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ORGANIC LBY
Warndu Mai (Good Food)
Rebecca Sullivan and
Damien Coulthard
HACHETTE, 2019, $45
Native ingredients are not
yet common fare in Aussie
kitchens but this cookbook is
going to go a fair way
towards getting items such
as cinnamon myrtle, desert
lime and native currants
onto our tables. In Warndu
Mai there’s not just a wide
range of delicious recipes,
such as Pipis in Vermouth and
Pickled Rainforest Cherry
Chocolate Pie; you’ll also find
information about seasonal
availability of the Indigenous
food items, as well as tips on
how to use them. An index
at the back of the book lists
the native ingredients along
with possible replacements
that you may find more
readily. Fully illustrated with
gorgeous images of both
ingredients and recipes,
you can almost “taste the
flavours of my backyard”
as Damien writes, sharing
the flavours and stories
of the Flinders Ranges
where he grew up.
Leanne CrokerCompostTeasforthe
OrganicGrower
Eric Fisher
PERMANENTPUBLICATIONS,2019,$48
This isanin-depthlookat
soils andplantnutrients
basedonwell-researched
science.EricFishergivesus
recipesforteas,madeof
comfrey,nettles,cloverand
kelp, butalsoexplainsworm
castingandmanureteaswith
a goodtableonhowtouse
them forcommonvegies.
Teas toprotectplantsand
controlpestsarecovered,
with recipesusingsoapwort,
dill, marigolds,chilli,garlic,
willowsandmore.Then
detailedinstructionsfor
makingandusingaerobicand
anaerobiccompostteas.The
book looksatsomemore
alternativepracticeslike
workingwithmooncycles
and waterflow,aswellas
permaculturepreparations.
With anexcellentglossary
and pagesofreferences,it
is muchmorethanabook
simplyoncompostteas.
Enlighteningonmanylevels
this isanimportantaddition
to anygardener’slibrary.
PennyWoodward2040
Damon Gameau
MACMILLAN, 2019, $34.99
Australian actor and
director Damon Gameau
had great success with
That Sugar Film five years
ago, and now he’s tackling
climate change. Rather
than doom and gloom, his
documentary 2040 is about
how we can create a positive
future by employing
technology already available
to us. This is the book of the
film, and like the doco, it’s
aim is to be as entertaining
as it is informative. The
inspiration for his work is
Project Drawdown, led by
Paul Hawken, which lists
the top 100 solutions that
researchers claim will not
only stop climate change
in its tracks but reverse it.
This book occasionally jars
(not sure why it needs
recipes at the back, for
example) but Gameau is
doing a good job of getting
an important message out
to a wider audience: the
power to save the planet
is within our grasp.
Simon WebsterTOP^ PICK
Slow Clothing
Jane Milburn
TEXTILEBEAT.COM, 2019, $28
Growing your own food is
one way of living a more
ethical life, but it’s time that
more of us took a similar
approach to what we wear,
says slow clothing pioneer
Jane Milburn. With the global
fashion industry producing
100 billion garments a year
(two-thirds of which are
made from synthetic fibres,
shedding microparticles into
the environment with every
wash), and 6 tonnes of
clothing and textiles going
into landfill every 10 minutes,
Milburn is determined to
change the way people think
about clothes. This book
offers not just reasons why,
but practical advice on how
we can clothe ourselves
sustainably, ethically and
creatively. In essence: buy
fewer clothes, choose
quality, favour natural fibres,
and learn how to mend and
upcycle. And no excuses
if you don’t know how to
sew or darn: step-by-step
instructions are right here.
Simon Webster