LFC News May 26 2021

May 262021
 

Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Ann Stanley, Belinda McPhee, Dione Fisher, Evan Gellert, George Pergaminelis, Jan Akeroyd and Megan Goodman.

Robin writes about distinguishing the tarragons

There are three tarragons, each bearing an international name but not necessarily the name of the country of their origin. Like those countries – France, Mexico and Russia – they are very different from each other and, unless you can distinguish one from another, your cooking may lack that distinct anise flavour you are after. French and Russian tarragon are readily confused as they look similar (although the former has darker and glossier leaves). Mexican tarragon, on the other hand, has its own distinct appearance and beautiful gold yellow flowers.

French tarragon (Artemesia dracunculus) comes from Russia (Siberia) and is considered the best of the tarragons. It is a highly prized herb in French cuisine, having a deep anise/liquorice taste. It is particularly well known in roasted tarragon chicken recipes where it is chopped and mixed with softened butter and massaged into the chicken beneath the skin. It is also used with fish, eggs and in vinegars, dressings and sauces, including Bearnaise and beurre blanc sauces. It is an ingredient of ‘fines herbes’ along with parsley, chervil and chives.

Russian tarragon (Artemesia dracunculoides) is a much inferior herb with little, if any, anise/liquorice taste. It tastes more like grass and I can’t think of any reason to grow or use it.

Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida), also known as winter tarragon, is a member of the Asteraceae family like the other two but is from a different genus – the marigold genus, Tagetes. However, it has great similarity in taste to French tarragon and the advantage that it flourishes over winter rather than dying down. It produces heads of bright, yellow marigold-like flowers which, if dead-headed when they wither, will continuously produce flowers throughout the winter. Planting Mexican tarragon plus French tarragon will ensure that you have a year round supply of this delicious herb.

All tarragons require a warm, sunny position, well drained soil, neutral to slightly acidic on the pH scale and prefer to be watered once a week and then left to dry out. Over-watering will diminish the essential oils and therefore the taste. Tarragons do not like wet feet and may die in wet conditions. In climates colder than Melbourne, the roots may require the protection of mulch in winter. When planting, incorporate some compost mainly to aerate the soil.

French tarragon can only be propagated vegetatively – that is by root division or cuttings in spring. It rarely flowers and, if it does, does not produce viable seed. It is an herbaceous perennial and, as such, will die down late autumn/early winter but will shoot again early spring. When it dies down, it is best to prune it back to ground level, and every 3 years dig it up, divide its coiled roots and re-plant so that the roots do not strangle it. Russian tarragon can be propagated from seed, division or cuttings, as can Mexican tarragon. All 3 varieties are hardy and none suffer from pest attack.

Read more of Robin Gale-Baker’s articles on our website.

Ann visits The Veggie Empire at Beales Road Farm in Greensborough

The Veggie Empire grow fruit, vegetables and herbs at Beales Road Farm and they sell both seedlings and vegetables to the public. You might well have come across some of them if you go to Alphington Farmers’ Market or to Edendale Farm. Or, going further back in time, you might have met Rachel Bishop at the Greensborough Food Swap, which she started in 2009. Anyhow, you can now meet them virtually as Ann Stanley recently visited them and has written up the results.

As Ann says in her introduction: “Josh Hogan and Scott Jordan, along with their specialist supporting horticulturalists, are The Veggie Empire. Under the leadership of educator and people-connector Rachel Bishop, they are best described as a community urban agriculture team … Throughout the working week, Josh and Scott are supported to grow food and food plants while learning and maintaining work skills on the small urban farm and in the local community. The overall aim of their efforts is to be paid to work in the urban farming / horticulture sector … Beales Road Farm is situated on one acre of leased land in Greenborough.” She then goes on to discuss the 10 year history between Josh, Scott and Rachel plus their more recent relationships with supporting horticulturalists, including the three young farmers from
Farm Raiser, the new urban farm in Bellfield.

After a tour of the farm, Rachel said to Ann: “We really want to to showcase our model so that people anywhere, particularly those who are marginalised from vocational education, can start and do it themselves whether it’s a small market garden or a couple of fruit and veggie boxes.”

Read the full visit writeup.

A trip to the Edible Forest in Dixons Creek

I recently went on a guided tour of the Edible Forest in Dixons Creek, which is a one acre enclosed area devoted to growing edible plants, both common and unusual. The tour guide was Head Gardener Jaimie Sweetman (pictured), the duration was around an hour and the cost was $15. Some of the plants had very interesting tastes, some nice, others less so! Some of the plants I knew about but didn’t know that they were edible. Jaimie had lots of interesting things to say and I have rather cheekily asked her if she would be willing to share some of these things with the newsletter readership. Stay tuned!

