be found on their website and they include a wide range of flowers and leaves. They are mainly sold to bars and restaurants.

Read their Local Food Directory page. Welcome Liam and Deb!

What farmers’ markets will be happening this weekend?

On Saturday: Abbotsford Convent (relocated to Alphington) and Coburg. Not Wonga Park.

On Sunday: Alphington and Eltham.

Vasundhara’s recipes of the month – sweets

The theme for Vasundhara Kandpal’s three recipes this month is sweets. The three recipes are:

• Allergy-free cake.
• Cardamom fudge.
• Nourishing bowls.

Like all of Vasundhara’s recipes, the recipes are plant-based.

As I’ve got space, I’m going to provide my favourite of the three recipes (the nourishing bowls) in full below but you will have to go to the website to read the other two.

Nourishing bowls

Ingredients

Basic oatmeal:
½ cup steel-cut oat/ rolled oats
3 cups of water
10 almonds/ macadamia/cashew
5 dates
1 banana

Colouring agents:
bright pink: ½ beetroot
orange: 2 carrots
yellow: 2 cups pumpkin or butternut squash
green: spinach or silverbeet
brown: chocolate.

Toppings: fresh fruits, nuts, dried fruits, candied fruits, peanut butter, almond butter, chocolate chips, etc.

Method

Puree all the ingredients along with the colouring agent (beetroot, carrots, spinach, pumpkin).

Boil in a pan or pot.

Before serving, check the sweetness and add sugar if needed. Bear in mind that the topping will also sweeten up the dish.

Add your favourite toppings.

Tip: for tanginess in the base of the oatmeal, add fruit puree once the mixture is boiled. Use fruits with matching colours – berries, apple, persimmons, kiwi, papaya, etc.

Read more of Vasundhara’s recipes on our website.

Vasundhara Kandpal is a professional cook who operates a meals delivery service called Green Karma in Briar Hill, Eltham, Eltham North and Montmorency. Read her menu and order.

How to grow kohlrabi – an article by Robin Gale-Baker

Robin has written an article on how to grow kohlrabi. As Robin says in her introduction, “Kohlrabi is easy to grow, crops twice a year and is delicious raw or cooked.” You eat the bulbs either raw (e.g. in salads) or cooked (e.g. in stir fries). It can be planted either just before the last expected frost for a summer crop or in late summer for a winter crop. It needs the same protections against pests as other brassicas/cabbages.

Read Robin’s full article.

Coffee cups, lids and compostability – Lucinda responds

Last week, Karen Olsen discussed her (unhappy) experience with ‘compostable’ bin liners. Lucinda’s reply: “Do the bags that you trialled have a certificate of home compostability? If so, then they are not behaving as they should … certified home compostable should break down at the same rate as your food scraps (that is what it is tested for). If not, then it might well be that they are being labelled in a misleading way, to make it look like they are compostable when they are not.“

Last week, Nancy Mills asked about any brands of biodegradable and compostable cups other than Biopak. Lucinda’s reply: “There are definitely no certified home compostable cups on the market. I would avoid cups that say they are ‘biodegradable’ (only), as these may well be plastic coated cups treated with enzymes. The only option I would accept is certified commercially compostable to Australian standard AS4736, and the only brand in Australia that currently has this certification is Biopak. There may be a few brands (e.g. Environmental Enterprises) that have the European standard certification of compostability … the European standard is also a high standard, the main difference being that the Australian standard goes one step further, which is to test for any residual toxicity of composted material to earthworms and micro-organisms.”

Want to volunteer in Watsonia?

Watsonia Neighbourhood House is seeking a Volunteer Community Garden Support Worker for the period up until the end of 2020 to help them to upgrade their community garden. Read more and potentially register your interest.

Want to be interviewed as a home grower of food?

The University of New South Wales is undertaking some research on the experiences of urban community gardeners in Melbourne and want to interview some newsletter readers once coronavirus restrictions have been eased sufficiently. You have to having been growing veggies for 5+ years and have lived in Melbourne for 10+ years. You will be recompensed for your time. If interested, email me and I’ll pass your details onto them.

