LFC News November 13

Nov 132024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Angela Harridge, Ann Stanley, Holly Gallagher, Jen Chellew, Lee Hirsh, Pam Jenkins, Rachel Bishop, Sue Dyet and Tracy Gillard.

Another mead recipe – spiced metheglin

[My wife and I have entered our mead to the upcoming Eltham Wine Show, which will be judged on Saturday (i.e. 16th November). The results will be announced on the following day (i.e. Sunday, 17th November) at the public show at the Veneto Sports and Entertainment Centre, 191 Bulleen Road, Bulleen, which will be open to the public for tastings from 10.30am to 2.30pm. So, when you read this newsletter, the results won’t be known but it will be known that they will soon be known (to misquote erstwhile United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld). Whatever the result, good or bad for the Palmer household, I will announce it in next week’s newsletter! Incidentally, the Sunday show is a great event to go to because the range of wines and other drinks available for tastings is both varied and huge.]

A few months ago, I published an article on how to make mead, which is fermented honey and an alternative to white wine. Subsequently, newsletter reader Sue Dyet gave me the notebooks of her late husband, Harry Gilham. In his notebooks, Harry, who was the longtime President of Eltham and District Winemakers Guild, had written lots of recipes for various wines plus a few meads. Many of these recipes were amended versions of recipes that he had attributed to ‘G. Mann’. I spoke to Angela Harridge, current Vice President of the Guild and another newsletter reader, and she told me that ‘G. Mann’ was Gladys Mann, who wrote a book called Home Wine & Beer Making (published in 1975) which, inter alia, contained a good recipe for a spiced mead called metheglin. So, I acquired the book and made the metheglin. It’s really yum so I thought that I would share the recipe.

The table below shows Gladys Mann’s ingredients in the left hand column compared to those of the Joe’s ancient orange mead discussed in my original article. The methods that I use are the same.

Metheglin
Joe’s ancient orange
1.8Kg honey (raw)
230g demerara sugar		 1.6Kg honey (raw)
water (chlorine free)
0.2 litres cold tea		 water (chlorine free)
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
28g raisins
juice and rind of 1 lemon
14g bruised ginger
some grated nutmeg		 1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
15g raisins
1 orange
1 small packet sherry yeast 1 teaspoon bread yeast

 
Whilst the two meads share most ingredients, they actually taste rather different, perhaps because of the ginger and nutmeg. I don’t know whether the demerara sugar changes the taste but it certainly gives the mead a lovely amber colour. And I know from experimentation that bread yeast (which is easily obtainable) can be used in place of sherry yeast (which is somewhat specialised).

If you are a wine maker or beer maker, why not have a go at making mead? It’s pretty easy to make and also pretty easy to drink. Read my article on how to make mead.

The free, local community meals

I have spent much of the past week updating our map of community meals, deleting ones that no longer seem to happen and adding ones that I have only recently found out about. The end result is a total of 26 regular meals, comprising 15 lunches and 11 dinners. Three types of organisation stand out as being active in this space:

  • Neighbourhood houses (Brunswick, Coburg, Hawthorn, Lilydale, Reservoir, Rosanna and Thornbury).
  • Churches (Brunswick, Croydon, Greensborough, Lilydale, Fawkner, Mill Park, Mooroolbark and Preston).
  • Activist organisations (Food Not Bombs, Open Table).

A news update about The Veggie Empire

[The information below has come from Rachel Bishop.]

The Veggie Empire are farming duo Josh and Scott, who live with disabilities. Long term friends, they have been supported over many years, recently culminating in the establishment of Caring Farms Co-Op.

Caring Farms Co-Op is a non-for-profit urban farming co-operative that collectively manages both a market garden and a food plant nursery in St Helena. Its mission is to alleviate marginalisation, disadvantage and social exclusion amongst people living with disabilities by providing a place of work and agency in an urban farming enterprise.

