LFC News November 30 2022

Nov 302022
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Henk Lustig, Laura Nix, Merrin Layden, Philip Stevenson, Robin Gale-Baker and Virginia Solomon.

Next week’s newsletter will be the last for the year.

How to grow mulberries (by Robin Gale-Baker)

[Robin has written an article for our website about how to grow mulberries. The article focuses on red (Morus rubra) and black (Morus nigra) fruiting mulberries. It does not discuss either the white shahoot (Morus macroura) – but read Jaimie Sweetman’s article on our website – or the inedible common mulberry (Morus alba), whose leaves are fed to silkworms. A summary of the article is given below.]

Before deciding to plant a mulberry, note that both the red and the black species will stain any surface under and surrounding the tree. They will also stain your fingers, but you can rub them with a wet mulberry leaf to remove the stain. The main varieties of the black mulberry in Australia are Black English and Hick’s Fancy (the latter having smaller fruit). The main variety of the red mulberry is Downing’s Everbearing.

Habit and conditions

The mulberry tree is a vigorous grower which prefers fertile, well-drained soil and a temperate climate. It does not like wet feet but needs water in summer if conditions are dry. Wherever it is planted, it is likely to be in full sun given its aptitude for quickly heading skyward, with particularly rapid growth in its first few years. Mulberries can grow up to 15 metres in height and 8 metres in width so are unsuited to small gardens. An alternative is to plant a weeping mulberry, which will grow to a height of 2-3 metres and width of 3-4 metres but can be pruned to keep it smaller. They can also be kept in pots or espaliered.

Fertilising

It is recommended that fertiliser be added in spring. If the leaves yellow and/or fruit drops prematurely, then that is an indication that fertiliser is needed.

Pruning

This is a thorny subject with a lot of conflicting advice from experts. Generally, the advice is to prune in winter. However the tree will then grow considerably in Spring and often the purpose of pruning is to reduce the size of the tree. In reaction, sometimes winter pruning is followed by a light summer prune after fruiting but this can be either difficult or impossible if the tree has grown too high.

Personally, I (Robin) follow the advice from Grow Great Fruit in Harcourt, Central Victoria, to prune two major branches from my tree in summer as this is the time that there is little vegetative growth and pruning then will keep my tree smaller.

Harvesting

The best way to harvest is to spread a tarpaulin beneath the tree and shake the tree!

Uses

Mulberries only last a couple of days after harvest so use them quickly or freeze them. They can be used in pies, muffins, jam, syrup, juice, ice cream or eaten fresh.

Read the full article.

Want a job?

Oakhill Farm in Preston are looking for a Community Farmer and Volunteer supervisor, 2 days a week starting in January. Closing date: 4th December. For more information, email Leila Alexandra (leila@sustainaustralia.org).

The Annie Borat community cupboard is no more

The Annie Borat community cupboard in Brunswick has closed down because the organisers have moved house.

Kevin Heinze Grow

From 5th to 22nd December, Kevin Heinze Grow are having a sale of all their plants and fruit trees at both their Coburg and Doncaster nurseries. 25% off 4 and 6 inch pots, 50% off 10 and 12 inch pots and 50% off all fruit trees. Their Coburg nursery is at 512 Sydney Road and their Doncaster nursery is at 39 Wetherby Road.

They are also trying to raise funds to develop a new cafe program at their Doncaster nursery. The cafe will provide training and support for young people with a disability and participants in the program will receive training in a range of skills, including customer service and barista skills. The new cafe will create a meeting place at the Doncaster site for the community to enjoy. You can donate online, by phone (9848 3695) or by direct bank transfer (Kevin Heinze Grow, BSB – 633 000, account number – 146 052 337).

Yarra Valley Gateway Estate (now Gateway Yarra Valley) is under new ownership

Gateway Yarra Valley in Coldstream is under new ownership. Whilst it still comprises a large, temperature-controlled hydroponic greenhouse, deli and cafe, the mix of things that are being grown and sold has changed.

In their greenhouse, which is massive, they are now growing a wide range of vegetables, herbs, fruit and flowers. As was explained to me by the new owner, Philip Stevenson, when I visited, shoppers can pick their produce directly from the plants.

In their deli, they are selling food from around 9 local food producers. This puts them 6th= in the list of shops in North East Melbourne which sell the most local food. Particular highlights are Yarra Valley Dairy (try their Huberts washed rind cheese) and Cunliffe & Waters (try their caramelised fig & quince jam).

They are having a ‘hard launch’ on Saturday, 10th December, 9am-5pm. Everyone welcome.

NERP at the next Eltham Farmers’ Market

North East Region Permaculture (NERP) will have an information stall at the next Eltham Farmers’ Market (4th December). Their themes will be ‘low waste Christmas’ and ‘planet-preserving New Year’s resolutions’.

Developments in Nillumbik

Nillumbik Council wants to understand what skills or knowledge areas local landholders would be most interested to gain. To progress this, it has developed a short (5 minute) survey. Closing date: 19th December. Complete the survey.

Nillumbik Council is organising an open farm day on 18th March at Edendale. They would like Nillumbik-based farms and agricultural-based businesses to participate by having a stall, doing demonstrations, selling produce, bringing machinery or livestock, etc. If you are potentially interested, complete their expression of interest form.

‘Crowd harvest’ – seeds for Christmas

Gardeners with excess seeds are invited to send them in a Christmas card or holiday card to one of the not-for profit organisations listed below who will, in turn, either germinate the seeds, store them or distribute them to people facing crisis yet know how to start seeds. Please package the seeds in individual and labelled packages so that food relief recipients can easily take them home. The program runs from 1st December to 15th December.

DIVRS in Preston, Liberty Church at 25 Miller Street in Epping, STREAT in Collingwood or Carrington Health at Level 2, 43 Carrington Road, Box Hill, 3128. Alternatively, Tiny Trowel, PO Box 4076, Box Hill South, 3128.

More on the Age Good Food Guide Awards 2023

An inaugural award of this year’s the Age Good Food Guide Awards was the ‘Food for Good’ award, which is “an award celebrating innovation, social enterprise and sustainability while contributing to the wider community.” The winner was Abbotsford-based FareShare.

