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XX Sarah & Tillie

Dried beans: my medieval back-up plan

When I think about growing my own food I like to ponder how people would have managed the seasons in a time before supermarkets, before shops even.  I imagine medieval markets, Apothecary herb gardens and vegetable plots that would have literally had to keep families alive throughout the cold winters.  Open fires with a big black pot bubbling slowly over the hearth, a handsome knight coming home tired and hungry……. Ok,  clearly I might be getting a little off track here!

If I think of my life in 2013 this live or die sense of having access to food for my family is thankfully not there.  I have back-up.  Whether it be the supermarket, my fruit and veggie delivery service or even the local fish ‘n chip shop, I have access to food and luckily for my family they are not reliant on what I am producing in my kitchen garden!

There is one way however that we can prepare for the slow-growing months of winter, a way that I am pretty sure my medieval predecessors would have been on to.  I am talking about something that is virtually fat-free, lowers cholesterol, is chock full of vitamins and protein and most importantly tastes delicious. 10 points if you guessed it: dried beans.

The bean mix I planted from the Diggers Club. Includes Red Kidney, Cherokee Wax, Borlotti and French Flageolet

You grow dried beans just like you do regular beans and they also come in either bush or climbing varieties.  You can sow them at the start of spring and then by the end of summer the pods and the plants go all brown and dry.  I gave my plants some help to get completely dried out by hanging them from the washing line in the carport for a week.  Once the beans rattle around in the pods they are ready to shell.  This is so cool because they are so shiny and jewel like – the kids loved it. You can then store them in a glass jar in the pantry and when hard times hit they are ready to go.  Often summer delivers us more veggies than we know what to do with so it makes sense to grow something at this time that can be put aside for the leaner times.

Soaking over night – beautiful and bead like.

If I get back to my medieval fantasy, the standard meal for the masses was pottage.  Pottage was a soupy stew that contained whatever was on hand, usually it was oat based but they would also add dried beans in winter, any veggies, meat bones etc.  I am tipping that as it sounds as though pottage was on the menu at almost every meal people would have got pretty over it but in my family hearty soups have become a Monday night regular that everyone looks forward to.  It is also a healthy start to the week and a great way to do a fridge stocktake and clear out any droopy veggies.

Veggies on the chopping block.

Vegetable Soup with mixed dried beans

 Ingredients

1 cup of dried beans (e.g. Borlotti)

2 tbs Olive oil

1 onion chopped

2 garlic cloves crushed

2 tbs tomato paste

1 jar of tomato passata

5 cups of vegetable stock

1 carrot chopped

1 celery stick chopped

1 parmesan rind

Any other veggies chopped (I used cabbage, broccoli, turnip, parsley, brussel sprouts) – NOTE if I served the majority of these veggies to my kids as a side there is no way they would eat them but for some reason in soup they eat them all).

Step 1. Rinse you dried beans and leave them to soak over night.

Step 2. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a deep saucepan and cook onion and crushed garlic over medium heat until soft.

Step 4. Add tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes stirring.

Step 5. Add passata, vegetable stock and drained beans, bring to the boil and simmer for an hour or until beans are tender.

Step 6. Add the rest of the veggies and a parmesan rind (if you have one) and simmer slowly until veggies are cooked.  If it gets to thick just add water.

Step 7. Serve with chopped parsley, parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

Vegetable soup with dried beans.

So, there you go, not the most glamorous meal but the dried beans send a regular veggie soup to one that is supercharged with goodness.  The perfect winter back-up plan that is one for the ages.

-Tillie-

Scented Geraniums & the Sweet Garden

About a year a go I started what I call ‘the sweet bed’, a garden bed dedicated to growing sweet herbs for using in cooking. I already had quite a productive herb garden filled with all the usual herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme etc that I use for flavouring savoury dishes, however, when it came to making desserts and sweet dishes I found myself using lots of flavourings like vanilla, rosewater, peppermint etc and started asking myself (and google) are there any ‘sweet herbs’ for flavouring sweet dishes?

The Sweet Bed – Bordered with box hedge to keep it all neat and with an azalea in the centre to give it some height. All the herbs are planted behind the box hedge.

I initially started with mint and I discovered that there are many different types of mint like spearmint, peppermint, apple-mint and chocolate mint all of which I purchased and planted into the sweet bed.

I tried using mint for infusing into ice cream but I found that it imparts a bit of a ‘planty’ after taste so is only good if using with a strong flavour like chocolate.

I also tried distilling rosewater from rose petals with no luck and when I researched growing vanilla beans I came to a complete dead end as the climate in my backyard is far from the tropical climate of the Mexican East Coast.