Josh and Scott, under their original name of The Veggie Empire, are in their 15th year of working together in urban agriculture. They started out veggie gardening in a disability service then moved on to Edendale Community Environment Farm, where they engaged in ACFE courses in horticulture and became volunteers in the nursery to learn skills. You might know them as the growers of seedlings sold at Edendale or maybe from their starring performance on Gardening Australia with Costa!)

Over the past 10 years, they have been establishing an urban farm (Beales Road Farm) on leased Department of Transport land in St Helena alongside their specialist support workers (that they call supphorticulturalists).

Josh, Scott and their support workers have now collectively established the recently registered Caring Farms Co-Op. Following a period of transition, Caring Farms Co-Op will be the sole name used for their business, community and charitable activities.

Caring Farms Co-Op will be opening a farm gate shop in early 2025(!). This is being supported by grants from NELP Fund (for the shop itself) and Banyule City Council (for power and solar set up).

In the lead up to the permanent shop, they will be setting up a weekly farm gate stall on Wednesdays, 10am-1pm at Wickham Place in St Helena. They will be selling their locally grown and freshly harvested plus seedlings and herb plants. In addition, they will be selling some veggies grown by Farm Raiser in Bellfield.

The first stall will be on Wednesday, 20th November, 10am-1pm. Follow their signs and look for their yellow top marquee in the paddock next to their grow tunnel.

Do you know?

Jen Chellew wants to know whether or not the worms in her compost are a different type of worm than the earthworms found elsewhere in her garden. “Gardening Australia and others have told me that the worms in my compost are different to the worms in my garden. But I doubt this. The abundant worms in my compost have come from somewhere, presumably the soil on which I’ve placed the bin. I certainly haven’t added them. I reckon they wriggled up, enjoyed the medium and multiplied liberally. Then I return them as part of the compost to the garden. I know that worm farms require a specific worm, but my compost isn’t a worm farm.”

If you know the answer to Jen’s question, send us an email.

Want some Brussels sprouts seedlings?

Ever wondered where the Brussels sprouts that you see in your supermarkets were grown? The answer is quite likely to be the Adams Farms based in Coldstream, where they grow around 120 acres of Brussels sprouts each year.

Ever wondered when you should plant Brussels sprouts seedlings? Contrary to received wisdom, the Adams Farms will tell you that now, November, is the best time to plant them and that, even though most brassicas are grown in Melbourne over winter, Brussels sprouts should be grown over summer.

Ever wondered where you can get Brussels sprouts seedlings from? For a lucky few of you, the answer is me! I went to the Adams Farms last week and they gave me 24 seedlings to give away to newsletter readers. That’s 6 for each of the first 4 people to email me to say that you want them. Pick up from my house in Eltham.

Thanks to the Adams family, Bruce, Daniel and Jeremy for welcoming me onto their property and giving me their seedlings!

It’s the season for community garden open gardens

Last Sunday, it was the turn of Fairfield. See photos below. Thanks to Judi and Kay for showing me round!

  

Next Saturday (16th November), it will be the turn of Bellfield.

Then, next Monday (18th November), it will be FINBAR in Richmond.

The Brunswick Multicultural Festival

Brunswick Neighbourhood House are holding a Multicultural Festival on Sunday, 24th November. As well as cultural performances, music and food vendors, it will include 4, free, food-related workshops, namely:

Want to see some urban agriculture in City of Yarra?

The City of Yarra Council have put together two self-guided tours.

The Yarra North tour is a 3Km walk, starting at the Rushall Community Garden in Fitzroy North and ending at the Railway Garden in Princes Hill.

The Yarra South tour is a 1Km walk, starting at St Stephen’s Anglican Church Community Garden in Richmond and ending at Finbar Neighbourhood House in Richmond.

Some regular activities at Mooroolbark Community Garden

Mooroolbark Community Garden have just started a picnic on the 2nd Friday of each month, starting 5.30pm. Take your own food, listen to music and play board games. They will provide the tables and chairs.