“Food charity FareShare is celebrating 21 years of operation, during which time it has cooked 20 million free meals for people doing it tough. Meals are created from rescued and donated ingredients supplemented by vegetables grown on FareShare’s own urban farms. A largely volunteer workforce of 10,000 is rostered at the Abbotsford headquarters and a Brisbane facility that opened in 2018. The nutritious meals that result are distributed to frontline charities throughout Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.“

What seeds to plant in December

Here is a list (see the planting guide for more detail):

Warm season veggies

Beans
Cucumber
Gourd
Pumpkin
Sweetcorn
Leafy greens

Lettuce
Mizuna
Mustard greens
Parsley
Silverbeet
Roots

Beetroot
Carrot
Potato
Radish
Perennial

Asparagus
Chives

 
December is not a very good planting month: arguably too late for many summer veggies and, although you can plant leafy greens such as lettuce and mustard greens, they are likely to go to seed pretty quickly.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the Seeds of Plenty website.

Word of the month – Borborygmus

‘Borborygmus’, meaning intestinal rumbling caused by moving gas. Borborygmus is supposedly onomatopoeic – i.e. it sounds likes the thing that it describes.

Read about previous words of the month.

Proverb (or phrase) of the month

Don’t try to teach your Grandmother how to suck eggs. Meaning: Don’t offer advice to someone who has more experience than you. This phrase dates back to the early 18th Century and the words ‘suck eggs’ were sometimes replaced by either ‘milk ducks’ or ‘steal sheep’. The origin of the phrase is not clear but, according to Wikipedia, it most likely “derives from the fact that before the advent of modern dentistry many elderly people (grandparents) had very bad teeth, or no teeth, so that the simplest way for them to eat protein was to poke a pinhole in the shell of a raw egg and suck out the contents; therefore, a grandmother was usually already a practiced expert on sucking eggs and didn’t need anyone to show her how to do it.”

Read about more food-related proverbs.

Gardening quote of the month

“Flowers are beautiful hieroglyphics of nature, with which she indicates how much she loves us.” by Wolfgang Von Goethe.

Read more gardening quotes.

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

Smoking will kill you … Bacon will kill you … But, smoking bacon will cure it.

Read more jokes.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Banyule’s Urban Food Strategy – kitchen table conversation; Tuesday, 6th December, 6.30-8.30pm; free; Montmorency.

Banyule City Council, in partnership with Sustain, is developing an Urban Food Strategy. At this session, local residents will discuss the Banyule urban food system and how they would like it changed. The session will be hosted by local resident Dan Milne.

Formidable Vegetable + Mal Webb & Kylie Morrigan; Thursday, 8th December, 5-8.30pm; $27; CERES.

Formidable Vegetable’s first show in Naarm/Melbourne in three years will be a family-friendly picnic/BBQ.

Gateway Yarra Valley ‘hard launch’; Saturday, 10th December, 9am-5pm; free; Coldstream.

Gateway Yarra Valley is under new ownership and is hosting a ‘hard launch’ in the lead up to the festive season. As the new owner, Philip Stevenson, says: “There’s a fresh approach to food launching in Coldstream, at Gateway Yarra Valley. Cafe and farm shoppers can pick greens, herbs, fruit and flowers directly from the plants in a temperature-controlled greenhouse – so it’s about as fresh as you can get. With a range of produce grown on-site, and local artisanal goods and other staples, Gateway is on a mission to re-introduce people to the origins of their food by connecting the community back to the supply chain. The cafe’s seasonal menu includes freshly harvested produce from the greenhouse and is the perfect place to get a taste for the fresh future.”.

Corrections and clarifications

On Saturday, 3rd December, 1-3pm, Green Karma are organising an event called Heal with Food – Dementia in Eltham. In some (but not all) previous newsletters, this event was wrongly referred to as being about diabetes rather than dementia.

In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Menu planning for zero waste events; Thursday, 8th December, 1.30-2.45pm; free; Chirnside Park.

Organising an event can often leave you with leftover food which goes to waste. This can pose a challenge if you want a special meal and something memorable for your guests, but you want to take a sustainable approach without filling your bin. With a little creativity and some planning, you can host an impressive event with a clear conscience, less waste and lower budget. Presenters: Kirsty Bishop-Fox of Sustainable Pathways and Tamara Russell of Karhina Textiles.

In December
Regular classes

LFC News November 23 2022

Nov 232022
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Alison Jones, Anna Hetyey, Beth Ciesielski, Emma Hemsley, Helen Simpson, Jess Ness, Katrina Philip, Lisa Conley, Megan Goodman, Nick Rose and Sarah Willits.

As the nights get shorter, so do the newsletters.

Yes, you did know!

Last week, Nerida Kirov asked where she could buy some collard greens (aka colewart) seeds.

Anna Hetyey: The Seed Collection for georgia southern collards or Seeds of Plenty for morris heading collards. Note that Seeds of Plenty are local, being based in Eltham.

Community Grocer Carlton has re-started

Community Grocer’s Carlton market has re-started. Every Friday, 8am-midday, at the rear of 510 Lygon Street.

Per the Community Grocer website, “The Community Grocer is a not-for-profit social enterprise that runs fresh produce markets and programs to increase social, economic and physical access to fresh food.”

Some videos

A 1 minute video by Jon Buttery on how Banyule Council’s environmental grants have helped St Johns Riverside Community Garden in Heidelberg, including for new garden beds and a gazebo.

A 1 minute video by Paul Gale-Baker on how Banyule Council’s environmental grants have helped Macleod Organic Community Garden, including for water tanks, poly tunnels and wicking beds.

A 7 minute video by Simone Boyd on celebrating Spring garlic, which is garlic that is harvested early.

Every newsletter needs a good picture

Pieter Bruegel the Elder is one of the most famous painters from the 16th Century. In contrast to his Reniassance counterparts, Bruegel often painted non-religious, everyday scenes. This one, dated 1566-69, is called The peasant wedding.

The Age Good Food Guide Awards 2023

In the Age Good Food Guide Awards 2023, a number of restaurants around North East Melbourne were awarded ‘hats’.

