We have begun term 3 in the kitchen with an Indigenous flavoured menu in order to acknowledge and celebrated NAIDOC week. To this end we have used at least one native Australian ingredient in each of our dishes. The students have made pea and potato soup with pepperberry and saltbush. The pepperberry is like pepper but with fruity, eucalyptus, and spicy overtones and is very strong. We have this plant, as well as salt bush in our school garden.

Students have also made meatballs with kangaroo mince, again flavoured with native spices, such as salt bush, mountain pepper leaves and lemon myrtle. The trick to cooking kangaroo well is to sear it and then finish it off in an oven so that it doesn't get tough. We also made some roast veggies including potato, jerusalem artichoke and carrot with the native spices.

To accompany our soup we made bush rolls, a very simple yoghurt dough flavoured with herbs and spices including wattleseed, peppermint gum, kunzea and saltbush. The students have experimented with various flavour combinations and made different shapes, the best ones being the plaited bread and knot rolls.

And last but not least, we made wattleseed and chocolate cookies. This is a very simple recipe, with a small amount of wattleseed to give an almost mocha/coffee like flavour, and some good quality chocolate grated in rather than chopped, the cookies were almost like a fudge or brownie, delectable and delicious. Kate has provided all recipes and these can be found below. Most of the spices can be obtained from the Salt Bush Kitchen in Urquhart St.

NAIDOC week acknowledgement has also flowed into the garden, as Jodie has been sharing some of her learning and experience gained from a recent trip to Alice Springs. Over the past two weeks students have been introduced to several indigenous words and their correct pronunciations! Some include:

Werte - Hello

Mparntwe – Alice Springs

Arrernte – Indigenous people of Alice Springs

Tjukurpa - At the heart of Arrernte culture is the concept of Tjukurpa, also known as the Dreaming. Tjukurpa encompasses the beliefs, stories, and laws that govern the Arrernte people's relationship with the land and all living creatures.

Yeperenye - caterpillar creation story

For those students whom want to explore the Yeperenye more they can by following the links below....

Yeperenye sound sculpture moves down the Todd Mall - https://vimeo.com/74664489

Yeperenye Festival - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0qARn1nYKg

Link to caterpillar science - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwS-CbkYNJE

In addition to this, students have been weeding the paths of the vegetable patch (Om Nom Nom), weeding and mulching garden beds, picking lemons, herbs and green leaves and digging up carrots and potatoes. Those involved in the Observe and Create team have been having fun drawing the skeletons of trees that have shed their leaves during winter.

At the end of last term we were very fortunate to have another guinea pig donated to our school. His name is Rupert and he is very cute and cuddly. Please drop into the garden during a lunchtime and meet him- he loves to be held.

And on the note of animals the SAKG team would like to say a special thanks to our families who kindly offered to care for our guinea pigs and chickens over the mid-year holiday break. To Celeste and Sebastian Dobe, Stella Costopoulos, Myles Weightman, Paul and Lilian Wright Quarrell, along with your families a huge THANK-YOU. We know that the animals have been looked after very well and love the extra care you have given.

Bush Cookies

INGREDIENTS

50 grams Softened Butter

175 grams Caster Sugar

1 Egg

1 Tsp Vanilla

2 Tsp Wattleseed

100 mls Oil

150 grams Plain Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

100 grams Rolled Oats

100 grams grated dark chocolate or raw cocoa nibs

METHOD (Makes 24 cookies)

Preheat the oven to 160 degree. Cream butter, sugar, vanilla & wattleseed until pale & fluffy. Add egg and beat until well combined. Add flour, oil, and oats, and mix until well combined. Add chocolate (or nibs) and mix. Portion mixture into 24 portions and roll into balls. Place on a lined baking tray (leave room for spreading). Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden.

Kangaroo Meatballs with Mountain Pepper, Saltbush & Lemon Myrtle

A great Australian burger with Kangaroo and bushfood spices mountain pepper, saltbush and lemon myrtle. They’re full of flavour and just delicious. Perfect for your next family BBQ. Jazz them up by using our bushfood bread rolls, bush tzatziki and a bush tomato relish. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

500gm Kangaroo mince meat

250gm Pork mince meat

1 Small onion diced1 TSP Salt

¼ cup Breadcrumbs

1 Egg

1 TBSP Paprika

1 TSP Coriander

1 TSP Mountain Pepper

1 TSP Saltbush

1 TSP Lemon Myrtle

Oil for frying

METHOD

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. In a silver bowl using your hands, massage the kangaroo and pork meat together, making sure they are well combined. Add all other ingredients and massage well to combine. Portion meat into small balls and roll so that they are nice and round. You should be able to make about 30, not too big as they will take too long to cook. In a hot pan add a little oil and place all the balls in, let them sear a little and then carefully flip them so that all sides are seared. Turn the heat down and put a lid on and allow them to cook for about 15 minds. Check to make sure they are cooked through. Serve on a bed of lettuce or other nice greens.

Bush Rolls

Ingredients:

250g Greek yoghurt

250g S/R Flour

Pinch of salt

Combo of native or European spices such as saltbush, lemon myrtle, mountain pepper, or parsley, rosemary and sage – 2 TSP in total

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 Celsius. Mix the yoghurt and flour in a bowl and combine with either your hands or a spoon until it forms a dough. Turn out onto the bench and knead until it is supple and bouncy. Mix in a small amount (do not exceed 2 TSP in total) or your chosen herbs and spices and knead until it is evenly distributed. Shape into your preferred style, rolls, knot rolls, small loaves or plaits – the possibilities are endless – and then cook in the oven for 20 – 25 mins.

Bread is cooked if it sounds hollow on the bottom when you tap it.

Pea and Potato Soup

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil, extra for garnish
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stick celery, finely chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp salt bush (or salt/parsley if you can’t get it)
1 tsp pepperberry (or pepper if you can't get it)
1 kg green peas, fresh or frozen (or a combination of peas, zucchini, green veg)
1 can coconut cream 425ml
1 tbspn fresh mint leaves for garnish
salt and pepper, to taste
3 medium potatoes peeled and quartered

.

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and celery. Cook for 5 – 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until onion is soft.
Add stock and bring to the boil. Add saltbush and pepperberry. Add potatoes then simmer till potatoes are soft.
Add peas/green veg combo, cover pot, and return to the boil. Cook for 3 minutes or until peas are tender but still bright green.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly before blending.
Using a large blender or hand-held blender, blend soup until smooth. Return soup to saucepan over low-medium heat and cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
Either mix in coconut cream, or drizzle on top and garnish with fresh mint.

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