Growing – Page 2 – MakeCookGrow.com

Cherries and Other Christmas Things

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TECHNOLOGY and ME

I have no idea what kept going wrong with last week’s blog, nor why it published itself (obviously not, but I’m accepting no responsibility). I eventually just gave up! Pondered giving up entirely, but decided to try once more. Fingers crossed this week’s blog is a success.

CHERRIES

The countdown to Christmas no longer features Advent Calendars in our house, although I’ve seen some very lush adult calendars online. Instead, it starts with cherries. As soon as I know cherries are available, I want some! Just before my first eye surgery I bought an art and craft materials Advent Calendar and every so often open a window and enjoy using the paint, clay, pencils and pens and other little treats. So not a countdown to Christmas calendar, more a move towards being able to do the things I used to do before my eyesight deteriorated.

This bowl of cherries didn’t last long!

The fountain in the portico is decorated.

So is the front door. Since added more baubles to jazz the laurel up a bit!

This dear little Christmas cake, a gift, arrived in a clear bauble and was delicious!

RUMBALLS

For years I’ve used the same recipe to make rumballs. They can be made a week before Christmas and are very popular. Our son was here on the weekend and wanted me to wait until he was back before I made this year’s rumballs ‘ because you don’t add enough rum.’ Well, some of the consumers of our rumballs then have drive home, so I think I’ll be sticking to the usual amount of rum in this year’s mix!

Every year at Christmas time I cook multiple trays of shortbread biscuits and give them as gifts. No fancy homemade boxes this year but I have decorated each gift with a heart and added a bauble, too.

Shortbread biscuits in cellophane bags with air dried hearts and baubles decorated using paper napkins/serviettes. (here)

TOMATOES

These tomatoes all germinated from two tiny cherry tomatoes from my Mother’s plant. I squeezed the seeds from the tomatoes onto a paper towel, spread them out and let them dry. Cut the towel into six squares and planted each square in a small pot. I planted them about six weeks ago. About 50 plants germinated.

I planted them out at different times to have a good supply of tomatoes throughout summer.

I have given away about fifteen plants as we’ll have enough for the two of us and these are delicious little tomatoes.

This lot are in a raised bed, sharing with the chive forest.

The last lot to be planted out. I’ll transfer them to bigger pots in a week or so.

MENDING

These light woven baskets with a drawstring lining are ideal for so many jobs. I have several.

When the handle stitching came undone I repaired it using linen thread and a big blunt needle.

I share all this with you because it is SO exciting to be able to thread the needle myself! I have also threaded and used the sewing machine. So exciting, so satisfying. Up there with being able to drive again and read easily.

SQUEEZING LEMONS

My husband, the preferred citrus squeezer in this household, saw Jamie Oliver using one of these citrus squeezers on a cooking program and wanted one. Two days later we saw one in an Italian food shop and we bought it.

He is very pleased with it.

BEFORE, the old way.

NOW, the new way!

I hope all your plans for the holiday season are going well.

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Jacarandas, Tomatoes and Some Other things

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JACARANDAS

Years ago when I began teaching at a new school, the Principal was showing me around. Near the decking outside my new classroom was a magnificent jacaranda tree. The tree was totally covered in flowers as was the deck under it. I admired the tree, saying it was beautiful. I was told most crisply that I wouldn’t feel that way if I had to clean up under it!

I still really like jacaranda trees. There are many around here, but to really enjoy them en masse we go for a drive to Applecross, Ardross and Attadale over the other side of the river. So many mature jacarandas in full bloom. Some of them are very old as my Mother went to school in this area and she remembers planting some of them on Arbor Day as a small child. She is now 92. So pretty.

The jacaranda is not native to Australia but comes from South America.

tomatoes

Nothing tastes as good as freshly picked, home grown tomatoes. I’ve had great crops over the years, but more recently I’ve had to share the bounty with the river rats. In an attempt to enjoy our fair share I have all sorts of cages and protective frames to keep the tomatoes safe.

My Mother’s tiny tomatoes taste wonderful. She kept me some which I brought back and squashed onto a piece of paper towel, spreading the seeds. Left them to dry out until it was time to plant. Cut the sheet of paper towel into six pieces and buried a square in each pot, covered them with potting mix and watered regularly.

Seedlings germinated in five of the six pots. What happened in the sixth pot? I have no idea! When the seedlings developed four leaves I transplanted them, mostly two in a pot, leaving a week between re-potting each lot of seedlings. I put two in each pot following the advice of a local gardening broadcaster who suggests pulling out the less vigorous seedling later. I can never do this, so end up with so many plants.

Soon I will plant some of the seedlings in their final beds, covered in protective cages, and share the others around. While I’m eagerly awaiting my own crop of tomatoes, I have bought some to try dehydrating them to mimic sun dried tomatoes. Using my son’s dehydrator, I sliced a couple of kilos of washed tomatoes and arranged them on the shelves of the dehydrator, turned it on to the recommended temperature and left it alone for nearly seven hours. I did turn the slices over half way through the process.