3 hats
  • Minamishima in Richmond.
2 hats
  • Cutler & Co. in Fitzroy.
  • Greasy Zoes in Hurstbridge.
  • Ides in Collingwood.
  • Kazuki’s in Carlton.
1 hat

By suburb:

  • Brunswick East (Etta).
  • Carlton (Carlton Wine Room, Di Stasio Carlton, Lagoon Dining, Scopri).
  • Carlton North (Enter Via Laundry).
  • Coldstream (Oakridge Winery).
  • Collingwood (Hope St Radio, Smith & Daughters, Smith St Bistrot).
  • Fitzroy (Marion, Poodle Bar & Bistro).
  • Fitzroy North (Lagotto, Matteo’s, Public Wine Shop, The Recreation Bistro & Bottleshop, Ryne).
  • Northcote (Vex Dining).
  • Reservoir (La Pinta).
  • Richmond (Jeow).
  • Yarra Glen (Heartswood, TarraWarra Estate).

Not local but interesting

Newsletter reader Alison Jones has written in.

“I love reading the varied, informative articles even though I live and garden in Oakleigh.” [Editor: that’s a good start, Alison!]

“Ashwood High School has decided, at short notice, to close its community garden of 16 years in order to site two new portables. We [the organisers of the garden] believe that the garden plays an important role in the local community because it is communal, open to all, and we can teach people how to grow food according to permaculture principles. By contrast, many of the other community gardens in South East Melbourne are allotments with long waiting lists. We also believe there are other places that the portables could be located.”

Sign the petition to save the community garden.

Meg’s garden this month

The rocket has gone to seed, but it is so loved by the bees that I can’t bear to pull it out. It will have to make way for the summer crops, but for now I am enjoying the pale heads interspersed with the purple flowers of the sage. The sage is a key ingredient in the make ahead Christmas stuffing that I prepare for Christmas each year (see recipe below).

Despite the very wet spring, I have been planting out eggplant, capsicum, chillies, tomatoes and beans in anticipation of warming weather. The rain has given everything a good start in the veggie patch, but it has unfortunately affected the stone fruit. I have what appears to be brown rot on the cherry and peach trees this year, so I am pruning to open up the trees to air and thinning and discarding affected fruit. Fingers crossed.

Make-ahead prosciutto-wrapped Christmas stuffing

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small green apple, finely diced
250g pork mince
250g sausage mince
1½ cups breadcrumbs
⅓ cup diced prunes
⅓ cup shelled pistachios
¼ cup finely chopped sage
salt and pepper to taste
10-12 slices of prosciutto

Lightly grease a 14cm by 24cm rectangle loaf tin. Line with prosciutto across the middle leaving the overhang along the sides of the tin.

Fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until soft, add the apple and cook for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Add the minces, breadcrumbs, prunes, pistachios, and sage. Season well.

Press the mince mixture into the prepared tin and then fold over sides of the prosciutto. Bake at 180degC for about 35-40 minutes.

Cool for about 20 minutes before turning out. Alternatively, can be frozen in the tin and re-heated for Christmas day.

Read other recipes by Megan on our website.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was Nillumbik’s Community Grow Guide by Angharad Neal-Williams.

Angharad promoted the existence of the guide at the last Eltham Farmers’ market (see photo right).

As Sarah Willits from Greenhills Neighbourhood House in Greensborough said: “That grow guide is amazing! Please thank the author.”

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

Did you get a bowl of soup with that haircut?

Read more jokes.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Regenerative urban design: coupling food reconnection with pollinator biodiversity in the public space; Thursday, 24th November, 4.45-7pm; free; CBD.

Dr Barbara Ribeiro will share insights from the Regenerative Urban Design project at Monarch Park in Waharoa (NZ), which reconnects people with place while feeding pollinators at the same time. Following Barbara’s presentation, Kelly Donati, from Sustain: The Australian Food Network, will present the findings from their Growing Edible Cities and Towns report, which included a mapping and survey of the urban agriculture sector in Victoria and which provided a roadmap for moving forward.

Twilight pop-up plant sale plus summer veggie growing tips; Thursday, 1st December, 5-7pm; free; Pascoe Vale South.

Karen Sutherland’s plant sale of edible and other native plants including: creeping saltbush, dwarf lilly pilly, evergreen clematis, flax lilies, hop goodenia, inland pigface, mat rush, midyim berry, native mint, native thyme, native violet, nodding saltbush, running postman, strawberry gums and yam daises. Most plants $6 each or 2 for $10.

Banyule’s Urban Food Strategy – community co-design workshop; Saturday, 3rd December, 9am-12.30pm; free; Greensborough.

Banyule City Council, in partnership with Sustain, is developing an Urban Food Strategy. At this workshop, they will share the findings from their research thus far, collectively develop a shared vision for Banyule’s urban food system and explore the key drivers for local food system change.

Summer fruit tree pruning with Chris England; Saturday, 3rd December, 10am-1pm; $65 ($22 per hour); Richmond.

Using the demonstration fruit trees in the orchard of the Burnley Gardens, you will learn to summer prune fruit trees to get maximum fruit. Chris will also demonstrate how to get fruit on espalier fruit trees. This is a small group workshop, where you will ‘have a go’ under an expert’s watchful eye. Suitable for either beginners or as a refresher for experienced pruners.

Train the trainer masterclass: Queensland fruit fly; Saturday, 3rd December, 1-3pm; free; online.

You will learn a wide variety of control and management options for Queensland fruit fly that you will be able to apply in your own community. There will also be an opportunity to role play and practice your community education skills during the latter part of the workshop. After this training, participants will be asked to commit to running their own Queensland fruit fly session(s) based on the knowledge gained. Facilitated by Bronwyn Koll. Organised by Whittlesea Council.

How to manage garden vandals; Saturday, 10th December, 10am-midday; $15; Ringwood.

What to do about possums and other garden vandals. Organised by Central Ringwood Community Centre.

Mushroom growing 101; Wednesday, 14th December, 6.30-9.30pm; $145 ($48 per hour); Collingwood.

You will learn the practical skills to grow a never-ending supply of mushrooms yourself, gaining the knowledge to create a self-sufficient, closed-loop ecosystem. You will also learn the 4 step lifecycle of mushroom cultivation, tips for harvesting and alternative applications for different growing mediums and species. Tutor: Eric Fenessy from Uncle Steezy’s Hot Sauce.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Festive fix with thermomix class; Sunday, 27th November, 2-4pm; $40 ($20 per hour); Preston.

The menu will feature: pink lemonade; hazelnut brioche; turkey breast roulade with apple & sage stuffing with gravy; German cinnamon stars; salmon filo spiral; and oriental brown rice salad. Presenter: Teresa Assi.

