Despite the popular opinion of a hot and dusty land filled with things that want to kill you anyone who has visited Australia will know that it is in fact incredibly diverse and if you are keen enough to learn the ways there is no shortage of food. Australia can be a very welcoming place once you dig your heels in.
Being from Aotearoa NZ it took me a while to get the hang of what aussies call "Bush tucker" as it is very different to the food found in New Zealand.
Yesterday started with a bit of work at a neighbour's place just down the road. I jumped on their mower, got a little too close to the beehives and ended up getting chased down the lawn and stung a good 10 times including a few on the head. So I knocked off early and went to a swimming hole to ease the inflammation - on the way back up I realized that the sandpaper fig was fruiting, it was then I made the decision that it would be a harvest day.
Sandpaper Fig - Ficus coronata
Here in Montville, seated in Southern Queensland up in the sunshine coast hinterlands - Gabi Gabi country... we live on a temperate belt between the ocean and the dryer forests that take you (if you drive far enough) way outback to the hot and dusty places.
This place is well known for a very large and important tree called the Bunya Pine. The cones it drops are extremely heavy and have sharp points all over them...kind of like a giant pinecone! If you were unlucky enough to be hit by one of these you might not live to tell the tale.
Bunya Pine - Araucaria Bidwillii
But the nuts inside are to die for and the original people of these lands would come from far and wide to gather around this time of year to fight, marry, trade, make deals and of course FEAST.
Yesterday I opened 4 cones and pulled around 150 nuts out, I plan on making alot of bunya pesto but last night I picked a bunch of things from my garden and whipped up a sweetchilli/miso Bunya and spring onion stir fry. A good start to bunya season is a full belly, a beer and a movie.
YUM
On my wee excursion I also found some beautiful fungi and some delicious bush berries.
Candle Vine - Pothos Longpipes - deliciously sweet
False Turkey Tail - Stereum Ostrea or Sp- Inedible
And came back happy to see a flourishing garden
Today I woke up both happy and sore. Those bees really got me good!