My Blog gets Media Coverage!

Some time ago I penned out a short humorous piece on my hunter-gather experiences when I was living in Canberra. Many months later after i'd moved from Canberra to do my fieldwork in Central Australia I saw that my university student newspaper was seeking submissions for their monthly magazine. So it sent it to them:


Diary of an urban hunter-gatherer cyclist | Woroni

Within days of it being published on the magazine website I got a call from a journalist from the Canberra Times wanting to write a similar piece and wanting to interview me as an 'expert'. This was all quite surreal, particularly since Canberra felt like a world away. While I was being interviewed I pointed out that much of the information they were after could be found on this blog. 
Anyway this is the article that appeared in the weekend edition of the Canberra Times:


Gatherers Hunt Free Tucker Ripe For the Picking

Note some of my apparent quotes I never said at all (like the thing about Kangaroo grass), but I guess there is always going to be some journalistic licence. 

Growing Sprouts

Sprouts are incredibly nutritious, delicious and very cheap to grow. They are also perfect for growing in small places, like my little desert caravan.

There are many different kinds of sprouts you can grow and special sprouting kits, bottles, trays and seeds that can be purchased. I don't have access to that kind of thing though, so wanted do grow sprouts with things you can get from a regular supermarket.

Supermarket things you can sprout:

- Dried Lentils I discovered only the green and french black ones work. Red ones are split so won't germinate.

- Quinoa

- Broccoli Seeds. From the gardening section of the supermarket. Not that cheap though.

- Mustard Seeds. From the spice section

- Dried Beans

- Pearl Barley. From the soup mix section. Where you also find dried beans and lentils.

- Cress. Also from the gardening section

I tried several kinds of lentils, quinoa, broccoli, mustard and cress with 3 different methods of sprouting.

Method 1: Jar Method

This is the best method for quinoa and lentils. I tried this method with mustard but found it too gluggy to drain, and method 3 was far better for them.

1. Put seeds/grains in a jar of water for 12 hours out direct sun. Attach a cheesecloth cover or a piece of dishcloth to the top of the jar lid with a rubberband.

2. Drain water from the jars using the cover to catch the spouts inside. From now on sprouts won't be sitting in water you merely rince them 2-3 times a day.

3. Once the seeds have a sprout about 1.5 the len

gth of the original seed put on a window sill so that some green can develop (this is optional).

4. Eat sprouts once they are about twice the length of the seed. Quinoa and lentil sprouts can be eaten fresh in salads or even stir-fryed.

Method 2: Wet Paper Towel on a Plate

This method works for seeds that grow vertically such as cress. It would probably also work for mustard or alfalfa.

1. On a large dinner plate or tray lay 2 layers of paper towel. Wet surface with either a splay bottle or by flicking drops of water with your finger.

2. Put a layer of seeds on the paper towel.

3. Moisten towel 2-3 times a day. Keep in a location with a little diffuse light. This will ensure the sprouts become green.

4. Harvest sprouts when they are a few cm tall.

Method 3: Soil in a Chinese Food Container

While this method takes slightly longer to set up in the beginning, it requires the least amount of maintenance as your sprouts will only need to be watered once a day. This works great for broccoli, mustard or cress.

1. Poke a few holes in the bottom of rectangular chinese food contains. This is important for allowing water drainage. Fill with potting mix. Sprinkle a thick layer of seeds and cover with a thin layer of potting mix (seeds should only be a few mm deep in soil). Water.

2. Water daily.

3. Sprouts can be harvested at anytime. Whist nutritionally sprouts such as broccoli are greater when they are smaller, i found broccoli 'seedlings' up to about 5cm were delicious. A great alternative or additive to lettuce in a salad!

A Purist's Shopping List

It has been a bit of an obsession lately of mine to get my shopping list down to only the essentials (plus any gathered foods I find) from which I then make everything I can from scratch. It is fun, satisfying, healthier and cheaper (and because of that if you wanted it probably would be affordable to opt for organic versions of everything).

It might take a little bit more time, but often most of the time making basics is spent rising, setting etc. Thus it takes longer to have the finished product, but while you wait you can do other things. So it is just a matter of planing and setting a routine whereby you make things to set overnight every few day etc.

So here is my current shopping list (many of these things last for ages or can be bought in bulk, thus this doesn't represent a weekly shopping list, just what you would have to buy to set yourself up to start this particular lifestyle):

- fresh fruit, veggies and meat (bought from a local market if possible)
- a variety of dried beans and lentils
- eggs
- butter
- oats
- milk
- milk powder (for yoghurt making...but not essential)
- brown sugar
- caster sugar
- bakers flour
- plain flour
- baking powder
- herbs and spices (including salt and pepper)
- vinegar
- red wine
- dried yeast
- nuts and dried fruit

From this list you can make pasta, bread, croissants, cakes, muffins, yoghurt, jams, preserves, ricotta, musesli... the list goes on.

Acorns: Canberra's Street Food

The story behind this particular exotic, gathered ingredient is that I was riding my bike to civic on the weekend and came upon a tree with a lot of seed pods underneath it.

I did guess they were acorns, as they look exactly like the acorns from children's books especially when they still have their little hats! I broke one or two open and inside was a lovely beige coloured nut with a texture a little like macadamia. They didn't taste all that good though, but I did have a hunch there may be some way of processing them to be edible (if squirrels can eat them, why not humans!). Thus I took a bike pannier full home to investigate further...

It turns out they were in fact acorns and that they are actually edible with a bit of processing. Without processing the tannins in them are poisonous in large enough quantities, so be careful. They are however, a staple in Native American cuisine. Acorns come from oak trees, and apparently every kind of acorn is edible.