At that stage they felt dry so I put them in two jars with a clove of garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Left them to settle for two days then tried them. Very, very good! The tomatoes taste wonderful after soaking in the oil with just the lightest hint of garlic. The tomatoes really shrank during the drying process and only filled two jars. Five days later they are nearly all gone. If I have a glut of tomatoes I will do this again as they tasted very good!

Two jars from all those tomatoes, but the taste is worth it.

My lunch the other day; Italian bread, melted sheeps’ pecorino, sun (dehydrator) dried tomatoes, basil and black pepper. Wonderful.

other things

On the topic of tomatoes, I was asked if I peeled the cucumber before I sliced it to add to the tomatoes and bread in Panzanella Salad. No, after I’ve washed the cucumber I simply run a fork the full length from one end to the other, scoring the skin. Then I halve the cucumber longways before slicing it and adding to the salad. I seem to be making this salad on repeat, but we have been buying lots of bread and I don’t like wasting food. I have a large jar of breadcrumbs already and it’s a bit hot for bread and butter pudding, but just right for Panzanella Salad.

I have just completed a long overdue tidy of the two lower shelves of one half of the laundry cupboard. Many of the things stored on these two shelves were put there the day we moved in and not touched since. Our house took longer that expected to finish, we were under pressure to leave our rental, I had just begun working at a new school and had a student who’d had a full time assistant previously but funding cuts meant no help, all compounded by the Administration being temporarily accommodated in the area outside my classroom while their original area was extended. Constant noise! So I unpacked the necessities and forgot about other things.

Amongst all the ‘treasures’ I found was this wooden base.

It was the base of a wind up Christmas decoration. Overly wound up by a visiting child, it had stopped working and I couldn’t repair it. ( Now I would probably look on YouTube) The top part was thrown out, the base kept. I’d found a candle on the same shelf. It sat nicely on the existing screw in the base. I glued a piece of ribbon at the base of the candle, then glued the faux mistletoe and berry decoration I made a few weeks ago over the ribbon join.

Our first Christmas decoration is now on display.

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Phalaenopsis Orchids, Panzanella and Other Things

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A POT OF ORCHIDS

Cut back and tidied the roses after the most amazing flush of pink and red Pierre de Ronsards, red Father’s Love and yellow Holtemans Gold. Even the Glamis Castle, which I was going to dig out after it was decimated by chili thrip, has bounced back and had beautiful white flowers. No fresh flowers in the house presently, except alstromerias and a few pink Asiatic Lilies.

Decided on phalaenopsis ( moth) orchids to have on the table for the next few weeks. I bought a straight sided glass salad bowl from the op shop/ thrift shop plus three little brass drawer pulls from the hardware shop. Picked up orchid potting mix plus three white phalaenopsis orchids while I was there.

Glued the three drawer pulls on the base of the upended bowl using a clear multipurpose cement and left them to dry. Next day I planted the three orchids including most of their existing soil. Then I filled the rest of the bowl with orchid potting mix. The bowl sits on the table getting diffused light. The plants have settled well and each has had a new bud. When it gets hotter I will mound sphagnum moss on top of the existing soil to keep it moist.

PANZaNELLA

This traditional Tuscan salad is a way to use any leftover bread. Two days after a visit to a new Italian grocer, we had leftover bread and lots of it! I’ve made Panzanella before, using Jamie Oliver’s far more complex recipe, but as a fan of Nagi’s Recipe Tin Eats, (here) I decided to try her recipe. Both are good.

This is a traditional tomato and bread salad, requiring humble bread and seasonal tomatoes. This style of food, called ‘cucina povera’ or food for the poor, relies on beautiful tomatoes and rich olive oil for flavour, topped off with basil. Gather some stale bread, very ripe tomatoes, a cucumber, a handful of basil and, for the dressing, extra virgin olive oil, red or white wine vinegar ( I used red), Dijon mustard and crushed garlic and you’re ready to go! Use a French brand Dijon mustard for the flavour.

Nagi oven roasts her bread. I toasted slices of our leftover bread in the toaster then tore them into bite size pieces. Traditionally the bread is not toasted but, like Nagi, I find the soggy, lumpy bits of unroasted bread a bit unattractive. She drizzles olive oil on her bread before roasting it.

Quick, delicious and a great way to use up leftover bread this salad relies on very ripe tomatoes for flavour and moistness. Eat it when all the dressing is soaked up!

We really liked this salad, so I made it again. I oven roasted some leftover Italian bread, lightly drizzled with olive oil. I also added very thinly sliced red onion as I saw this in other recipes for this salad. Will do that again.

After a few hours, the bread has absorbed the tomato juices and the dressing and is really wonderful. Quick to make, full of fresh tomatoes, cucumber and basil and the best dressing.

