2013 PRODUCE TALLY

Well I finally have put my butt into gear and getting back onto the blogging horse after having my second son! I thought I would start off with a tally of 2013's produce. I will also be updating on my birth story, renovation goals and our upcoming 3.5 week holiday!

Artichoke 507 grams
Bay Leaf 79 grams
Beetroot 3361 grams
Bok Choy 54 grams
Broad Beans 10506 grams
Broccoli 714 grams
Cabbage 5161 grams
Capsicum 2964 grams
Carrot 383 grams
Cauliflower 4008 grams
Celery 654 grams
Chili 735 grams
Corn 201 grams
Eggs 653
Garlic 3010 grams
Kale 879 grams
Kumquat 15 grams
Leek 2631 grams
Lemon 846 grams
Lettuce 771 grams
Loquat 295 grams
Marjoram 237 grams
Marrow 30853 grams
Onion 676 grams
Parsley 3125 grams
Peas 171 grams
Pumpkin 37902 grams
Rhubarb 2052 grams
Rosemary 4 grams
Sage 502 grams
Silver Beet 11843 grams
Tarragon 443 grams
Thyme 131 grams
Tomato 60732 grams
Zucchini 25671 grams

TOTAL 653 EGGS AND 212.116 KILOGRAMS OF FOOD

one of my favorite harvests, These guys lasted for 9 months throughout winter and were super easy to grow!

WHITEHORSE URBAN HARVEST

I have been looking for a local food swap for some time now and have finally found a couple in my area. I am hoping to frequent these and share my excess produce and gain some variety and knowledge while I do so! The Whitehorse urban harvest is held on the third Saturday of the month from 10 am - 12 pm, and despite the rain and cold there was a great turnout with sensational variety and lovely welcoming people who were willing to share their gardening wisdom! All produce that is brought is weighed in to record how much has been swapped and to prove to local council that this is a worthwhile event as the event is held at a local councils property. I cannot wait for next month's swap!

The goodies I took along.  A few chunks of cinderella pumpkin, some pieces of a maltese long marrow, bay leaves, dried chili and broad bean seeds 

Produce is first weighed and then laid out on a table and you are free to take what you like. 

I got some beautiful honey from a home apiary.

Some lovely limes

And some kaffir lime leaves

Persimmons (I have only tried these one and they were under ripe therefore they left a terrible furry sensation in my mouth. I have never been game to try them again. This time I will wait until they are fully ripe to indulge!)

And some plants for my garden. The far left is chilean guava the other potted one is cape gooseberry and the last is a flowering plant.

WEEKLY TALLY - NUMBER 12

I have been a little absent the last few weeks but bare with me as I catch up on some posts. We have been a little unwell here and extremely busy to top it all off! The garden is still a little slow as the winter veggies make the most of the sunny weather. My zucchinis have made a come back and hope to pick some of those soon!  Although they are growing much slower than when the weather was lovely and warm! The last of my pumpkins were harvested this week as the vine dried up. I have a nice supply for winter!

8/4/13 - 14/4/13

26 eggs
15490 grams pumpkin
8 g chili

TOTAL 26 EGGS AND 15.498 KILOS OF FOOD

MOROCCAN PUMPKIN DIP

This is a delicious light dip which is full of flavour. It's sensational with chicken or crusty bread, served on a dip platter. I used the pumpkins I harvested a couple of weeks ago.

INGREDIENTS

250 grams steamed pumpkin and mashed
200 grams tinned chickpeas rinsed and mashed
2 tbs oil
2 tbs lemon juice
1 small onion grated
1 tbs vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 clove garlic minced
handful shredded coriander leaves


Mix all ingredients together. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days

HARVESTING PUMPKINS

How do you know when to harvest a pumpkin? Weeks of growing energy in a delicious nugget, how do you know when it's at it's prime? This tip was taught to me by the man that inspired me to be self sustainable in terms of the food we grow some 4.5 years ago. He told me to pick pumpkins when the closest leaf to the fruit dies. Someone else told me to pick them when the whole vine dies, but I have had great success with allowing the closest leaf to die. So there you go, happy pumpkin growing!

