LFC News November 27

Nov 262024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Doris Glier, Erin West, Eve Fraser, Julie Merlet, Lynn Wallace, Rachel Bishop and Robin Gale-Baker.

Vegetable leaves and stems – edible or toxic? (by Robin Gale-Baker)

With the advent of artisan butchers and fishmongers featuring using the animal or fish top to toe, there’s a temptation to also do this with vegetables. Beware, however, that not all vegetable leaves or stems are edible and some are quite toxic.

Let’s start with a few edible ones:

  • Carrot tops are edible and can be used as a substitute for basil in pesto.
  • Turnip tops likewise make good pesto. Also, the young leaves can be added to salads.
  • Radish leaves can be used in the same way as turnip tops.
  • Beetroot leaves can be used as a substitute for spinach or silverbeet. They also make good pies (e.g. spanakopita) and soups.

Non-edible vegetable tops include:

  • Parsnips. Parsnip leaves emit a compound called furocoumarin from their stems. This is a white, liquid that, when exposed to the sun, becomes caustic and can cause anything from blistering to burning of the skin, mouth or throat.
  • Anything in the Solanaceae family, including potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, chillis and eggplants. Whilst the fruits of all these can obviously be consumed, the leaves are dangerous when ingested because they contain high concentrations of a compound called solanine.
    • Potato leaves are highly toxic and should never be ingested. As most people are aware, green potatoes are an absolute no-no too. Potatoes exposed to light or cold (as in the fridge) develop solanine in sufficient quantity to potentially cause stomach problems.
    • Tomato stems and leaves are now served in some restaurants as part of roasted tomatoes on the vine. Perhaps chefs get away with the very small quantities on the plate but they are toxic, containing a compound called tomatine.
    • Peppers, chillis and eggplants likewise have toxic leaves from solanine concentration.

When we think about the solanaceae family, it should perhaps be no surprise that the leaves are not edible. This is the deadly nightshade family after all.

Just because one plant in a family is edible does not mean that similar looking plants are. In the carrot family (Apiaceae), for example, Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) is edible whilst hemlock (Conium maculatum) is highly poisonous.

Bitterness is often an indication of poisonous alkaloids so the more bitter tasting a leaf is the more suspicious you should be.

Some final points:

  • Both sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) and everlasting peas (Lathyrus latifolius) are toxic.
  • Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid in sufficient quantities to cause a range of serious symptoms, often requiring a trip to hospital.
  • Fig roots and stems, like parsnip stems, contain furocoumarins and, particularly when weeding, gloves and safety glasses should be worn to avoid burning of skin and eyes.

Boab (Adansonia gregorii) by Julie Merlet

[The material below is a shortened version of material from the NATIF website which was written by newsletter reader Julie Merlet. NATIF (which is an acronym for N=Native, A=Australian, T=Traditional, I=Indigenous and F=Foods) sell a wide range bush food products online (including boab powder).]

The boab (Adansonia gregorii), traditionally known as larrkardiy, is an Australian native tree. Some of the trees are more than 1,500 years old and they are only found in the Kimberley regions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

The trees have been used for thousands of years by the Indigenous people of Australia for food and medicine. Almost every part of the tree can be eaten, from the young leaves and tubers to the internal fruit pods and seeds. In addition, the hard outer casing of the fruit can be used to make ornamental engravings and some children like rattling the nut and hearing the clucking of the fruit pod inside.

The tree is easily recognisable by its bulbous trunk and they stand bold and strong in the landscape, each with their own character.

The tree is deciduous, with its leaves on in the wet season (November-April) and only the fruits in the dry season. The flowers are large, fragrant and white or yellow. They are pollinated by the convolvulus hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli).

The fruit is inside a pod and naturally dries on the tree itself, being the only fruit in the world to do this. The seeds inside are surrounded by the pithy edible dried fruit. When you touch it, you can break it apart and it turns to powder.

The fruit powder tastes like mildly sweet, lemon sherbet and it can be mixed with water to make a paste.

The boab nut can stay intact many months after it has fallen but also often cracks open upon hitting the ground.

Read about other bush foods on our website.

The Caring Farms Coop new farm gate

[As you may remember from our 13th November newsletter, the Caring Farms Coop and the Veggie Empire have started a weekly farm gate on Wednesday mornings, 10am-1pm, at their farm in Wickham Place, St Helena. Their first farm gate was last Wednesday and Rachel Bishop has written in about how it went.]

  

“We’d like to send a huge shout out to everyone who came along to our first ever farm gate stall last week. There was a real buzz in the air as people came along to shop for some veggie and herb staples grown on our farm plus some surprise additions like local cherries and beetroot from Farm Raiser.

“As well as interesting food conversations, there were some sneak peeks at our market garden and the grow tunnels.

“We asked many of the customers how they found out about the farm gate. There were locals who read our sign in the paddock as they walked along the open space near the farm, people who found out through word of mouth and our social media posts, plus those who found out about it through the LFC News.

“We are grateful to everyone who came along and supported the beginnings of what will become a more permanent farm gate shop in 2025 that will be open more often throughout the week.

“We will be open every Wednesday from now until Christmas and hope to see many newsletter readers there.”

Local Food Connect’s 2024 annual report

View/download (pdf).

Another week, another food justice organisation seeking donations

Hope City Mission is seeking non-perishable items to support families in need this Christmas. They are at 5-15 Kent Avenue, Croydon, which is near Coles, and they are open 7 days a week from 10am to 5pm. The graphic right lists the items that can be donated.

Another new article from Angelo Eliades

Tomato growing guide.

Read more of Angelo’s articles about food growing.

‘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; Odyssey House Victoria at 28 Bonds Road,
Lower Plenty; or STREAT in Collingwood. Alternatively, Tiny Trowel, PO Box 4076, Box Hill South, 3128.

Mitcham Community Meal

Mitcham Community Meal provides a free community dinner every Sunday evening, where each meal is cooked by a different local community group. During November, the cooking teams were Belmore Road Church of Christ, Mitcham Baptist Church, Rangeview Primary School (see photo right) and Team Turning Point. Look at some photos of these teams, plus those of previous teams.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (1st December, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), Amy and Ann will interview Charlotte Harrison from Sustainable Gardening Australia. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, the latest being Maree Dellora on Cuban food justice and resilience (17th November).

Bruschetta (by Julia Busuttil Nishimura)

Serves 8.

