February is for... reaping what you sow

 

 

How do you make sausages and mash into a delicious and nourishing dinner? Make it with loads of love, and quickly dash out into the rain for some silverbeet, snake beans, purple king beans and spring onions. Add them to your potatoes after mashing and cook for another minute or so. I promise you it will be amazing.

I have never been one to shy away from eating greens; my mum may tell you it took me years to warm to zucchini, but it's now a regular in my kitchen. And frozen peas will probably never float my boat, but the tender little ones you grow yourself are another experience altogether! I tend to find that there are many veg that can be added to almost any meal, and growing them myself means that ingredients I wouldn't have bothered to buy are there to add extra flavour and vitamins to most of the things I cook.



Mixed heirloom tomatoes, fresh from the garden

Sometimes they are even the star of the show! I love a good spinach pie and last week made one from silverbeet, leeks, basil and thyme. And the heirloom tomatoes from this summer have made many a colourful salad or cheese and tomato toastie. I had high hopes for tomatoes this year after building them trellises to climb from the old fence pieces we pulled down. And there were plenty to go around, until the heat hit us! I have cut back a few of the bushes and crossed my fingers, but have also sown some more seed a fortnight ago to see if I can extend the season a little. 'Amish paste' was the only variety that didn't skip a beat and is still loaded with fruit. I am banking on it to crop well so that I can try out my Pop's recipe for tomato sauce, I remember it being so tasty when I was young and am hoping I can do it justice.

In any case the cucumber, chilli, silverbeet and eggplant are powering on, and there is more basil than I can poke a stick at. Growing them against the fence has kept them nice and warm, and helped to find a use for the old fence panels.





As well as these beds we have planted out an old bath and a gutted out fridge and filled these with beans, spring onions, chives, chilli and sorrel, with some carrot and radish seeds coming up in one and the perennials asparagus and galangal in the other.



















One regret from this summer is that I haven't managed to grow any pumpkins, but I don't think it's quite too late and will keep my eye out at the nursery for a seedling or 2 to give it a whirl before it gets too cold. I do love a good pumpkin fritatta. Or pumpkin and pesto pasta. There are still armfuls of basil, after all...