Our Cosmic Garden - Sustainable Living

Gluten free, dairy free, lotsa nuts

2012-01-14T16:47:00.000+11:00

After a visit from my daughter and her children who are basically gluten free and dairy free eaters, I decided to do some experiments with gluten free cooking. This is my first effort and I'm quite pleased. It has no dairy but you should check nut allergies before doing it.

Recipe:

Mash - three bananas and put in mixer, add three eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1/4 cup Nuttelex or other dairy free shortening. I might try walnut oil another time.

Pulse until just blended.

Add - 1 cup gluten free flour, 1/2 cup almond meal, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 cup shredded coconut and a few pecans ( walnuts would also be nice) and 1.5 tsp baking soda. Pulse again until mixed, don't over beat.

Put into a 6" x 3" greased loaf tin and decorate with a few more pecans - bake at 170C for 55 minutes

Better than a vitamin pill - Watercress - Nature's great gift.

2011-11-12T14:28:00.001+11:00

Watercress is low in calories, and an excellent source of Protein, Folate, Pantothenic Acid Sulphur Iron and Copper. Also a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Iodine and Manganese. It is excellent for anyone with thyroid, liver and pancreatic disorders and as a blood cleaner to reduce cholesterol and improves the immune system. I juiced it when I was recovering from breast cancer and drank it with other juices every day in my recovery period. I still have a juice every now and then and during a recent spate of hair loss due to rapid weight loss, have used it successfully to restore hair health, both by drinking it and adding a teas ( see below) to the final rinse water.

We grow it very quickly and have to crop it often. I make soup and use it in salads and make teas with it but thought, after the success with the coriander, that I'd give it a try as Pesto. It is fabulous! As you can see above it is one of nature's healthy gifts and when you add nuts, cheese, oil and lemon to it, you have a meal on a spoon! Further down I've given some ideas for using it in other ways, because it is such a brilliant vegetable we should all eat as much as we can!

Strip the leaves from washed watercress to get about 300g Add 150g pine or cashew nuts, 150g grated Parmesan cheese, juice of one lemon, 1 tsp cumin and process until still a bit chunky.

Add the oil slowly and ladle into jars topping with a drizzle of oil to stop the surface oxidising. Should keep for couple of weeks in the fridge - we still have coriander pesto on the go and no sign of it deteriorating. I have been having cream cheese biscuits with pesto topping for lunch.

Besides being an incredible natural multivitamin, this plant achieves much of its healing success from its blood-purifying abilities. It works as a preventative to illness, a rehabilitation tonic and is very good for a treatment for skin ailments. ( helped me with burns from radiation along with turmeric).

Watercress is also very effective as an expectorant for respiratory ailments such as bronchitis, asthma, and even tuberculosis so is good for asthmatics.Watercress is also wonderful as a preventative against illness if included in the diet as often as possible. With all of the vitamins and minerals this concept isn't exactly a quantum leap of logic!

When you have watercress you have everything close to maintain health and rehabilitate and treat symptoms. One good way to use it is as a Tea. Combine 2 heaped tablespoons each of fresh watercress leaves, fresh parsley,1 tablespoon of mint leaves and, if you can find it, red clover. But you can just use watercress if you wish.Pour 3 to 4 cups (depending on the strength you prefer) of boiling water over the herbs ( 2 cups if using just watercress) Stir briskly with a wooden spoon, cover and steep for 20 minutes. Strain and drink a cup either hot or cooled to room temperature.

Coriander Pesto

2011-11-03T17:20:00.001+11:00

I threw a load of old coriander seed in a corner of the sarcophagus ( raised bed) and in 6 weeks have a wonderful crop of coriander. Today I picked 2 very big handsful and turned it into pesto. It made 2 jars like this.

This is what I used:

1 cup pine nuts,

1 cup Parmesan cheese grated,

3/4 cup olive oil,

2 big bunches coriander ( about 10 times what you would buy in the stupor market for mega dollars) stalks and leaves.

6 cloves crushed garlic ( more or less )

pinch salt.

juice of 1 lemon

Blitz it in your blitzer processor using chopping blades, processing nuts first then add the rest.

Spoon into a couple of small jars.

Pour a bit more olive oil over the surface to stop any oxidisation

Store in fridge.

Should be great with cheese, chili, seafood, salmon, chicken or any dish where you want that coriander hit.

Coriander is probably the best herb for kidney health.

End of Winter

2011-10-15T16:49:00.002+11:00

As Spring is upon us ( not all that warm though), many of the winter grown crops are going to seed, so time to make space. Winter sown Beetroot was a bit sporadic - I think it is always better grown faster and in warmer times, so I won;t bother to plant a winter crop next year, but we still have had a few good beets and what is left in the ground will be left to go to seed for the next sowing ( in summer). I made some chutney.

using about 12 medium size beetroots, 6 apples and 6 onions chopped small, 1 cup raisins, 2 cups cider vinegar, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup brown sugar and assorted spices ( which I put in a bag to remove before bottling)

Boiled it for about 45 minutes until it thickened and softened - I used a potato masher to break it down a bit.
Poured into sterelised bottles and sealed in Vacola - or a big pot of boiling water will do. It is a tasty sweet chutney - we tried it with a mild chicken curry, but it would go well with anything you want to add a touch of sweetness. Ooops - forgot the photo.

Gardening by the Moon - October 2011

2011-09-29T14:00:00.002+10:00

Johnny Jump-Up.

Here’s a list of vegetables that can be planted in all but the coldest parts during October. Of course, even in cold or mountain areas, you can start seeds under cover so that they can be planted out once the risk of frost is over. I’ve divided the plants into those suitable for planting when the moon is in the different sidereal signs, which are associated with the 4 different elements; Fire, Earth, Air and Water. To jog your memories; plants that are grown for fruit, for example are said to be best planted when the moon is waxing in a fire sign, roots, in earth, flower and seeds in air and leaf in water. Some plants are hard to define when we use different parts of them, so I am offering traditional definitions based on astrological correspondences, where there is doubt.

During October, plant according to your climate zone. If still cool, as it is in Tasmania, plant seeds for planting out later. Use common sense as to what grows in your area. Gardenate guide will give you ideas and the moon guide here will give you the best days to plant.

Fire signs (fruits) Capsicums, Chillies, Cucumber, Eggplant, Pumpkin, Squash, and Zucchini, Fruit trees in cooler areas, Nut trees, Berry fruits canes, and Strawberry runners.

Earth signs ( roots) Beetroot, Carrots, Daikon, Radish, Horseradish, Parsnip, Potatoes, Yam, Artichokes, Peanuts ( tropical) Sweet potato, Salsify, Swedes.

Air signs (flowers and seeds) include: Broccoli, Beans, both bush and climbing, Herbs that have feathery tops like Dill, Coriander, Fennel, Parsley, Artichokes, Peas, and Snow peas. Sunflowers, any grains like Amaranth, Angelica, and Borage

Water signs ( leaf and bulbs) Asparagus, Basil, Cabbage, Celeriac, Celery, Chives, Leeks, Onions, Rhubarb, Shallots, Spring onions, Lettuces, Witlof, Spinach ( cool), Silver beet, Rocket, Endive, Kohlrabi, French Tarragon, Sage, Oregano, Chinese cabbage, Tatsoi Asian greens in general.

The equinox occurred last month on 23^rd and the sun now moves southward warming and lighting our hemisphere until it reaches the tropic of Capricorn in December. It then peaks south and turns to move northward for a further three months. Thus we get the benefit of the Sun until March next year. The moon does this monthly and as the reflective light of the Sun, will translate the warmth too. Certain phenomena will affect our weather and obviously our gardening plans. Even if you don't use this as a Moon guide, you will find it useful to plan your efforts in the garden.

October

1– 2: Sidereal Moon is waxing in Scorpio. Plant leaf and bulbous vegetables and summer flower bulbs. The Moon peaks south on 2^nd bringing a warmer day and fooling us into thinking summer is here. In tropical areas shade your leaf growth where you can. Onions are associated with the Moon in Scorpio

3 – 5: Moon is waxing in Sagittarius. Excellent time for fruits particularly berry fruits which are associated with the planet Jupiter.

6 – 7: Moon is waxing in Capricorn. Time for root vegetables sown direct into the garden. It may be too late for hotter areas so check with Gardenate. Beetroot is associated with Saturn, ruler of this sign.

8 – 9: Moon is waxing in Aquarius and crosses the equator on Sunday. This could bring storms and a colder spell for a couple of days. A really good time for flowering vegetables but protect any seedlings if there’s a risk of frost.

10 – 12: Moon reaches its Full phase in Pisces and begins to wane on 12^th. It is also at apogee (most distant from the earth) so generally speaking this is not the best seed planting time, but you could use the time to thin and feed existing plantings. However, the planet aspects are adverse for flowering crops so maybe leave them. This is a fairly crucial Full moon, as not only do we have apogee but also the moon opposes Saturn. This encourages cell growth but might tend to leggy plants, favouring stems over flowers.

13 – 15 – Waning moon now so the best planting for above ground growth is over until the new moon, but you can still plant roots and bulbous crops. The moon is in fire sign Aries over these days, so instead of planting it is a good time for setting traps for nasty little flying critters, and for using an (organic such as garlic) spray on vulnerable crops. Apple trees need collars changing if codling moths are a problem.

16 – 17: Moon peaks to the north drawing low pressure cells up from the south and the risk of a late frost and severe weather conditions so be sure to protect anything tender. Pest control for earth dwellers like nematode and beetles that have wintered over.

18 – 19: Peas and Beans do well planted under a waning moon because it helps development of strong roots. The Moon is in air sign Gemini over these days and this sign is particularly good, as Mercury rules peas and beans. It is a good time to get some of the climbing varieties planted now, and again around balsamic moon on 26^th when the moon is in air sign Libra.

20 – 21 – Moon is in Cancer, a water sign but waning. This moon is powerful for planting leafy vegetables but since it is waning, you might be better concentrating on cabbages and bulbing vegetables like celeriac. I suggest this is a good time for preventing moulds, slugs and snails.

22 – 24: Moon crosses the equator on Monday 24^th bringing storm conditions, high winds and rain. This is a good period for fruiting crops but particularly adverse for flowering vegetables.

25 – Just for today, sow root vegetable seeds as the waning moon, heading for its balsamic phase and in earthy Virgo creates particularly favourable conditions.

26 – 28: New moon at 5.56 AEST on 27^th occurs at Perigee so while it is barely visible it is a “Super-Moon” The Moon opposes Jupiter, there is a nodal crossing and generally adverse conditions for these couple of days and the moon also peaks south. This cosmic convergence is unpredictable and likely to bring a hot spell.

29 – 31: After a break, you can now gather yourself to work again. On 29^th, a great day for planting for leaf as the Moon is new in fertile Scorpio but the trines today are adverse for fruits, so don’t transplant your tomatoes outdoors today! However, Sunday and Monday will be good days to do some transplanting and planting out of fruiting crops, as the danger of frost is just about done.

Happy Gardening!

Beets and more Beets

2011-09-22T15:11:00.000+10:00

I know I've raved on about the nutritional value of beetroot before, but I can't over-emphasise this. At this time of year after a sluggish winter, it is a good idea to eat these cleansing veggies. As the Equinox is upon us, I decided to pick some from the winter grown crop and turn them into a lovely soup. Loosely based on Borscht, I used what was to hand that are also cleansing vegetables and added some Ayurvedic spices to aid the liver and kidney cleansing. Of course, we can't be too pedantic about this, even though food is medicine, sometime a spoonful of something decadent makes the medicine go down!

4 or 5 beets, peeled

4 sticks celery including leaves

good bunch of parsley - about 1/2 cup when chopped, I don't bother.

4 cups vegetable stock

1 good inch of fresh ginger chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp Juniper berries ( very good for kidneys)

but you could use black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

2 bay leaves

Simmer for about 35 minutes then remove bay leaves and puree.

I leave it slightly chunky, by using a stick blender.

Serve hot with sour cream ( optional but nice) sprinkle with a pinch of sumac.

Enjoy the benefits.

Things are only lightly warmer in Tasmania, but spring will inevitably arrive. I indulged in a few new shrubs and ground covers

And the garden is turning blue as many of the spring bulbs begin - soon the gorgeous blue iris will start and then I will finally be able to discard one of the 4 layers of clothes I am still wearing!

Forgetmenots have come in on the wind, I suppose I should think of them as weeds but they are such delightful flowers and act as a good ground cover that I'm inclined to give them a place to thrive.

Happy Equinox to all and happy gardening.

September Moon - First Quarter

2011-09-06T08:35:00.001+10:00

First quarter Moon phase occurs today ( 5th) together with the North Node and the Moon's peak to the south. This all occurs on the Tropic of Capricorn bringing potentially severe weather conditions to tropical climes. The Peak South always occurs at the tropic for those who want to follow the dynamics of the moon's 'other' cycle and when this occurs at a 1/4 phase point , we can expect it to affect weather and tides. Plants too are affected and those planted at New Moon should be popping their little heads up in the next couple of days. Traditionally, the quarter phases are a time to select the strongest and discard the weakest. The tomatoes I planted last week are starting to germinate but significantly some varieties are better than others so I'll wait for second quarter to select those for growing on. Always a good tester of theory are the Sunflowers. Here are the 7 day seeds, still with their little hats on!

New Moon Planting

2011-08-29T16:02:00.000+10:00

With the new moon in Leo ( sidereal zodiac) we made our first planting for fruiting plants right on the new moon. I still cannot discipline myself to plant less than 12 varieties of tomatoes, so we will end up, as usual with massive crops - hopefully they will ripen well and we'll have plenty to last through the winter.

We also planted a new planting of strawberries in pipes at a level that will keep us upright and the snails dying of strawberry withdrawals. At the end of last summer we destroyed all the spent plants - something I do every fourth year as they will tend to fusarium wilt after being in the same spot for longer and the fruit quality goes down too. We did this successfully at Papplewick Farm and never had a wilt problem. Just a tip for new strawberry growers - never plant where potatoes have been grown as they will get all kinds of nasty diseases if you do.

There are 40 plants here but I might head back and get some more tomorrow.

Gardening by the Moon - September 2011

2011-08-28T12:00:00.001+10:00

Moon Planting for September 2011

I love September! This is the time when so much planting can be done in our cooler/temperate regions it is dazzling. Arid and tropical areas of Australia are also cool enough to benefit from Spring and plant according to the climate. As you see, the new no bend bed is ready, just settling down and waiting for its seeds. A nice path to walk on all around it helps with drainage. Now I want another one!

The Sidereal New Moon occurs on Monday 29^th August at 13.04 AEST. This occurs in a 5 degree (5 day) orb of a trine with Fruity Jupiter. As the New Moon is in Fiery (Sidereal Leo) and Jupiter in Fiery Aries, and there is an added bonus of a trine to Pluto in Fiery Sagittarius, it just doesn’t get better than this for sowing and planting fruiting crop like Tomatoes, Chillies, Pumpkins etc. Naturally if you live in cool climes you will protect these seed(lings) until a better time to plant outdoors, but it is well worth setting aside time on Sunday 28^th, Monday 29^th to prepare for summer crops.

Cherokee Purple

Perigee occurs on Tuesday 30^th and the Moon slips into Sidereal Virgo until 1^st September enhancing the planting of root vegetables. But there’s More! By now Venus is trine Jupiter (stationery in Sidereal Aries) and gives even more power to the growing of fruits. If you haven’t done so, it is a great time to put in some berry fruits on this day. Even though it is a mite late for strawberries, planting now will soon see them catching up and since Jupiter “rules” strawberries what better opportunity! Then sow seeds of carrots, early potatoes etc.

September begins with the Crescent Phase.

1 – 2 are good days for flowering plants including vegetables like broccoli, peas and beans, climate permitting.

3– 5, you can get your leaf vegetables in. Any that are already planted will benefit from a side feed of nitrogenous material. Moon’s declination peaks South on the 5^th bringing a warm spell. This point in the Moon’s monthly declination cycle encourages root growth so is a good time for transplanting with less shock to plants than often occurs.

6 – 7 if you didn’t get all your fruiting crops and fruits planted, there is still time to do so over these days as the Moon is entering Waxing Gibbous phase and in Jupiter ruled Sagittarius. How about a red grape vine or some passion fruit as the Sun trines Jupiter?

8 – 10 emerging seeds would benefit from a dilute feed of natural organic fertiliser as the Moon is Gibbous in Capricorn. Seaweed, weed-feed or worm-wee will all be good for them. This is also a good time for planting more root vegetables. Have you tried golden beetroot? We love it as it can be roasted with other root veggies. Or Salsify (oyster plant). Later in the day on 10^th would be good to try Kohlrabi or bulbing fennel.

10 – 11 As the full moon approaches and Mercury begins it trine to Jupiter ( lasting for a good week) these days will be excellent for planting flowering plants – another sowing of snow peas maybe, or some asparagus in a permanent bed.

12 – 14 Full moon phase is not the best time to plant but more a time to review the effort of the past two weeks and plan for some extra sowing and planting before the month is out. However, this full moon is in the very fertile signs Virgo/Pisces so it will be worth planting leafy vegetables, just not after 3 pm on the 12^th. The Moon crosses the equator at the same time as full moon so expect rain or thunder storms if they happen in your area.

