Travel Archives - The Desert Echo

Mushroom foraging family

June 3, 2019 No Comments

Have mushrooms started popping up their little umbrellas all over your soggy autumn garden? We’ve seen a few, but are leaving these tiny and more importantly unidentified offerings for the fairies.

On the weekend we decided to take a treasure hunt. Not for buried gold, but something more ancient and fascinating. Mushrooms! The secret underground lives of fungi are incredible, their elusive above ground form being only the tiniest hint of their immense underground network.

The pine forest we visited in Macedon Regional Park would not even be there without a scoop full of soil from their native forest floor in the Northern Hemisphere. Even before their symbiotic partnership between trees and their particular fungi friends was understood by scientists, foresters saw that their exotic imports languished in this foreign soil without a little something from home. A mutually beneficial nutrient exchange necessary for survival, could you get more permaculture?

As we descended into the misty pine forest we were engulfed in memories of our San Francisco adventures. Mornings where the world was just a few metres of clarity and the rest all foggy shapes and shadows.

Ember, our baby stowaway, delighted our fellow foragers by disguising herself as a heavy backpack. It was pure joy to confirm that the adventure doesn’t end with kids, in fact it becomes even better.

We took the flat option whilst the others scampered down the steep slope despite no evidence steepness results in a better harvest or reduced competition. As autumn turns to winter these pine forest are descended upon by mushroom foragers and some even sell their finds at farmers’ markets! The forest is immense though so there are still mushroom to go around. Most mushroom foragers stick to the European species of mushroom because there is little documentation on Australian natives.

Dylan found our best edible mushroom closest to the car park! It’s a beautiful saffron milkcap (Lactarius deliciosus). We had always called these pine mushrooms when purchasing from the farmers’ market, but I guess there are lots of different pine mushrooms! I love these ones not only for their wonderful taste, but because they are so easy to identify. Food goes down much easier when there is no fear of poisoning! Aside from the orange colour the stalk snaps like chalk.

Next we found parasol mushrooms which look more like deathcaps than I feel comfortable. According, to our mushroom guide, Jim, deathcaps like to hang out with oaks so he has never seen one in these forests. Once Jim IDed these two shrooms the hunt was on!

The forest was gorgeously creepy in typical pine forest fashion. Pine mushrooms love to hide under the pine needles, cheeky things!

The big parasol was a bit past its prime, but all these mushrooms are edible.

Ember enjoyed herself so much she fell asleep!

Another forager’s haul. But watch our some of these aren’t edible. The red amanita is the most obvious.

Some mushrooms that others collected can make you vomit. I overhead Jim telling someone if a mushroom smells like marzipan they are good to eat, but if they smell like phenol they make you sick. They couldn’t get a clear read on that one, so best to chuck it.

Back at the Sanatorium Lake Picnic Ground, Jim, who was a chef in a past life cooked lunch with a mixture of farmed and foraged mushrooms.

Jim’s cooking tips

To stop the enzymatic browning cook the mushrooms as soon as possible. Jim explained the difference between enzymatic browning (like an old banana) and non-enzymatic browning (like caramelisation of onions). Reminding us how much of a science cooking is.
Mushrooms pretty much can’t be overcooked as long as they don’t burn because their proteins are heat stable.
Cook mushrooms without fats first to remove the water from the mushrooms. If fats are added at the beginning then the mushroom absorb large amounts as it replaces all its moisture with the fat.
It is also okay to wash mushrooms before cooking despite what people say, but cook straight after washing.
Add a little water to the pan so mushrooms don’t burn before they release their own juices. Jim washes down the sides of the pan with some extra water after they have cooked for a while to make sure he captures all the mushroom flavour stuck to the sides.
Once the cellulose has broken down in the mushrooms they are ready for the fat to be added. Only a small amount is required. Jim cooked one batch with olive oil, one with butter and one with cream. All were delicious.
The left over mushroom liquid can be drained off to be used later as a kind of gelatinous stock or left in for extra flavour.

After a delicious lunch of mushrooms and vegetable soup Jim checked our baskets for edibility.

Ember tasted her first mushroom and judged it to be acceptable. She tried a buttered one. Then she flicked off her sock-gloves for a spot of crawling practice.

Tour details

To book a mushroom tour of Mt Macedon contact:

Jan Claire – tour operator
0430 507019
www.cthemarket.com.au
www.facebook.com/cthemarket

Family, Garden, Travel

Amongst the lavender

January 31, 2019 No Comments

Dearest aunty cathleen has seen Emby almost every week since she was born and helped her stay fashionable whilst being ethical in second hand but not second rate clothes. Thanks for keeping mama sane and well fed with homemade treats Catty!

Here are some photos of Emby’s first trip out Daylesford way to Lavandula Swiss Italian Farm. It was packed with festival goers and there was a joyful laid back family vibe. While I waited for lavender cream scones, I watched what seemed to be grown adults dressed as Santa’s elves doing funny little hopping dances under garlands, which I assumed was some sort of celtic harvest dance. Then we just had to check out the emus and alpacas. An unlikely pairing that both seemed to bear each other’s presence without being particularly excited.

It was sizzling hot and not particularly conducive to portrait photography but we still enthusiastically waded through lavender and bees. I was getting pretty vivid flashbacks to when we were cycling around provence. The ringing of cicadas, the smell of pencil pines, that heat and of course the fields of lavender.

Emby and Dylan disappeared for a while and were discovered playing in the the dappled shadows of some birch trees.