Want to win a $100 gift voucher?

Open Gardens Victoria are running a competition to find out the best examples of how Victorian gardeners have been using pots and containers. Closing date: 31st October. Read more and potentially enter.

Lentil As Anything has been saved!

A few weeks ago, we talked about Lentil As Anything’s GoFundMe page, aiming to raise $150,000 by the end of October. Well, we are still in October and they have already raised $370,000!

Mac’s blast from the past – fruit thinning

When it comes to fruit trees, it is often a case of less is more! Now that your fruit tree flowers are ending and the fruit is starting to form, it is a great time to remove some of the fruit! When a tree is carrying a very heavy crop, the fruits are often small and of poor quality. Fruit thinning can improve fruit size and quality on many fruit trees, including apples, pears, plums, peaches and nectarines. Simply remove some of the fruit by hand. Thinning will also stop your fruit trees bearing biennially (i.e. a heavy crop one year is followed by a light crop the year after) plus you will prevent branches breaking from bearing too much fruit and allow better air flow (which helps protect your fruit against both fungal disease and insect attack).

Leaf, Root & Fruit: For fruit that is already set on your trees, thinning of fruit is an important task. This ensures good size and quality of remaining fruit. You should gradually thin the fruit until you have one every 10cm along the branch. Thinning should be completed over the next month. Many fruit trees can go into a biennial fruiting pattern. This is where they have a massive crop one year, followed by a very small crop the next year. Thinning of fruit can help to avoid the tree getting into a biennial cropping pattern.

Large mesh fruit tree netting is going to be illegal

The State Government has decided to ban fruit tree netting with a mesh size of greater than 5mm when stretched on the basis that it can kill or harm wildlife. If you can poke your little finger through the netting, then it is unsafe and will be illegal. The law will come into force roughly a year from now, in September 2021.

A new article by Angelo Eliades

Why are my cabbages not forming heads?. As some of you who have tried to grow cabbages before might guess, it is quite a long article!

Read more of Angelo’s food-related articles.

Yet another suggestion for what to do with your broad beans

See the photo. Courtesy of Merri Corner Community Garden.

Meg’s social isolation week

Spring is definitely here now along with all the hope and new growth that comes with it. When the sun comes out between showers, I am tempted to plant out some summer crops but I know it is still too early on our south-facing slope. Who would have thought that not being able to visit the nursery and be tempted by seedlings is actually beneficial?

Bees are humming around my raspberry flowers and I notice the beginnings of a good crop from the cherries (Van and Stella), the apricot Murcott and peach Trevatt, as well as tiny pears and apples. All will require netting in the next month to prevent the cockatoos feasting early.

I observe the lushness of the potato foliage and add mulching them to my to do list. I gather some baby carrots, shallots and herbs that are all ingredients for a lentil and bean soup.

Red lentil and bean soup

150g red lentils
1 can of beans, drained (I use four bean mix)
1 medium onion or 4-6 shallots, finely diced
2 small carrots, finely diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons each ground cumin and coriander
1 teaspoon of ground fenugreek
½ teaspoon chilli powder (or to taste)
1 litre of vegetable stock
fresh coriander or parsley to serve
salt and pepper

Sauté the onion (or shallots if using), carrot and spices in a little olive oil. Add the garlic then add the lentils and stock and bring to boil.

Simmer for around 20-30 minutes or until lentils are soft.

Add the beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with fresh herbs.

Read more of Megan’s recipes.

Some feedback on Megan’s cheese and herb ‘puffs’

Leah Lux Tame writes in: “I made Megan’s cheese and herb ‘puffs’ from last week’s newsletter and just wanted to say how delicious they were. They were the perfect accompaniment to tomato soup.“

If anyone else would like to comment on any of Megan’s recipes, or any of the 280 recipes on the website, please email me.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link was the graphic on fruiting schedules and (in the right hand column) what wood different fruit trees fruit on.

Joke of the week

What did the man with slab of asphalt under his arm order? “A beer please, and one for the road.”