15 – 18 During these three days, as the Moon is in Sidereal Aries and we have apogee at 4.24 pm on 15^th. Avoid planting three hours either side. Mercury trines Jupiter exactly on this day, so you get a great opportunity to plant or sow fruiting vegetables again. And the Moon is conjunct prosperous Jupiter promising excellent growth so also trines Mercury. The descending Moon opposes Saturn drawing sap down to the stems and roots. Worth experimenting to see if plants have stronger stems when planted today. Tomatoes, Chillies, Aubergine, Berry fruits, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Pumpkin, and Squash – all those wonderful fruits for summer are itching to grow.

18 – 19 The moon enters sidereal Taurus favouring more planting of root crops. As the Moon will peak North on the 20^th, as it enters its last quarter phase, this is not such a favourable time for planting, but for weeding and thinning out overcrowded plantings.

20 – 22 These days favour flowering crops but as it’s likely to be windy and this phase is not conducive to good growth, I’ll be taking time out to weed and trim.

23 – 26. 23^rd is Equinox. This occurs at 7.04 pm AEST . I like to plant seeds during the early Balsamic phase we are just entering, and there wouldn’t be a better day than Equinox day with the Sidereal moon in Cancer, to plant leafy vegetable and herb seeds. I will sow Mesculin lettuces, Tat Soy, Spinach, Coriander, Parsley, Rocket, Cos and Butter crunch lettuces and Red oak leaf lettuce, Radicchio all direct in rows so they are not disturbed by transplanting. I sow thickly then thin and use the thinnings as micro-greens. This is an excellent time to direct sow summer cabbages too and the watercress will also be planted now. On 25^th Moon enters Leo and is not a good day for planting as it will cross the equator southward on the 26^th bringing heavy showers.

27 – 28 New Moon at 9.09 pm on 27^th occurs in fertile Virgo. This is a good time for root crops but I also tend to favour seed crops like amaranth, mustard, peas and beans as Virgo’s Mercury rulership enhances these plants. Perigee at 11 am on 28^th favours root growth.

29 – 30 Moon is in Airy Libra favouring flowering/seed crops. If there is no risk of frost now is an excellent time for runner beans and wax beans, mange-tout peas, broccoli, broccolini, dill, fennel, purple Calabrese, sunflowers and sweet corn.

At month’s end we enter another great stage in spring and summer planting. Happy gardening!

For some reason my links to other gardeners blogs has disappeared. Please contact me if you would like a link because I don't remember whose were up there! Sorry, must have accidentally deleted the lot instead of one that hadn't posted for 10 months.

Anticipation.

2011-07-31T11:49:00.001+10:00

Despite the longest coldest wettest winter we are seeing a little more daylight now and this wakes us up from hibernation to prepare the oncoming spring planting. We have invested in a raised bed this year, weeding will hopefully be a thing of the past, once we can get this planted. Click the pics for larger view.

Here Bob erects the frame

Complete and levelled

Supporting rods to stop it bowing out when the soil goes in and we start to fill it.

And fill it........

The next layers will alternate compost and soil along with plenty manure and all we have to do then is wait for spring.

I had a small disaster with my worm farm when a slug took up residence in the drain and the whole thing filled with water. I thought we had lost the little helpers but drained it and added some of the mush from our carrot juicing. I'm please to say that worms have reappeared and are actively devouring and creating lots of castings which we will add to the top layer of the bed before planting.

Meantime the winter/spring foodstuff - broad beans, leeks, peas, spinach, beetroot, silver beet, cabbages and garlic are all thriving and have kept us going through winter. This bed will be used for tomatoes and other tall things like climbing beans in spring, so the knees will be preserved a bit longer!

The hothouse is currently filled with "stuff" for a coming up garage sale. Then I will have space for my seedlings and hothoused produce.

Tasmanian weather only improves in September/October so might get a city fix before getting down to it! We can never be sure of warmth until November though, so for now it's dreaming and anticipating.

Fennel and Potato Chowder

2011-07-12T13:19:00.000+10:00

This is an easy recipe that can be served either hot with crusty bread or chilled in summer as an alternative to vichyssoise soup.

2 cups sliced leeks

1 red onion chopped

2 cups fresh fennel chopped

4 medium potatoes chopped

1/4 cup butter

6 cups vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp fennel seeds

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup cream

Saute the leeks, onion and fennel in the melted butter until softened.

Add stock and potato and bay leaf.

Simmer for about 35 minutes.

Process with a stick blender so that about 2/3rd of the soup is pureed but leave some chunky bits.

Adjust salt and pepper and add cream, stir and save.

If you want to serve it chilled, leave out the cream until just before serving and fully puree the soup.

This is kid friendly and fennel is a good source of niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, folate, potassium and manganese.

Nutty Apple Cake

2011-07-08T16:12:00.000+10:00

Nutty Apple Cake

This cake can be made gluten free by omitting the 1/2 cup SR flour.

4 Eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

180g Almond meal

180g Hazelnut meal

1/2 cup Self Raising flour ( optional)

180g caster sugar

250g melted butter

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled cored and sliced

Cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 180C, grease a cake or loaf tin.

Beat eggs with vanilla then add all the dry ingredients, stirring until combined. Add melted butter and mix again. Pour into a well greased cake tin. Top with sliced apples and cinnamon sugar.

Bake at 180C for 1 hour 10 minutes, testing with a skewer after one hour.

( I put it in the oven for the one hour but the power went off 25 minutes into the time. I left it in the oven and it took 35 minutes before the power came back on. I cooked it for a further 40 minutes so timing is not necessarily accurate. It should be firm to touch and a skewer come out clean)

Brush top gently to glaze with a little melted butter .

This is a nice cake served with a dollop of Cream.

Beetroot leaf Gratin

2011-06-25T18:21:00.002+10:00

The leaves of the beetroot actually contain more nutrition than the bulbs and far fewer calories. I thin mine out in the garden around now to space them ready for the warmer weather when the bulbs put on a growth spurt. W get a few good meals from the thinnings while the leaves are young and tender. Here is my own recipe for Beetroot leaf Gratin. I often make this as a vegetable side dish but for an easy Saturday night one dish meal, add meat in the form of sausage, chopped ham or bacon depending what I have to hand.

About 400 g beetroot leaves, with or without stalk

1 and 1/2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs ( about 2 slices)

60g Cheddar cheese, grated

60g Parmesan cheese, grated

30g Feta cheese crumbled

( I accidentally used Double Gloucester but Parmesan is better)

25g butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic

2 sliced mushrooms

1 cup sliced chorizo or meat of choice, this is optional

150ml cream

salt and pepper.

Wash leaves and trim stalks then chop roughly. Drop into pot of boiling water for 3 minutes until softened then drain well, as they cool try to squeeze out as much water as possible.

Combine breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and grated cheeses together in a bowl and set aside

Heat half the butter and oil, and gently saute the onions and garlic for 2 minutes

Add mushroom and meat if used

cook for another two minutes

Crumble in the feta cheese and melt stirring well

Add well drained beet leaves, saute for another two minutes, stirring.

Increase heat to drive off any excess water then add the cream, stirring through to coat all the ingredients

Spoon into a baking dish and top with the breadcrumb and cheese mixture, dot with rest of butter.

bake at 180C for 20 - 25 minutes until golden.

This one is very golden due to the Double Gloucester cheese!

The beet leaves add a pretty pink colour to the dish.

Very filling and satisfying, and cheap as chips. A lot of places will actually throw away beet leaves but with so much goodness in it. With vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C. Iron, calcium, magnesium, copper, and phosphorus, choline, folic acid, iodine, manganese, organic sodium, potassium, fibre and natural digestible sugars why would you chuck that to the chickens!

Braised Red cabbage with Chorizo and warm spices

2011-06-23T16:28:00.002+10:00

Click for a larger view.

A friend gave me a lovely organically grown red cabbage and after pickling half, I decided to cook the rest. Searching the Internet revealed some pretty dull and boring recipes so again I did an experimental one. I am really happy with the results and hope you will try it. Great as a side dish or a small meal. Play around with different ingredients. I used chorizo because I had one, but bacon would be just as nice.

Recipe:

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion chopped and sauteed in half the butter

1/2 a small red cabbage, de-stalked and chopped finely ( I used a processor)

1 large apple peeled and chopped

1 chorizo sausage, sliced

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp ground cloves or two whole ones

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon brown sugar ( or you might try 2 spoons molasses instead of honey and sugar)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

juice and rind of one large lemon

1 cup red wine

Salt and pepper

Melt remaining butter in slow cooker and add sauteed onions and spices.

In a jug mix water, wine, tomato paste, honey and sugar and 1/2 lemon juice.

Add cabbage to pot and pour the liquid over it.

Bring to simmer.

Cook for an hour - if it dries too much add a bit more wine, 1/4 cup at a time)

Add salt and pepper and cook for another 1/2 hour then add the chorizo.

Stir and cook for another 15 minutes and add the apple and rest of lemon juice and rind.

Cook for another 15 minutes until apple is soft.

I served this with a little plain yogurt to add a bit more sour but the combination of sweet and sour is subtle and very tasty. Just enough spice to make it interesting, you could use other warm spices like anise or caraway seeds. Leaving out the meat and adding some cubed potatoes would make a nice vegetarian dish too.

Experiment!

Makes between 4 and 8 serves depending on size of cabbage and whether you use it as a meal or a side.

Methi ke Chawal - Fenugreek rice

2011-06-18T09:40:00.001+10:00

Here's a nice winter warmer to serve on its own or as an accompaniment.

I only had a red chili so had to substitute for the green called for, but in future I will opt for the green or leave out the chili powder as it was a mite hot and the chili masked the pungency of the fenugreek. However it was very tasty and I will make it again.

I got this recipe from my friend Tracey in New Zealand who asked me to review it as her husband doesn't like fenugreek. She in turn got it from this book

3 tbsps vegetable oil or ghee

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 onion, sliced

1 green chili, de-seeded and sliced

400g or 2 1/4 cups basmati rice (rinsed)

1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground turmeric

Salt

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and stir-fry for a minute, or until they begin to splutter. Add the onions and chili and fry for 5 mins. Add the rice, 1 litre or 4 ½ cups water, the fenugreek leaves, chili powder and turmeric, then season. Stir and cook for 25 mins, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat slightly, cover and simmer for 5 mins. When ready, turn off the heat and keep covered until ready to serve.

As this serves 8, I halved the quantities for the two of us and there is still plenty left over.

Moroccan Chick Pea soup

2011-06-05T12:44:00.000+10:00

Rain, hail and wind outside, calls for a warming soup. This is one of my absolute favourite and it is hearty, has all the tastes, sweet, sour, salty, spicy, pungent by the choice of spices. Topped off with a bit of yogurt for astringency and sumac to lift the senses, it goes with a warm rug and a good book and will keep you going for hours. We love it for its healthy properties to ward off flu.

Click pic for a bigger image.

200g sliced carrots

200g peeled and chopped sweet potato

1/2 red onion

3 cloves garlic

1 and 1/2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight, or you can use a 400g can

4 cups vegetable stock

Moroccan spice mix*** see my personal recipe below.

Put all ingredients in pot and bring to boil.

Simmer for about 30 minutes until vegetables are soft and soup is fragrant.

Puree in blender to a smooth puree.

Serve with a teaspoon of plain Yogurt and a sprinkle of Sumac

You can use smoked Paprika if you don't have Sumac*

This is my version of a Moroccan Spice mix as near to a traditional Ras Al Hanout as I can share! Ras Al Hanout mix is really a matter of personal choice but traditionally uses only the finest spices available to the cook on the day. This quantity should make about twice what you need for this recipe - enough to keep some to use later but do use it within a couple of weeks. With the addition of some Star Anise and a bit more Cloves you can use it as a Baharat spice mix. I have to say that I prefer to grind the spices myself, but I get a bit precious so there's no reason not to buy ready ground ones.

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or good chili

½ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds

This might seem like a lot but believe me, you will love it! Himself came back for more and while this serves four people, there is none left.

Kashmiri Lamb Saag

2011-05-31T09:59:00.002+10:00

Winter is time for warming dishes and this is one of my favourites as we get to add lots of lovely greens to the recipe. I don't make this too hot because the subtle spices get lost if the chili is too robust.

1 kg lamb cubed **

1 tablespoon flour ( I use Besan but plain flour is fine)

1 kg spinach, or silver beet, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 large leek sliced including some green

6 small potatoes scrubbed, skins on

1 inch ginger, minced

5 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon ghee or butter

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or medium chili

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 bay leaves

2 big cardamom pods

3 whole cloves

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon salt

1         tablespoon tomato paste
2         cups stock or water

Saute the onion, garlic, leeks and ginger in the oil and butter until soft. Add all the spices and tomato paste and fry off until fragrant, a couple of minutes. Add the lamb which you have coated in flour and salt and brown it. Add stock ( or water) and bring to simmer so the sauce is thickened to your liking. Add more water if needed because you'll be slow cooking this for another few hours. Transfer to slow cooker, or an ovenproof dish, add whole potatoes and cook a further 3 hours, after it comes to a simmer again.   An hour before you want to eat it, add the silver beet. Remove bay leaves and cloves and serve with saffron ( or turmeric) rice.

Buy the cheapest cut of lamb possible - the shoulder is good - remember the adage - the closer to the bone the sweeter is the meat. The price of lamb these days is exorbitant - you have to pay the same for a leg as we used to get for the whole sheep when we had the farm. So, when I spotted "offcuts" at the butcher, I rummaged through - most were just bones, but I did get a couple of kilos of meaty ones for $5 - brought them home and pulled off the meat, discarded the fat and got a kilo of good meat - enough to make three meals for the two of us. The dog has several meals too.

Sheepish Frittata

2011-05-10T23:37:00.001+10:00

I know Frittatas are pretty standard fare but I do like the way we can vary ingredients to use what we have on hand. Some come together really easily while others can be a bit iffy. Tonight I decided to use up a couple of things that I have scored ( remember, this is Australian for obtained for nothing) - namely half a block of sheep's fetta left by my daughter when she visited last week and some silver beet from the veggie shed who didn't charge because it was slightly limp. Who hasn't used slightly limp silver beet!

Here's my recipe.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 a red onion, chopped finely

1 stick celery chopped finely

2 cloves garlic crushed

2 rashers good bacon cubed

1/4 bunch silver beet chopped finely

100g sheep's fetta

4 eggs

1/2 cup cream ( yes I know)

salt and pepper

herb of choice - I used rosemary

a couple of gratings cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon sumac or smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 160C

Use a frying pan suitable to go into the oven

Saute onions, garlic celery and bacon in oil until onions are soft and bacon cooked

Add silver beet and wilt down

meantime

break up the fetta with a fork adding the eggs and beating slightly, finally add the cream

season the vegetables with salt if needed and a good grind of black pepper.

Pour cream mixture over the vegetables and stir slightly so it get underneath the veg.

Top with a grating of cheddar ( didn't have Parmesan)

sprinkle with sumac or paprika

Put into oven for about 35 minutes until set. Let stand a couple of minutes and cut into wedges

Serves 4

I particularly like using the sheep fetta, it seemed to give a more solid custard and didn't "leak" moisture as happens with some fetta cheese. I'll use it again and probably use smoked salmon instead of bacon.

Get Your Beta Carotene Here!!

2011-05-08T14:03:00.000+10:00

Beta-carotene can be found in red, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables. It is a primary source of Vitamin A and there are claims that it will prevent certain cancers, heart disease, cataracts, and age related macular degeneration. Getting beta-carotene and other antioxidants from food instead of supplements has to be the prefered path. Eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily provides 6-8 mg of beta-carotene. This soup provides enough for 4 people.

Carrot, Pumpkin and Orange Soup

This is a variation on the Pumpkin and Orange soup I often make and devised today because I have so many carrots at my place. You need:

750g pumpkin

250g carrot

juice of three oranges made up to 1 litre with water

1 star anise

salt and pepper

herb of choice - I used a small sprig of thyme

Simmer all together until vegetables are soft and cooked. Remove the Star Anise and puree until smooth. It is a very thick soup so if you wanted it thinner, dilute with water or milk, but I like it thick.

I served with a "Quinelle" of sour cream and lots of black pepper which brings out the orange.

Enjoy!

Copious Carrots

2011-05-08T13:48:00.001+10:00

This week I scored** 5 kg organic carrots in need of a good home. We have been juicing them but won't get through them in a month of Sundays so I have a few frozen bags of them for later juicing, cooking and soups.

To prepare then, wash, top and tail and slice. I used my processor but if you want perfect shapes, do it by hand. Drop the sliced carrots into cold water to which has been added a tablespoon citric acid. This stops you having to blanche them and stops any oxydisation. Leave for half an hour then bag and freeze.

** Scored is Australian for got them for nothing.

That Time of the Month - juicy fruits and greeny greens

2011-05-07T19:53:00.001+10:00

Aren't the colours great!

May brings lots of lovely produce in the Cosmic Garden. We've had some great broccoli but this is the last of it. Freezer is fed with fast blanched broccoli, 20 minutes from garden to freezer, broccoli soup also frozen, made a huge pot the other day and tomorrow we finally get around to the carrots. These too will freeze and be used for juice.
We have lots of celery to use up too, this will freeze for juicing but the remaining crop of apples will be used in the next few days. I have however got lots of containers of stewed apple put away for crumbles and the like during winter. Which is coming on faster than I like!
Normally I wait until just past the full moon in Taurus to do the last of the autumn cropping but I needed space to do a second planting of leeks so out comes the broccoli. I'm getting quite ruthless now that my growing space is reduced.
Peas, broad beans planted and spinach, cabbage, wombok, lettuce, kale all coming on well so there won;t be much gap. Tomorrow I'll plant some garlic while the moon is in its crescent phase.