So it’s no surprise I made another bowl of Panzanella two days later. This time I pulled apart an Italian loaf and roasted it in the oven, as directed in the recipe. The pieces of roasted bread were bigger than the toasted bread I’d used previously and absorbed more flavour. I’ll roast the bread next time, too, because there will be a next time!

Our new favorite salad, this time with oven roasted bread. Delicious.

OTHER THINGS

Our son came down from Kalgoorlie to spent the weekend here. It was my birthday. He gave me a lovely surprise! A new food processor which mixes, grates, slices and other clever things. I had to use it straight away, so made pastry. Very fast and mixes well. I really like the small rolling pin, too, and use it all the time. I commandeered it when my son stopped playing with Play Dough, so about 33 years ago. So versatile!

The pastry became the base for a quiche. I had lots of zucchini so I fried that with some bacon, then grated a variety of leftover cheeses ( Edam, Stilton and chilled Camembert, which grated well) added some eggs and a little Greek yoghurt and, viola, dinner. Served with some small boiled potatoes and some Panzanella salad. Dinner for two nights.

No recipe because it was just a mix of available ingredients. Only the pastry was made from a recipe!

OLIVE OIL CAKE

I did follow a recipe for the Olive Oil Lemon cake, from Jaclyn Crupi’s book, ‘Nonna Knows Best’. There’s definitely a Mediterranean influence to how we eat in Western Australia. We have access the best quality seasonal fruit and vegetables, plus very good wines and very good olive oil. We enjoy them all.

The cake also featured lemons. So many things I cook for about eight months of the year feature lemons and limes.

DID YOU KNOW?

There’s only 38 days until Christmas!

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Reading and Pottering

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Reading

Being restricted to large print books meant I explored a whole new area of the library in the past six months. I was surprised at the number of romances published in large print but also found some thrillers before almost totally gravitating to the non-fiction section. Found some great biographies. The latest was William Miller’s Gloucester Crescent : Me, My Dad and Other Grownups.

His mother was a doctor as was his father who was also known for being a famous satirist, opera director, documentary producer and writer. They lived in Gloucester Crescent (where the author and his family now live ) surrounded by other very relaxed, radical, left wing, anti-establishment, affluent, well known actors, producers, authors and philosophers.

William relates his story from age 11 to age 54 and it is quite amazing. His neighbours, including Alan Bennett*, have featured in their own books from this time and I have previously read several of them. Child rearing was pretty relaxed ( Miller says laissez faire) and the children drifted from one house to another. William doesn’t do well at school but years later ends up in a business partnership with Nigella Lawson, producing her television programs and merchandise. They had been childhood friends due many affairs, divorces, marriages and other arrangements resulting in shared holiday houses and some other pretty bizarre situations.

A record of a different time, it is fascinating to read about the over lapping lives of so many creative people such as Allan Bennett, John Cleese, Oliver Sacks, A.J. Ayers, the philosopher, Shirley Conran, VS Pritchett and a plethora of other famous people. I couldn’t put this book down but the minute I finished it my husband began reading it and is now recommending it to his friends.

* Allan Bennett Lady In The Van

* Nina Stibbes Love, Nina

pottering

I like painting and little craft projects requiring paper and glue. I have a serious collection of papers, card, paints, glues for all occasions and scissors, trimmers and lots of other useful things. I have been really restricted in what I can do because my eyesight was so poor. I haven’t painted for some months. I used to paint almost daily.

As the date for my eye surgery approached, I kept planning all the Christmas crafts I’d like to do as soon as I could see. Bought myself an Advent calendar from an office supply shop. Each of the 24 windows has an ‘arty’ surprise. I know it meant for Christmas but I really wanted some little activities I could do quickly and might not normally do.

The first treat, day 1, was a fine tipped gold pen. Now I can read the calendar I had a lovely time writing notes and reminders. Very pretty. My next surprise was oven cured clay. I used to make Christmas ornaments with the children at school using this product. There were two tiny blocks of clay, one red, one green, so, of course I made mistletoe. So easy, so sweet.

The next treat was a tube a green acrylic paint and straight away I thought of gum leaves. I don’t open a box every day because I have so many other things I want to do, now that I can, but it is a lot of fun. Anyway, as soon as I unscrewed the cap I knew gum leaves and that green wouldn’t work! The next box I opened two days later had a little canvas, so I used the green to paint a Christmas wreath and put it on a small easel.

I’ve cooked more spanikopita, too, not just because we really enjoyed the last lot but I’m trying to avoid food waste. I’ve bought phyllo pastry before, used it for one thing and put it back in the freezer. When I’ve suddenly thought I should use it the sheets had cracked on the folds and gone dry. Not good. I also buy the pastry you store in the fridge, now, not the freezer.

