LFC News November 9 2022

Nov 092022
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Ann Stanley, Harry Ladopoulos and Virginia Solomon.

A chat with Nick Rose (by Ann Stanley)

[Many of the November events currently being advertised in this newsletter are part of something called Urban Agriculture Month. Urban Agriculture Month is an initiative being run by Sustain: the Australian Food Network. The Executive Director of Sustain is Nick Rose. Ann recently met Nick for a chat. Here is a summary of what was said. Read Ann’s full article.]

Nick believes that it is important to understand the collective contribution of people growing edible gardens in cities all over the world and encourages us to see ourselves as part of a movement that goes far beyond our own backyard. He also believes that access to good food at all times is a human right and is fundamental to the dignity of a person. And he advocates for a participatory and democratic food system in which decisions are not made in boardrooms and the lobbies of governments.

Consistent with these beliefs, Sustain promotes collective action towards the development of new food systems for cities and is working towards acknowledgement by local, state and federal governments of a defined ‘urban agriculture’ sector in this country.

Nick’s views have been shaped in part by observing innovative models of urban agriculture from around the world, including La Via Campasina in Indonesia and elsewhere (an international peasants’ movement of small farmers and indigenous people) and the city of Seoul’s plan to allocate billions of dollars to urban farming projects.

Nick and Sustain have been involved in a number of local projects, including the Melbourne Food Hub, the Cardinia food circles project and Oakhill Food Justice Farm.

The Melbourne Food Hub in Alphington is the location of the Alphington Farmers’ Market. At the site, there is also an urban farm, a community kitchen and a food distribution business, as well as enterprises such as Sporadical City Mushrooms.

The Cardinia food circles project promotes a fair food system for all Cardinia Shire residents, emphasising food literacy in the community, promoting fresh, seasonal, local produce, and advocating to ‘control the density and proximity of fast-food outlets to vulnerable communities’ as well as for creating livelihood opportunities in food production and distribution.

Oakhill Food Justice Farm operates out of an abandoned vicarage in Preston, where the land is planted out with veggies, maintained by volunteers, and with all the produce given away.

Nick says that local councils in Australia have been at the forefront of government support for the emerging urban agriculture sector but, says Nick, so far State and Federal Governments have been harder to influence, still viewing urban agriculture as a hobby and a niche not big enough for them to deal with.

So, to summarise, Nick argues that the local food movement is much broader than just growing healthy food – it is also about human rights, dignity and social justice and can be seen in a new political ecology at the global level responsive to the climate and poverty challenges we face globally.

Having read some of Nick’s views, what thoughts have they stimulated for you? How much food could we grow in urban Melbourne? How much vacant land could be unlocked in Melbourne by local councils? How much food could be grown on verges and in new housing developments? Could every suburb sustain a community garden? Are you just planting a garden or are you part of a global movement for positive change?

Read Ann’s full article.

A new local coffee roaster: Specialty Coffee Army

Specialty Coffee Army, who are based in Mernda, are a small, specialty coffee roastery who sell both freshly roasted coffee beans and ground coffee. They also have a coffee trailer, which sells batch brew and pour over coffee. They roast only specialty coffee beans graded at 82+ using a gas roasting machine, following a precise manual roasting method for each batch, creating roasting profiles that match the specific origin of the beans. These profiles cover such subjects as the appropriate grinding methods and the right water temperature using different brewing methods such as batch brew, pour over, gravity press and cold brew. Their single origin coffees come from a wide variety of places, including Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Kenya, Mexico, Peru and Yemen. They only source their coffee beans through importers that have followed strict specialty coffee rules, including trading ethically with the producers. To help reduce plastic waste, they use recyclable coffee bags that meet RedCycle’s standards.

You can buy their coffee beans and ground coffee online. You can also find them at a number of local markets, including Eltham Farmers’ Market, South Morang Farmers’ and Makers’ Market and Thomastown Trash and Treasure Market.

Read their Local Food Directory page.

Welcome Harry!

A new beekeeping shop in Diamond Creek

All About Beekeeping Supplies is located at 21b Station Street, Diamond Creek.

Open 5 days a week, from Friday to Tuesday.

We have more pea seedlings to give away

Thanks to the 20 or so people who have taken advantage of our pea seedling giveaway over the last week.

Our stocks have now been replenished(!), particularly of the snow pea seedlings. So, if you would like some sugar snap or snow pea seedlings, email me and we’ll arrange a day and time. Pick up from my house in Eltham.

This offer is also open to people who have already picked up some of the seedlings! Just email me if you want more.

In passing, some of the people picking up pea seedlings mentioned that they have just harvested the leeks from Bruno Tigani’s last giveaway. If you have any good recipes for leeks, it would be great if you could email them to us for publication in a future newsletter.

Every newsletter needs a good picture

Old woman frying eggs is a painting by Spanish painter Diego Velazquez and was painted around 1618 (when Velazquez was in his late teens). Unusually for its time, it is a ‘genre painting’, which means that it depicts ordinary life by portraying ordinary people engaged in ordinary activities (rather than gods etc with no clothes on!). It is also notable for its ‘chiaroscuro’ (cf. shading), with different parts of the painting ranging from bright light to almost total darkness. And, finally, it is a precursor to ‘photorealism’, which is where the painting looks as realistic as if it were a photograph. To summarise, it is a photorealistic, chiaroscuro, genre painting of a woman frying some eggs painted by a teenager around 600 years ago.

P.s. Some people think that the woman is poaching eggs rather than frying them.

