Finally!

The first batch of tomatoes has been preserved. We are hoping there will be a few more batches, as they are just so handy to have in the pantry. Stews, pasta sauces, curries, etc. There are many uses for preserved tomatoes.

Here they are - skinned. I use any tomato that is ripe. Big, small, yellow, striped, purple, red, etc.Squish them into the jars - No.20 Fowlers in this case - add 1/4 teaspoon citric acid and make sure there are no air pockets.Put rubber ring around the rim, place lid on top and put on clamp. Into the preserving unit, cover with water and switch on preserver. Take out after 1 hour, making sure the water does not boil at any stage. Mind you, these are the instructions for my preserver. There are many varieties out there, so follow the instructions that come with your unit.Doesn't the sight of preserved tomatoes make your heart sing?!

A garlicky afternoon

...was spent a few weeks ago.

Sorting out the garlic bunches that had been hanging in the laundry to dry.
The majority of the garlic is the variety "Purple Monaro". Here it is, all tidied up, cleaned and sorted. Soon it will be time to plant garlic again to ensure next year's supply.

A good swap!

We have excess garlic and another gardener a cucumber glut. What do you do? You swap! We only have 2 cucumber plants left in the ground - the slaters killed several plantings of cucumbers throughout the season. So, what better way to get our cucumber fix and have some for pickling?

They are big, juicy, tasty cucumbers. So the bulk of them went into big jars to be pickled. I followed the instructions on this page.
They look fantastic in these jars! We shall try the first one in a week or so. Then they'll be stored in the pantry or some other dark, out-of-sight place.

Oooops!

This is only a note to refer you to a post I wrote on Adelaide Kitchen Gardeners. Word of warning: it's about zucchinis. You may not want to go there, if you are already zucchinied out. :)The tomatoes are starting to really ripen up. You can see Jaune Flammee, Rouge de Marmande, Broad Ripple Yellow Currants, Black Cherry, Black Early and Striped Turkish Monastery. The normal sized zucchinis are Romanesco and Ronde de Nice (the round one). Plus the monster to the left. That reminds me, I better go and harvest more tomatoes. Plus check for zucchinis. :)

Look!

Food Connect is coming to town!

Even the little ones are getting excited.
Food Connect was officially launched on Saturday, 13 February 2010, at the Plains to Plate convergence.

Soon you will be able to fill in your subscription form on Food Connect's website to get your box of predominantly local and predominantly organic fruit and vegetables. Produce direct from the farmers. The first box delivery is not far away! Get excited! Become part of the Food Connect community. :)

Ps.: Food Connect will also have a stall at the Uraidla Sustainability Fair on 20 February 2010. Do pop in and say hello. The friendly team will be able to answer any of your questions. (Or so we hope.)

Moon and Stars

...the watermelon.

It's a really funky fruit. This one's only in its infancy.
But wait until it's grown up! I grew it a few years ago. One melon on one plant. It was a monster! It would not fit in the fridge. I think it weighed over 10 kg!!! But it was soooooo good! Sweet and juicy. Nothing like a shop-bought melon at all. Let's hope this one will do the same thing. I'll keep you posted. We might have a melon party. :)

Sweet Siberian

This year we may actually get some watermelons from the garden.

Sweet Siberian is an early maturing, small watermelon. It will only grow to about 2kgs.

There are still little ones coming on.
This is the biggest one on the plant. It is still a few weeks away from harvesting.

Let's join the masses...

... and do a zucchini post! *LOL*

It's interesting to read other gardeners' blogs and discover how they try to keep the zucchini flood in check. Or how to best (and hopefully discreetly without the rest of the family noticing) use as many as possible.

There is no disguising these fritters. They are unashamedly chockers with zucchini.
Why not eat them like burgers? A good smear of home-made mayonnaise, a fritter, a layer of cheese, a layer of tomato slices, and (for the die-hard zucchini fans) another fritter. Topped off with another slice of bread.They were gooooood!! :)

Sunflowers

They are amongst my favourite flowers. They are a cheerful sight in the garden. This year we had some that germinated in the horse manure. And very sturdy, healthy specimen they are!
I'm not sure what happened here. It looks a little as if this sunflower has just about gobbled up another sunflower. Or is that my warped imagination?

Picking grapes

We picked the first bunch of grapes last week. This is today's haul, two bunches. They are seedless sultanas. Juicy and sweet.
Do you think I could dry them for sultanas? Or what else could I do, once we are tired of munching on them? What would YOU do? It's not urgent, as we've only just started picking them. Also, there are plenty of bunches, but the birds may be eyeing them, too. So I wouldn't be surprised, if the vine was suddenly totally empty one morning.

Zucchini lasagne

We had zucchini/eggplant lasagne at City Gnome's place last week - and what a revelation that was! No meat needed for it to taste delicious and exactly like lasagne.

So, what better way to use up a few zucchinis from the garden?

This is my take on zucchini lasagne.
Slice zucchinis, put under grill until golden brown.
Make your favourite tomato/pasta sauce.
Then layer in a casserole dish with lasagne sheets and cheese sauce. Make sure the final layer is cheese sauce, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.Bake in oven at approx. 200 C for about 50 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!This really is a hit! We enjoyed it immensely. :)

More lunch

Again with home-made haloumi. Tomatoes (green, yellow, red) from the garden and some shredded lettuce. Oh, and there was an avocado. (The last two ingredients NOT from the garden, unfortunately.) Season with a little salt & pepper and drizzle over some extra-virgin olive oil.
Here a plate for those who like it meatier. Just add a few thin slices of bresaola (home-made).
It's great fun, being able to eat veg from the garden and top that off with home-made treats.

Lacto-fermenting...

...zucchini. We haven't reached glut proportions - yet - but I was eager to do something different. So, I decided to experiment with lacto-fermentation to make some zucchini pickles. I have no idea whether this will work out, hence no recipe here. Yet. I have written all the quantities and ingredients down, of course.

Here is the jar with grated zucchinis, spices and salt. Put smaller jar inside the jar so that the mixture is weighed down and covered with the juices from the zucchini. Cover with tea towel. Let ferment. Hope that this will result in something tasty. :)

Lunch with a difference

Cut up some home-made haloumi.
Grate some zucchini, mix in herbs, salt & pepper, an egg and a little flour.
Fry in pan.Serve with chopped tomatoes, herbs, salt & pepper, a little extra-virgin olive oil.Veggies and herbs from the garden. Egg from our chooks. :) Delicious.

Today's harvest

Plenty of tomatoes, basil and 2 zucchinis.
First bowl of plums. Flower Gnome immediately halved, stoned and froze them (in a single layer on a baking tray, then into containers, so that they are frozen individually). We are hoping for a good harvest so we can make plum & blackberry wine.