Saturday January 14th soiree with John & Carol in the leafy Fernmount Food Forest

Seedsavers on the upper path in the Fernmount Food Forest

A heavy but short southerly change and shower dropped the temperature from the 40 plus temperatures we had been sheltering from most of the day and made the

Fernmount Food Forest

garden walk much more pleasant.


The Cherimoya and Rollinia (flowering) were of interest as were the flowering and fruiting Carambolas. (Try Sweet and Spicy Carambola Chips)

We gathered for a quick stroll through the food forest then enjoyed a presentation on edible perennials - some surprises there. A Longevity Spinach (Gynura procumbens) cousin of the Okinawan spinach flourishes in the Bellingen climate.

Then we shared a supper till late. Elaine's herbal punch (lemon myrtle and lemon verbena tea base) was popular.

Noticed on the sharing table: tamarillos, Giant Russian garlic, eggplant seedlings, seeds of mustard, celery, bunching shallot and cuttings of Okinawa and Surinam spinach.

Tamarillo

Tamarillo cake (substituting tamarillos for plums in a recipe)

Perennial hot capsicum

Okinawa spinach

Curry Leaf bush

Unripe mangoes, yummy with sugar, salt and maybe a touch of chili.

Gramma Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) does well in this humid climate

Our first soursop fruit. Apparently the leaves are also steeped to make a herbal tea.

Jaboticaba

New Guinea Bean Gourd thrives in the wet weather.

Acerola

Carambola. Some say the leaves are edible as well.

Phyllanthus distichus  Star Gooseberry

Golden Lyre Grevillia

Black Grumichama

Beneath the Mexican Weeping Bamboo arch

Presentation on Edible Perennials

A shared dinner

Rae's coconut cake

Coconut Pumpkin Soup

We grow pumpkins and the other ingredients for this soup so easily in our climate. Click on the link for the recipe.

 Silky Coconut Pumpkin Soup

With our indigenous “pumpkin”, calabaza squash, in full season we buy a wedge every week and I try a new recipe. Epicurious.com has been a good source for recipes, some are great as is, and others, like this one, needed some tweaking. Here’s my version which turns out to be very much like those I had in South East Asia. Note that the roasting of the shallots is important for the flavour.

You could also try

Pumpkin Carrot Soup with ginger