organic vegetable gardening courses, growing tips and homegrown recipes.
Days are getting longer, just. The first signs of spring are here as the eager starlings try to find a nest site in our roof. The harvestable crops are definitely still winter ones. I'm fond of anything liquorice-flavoured in its natural (tarragon, fennel, dill, star anise) or processed (pastis, licorice chocolate logs, Black Adder Chai) state. … [Read more...]
Fennel grows well through the winter and has an affinity with the sweetness of apples. I'm not a big sage fan but this was a subtle combination that would work well with pork or ham. Serves 2 as a side dish. A knob of butter One small bulb of fennel, trimmed of leaves and stem and finely shredded One apple, cored and sliced One … [Read more...]
If left to their own devices, most hens stop laying over winter. My chooks have started laying again, particularly Mabel's daughters who are regularly laying petite eggs, as they get the hang of things. The only problem comes when you want a soft boiled egg (or two) for breakfast and it disappears into the egg cup. I'm giving the girls plenty of … [Read more...]
If your chooks are laying, it's time to make your own pasta, because pasta is a game you can eat. Even better when it's green. You could use young nettles, spinach or silverbeet to colour your pasta. Each would add its own distinctive taste. I chose wild watercress shoots for this one. The trick is to blanche your greens for a minute in a pan of … [Read more...]
This slow cooked pheasant casserole would work just as well with chicken or rabbit. Sweet chestnuts are a traditional accompaniment to pheasant as they both appear at the same time of year. Pheasant is very lean so works better casseroled rather than roasted in my opinion. One good sized pheasant would serve four like this, accompanied with some … [Read more...]
If you find some battered bargain bananas at the supermarket, you can always freeze them, without their skins on, until you're ready to make banana cake. They're often not as battered on the inside as they appear. I find a 23cm square silicone baking mould doesn't need greasing, cooks quickly and never sticks. You need to put it on a normal baking … [Read more...]
'Two bolts in a bag' is a family idiom for making a small amount of progress on a project every day. It is a quote from a friend who was doing a long-term restoration of a classic car and said that he always made sure he did something towards it every day, even if it was just to put 'two bolts in a bag'. I hope he labelled them as … [Read more...]