Ingredients

350g fresh shelled peas or frozen baby peas
2 garlic cloves
juice of ½ lemon, plus extra juice and finely grated zest to serve
handful each of mint leaves and parsley leaves
30g pecorino romano, grated, plus extra to serve
80ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
sea salt and black pepper
4 slices of sourdough
2 × 100g buffalo mozzarella balls, roughly torn, at room temperature
8 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained

Method

Blanch the peas until tender, drain and refresh under cold water. Reserve 50g (⅓ cup) of the peas and set aside.

Finely grate one of the garlic cloves and place in a food processor with the peas, the lemon juice, mint, parsley and pecorino romano. Process to a fairly smooth mixture, scraping the side of the bowl if needed. Stream in the olive oil, process again to combine and season to taste. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the reserved peas. Set aside.

Grill both sides of the bread on a grill plate until golden and slightly charred on both sides. Halve the remaining garlic clove and rub one side of the grilled bread with the cut side of the garlic. Place the bread on a serving plate and drizzle with some extra olive oil. Top with some mozzarella, follow with a spoonful of the pea mixture and finish by draping over an anchovy fillet. Top with some lemon zest and extra lemon juice, another drizzle of olive oil, a scattering of extra pecorino romano and season with salt and pepper.

Cut each slice in half to serve as a snack.

Critter of the week – smooth flower wasp

The photo is of a male smooth flower wasp (genus Catocheilus in family Thynnidae) in the garden of Lynn Wallace.

Whilst male smooth flower wasps have wings, the females (as with many other species of flower wasp) do not. Each Spring, the adult wasps emerge from the soil and the males fly around looking for females. Meanwhile, the females emit chemical attractants (i.e. pheromones) and perch on low vegetation waiting. When a male finds a female, he carries her away before courtship and mating.

The female then relies on the male for food. In most species, the male feeds his mate a sugary liquid from his mouthparts or from a storage area just beneath his head. He then returns her to near where he found her.

The female then searches underground for a scarab or similar grub, which she paralyses and lays a single egg on. She repeats this mating-feeding-egg laying cycle about 3 times, over a week or two.

The wasp larva feeds on the grub’s body fluids followed by its internal organs, then pupates before emerging as a fully-developed adult.

Thanks to Lynn for the photo. If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

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

Bonus critter of the week – yellow-shouldered ladybird

The photo is of an adult yellow-shouldered ladybird (Apolinus lividigaster in family Coccinellidae) in the garden of Doris Glier.

The yellow-shouldered ladybird is a small (3-4mm long) ladybird native to Australia and New Zealand.

It has just the two yellow spots, one on each shoulder.

Its main prey is the oleander aphid (Aphis nerii).

Thanks to Doris for the photo.

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.

Our articles over the last month

Here are some of the articles from our newsletters over the last month that you might have missed:

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the Eltham Wine Show results.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was gift in a jar with Marie Vassallo on 4th December in Whittlesea.

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

Why did the students eat their homework? Because the teacher said that it was a piece of cake.

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

Melbourne Farmers Markets has produced the useful graphic right which lists what vegetables, fruit and herbs you might expect to see at farmers’ markets over the summer.

The cherry season has started and Cathedral Cherries will be at all of Alphington, Carlton, Coburg and Eltham farmers’ markets.

DownUnder Mushroom, who sell a range of mushroom products, will be a new stallholder at Carlton Farmers’ Market on the Saturday and will also be at Eltham Farmers’ Market on the Sunday.

Eltham Farmers’ Market will have a rare visit from gin makers, Bancroft Bay Distillery.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

On farm garlic braiding workshop; Saturday, 30th November, 10.30am-12.30pm; $88 ($44 per hour); Bellfield.

Learn how to craft a garlic braid using organically grown garlic and dried flowers, all sourced directly from Farm Raiser’s farm, then take your creation home. You will receive: 1Kg of organically grown garlic (retail value $60), plus the opportunity to purchase additional garlic at a discounted rate; a selection of dried organic flowers grown on the farm to embellish your braid; and refreshments (tea, coffee and light snacks). You can also have a tour of the farm. Organised by Farm Raiser.

Weed and herb workshop; Sunday, 1st December, 10am-midday; $20; Macleod.

Join Marina Bistrin as she shows you her garden, discussing both wild weeds and cultivated culinary and medicinal herbs. Cost $20 or 1 hour of weeding at a time suitable for you or LETS points.

Herbal medicine and food growing in small gardens workshop; Saturday, 7th December, 9am-midday; $64 ($21 per hour); Mill Park.

Practical tips on growing a diverse range of medicines and foods in an urban (terrace house) setting. Working with the seasons, harvesting and using your produce. Demonstration of how to build your own wicking garden beds large and small. Guides: Dr Teaine O’Brien and Dr David de Vries.

Open day herbal medicine and food growing in small garden; Saturday, 7th December, midday-5pm; $10; Mill Park.

Tour this urban garden and ask questions. Completed wicking garden beds and an array of food and medicine plants will be available for purchase. Guides: Dr Teaine O’Brien and Dr David de Vries.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

In November
In December
Regular classes

LFC News November 20

Nov 202024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Angelo Eliades, Chris Chapple, Delldint Fleming, Doris Glier, Jaimie Sweetman and Susan Palmer.

Chinese lantern (Abutilon spp.) by Jaimie Sweetman

[Jaimie is part of the Edible Forest located on the Yarra Valley Estate in Dixons Creek. There are regular tours of the Edible Forest – read more and book your place on a future tour.]

There are lots of species and variants of Chinese lanterns (Abutilon) spp.) and all have edible flowers. Just remove the green calyx and put the rest of the flower in your mouth. Or put the petals on anything from sweet to savoury. They actually taste a bit like lettuce only better and with a bit more sweetness.

The taste varies a bit from species to species and the best tasting ones are probably the orange hybrids (Abutilon x hybridum), as shown in the photo. Others range from yellow to red.

As well as chinese lanterns, plants in the Abutilon genus are sometimes called lantern-flowers, indian mallows or velvetleaves.

The plants flower for much of the year, starting in Autumn. They therefore provide edible flowers when not much else is flowering. This is great if you want to show off to your guests!

The plants grow to around 2 metres high. They are hardy and cope with little water and in most Melbourne conditions, although they will look better and flower more with some compost and mulch.

Read about more of Jaimie’s unusual edible plants on our website.

Spirli Strawberries – thank you for 10 years of strawberries (by Chris Chapple)

Strawberry season is a highlight of the Eltham Farmers’ Market year. The local season starts in mid or late October and runs until the end May or early June.

