Garden: Summer

I love my vegie garden in summer!! It is going nuts this year and I can't keep up. After a few years of poor production, I've finally found my groove and it's paying off. I do love a bit of peace & quiet in my garden watering. That doesn't happen due to my very insistent helper but one can always dream...

 

I've got zucchinis, cucumbers and basil coming out my ears. Mr N has taken to eating whole cucumbers straight off the bush. He's not so keen on zucchinis but the CWA comes to the party with a great zucchini slice recipe. 

The beans have been a great success this year. They are my fave vegetable and Mr N is also very keen on them. You have to be quick and pick them before he finds them. The beans are slowly being overtaken by the pumpkin vines.

It does look pretty cool though and it is starting to sprout little pumpkins everywhere. The eggplants and capsicums are coming along nicely and will be a good change from zucchinis and cucumbers!

So there's my little vegie garden patch. Not bad for a carrot farmer's daughter who ended up in the middle Brunswick. But not a carrot in sight...

L x

Make: Basil Pesto

 

My garden is going nuts this summer! I have more zucchinis, cucumbers and basil than I know what to do with. Recently, I gave the hedge of basil a severe cutting back and made basil pesto.

I make my pesto using the following recipe. You can change the quantities depending on how much basil you have, or how much basil pesto you want!

Recipe
Blend 6 cups of basil leaves with 200g pinenuts, 6 garlic cloves, salt to taste and enough good quality olive oil to form a nice consistency in a large food processor bowl. Once blended, stir in 350g finely grated parmesan cheese. Store in fridge with a film of olive oil covering pesto at all times. Makes about 3 cups of pesto.

It lasts in the fridge for about a month as long as the olive oil is covering the pesto. It is very tasty and makes a great weeknight meal with pasta. My boys love penne tossed with this pesto and served with grated parmesan on top. 

What else can I do with excessive amounts of basil??

L x

Harvest: Lemons

My lemon tree is seriously rocking this season! This is the second batch and I'm about to harvest the third. I love all things lemon (except diet coke with lemon = morning fresh...) and am a huge fan of lemon curd.

The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander has the goods. It is the best lemon curd recipe I've found. The key is to strain the lightly beaten eggs as you add them to the hot ingredients. I also use slightly less sugar than suggested as I really like tart lemon curd.

I'm off to make another batch as this jar is already half empty. I'm about to crank the oven and bake some Macaroni Cheese and Lemon Delicious Pudding for dinner tonight!

Have a good weekend!



L x

Weekend Crop

This weekend we harvested eggplants, pumpkins and lots of basil.


I love cooking the eggplant up with tin tomatoes, basil, garlic, red onions and balsamic. Then serving with penne pasta, mozzarella, a touch of cream and parmesan stirred through. Yum!

L x

Weekend Crop

Summer Weekend Crop

I planted my cucumber & tomatoes way back in the early spring (September) and they are only now coming to the party!