Still making this German version of potato salad. The cooked potatoes are doused in vinegar and turned regularly until it is all absorbed, then a dressing of vinegar, Dijon mustard and chopped fresh herbs is stirred through then it goes into the fridge until the next day. I use whatever herbs are in abundance in the garden.

At the moment I’ve got lots of chives. Until we lived in China for a few years chives didn’t really feature in our house, now I use them all the time. Same with ginger. I liked gingerbread, a little bit of ginger in some savoury dishes, but I didn’t use it very often. Now fresh ginger, preserved stem ginger, glace ginger and powdered ginger feature regularly. Same with chilies.

My Mother grows tiny, sweet cherry tomatoes from the seeds she collects at the end of the previous season. They explode in your mouth and taste like summer. I squashed two cherry tomatoes from her plant onto a paper towel and left them to dry. Later I prepared six little pots to bury the soaked, then cut up, paper towel and left them to see what happens. I like to get tomatoes going in small pots then plant them in a bed or a bigger pot. Then it’s me versus the water rats to see who will get the fruit. I have a big, chicken wire cage to protect the tomatoes. Very unattractive but does the job.

I really like my new gardening apron but didn’t have anywhere to hang it in the laundry. I wanted it near the back door. Our laundry is really small so I solved the problem by putting a hook inside a cupboard door just near the door going out into the garden. Perfect!

Out of the way but easy to grab on the way out the door. Perfect.

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Surgery, Spanakopita and Spring

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eye surgery

A week ago I had surgery on my left eye. I have keratoconis which means my corneas are not a lovely rounded shape, but ‘conical’ with a lumpy surface. Keratoconus is when the cornea gradually thins and bulges, resulting in distorted vision. First diagnosed when I was about 19 I have been able to maintain reasonable eyesight by first wearing hard contact lenses for over 20 years, then soft lenses for about 25 years and then scleral lenses for 18 months. Scleral lenses are hard, large lenses which rest on the sclera, the white part of the eye.

Eventually my failing eyesight stopped me driving, painting and a whole lot of other things you never think about until you can’t see well enough to do them. I waited three and a half months for an appointment with an ophthalmalgic surgeon who could improve my eyesight.

And he did! Even when I awoke from surgery with a plastic shield taped over my eye I knew my eyesight was greatly improved. It was so exciting! The next day he told me my eyesight would continue to improve for about a week. It has and I can see better than I can remember. This changes everything. Now I am crossing the days off until I have surgery on the other eye.

Gathered up a few of the pairs of spectacles I’ve used over the past three years, hoping they’d help me read. I might not need any of them in a few months when I have surgery on my other eye but I’ll keep them just in case!

spanakopita

A classic Greek recipe, Spanakopita used to be my ‘go to’ for work lunches and visiting vegetarians. I never followed a recipe very carefully but always liked it hot or cold. Then I found a good supply of goats feta at about the same time Nagi of recipetineats.com (here) published her recipe for Spanakopita. I use her cookbook Recipe Tin Eats Dinner by Nagi Maehashi for inspiration when I don’t know what we’re having for dinner.

So I made a small dish (I’ll double the recipe next time) following her instructions. I’ve never added spring onions before nor lemon zest and juice, either, but will next time, too, as it added depth to the flavour. Nagi is a bit sniffy about using frozen spinach but that was what I had in the freezer and it tastes lovely. She suggests adding some grated cheese between the top layers of filo pastry, but I only had sheeps’ pecorino, which is very strong, so I omitted that step. Adding Greek yoghurt to the mix was new to me, too, but this is a very good pie so I’ll do it again.

I melted the weight of butter listed in the recipe for buttering the pastry but ended up with some left over. It didn’t matter as I knew we were having asparagus with dinner. I poured the melted butter into a glass dish, added the juice and zest of the leftover lemon from making the spanakopita and microwaved it to make a sauce for the asparagus. Delicious!

THe spring garden

The roses have been decimated by chili thrip for the past two years. So far this year the bushes are strong and healthy and blooming beautifully. We have had no humidity, so the thrip may hatch and reappear if it is hot and sticky, but in the meanwhile we are picking masses and masses of beautiful, scented roses.

These ceramic spheres were discoloured and the paint was chipping off. I previously wrote about scrubbing and sanding them ready to repaint and here’s the photo of the finished spheres, back in the garden. I forgot to add the photo of the finished spheres lurking under the hydrangeas!

Scrubbed then sanded to smooth chipped edges. This small sander is so useful for a multitude of jobs.

Now dry and ready to repaint.

Back in the garden.

other things

Needed a new bottle of Worcestershire Sauce during the week. It now comes in a plastic bottle. More plastic rubbish!

I’m a fan of magazines, especially those about architecture, interior design, gardens and food. Can’t believe how expensive they have become so subscriptions might have to be birthday and Christmas presents. Also deciding if I need quite so many. I think I do, especially now I can read then easily, again, rather than holding the page right up to my ‘better’ eye.

