The wonderful smell of baking bread makes a house feel like a home. Spend a fun afternoon baking with the whole family with this bush recipe!
'Heal Country' is a theme running through all that we do at TG's Child Care. The children create stories and artwork based on the country and the flags that represent the traditional custodians.
Our Heal Country theme has a delicious aspect to it too. The children have even been introduced to aboriginal cuisine!
The children have made traditional lemon myrtle biscuits and also damper* with bush tomatoes and parsley cooked over a campfire! As you can imagine, gathering around a real campfire while delicious smells filled the air was great fun for the children, and amidst this Playing is a lot of Learning for Life. It's an opportunity for the children to learn about and explore aboriginal culture, and how stories have been told through sounds and music. Once we even invited one of the children's fathers to join us at our campfire to play his Didgeridoo!
(*Damper is also known as bush bread or seedcake. It's a kind of bread made by Australian Aborigines, typically made by crushing native seeds into a dough and then baking them in hot coals.)
There is much to learn from cooking in indigenous culture. There is a gentle wisdom in the importance of sharing one's table with friends, family and community. Everyone is welcomed, and there is a warm understanding among people that we are all interdependent and equal. Everything is respected, be it the land we live on, the nature that sustains us, the people that surround us.
The ingredients used for cooking in indigenous culture are as sustainable as you can get. They come straight from the land around the people. Indigenous cooking is a great way to build awareness, knowledge and appreciation of the richness of Australia. There are so many amazing ingredients and flavours right on our doorstep.
Fun Fact:
Wattle seeds are edible seeds from the Australian Acacia and it was traditionally used as food by the Aboriginal Australians. It is very healthy and is suitable for use in diabetic foods.
Wattle Seed Damper Recipe
Ingredients:
3 cups of self raising flour
A pinch of salt
1 tbspn of wattle seeds
1/2 cup of water (or more)
Note: Remember to pre-heat your oven to 180degC.
Method:
Add the self raising flour and wattle seeds and salt to a large bowl.
Next, add a bit of water, mix and gradually add more water until you get a dough consistency.
Sprinkle some flour on a board and place the dough on the board.
Knead well.
Place onto a tray and put it in the oven.
Note that the size of your damper and cooking time will vary depending on the size. If you are not sure, just tap it and if it sounds hollow, it is ready!
Let cool and serve with butter and jam.
Tell us how you served your wattle seed damper and what's your favourite thing to have with it! Happy baking!
TG's Child Care locations and contact details:
Urangan QLD
+61 (07) 4184 2282 | urangan@tgschildcare.com.au
61 Miller St, Urangan, QLD 4655
Armidale NSW
+61 (02) 6772 7810 | armidale@tgschildcare.com.au
11 Samuelson Crescent, Armidale NSW 2350
Uralla NSW
+61 (02) 6778 3369 | uralla@tgschildcare.com.au
23B John St, Uralla NSW 2358
Wauchope - Hastings St NSW
+61 (02) 6585 1033 | HastingsStreet@tgschildcare.com.au
33B Hastings St, Wauchope NSW 2446
Wauchope - High St NSW
+61 (02) 6585 3331 | HighStreet@tgschildcare.com.au
223A High St, Wauchope NSW 2446
Wauchope - Riverbreeze NSW
+61 (02) 6585 2981 | riverbreeze@tgschildcare.com.au
3 Riverbreeze Drive, Wauchope NSW 2446
About TG's Child Care
As one of Australia's leading early learning Preschool and Long Day Care providers, TG's Child Care is dedicated to its philosophy of “Quality Lifelong Learning, where Playing is Learning for Life.” Children attending TG's Child Care are encouraged to experience a love and joy of learning throughout their time there and are equipped with skills and tools to continue their personal growth long after they’ve left.
At TG's, we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land where we work and live. We pay my/our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also work and live on this land.