Spring foliage on Merri Creek (mostly near CERES):
Street art in North Fiztroy:
On or near Napier St:
Fitzroy Gardens:
Arts Centre and Federation Square:
In and near the Royal Botanic Gardens:
Fawkner Park:
St Kilda Botanic Gardens:
9 December 2010
17KM WALK: THORNBURY TO ST KILDA
A few weeks ago we walked from our place to the St Kilda Botanic Gardens to meet J's sister. Our route took us down the Merri Creek, onto the North Fitzroy branch of the old Inner Circle Railway, through Edinburgh Gardens, down Napier St to Fitzroy Gardens, through Treasury Gardens, over the Yarra and into the Royal Botanic Gardens, down through Fawkner Park, along St Kilda Rd and Barkly St to St Kilda Botanic Gardens. It was really nice - we had brunch in Fitzroy North (Julio) and a thermos of tea overlooking the lakes in the Royal Botanic Gardens, the sun was shining but it wasn't too hot, and we saw lots of STUFF. Here are some photos of things we saw!
Spring foliage on Merri Creek (mostly near CERES):
Street art in North Fiztroy:
On or near Napier St:
Fitzroy Gardens:
Arts Centre and Federation Square:
In and near the Royal Botanic Gardens:
Fawkner Park:
St Kilda Botanic Gardens:
Spring foliage on Merri Creek (mostly near CERES):
Street art in North Fiztroy:
On or near Napier St:
Fitzroy Gardens:
Arts Centre and Federation Square:
In and near the Royal Botanic Gardens:
Fawkner Park:
St Kilda Botanic Gardens:
18 October 2010
FIGHTING WEED INVASION BY EATING ALLIUM TRIQUETRUM
Allium triquetrum. Angled onion, onion weed, three-cornered leek or garlic. You might notice it growing beside Melbourne creeks or popping up by the roadside – either by the garlicky smell, or by the distinctive clusters of white, bell-shaped flowers nodding in the breeze. It’s very pretty (looks a little like snowdrops), but it’s an extremely invasive weed (in Australia), and authorities are fighting a constant battle to contain and eradicate it.
And . . . it’s edible, so grabbing yourself some for the kitchen (if you do it correctly) means you’re doing the local environment a favour! The flavour of the leaves has been variously likened to garlic, onion, spring onion, leek and garlic chives. The bulbs are described as being slightly milder than most garlic. The flowers are also edible.
Today I decided to try it out for the first time. I thought others might be interested in this, too.
Identification:
This plant looks like a number of others, some of which are poisonous. If you’re unable to make a positive identification, don’t eat it.
Make sure that the flowers have stripes down the middle of the petals, NOT dots on the edges. Make sure the flowers are white, NOT tinged with pink. Make sure the leaves have the tell-tale ‘keel’ on one side and. Make sure that when you crush the leaves you get a garlicky/oniony scent.
Click here for a little video on identifying the weed and suggested recipes (from the UK).
Harvesting:
You will need: a plastic bag, a trowel, identification aide if you’re not sure, gloves if you want. Also a sense of adventure and righteousness, so that when people look at you strangely you can just smile at them and get on with your work.
In Australia, this is a weed. Make sure that the council hasn’t sprayed it with weedkiller before you touch it – and don’t eat it if you’re not sure (in Melbourne the weedkiller is often coloured blue-green or pink so you can see it, but rain could wash the colour off).
Find a patch (easy to identify by the flowers), and disentangle it from the surrounding vegetation until you can see around the base of the patch.
As it is a weed, it’s ideal that you take not only the leaves and flowers, but also the bulbs and roots. It is almost impossible to get the bulbs simply by pulling the stems of the plant - see following picture:
Your best bet is to loosen the earth around the base of the plant with a small trowel (you might find you have to dig right underneath it) before pulling it up. Grasp close to the roots and jiggle it gently if you need to.
Shake off excess dirt, but keep an eye out for any tiny bulbs that might try to escape. Put the lot (plus any other bulbs you can see stuck in the soil – remember, it’s a weed) into a plastic bag.
If you are mainly after the leaves (used like chives or spring onion), you probably don’t need a huge amount. I took three small patches, which was plenty in the leaf department. If, however, you’re also keen on the bulbs, you might need to harvest more.
Cleaning:
Again, Allium triquetrum is a weed, so it’s important that you don’t let any bits get away to infest new places. Keep a strong plastic bag handy for all offcuts and seal it well before throwing it out.
