Ballarat Lakeside Farmer's Market

It's an amazing time of year for fresh produce, and while winter may seem devoid of seasonal delights on the surface - dig a little deeper, there's plenty to discover.

I'd highly recomend a trip to your local farmer's market this weekend for the freshest and best winter produce. In season at the moment - turnips, swedes, red and green kohlrabi, celeriac and beetroot, and you might be lucky enough to find lovely fresh Jerusalem artichokes.

Also brilliant at this time of year are leafy asian greens, brussel sprouts, cabbages, cauliflowers, spinach, silver beet and spring onions.

I'm also trying my first batches of olives this year - so keep an eye out for a ripening tree to plunder or boxes at your local markets.

If you're in the Ballarat region - The Lakeside Farmer's Markets kicks off at 9am till 1pm - opposite the Botanic Gardens by Lake Wendouree. Take some time to chat with the stall holders - they're a friendly bunch and will give you all of the tips and hints you need to make the most of fantastic local produce.

I've always wanted to grow my own mushrooms.

Recently I discovered my local 'mushroom man' selling 'Grow Your Own Mushroom Kits' at my local farmers markets. Perfect. $15 for the box, potential yield of 2 to 6 kgs per box. . .with mushrooms around the $10 a kg mark, makes economic sense, and I love the idea of cutting down on my food miles by growing something so close to home.

Slight catch - we're in the midst of a chilly winter in Ballarat and there's no way my house is the recommended 20 degrees Celsius required for happy mushroom farming.
Leaving the heating on all day to warm a box of mushrooms. . .environmentally dubious?

But there's one place that's warm day and night - the perfect climate for my fungi experiment - and that's work.



So for the last couple of weeks I've had an unobtrusive little blue box hidden under my desk. When I discovered the radio studios were at least 5 degrees warmer - the mushroom's accommodation got upgraded. They're now happily soaking up everything from hit music to football broadcasts while enjoying the warm, dark atmosphere.

And it looks like my nursing may be paying off. . .the entire surface of the peat is now almost entirely covered by tiny white bubble like growths. . .my babies.


So until my boss
finds out about
my little experiment,
I'm anticipating
a bumper harvest.

And while my work mates
might be a little
freaked out,
I'm sure they'll love
the finished product.

So far so good.
The boss is paying the
power bills and the
mushrooms are happy.

Now I need to find my favourite
recipes and prepare for the harvest.

Winter Mushroom Hunt in Ballarat. . .

Less than 3kms from the heart of Ballarat lies
Black Hill, ravaged and gouged by frantic
mining during the Goldrush, now a haven of sorts including for black cockatoos who flock to Black Hill's pine trees in their dozens.

And while the evidence of a cockatoo's feast is often scattered at the base of the pine trees - I recently discovered what I call 'pine mushrooms' and my sister (the field biologist) calls 'Saffron Milk Caps' or 'lactarius deliciosus' growing happily beneath the Black Hill pines.

Last winter we had several successful mushroom picking trips in the Creswick and Wombat Forest area - but to find tender, fresh saffron milk caps so close to home, right in the heart of Ballarat is quite a thrill.

Food miles? A few hundred meters to my kitchen.

Science wise - if you're thinking of heading out into one of regional Victoria's pine forests to hunt for Saffron Milk Caps, I highly recommend you spend some time researching online first or find someone familiar with this particular mushroom to guide your first journey. There are many highly toxic fungi flourishing as well - be careful.

I'm lucky to have had the guidance of my biologist sister - who has also attended a Fungi Ecology Workshop with world renowned Ecologist and environmental photographer Alison Pouliot (www.alisonpouliot.com), who returns to the Goldfields most years to run workshops. Highly recommend such a workshop so you can be confident you're collecting the right ingredients, the tasty safe ones, not the toxic troublesome ones. Saffron Milk Caps naturally acquire a coppery green tinge as they ripen.Look for small to medium size vibrant orange caps, which are often hidden under pine needles.

Even a small haul of these delicious mushrooms will be enough to whip up a worthy dish with. They are somehow crunchy yet tender when cooked gently - simple recipes work best for me.

BRAISED SAFFRON MILK CAPS
for TOAST, PASTA or RISOTTO

Multiply this recipe according to the size of your mushroom haul. This portion serves two.
For the vegan version of this recipe use olive oil not butter, substitue pancetta for capers and hold off on the cream at the end.