The tours take place on all days except Sundays, with differing arrangements (and costs) on different days. Read more and book your place on a future tour.

A trip to Jian Liu’s garden in Camberwell

Newsletter contributor Jian’s Liu’s garden recently featured on the Gardening Australia television program. Watch the 7 minute segment.

Do you live near Greensborough?

The Greensborough Food Swap, based in the community garden at Diamond Valley Library, is one of the longest running food swaps in Victoria (see the food swap history on our website) but it is in danger of disappearing because its previous organisers have left the area and no one has (yet) come forward to replace them. Could you be their replacement? The swap has traditionally taken place from 10-11am on the 2nd Saturday of every month but this could be changed if need be. If you are potentially interested in getting involved, email me for a chat.

Some feedback about the articles from the last newsletter

To refresh your memory, you can read the last newsletter on our website.

Controlling white cabbage butterfly by planting American upland cress

In the last newsletter, we discussed how there are a variety of lepidopterans that are commonly called ‘cabbage moth’ but that only some of them find American upland cress (Barbarea verna) poisonous. More specifically, it is Pieris rapae that causes the major problems in Melbourne gardens and Pieris rapae does not find Barbarea verna poisonous. Jan Akeroyd has now written in: “I had also read that Barbarea verna, which you call American upland cress and which I learnt about as land cress (more confusing common names!), does not kill the caterpillars of the Pieris rapae butterfly/moth. However, the information that I read (sorry, can’t remember where) also said that it is still worth planting Barbarea verna as the Pieris rapae butterflies will be more attracted to it than to our regular brassicas. So, I did plant some Barbarea verna this year and noticed with my trays of seedlings that there were eggs on the Barbarea verna seedlings but not on the kale and broccoli seedlings, so so far so good! For people who like to eat cress, Barbarea verna is also edible to humans.”

Thanks, Jan. Another interesting twist in the debate. Can anyone point to an authoritative discussion of the issue on the Internet? Email me.

Meal kits from an environmental perspective

In last week’s newsletter, Lucinda Flynn discussed Hello Fresh meals from an environmental perspective, where these meals are kits comprising portions of ingredients plus instructions for making the meal. Belinda McPhee has now written in to say that there has actually been some research conducted on the environmental impacts of meal kits. For example:

Thanks, Belinda. Belinda’s overall take on this research is that “it did find that in terms of food waste they definitely save and that, on average, they had 33% less greenhouse gas emissions than purchasing everything separately from the supermarket. Not every situation was considered but I did think that this was an interesting result as I would definitely have thought they were worse. Obviously, as Lucinda said, it’s still going to be better to grow your own but they have their place in saving food waste for those who maybe only cook occasionally. It is also worth people researching which meal kit company they should go with because some of them make a bigger effort to have recyclable and compostable packaging.”

When to grow Brussels sprouts

Following my article in the last newsletter about successfully having grown Brussels sprouts as a warm season crop, George Pergaminelis has written in: “A few weeks ago on the Gardening Australia program, Millie suggested that Brussels sprouts be planted as an early Summer crop. The theory was that they grow well during the warmer months and, once the cooler weather arrives, form the tight sprouts. Growing them as a Winter crop often results in poor/slow plant growth during the initial growing phase.”

Thanks, George. Here is the 1 minute video that George is referring to. After watching the video, it seems to me that Millie is saying something slightly different than the advice from the Adams Farms that I was following. Millie seems to be saying that Brussels sprouts should be planted in summer because, although they are a cool season crop, they need to be well developed before the cool season actually starts. By contrast, the Adams Farms told me to grow to Brussels sprouts as a warm season crop, planting in Spring and harvesting before the Winter. Perhaps these two options merge at the margin. In any event, what is clear is that Brussels sprouts need to be planted much earlier than other brassicas.

Would anyone else like to contribute to this debate? Email me. Note that anyone who spells Brussels sprouts incorrectly will be ignored!

Another article from Angelo Eliades

A better way to stake up and support vegetables in pots.

Read more of Angelo’s articles.

Local food organisations in the news

Collingwood Children Farm’s veggie patch

This article in The Age is entitled In a corner of Collingwood, the future of farming is being rewritten.

