tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post6501114789562750188..comments2024-03-18T16:49:08.253+11:00Comments on All the Blue Day: Foraging, or How to Not Shop for FoodJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17803297366197086152noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-89290292247205529902017-06-20T22:15:54.157+10:002017-06-20T22:15:54.157+10:00Hi Jo,
Have you heard of the Grow Free movement? ...Hi Jo, <br />Have you heard of the Grow Free movement? You can find them on facebook or here is a news article you might enjoy if you don't know about it http://www.murrayvalleystandard.com.au/story/4732394/community-produce/?cs=1527<br />Alisonhttp://www.alisonjoy.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-32365611803060323502017-05-21T12:39:41.612+10:002017-05-21T12:39:41.612+10:00Hazel, shlerry now on my list of things to do with...Hazel, shlerry now on my list of things to do with sloes. Thank you! If you look at the Fernglade Farm blog on my sidebar, Chris has a photo of many medlars 'bletting' on the kitchen bench. I have never eaten a medlar, but I saw some on a tree recently.. good luck in your quest. I am sure someone has a tree somewhere and don't want to eat the medlars.<br /><br />Judy, that is a brilliant tip re apple picking. I will keep that in mind for next apple season..Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803297366197086152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-52902013487279997892017-05-21T05:39:12.352+10:002017-05-21T05:39:12.352+10:00That is so great Jo. All that wonderful local prod...That is so great Jo. All that wonderful local produce for free :-)<br /><br />A tip for the apple picking - cut a round apple sized hole in the side of a 2 litre plastic bottle (like a fizzy drink bottle, or I used an oil bottle which was a bit tougher). Cut a small notch at the bottom of the hole. Then take the lid off, turn it upside down and tape it on to a broom handle or stick. You now have an apple picker to reach the high up ones without a ladder! Scoop the apples in to the hole and gently pull down.Judyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00371314706811756465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-58699954249439070832017-05-14T16:06:17.315+10:002017-05-14T16:06:17.315+10:00Yay to free food! I also never say no and end up w...Yay to free food! I also never say no and end up with all sorts of odd things but we eat them all :) <br /><br />Lots of sloes here in the UK but sadly no Feijoa. I'm looking for a medlar tree at the moment as I had one in my old house and I miss it. Most British people have never heard of medlars let alone tried them but I like them. I also like the idea of eating such an antique fruit- they were popular in medieval and Tudor times here.<br /><br />I made Slider a few years ago (with fairly potent homemade cider) and it was ok. Still got a lot left though. Schlerry was better (infuse gin-soaked sloes in sherry). My favourite use for the soaked sloes though is to stone (tedious) and chop them and mix them into melted dark chocolate... sloe gin truffles! Put them in petit four cases and give as gifts (with a bottle of sloe gin if you're feeling generous).Hazelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08182220137496594129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-85639185343850112912017-05-11T18:21:45.544+10:002017-05-11T18:21:45.544+10:00GJ, oh, my goodness, aren't we all learning ne...GJ, oh, my goodness, aren't we all learning new things this week :) xxJohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803297366197086152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-43816214421182377872017-05-11T16:26:46.740+10:002017-05-11T16:26:46.740+10:00I was just now reading Heather's comment and w...I was just now reading Heather's comment and when she mentioned the beautiful flowers, it began to dawn on me that I had heard that name feijoa somewhere - !GretchenJoannahttp://www.gretchenjoanna.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-15242226369538451262017-05-10T20:33:29.195+10:002017-05-10T20:33:29.195+10:00Gretchen Joanna, ha, I had to google pineapple gua...Gretchen Joanna, ha, I had to google pineapple guava, and now I know it is another name for feijoa! I hope you get lots!<br /><br />Heather, that is absolutely hilarious! Do you know them as pineapple guavas as well? I do love the flowers - here in Oz they come out at Christmas time, and they are the perfect red and green Christmas posy.<br /><br />Feijoas are inedible when picked. Wait for them to drop, then store them on the kitchen bench for another week, until they are slightly soft when you press their skins. Then you can either cut them in half and scoop them out with a teaspoon (well recommended by me) or peel, slice and dry them (also good). How wonderful for you to have 'new' food trees in your yard!<br /><br />And I like your thoughts about the plants that you nurture nurturing you specially - I always talk to my plants and thank them for their hard work (before I rip them out and eat them...)<br /><br />Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803297366197086152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-31156361972237025142017-05-10T17:27:07.325+10:002017-05-10T17:27:07.325+10:00Hi Jo-