Pizza masterclass with Antonio; Tuesday, 6th December, 6-8.30pm; $70 ($28 per hour); Eltham.

You will learn: how to make dough by hand; stretching techniques; how to use a pizza paddle; and pizza classico (classic style pizza in the oven) & pizze fritte (fried pizza). You will make both savoury and sweet pizzas, and you will get to cook and eat the pizzas.

No coconut Thai; Sunday, 11th December, 10am-2pm; $160 ($40 per hour); Panton Hill.

Presenter: Kelly Meredith from Under The Pickle Tree. This menu will introduce you to the flavours of northern Thai food. On the menu will be: grabong (northern Thai pumpkin fritters with karchai, a rhizome with a flavour not unlike saffron); khao lao (crispy rice ball salad with an Asian mushroom medley and nam jinn dressing); gaeng som bplaa (sour orange fish curry with fresh peppercorn and bamboo); and nam prik noom (green chilli and coriander dip served with vegetables and sticky rice). You will learn: how to make roasted rice powder essential for nam jinn sauce; how to make a curry paste from scratch; how to cook perfect sticky rice; and how to balance sweet salty, sour flavours essential for Thai cooking.

In November
In December
Regular classes

LFC News November 16 2022

Nov 152022
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Angharad Neal-Williams, Lucy Piper, Mel Miles, Mon Lukas, Nerida Kirov, Nick Rose, Pam Jenkins, Rob Body and Susan Palmer.

Nillumbik’s Community Grow Guide has now been published

As it says in the introduction: “Nillumbik’s Community Grow Guide is an easy-to-follow guide to vegetable gardening in Nillumbik. The illustrated booklet guides you through some popular vegetables to plant, how to care for them and how to save seeds. Gardening advice can be overwhelming for a beginner. There is a lot of information available describing different climates, soil types and weather conditions. This guide provides simple advice that is specific to the Nillumbik area. The importance of gardening for our physical and mental wellbeing is widely acknowledged and this illustrated guide provides an accessible entry point for beginner gardeners.

“Nillumbik’s Community Grow Guide aims to encourage more people to start gardening, connect with a community of gardeners and experience the joy that is associated with being outdoors and producing your own food.”

View/download the guide (pdf). Alternatively, pick up a hard copy at any of Edendale Farm, Eltham Library, Hurstbridge Hub, Nillumbik Nursery, Wadambuk St Andrews Community Centre, or seed libraries throughout Banyule & Nillumbik.

The author of the guide is local artist Angharad Neal-Williams.

The Alphington Community Food Hub

Last week’s article about Nick Rose mentioned Sustain’s involvement in something called ‘the Melbourne Food Hub’ in Alphington. Lucy Piper, from Melbourne Farmers Markets, has now written in to point out that there are actually two food hubs next to each other (with the same postal address!) and that Sustain is only involved in one of these hubs, namely the Melbourne Food Hub.

The other food hub is called the ‘Alphington Community Food Hub’ and is operated by Melbourne Farmers Markets. Its activities includes the Alphington Farmers Market, a food growing area, a commercial kitchen, a depot and leasing to some small food-related enterprises (including Bakeshop Alphington, Reground and The Practical Beekeeper).

Melbourne Food Hub is operated by Sustain. Its activities include an urban farm, a classroom and leasing to some small food-related enterprises (including Farmwall, Sporadical City Mushrooms and The Mushroomery).

Lucy has kindly provided a map of the Alphington Community Food Hub site (see right) which hopefully clarifies some of this.

Note that there are some upcoming food tours at Alphington Community Food Hub on Sunday, 27th November at 10am and again at midday.

A changing of the guard at Diamond Creek (by Pam Jenkins)

After 8 years of coordinating the care of the Chute Street planter boxes in Diamond Creek, I (Pam) have handed their care on to Thrive Community Garden.

The planter boxes were established in 2014 by the Diamond Creek Traders with support from Local Food Connect, Thrive Community Garden, The NICE Foundation and Nillumbik Council. Their objective is to grow attractive edibles for passers-by to be able to pick and eat. I think that we succeeded with that for most of the time.

Since 2014, with the help of a revolving band of volunteers and students from Diamond Creek Primary School (DCPS), we have planted fed, watered, weeded, tidied and harvested many vegetables and flowers. The flowers are mostly edible and all attract beneficial insects.

In closing, I would like to thank all those who have helped in various ways including, but not limited to: all the volunteers; the DCPS students and staff; Diamond Creek Traders (for allowing me to purchase goods on their account at Mitre 10); Local Food Connect (for financial and moral support); Beales Road Farm (for supplying plants); Josh and May (who looked after the sunny side last year); the shopkeepers (who watered in the young seedlings for a few days until they got established); the shops (for allowing us to fill our watering cans from their taps); Nillumbik Council (for filling the water reservoirs over the past year); the people who harvested and ate the food we produced; and the passers-by who stopped to chat and those that admired our work.

The photo is of ‘the handover’, from me (Pam) to Sarah and Giuliana from Thrive.

Where can you get the best panettone in the southern hemisphere?

The answer is Eltham, at the Old Evropa bakery in Eltham Village. And that’s official: Tatiana Coluccio, from Old Evropa, has just won ‘Best Panettone Extra European 2022’ in the ‘Panettone World Cup’ (aka Coppa del Mondo del Panettone). In other words, Tatiana makes the best panettone outside of Europe!

Note: panettone is an Italian sweet bread which includes raisins and citrus.

Also note: Old Evropa sell all sorts of yummy pastries, not just panettone.

Do you know?

Nerida Kirov asks: “Where can I buy some collard greens (aka colewart) seeds or seedlings? They are a cultivar of Brassica oleracea“. Email me with your answers.

A grant opportunity

Using their income from their garden openings etc, Open Gardens Victoria runs a grant program, called ‘Giving Program’, which provides grants for horticultural activities. Applications for up to $10K are currently open. Closing date: 30th November. Read their guidelines. Download an application form.

More on recycling depots

Rob Body has written in to say that Boroondara Council has a depot in Riversdale Road that accepts styrene, cardboard, paint, oil, electrical and batteries (all free except that there is fee for mattresses). You may (or may not) need a rate notice.

