LFC News January 18 2017

Jan 182017
 

I always eat my tacos over a tortilla. That way when stuff falls out, BOOM, another taco.

The last word on the first ever Australian food swap

April Muirden, the organiser of the Urban Orchard Food Swap at CERES, has written in to confirm her agreement with the timeline presented in last week’s newsletter.

Click here to read a compilation of the various contributions about the history of the food swaps from the last few newsletters.

Want to dehydrate or preserve some of your fruit?

Just to remind you that there are two pieces of equipment that newsletter readers can borrow: a Fowlers Ultimate Dehydrator and a Fowlers Vacola Preserving Kit. Just follow the links and fill out the (brief) forms

You could also consider going to a free Fowlers Vacola food preserving workshop on Tuesday, 28th February.

Want to become involved with the Eltham Food Swap?

The Eltham Food Swap (held on the 4th Sunday of each month) needs some more helpers. They would be happy with people volunteering as much or as little time as they want. If potentially interested, contact Fay Loveland by email. If you don’t know what a food swap is, read about them on our website or watch Fay explaining them.

More zucchini recipes

From your reaction to the last few newsletters, it is clear that zucchini recipes are popular. So, here are 19 more recipes from Good Food. Not local, but still Australian.

Too cute to eat

A friend of mine shared this picture on Facebook. Then I noticed that it had been shared 250,000 times(!). So, I thought you might like it.

Doctor Google – a brand new poem about veggies by newsletter reader Gillian Essex

Gillian’s poem is actually rather good and it is well worth your time reading it properly. Or, even better, get someone to read it out to you.

It’s thanks to Dr Google
That I’m feeling no alarm
Though my symptoms are quite strange
They’re doing me no harm

I type and click and let
Doc G quickly diagnose
My complaints – she lets me know
Why I’m on the nose

I thought that eating home grown veg
Would mean a healthy life
But when I ingest artichokes
My belly’s in such strife

It makes me look quite pregnant
My gut is wracked with pain
In order to obtain relief
I fart and fart again

The trouble is when I grow veg
I eat them to excess
And my digestion cannot cope
In ways I now confess

Although it is embarrassing
To talk of wind and pee
Thanks to Doctor Google
I know it’s not just me!

Doc Google says it’s beetroot
That makes my pee turn pink
And also says asparagusGives it that awful stink

I’m missing certain enzymes
To help me cope with this
The evidence is damning
It’s right there in my piss

And eating carrots gives my skin
An obvious orange hue
So tell me Dr Google
What am I to do?

It seems the dietary guidelines
For me are topsy-turvy
I need to eat 5 fruits 2 veg
But at least I won’t get scurvy

If you prefer short poems, here is a Haiku from the 17th Century:

Coolness of the melons
flecked with mud
in the morning dew.

To celebrate Gillian’s poem, and previous poems from Pam Jenkins, we have established a food poetry web page. I happen to know that there are several other newsletter readers who are poets – why don’t you submit a local food poem?

New events

Making bread and butter cucumbers and pickling beetroot and carrot

What: Presented by Robin Gale-Baker, this workshop will teach you how to prepare the soil, choose what to grow, raise your own seedlings and provide information on how to have a successful autumn/winter vegetable garden.
When: Friday, 20th January, 1-2.30pm.
Where: Macleod Organic Community Garden.
Cost: $15.
Enquiries / Bookings: Sustainable Macleod by email.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Summer pruning with Craig Castree

What: Go along and learn how to summer prune your fruit trees. Learn why pruning in winter is not a current practice. Glean gardening tips on how to reduce your water bills and increase the success of your garden at the same time. Keep your garden thriving over the warmer months to maximise production. There will be a food swap at the same venue from 10am to 2pm.
When: Saturday, 4th February, 10.30am-midday.
Where: PepperTree Place, Coburg.
Cost: $15.
Enquiries / Bookings: A. Watson by phone (0438 507694) or email.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Palestinian cooking workshop

