organic vegetable gardening courses, growing tips and homegrown recipes.
I picked the first baby leaves of mesclun sown a month ago for a green salad this week. Dog inspected for freshness of course. I usually prefer choosing a single variety of salad but this experiment has worked well and I'll be picking the leaves for many weeks to come. You can grow mesclun for baby leaves in a pot or polystyrene crate for a 'back … [Read more...]
Some of my corn is past its best so ideal to use in soup. Roasting brings out a sweet and nutty taste in most vegetables. Use the best stock you can as this makes a material difference to the finished product. Garnish with some freshly chopped herbs. Four cobs of corn, husks and silks removed One medium potato, peeled and chopped into a few … [Read more...]
The mornings are drawing in and getting cooler but that means plenty of rich pickings. I've made ruby-red Omega plum jam this week with boughten plums. Also some bright greeen pesto with some vigorous basil and lots of garlic. I freeze what I can't use immediately. You can get some help with how to best use your produce from A Good Harvest: Recipes … [Read more...]
I saw Omega plums advertised on the main street in Greytown in the Wairarapa. It's worth the short detour to Murphy's orchard as their plums are picked perfect, sweet and prolific. Particularly if your husband tells you that his third favourite jam is plum jam (behind blackcurrant and apricot). Omega plums are ruby red all the way through which … [Read more...]
A wonderful harvest of corn this year, thanks to the plentiful rain. I choose to grow corn 'chieftain' because I can buy seeds untreated. It's also sweet and delicious. I sowed the seeds in early October in a grid-pattern (24 plants, six rows of four, in a bed 1.2m x 1.8m) so even in a smallish garden, it's not impossible to fit it in. It does need … [Read more...]
There was an intriguing beetroot soup, served hot, on the menu at Nikau Cafe in Wellington this week. I consulted Ray McVinnie's view on the classic Russian beetroot and red cabbage soup, bortsch, but was inspired to make my own soup with roasted tomatoes and beets, cooked at the same time as I had the oven on for something else. It was beautiful … [Read more...]
My recipe for corn fritters is heavier than most on eggs and corn because that's what I have and that's the way I like'em. A mere variation on zucchini fritters and beetroot fritters. For lunch with a salad, to accompany pre-dinner drinks or barbecue fare, they're adaptable and appealing. Better made fresh, but you can chill them and reheat them in … [Read more...]
It's been a good summer for root vegetables, including beetroot. You may have exhausted your appetite for beetroot salads and beetroot fritters. Carrot and pumpkin are popular in cakes, for some reason beetroots less so, but they bring colour, texture and moisture to baking. Beetroot brownie is one way to use them, or you could try these cup cakes … [Read more...]
Root vegetables are transformed by roasting (50 minutes at 180 degrees C) in a slosh of olive oil and with a sprinkle of salt. They are delicious, versatile and attractive. This was our Saturday night combo - beetroot, turnip, carrots, potatoes (strictly a tuber, not a root), garlic and corn. All fresh from the garden. I could have substituted … [Read more...]
Some days in the garden in Wellington, there is nowhere better. Today was one of those days. Sun, but not too hot. Wind, but not too strong. So many tuis, blackbirds and sparrows it was almost deafening. Even the California quails were chatting to me, or perhaps I was overhearing them chatting to each other. It's perfect weather for the start of … [Read more...]
