LFC News January 3

Jan 042024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Ann Stanley, Bev Middleton, Brendan Bolton, Bruce Plain, Rob Body and Teresa Day.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (7th January), Ann Stanley will interview Henry Muniz, from the Down’s Community Farm in Seaford. Listen on 3CR (855 AM), 10-10.30am, by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, including:

Can you help Kevin Heinze GROW?

The Kevin Heinze GROW nursery in Doncaster needs an upgraded irrigation system. To do this, they need to raise around $6,000. Read more and potentially donate.

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 December, the cooking teams were Crossway Life De Vine, Mitcham Baptist Church and Team Tulsi (see photo right). Look at some photos of these teams, plus those of previous teams.

Some suggested reading

Making olive oil

Newsletter reader Brendan Bolton has written a paper on community olive oil initiatives in Victoria and elsewhere in Australia.

Growing passionfruit

Newsletter reader Angelo Eliades has written an article entitled How to grow and prune passionfruit vines for maximum fruiting.

Read more of Angelo’s food growing articles.

A zucchini flower with multiple stamens

Male zucchini flowers usually have a single long stamen in the centre of the flower with pollen on it but Rob Body has sent in this photo of a male flower with multiple stamens. Rob is using the pollen to hand pollinate some of his female flowers.

  
I thought that it might be helpful to say a few words about why this is (arguably) newsworthy.

For a flower to produce seeds, the female parts of the flower have to receive pollen from the male parts of a flower of the same species. Depending on both species and circumstances, the female and male parts might be from the same flower, from different flowers on the same plant, or from flowers on different plants. And the transmission of the pollen can be by bees, other critters, wind or gravity.

In most plant species, all the flowers are both female and male. The diagram right illustrates, and also shows the botanical names for the various parts. The male part is called a stamen. The number of stamens in a single flower varies by plant species, from one to many.

Unusually, zucchinis (and other cucurbits such as pumpkins and rockmelons) have separate female and male flowers on the same plant and the male flowers have a single stamen only.

Why do zucchinis (and other cucurbits) have separate female and male flowers, you might ask, wouldn’t pollination be simpler if the male parts of a flower could simply pollinate the female part of that flower? Well, from an evolutionary perspective, plants exclusively pollinating themselves (‘self-pollination’) leads, over time, to genetic uniformity and thus less ability for the species to cope with changes in circumstances. For this reason, most plants have methods for avoiding or discouraging self-pollination and the cucurbit method is to have separate female and male flowers, which at least stops a flower pollinating itself (the method of humans is for men to exist!).

Whereas self-pollination is a problem in nature (because of genetic uniformity), it is a benefit for human-cultivated plants (because it makes pollination more likely to occur), particularly if a flower can pollinate itself (because no bees are then necessary). For this reason, many edible plants have, through human selection over time, become self-pollinators. For example, most tomato flowers pollinate themselves. But flowers pollinating themselves is obviously not an option for cucurbits and hence cucurbit flowers are less likely to become pollinated than, for example, tomato flowers. In reaction, many people hand pollinate their cucurbits to increase the chances of pollination, where hand pollination involves brushing the innards of a male flower with a brush or equivalent to pick up the pollen and then brushing the innards of a female flower with the brush to deposit the pollen.

Hand pollination is not strictly necessary for cucurbits because bees will usually do the job for you. But it is necessary for sweetcorn (which also has separate male and female flowers) because it is wind pollinated (rather than bee pollinated) and the wind is not very effective at pollinating the small areas of sweetcorn that are grown in backyards.

Another video by Simone Boyd on Egyptian walking onions

Newsletter reader Simone’s new video is about when Egyptian walking onions should be harvested.

Previous Simone videos on Egyptian walking onions include how to plant them and how to use them.