Isn't she lovely!

Carrot, pumpkin and orange soup tomorrow.
Happy mothers' day to all earth mothers who nurture their offspring with love and set such good examples by digging in the dirt. And that's all of us!

Corn and Bacon soup with red onion and potato "croutons"

2011-05-06T14:11:00.001+10:00

This is a delicious rich soup of my own devising. You only need a small serve with a bit of crusty bread to feel warm and satisfied!

500g sweet corn kernels ( I used a packet of frozen ones)

1 red onion chopped small

100g bacon pieces chopped small

herb of choice - I used French Tarragon

1 litre chicken or veg stock

1 tbsp oil plus oil for cooking "croutons"

2 small or 1 medium potato cut into cubes about the size of a bread crouton

Soften the onion in soup pot using 1 tbsp oil

Add herb of choice, bacon pieces and cook another 5 minutes

Add stock and corn and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Meantime parboil the potato cubes leaving them still firm

Cool soup slightly and puree

- (you can puree as long as you like depending on the texture you want.

I like mine a bit chunky but it would puree very smooth with longer processing.)

Drain potatoes and heat oil in frying pan.

Shallow fry the potatoes until brown and crisp

Serve the soup in bowls with a topping of the hot "croutons"

Salt and pepper if you desire.

Cock-a-leekie - Cosmic style.

2011-05-03T11:52:00.000+10:00


Cock-a-Leekie

A "traditional" chicken soup for Himself who is getting over the dreaded lurgie and wants 'soup with real vegetables that you can see and not pureed and messed up so it all tastes the same". Cranky pants doesn't realise that my cream soups have a hero vegetable! So I make a "visible vegetable" soup to keep him happy now and then. If you Google cock-a-leekie soup you will get a few thousand recipes so I have no claim to originality in this recipe, but I do a couple of things that might be different. Some of the recipes I saw were bizarre to say the least - like cock a leekie made with beef! Some with offal! This recipe has pleased my family for many years and is a main standby in the freezer too.

3/4 cup pearl barley soaked overnight

250g skinless chicken thigh fillets cut into bite size pieces

1 litre chicken stock plus barley water

1 large finely chopped onion

2 sticks celery, chopped

2 medium or one large leek, thinly sliced, use some green

1 carrot chopped into cubes

1 large potato chopped into small cubes

4 sage leaves finely chopped or ½ tsp dried sage

4 sprigs parsley, 4 springs mint tied into a bunch.

Salt and pepper to taste

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup pitted, dried prunes cut in half

½ cup fresh or frozen peas

Lemon peel – about half a lemon, peeled thinly into a couple of pieces.

3 teaspoons lemon juice.

Cover the pearled barley with boiling water and leave to soak overnight. Don’t discard the water.

Put all ingredients except lemon, peas and prunes into soup pot and bring to simmer point.

Cover and simmer about 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender and barley is well cooked,

Add the lemon peel (slice it off and leave in one or two large pieces), squeeze in the juice.

Add peas and prunes, then simmer another 10 minutes.

Remove and discard the lemon, bay leaf and parsley/mint sprigs.

The addition of mint and lemon is my innovation and truly lifts this soup to a level beyond ordinary giving it a freshness that really does make lurgie-flu better.

Surprisingly Silky Swede Soup!

2011-04-30T12:59:00.003+10:00

Swede is a very under-rated vegetable. It has a delicious flavour, is super-cheap and a good source of vitamin C and potassium. I use it as a cold cure by cutting one into 8 sections like you would an orange, leaving the 'bottom' intact, then pour as much honey as will fit into the centre and leave overnight - the next day use the liquid for a throat drink. But I digress, this is about soup. It took a couple of goes to get this one right. The first time ended up a bit sweet, because I caramelised using brown sugar and it was not only sweet but too brown. So I changed the recipe to use honey instead and only lightly caramelised the swedes and onions. It is a rich soup, velvety and tasty but I recommend small serves if using as a meal starter. I was given a few nice organically grown swedes by a fellow garden grower so I played around until I got it right.

Silky Swede Soup

1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion chopped finely

2 sticks celery

a few sprigs of fresh thyme or a pinch of dried

30g butter ( optional)

salt and pepper

8 - 10 cardamom pods

about 600g swede, peeled and chopped into small cubes

1 tablespoon honey

1 litre chicken or vegetable stock

150ml cream

olive oil and nutmeg to serve.

Heat soup pot and add the oil and onions, sweat them down for about 5 minutes. Add celery, thyme and the seeds from the cardamom pods. ( I just crush with a knife to open them).

Cook for a further 3 minutes until the onions are translucent, then add the swede, salt and pepper and honey. Stir and cook, covered for about 20 minutes. This will draw out the liquid from the swede and lightly caramelise them. Reduce heat to medium. If you think they are getting brown add a splash of water, but I found they softened nicely and took on a nice light yellowy straw colour. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick.

When they are soft, pour in the stock and bring back to the simmer. Simmer another 10 minutes then puree until really smooth. At this point add the butter ( optional) but it does help to give a lovely velvety texture.

Stir in the cream ( optional) and reheat for a few seconds and serve.

I garnished with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and a grating of nutmeg.

Try it! I think you'll like it!

You could push it through a sieve if you don't like residual cardamom seeds floating in it, but I rather like crunching them and getting a little cardamom hit!

I'm doing quite a lot of soup recipes on the blog, over our Tasmanian winter so please feel free to use the recipes adapting to suit yourself. More recipes can be found by clicking the label "soups" below this post.

Broccoli Soup

2011-04-28T12:05:00.002+10:00

Yes, winter is just around the corner and we are picking some good autumn grown greens. Today I am making broccoli soup using a freshly picked 400g head of organically grown broccoli straight from the garden - bursting with vitamins and freshness. This is a favourite soup because even the most die-hard broccoli haters are gob smacked when they taste it!

Recipe:

400g head fresh picked broccoli chopped, including stalk

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 stick celery chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 cup red lentils

1.5 litres chicken or veg stock

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

slivered almonds, yogurt, sour cream or herbs of choice to serve.

Put all ingredients in pot, simmer until cooked. Blend in blender to a smooth puree but don’t over blend it, leave a few bits of veg to give texture. Serve with plain yogurt and a few slivered almonds or any topping of your choice even a tiny bit more nutmeg. Himself like Sumac but I find this masks the nutmeg. Freezes well, serves about 8 hearty serves.

I will be putting up more soup recipes throughout the coming months, some of which will surprise and delight! For all the soup recipes on the blog, just click on the label "soups" at the bottom of the post. Feel free to use or modify any recipe as I don't believe that copyright applies to food though feedback or comments is always welcome.

Anzac Biscuits - Gluten Free Dairy Free!!

2011-04-26T12:35:00.002+10:00

Family are visiting with special dietary requirements. The traditional Anzac biscuit has undergone a transformation and while not entirely the same, they do give us a good and tasty alternative. Here's what we ( three little helpers) did: It's probably in the best interest of hygiene that I don't show the actual makings! Click pics for larger view.

Recipe

1 cup (150g) plain Gluten free flour alternative - we used Orgran brand)

1 cup (90g) rolled oats ( Gluten free organic are available but we used ordinary ones)

1 cup dessicated coconut

3/4 cup ( 80g) dark brown sugar

125g dairy free margarine ( we used Nuttelex)

2 tablespoons Golden syrup

1 tsp baking powder or bicarb soda.

cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg etc to taste
1/4 cup slivered almonds if you don't want nut free.

Melt margarine, add golden syrup add bicarb in a large bowl.

Combine dry ingredients add to melted margarine etc.

Mix

roll into balls about 5 cm with "clean"hands and do not eat the ingredients until they have been cooked. Especially don't pick it up off the floor!

Place on a greased tray and make patterns with a fork.

Bake in a moderate ( 170 - 180C) oven for about 15 minutes.

Cool completely before eating!

Good when eaten with rice crackers, mighty mite and snot!

Good to eat with mouth closed in case it escapes!

And a wink makes them good for eating with mateship in the Anzac spirit!

Enjoy!

Fragrant Lentil soup with Coconut and Ginger

2011-04-11T17:21:00.001+10:00

This soup is subtitled " Now that is good" - as Himself did the taste test. It is very easy ( and frugal) to make with heavenly scents from the aromatic spices. The trick is to use the freshest ginger possibly to get the sweetness that can only be found in fresh (still pink) ginger that has not been stored too long.

Fragrant Lentil Soup with Coconut and Ginger

1 cup yellow split peas

1 cup red lentils

2 teaspoons coriander seed

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1 teaspoon fenugreek seed

8 cardamom pods

2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil

1 large onion chopped

2 thumb size knobs of fresh ginger, chopped small

4 cloves garlic roughly chopped

2 teaspoons medium curry powder (I used a Balti)

1 teaspoon paprika

2 Bay leaves

1 and ½ litres chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups coconut milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the lentils for at least 4 hours with 2 tablespoons yogurt or vinegar and hot water.** Drain them and rinse them thoroughly in cold water.

Crush coriander, cumin, fenugreek and cardamom seeds, in mortar and pestle or use ground ones. Heat ghee or oil in a large pot, then add onions, garlic and ginger; cook until onion softens; about 3 minutes. Add spices, curry powder, Bay leaves and paprika. Stir and cook for another minute.

Add rinsed lentils and split peas, chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer for about 1 hour, remove Bay leaves then puree the soup with a stick blender or food processor. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer gently for about 5 minutes.

Serve with a sprinkle of toasted coconut. I tried a sprinkle of crushed cashews and a spoon of extra coconut milk but the cashews didn’t really appeal.

** Soaking legumes in yogurt or vinegar releases some sort of enzymes that enable them to be better digested after cooking. You could use lemon juice.

Cosmic Apple and Zucchini Cake

2011-03-31T12:01:00.000+11:00

I've been slack with the blogging of late and have moved to facebook with the Moon gardening, so become a friend and join me there!

We are picking the jonogold apples now, these are a great all rounder and what the possums left are just as juicy as can be! Also the zucchini continue to thrive despite cooler nights, there are plenty bees around to pollinate them. So today I was faced with lots of apples and zucchini and devised this Cosmic Cake. This recipe could be used as muffins too I suspect or even apple and carrot.

2 cups Self Raising flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp custard powder**

4 medium apples peeled and grated - about 3 cups

1 medium zucchini grated - about 2 cups

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg**

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all dry ingredients and set aside.( I used the custard powder for colour as I only had one egg in the pantry but you could use two eggs and omit the custard)

Grate zucchini and apple.

Beat oil egg(s) and vanilla then add the grated apple and zucchini, stir,

Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix until just combined, don't over beat.

Bake in a well oiled cake tin at 170C for 45 - 50 minutes.

This turned out very nice and moist.

Gardening by the Moon - February 2011 - Southern Hemisphere

2011-01-31T10:26:00.001+11:00

This guide is designed to explain the planting considerations by the three main cycles of the moon - phases (waxing from new to full and waning from full to new) declination (peaks north and south and equatorial crossings) and proximity to the earth (perigee and apogee) but common sense should be applied as to what you should plant according to your location.

All times are given for Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). If you are in New Zealand then ADD 2 hours to any times note in the guide. If you need help with this please leave a comment or try this converter.

I can highly recommend the Gardenate site be used in conjunction with this moon guide. Here you will be able to select your time zone and receive monthly emails on suitable planting. Gardenate now have an iPhone app (not sure what that is but I think it means you can get information over your phone.

February is preparation time for Autumn and winter crops. While the earth is still warm, it is an ideal time for planting out seedlings and sowing seeds. The balsamic and new phases are generally good times to sow seeds, avoiding the peaks where possible. First Quarter is good for selective thinning, Waxing Gibbous for feeding. Full Moon is good for harvesting and waning Gibbous good for seed collection and propagating by cuttings. Last quarter is good for pruning, grafting and pest destruction and Balsamic as mentioned for seed sowing and preservation. Follow the signs, earth ( roots) fire ( fruits) water ( stems and leaves) and air ( flowers and grains) for the types of plants to sow. Generally the moon stays in a sign for 2 to 3 days. There is much that can be planted now but watch out for cabbage moths that are still active and reduce your weed burden before they come into seed. As the nights cool down, some insects start to over-winter in the soil so use your hoe to keep the surface loose.

For any astrologers/astronomers out there - I use the sidereal zodiac. For weather watchers, planet activity is interesting as Jupiter and Uranus cross into the northern hemisphere. Cyclones could occur on 2^nd and 7^th when these planets are aspected by the moon and other planets.

Cherokee Purple Tomato

1st to 3rd - Moon in Balsamic/dark phase in sidereal Capricorn. Sow

seeds of roots crops but you can also plant seeds indoors or crops that require a good root base. New Moon occurs at 12.30 AEST on 3^rd.

4th to 5th - Moon is New in Aquarius and you can still plant root crops up to about 10.30 am on 4^th. Plant seeds or seedlings of flowering crops like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, flower and herbs. New moon is always a good time for seed germination. This is a good phase for peas and beans if you didn’t sow them last month.

6th to 8th - Moon is Crescent in Pisces - Seeds you may have planted during balsamic phase should now start to emerge. Ensure they have the right amount of daylight. There are several trines that are disadvantageous for root crops so check any emerging seedlings and make sure they are protected from the sun. Equatorial crossing may bring adverse weather on 6th. Apogee (moon most distant from earth) occurs 9.14 am on 7th. So this is a very active time in moon activity. Avoid planting or sowing for a few hours each side of apogee. Pisces is good for leafy greens. Moon opposite Saturn on 8th encourages uptake of nutrients that strengthen stems and leaves.

9th to 11th - Moon into First Quarter in Aries. This is a good time for thinning seedlings and selecting the strongest for planting out later. Fruiting plants such as tomatoes, chillies, egg plants can be planted in warmer parts of Australia to avoid as much as possible, the incidence of fruit fly by growing in Autumn.

12th to 13th - Moon is First Quarter in the sign Taurus. This favours thinning or root crops. The moon peaks north on the 13^th and top growth – leaves and stems occurs so discard any leggy seedlings as they will be weak.

14th to 15th - Moon enters Waxing Gibbous phase in airy Gemini and begins its southward travel. There is a trine (angular relationships between the moon and planets Mercury and Saturn) that is favourable for flowering crops particularly bananas! So this is the optimum time as phase and sign and planets all align to the benefit of those crops. Gibbous phase is always a good time to feed your crops, even newly emerges seeds can benefit from a weak feed now.

16th to 20th - Moon is Full at 6.35 pm on 18^th in Cancer. Best to avoid planting for a couple of hours each side of Full moon. as it coincides with the moon crossing the equator early on 19th and we also have perigee on 19th. These three factors combine to create adverse conditions of wind and rain and a hot spell. Cyclone activity high. A good time for leafy vegetables but preferably plant cabbages, spinach and Asian greens and other leafs early on the 18^th before full moon – they might get a good watering later in the day. The moon enters Leo around midday on 18^th which is favourable for cropping fruits, particularly tomatoes which are to be preserved or processed. A good time to add some fertiliser around the base of fruit trees too before they finish cropping and go dormant.

21st to 23^rd - Moon in Waning Gibbous phase in Virgo and entering Last quarter in the sidereal signs Libra on 22nd. This is a good time for attending to trees, doing a light pruning of fruit trees that have finished cropping, grafting and removing dead branches. Check trees and shrubs and prune out any branches that show signs of die back or disease. Last quarter is a good time for grafting. If you do this, then graft fruiting plants now so that they will make good secure grafts.

24th to 25th - Moon in Last Quarter in Scorpio. While generally this would favour leafy greens, the phase is not ideal for planting but good for examination and pest control as caterpillars will be hungry now!

26^th to 28^th – Moon in Sagittarius Last Quarter. Remove spent fruiting plants and dispose of them – do not compost anything diseased as we enter Balsamic phase when bacteria and moulds can be rife. Peak south occurs on 26^th and moon begins its journey north. Possible hot few days

I do appreciate any comments you leave or questions you may have as it gives me feedback onto how useful the guides are.

In Praise of Cucumbers.

2011-01-30T14:08:00.001+11:00

Because our hydroponic system has worked so well, we have an overload of cucumbers. So what to do apart from pickling them?

I use them in my morning juice to bulk it out and provide lots of minerals. Even though they seem bland in their natural state, their value is really in the trace elements they contain. They provide Sodium, Potassium, Folacin, traces of Calcium, Niacin, Iron, Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and B6, manganese and silicon and sulfur. I use them to to dilute other juices like beets that can be rather thick and gluggy. They also go well with carrot and apples and reduce fluid retention hot days mixed with apple juice.

From my Ayurveda manual: The alkaline-forming minerals in the cucumber invests the cucumber with definite remedial and curative properties. It makes it useful in maintaining the alkalinity of the blood. It also operates as one of the best natural diuretics, secreting and promoting the flow of urine. It should always be taken raw as in cooking potassium and phosphorus are lost.

The juice of cucumber is a valuable food medicine in the treatment of hyperacidity, gastric and duodenal ulcers. It gives immediate relief when there is a burning sensation in the stomach.

