organic vegetable gardening courses, growing tips and homegrown recipes.
Pesto is usually made from basil and pinenuts but in spring when there are lemons and coriander about, I make this version. Mix it through mashed potato, spread it on a lamb steak before you wrap it in proscuitto and roast for about 20 minutes, use a tablespoon of it as a topping for a piece of fish or in pasta sauce. I spread it on sandwiches and … [Read more...]
Sometimes the weather isn't right for outside gardening. Sometimes you don't have access to a garden. Sometimes you want to try something new to get your kids interested in growing things. Here are three things you can grow without leaving your house. You could get your kids to help you make lemon curd too. They'll certainly help you eat … [Read more...]
A wonderful, pungent accompaniment to lamb or beef. Don’t worry too much about the quantities in this. Taste it and adjust the flavour at the end. It should be thick and spoonable like a good pesto. It’s best made just before serving to retain it’s ultra-green vibrancy but you can keep it, covered, in the fridge for a couple of days. Or you … [Read more...]
150g fillet of hoki topped with lemon zest, some dill leaves and and wrapped in a couple of strips of proscuitto. Drizzled with sesame oil and lemon juice and baked for 20 minutes at 180 degrees C. Rested for five minutes and then served with new potatoes and salad. … [Read more...]
I've got a bit of a thing about liquorice at the moment. It's an acquired taste, I know. You can add three liquorice herbs to your garden very easily - fennel, dill and french tarragon. You can buy plants or sow fennel and dill from seed. Fennel and dill will seed freely, which means they will be a useful weed in your garden forever. Tarragon … [Read more...]
Herbs are some of the most rewarding plants to grow in your garden. You transform a steaming bowl of tomato soup with a snip or two of chives. You enliven a take-away curry with a scattering of coriander. You don't need to stuff a chicken if you can roast it with half a lemon and some sprigs of thyme inside. Although many herbs tolerate some … [Read more...]