You'll love this: I was intrigued by yo...Hi Jo-<br />You'll love this: I was intrigued by your and Chris's exchange about feijoas, so I Googled them, only to find, to my great surprise, that I already have two feijoa bushes growing in my yard! Of course I had noticed the showy blossoms and had tried the fruit, but it seemed inedible, so I had assumed the bushes were meant to be ornamental only. I have concluded that I must have been tasting them before they were ripe, and I also failed to peel them. Bleah. But this fall, I'll let them ripen completely and have another try. I'll have to contrive a way to catch them before they disappear into the scratchy undergrowth. Maybe a sheet spread on the bushes underneath, if I can get it together enough to time it right... But hopefully I will have dried feijoa in my oatmeal next winter too!<br /><br />I completely agree that actually picking, cooking and eating the harvest of the garden is a lot harder than growing it. But I have a palpable sense of letting the garden, this particular place, nurture me when I eat food it has offered up to me- it's hard to describe but very special, and worth the work. It may sound kooky, but at the risk of anthropomorphizing, I think the plants appreciate being valued and useful, in the same way I do. And I agree, it's a much more fun way to eat. <br />--Heather in CAheatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11213175269124591734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-46852715552655584282017-05-10T11:01:13.479+10:002017-05-10T11:01:13.479+10:00That does sound like fun! I immediately thought, O...That does sound like fun! I immediately thought, Oh, if Jo lived close, if my pineapple guava makes fruit from all its blossoms... <br /><br />It is a joy to have a friend who likes to take one's overflow, so I know you make your friends and neighbors happy when you fill your larder this way.GretchenJoannahttp://www.gretchenjoanna.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-56088674919140358222017-05-09T13:20:56.257+10:002017-05-09T13:20:56.257+10:00Chris, you have to peel the feijoas, otherwise the...Chris, you have to peel the feijoas, otherwise they are too bitter, and I slice then quarter them for putting into the muesli. They give an enormous pop of flavour. Not sweet so much as.. surprising. In a good way. You either like them or you don't. We like them :)<br /><br />Ooh, I have never bletted a medlar. Would love to know how that experiment turns out. Rosy and I bought a sweet persimmon to try the other day. We liked it a lot, so I am plotting where I might plant a persimmon tree..Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803297366197086152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-54833945449821933472017-05-08T21:50:30.250+10:002017-05-08T21:50:30.250+10:00Hi Jo,
What an outstanding harvest. Top work and ...Hi Jo,<br /><br />What an outstanding harvest. Top work and very well done. I'm very impressed with your haul.<br /><br />Are the dried feijoas sweet tasting? A week or two back I scored a huge load of freebie medlars which are slowly bletting not too far from where I sit and will probably turn them into medlar wine which is very tasty.<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />ChrisFernglade Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06950962122594709186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-18984661902851228462017-05-08T10:16:51.718+10:002017-05-08T10:16:51.718+10:00Lucinda, you won't find sloes in Sydney, but i...Lucinda, you won't find sloes in Sydney, but if you come and visit in a year's time I will share my sloe gin with you:) Such a pity I couldn't forage any gin off the side of the road..<br /><br />Yes, I throw the green tomatoes in the salsa. I had about half and half red and green, and the salsa still turned out red.<br /><br />Linda, aren't feijoas a pop of flavour? I was introduced to them by a kiwi friend, and always keep my eyes out for their beautiful red flowers at Christmas time so I know where the feijoas will be lurking in autumn :) I wish I was more systematic in the garden, but it is extraordinary what grows with the little attention my vegies receive from me. I find that weeding until the vegies are bigger than the weeds works well. After that the weeds can do their best but they won't win :)Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803297366197086152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-35518282917444663802017-05-08T06:44:25.985+10:002017-05-08T06:44:25.985+10:00Love reading posts like this! I always love the id...Love reading posts like this! I always love the idea of a veggie garden and have planted a few things a few times but always seem to busy to be systematic. Never heard of fejoas until we had our house in NZ and I loved them! Often gifted to us which was even better. Your potato crop is amazing.Lindahttp://linda-koshka2quilts.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838234360213313454.post-69067887114236197322017-05-08T06:23:41.783+10:002017-05-08T06:23:41.783+10:00Wow! Wow to all that food. Wow to your resourceful...Wow! Wow to all that food. Wow to your resourcefulness. Wow to finding such jems on the roadside. <br /><br />I'd love to try your sloe gin (although I'm not a gin drinker) and your dried apples. I read about picking wild sloe and making sloe gin on The Frugal Queen blog years ago - had never heard of sloe before then. <br /><br />Do you make salsa with green tomatoes? Do you know they were $16 a kilo here last month. No tomatoes here that week. <br /><br />Happy late autumn foraging, Jo. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com