Feb 192020
 

A new ready-to-eat meals service in Briar Hill, Eltham, Eltham North and Montmorency

Green Karma makes ready-to-eat meals which are available by online order for pickup in Eltham or delivery in Briar Hill, Eltham, Eltham North or Montmorency. Choose from around 40 different dishes, with the recipes coming from around the world. All dishes are plant-based and use only Australian-grown ingredients (apart from spices). Green Karma’s business is centred on three main principles: health, sustainability and waste reduction. All meals are served plastic-free. Welcome Vasundhara!

Green Karma are also a stallholder at Eltham Farmers’ Market on the 1st and 3rd Sundays, at which they currently sell ready-to-eat samosa wraps.

Over the coming months, Vasundhara has kindly agreed to share some of her recipes with newsletter readers. Her first recipe is tofu butter masala. My wife has made this dish using Vasundhara’s recipe and it is yum!

Like all of Vasundhara’s recipes, the recipe is plant-based. I’ve now gone through an exercise to identify which of the 210 recipes on our website are either plant-based or vegetarian. The answer is that around half are plant-based and a whopping 90% are vegetarian.

Yes, you do know!

Last week, Louise Nolan asked a question about freezing herbs in olive oil.

Meera Govil has responded: “According to Jamie Oliver’s website, wash the herbs gently, dry on kitchen towel, chop finely before packing them tight in ice cube trays and covering with water before freezing. Delicate herbs like coriander, chives, dill are good for this method. More robust herbs, like rosemary, oregano, mint, lemon verbena, are better dried. My mum cuts the herbs on a coolish day, washes and dries them on a cloth kitchen towel for about 1 hour before snipping off the thicker stems and laying the herbs out in a single layer on a sheet of newspaper in semi sun. She brings them in every evening for 3 days before grinding them in a little spice grinder and then putting them into small glass bottles for her (grown up) grandchildren.

Samantha Patterson has also responded: “I have tried this and continue to practice it, finding it has its place among other ways to preserve excess herbs. However, one must be aware of its limitations. The freezing process does bruise the herbs (especially softer ones like basil), and one must be careful with ‘when’ in the cooking process the oil-herb cube is added – if added at the start, the herbs can over cook and the flavour is quite different. I successfully use oil-herb cubes in soups and casseroles, or used as a ‘rub’ on toasted bread for bruschetta. It also works well for a quick light ‘stir fry’ of leafy greens like kale. And I also use this oil freezing process with crushed garlic.

On Facebook, Sue Doman said that she has picked her sweetcorn too early and asked whether it would continue to ripen. My answer: “No, sweetcorn does not ripen after being picked (technically, it is non-climacteric). I judge whether my cobs are ripe by breaking a kernel with my fingernail and seeing if any milky substance oozes out – if yes, then it is ripe.

In Boroondara and Whittlesea, you can soon put food scraps into your green waste bin

From 4th May, residents of Boroondara can put their food scraps into green waste. Ditto, from 1st July, residents of Whittlesea.

Boroondara Council will also provide residents with a small plastic caddy for collecting food waste in their kitchens. Perhaps most excitingly, Boroondara will be replacing current orange bin lids with new lime green bin lids. And they are offering a service where you can have your child photographed with a waste truck driver! Maybe I should move there.

Darebin, Moreland and Nillumbik (but not the other councils in North East Melbourne) also allow food scraps into green waste.

Want a job?

Urban farmer in Alphington

Melbourne Food Hub is looking for an experienced or aspiring farmer/market gardener to run the hub’s 600sqm urban farm as their own small business or social enterprise. You will have access to a pre-established growing area featuring water-efficient wicking beds and an undercover space for running workshops and educational programs, rent free for the first year. The hub will act as a guaranteed sales outlet for the majority of the produce.

Chair of Open Table

Open Table “take surplus food that would otherwise be thrown away, and turn it into nutritious meals to share with the community, in order to reduce food insecurity and food waste“. They organise around 10 community lunches each month in various neighbourhood houses around Brunswick, Carlton, Coburg, Fawkner and Fitzroy. They are currently looking for a new Chair of the Board to assist with providing leadership, stewardship and strategic governance to their small, but growing, organisation. Anyone with experience on a board or leadership skills would be good for this role. Read more. Apply by email to angela@open-table.org.

Every newsletter needs a good picture

The picture is of a variety of tomato called reisetomate, which I have been growing this year. Each of the bulbous bits is like a whole tomato and you can pluck them off and eat them individually. A bit like taking segments off a mandarin. It’s actually rather tasty.