Spirli Strawberries has been Eltham Farmers’ Market’s strawberry supplier since 2014, making it a decade of service the market’s strawberry lovers!

  

They are based in Wandin in the Yarra Valley and the Spirli family have farmed there since 1973. Dominic (Dom) Spirli grew up with farming in his veins and he and wife Angela acquired their 3-acre farm in 1994. Initially, they grew vegetables but moved to strawberries in 2006 and, in 2017, made the important addition of hydroponics.

Angela (Ange) is also the Spirli ‘face’ at the market, sometimes assisted by her sister Teresa. Son Sam is also involved in the business from a distance; having chosen a career as an agronomist, he gets to sleep in on Sundays and keeps his fingernails clean, but provides advice on matters like hydroponics.

The Spirlis currently have about 52,000 strawberry plants. The original farm of 3 acres is now all hydroponics and a second leased farm is used for in-ground cultivation.

They grow three main varieties of strawberries: Albion (which are particularly sweet), Monterey and Petaluma (both of which are hydroponic varieties). Tutored by Sam, Dom is regularly testing new varieties.

Spirli Strawberries is a member of Ausberry, which is a group of 7 local growers who jointly supply supermarkets.

Ange loves her time at the market and really appreciates her market ‘family’, both customers and fellow stallholders. If there is ever any criticism, it is that she doesn’t bring enough so, in 2024, she has invested in a bigger van.

Read more Eltham Farmers’ Market tales.

A suggestion when growing Brussels sprouts

As briefly discussed last week, Brussels sprouts should be grown over summer and now, November, is the best time to plant the seedlings. In reaction, Susan Palmer has written in to say that, once the sprouts start forming (where the leaves meet the plant’s trunk), the plant should be extensively pruned so that it focuses more on growing the sprouts than on growing the leaves. More specifically, cut off all the leaves from the bottom half of the plant, in each case leaving around 2cm of stalk (which effectively provide a shelf for the sprouts to grow on). See the photo right. Watch this video.

Also, snails quite like the seedlings so it is best to protect them in the early days, for example using copper tape as in the photo (the pots with the copper tape were properly planted in the soil when the Brussels sprouts were young and vulnerable). And, because they are brassicas, the cabbage white butterfly likes to lay its eggs on them so netting or similar is good.

Yes, you did know! (or, at least, Angelo knows)

Last week, Jen Chellew asked whether or not the worms in her compost are a different type of worm than the earthworms found elsewhere in her garden. Angelo Eliades has responded.

“Jen is correct: earthworms in compost bins are typically common garden earthworms. These earthworms emerge before rain to avoid drowning in their burrows and often end up in compost bins or pots on hard surfaces. They lay eggs in soil, so adding garden soil to a compost pile can introduce them. They can survive in compost if it doesn’t become too hot.

“The confusion arises from people not understanding that the term ‘compost worms’ does not refer to the worms that appear in your compost actually Rather, ‘compost worms’ refers to specific species of worm (such as tiger worms – Eisenia foetida) that are used in vermicomposting systems such as worm farms. These worms are quite different from common earthworms and have different habitat preferences, diet and roles in soil ecology. Earthworms are soil-dwellers that burrow deeply into the soil, prefer cool, moist conditions, feed primarily on soil with organic matter mixed within it, and play a vital role in soil aeration, nutrient cycling and improving soil structure. Compost worms live in environments rich in decaying organic matter and are found in the upper layers of compost, manure and leaf litter, thriving in environments with high microbial activity, where temperatures are warmer and food is plentiful. Compost worms do not burrow deeply and do not survive for long in mineral soil. They feed on a variety of decomposing plant materials, and don’t aerate the soil like earthworms do.”

Thanks, Angelo!

The results from the 2024 Eltham Wine Show

At the last minute, last Sunday’s show was cancelled because the required tasting licence hadn’t been issued. Obviously that is very disappointing and I apologise to everyone who tried to go based on my recommendation.

Anyhow, the judging still took place and you can find the results on Eltham and District Winemakers Guild website. There were around 500 entries, of which around half were awarded medals (gold, silver or bronze).

As you know from last week’s newsletter, my wife and I entered our metheglin in the mead section. We were awarded a silver medal and the judges’ comment was: “Floral honey and lifted spice on the nose. This is complemented by a well balanced sweetness on the palate. It runs the danger of being too sweet, but is saved by acid and flavour. It finishes a little short for the intensity of flavour.” There were a total of 12 mead entries, none of which were awarded gold and 3 of which were awarded silver.

In passing, the language of wine commentary is a world all of its own. I particularly liked this phrase about one of the red wine gold medal award winners: “… pencil shavings on the nose”. I immediately searched for a pencil, sharpened it, smelled the shavings and tried to imagine what the wine might have tasted like.

FareShare’s Christmas appeal

FareShare has launched its annual Christmas appeal. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

As well as one-time donations, they are seeking regular donations. As they say, ““regular donations make the biggest difference and help FareShare plan our meal support to frontline charities.”

The 2025 National Sustainability Festival

The 2025 National Sustainability Festival will take place during February and applications are now open.

Some articles you might like to read

Delldint Fleming suggests that you might be interested in this two part article entitled The coming hunger (part 1 and part 2) by someone called Sharon Astyk. They are about the possible implications of climate change on food production.

Another new repair cafe

Kilsyth. At Japara Neighbourhood House, 54-58 Durham Road, Kilsyth. On the 3rd or 4th Saturday of each month (during school terms only), 2.30-4.30pm (look at their Facebook for precise dates).

That makes a total of 13 local, repair cafes on our website map.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (24th November, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), Amy and Ann will interview the Black Peoples’ Union about their community kitchen. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, the latest being Nick Rose on Urban Agriculture Month (10th November).

Critter of the week – convergent lady beetle

All the photos are from Doris Glier’s garden and are of a convergent lady beetle (Hippodamia convergens in family Coccinellidae). The left hand photo is of some eggs, the middle photo is of a larva and the right hand photo is of an adult.

    

Doris says: “The larva might be freshly hatched as the head and legs are still almost transparent.”

The adult has two white lines that meet or converge behind the head, hence the common name. It has 13 or fewer spots on the bright reddish-orange or red forewings.

As with most other ladybirds, both adults and larvae are predators, feeding on aphids and the like.

