Our Huntington/Tuckett bushcare group had another very successful working bee on Sunday, with 15 people attending. Here is a report from group leader and MCCG Chairman Jim Pope:
We did some in-fill planting of an area in Tuckett St. park from which 9 very large Chinese Elm (Celtis sinensis) trees were removed late last year.
The original re-planting to replace the Chinese Elms with native trees and shrubs was carried out in February and March this year.
Unfortunately the very dry weather at the time, together with the attentions of feral deer and bush turkeys, meant that we lost some of those plants, so the aim of this working bee was to fill in gaps in the original planting and replace the losses. We also did some weed clearing. Mission accomplished!
Here are some photos from the day:
A further highlight of this working bee, as usual, was morning tea. This time we were treated to some magnificent home-made Persian soup, more like a vegetarian casserole in fact, that was made for us by Bahereh Sabet. Several of us were so impressed with the soup that we asked Bahereh for the recipe, and here it is:
This Persian dish is called AASH RESHTEH (a thick soup):
Ingredients:
- Chickpeas 2 cups
- Beans (any kind) 2 cups
- Lentil or mung beans (or both) 1-2 cups
- Large brown onion
- Green herbs; spinach, parsley, leek , and / or any other kinds (I even use the stalk of broccoli ) 3-4 cups
- Noodles 1 cup
- Turmeric 1 soup spoon
- Pepper and salt, chillies as needed
Preparation:
- Soak peas, chickpeas and other legumes overnight (lentil to be soaked separately)Fry the onion to golden add turmeric and other spices
- Wash and chop all the herbs, add to the onion and put aside
- Cook the beans and chickpea together in a large pot with plenty of water
- Add lentils, onion and the herbs before the beans are fully cooked
- Add noodles at the end and let it boil for about 5 minutes until ready.
If you’d like to get involved in a Section 3 bushcare group, please contact group leader Jim Pope, on 3374 4181.