Read more jokes.

Upcoming online events

If you know of any events other than those listed below, email me.

Newly announced events

Fermenting workshops (brine vegetables, pickle sauerkraut, ginger beer and soda): 3 consecutive Fridays starting 23rd October, 4-5pm; $17; organised by Span Community House. Read more and book on Humanitix.

Previously announced events

Aloo gobi and chapati flatbread: Saturday, 24th October, 5-6.30pm; $35; organised by Cook Indian by the Creek. Read more and book via Facebook.

Under the covers of Mirka & Georges – a culinary affair: Thursday, 29th October, 3-4pm; $17; organised by Heide Museum of Modern Art. Read more and book on EventBrite.

Growing fruit and veg in a wildlife garden: Thursday, 29th October, 7-8.30pm; free; organised by Sustainable Gardening Australia. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Butter chicken: Friday, 30th October, 5-6.30pm; $29; organised by Cook Indian by the Creek. Read more and book via Facebook.

Sourdough bread making: Saturday, 31st October, 11am-midday; $20; organised by Living & Learning Nillumbik.

Beginners guide to urban farming: 7 consecutive Sundays starting 1st November, 2-3pm; $77 ($11 per class); organised by Richmond Community Learning Centre. Read more and book on their website.

Declutter your body, create a garden of food in your fridge: Sunday, 1st November, 2-3.30pm; $donation; organised by Cecilia Macaulay. Read more and book on EventBrite.

Sourdough bread making: Sunday, 1st November, 3-4pm; $20; organised by Living & Learning Nillumbik.

Getting started with veggie gardening: Thursday, 5th November, 7-8.30pm; free; organised by Sustainable Gardening Australia. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Rising resilience – the power of sourdough: Saturday, 7th November, 10.30am-12.30pm; free; organised by Transition Banyule and others. Read more and book on TryBooking.

Home composting Q&A: Monday, 9th November, 7-8.30pm; free; organised by Edendale. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Bees wax wrap: Wednesday, 11th November, 6.30-7.30pm; free; organised by Whittlesea Council. Read more and book on their website.

Modern bush tucker: Thursday, 12th November, 7-8pm; free; organised by Moreland City Libraries. Read more and book on EventBrite.

Preparing for Summer harvest: Thursday, 12th November, 7-8.30pm; free; organised by Sustainable Gardening Australia. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Growing citrus: Saturday, 14th November, 11am-12.30pm; $28; organised by Sustainable Gardening Australia. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

The art of watering: Sunday, 22nd November, 1.30-3pm; $28; organised by Sustainable Gardening Australia. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Open Table offer their weekly no waste cook club workshops free and online on Saturdays, 11.30am-1pm. As well as cooking (which is actually optional), you will learn about food waste and composting. Register on EventBrite.

All The Dirt is a weekly podcast about gardening.

Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Bev Middleton, Catherine Knight, Cathy Romeo, Claire Smith, Deborah Taylor, Duang Tengtrirat, Elizabeth Doig, Fay Loveland, Jo Douglas, Leonie Katekar, Lisa Walton, Liz Whiting, Lucinda Flynn, Maude Farrugia, Meera Govil, Megan Goodman, Nina Ceddia, Pam Jenkins, Paula Mcleod, Rita Varrasso, Robin Gale-Baker, Senia Kazar, Siri Hayes, Susan Faine and Susan Palmer.

One thing that I find interesting about editing this newsletter is the unpredictability of the readership’s responses. For example, in this week’s newsletter, whilst only a few people responded to the request for cake photos, a large number responded to the request for broad bean recipes.

What farmers’ markets will be happening this weekend?

On Saturday: Coburg and Collingwood Childrens Farm (relocated to Alphington).

On Sunday: Alphington and Eltham. Not Whitehorse.

Live in Banyule or Nillumbik and haven’t yet decided who to vote for?

Local Food Connect would like to put the local food system on the agenda for the upcoming local government elections. To help achieve this, they sent a series of food-related questions to all the candidates in Banyule and Nillumbik and have collated their responses on election scorecards to help inform your vote.