Then just as i was about to give up the search for sweet herbs I discovered scented geraniums (pelargoniums).

I stumbled upon an article about scented pelargoniums and how they where a very popular plant in Victorian times for flavoring jellies, desserts, drinks and also used as an ingredient in perfume. Pelargoniums then fell out of fashion about a century ago but now the plant is making a comeback.

In its hight of popularity there were over 500 varieties of scented pelargoniums with such flavours like rosewater, lemon sherbet, orange fizz, tutti frutti, old spice, nutmeg and the list goes on.

Oh wow, this is what I have been searching for!

I’ll admit I was a little skeptical at first, I had used mint for flavoring desserts before but with only limited success.

So I purchased a ‘Rose Scented Pelargonium’ about 4 months ago from the Bulleen Art & Garden nursery and planted it into the sweet bed.

Last Sunday when I was in the garden I noticed that the pelargonium had grown to quite a decent size so I decided to try it out in the kitchen. I made a pear tart and infused some cream with the leaves of the pelargonium to make a rosewater cream for serving with the tart.

Holly Molly it worked!

It tasted exactly like rosewater cream – which I usually make with store bought rosewater.
Absolutely no plant aftertaste and a perfect complement to the pear tart.

Scented pelargoniums have now become my new obsession and I am planning my next purchase, so many flavours so little room!

I have been looking around on the web for recipes that use pelargoniums to flavour desserts but the recipes are far and few between so for now I think it will be a case of trial and error.

One technique that I am looking forward to trying is baking a vanilla cake and when it is cooked and still hot place the cake onto a bed of pelargonium leaves and the flavour will infuse in to the flavour of the cake. Yum!

Rosewater Geranium Cream Recipe

Ingredients

4 Rose Pelargonium Leaves
300ml Cream
1 Tbsp Icing Sugar

Directions

Gently heat cream in a small pot, do not allow to boil or simmer.

Cut leaves in half and lightly bruise, add leaves to cream.

Allow leaves to infuse into the warm cream for 1 -3 hours (as long as possible).

Remove from heat and drain mixture through a seive to separate leaves from cream. Squeaze leaves to impart as much of the flavours as possible.

Stir icing sugar into cream, refrigerate.

Xx Sarah

Egg Glut? Try this Lemon Soufflé with Lemon Curd Recipe

I was having guests over for dinner on Saturday night and as has now become the norm I was planning on serving dishes that have come almost exclusively from the produce we grow at home. During winter this can be quite a challenge so I needed to call on the big guns for some last minute advice and inspiration.

By ‘big guns’ I am referring to the very fabulous and very capable Kerry McFarland, aka my mother. The lady that single handedly started the black tie dinner party revolution during the 90’s recession. She could miraculously serve a 5 course dinner party for 20 on a $20 budget, a serious McGuyver in the kitchen!

I was stuck on dessert, I had a glut of lemons and eggs but I was sick of making lemon cheesecake. “I am trying to use only produce from the backyard” I explained and she laughed and said “you’ve really created quite a monster, haven’t you!”

We decided that I should make lemon soufflé with a side of lemon curd. “People are always so afraid of making soufflé but if you can make a white sauce you can make a soufflé” she said.

I am not good at cooking under pressure, especially after a few vinos so all preparations needed to be done ahead of time, here are the recipes with provision for making in advance…

Lemon Curd Recipe

Ingredients

2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80g) chilled unsalted butter
Zest and juice of 2 lemons

Directions

Whisk whole eggs, yolks and sugar in a saucepan until smooth, then place pan over a low heat. Add the butter, juice and zest and whisk continuously until thickened. Strain through a sieve into a sterilised jar. Lemon curd keeps, covered, in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Lemon Soufflé Recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more, room temperature, for dishes
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for dishes
8 large egg yolks plus 10 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons), plus 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 cup whole milk
Icing sugar – for dusting soufflés

Directions

1. Butter six 12-ounce soufflé dishes, and then dust with granulated sugar. Whisk together yolks, flour, zest, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

2. Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Slowly pour milk into yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent yolks from cooking. Return mixture to pan, and whisk until thick like a pudding, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in butter and lemon juice.

3. Beat whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form.

Tip: To test if the egg whites are stiff enough at this point turn the bowl upside down above your head and if it doesn’t fall out its ready.

4. Stir a third of the whites into the yolk mixture. Gently fold in the remaining whites using a rubber spatula.

5. Fill each soufflé dish to the top, and smooth with the spatula. Run your thumb around edges to remove batter from rims. This will ensure your soufflés rise tall and evenly.

