LFC News March 18 2020

In the last 48 hours, Yarra Plenty Regional Library has cancelled all of its events over the coming month because of the coronavirus. Ditto Edendale. Ditto Sprout Fest. Ditto Kevin Heinze GROW. Ditto Incredible Edible Eltham. The Mitcham Community Sunday meals have been put on hold, as have the food swaps at Box Hill South and Forest Hill. And that’s just what I happen to know about. In the coming days, maybe many other food-related events will be put on hold. It’s a fast moving situation. By this time next week, there may not be many events to advertise during April and May. Even if there are, I’m not at all sure that I will be comfortable advertising them. There will certainly be a newsletter next week, but maybe shorn of new events.

If you are planning to go to an event over the coming weeks, I suggest that you contact the organiser in advance to check that it is actually still happening.

Vasundhara’s recipes of the month – all things beetroot

Rather than give you a single recipe, Vasundhara has decided to give you four recipes this month, each of which has beetroot as one of its main ingredients. The four recipes are:

• Beetroot and pumpkin galette
• Beetroot lemon rice.
• Beetroot gnocchi.
• Turkish raw cheesecake.

Pictured below are the beetroot and pumpkin galette, beetroot lemon rice, and Turkish raw cheesecake.

    

Like all of Vasundhara’s recipes, the recipes are plant-based. If you want to try her cooking, she operates a meals delivery service called Green Karma that delivers ready-to-eat meals around Briar Hill, Eltham, Eltham North or Montmorency.

Want some free accommodation in Humevale?

Newsletter reader Aziza De Fazio is offering free short-term, self-contained accommodation to either one person or a couple in exchange for helping around her property. If potentially interested, ring Aziza on 0411 104276.

Weekly veggie boxes now available in Coburg

You can now buy Joes’s Market Garden veggie boxes online on the Open Food Network. $40 worth of mixed veggies in a box that you can pick up from the farm in Coburg on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Another cafe giving away their spent coffee grounds

Cafe Z in Research. Just pop in and ask for some of their spent coffee grounds. Thanks to newsletter readers Zulal Rogers (for making the coffee grounds available) and Emma Duncan (for the heads up).

There are now 13 cafes listed on our website as giving away their spent coffee grounds. I suspect that the real number is much higher but I can only list them if someone tells me about them. Email me.

Darebin Sustainable Food Program community consultation

Darebin Council are currently developing their Sustainable Food Program for 2021/22 and are seeking your input by 30th March. Complete their online survey.

Local food producers in the news

In our 12th February newsletter, we talked about how Choco’s Hut (the honesty box sales part of Weeping Grevillea Nursery in Kangaroo Ground) was celebrating its 25th birthday. A month later and the Warrandyte Diary has an article about it.

A new article from Angelo Eliades

When he is not fighting off giant possums (see last week’s newsletter), Angelo is often researching for his next in-depth article. This month’s article is about Queensland fruit fly.

Read more of Angelo’s food growing articles.

A video from Cultivating Community

Cultivating Community celebrated their 20th birthday in 2018 and have just released a 5 minute video which shares some of their stories. Watch the video. Cultivating Community, who describe their mission as “to work with diverse and low-income communities to create fair, secure and resilient food systems“, mainly operate around Melbourne CBD and are based in Richmond.

Another world first

The first ever food-related event in Croydon Hills will take place on Saturday, 9th May, 10am-midday: Beginner compost, worm farm and bokashi workshop.

Melbourne Flower and Garden Show – 25th to 29th March

The annual Melbourne Flower and Garden Show will be on 25th to 29th March at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton. One of the exhibitors will be The Melbourne Arboretum (stand 37D), from Mernda.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The Back to the Earth Initiative’s competition.

Joke of the week

Have you heard of the garlic diet? You don’t lose much weight, but from a distance your friends think you look thinner!

Read more jokes.

New events – not cooking

Japanese tea ceremony: Thursday, 16th April, 7-8pm; Preston Library.

What: The Japanese tea ceremony is a tradition steeped in history and practiced for centuries. Go along to learn about Japanese tea customs and the ceremonial way of preparing, serving and drinking green tea.
Cost: free.
Bookings: EventBrite.

