A gem of a model for small communities sharing the bounty of household gardens is operating in the nearby Blueskin Bay area. For the last 3 years folks from Purakanui to Seacliff bring their surplus edibles to the Harvest Market, held one Sunday morning a month during February, March and April. The concept is simple: anything edible grown or produced locally (plants, veggies, fruits, honey, chooks, eggs) can be bought, traded, or bartered. It’s all about local food production by people at a grass roots level. The project is an initiative of the Waitati Edible Gardeners (aka WEGies). Secretary  Lynnaire Johnston says, “It’s a community market, for the community, by the community. People bring garden produce by the wheelbarrow or car bootful.”

The market is held at The Old Stores, the home of Rayna and Mark Dickson, who own the Taste Nature store in Dunedin. Set up is simple, a few old tables on their verandah and a cup of lemon verbena tea for everyone. It only lasts an hour and a half and those who come to buy, sell or barter are there for that reason. A lot of good socialising happens around sharing the harvest. Local orchardist, Jason Ross, is often on hand with apple samples. Publicity is simple, through the local newsletter, community email lists and word of mouth. With no charge to stallholders lots of people of all ages feel free to set up with their good local food items. Most times there are about a dozen stallholders.

It does seem a great model for other small communities to share seasonal harvests. If you are interested, come along to last Harvest Market this year Sunday, 18 April, 10:30-noon, The Old Stores, Harvey Street (just over the bridge past the library), Waitati.

It Started with a Cow

Every story has a beginning and Evansdale Cheese has a story. It begins in 1978 with the Dennison family cow that produced more milk than the family could use. The excess milk was distributed amongst friends in the Waitati community. This led to discussions of others getting a cow and pooling the milk to produce cheese. By the time the first factory was built on the Dennison property at Evansdale not everyone was still on board with the cow idea. This meant the first milk used for cheese production was from dairy farms in the area, milking for Cadburys. A cottage industry was born and, using 150L of milk / day, the first cheese, ‘Monterey Jack’, was produced. “It was a terrible cheese,” remembers  Colin, but through trial and experimentation Farmhouse Brie came about and is still popular today. This cheese is also the basis for the smoked cheese ‘Tania ‘ and ‘Laurel’, a special soft brie.

Evansdale Cheese was the first small cheese making factory in NZ and from the
beginning had strong local support producing local food and being a local business. Business growth saw them in four different programmes on national television in one year and also featured on the cover of the Air New Zealand magazine. In 1997 the   factory moved to their present site at Hawksbury Village where they now use 1,500L of milk/day, produced locally and supplied by Fonterra. The milk is delivered raw and pasteurised on site. Colin’s son, Paul, is now the cheese maker and factory manager. Their cheeses are sold throughout the country to supermarkets and restaurants. All Evansdale cheeses are free from preservatives and rennet. There are 20-30 varieties and Colin finds  farmers markets a good way to trial new products, get feedback and make contacts. The factory entrance has been newly painted and the picket fence is very welcoming. Inside a viewing window into the curing room complements the display of cheeses for sale.

Further information is available on their website, www.evansdalecheese.co.nz
and to subscribers of their newsletter, info@evansdalecheese.co.nz
phone  03 4658101. Factory sales also available.

The rural Palmerston home of Mary and Michael Browne reflects their love of and dedication to the elegant practical integration of productive gardening into Mary’s world of food writing. Long shelves hold hundreds of cookbooks, a wonderful home kitchen tests recipes and a conservatory looks out onto their prolific vegetable garden and orchard. It is obvious that Mary doesn’t just write about the world of food, she lives in it.

Mary’s food writing, both on her own and in collaboration with her sisters, artist Nancy Tichborne and anthropologist Helen Leach, is often not only about food. Mary Browne is able to connect different subjects through food. Her first cookbook, “Mothering Time Cookbook”, written as a guide for busy new Mums, was an early fundraiser for the La Leche League of New Zealand. She still likes doing community cookbooks and finds that those projects result in documenting regional food cultures and also help build communities working on a common project. The Waikouaiti Branch of Rural Women produced a cookbook “Favourite Recipes from Rural Otago” with Mary’s assistance. That cookbook will provide their carefully chosen and valued recipes for generations to come. Mary’s column, “Earthly Pleasures”, ran for 3 years in NZ House and Garden.