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Melanomas, Bottlebrushes and Other Things

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MELANOMAS

Are you an Australian with Anglo-Celtic or Northern European ancestry? I’m only asking because statistically you are in the high risk category to develop a melanoma. The most serious type of skin cancer is a melanoma, when the cancer develops in the melanocytes, the skin’s pigment producing cells. These are aggressive cancers.

We develop skin cancers because our skin remembers every time we played all lunchtime in the searing sun, every time we were at swimming lessons mid-morning in the summer school holidays and every other time in your entire life you were unprotected in our harsh sun. I wont even mention slatheringb ourselves in baby oil hoping to accelerate our tans.

Basal Cell Carcinomas (BCCs) are the most common growths. They often appear as small lumps or dry red scaly patches and are easily treated by burning or excising. Although they are benign cancers that don’t enter your blood stream, they need treating or monitoring. SCCs ( Squamous Cell Carcinomas) can metastasise and spread into lymph nodes. These need more urgent attention.

In males, melanomas are most often found on the torso, in females they most commonly occur on the limbs. In Australia, one in 14 men will develop an invasive melanoma and one in 22 women will also develop an invasive melanoma.

So what should fair skinned Australians do to prevent skin cancers? Wear sunscreen if you’re going to be exposed to the sun from mid-morning to late afternoon and add a hat and sunglasses, reapply sunscreen after swimming and monitor children closely to ensure they are protected. As a fully paid up member of the melanoma family I have a yearly check up with my dermatologist who keeps detailed records. She looks at my skin from my head down to my feet and it is not fun. Since 2012 I have never left her rooms without things being burnt off or three times things being cut out.

Consider having hats at every door going to the outdoors, applying sunscreen every morning, even in winter if you’re very fair and be aware of your hands and arms being exposed when you’re driving. If you haven’t had a recent check ask your GP to check or look for one of the many clinics ( in Australia) specializing in recognising and treating skin damage.

SPRING

Every season is special in its own way but spring promises regeneration and growth. In the Southern Hemisphere we can think about putting the dark, thick, heavy clothes of winter away and digging out the brighter, lighter clothes marking warmer weather. It’s good to be outside, surrounded by new growth and the still warm sun, not yet scorching.

These Callistemon (family Myrtaceae), better known as bottlebrushes are common in the southern area of Western Australia and the east coast of Australia. They are called ‘bottlebrushes’ because the cylindrical bloom looks like a bottlebrush! They bloom in spring and summer.

The first stage of flowering starts at the end of a leafy branch with the development of buds. When the buds erupt the colour of the flower is evident, in this case, crimson.

Buds on the right beginning to pop open.The buds open to reveal the red filaments developing.

As the flower develops it becomes a bottlebrush shape. The flowers are long lasting and attract many birds and insects. The spent bus capsuls become seed pods.

Hardy, beautiful bushes, bottlebrushes are very popular in native gardens. They require very little water, have gorgeous blooms if they’re in full sunlight and only require occasional pruning to maintain a compact shape.

OTHER THINGS

Sorting out the freezer drawers unearthed a surprise; the ham bone was still tightly wrapped in the bottom drawer. Bone, yellow split peas and water into the slow cooker for 8 hours, wonderful rich, thick soup for three nights. Already ordered the Christmas ham for this year.

Looks unattractive but tasted WONDERFUL!

Also rediscovered a couple of kilos of cooked prawns, so thawed some for lunch and turned the shells into prawn stock and froze it until I needed it. Prawn stock adds vibrancy to so many things. Simply boil the remains in just enough water to cover the shells for about 30 minutes, sieve, cool and use or freeze.

My cleaning up urge sent me through the fridge at the same time. There was my favourite ingredient to add to just about anything, preserved lemons! I scrape off any remaining pulp and thinly slice the preserved skin and add it to casseroles, salads and often on fish. Lovely zing of flavour! Recipe (here)

The citrus trees are still fruiting so I’ve made more preserved lemons.

I hope you are enjoying lovely weather, where ever you live!

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In The Garden, Toothbrush Heads and Other Plastic

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THE WINTER GARDEN

Most of the roses are now pruned. Soon I will remove the first few centimetres of topsoil in an attempt to disrupt the chilli thrip from emerging. I will replace it with fresh garden soil. The roses in our suburb have been decimated for several years due to chilli thrip. I am also buying some bugs to spread around the roses when they have new topsoil to see if they control the pests. The final treatment if they appear will be chemical warfare but I’m trying everything else first.

Sadly I know several people with many roses who couldn’t continue trying to control the pests so they removed all their rose bushes. Some were very old and well established. Very sad. Unfortunately, if everyone around you doesn’t treat chilli thrip your plants will be infected, too. Annoying.