Composting and worm farming workshop: Sunday, 3rd May, 9.30am-midday; Camberwell.

What: Learn about the different composting and worm farming options (including low maintenance pet waste composting), how to set them up and how to maintain them successfully. A Boroondara Council Waste Education Officer will be on hand to chat about the new Boroondara FOGO (Food Organics, Garden Organics) collections.
Cost: free.
Bookings: EventBrite.

The science of composting: Wednesday, 6th May, 9-11am; Central Ringwood Community Centre.

What: Presenter: Ellen Regos from Cultivating Community. The workshop will go beyond the basics of composting and allow you to really hone in on your home composting skills and increase your knowledge to help grow and expand your systems.
Cost: free.
Bookings: by phone (9703 5288).

Beginner compost, worm farm and bokashi workshop: Saturday, 9th May, 10am-midday; Croydon Hills.

What: Learn how to turn your waste into a valuable resource for your garden. This workshop will provide you with all the information you need to set up and maintain each of compost, worm farm and bokashi systems.
Cost: free.
Bookings: by phone (9703 5288).

Permaculture workshop: Saturday, 16th May, 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: $80 ($16 per hour).
Bookings: their website.

Home brewing: Saturday, 16th May, 10am-3pm; CERES, Brunswick East.

What: What you will learn: make your own beer; all about full grain brewing; and the fermentation process. Presenter: Paul Rigby. The workshop will be a practical demonstration of full grain brewing covering ingredients (including malt, hops, yeast and water), equipment, brewing theory, and (most importantly) the brewing process (including mashing, lautering, boiling, sanitation, fermentation and packaging). Samples will be available for tasting.
Cost: $80 ($16 per hour).
Bookings: Humanitix.

Organic growing with biodynamic methods (2 days): Saturday, 16th May and Sunday, 17th May, both 10am-3pm; CERES, Brunswick East.

What: What you will learn: why biodynamic methods are an essential part of sustainable organic food growing; how to develop a deeper consciousness of the living processes driving vitality of soil, plants and animals; and how to enhance your organic food growing of any scale with biodynamic methods. Presenter: Peter Kearney. You will work with the CERES vegetable growing and orchard areas gaining practical experience of how to work with organic and biodynamic methods.
Cost: $230 ($23 per hour).
Bookings: Humanitix.

The urban farmer: Tuesday, 19th May, 7-8pm; Nunawading Library.

What: Would you like to create a highly productive food forest garden in your backyard? Find out how with Justin Calverley.
Cost: free.

Composting and worm farms: Tuesday, 19th May, 7.45-8.45pm; Brunswick Library.

What: Kaye Roberts-Palmer will discuss the different types of home composting from direct dig through to Bokashi, the dos and don’ts of composting, how to set up a worm farm and the magic of worm tea.
Cost: free.
Bookings: EventBrite.

Intro to permaculture (3 sessions): Tuesdays 19th May, 26th May and 2nd June, each 10am-3pm; Park Orchards Community House.

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.

New events – cooking

Yogurt making workshop: Saturday, 9th May, 2-4pm; Central Ringwood Community Centre.

What: You will be provided with instructions and a supply of yoghurt starter – and you will take home your first pot of home-made yoghurt. You will need to bring: a one-litre carton of UHT milk; a clean, one-litre, wide-necked bottle/jar with a leak-proof lid; and an insulated container to fit your bottle.
Cost: $25 ($13 per hour).
Bookings: their website.

Parmesan cheese: Sunday, 17th May, 10am-4pm; CERES, Brunswick East.

What: What you will learn: how to make your own parmesan 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.

Dairy free, gluten free workshop (thermomix): Tuesday, 19th May, 7.30-9.30pm; Chirnside Park Community Hub.

What: Discover how to make dairy free, gluten and wheat free food, including grain free pastry, chocolate, ice ‘cream’. You don’t need to have a thermomix to attend but they will be using them. They will also cover conventional methods along the way.
Cost: $27 ($14 per hour).
Bookings: EventBrite.

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.