Sunday 2 February 2014

Mint Mania


Mint seems to have a life of its own here at our place. No sooner do I pull it out than it pops up somewhere else! When we first started the vegetable garden, I had visions of it happily filling the side garden (the one the first owners 'cleverly' hid all the building rubble under) as I knew it would grow where nothing else would! But I misjudged its tenacity by a long shot. It not only grew, but multiplied many times over and then decided it needed to travel further afield and started popping up in the container gardens. I tried to put a stop to this behaviour by pulling out the fast escaping tendrils but it was to no avail. In the end, the only solution was to rip it all up and institutionalize it....in other words, grow it in a pot from where it could not escape.

Mint escaping just prior to being pulled out.
It was also at this time that I realised that mint was actually a goldmine of a herb that I hadn't been utilising to the fullest extent. Every now and then it would find its way into a salad or jug of water  and when I was gently reminded, given to a Middle Eastern friend for his mint tea. But the vast majority just looked amazing, green and pretty, and eventually became food for grasshoppers who destroyed it before I destroyed them...and the whole cycle would start all over again.

Happily ensconced in pots

Enter the Internet and the amazing recipes of Donna Hay (she has become my latest food 'crush'). The recipe below is my main use for mint and along with Basil Pesto, has so many uses such as: dip, served tossed through pasta, spooned over vegetables, chicken or fish as they cook, on dry biscuits with sundried tomatoes and a slice of parmesan,  spooned over roast lamb as it cooks, drizzled over pizza, spread on sandwiches or plain old toast in the morning.... the list is endless. So, let's get started.




Mint and Pistachio Pesto

4 cups of mint leaves (I really 'pack' them in)
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup finely grated parmesan
1/2 cup olive oil ( I use more as I like it runnier)
black pepper and sea salt

Step One
Pick and wash leaves. Don't worry too much if they have been nibbled a little as the bugs will wash off in water and what they didn't eat should be fine


Step Two
Assemble all that you need before starting as there is nothing worse than thinking you have everything, only to find family ate the last of the cheese or the lemon is not a lemon afterall! (I freeze and then bag lemon juice when I have an oversupply so I always have juice available for any cooking needs)


Step Three
 Lightly toast the pistachios in a non stick pan


Step Four
Combine all ingredients in a food processor (I use my thermomix) and process until you have the desired consistency . Taste test and add more of any ingredient to suit.


Step Five
Spoon into containers and place in the freezer or fridge (if in the fridge, use within 3-4 days and cover with a thin layer of oil ). Last time I made this, I ran out of containers so froze some in ice cube trays and then transfered them to small plastic bags. They are then easily thawed when needed.

Ready to freeze!

Tuesday 28 January 2014

Summer Lovin'


I don't believe my garden has ever been so challenged by summer before! Days of 40 plus heat (we are talking Celsius in Australia) really put it to the test. I started planting the summer crops in early October and right away the heat hit. This year I opted not to use umbrellas as I really wanted to see what would withstand the heat. I am pleased to say that all but the capsicums came through with flying colours. The capsicums however, after a great start in life, had a case of sunburn and were attacked by a plague of grasshoppers and virtually stripped overnight.

Capsicums in foreground just after planting
After a night of being attacked
Some of the salvaged capsicum from larger bushes helped with the artwork!

I did manage to nurse them forward providing us with a number of good sized fruits as seen in the arms of this fellow, but they never really flourished as in past years.

Tomatoes were and still are my favourite vegetable (or to be correct, fruit), to grow in summer along with cucumbers. I planted Tommy Toe and Sweet Bite for ease of growing and use. They are quite resistant to bugs and are heavy 'fruiters'. In the same bed went Beefsteaks, Burke's Backyard Italian and Mortgage Lifter. December and January have been filled with luscious toms with my new favourite being, the juicy Beefsteak. I also put in some Organic varieties but they seemed to suffer greatly from the heat and were very slow to grow. Beneath all my seedlings, I tossed in a handful of No Frills Fertiliser's 'Rock Dust' and also heavily composted the soil (from our own bin and sheep, chicken and cow poo).