Although native to North America, it can also be found in Australia (obviously!) and parts of Europe.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was my article on how to make mead.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming tour of the Bundoora Urban Agriculture Centre and Community Hub on 23rd November.

Word of the month – Bonne bouche

‘Bonne bouche’, meaning a tasty morsel, often something sweet eaten at the end of a meal.

Read about previous words of the month.

Proverb (or phrase) of the month

One for the road. Meaning: a final drink taken just before leaving on a journey.. Despite fashionable Internet folklore about prisoners in the Middle Ages having a final drink on their way to the gallows, this phrase actually only dates back to the 1930s when it was said in the UK Parliament. At that time, most people leaving pubs would have been travelling by foot so having an extra alcoholic drink was ok.

‘One for the road’ is also the title of multiple stories (including by Stephen King), plays (including by Harold Pinter), albums (including by the Kinks), songs (including by Arctic Monkeys), films (including by Hywel Bennett) and television episodes (including by Alfred Hitchcock).

Read about more food-related proverbs.

Gardening quote of the month

“If a tree dies, plant another in its place.” by Carolus Linnaeus.

Read more gardening quotes.

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

Why didn’t the fig go to the prom? He couldn’t get a date!

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Not food-related but interesting

Enviro Fest 2024; Saturday, 30th November, midday-4pm; free; Doreen.

There will be hands-on craft with Eco Explorers, a live butterfly display and a wildlife show by Animals of Oz. There will also be a range of stalls about different aspects of the environment. In addition, they will be hosting the Circular Fashion Market next door, with around 40 stalls offering a wide range of pre-loved fashion items.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Panel discussion – local food systems and the people who create them; Thursday, 28th November, 5-9pm; $27 ($7 per hour); Abbotsford.

Listen to the thoughts of industry experts as they discuss connecting with where our food comes from, to learn more about the pleasures, anecdotes and challenges facing them as they strive to provide products for consumers in an ethical and conscious manner. Panelists: Rachel Rubenstein (from CERES) and Thuch Ajak (from United African Farm). Moderator: Chris Williams (from the University of Melbourne).

Gift in a jar with Marie Vassallo; Wednesday, 4th December, 7-8.30pm; free; Whittlesea.

Marie Vassallo, from Rie’s Kitchen, will show you how to make a special Christmas treat/gift in a jar. Take a suitable size jar to create your gift.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Cooking demo and community lunch; Friday, 22nd November, 11am-12.30pm; free; Fawkner.

Learn how to cook a delicious meal with minimal waste. Following the demonstration, you will be invited to a community lunch.

Cupcake decorating workshop on Monday, 25th November, at 11.15-11.45am and again at 3.30-4pm; $5; Ivanhoe.

Each child will design and decorate their own cupcake to take home. They will get hands-on with icing, sprinkles and fun toppings to turn plain cupcakes into their own sweet masterpieces. Organised by Livingstone Community Centre.

Gingerbread house decoration on Sunday, 8th December, at 10.30-11.30am and again at 1-2pm; $46 ($46 per hour); Camberwell.

This workshop is for children aged 7+. Create your own Christmas scene by decorating a gingerbread house. Use icing to attach a variety of sweets, lollies and sprinkles.

Make your own brownie and granola gift jar; Wednesday, 11th December, 4.30-5.30pm; $22 ($22 per hour); Kilsyth.

Make a brownie and granola gift jar. Brownie and granola gift jars are a way to share your love of baking (or snack-making) with friends and family. Plus the jars can be easily customised with different mix-ins or flavours to suit anyone’s taste. Organised by Japara Living & Learning Centre.

In November
In December
Regular classes Continue reading »

LFC News November 13

Nov 132024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Angela Harridge, Ann Stanley, Holly Gallagher, Jen Chellew, Lee Hirsh, Pam Jenkins, Rachel Bishop, Sue Dyet and Tracy Gillard.

Another mead recipe – spiced metheglin

[My wife and I have entered our mead to the upcoming Eltham Wine Show, which will be judged on Saturday (i.e. 16th November). The results will be announced on the following day (i.e. Sunday, 17th November) at the public show at the Veneto Sports and Entertainment Centre, 191 Bulleen Road, Bulleen, which will be open to the public for tastings from 10.30am to 2.30pm. So, when you read this newsletter, the results won’t be known but it will be known that they will soon be known (to misquote erstwhile United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld). Whatever the result, good or bad for the Palmer household, I will announce it in next week’s newsletter! Incidentally, the Sunday show is a great event to go to because the range of wines and other drinks available for tastings is both varied and huge.]

A few months ago, I published an article on how to make mead, which is fermented honey and an alternative to white wine. Subsequently, newsletter reader Sue Dyet gave me the notebooks of her late husband, Harry Gilham. In his notebooks, Harry, who was the longtime President of Eltham and District Winemakers Guild, had written lots of recipes for various wines plus a few meads. Many of these recipes were amended versions of recipes that he had attributed to ‘G. Mann’. I spoke to Angela Harridge, current Vice President of the Guild and another newsletter reader, and she told me that ‘G. Mann’ was Gladys Mann, who wrote a book called Home Wine & Beer Making (published in 1975) which, inter alia, contained a good recipe for a spiced mead called metheglin. So, I acquired the book and made the metheglin. It’s really yum so I thought that I would share the recipe.

The table below shows Gladys Mann’s ingredients in the left hand column compared to those of the Joe’s ancient orange mead discussed in my original article. The methods that I use are the same.

Metheglin
Joe’s ancient orange
1.8Kg honey (raw)
230g demerara sugar		 1.6Kg honey (raw)
water (chlorine free)
0.2 litres cold tea		 water (chlorine free)
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
28g raisins
juice and rind of 1 lemon
14g bruised ginger
some grated nutmeg		 1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
15g raisins
1 orange
1 small packet sherry yeast 1 teaspoon bread yeast

 
Whilst the two meads share most ingredients, they actually taste rather different, perhaps because of the ginger and nutmeg. I don’t know whether the demerara sugar changes the taste but it certainly gives the mead a lovely amber colour. And I know from experimentation that bread yeast (which is easily obtainable) can be used in place of sherry yeast (which is somewhat specialised).

If you are a wine maker or beer maker, why not have a go at making mead? It’s pretty easy to make and also pretty easy to drink. Read my article on how to make mead.

