It is always interesting to see a new edible and Isobel Crawford of Dickson is growing lima beans, the first time I have seen them fresh on the plant. Isobel, a botanist whose degree was completed at the University of Canberra, says she recommends the growing of the beans lima (Phaseolus lunatus) and snake (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis) as they are able to flower and set fruit at much higher temperatures than the usual temperate zone varieties like purple king and other 'green' beans.
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Like many beans, limas are toxic if not boiled for at least ten minutes, with the lid off, so do not used them uncooked. Isobel has shared her favourite hummus recipe which substitutes lima beans for chickpeas and is based on a Claudia Roden recipe from A Book of Middle Eastern Food (1974). I had a taste and it is deliciously creamy and pungent with garlic.
We first met Isobel in her garden a decade ago (Kitchen Garden. August 2006) when she was also caring for gardens in Turner, the Araluen and Deua Valleys but now the sole kitchen garden emphasis is in Dickson. Her solar passive house faces north and is well forward on the block and along the front wall is a bed for tall vegetables in summer, including zucchini and cucumbers, and lower species in winter brassicas and greens. Visitors flocked into the garden on March 4-5 when Isobel welcomed them for an Open Gardens Canberra event.
Isobel is a vegetarian and her veggie beds provide a kitchen bounty. In the raised beds with low walls of Canberra bricks there is a block of corn as tall as Isobel, ramblings of Queensland Blue pumpkins, Sherry Sweet tomatoes that were first purchase from Diggers and seed is saved, and Grosse Lisse, Amish Paste and Black Russian tomatoes. Young lettuce and mizuna seedlings are protected from sparrows by netting, and enormous plants of Lucullus silver beet which came as seed from local kitchen gardener Mark O'Connor decades ago. Each plant is widely spaced to give it room to grow to capacity and this facilitates picking and weeding.
One side path leads to the compost bin and chook yard. Twelve new Isa Brown pullets have recently been added to the chook pen. They are calm and unafraid birds and were purchased from Co Pham of Country Cacklers who comes from Temora to a stall at Jamison Trash n Treasure every week.
To the western side of the garden, just past a 22,400 litre water tank is the rather posh 'shedio', a combo storage and work area. It is flanked by a paved area shaded by grape vines and kiwi fruit vines and has a long waist-high outdoor working bench for harvesting and potting activities.
Along the back fence is a new 6,500 litre water tank which creates a thermal mass so a splendid Washington Naval orange tree is producing a large crop of still-green fruit. There is chai (Salvia hispanica) plants which came from Jeremy Bruhl, Professor of Botany at the University of New England in 2015. The on trend foodie seeds, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, continue to germinate. Chia is seldom seen growing in Canberra.
About 20-30 buckets of Brown Genoa figs have already been harvested from the garden and one huge tree is still netted to protect the crop. The figs came from cuttings grown by Isobel's father, Ken Crawford, in 1984 from his tree in Turner. Some are bottled in port or liqueur muscat with a little ginger added or dried as halves or fruit leather for which an electric dryer is used during the day, economical because of photovoltaic panels on the roof. Satsuma plums and quinces are used to make paste or fruit 'cheese', using half sugar by weight of fruit and Trevatt apricots are dried.
FIG AND GINGER JAM (half sugar recipe)
Water fig tree generously and pick fruit the next day or so. This will encourage ripening, rather than delaying it as happens with most other fruits. Destalk and cut off unripe base of ripe and freshly picked figs. Quarter them. Weigh, and add half as much sugar by weight. Leave overnight in a jam pan to allow the sugar to draw moisture out from the fruit. Resist strongly any temptation to add water. Cook slowly initially until fruit softens. Add Buderim 'naked' ginger or raw ginger cut into smallish (4-6mm) pieces. Add lemon juice to taste (100ml to 1kg of figs may not be too much).
Cook as for any other jam.
LIMA BEAN 'HUMMUS'
Substitute soaked and cooked lima beans for chickpeas in your favourite hummus recipe. Be generous with garlic and lemon juice (Lisbon or Eureka lemons rather than Meyer, if possible). Add iodised salt (even if you normally don't in cooking). For the tahini, Isobel buys hulled tahini from Mountain Creek Wholefoods in the suburb of Griffith.
Susan Parsons is a Canberra writer.