Duang Tengtrirat

Many of you will remember the days when Duang used to run cooking classes in Research. Then she moved to Chewton and started her cooking classes there. Now she has featured in this Good Food article about the best Australian cooking classes. Thanks for the heads up, Evan Gellert!

Urban Eats – an art exhibition

Urban Eats features multi-disciplinary artists as they explore the diversity of food in Melbourne, “enticing viewers to participate in experiences born from ritual, celebration and the sharing of food … what we eat and how we eat it says much about our culture and social mores and the impact these spaces have on our wellbeing, routines and sense of place.”

Urban Eats is on at Counihan Gallery, 233 Sydney Road, Brunswick, from Saturday, 5th June to Sunday, 18th July.

Meg’s garden this month

At a food swap about two years ago, I picked up a section of cane of a bell tree dahlia. Today I walked outside to a 5m high plant covered in light purple flowers that brighten up the cold and grey morning (see photo). When it finishes flowering, I will cut back the canes that flowered and divide them into about ruler length pieces containing nodes and take them back to share with others.

A visit to the farm this week and a bit of heavy labour has left me with bags of sheep manure waiting to be used. I top dress the turned over veggie garden beds and citrus trees and also pile some around my rhubarb corms to encourage more stems. The peas that I planted last month are just beginning to show and I bend a piece of chicken mesh over them to prevent the birds from pulling them out. I will have to remember to take the mesh off in a week or two so that the tendrils don’t wind their way through, making it hard to remove. Finally, I gather some rosemary for tonight’s roast and head inside. I often use the heat of the oven from a roast to bake or dry foods and it is ideal for drying apple rings or for baking muesli. The muesli recipe below can be varied in many ways and I recommend that you invent your own. You can scale the ingredients up or down, but I usually make a good amount as it keeps well. I like to use maple syrup but, if it’s too expensive for you, around 3 tablespoons of honey is a good substitute.

Muesli

500g rolled oats
150g sunflower seeds
150g pumpkin seeds
200g almonds, chopped (or flaked or slivered)
100g pecans, chopped (or other nuts of your choice)
50g of seeds (I use linseed, chia, sesame or whatever I have in the pantry)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or to taste)
½ teaspoon nutmeg
150ml sunflower oil or other light oil (not olive)
150ml maple syrup
200g dried fruit

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients other than the dried fruit until lightly coated in the oil and syrup.

Spread out on baking paper on trays about 1-2cm thick. Bake at 160degC for about 15 minutes, using a spoon to stir, and turn over the muesli on each tray about halfway through cooking time. Turn off oven and leave the trays in to cool (alternatively, cook for about a further 10mins and cool out of the oven).

When cool, you can add any dried fruit if desired and stir through before storing in airtight container (do not add the dried fruit upfront as it will harden too much in the oven).

Read more of Megan Goodman’s recipes on our website.

What veggie seeds to plant in June

Here is a list (see the June planting guide for more detail):
Broad beans
Coriander
Garlic
Lettuce
Mustard greens
Onion
Peas
Radish

The list is pretty short. It’s your last chance to plant broad beans and garlic, and arguably too late for them.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link last week was the job description for the job at Kingsbury Drive market.

Proverb (or phrase) of the month

Over-egg the pudding. Meaning: to go too far in exaggerating or embellishing something. The allusion here is to the way that baked food can be spoiled by using too many eggs. The earliest examples in print are from the mid-19th Century in Yorkshire and thus it is reasonable to assume that the pudding in question was Yorkshire pudding. As per the BBC, Yorkshire puddings should be made from equal volumes of eggs, flour and milk, otherwise they won’t rise properly.

In this saying, egg is being used as a verb, rather than as a noun, and means ‘to mix with eggs’. Note that, in the saying, egg on, meaning ‘to urge someone onward’, the verb egg is actually a completely unrelated verb, being a corruption of the word edge and having nothing to do with those things that some animals lay.

Read about more food-related proverbs.

Gardening quote of the month

“What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.” by A.A. Milne.

Read more gardening quotes.

Joke (or pun) of the week

I was on a diet, but I doughnut care anymore.

Read more jokes.

Upcoming events – introduction

Website calendars

By type of event: All once-off events, Cooking, Everything else, Garden tours, Free.

By Council area: Banyule, Boroondara, City of Yarra, Darebin, Manningham, Maroondah, Moreland, Nillumbik, Whitehorse, Whittlesea and Yarra Ranges.

In the list below, events costing $10 or less are in bold.