4th October

5 weeks later and already large tomatoes can be seen

Sweet Bite 5 weeks after planting

Burke's Backyard Italian well on their way
The next eight weeks saw us eating tomatoes every day and the neighbours on the receiving end as well. Some of the tomatoes had a burn marks but their taste was sensational, especially the beefsteaks!

Beautiful, big Beefsteaks!

Tommy Toe and Sweet Bite jostling for space

25th Dec pickings
27th Dec pickings



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This whole bed is still producing although the small variety tomatoes aren't quite as sweet and we tend to roast or fry them now. I planted more in other beds three weeks ago and others just last night as I feel this summer weather will continue well into autumn. 

Cucumbers have also been replanted with our first 4 plants giving up about 50 small Lebanese babies. Crunchy and with few seeds they were a staple on the table each day.  The second batch should be ready to pick in two weeks so next year I shall make sure I try to get them in a little earlier so we don't have a lean period. The only problem I foresee with that plan is that I will once again be trying to work out where to fit them in! I really need an acre to do this properly!
 
Give cucumbers a frame or logs to climb over.



I always put plenty of frames in the garden for the cucumbers to climb up and over as it keeps the fruit off the ground and away from predators such as slaters and also helps keep the leaves free of moisture which helps mildew growth. This year I have been fairly lucky, considering the amount of humidity in the air but as an added precaution, I also planted basil amongst the beans, cucumbers and eggplant which I read helps to keep the mildew in check. I sprayed just once with chamomile tea and also Eco-Fungicide which really helped.

Basil freshly planted amongst the vegetables to help the fight against mildew.

Salad and breadcrumbed eggplant was on the menu that night!

Mallee roots provide excellent trellises
 
Both our blueberry and chilli plants thrived in the hot weather with the blueberries not even making it to the kitchen some mornings - they were just too good to share!

Beautiful Blueberries

Coming out of winter and starting to fire up!
Remember to pick your chillies once they are red and store in the freezer until needed. And don't forget to keep them well watered in the heat, especially if they are growing in pots. They love a good drink!

My chilli self-seeded so I have planted the seedlings and will give them to others.  



Our eggplants have been in since the first week of October. I originally planted 3 but lost one to a couple of giant grasshoppers about 5 inches long! In one night, they ate it to the stalk. The other two consistently have produced one fruit a week each which is plenty for a family of four. They are still going strong and don't show any signs of slowing down.

The two surviving eggplants are on the left

Fruit are always a great size with lovely skins.


This year I decided to try rockmelons and with just 4 plants in a 3m x 1.5m container with ample trellising, I was sure we'd have plenty of room. How wrong could I be??!! 

Just planted with the first of the trellises - two old bedheads
 
Five weeks later and they've taken over!


A full size rockmelon
Baby rockmelon forming
Mildew has been the only problem and I have used Eco-Fungicde twice which helped. Now though, most of the vines are dying off although there is plenty of new growth and melons forming. A few days ago I went to feel the ripest of the fruits and the stalk came away in my hand. Voila! It was ready to pick and didn't the end smell sweet (a sure sign it was ripe)!?

 



















  
In a July post, I spoke of our Cumquats we had been given, that were nutrient deficient. I'm glad to report that they are a picture of health and covered in fruit. Looking forward to more Cumquat Chutney this year!

Now a healthy cumquat
Lush green leaves





















Of course we have grown lettuce, silverbeet and all the usual herbs this summer (using oregano as a groundcover in the only ground level garden on the side where the composter is) and a few other vegetables but the only other major one has been beans. I grew the dwarf bush variety as I find them easier and more prolific than climbing beans. I planted  12 bushes at the end of October and we were eating them by mid December, lots and lots and lots of them! Fabulous plant that I hope to grow masses of next year so I can freeze for later.

Bean seedlings protected from slaters, in drink bottle plastic, while they establish themselves

Fast growing, the beans were prolific

Every day without fail, these little beauties visit and get pollinating!
A little bit of water goes a long way and I am always repaid with the Red Wattle Birds going on 'bug patrol'. Between them and my Eco products, my veges survive pretty well! 