6. At this point put the soufflés in the fridge until ready to be baked and served.

7. When you are ready to bake and serve the soufflés heat the oven to 180 degrees. Bake on a baking tray until soufflés rise and are golden, about 16 minutes. Dust with icing sugar, and serve immediately with the lemon curd and ice cream, before soufflés lose their height.

Tip: Prepare your dessert plates whilst soufflés are baking so that you can quickly add the baked soufflés to the prepared plates and serve. You can even make the ice cream scoops ahead of time and place them on a tray in the freezer ready for serving.

What falls from the sky and has saved me $100s?

When looking at gardening sustainably it pays to look around you and see what nature is giving you to work with.  In the past I have spent plenty of money having a truck of wood chips delivered to cover garden beds and on numerous occasions I have loaded my car with bales of pea straw from Bunnings to mulch my veggies.  I have done this for years all the time oblivious to the fact that in Autumn mulch literally falls from the sky.

Instead of sweeping your Autumn leaves back onto the street, incinerating them or filling your garden bin to the brim, let them work in the way nature has intended them to, a ground covering that keeps down weeds and sends nutrients back into our soil.

Here are a couple of ways I have been mulching with dried leaves this Autumn.

Sheet mulching with Autumn Leaves

We are currently in the process of doing some landscape gardening in our front garden.  At the moment we are at the stage of pulling out the mess of plants that are in the garden beds and basically creating a blank canvas to set out the plants when they are delivered.  The only thing is that if we leave them bare until the plants are ready to plant in Spring, weeds will be only too happy to takeover in the meantime.

In order to keep the weeds down and add valuable nutrients to the soil we have made the most of our Autumn leaves by sheet mulching.  There are lots of different ways to sheet mulch.  This is what we did.

Step 1. Remove all plants and weeds.

The chooks take a break from weeding to take a dust bath!

Step 2. Add some food to the soil.  We added a sprinkling of chicken poo.

Step 3. Cover the soil with newspaper – a few layers thick.

The newspaper will smother any weeds.

Step 4. Hose down the newspaper so it is nice and wet.

Step 5. Top with a nice layer of autumn leaves.

Doing this will not only improve the soil while we are waiting until Spring but it will also kill any weeds that are still hanging around in the soil.

Mulching your veggie patch with Autumn leaves

If you rake your Autumn leaves into a big pile and run them over with the lawn mower to chop them up a bit you will be left with a great mulch for your veggie beds.

A great mulch for my roots bed.

Of course if you have any leaves left over they will be a fine addition to the compost bin.

Happy mulching.

-Tillie-

Chicken Worming – the organic and low cost treatment

Its that time of month ladies!

“It’s that time of the month ladies” my 3 year old son calls out as we pour a fresh batch of worming mash into the chicken’s food bowl. I taught him to say that and I think it sounds so hilarious – he has no idea what he is saying!

We worm our chickens monthly with a home-grown and homemade recipe of de-worming mash. I found the recipe in an edition of the Organic Gardener Magazine a few years ago and every month I fumble through edition after edition trying to find the recipe. I’m hoping that by launching it into cyberspace I may now be able to find it at the tip of my fingers.

The recipe is so simple and if you grow the ingredients in your garden it’s practically free. It’s also free from chemicals so you can continue to eat the chicken eggs even after a fresh batch of worming.

According to Poultry Guru, Paul Healy, garlic, chillies and carrots are essential ingredients in preventing worms as they are a natural vermifuge, a plant that naturally helps expel intestinal worms.

It is recommended that you worm your flock every month as the mash purges them out of the body every four weeks before they get the chance to establish and begin shedding eggs.

**The mash is best served every four weeks on the last weekend before each full moon.

The chickens absolutely love this mix and will gobble it up in a flash.

Here is the recipe for the worming mash…

Serves 3 Chickens

Chicken worming mash, heat, mix and serve

Ingredients

300ml Whole Milk
1/2 a head of Garlic, crushed (added to the milk as soon as it is crushed)
1 Hot Chilli (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp Ground Paprika
1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric
1 Carrot (grated)
300 grams layers mash/pellets or your own feed.

Heat the milk and crushed garlic with the chilli, paprika and turmeric.

Warm the mix to a serving heat for porridge and then let stand overnight.

At dawn warm again then mix with 300 grams of layers mix or your own chicken feed and mix in the grated carrot.

Serve.

XX Sarah

Rad radish recipes: Soy dipped radishes & Quinoa and lentil salad

I am quite sure that if I gave my four-year old a packet of radish seed and sent her outside that in less than a month we would be harvesting them. They really are dead easy to grow and being incredibly fast growing there is a reason they are probably the first veggie grown by many kids.