Her academic background in home science prepared Mary to understand the science of food and to value good research. Part of what she does is to make sure the techniques, measurements and descriptions of food are accurate. This often means long and repetitive testing the growing of food plants or testing recipes. Her recent work with sister Helen Leach for “The Pavlova Story” found her translating a 1933 Rangiora Cookbook Pavlova recipe for the contemporary cook. The vague language of a good old recipe needed specifics to be replicated by today’s cook in today’s kitchen. Showing the Pavlova over the decades required a fun hunting expedition to find china and table settings to match each era. This flair and attention to detail is obvious in Mary’s clear writing style and wonderful published images showing good gardening and good cooking. She belongs to the New Zealand Guild of Food Writers, founded by Tui Flower who wrote from the test kitchen of the New Zealand Women’s Weekly for 30 years.

Mary notices that we are now interested in what we used to cook, especially in what our mothers and grandmothers cooked. She sees a resurgence of both good cooking and gardening. This time the drivers are the economic downturn, issues of food safety, and a desire for renewing our ties to the land, our culture and the pleasures of growing, preparing and eating good food. The last time we were this interested was in the late 1970s when Mary and her sisters wrote the classic “The Cook’s Garden”. Previously books were either about gardening or about cooking. “The Cook’s Garden” was about both. The three sisters also wrote the “The Cook’s Salad Garden” and the “The Cook’s Herb Garden”, wonderful practical guides for successfully growing and preparing beautiful garden bounty. Completely updated versions of these two books are due for release later this year.

Good gardens, good food, good food writing. That’s Mary Browne.

Contact info for this column:
Patti Vanderburg: vburg@es.co.nz
Suzi Flack: paradisesouth@xtra.co.nz

It has been a year of hard work  since Chris Trotter and April Nijland opened the doors of Crema Cafe in Stornoway St, Karitane.
Chris’s love and appreciation of food began at home, in the Bay of Plenty where his parents had large gardens and orchards, and with his grandmother, whose 4 course meals were worth waiting for. Childhood memories of food smells and flavours are rekindled at the cafe when using seasonal and sometimes forgotten fruits. Chris gained more experience with food working under the guidance of his sister, an  award winning chef.
While living in Whanganui and providing wholesome and low key food for his family and himself, Chris took on a more commercial role doing the same for staff & students at the Whanganui Polytechnic. Chris also began working towards a perfect Ciabatta bread with large air holes. After the birth of their daughter Sylvia they were both tempted back down south, home to April.
While continuing to bake breads for local farmers markets and catering in Dunedin, the opportunity came along to set up a business in the now Crema Cafe, Karitane. Working as a ” Flavour Sculptor ” Chris and partner April put together the cafe menu which includes his signature pies (including the famous aubergine pie), extra thin crust pizzas and delicious breads.
“It’s creating flavours, not just cooking”,says Chris. Chris credits the success of his breads to the hardness of Speights water and organic flours. His sour dough starter was born in Karitane.
April specialises in the delicious and sought after sweet delights. Three of those recipes have already been requested for the “Ask a Chef” column in the ODT’s food section. April also sells whole tarts and cheesecakes when requested.
Care is taken sourcing ingredients, sometimes from local growers and suppliers,the cafe garden or from the more tropical climate of the North Island. The coffee is wonderfully fresh and roasted locally at Mazagran in Dunedin.
All dishes on the menu are created and sculpted on the premises and the presentation is as artful as the surroundings. The walls are hung with the works of local artists and include their own work. April is also a glass blower and Chris a wood carver.
Chris and April have come a long way in just one year and are pleased with the feedback they have received. Referrals see people taking a detour off SH 1 to stop by at the cafe. As well as locals, backpackers, campers, walkers and cyclists they also see families and dog owners due to their child and dog friendly environment.
Chris descibes the menu as a cross of various cuisines including Italian, Lebanese and Meditteranean with a seasonal twist.
Chris and April would like to acknowledge the support of the local community in their first year at Crema Cafe.
Cafe hours are
Mon        10-2.00pm
Wed-Fri  10-4.00pm
Sat-Sun   10-5.00pm
Closed  Tuesdays
The cafe is available for private functions and catering by arrangement.
Contact details are
phone 03 4657786
cremacafekaritane@live.com