WEEKLY TALLY - NUMBER 9

This week I had a lovely travelling family stay with us for a couple of nights and they offered to help clean up the last of the summer veggies! There are no more tomatoes left in the ground. The marrows have been pulled up and the beds weeded. I have planted all my garlic, and seedlings of cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, celery and leeks. Seeds of salad varieties have been scattered, as well as pea, snow peas and broad beans been planted behind a trellis.

Over grown garden BEFORE

Over grown garden BEFORE

overgrown garden BEFORE

Ready for winter AFTER

Ready for winter AFTER

With all the wind we had in Melbourne on Wednesday night and all day Thursday My pumpkins came out worse for wear, many of the have been harvested curing for winter storage. I have a few more on the vines waiting it out for another week or two until their section of the vine dies off. I planted a dedicated strawberry patch in hope that they receive more sunlight and thus produce more strawberries. My little man has fallen in love with strawberries these last few months after hating them.

18/3/13 - 24/3/13

Eggs 25
Capsicum 261 grams
Kale 240 grams
Marrow 14321 grams
Chili 42 grams
Tomato 1960 grams
Carrot 23 grams
Pumpkin 22412 grams

TOTAL 25 EGGS AND 39.259 KILOS OF FOOD

ROASTED PUMPKIN RISOTTO

No recipe yesterday as we had freshly caught snapper at a friends house! I haven't made this in years. Recently I bought 5 kg of arborio rice and need to use it up, so I thought I would revisit this recipe. it's so so easy to make and is budget friendly!

INGREDIENTS

2 C risotto rice like arborio
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil + 2 tbs olive oil
500 g pumpkin chopped
4 onions slices
1 bulb garlic skin removed
1 C white wine
600 ml chicken stock
1/4 C sour cream and extra to serve
1/4 C Parmesan grated
1/4 C tasty cheese grated
seasoning to taste

Put pumpkin, onion and garlic on roasting tray and season with salt and pepper, drizzle 2 tbs olive oil over and place in preheated oven at 180 C for 30 minutes until tender and slightly colored. When cooked place in large jug with stock and puree with stick mixer. Place butter and oil in large saucepan when hot add rice and toss to coat until it turns translucent. Add wine and stir until all absorbed. Add pumpkin puree and stir continuously  when it started to really bubble and spit put the lid on and turn to low and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. If too thick add some hot water and stir until ready. Risotto should run  on the place and not be gluggy. Check to see if rice is cooked. It should have some bite to it and not be mushy. When cooked add cheeses and Parmesan and sour cream, check seasoning and season to taste. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and cracked pepper.

OCTOBER PLANTING GUIDE

Successive planting for a family of 4...

Week 1
Peas 10 seeds
Turnips 4 seeds
Parsnips 12 seeds
Potato 8 tubers
Leek 8 seeds
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Cauliflower 8 seeds
Celery and Celeriac 4 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Corn 20 plants
Cucumber 3 seeds
Melons 4 seeds
Pumpkins 6 seeds
Zucchini 4 seeds
Basil 8 seeds
Spring Onion 12 seeds

Week 2
Lettuce 10 seeds
Cabbage 3 seeds
Kohlrabi 2 seeds

Week 3
Carrot 20 seeds
Peppers and Chili 2 seeds
Silver beet 1 seed
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Beetroot 6 seeds

Week 4
Lettuce 10 seeds
Peas 10 seeds
Turnips 4 seeds
Tomato 3 seeds

Week 5
Cabbage 3 seeds
parsnips 12 seeds
potato 8 tubers
Leeks 8 seeds
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Cauliflower 8 seeds
Celery and Celeriac 4 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Kohlrabi 2 seeds

INSPIRATION!