While my kids are happy to grow them and love pulling these red or white beauties from the ground there is absolutely no way I can get them to eat them. This is understandable as the taste can be sharp, they even have a little heat. They are best eaten raw in order to enjoy their divine crispness.  Here are a couple of recipes where radishes shine as the sophisticated little veggie they are.

Soy-Dipped Radish Salad (recipe from Kylie Kwong’s Simple Chinese Cooking)

I used both red and white radishes

6 red radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons sea salt

Dressing

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon chilli oil

A fantastic addition to an asian banquet

Place radishes in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar and salt. Combine well using your hands, then set aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the dressing, place the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Drain reserved radishes and using your hands gently squeeze away any excess liquid. Place radishes in a serving bowl and drizzle with dressing.

Serve as a side to accompany a meal or as part as a banquet for 4-6.  

Quinoa and Lentil Salad with radishes and raisins (adapted from  Jane Blenkiron’s Quinoa and Lentil Salad Recipe)

1 cup quinoa

1/2 cup green lentils

The radish adds a delicious crunch

1/2 red onion thinly sliced

2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds

1/2 preserved lemon finely chopped

chopped parsley

4 radishes thinly sliced

1/3 cup raisins

large dash of olive oil

juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon

salt and pepper

Bring to saucepans each holding 4 cups of water to the boil and add a pinch of salt. Add quinoa and lentils to separate saucepans and bring to the boil, covered, for about 10 minutes.

Add sliced onions to the bottom of the serving bowl you will be using. Drain grains, removing excess water, and place in bowl on top of onions (this will slightly cook the onions).

Add remaining ingredients, season and leave to cool. Serve at room temperature.

The salad will keep for approximately 2-3 days. Last week I had it three days in a row with cold roast lamb and a dollop of yoghurt. So delicious and super good for you.

Another great feature of the radish is that it can be grown practically anytime of year. So next time you are at the nursery get yourself a packet of radish seeds and you won’t be disappointed.

-Tillie-

Bok Choy – A Recipe from the not too Far East

I’ve been harvesting Bok Choy for a couple of months now and I never seem to give it the respect that it deserves. It really is one of the unsung hero’s in my little kitchen garden.

I’ll admit it’s not hugely versatile, there’s only a few uses in the kitchen for it – stir fries and soups but where it really packs a punch is its ability to germinate and mature quickly in the cooler months and the fact that is furiously packed full of nutrients.

A brassica, related to cabbage, Bok Choy contains vitamins A, C, K, folate and antioxidants so it makes sense to grow Bok Choy during the colder months.

Bok Choy is one of the first crops I grow after the summer and autumn harvest as it ties us over whilst waiting for the Autumn & Winter crops to mature.

To ensure a long and continual harvest I stagger my plantings by sowing a row every couple of weeks so that it doesn’t all mature at once.

I have found growing Bok Choy relatively easy as long as I grow it anytime from Autumn to Winter, otherwise it bolts to seed. I add compost and fluff up the soil to make sure it’s nice and free draining and then sprinkle some seed direct onto the soil. Then very lightly rake over the soil to get a nice light covering. I never bother to thin the seedlings (although its recommended), they grow so fast and big or small it all ends up in the wok!

I like to lightly stir fry my bok choy with garlic and ginger and serve it as a side dish. Don’t over cook it otherwise it becomes like a sloppy wet tea towel in the pan!

Here’s my simple, quick & easy recipe…

Stir Fried Bok Choy with Ginger, Garlic and Oyster Sauce

Ingredients

3 -4 Bok Choy (stalks separated from the leaves)
1 Garlic Clove
3cm piece of Ginger
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock (I use frozen blocks of chicken stock as pictured above)
1 tsp. Corn Starch (mixed with a small amount of water to make a thin paste)
1 tbsp. Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp. Oil

Served with Honey Soy Pork. No awards for presentation but tasted damn good!

Heat the wok until ‘smoking hot’.

Add oil to the pan and toss in garlic and ginger and stir fry for a few seconds.

Add the Bok Choy stems and stir fry for 15 seconds.

Add chicken stock and put a lid on the wok to allow the stems to steam cook for approx. 1 minute.

Now add the leaves and stir fry until semi wilted (not too much).

At this point toss in the oyster sauce, mix for a few seconds and then add the corn starch mixture to thicken.

Remove from the heat, serve.