What: Led by nutritionist Rasha Tayeh. In this workshop, you will explore wild herbs and liver & digestive health. You will: cook a delicious vegan dish (tasting/light snack included) and discuss nutritional benefits of selected wild herbs, or ‘edible weeds’; and learn about traditional herbal infusions for detoxification, cleansing and good digestion. Participants will go home with: recipes of the meal shared on the day & notes on how to look after the liver and digestive system; and a deeper understanding and curiosity for delicious foods from Palestine and the use of wild edible herbs. The workshop is limited to 12 spaces.
When: Saturday, 4th February, 2.30-4.30pm.
Where: CERES.
Cost: $65.
Enquiries: Rasha Tayeh by phone (0403 843923) or email.
Bookings: Trybooking.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Indian Punjabi cooking workshop

What: Learn how to cook a healthy North West Indian vegetarian meal from scratch using authentic ingredients. The menu will include: daal (spiced lentils); raita (yoghurt based dip); basmati rice with peas and cumin seeds; dry roasted poppadums; a milk based dessert; aloo saag (spinach and potato); and chapatti (flat bread). Tutor Taariq Hassan. Taariq has travelled extensively in India and Pakistan and is proficient and enthusiastic at cooking traditional Indian cuisine. He enjoys sharing his skills and knowledge with others, is a qualified teacher and has also completed a Cert IV in training and assessment.
When: Wednesday, 15th February, 6.30-8.30pm.
Where: Living & Learning Nillumbik at Diamond Creek.
Cost: $92.
Enquiries: Living & Learning Nillumbik by phone (9433 3744) or email.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Italian cooking workshop (pasta)

What: A tasty three-course menu, including pasta, will be prepared in this hands-on workshop and enjoyed afterwards. Tutor Janice Mariani. Janice spent 30 years cooking for the locals and celebrities in a restaurant amidst the hills of Umbria, Italy.
When: Saturday, 18th February, 10am-1pm.
Where: Living & Learning Nillumbik at Panton Hill.
Cost: $72.
Enquiries: Living & Learning Nillumbik by phone (9433 3744) or email.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Extreme composting and Macleod Organic Community Garden tour

What: Presented by Marina Bistrin. Which weeds and prunings are easy to compost immediately? Learn various methods of pre-treating resilient weeds. Try coffee husk and coffee grounds compost additions to speed up the composting process. Plus a half-hour tour of Macleod Organic Community Garden included with a cuppa. View the polytunnel, wicking beds, compost bays, deep-ripped orchard beds, shelter roof water-collection and innovative gardening methods.
When: Saturday, 18th February, 1.30-3pm.
Where: Macleod Organic Community Garden.
Cost: $15.
Enquiries: Sustainable Macleod by email.
Bookings: Trybooking.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Preparing an autumn/winter vegetable garden

What: Presented by Robin Gale-Baker, this workshop will teach you how to prepare the soil, choose what to grow, raise your own seedlings and provide information on how to have a successful autumn/winter vegetable garden.
When: Saturday, 25th February, 1.30-3.30pm.
Where: Macleod Organic Community Garden.
Cost: $15.
Enquiries: Sustainable Macleod by email.
Bookings: Trybooking.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Sourdough bread making workshop

What: Tutor Jenna Farrington-Sear. This workshop will cover basic theory as well as the tactile pleasure of all the steps of making bread from milled flour. Suitable for both novices and those who want to expand their bread making repertoire. Topics to be covered: the essential ingredients and tools of the trade; the principal steps of bread making; Baker’s percentage and hydration; mixing, kneading and folding dough; shaping loaves, scoring and baking; and maintaining a starter. You will take home: a piece of dough which can be baked at home; and a sourdough starter.
When: Saturday, 4th March and Saturday, 1st April, both 10am-1pm.
Where: Living & Learning Nillumbik at Panton Hill.
Cost: $59.
Enquiries: Living & Learning Nillumbik by phone (9433 3744) or email.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Tomato passata – the traditional way

What: What you will learn: the traditional way to preserve the seasonal bounty of tomatoes into bottles of preserved tomato passata; about preserving safely for long-term storage; and how to use different types of equipment for best results. What you will get: morning and afternoon coffees with traditional Italian biscotti; lunch of pasta with sauce made from the first pressings of the tomatoes; fully hands-on experience for better learning; and a box of tomatoes each to process on the day and all the resulting bottles or jars of passata made with the contents of the box – usually 12-14 bottles. You are invited to join them in their family home in ‘doing the tomatoes’, as the day is affectionately known. Uou will experience the whole process as you take part and learn about the preserving aspect of ‘doing the tomatoes’ as well as take home at least 12 bottles of sauce once they have been processed.
When: Sunday, 12th March, 9.30am-3pm.
Where: Donvale.
Cost: $150.
Enquiries: Maria Ciavarella by phone (0424 083057) or email.
Bookings / Further information: WeTeachMe.

