organic vegetable gardening courses, growing tips and homegrown recipes.
I weeded the onions I sowed at the beginning of August. They are still only tiny seedlings eight weeks later thanks to some erratic temperatures. The ones I sowed indoors at the beginning of September are about the same size. I'm sowing some more outside now and I suspect they'll end up all being ready together. There are lots of onions to try. If … [Read more...]
These North African spice mixes are easy to make with store cupboard ingredients. I sprinkle some over a salad, use them as a topping for fish or a steak or serve them as a pre-dinner dip with a bowl of extra virgin olive oil and slices of home made bread. The nuts and seeds must be fresh. You can toast the nuts and seeds in a dry, heavy bottomed … [Read more...]
A pheasant is a wild bird, is lean and has worked hard. Roasting it is likely to result in a dry, tough and sinewy offering. Slow cooking brings out the best of pheasant, is easy and tolerant of delays. I don't pre-cook the ingredients but do blend the garlic, onion, oil and vinegar together first to make the start of the sauce. You don't need as … [Read more...]
We'll cover the relative benefits of wormeries, bokashi buckets and compost heaps on the fresh food garden course. Here's why I have a wormery and a compost heap: 1. Free liquid feed - the liquid from your wormery is nutrient rich and full of microbes to improve your soil and feed your plants 2. Reduce your kitchen waste - wormeries can … [Read more...]
This all started with a visit to the temptations of La Bella Italia in Petone to buy some special flour to make home made pasta. I ended up buying lots of exciting and inspiring Italian ingredients, including arborio rice and dried porcini mushrooms. I made this risotto in an ancient Le Crueset casserole which will go on the stove and in the oven … [Read more...]
Loosely based on saag aloo, a quick side dish this uses two current staples - perpetual spinach and store-cupboard potatoes. Left over potatoes from a Sunday roast are even better, but we never seem to have any. I've also done this as a 'aloo gobi' with a spinach/cauliflower combo - steamed cauliflower florets replacing the potato. We serve it with … [Read more...]
I was going to post a picture of carrots I'd grown in a polystyrene crate. Sown in March I dug them yesterday to eat for dinner. I left them on the front step and when I returned there was nothing but the tops remaining. Tess had enjoyed them for her dinner instead. A few were a bit bent at the end where they'd reached the crate but not a bad crop … [Read more...]
An opportunity to use up some decrepit beekeeping equipment in the hope of enticing a swarm of bees (my own or someone elses) into a new home. It consists of a beehive floor, a three-quarter depth super full of old frames, a crown board and a lid. The theory is it should be set up somewhere high (above 2m) but last time I set it up on a flat roof, … [Read more...]
This is one of my regular bread-maker bread recipes. It makes superb doorstep BLAT sandwiches. I might try dehydrating some tomatoes next year so I'll be able to make this with my own sun-dried tomatoes. I often add some rosemary or thyme leaves. I make this in a bread maker, adding the ingredients in the order listed. You'll know the order for … [Read more...]
A simple, hearty and delicious vegan salad that can be served warm or cold. 500g kumara peeled, diced and lightly steamed until still firm. Even better roasted if you have time. 200g cooked chickpeas - I cook a large batch in the slow cooker and freeze what I don't need or you can used canned Five dried figs, finely chopped Six pieces … [Read more...]