I have had a few people tell me they can't afford to grow there own veggies, as the start up cost of a patch is too much, and this can be true! I think you can be creative about it, you don't need raised beds, or a designated veggie patch at all. Do you have an existing flower patch? Have you thought of growing 'ornamental' fruit or veggies in that space so you can serve a dual purpose?

How about Rhubarb, beautiful red stems with bright green leaves.

Kale, purple or green always looks pretty.

Stick some garlic in the ground, no one will know that it's a bulb of garlic instead of a daffodil (well i won't) and garlic flowers are so pretty!

Who said veggies need to be grown in a veggie patch?

Globe artichokes are such a feature! Big and bold and you can get a purple variety as well!

A bay tree makes a great screen, perfect for winter soups and flavoring stocks and stews. Mine cost me under $5 and is now huge, and produces enough leaves for me to pick from it a couple of times a week!

Rainbow silver beet are so so pretty, with shades of red, pink, orange and yellow, why not add a splash of colour to your flower garden through winter? Something similar would be beetroot, great splash of colour!

You can get some wonderfully bright and multi-coloured chilis! And they do magnificently well inside on a warm window sill! move them outside in summer and you will enjoy you chili plant for years!

Cabbages look great as a boarder, get one like a savoy, bluey, pinky, purpuley with beautifully crinkled leaves! LOVE!

I grew my cucumbers and pumpkins over an arch last summer, why not so this in your yard, no patch required and not much space is used up, just dig a hole and plant your creeper in! I had so many cucumbers i couldn't keep up!

Herbs do so well in a window box, inside or out, in among your flowers!

So who cares if you have no 'patch' and get creative inter-planting in your flower garden and reap the reward of home grown veggies!

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE GLUT - ARTICHOKE, CHORIZO, PUMPKIN WARM WINTER SALAD

My mum grows bountiful amounts of Jerusalem artichokes, so much so that i have decided not to grow them myself. I find that once you plant them, like potatoes, you can never seem to rid them from the soil. Almost like a delicious pest! I had some girlfriends come over for dinner and good times and was stuck for ideas. i went shopping for inspiration and concocted this salad. I love the balance of flavors, textures and heartiness of this salad.

INGREDIENTS
4 handfuls of mixed lettuce leaves, something peppery like roquette, buttery like butter lettuce bitter like chicory or whatever you can get your hands on.
2 good sized handfuls of Jerusalem artichokes washed, boiled until tender, rustically sliced and deep fried until golden, or you could roast them in the oven, but i prefer the deep fried result, so chewy and caramelized!
1 small butternut pumpkin, thinly sliced and roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper
4 chorizos slices and grilled
a good chunk of danish feta
DRESSING
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
5 tbs olive oil
1 handful fresh basil chopped
1 handful toasted walnuts chopped

Assemble the salad while ingredients are still warm. Lay the salad leaves on the bottom, layer on the pumpkin,the artichokes, chorizo and cheese and pour over dressing! So easy and i promise this is a winner! Serve with crusty bread.

MINESTRA - MALTESE VEGETABLE SOUP

Wow it has been cold lately and it's just hit out of nowhere! Last week it was a beautiful 27C this week 15C and raining eek. So i thought it was time to pull out a good old soup recipe! This is a take on minestra, which my mum makes all the time, it's a Maltese vegetable soup. I don't use pre-made stock in mine like she does because i don't like the preservatives, additives and general artificialness of them. So instead I did something I have never seen done before, but was very successful! I had no bones to make a stock and didn't have time to make a vegetable stock, which i often find bland anyway, so instead i made a vegetable juice - I think it's the Heston Blumenthal in me (I may have watched one of his shows last night). He has inspired me to think outside the square when cooking and inject as much flavor in my food as possible. And that's what this juice does! it's a combination of classic stock items, but instead of seeping that into a liquid as a traditional stock does, this one extracts all the flavors in the form of juice! Very delicious and has a wonderful rich flavor that is comforting in winter.