I’ve been mass weeding. We have never had weeds like we have this year. They are thick everywhere. I have discovered the best weeding gloves! They fit well, keep my hands dry, are cotton lined and I can dig deeply with my fingers to pull up the roots without piercing the fabric. No rose thorns in my fingers! They’re actually not gardening gloves but are industrial safety gloves to protect against oil and chemicals but they are great for weeding.

TOOTHBRUSHES

I’ve used the same electric toothbrush hand piece for years. Every so often I bulk buy new heads. This means I’m reducing about half the amount of plastic going into the environment by only needing to replace half the toothbrush! The only problem is the packaging. Each pack has two new heads. Both are also sealed in their own individual plastic cover. Ridiculous.

I’m sure the heads were delivered on a cardboard sheet previously, but of course I’ve thrown it out. I think each head was attached to a cardboard sheet by a twist of covered wire, like green gardening wire but it was white. So now I have a pile of cardboard, easily managed and a pile of molded plastic, which is not easy to manage. And yes, I will be writing to Oral B about this plastic overkill.

I actually needed a Stanley trimmer to open the packets. Tough plastic protection for toothbrush heads.

The other plastic aggravation this week has been the little desiccant cylinders in pill bottles. I had five little plastic cylinders in one bottle of tablets. I don’t know but assume the small paper sachets of desiccant are just as effective and certainly far easier to dispose of responsibly. The tablets are manufactured in Australia so it’s disappointing that they are packed with all this plastic.

IN THE KITCHEN

Winter vegetables are still available here in abundance so I’m still making big pots of ratatouille. Not traditional French ratatouillie because I don’t add that French staple, eggplant. I do add other fresh vegetables regularly. So, along with the onions, zucchini, tomatoes, tinned tomatoes all cooked in a splash of olive oil, I added cabbage this week. The cabbages at the green grocer are big, crisp and really fresh. The only way to manage these big ones is to start off cutting them in half after they’ve been washed. Then I cut a half in half and thinly shredded that piece and add it to the bubbling tomato mix it into the pot. I should shred the outer leaves and add them to other scraps for vegetable stocks but time doesn’t allow for any extras at the moment.

Four serves of ratatouille for lunch with added goat feta, goat ricotta, some grated parmigiano and one day, a poached egg on top. I also add two pieces of toasted sourdough to soak up the delicious juices. Our other meals this week have frequently come from things I froze for busy weeks and this has been a busy week.

DID YOU KNOW?

On August 29th we celebrate ‘According to Hoyle’ Day? This day caught my attention as the expression was frequently used in our family when we were growing up. My Mother actually used it only a week ago! So who was Hoyle? Edmond Hoyle was an authority on the prescribed rules and regulations for popular games. He is best known for writing the definitive books regarding the rules for card and board games. He had a vast knowledge of popular games and published books of rules, hence the expression, ‘According to Hoyle’.

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Car Batteries, Killing Weeds. and Batch Cooking

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CAR BATTERIES

Last week I wrote about the anomaly between producing electric car batteries and the supply of materials needed to be mined to enable their production. This week I’ll tell you about the battery in my husband’s car. When he had his car serviced, the mechanic said he needed a new battery. So he rang the RAC (Royal Automobile Club who provide road side assistance, insurance, batteries, travel and accommodation and other related services) and a van arrived half an hour later. The serviceman told him they installed the existing battery in 2015. It was guaranteed for two years. It had lasted eight years..

VINEGAR AND WEEDS

Vinegar is a multi purpose liquid. Essential in so many recipes, a great cleaner ( avoid using it on porous surfaces as it can etch the material), a disinfectant and also a stain remover. I’ve bought 4 litres of vinegar for a different purpose; I’m killing the weeds in the brick paths and paving. After the wettest winter I can remember for years and being away from the house often, the weeds are taking over.

I used to mix it with salt and detergent, but now I just tip it into a spray bottle and twist the nozzle to a very directed, narrow spray and hit the weeds! It’s important to only spray the vinegar onto pathways or paving as it will alter the ph of the soil. Vinegar will kill ants, spiders and mosquitos but also bees, so be mindful of this when spraying.

Usually the weeds will begin to wilt within 24 hours. I let them really dry out then remove the residual plant with a hoe. Sometimes , if it is really sunny, the weeds will be dry enough to just sweep up. Later, I’ll use a pressure washer to really clean but I really like the moss growing between the pavers in some areas. We never have moss!

WINTER COOKING

Zucchinis were 49c each at the green grocer so I knew I’d be making a big pot of ratatouille. Traditionally, the French made ratatouille using zucchini, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, plus extra virgin olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. We don’t eat eggplant ( well, I do, but nobody else likely to eat my ratatouille does) but I will add other vegetables which are abundant at the time. So, sometimes, sweet potato, or pumpkin or corn appear.

Ratatouille is a great side dish. I drizzle a tiny amount of extra virgin olive oil over it. I especially enjoy a bowl of it for lunch with crumbled fetta. At the moment I am resisting cutting the crust off the loaf of sourdough I have just taken out of the oven which would soak up some of the lovely juices, but the loaf tears easily if it’s cut while it is still hot!