Cucumber juice in combination with the juice of carrots, beets and celery, has a very beneficial effect in the conditions associated with accumulation of uric acid such as arthritis, gout and rheumatism. ( I use this regularly in the autumn and recommend it.)

Cucumber seeds are rich in potassium. Emulsion of the shelled seeds, mixed with curd, is useful in dissolving the gravel in urinary tract and in reducing hyperacidity of the urine. It acts excellently by restoring the electrolyte liquid balance in dehydration.

Grated cucumber applied over face, eyes and neck for 15 - 20 minutes has been found effective as tonic for the skin. When it's used regularly it will help prevents pimple, blackheads, wrinkles and dryness of the face. When we were kids we used to lie on the lawn with slices of cucumbers on our eyes so they wouldn't be puffy - no idea why we were not supposed to have puffy eyes - might have sent signals of depravity!

Cucumber juice promotes hair growth due to its high silicon and sulphur content, particularly when mixed with carrot, lettuce and spinach juice. Make a hair rinse from cucumber juice, water, rosemary and cider vinegar. Massage it into the scalp and it will promote hair growth. I use it in fruit salads too.

5 years or more ago I posted this to Gardenweb. I just discovered it there and thought it was more useful here on the blog.

Gardening by the Moon - February 2011 - Northern Hemisphere

2011-01-30T11:38:00.004+11:00

The northern hemisphere contains about 90% of the population and has a huge variety of climatic conditions. So this guide is designed to explain the planting considerations by the three main cycles of the moon - phases ( waxing from new to full and waning from full to new) declination ( peaks north and south and equatorial crossings) and proximity to the earth ( perigee and apogee) but common sense should be applied as to what you should plant. I do recommend you join Gardenate for more individual information.

All times are given for Pacific Standard Time ( PST) which is 8 hours behind Greenwich Universal Time ( UT). If you are in Britain then ADD those 8 hours to any times noted in the guide. Other locations should adjust to their time zones. If you need help with this please leave a comment or try this converter

Because of the wide variation in climate I can only suggest what to plant or do in the garden by a rule of thumb and obviously, if you are under 3 feet of snow you are not going to plant potatoes! I can highly recommend the Gardenate site be used in conjunction with this moon guide. Here you will be able to select your time zone and receive monthly emails on suitable planting.

In the northern hemisphere February is preparation time - in all but the coldest parts of the USA seeds can be sown indoors this month. The balsamic and new phases are generally good times to sow, avoiding the peaks where possible. Follow the signs, earth, fire, water and air for the types of plants to sow. Broccoli, Cabbage, Celery, Leeks, Onions can all be sown indoors and in the southern states planting potatoes and peas, carrots, beetroot, garlic, salsify, onions and beans for spring harvest can be done this month.

In the UK and northern Europe it's time to sow seeds indoors or in a cold frame for planting out once frosts are no longer a problem. But you can plant out Beetroot, Carrots, Garlic and Broad beans this month.

Gardenate now have an iPhone app ( not sure what that is but I think it means you can get information over your phone.

For any astrologers/astronomers out there - I use the sidereal zodiac.

1st to 2nd - Moon in Balsamic/dark phase in sidereal Capricorn. If suitable sow seeds of roots crops.

3rd to 5th - Moon is New and you can still plant root crops up to about 3 pm PST. There are trines that are advantageous for root crops. Then plant seeds or seedlings of Flowering crops like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, flower and herbs. Equatorial crossing may bring adverse weather on 5th.

6th to 8th - Moon is Crescent - always a good time for planting seeds and those you may have planted during balsamic phase should now start to emerge. Ensure they have the right amount of daylight. Apogee ( moon most distant from earth) occurs 15.14 PST on 6th Avoid planting or sowing for a few hours each side of this time. Moon in Sidereal Pisces is good for leafy greens. Moon opposite Saturn on 8th encourages uptake of nutrients that strengthen stems and leaves.

9th to 11th - Moon into first quarter - a good time for thinning seedlings and selecting the strongest for planting out later. With the moon in sidereal Aries, fruiting plants such as tomatoes, chillies, egg plants can be sown or planted out if your climate allows. Moon moves to earthy Taurus at 4 pm PST on 11th so a final sowing of root vegetables is possible.

12th to 14th - Moon is First Quarter in the sign Taurus briefly favouring roots vegetables then into Gemini on 13th. Moon peaks north and there are trines ( angular relationships between the moon and planets) that are favourable for flowering crops so get your peas and beans in if possible in your area.

15th to 16th - Moon enters Waxing Gibbous phase and begins its southward travel. These are excellent days for working with leafy vegetables, and gibbous phase is always a good time to feed your crops, even newly emerges seeds can benefit from a weak feed now.

17th to 19th - Moon is Full at midnight PST on 18th. Best to avoid planting for a couple of hours each side of Full moon as it coincides with the moon crossing the equator early on 19th and we also have perigee on 19th. These three factors combine to create adverse conditions of wind and rain and a cold snap. The moon is a close perigee - almost a super moon at 360,000km distance. Jupiter and Uranus are crossing into the northern hemisphere too and the moon opposes Jupiter. Altogether this can bring some difficult weather conditions depending on your location. Probably a good time to avoid gardening altogether.

20th to 21st - Moon is now in Full phase but waning quickly to waning Gibbous. There is still opportunity to plant flowering plants but I would restrict this to flower cuttings and small trees where it is suitable.

22nd to 25th - a four day period that sees the moon in Waning Gibbous phase and entering Last quarter in the sidereal signs Libra ( 22nd) and Scorpio . Peak south occurs on 25th. While generally this would favour leafy greens, the phase is not ideal for planting.

26th to 28th - Moon in Last Quarter - check trees and shrubs for buds and prune out any branches that show signs of die back or disease. Last quarter is a good time for grafting. If you do this, then graft fruiting plants now so that they will make good secure grafts.

I do appreciate any comments you leave or questions you may have as it gives me feedback onto how useful the guides are.

Gardening by the Moon - January 2011 - Northern Hemisphere

2011-01-09T14:57:00.002+11:00

In response to a few requests I am offering a guide for the northern hemisphere. I would appreciate feedback through the comments section so that I can gauge whether it is worth my time doing this as there may be others out there who do the same thing. The northern hemisphere contains about 90% of the population and has a huge variety of climatic conditions.

My first consideration has been to decide where in the world to centre the guide. I have decided on Pacific Standard Time ( PST) which is 8 hours behind Greenwich Universal Time ( UT). If you are in Britain then ADD those 8 hours to any times noted in the guide. Other locations should adjust to their time zones. If yo need help with this please leave a comment.

Because of the wide variation in climate I can only suggest what to plant or do in the garden by a rule of thumb and obviously, if you are under 3 feet of snow you are not going to plant potatoes! I can highly recommend the Gardenate site be used in conjunction with this moon guide. Here you will be able to select your time zone and receive monthly emails on suitable planting.

For any astrologers/astronomers out there - I use the sidereal zodiac. Explanations of the moon cycles are linked to articles on the home page, and are included for the curious. You don't need to understand the technicalities if you just want to use the guide as a planner or diary.

Picture is "Olivia" A home bred variety just for my granddaughter.

1st to 5th - Moon in its dark balsamic phase. Over these days there is a solar eclipse, the moon peaks South ( low in the northern sky) and this occurs close to perihelion when the earth is at it closest point to the Sun. Not a good time to do anything in the garden except weeding.

6th to 8th - Moon is in New phase. A good time to sow seeds of root vegetables on the 6th when moon is in Capricorn and sow or transplant flowers and flowering crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, peas and beans on the 7th and 8th. Moon is in Aquarius. Check plants for root rot if you have had wet weather.

9th to 11th - Moon is in Crescent phase. Apogee ( moon furthest from earth) occurs on 9th and enters Pisces. This is an excellent time for planting anything that has leaves. Spinach, salad green, all thrive when planted now. Apogee draws growth towards leaves so this should be an optimal time and phase to plant such foodstuff. As Moon opposes Saturn on 11th, check for calcium deficiencies in plants. Possible storms on 9th could interfere with activities!

12th to 13th - Moon at first Quarter phase in the sign Aries. A good time to check fruiting crops such as tomatoes and to thin out and tidy existing plantings of seedlings. Moon in this sign is always good for pest control and for attacking any fungal diseases. I use an organic solution with a spray of soda water to create a temporary alkaline environment in which moulds cannot thrive.

14th to 16th - Moon begins it waxing Gibbous phase. In the sign Taurus. This combination is excellent for adding manure, feeding plants in general and conditioning you soil with the addition of organic matter. Check PH and determine any deficiencies in your soil now. Dig out roots of any plants that look like they are diseased and burn them. Moon peaks North on 16th ( high in the sky) drawing energy to the leafy part of the plants so seedlings can become leggy and need to be thinned now.

17th to 18th - Moon waxing Gibbous in the sign Gemini. This is a good time to plant flowers and particularly good for legume crops. Wind may be a problem so stake up anything that could break.

19th to 20th - Full Moon at 13.21 PST on 19th. Avoid garden activities 3 hours either side. Moon enters Cancer 4 hours after Full moon which is often good for leafy crops in general but leafy vegetables may start bolting to seed now as we are close to Perigee too. This is likely to bring a cold spell, and there is still a risk of high winds. Attend to leafy growth but avoid planting tender things until it warms up again.

21st to 22nd - Moon in Full phase and the sign Leo. Perigee occurs 16.11 PST on Friday 21st. ( closest to the earth when adverse or freaky weather can affect us). Even though we are in the waning phase, it pays to be flexible. Plants of the fruiting kind such as tomatoes, capsicums and aubergine when planted at perigee seem to give higher yields. Moon in Fire/Leo usually good for fruit such as peppers and chillies.

23rd to 24th - Moon enters Waning Gibbous phase in the sign Virgo. This is an excellent time for seed collection and to identify any plants that need pruning or tidying. This is a good time for root crops as well as for cereal crops or to sow legumes for later green manure to new growing beds in cooler climes.

25th to 26th - Moon at Second Quarter on Wednesday 26th in the sign Libra. This is a good time for trimming and tidying trees and for collecting flower seeds along marking the seed pods of beans and legumes if you have been growing them for collection and drying later. Moon in Air/Libra This phase is always good for pruning to encourage fruiting later in the season and this month is particularly good as over these days the moon is drawing away from the earth.

29th to 31st - Moon is in its Dark phase, the sign Sagittarius and Peaking South ( low in the sky) giving strength to the root part of the plants. If suitable for your region, now would be a good time to purchase fruit trees ready for planting when the moon emerges new on 2nd February. If you buy them bare rooted, you can check for a good root system and soak then for a couple of days in a weak seaweed solution.

I hope you find this guide useful. As mentioned much of this activity will be irrelevant to those who are snow bound, so for you, I suggest getting some seed catalogues, putting your feet up and staying warm by the fire for the whole month! Please feel free to leave questions and comments.

Gardening by the Moon - January 2011

2011-01-08T15:26:00.003+11:00

Happy New Year to all my Gardening friends. Apologies for the lateness of the guide and the lack of a December one but I figured you'd all be as busy with festive things as I was and are just getting around to those weeding jobs, as I am!. My best to all those in Queensland whose gardens are ruined by the devastating floods. Take heart, eventually the water will recede and your garden will grow again, probably even more lush than before.

If you are new to this gardening guide, remember to go to gardenate to discover what to plant for your zone. I can only suggest what to plant according to the moon, but you must take account of your climate. No point planting mangoes in Hobart or Brussels sprouts in Cairns! Explanations of moon cycles are linked from the home page and are only included so that you can learn about moon cycles, otherwise you can ignore them and just use the guide as a diary without needing to know the technicalities.

All times are Australian Easter Daylight time. New Zealand gardeners should add 2 hours to any times mentioned. For the astrologers/astronomers out there in the garden - I use the Sidereal zodiac.

1st to 5th - Not a good time to plant as the Moon peaks south ( is at its highest point in the sky); there is a solar eclipse on 4th and this occurs at perihelion ( earth is closest to the Sun); the nodes are aligned as well creating adverse conditions for all planting - including leafy and fruiting crops.

6th to 7th - Moon is Crescent A great time to sow some extra root crops or plant vines for next year. Moon in Earth/Capricorn

8th to 9th - As the moon continues into its New phase, we have an excellent day for flowers and flowering crops like broccoli and cauliflowers. Your autumn planting of these vegetables will benefit from a warm start. Moon in Air/Aquarius. Good for grafting.

10th - 12th - Apogee ( Moon furthest from earth) weak energy drawing growth to leaves. Monday 10th at 3.40pm, Moon is entering 1st Quarter phase. Avoid planting about 3 hours either side of this time but use the day to weed or thin out seedlings that are leggy or crowded. Check for calcium deficiency. Moon is Water/Pisces - very fertile time and good for leafy crops.

13th to 14th - Moon in 1st Quarter - a good time for activities with fruiting crops. Check tomatoes for fungal and viral diseases. I am having good success with spraying fungus with soda water ( 99c for 2 litres) Pick fruit as it ripens to encourage an autumn flush. Moon in Fire/Aries always a good sign for pest destruction.

15th to 16th - Moon is waxing gibbous. The best time for feeding your garden. Check for deficiencies particularly if you've had heavy rain. After 2 pm on Saturday moon favours root crops. Moon in Earth/Taurus.

17th to 18th - Moon peaks North ( low in the sky) this bring potency to the root zone of the plant. This is a ben4eficial time for flowering crops, and flowers. Deep watering if you need to, rather than sprinkling. Moon in Air/Gemini - generally a good sign for legumes.

19th to 21st - Moon becomes Full on 20th at 7.21 am- Leafy vegetables may start bolting to seed now as we are close to Perigee too. This is likely to bring a hot spell, and there is still a risk of cyclones around. Attend to leafy growth but avoid planting tender things until it cools off! Moon in Water/Cancer.

22nd to 23rd - Moon at Perigee ( closest to the earth when adverse or freaky weather can affect us. Even though we are in the waning phase, it pays to be flexible. Plants of the fruiting kind such as capsicums and aubergine when planted at perigee seem to give highest yields. Moon in Fire/Leo usually good for fruit such as peppers and chillies.

24th to 25th - Moon Waning Gibbous. I have experienced good crops of late potatoes when the moon is waning and perigee is not far behind. This is a good time for root crops. Moon in Earth/Virgo - good for seeds of all kinds and for cereal crops to head up.

26th to 27th - Moon 2nd Quarter. This is a good time for trimming and tidying trees and for collecting flower seeds along marking the seed pods of beans and legumes if you have been growing them for collection and drying later. Moon in Air/Libra

28th to 30th - Moon balsamic. This is a phase where planting seeds is best avoided, although beans and other legume seeds will be full of energy and can be picked for storage around 30th when the Moon is Peaking South ( high in the sky). Similarly, if you have greens bolting to seed, gather them now as they will be very viable. Moon in Water/Scorpio then Fire/Sagittarius on Sunday.

31st - Moon going into its dark phase. If you ferment tomato or other fruiting seeds for next year, now would be a really good time to do so. Also for drying chillies and other fruits. Moon in Fire/Sagittarius

No bend Gardening - Week 5

2010-11-12T14:20:00.000+11:00

We've had a couple of salads this week, which were delicious. The Fenugreek is particular tasty and the Cress adds a bite. I have planted Watercress, Tatsoi and next week intend to put some more Coriander and Basil in the remaining pots. We have had to adjust the water flood timing from 10 minutes every 4 hours, to 10 minutes every 2 hours to accommodate the growing plants need for nutrient and have also strengthened the nutrient solution a bit. Strawberries are not doing too well, the outside ones are fatter - these are going to be pulled out soon if we can get better ones. Still a bit of algae to contend with but it isn't getting any worse, so maybe we live with it going on the advice of experts. Here is the watercress, loving the flowing water and perky after a day from planting.

And another Iris showing off. It will be another two weeks before I get to post more progress, but these 5 weeks should illustrate that so far we have generally good results.

No bend Gardening - Week 4

2010-11-06T14:14:00.000+11:00

Here we are at the end of 28 days. With mixed results as some of the seeds rotted. A lesson learned, it is better to germinate out of the system, then instead of using the blocks, transplant directly into the growing medium after washing the roots free of soil. I have more basil, coriander, tatsoi and watercress seeds growing and will probably transplant them in a weeks time. Strawberries are not thriving as well as those outside, so we may sacrifice the few we tried out in the system and use their holes for watercress. Snow peas, cucumbers and the various types of lettuce are going gang-busters and starting to climb the strings. We picked some mesculin lettuce, fenugreek and cress to augment a salad based on soil grown red coral lettuce. At least we didn't have to fight off the marauding snails and the greens were delicious. I am impressed with the speed of growth. All the work involved is adding a daily dose of vinegar to keep the PH right. As the weather improves, we have to get up early to open up the hothouse as the dawn sun strikes it, but we can close up at about 4.30 retaining a good level of warmth overnight. I think this has helped.

More iris are blooming. I don;t know the names of these, have enough trouble remembering the roses.

Apart from beans we have planted all we will plant for summer vegetables. Cutting down on the growing means we don't have heaps of potatoes and only 6 varieties of tomatoes. Capsicums, egg plant and chillies are growing in pots this year. So we have enough weeding to keep us fit without the garden being a chore and best of all, we have enough food to keep us healthy. Cheers 'til next week.