The free, local community meals

I have spent much of the past week updating our map of community meals, deleting ones that no longer seem to happen and adding ones that I have only recently found out about. The end result is a total of 26 regular meals, comprising 15 lunches and 11 dinners. Three types of organisation stand out as being active in this space:

  • Neighbourhood houses (Brunswick, Coburg, Hawthorn, Lilydale, Reservoir, Rosanna and Thornbury).
  • Churches (Brunswick, Croydon, Greensborough, Lilydale, Fawkner, Mill Park, Mooroolbark and Preston).
  • Activist organisations (Food Not Bombs, Open Table).

A news update about The Veggie Empire

[The information below has come from Rachel Bishop.]

The Veggie Empire are farming duo Josh and Scott, who live with disabilities. Long term friends, they have been supported over many years, recently culminating in the establishment of Caring Farms Co-Op.

Caring Farms Co-Op is a non-for-profit urban farming co-operative that collectively manages both a market garden and a food plant nursery in St Helena. Its mission is to alleviate marginalisation, disadvantage and social exclusion amongst people living with disabilities by providing a place of work and agency in an urban farming enterprise.

Josh and Scott, under their original name of The Veggie Empire, are in their 15th year of working together in urban agriculture. They started out veggie gardening in a disability service then moved on to Edendale Community Environment Farm, where they engaged in ACFE courses in horticulture and became volunteers in the nursery to learn skills. You might know them as the growers of seedlings sold at Edendale or maybe from their starring performance on Gardening Australia with Costa!)

Over the past 10 years, they have been establishing an urban farm (Beales Road Farm) on leased Department of Transport land in St Helena alongside their specialist support workers (that they call supphorticulturalists).

Josh, Scott and their support workers have now collectively established the recently registered Caring Farms Co-Op. Following a period of transition, Caring Farms Co-Op will be the sole name used for their business, community and charitable activities.

Caring Farms Co-Op will be opening a farm gate shop in early 2025(!). This is being supported by grants from NELP Fund (for the shop itself) and Banyule City Council (for power and solar set up).

In the lead up to the permanent shop, they will be setting up a weekly farm gate stall on Wednesdays, 10am-1pm at Wickham Place in St Helena. They will be selling their locally grown and freshly harvested plus seedlings and herb plants. In addition, they will be selling some veggies grown by Farm Raiser in Bellfield.

The first stall will be on Wednesday, 20th November, 10am-1pm. Follow their signs and look for their yellow top marquee in the paddock next to their grow tunnel.

Do you know?

Jen Chellew wants to know whether or not the worms in her compost are a different type of worm than the earthworms found elsewhere in her garden. “Gardening Australia and others have told me that the worms in my compost are different to the worms in my garden. But I doubt this. The abundant worms in my compost have come from somewhere, presumably the soil on which I’ve placed the bin. I certainly haven’t added them. I reckon they wriggled up, enjoyed the medium and multiplied liberally. Then I return them as part of the compost to the garden. I know that worm farms require a specific worm, but my compost isn’t a worm farm.”

If you know the answer to Jen’s question, send us an email.

Want some Brussels sprouts seedlings?

Ever wondered where the Brussels sprouts that you see in your supermarkets were grown? The answer is quite likely to be the Adams Farms based in Coldstream, where they grow around 120 acres of Brussels sprouts each year.

Ever wondered when you should plant Brussels sprouts seedlings? Contrary to received wisdom, the Adams Farms will tell you that now, November, is the best time to plant them and that, even though most brassicas are grown in Melbourne over winter, Brussels sprouts should be grown over summer.

Ever wondered where you can get Brussels sprouts seedlings from? For a lucky few of you, the answer is me! I went to the Adams Farms last week and they gave me 24 seedlings to give away to newsletter readers. That’s 6 for each of the first 4 people to email me to say that you want them. Pick up from my house in Eltham.

Thanks to the Adams family, Bruce, Daniel and Jeremy for welcoming me onto their property and giving me their seedlings!

It’s the season for community garden open gardens

Last Sunday, it was the turn of Fairfield. See photos below. Thanks to Judi and Kay for showing me round!

  

Next Saturday (16th November), it will be the turn of Bellfield.

Then, next Monday (18th November), it will be FINBAR in Richmond.

The Brunswick Multicultural Festival

Brunswick Neighbourhood House are holding a Multicultural Festival on Sunday, 24th November. As well as cultural performances, music and food vendors, it will include 4, free, food-related workshops, namely:

Want to see some urban agriculture in City of Yarra?

The City of Yarra Council have put together two self-guided tours.

The Yarra North tour is a 3Km walk, starting at the Rushall Community Garden in Fitzroy North and ending at the Railway Garden in Princes Hill.

The Yarra South tour is a 1Km walk, starting at St Stephen’s Anglican Church Community Garden in Richmond and ending at Finbar Neighbourhood House in Richmond.

Some regular activities at Mooroolbark Community Garden

Mooroolbark Community Garden have just started a picnic on the 2nd Friday of each month, starting 5.30pm. Take your own food, listen to music and play board games. They will provide the tables and chairs.

This is in addition to their regular market, which happens on the last Sunday of each month, 9am-2pm, and mainly features local craft stalls. Here are some photos from their last market.

The DIVRS festival season appeal

As you will know from previous newsletters, the Darebin Information, Volunteer and Resource Service (DIVRS), based in Preston, do lots of things in the food justice space, and in the support space more generally. In 2024, they provided support to around 6,300 people. But, of course, it all needs to be funded one way or another. In this context, they have just launched their festival season appeal. As they say, “Your donation can make a real difference for families and individuals at this time of year.”

Read more and potentially donate.

Warrandyte Food Swap’s 9th birthday (by Ann Stanley)

[Warrandyte Food Swap celebrated its 9th birthday last Saturday. Ann Stanley has reported in on how it went.]

One lucky visitor, Sayf, won our birthday raffle and is shown below posing with his basket of seeds, garden tools and other goodies.

  

Our new prominent position in the carpark outside the Warrandyte Community Garden in Police Road has meant that we are growing, with regular visitors who drop off their surplus garden produce, whether it be a bag of lemons, some saved seeds or new seedlings from seeds previously swapped with someone else.

We swap our surplus on the first Saturday of every month (except January) at 9-10am. It’s the same day as the Warrandyte market and we are near the entrance to that market. If you see us, come and say hello. No money is exchanged but you won’t leave empty-handed! We’d love to give you some greens, a bag of seeds or a jar of relish to take home, all in the spirit of community sharing and home-grown food.

See you on Saturday, 7th December!