This is goats’ milk fetta and doesn’t crumble well but tastes very good.

My Mother has been in hospital and then respite for a month or so, so we were going up and down to visit her. We’d stay for four days then come back, do what we needed to do here, then go back. We’d leave her for an hour or so while she had lunch and often enjoy going to a cafe or restaurant. Then we’d have something really light for dinner. When we’d get back to Perth there were a few things I’d quickly thaw from the freezer for dinner, but eventually the freezer was bare!

So when we settled for scrambled eggs on crumpets ( we had no bread for toast) I knew it was time to get cooking. I have restocked the freezer with tikka masala ( I microwave the rice while the vegetables boil to serve with it) and pad thai. We intersperse these with salmon fillets and occasionally, eggs! I read blogs about people who batch cook for a fortnight at a time and I’m so inspired but never actually follow through, but a week at a time is working. I was also inspired by the bloggers who precook all their meals for when they’re away but that is a stretch too far when every minute seems to be committed at the moment!

I have rarely used meal kits as I have always made our meals ‘from scratch’ except I rely quite a bit on red and green curry pastes as a basis for several things we frequently eat. Time poor and trying to do an enormous number of jobs in three days, I bought the tikka masala and the pad thai kits after seeing both brands recommended on Insta. They were delicious! Unfortunately, the same site recommended two new flavours of chocolate bars and I bought both of those, too. They were also delicious but long gone.

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Easy Dinner and Other Domestic Business

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SALMON PATTIES

The overdue pantry clean and sort produced a tin of pink salmon. Probably bought during one of the pandemic lockdowns, along with a 10 kg bag of rice, baked beans and cans of chickpeas. I don’t think we’ll ever get through the bag of rice. Determined to use the salmon, I searched online and found many recipes for Salmon Patties.

The recipe I chose for Salmon Patties required six ingredients, all to hand. So, I tidied up the weather beaten spring onions when I went out to get two for the recipe, boiled about a cup of potato, took out the jar of breadcrumbs and finally, an egg. All the ingredients went into the food processors and quickly amalgamated into a mixture I could spoon into my hand and shape into patties.

Next time I’d season with salt. According to the recipe, the mix would make eight patties, I made twelve, so make them bigger than mine!

In the evening, I took the plate of Salmon Patties out of the fridge, heated the oil, cooked them until they were golden on both sides and served them with steamed vegetables and wedges of lemon. Very tasty, quick to make and everything to hand. We enjoyed them! Recipe here.

https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/salmon-patties/c5b04490-0973-4042-b77d-3c6b3504d141

KITCHEN SCISSORS

I have a rack of knives and a pair of scissors just next to the workbench I use for food preparation. Why scissors? Because they are so useful! From opening packets to snipping herbs and vegetables and even cutting up cold chocolate which refuses to snap, I use scissors. I wash them along with the knives. I also have a pair of scissors in a drawer I use for snipping the stems clean on cut flowers, something I do every few days to prolong their freshness. They get washed in hot, soapy water, too.

ALOE VERA

Twelve months ago a dear friend gave me an aloe vera plant. It is very attractive but also has magic powers! I burnt my hand on a hotplate two weeks ago. It was quite a deep burn. Ran my throbbing hand under cold water for a very long time; every time I took it away from the water it hurt! Our son was staying with us and he cut a piece off the aloe vera plant. I put it on the burn. Relief! When the aloe vera got hot and dry, I cut a little piece off and applied it again. And again, along with a cold compress.

Aloe vera is a cactus like plant which grows well in most climates. Its uses listed online are surprising, but most commonly, it’s recommended for treating sunburn, burns and radiation toxicity. There’s a surprising number of other uses which made me consider this attractive plant in another light!

The aloe vera soothed the pain and limited the swelling. By the next day the burnt area was very stiff and tight and puffy. It slowly settled into a long, hard strip of wrinkled skin. Over the next two weeks the wound cracked and I picked pieces off! Still a bit tight but now there’s just a strip of new pink skin.

PERSIMMON

A favourite in South East Asia, persimmons are in season now. Apparently, once common in Australian gardens, they’re now out of fashion. They are very attractive. My husband brought three home when he’d been shopping so we could try them. I cut one into quarters, removed the core and skin and then cut another in half to scoop the flesh out, like it was a cup.

Easy to prepare and tasty, plus very pretty but I probably wouldn’t buy them again.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

You know I try to avoid food waste! So, leftover bread, buttered and spread with jam, some milk and eggs became pudding one night and breakfast the next day.

The dried cranberries plumped up into delicious taste surprises through the pudding. I added nutmeg and cinnamon to the top before putting it in the oven. Just add cream or icecream.

