Doing things the hard way

This 'organic' thing ain't easy. Slugs are presently ruining my life. During this unseasonably warm weather we sowed madly. But where young artichokes and radishes should be flourishing only tiny stumps remain.

I've tried beer traps, iron chelates (which I'm not that comfortable using), 6 year old slug hunters paid at the rate of 1c per slug, sheets of plastic laid overnight and slugs wiped from underneath each morning, but none of it seems to help. Imagine my dismay at potting up 200 tiny lovage plants, only to find the lot eaten to nothing the next morning.

Fertility is also an issue. In my tiny plot I seem to have several different soils. One spot is double depth topsoil where soil salvaged from the nursery area is mounded up, another is the old chook run where there is a thin layer of fertile black stuff on top of our native clay. The rest is mostly our 5 inches of soil, atop rocky, mudstone clay. Soil that looks great when it is damp and has something growing in it, but dries out and grows twitch and yellow dock like thatch if you look away for a moment.



We also make our own potting mix. I figure if I only want to use organic methods in my plot, why should my pots be any different. I use Tassie composted pine bark, sand, blood and bone, kelp meal, rock dust and dolomite, as well as a couple of certified organic fertiliser blends to provide other nutrients. This isn't working as well as a mix containing artificial fertilisers does, but if I'm growing food plants, this is the way I want to do it.

So, today, we have a compost tea expert coming to look at our soil biology, and hopefully help us find a holistic, low input way to deal with our challenges and put tasty, healthy food on our tables, and produce healthy plants with out the need for artificial fertilisers in the potting mix. From the little I understand, compost teas, tailored to the soil type you have, can increase biological activity in the soil, making the nutrients, that are already there, more available to plants. It also makes a broader range of nutrients available, increasing the nutritional value of foods and letting plants develop a full spectrum of flavour.

So I'll be off now to fill the bikkie tin, make room for her microscope on the table, and cross my fingers that this will be part of the answer to a more successful plot.

Finding food on Bruny

I know it might be hard to believe, but every now and again I have an urge to escape this idyllic life a I'm living and get away from it all. Last weekend I did just that, not so far away that I couldn't still see Mount Wellington from my window, but far enough that my mind was free to wander as it wished.

And, as always, it wandered to plants and food, often to both at the same time. I'd decided to try doing some proper cooking with wild edible plants, rather than my usual curious nibble on a walk. It was a perfect weekend, still and sunny with incredible views of Hartz and Adamson's Peak covered in a stunning helping of snow.

I caught myself a cod and some kindhearted fishermen must've taken me for a hopeless fisherperson and gave me a couple of fish from their catch. I gathered a little Seablite, Suaedea australis, from near the jetty. Then I wandered back to the shack (thanks so much Peter and family!) pulled some Sagg, Lomandra longifolia, stems and tried cooking with these plants that I'd only eaten raw in the out doors before. I blanched the Seablite for a few seconds, it is seriously salty, and finished it in the pan with my fish. I broke up the bases of the Lomandra stems and squashed them hard onto the base of the pan where I was frying up the tail of my rock cod. And, if I do say so myself, it was damn fine! The salty Seablite was spot on with the sweet cod, and the Lomandra, well that was a mixed success. The flavour of the pieces that were crisp or tender enough to eat, was fantastic! However it was lucky I was eating alone, as much of it was too fibrous to swallow. I reckon the right method of preparation could get this great flavour onto plates without the need for spitting...

Seablite, Suaeda australis.

Rock cod, Sagg and Seablite.

When my weekend of solitude was almost over I went for a ramble on the beach at Great Bay. Below you'll find photos of some of the wonderful wild edible plants that have been sustaining Tasmanians for thousands of years, but which many of us are yet to experience, oh and perhaps one more modern food, unique to Bruny Island, that any forager would be hard pressed to resist......

As always, when collecting plants from the wild, especially on the shore, remember that these plants are often habitat for breeding sea birds, and are vitally important for slowing coastal erosion, so gather only a little and watch your step. And always ensure you've correctly identified any wild plant before eating it. Please take a look at the warnings on this post before venturing out for a forage.

Sagg, Lomandra longifolia. Edible leaf bases, nectar and apparently seed can be ground for flour.

