LFC News July 12 2023

Jul 122023
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Chris Chapple, Effie Bridge, Julie French, Kate Woodstock, Kerry Wise, Lee Hirsh and Pam Jenkins.

Some important consultations

Are you supportive of an urban farm in Eltham?

As discussed in previous newsletters, Local Food Connect has been working to achieve an Eltham community farm (Fabbro’s Farm) at Bell Street for several years. Further progress is dependent on Nillumbik Council judging there to be sufficient community support for the idea. In this context, their consultation page asks you to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question “Are you supportive of an urban farm at Fabbro Fields, Eltham?” plus provide any additional comments that you wish. Closing date: 20th July.

The image right is an architect’s view of Fabbro’s shed showing the addition of a covered area to facilitate outdoor education, farm gate sales and general community enjoyment of the farm.

If you would like to know more about the project, here is some of the material produced thus far by Local Food Connect:

Banyule’s draft urban food strategy

Banyule has published a draft urban food strategy and action plan and is seeking your reaction via a survey. Read the draft strategy. Complete the survey. Closing date: 3rd August.

Turn up for turnips (by Julie French)

[If Julie’s article inspires you to want to eat turnips, you might be interested in Robin Gale-Baker’s article on our website about how to grow turnips.]

A lot of people turn up their noses at turnips, as did I until I tried a creamy turnip soup and discovered that this humble vegetable has a lot to offer in both flavour and in nutrition.

Both their roots and their leaves (turnip greens) can be eaten. They are high in fibre and in a number of vitamins (e.g. vitamin C and folate) and minerals (e.g. calcium). Make sure to choose fresh firm turnips, not too large. They should have a matt glow to their skin and smell slightly peppery.

The British have traditionally seen turnips as feed for cattle, not so the French. A classic dish of theirs is lamb navarin, a stew of spring lamb and baby turnips. Add turnips to soups and stews, glaze them, or prepare them as a gratin, soufflé or puree.

Turnips partner well with butter, cream, gruyere or blue cheese, thyme, savoury, tarragon, rosemary, watercress, roasted garlic, leeks, other root vegetables, lamb, duck, ham and bacon.

Try them in a simple cream of turnip soup: soften a chopped onion in some butter, add 350 grams diced turnip plus a diced small potato and cook in a covered pan for 10 minutes on a low heat. Add 4 cups of vegetable or light chicken stock to cover, and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Allow to cool, then puree and season to taste. You can add a dash of cream if desired.

Turnip puree makes a delicious side dish. Cook 500g turnips with 250g potatoes in salted boiling water until tender. Drain and mash or puree in a blender, add ¼ cup of orange juice, a dessert spoon of brown sugar, a good pinch of ginger and 50g melted butter. Mix all together and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Turnip gratin – peel and grate 750g turnips and sprinkle with a little salt. Melt 60g butter in a frying pan and cook the turnips over a low heat, stirring constantly to prevent them sticking, for about 10 minutes. Transfer the turnips to a buttered gratin dish and pour over 150ml cream to just cover them. Sauté 20g fresh breadcrumbs in 60g butter and then scatter them over the turnips. Bake in a 190degC oven for 30 minutes or until a deep golden-brown.

Stephanie’s glazed turnips

400g turnips, peeled
salt
40g butter
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 fresh bay leaf (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blanch the peeled turnips in a saucepan of lightly salted, simmering water for 5 minutes if large. Drain and cut the large ones into 2cm pieces or halve the medium sized ones.

Heat the butter and sugar in a wide-based saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Tip in the turnips and shake to coat with the syrupy liquid.

Add the stock and bay leaf, then cover and simmer for 12 minutes.

Test the turnips with a skewer. If tender, remove the lid, increase the heat to high and shake the pan so that the liquid evaporates, coating the turnips with a golden sauce. If the turnips are not cooked, and the stock is seeming to evaporate too quickly, add a little water, cover again and test after another 2 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Yes, you did know! (maybe)

Last week, Rebecca Haschek asked whether the insect on her mandarin tree is a good guy or not. Several of you responded:

  • Museums Victoria: the photo is not of sufficient quality for the insect to be identified.
  • Kerry Wise: definitely a good guy. Maybe a soldier fly (whose larvae are super composters).
  • Effie Bridge: it is a good guy.
  • Pam Jenkins: It looks like a fly from the Anthomyiidae family. Its maggots grow in decomposing animal carcases. Neither a good guy nor a bad guy.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

An audio recording of last week’s episode (where yours truly was interviewed) is available on their website.

Listen to next week’s episode on 3CR (855 AM) on Sunday morning, 10-10.30am, by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Another article from Leaf, Root & Fruit

Duncan Cocking has published a fourth article in his 37-part(!) series of articles on establishing a vegetable patch from scratch:

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was PIP magazine’s list of 65 ways to reduce your use of plastic..

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

What did the espresso say to the coffee bean? You keep me grounded. (submitted by Lee Hirsh)

Read more jokes.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

The Eltham Farmers’ Market on Sunday will feature:

Food swaps

The Ringwood Food Swap on Sunday is part of a wider Community Day that happens at Central Ringwood Community Centre, Rosewarne Lane every 3rd Sunday, 10am-midday. As well as the food swap, the community day typically includes: knife/scissor sharpening; a clothes share (no need to bring your own clothes); and a bike care & repair tutorial. Attendance is free and you can just turn up without needing to book.

Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Afternoon tea blending with The Cottage Herbalist; Sunday, 23rd July, 2-4pm; $85 ($43 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Caroline Parker will discuss tea blending, foraging, medicinal herb benefits and her upcoming book. You will taste some seasonal botanicals, chatting about their physical and medicinal properties, traditional uses and energetics. You will also hear about some basics of tea blending and brewing techniques, including the process of making jun.