From initial investigations there are two kinds of acorn bearing oaks in Canberra. They are of course all introduced trees! The red oak Quercus borealis is probably the most common andhas acorns that are up to about 5cm long (see above). They have a lovely leaf which has kind of a lobe shape. I've seen these trees everywhere in Inner North, they are probably the most common oak in Canberra. Wattle St in Lynham has many good examples and they are pretty hard to miss with such large acorns scattered all around them and onto the roads.

The other species in Canberra is the Pin Oak Quercus palustis. This tree has much spikier leaves and much much smaller acorns. They are still edible however, and as they potentially have less tannins they may taste nicer. They are extremely fiddly though, so for the effort vs amount of nutmeat, I personally would say that red oak acorns are the way to go. If you interested though, an example of Pin Oaks can been seen on Hawdon St, Dickson.

Processing Acorns

It is necessary to process acorns to removed the tannins (a substance actually used to tan leather) to make them edible. This is a bit of a time-consuming exercise, so if there is any chance you may really like acorns for cooking, it is probably best to do a largish batch in one go. It would be possible to do the entire process and even cook something with them in one day, but in general it is easy to break it up into different steps that can be done in the evening while you do other things.

1. Kill any bugs in the acorns. It is necessary to do this straight after gathering. In the US there is a particular moth that lays it's eggs in acorns. It may also be in Australia, i'm not sure, so just in case do this step!

Lay all our acorns on a tray and heat in the over for 30mins at 120 degrees C.

2. Shell the acorns. You may have some kind of fancy device to do this that you use for other kind of nuts. I don't, so i just do it by hand with the help of a mortar and pestle. The shell is quite thin in comparison to most other nuts we are used to so it isn't as difficult as you may imagine...just time consuming.

3. Leach out the tannins. Boil acorns in water for 5-10 mins. Drain off the brown water and repeat 5 -6 times or whatever is needed to no longer have brown bitter water.

4. Dehydrate the acorns (do this straight after leaching or they will go mouldy). Put them in a low oven until they are completely dry, or in front of a heater.

And that is it. Your acorns are now edible. You can grind them to a flour or meal to use in cakes/bread etc, eat them on their own or even make veggie burgers from them. They make an interesting substitute for corn or almond meal, and it's gluten free! Stay tuned for some recipes....

Note: An alternative method is to grind the acorns before leaching. This is more in keeping with the Native American method. You can then put the powdered acorns in cloth and then in a bowl of cold water. This water needs to be changed regularly until the flour tastes sweet instead of bitter. This is a much slower process however, although is more energy efficient.

Another Note: Again i take no responsibility if you manage to kill yourself eating something i've suggested!

A Guide to Gathering Wild Blackberries

Blackberries are considered a menace on the Australian landscape. There is no denying however that they taste pretty damn good. There is perhaps some crazy logic in the idea that if you buy these berries you are supporting blackberry farms, thus creating opportunities for them to go wild and take over more bushland. On the other hand if you gather berries from these out of control bushes, you are doing a small part in removing seeds which could potentially become more plants!

Ok, that all sounds a little crazy, I don't think you really need a justification for berry picking. It is quite an addictive pursuit (as my friends and housemates can now attest), somewhat meditative and despite the certain amount of pain involved in a serious stint of berry picking, it is amazingly satisfying (probably because at the end of it you get to eat berries!).

Currently it is blackberry season in the ACT, NSW and VIC. It seems to fall around February and March although it will probably depend on the local climate. So here are some tips i've picked up for successful wild blackberry picking.

1. Wear appropriate clothing. Blackberry bushes have horrible spines that catch onto anything including your clothing and skin. Long pants like jeans are essential. Closed in shoes also so (i find gumboots perfect!). Berry juice may also get on you during the picking processes so basically don't wear anything you don't want stained or ripped.

2. Bring a good sized rigid container. Tupperware or old yogurt containers work great. Make sure it has a lid. Plastic bags will squash your berries.

3. Think about the context of your berry bush. Could it be sprayed? Blackberries are regularly sprayed throughout Australia in an attempt to rid the natural environment of this introduced pest. You will not feel very well if you do eat poisoned berries. Often bushes that have been sprayed will have a sign warning you. This is not always the case however. As a rough guideline however bushes usually aren't sprayed in national parks or along waterways.

In general it is a good idea to wash your berries before cooking or eating and to eat a few and wait to see how you feel before chowing down on a berry feast or feeding friends your gatherings. There is however always some risk involved in picking wild blackberries...it kind of adds to the fun of it.

4. Don't try and avoid the spiky bush, stand on it! It might go against common sense, but when you are picking blackberries if you try and stay away from the spiky vegetation, it will manage to catch onto you and sometimes it hurts! With your sturdy shoes standing on the bush rather than have it flap around your legs as you pick helps a lot.

5. Only pick plump berries. Healthy looking berries are less likely to be poisoned and they taste much nicer. You go to all the effort and pain of berry picking, don't waste your time on shrivelled ones.

6. Leave red ones for another day. Red blackberries are not like bananas. They will not ripen at home. Take note of the number of red berries on the bush as this will give you an indication of if it is the end of the season or if you will be able to come back another day for some more.

Some locations of Blackberry Bushes in Canberra:

1. Along the bike path between O'Connor and Belconnon near O'Connor Ridge. There are a number of bushes here, most associated with natural drainage lines and thus far I haven't got sick from any of them.

2. Cotter Reserve. Across the stream from the campground there is a nice bush.

Note: You pick and eat wild berries at your own risk. I take no responsibility for anyone getting sick or falling into a blackberry bush.