Sea celery, Apium prostratum.

Samphire, Sarcocornia sp. Most of this had recently died,
perhaps from inundation in a recent storm.

Coast wattle/Boobyalla, Acacia sophorae. Edible seeds, roasted while green.

Dianella brevicaulis, edible blue berries.

Carpobrotus rossii. When you find the right patch, the fruit are delicious, leaves are edible too.

Coast saltbush, Atriplex cinerea. Edible foliage, and a rather gorgeous plant.

Ice plant, Tetragonia implexicoma. Use as a green vegetable.

Oen, from Bruny Island Cheese Factory. With foraged Damson paste and rat tailed radishes.

We'll be at Tas Farm Gate this Sunday, the 24th of July. Hope to see you there!

Meat: Part 2

This post comes with a warning, it contains graphic pictures, perhaps I've spent too much time at MONA....

Sensitive vegetarian types, please look away now.

Scalding pot

Preparing tools

After I wrote my last post I promptly got sick so the roosters got a reprieve. Last weekend they met their end.

When I thought about writing this, I imagined writing apologetic things like, 'This is not a celebration of death', but the more I think about it, it is a celebration of death. Every enjoyable bite of meat is, by definition, a celebration of death, and the flavour of the meat we harvested on this day is all the more delicious as we know almost everything about its provenance. That is not to say the killing and cleaning of the birds is enjoyable, it isn't. I had damp eyes while stroking the gorgeous feathers of a bird as I carried him ready for slaughter. The biggest garden fairy was fine with it until she recognised one of the birds she'd fed from when it was a chick. But, as with any job, there is satisfaction in work and learning, and when we cooked our bird, with our vegetables and herbs, and took a pot of this delicious goodness to a friend who has just had a new baby, the satisfaction was complete.

The birds were all raised with mother hens. One of the breeds is Rhode Island Red, ours are a rare rosecombed variety we picked up at the Southern Tasmanian Poultry Club's rare breed show a few years ago. We got a trio, two hens and a rooster, from a breeder who said, when I asked him how he dealt with disease in his flock, 'I've only got one treatment for that' as he made a neck wringing motion with his hands. This may come across as brutal, particularly if you've got a backyard bird you're fond of, but I think it is more humane than treating diseased birds that you later breed from. If you cull birds that are susceptible to disease you encourage a hardier bloodline, thereby reducing the incidence of disease in the future. This was the selling point for me, so we took them home, hoping to continue the rose combed 'Reds' breeding at our place. Unfortunately the male bird was incredibly aggressive, as was his first born son, so they are long since in the pot. The females are quite the opposite, hardy, calm birds and great broodies and mothers.

Our other birds are Barnervelders, sourced as fertile eggs from Paul Healy. I've read his work, heard him on the radio, and seen his farm. He selectively breeds his birds with care, seeks desirable traits, other than the obvious egg laying capacity and dressed weight, such as roosters that protect their hens, hens that lay well coloured eggs and well feathered birds, among others. These hens are hardy, don't go broody, their eggs are lovely to eat and hatch well. He charges appropriately for his fertile eggs, and for his birds, so while you might find a cheaper bird in the paper, for the long term benefit of your flock, and for the benefit of birds held by breeders, I look for humanely raised, well bred birds.

The birds we culled were fed a diet rich in weeds and leafy greens, and roamed the paddocks, perhaps a little too freely. This you could see in the glorious yellow fat they carried (which made for pretty awesome roast veg last night!). The part that I'm not that happy with is the grain. We feed our birds a warm mash laced with kelp meal, garlic and herbs and a mixed grain blend. These are both conventionally grown, from our local feed store. I would really love to find a good source of local, organic grain.

Below is what happened to our male birds, and those of a few of our friends last weekend. Much thought and debate was put into methods of dispatch, children were well informed, and chose to witness what happened, and we learnt a lot about how to prepare a bird for the kitchen, while wishing for a grandmother with capable hands to guide us. We did it together with our friends and neighbours, we are lucky to be part of such wonderful community.

Please heed the warning above before looking at our pictures, some may find them confronting.

Children who know where their food comes from

Plucking

Drawing

I may be a little peverse, but I see beauty here. A wise father said to a tearful garden fairy
 that the spirits of the roosters were free. I think I can see that.

