Posts filed under ‘Reskilling’
TD Convivial Kitchen
Transition Port Phillip shared an interesting idea at the recent Transition Towns Victorian Convergence. They set up a monthly convivial kitchen catch up, where members meet at a commercial kitchen and demonstrate a favourite dish, then eat it. Any takers for this idea in Darebin? If you would like to help organising the catch ups let me know otherwise feel free to register interest in coming along or demonstrating.
We’ve already had an offer for a kimchi demonstration, but we don’t have to do super hard things, they could be easy like the pizza dough I just found out about that uses two ingredients yoghurt and flour!
Contact ecoze@ixa.net.au if you would like to register interest in participating, or demonstrating or organising.
7 January, 2014 at 5:41 pm johnnyrutherford2 Leave a comment
We are in the Leader this week – come to Share Make Mend!
see all the details of Share Make Mend in the post below – see you there!
First TD Gathering for 2013
For our first gathering of 2013, we are teaming up with Urban Reforestation, who are hosting a workshop called “The Art of 
Community Gardening” at the Old Apple Tree. It will be more of a discussion than a one-way workshop – people with all levels of experience and interest are welcome – whether you are an old hand or just finding out about community gardens.
If anyone has not come across the Apple Tree before, it’s a bit of a local icon. A very big, very old apple tree right next to the railway line which has been lovingly documented by photographer Cat Wilson, and adopted and given a new lease on life by locals including TD members and people in the neighbourhood, most recently led by Urban Reforestation members, who have spruced up the area, adding seating, a planter box and other plants. And started a facebook page for the Apple Tree.
After the workshop there will be a hands-on working bee, giving the apple tree and surrounds some TLC.
And then a picnic which will double as our first TD gathering of the year. Perhaps we may even bring out the TD banner, which still needs a little more painting to be complete, and features our apple tree inspired by… you guessed it – the Old Apple Tree.
**You can come to any part or all of this smorgasbord of activities!**
Saturday 12 January
Corner of Herbert St and Beavers Rd, Northcote.
10.30am morning tea and meet up!
11am Workshop and advice sharing on setting up a community garden. Tips
include: engaging community, creative design ideas, working with local
council and ongoing maintenance.
12pm Working bee at The Apple Tree Herbert Street! Putting some
creative design ideas into action.
1pm Yummy vegetarian picnic lunch – please bring a vegetarian plate to share. Come and meet with TD peeps and the locals around the Apple Tree.
Cost: by donation.
For more details and to RSVP for the workshop see http://www.urbanreforestation.com/community-gardens-2/workshop-the-art-of-community-gardening/
Christmas Crafting #2 Preserved Lemons
As foretold… today after coming home from TD berry picking, I followed this method to preserve some already long-in-the-tooth lemons. I also used left over cloves from the pomanders, bay leaves from a food swap, and Murray River salt.
I guess I won’t know if it worked until I’ve let them sit for a few weeks and see if they develop the ‘harmless white mould’ referred to… harmless has a comforting ring to it – I’m sure I can just scrape it off if so, right? Don’t take my advice on that, seriously, I eat borderline stuff all the time, my stomach’s used to it.
Oh, and some of my pomanders did develop mould =( I think I might have to try again and find a dryer, cooler place to store them while they season… definitely taking them to work in a sealed container was a bad, bad idea…
Anyway the one experimental thing I did today was to use some of the nicer looking peels of the lemons that I squeezed for juice. I just put more salt in each half-lemon peel, then tucked another one on top and repeated and squeezed into a smaller jar.
Let’s see how it goes!
Christmas crafting #1: Pomanders
Christmas Crafting Part 1: Making Orange and Clove Pomanders
For the last few Christmases I’ve been making my own little Christmas gifties. Two years ago I had bags of lemons from the tree and so make lemon cordial (thanks to a winner recipe from Julie from the Plummery Food Coop). Last year I had bags of boysenberries, blackberries and logan berries from Sunny Creek Organic Berry Farm from our TD berry-picking excursion – if you want to join this year’s excursion, email Rachel.
What was hanging around this year? My lovely housemates had buckets of oranges and lemons so I decided on a very traditional Christmas decoration/gift – pomanders of oranges, studded with cloves. I’m not sure where I first heard of these but it was as a child, and I’ve always been rather enchanted by the concept. They smell good, they look good, and they are
meant to ward off moths too, so you can hang them in your
cupboards after the holiday season – they last for years apparently, just sort of drying out and wafting their goodness around.
So, how to make pomanders? Here’s the recipe I used.