Pop everything into a big colander and rinse (into a sink with the plug in to catch runaway bits). You want to make sure that there’s no dirt, bugs or dog piss on that stuff! You might need to do it in batches. Here is how I cleaned and separated the various parts of the plant:
1. General rinse to remove most of the dirt, plucked off discoloured leaves and put into the plastic bag as I went along.
2. Pinched the bulbs off the end of the stalks, then rinsed the bulbs (and peeled them in some cases) in a fresh bowl of water before putting aside.
3. Pinched the flowers off the other end of the stalks, discarding any discoloured ones into the plastic bag. Rinsed the flowers under running water, shook off excess water, put aside.
4. Rinsed the leaves a second time to make sure there was no dirt left on them.
A word from the wise: this stuff smells. REALLY smells. I actually felt a little ill when I was cleaning it. My advice to you (which I will try to follow next time) is to crush the leaves as little as possible when harvesting and cleaning, and to make sure that the window by the sink is right open! My illness faded when the smell from next-door’s lunch wafted through the window, so perhaps the other option is to have something on the stove that matches well with the garlicky/oniony scent!
Cooking:
The leaves can be used fresh as you would garlic chives or spring onion (chop them into salads, use as garnish, pop into garlic butter), or you can cook them very lightly (toss through a stir fry just before serving, or stir into a soup just before plating). I had some angled onion freshly chopped onto a gorgeous sandwich made on fresh sourdough, with perfectly ripe avocado, a big squeeze of lemon, and a couple of coarse grinds of salt and pepper. The rest I chopped and put into little tubs to freeze – I will use them in soups, stews, and perhaps veggie patties later on (my guess is that they’ll be too slimy for salads after being frozen).
The bulbs are tiny at this time of year, but apparently grow bigger and may be harvested when the leaves die down in summer. I might see what I can find in a few months! As it is, I have half a tiny jar of tiny bulbs! I crunched on one and discovered that slightly milder garlic flavour, with a bit of acidity to boot. I decided to make a simple pickle with them: I popped them into a sterile glass jar with a couple of bay leaves (from my parents!) and a big teaspoon each of black peppercorns and brown mustard seeds, then covered it with white vinegar. I’ll keep it in the fridge for a week or so before trying them out.
Edit: A month later I tried the onions and realised that they also needed a bit of sugar in the pickling mix. I added it then, and a couple of weeks later they were tasting much better.
The flowers can be used as garnish, but might also be tossed through salads. This website suggests making tempura with them (it's is a great post, actually). When I was doing the prep I didn’t know if the flowers were OK to eat, so I shoved them all into a sterile glass jar and covered them with vinegar. If they don’t discolour completely, they might be mixed with the bulbs as a side/condiment or sandwich topping.
Edit: The flowers didn't discolour too much, but they are not as pretty as they were. I probably wouldn't bother with these again.
So that’s that! A real suburban foraging adventure - with the added bonus of doing a good deed for the Australian environment!
And as a disclaimer: everything we do (or don’t do) carries a degree of risk. It’s up to you to assess those risks for yourself. As I’ve said, if you’re not sure you’ve made a correct identification of Allium triquetrum, don’t eat it. If you think it’s been sprayed, don’t eat it. Make sure you clean it properly. Don’t eat a huge quantity on your first try in case it makes you ill. I am really, really not responsible if something goes wrong for you!
And . . . it’s edible, so grabbing yourself some for the kitchen (if you do it correctly) means you’re doing the local environment a favour! The flavour of the leaves has been variously likened to garlic, onion, spring onion, leek and garlic chives. The bulbs are described as being slightly milder than most garlic. The flowers are also edible.
Today I decided to try it out for the first time. I thought others might be interested in this, too.
Identification:
This plant looks like a number of others, some of which are poisonous. If you’re unable to make a positive identification, don’t eat it.
Make sure that the flowers have stripes down the middle of the petals, NOT dots on the edges. Make sure the flowers are white, NOT tinged with pink. Make sure the leaves have the tell-tale ‘keel’ on one side and. Make sure that when you crush the leaves you get a garlicky/oniony scent.
Click here for a little video on identifying the weed and suggested recipes (from the UK).
Harvesting:
You will need: a plastic bag, a trowel, identification aide if you’re not sure, gloves if you want. Also a sense of adventure and righteousness, so that when people look at you strangely you can just smile at them and get on with your work.
In Australia, this is a weed. Make sure that the council hasn’t sprayed it with weedkiller before you touch it – and don’t eat it if you’re not sure (in Melbourne the weedkiller is often coloured blue-green or pink so you can see it, but rain could wash the colour off).
Find a patch (easy to identify by the flowers), and disentangle it from the surrounding vegetation until you can see around the base of the patch.