It is clear that it is as much the inactions by Councils, as much as their actions, that influence how robust our local food systems will be in the future. Local Food Connect suggests that you should vote to support a secure local food system that is enabled by transparent Council policies and committed elected Councillors. They would like to thank the 40 or so candidates who returned surveys and contributed comments.

Yes, you did know – grapevines

Last week, Rebecca Gray asked how close she could plant her grapevines to her house.

Senia Kazar replied: Our grapevines are planted right next to some walls and there has never been any cracking. The picture on the left is a south-facing wall and the picture on the right is a north-facing wall. I don’t water or feed the vines.

Yes, you did know – composting of packaging materials

Last week, Nancy Mills asked whether anyone has tried composting any kind of recently-produced packaging materials labelled as compostable or home-compostable and, if so, with what end result.

Lucinda Flynn replied: “Certified home compostable products (to Australian standard AS5810) are really easy to home compost (as they must be to achieve the certification). So this is things like the compost-a-pak corn-starch bags, and sugarcane fibre plates and bowls. Commercially compostable products are not guaranteed to compost in a home compost, usually because they have a need for either heat or movement to start of the process. However, I have been able to home compost the certified commercially compostable Biopak biocups (FSC pulp with a thin lining of PLA bioplastic) pretty easily in my home compost (even though they are not certified home compostable). My home compost is not that hot and I just leave it to do its own thing (but I do give it a mix of food scraps with carbon – such as straw). Single cups are not a problem but it would be harder if you threw in a stack of biocups all joined together.”

Coffee cups, lids and compostability – an article by Lucinda Flynn

After reading Lucinda’s reply above, I asked her to write an article on the subject for our website given that she is the owner of Going Green Solutions, a local (Hurstbridge) company that sells eco-products, one of which is ‘commercially compostable’ hot drink ‘biocups’ and lids.

Lucinda kindly agreed and has written a substantial article for our website. Here are some of the points that she makes:

• Without a doubt, the most environmentally friendly option for a coffee cup is a re-usable one that is re-used for many years before disposal. However, in Lucinda’s opinion, this is not always a realistic option, and thus single-use disposable items are a reality of our first world lifestyle that we need to factor in for the foreseeable future.
• It is currently just not possible to make a waterproof product that is certified home compostable. Non waterproof – absolutely, and Lucinda sells lots of home compostable plates, bowls, boxes and trays. But, currently at least, waterproof products generally need the heat and movement of a commercial facility.
• If a product is certified commercially compostable to Australian standard, then it will definitely compost in a commercial facility. Likewise, if a product is certified home compostable to Australian Standard, then it will definitely compost in a home compost. Both of these certifications are challenging to achieve, demand rigorous, thorough environmental testing, and can be depended on.
• Using the Biopak brand ‘biocup’ as an example (as Lucinda knows most about it): this product is certified to break down into organic matter in a single commercial composting cycle (6-8 weeks usually). Where a business has signed up to the Biopak Compost Service, everything that goes into their bins is composted and the end result is pure compost. Where this service is not available or not used, the cups and lids will go to landfill.
• In the absence of certified ‘home compostable’ cups and lids, the key issue is how much of an advance are ‘commercially compostable’ cups and lids. Lucinda’s view is that it is a substantial advance.
• Lucinda suggests that the ideal future scenario is one in which: a) the only single-use disposables allowed are those which are certified commercially compostable; and b) there are commercial composting facilities available in all suburbs.

Read Lucinda’s full article.

This is an important article about an important subject. Any thoughts or responses from our readership would be appreciated. Email me.

Yes, you did know – broad bean recipes

Last week, Meaghan Clayton asked for broad bean recipes. Lots of you replied. Note that I have shortened some of the replies. Also note that all of the recipes are now on our website.

Bev Middleton: Pickle the broad beans when they are small and cook in tomato and garlic sauce. Alternatively, double pod them, cook gently and serve with lemon vinaigrette. You can also make falafel, a lot of work but delicious.

