Feb 162022
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Elizabeth Hoey, Jenny Taylor, Jon Buttery, Nicole Milella and Samantha Corbett.

Jon Buttery’s podcast of the month

The latest podcast from All The Dirt: A retired doctor talks about beekeeping, including how 45% of beekeepers will have to give up in their lifetime due to allergies and how he stuck his head in a beehive at the age of 2. Plus why islands are the best place to raise queens.

ReWine

Samantha Corbett has written in to suggest that you might be interested in a local wine merchant called ReWine. ReWine sell some Australian wines in re-usable containers, ranging from 375ml up to 10,000(!) litres. The basic idea is that you go to one of their two shops in Brunswick or Fitzroy with your container and they fill it with the wine of your choice.

Want a job?

Melbourne Farmers Markets is looking for a Farmers Market Manager. 12-18 hours per week, including attendance at a weekend market (starting early) and a weekday in their office in Alphington. Remuneration of $38 per hour on Sundays, $13 per hour on Saturdays and $27 on Mondays to Fridays, all plus super and allowances. Closing date: 25th March. Read more and potentially apply.

The Regent Community Garden food swap

As per previous newsletters, there is a new monthly food swap at Regent Community Garden, The Regent Centre, 4 Robinson Road, Reservoir, on the 1st Sunday of every month, 1-2pm. The first swap was on 6th February.

Elizabeth Hoey has written in to say how the first swap went: "Around 15 local community members joined us to share vegetables, fruit, herbs, seeds, plants and eggs from backyard chickens. Highlights included an abundance of yellow squash, tomatillos, cherry tomatoes and kumquats. We enjoyed getting to know some new locals and chatting about all things garden related. We look forward to welcoming more new faces at future swaps and, more generally, at Regent Community Garden."

Collingwood community gardens update

You may remember that Collingwood Children’s Farm community gardens were closed in July 2021 in somewhat controversial circumstances. Well, it appears that they have now received some funding to refresh the site. As per this recent article in The Age entitled Tears as workers move in on Collingwood Children’s Farm community gardens, some of the plot renters remain unhappy with what is going on.

So, you don’t want??

As she said last week, Victoria Kanicki has lots of excess glass jam and passata sauce jars. Pick up at Diamond Creek or she may be able to deliver. No one showed any interest, so I’ll ask again: if interested in Victoria’s jars, email her.

Orange and date scones (by Jenny Taylor)

[Jenny lives in Bend of Islands.]

Adapted from a recipe by Martin Street Cafe and Providore in Brighton.

Ingredients

350g self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
40g butter
1 cup fresh dates, chopped and pitted
1 orange, juiced and zest finely grated
½ cup of milk

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 180degC.

Sift the flour, sugar and salt. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.

Mix in the chopped dates and the grated orange zest.

Combine the milk and orange juice. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the combined juice and milk.

Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients and bring together to form a ball.

Turn the scone dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press out until about 2cm thick.

Cut the dough into circles with a 5cm scone cutter and place onto a greased baking tray.

Repeat with any remaining scone dough scraps.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. The scones should sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Serve with warm whipped cream or butter.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was Robin Gale-Baker’s article about saving zucchini seed.

Joke (or pun) of the week

A little girls’ mother decided that it was time for her to learn how to cook sausages. So, she explained ““You cut off the ends of the sausages, put a non-stick pan over a medium heat, and then add the sausages. Keep cooking, moving them around in the pan and turning them over regularly so they all cook evenly.

The little girl listens, pays attention, and watches closely as her mother shows her how it’s done. Then she asks “Why do you cut off the ends of the sausages?

The mother replied That’s just how it’s done, honey.

Weeks go by, then the girl goes to visit her grandmother and she asks “Why do people cut off the ends of the sausages when they cook them?

The grandmother replies “Really? Are you guys still using that small frying pan?

Upcoming events – introduction

All the material below is extracted from our website calendar of local events.

The usual caveats apply: some of the events below will probably be cancelled because of Covid and many of the events will be restricted to fully vaccinated people only.

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ markets
Food swaps

As per the list above, the Greensborough food swap (at Diamond Valley Library) has re-started and there is a new food swap at Rosanna.

Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

DIY flavoured infused oil; Wednesday, 16th February, 1-2pm; $5; Greensborough.