Not food-related but interesting

Artist Kathy Holowko has been working with some children in Boroondara “to envision a city where all humans, plants and animals live together, inspiring solutions for us to coexist“. The resulting exhibition of ‘Wild City’ is available for viewing at Hawthorn Arts Centre, 360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn from now until 3rd December. Watch a video about the project.

Another not food-related but interesting

Whittlesea Council have just published a list of their recycling stations where you can drop off any of:

  • X-rays.
  • Printer cartridges.
  • Mobile phones and accessories.
  • Cameras and accessories.
  • DVDs and CDs.
  • VHS/video and audio cassette tapes.
  • Fluorescent light globes and tubes.
  • Small e-waste items like iPods and MP3 players.

The recycling stations are located at:

  • Lalor Library, 2A May Road, Lalor.
  • Mill Park Library, 394 Plenty Road, Mill Park.
  • Thomastown Library, 52 Main Street, Thomastown.
  • Whittlesea Library, 57-61 Laurel Street, Whittlesea.
  • Civic Centre, 25 Ferres Boulevard, South Morang.
  • Epping Depot, 68-96 Houston Street, Epping.
  • Galada Community Centre, 10a Forum Way, Epping.
  • Jindi Family Community Centre, 48 Breadalbane Avenue, Mernda.
  • Laurimar Activity Centre, 110 Hazel Glen Drive, Doreen.
  • Mernda Village Community Centre, 70 Mernda Village Drive, Mernda.
  • Riverside Community Centre, 8 Doreen Rogen Way, South Morang.
  • Shared Cup Cafe, 995 Donnybrook Road, Donnybrook.

Does anyone have any equivalent lists, or links to any equivalent lists, for our other local councils? If so, email them to me.

And more on recycling options

Recycle Mate is a website where you enter your address and the thing(s) that you would like to recycle and it (hopefully) tells you your local recycling options.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was Simone Boyd’s video on planting heirloom tomato seedlings.

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

Did I say feelings? I meant, uhhh, sandwiches. I have sandwiches for you.

Read more jokes.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ markets

NERP will have an information stall at Sunday’s Eltham Farmers’ Market, their theme being ‘unusual edibles’.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Cheese and beer masterclass; Thursday, 24th November, 7-9pm; $64 ($32 per hour); Preston.

6 cheeses will be matched with 6 beers. Jointly hosted by Moon Dog Brewing and Cheese Culture.

Good Food and Wine Show Christmas Market; Friday, 25th November, 4-9pm, Saturday, 26th November, 10am-5pm, and Sunday, 27th November, 10am-5pm; $10; Carlton.

There will be around 50 stallholders plus wine tasting and some cooking demonstrations.

Heal with food – dementia; Saturday, 3rd December, 1-3pm; $8; Eltham.

Dr Peter Johnston will discuss whether or not dementia can be prevented and the connections or otherwise between diets and dementia. This is one of a series of monthly talks by health professionals about using food as medicine. Future talks will cover such subjects as asthma, cancer, depression & anxiety, obesity and reproductive health. Organised by Green Karma.

Formidable Vegetable house concert and Christmas party; Tuesday, 6th December, 6-9pm; $42 ($14 per hour); Eltham.

Join Formidable Vegetable for a house concert. Bring a picnic and a cushion or a folding chair. No alcohol. Listen to their well known song, Yield. Listen to more of their music. Watch a sample video.

How to navigate Christmas with chronic illness; Sunday, 11th December, 2-4.30pm; $11; Eltham.

Learn how to manage your physical and mental health during festivities, followed by a cooking demonstration on healthy baking. Organised by Green Karma.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Festive fix with thermomix class; Saturday, 12th November, 11am-1pm; $40 ($20 per hour); Eltham.

The menu features: pink lemonade; hazelnut brioche; turkey breast roulade with apple & sage stuffing with gravy; German cinnamon stars; salmon filo spiral; and oriental brown rice salad. Presenters: Tess Murray and Jodie Hodgett.

Mexican cooking class (plant-based); Saturday, 12th November, 7-9pm; $38 ($19 per hour); Collingwood.

The menu will comprise: nachos; guacamole with tomatoes; re-fried beans with cumin flavours; eggless mayonnaise; and pina colada (zero alcohol). Presenter: Sammohini.

Festive fix with thermomix class; Thursday, 17th November, 7-9pm; $40 ($20 per hour); Blackburn North.

The menu features: pink lemonade; hazelnut brioche; turkey breast roulade with apple & sage stuffing with gravy; German cinnamon stars; salmon filo spiral; and oriental brown rice salad. Presenter: Kaye Jones.

Festive fix with thermomix class; Monday, 28th November, 7.30-9.30pm; $40 ($20 per hour); Mooroolbark.

The menu features: pink lemonade; hazelnut brioche; turkey breast roulade with apple & sage stuffing with gravy; German cinnamon stars; salmon filo spiral; and oriental brown rice salad. Presenters: Jodie Hodgett, Shantell Taylor and Nicole Miller.

Laksa masterclass; Saturday, 3rd December, 11am-1.30pm; $128 ($51 per hour); Brunswick.

Linh and June will show you have to make laksa. You will also get to take home a sample of their laksa paste.

Middle Eastern cooking; Sunday, 4th December, 10.30am-1.30pm; $80 ($27 per hour); Park Orchards.

Learn about the flavours of Middle Eastern cooking. Try out recipes and cooking methods while preparing a three course menu. Stay and share your freshly prepared dinner with the group. Organised by Park Orchards Community House.

Kraut, kefir, kimchi & kvass; Saturday, 10th December, 1-5pm; $365 ($91 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 course; a jar of kimchi, sauerkraut, milk kefir with SCOBY and a jar of kvass – including jars and airlocks for fermenting at home.

In November
In December
Regular classes

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