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June 29: Peach Palm (Pejibayes)

2016/06/29 Danielle 0

The peach palm or pejibaye (Bactris gasipeas) is native to the lowland tropics of South and Central America. It was domesticated during the pre-Columbian era by the indigenous peoples of the Americas, and both the fruit and seeds have been used as food since then.   The texture of the fruit, raw or cooked, has been compared to a firm sweet potato, and the flavour is similar to squash, buttery potato, or roasted chestnut. Undamaged, raw fruits will keep well, gradually dehydrating, in a low humidity environment with good airflow. Bruised or damaged fruits, however, will ferment in only a […]

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June 28: tastes of the Blackwood

2016/06/28 Danielle 0

Last night we attended a Tastes of the Blackwood evening at Taste Budds cooking studio in Highgate, showcasing some of the produce of the Blackwood Ruver region in the South-West of WA. It was brilliant. Gorgeous food, talks from the producers, and a chance to ask questions both about their farms and farming practices and about their produce. The producers represented there were: The Cidery & Blackwood Valley Brewing Company, who brought along a soft cider (carbonated apple juice), a sweet cider, and a semi-dry cider, plus some bitters for us to try; Southern Forests Honey, who produce delicious varietal […]

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June 27: sourdough muffins

2016/06/27 Danielle 0

On Friday I made sourdough English muffins for breakfast. It’s such a brilliant recipe (and such a good use for excess sourdough starter) that I thought I’d share it here.   Step 1: Combine 1/2 – 1 cup starter, 2 cups plain flour, and 1 cup milk (or whey, or buttermilk) in a bowl. Leave in a warm place overnight.   Step 2: Add 1 Tbsp honey, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), and 3/4 tsp salt to the sourdough mixture. Knead until well combined and no longer super sticky – try to avoid adding more flour, but you […]

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June 26: belated weekend update

2016/06/27 Danielle 0

It was a busy weekend (although a good one!) so I’m a day late with this post. Saturday we attended the Less is More festival and I presented on keeping bees, then we had a mid-winter gathering at my mum’s place and caught up with friends and family there – and ate far too much delicious lamb tagine and roasted sweet potato. Sunday we headed out to the swan valley for breakfast at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory (which does a very nice breakfast), and then a day at the Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm.   So many animals. Including Damara lambs, […]

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June 25: Less is More 2016 (hosting a beehive)

2016/06/25 Danielle 0

Today I presented at the 2016 Less is More festival, on hosting a beehive in your back yard. Here are some of the points I covered, just in case you couldn’t make it to the talk, or need a little reminder of the content. 🙂   Why host a beehive? Well, it’s more a case of why wouldn’t you, really. It’s easy and safe, the bees will pollinate all your vegetables and your fruit trees, and produce honey as well. Plus, honeybees are under a lot of pressure from climate change, pollution, disease and the use of damaging pesticides such […]