Claire Smith: Falafels were originally made from broad beans. I also like them when cooked and made in to a hummus-like dip.

Catherine Knight: Thinly slice onion, garlic and chorizo. Fry in a pan until cooked and then add the broad beans. Fry again until warm. Don’t over cook as they become dry. Also, the younger the broad beans are the better.

Deborah Taylor: Here are 4 Stephanie Alexander recipes.

Susan Palmer: Steam for 5-6 minutes, then serve with a little olive oil, shaved parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper.

Meera Govil: Remove the thick peel from the beans. Then toss through salads or through pasta at the very last minute.

Meera Govil: Mix the broad beans with garlic and smash with a chopped fresh red chilli, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, a hint of cumin powder and fresh mint. Use it like smashed avocado on toast.

Nina Ceddia: Blanch them and then toss with little boiled potatoes and a good mustard seed or red wine vinegar dressing.

Nina Ceddia: Cook up some onion and garlic in olive oil. Add a can of diced tomatoes, salt and pepper. After 15-20 minutes of low cooking, add the broad beans (not the pod), a can of water and a bunch of spinach. Cook to your liking. Before serving, drizzle a little olive oil. Serve with crusty bread.

Nina Ceddia: Broad bean fritters. Cook the broad beans and some potatoes and cool down. Mash the potato only. In a bowl, place the broad beans, the mashed potato, a small amount of bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, diced garlic and fresh parsley, salt, pepper and eggs. The frittata mixture needs to be the consistence that of thick cake batter. Place some oil in a frying pan and add a spoonful of mixture. Turn over to cook both sides. Can be eaten hot or cold.

Leonie Katekar: I make my broad beans into a paste.

2½ cups frozen peas
2 cups broad beans
⅓ cup (80ml) olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Fry the garlic in oil for 1 minute.

Put the oil, garlic, beans and peas in a blender and blend to a coarse paste.

Ideally serve on olive sourdough toast, spread some feta cheese then top with a generous amount of broad bean paste and add some rocket on the top. Or serve as a dip.

Deborah Taylor: broad beans with pecorino by Maggie Beers.

3 cups broad beans
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (evoo) plus last moment drizzle
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
80-100g pecorino
4 slices sourdough bread for bruschetta

Serves 4. Sort the large pods and small pods into different piles before peeling and, where possible, use the smaller ones. Blanch the broad beans in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes and refresh in cold water immediately. Heat a grill pan until hot, brush the slices of sourdough with a little olive oil and grill until well toasted on each side.

Add a little more evoo to the beans. Mix with mint and a little more evoo as needed. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Spoon onto the grilled bruschetta and serve with shavings of pecorino and an extra drizzle of evoo.

Deborah Taylor: broad bean, feta and mint bruschetta by Bill Granger.

500g broad beans
80ml (⅓ cup) olive oil
100g creamy feta
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove of garlic
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons mint, finely shredded
chargrilled bread, to serve

Blanch the broad beans in a saucepan of lightly boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Rinse under cold running water and drain well. Peel outer skins.

Place the broad beans, olive oil, feta, lemon juice and garlic in a blender or food processor and process until a rough paste. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the mint and pulse for a few seconds until just combined.

Siri Hayes: fresh broad bean falafels by Maude Farrugia.

300g broad beans, fresh peeled and shelled
½ an onion, chopped coarsely
3 cloves of garlic
a packed handful of parsley
1 tablespoon besan flour
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon coriander, ground
sesame seeds for rolling
oil for frying

Place all ingredients, except the broad beans, in a blender bowl and blend to a smooth paste.

Add the broad beans until they are blended coarsely (you still want a bit of texture, not a paste).

Place the mixture in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat 1-2cm of oil in a small, heavy bottomed fry pan.

Shape heaped tablespoons of the mixture into balls by hand or use a falafel press. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Fry the falafels for a minute or so on each side until browned, turning carefully. Transfer the cooked falafels to drain on a brown paper bag.

Serve with your favourite salads, middle eastern bread and dips.