Contacts for this column:
Suzi Flack  paradisesouth@xtra.co.nz
Patti Vanderburg   vburg@es.co.nz

Ever since people have lived in Karitane, fish and fishing have been an important part of their lives and food. Today only a few boats fish commercially from Karitane.  One of those boats is Truant, a 12m Carey design semiplaning hull set up as a commercial fishing vessel. Truant is owned and operated by Madeline Kirk’s Dad, Alasdair. This month’s column is about Madeline’s experiences and memories of growing up and working as part of a fishing family in Karitane.

Madeline grew up with fishing in her blood. Her Dad, Alasdair, first started fishing Otago harbour in his  dinghy to supply fish and chip shops. He then got a job as a deckhand and eventually worked towards owning his own fishing boat. Madeline’s first memory is of falling asleep standing bedside her Dad clutching his leg while out fishing when she was only 4 years old. Meeting the boat at the Karitane wharf was also a highlight. The kids loved seeing what types of fish had been caught and of Dad showing them a scary octopus. When she was older summer holidays were spent mending set nets. This was done in a paddock across the road from home with the nets stretched out along the fenceline and mended section by section using a special needle and rope. Working outside, sun shining, radio always playing – it hardly seemed like work. Madeline commented on how few boats are fishing commercially out of Karitane now. Growing up in Karitane many of her friends families were connected to fishing in some way.

School and varsity holidays Madeline crewed for her Dad, baiting the pots. More recently her crewing has amounted to periods where she has fished every season of the year. It has given her a good sense of the very different techniques and skills required for each seasonal type of fishing. She feels pretty confident around fishing and holds her own as part of a crew. In what appears to be a male-dominated line of work people soon got used to seeing a ‘girl’ unloading the catch each day.  One requirement Madeline thinks important for the job is the ability to be resourceful. If you have a problem out at sea you have to make do with what you have on board to fix it, as well as having the radio for back-up. You also need to be reasonably hardy to last, at times, a 12 hour day at sea in all types of weather. After being away from the job it takes her about  week at sea to feel boat fit for the job. She said, ‘It’s a love-hate thing. Sometimes when you are out there you hate it – and then when you look back at the experience it is fantastic!’

Alasdair has a  quota for a variety of fish but in summer targets rig and other shark species while winter sees him targetting blue and red cod. The fish is sent to Christchurch to a company called United Fisheries where it is sold at auction. At different times her Dad has sold fish from the wharf but prefers not to have the extra work of filleting and selling at the end of an already long day.

Madeline enjoys the wildlife a day at sea brings especially Hector dolphins, penguins, albatross and, one day, a whale off Karitane.

She is now working on a dairy farm in South Otago with partner, Mark Anderson. Madeline still enjoys outdoor work but misses the sight and sound of the sea.     (Although not the long hours of really hard work!)

Her last 3-4 months of fishing on Truant  she was escorted every day out across the bar by a large dolphin for approximately 10 miles. I guess that dolphin is wondering where she is now !

Contact for this column :
Suzi Flack   paradisesouth@xtra.co.nz
Patti Vanderburg   vburg@es.co.nz

Local Food. What does it mean to us? With all the talk and renewed interest in local food it was good to listen to Andy Barratt’s talk last Saturday to get a grip on where we are and how we got to this point. His talk, Local Food, the Way Forward?, was part of an Otago Organics gathering but wasn’t limited to the interests of that group.

Andy successfully took stock of the local food phenomenon, both internationally and in our own small communities. Although he didn’t offer a sure fire prescription for getting our foods produced and consumed locally, he gave a seriously informed overview of how we got to the current state of affairs and what can be done locally to improve our food quality, our local economies and food security for the planet. All in just an hour!

