Not your usual way of cooking – more like dealing with a glut
February has mostly been kind so far, the days that have been hot and sunny have not disappointed and have been proper summer hot and sunny. We just won’t talk about the other days… But things in the garden are ripening up at a great rate of knots and it is fabulous to do my meal planning right there in the garden. And with … Continue reading Inauthentic Kimchi
Is that even a thing? Well it is now, especially in our house as I crunch my way through a bowl of deliciousness. With the holidays behind us and routine returning to normal, much to our surprise the sun decided now was a good time to shine and the weather has been glorious. This is what summer is all about. Then what happens? … another … Continue reading Marrow Chips
A lot of things are demanding my attention in the garden at the moment as the festive season neglect is slowly coming to an end. I’m torn between doing a systematic overhaul one bed at a time so the garden is back to where it should be in an orderly fashion, or running about tending to the most urgent things first. The problem with this … Continue reading Hot buttered toast with a good blob of Black Currant Jam
There was a break in the weather, so I decided to crack on regardless of the muddy, floody grass around the garden. The raised beds themselves had drained nicely, so the soil structure around the garden just had to take a hit for the team. I did lay planks down in the places I’d be working the most in an exercise in damage limitation. Deciding … Continue reading Fake it until you make it
This is another of those weird and wonderful things that find their way into my odds and sods bed. I spotted the seeds in a catalogue last winter. It seems like such a long time ago now, but I remember double backing on my page turning and thinking “hmmm…. I wonder…..” This often means something crazy is about to happen. Once I got to the … Continue reading I tried to make marshmallow – the old school way.
Tonight’s meal was another fabulous offering, straight from the garden, but created especially for the seasonal delicacies by the lovely Warren Elwin for Bite magazine in the New Zealand Herald and inspired by what is going on in my garden. I feel so privileged to have such amazing recipes drawn from what I have growing and it wouldn’t do not to attempt the wonderful recipes … Continue reading The tomatoes were the star of the show
My recent article in Bite, the fabulous foodie section of the NZ Herald came with a wonderful accompaniment, a collection of recipes to complement what is being harvested in my garden. Each one was a mouth-watering wonder and it only made sense to recreate each one for my dinner each night, using the very harvest that was the inspiration in the first place. First up I … Continue reading Reaping what has been sown.
Sometimes you see something in a catalogue, that piques your curiosity and you have a wee corner in the garden with no real plans for, or can do a bit of strategic rearranging to make it fit. Often it is something new and exciting and your heart leaps for joy at the thought of watching this exciting addition unfold over the season. Or it something … Continue reading I grew Tomatillos – Now what?
Many moons ago, when I was young and carefree, I travelled halfway around the world to experience what it was like to live in England. Because that is what young kiwis do. It is almost like a rite of passage to head off on your OE (Overseas Experience) and see what the great big world has to offer before heading home and starting your grown … Continue reading Eating like a ploughman
I’ve had mixed results with my onions this year. My Hunter River White onions were ginormous! They were my best ever in all the seasons I’ve been growing onions and I could put behind me the dreadful season where the entire crop ended up in two pickle jars. This year I’d be hard pushed to fit one onion into a jar. With this success bolstering … Continue reading Size doesn’t matter – it is all edible to me