As it is a weed, it’s ideal that you take not only the leaves and flowers, but also the bulbs and roots. It is almost impossible to get the bulbs simply by pulling the stems of the plant - see following picture:
Your best bet is to loosen the earth around the base of the plant with a small trowel (you might find you have to dig right underneath it) before pulling it up. Grasp close to the roots and jiggle it gently if you need to.
Shake off excess dirt, but keep an eye out for any tiny bulbs that might try to escape. Put the lot (plus any other bulbs you can see stuck in the soil – remember, it’s a weed) into a plastic bag.
If you are mainly after the leaves (used like chives or spring onion), you probably don’t need a huge amount. I took three small patches, which was plenty in the leaf department. If, however, you’re also keen on the bulbs, you might need to harvest more.
Cleaning:
Again, Allium triquetrum is a weed, so it’s important that you don’t let any bits get away to infest new places. Keep a strong plastic bag handy for all offcuts and seal it well before throwing it out.
Pop everything into a big colander and rinse (into a sink with the plug in to catch runaway bits). You want to make sure that there’s no dirt, bugs or dog piss on that stuff! You might need to do it in batches. Here is how I cleaned and separated the various parts of the plant:
1. General rinse to remove most of the dirt, plucked off discoloured leaves and put into the plastic bag as I went along.
2. Pinched the bulbs off the end of the stalks, then rinsed the bulbs (and peeled them in some cases) in a fresh bowl of water before putting aside.
3. Pinched the flowers off the other end of the stalks, discarding any discoloured ones into the plastic bag. Rinsed the flowers under running water, shook off excess water, put aside.
4. Rinsed the leaves a second time to make sure there was no dirt left on them.
A word from the wise: this stuff smells. REALLY smells. I actually felt a little ill when I was cleaning it. My advice to you (which I will try to follow next time) is to crush the leaves as little as possible when harvesting and cleaning, and to make sure that the window by the sink is right open! My illness faded when the smell from next-door’s lunch wafted through the window, so perhaps the other option is to have something on the stove that matches well with the garlicky/oniony scent!
Cooking:
The leaves can be used fresh as you would garlic chives or spring onion (chop them into salads, use as garnish, pop into garlic butter), or you can cook them very lightly (toss through a stir fry just before serving, or stir into a soup just before plating). I had some angled onion freshly chopped onto a gorgeous sandwich made on fresh sourdough, with perfectly ripe avocado, a big squeeze of lemon, and a couple of coarse grinds of salt and pepper. The rest I chopped and put into little tubs to freeze – I will use them in soups, stews, and perhaps veggie patties later on (my guess is that they’ll be too slimy for salads after being frozen).
The bulbs are tiny at this time of year, but apparently grow bigger and may be harvested when the leaves die down in summer. I might see what I can find in a few months! As it is, I have half a tiny jar of tiny bulbs! I crunched on one and discovered that slightly milder garlic flavour, with a bit of acidity to boot. I decided to make a simple pickle with them: I popped them into a sterile glass jar with a couple of bay leaves (from my parents!) and a big teaspoon each of black peppercorns and brown mustard seeds, then covered it with white vinegar. I’ll keep it in the fridge for a week or so before trying them out.
Edit: A month later I tried the onions and realised that they also needed a bit of sugar in the pickling mix. I added it then, and a couple of weeks later they were tasting much better.
The flowers can be used as garnish, but might also be tossed through salads. This website suggests making tempura with them (it's is a great post, actually). When I was doing the prep I didn’t know if the flowers were OK to eat, so I shoved them all into a sterile glass jar and covered them with vinegar. If they don’t discolour completely, they might be mixed with the bulbs as a side/condiment or sandwich topping.
Edit: The flowers didn't discolour too much, but they are not as pretty as they were. I probably wouldn't bother with these again.
So that’s that! A real suburban foraging adventure - with the added bonus of doing a good deed for the Australian environment!
And as a disclaimer: everything we do (or don’t do) carries a degree of risk. It’s up to you to assess those risks for yourself. As I’ve said, if you’re not sure you’ve made a correct identification of Allium triquetrum, don’t eat it. If you think it’s been sprayed, don’t eat it. Make sure you clean it properly. Don’t eat a huge quantity on your first try in case it makes you ill. I am really, really not responsible if something goes wrong for you!
2 October 2010
27 September 2010
WALKING OUT OF THE CITY: DAY FIVE
Tuesday 27 July 2010
Lilydale to Woori Yallock
26km / Approx 7 hours
Map
My photos
Dear Diary,
Today we walked out of the city.