This is in addition to their regular market, which happens on the last Sunday of each month, 9am-2pm, and mainly features local craft stalls. Here are some photos from their last market.

The DIVRS festival season appeal

As you will know from previous newsletters, the Darebin Information, Volunteer and Resource Service (DIVRS), based in Preston, do lots of things in the food justice space, and in the support space more generally. In 2024, they provided support to around 6,300 people. But, of course, it all needs to be funded one way or another. In this context, they have just launched their festival season appeal. As they say, “Your donation can make a real difference for families and individuals at this time of year.”

Read more and potentially donate.

Warrandyte Food Swap’s 9th birthday (by Ann Stanley)

[Warrandyte Food Swap celebrated its 9th birthday last Saturday. Ann Stanley has reported in on how it went.]

One lucky visitor, Sayf, won our birthday raffle and is shown below posing with his basket of seeds, garden tools and other goodies.

  

Our new prominent position in the carpark outside the Warrandyte Community Garden in Police Road has meant that we are growing, with regular visitors who drop off their surplus garden produce, whether it be a bag of lemons, some saved seeds or new seedlings from seeds previously swapped with someone else.

We swap our surplus on the first Saturday of every month (except January) at 9-10am. It’s the same day as the Warrandyte market and we are near the entrance to that market. If you see us, come and say hello. No money is exchanged but you won’t leave empty-handed! We’d love to give you some greens, a bag of seeds or a jar of relish to take home, all in the spirit of community sharing and home-grown food.

See you on Saturday, 7th December!

Some recent stalls by food-related organisations

Per the left hand photo below, Karen from Olympic Neighbourhood House in Heidelberg West and Lucie from Watsonia Neighbourhood House, both of whom are active in the food space, were at the Ageing Well Expo in Macleod on 26th October.

Per the right hand photo below, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden at Eltham Primary School was at the Eltham Rotary Festival on 9th November.

  

If your organisation ever has a stall at any festival or similar, send us a photo together with a few words and we will include it in a future newsletter.

Cheese tastings at the Yarra Valley Diary

A few days ago, I went to a cheese tastings at the Yarra Valley Dairy in Yering. The options were $5 for 4 cheeses or $15 for 10 cheeses, in either case being given a guided tastings by a member of their staff. I did the 10 cheese option, which is therefore the one in the photos below. I think that you can just rock up for the tastings.

  

Baked cheesecake (by Sharee from Yarra Valley Dairy)

[When I was at Yarra Valley Dairy for the cheese tastings, I noticed that they had a number of printed recipes on the counter. I asked which was their best recipe and they nominated this baked cheesecake one.]

Ingredients

250g packet of plain sweet biscuits
125g butter, melted
750g cream cheese or curd cheese
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
3 eggs
¾ cup (180g) sour cream
¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice

Method

Using a food processor, process the biscuits until fine. Add the butter and process until combined.

Press the mixture over the base and sides of a 24cm springform pan. Place on an oven tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 160degC (140degC fan-forced).

Beat the cream cheese, lemon rind and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and juice.

Pour the filling into a pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until just set in the centre. Turn off the oven and cool the cheesecake in the oven with the door ajar.

Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight before serving.

Critter of the week – two-tailed spider

The left hand photo (from Pam Jenkins’ garden) is an egg sac of a two-tailed spider (genus Tamopsis in family Hersiliidae) whilst the right hand one (from the Internet) is of an adult spider from the same genus.

  

Pam found the egg sac dangling from her letterbox. It was around 5mm wide. Whilst all spiders lay egg sacs, their colour, size and position vary widely depending on the species.

Adult two-tailed spiders are small to medium-sized spiders. They live in trees (rather than on the ground) and are often well camouflaged against the bark. They do not make complex webs.

The common name of two-tailed refers to their two elongated spinnerets at the rear of their bodies (which you can see in the right hand photo).