Some recent stalls by food-related organisations

Per the left hand photo below, Karen from Olympic Neighbourhood House in Heidelberg West and Lucie from Watsonia Neighbourhood House, both of whom are active in the food space, were at the Ageing Well Expo in Macleod on 26th October.

Per the right hand photo below, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden at Eltham Primary School was at the Eltham Rotary Festival on 9th November.

  

If your organisation ever has a stall at any festival or similar, send us a photo together with a few words and we will include it in a future newsletter.

Cheese tastings at the Yarra Valley Diary

A few days ago, I went to a cheese tastings at the Yarra Valley Dairy in Yering. The options were $5 for 4 cheeses or $15 for 10 cheeses, in either case being given a guided tastings by a member of their staff. I did the 10 cheese option, which is therefore the one in the photos below. I think that you can just rock up for the tastings.

  

Baked cheesecake (by Sharee from Yarra Valley Dairy)

[When I was at Yarra Valley Dairy for the cheese tastings, I noticed that they had a number of printed recipes on the counter. I asked which was their best recipe and they nominated this baked cheesecake one.]

Ingredients

250g packet of plain sweet biscuits
125g butter, melted
750g cream cheese or curd cheese
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
3 eggs
¾ cup (180g) sour cream
¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice

Method

Using a food processor, process the biscuits until fine. Add the butter and process until combined.

Press the mixture over the base and sides of a 24cm springform pan. Place on an oven tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 160degC (140degC fan-forced).

Beat the cream cheese, lemon rind and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and juice.

Pour the filling into a pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until just set in the centre. Turn off the oven and cool the cheesecake in the oven with the door ajar.

Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight before serving.

Critter of the week – two-tailed spider

The left hand photo (from Pam Jenkins’ garden) is an egg sac of a two-tailed spider (genus Tamopsis in family Hersiliidae) whilst the right hand one (from the Internet) is of an adult spider from the same genus.

  

Pam found the egg sac dangling from her letterbox. It was around 5mm wide. Whilst all spiders lay egg sacs, their colour, size and position vary widely depending on the species.

Adult two-tailed spiders are small to medium-sized spiders. They live in trees (rather than on the ground) and are often well camouflaged against the bark. They do not make complex webs.

The common name of two-tailed refers to their two elongated spinnerets at the rear of their bodies (which you can see in the right hand photo).

Thanks to Pam for the photo. If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

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

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was SGA’s article on managing rats with IPM.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming Greensborough repair cafe on 16th November.

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

Why did the ice cream truck breakdown? There was a rocky road. (submitted by Lee Hirsh)

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

The Caring Farms Coop farm gate, 10am-1pm, at Wickham Place in St Helena, is a new farm gate, selling their locally grown and freshly harvested plus seedlings and herb plants.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Varroa Development Officer presentation; Sunday, 17th November, 11am-12.30pm; free; Brunswick East.

Victorian Varroa Development Officer will lead a practical discussion on keeping bees happy and healthy, and the realistic changes that you can make in your apiary now to prepare for varroa.

Summer planting masterclass; Sunday, 24th November, 11.30am-12.30pm; free; Brunswick.

Discover the ins and outs of summer seedlings and how to prepare your own garden. Work together to plant out one of their garden beds. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops.
Presenter: Laurel Coad. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Pot and plant your own seedling; Sunday, 24th November, 1-2pm; free; Brunswick.

Pot up your own summer seedlings to take home, learning about what to plant, how to care for your seedlings, and tips on organic pest and disease management. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops. Presenter: Laurel Coad. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Julius Roberts – The Farm Table; Tuesday, 19th November, 6.30-9.30pm; $127 ($42 per hour); Richmond.

The November cook book is The Farm Table by Julius Roberts, which shows how cooking seasonally can be both fun and delicious, and also celebrates the English countryside and the slower pace of rural life. They will be cooking three courses of dishes from the book for you to enjoy over supper.

Kombucha and jun, M.O.B.; Thursday, 21st November, 6.30-8.30pm; $40 ($20 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Kombucha is traditionally made with black tea and sugar, and jun with green tea and honey. Learn how to feed your mother/SCOBY (choose between kombucha or jun) and then flavour their your own batch ready for second phase fermentation using fruits, herbs and spices that they will provide. M.O.B. stands for ‘mingling over bacteria’.

Pizza dough cooking demonstration; Sunday, 24th November, 11.05am-12.05pm; free; Brunswick.

Learn how to elevate your pizza-making skills at home, with plenty of tasting along the way. Also includes a tour of the community garden and small harvest. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops. Presenter: Cass Hogan. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Pandan crepe cooking demonstration; Sunday, 24th November, 12.30-1.30pm; free; Brunswick.

Learn how to make Indonesian pandan crape. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops. Presenter: Cass Hogan. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Shannon Martinez – plant-based chef unveils vegan Italian food; Tuesday, 26th November, 6.30-8pm; free; Fitzroy North.

Shannon Martinez will discuss her new cookbook, Vegan Italian Food. She will share some of her favourite dishes, discuss the benefits of getting more plant-based foods into our diets, and offer her top tips for creating plant-based meals at home. You can buy a signed copy of the book.

Christmas cookie swap; Saturday, 14th December, 10am-midday; $55 ($28 per hour); Richmond.

Bake 20 cookies using your favourite recipe (nothing too fancy, just bring the Christmas vibes). They will set them all out, and everyone gets to fill a box with 20 different cookies from other bakers to take home. There will be drinks, snacks and chatting along the way.

Gingerbread house workshop with sparkling wine; on Thursday, 19th December, 7-8.30pm and then again on Friday, 20th December, 7-8.30pm; $60 ($40 per hour); Wandin North.

Build your own gingerbread house. What’s included: gingerbread house kit, baseboard, lollies to decorate, icing, and cellophane & ribbon to wrap it up.

Christmas gingerbread house family workshop; Saturday, 21st December, 10.30am-midday; $50 ($33 per hour); Wandin North.

Work with your teenage child or grandchild to build and decorate your family’s very own gingerbread house. What’s included: gingerbread house kit, baseboard, lollies to decorate, icing, and cellophane & ribbon to wrap it up.

In November
In December
Regular classes

LFC News November 6

Nov 042024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Choy Lai, Fay Loveland, Katrina Philip, Lee Hirsh, Paul Morland and Vicki Jordan.

