Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Bev Robertson, Daisy Lio, Dan Milne, Helen Disler, Jan Akeroyd, Jian Liu, Jon Buttery, Lenny Robinson, Lily Angel, Louise Nolan, Mala Plymin, Marina Bistrin, Megan Goodman, Natalie Nott, Pollyn Chan and Samantha Patterson.
Which markets will be happening this weekend?
In terms of farmers’ market, it looks like Alphington, Coburg and Eltham will be happening, but not Carlton or Yarra Valley.
In terms of community and craft markets, it looks like only Fitzroy Mills will be happening.
Vasundhara’s recipes of the month – desserts
The theme for Vasundhara’s three recipes this month is desserts. The three recipes are:
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| Chickpea bliss balls | Chocolate mousse | Oat and rice bars |
Like all of Vasundhara’s recipes, the recipes are plant-based.
As I’ve got space, I’m going to put my favourite of the three recipes (chickpea bliss balls) in full below but you will have to go to the website to read the other two (chocolate mousse and oat and rice bars).
Chickpea bliss balls
Ingredients
1¼ cups icing sugar
4 cups chickpea flour
¼ cup dry fruits
¾ cup coconut oil
Method
Dry roast 3 cups of the flour until it is golden brown and fragrant. Remove and set aside.
In the same pan, add the oil and the remaining cup of flour. Cook until golden brown and fragrant. Remove and collect in a bowl. Let it cool down to room temperature.
Dry toast the dry fruits and add to the mixture. Add the dry roasted chickpea flour and the icing sugar. Mix well.
Make balls and garnish with chopped almonds and pistachio.
Tip: the oil shouldn’t be too hot when adding the chickpea flour because it will burn the flour. Keep stirring the chickpea flour when roasting because it burns at the base.
Tip: you can use whole wheat flour instead of chickpea flour.
Read more of Vasundhara’s recipes on our website.
Vasundhara operates a meals delivery service called Green Karma in Briar Hill, Eltham, Eltham North and Montmorency. Read her menu and order.
Yes, you did know!
Last week Margot Meredith asked where she could buy flour, especially bakers flour. Lots of you answered. Here are your answers in alphabetic order: Apples and Sage Organic Wholefoods, Balwyn; Conga Foods (aka Fine Food Depot), Preston; Costco, Ringwood (they do 10Kg bags); Dynamic Vegies Organic Food, Eltham; Hindustan Imports, Dandenong (Laucke flour); Organic Fix, Eltham; Penny Olive Sourdough, The Patch (they mill their own flour); Proserpina Bakehouse, Sassafras; Terra Madre, Northcote; and Thrive Bulk Wholefoods, Eltham. It is noteworthy that most of these are health food stores, organic stores or bulk stores.
Several people mentioned online ordering from the Laucke website, which is, however, temporarily out of action because of a lack of stock.
A new competition
Jon Buttery has written in to suggest that we have a competition whereby you email me with a photo from either your garden or a nearby park and I choose the best photo. I am more than happy to do so, but it is difficult to think of prizes other than shoutouts in the current crisis. Also, I would like to do it as an ongoing, weekly thing, perhaps with a properly constituted judge or judges, but that would depend on it being a popular initiative.
So, this is what we are going to do this week. You email me, by end of play Sunday 19th April, with a photo from either your garden or a nearby park. I will choose the best photo. The winner will be announced next Wednesday and their photo will be published in this newsletter. Whilst reading the newsletter, you will all then clap and cheer the winner from your home.
The picture can be of anything. To illustrate, if it had been someone else’s competition, I could have entered the picture right, which is of a pied currawong in my garden eating cuckoo pint (Arum italicum) berries.
A message to our local food producers
If you ever have any news, particularly new products or new ways of selling, email us with your information and we’ll put it in this newsletter. It’s both free and effective.
To illustrate: last week, we had a little article about how The Mushroom Shed are now delivering their mushroom kits, with no delivery charge if you live in one of the suburbs bordering their base in Montmorency. Helen Simpson, the owner of The Mushroom Shed has now written in to say “we’ve had a considerable number of orders from newsletter readers – many thanks! I’ve spent a hectic last few days processing and despatching them all.“
Beginners’ veggie growing tip – broad beans
Before we started growing our own veggies, my wife had never actually tasted broad beans (aka fava beans). They are yum, they are easy to grow and the best time to plant them is now or in May.
