'Black Duck' review & new cookbooks

A bit of a hodge podge of things this week.

Dear Reader,

Firstly, I just want to say that if you got to see the solar eclipse a couple of days ago, I am very jealous.

We rarely get the same level of excitement in this part of the world (oh, okay there was the solar eclipse of 2023, but you had to go to Broome to see it and that is very far away). Looks like we’ll have the opportunity to witness one in 2028, but will southern Australia be able to see it? NO. OF COURSE NOT. I better get planning. At least there is an (Almost) Lunar Eclipse in October. That’s something?

I saw a solar eclipse in Iceland around a decade ago. I don’t think we were in the ‘total’ path, or even if it was total or partial. It didn’t get completely dark, and I think whatever did end up happening took a long time (pray for my memory, honestly), yet it felt like half of Reykjavík stood around Hallgrímskirkja (very cool monumental church in the city) for hours with nervous excitement. It was a really special day.

Hopefully will get some southern aurora sightings this winter at least. Sigh. I love space stuff.

Okay, I’m glad that’s out of the way. Onto this week’s edition.

What’s booking: ‘Black Duck’ by Bruce Pascoe

I recently finished reading Black Duck, the newest non-fiction book by Bruce Pascoe. Pascoe kinda blew up the scene politically in 2014, when he published Dark Emu, which told a story of Indigenous agriculture very different to what we get fed as ‘Australian history’.

Black Duck picks up where Dark Emu left off, with a more personal bent. We’re invited into the world of Bruce and his partner Lyn Harwood, as they put the theory laid out in Dark Emu into practice on his own land.

That is, using traditional agricultural methods to farm native grasses into flour, in a way that works in harmony with Country. Just that easy thing.

In the pages of this book, Bruce invites us into his life and onto Country, following him through six seasons of life on his farm, Yumburra (near Mallacoota, East Gippsland), where his Indigenous social enterprise Black Duck Foods operates (while we follow the Northern Hemisphere’s calendar in Australia, it’s not entirely correct, with some parts of the country experiencing I believe up to eight distinct seasons).  

Dark Emu is politically charged and Black Duck certainly has its moments. Pascoe regularly muses upon questions of Aboriginal Sovereignty on everything from food production and land management, to cultural burning – particularly from the perspective of communities still reeling from the devastating fires of 2019-20.  

Central to the book are the animals he shares his home with, from ageing blue heeler Wangarabell (Bell), to the birds who find refuge from winds and frost on his back porch.

It’s hard not to be buoyed by Pascoe’s own love for Country and his hope for the future – that Australia will embrace its Aboriginal history and one day revel in the food that was cultivated and cared for on this ancient land, for thousands of years.  

And it’s hard not to feel excited about the grains and tubers that his farm is hoping to bring back into our food chain, to bring onto our plates – not just within ‘chef hatted’ restaurants but indeed, onto our weekly shopping lists.

I harvested some lily tubers from the garden. They are lovely at this time of the year and I am sure they will become one of Australia’s favourite vegetables. They are clear and snap fresh and delicious.

-Black Duck, page 175

As someone who is certainly keen to incorporate the food and flavours of this country into their cooking, this was a most interesting read. It’s also quite gentle in its approach – Pascoe’s manner is warm, frank and friendly. It’s a great book to dip into here and there, put down for a bit, have a think and a cuppa, return to.

For more, Tony Birch who is one of my literary heroes has penned a great review of Black Duck.

A restorative hair mask

This treatment surfaced in some old files I was sorting through; I gave it a whirl and my hair felt so lovely afterwards, that I thought I should probably share it. Will note that my hair is thick, undamaged and dark, so not sure how it would work on other hair types.

What you will need

• 1 egg yolk (lightly beaten to begin with)

• 15ml good quality olive oil

What you will need to do

• beat ingredients together

• massage mask into hair before washing

• gently comb or divide evenly into strands with fingers

• wrap hair in a warm towel

• chill with a cuppa and a quality read for 20-30 minutes

• gently shampoo out of your hair, but you know, use a lot of shampoo because egg

• seal the deal with a final spurt of cold water.

Some new cookbooks

I mentioned in last month’s bumper edition that I had recently purchased a copy of Hamed Allahyari’s Salamati, written in partnership with Melbourne food writer Dani Valent. I have personally long been interested in Iran and its cuisine; and in accepting it’s a country I may not ever visit, I plan to cook my way there instead. I’m thinking I might start with Kashk e Bademjan (an eggplant-based dish, I wonder how it would taste with river mint?). There’s also a recipe for Persian love cake, which I’ve been keen to perfect for a long time. Will report back soon.

Have also procured a copy of The New Wildcrafted Cuisine by Pascal Baudar. Pascal forages in the USA, but I guess thanks to the many introduced plants to my own country, the same principles and recipes can be applied. Now that I’ve wrapped my head around the ethics of foraging, I’m keen to further immerse myself into the practice of doing so.

They are both very interesting cookbooks that I’m happy to have added to my collection.

And finally, recommendations

• Watch: Alone Australia is back and I am very excited about this. Ten survivalists have been dumped in the remote wilderness of Te Waipounamu, the South Island of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Unlike last year’s cast, they’re allowed to bring a bow and arrows. Also unlike last year’s contestants, they’re ‘stranded’ in a foreign country, perhaps completely out of their element. Can’t wait to see who the last person standing is. Watch it on SBS On Demand.

• Listen: A teacher recently made note of an innitiative called Dreamy, which holds a collection of stories told by First Nations storytellers. They are sleep stories! Disconnect from your device and your mind and connect to Country instead.

Hope your sleep is sweet.

See you next Thursday. ‘Til then, stay well and well-fed.

-Celine

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