Tasty bits; hearts are delicious!

These I've never eaten before, but they are common in Asian kitchens,
so they're in the freezer until I have some game dinner guests.

We still have much to learn. Cleaning the birds too too long, and we need a thermometer if we decide to scald the birds for plucking next time. But we have a freezer with many dinners in it, and peace has returned to the chook run.

Meat

We are a family that enjoys protein. And tomorrow we shall harvest some. Tonight I am about to don the head torch and catch three slumbering, young roosters. We've had the good fortune of two late Summer clutches of chicks, all hatched under broody mothers, all with access to plenty of pasture, warm mash on cold mornings and plenty of tasty weeds. With a life like this we don't lose chicks to disease. Of our 11 chicks, 4 are boys, 3 of whom are destined for the chopping block tomorrow. The lucky one will be moving down the road to our friends place, where he will look after a whole new harem of lovely chook ladies. At this stage we're not eating any female birds while we build up our laying flock.

After breakfast we'll head to another lovely neighbour's place to do the deed. They have a few roosters as well. The kids will come along, and I'm quite sure there will be tears, but last time the tears at the demise of Sunny the Evil Rooster were replaced by shouts of "Yummy!" when his plucked body made its way back inside. In some ancient pattern of labour distribution the blokes will dispatch the birds while we light a fire and boil a big pot of water ready for plucking, and prepare a pot of icy cold water for chilling them. I'll line up bowls, this time I intend to try and cook every edible part, one bowl each for livers, hearts, gizzards, feet and combs. We'll dig a hole where a Winter planted fruit tree is to go, ready for the bits we can't eat.

We've been completely responsible for the quality of life these birds have enjoyed. We know exactly what has been consumed by them. We will be responsible for their end. We will take care to use every scrap of their flesh, and make stocks from their delicious bones.

Our aim is to build up a flock that can supply us with at least one bird for the pot a fortnight. Free range birds available commercially are from heavy, industrially bred meat birds that are slaughtered at 6 weeks, if they are left any longer they can develop stress fractures as they grow too fast to support their own bulk. Our birds are 16 weeks old and have had a wonderful mixed diet. They have run on their legs, scratched with their claws, so their bones will be strong, muscles lean and full of flavour. And if we're to eat eggs we need to hatch chicks, and half of what we hatch will be male birds.There are loads of feral roosters in the forests around Hobart, doing untold damage to the bush by digging up young plants and disturbing the soil. And too many roosters with not enough hens is cruel to the whole flock.

So, for me it's off into the cold night to catch our dinner. I'm feeling an odd mix of emotions, the birds are beautiful, we watched them hatch and grow, but now they're beginning to fight. Killing is hard, as is plucking and gutting a creature you've raised. But I've got some bread dough rising so that we can have livers and hearts fried in sagey butter on toast after our work is done. I've got some tips on how to prepare chicken feet from a fantastic chef friend. And is it wrong that I gave them their last meal of warm mash tonight laced with loads of garlic and thyme....?

Mum

Now, it might be trendy and all that, to dismiss chances of expressing love and thankfulness. Valentines Day, Christmas, Mothers Day and others of that ilk, get wrapped up in commercial bubbles, storms of disposable junk, purchased because we feel we have to. And that is a shame. I think in this busy life we lead, that any reminder to slow down for a moment, and show others what you feel for them, should be shared and savoured. 

So this is for you Mum.

We can all safely say that we wouldn't be here without our Mums. They bore and nurtured us, raised us and did what they could to set us on the path to a good life. But, my Mum is special.

Mum on the right, looking very fetching in her white socks!

I have a Mum who grew up in another time. When she was a little girl at South Arm it was a remote, old fashioned community. Dirt roads, that only her mother could drive on. Boys at the bus stop who tied dead snakes on pieces of string to drag across the road in front of the school bus and frighten the driver. Her bookmaker Dad would go wading for flounder from the beach, and, living on a chicken farm, chicken necks and parsons noses were on the menu. Massive pots of curried scallops would make their way along the dirt roads to race day at Bothwell.