Composting 2-ways; Saturday, 29th July, 10-11.30am; $25 ($16 per hour); Kinglake.

Kathleen Tants will show you some simple tricks to make your own rich compost at home. Organised by Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House.

The how-to of worm farming with Felicity Gordon; Saturday, 5th August, 2-3.30pm; $15; Macleod.

Learn all there is to know about worm farming from Felicity Gordon.

Care of backyard chickens; Thursday, 10th August, 11am-midday; free; Greensborough.

Have all your questions answered by Maria from Sunset Valley Chicks. She will cover everything from the correct care of chickens, worming, keeping the birds healthy and proper housing.

Pruning workshop; Saturday, 12th August, 2-4pm; $20 ($10 per hour); Templestowe.

Areas to be covered include: introduction to pruning tools, care and maintenance; tree shapes; and pruning for fruit. This will be a hands-on pruning workshop. BYO secateurs, sterilised on the day. Organised by Heritage Fruits Society.

Complete urban farmer (14 sessions); weekly sessions starting Friday, 1st September, 9am-3pm; $895 ($11 per hour); CERES.

Presenter: Justin Calverley. 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.

Edible weeds; Saturday, 2nd September, 10am-midday; $60 ($30 per hour); CERES.

What you will learn: how to identify edible weeds; and how do use them in your everyday life. What you will get: detailed handouts; and samples in class of prepared edible weeds. Presenter: Lauren. Learn about seasonal edible weeds that thrive in Melbourne inner north, and gain knowledge about the plants’ culinary, medicinal and ecological uses.

In-depth mushroom cultivation workshop; Saturday, 2nd September, 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. Organised by The Mushroomery.

Growing mushrooms at home; Saturday, 2nd September, 10.30am-1pm; $135 ($54 per hour); Alphington.

Presenter: Julia Laidlaw from Sporadical City Mushrooms. This hands-on, beginners workshop will cover basic oyster mushroom growing. It will be a skill sharing ‘tips and tricks’ lesson from an experienced commercial mushroom grower who started growing very basically at home in a small space with no technical equipment in the inner city. You will take home your own mushroom growing kit that you prepared during the workshop, plus the materials and instructions needed to prepare a kit at home (re-purposed plastic bucket & lid, oyster mushroom grain spawn, enough straw for a grow kit, bag for pasteurising straw, small bottle of isopropyl alcohol for sterilisation).

Home composting for beginners; Saturday, 2nd September, 2-3.30pm; free; Edendale.

What you will learn: how to compost at home; simple to follow composting steps; and common problems and solutions.

Weed walks with Miranda; Sunday, 3rd September, 9am-midday; $60 ($20 per hour); Mount Evelyn.

Learn how to identify and utilise common weeds as food and medicine. Learn about the edible and medicinal properties of these plants and how to incorporate them into your daily routine for improved health and wellness. Forage some of the weeds. Presenter: Miranda Mueller, co-author of Plants of Power. Organised by The Food School Yarra Valley.

Basic inoculation workshop; Sunday, 3rd September, 10am-midday; $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. Organised by The Mushroomery.

Resin art with ink – cheese platter (2 sessions); Monday, 4th September, 7-9pm and Tuesday, 5th September, 7-8pm; $95 ($32 per hour); Mount Evelyn.

Create a one of kind cheese platter in a relaxed and laid back environment. Local artist Stephanie Anne, from Sullcher Creative Design, will demonstrates the fine art of resin and ink. Learn how to manipulate and blend ink within the resin medium. No experience necessary. All resources included. Organised by Mt Evelyn Community House.

In July
In August
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Marmalade making with Priya Woolston; Saturday, 15th July, midday-1pm; $15; Macleod.

Learn how to make marmalade. They will be using cumquats from the community garden, picked that morning, and everyone will take home a jar of marmalade. The demonstrated techniques are applicable to all citrus fruit. Organised by Sustainable Macleod.

Warm up with Italian cooking; Thursday, 3rd August, 7-9pm; free; Watsonia.

Rosa, from Rosa’s Traditional Italian Cooking, will prepare lasagne bolognese from scratch and how to make bolognese sauce. You will get a chance to taste the pasta.

Warm up with no waste cooking; Thursday, 10th August, 7-8.30pm; free; Ivanhoe.

Open Table will share helpful tips and tricks about reducing food waste and how to make zero waste recipes.

FFS … ferment four staples; Sunday, 13th August, 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. You will take home everything you make during the class: kimchi, sauerkraut, milk kefir butter, milk kefir with SCOBY, whey soda and kvass.

Warm up with no waste cooking; Tuesday, 15th August, 6.30-8pm; free; Lalor.

Open Table will share helpful tips and tricks about reducing food waste and how to make zero waste recipes.

Warm up with winter soups; Tuesday, 15th August, 7-8.30pm; free; Eltham.

Join Marie, from Rie’s Kitchen, to taste, share, get some tips and recipes for making great soup.

Pizza and calzone cooking demonstration; Thursday, 17th August, 7-8pm; free; Thomastown.

Learn how to make pizza and calzone with Hilda and Laurie. Then taste the results. Suitable for vegetarians.

Colombian cooking workshop; Wednesday, 6th September, 10am-1pm; $65 ($22 per hour); Balwyn North.

Learn how to make empanadas using corn flour and a variety of fillings. You’ll also get to make a dessert. Presenter: Donde Mama. Organised by Trentwood at the Hub.

In July
In August
Regular classes

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