Broad bean recipes already on our website

From Duang Tengtrirat: Broad beans linguine with ricotta.

From Duang Tengtrirat: Broad bean soup.

From Jo Douglas: Broad bean guacamole.

From Lisa Walton: Broad bean, leek and fennel top risotto.

From Liz Whiting: Broad beans fuul midammis.

Pam’s annual edible garden in early Spring – a video update

Pam Jenkins has produced a 13 minute video update about her annual edible garden. It discusses the state of her beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, garlic, lettuce and peas. As Pam concludes, “Lots of jobs to do now to keep ahead of the pests and the weather. The seeds that I planted indoors are mostly growing and being hardened off ready to move to their new positions in the garden as soon as it is prepared. Thank goodness for Covid-19 making me stay home and get the summer annuals off to a good start!”

Watch Pam’s video and/or read the accompanying words.

How to grow celeriac – an article by Robin Gale-Baker

Robin has written an article on how to grow celeriac. As Robin says in her introduction, “celeriac is the bulbous root of a variety of celery [so, celeriac is to celery as beetroot is to silverbeet]. It is often described as ugly as it is rough and knobbly on the surface but, when peeled, this gives away to crisp flesh similar in colour to parsnip … It is nutty, and somewhat parsnip-like with a subtle tang of celery and a silky texture.” Plant early in spring for mid-autumn harvesting [so, if you haven’t planted yet, do so asap]. The seeds are tiny, so they should be sown in punnets for later planting out.

Read Robin’s full article.

Do you know?

Susan Faine asks: “How do you make firm yoghurt from low fat milk without adding milk powder or gelatine? I’ve found that if the culture is full fat it works but, as the generations of yoghurt follow from the preceding batch, and the fat content is increasingly diluted, the yoghurt doesn’t set much at all.” Email your answers.

Corrections and clarifications

Last week, in Meera’s recipe for lemon pickle, I included a link to a video of her mother Raj making the pickle. Unfortunately, the link did not work for some people. Here is the corrected link. My apologies to Meera and Raj.

Kensington Stockyard Food Garden

Newsletter reader Nina Ceddia is a leading figure at the Kensington Stockyard Community Garden. In this capacity, she was recently video interviewed about the garden.

FareShare’s FootSteps Challenge

FareShare, who are based in Abbotsford, are organising a fundraising challenge 1-15 November where they are asking people to raise money by walking or running. Read more and potentially sign up.

Get ready for some outdoor eating!

Banyule Council recently wrote to me to say that they are introducing temporary outdoor dining to help hospitality venues expand their dining and table services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Read more and potentially apply.

Perhaps your local Council is having, or is considering, a similar initiative.

Not food but interesting – Aussie Bird Count

This year, the Aussie Bird Count is on 19-25 October. The idea is that you spend a 20 minute period recording all the birds that you see during that 20 minutes. You can register to participate in one of three ways, either online on their website or using their Android app or using their Apple app.

Meg’s social isolation week

I have sown several varieties of oak leaf lettuce in my veggie beds and will repeat every few weeks. The zucchini and tomato seedlings have been potted on from trays to small compostable pots that can be planted straight into the ground pots. I have also been busy sowing trays of seeds of summer crops such as cucumbers, pumpkins, melons and basil in the cold frame – this is timed so that they reach a good size before being planted into the ground with the warming weather.

I am harvesting tree tomatoes (tamarillo) this week. This is a fabulous small tree that is easy to strike from cuttings. It needs a protected spot as it can be affected by frost. I always prepare the fruit by making a small cross on the top and placing them briefly into boiling water until the skins loosen, then cooling and peeling them. I use them like you would apples mainly in sweet dishes in baking, jams or chutneys. They can also be used a bit like you would tomatoes in more savoury dishes such as this simple spicy salsa.

Spicy tamarillo salsa

2 tamarillos, blanched to soften, peeled and finely diced
1 large red chilli, de-seeded finely chopped (or to taste)
4 spring onions, chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh coriander
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Mix together all ingredients and rest for at least 15-20 minutes to allow the flavours to develop (if required, add a teaspoon or two of water to loosen the mixture).