A childhood like this taught my Mum to be self sufficient. To make the best of little and to enjoy the gifts that nature brings. She taught me that frugality and generosity are not mutually exclusive. To value what you have, and treat food with respect. We never ate a packaged muesli bar, there were always fresh, home made cakes and slices for after school snacks. We learnt how to make a fantastic gravy from pan juices and veggie water by being in charge of stirring as soon as we were tall enough to reach the stove. We shopped, baked and washed up beside her. There was always a veggie garden of some kind in the back yard, we scavenged quinces from neglected trees on the way to beach picnics and scoured roadside stalls for the best produce. Washing baskets full of fruit sat on the washing machine in the Summer months, to be turned into jams, or put aside for crumbles and cakes in Winter. Long trips to Plenty to pick Morrello cherries, or to the Central Highlands for trout were on the agenda most weekends. Morning tea was served on pretty plates with a sense of ceremony. We ate dinner at the table together every night. I really think that this respect for food, and care in its preparation lead me to where I am now.

A huge part of our childhood was spent in a tent. But no tinned food for us! Mum would freeze home made meals in milk cartons and pack them into an eski like bricks. We'd roast potatoes in coals and feast on mussels, abalone and fish. We never cooked on a gas cooker, all was done in the fire. Without being trendy, Mum had a true sense of place. Camping food was meant to be primal, toast smelling of smoke, or a leg of lamb, dug from the sand after roasting on hot stones all day was allowed to have grit from the beach on it. And have you ever had the ecstasy of sharing a surf crab, boiled in a billy after a long afternoon spent coaxing it from its granite rockpool with a chunk of bait? My Mum gave me that pleasure and thousands like it. Remembering these gems from childhood informs my parenting, and inspires me to find joys like these for my little ones.

Every Sunday when I go to market, despite the fact that she has a long, overnight shift coming up that night, my Mum is there with a basket of goodies from her garden to share. She keeps me company, dishes out quality advice, and even better banter, and keeps a close watch on our caffiene and blood sugar levels. To one such market she bought along some finger limes, a native Australian citrus that thrives in her back yard. These limes were spied by Hugh, the chef at Saffire who then proceeded to inspire me with talk of his kitchen garden and the rare herbs and edible flowers he likes to use, opening my mind to the idea of cultivating these treasures for chefs and adventurous cooks, and leading to a most amazing year of adventure in the garden. 

Mum by a lake. Rambles, cups of tea, fruitless fishing. Bliss!

Mum has inspired, guided, motivated, praised, encouraged and occasionally, when I needed it, chastised me. She teaches my family and I generosity, resilience, the value of work, and most importantly, unconditional love. Which, of course, is the most important ingredient of all.

So, like all of us, but perhaps even a little bit more, I wouldn't be where I am without my Mum.

Love you Mum. Happy mother's day. xxx

Tomatillo salsa

The tomatillo harvest has begun. This Summer crop only seems to ripen for us around late March, but, with luck and frost protection, we'll be harvesting into June. We pick them under-ripe as they seem to lose flavour and texture as they mature. Then we do this to them:

Grilled tomatillo salsa
     500g tomatillos, husked and washed
     chicken or fish
     1 tablespoon olive oil
     1 medium onion, diced
     3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
     1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
      fresh chillies to taste
     1tsp cumin seeds
     1/2tsp ground coriander
      salt + pepper
     1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds, toasted till puffed and crispy.

Grill tomatillos on the barbie (wood smoke makes them even more delicious!) or in a char pan until squishy and blackened. Fry cumin in the oil until fragrant, add the ground coriander seeds, onion and garlic, cook gently until onion is softened. Add tomatillos and mash (I like mine chunky so I use the back of a wooden spoon to break them up) or blend, then bring to a simmer. Grill or brown the fish or chicken and add to mashed tomatillos and simmer until cooked, stir through most of the coriander. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and the rest of the coriander. This recipe was adapted from one at Epicurious. Sadly I'm not a chef or food writer, so apologies for bad technical descriptions, or lack thereof!

I also heard today that the Agrarian Kitchen has pickled these tasty morsels, and a fabulous early market customer, who gives up her Sunday sleep-in to get the best produce, says she makes a fantastic salsa with the raw fruit. And the brilliant Michelle took home a pretty bag full today (while providing us with sustenance in the form of divine cupcakes). If you have any tips on tomatillo preparation please share with us!