SHAKING BEEF

Cold and very wet. We’ve had more rain in five days than Perth usually gets in the month of June. So dinner needs to be hot with strong flavours to satisfy the taste buds. Cubed beef is marinated in garlic and sugar plus oyster, soy, sesame and fish sauce then cooked in a hot wok. Some vinaigrette, made from rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt and some thinly sliced red onion is poured over the meat when it is cooked and the rest, with squeezed lime, when it is served. Full of flavour and warmth, we really liked it! This was very good served on rice with beans topped with coriander.

I’ll be making this again!

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Sweet Chili Chicken Balls, Potato Salad and Garden Trends

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SWEET CHILI CHICKEN BALLS

It’s suddenly quite chilly by dinnertime in our part of Western Australia, so my thoughts turn to hot, tasty dinners. This time I made Sweet Chili Chicken Balls. Try them, they’re quick and easy and taste great.

INGREDIENTS

To make 16 balls, you need

500g chicken mince

2 finely chopped cloves of garlic

I tspn ground ginger

1/4 tspn of each salt and ground pepper

4 tbspn chopped spring ( green ) onion and some more to serve

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce.

METHOD

Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. The chicken mince I used must have been very moist as I eventually added half a cup of breadcrumbs to get a good, firm consistency. Roll to the size of golf balls and cook in 160°C F/F for 20 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of sweet chili sauce over the chicken balls and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

I served the chicken balls with roasted potato cooked in duck fat with rosemary and sea salt plus cauliflower and beans. Very nice dinner.

I microwaved the potato wedges for 6 minutes, added a little more melted duck fat, rosemary and sea salt then roasted them in the oven.

NOTE I used spring onion in this recipes as they are growing enthusiastically, but chives would be nice, too.

POTATO SALAD

This easy potato salad can be served warm or cold but I like to leave it to cool so the potatoes really absorb the flavours. Potato salads made with mayonnaise always seem more appropriate for warm weather meals. I’ll serve this tonight, slightly warmed, with German sausages and fried cabbage. It is a cold night dinner.

To make this Potato Salad boil about a 1.5 kg (3lbs) of any potato cut into biggish cubes. Add a generous teaspoon of salt to the cooking water once it is boiling. After about 10 minutes cooking, insert a knife to test if the potatoes are slightly soft, but not mushy! While they’re boiling gather a handful of herbs. I used basil, chives and a small leaf parsley, but just finely chop whatever you have on hand. Dice half a red onion ( I store the remaining half in the fridge in a glass jar)

Marinate the potatoes in 3 tablespoons of vinegar, stirring every now and then for about half an hour. The potatoes absorb most of the vinegar and this adds to the clean flavour of the dish. Then pour half a cup of extra virgin olive oil into a jar, add 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard and 2 tablespoons of vinegar, screw the lid on and shake until the dressing is amalgamated. Strain off any remaining vinegar. Pour the dressing over the potatoes, stir in the onion and herbs and let it sit for a while before serving.

Heat slightly in the microwave before adding the dressing if you prefer to serve the salad warm.

NOTE. I used 25 %food grade acetic acid, known as essig essenz, to marinate the potatoes, which is what would be used in Germany. It breaks down the cell walls and is absorbed effectively into the potatoes. Readily available overseas, harder to access in Australia. This recipe works with ordinary white vinegar too.

Delicious!

CHELSEA GARDEN WEEK NEWS

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The main message from the Chelsea Garden show this year seems to be WEEDS are good! Yes, I reeled in shock, too, especially as I had a massive weeding session planned for the weekend. We’ve been away for two weeks and returned to a tsunami of weeds. Apparently, bees love weeds, they are an important source of nectar. I think it will take me a while to digest this news!

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Another feature noticeable in many gardens is the inclusion of dead wood. Pieces of dead wood, normally tidied up and burnt, should be left to create insect habitats. Insects are key species in healthy ecosystems and need our support to thrive. They are threatened by the removal of trees around houses which are bulldozed to allow high rise apartments. This is particularly relevant in Perth where multiple old houses on big blocks are being bulldozed along with every feature of the landscape. These are replaced by huge blocks of apartments with no gardens.

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The plot-to-plate theme continues to gain popularity. Many of the gardens incorporated herbs and other edibles in their designs. These edible ornamentals even have a name; they are called edimentals. This trend is easy to achieve, too, and the benefits are enormous. Fresh herbs and vegetables are delicious. I also have a couple of quite compact blueberry bushes, too, along with lots of herbs. Nasturtiums as edimentals were big too. I have lot of orange and yellow nasturtiums but have never eaten them. Have you?

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Another trend is growing your own mushrooms. I have done this a few times in the past and not been overly impressed by the harvest. Also, I am the only one in the family who eats mushrooms but I think I’ll try it again this year. My favourite self grown mushrooms were oyster mushrooms. They look like baby aliens when they first germinated but they taste great.

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Do you have any special gardening plans?

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