Upcoming events – not cooking

Newly announced
May
June
July

Upcoming events – cooking

Newly announced
May
June
July
In Richmond
  • Dumpling party: Thursday, 27th May, 6.30-8.30pm; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Japanese cooking master class: Friday, 28th May, 2-5pm; $189 ($63 per hour); Richmond.
  • Chinese cooking master class: Friday, 28th May, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Saturday, 29th May, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Thai cooking master class: Saturday, 29th May, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Street food of Asia: Saturday, 29th May, 6.30-9pm; $168 ($67 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Sunday, 30th May, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Vietnamese cooking master class: Sunday, 30th May, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Japanese cooking master class: Sunday, 30th May, 6.30-9.30pm; $189 ($63 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Thursday, 3rd June, 6.30-8.30pm; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Vietnamese cooking master class: Friday, 4th June, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Thai cooking master class: Friday, 4th June, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Saturday, 5th June, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Japanese cooking master class: Saturday, 5th June, 2-5pm; $189 ($63 per hour); Richmond.
  • Korean cooking master class: Saturday, 5th June, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Sunday, 6th June, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Mexican cooking master class: Sunday, 6th June, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Spanish cooking master class: Sunday, 6th June, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Thursday, 10th June, 6.30-8.30pm; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Street food of Asia: Friday, 11th June, 2-4.30pm; $168 ($67 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Saturday, 12th June, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Indian cooking master class: Saturday, 12th June, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Indonesian cooking master class: Saturday, 12th June, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Thursday, 17th June, 6.30-8.30pm; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Pizza making party: Friday, 18th June, 2-4pm; $127 ($64 per hour); Richmond.
  • Indian cooking master class: Friday, 18th June, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Saturday, 19th June, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Chinese cooking master class: Saturday, 19th June, ; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Going native Australia: Saturday, 19th June, 6.30-9.30pm; $189 ($63 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Sunday, 20th June, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Vegan cooking master class: Sunday, 20th June, 6.30-9.30pm; $189 ($63 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Thursday, 24th June, 6.30-8.30pm; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Japanese cooking master class: Friday, 25th June, 2-5pm; $189 ($63 per hour); Richmond.
  • Chinese cooking master class: Friday, 25th June, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Saturday, 26th June, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Thai cooking master class: Saturday, 26th June, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Street food of Asia: Saturday, 26th June, 6.30-9pm; $168 ($67 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Sunday, 27th June, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Vietnamese cooking master class: Sunday, 27th June, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Japanese cooking master class: Sunday, 27th June, 6.30-9.30pm; $189 ($63 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Thursday, 1st July, 6.30-8.30pm; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • La cucina della Puglia: Thursday, 1st July, 6.30-10.30pm; $105 ($26 per hour); Richmond.
  • Vietnamese cooking master class: Friday, 2nd July, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Thai cooking master class: Friday, 2nd July, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Saturday, 3rd July, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Japanese cooking master class: Saturday, 3rd July, 2-5pm; $189 ($63 per hour); Richmond.
  • Korean cooking master class: Saturday, 3rd July, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Sunday, 4th July, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Mexican cooking master class: Sunday, 4th July, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Spanish cooking master class: Sunday, 4th July, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Thursday, 8th July, 6.30-8.30pm; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • La cucina della Sardegna: Thursday, 8th July, 6.30-10.30pm; $105 ($26 per hour); Richmond.
  • Street food of Asia: Friday, 9th July, 2-4.30pm; $168 ($67 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Saturday, 10th July, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Indian cooking master class: Saturday, 10th July, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Indonesian cooking master class: Saturday, 10th July, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Sunday, 11th July, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Italian cooking master class: Sunday, 11th July, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Pizza making party: Sunday, 11th July, 6.30-8.30pm; $127 ($64 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Thursday, 15th July, 6.30-8.30pm; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Pizza making party: Friday, 16th July, 2-4pm; $127 ($64 per hour); Richmond.
  • Indian cooking master class: Friday, 16th July, 6.30-9.30pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Saturday, 17th July, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Chinese cooking master class: Saturday, 17th July, 2-5pm; $168 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Going native Australia: Saturday, 17th July, 6.30-9.30pm; $189 ($63 per hour); Richmond.
  • Dumpling party: Sunday, 18th July, 10am-midday; $111 ($56 per hour); Richmond.
  • Vegan cooking master class: Sunday, 18th July, 6.30-9.30pm; $189 ($63 per hour); Richmond.

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