By Dorothy Kwaczel
My name is Dorothy Kwaczel. I was born in February 1959 in Poland, the youngest in a family of five children.
When my father died, my blood uncle and aunt, who lived in Australia, wanted to take me here to help my mum. So, in 1967, I came to Australia by aeroplane, on my own, aged 8 years old, to live with them. I had never seen them before in my life.
We lived in Coburg. There I grew and learned, and later started working as a secretary in the city. At age 19, I got married, and we bought a new home in St. Albans, not too far from the Sunshine Hospital. We lived there for 20 years.
It is there that I pursued many hobbies, learning to sing, knitting garments, crocheting, calligraphy, and flower arranging. I had a love and passion for gardening, and was a ‘walking encyclopedia’ of plants’ names and herbs, and my thirst for natural therapies began. I studied Naturopathy in 1992, but couldn’t finish as I did not have enough money.
We then moved to Altona Meadows, and I was lucky enough to work for a Chiro multi-practice.
I have become involved with the Wyndham Women’s Support Group. Here I have met many new friends. It is the place to talk over our troubles or share our joys, within the confines of safety and confidentiality, where our secrets won’t get passed on to outsiders. It has been my pleasure to participate in fun activities which they organise, or just simply share and converse with such wonderful women from so many different countries: a true multicultural experience and a feeling of oneness with them all. A lovely and warm atmosphere envelopes us. I also do voluntary gardening for the group, where I get to express my deep love and passion for all things gardening and herbs.
Uses and tips for some essential kitchen herbs
HERB CULINARY USE
BASIL – Good to use in omelettes, with cheese, eggs, stuffings for fish, meat and chicken. Also, pesto. Great used with fresh tomato dishes or any cooked tomato dishes.
MARJORAM – Great in most soups, stews, dressings and egg dishes.
OREGANO – Good in sauces, pizzas, tomato dishes, bolognese sauce, eggs, meats, soups, devilled eggs and omelettes.
PARSLEY – Best used in ALL SOUPS, as garnish for many dishes, for e.g.in tabbouleh, with eggs, cottage cheese, all salads, vegetables and meat.
ROSEMARY – Good in lamb roast, stuffings, potatoes, summer squash. Used in a nut loaf.
SAGE – Good with cheddar cheese and sharp cheeses. Poultry and fish stuffing.
THYME – Cottage cheese, devilled eggs, French dressing. Soups andfatty dishes.
DILL – Fresh with cottage cheese, fish dishes, potatoes, French dressing, sour cream dressings, mayonnaise and coleslaw.
MINT – Cream cheese, lamb roast, coleslaw and peas. Great for desserts and fruit dishes to garnish. Good with chocolate.Great in drinks and garnishing drinks.
SALAD BURNET – Good herb to use in a salad and in drinks. Best used with cucumber as it helps to digest the cucumber. It has a cool cucumber flavour as well.
Gardening Tips
Don’t overfeed herbs in the garden. Just feed once with compost and or blood and bone. Most herbs love an alkaline soil, especially lavender and sage. Herbs love good drainage, but not all herbs thrive in sandy soil. Most can be happy in a moderate textured soil or loam. They need renewing every three to four years, and this can be done with cuttings or other propagating measures. Small herbs should not be allowed to flower, if possible, as that weakens their strength. (Not applicable for rosemary or other large shrub herbs). Don’t neglect to water herbs in summer – they do need regular water here in Australia.