So, if you have a plant in the garden that hasn't ripened fruit yet, don't give up hope. If a frost threatens, take the advice of the wonderful Kate and get some lace curtains from the local op-shop and suspend on stakes above your plant. With care you'll reap a great harvest until June too. And if this has whet your appetite you can grab a bag at our next market stall on the 8th of May, but you might have to get there early! And, if we have enough to spare next week, you may just find them at our date-night haunt, sitting delectably on a pretty plate......We'll also have seedlings available in November if you want to try your hand at growing your own.

Baby tomatillo plant, worthy of a place in the garden for its good looks alone.

And the very best part, even though it might be very bad manners, is watching the garden fairies lick their plates!

 

Angelica archangelica

Angelica seed

First year angelica

Angelica archangelica is a fantastic plant with a bad reputation. But it's not deserved. Mention angelica and what pops into most peoples heads is an image of a dessert with lots of icing sugar, bad whipped cream, half an unripe strawberry, and a sprig of hard, shiny, inedible green stuff. This shiny green stuff is an angelica, but not the culinary variety. 

Last night I'd hoped to enjoy some of the good stuff, Angelica archangelica, for dessert. The littlest garden fairy helped pick rhubarb and angelica, put it in a baking tray and sprinkle brown sugar on top. We baked it at about 180 degrees while we ate dinner, which takes quite a while, and when it came out of the oven it looked gorgeous. Toffeed sugar around the edges, candied sticks of rhubarb, flecked with angelica. But I made a fatal error and put it down near the fairies to cool while I tidied up. BIG MISTAKE. By the time I'd returned, there was only a few drops of syrup left. Poor Mum. But the kids liked it, obviously. The angelica seems to counter some of the harshness in the rhubarb while adding its own gorgeous scent.

Before baking

Before theiving!

It's also used as a vegetable in Scandinavia, the flower buds can be used in a salad and the stems are candied to produce  a sticky, floral tasting, bright green confection. And I'm not a herbalist but my books say it's great for circulation, chest complaints - it's a good expectorant, ulcers and may even contain anti-cancer compounds. 

And, on top of all this it's a gorgeous garden plant! Grow it in a moist spot with plenty of compost. It's a biennial and in the first year produces masses of foliage then may die back to its roots in cold areas, to reappear in Spring and send up the most stunning, up to 2m tall, flower spike. This is super sculptural and attracts bees and beneficial insects. I'd have to say it would be the biggest bug attractor I've ever grown. It is a delight to watch all of the different species of winged creatures getting stuck in for a feed. It can self seed freely, but unwanted volunteers are easily pulled. 

We'll bring lots of seedlings to Tas Farm Gate tomorrow morning, the weatherman says 23 degrees! Hope to see you there for our last market before Easter.

Those baby chicks, all grown up and waiting for breakfast.

Mitsuba flowers

Pineapple sage buds

Cossack Pineapple

Last summer we grew a few Cossack pineapple (Physalis pubescens) plants and we enjoyed the novel, pineapple flavoured fruits and the fact that they dry beautifully, like tangy raisins. And it is a thoroughly gorgeous little plant. I love the way they look like little shuttlecocks with their calyx peeled back to reveal the fruit.

It's a member of the Solonaceae family, related to tomatoes, potatoes, nightshade...and more closely related to tomatillos and Cape gooseberries. But unlike my experience of Cape Gooseberries, this one tastes great, and keeps well in its little papery packages. It is a frost tender annual, I grow them in the same way I grow tomatoes, without the need for stakes. Apparently native to North America, but cultivated commercially in North Eastern Europe (all this information comes from Google, totally unreferenced...it's hard to find much anywhere else! Please share if you know any more.) Sadly two of the plants I put in blew away so I don't have any spare fruit for you to try, but I'll be growing a lot more plants this Spring, so you might want to think about finding a little corner where you can grow your own next Summer....

Cossack Pineapple plant

Gorgeous little flower and unripe fruit

A bit of the plot full of winter greens.