This is the entry I jokingly suggested I should write after the fifth day of our walk, which took us from Lilydale station through outer suburbia and remnants of bushland, over a filled-in aqueduct, past the place my mum went to school as a kid, around the other side of Mt Dandenong, along great stretches of rail trail, through a tunnel of early-spring wattle blossoms, squeezed us down the valley at the foot of the Warramate Hills, and then spat us out into the fertile river flats and gently rolling vineyards of the Yarra Valley near Woori Yallock. After all of my philosophising about what 'the city' might mean or be, it seemed clear enough (as the honey light from the setting sun warmed our backs, and a gentle breeze wafted the fresh smells of damp earth and cow shit around us) that we were no longer in it.
Because it was going to be a long walk (the longest day on our walk out of the city), and because there was a lot of transport to coordinate (especially on the return journey), D, M and I took the train out to Lilydale early-ish in the morning. We started walking at about 10am after finding some coffee and pastries (including an ENORMOUS custard tart). The plan was to follow the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Trail most of the day, with one detour around a small section of the Mount Evelyn Aqueduct Walk, and to arrive in Woori Yallock before sunset!
D and J at the start of the rail trail at the end of Lilydale Station carpark
As we approached Mount Evelyn, Mount Dandenong was in full view - odd to see it from the 'side' rather than the 'front'!
Walking the rail trail was a very informative experience. Most (if not all) of the old stations exist as the outlines of platforms, grass overrunning them, with a large sign proclaiming the station name, and often a few picnic benches nearby. There are many information points along the way, too, telling you about the history of particular areas and buildings.
Mount Evelyn Station has a great display of historical information.
First Aid Post Reserve - they used to have first aid 'competitions' here!
One of the personally significant aspects of this walk for me was getting the chance to explore the area where my mum lived as a kid (after her family migrated from the Netherlands). I remember hearing stories about her childhood, and walking through the area gave me more of an appreciation of that family history. For one thing, since I grew up in the bush, I've always thought of Mount Evelyn as being suburban - and it is, but barely! It is on the very outskirts of town, backing onto farmland. I wonder if it felt more isolated in the 1950s and 1960s, or if there is a feeling of community there that is not possible to observe when you're just passing through.
Mount Evelyn Aqueduct Walk: the aqueduct has been filled in, but this is still a lovely tunnel of tranquillity!
Morning tea, just the other side of Mount Evelyn.
From here, the trail runs to Wandin North, hemmed in on both sides with rural acreages, scraps of bushland, and hillside paddocks.
At Wandin North we stopped for a small break and to use the toilets at the cafe. We would pass back through here on the bus later in the evening and decide that this might be a good spot to bring visitors for a nice walk - Wandin North to Woori Yallock is around 12km. Not only would it be an easy walk that takes in some of the most contrasting bits of the trail, you would also get to see the pigs outside the hardware store at WN and visit Carriage Cafe in Seville.
Despite the fact we had our lunch with us, we had to pop in to Carriage Cafe for a hot chocolate. It is exactly my sort of thing - seemingly randomly situated next to the rail trail, and obviously catering for trail users. There's even a place to tether your horse!
It was after Seville that we walked out of the valley and into the wide expanse of the Yarra River flats. The following few pictures give an idea of the contrast:
(Impressionist!)
We definitely felt as though we'd left the city, and a sign for the RURAL code of conduct proved us right! Apart from the obvious visuals, the scents and sounds seemed to provide the different atmosphere - grass and farm smells, the sounds of breezes across the valley and of cattle in the distance. We admired the vineyards, the Yarra Ranges in the background, the sunlight streaming past us, the horses crossing the long bridge, the creek burbling alongside us. . .
. . . and trudged onwards to Woori Yallock, to collapse in the bus shelter and wait to be taken back to Lilydale Station. Apparently, there had been chaos on Melbourne public transport that day, but we had missed it all. We felt a little smug about that!
Today we totally did walk out of the city!
Lilydale to Woori Yallock
26km / Approx 7 hours
Map
My photos
Dear Diary,
Today we walked out of the city.
This is the entry I jokingly suggested I should write after the fifth day of our walk, which took us from Lilydale station through outer suburbia and remnants of bushland, over a filled-in aqueduct, past the place my mum went to school as a kid, around the other side of Mt Dandenong, along great stretches of rail trail, through a tunnel of early-spring wattle blossoms, squeezed us down the valley at the foot of the Warramate Hills, and then spat us out into the fertile river flats and gently rolling vineyards of the Yarra Valley near Woori Yallock. After all of my philosophising about what 'the city' might mean or be, it seemed clear enough (as the honey light from the setting sun warmed our backs, and a gentle breeze wafted the fresh smells of damp earth and cow shit around us) that we were no longer in it.