His big picture global sketch described the essential shift in our ways of providing food for our households. He spoke of the historical shift from farming through to industrial food production and on to the current situation of having reached the limits of growth. He referred to the issues of peak oil, climate change, and the current economic crisis. So many of the key challenges governments and the world are facing today will impact food supplies.

The good news in Andy’s talk was that we can actually do something about it. He suggests that a grass roots approach is underway. There is a shift from the colossal transfer of income and capital from producers to middlemen. He made the argument for the fact that the local food issue is a “way in” to other serious issues of environment, animal welfare, sustainable energy use, and social equity and justice. Shifting our thinking towards local food production and consumption heralds a basic prescription for economic, social and political change.

Andy’s talk combined references to experts, his personal experiences,  fabulous readings, and our own community experiences in having a go at a local food subject. A booklet including these POWA Newsletter Local Food columns from the last year was shown as an example of a simple , effective way of raising awareness and providing information.

Most serious commentators on the current state of food economies agree that the 3 three things we can do now are to:
1) Get away from food as a global commodity
2) Grow our own food
3) Secure our local food supply by reliance on small, diverse local farms close to consumers

Andy’s talk was rich in examples and sparked some fresh ideas and inspirations.

Andy Barratt is available to talk to groups on the subject of Local Food.
His contact information: asbarratt@farmside.co.nz
021-890-048

Contacts for this column :
Suzi Flack paradisesouth@xtra.co.nz
Patti Vanderburg vburg@es.co.nz

They have travelled from the Andes in South America and have been around for a very long time, used as a food staple by Incas. But after taking a back seat to more prolific, faster growing commercial crops, heritage potatoes are making a come back.

Roger and Viola Blok of Purakaunui Heritage Potatoes know all about the high food value and anti-oxidant properties of these brightly coloured purple, red and pink tubers. If you are at one of the coastal markets (Seacliff, Portobello, Port Chalmers) where Roger sells his potatoes you’ll find he is happy to share his knowledge and experience. His stall signage is full of good information and he takes time to chat with customers. He’s as keen to educate as he is to sell fresh produce .

Freshness is assured as all potatoes for sale are washed and sold within 2 days of digging, any surplus used by family or discreetly dropped at various back door steps in his community. This interaction with customers is an important aspect of Roger’s business. Information is shared, contacts are made. These links, say the  Bloks, form the basis of building and supporting communities.

Roger is happy to share his roadside stall on Purakaunui Rd. with neighbours as a co-operative arrangement. This serves everyone, local growers as well as passing neighbours and tourists.

When asked what growing methods he used Roger replied, ″Honest growing and  the three S system ″. Honest growing includes traditional horticulture techniques taught him by his Dad, good work ethics learnt from his parents, Marie and Charles Blok, and his own common sense way of doing things. His background in both landscaping and engineering serves him well. Honest growing also means making use of what is available, recycling, and not using chemicals. The 3 S’s are sheep shit, stinging nettle and sweat. Often cursed, Roger can only say good things about stinging nettle and, after years of working with it, he is now oblivious to its sting. As well as being home to ladybugs and a hatchery for the red admiral butterfly, stinging nettle removes any residual phosphates from the soil. It also provides a natural water retention system by capturing evening dew and delivering moisture down to the soil. This is vital on Blok’s property as it relies solely on rain water. Plants are watered as seedlings but after that they are on their own and get watered only when it rains ! Crops are rotated and the soil is replenished using manures, seaweed, comfrey and mulch. 20 different varieties of potato can be in the ground at one time but not all will be for sale. Some are grown to build up stock supplies, some are part of a heritage potato seed bank and others may be in quarantine until they prove to be disease free. Roger and Viola also like to cook and taste new varieties before they sell them so they can advise customers from personal experience. All potatoes sold by Bloks can be used as seed potatoes. Their heritage potatoes aren’t washed in fungicides or sprout inhibitors as are many commercial varieties. Blok’s potatoes can be put in the sun to develop a sprout, a process called ″ chitting ″. Their heritage potato varieties include Urenika, Salad Blue, Maori Chief, Pink Fir .……..