Go and make some flavoured oil. Take a clean sterilised jar/s with you and take home chilli, lemon and/or herb oil. All oil and flavours supplied. Organised by Greenhills Neighbourhood House.

Composting nitty-gritty; Sunday, 27th February, 10-11.30am; free; Thornbury.

With Katrina Forstner of Buzz & Dig. Go and learn about: why it’s important to compost food waste; how to create a compost system; Span’s food waste and composting program; and other systems to access locally. Organised by Span Community House.

Create your own backyard food forest; Wednesday, 2nd March, 6.30-8pm; free; online.

Jian Liu will share her journey in creating a backyard food forest, including overcoming the challenges faced by many in suburban areas of a shady yard, limited space, poor soil, and pests. Her urban backyard now has around 80 varieties of fruits, heirloom vegetables, flowers, chickens, productive fish pond, worm farms, compost bins and a greenhouse. She will share all her tips and tricks to creating your own productive, sustainable and healthy backyard food forest.

Macallan masterclass; Saturday, 5th March, 2-4pm; $170 ($85 per hour); Hawthorn.

The ticket price includes a drink on arrival, four of The Macallan whiskies paired to The Ministry of Chocolate pralines and a bottle of the 12-year-old Macallan Triple Cask to take home.

Whittlesea Garden Expo; Saturday, 5th March, and Sunday, 6th March, both 10am-3pm; $10; Whittlesea.

Pay at the gate. Guest speakers: Melissa King and Clive Blazey. Food, music and drinks. Around 40 stalls, including plants, flowers, pots, garden tools, garden design and garden art.

Sparkling wine masterclass; Saturday, 12th March, 2-5pm; $74 ($25 per hour); Northcote.

Do you know the difference between a Brut and a Cuvee? What makes Champagne so special? What exactly is a Pet Nat? There will be 8 wines to sample plus grazing platters at intermission. Organised by Northside Wines.

Make a bee hotel; Thursday, 24th March, 6.30-8pm; free; Preston.

Create your own wooden bee hotel. All materials will be provided. Organised by Preston Library.

About the bees – closing down the bees for winter; Saturday, 2nd April, 9.30am-12.30pm; free (gold coin donation); Kinglake.

The session will cover: swarm control and management; which queen will reign; and who else lives in a hive. Organised by Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House.

Queensland fruit fly – train the trainer; Saturday, 2nd April, 10am-3pm; free; Hurstbridge.

This workshop is designed for Nillumbik residents who want to upskill in community wide management of Queensland fruit fly through leadership and capacity building. Some prior knowledge of, or experience with, Queensland fruit fly is required. You will learn about a wide variety of control and management options for Queensland fruit fly that could be applied in your community. You will be given an information pack which includes information on products you can use in your own demonstrations and teaching. You will also be given access to a ‘library/borrowing’ kit with a selection of traps, bait and netting. After the training, you will be provided with ongoing support to ensure that you are comfortable supporting others in Queensland fruit fly control.

Growing nutrient dense food; Sunday, 3rd April, 10am-3pm; $115 ($23 per hour); CERES.

This workshop will introduce you to growing better quality, nutrient rich produce at home even if you only have a tiny growing space. It will include: selecting your crops; transforming your soil by focusing on the soil food web; an introduction to soil minerals & going beyond NPK; creating nutrient rich composts; fertilising your plants for maximum nutrition; and harvesting and preparing produce to maintain nutrients. Presenter: Donna Livermore.

Winter vegetable gardening; Sunday, 3rd April, 11am-midday; $5; Watsonia.

Learn about Winter vegetable gardening. Organised by Watsonia Neighbourhood House.

Urban foraging; Sunday, 3rd April, 1-4pm; $75 ($25 per hour); Forest Hill.

Anna, the Urban Nanna, will help you find and identify a range of edible fruits, greens and flowers found in ‘wild’ urban spaces across Victoria. You will learn about the basic principles and protocols of foraging, and then move on to plant specifics. You will observe and interact with many types of fruit trees, edible green weeds and useful flowers. You will examine examples of trees bearing late summer fruit, and also be shown the physical features you can use to correctly identify useful trees even when they’re not fruiting. You will discuss the types of locations where you can hunt for wild edibles in the future, and finally how to safely prepare and enjoy eating many of the foods we find. Overall, there will be around 1-2km of walking over grassy terrain involved.

