​We're incredibly excited to share some special recipes created by one of our frequent and talented young visitors, Charlee (11y/o), and her mother, Kellee! Charlee and Kellee are great friends of Mandurah Community Gardens (MCG), and we were thrilled when they offered to share some of Charlee's original creations, especially those using bush tucker and other unique plants growing in our garden.

​Charlee is already a recognised expert—she's even been featured at the Mandurah Crab Festival! Her passion for fresh, local ingredients, and her unique culinary pairings are truly inspiring.

We send a huge thank you to Charlee and her mum Kellee for sharing these wonderful recipes with the MCG community! Their dedication to using fresh, seasonal, and unique ingredients is an inspiration to all of us.

Give these recipes a try using fresh ingredients from your own garden or from a visit to MCG!

This simple and fresh salad is elevated by the inclusion of beautiful borage flowers— a great way to add a pop of colour and a cucumber-like flavour!

Ingredients:

• Parsley
• Tomatoes
• Borage flowers
• Chives

Method:

1. Finely chop the parsley, tomatoes, and chives.
2. Place the chopped ingredients into a bowl with the borage flowers.
3. Stir gently to combine.
4. Serve immediately and enjoy this garden-fresh delight!

A fiery and fragrant seasoning blend that’s perfect for adding a kick to your favourite meals.

Ingredients:

• Fresh sage
• Fresh chillies
• Salt flakes

Method:

1. Dehydrate the chillies and sage in a dehydrator until completely dry.
2. Place all ingredients into a blender.
3. Blend for just 3-5 pulses—you want a coarse mix, not a fine powder!
4. Enjoy: Sprinkle on pizzas, stir into soups, or use on eggs and grilled vegetables.

This is a fantastic recipe for using up edible leaves that often go overlooked! Both choko leaves (cut in half) and nasturtium leaves (cut in half) are great sources of vitamins and have a subtle peppery flavour.

Ingredients:

• Fresh choko leaves (cut in half)
• Fresh nasturtium leaves (cut in half)
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

1. Using a dehydrator, dehydrate the leaves for approximately 5 hours or until they are completely dry and crispy.
2. Place all ingredients (dried leaves, salt, and pepper) into a blender.
3. Blitz until the mix turns powdery.
4. Pour the seasoning into a bowl or jar for storage.
5. Use it: Stir into pasta sauces, sprinkle over mash potato, or use it as a special seasoning in an egg salad!

​Malabar Spinach is a beautiful climbing plant that can also be grown as a perennial ornamental vine. I have been growing this Asian Climbing Spinach from seed for only a couple of months, so it hasn't reached its full height of about 10 feet. This spinach plant is a staple in countries like India because, unlike most other spinach varieties, it grows in summer. 

It is often eaten raw but I wasn't overly impressed with the texture. I probably should have picked the leaves sooner for use in salads. Anyway, before deciding whether I should grow Malabar Spinach as an annual next summer I decided to get the members of the Mandurah Community Gardens to take a vote and tell me what they thought. To this end, I cooked Malabar Spinach Fritters. One of the reasons I chose this recipe was because it required Chick Pea Flour. If you heard about this or tasted it before, your way ahead of me.
It is MARVELOUS!!! You can use this flour like you would any other - including pancakes. I found it at the bulk foods shop outside Woolworths in the Forum. It isn't as rare as I thought so you can probably buy it from regular grocers. 

The Malabar Spinach Fritters was a HUGE success. Everyone seemed to love them - so I will share the recipe. Although you may also like to try it fried with garlic.

1 cup of Chick Pea Flour
Pinch of Baking Powder
1/2 cup water
Salt and Pepper.

Mix ingredients to make a batter. Dip the Malabar Leaves in batter and fry until golden. Since I'm not a cook my battering skill needs work, but that didn't affect the flavour and a good time was had by all.

Shared by member, Lana - Plot #20