Edible landscaping: lessons from Willy Wonka

The most famous edible landscape I can think of is the amazing garden that is the centrepiece of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.  Made entirely of sweets and with a chocolate stream winding its way through, it was my ultimate childhood fantasy destination.  Mr Wonka certainly knew how to create a space that invited those kids to explore their surrounds with enthusiasm, to dive in (sorry Augustus!) and get lost in the moment.

“Everything in this room is eatable. In fact even I am eatable, but that is called cannibalism my dear children and it is frowned upon in most civilizations.” – Willy Wonka

Now that I am all grown up the thought of wallowing in a garden of lollipops and sugared flowers holds absolutely no appeal but one element I would love to take from Willy Wonka’s lifework is the feeling of wonderment that can be imparted through an edible landscape.  Of course I am not going to achieve this through candy canes but by using fruit trees, berries and vines in areas that traditionally we have filled our gardens with ornamentals.

I am not aiming to have a garden full to the brim with plants chosen on a criteria solely based on their ability to produce food. Rather I am approaching my landscape plan always thinking whether there is an edible alternative. I had a garden plan drawn up a few years ago by  Melbourne landscape designer Lisa Stafford.  All I can say is that landscape designing is an art. The ability to group and layer foliage and create focal points is something that takes much practice. When Lisa did the plan for me I wasn’t so interested in incorporating fruit trees into the garden.  Now that edible gardening is a goal of mine I am able to refer to the plan and investigate viable alternatives. aesthetics are important to us and for the most part I am planning to go with Lisa’s suggestions I have however identified a few opportunities to sneak in a fruit tree here and there.

Front garden plan

Behind the pond, in a very prominent position, I am replacing the Myrtus Luma with a Persimmon Fuyu. I have ordered this through the Diggers Club who describe the Persimmon as the “most beautiful of all fruiting trees”.

Persimmon Fuyu, image from diggers.com.au

In the plan there are two deciduous shrubs (senecio petasites), at the bottom and top of the driveway, that will receive a good amount of sun. These are about the same size at maturity of a highbush blueberry which are said to grow wherever azaleas grow.  Blueberries are a bit like tomatoes in that when you have grown your own they taste significantly better than any you will find in the shops.  This is because they are picked up to a week before they arrive in the supermarket. I love blueberries and so do my kids and they are just so good for you. If I can produce my own not only will they taste a million times better but I will save plenty of $$$ too.

Blueberry variety Blue Rose is a prolific producer, diggers.com.au

I have three trees left to “replace”.  They are on the plan as Crepe Myrtles  so they need to be small trees. I am leaning towards a plum, perhaps an apricot and I would love to fit in an avocado.  I am so glad I have the plan to refer back to because the key to succesful garden is understanding scale. As I get to planting out each bed I will be able to re-assess where I can replace an ornamental with a productive alternative.

Fruit trees do take a few years to produce but it isn’t hard for me to get lost in thoughts of clusters of blueberries and persimmons hanging like Christmas decorations.  If I can create a garden where my family can eat their own fruit straight from the tree it would be wonderful. And while I am not kidding myself that my kids would probably prefer the Willy Wonka alternative there is no doubting that mother natures option is pretty damn spectacular!

-Tillie-

Chilli Sauce Recipe – Rated ‘R’ for Romance

I stumbled upon a love scene a few days ago, in the kitchen of my in-laws home. I was picking up my children from the grandparent’s house when I found a message of love spelled out in chillies on the kitchen bench… “I love you”

My in-laws have a real passion for chillies and this was a sure sign that it was time for making chilli sauce.

Their story is one of fairytales and faraway places. A ballerina who found herself swept off her feet by a Portuguese gentleman in the Orient. A long way from Kidderminster England, he opened her eyes to a cuisine of Asian delicacies, spices and of course, chillies.

My father in-law’s heritage is from the Portuguese island of Macao and their cuisine is a combination of Portuguese and Chinese cooking – it’s the original fusion cuisine.

Many know of the chilli sauce making rituals of my in-laws. Friends and neighbours often come knocking with their latest and hottest home grown chillies to be road tested in the newest batch of chilli sauce but this year the source of chillies came from their very own backyard.

Here is the recipe for Chilli sauce, with a hint of the Orient.
Courtesy of Bosco & Marilyn Correa

Ingredients

200 grams Birds Eye and/or Hot Thai Chilies – Stems removed and roughly chopped
1 large garlic clove peeled and roughly chopped
3 tbs ginger peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbs grated lemon zest
3 tsps sugar or to taste
1 tsp salt or to taste
¾ cup white vinegar

Place all ingredients in either a food processor or blender and puree until the sauce is comepltly smooth. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning to taste.

Pour into sterilised glass jars. Secure lids. Refrigerate.