Their produce has diversified over the last 3-4 years of selling at markets, local restuarants and shops. What started out as lettuce and potatoes now includes 3-4 types of onions, salad greens, mescluns, endives, Russian kale, 2-3 types of cabbage and collard greens. They are also becoming famous for their large Hosta collection. The Hostas will be for sale, along with potatoes, at the Lady Thorn Dell in Port Chalmers late in October.

Watch out also for gate sales from their roadside stall from mid November, daily but particulary weekends.
Rapid no. 510 Purakaunui Rd.
Request- Roger is always keen to accept any unusual types of potato.

Contact Information : Roger & Viola Blok
510 Purakaunui Rd
Purakaunui
Phone 03 4822295

Contacts for this column :
Suzi Flack paradisesouth@xtra.co.nz
Patti Vanderburg vburg@es.co.nz

The sun was (at last!) shining the day we visited Paul Bartlett at his Waikouaiti farm property on a hill above Highway 1. Twenty years ago, when a neighbouring property had a slip, Paul decided to plant some trees on his own property for stability and peace of mind. Instead of planting pines or willows he thought, ‘Why not plant trees that will produce a food source ? ‘. His grandfather had managed to pay his rates from the sale of nuts from two walnut trees. If the rates went up so did the price of his walnuts. Was it inflation, was it the change in local governance and rate rises, or was it the size of slip ? Whatever the reason Paul planted 80 walnut trees on his slope.

He purchased 2-3 varieties of bare-rooted trees from Akaroa stock. Akaroa, first planted in New Zealand by French settlers, produced good quality walnuts. Paul thinks NZ produces some of the world’s best walnuts. Each walnut tree produces both male and female flowers and relies on air pollination. Paul puts fertiliser on the walnut tree paddock but has no need for pesticide sprays.

The trees don’t need much rainfall, but once the green husks around the nuts start to split a good rain is helpful. This causes the husk to swell and fall off. Once the walnuts fall the Bartletts have only 2-3 days to collect them before they get too wet, making them suseptible to moulds and fungi. The  nuts then dry  for 3 weeks on bed springs in a sunny sheltered spot. With harvests increasing each year Paul is running out of room for extra bed springs and may have to look at other options for drying future harvests. Paul’s trees started producing enough nuts for collecting 5 years ago and since then the harvests have doubled each year.

Paul was lucky enough to spot a gadget outside a Hampden second hand store – on further inspection he decided it could only be used for one thing, picking up his walnuts. This marvelous invention is a hit with his grandson, 5 year old Sam. Sam keenly set out to collect and sell his own walnuts but was a little dismayed the gadget didn’t also sort and bag the nuts.

The walnuts we tried were large and delicious. They are called a paper shell variety because you can crack them in your hand. Paul’s family use the walnuts to bake with and to eat raw, finding if you sit them near a fire it brings out the oils and enhances the flavour . Walnuts can be pressed to make walnut oil and can also be ground to make walnut flour once the oil is extracted. Being full of omega 3 fatty acids they are very beneficial to your health.

Walnut trees don’t require much maintenance. Once the trees are producing, Paul prunes lower limbs to make walking near them easier. Care should be taken not to prune the larger limbs as this can expose the tree to fungal infection. The trees can also literally  ‘cry’ the sap out of their limbs if pruned at the wrong time. Pruning can be done once all the leaves have fallen.

Paul’s trees are now 10m wide and 10m high. Trees not exposed to prevailing winds or frosts are the best producers. Paul belongs to the Walnut Growers Association with a newsletter called A Cracker of a Nut.
So. what started out as some routine land management ‘we weren’t going to plant a walnut farm really…’ has now grown to keep Paul and his wife Liz busy during their autumn days and will continue for future generations.

Paul has walnuts available now for sale. Enquiries to 4657960.

Contacts for this column:
Suzi Flack paradisesouth@xtra.co.nz
Patti Vanderburg vburg@es.co.nz