Broad beans are a type of legume, like peas, beans, chickpeas, peanuts and soya (all of which can be grown Melbourne). Legumes can fix their own nitrogen, so you shouldn’t fertilise the soil. They grow to around 1½ metres tall and, whilst they don’t need staking, it best to avoid them being in a windswept position. My experience is that all the varieties grow similarly and taste the same, so it doesn’t matter what varieties you plant. Germination rates from seeds are usually very good, so if you ever want to try and grow veggies from seed, this is a good one to start with. Pre-soak the seeds overnight before planting and plant them directly into your veggie patch rather than into a seed tray. It will take around 6 months before the beans are ready to harvest. Harvest early rather than late and just harvest what you want for the next meal. In principle, you can freeze your excess beans, particularly if you blanch them first, but in practice, it doesn’t usually work well for me.
Read a more in-depth discussion about growing broad beans.
Read more beginners’ veggie growing tips.
Some interesting articles
Here is a Facebook post with photos of 21 ideas to put a vegetable garden in your garden.
Meg’s social isolation week
[Editor: this article by Megan Goodman is hopefully the start of a regular weekly contribution.]
As the season changes, I [Meg] would normally be scrambling to find time to deal with the end of season produce as well as an influx of autumn fruit. But the days are now long and I have plenty of hours to look at recipes in the hard copy books that sit a bit dusty on my shelves.
Leaves are starting to turn on my stone fruit. I clear out summer crops like the tomatoes that did not ripen. I turn to my aunt’s green tomato pickle.
I am planting broccoli (that I started from seed indoors), beetroot, spring onions and garlic. Hands in dirt. The autumn sun peaks through every now and again.
Harvesting apples starting with Early McIntosh and Abas, moving onto the Jonathans and Snow Apples. The Golden Delicious is still ripening. I’m fighting the birds for the Faccia rosa pears and quinces.
Quince paste is a favourite. I have tried the stovetop version. It’s long and arduous. I have a microwave version but it seems too fast for these days. So I fall back to a slow cooker version, which doesn’t set but is soft and spreadable with that lovely coral red colour imbued. It allows time for other quiet things.
Slow cooker quince paste
4-8 quinces. Wash the ‘fluffy coating’ from the fruit, de-seed and peel. Place the seeds in a muslin bag. Stew the fruit and seed bag with around a cup of water until soft. Remove the seed bag. Puree the fruit.
Weigh your quince puree. Place in the slow cooker with an equal weight of white sugar.
Cook in the slow cooker, stirring occasionally until the colour changes and the mixture thickens. Place in sterilised jars or containers. Can be frozen.
My aunt’s green tomato pickle
1Kg green tomatoes
1Kg onions
2 tablespoons mustard powder
2 tablespoons keens curry powder
1 dessert spoon turmeric
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup golden syrup
1 litre white vinegar plus 1 tablespoon extra
1½ tablespoons cornflour
Slice and layer the onions and tomatoes and sprinkle with about half a tablespoon of salt. Leave for around 2 hours then drain.
Bring the mustard powder, curry powder, turmeric, pepper, golden syrup and the 1 litre of white vinegar to the boil then add the tomatoes and onions. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Mix the extra vinegar with the cornflour and add to the mix. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes.
Pour into sterilised jars.
Some new delivery options
Fine Fruits Of Eltham, who are a greengrocer based in Eltham, are doing free delivery for orders $30 or more. Orders can be placed Monday to Friday before midday for same day delivery. Order by phone (9439 8644) or email (finefruitsofeltham@gmail.com). If you want, they can give you a list of their available produce.
Black Vice Café & Roastery, who are a cafe in Hurstbridge, are doing home-delivered food boxes for $65. These boxes will typically contain a variety of fruit and vegetables plus milk and flour. Order by phone (9718 1386) for delivery on a Wednesday. Read their Facebook page to see what is in next week’s box.
Our website page of the month – food videos
One of my favourites is the page of food videos, where I have collected together around 30 of the best videos that have featured in the newsletters over the years. They are in reverse chronological order so don’t look at the first 10 or so as they have been in recent newsletters.
Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?
The Melbourne Farmers’ Market online shop.
Joke of the week
Why did the skeleton go to a BBQ? For the spare ribs.
Regular, current, online events
A number of people have suggested that we should collectively maintain a list of relevant, regular, current, online events. I know of the four below. If you know of any others, email me.
Sustainable Macleod are producing a series of videos entitled growing tips starring our very own Robin Gale-Baker.
Kat Lavers is publishing a series of videos entitled gardening in hard times on her Facebook page.
Formidable Vegetable are producing a series of videos entitled ‘grow-vid-19’ permaculture pandemic.
Good Life Permaculture are producing a series of videos entitled crisis gardening.