Thanks to Pam for the photo. If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous insects (or other critters) of the week on our website.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was SGA’s article on managing rats with IPM.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming Greensborough repair cafe on 16th November.

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

Why did the ice cream truck breakdown? There was a rocky road. (submitted by Lee Hirsh)

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

The Caring Farms Coop farm gate, 10am-1pm, at Wickham Place in St Helena, is a new farm gate, selling their locally grown and freshly harvested plus seedlings and herb plants.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Varroa Development Officer presentation; Sunday, 17th November, 11am-12.30pm; free; Brunswick East.

Victorian Varroa Development Officer will lead a practical discussion on keeping bees happy and healthy, and the realistic changes that you can make in your apiary now to prepare for varroa.

Summer planting masterclass; Sunday, 24th November, 11.30am-12.30pm; free; Brunswick.

Discover the ins and outs of summer seedlings and how to prepare your own garden. Work together to plant out one of their garden beds. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops.
Presenter: Laurel Coad. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Pot and plant your own seedling; Sunday, 24th November, 1-2pm; free; Brunswick.

Pot up your own summer seedlings to take home, learning about what to plant, how to care for your seedlings, and tips on organic pest and disease management. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops. Presenter: Laurel Coad. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Julius Roberts – The Farm Table; Tuesday, 19th November, 6.30-9.30pm; $127 ($42 per hour); Richmond.

The November cook book is The Farm Table by Julius Roberts, which shows how cooking seasonally can be both fun and delicious, and also celebrates the English countryside and the slower pace of rural life. They will be cooking three courses of dishes from the book for you to enjoy over supper.

Kombucha and jun, M.O.B.; Thursday, 21st November, 6.30-8.30pm; $40 ($20 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Kombucha is traditionally made with black tea and sugar, and jun with green tea and honey. Learn how to feed your mother/SCOBY (choose between kombucha or jun) and then flavour their your own batch ready for second phase fermentation using fruits, herbs and spices that they will provide. M.O.B. stands for ‘mingling over bacteria’.

Pizza dough cooking demonstration; Sunday, 24th November, 11.05am-12.05pm; free; Brunswick.

Learn how to elevate your pizza-making skills at home, with plenty of tasting along the way. Also includes a tour of the community garden and small harvest. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops. Presenter: Cass Hogan. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Pandan crepe cooking demonstration; Sunday, 24th November, 12.30-1.30pm; free; Brunswick.

Learn how to make Indonesian pandan crape. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops. Presenter: Cass Hogan. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Shannon Martinez – plant-based chef unveils vegan Italian food; Tuesday, 26th November, 6.30-8pm; free; Fitzroy North.

Shannon Martinez will discuss her new cookbook, Vegan Italian Food. She will share some of her favourite dishes, discuss the benefits of getting more plant-based foods into our diets, and offer her top tips for creating plant-based meals at home. You can buy a signed copy of the book.

Christmas cookie swap; Saturday, 14th December, 10am-midday; $55 ($28 per hour); Richmond.

Bake 20 cookies using your favourite recipe (nothing too fancy, just bring the Christmas vibes). They will set them all out, and everyone gets to fill a box with 20 different cookies from other bakers to take home. There will be drinks, snacks and chatting along the way.

Gingerbread house workshop with sparkling wine; on Thursday, 19th December, 7-8.30pm and then again on Friday, 20th December, 7-8.30pm; $60 ($40 per hour); Wandin North.

Build your own gingerbread house. What’s included: gingerbread house kit, baseboard, lollies to decorate, icing, and cellophane & ribbon to wrap it up.

Christmas gingerbread house family workshop; Saturday, 21st December, 10.30am-midday; $50 ($33 per hour); Wandin North.

Work with your teenage child or grandchild to build and decorate your family’s very own gingerbread house. What’s included: gingerbread house kit, baseboard, lollies to decorate, icing, and cellophane & ribbon to wrap it up.

In November
In December
Regular classes

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