Tag Archives: Food & Drink

Almond Biscotti from Margaret at Glenella Guesthouse   This morning a container of what’s turned out to be the most delicious almond biscotti I’ve ever tasted appeared on my doorstep – a trade for a bag of jerusalem artichokes and a raspberry plant. Thank you so much Margaret from Glenella Guesthouse.   Freshly harvested Jerusalem Artichokes   Suddenly jerusalem artichokes …

  There’s nothing like a warming cuppa when the wind howls and snow threatens. Even better is filling the house with the fragrance of a summer garden. With frost forecast for Monday, I braved the elements in my backyard and harvested large bunches of lemon verbena, lemon balm, mint, sage, and my remaining fennel seeds to ensure I had enough …

This autumn has been such a great season for foraging in Blackheath. We harvested our first saffron milk cap and slippery jack mushrooms on February 26 and have still been finding more this week … that’s over 2 months.     At Blackheath Community Farm, perhaps because we’ve put down so much woodchip for our paths, we’ve had a wider …

  Each year at Blackheath Community Farm we find ourselves experimenting with new plants that we just can’t wait to grow again! This season, we’ve been particularly delighted by Barry’s Crazy Cherry tomatoes (plants donated to the Farm by Hillier Windsor), a Mini White Cucumber (seeds donated by Eva and Bill Johnstone), a Chilli plant donated by Hayley and Ben …

Practising social distancing before stricter rules came into place It’s been just over three years since a group of locals, supported by The Big Fix, began work on a neglected piece of land generously made available to the community by Mountains Christian College. The dream was to create a small demonstration Farm for Blackheath village.

Rowe teaching in Kabul, Afghanistan After its development in Tasmania in 1978, Permaculture has become one of Australia’s most successful exports. Practitioners are now certified in more than 140 countries and Katoomba resident, Rosemary Morrow, co-founder of the Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute, has been one of the pioneers responsible for this global uptake.   This week young people (aged 16+) …

My name is Tom Delaney and I am 14 years old. I love to play music and sport and am always on the lookout for new opportunities to enrich my future and life as a young person in the community. I have recently started the Duke of Edinburgh Award which has led me to take part in some excellent community …

Tall, crowding stalks and sharp, protruding teeth. A flash of a sour green and then … snap! When thinking of carnivorous plants, fantasy-like images of large, sinister, Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne-esque plants spring to mind. However, in reality, they are no larger than 30cm. And now, over 10,000 of these plants can be seen …

Once upon a time (or so the story goes …) Australians collected water in water tanks; grew their own food; sat on their front verandahs waving at passers-by; connected regularly in their neighbourhoods to share skills, resources and produce; got what they couldn’t grow at their corner store; and told themselves that they and their mates were strong and resilient. Then, …