‘Reisen’ means ‘to travel’ in German. Apparently, the Germans call this tomato ‘the traveller’ because it can be torn apart one piece at a time without a knife while on a journey.

Some videos for you to watch

Merri Merri Kids Club

Last week’s Gardening Australia included a video about the Merri Merri Kids Club at Joe’s Market Garden in Coburg. This club is managed by newsletter reader Sofia Sabbagh and operates during school terms. Next term’s sessions are on 10 consecutive Tuesdays, from 21st April to 23rd June, each 4-5.30pm, at Joe’s Market Garden, Coburg. Sofia also has a rather interesting website where, amongst other things, she sells ‘food garden + foraging calendars on Wurundjeri Country’ that she designs herself.

Melissa Charlick, market gardener

This video, by market gardener Melissa Charlick, is well worth 7 minutes of your time. As newsletter reader Sim from Spoke & Spade says: “Mel is a legend in Australian market gardening and someone who continues to inspire me“.

Have you ever seen a century plant (Agave americana) in flower?

If not, then you should go to Eltham town centre (near Pierross) where one is currently in full bloom. The flower spike is around 8 metres tall! See picture right (and if you look carefully, you can see some rainbow lorikeets eating the nectar and pollen).

Here’s a few things you might not know about century plants. First, they are monocarpic, which means that they only flower once and then die. Second, there are lots of them currently in flower at Cactus Country, which is a spectacular 12 acre cactus and succulent garden in Strathmerton that is open to the public.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The Really Really Free Market Preston on Sunday, 1st March, 10am-2pm.

Joke of the week

What happens when a cherry tree grows up? It blossoms.

Read more jokes.

New events – not cooking

Moreland north community food hub co-design workshop: Friday, 28th February, 6-8pm and again at Saturday, 29th February, 1-3pm; Fawkner.

What: What could a community food hub in the north of Moreland look like? Join them for an interactive co-design workshop to explore the possibilities. Community food hubs can have many different functions and services, but a central principle is that they provide an inclusive and supportive setting for people to access nutritious food, with a particular focus on people lacking food security. A distinguishing feature is the co-location of local food activities which amplifies the community benefit and impact.
Cost: free.
Bookings: EventBrite.

Wild food and medicine walk: Sunday, 8th March, 10am-midday; Merri Creek Trail, Northcote.

What: Join The Perma Pixie on an outdoor adventure that will focus on identifying edible and medicinal weeds and wild food. Discover the properties and actions these plants have to nourish and heal, and discuss recipes and ways to prepare these plants for palatability and practicality.
Cost: $25 ($13 per hour).
Bookings: TryBooking.

Intro to permaculture (3 sessions): Tuesdays 10th, 17th and 24th March, each 10am-3pm; Park Orchards.

What: Trainer: Cass Groves. Learn about permaculture design principles to make your garden more sustainable and abundant. The course includes a brief history of permaculture, zone planning, soil health, companion planting, energy and water harvesting.
Cost: $195 ($95 ACFE funded) ($13 per hour).
Bookings: their website.

Beginning beekeeping course: Saturday, 21st March, 9.30am-4pm; Edendale.

What: What you will learn: getting started with backyard beekeeping; how to maintain a healthy hive, the wonders of swarms and how to keep them in check; and the wonders of pure raw honey and an understanding of honey extraction. Weather permitting, they will open a hive and have a hands-on demonstration working with hives. Presenter: Benedict Hughes.
Cost: $242 ($37 per hour).

Preserving fruit workshop: Sunday, 22nd March, 10am-1pm; Fitzroy.

What: Presenter: Kat Lavers. This workshop will covers the basic techniques for bottling, drying, juicing, jams (both traditional and a healthy sugar-free alternative) and freezing. You will leave with an understanding of how to preserve safely using your own low-cost preserving equipment. You will complete a number of processes from start to finish.
Cost: free.
Bookings: EventBrite.

Open Farm Day: Sunday 22nd March, 10am-4pm; Nillumbik.

(p>What: Open Farm Day is your chance to visit working farms and meet local farmers. The activities will include farm tours, live demonstrations, farm animals and product tastings. The participating farms include: Apted’s Orchards; Balashi Flowers; Buttermans Track; Easthill Estate; Edendale Community Environment Farm; Hildebrand Ridge Organic Vineyard; Kings of Kangaroo Ground; Nillumbik Estate; Omaru Alpacas; Shaws Road Winery; Sugarloaf Produce; Turners Bakehouse Eatery; Weeping Grevillea Nursery; and Yarra Valley Custom Meats.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.