Soft plastics recycling on pause

Per REDcycle, consumer recycling of soft plastic has increased 350% since 2019. Per ABC News, the Australian government has a target of 70% of plastic packaging being recycled or composted by 2025 compared to just 16% currently. So, what do you think has just happened?

Yes, that’s right, both Coles and Woolworths have announced that they are no longer accepting soft plastics for recycling. This is apparently because their recycling partner, REDcycle, has paused its soft plastics collection program. Read what Coles, REDcycle, ABC News and The Guardian are saying on the subject.

Some recipe ideas for using leeks

No potato leek soup

Following my request last week, Susan Palmer has sent in the following recipe.

Ingredients
2 stalks leek (around 300 grams)
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 stock cubes (veg or chicken)
1 litre water
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Wash the leeks thoroughly and then cut into 3cm pieces.

Saute the leeks and onions in the olive oil in a 2 litre pot until they become translucent.

Add the water, bay leaves and stock cube and bring to the boil.

Simmer for 30 minutes, then discard the bay leaves.

Whiz the soup with a hand blender until it has the desired consistency. Add more water (boiling) if desired.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Some other ideas

From Mel Miles:

  • Replace onion with leek in a risotto. It adds an extra depth of flavour. It pairs particularly well with pumpkin and mushroom.
  • A simple side dish: Saute finely sliced leeks with olive oil and salt until starting to brown. Add new season fresh asparagus, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, juice from half a lemon and a pinch of chilli flakes. Saute until the asparagus is how you like it. Take it to the next level with crumbled plant-based or dairy feta on top. You can also use other greens rather than asparagus.
  • Shannon’s kale and leek bake.
  • Kimchi miso hotpot.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the Facebook page of the new All About Beekeeping Supplies shop in Diamond Creek.

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

A duck walks in a bar, orders a beer and says “put it on my bill.”

Read more jokes.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Farmer Incubator’s garlic fiesta; Saturday, 19th November, 10am-midday; free; Brunswick East.

This year a little garlic patch has been tucked away in a corner of CERES with two participants in the program. Join them to celebrate their hard work, take a tour of the site and participate in a garlic branding workshop.

Edible garden workshop; Saturday, 19th November, 10.30am-midday; free; Epping.

Learn how to establish your own garden at home and how to care for it. The subjects to be covered include soils, composting, seasonal planting and mulching. Organised by Greenbrook Community House.

Nonna knows best with Jaclyn Crupi; Thursday, 24th November, 11am-12.30pm; free; Greensborough.

Jaclyn Crupi will share the wisdom of nonnas, including recipes, tips, sayings and advice. She will also give a pasta making demonstration complete with tips for different pasta shapes. Organised by Diamond Valley Library

Soil health with Kat Lavers; Wednesday, 7th December, 5-7.30pm; free; Forest Hill.

This workshop will cover soil types and the role of microbes, fungi and invertebrates. You will also hear about low-cost and free resources for improving your soil.

Wilam-nganjin community garden opening (Reservoir); Thursday, 8th December, 3-6pm; free; Reservoir.

This is the official opening of this new community garden space. They will be officially naming the space wilam-nganjin (‘our place’ in Woi wurrung), along with a Welcome to Country, some fun gardening activities for kids, free food and music. Everyone and anyone is welcome. Click here to read about the garden.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Gingerbread house decoration; Sunday, 4th December, 10.30am-midday; $46 ($31 per hour); Camberwell.

This workshop is for children aged 7+. The child will decorate their own pre-constructed gingerbread house. Use royal icing to attach a variety of sweets and lollies. Decorate a range of Xmas tree, gingerbread man, hearts and candy cane cookies as part of the Christmas scene.

In November
In December
Regular classes

LFC News November 9 2022

Nov 092022
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Ann Stanley, Harry Ladopoulos and Virginia Solomon.

A chat with Nick Rose (by Ann Stanley)

[Many of the November events currently being advertised in this newsletter are part of something called Urban Agriculture Month. Urban Agriculture Month is an initiative being run by Sustain: the Australian Food Network. The Executive Director of Sustain is Nick Rose. Ann recently met Nick for a chat. Here is a summary of what was said. Read Ann’s full article.]

Nick believes that it is important to understand the collective contribution of people growing edible gardens in cities all over the world and encourages us to see ourselves as part of a movement that goes far beyond our own backyard. He also believes that access to good food at all times is a human right and is fundamental to the dignity of a person. And he advocates for a participatory and democratic food system in which decisions are not made in boardrooms and the lobbies of governments.

Consistent with these beliefs, Sustain promotes collective action towards the development of new food systems for cities and is working towards acknowledgement by local, state and federal governments of a defined ‘urban agriculture’ sector in this country.

Nick’s views have been shaped in part by observing innovative models of urban agriculture from around the world, including La Via Campasina in Indonesia and elsewhere (an international peasants’ movement of small farmers and indigenous people) and the city of Seoul’s plan to allocate billions of dollars to urban farming projects.

Nick and Sustain have been involved in a number of local projects, including the Melbourne Food Hub, the Cardinia food circles project and Oakhill Food Justice Farm.

The Melbourne Food Hub in Alphington is the location of the Alphington Farmers’ Market. At the site, there is also an urban farm, a community kitchen and a food distribution business, as well as enterprises such as Sporadical City Mushrooms.

The Cardinia food circles project promotes a fair food system for all Cardinia Shire residents, emphasising food literacy in the community, promoting fresh, seasonal, local produce, and advocating to ‘control the density and proximity of fast-food outlets to vulnerable communities’ as well as for creating livelihood opportunities in food production and distribution.

Oakhill Food Justice Farm operates out of an abandoned vicarage in Preston, where the land is planted out with veggies, maintained by volunteers, and with all the produce given away.

Nick says that local councils in Australia have been at the forefront of government support for the emerging urban agriculture sector but, says Nick, so far State and Federal Governments have been harder to influence, still viewing urban agriculture as a hobby and a niche not big enough for them to deal with.

So, to summarise, Nick argues that the local food movement is much broader than just growing healthy food – it is also about human rights, dignity and social justice and can be seen in a new political ecology at the global level responsive to the climate and poverty challenges we face globally.

Having read some of Nick’s views, what thoughts have they stimulated for you? How much food could we grow in urban Melbourne? How much vacant land could be unlocked in Melbourne by local councils? How much food could be grown on verges and in new housing developments? Could every suburb sustain a community garden? Are you just planting a garden or are you part of a global movement for positive change?