Gardening by the Moon - November 2010

2010-10-31T14:30:00.003+11:00

The month on November will usually see temperatures rising day by day and the promise of summer beckoning. This month should not be too windy, but hail and storms at the Equatorial crossings especially around apogee (15th) . Venus will also be stationary and about to change direction on 19th. This could create wind and rain. On the 2nd, in Australia we have the Race that Stops a Nation - the Melbourne Cup. Do not be surprised to see rain and even hail on that day as the moon crosses the Equator southbound. This could be a "Shocking" day!

To discover what to plant in your climate zone, go to Gardenate
All times are for Australian Eastern Daylight Time. Adjust according to your time zone.

1st to 3rd Moon is Last quarter. Not a good time for planting but excellent for thinning fruit trees that have set fruit, to get bigger and better fruit in summer. Prune out any dead wood too.

4th to 5th Moon is Balsamic and reaches Perigee ( closest to earth) at 4 am on 4th. Avoid planting for three hours around this time. At best in this phase you could sow seeds of root vegetables on 4th.

6th to 8th. New Moon at 2.55 AEDT on 6th. No planting on 6th, but 7th and 8th good for leaf crops, especially good on 7th.

9th to 11th Moon peaks South on 9th bringing warmer conditions. Excellent for fruit. Nodal crossing at 6 am on 10th - avoid working with plants for two hours each side.

12th to 14th Moon First quarter 2 am 14th. Good for roots and particularly for thinning root veg, selecting the strongest up to 10 am 14th, then flowering crops after that.

15th to 16th Moon First quarter - foliar feed all plants with liquid fish based fertiliser. Apogee occurs at 11 pm 15th, avoid planting for 3 hours. Good for flowering crops especially on the afternoon of the 16th. Following apogee the Moon crosses the equator heading north, so cooler for a couple of days but with the risk of hail on 16th.

17th to 18th Moon Waxing Gibbous - always a good time for feeding where needed . As the Moon opposes Saturn late on 18th, side dress Dolomite to leaf vegetables to strengthen cell structure. Don't overdose and water in well as Sun trines Uranus early next day which is adverse for leaves.

19th to 21st Waxing gibbous, feed and plant fruiting crops up to afternoon 21st.

21st to 24th Full Moon on 22nd at 3.28 am. Peak North at 2.22 pm on 23rd. Nodal crossing 24th. A busy few days for the Moon and for root crops. It is not advisable to do much gardening as there are some destructive forces around. A sudden cold snap but little likelihood of frost.

25th to 28th Waning Gibbous Moon phase, good for collecting seeds and working with flowering crops up to 7 am 26th then leaf crops on 26 and 27th and up to 10 am on 28th. Fruits benefit after 10 am.

29th to 30th. Second quarter on 29th is good for insect destruction and general tidying. Check your fruiting crops for pests and spray accordingly. Chance of rain or hail. A good time to thin out excess fruit.

No bend Gardening Week 3

2010-10-30T09:26:00.001+11:00

We've found it is essential to check the Ph daily and add a little vinegar to the solution. Apart from that, they look after themselves. The strawberries are flowering well and the Lettuce and Mesculin growing visibly. As is Fenugreek and Cress. Basil and spinach not doing too well. It might be a bit warm for them do we'll see in a short time. I've sown some seeds of watercress and Tatsoi and will plant it in the remaining holes as soon as we have leaves,. We are getting a bit of green algae but are told it will disappear as soon as the plants are big enough to exclude light from the holes. A lesson there - maybe the empty holes should be covered. Anyway, click on the picture to see how things are going after 21 days.

And here are some more irises that bloomed this week.

Now I'll do the Cosmic Moon gardening for November. Watch this blog as I will be doing a guide for the Northern hemisphere soon.
Cheers!

No bend Gardening - Week 2

2010-10-23T09:55:00.001+11:00

Good growth this week. We will be changing the solution today ( Saturday) and adding some strings for the snow peas to climb. So far so good, the mesculin mix is growing rapidly and should soon have a few other varieties to show. We do have a little algae problem in the pots where we don't have anything growing, so I think we must ensure all pots are filled. Got more coriander seeds coming, the culinary ones I planted didn't take, so I assume they have been heated or something to stop them sprouting.

In the rest of the garden, winter grown vegetables are reaching cropping stage. The artichokes are volunteers from seeded ones two years ago. We decided not to grow them as I am the only one who eats them, so I should get a nice little pickle from these. Click the pictures to get a better picture.

Then there's the leeks ready to make into leek pies and summer soups. They suffered a bit from neglect and are not as tall as usual but this is the first time I tried growing them over what turned out to be the coldest and wettest winter for years.

Beets and onions coming on fast in the background and the red coral lettuce is so good. I also spotted good flowering on the blueberries and berries are now setting.

In the flower garden, the first iris are blooming. These two always come out first followed by my black and blue ones.

Cheers til next time.

No bend Gardening - week 1

2010-10-16T11:14:00.002+11:00

After a week most of the seeds have germinated and the strawberry runners have gone gangbusters producing flowers like mad things. Three types of lettuce have now got second leaves after a very short time, a couple of the peas have rotted and will need to be removed.

The only problems we've had had been to keep the pH constant. We are aiming for pH between 5.5 and 6.5 but after 4 days the pH was 6.7 ( apparently due to the uptake of carbon by the plant). Himself added 250ml vinegar to the 90 litre tank which brought the pH down to 4.6 so he again adjusted this today by adding 30g of dissolved (200ml water) bicarbonate of soda. This has regained the pH at 6. This seems like it is going to be a daily check as the plants grow they will uptake more carbon, so acidifying with varying amounts of vinegar will be necessary. We will change the entire solution every two weeks - its still better than bending!!
Most exciting is the fenugreek - at this stage of growth we usually get the invasion of the rabid rabbits - which are attracted to fenugreek from far and wide. Keeping our fingers crossed for good supplies of this wonderful herb.

Here it is in its early stages.

This link is to the original set up with all the construction information

Spring planting by the Moon - October 2010

2010-10-10T22:57:00.000+11:00

It is a great time to plant your leafy greens while the New Moon is in Scorpio until late Tuesday 12th.
The Moon peaks south in the evening of Tuesday bringing warmer conditions.
Plant fruiting plants up to Friday 15th about 2 pm
Moon is at first quarter that day and enters waxing gibbous phase - great for growth.
Plant roots vegetables until late Sunday 17th
Cosmic conditions are great for planting flowers right up to 3 pm Wednesday 20th but watch out for some severe weather, over the three days 19/20/21 as the moon is at Apogee and crosses the equator on the same day, bringing a cool change.
Especially great for flowers until Tuesday 19th.
Leafy greens can be planted after 3 pm Wednesday through to Full Moon on Saturday 23rd.
Moon opposes Saturn 21st - a good day to feed potash as needed.

All times are AEDT - for Eastern Australia. Please adjust for your time zone.

Happy planting!

Ten Ten Ten

2010-10-10T14:53:00.001+11:00

Olivia turned 10 today.

No bend Gardening!

2010-10-07T15:04:00.001+11:00

Here is our effort at sort of hydroponic growing. I say sort of because we are working on theory and not knowledge. Thus this is a complete experiment and could end up in the "didn't work" bin or might be a great success. We started off with 4 x 6 meter lengths of drain pipe with holes drilled into each. The idea is to avoid having to bend to plant, weed and harvest, at least for this year while Bob has polymyelitis ( inflammation of all his muscles) to contend with.

We then set up a water flow system which floods the pipes and drains over a 10 minute period. This is set to happen every 4 hours.

This is the main water tank with a submersible pump that lifts the water to the pipes. As the water moves to the other end, it drains into a kitty litter tray and back through a valve and pipe under the bench to the main tank. After 10 minutes the pump switches off and the water drains also from the start end. We did this so that we can use constant flow later on if this doesn't work.

We actually used a black litter tray now the transparent one. In the meantime, we sowed seeds in rockwool cubes.

which we then put into the pipes after putting perlite into the pipes, so they are resting on a layer of perlite while the seeds get going.

Fingers crossed! We are using an organic solution although I am told that "normal" hydroponic solutions provide exactly the same nutrients that are converted by bacteria in soil. Planted here are Snow peas, cucumbers, 3 sorts of lettuce, baby spinach, purslane, fenugreek, basil, coriander and bok choy.The front row will be planted with strawberries once to moon is in a fire sign.

I will be putting up weekly pictures to monitor progress.

Schiacciata

2010-10-03T13:23:00.002+11:00

An easy Saturday lunch, this Schiacciata is a take on the classic Italian one that is stuffed with fresh grapes. I used Fetta cheese, olives and dried cranberries to create the salty/sweet hits that come with the bread and olive oil. The balsamic vinegar adds a slight sour note to make this a really tasty bread.

Recipe:

2 and 1/2 cups bread flour - I used spelt
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
about 220 ml lukewarm water
2 tsp dried mixed herbs

Combine all dry ingredients and add the warm water, oil and vinegar - combine and knead for about 10 - 12 minutes until a good elastic dough is formed. Cover this with a clean cloth and allow to rise until nearly double in size. Reshape into a large slipper shape and sprinkle one half with the following:

1/2 cup dried cranberries ( you could use raisins or traditional grapes or sundried tomatoes)
180g fetta cheese cut into small cubes ( you could use ricotta but fetta holds its shape)
2 tsp dried and rubbed rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika

Fold over and shape into a slipper loaf as shown in photo.
Press Kalamata olives into the bread and top with olive oil, more mixed herbs and paprika
Let stand to rise again them bake in a hot (220c) oven for 10 minutes reducing heat to 200 for a further 15 minutes

Serve warm with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping and some salad green. Himself and the girlie has hot salami with theirs.

Down to Earth

2010-09-25T10:32:00.002+10:00

We are home again after a great holiday. I will upload some photos of the last stage of our trip, tomorrow, just noticed that my links to my favourite bloggers has disappeared. I have redone the links but if your does not appear, please let me know so I can put it up there. Sorry about that!

Wine and Oysters, Salt and Oranges.

2010-09-17T18:03:00.002+10:00

Spent a couple of days in the lovely Clare Valley buying some good Reisling and amazing Pinot Gris. Bob got a couple more cases of Shiraz not my favourite wine so he thinks he is safe. We are more inclined to visit Estate wineries for something 'different' and before leaving the Hills got some great wines from The Lane. We will be visiting the Hills wineries another year but found some lovely Clare Valley whites and reds at Taylors, which is one of the bigger more commercial wineries, but they do it right. Watch out for 2010 in a variety of grapes, they seem to compare very favourably with 2009. More whites from Jim Barry, Jeanneret, and Tim Adams all of which I recommend. Not impressed with the Chardonnays round here. The Lane as an example of the Hills, seems to beat he others hands down for Chardies. We dined at the Artisan's Table where unfortunately I got a bad oyster which took two days to dispose of.

Leaving the Clare district via Burra we had a lovely drive on a traffic free section through the Mallee where the salt bush stretches as far as the eye can see. With recent rains a few head of sheep are being grazed, no doubt to fill the gourmet market for "Saltbush Spring Lamb". The saltbush plains follow some of the most beautiful cereal cropping areas imaginable. Horizon to horizon are shades of green and yellow, wheat, barley and canola crops shine on a cloudy misty morning. The last time we drove through here is was a month later and everything was brown and brittle and very sad looking. The rains have been a huge blessing.

Wildflowers line the sides of the roads and stretch wherever there is uncultivated land.

And before long we were getting close to the Murray River with our first Ferry crossing at Morgan. We were a bit disappointed to find that none of the flood water has yet reached the Murray - I guess there are a lot of holes to fill on the way. Many people in the Riverlands are hoping that the water will save them for another year. That's the unfortunate side of an agriculture that depends heavily on irrigation. There are a lot of farms, orange groves and small vineyards being sold off or trees grubbed out. We are told that even if the rain continues for another 10 years, the farmers and townspeople will not get their water quota increased. The larger dried fruit producers have broadacres of raisin, table and sultana grapes and the smaller farmers just cannot get the water to produce quality grapes. Wineries like Banrock Station can afford to buy in grapes to blend with their own, but the Estates are going to the wall rapidly. In a 45 km drive today we saw 8 vineyards for sale and at least 16 orange groves. Oranges unpicked for this season dropping off the trees look spectacularly sad. It will be 2 weeks before the floods reach here.

We are staying in Berri in a lovely cottage called "Peacock" and have just had a visit from one!

We will follow the Murray to Mildura tomorrow.

Waiting for Water

2010-09-11T00:07:00.000+10:00

Lovely drive to Goolwa on the Fleurieu Peninsula - checked out a couple of wineries then drove over the bridge to Hindmarsh Island - disappointed to see so many "holiday homes" being built but we did get to the mouth of the Murray. Still little water to be seen riverside, but on Monday they will remove the barrage between Lakes Alexandrina and Albert allowing the Murray to flood Albert and direct fresh water to the lower Coorong. So pleased that this can now be done.


The "fresh water" in the foreground is the Mighty Murray River.

We took the "wetlands" road via Clayton, (which sadly has little in the way of wetlands but optimistically will fill with water when the Murray empties into Alexandrina) after lunch and some more wine buying at Currency Creek Winery. then on to long established Langhorne Creek wine district. Some of the vines are 135 years old along the roadside.

Bought a goodly number at Bleasdale winery who do some excellent Malbec wines ( similar to a Bordeaux) and had a long chat with the vintner there. Altogether a great day out.

Fine dining, fine wining.

2010-09-10T23:27:00.001+10:00

Yesterday we were escorted by the gnomes through some of the prettiest scenery in Australia, to lunch at the award winning D'Arenberg winery in the McLaren Vale region. The d'Arry's Veranda Restaurant is renowned for its fine food and is one of the places I promised myself I'd eat one day. So you can imagine how thrilled we were to be treated to a fabulous lunch. Thank you again, Flower and Veggie Gnomes for a magnificent day which did not end until we had visited a couple more wineries and stocked up on a few bottles. You must click these images to see them in all their deliciousness.

Oysters 3 ways

Baked snapper on an amazing layer of parsnips and greens, topped with herbed greens - brilliant

Bob's steak on a bed of leeks with a porcini foam

The delight of the day - passionfruit mousse with cream - fantastic is not a big enough word.

One place that cracked our sides with laughter was a bulk wine producer where we went to get some bulk Port for one of our neighbours. The port we bought for $12 for two litres is safely stowed in the boot of the car. But not before we did a "wine tasting" where one sip just about melted our teeth. I hope Bert likes what we bought him!

To Market to Market to buy a Fat Hen!

2010-09-08T16:42:00.003+10:00

esterday we visited the markets in Adelaide. A wonderful place filled with produce that belies the usefulness of stupormarkets. As you see in the pictures, there is a huge variety of produce to be had and the wonderful colourful displays appeals to the eye of the buyer and satisfies market demands. I bought West Australian Strawberries and Tasmanian Pears, together with Queensland Bananas. We have gotten so used to having what we want when we want it, that the idea of "grow local eat local" is not possible when faced with the art of these displays! Maybe Australia is just too big and diverse in its climate to be able to follow the principles of "Slow Food". We got our organic "Fat Hen" then went to a warehouse specialising in many ethnic foods and I was thrilled to be able to buy spices at 10% of the cost I pay in Tasmania. We had a most enjoyable time and a lovely lunch in an organic cafe which overwhelmed even a greedy eater like me. It's raining today so we're catching up with some reading before venturing out again tomorrow.

How quickly things can change!

2010-09-06T18:14:00.000+10:00

I wonder if those Pelicans knew something was about to change. The heavy rains have resulted in over capacity in the reservoirs, flooding in the rivers that feed the Murray and lifting of the Gawler barrage tomorrow to allow fresh water to flood the Coorong and restore it to fresher water. Hopefully this can result in a permanent lifting of the barrage! See the post below for details.

Checking out the Coorong

2010-09-05T15:41:00.002+10:00

Two years ago we saw 2 pelicans on the Coorong. 4 years ago we saw a few dozen; 6 years ago many more and 12 years ago hundreds of them. 20 years ago the skies were alive - yes we come back often bringing hope with us. The history of the Coorong is an ecological tragedy. Once teeming with bird life, this area is rapidly dying due to the increased salination of lakes that were once flushed by the "Mighty Murray" river. No longer a place for sea birds to fish, breed and raise their young many species are becoming extinct. Two years ago we saw a few sea eagles. None again. I am drawn back to this forgotten place every time we come to SA, but every time I leave with tears in my eyes. It's time to restore this place by allowing the Murray to flow and feed more than the farms that irrigate using this precious commodity we call water. I'm hoping that the recent heavy rains will at least allow one generation of birds to thrive. Please read this website to get a bigger picture of the ecological and political tragedy of the Coorong. And wish these pelicans safe landing and a place to breed. The recent rain must have helped the salination levels of the lakes and there may even be some food in them. We saw this flight of pelicans scouting out the lakes today. Faint hope for their survival.

On a happier note we have arrived at Karyn's lovely cottage and will begin to explore the Adelaide Hills tomorrow.

Wet, Windy and Whales

2010-09-04T17:03:00.001+10:00

Leaving Mount Gambier in torrential rain, we drove south to Southend on the way to Robe. We decided to pull over and take a break from the wind and rain, so pulled up beachside. Serendipitous things happen to us through the people we meet travelling, a fellow pulled up beside us and told that the day before there had been a whale and calf observed in a cove just out of town. Bugger the weather - I had to go see - after all that's what holidays are for. Here is a mother whale and her baby playing just offshore. Now we are "holed up" in Robe sitting out the storm. End of an interesting day.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them. I have 88 more shots and a wet head!