"One must ask children and birds how strawberries and cherries taste."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Saturday 25 January 2014

Inspiration From Italy


In April 2013, my husband and I took a trip to Tuscany and after a four days in Florence, we drove south to Cortona, a beautiful old walled town I had previously visited with one of our daughters. The Relais Borgo San Pietro, a gorgeous converted farmhouse, became our base for the next week as we drove around the countryside, exploring the old walled towns and their wine, food, sights, sounds, gardens and wonderful hospitality. Being early in the season was a bonus for us as most of them were empty of tourists (at this point in my life and the ways in which we have travelled  around the globe, I like to think of ourselves as travellers, rather than tourists. Tourists to me go for the main sights, travellers tend to 'drink in the atmosphere' and look for the unusual rather than the known. We have always been happiest spending our time in small villages drinking and eating with the locals and watching the world go by than ticking off the big name sights). Having said this, we were in Tuscany, definitely a tourist mecca!!

Relais Borgo San Pietro, Cortona


As this is a gardening blog, I really just wanted to share some of the beautiful scenes that resonated with us, whether there were vegetables involved or not, as long as it was flora, it was okay! Trying to sort photos, I realised that it would be easier if I put them into categories....so here goes........

Into the Wild

Stunning colours by an old farmhouse close to Fiesole
Poppies were everywhere


The  picture above was taken one day when we drove north-east into Umbria and our GPS map told us there were roads where there were none and villages where there were just hamlets that looked like they were out of the dark ages (and the people too!). We ended up far off the beaten track in what I can only describe as cold, creepy, 'Deliverance' country. Getting out was no small feat and our car morphed into a 4 wheel drive (out of sheer necessity). I was never so glad to see hills like this as we suddenly struck familiar looking surrounds and people who actually smiled!

More roadside beauty
The road into a friend's restored 18th century farmhouse half an hour from Siena
Fields of gold, green and red
Explosions of Colour

I don't know what this is, but it had the most glorious blooms.
Gorgeous blossoms at Bagno Vignoni


Couldn't resist using both of the photos above, the first of wisteria in San Gimignano and the second in Cortona.
A side street in Cortona
Blossoms outside our rooms at the Relais Borgo San Pietro
The stone walled entrance to a small hamlet we stumbled upon
Climbing roses at 16th Century Villa Della Petraia, outside Florence
Almost every doorway in the old hilltop villages, had stunning flower displays
More blooms at Villa Della Petraia
And again, a single azalea at the same villa
Secret Gardens

A garden in San Gimignano, invisible from the cobbled streets
And another
The delightful village of Bagno Vignoni, whose thermal waters have been used since Roman times. They also serve the best pannacotta we've ever tasted at the Osteria del Leone! See photo below!
I plan to use our garden blueberries and strawberries to recreate this!
A local garden in Monticchiello
Entrances

Now that, is an entrance!
A beautiful villa near Cortona
Villa Della Petraia, outskirts of Florence
Where we stayed just outside Cortona
And again, our accommodation
Statements

Cortona
Villa Della Petraia
and again...

and again....
and again!
Vistas

Flowers with a view




View from the largest of the remaining 14 towers in San Gimignano
Villa Della Petraia
The typical shot of Tuscany - hard to resist
Couples enjoying a picnic in the olive grove near Sant'Antimo
View from a friend's home
Loved this house from the first time I saw it in 2005 and just couldn't resist another shot now that the olive trees have grown
Gorgeous fields near Sant 'Antimo
Oh Tuscany...what a tease you are!

Just Because

At the entrance to a shop in Cortona
Public park in Fiesole
Bramesole - the home that inspired the movie, 'Under the Tuscan Sun'
The entrance to Bramesole

Espaliered orange trees!
Open air art gallery in Monticchiello
Flower markets in Cortona
Centuries old tree at Villa Della Petraia



This was just a small selection and I tried to keep it about gardens. Some new posts on Summer, Sicily and Recipes to follow soon.

A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” – Moslih Eddin Saadi