Egyptian walking onions (Allium × proliferum) are unique because, as well as growing normal shallot-like onions underground, they also grow miniature onions at the tops of their stalks (see photo)! As these miniature onions, called bulblets, grow, the stalk bends under their weight until the bulblets touch the ground some distance from the parent plant. They then (with a bit of luck) take root and create new plants. Or you can cut them off and plant them yourself. They average, say, 4 bulblets per stalk, so the number of plants can quickly multiply. They are both fun and easy to grow.

It is pretty obvious why these onions are called walking, but why Egyptian?

You don’t know? Ok, here is another question for you: what was The Bangles’ greatest hit?

Some suggested viewing – soil

Bruce Plain suggests that you watch the following two videos: If no-till is so great, why isn’t everyone doing it? and I stopped buying compost for two years.

Both videos are by the same person, Jesse Frost, and he is obviously both articulate and knowledgeable about soil issues. He has also written a book, called The living soil handbook.

Which plants where?

Which plants where is a free Australian website that helps you decide what plants to plant in your garden. More specifically, under ‘search by location’, you enter your postcode plus various other filters and it gives you a list of plants that fit were those criteria and can be grown in your postcode. So, for example, I filtered by ‘height less than a metre’, ‘can be grown in full shade’ and ‘clay soil’ and it gave me a list of 25 species.

Note that, although it is free, you have to sign up and then log in. If you don’t, then it penalises you by giving your completely erroneous results!

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the Really Really Free Market in Coburg.

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

If the tomato is technically a fruit, does that mean ketchup is a smoothie?

Read more food-related jokes.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

If you are planning to go to a food swap or community garden over the next week, it would be prudent to check with them first that the event is actually happening because some of the regular activities don’t actually take place during January.

Farmers’ and other food markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Not food-related but interesting

The role of dingoes in our ecosystem; Friday, 5th May, 5-8pm; $22 ($7 per hour); Ivanhoe East.

Between 6pm and 7pm, Zali Jestrimski will talk about her study and work on dingoes, and running the dingo education centre at Wooleen Station in WA. She will discuss the role of dingoes in our ecosystem and their use in managing the feral animals. Light refreshments and drinks at bar prices will be available berfore and after the talk.

Not face-to-face but interesting

Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) have organised a series of online classes during January with the overall theme of new year, greener garden. You can book individual sessions (see the details below) or all five for $150.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Gardening for renters; Monday, 22nd January, 7-8pm; free; Lalor.

Kathleen Tants will discuss how to have a thriving produce garden in your rental home and how to grow your produce in a non-permanent way.

Get buzzy with Ben’s beeswax wrap workshop; Tuesday, 23rd January, 10-11.30am; free; Croydon.

Learn about bees and their by-products. Make your own beeswax wrap and take it home. Presenter: Ben from Ben’s Bees.

Basic inoculation workshop; Saturday, 27th January, 2-4pm; $87 ($44 per hour); Alphington.

You will get a hands-on go at inoculating your own mushrooms. You will also be given a tour of the mushroom farm. Take a clean 2-10L bucket with a lid and some gloves. Presenter: Buttons. Organised by The Mushroomery.

Introduction to food photography; Sunday, 28th January, 9.30am-12.30pm; $119 ($40 per hour); Warrandyte.

This class is for food bloggers, bakers, restaurant/cafe owners or anybody who loves food and wants it to look good. It will focus on taking great images of food using your own, or easily obtainable, equipment. It will cover such aspects as: choosing the right lens; choosing the right background, props and accessories; lighting; and software.

The herbal apprentice (8 sessions); starting Friday, 2nd February, 10am-3pm; $995 ($21 per hour); CERES.

The course will include the following topics: medicinal plant cultivation; introduction to plant identification and botany; understanding common ailments; herbal language and terminology; patterns of traditional western herbalism; plant chemistry basics; introduction to medicine making; botanical animism and community supported herbalism. Presenter: Taj Scicluna, aka The Perma Pixie.

Summer fruit tree pruning; Saturday, 3rd February, 9am-1pm; $65 ($19 per hour); Edendale.