Read Ann’s full article.

A new local coffee roaster: Specialty Coffee Army

Specialty Coffee Army, who are based in Mernda, are a small, specialty coffee roastery who sell both freshly roasted coffee beans and ground coffee. They also have a coffee trailer, which sells batch brew and pour over coffee. They roast only specialty coffee beans graded at 82+ using a gas roasting machine, following a precise manual roasting method for each batch, creating roasting profiles that match the specific origin of the beans. These profiles cover such subjects as the appropriate grinding methods and the right water temperature using different brewing methods such as batch brew, pour over, gravity press and cold brew. Their single origin coffees come from a wide variety of places, including Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Kenya, Mexico, Peru and Yemen. They only source their coffee beans through importers that have followed strict specialty coffee rules, including trading ethically with the producers. To help reduce plastic waste, they use recyclable coffee bags that meet RedCycle’s standards.

You can buy their coffee beans and ground coffee online. You can also find them at a number of local markets, including Eltham Farmers’ Market, South Morang Farmers’ and Makers’ Market and Thomastown Trash and Treasure Market.

Read their Local Food Directory page.

Welcome Harry!

A new beekeeping shop in Diamond Creek

All About Beekeeping Supplies is located at 21b Station Street, Diamond Creek.

Open 5 days a week, from Friday to Tuesday.

We have more pea seedlings to give away

Thanks to the 20 or so people who have taken advantage of our pea seedling giveaway over the last week.

Our stocks have now been replenished(!), particularly of the snow pea seedlings. So, if you would like some sugar snap or snow pea seedlings, email me and we’ll arrange a day and time. Pick up from my house in Eltham.

This offer is also open to people who have already picked up some of the seedlings! Just email me if you want more.

In passing, some of the people picking up pea seedlings mentioned that they have just harvested the leeks from Bruno Tigani’s last giveaway. If you have any good recipes for leeks, it would be great if you could email them to us for publication in a future newsletter.

Every newsletter needs a good picture

Old woman frying eggs is a painting by Spanish painter Diego Velazquez and was painted around 1618 (when Velazquez was in his late teens). Unusually for its time, it is a ‘genre painting’, which means that it depicts ordinary life by portraying ordinary people engaged in ordinary activities (rather than gods etc with no clothes on!). It is also notable for its ‘chiaroscuro’ (cf. shading), with different parts of the painting ranging from bright light to almost total darkness. And, finally, it is a precursor to ‘photorealism’, which is where the painting looks as realistic as if it were a photograph. To summarise, it is a photorealistic, chiaroscuro, genre painting of a woman frying some eggs painted by a teenager around 600 years ago.

P.s. Some people think that the woman is poaching eggs rather than frying them.

Not food-related but interesting

Artist Kathy Holowko has been working with some children in Boroondara “to envision a city where all humans, plants and animals live together, inspiring solutions for us to coexist“. The resulting exhibition of ‘Wild City’ is available for viewing at Hawthorn Arts Centre, 360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn from now until 3rd December. Watch a video about the project.

Another not food-related but interesting

Whittlesea Council have just published a list of their recycling stations where you can drop off any of:

  • X-rays.
  • Printer cartridges.
  • Mobile phones and accessories.
  • Cameras and accessories.
  • DVDs and CDs.
  • VHS/video and audio cassette tapes.
  • Fluorescent light globes and tubes.
  • Small e-waste items like iPods and MP3 players.

The recycling stations are located at:

  • Lalor Library, 2A May Road, Lalor.
  • Mill Park Library, 394 Plenty Road, Mill Park.
  • Thomastown Library, 52 Main Street, Thomastown.
  • Whittlesea Library, 57-61 Laurel Street, Whittlesea.
  • Civic Centre, 25 Ferres Boulevard, South Morang.
  • Epping Depot, 68-96 Houston Street, Epping.
  • Galada Community Centre, 10a Forum Way, Epping.
  • Jindi Family Community Centre, 48 Breadalbane Avenue, Mernda.
  • Laurimar Activity Centre, 110 Hazel Glen Drive, Doreen.
  • Mernda Village Community Centre, 70 Mernda Village Drive, Mernda.
  • Riverside Community Centre, 8 Doreen Rogen Way, South Morang.
  • Shared Cup Cafe, 995 Donnybrook Road, Donnybrook.

Does anyone have any equivalent lists, or links to any equivalent lists, for our other local councils? If so, email them to me.

And more on recycling options

Recycle Mate is a website where you enter your address and the thing(s) that you would like to recycle and it (hopefully) tells you your local recycling options.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was Simone Boyd’s video on planting heirloom tomato seedlings.

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

Did I say feelings? I meant, uhhh, sandwiches. I have sandwiches for you.

Read more jokes.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ markets

NERP will have an information stall at Sunday’s Eltham Farmers’ Market, their theme being ‘unusual edibles’.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Cheese and beer masterclass; Thursday, 24th November, 7-9pm; $64 ($32 per hour); Preston.

6 cheeses will be matched with 6 beers. Jointly hosted by Moon Dog Brewing and Cheese Culture.

Good Food and Wine Show Christmas Market; Friday, 25th November, 4-9pm, Saturday, 26th November, 10am-5pm, and Sunday, 27th November, 10am-5pm; $10; Carlton.

There will be around 50 stallholders plus wine tasting and some cooking demonstrations.

Heal with food – dementia; Saturday, 3rd December, 1-3pm; $8; Eltham.

Dr Peter Johnston will discuss whether or not dementia can be prevented and the connections or otherwise between diets and dementia. This is one of a series of monthly talks by health professionals about using food as medicine. Future talks will cover such subjects as asthma, cancer, depression & anxiety, obesity and reproductive health. Organised by Green Karma.

Formidable Vegetable house concert and Christmas party; Tuesday, 6th December, 6-9pm; $42 ($14 per hour); Eltham.

Join Formidable Vegetable for a house concert. Bring a picnic and a cushion or a folding chair. No alcohol. Listen to their well known song, Yield. Listen to more of their music. Watch a sample video.

How to navigate Christmas with chronic illness; Sunday, 11th December, 2-4.30pm; $11; Eltham.