Read more of Megan’s recipes.

Reader photos

Last week’s theme – cakes you have made

Only 2 people submitted photos.

Cathy Romeo Mandarin cake “Made with homegrown mandarins. In order to have a ready supply, I freeze some of our mandarins so that I can make a cake when mandarins are out of season.“
Rita Varrasso plum tart “Earlier this year I made lots of different jams using plums, quinces and cumquats from the garden. Now I have a great supply to make my tarts, which come in all shapes, sizes and flavours. “

 

This week’s theme – zip

We are going to give reader photos a rest for the time being. Thanks to everyone who has participated over the last few months.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link was Lentil As Anything’s GoFundMe page.

Joke of the week

Why do seagulls fly over the sea? Because if they flew over the bay they would be bagels.

Read more jokes.

Upcoming online events

If you know of any events other than those listed below, email me.

Newly announced events

Cultivating health and wellbeing: an action agenda for edible gardening in Australia: Friday, 9th October, 11am-1pm; $17; organised by Sustain. Read more and book on Humanitix.

Spring – planting and bugs: Wednesday, 21st October, 11am-midday; $17; organised by Heide Museum of Modern Art. Read more and book on EventBrite.

Aloo gobi and chapati flatbread: Saturday, 24th October, 5-6.30pm; $35; organised by Cook Indian by the Creek. Read more and book via Facebook.

Under the covers of Mirka & Georges – a culinary affair: Thursday, 29th October, 3-4pm; $17; organised by Heide Museum of Modern Art. Read more and book on EventBrite.

Butter chicken: Friday, 30th October, 5-6.30pm; $29; organised by Cook Indian by the Creek. Read more and book via Facebook.

Rising resilience – the power of sourdough: Saturday, 7th November, 10.30am-12.30pm; free; organised by Transition Banyule and others. Read more and book on TryBooking.

Bees wax wrap: Wednesday, 11th November, 6.30-7.30pm; free; organised by Whittlesea Council.

Previously announced events

Backyard chooks for beginners: Saturday, 10th October, 10-11.30am; $10; organised by Edendale. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Lamb bhuna masala: Saturday, 10th October, 5-6.30pm; $35; organised by Cook Indian by the Creek. Read more and book via Facebook.

Garden bed basics: Sunday, 11th October, 11am-1pm; $donation; organised by Brunswick Tool Library. Read more and book on EventBrite.

Backyard beekeeping basics: Wednesday, 14th October, 7-9pm; $50; organised by CERES. Read more and book on Humanitix.

Chicken biryani: Friday, 16th October, 5-6.30pm; $35; organised by Cook Indian by the Creek. Read more and book via Facebook.

Vegan and gluten free Italian cooking class: Saturday, 17th October, 1-2.30pm; $20; organised by Shop225. Read more and book on EventBrite.

Growing fruit and veg in a wildlife garden: Thursday, 29th October, 7-8.30pm; free; organised by Sustainable Gardening Australia. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Getting started with veggie gardening: Thursday, 5th November, 7-8.30pm; free; organised by Sustainable Gardening Australia. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Home composting Q&A: Monday, 9th November, 7-8.30pm; free; organised by Edendale. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Modern bush tucker: Thursday, 12th November, 7-8pm; free; organised by Moreland City Libraries. Read more and book on EventBrite.

Preparing for Summer harvest: Thursday, 12th November, 7-8.30pm; free; organised by Sustainable Gardening Australia. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Growing citrus: Saturday, 14th November, 11am-12.30pm; $28; organised by Sustainable Gardening Australia. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

The art of watering: Sunday, 22nd November, 1.30-3pm; $28; organised by Sustainable Gardening Australia. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.

Open Table offer their weekly no waste cook club workshops free and online on Saturdays, 11.30am-1pm. As well as cooking (which is actually optional), you will learn about food waste and composting. Register on EventBrite.

All The Dirt is a weekly podcast about gardening.