Flavours of Coburg food tour; Saturday, 9th April, 10am-1pm; $49 ($16 per hour); Coburg.

You will experience the cultural delights of 6 different countries over 8 unique food stops. With a mixture of sweet and savoury tastings, you will soon discover that Coburg is an ideal foodie destination for anyone who’s tired of the ‘standard’ menu items you find in most modern cafes. Bursting with atmosphere, each foodie stop brings its own ‘personal touch’ with business owners proud of their cultural heritage, so obviously reflected in the food they prepare, the way they serve it and the way they interact with their customers. But that’s not all … you will also pop into a Middle-Eastern gold jewellery shop to learn the cultural significance of various pieces, learn some local history and the best local foodie tips.

The art of espalier; Saturday, 9th April, 9.30am-midday; $55 ($22 per hour); Bulleen Art and Garden (BAAG).

What you will learn: growing espaliered fruit trees; different techniques to make the most of all available space for espalier; and improve your general gardening skills. Presented by Diana Cotter. “Go vertical” is the cry when garden space is limited. Gardening in two dimensions is what espalier is about and this class will cover the different types and how to get them started and then continue to train them into the desired shape. Topics covered include suitable fruit trees, pruning and training techniques.

Herb and companion planting; Saturday, 9th April, 10am-3pm; $115 ($23 per hour); CERES.

What you will learn: improve your gardening skill; plant associations, annual and perennial herbs; and pests and diseases. Presenter: Carol Henderson. This workshop will demystify companion planting by looking at the basic principles of how plants interact with each other, with the soil, and with the good and bad insects in your garden. You will discuss the permaculture concept of ‘plant guilds’ and how to diversify your garden to reduce pests and diseases. You will discuss how to propagate, position, plant, and maintain a number of different herb species.

In February
In March
In April

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Thai cooking class; Saturday, 26th February, 10.30am-3.30pm; free; St Andrews.

Kelly Meredith, from Under The Pickle Tree, will show you how to make Thai chilli jam. That jam will then be used to make an array of Thai dishes, including chicken, eggplant and snake bean stir fry, poached prawn salad, smoked chicken and daikon salad with quail eggs. Finally, you will sit down and consume the food. Organised by Wadambuk St Andrews Community Centre.

The food of central Vietnam; Sunday, 27th March, 10am-2pm; $160 ($40 per hour); Panton Hill.

Presenter: Kelly Meredith from Under The Pickle Tree. In the class, you will make your choice of chicken, pork or tofu satay marinated in a lemongrass paste that is char-grilled on hot coals. This is complemented by a homemade satay sauce and a Vietnamese herb platter. Also on the menu is chilli sauce and you will take home a jar of your own.

Italian Easter treats cooking class; Friday, 1st April, 1-4pm; $68 ($46 per hour); Surrey Hills.

Learn how to make authentic Italian Easter treats with Carmela. You will make several different sweets and, afterwards, sit down and enjoy what you made. Organised by Balwyn Community Centre.

Sourdough bread baking; Saturday, 2nd April, 9am-5pm; $180 ($23 per hour); CERES.

What you will learn: how to make your own bread; how to make your own handmade pizzas; and more about sourdough. What you will get: handmade pizzas for lunch; your own bread to take home and some leaven; and recipes. Presenter: Ken Hercott.

Fermenting made simple; Sunday, 3rd April, 9am-midday; $120 ($40 per hour); Kinglake.

Learn to make kimchi, sauerkraut, lacto-fermented pickles and wild fermented kombucha and sourdough mother. Take them home so that you can continue to ferment for years to come. Organised by Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House.

Middle Eastern desserts; Sunday, 3rd April, 2-5pm; $65 ($22 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.

Vegan cheese making; Sunday, 10th April, 10am-4pm; $115 ($19 per hour); CERES.

What you will learn: how to make your own vegan cheese; and how to make vegan milks, creamy spreads and dairy-free desserts. Presenter: Nase Supplitt.

In February
In March
In April
Regular classes
In Richmond

Read about the upcoming cooking classes in Richmond.

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