Many of us focus on winter as the best time to prune our fruit trees but some fruit trees benefit much more from summer pruning (e.g. stone fruit). Learn how to best care for your fruit trees for health and to maximise your yield for next season. What you will learn: winter versus summer pruning; and how to shape and improve fruiting with summer pruning. Facilitated by Justin Calverley. Take your gardening gloves, a hat and a pair of secateurs.

Composting and mini market; Saturday, 3rd February, 10.30am-12.30pm; free; Montrose.

Pat will discuss composting, the different types and the ways that we can use it. Following the talk, the Montrose Community Cupboard will have a mini market. Those attending the talk will enter the market first.

Urban wine walk; Saturday, 3rd February, midday-4pm; $82; Richmond.

This is a self-guided wine tasting experience, where you choose the order in which you visit the various venues. The ticket includes 30 complementary tastings, a $10 food voucher, a $25 voucher for wine orders and a tasting glass. The participating venues and winemakers: Attria Wine Bar with Nomads Garden Wine; Corner Hotel with Susuro Wines; Klae with Pizzini Wines; Maeve Fox with Zonzo Estate; The Blacksmith Bar with Xanadu Wines; The Posty with Small Boots; The Precinct Hotel with Yering Station; Ugly Duckling with Tokar Estate; and Waygood  with Alkimi Wines.

In-depth mushroom cultivation workshop; Sunday, 4th February, 10am-4pm; $149 ($25 per hour); Alphington.

You will learn the growing methods for oyster mushrooms, including inoculation & sterilisation, and be introduced to basic mycology. You will undertake practical sessions and learn how to start master cultures. You will also be given a tour of the mushroom farm. Take a clean 5-10L bucket with a lid and some gloves. Presenter: Button. Organised by The Mushroomery.

The Haven open garden; Sunday, 4th February, 10am-4.30pm; $10; Mooroolbark.

This garden shows the diversity of what you can grow in a small area. It focuses on growing in pots and alternative containers as a renter. A small food forest area has been planted and is in its infancy. Chooks add another dimension to the garden.

The aussie veggie patch open garden; Sunday, 4th February, 10am-4.30pm; $10; Mooroolbark.

This garden shows the variety of produce that can be grown on a suburban block in a space that also caters to bees and chickens. Tim follows organic processes and enjoys experimenting with companion planting to get the best results from his garden.

Buttenshaw Farm open garden; Sunday, 4th February, 10am-4.30pm; $10; Montrose.

Buttenshaw Farm is an organic and permaculture based micro-seed farm and productive garden.

Foraging course (5 sessions); Tuesday, 6th February, 6-7.30pm; $339 ($45 per hour); Coburg.

You will learn about: the importance of wild foods; medicine as food; the difference between cultivated foods and wild food; sustainable wildcrafting; safe foraging; identification, nutrition and properties of several plants; and recipes for each of the plants. Presenter: Taj Scicluna (aka The Perma Pixie).

Beginners beekeeping course (5 sessions); on Wednesdays, starting 7th February, 7-9pm; $255 ($26 per hour); Kinglake.

Each week, discuss a topic that is pertinent to keeping a strong and healthy hive. By the end of the course, you will have gained an understanding of: bees and their behaviour; proper control of an apiary; hive management; honey and extracting; and tools and equipment, with some assembly of frames and woodwork. Organised by Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House.

Summer vegetables illustration (4 sessions); consecutive Thursdays, starting 8th February, 10am-midday; $144 ($18 per hour); Forest Hill.

Make some cool veggie art. Using pencils and watercolours, students will learn about the application of paint, look at composition and colour mixing while using a restricted palette. Take your own materials.

Permaculture Design Course (100 hours); Saturday, 10th February, 9am-4.30pm; $2,350 ($24 per hour); CERES.