I did a couple of things slightly differently – I didn’t bother with the masking tape, just put the ribbon straight on, and
I rubbed oil directly on the oranges for extra pungency and preservation (I used orange blossom, cinnamon and sandalwood). Oh and one other thing I found, and it could be because my oranges were already… seasoned, shall we say… I often didn’t need any piercing implement,just pushed the cloves straight in.
Preserved lemons will be Part 2, if I’m not sick of the sight of citrus by then..
ta da!
Mender Bender!
Because a stitch in time saves nine.
A night of sock-darnin’, hole-mendin’, and patch-sewin’.
Go hard and get all your sewing fix-it jobs done at once!
Bring a plate to share. BYO gear but some materials, sewing machines, cuppas and amateur sewing advice provided.
At 6-10pm
Wednesday 9th March 2011
Loophole Community Centre
670 High St Thornbury
Permablitz #89 in conjunction with Transition Darebin and Permaculture Inner North
Short days, cool weather and a forecast for rain can’t keep keen blitzers indoors. Where there’s a yard to make over, they’re there in spades. Or is that shovels? That was just one of life’s more enduring questions to be debated on Saturday 29th May in Damian’s front yard as its gentle slope was engineered into swales to feed a future orchard. In between chai breaks and a hot vegie feast, an old bath tub was converted into a frog bog, surrounded by relocated rocks and plants, and a new ‘plucking garden’ laid out next to the back door.
There aren’t many social occasions where the guests are asked to bring a plate of rotting food. In this case the bounty of past-it produce went into the compost pile along with a healthy helping of manure, leaves, straw and grass. Paul the compost connoisseur demonstrated the Berkeley hot compost method, the result of which Damian will be able to spread on his new garden in a matter of weeks.
Pre-swales: Maximum run-off
Water catchment for yet-to-be planted fruit trees
You can also see the whole day unfold on YouTube.
Thanks to everyone who dug, mulched and weeded. See you at the next blitz!
If you are a Darebin resident who has a balcony, courtyard, back or front garden ready to be transformed into an edible oasis, simply lend a hand at 3 blitzes then get in touch with Transition Darebin! Find blitzes happening near you at www.permablitz.net.
Chutney Workshop #1
They came, they chopped, they chutneyed!
On Sunday 28th February a team of dedicated Transitioners converted a box of locally-grown tomatoes donated by Yellow Box Organics into bottles of tasty chutney to be served at the Darebin Kite Festival.
While we are not much closer to understanding the difference between a relish, a pickle and a chutney, we did learn to chutneyfy almost anything using our taste buds, a simple sweet-acid-salt-spice formula and a very easy bottling technique that can also be used for jams, fruit and other preserves.
Check out these pictures as the workshop unfolded…
Would you like to learn how to preserve, or perhaps have food skills to share? Contact Transition Darebin!
Eating Reservoir! Permablitz #82 in conjunction with Transition Darebin
Providing access to cheap, local, organic food? Check. Building local communities? Check. Getting some exercise outdoors? Check. Learning new skills? Check. Having a good time? Check. When you’re onto a good thing, run with it! Permablitz has been a hugely successful mechanism for bringing food production back to the burbs, and Transitioners have been working to get more blitzes happening in Darebin.
On Saturday 21st November more than 40 keen-as-mustard blitzers, fuelled by an unbelievable feast of traditional Greek food, transmogrified* Caro, Greg and Angelina’s little slice of Reservoir into a beautiful vegie patch with a rock wall terrace, a greywater mulch pit system to supply a future fruit orchard, and a multipurpose fire circle/sandpit/outdoor in-ground seating area.
During the day we learned how to make dolmades from Angela, string with cordyline leaves from Kat, and netting from Robynann. Caro also gave a tour of the Amazing Frog Bog (featuring a relocated frog that we rescued from the cordyline stump!), and the Transition Darebin team discussed our plans for 2010 and beyond with the locals.
But enough talk, check out these photos!
At the Pre-blitz design visit:
Site of the vegie-patch-to-be
Caro and Kat admiring the "room for improvement"!
Nearing the end of the blitz:
The brand new vegie patch
Improvements accomplished!
You can also see the whole day unfold on YouTube.
Thanks to everyone who shoveled, mulched and weeded. See you at the next blitz!
If you are a Darebin resident who has a balcony, courtyard, back or front garden ready to be transformed into an edible oasis, simply lend a hand at 3 blitzes then get in touch with Transition Darebin! Find blitzes happening near you at www.permablitz.net.
*Transmogrify: to transform, as if by magic!
23 November, 2009 at 11:55 am transitiondarebin Leave a comment
Transition Darebin 