It was a long weekend thanks to Australia marking down a holiday for King Charles the Adulterer’s birthday (*not my king!*). My wife and I thus set off to re-explore one of our favourite places: Ettalong on the NSW Central Coast, approximately 1 1/2 hours’ drive north out of our home city, Sydney. It was a place we had been to before, but again well before my recent interest in Australia’s native and introduced bush tucker had kicked into gear.
I was not disappointed, even though it is June and winter is already upon us. Unlike the northern hemisphere, winter does not result in blankets of snow, fallen leaves scattered around and barren trees as far as the eye can see here in temperate Sydney; there is still plenty of green, the banksias and grevilleas are still flowering and there’s more beside. Here’s what I found!
Also discovered, but not photographed, was the pervasive beachside weed, sea rocket (Cakile maritima) and out native and very tasty sea celery (Apium prostratum) — you can read about the latter [HERE].
As you can see, I still have very many native and invasive edible articles to write, medicinal properties to research and photographs to upload for these, and more! I apologise if my articles emerge slowly, but alas, bush food foraging may fill the belly with tasty, fresh local produce, but it does not (yet) pay my other expenses.
An in case you missed it because of its length (grrr email!), my most recent full article last month was on Australia’s iconic kurrajong, also called the bottle tree: a plant with much culinary and medicinal potential that languishes, neglected and forgotten, in backyards and nature strips not just across Australia but internationally as well. Check it out!