The course will comprise a combination of Wednesday evenings (6.30-9.30pm), weekend days (9.30am-4.30pm) and two weekend visits. It is a classroom-based, theoretical course with site visits, not a gardening course. Participants will develop: an appreciation of the fundamentals of permaculture and the historical context in which it was developed; an ability to incorporate ecological and energy literacy/understanding in the design process; an ability to read patterns in landscapes and understand how they influence design choices; an understanding of the design processes and the conceptual design tools used in permaculture, as background for later application topics; an ability to design food production and other agricultural systems in appropriate landscapes; an understanding of how communities function and how permaculture concepts can be used to build functional communities; an understanding of how trading functions and how permaculture concepts can be used to build more equitable economic systems; an understanding of how settlements can be designed to meet human needs on a sustainable basis; an understanding of how buildings can be designed to meet human needs on a sustainable basis; an appreciation of the technologies that are available to assist in building sustainable lifestyles – renewable energies and conservation of non-renewable resources; and a confidence in one’s ability to make a difference at the individual level. Trainers: Beck Lowe, Joel Meadows, Kat Lavers, Monique Miller and Taj Scicluna.

Small space gardening; Saturday, 10th February, 10am-3pm; $115 ($23 per hour); CERES.

You will learn: how to maximise your small space to create an abundant oasis of food, herbs and ornamentals; and container gardening techniques and principles. Presenter: Donna Livermore.

Beginners backyard beekeeping; Sunday, 11th February, 10am-3pm; $220 ($44 per hour); CERES.

Learn everything from the inner workings of a beehive to the healing properties of raw honey. You will learn how to maintain a healthy hive, discover the wonders of swarms and how to keep them in check. Weather permitting, they will also open a hive and have a hands-on demonstration. Presenter: Ashton Edgley.

Traditional wooden spoon carving; Sunday, 11th February, 10am-4pm; $145 ($29 per hour); CERES.

Learn the traditional craft of carving your own kitchen utensils using specialised carving knives and your hands. From a piece of sustainably sourced native timber carve spoons, butter spreaders, spatulas or spurtles from a piece of wood. You will learn: an age-old craft and discover the sense of meditation and slowness to be found in whittling life’s essential objects; and about sourcing sustainable materials, the basics of traditional tool use, and how to safely turn a log into your favourite wooden utensil. Presenter: Alma Arriaga.

Introduction to permaculture (4 sessions); on consecutive Mondays starting 12th February, 10am-2.30pm; $60 ($3 per hour); Edendale.

To be eligible for the government subsidised fee, you need to be either a permanent resident and/or an Australian Citizen/New Zealand Citizen and not enrolled in mainstream secondary school. This practical, hands-on course will give you an understanding of what permaculture is and how it can be applied in both a home garden setting and a commercial setting.

Introduction to horticulture and permaculture (15 sessions); starting Wednesday, 14th February, 10am-3pm; $1,050 ($14 per hour); CERES.

This course is designed as a taster for those who are unsure as to whether accredited training is for them, or whether horticulture and/or permaculture is the right pathway, or who are simply not able to commit to a full course at this stage. The three units offered (recognise plants; assist with soil or growing media sampling and testing; and plant and maintain permaculture crops) have been selected from the Certificate II in Horticulture and Certificate II in Permaculture. Presenter: Abigail Jabines.

Get buzzy with Ben’s beeswax wrap workshop; Wednesday, 14th February, 12.30-2.30pm; free; Bayswater North.

Learn about bees and their by-products. Make your own beeswax wrap and take it home. Presenter: Ben from Ben’s Bees.

Complete urban farmer (14 sessions); starting Thursday, 15th February, 9am-3pm; $1,150 ($14 per hour); CERES.

The topics to be covered will include: permaculture; fruit production; soil preparation; beekeeping; composting, worm farming and fertilisers; vegetable growing; propagation; seed collection; pest & disease management; bushfoods & berries; chooks; and community gardens. Presenter: Justin Calverley.