2oo grams of saffron milk caps
1 large shallot and or 1 small onion
1 spring onion
1 tablespoon of good extra virgin olive oil
2 gloves garlic or one teaspoon crushed
3 large slices (approx 30 grams) of Istra pancetta
Fresh herbs - thyme, sage and parsely (or a combination of all three).
Butter for frying
1/3 cup dry white wine or 1/4 cup of dry sherry
1/2 cup of boiling water (if needed)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional, consider the food miles).
2 tablespoons cream, sour cream or marscapone.


Brush your mushrooms clean, being extra careful to remove any hiding insects.
Discard any displaying too much bruised green flesh.

Heat oil in a heavy based fry pan and caramelize shallots, onions and spring onions.
Add a couple of tablespoons of water each time pan starts to stick to help the browning process.

When these ingredients are a deep golden colour finely chop garlic and add to the pan. Fry until golden.

Add finely diced pancetta, fry until the fat begins to render out.

Set this mixture aside.

Finely slice saffron milk caps and brown in butter in a hot pan. Fry in batches if needed for easy browning. Don't over cook them at this step.

Add onion and pancetta mixture back into the pan. Add white wine or dry sherry.
Add finely chopped herbs and toasted pine nuts (if you've decided to opt for the extra food miles - I wish I could find Australian grown pine nuts!).

Add a good grind of black pepper and salt to taste. Simmer for a few minutes until sauce reduces slightly.

If you prefer your mushrooms well cooked, add some boiling water and reduce.


Just before serving stir in 2 tablespoons or cream, sour cream or marscapone.

Serve as a bruscetta on your choice of bread. Local sour dough from Basilio in Ballarat was perfect.

Alternatively serve over pasta. I have also used these ingredients as the basis for a risotto - add any other winter vegetables you have on hand that will complement the subtle pine flavourings of the Saffron Milk Caps.

Face The Carbon Tax, Fight The Credit Crunch in the Kitchen

There's nothing quite like the feeling of acquiring a new piece for my kitchen, rescuing another much loved kitchen favourite and putting it to use in the pursuit of all manner of edible delights.

The other day (as the implications of an impending Carbon Tax were being bandied about) and in the same news flash proof that we are 'hooked on credit' - to the tune of some $50 billion dollars - it struck me that so much of what we as a nation buy is beyond our budget and once the initial thrill of the purchase has dimmed, we're that little more in debt for what? And at the same time as we're filling our nests with shiny trinkets we're adding to our emissions woes.

For me that urge to collect, to purchase, to rescue and to revive beautiful things is still too strong to ignore altogether, so for many years now I have indulged only in buying second hand treasures for the kitchen. The more likely to be trapped in the bottom of a box for a decade or two at the Op Shop an item - the more satisfying the rescue. All with that extra thought of a local charity reaping the benefits from my spree - and not a credit card purchase in sight, and a carbon footprint a fraction that of buying new.

So to inspire others to seek out the pre loved, the sturdy work horses from the kitchens of yesteryear. . .here's some of my recent rescues (and a few old favourites).




Left: Last Sunday Suzy the wall scales came home with me, hidden in the bottom of a box bought at an auction in Ballarat.

Suzy is a Domestic Scale - made in Waihi, New Zealand. Suzy's measuring bowl flips up for easy storage and now I'll be able to bake all of my Grandma's old recipes without having to convert back from pounds and ounces. Nice work Suzy.

The scales came in an assorted box, I was bidding for the set of canary yellow canisters (intended wedding present for my younger sister) and Suzy and box full of other unknown items were just extra's in the mix.



Below: Nuptial canary yellow canisters. Price - way cheaper than a new set of canisters with no where near the appeal of these vintage beauties.

Hanging on wall to the right of an inherited handmade wire rack - Le Crueset red enameled cast iron fry pan - Made In France. Discovered in the bottom of a huge box full of sticky, off colour Tupaware on a crowded bottom shelf at the very back of an Op Shop in Wendouree, Ballarat. Price - $2. Beat that ebay!








Above: Along with Suzy the cheery yellow wall scales, a trio of well worn rolling pins, practically oozing baking skills I am yet to acquire.

That night I bake a pie, putting one of the new / old pins into action - perhaps for the first time in years - convinced I can feel it's parched wood respond to the moisture of the pastry. But the pastry on the pie was average - so I'll hold off on the theory I should be able to channel pasty nouse with the right looking vintage pin.

Also above: Sunbeam Mix Master - haggled over several years ago at Coburg Trash & Treasure Market. Price: $65. . .one of my most loved kitchen appliances.

Old Willow tins in background - inherited from my Grandmother Anita Wachtel - another set of 4 matching ones on Ebay - less than $30 and coming via post from Bendigo.