Learn how to manage your physical and mental health during festivities, followed by a cooking demonstration on healthy baking. Organised by Green Karma.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Festive fix with thermomix class; Saturday, 12th November, 11am-1pm; $40 ($20 per hour); Eltham.

The menu features: pink lemonade; hazelnut brioche; turkey breast roulade with apple & sage stuffing with gravy; German cinnamon stars; salmon filo spiral; and oriental brown rice salad. Presenters: Tess Murray and Jodie Hodgett.

Mexican cooking class (plant-based); Saturday, 12th November, 7-9pm; $38 ($19 per hour); Collingwood.

The menu will comprise: nachos; guacamole with tomatoes; re-fried beans with cumin flavours; eggless mayonnaise; and pina colada (zero alcohol). Presenter: Sammohini.

Festive fix with thermomix class; Thursday, 17th November, 7-9pm; $40 ($20 per hour); Blackburn North.

The menu features: pink lemonade; hazelnut brioche; turkey breast roulade with apple & sage stuffing with gravy; German cinnamon stars; salmon filo spiral; and oriental brown rice salad. Presenter: Kaye Jones.

Festive fix with thermomix class; Monday, 28th November, 7.30-9.30pm; $40 ($20 per hour); Mooroolbark.

The menu features: pink lemonade; hazelnut brioche; turkey breast roulade with apple & sage stuffing with gravy; German cinnamon stars; salmon filo spiral; and oriental brown rice salad. Presenters: Jodie Hodgett, Shantell Taylor and Nicole Miller.

Laksa masterclass; Saturday, 3rd December, 11am-1.30pm; $128 ($51 per hour); Brunswick.

Linh and June will show you have to make laksa. You will also get to take home a sample of their laksa paste.

Middle Eastern cooking; Sunday, 4th December, 10.30am-1.30pm; $80 ($27 per hour); Park Orchards.

Learn about the flavours of Middle Eastern cooking. Try out recipes and cooking methods while preparing a three course menu. Stay and share your freshly prepared dinner with the group. Organised by Park Orchards Community House.

Kraut, kefir, kimchi & kvass; Saturday, 10th December, 1-5pm; $365 ($91 per hour); Fitzroy North.

This is a fermenting ‘101’ class, where you will learn about salt, different preserving techniques, two of the most popular cabbage recipes (kraut and kimchi), a drink (kvass) and all about SCOBYs, with a focus on milk kefir. You will take home everything you make during the course; a jar of kimchi, sauerkraut, milk kefir with SCOBY and a jar of kvass – including jars and airlocks for fermenting at home.

In November
In December
Regular classes

LFC News November 2 2022

Nov 022022
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Bruno Tigani, Emma Wasson, Jaimie Sweetman, John Stock, Pauline Webb and Sarah Mathers.

Apple berry (Billardiera scandens) by Jaimie Sweetman

Jaimie Sweetman is Head Gardener of the Edible Forest located on the Yarra Valley Estate in Dixons Creek. Tours of the Edible Forest, often led by Jaimie, take place on Fridays and Saturdays – read more and book your place on a future tour.

Apple berry is a bush tucker plant that grows naturally along the coast and tablelands of every state and territory in Australia except Northern Territory and Western Australia. Because of this, it adaptable to our climates and soils and will even grow under a eucalypt. Once established, they actually cope quite well in acidic or alkaline soils and in clay, loam or sandy soils.

If given the proper climbing structure, it will climb (we grow ours up the tree pillars in the forest). They also act well as either a groundcover or small shrub.

The fruit tastes similar to stewed apple or kiwifruit, and are either eaten raw when ripe or roasted.

The flowers, which appear in October and November, are bell shaped yellow to pink and form in clusters.

In summary, apple berry is a good choice for bush tucker areas, native gardens or for an interesting climber that is easy to grow and maintain.

Want some free sugar snap or snow pea seedlings?

Courtesy of Bruno Tigani, we have lots of both sugar snap and snow pea seedlings to give away. Say, up to 20 seedlings per person (or more for community gardens). Pick up from my house in Eltham. If interested, email me and we’ll arrange a day and time.

Wait a minute, I hear you ask, aren’t peas a cool season crop rather than warm season one? Well, yes and no. Standard garden peas are certainly a cool season crop and shouldn’t be planted at this time of year. But sugar snap peas can be grown all year round and, Bruno tells me, the same is true of his snow pea seedlings.

More on pomegranates

Following Robin’s article last week on growing pomegranates, John Stock, President of Eastland Multicultural Garden has sent in a picture of some pomegranate flowers.

Volunteer opportunities at Fawkner Wholefoods Collective

Fawkner Wholefoods Collective bring fresh, mostly Victorian-grown/made, food to Fawkner. They currently have a number of vacancies on their committee, including one paid role (Marketing and Community Engagement).

An interview with Lee Tozzi

Open Food Network recently interviewed Lee Tozzi, Food Systems Officer at the Merri-bek City Council (formerly the City of Moreland), about why it is important to focus on food systems, the benefits of including the community in this process and how Open Food Network has been able to help them connect with, and empower, Merri-bek residents.

Are you a young person living in Whittlesea or Darebin?

Sustain and the Just Food Collective are partnering to deliver a food justice, education and gardening program with young people living in Whittlesea and Darebin. The participants will attend 6 workshops (located in either Preston or Epping, depending on which group you join) and will participate in garden maintenance, cooking sessions and material creation (zine + film). Closing date for applications: 5th November. Read more and potentially apply.

A new video from Simone Boyd

Planting out heirloom tomato seedlings.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the page of pictures of owl and related veggie trays.

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

What did the hungry computer eat? Chips, one byte at a time.

Read more jokes.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Backyard chooks; Saturday, 5th November, 10-11am; free; Richmond.

Elise McNamara will discuss: best breeds for urban backyards and where and how to buy healthy poultry; health checks, parasites and symptoms of illness and which products actually work; the best feeders, drinkers, coops/houses for backyards; managing chicken litter in Melbourne weather; feeding – what to feed and what not to; how to catch and hold a chicken; common behaviour issues; caring for chickens in a Melbourne summer heat wave; and a care routine guide that you can adapt to the needs of your flock. Organised by Richmond Community Learning Centre.

Minature tomato bushes; Wednesday, 9th November, 8-10pm; free; Doncaster East.