Urban wine walk; Saturday, 17th February, midday-4pm; $82; Collingwood.

This is a self-guided wine tasting experience, where you choose the order in which you visit the various venues. The ticket includes 30 complementary tastings, a $10 food voucher, a $25 voucher for wine orders and a tasting glass. The participating venues and winemakers: Bad Frankie with Dazma Wine Company; Commis with Vinteloper; Glou with Tillie J Wines; Goldy’s Tavern with Alle Vare Wines; Hotel Collingwood with Mary’s Myth Wines; Molly Rose Brewing with Little Brunswick Wine Co.; Paradise Alley with Dr Edge; The Craft & Co with Concrete & Clay; and The Mill Brewery with Blood Moon Wines.

North Fitzroy urban agriculture walk; Wednesday, 21st February, 10.30am-midday; free; Fitzroy North.

Join them for a walking tour of Fitzroy North’s urban agricultural spaces. Learn about the local community gardens, neighbourhood houses, Indigenous habitat gardens, and how you and your neighbours can grow food together to save money on groceries.

Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Preserving summer fruits; Thursday, 11th January, 10.30am-midday; free; Thomastown.

Maria, from My Green Garden, will discuss how to preserve all your summer fruits.

Cooking with induction; Saturday, 13th January, 10-11am; free; Camberwell.

Open Table who will demonstrate how easy it is to cook nutritious, healthy, low emissions meals on an induction cooktop.

Cooking with induction; Saturday, 13th January, midday-1pm; free; Camberwell.

Open Table who will demonstrate how easy it is to cook nutritious, healthy, low emissions meals on an induction cooktop.

Kids cupcake decorating workshop; Tuesday, 16th January, 11am-1pm; $56 ($28 per hour); Doreen.

For children aged 7-15. You will decorate 4 vanilla bean cupcakes. You will learn: how to fill a piping bag; how to colour buttercream; and piping techniques with 3 different piping tips. Host: Priyanka.

Kombucha brewing (young and old); Tuesday, 16th January, 1-3pm; $65 ($33 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Does your child love drinking kombucha but you know it’s not the real thing? Kombucha brewing is easy and fun! This is brewing for beginners – kids as well – (8-15 years old). You will go home with your own SCOBY ready to brew at home plus a bottle of kombucha that you flavour during the class.

Healthy cooking demonstration; Thursday, 18th January, 6.30-8pm; free; Mill Park.

Julia, from Green Karma, will demonstrate some recipes that are money-savers and also sustainable.

Cooking with bean curd; Saturday, 20th January, 11am-1pm; $25 ($13 per hour); Forest Hill.

Explore a wide range of bean curd products, including tofu and fermented soybeans.

FFS … ferment four staples; Saturday, 20th January, 11.30am-4.30pm; $425 ($85 per hour); Fitzroy North.

This is a fermenting ‘101’ class, where you will learn about salt, different preserving techniques, two of the most popular cabbage recipes (kraut and kimchi), a drink (kvass) and all about SCOBYs, with a focus on milk kefir. At the end, you will sit down for a chat and a bite to eat, including fermented foods and drinks to taste. You will take home everything you make during the class: kimchi, sauerkraut, milk kefir butter, milk kefir with SCOBY, whey soda and kvass.

Feta, halloumi and mascarpone with Kristen Allan; Saturday, 27th January, 10am-4pm; $345 ($58 per hour); Fitzroy North.

You will learn how to make feta (including marinated Persian feta), halloumi and mascarpone. They will discuss the story of milk, beginning with life in the soil, how different seasons and types of animal influence it’s composition and how to source and select the best quality, local milk for making cheese. You will take home around 1Kg of cheese. Lunch will be served.

Japanese fermentation; Wednesday, 31st January, 6.30-9pm; $120 ($48 per hour); Collingwood.