Chilean guava is another favourite in our house. Our plant is nestled under a lemon verbena, and right now, on these warm Autumn days the scent from both plants make this an intoxicating corner of the garden. The plants grow from 1-2m but are wonderful clipped as a hedge. They are hardy and forgiving plants, and have masses of fruit when most other berries are finished, and no thorns, which makes it a great plant for the garden fairies. I have 3 lovely big plants ready for this week, and little ones ready in Spring.

Potted saffron

Chilean guava

We'll be at Tas Farm Gate market, corner of Melville and Elizabeth Streets this Sunday with these and many other lovely plants, along with some tomatoes, herbs and other garden goodies. Maybe even a bag or two of tomatillos if the house chef doesn't make off with them first....Hope to see you there!

A long list, still a work in progress.

This is very much a work in progress, to be added to as more plants are ready for sale (we have loads of new culinary plants in the works!) and as I find the time to write descriptions for them. It seems every day that a book, a nursery, a blog, a chef or a seed catalogue, throws another amazing plant our way that absolutely must be tracked down and grown! So expect this list to get a lot longer.......and please feel free to add your suggestions to my 'must grow' list, there are many amazing plants that can make our lives healthier, more sustainable and more beautiful. 

Food plants:

Allium cepa, Walking Onions - Egyptian onions. Allium that grows bulbs on the top of its stems. Bulbils can be eaten, or planted to form larger onions. Left to their own devices these can fall over and the bulbils at the top of the plant will grow, produce more bulbils, then fall over again, hence ‘walking onion’ and create a self sustaining onion patch.

Allium schoenoprasum  Chives. Fantastic herb, hardy, decorative, delicious. Happy in most soils, but will thrive in well composted gardens in full sun. Can die back in Winter. Easily divided. Use both leaves and flowers in the kitchen for a delicate onion flavour.

Allium tuberosum Garlic chives.

Tulbaghia violacea Society Garlic. Another hardy Allium with edible flowers and foliage, also worthy of a place in the flower garden.

Allium fistulosum Perennial Spring Onion. A handy plant for the herb garden. Forms a clump that can be used as you would Spring onion, tops or stems can be removed from the clump as needed. I collect the seed and use it to grow my baby Spring onions.

Chamomile, Roman. Gorgeous groundcover with appley scented foliage and white daisy flowers, great for herbal teas and attracting beneficial bugs to the garden.

Chamomile, German. Annual, most medicinal chamomile. Will self seed.

Artichoke ‘French Purple’ and 'Green Globe' Glamorous vegetable, both in the garden and the kitchen. Fantastic silver foliage and edible flower buds. Dies back to rootstock in Winter, easily divided in early Spring. Hardy, does best in a well drained site with lots of organic matter.

Black currant

Redcurrant
Temptation Strawberry

Lovage Levisticum officinale Hardy perennial to 2m. Strong flavoured leaves, stems and seeds used as a flavouring, young leaves good in salad.

Giant Italian Parsley 
Globe Artichoke ‘Green Globe’ and 'French Purple' Cynara scolymus Fast growing, perennial vegetable producing edible buds in Spring. Can be divided in its second or third Autumn. Prefers good, well drained soil in full sun. Produces better with extra water, but tolerates dry periods.

French sorrel Rumex acetosa Clumping perennial to 30cm. Easily grown in goo soil, protect from slugs. Lemon flavoured leaves salads, soups, sauces and sorbets.

Salad Burnett

Apple mint .

Peppermint .

Basil mint .

Variegated Pineapple mint .

Moroccan Spearmint.

Marjoram .

Curly Golden Oregano

Oregano .

Thyme

Pizza Thyme

Laksa – Vietmamese Mint

Dianthus, Clove Pink

Horseradish

Mexican Tarragon, Tagetes lucida. Pretty perennial marigold. To 40cm, yellow flowers, frost tender, protect from frost or grow as Summer annual. Anise scented leaves used as tarragon substitute or a wonderful herbal tea. Flowers attract beneficial insects.

Marshmallow

Warrigal Greens

Comfrey

Thyme

Lemon Verbena

Temptation Strawberry

Purple and Common Sage

Pineapple Sage

Culinary Angelica Angelica archangelica Hardy biennial to 1-2m. Sun or part shade, well composted soil. Many uses in the kitchen. Great cooked with rhubarb, can be candied, used as a vegetable or in salads