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The taste of Sydney

Guest post by Sharon Lee of FlavourCrusader

honey

Urban honey has grown in popularity worldwide, particularly in Europe. I note that Melbourne city has picked up the trend, but what of Sydney?

“Sydney also has many city beekeepers who’ve been producing rooftop and backyard honey for many years,” said Lyndon Fenlon of Melbourne’s Urban Honey Co.

Meet Richard Foote. His bees reside in suburban Sydney. His method of production is to simply cut the caps then divide the honeycomb into sellable portions. He sells his honey online, and also through Flemington and Penrith markets.

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Get Inspired Get Started Stories Sydney Local

Winter 2011 Issue of Sprout is Out Now with PermaCultured Planting Guide

Winter 2011 Sprout Cover

The latest issue of Sprout Magazine, titled “A BREADUCATION”, just hit the shelves a couple of weeks ago, and with this arrived my complementary copy. Magazine’s publisher and editor Diane Jardine is incredibly warm and wonderful, and she always forwards me a copy, when there is an article I’ve written. This time it was a “Winter Planting Guide” (if you would like to see the pages of the article, please click the images below).

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Food Galleries Get Inspired Get Started Kitchen Gardens Plants Sydney Local

What to Plant in May: 12 Cold Weather Roots & Vegetables to Plant Now in Sydney (Temperate Zone)

1. Garlic

DSC_0143a
DSC_0143a by zdjecia Jacka P

Where: plant gloves directly into the soil
Harvest: from November

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Get Inspired Get Started Stories Sydney Local

Sprout Magazine Double Feature! PermaCultured articles on Natural Pest Control and Autumn Planting Guide

Sprout - Autumn 2011 cover

The current issue of Sydney’s local Sprout Magazine (Autumn 2011) included two articles written by PermaCultured author Tatyana Temirbulatova. This is very exciting, thanks to everyone at Sprout for supporting “the permaculture way”. 🙂

Fun fact! The cover image of the Pest Control article (the one with the chives) was taken on a beautiful sunny morning at Milkwood Permaculture farm. It was a spontaneous photo, without any big plans for fame and glory, but here it is…on a full-colour page in a magazine. Yay!

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What to Plant in April: 15 Autumn Vegetables & Herbs to Plant Now in Sydney (Temperate Zone)

It’s not quite winter yet, but there is a definite feel that it’s coming. The morning air is chilly and crisp, and it’s almost time to bring out the warm comforter blanket. What I love about Autumn and Winter seasons are those delicious opportunities for soups and stews. Given my Russian heritage, I would like to share this Bortsh (Борщ) recipe that makes frequent appearance in our household. It’s healthy, it’s in-season and it tastes great!

Borsch recipe
image by http://www.ayurvediclight.net

Ingredients (4 servings):

  • 1 beetroot
  • 2 carrots
  • 4 medium-sized potatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 4 cloves of garlic (can put more!)
  • 1/2 head of cabbage (or silverbeet, as we have discovered)
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 to 1 cup of tomato paste (can also add fresh tomatoes)
  • 2 table spoons of vinegar
  • 2 table spoons of olive oil for shimmering vegetables
  • dill, parsley, black pepper and salt to taste

Preparation

  1. Peel and cut potatoes, set to boil in about 4 cups of water
  2. Peel and thinly slice beetroot and carrots. Heat up oil in the pan and shimmer beetroot and carrots on low heat for at least 10 minutes (or until tender). Add vinegar and lemon juice to the mix. This will release the deep red colour of the beets.
  3. Cut the onions and add them to the carrot & beetroot mix about 5 minutes before they are done
  4. When ready, transfer the carrot & beetroot mix to the pot with boiling potatoes
  5. Add salt, pepper, cabbage, tomato paste to broth and cook on medium heat for about 20 mins
  6. Now the secret ingredient: cut raw garlic, dill, and parsley into small pieces. Put in a cup and mix well. Let them sit together while the broth is boiling.
  7. When broth is almost ready, add the secret ingredient mix. It will add a lot of flavour to the soup, but don’t over-cook it! After 3 mins, turn off the pot and let it sit for 10-15 mins on the stove.

Serve with toast and sour cream for a truly Russian experience. Enjoy!

And now, on to the planting guide…

1. Beetroot

Harvesting Beetroot
Harvesting Beetroot by amortize

Where: sow directly into the soil
Harvest: from August