You will learn how to make miso, starting with the preparation of the soybeans and ending with the shaping of your miso. You will also make tsukemono pickles from fresh vegetables. You will take home some miso, which will then mature into robust flavours over time. Presenter: The Fermented Mumma.

Milk kefir magic; Thursday, 1st February, 6.30-8.30pm; $145 ($73 per hour); Fitzroy North.

They will show you how to easily incorporate this little SCOBY into your daily routine. You will make some milk kefir and then move onto flavouring, making butter, labneh, catching the whey and then making a naturally fizzy and gut-loving soda. You’ll go home with: a milk kefir SCOBY in a jar and ready to feed when you get home; a whey soda flavoured with fresh fruit of your choice to finish fermenting at home; milk kefir cultured butter; and an illustrated recipe card.

No waste cook club 18-25 years (4 sessions); on Fridays, starting 2nd February, 11am-2pm; $107 ($27 per hour); Coburg.

Each week, you will cook and share a vegetarian meal with others using donated surplus food. In so doing, you will learn different recipes and cooking skills, including: cook healthy plant-based meals on a budget; grocery shop; plan meals; and gain knowledge on general nutrition, food safety, and storage. You will also get a bag of free, fresh groceries each week. Organised by Open Table.

Sourdough bread baking; Saturday, 3rd February, 9am-5pm; $220 ($28 per hour); CERES.

You will: make a variety of different breads, gaining the skills and confidence to make your own at home; enjoy some of your own handmade pizza for lunch; and take home some leaven to get you started baking bread at home. Presenter: Ken Hercott.

Pasta making class with Piera; Saturday, 3rd February, 10am-1pm; $140 ($47 per hour); Thomastown.

Learn how to make the dough from scratch and how to shape the pasta. You will learn how to make orecchiette, garganelli and maccheroncini. You will also learn how to make two sauces (alla norma and quattro formaggi). At the end, enjoy the pasta you have made together with a class of wine. Presenter: Piera Pagnoni. Organised by That’s Amore Cheese.

Jam making workshop with Rie’s Kitchen; Saturday, 3rd February, 10.30am-midday; free; Whittlesea.

Marie Vassallo, from Rie’s kitchen, will demonstrate how to turn your summer fruit into jam.

Jam making workshop with Rie’s Kitchen; Saturday, 3rd February, 2.30-4pm; free; Lalor.

Marie Vassallo, from Rie’s kitchen, will demonstrate how to turn your summer fruit into jam.

Summertime salads – Vietnamese classics; Sunday, 4th February, 10am-2pm; $190 ($48 per hour); Panton Hill.

Learn what makes an Asian salad, the combination of textures and flavour to get your tastebuds singing. The techniques that you will learn include: simple smoking at home using a wok; how to hang and treat duck skin so it is crispy; and how to balance sweet, spicy, salty. On the menu: rice paper rolls (prawn or tofu); crispy five spice and cinnamon duck or chicken with an Asian microgreen salad and cumquat dressing; green mango or papaya salad with smoked fish, prawns or tofu; Vietnam classic dipping sauce; and coconut and Vietnamese iced coffee ice-cream. Presenter: Kelly Meredith from Under The Pickle Tree.

Food for mind and gut; Sunday, 4th February, 10am-2.30pm; $150 ($33 per hour); CERES.

You will learn about foods that can help you to build and protect your gut microbiome and clear brain fog. You will also learn how to incorporate brain powering foods easily into your daily diet. All the recipes centre on nutritionally dense vegetables and are both gluten- and dairy-free. The sample menu includes: vegan cream cheese; oat + mesquite crackers; beet sauerkraut; chickpea salad with orange tahini; coconut + turmeric pie; and miso puffed balls. Presenter: Melanie Leeson, from Mettle + Grace.

Cooking for one (5 sessions); on 5 consecutive Thursdays, starting 8th February, 11am-1pm; $50 ($5 per hour); Lilydale.

Learn how to cook easily just for one person. Make the meals each week and eat together what you have made. Organised by Lilydale Community House.