Dan from Seeds of Plenty will speak about all things tomatoes including his minature bushes (full size fruit) which he grows for seed.

Rosé blending workshop; Saturday, 19th November, 5-7pm; $49 ($18 per hour); Brunswick East.

Learn about the different methods of rosé-making as you taste your way through some wines, snack on some cheeseboards and make a bottle of your own custom blend to take home.

Growing gourmet mushrooms; Sunday, 20th November, 10-11am; free; Kensington.

Learn do it yourself and zero waste home cultivation methods to grow your own gourmet mushrooms. Presenter: Emma Wasson from Mycelium Futures. Following the workshop, you will enjoy a light lunch of a variety of oyster mushrooms on (sourdough or gluten-free) toast in Kensington Stockyard Food Garden. The mushrooms will be supplied by Melbourne Mushrooms Urban Farmers. You will take home your own mushroom growing kit (prepared during the workshop).

Low cost vegetable gardening; Sunday, 20th November, 10.30am-12.30pm; free; Coburg.

Karen Sutherland, from Edible Eden Design, will take you through some easy and practical ways to grow food and save money.

Garden like a nonno with Jaclyn Crupi; Wednesday, 23rd November, 10-11am; free; Whittlesea.

Jaclyn Crupi will share her knowledge about soil health and improvement, composting, worm farms and fertilisers that you can make at home. She will explain how to save seeds from your own vegetable plants to use next season, germinate seeds, plant seedlings and protect them. Keeping chickens, maintaining gardening tools and preserving what you grow will also be touched on.

Spring and Summer planting; Sunday, 27th November, 10.30am-midday; free; Brunswick.

Angelo Eliades, from Deep Green Permaculture, will cover what to plant in spring and summer, how to keep your garden healthy and natural pest control tips for the warmer months.

Rosé blending workshop; Saturday, 3rd December, 5-7pm; $49 ($18 per hour); Brunswick East.

Learn about the different methods of rosé-making as you taste your way through some wines, snack on some cheeseboards and make a bottle of your own custom blend to take home.

Edible weeds walk; Saturday, 10th December, 10.30am-12.30pm; $25 ($13 per hour); Brunswick East.

What if many of the weeds in our garden were just as edible as the vegetables we tend beside them? What if some of these free, all-too-easy-to-grow uninvited guests were so nutritionally dense that they are just about the healthiest things you could possibly eat? What if many of them also had medical traditions dating back centuries? Well it’s all true! And if you know what to choose, they also taste great. Join Adam Grubb, co-author of The Weed Forager’s Handbook, for a fascinating walk on the wild side, foraging for edible weeds.

Bush foods & herbs for courtyards & balconies; Thursday, 15th December, 6.30-9pm; $55 ($22 per hour); Bulleen Art & Garden.

What you will learn: which native produce-plants are suitable for growing in pots and small spaces; what to harvest and when; and how to use bush foods and herbs to flavour your dishes. Presented by Karen Sutherland of Edible Eden Design. Australian native plants have flavour and aroma profiles unlike any others, and can be easily incorporated into your kitchen. Also, a wide range of them can be grown in Melbourne in pots or small and difficult spaces. In this class, which is ideal for those with limited garden space or even just a courtyard or balcony, you will explore the world of edible native Australian plants that are easy to grow in such spaces, attractive to look at and can easily add flavour and interest to your home-cooked dishes. All plants covered are suitable for Melbourne’s climate, and will be discussed in terms of how best to use and grow them in your garden.

Growing gourmet mushrooms; Sunday, 18th December, 10-11am; free; Kensington.

Learn do it yourself and zero waste home cultivation methods to grow your own gourmet mushrooms. Presenter: Emma Wasson from Mycelium Futures. Following the workshop, you will enjoy a light lunch of a variety of oyster mushrooms on (sourdough or gluten-free) toast in Kensington Stockyard Food Garden. The mushrooms will be supplied by Melbourne Mushrooms Urban Farmers. You will take home your own mushroom growing kit (prepared during the workshop).

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Inner peas – cooking program (4 sessions); On 4 consecutive Wednesdays, starting 16th November, each 5.30-7.30pm; free; Hawthorn.

Inner Peas is a social cooking program for people aged 16-25. The program aims to help you make easy, healthy and affordable recipes as well as make new friends and learn strategies to take care of your mental health. Each week, you will make and then share a meal. Week 1: Mexican. Week 2: Indian 1: Italian. Week . Week 4: Korean.

No waste cook club – make your own preserves; Saturday, 19th November, 11am-midday; free; Forest Hill.

Learn from Open Table about reducing food waste and how to make preserves such as jams and chutneys.

Vegan paella masterclass & flamenco show; Sunday, 20th November, 1.30-5pm; $106 ($30 per hour); Brunswick.

Chef Itxaso Sanchez will show you how to make a vegetarian paella plus a sangria cocktail. At the end, there will be flamenco dancers.

Milk kefir love; Wednesday, 23rd November, 6.30-8.30pm; $110 ($55 per hour); Fitzroy North.

They will show you how to easily incorporate this little SCOBY into your daily routine. You will make some milk kefir and then move onto flavouring, making butter, labneh, catching the whey and then making a naturally fizzy and gut-loving soda. You’ll go home with: a milk kefir SCOBY in a jar and ready to feed when you get home; a whey soda flavoured with fresh fruit of your choice to finish fermenting at home; milk kefir cultured butter; and an illustrated recipe card.

Spanish vegan tapas workshop; Sunday, 27th November, 1.30-5pm; $115 ($33 per hour); Brunswick.

Chef Itxaso Sanchez will show you recipes to create 4 tapas, 1 dessert and 1 cocktail.

Sourdough basics; Wednesday, 30th November, 6.30-8pm; $120 ($80 per hour); Collingwood.

The Fermented Mumma will discuss ingredient selection, starter care, and the processes of sourdough fermentation and baking. At the end, you will take your fermenting dough home to bake in the morning.

Christmas gingerbread house making; Friday, 2nd December, 7.30-9.30pm; $40 for two people ($10 per hour); Diamond Creek.

You will share a light supper, followed by a short Christmas talk from a guest speaker, before creating your gingerbread house – complete with an abundance of lollies, gingerbread people and snow. You’ll be able to take it home all wrapped up ready for Christmas or to gift to someone.

In November
In December
Regular classes