Because it was going to be a long walk (the longest day on our walk out of the city), and because there was a lot of transport to coordinate (especially on the return journey), D, M and I took the train out to Lilydale early-ish in the morning. We started walking at about 10am after finding some coffee and pastries (including an ENORMOUS custard tart). The plan was to follow the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Trail most of the day, with one detour around a small section of the Mount Evelyn Aqueduct Walk, and to arrive in Woori Yallock before sunset!
D and J at the start of the rail trail at the end of Lilydale Station carpark
As we approached Mount Evelyn, Mount Dandenong was in full view - odd to see it from the 'side' rather than the 'front'!
Walking the rail trail was a very informative experience. Most (if not all) of the old stations exist as the outlines of platforms, grass overrunning them, with a large sign proclaiming the station name, and often a few picnic benches nearby. There are many information points along the way, too, telling you about the history of particular areas and buildings.
Mount Evelyn Station has a great display of historical information.
First Aid Post Reserve - they used to have first aid 'competitions' here!
One of the personally significant aspects of this walk for me was getting the chance to explore the area where my mum lived as a kid (after her family migrated from the Netherlands). I remember hearing stories about her childhood, and walking through the area gave me more of an appreciation of that family history. For one thing, since I grew up in the bush, I've always thought of Mount Evelyn as being suburban - and it is, but barely! It is on the very outskirts of town, backing onto farmland. I wonder if it felt more isolated in the 1950s and 1960s, or if there is a feeling of community there that is not possible to observe when you're just passing through.
Mount Evelyn Aqueduct Walk: the aqueduct has been filled in, but this is still a lovely tunnel of tranquillity!
Morning tea, just the other side of Mount Evelyn.
From here, the trail runs to Wandin North, hemmed in on both sides with rural acreages, scraps of bushland, and hillside paddocks.
At Wandin North we stopped for a small break and to use the toilets at the cafe. We would pass back through here on the bus later in the evening and decide that this might be a good spot to bring visitors for a nice walk - Wandin North to Woori Yallock is around 12km. Not only would it be an easy walk that takes in some of the most contrasting bits of the trail, you would also get to see the pigs outside the hardware store at WN and visit Carriage Cafe in Seville.
Despite the fact we had our lunch with us, we had to pop in to Carriage Cafe for a hot chocolate. It is exactly my sort of thing - seemingly randomly situated next to the rail trail, and obviously catering for trail users. There's even a place to tether your horse!
It was after Seville that we walked out of the valley and into the wide expanse of the Yarra River flats. The following few pictures give an idea of the contrast:
(Impressionist!)
We definitely felt as though we'd left the city, and a sign for the RURAL code of conduct proved us right! Apart from the obvious visuals, the scents and sounds seemed to provide the different atmosphere - grass and farm smells, the sounds of breezes across the valley and of cattle in the distance. We admired the vineyards, the Yarra Ranges in the background, the sunlight streaming past us, the horses crossing the long bridge, the creek burbling alongside us. . .
. . . and trudged onwards to Woori Yallock, to collapse in the bus shelter and wait to be taken back to Lilydale Station. Apparently, there had been chaos on Melbourne public transport that day, but we had missed it all. We felt a little smug about that!
Today we totally did walk out of the city!
20 September 2010
VIDEOS TO WATCH
There are several videos to watch on Victoria Walks. Here's one that gives a very simple (simplistic?) view on something close to my heart (or, rather, far from my heart): urban sprawl.
When I have time, I will check out this 'New Urbanism' business a bit more.
When I have time, I will check out this 'New Urbanism' business a bit more.
2 September 2010
FAME! AN UPDATE!
my photo of a sea kayaker in a big sea is now up as part of a matador trips photo essay, collated by hal amen.
i feel i should warn you that the first image in that essay is of people climbing uluru. yes, he says under the photo "despite pleas from local indigenous groups", but the article he links to is of the "they're gonna stop us climbing the roooock!" persuaion (though most of the comments are ok). i have left a comment detailing why it is NOT OK, SO JUST DON'T DO IT, so i hope that people take note.
in other news, does australia have a government yet?
i feel i should warn you that the first image in that essay is of people climbing uluru. yes, he says under the photo "despite pleas from local indigenous groups", but the article he links to is of the "they're gonna stop us climbing the roooock!" persuaion (though most of the comments are ok). i have left a comment detailing why it is NOT OK, SO JUST DON'T DO IT, so i hope that people take note.
in other news, does australia have a government yet?
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