April 5

Published by Panetary Health Initiative on 05/04/2022

DARN!

There is something so satisfying about tackling something I’ve procrastinated over for a very long time. I love wearing black pure wool skivvies, but I think the moths love them as much as I do, and sometimes my gardening life plays havoc with them as well. Today I finally googled ‘how to repair holes in jumpers’ and tackled my first repair. It’s not perfect, but at least the hole won’t get bigger and the repair isn’t as noticeable as the hole was! 

PLANT-BASED EATING – Chinese Scallion Pancakes

Our perennial Welsh bunching onions have thrived during this wet season and because we cut them at the base, rather than pulling them out, they just keep on growing back.

If you need a treat, these Chinese scallion pancakes are delicious.

While the recipe looks a little complicated it’s actually very easy!

Chinese Scallion Pancakes

Notes

In order to make the pancake chewy but still easy to cook, use both hot boiling water and cold water. Hot boiling water dough is soft when well cooked, while cold water dough produces a chewier texture.

Use only the green part of scallion or green onion. The hard white part usually pierces the wrapper.

It is important to rest the pancake just before the last rolling out. In every step of this recipe, cover your dough with a wet cloth to prevent drying out.

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Ingredients

  

• 2 cups plain flour (nearly 300g)
• 3/4 cup water (½ cup hot boiling water + ¼ cup cold water) + 10ml for adjusting
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable cooking oil
• 2 cups chopped scallion (use green part only)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp Chinese five spice powder

For dipping sauce:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 scallion, sliced thin
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• pinch chilli flakes

Instructions

 

• Mix salt with all purpose flour in a large mixing bowl. Make a small hole in the centre and then pour the hot water in. Wait for 10 minutes and then stir in the cold water and vegetable oil. Form the dough into a ball, cover and rest for 5 minutes.
• Knead until very smooth (around 3-5 minutes ). The dough should be quite soft. Cover and rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

  After resting, the dough should be quite easy to roll out. Divide the large dough into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a large round circle (18-20cm). Brush each one with some sesame oil, sprinkle with Chinese five spice power and chopped scallion (leaving 1 cm without onions around the edge).
• Roll up the circle into a cylinder.
• Roll the cylinder into the shape of a snail.  Cover with wet cloth and rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Roll out the pancake to large around circle. Be gentle and use your hands as much as possible because a rolling pin will puncture the dough. It will be around 18cm in size.
• Brush a frying pan with oil. Pan-fry on medium temperature until the surface becomes brown around 2-3 minutes. Turn over to fry the other side. Use a spatula to press the circle from time and time especially the central part to ensure the circle is evenly fried.
• Combine ingredients for dipping sauce. Cut pancakes into 6 triangles and enjoy!

PRODUCE > CONSUME

The only guests at my formal dining table nowadays are my seedlings … they have taken over the room!

Given that onions are central to most of our meals, this evening I added to a very big guest list, when I also sowed seeds of Australian Brown onions. Fortunately, some of my guests are now big enough to relocate into our outside garden this coming weekend.

WHAT ACTIONS ARE OTHER PEOPLE TAKING?

Today Ian put up a Climate Action Now sign on his car and posted his action for A Year in a Day for Thursday when we’re making an attempt to reach 365 new actions for World Health Day. He’ll be signing the Open Letter for the Macquarie Alliance for Climate on Thursday.

Yesterday Libby watched the documentary- “Kiss the Ground”. She thought it was a fantastic movie showing how our health and the health of the planet are connected; how we can reverse climate change with our soils; and how we can grow and farm food. She recommends everyone sees it!

OUR HAVE YOUR SAY PAGE IS UP FOR WORLD HEALTH DAY IF YOU’D LIKE TO POST THE ACTION OR ACTIONS YOU’LL BE DOING ON 7 APRIL … you can post a photo too!

Share your action here: https://yoursay.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/world-health-day

The theme for World Health Day this year is Our Planet, Our Health – recognising that our health is totally dependent on the health of the earth’s natural systems.

We’re try to reach 365 actions in one day, the action of a whole year in a day, but we really really need your help. Would you consider doing and sharing one or more actions, and inviting everyone you know to join you, so that we can really show how serious we are about turning things around to create a healthier world.

Research by academics at Leeds University, engineering firm Arup and the C40 Cities climate group has identified that 73 per cent of all changes needed by 2030 to keep the world on course to meet the Paris agreement targets need to be made by governments and industry. But private citizens have considerable influence over the remaining 27 per cent. So let’s get cracking!