We finished off the day at Cafe on the outskirts of Daylesford to avoid the masses. Cathleen had brownie and ice cream for lunch and is an inspiration to us all. Friends, French flashbacks and family are an excellent way to spend the day.

Family, Travel

Feeding time

January 21, 2019 No Comments

To celebrate Emby’s 6 month birthday, we gave her a first taste of solid food. Safe to say it was more of a treat for us than for her. Her little brow furrow deepened the more spoonfuls of carefully chosen homegrown carrot and organic sweet potato we offered her. I haven’t seen her frown that hard since the day she first greeted her parents!

Since then we have offered her very tiny spoonfuls of banana and some nut butter with slightly more positive results. Her extrusion reflex is still pretty strong so looks like she needs more time for her swallow to mature. We’ll keep trying, but there is no rush, for now that red spoon is much more appealing to her than its contents.

Later that day we met up with Emby’s new friend Ebony and her parents at the zoo. It was hot and after a humid train ride we sought shelter in the cavernous seal enclosure. Things certainly had been upgraded since I was a child. Even the seal sculptures now lazed on a man made beach replete with sand castles and sun umbrellas.

On baby Liam’s suggestion we headed to the butterfly house which I think was a clear highlight for bubs. Everyone seemed to have butterflies landing on them except for the one who had made special effort with a floral top. Our fluttering friends annoyingly seemed to prefer Dylan’s plain white t-shirt and Krystal’s straw hat was a veritable butterfly dance party.

The swishing bamboo forest surrounding the else-hang exhibit was deliciously cool. The Indonesian signs and faux cafes a cute touch. No sooner had the elephants appeared, than Emby cracked it wanting a drink, who could blame her on that hot day. We joined her with yummy overpriced ice creams.

We are still no closer to learning what sounds we should make for zebras and giraffes when we sing ‘Old MacDonald’. Munch munch is still the best filler it seems.

We didn’t mean to stay until closing time, but I guess the zoo had us under its spell. Most of the big cats were lounging in the shadowy corners, evading the camera lens. However, some little critters still were up for a show. The landscape gardens around these exhibits were lovely. The soft foliage of the minature woolly bushes was gorgeous in the fading light which also held the yellow flowers of the ground covers in its spotlight. I think our zoo pass is going to get a workout this year.

Family, Travel

Goodbye beach

January 9, 2019 No Comments

We’re back home and I think even Emby feels that slightly hollow feeling after a holiday because she kept waking up crying in the night. After some good naps and play with grandmu and opa hopefully tonight is better. I made sure I got the ocean white noise cued up, fingers crossed it does the trick.

So I thought I’d just post all the last couple of days images to savour the last fragments of beach holiday vibes.

Ember’s return home seems to have coincided with another mental leap. She’s started really concentrating on her mmm sounds. Mmmmmm… Ma…. Mmmmmm…Mum is it too early at just under 6 months for her to be calling out for me with outstretched arms? She’s also started getting clingy and wanting mama in the evening. Oh oh, so glad I extended my maternity leave to May to slowly ease her into childcare. For both our sakes!

There were guests downstairs so we made a nest for Emby in Nanny Annie’s upstairs bedroom so her stomping wouldn’t disturb the visitors. For one so small she certainly makes a racket. Phil’s much loved teddy bear came out of retirement to keep her company as well as her Christmas caterpillar and a colourful iPad case that she wanted to gnaw on.

Another beach visited resulted in a full face of sand, but surprisingly no tears. I think we’ll be finding grains of sand off her scalp for weeks to come, it’s as tenacious as glitter even after a nice warm bath in a laundry trough. Her new skill of sitting up makes sink baths a lot easier than when she was a sweet newborn blob.

I got use to a berry breakfast fresh from the garden everyday and it’s sorely missed now I am back home.

On our last day while everyone sweltered in 40+ temperatures in Melbourne it was 10 degrees cooler down the coast, but still too hot to do much more than enjoy a cool bath in a bucket. Her new toy submarine is made from recycled milk bottles, but still not as eco as marigolds from the garden.

Dada Dylan had to exit the festivities early to rescue Phil who had ridden an hour from home and shredded his tire. Early rumours that his tires actually melted from the heat turned out to be unfounded, which was a disappointment to all. Especially those who thought it was madness to ride out at all in the heat.

The cycling tomfoolery was not at an end though, because while Ember was reclining on her cushion with nothing but a nappy keeping her decent three hot and hyperventilating cyclists fell at Anne’s doorstep begging shelter and refreshment from the heat. I think Emby was the wisest of the bunch, cool as a cucumber under her ceiling fan.

Ember made sure she kept uncle Bevan’s favourite couch corner warm in his absence. It will be interesting who wins the coveted spot when she’s older. She does have cuteness on her side and tears and a quivering lip won’t hurt either. She also polished Nanny Annie’s floors scrupulously everyday. Sometimes on a small purple cushion, but her favourite was the hilariously long patchwork cushion that had at least two body lengths on her. Another novelty was riding on Phil’s toy cow. Why does a grown man have a toy cow you ask? No not one toy cow, he has two! Of course the answer is disappointingly mundane, he won them in a bike race. Snore!

Our last day we went for a little walk in the bush out the back because it doesn’t feel like you’ve done grey river properly without it. The bush was alive with orange butterflies so thick that battered softly against our faces as we passed through to Emby’s amazement. She rode on Dylan’s shoulder on the way back, still too small to grab on. The coastline sparkled below us as we said goodbye, until next time holidays.