Warnambool to Mt Gambier

2010-09-03T17:59:00.001+10:00

A leisurely drive from Warnambool to Port Fairy, one of those lovely places you just can't drive past. Sadly there are lots of McMansions being built, albeit ssome good taste it does seem a shame when they are next to lovely cottages such as this.

From there to Portland although this time we struck inland to Heywood as two years ago we spent a lot of time around Portland, with its magnificent "petrified forest" - well worth a visit to see the wonderful "trees" formed by natural wind erosion. Along the way were signs of spring.

Today we spent the whole day exploring the Mt Gambier area - this is turning out to be a geological holiday! Between craters caves and sink-holes it would be easy to get nervous when you realise this city is built on some unique and delicate land, remnant from the old sea bed. The first hole we visited was the Umpherston Garden - a sink hole that in 1886 was developed into a stunning garden.

Then the Blue Lake - here is how it formed - this lake is the source of Mt Gambier's water supply fed by ground water in a huge crater formed from "maar" - unfortunately the water was not it's summer blue but a murky grey but fascinating just the same.

From sink-hole to crater to cave now. The Engelbrecht cave has a fascinating social history in that it used to be the hole down which Mr Engelbrecht poured the remnants of his whisky distilling industry. This was followed by builders who threw spare material into the cave and the general 19thC population who use it as a dump. The local Lions Club have removed as much rubbish as possible and revealed a stunning set of caves and chambers with a water course that is today used by cave divers from around the world. Yes - I went down the into the depths and entered on of my biggest fear zones -confined space! Not too bad - coming up the 200+ steps on the way back was a bit daunting.

Holed - out by now, we drove to Port McDonnell on the coast where we stumbled upon "Dingly Dell" - home of poet, horse-trainer, 6'3" steeplechase rider, sheep farmer, politician and all round crazy dude, Adam Lindsey Gordon where we were treated to a story of his life, loves and deeds of derring-do by a wonderful guide. So happy to find out about this gentleman who led such an interesting life in his short lifetime.

Back to the city to the Lady Nelson interpretive centre where we escaped from the rain for an informative hour. Off to discover Robetown tomorrow.

Wynyard to Warnambool

2010-09-02T17:56:00.002+10:00

A lovely trip on the Spirit until the weather got a bit heaving. Didn't stop us having a great meal in the Season's Restaurant - Chilli Oysters and Spatchcock with Ratattouille and white bean mousse.

We seem to get cabit 7012 every time! Squeezy as with narrow beds - we both have big beds at home, so elbows up walls are not fun! But better than standing up!

A rocking night's sleep, as the weather turned windy and wild, then off the boat at 6 am for a quick visit to my friend Barb's for brekkie. Then we discovered the GPS had died. Curses. A rainy drive in heavy traffic to bipass Geelong and stop at a town I've wanted to explore the last three times we've driven through it - Camperdown. Camperdown lies in a very interesting geological area - from the top of Mt Leura, a huge plain extends as far as the eye can see with volcanic cones and craters filled with water. These features are all formed as "Maars" with Mt Leura and Mt Sugarloaf part of a "nested maar" where there are several cones all surrounded by one rim.

How a Maar is made

All over the district, the paddocks and farms have used volcanic rocks to form beautiful stone walls and many of the little stones have cores of peridot - one of my favourite gems.

Mt Sugarloaf


Scoria cones in the nested Maar, Mount Sugarloaf

Checked the GPS with a local electronic expert who suggested we buy a new one. Let me try I said. No, I've done everything he says! On to Warnambool then where Jasper was to spend the night at Koroit Kennels. Took us 5 trips up and down the road to Koroit only to discover that the village we were going through was not Koroit. Where is a GPS when you need it! Finally found it, and headed for our Hotel, a great Thai dinner and a good night's sleep. We stayed at the Sebel Deep Blue which is built over a deep thermal pool and draws its hot water and power from that source.

Day two - blogging tomorrow but just can't help myself - we called into Dick Smiths with the dead thing. Young woman about 18 holds the on switch down for three seconds - GPS is now named Lazarus! Oh himself says - I vaguely remember something in the instructions about that!

Signs of Spring

2010-08-22T16:06:00.000+10:00

It must be close to Spring when the Blue Wrens start attacking their reflections. These gorgeous little creatures get quite aggressive if they think another male is in their territory. We have two flocks of them in the garden and they have very well marked areas. One of them will reply if you whistle to it. The females are dull compared to the dominant male and the immature males suppress their colour until they are ready to create a flock of their own.

On the Road Again!

2010-08-15T23:16:00.006+10:00

We are off to one of our favourite places, South Australia, on the 31st of this month so I don't see me blogging before then. However, I will hopefully be blogging regularly as we travel.

We are going on a familiar route to get there - the ferry over Bass Strait to Melbourne, to Geelong and Warnambool, Mount Gambier, Robe and Kingston SE, up through the Limestone Coast and Koonwarra wine districts then to the Adelaide Hills where we hope to catch up with some fellow bloggers and gardeners.

After that we head for the Clare Valley to pick up some Seven Hills port for my dear friend who is battling her second bout of bowel cancer and loves this special drop. I figure if I buy 12 bottles it will give her a monthly target. Then we follow the Murray river to Berri for a few days fishing and to see all the lovely fruit trees in blossom, to Mildura and some more fruit excursions; Bendigo to visit friends and the pottery and back to Melbourne where we will spend a couple of days before heading home. I will post a photo journal of our trip so watch this space. Jasper the neurotic dog will be travelling with us as he has separation anxiety if we go to the shops let along 3 weeks away. Still it gives us reason to do some walking and not just gourmet food and wine!

So the tone of this blog will change for a while. No more soup.

Pumpkin, Orange and Mint Soup

2010-08-01T13:21:00.005+10:00

A healthy, vitamin rich soup for winter.

1 leek finely sliced

750g pumpkin, chopped into small cubes

1 clove garlic crushed

1 small piece ginger - about 1/2 tsp grated

1/2 tsp paprika

peel from quarter of an orange without pith

juice from two oranges

1 litre stock

2 tbsp chopped mint leaves

salt to taste

Simmer all together until vegetables are soft, about 20 - 25 m
Remove the orange peel.

Puree or blend until smooth

Serve with a dash of yogurt or cream.

An easy peasy recipe with a different flavour to your usual pumpkin soup.

Winter Wade

2010-07-31T11:36:00.012+10:00

After a night of torrential rain, I waded through the sodden grass to see how my garden grows. Not much happening as the soil is still very cold, not a blossom to be seen on the fruit trees nor a bud on the roses.

However, the Camellias as starting to blossom and we have a number of bulbs peeping through ready to bloom.

A few winter veggies are getting close to harvest. This bed was halved in width to accommodate aging bones and Himself put in a path between the rose bed and this bed. You can see the "new" grass at the left where the remnants of the wider bed shows. Howard, our gnome supervises the growth.

Here you can see the lush new grass where we re-seeded the bigger vegetable beds. Two new pear trees have been added. I must say I feel a bit deprived of veggie growing space, but "needs must when the devil drives" - we still have another area with small beds so will not be too disadvantaged and following our succesful year growing in boxes in the hothouse, we will do the same again this spring.

Winter Indulgence - chocolate pudding

2010-07-24T10:45:00.004+10:00

Don't be tempted to eat a big serving of this because it is very filling and satisfying!

Best after a very light main course.

Recipe:

Pre-heated oven 160 - 170C

150g butter
250g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
250g self raising flour
1 tsp ground star anise ( you could use cinnamon)
1 tsp baking powder
40g good quality cacao ( I use a Dutch one)
1 cup milk

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and beat. Mix dry ingredients and add alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture.

Put this batter into a lightly greased baking dish big enough to hold 2 litres.

Sauce

150g soft brown sugar
25g cacao
1 tbsp cornflour or plain flour sifted.
1/2 tsp ground star anise or cinnamon

Mix all the dry ingredients until there are no lumps.

100g melted chocolate ( optional)
325 ml boiling water.

Quickly pour the boiling water over the dry ingredients stirring all the time, add chocolate of used. Pour this gently over the batter in the dish and put in over for 45 - 50 minutes. The cake will rise through the liquid leaving a lovely sauce beneath it.

Serve with cream or vanilla ice cream. Makes about 8 generous serves.

Real Eggs Benedict

2010-07-06T18:36:00.002+10:00

We recently had visitors to stay and after watching Masterchef make a complete hack of Eggs Benedict I decided to offer them for breakfast. In this photo two of us had smoked salmon while the other two had traditional ham. All had the correct serve of spinach missing from the Masterchef pseudo one. The judgement - we were not eliminated!

Parsnip Soup is very good....

2010-06-26T14:08:00.005+10:00

We have quite a crop of small volunteer parsnips in the garden that need using because the ground is too cold for them to grow more. This recipe is inspired by one I found in Charmaine Solomon's Vegetarian cookbook with a couple of my own touches.

Recipe
500g parsnips peeled and chopped
1 leek sliced
1/2 onion chopped
2 sticks celery
3 shallots
knob of butter
1 to 2 tsp curry powder - I used 2 tsp Korma
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 tsp ground coriander
few stalks parsley
salt and pepper to taste.

Saute onions, leeks and shallots in butter until softened then add the curry powder. Cook for a couple of minutes then add other ingredients. Cook a further 30 minutes until all vegetables are soft, then puree. This gives a thick soup to which I added 1/2 cup milk to thin it a bit. I served it with yogurt and spring onions for garnish.

This is a really tasty soup, delicate but with an 'earthy' taste that isn't too 'parsnippy' - for those who don't like parsnips much, this would be a great introduction. For those who love parsnips this is a 'second helping' type of soup. Filling and satisfying.

Parsnips are an excellent source of Vit C, B6 and E , fibre, folic acid, copper and manganese, riboflavin and contain about half the calories and starch of potatoes, so this is a good recipe for diabetics or for anyone watching calories.

Astrological rulership of Wheat

2010-06-26T09:53:00.003+10:00

I noticed someone did a search for the astrological rulership of wheat ( spelt) and also noticed it was not listed on my astrology list of rulerships, so if you come here again, dear reader, the rulership is Mercury. The moon in Virgo is a great time for planting, harvesting, grinding and storing wheat, just after full moon and before second quarter. A good time to make bread too, but then every day is good!

Solstice Onions

2010-06-21T10:52:00.003+10:00

I plant onions on the solstice as recommended by tradition. Onions are "ruled" by the Moon in astro-planting. This is probably because of their resemblance and in the "Doctrine of signatures" by Paracelsus, the rulerships were defined by the appearance of the plant. Similarly the old apothecaries using the Doctrine determined that appearance of the plant was curative for particular ailments.
The Moon is associated by rulership with the sign Cancer and it is at the tropic of Cancer that the Sun "stands still" before heading north and extending our daylight in the southern hemisphere. Onions are one of the oldest vegetables known to be cultivated and were often depicted on the tombs of ancient Egyptians. They were also found in the tombs so must have been placed there as a valuable aid.
Parboiled then roasted with the skins intact, then squeezed out of their skins into almond milk or plain milk with a little ginger and honey was a soup my mother gave us whenever we had colds. As midwinter is here, not only do I plant these valuable veggies, but use as many as I can to avoid flues and colds.

Onion and bean soup.

2010-06-20T10:04:00.006+10:00

One of the criteria I have for soup is that I can taste individual ingredients. I admit have been guilty of making "bottom of the fridge" soup and blending into a homogenous mass tasting of mud, and usually this is greeted with " give the left overs to the chooks not me" and I have to admit that simple ingredients give he best result. It's the stock that counts. Hence most of my soups have three and at most four main ingredients, cooked in a master stock that in itself could serve as a clear soup. I add cream or yogurt, herbs or spices to suit the ingredients, but care needs to be taken that pungent herbs and spices "lift" the soup rather than take over. One of the soups I make regularly is made with Borlotti beans, lightly caremelised onions and a little rice for texture. The addition of red wine and herbs makes this one delicious, low fat veggie dish, but could be made with a little shredded chicken instead of rice and chicken stock instead of veggie stock. I generally make my own which is onerous but if I need to buy some I will use Campbells.

Recipe:
2 medium onions, chopped and sauted in a little olive or rice bran oil.
200g pre-cooked borlotti beans or 1x 400g canned borlotti beans well rinsed.
1/2 cup of cooked rice or 1/4 cup uncooked rice.
4 cups good vegetable stock
1/4 cup red wine or sherry
salt and pepper to taste
4 sprigs thyme
2 sage leaves

Cook the onions until they just start to colour, add to the rest of the ingredients in a pan and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Be sure to rinse the beans well if using canned ones or they add a foam to the soup that clouds the stock. Also do not be termpted to use more herbs - this is just enough. Remove the herbs before serving.

This simple soup is nice served with cheese on toast or serves 4 - 6 as an entree with crusty bread.

Leek and Almond Soup

2010-06-16T11:54:00.005+10:00

Came home late and wanted a quick light soup to keep the body going until I could get out and get more veggies. So I loooked in the fridge and found a leek, some almonds, (about 3/4 cup) that had been soaked to make almond milk and three little florets of left over broccoli. Put these with 3 cloves of garlic and 3 cups of veggie stock, a poinch of salt into a pan and simmered for 15 minutes then hit it with stick blender. Result? A delicious, light but full of flavour soup that deserved a good grind of black pepper and a small dollop of sour cream. This would be very low fat low cal soup if I could resist the sour cream!

Child friendly bread.

2010-06-11T16:29:00.006+10:00

This time I used the more refined ( whiteish) Spelt to produce a softer more child friendly bread that is still full of nutrition and no additives. I was pleasantly surprised by the soft, well risen finish as this is what appeals to Olivia who loves it with jam. As she is a lover of white bread I think this will be a good introduction to unbleached and more natural looking and tasting bread. Try it if your kids are not keen on wholemeals or you wan t a soft bread for dunking. The recipe is the same as below and I think would make nice crusty dinner rolls too.

Spelt

2010-06-06T16:22:00.005+10:00

Whole dark spelt. I used the same recipe as below but added 1/3 cup of oil not 1/4 - lovely malty flavour, took a long time to rise though, but happy with the result. I thought I'd make it look pretty by putting three lumps of dough in the tin but they were a bit uneven, next time I'll do two and weight each one. This way we will have a natural division to divide the loaf for freezing.

Rye and Spelt Bread

2010-06-02T13:46:00.006+10:00

I've finally hit on the formula for a good rye and spelt combination. Instead of making door-stoppers this method produced a firm but light textured tasty bread that has keeping qualities. The addition of two tablespoons of vinegar has made all the difference.

400g rye flour
400g dark spelt flour
2 tsp salt
Mix flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
In the well add 3 tsp ( 15g) dried yeast
and 3 tsp sugar.
Add 600 ml warm water and 2 tbsp vinegar - let the yeast activate - about 10 minutes
Add 1/4 cup oil
Mix then knead for about 12 minutes. Mixture should be slightly sticky. Leave to rise.
Gentle into loaf shape. I don't "Knock down" or handle the dough roughly at this point.
Put into baking tin and allow to rise again.
Preheat oven to maximum - at least 250C. Put a small bowl of water in the bottom of the oven
When loaf is risen put in oven and reduce heat to 220C - cook 10 minutes, then reduce to 190C and cook for another 23 - 30 minutes. Test with probe if you have one so that core temperature is about 97C.
Cool and enjoy! For two people I cut the loaf in half and freeze one half.

In reply to a query about the vinegar, I found this by mistake after reading labels on fluffy bread in supermarkets and finding that they all had vinegar, particularly those made with low gluten flours. Further research gave us the chemistry, which is loosely described here as we understand it.

Spelt and Rye and Kamut and other ancient grains have relatively weak gluten compared to wheat so we are reducing the gluten content by using these flours. Without gluten bread has a poor texture and won't rise as there are no amino acids to assist the yeast.

During the bread making process, these flours develop "Amylase Proteins" which naturally destroy gluten, particularly in the small and weak quantities found in these flours. Hence there is no gluten by the time to kneading is done. No gluten, no amino acids. For a gluten free bread you would allow this to happen but your bread would be entirely dependant on yeast for its rise and this gives a poor texture.

To deactivate the production of Amylase Proteins and keep the weak gluten intact, an acid environment is needed so that the gluten can make the long chain Amino acids to rise the bread and give it a bread like texture.

The result we want is a balance between low acid ( destroys gluten) and moderate acid ( allows gluten to do its job before cooking). Too much acid inhibits the yeast, so what we've had to experiment with getting just the right level of acid. Every batch of flour will tend to vary. But we've got this one right. A rye and spelt loaf that is dense but light with minimal gluten to create problems. To test how much you need, put 1 tsp yeast and 100 ml water in a few glasses and add different amounts of vinegar. You should be able to find the level of acidity that still allows the yeast to foam and bubble.

Making Apple Wine

2010-05-28T11:04:00.011+10:00

We had a great crop of apples this year so decided to experiment with some cider making. After cruising the www we were no wiser so bought some wine yeast and set about making a wine
/cider. We crushed the apples using our juicer and filtered about 15 litre of juice into himselfs beer making barrel together with the yeast, and put it to stand. After a couple of weeks we learned that we should have put in pectic enzyme to clarify the wine, so added some of that. This was in March and the stuff bubbled away, burping through the airlock frequently at first then less often until it finally stopped.