Every newsletter needs a good picture

Kathleen Ryan, from New York, makes mouldy fruit out of beads and semi-precious stones. The fruit pictured right is called Bad lemon (creep), was created in 2019, and is decorated with around 10,000 beads and stones. There is a similar lemon, entitled Bad lemon (lichen), at the Art Gallery of NSW. Read this article in the New York Times.

As art critic Sophie Kazan said about Kathleen’s mouldy lemons: “It’s a metaphor for the exorbitant consumption and superficiality of the contemporary art market but she is also exploring aspects of beauty that can be found in the repulsive, grotesque or decomposing.“

Look at some more food-related art on our website.

Flours: whole grain vs wholemeal vs white

Let’s start with some definitions.

Flour is technically any powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts or seeds. The word ‘meal’ can be used as either a synonym for ‘flour’ or as having a slightly coarser particle size than flour.

Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread.

Historically, cereal flour comprised all parts of the grain, namely the germ (the seed embryo), the endosperm (the nutrition for the embryo) and the bran (the hard layers that hold the grain together). Nowadays, the germ is usually removed as that substantially increases shelf life. ‘Whole grain’ is where the germ has not been removed. ‘White’ or unspecified flour is essentially where the bran is also removed, whilst ‘whole meal’ flour is where the bran has not been removed. Note that bleaching of flour is not legal in Australia (unlike in the USA).

 
Whole grain flour
Wholemeal flour
White or unspecified flour
Endosperm
 X X X
Bran
 X X  
Germ
 X    

 

‘Self-raising’ flour (as opposed to plain flour) is where a leavening agent, usually baking powder, has been added. What the Americans call ‘all-purpose flour’ is the same as what we call plain flour.

Wheat flour is usually made from common wheat (Triticum aestivum). Semolina is made from durum/pasta wheat (Triticum durum). Spelt flour is made from hulled wheat (Triticum spelta).

Flours labelled as ‘baker’s’, ‘bread’, ‘pizza’ or ‘strong’ are typically made from varieties of wheat (sometimes termed ‘hard’ varieties) which contain comparatively high levels of protein.

Except for corn/maize, wheat and other cereal flours contain gluten. It is the gluten which gives dough its elasticity, helping it to rise and keep its shape. Essentially, it traps the carbon dioxide bubbles created by the leavening agent during cooking, causing the dough to rise. And it coagulates when heated, giving the dough shape.

Up to 15% of the population have some level of gluten intolerance and this has created a demand for gluten-free flours. Here are some of the gluten-free flours that my local shops sell: almond, banana, buckwheat, cassava, chick pea, coconut, flax seed, hazelnut, oat, potato, rice and sweet potato. Because these flours lack the very product (gluten) that gives dough its elasticity, both their suitability for various types of baking and their ingredients will differ from flour to flour. Most flour labelled as simply gluten-free is made from rice together with various starches and other ingredients.

Finally, at least in Australia, corn flour is rather different than the other flours and is usually used for thickening.

So, what flour to use when baking?

Most recipes will specify which of plain or self-raising flour to use. If not specified, plain flour can be assumed. If self-raising flour is specified but, for one reason or another you don’t want to use it, you can in principle create your own by adding baking powder to plain flour, but this is non-trivial.

Wholemeal flour can be used whenever plain flour is specified. Because it contains more fibre, the end result is a bit closely textured and a bit darker in colour, plus it has a few more nutritional elements.

For those with some gluten intolerance, gluten-free flour can be used as a substitute for standard flour but the end result may well be a bit different in terms of both rise/shape and taste/texture. Also, gluten-free flours often contain starches (which absorb liquid) so a gluten-free recipe may well call for more liquid and produce looser batters. Finally, different gluten-free flours can be very different than others and thus personal experimentation may well be required to find one that suits you.

Read more of my baking articles on our website.

Sylvester Hive’s Halloween celebration

The Sylvester Hive community garden in Preston had a Halloween celebration on Thursday last week. Have a look at the photos that they posted on Facebook.

Hurstbridge emergency relief

Diamond Valley Community Support (DVCS) have a new outreach program at the Hurstbridge Community Hub. It is only open one day a month, with the next day being Tuesday, 26th November. To secure your spot, ring them on 9435 8282.

The BANSIC Christmas hamper appeal

The Banyule Support and Information Centre (BANSIC) is seeking your support to fill our Christmas hampers, which are distributed to individuals and families in need. Each hamper will provide a complete Christmas meal for a family of four, including tinned ham, tinned vegetables, Christmas pudding or cake, custard, festive decorations & sweets, Christmas biscuits, gravy and bonbons. Items can be dropped off at their Foodhub (Shop 48, The Harmony Centre, The Mall, Heidelberg West, Monday-Friday, 10am-3pm).
Alternatively, you can donate here.

The 2024 Australian Food Awards

Melbourne Royal’s 2024 Australian Food Awards have been announced for the categories of dairy, preserves and smallgoods. Three organisations from North East Melbourne won best in class awards, namely:

  • Alot of Good Stuff, from Bulleen, for their mandarin marmalade.
  • Floridia Cheese, from Thomastown, for their pecorino pepato.
  • Yarra Valley Dairy, from Yering, for their Persian fetta.

There is a new bar in Eltham

Bar Conexao; Shop 4, 10-18 Arthur Street. Open Wednesday to Saturday, 4pm-late. Sells cocktails, wine, beer, cider and bar snacks. Owned (I think) by the same people at the Little Drop of Poison.

This makes a total of 12 bars in Eltham – see the map on our website. I think that there was only one bar a decade ago when I moved to Eltham. Read what you want into this 1,200% increase since my arrival!

To repeat an offer that I made some time ago: if you would like to work with me to map the various eateries in your suburb, drop me a line.

Some recent articles from Sustainable Gardening Australia

Vicki Jordan has written in to suggest that you might like to read the following articles from Sustainable Gardening Australia’s (SGA’s) recent newsletter:

Another new article from Angelo Eliades

Chilli growing guide.

Read more of Angelo’s articles about food growing.

Got any tools that need sharpening?

Fay Loveland has written in to say that the Greensborough Repair Cafe has someone who is good at sharpening tools, including secateurs, spades and scissors. Their next cafe is on Saturday, 16th November, 12.30-2.30pm at Greensborough Christian Book Centre, 14 Church St, Greensborough Victoria 3088. Book your place.

Greensborough is one of at least 12 repair cafes in North East Melbourne – see the map on our web site.