CERES Harvest Festival: Saturday, 28th March, 10am-3pm; CERES, Brunswick East.

What: This is an annual event to celebrate food across cultures with live music, free workshops on sustainable living, cultural performances, animal displays, giant veggie growing competition and kids activities. Also, food and craft stalls from local and organic makers and designers.
Cost: $5.
Bookings: Humanitix.

Growing nutrient dense food in any space: Sunday, 5th April, 10am-3pm; CERES, Brunswick East.

What: 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.
Cost: $110 ($22 per hour).
Bookings: Humanitix.

Biodiversity and sustainable food systems: Tuesday, 14th April, 10am-4pm; CERES, Brunswick East.

What: What you will learn: what is biodiversity and why preserve it; how to measure habitat quality; and nature connection activities. Presenters: Lorna Pettifer and Chris Ennis.
Cost: $120 ($20 per hour).
Bookings: Humanitix.

Beeswax wraps: Saturday, 18th April, 10am-midday; Princes Hill.

What: Learn to make your own beeswax wraps.
Cost: $10.
Bookings: just turn up.

New events – cooking

Kids cooking club – mini pizza: Tuesday, 17th March, 4-5pm; Thomastown Library.

What: To celebrate their new kitchen garden, they will be teaching kids how to make healthy mini pizzas. Kids must be aged 7+ and parents must be present.
Cost: free.
Bookings: their website.

Italian Napoli sauce and fettucine demo: Thursday, 19th March, 10.30am-midday; Thomastown Library.

What: Hilda and Laurie, authors of Wow, It’s Italian, will show you how to make Napoli sauce and fettucine.
Cost: free.
Bookings: their website.

The Hellenic food odyssey: Tuesday, 24th March, 7-8pm; Northcote Library.

What: Join Kelly from The Hellenic Odyssey for stories about Greek food and culture. Be inspired by Greek flavours and cuisine and learn about the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. You will finish off with a sample of a Greek treat.
Cost: free.
Bookings: EventBrite.

Zero waste cooking demonstration with the Social Food Project: Thursday, 26th March, 6.30-8.30pm; Preston.

What: This demonstration will give you all the tools and tips for zero-waste cooking at home. You’ll learn how to plan, buy and cook to get the most out of your food, saving you both time and money.
Cost: free.
Bookings: EventBrite.

Cheese making: Saturday, 4th April, 10am-2pm; Kinglake.

What: Learn how to make ricotta, feta and halloumi cheese. You will make enough to take some home, and also to taste test at lunch. Take along an apron, a glass jar, and several plastic containers to take your cheese home.
Cost: $130 ($33 per hour).
Bookings: their website.

Soft goat cheese curd and goat camembert cheese: Saturday, 4th April, 10am-4pm; CERES, Brunswick East.

What: What you will learn: how to make your own goats cheese; how to make ricotta cheese; and about different cheeses. Presenters: Janet Clayton and Charlene Angus from Cheeselinks.
Cost: $170 ($28 per hour).
Bookings: Humanitix.

Feta and haloumi cheese: Sunday, 5th April, 10am-4pm; CERES, Brunswick East.

What: What you will learn: how to make your own fetta and haloumi cheese; how to make ricotta cheese; and about different cheeses. Presenters: Janet Clayton and Charlene Angus from Cheeselinks.
Cost: $170 ($28 per hour).
Bookings: Humanitix.

From milk to cheese: Sunday, 19th April, 10am-3pm; Thomastown.

What: What you will learn: how to make hand-stretched fresh mozzarella and create bocconcini; how to make primo sale; and ow to make fresh ricotta. What you will get: Italian style lunch; and primo sale and freshly made mozzarella to take home.
Cost: $180 ($36 per hour). Includes lunch.
Bookings: WeTeachMe.

Blue cheese making: Sunday, 19th April, 10am-4pm; CERES, Brunswick East.

What: What you will learn: how to make blue cheese; how to make sour cream; and how to make your own ricotta cheese. Presenters: Janet Clayton and Charlene Angus from Cheeselinks.
Cost: $170 ($28 per hour).
Bookings: Humanitix.

Summary of upcoming events – not cooking

Over the next week
Over the next month

Summary of upcoming events – cooking

Over the next week
Over the next month

View the complete calendar of upcoming events.

Read some help on how to view the calendar selectively. For example, search for events in a given suburb or set of suburbs. Or search for events of a given type (such as markets).

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