Today we racked the wine into a container - looks clear.
Then added carbonation drops ( a blend of dextrose, maltose and sucrose) to the bottles because some sugars produce alcohol, carbon dioxide or sweetness and we want all three. Does it sound like I know what I'm talking about - not.

Then using the beer making kit filler, fill the bottles

The 15 litres of juice made 12x 750 ml bottles of some substance we will loosely call wine for now.
These reside in the pantry and we'll probably test one in a month's time.

This is what is left.....

Should clean the drains.

Time flies!

2010-05-23T16:12:00.009+10:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged. All the pies are gone - the last 4 to Hobart for my daughter's freezer and 4 to the local daughter's freezer although I'm told they haven't made it that far. Glad to know the next generation appreciates home cooking. We've just returned from Hannah's first birthday celebration - it seems only minutes since she was born. Here is a picture of her day of birth ( one hour old) then of her 1st birthday (12 months and one hour old)

Many changes at home since I last blogged. Due to health constraints we have had to a severe rationalisation in the veggie garden, we are just not able to cope with the weeding so have reduced the growing area to a bed long enough to supply our own needs and not too much excess. We have retained two smaller beds and sown two large ones back to lawn. This has given us a nice sitting area, the natives we planted are growing beautifully and we will soon have a more park like setting. We will have enough growing area to maintain our self sufficiency without back breaking slog and I will probably bring in more roses once we've settled into the new look. The hothouse was a boon this year as it completely reduced bending to nil. So it will get more use than ever next year.

Planted for winter are spinach, beetroot, carrots, parsnip, lettuce, swede, lots of new herbs and leeks. We should be picking within the month. Meantime I have reverted to my previous eating habits as a vegetarian. I was healthy on this diet for many years until people convinced me I needed meat, but frankly I have had a few years on meat and felt rotten much of the time. In a month meat-free I am feeling better than ever. Won't go into the gory details of what has improved but I have certainly made great improvements. Himself is going wheat free so that should test our bread baking for a while.

Will be blogging more often now that winter chills are setting in - we've had frost here near the beach and I'm anticipating a severely cold winter. Lot of soups and Kamut, Spelt and Rye breads!

Apples - the Sequel

2010-04-01T14:24:00.004+11:00

Having made a heap of apple sauce, 15 litres of cider on the bubble, I made some apple pies for the freezer. Then my friend Carol told be she added a few raspberries to her apple pies so I couldn't resist giving it a try.So a morning of pastry making produced 5 more pies for the winter. Still have a barrel of apples to go, so I guess I'd better beg for a struedel recipe from my South Oz friends of German extraction.

I am so glad I have one of those apple peeler-slicer- corer gadgets as these took 50 apples in total.

Demolition Day

2010-03-30T12:53:00.005+11:00

We are reducing the reach of all our growing beds to compromise with aging joints and creaking knees. Here Bob makes a start and I pull out the remainder of the crops. Mind you, I was not happy that he pulled up a load of basil and then covered it with soil before I got there. Fortunately we still have lot elsewhere.

A few volunteer pumpkins had to be cropped to clear the bed. These are probably crosses but we'll see how they cook up eventually. Himself likes pumpkin soup as much as he loves zucchini ( not) but he will just have to put up with it, because my premise of "waste not want not" holds firm and pays for the next trip to South Australia and the West by train to buy our next lot of good wine.

Just as the Moon was full and square Pluto, we finished the first stage of the job. This is a cosmic phenomena excellent for cropping fruit, making compost and demolishing structures!

Click the pics for a bigger view, tomorrow we will shovel the soil onto one half, level the rest and wait for the right time to sow grass seed. Meantime the chookies are doing their thing.

Up and at 'Em!

2010-03-27T16:29:00.006+11:00

Been a while since I posted due to a family crisis which I can not resolve and which only stresses me out until I get back into the garden and talk to the spirits there!

We picked apples today - while the Moon is nearing full, in Leo, a fire sign favouring fruit, ascending, crossing the equator and close to perigee - all these phenomena seem to improve the juice content and I think the future cider will be good stuff! We're making that tomorrow once the Grand Prix is over. This yielded 60 kg from 2 trees and is 59 kilos more than last year after I had pruned them. No more pruning for me even though I have a love relationship with my secateurs.

We also picked chilies; Habanero, Jalapeno and Cayenne ( already dried) - now I am drying these out and will decide how to use them later. We grew these in the hothouse where their fellow fruits, trhe capsicums have given us a huge yield. Seems the way to go in future.

After breakfasting on apple fritters, lunching on apple fritters and taking some apple fritters home with them, the grandchildren should soon demolish a few fresh apples while I make more sauce, pies, puddings and cider for winter cheer.

Passata Starter

2010-02-22T09:57:00.006+11:00

With the Autumn Equinox only a moon cycle away, it's time for a roundup of the summers production. We finally have rapidly ripening tomatoes both outside and inside the hothouse.

I pulled out the dreaded zucchinis when a neighbour sent some from her garden - the blackberries are lovely but not zukes -even disguised as cukes! So with a few kilos of tomatoes sitting on the bench with (finally) some red capsicums, last seasons garlic still storing well, and loads of basil, I made my first batch of tomatoes.

I even put fancy labels on them. The junk mail said if I bought something from the catalogue I would win $1000 but its not true - but I did get 100 nice labels. We have suffered at the hands of the easteries this year, yet despite a raggy looking garden we have enough produce to eat, share and preserve.

Beans are drying ready for shelling as we got a bit tired of eating green ones, yellow wax beans were very prolific and another year I will grow more of these versatile beans. I didn't grow too many pumpkins this year but Table Queen and Gem squash are doing well and will keep us happy over winter.

Egg plants are just starting to fruit and boy do we have a crop. I counted at least 30 brinjals on two plants - these are great little fruits that I just split lengthways and grill with a bit of olive oil. Then there's Baba Ganoush. The round ones are getting rounder and the redskins just setting fruit so I'm excited to see what they are like.

Apples are dragging the trees down - after my fatal attack with pruning them last year which resulted in 5 apples on 2 trees, I have redeemed myself this year by not pruning them and they have rewarded us handsomely. Lots of blemish free apples ready next month.

Greens and lettuce, herbs and strawberries, figs with first fruits, onions and shallots, all bore well and its nearly time to start thinking about autumn/winter crops. Carrots have been sown periodically as we do like carrot juice. By defeating the rain gods we actually raised three crops.

Hothouse update. The tomatoes have now reached the ceiling and are loaded. Ripening has been late but I think we will be able to extend the season well into winter, so I'm happy with that. Will take some pics later as it's raining right now.

Zucchini #4 - Curried Zucchini and Denim Eating flies!

2010-02-12T08:55:00.009+11:00

This may be my last foray into zucchini heaven for the time being, as I am under threat of death from Himself who hates zucchini even in disguise - so he says - he doesn't know how often he has eaten it really! Anyway, I will give the poor blighter a break as we now have a monster tomato glut coming on as well as runner beans rampaging all over the garden. I managed to offload a couple of really gross zukes to my friend when she came to pick up Serial Brooder Rosemary and Blanc de Blanc - seems her ducks love zucchini - they probably won't once they get through those massive ones!

We had a terrible two days when the East wind blew furiously bringing salt from the ocean. That's the downside of living close to the water. All the leaves of the fruit trees have turned brown and are dropping off. We still have a month to go before we can crop the apples so I'm hoping they will continue to ripen sans leaves. The egg plants survived reasonably well, and the roses, which are usually unaffected have a little damage but not enough to stop a second flush of blooms.

To add to my woes, I was bending over picking - yes - zucchini - when through my jeans I felt a bite. I now have a huge swelling and can only sit for limited time. March flies give painful bites and I am particularly allergic to them, they can actually tear chunks out of my arms and legs, but this is the first time they got through denim! I don't know if March fly is the proper name - I've heard them called Marsh flies but they come around every year at this time, many of them breed in rotting seaweed so I avoid the beach.

Anyway - enough of my woes - I know you are dying to see my Zucchini curry.

There is no recipe, I just used as many yellow veg and spices as I could harvest. Here's the prepared veg.
I used mustard, turmeric and Korma curry mix and made the sauce with coconut milk. Added some sultanas and dried apricots to give it a sweeter taste. Cook for about 40 minutes

Served with Basmati rice - I thought it was quite nice but my Avid Food Critic pulled his face into excruciating contortions muttering zucchini again, until I took his plate away, fed it to the chooks and slapped a vegemite sandwich in his hand - "What did you do that for" he says - " I could have eaten all the other vegetables. So he got seconds and ate very quietly.......
I wonder how they would go in a pie if I got some blackbirds...............black pudding.........prunes....
...there are lots of green ones out there, if I can get past the biteys.

Zucchini #3 - Tuna and Zuke Lasagne

2010-02-09T10:00:00.005+11:00

TUNA and ZUCCHINI LASAGNE

Saute, 1 large or 2 medium zucchini into slices with green capsicum, until softened, add 1 large can of tuna, flaked, and 1 cup tomato puree or passata, spiced with dill seed and 1/2 tsp turmeric.Meantime make a cheese sauce in the usual way, using a knob of butter and two tbsp flour cooked into roux.

Slowly add milk and stir until thicken, then add 1 cup grated tasty cheese.

Layer lasagne sheets alternately with tuna sauce and cheese sauce finishing with cheese sauce.

Top with some torn up herbs, a little capsicum and a sprinkle of paprika.

Cook at 180C for about 40 minutes.

Makes 4 good sized servings.

Fast - Slow Chiabatta

2010-02-08T09:23:00.004+11:00

Whenever we run out of bread for toast the next morning, I whip up the fastest Chiabatta in the West! It is so simple - you can make it in a couple of minutes before you go to bed and cook it the next morning while you shower and dress. Although I stayed in my pj's today to give Jasper his first bath.

My Fast - Slow Chiabatta

At night, using a large bowl, combine:

500g bread flour
1 dessertspoon salt
1 dessetspoon yeast
420 ml water ( adjust this if its a humid day but the result should be stickier than basic bread)

Mix with a wooden spoon until combined - no need to knead. This is the fast bit.
Put in fridge overnight. This is the slow bit.

In the morning, grease a tray, flour a board well. Take the now risen dough and tip onto board - just shape into a 'slipper' - not knock down or knead. gently roll over to get coated with flour. Put on tray and put in a cold oven. Set heat to 220C for 10 minutes then 200C for a further 35-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Zucchini #2 - Fritte

2010-02-08T09:13:00.005+11:00

The second day of zucchini overload produced a lovely fritte. I used 2 medium yellow zucchini for this - chopped and drained along with 1/2 red onion, 3 jimmy nardello capsicum, 1 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup peas, 4 eggs, 1 chorizo sausage sliced, 150g fetta cheese and parmesan cheese on top. Herbs I used were sage and thyme and a couple of sliced jalepeno chillies. Salt and pepper.

Zucchini #1 - Rostis

2010-02-05T12:40:00.005+11:00

This month I am going to be using zucchini in most of my recipes just to use them as we are again, like most gardeners, overladen with thm. So here is the first recipe which I devised for lunch today.

Zucchini Rostis

About 250g grated zucchini - drained in a clean T towel and squeezed to get out most moisture.
1/2 a red onion, chopped finely then sauted in a knob of butter until transparent.
Then add the zucchini and saute until soft.
Set this aside to cool a bit.

In a bowl, combine the following
60g full cream soft cheese like philadelphia
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp finely chopped mixed herbs of your choice -
I used mint, parsley and lemon thyme

Add the onion and zucchini, mix thoroughly then add
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs.
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste.

Shape into rostis or fritters ( makes about 10)
Lightly fry on medium heat in a little olive oil until brown on both sides.
Mixture is soft so avoid turning too often.
Serve with a fresh tomato and a little fruit chutney.

Sunflowers

2010-02-04T10:08:00.007+11:00

We grow a batch of these for the chickens every year, what they don't eat fresh we dry and add to their food to provide a bit of oil. These giants are about 8 foot tall. When they have set seed we suspend them upside down just above chook head height and the birds have a great time jumping up to peck and play.

We have reduced our chicken flock by three - Rosemary the serial brooder has gone to a new home where she will be permitted to sit on fertile eggs for organic meat birds - not just be a waste of space - and Blanc de Blanc have both gone with her to provide her new owners with eggs.

Easterly weather struck yesterday with salt spray reaching the garden just as I brought the eggplants out of the protection of the hothouse, so we are seeing salt burden on the leaves again. It looks unsightly but doesn't seem to affect the fruit.

Little Jasper has proven his worth as a chicken herder - instinctively rounding them up for us, like a sheep dog. He also rounds up anything else that takes his fancy.

We are having a fairly rabbit free summer, but the Pademelons visit every night. These two little ones come with two adults but we never seem able to get them in the same picture. Mums take off at high speed as soon as I sneak around the corner but the babies are quite curious - one approached Bob while he was getting something from the car and stood watching him, until he spoke, then leapt in the air and flopped away. I love the noise they make with their tails ( or feet) as they gallop away.

Raspberry Sorbet

2010-01-25T19:27:00.002+11:00

This is a quick sorbet -takes as long as it take to boil the kettle! All you need is 1 kg FROZEN raspberries. I did them in two batches. Using a food processor and the chopping blade, chop the raspberries for a couple of minutes. It looks a bit crumbly to begin with. Add about 80 ml hot water to smooth the processing - scrape down the sides now and then. Keep processing until it starts to become smooth - about 3 to 4 minutes in total. Add icing sugar to taste. I used 5 large tablespoons for both batches, only because that's all that was in the packet. It could use a bit more. Process until sugar is incorporated. This can be served straight away as in the picture and the excess put into a freezer container and frozen. Fast, healthy, yummy. I'm going to try boysonberry tomorrow.

Peachy!

2010-01-24T14:07:00.005+11:00

This recipe appeared in Gourmet Traveller magazine but I adapted it by adding almonds and a spoonful of crushed ginger to the toffee topping. Sorry - it got raided before I had a chance to take its pic!

Ptre heat oven to 250C
Two sheets frozen puff pastry ( how gourmet is that!) lining a buttered pan.
5 slightly firm yellow peaches, halved, pitted.
Put peaches cut side down on pastry and sprinkle with almonds - about 2/3 cup here.
Heat 180g caster sugar in a pan with 160g butter ( adjust quantity, I should have made a bit more) and 1 tsp grated ginger.
Cook slowly until it darkens and forms toffee.
Quickly pour over peaches and into gaps.
Sprinkle leaves of three sprigs rosemary over the toffee - put into oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until golden. Cool - the toffee gets very hot. Serve warm or cold with cream or icecream.

It's all gone - the girls came to raid the garden and took the rest of it home so grandma won't put on weight! Here they are with their take aways.

It's Veggie Time!

2010-01-22T11:31:00.006+11:00

As happens every year, we are now cropping large quantities of vegetables. Silver beet is going gang busters and the beans are fantastic this year. The runner beans are getting ahead of us as they do - picking and slicing and freezing them for later use, when I'm sick of them, I let them mature and dry and use the seeds as a kind of borlotti bean. We have a good crop of Flying Geese beans - also a flat bean but smaller and more tender and the yellow wax beans are wonderful - the best crop ever, although if Jasper has his way, he will use his new-found playground to full advantage.
We are getting a lot of visits from the wildlife - including a meter long tiger snake next door. Have to be a bit vigilant now because of the chooks. Mr Possum came again last night and had another noisy party on the roof above my bedroom and I no longer collect the mail in bare feet due to the nightly visits from wallabies - up to five a night all pooing on the lawn. I'm not sure if wallaby poo is worth much but they are at least entitled to be here, not like pesky rabbits.

Mr Possum has been munching on unripe apples so hopefully he will not develop a taste for them. We look like getting a good crop this year.
Off to take some more pictures.

Summer Fare and Frolics

2010-01-17T22:18:00.006+11:00

With so many varieties of Zucchini I am starting to get overwhelmed ( again) with produce. This year I limited the plantings to one round , one long and two yellow zucchini but they are determined to produce faster than we can eat them. The two round ones in the picture got stuffed with a sort of dry bolognese mixture of mince, onions, cheese and herbs which made for a lovely dish with a nice sauce as the zucchini made the liquid for it. I do like this zucchini - it is not so watery as the long varieties. The yellow ones were eaten yesterday, simply grilled whole on the barbecue and I offloaded the green ones. By tomorrow there will be more though. The green beans are starting to produce well, as are the yellow wax beans. No sign of the snake beans of the Wild Goose beans yet. Lots of little capsicums - enough that I can thin them out on the plants and we have started pulling a few summer carrots too. Tomatoes are finally starting to ripen. Those in the hothouse are slower than those outside so that will mean a later crop rather than an earlier one as intended, but the egg plants have flowers galore ( also in the hothouse) so late harvest there too I think. We'll be digging the potatoes next week - also a bit late, but they were later going in and the sack planting which ended up having to be modified into a strange cotraption planting looks promising. I'll blog that exercise when we do the harvest!

The reason I haven't blogged of late has been in part due to the wonderful warm summer we are having - not good for fruit set but good for fun with grandies. The three above are romping on the beach near our house.

Number 4 gets a ride in the "surf"

Number 5 is just itching to get into some active participation too!

