Photo of the week - Gramma pie

We picked up a gorgeous gramma at the local farmers market, and accepted the challenge to cook my first gramma pie. I used This recipe from The Little Black Cow Blog and found the spice balance and citrus flavour to be divine. I must admit, I didn't have any oranges so I used mandarin rind instead, and also sprinkled raw sugar on the lattice top. I think it made it even better.

 

 

The pie was so warming and scrumptious, especially with a sneaky blob of cream. But a big part of the magic was watching how a 'pumpkin' became such a decadent meal. Breaking it open, the smell was so sweet it was almost like a melon. Before I even cut it , it was like a work of art - the veins and patterns on the skin had me so in awe that I was reluctant to cut it off and feed it to the worms. I'm sure they appreciated it.

 

 

For some reason the pattern put me in mind of this lovely blue swimmer crab my Dad recently caught. It must be the light/dark interactions and the wonderful detail. Entirely different meal though, I would think...

 

And yes, I just may have to find room to grow some next season... the grammas that is, I'll leave the crabs to the experts.

February is for... feeling hot, hot, hot!

This summer has been so hot and dry I've had trouble keeping the tomatoes alive, and the pumpkins and eggplants have struggled along. The faithful zucchinis and squashes have kept us eating veg most of the week (especially the VERY prolific Tromboncino) and cucumbers failed to even get far off the ground. What a year. The upside to the hot, dry conditions is the avalanche of chillies filling the kitchen.

We've been eating some of them fresh, and leaving some in a basket in the hot sunroom to dry out. Matt even made a giant batch of curry paste to freeze for our favourite red curry. I think that's been the most successful dish of the summer: 'garden curry' with eggplant, zucchini and pumpkin, chillies, basil and galangal, all from the garden. Delicious! It's based on the red curry recipe from 'Cooking with Poo' (yes, that's the real title I promise, you can check it out here http://www.handicrafts.org.au/contents/en-us/d63.html). There are some great recipes in it, but this is my favourite.

We're growing 3 different chillies this year, the mildest being the jalapenos, next the long red chillies, and finally my all time favourite the Purple Dragon. It has gorgeous purple, white and green variegated leaves, with purple flowers that turn into purple fruits, and turn red as they ripen. They look beautiful all year round, and this one is 2 years old now. It is super-hot though, and I usually only use 1 or 2 of the tiny little gems in a meal. I have had to apologise to my dear sister for not warning her well enough, resulting in a ruined thai beef salad... but I'm sure she will forgive me!

 

Today though, I'm wearing my warm pyjamas and a jumper. It has finally been raining, and it's such a divine sound on the roof. Hopefully it's just in time to get some corn and the last of the tomatoes before it cools down, and then I'll have to get cracking planting some winter veg seeds.

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...