Bees in the burbs…

What: A comprehensive and instructional demonstration facilitated by expert apiarist, Peter Dyer from Backyard Honey. The workshop will cover: what you need to know before you begin beekeeping; the equipment required; and detail on troubleshooting and how to manage healthy bee hives. Complete the experience with a custom-pairing menu of pure raw unheated Melbourne and Victorian honeys with The Craft and Co’s very own housemade wine, cheese and prosciutto.
When: Thursday, 16th March, 6-9pm.
Where: The Craft & Co, Collingwood.
Cost: $65.
Enquiries: Tarsha by phone (9417 4755) or email.
Bookings / Further information: Sticky Tickets.

Growing veggies is easier than you think

What: What you will learn: how to bottle fruits and vegetables for future use; how to make jams and pickles; and how to select and re-use suitable jars, and how to sterilise them. What you will get: recipes all of the preserves made; small jars of all the preserves prepared on the day; tastings; and preserving Basics booklet. Presented by Maria Ciavarella. Learn how to preserve fruit and veggies safely, using a variety of techniques. No matter whether you have a produce garden and want to do something with your excess or whether you want to make the most of the seasonal abundance at its freshest, learning how to preserve extends the taste and value of your home-grown produce. No preserving background is assumed as you go through techniques on how to prevent food spoilage using bottling, jam making, pickling and dehydrating. As well, there will be a hands-on component which will include making jam with frozen berries, a Middle-Eastern inspired vegetable pickle, and bottled seasonal fruit.
When: Thursday, 16th March, 6.30-9pm.
Where: BAAG, Bulleen.
Cost: $45.
Enquiries: BAAG by phone (8850 3030).
Bookings / Further information: WeTeachMe.

Thai cooking workshop

What: A tasty three-course menu will be prepared in this hands-on workshop and enjoyed afterwards. Tutor Duang Tengtrirat.
When: Saturday, 18th March, 10am-1pm.
Where: Living & Learning Nillumbik at Panton Hill.
Cost: $69.
Enquiries: Living & Learning Nillumbik by phone (9433 3744) or email.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Kick start your Winter veggie patch

What: What you will learn: how to incorporate crop rotation and other techniques for pest control; how to prepare your soil for maximum benefit after summer vegies, including how to do pH tests and its significance; and great veggies to grow over winter and how to get them started from seed. What you will get: handouts with all the information covered in the workshop; seeds sown on the day to take home and nurture; and a bottle top waterer for watering seedlings. Learn how to maximise the productivity from your veggie patch using all natural techniques, including crop rotation cycles. Then look at the vegies to grow over the cooler months, how to start them from seed and how to look after them so that they produce well for you. You will be required to do a little bit of preparation for the workshop so that you get the most out of it on the day.
When: Saturday, 18th March, 1-4pm.
Where: Donvale.
Cost: $50.
Enquiries: Maria Ciavarella by phone (0424 083057) or email.
Bookings / Further information: WeTeachMe.

The Melbourne Tomato Festival

What: The Melbourne Tomato Festival is a gathering of local farmers selling produce, speakers, agriculturalists, cooking demonstrations, Italian food, artisan producers, special guests, history, workshops, entertainment and passata making.
When: Sunday, 19th March, 10am-4pm.
Where: All Nations Park, Northcote.
Cost: $25.
Enquiries: The Melbourne Tomato Festival by phone (0484 242604) or email.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Italian cooking workshop (gnocchi)

What: A tasty three-course menu, including gnocchi, will be prepared in this hands-on workshop and enjoyed afterwards. Tutor Janice Mariani. Janice spent 30 years cooking for the locals and celebrities in a restaurant amidst the hills of Umbria, Italy.
When: Saturday, 25th March, 10am-1pm.
Where: Living & Learning Nillumbik at Panton Hill.
Cost: $72.
Enquiries: Living & Learning Nillumbik by phone (9433 3744) or email.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Summary of upcoming events

Over the next week
Over the next month

Click here for the complete calendar of upcoming events. Click here for help in how to view the calendar selectively (e.g. search for events in a given suburb).

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