Our new family member

2010-01-07T22:05:00.006+11:00

Those of you who know us will remember how devastated we were by the loss of our much loved Beagle, Dougal about 18 months ago. It has taken a long time to get over him but we decided it was time we got another dog as life is pretty ordinary without our canine friends. We decided not to go for another Beagle because we would constantly compare him to Dougal. Instead we fell in love with Jasper, a Toy Poodle. He's a pushy little sod - made himself at home right away, love the children and has adoped all our shoes most of which are bigger than he is!

The garden is starting to produc well. We are picking beans, celery, broccoli, cabbage, silver beet, lettuce, carrots, zucchini, capsicum, herbs galore, and waiting for the first tomato which looks like a race between Olomovic and Debarao. Sunflowers are just starting to bloom - will take some photos later and the potatoes are just starting to yellow off. Not one blueberry or redcurrent did we get thanks to the birds! Tasmania is notoriously slow for warming up, but the weather is wonderful at present. Our Hobart grandies arrive in a few days for a week so we hope to have lots of picnics and barbecues.

Prada Pink

2009-12-19T11:22:00.004+11:00

A family post today, but will take some photos of the garden after the stormy weather we've been having - don;t have the motivation to survey the wreckage yet........
Yesterday was my first grand-daughter's 13th birthday, and like most her age she managed to take her ear-pod out long enough to invite a load of peers to a party.
a) High Tea for Ladies
b) Videos of Vampires
c) Chips and pizza supper just to prove they are not 'grown ups'
e) Sleep over
d) French Toast Breakfast.

I don;t think I could have managed that length of estrogen laced activity, but seems I made her Mum's 13th birthday memorable ( can't remember myself!)

So I got the task of providing baking for the Tea. Only managed one photograph before they were whizzed over to Deep Creek but I had minute instructions to make sure if I was going to 'pink' anything it had to be "Prada Pink". Butterfly cakes, chocolate brownies, miniature eclairs ( cheated and bought these) after cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off, assorted rollups ( slice bread add slice of ham and roll into a 'swiss roll' secure with toothpicks, until they retain the shape, cut in half. These can be made with other filling, traditionally hard boiled egg and cress) The days of innocence where such things are a requirement, and a lot of fun in the making,for Grandma will soon be gone - I wonder what the next one will be? Am so glad I don't have to do the clean up!

Here is the fail safe recipe for basic cupcakes:

1/2 cup salt free butter
2/3 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups self raising flour
pinch cream of tartar
2/3 cup full cream milk.

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time and beat well, add vanilla, cream of tartar and flout alternately with milk to make a batter. Bake in pretty papers for 19 minutes at 190C preheated oven. Makes 16. Cool and decorate at will. I use royal icing ( pure icing mixed with egg yolk) to coat and butter frosting to decorate. (For butterflies, with a sharp knife carefully cut a small circle in the top, removing the peak and a bit more, fill the small cavity with butter frosting, cut the little disc in half and use each one to make 'wings' in the frosting.)

Let the Battle begin!

2009-12-14T12:35:00.003+11:00

They are back again this summer! They disappeared over winter but we spotted this big black one last night, cheerfully grazing in full view. Wallabies are out in force too and pooping on the doorstep, and the hob-nailed boot possum has been foiled by putting a piece of pipe over his access ridge so that he falls off and doesn't quite reach the roof at night.

Sozzled fish

2009-12-03T11:31:00.012+11:00

Here's a really quick way to cure fish - you can use any firm fleshed fish so long as it's not too thin. I've done this with Blue Eye Cod or Deep Sea Trevalla but this time got two fillets of Ocean Trout.In Tasmania I buy trout and salmon only from Petuna Seafoods or Mures who fish wild fish, not farmed rubbish. Often fresh fish is sold off on a Saturday - because the fishmonger doesn't want to freeze it. So we picked up these fillets for $2 each.

RECIPE

Wipe the fish clean and put it in a ziplock bag.
Make a marinade of 50g fine sea salt, 50g sugar, 100ml whisky.

You could use other spirits, vodka is good for white fish.

Increase marinade proportionally for more fish - this is for 400g fish.
Pour into the bag, rubbing gently into the fish.

Seal bag and put in fridge turning a couple of times a day.
I added a couple of fresh Kaffir Lime leaves just because I had them.

After 5 days, take it out and pat dry with paper towel.

Slice thinly at a slant, on a board with a very sharp knife - be careful.

until there's nothing left but skin.

Repeat with other fillet and voila! whisky cured ocean trout.

This will keep in fridge covered for up to two weeks but never lasts that long. No artificial smoke flavour, no nitrates. Just happy fish!

December Moon Gardening

2009-12-02T13:28:00.006+11:00

Sorry for the delay but yesterday and today are not good planting days as today is Full Moon.

Wed. 2nd - Full Moon, best not to plant or do too much except weeding today, particularly as the roots are easier to pull at full moon.

Thur and Fri. 3rd and 4th - Moon Peaks north bringing slightly cooler days not a lot of planting though. Flowers and crops and veggies like broccoli and cauliflower should be checked for pests.

Sat. Sun. 5th and 6th - Moon at Perigee and Nodes North also - this could spell some interesting weather trends and those in hotter climes should ensure shade for tender plants over the weekend. This combination can bring thundery and hailstorm conditions. Moon begins descending trend.

Mon. Tues. 7th and 8th -these are days to attend to fruiting plants, particularly to prune out any dead branches, select and remove excess fruit to get better quality and trim unwanted leaves on annual fruits like tomatoes and capsicums. Pruning hard wood is always done best on a descending moon. Check for insect infestations particularly aphids and caterpillars.

Wed. Thur. 9th and 10th. Second quarter moon and moon crossing equator, should give us about 3 days of showers and rain and storm activity most likely in the north of Australia. Southern Australia may get a lot of cloud and lighter showers. This is root vegetable time, so as we head for the balsamic phase, a good time to plant some more carrots if suitable.

Fri. 11th Adverse conditions for leaves as Sun Mars trine tends to dry up the water in the leaves. Check for caterpillar damage as well as snail and slug infestations.

Sat. Sun 12th and 13th - flower days but not good for planting. Broadcast sow seeds for flowers and check your flowering crops for pests. Beans may need some additional care as this phase enables rust disease to develop. Dead head roses and remove spent flowers on other plants.

Mon 14th - a great day to plant more beans ( up to 12 noon AEST) and you can plant them a little deeper than normal to make sure they develop good roots before they emerge. ( not too deep though) Sow herbs in the morning, leafy greens in the afternoon, preferably in sheltered place.

Tue Wed. 15th and 16th - A fairly mixed couple of days. On Wednesday the New Moon occurs at Peak South and this is likely to bring very hot windy and dry conditions. Ensure your bushfire precautions are up to date. Moon begins Ascending on Wednesday. Both days are excellent days for fruiting plants and in the south its not too late to put in more fruiting plants such as pumpkins, squash, tomatoes etc. Thursday sees a Venus Mars trine that is adverse for leafy green, I suspect the moths are laying and the caterpillars are out in force.

Fellow blogger Gavin has posted a reminder about seed saving and for those who want to save some now, the best days will be 12th and 13th. You can read about seed saving here at Gavin's site.

solid gold

2009-11-27T09:33:00.002+11:00

Not in the garden, but in our hearts. Today Cosmic and Himself celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary - a lot of tomatoes grown in that time in 4 countries! So no weeding today but out for lunch and a trip to the travel agents.

Moon Garden - last week November 2009

2009-11-23T09:57:00.002+11:00

Got the guilts when a number of folks emailed me. I was so flat out busy lately, I just didn't get to doing the guides. Anyway, despite the main planting season being well under way, here is the guide for the last week November.

23rd - Monday - APOGEE. Moon most distant from earth so less gravitational pull. Generally not considered a good day for planting as growth slows down for a day or two. Moon travelling in a northward ( Descending ) path, Rises around 10 am sets around 12 midnight, about 28 minutes later each day.

24th to 26th - Crescent to First Quarter Moon - a good time for thinning and feeding plants with additional fertiliser, particularly flowering plants. Thursday is a particularly beneficial day for flowers and flowering plants like beans, cauliflowers etc. Moon crosses equator on Thursday bringing chance of stormy weather and possible hail storms.

27th to 29th - rapid growth period as the Moon enters its waxing gibbous phase - slightly cooler temperatures. Leafy greens benefit every day except Friday 27th

29th and 30th Moon position benefit fruit after 11 am Sunday. As fruiting crops should not be either setting fruit ( cooler areas) flowering ( temperate) or fruiting ( hot) now is a good time to suss out pests and destroy them, also to look for fungus and other spore induced disease.

Is Good!!

2009-11-11T11:49:00.006+11:00

Anyone remember that advert for Don sausage - which simply says "Is Good". Well I'm not sure about processed meat being good unless its a great Chorizo or home made sausage, but life can be so good when simple pleasures like eating your own food are a priority. We complicate our lives too much I think, in this material world, so it a good reminder to relish what we grow and be aware and conscious of the mourishment we get body and soul as we eat it. After a pretty meagre winter, the garden is now giving up its bounty as the weather improves and rapid growth is happening. Today I will honour Mother Nature and enjoy the life spirit in the foods I picked today. Breakfast of strawberries, lunch of Cos, Buttercrunch, Tatsoi, Salad Burnett, Cress with some assorted herbs and aromatics; Marigold, Mint, Borage leaves, Chive buds, Thyme flowers, Sage flowers, Coriander. Add a rich and fluffy omelette from the Spice Girls, it doesn't get much better!

Oops - should have cropped the middle photo so you could see the remnants of my coffee in the sink!

Amazing!

2009-11-01T23:33:00.002+11:00

This morning we were again visited by at least 30 black cockatoos. I managed to be awake enough to get a few shots, but this one gob-smacked me when I realised there was also a wattle bird defending its nest in the shot. She was willing to take on all comers by the look of it! Click to enlarge the picture and see how fast her wings are going.

Life's Garden

2009-10-27T23:35:00.005+11:00

These pictures are for my sister in Bradford.

There is no better garden to grow than the garden of life. Here is baby Hannah Isobel with my beautiful daughter. I can't believe its five months since this little tyke came into our world.
And here she is with her brothers Ethan Micah and Liam Nathaniel at story time.

Moon Gardening - October 25th to 31st

2009-10-25T15:25:00.011+11:00

Iris Goddess of the Rainbow

This week begins as the moon continues its Descending journey influencing root growth as sap is slow to rise in the stem of the plant. North node crosses the equator bringing adverse condition particularly for root vegetables, even on a descending moon and an earth sign, so Sunday is a better day to attend to fruiting crops up to about 6 pm AEDT.

Weather
Monday sees Apogee as the moon is at its most distant from the earth coinciding with first quarter so an ideal time to thin root vegetables and other seedlings so long as you can get out of the wind. When Apogee occurs at the same time as 1st or 2nd quarter the winds increase and we get a warm to hot dry spell. Deep water later on Sunday or before 10 am AEDT. Weather continues warm to hot until Friday when thundery showers are likely. Moon is crossing the equator and brings showers for three days.

25th, 26th, 27th - Moon in earth, good for root vegetables except for the warning above. At 1st quarter, thinning weak seedlings will give better results later on in the growing cycle. Don't feed and nurture plants that are not going to thrive as they will crowd out the better quality ones.
28th, 29th - Moon in Air signs ; good for flower reproduction and entering Waxing Gibbous phase which is ideal for feeding flower type crops such as cauliflowers, herbs and broccoli to improve on the health of the roots ( while the moon descends). Venus Jupiter trine on Thursday is especially good for berry fruits and will improve flower production on those fruits, if fed now so give your strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc a foliar feed or side dressing of cow manure.
30th and 31st - as mentioned some rain about, but these are excellent days to feed leafy greens. Moon opposes Saturn on Saturday 31st - I always add a side dressing of potash when this occurs, this time to leafy greens.

A stroll around the garden today while the north node motivates himself to pull out weeds shows how fast growth occurs once spring arrives. Here in Tasmania, growth is so fast we soon catch up with out mainland counterparts! Here are a few pictures of things to come - click on them to enlarge.

Slow Food

2009-10-19T17:31:00.004+11:00

The 7.30 report on the ABC will feature a segment on the "Slow Food" movement. My hero chef Georgio Locatelli first made me aware of this movement a long time ago, before River Cottage promoted it as a life style. The movement is said to stem from a response by local restauranteurs in Rome when a McDonalds was built near the Spanish Steps. The movement is a large organisation but there is nothing stopping anyone adopting the principles and applying to their own backyard. I realise that many of the bloggers with whom I am linked also espouse the movement ( even without realising it) so if you watch the segment, it will be interesting to hear your comments.

Moon Gardening - October 18th to 24th

2009-10-18T13:07:00.004+11:00

I always like it when my reports start at a new moon - this means that the next 4 will synchronise with the phases. This new Moon occurs in Libra, the sign that is associated with air and flowering crops including flowers generally. Flowering crops include broccoli, cauliflower, beans, herbs like yarrow, angelica and parsley. So these are going into my garden/hothouse either as seeds or transplants tomorrow. I've got out some seeds of romanesco and calabrese broccoli ready to sow and will be heading out there after 4 pm to sprinkle them.

Weather
This should be a calm and particularly pleasant week. There are no major cosmic happenings so we should see spring at its glorious best in the southern areas. The moon peaks at its southern declination on Thursday 22nd and promises a warmer period after that although the nights can still get cold. South Australia can expect a few hot days around then. The crescent moon occurs the day before, in the water sign Scorpio. Southern peaks from now on will give us warm spells, gradually getting hotter as spring and summer progress in the southern hemisphere. Southern peaks means cold conditions for those in the northern hemisphere. This is the first southern peak of spring in the Antipodes since the equinox so is an opportunity to observe.

Sunday 18th, Monday 19th, Tuesday 20th - New moon occurs at 3.34 pm AEDT, leaving its 'dark period' and drawing up seeds planted during the last few days. If you have been despairing about germination of seds sown recently check them and see the happening thing over the next three days. This is a great time to plant flowers and flowering crops, subject to your local conditions.

Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd - Crescent phase in the water sign of Scorpio influences the growth of leafy vegetables. With the exception of a Mercury Jupiter trine on Wednesday 21st which is adverse for root vegetables and root growth, the warmer weather promised over the next three days will see rapid growth occurring. Give your salads a boost of liquid fertiliser ( seaweed based) on Wednesday.

Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th - sees the moon in the fire sign Sagittarius where it will remain for most of the daylight hours on Sunday 25th so this looks like being a very good weekend for tomatophiles to either plant more seeds, transplant, feed and care for all fruiting crops. Chillies, capsicums, cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini, tomatoes, fruit tress in general are all under excellent growth vibes, so what are you waiting for! Make plans for a busy weekend next weekend.

Well it nearly happened again. On Friday at 1 pm as the moon entered earthy Virgo I took the risk and put out carrot seeds. Those who know me know that it is a fatal error for me to plant carrots as I bring on the rain. A clear blue sky, I took the risk, only to see, half an hour later, a thunderous malevolent black cloud developing. Looked like Zeus bound on revenge! Yikes I said but not quite yikes - quick lets get some cover on these little buggers. A quick slash here and there with a Stanley knife and a strip of carpet over the carrots - just in time as the heavens opened and 9 mm rain fell in just a couple of hours. Carrot rain it shall be known as! Check my almanac and yes, the moon was crossing the equator.

Rainy Daze

2009-10-13T15:09:00.001+11:00

Back to winter the last couple of days. Bob got bored so I showed him how easy it is to blog when bored. So he now has his own place to ramble instead of complaining! Link in the blogroll - Robertybobsblog. Now I'll show him Facebook in case he gets mega bored!

Things are looking good!

2009-10-12T14:00:00.003+11:00

Tomatoes are potted on - we have put 10 varieties of indeterminates in the hothouse hoping to get some tomatoes by Christmas. Each has it's own friendly basil plant for company. Duplicates still in pots on the ground will be planted outside to extend the season.

Carmen checks the some determinates and dwarfs that will also be planetd out once the frost danger is past.

Here we have Tatsoi, Salad Burnet and Meslcun - sown two weeks ago, ready for cropping in a few days. The next successive sowing will happen later this week. This gives us a constant supply of leaves for salads in addition to those growing outside. I will be planting several other interesting varieties as we go.

Not a lot of colour yet, but the leaf growth on the roses and other plants is accelerating and we have masses of buds. This shot shows the wall is still standing even after all the rain!

Coca

2009-10-11T13:53:00.004+11:00

This is a favourite lunchtime food. They are a Spanish recipe and simple as to make - just use your normal pizza base dough but substitute 1/3 cup flour with 1/3 cup polenta. I base mine on 1.5 cups flour, 1.5 tsp yeast, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 cup good olive oil and tepid water, knead for 10 minutes. Let rise until double. This makes 6 substantial size cocas but Carmen managed 2!
The essentials for the topping are one large red onion, fried with lots of garlic, some fresh marjoram and a large tablespoon of Spanish Paprika. When sauted, add one sliced up Chorizo sausage and allow mixture to cool. After the dough has doubled in size, knock down and divide into 6 and roll out 'shoes'. Top with your choice ( here we used ricotta blended with a spoon of tomato paste, chopped red capsicum, lots of fresh basil, cherry tomato halves and finally the onion and sausage mix. Leave about 3 cm around the edges to rise. Sprinkle your cooking tray with a little polenta and leave for another 15 minutes to rise slightly, then drizzle a little olive oil around the edges. Bake for 12 minutes @ 200c fan forced 220 not.