Critter of the week from my garden – earthworm

The photo (from Choy Lai’s garden) is of an unknown species of earthworm. We (or, at least, I) tend to assume that all earthworms are basically the same but there are actually around 6,000 different species of earthworm worldwide, of which around 1,000 are native to Australia.

As shown in the photo, Choy’s earthworm is a whopping 18cms long. Depending on species, earthworms can range from around 1 cm long to over 1 metre (or much longer in the case of the Gippsland giant worm).

Most earthworms are scavengers that feed on dead organic matter. They feed by passing soil through the gut, from which nourishment is extracted, or by eating organic debris, including leaves accumulated on the surface of the soil. These methods of feeding do not require highly developed sense organs (e.g. eyes) or food-catching structures. Hence their simple shape.

All earthworms are hermaphrodites (that is, a single individual can produce both male and female gametes, the eggs and sperm). During mating, both earthworms become pregnant. They both lay eggs, which then hatch into baby earthworms.

Charles Darwin spent many years studying earthworms and, in terms of their impact on our planet, considered them to be one of the three most important groups of animals (the other two being corals and humans).

Thanks to Choy for sending in this week’s photo. If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

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

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

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

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming Fairfield Community Garden open day on 10th November.

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

You are the coffee to my expresso. And I love you latte. (submitted by Lee Hirsh)

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 they will be holding a plant, seedling and seed swap.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Not food-related but interesting

Over the weekend of 16-17 November, 10am-5pm, 23 professionally designed home gardens around Melbourne are having open days as part of something called Garden designfest. Of these 23 gardens, 11 are in North East Melbourne, namely:

Book your tickets for individual gardens. Alternatively, buy a weekend pass to all the gardens ($70) or book your place on a bus tour to some of the gardens ($245-$280).

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Growing food in small spaces; Saturday, 9th November, 11am-1pm; $25 ($13 per hour); Coburg.

Learn how to maximise your growing area and produce fresh, healthy food right at home. You will cover: benefits of growing your own food; the challenges and solutions for small space gardening; choosing the right containers for different plants; soil mixes and drainage considerations; vertical gardening (e.g. trellises, wall planters); selecting plants suitable for vertical growth; and companion planting and succession planting. Facilitator: Angelo Eliades. Organised by Reynard Street Neighbourhood House.

Kevin Heinze GROW Coburg site and program tour; on Saturday, 16th November, at 10.15-10.45am and again at 11.15-11.45; free; Coburg.

Kevin Heinze GROW is opening its new Coburg nursery. You will be guided through a variety of spaces and how they are used in their programs. The spaces and programs to be explored include: their core Grow Program; their therapeutic program offerings (including occupational therapy and speech therapy); the nursery space; and the therapeutic horticulture space. The tour is recommended for people interested in attending any of the programs, support coordinators and potential volunteers, as well as other community members.

FINBAR garden party; Monday, 18th November, 10.30am-3pm; free; Richmond.

Celebrate the opening of their refurbished food recycling depot. Learn how it works, what you need to do when you deposit your scraps and find out how you can get compost to take home for your garden. Kath Jones will be holding a workshop from 1-3pm on ‘why grow organic?’ Learn about the soil food web, and how you can feed the soil that feeds us. Tour their community garden. Click here to read about the garden. Organised by Richmond Neighbourhood Centre.

Organic pest and disease management; Saturday, 23rd November, 1-2pm; free; Fitzroy North.

Learn how to minimise pests and disease in your garden by making some simple changes that are completely organic. Learn how using chemical fertilisers and insecticides can actually cause more pests. Learn how to increase the health and resilience of your plants and soil to reduce the occurrence of pest and diseases in your garden. Presenter: Bridget Kuch, from Cultivating Community. Organised by My Smart Garden.

Dalmore Whisky masterclass; Wednesday, 27th November, 6-10pm; $60 ($15 per hour); Croydon.

John Raphael will provide a guided tasting of 6 Dalmore Whisky whiskies, paired with cheese and charcuterie. You will receive a cocktail on arrival.

In November
In December
Regular events

There is a new regular coffee brewing event: Brewing coffee, various; Saturdays, 12.30-1pm (free) and Sundays, 1-4pm ($150); Brunswick East.

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Induction cooking demonstration; Tuesday, 12th November, 6.30-8pm; free; Ivanhoe.

Join Open Table for a cooking demonstration of how to reduce food waste and cook meals on induction.

Healthy cooking class (2 sessions); Wednesday, 13th November and Thursday, 14th November, both 10am-1pm; free; Kilsyth.

Make cupcakes and learn about alternative ingredient choices. Organised by Japara Living & Learning Centre

Kimchi M.O.B.; Thursday, 14th November, 6.30-8.30pm; $65 ($33 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Make your our kimchi under the guidance of Sharon Flynn and take it home to finish fermenting. M.O.B. stands for ‘mingling over bacteria’.

Sake x fermented food pairing; 2 occurrences on Sunday, 24th November, at midday-1.30pm and again at 2-3.30pm; $107 ($71 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Discover how different types of sake enhance the flavours of various fermented dishes. There will be 3 kinds of fermented food paired with 3 types of sake. Presenters: Kana Aoyama, Rieko Hayashi and Sharon Flynn.

St John’s Christmas gingerbread house making event; Friday, 29th November, 7-9pm; $45 ($23 per hour); Diamond Creek.

Create a gingerbread house complete with an abundance of lollies, gingerbread people and snow. Tickets are for two people, sharing one gingerbread house. Then partake in a light supper with cold drinks, followed by a short Christmas talk from a guest speaker. Organised by St John’s Anglican Church.

A flavourful night with Nana Africa and ReWine; 2 occurrences on Saturday, 30th November, at 1-3pm and again at 4-6pm; $65 ($33 per hour); Brunswick East.

Nana Africa will showcase the versatility of her spice rubs. There will be two courses: pizza topped with Nana Africa’s Ghana stew; and fettucine & ravioli with a bolognese sauce, including Nana’s spice rubs. Both will be paired with a wine from ReWine.

Festive cooking with Natalie; Wednesday, 4th December, 6-8pm; $48 ($24 per hour); Forest Hill.

Learn how to prepare healthy and fresh Middle Eastern salads and dips. Presenter: Natalie. Organised by Strathdon House.

In November
In December
Regular classes

There is a new regular cooking activity: The art of French crepe making class; Wednesdays 10am-1pm and Saturdays, 3-6pm; $120 ($40 per hour); Thornbury.