Healthy cooking for adults (6 sessions); on Fridays, starting 9th February, 10am-midday; $55 ($5 per hour); Kilsyth.

Got a full FOGO? Did your veggie garden overflow? Wondering how to minimise waste and stretch your food budget? These classes will explore creative ways to help with practical, sustainable tips and tricks, including a collaborative cooking session each week. Organised by Japara Living & Learning Centre.

Blokes in the kitchen (2 sessions); on Fridays, 9th February and 8th March, each 9am-midday; $90 ($15 per hour); Surrey Hills.

Learn to prepare simple meals with other blokes under Shawn’s guidance. Enjoy a shared meal and conversation to finish the session. Organised by Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre.

Mozzarella making class; Saturday, 10th February, 10am-midday; $150 ($75 per hour); Thomastown.

What you will learn: the process behind producing curd; how to make hand-stretched fresh mozzarella; and how to shape mozzarella into bocconcini and trecce. What you will get: guided cheese tasting with a glass of wine; and freshly made mozzarella to take home. Organised by That’s Amore Cheese.

Mozzarella, burrata and stracciatella cheese making; Sunday, 11th February, 10am-3pm; $240 ($48 per hour); CERES.

You will learn how to make and go home with milky soft pillows of mozzarella and the best of the stretched curd cheeses including burrata (with an oozy filling of creamy stracciatella) and stracciatella (fine stringy strands of mozzarella, mixed with cream and salt). Presenter: Kristen Allan.

Cupcake decorating workshop; Sunday, 11th February, 11am-1pm; $130 ($65 per hour); Bayswater North.

Make your own decorated cupcakes starting from plain pre-baked cupcakes. Presenter: Maria from Enchanted Pots. Organised by Arrabri Community House.

Cupcake decorating workshop; Sunday, 11th February, 2-4pm; $130 ($65 per hour); Bayswater North.

Make your own decorated cupcakes starting from plain pre-baked cupcakes. Presenter: Maria from Enchanted Pots. Organised by Arrabri Community House.

Vegan chocolate making; Wednesday, 14th February, 6.30-8pm; $80 ($53 per hour); Collingwood.

Start by unravelling the story of cocoa butter. Then delve into the intricacies of chocolate making, from melting and mixing the perfect blend of ingredients to mastering the art of setting. Presenter: Tina Gelberidis.

Making relish and quick pickling; Thursday, 15th February, 7.30-9pm; $10; Bundoora.

Maxine will demonstrate how to make a zucchini relish, and how to do quick pickling. Take 2 small-medium jars in which to take home relish and pickles. Organised by Watsonia Neighbourhood House.

Bubble tea making workshop; Friday, 16th February, 3-4pm; free; Bundoora.

For young people aged 12-18. Learn how to make bubble tea.

Croquembouche workshop; Saturday, 17th February, 1.30-5.30pm; $137 ($34 per hour); Lower Templestowe.

Tish will teach you the art of making croquembouche, starting with how to make the choux pastry and the creme patisserie and then how to cook toffee and build the croquembouche. A limit of 4 participants in total. Take an apron, a container to put extra profiteroles in and something to carry the croquembouche (base of a container at least 20cm). Organised by Living And Learning @ Ajani.

Vegan cheese making; Sunday, 18th February, 10am-3pm; $150 ($30 per hour); CERES.

Learn how to create your own array of vegan cheeses, milks, creamy spreads and dairy-free desserts. Limitless options for flavours and styles. Presenter: Nase Supplitt.

Kombucha, jun, water kefir, wild mead and beet kvass; Sunday, 18th February, 10.30am-12.30pm; $180 ($90 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Make four easy summer drinks. You will go home with 3 large jars full to be nurtured and ferment at home in your own kitchen of mead, beet kvass, kombucha and water kefir with the SCOBY – and a bottle of second fermenting water kefir that will be ready the next day.

Regular classes

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