For the 'stock' juice makes aprox 700mls add all the juice you get.
1 1/2 large onions
5 large carrots
5 stalks of celery (mine were homegrown)
5 sprigs of parsley (mine were homegrown)

For the soup
1 large onion finely diced
100g pancetta diced
2 large carrots diced
3 stalks celery leaves and all diced and leaves shredded (mine were homegrown)
3 stalks parsley chopped stalks and all (mine were homegrown)
1/4 red/green cabbage diced
1C diced pumpkin (mine were homegrown)
1C great northern beans or any white beans soaked overnight
1/4 tomato paste
3 fresh bay leave (dried are fine too)
4 sprigs thyme leaves picked.
Juice
2 C water (you may need more later on if it dries up too much)

you can add what ever veggies you like to this or take out things you don't like to suit your taste. Other things could include but are certainly not limited to zucchini, squash, broad beans, peas, potato, turnip, parsnip.

First make the juice, I have a juicer so just put everything through that. not sure how you would go if you didn't have one, but would suggest you try those raw juices in the fridge. Some of them have apple in it so read the ingredients first. if you were to use a bought juice I would add an extra onion to the soup.

 For the soup add onion and pancetta to saucepan and saute until softened, add the other veggies and saute until softened stirring regularly for 5-10 minutes. then add tomato paste and cook off for a couple of minute. Add the beans, herbs, juice and water and season with a good amount of pepper and salt to taste (I used a good pinch). Cook for 1-1 1/2 hours until beans are cooked.

Serve with grated cheese and crusty bread such as HOMEMADE SOURDOUGH WHOLEMEAL BREAD!

TIME TO PULL THE SUMMER VEGGIES!

Well we have had a very sad wet summer in Melbourne, great for the catchments but my patch just didn't preform very well. My pumpkins and zucchinis suffered from powdery mildew and the few pumpkins i harvested split. I barley harvested any zucchini which are usually a bumper crop! The best performers this year were cucumber with half retiring to the pickle jar! I've also had an abundance of chilies with more that half still hanging on the tree begging to turn red! So with the great fluctuation in weather my patch is confused,  one week the veggies are dying off as the conditions are not right for the crop and the next weeks it is a flourish with new growth and the plant looking healthy and productive. But as we head into autumn I think i will be pulling my zucchinis and tomatoes to make room for winter cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower surrounded by spinach, silver beet, beetroot, turnips, parsnips, garlic, onions and celery to name a few. Last week i snuck  a few bulbs of garlic in the ground and already they are sprouting to life. My cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower seeds have germinated and are growing strong! In a few weeks they will graduate to the garden!

Just one of my chili plants that are heavy laden with fruit!

For the labour day long weekend my family went camping around Marysville and stumbled upon a market. a stall holder was selling heirloom seeds and is known as the pumpkin lady! She gave me great tips and i bought a beautiful french heirloom pumpkin seed pack called bumpkin pumpkin! Cant wait for next spring to sow these seeds and have some weird and wonderful pumpkins adorning my garden! This year I grew my pumpkins and cucumber up a garden arch which worked perfectly! It made the veggie patch a little different to the standard patches and saved so much room! It also offered shade to those veggies that like a little shelter from the elements.This winter i will reuse the arches for my peas.

The end of my cucumbers climbing up my garden arch, still bearing fruit as the cold weather sets in!

I found a great supplier of hay for my chicken coop last weekend! I was paying $12 a bale at the local pet supplier and this lady was selling hay for $3.50 a bale! Awesome I bought 10 and stock piled them in the chicken coup! These will also be fantastic mulch as the weather warms up in 6 months time!

My chooks - I'm lucky to have a friend that works for an animal rescue center and when she get's chickens in she calls me up and see's if i'm interested in giving them a home! In return I get beautiful fresh eggs and manure for my garden!

I am after some compost worms as I lost mine in the extreme heat this summer! I am willing to trade heirloom seeds or eggs or comfrey roots for some so if you have surplus compose worms please contact me! I use the casting as a medium to spout my seeds, and the liquid is a great fertilizer for the veggie patch! If you have any knowledge please feel free to share!