What a dreadful week we have had with the storms, hail and flooding that has lashed the east coast of New South Wales. Hopefully it's finally behind us and the sun will stay out for a while allowing people to assess and fix the damage that has not only happened to their homes but also their gardens.
I was excited to arrive home a couple of days ago to a new delivery from The Diggers Club. www.diggers.com.au
The box contained a raspberry called Rubus ideaus or 'Neika Pink', and thornless blackberry 'Waldo' and a marrionberry. The marionberry is a blackberry hybrid developed at Oregon State University in 1945 by crossing a Chehalem blackberry (a berry with native blackberry, Loganberry, and raspberry in its background) with a Olallieberry (itself a blackberry cross) and named after Marion county in Oregon. They were first brought to market in 1956 and it's not a berry I had ever head of let alone seen. We have had a few handful of berries (the ones the birds didn't get to first) from the canes I planted last spring but I decided that I needed to add to the berry patch and 5-6 plants should provide a decent crop of blackberries and raspberries.
I also got a cute little blueberry plant called 'Brigitta', no doubt named after that girl from 'The Sound of Music'. We already had one blueberry plant but I decided that I want shrubs that not only look food but will provide us with a crop so hence, another blueberry!
Also in the delivery were two asparagus plants that go by the very attractive name of 'Fat Bastard'! I've always wanted my own asparagus patch as we love to eat them and they are nutritious as well as delicious. In addition to the 'Fat Bastards' are two purple asparagus plants which is an old French variety. As asparagus is a perennial crop they need to be planted in an area where they can be left to develop. Asparagus plants can be productive for up to 20 years!!
To make apace for the asparagus I decided to remove the cherry tomato plants that I had planted last spring under the dining room window. This was just a small space where I had improved the soil for planting in the side courtyard while I'm still waiting to start work on all the larger permanent veggie beds in the back garden. The tomatoes have done really well and we've had plenty for salads throughout the summer and I also made a couple of batches of tomato and chilli jam (thank you for the inspiration Judith and Robyn) which was delicious!!! Unfortunately there were still some red tomatoes but lots of green tomatoes on the plants. I decided to pick them and put them aside before I ripped out the plants.....I was sure there was something I might be able to do with them. A quick google and I came up with a recipe for Green Cherry Tomato Chutney.
So let the preparation begin. Turns out I had nearly 2.5kg of tomatoes!
Throw it all in the Le Crueset and over a low heat start to simmer. Actually you add only half the vinegar and simmer for about 60mins before adding the sugar and the rest for the vinegar and simmer again for about 90mins. Make sure you stir the mix regularly as it can catch the bottom of the pot (like mine did!!!). Luckily it didn't burn ....charcoal infused green tomato chutney was not what I was aiming for! A lot of moisture will come out of the tomatoes as you start to cook so this will need to be reduced with slow simmering. (some of the recipes I looked at were American and called for the tomatoes to be salted and left overnight then drained to cut the acidity and remove moisture but I like this recipe as it's much less fiddly).
So then I let it bubble away for a bit and I have to say the colour was not really great....hardly the lovely fresh green that the tomatoes had started out as.
But I guess that's the result of all those spices and herbs infusing together and of course all the ingredients were fresh or dried and there is nothing artificial in it so you get what you get!
After picking out the bay leaves and cloves it was ready for bottling. I'm pretty new to this preserving business and I need to do a lot more research and get the right equipment but a few empty jam jars would work for now. I washed the jars and lids in warm soapy water and rinsed in hot water, then boiled them in a soup pot for 10 minutes. I then put them in a pre-heated 160 degree C oven to dry out completely. Using metal tongs I placed the hot jars on the marble slab and used a spoon to fill up the jars completely, ensuring that there were no air bubbles. I filled the jars right to the top then screwed on the lids and turned the jars upside down to cool. Ces't fini
The chilli gave it a bit of a kick. I was using some dried chilli I bought in Thailand and I used just under the amount stated in the recipe and I'm glad I did. It's hot but just enough. This chutney could be served with a crumbly cheddar cheese and crusty bread or with cold meats for a sandwich or a ploughman's lunch! I think I'd leave it a month before opening for the flavours to develop and then make sure you pop it in the fridge after it's opened.
So this is a bit of groundedGARDENS meets gardenKITCHEN. Since moving to the Highlands and having the opportunity to start a kitchen garden this has been my goal; to bring my two passions of growing things and cooking together. It will be a long process though. I've got plum and cherry trees waiting to go in the ground. The Genoa Black Fig which is an heirloom variety purchased through The Diggers Club is now about 15cm high; it was decimated a day after I planted it by a hail storm but has really started to shoot up and in a few years there will be figs stuffed with goats cheese, wrapped in proscuitto and grilled...drizzled with a balsamic glaze. The pomegranate has been planted in the front flower garden because it's beautiful foliage turns bright yellow in autumn before falling so it's as much as pleasure to look at as it will be to harvest the fruit. The rhubarb is going great guns...only planted 3 weeks ago and it's already doubled in size!!!
What could be better than jars of preserved peaches and quinces, bowls of figs and pomegranates, plums and cherries......but that's a few years away yet. For now I can content myself with a chutney simmering on the stove. And I've gone a bit overboard planting roses in the front garden so there should be plenty of flowers to cut for the house.
If you have a passion for growing whether it be flowers, fruit or vegetables there is always a small place you can use to get yourself started. No matter if it's a small patch in the courtyard or a few pots on the balcony you'll be able to get a crop of cherry tomatoes and some basil growing (imagine those 'insalata caprese' on a warm summer night), fresh mint for 'mojitos' or even a sprig of rosemary for the roast lamb. You might not have the space to grow everything you would like but you will have the satisfaction of eating something you've grown yourself.
I was excited to arrive home a couple of days ago to a new delivery from The Diggers Club. www.diggers.com.au
The box contained a raspberry called Rubus ideaus or 'Neika Pink', and thornless blackberry 'Waldo' and a marrionberry. The marionberry is a blackberry hybrid developed at Oregon State University in 1945 by crossing a Chehalem blackberry (a berry with native blackberry, Loganberry, and raspberry in its background) with a Olallieberry (itself a blackberry cross) and named after Marion county in Oregon. They were first brought to market in 1956 and it's not a berry I had ever head of let alone seen. We have had a few handful of berries (the ones the birds didn't get to first) from the canes I planted last spring but I decided that I needed to add to the berry patch and 5-6 plants should provide a decent crop of blackberries and raspberries.
I also got a cute little blueberry plant called 'Brigitta', no doubt named after that girl from 'The Sound of Music'. We already had one blueberry plant but I decided that I want shrubs that not only look food but will provide us with a crop so hence, another blueberry!
Also in the delivery were two asparagus plants that go by the very attractive name of 'Fat Bastard'! I've always wanted my own asparagus patch as we love to eat them and they are nutritious as well as delicious. In addition to the 'Fat Bastards' are two purple asparagus plants which is an old French variety. As asparagus is a perennial crop they need to be planted in an area where they can be left to develop. Asparagus plants can be productive for up to 20 years!!
To make apace for the asparagus I decided to remove the cherry tomato plants that I had planted last spring under the dining room window. This was just a small space where I had improved the soil for planting in the side courtyard while I'm still waiting to start work on all the larger permanent veggie beds in the back garden. The tomatoes have done really well and we've had plenty for salads throughout the summer and I also made a couple of batches of tomato and chilli jam (thank you for the inspiration Judith and Robyn) which was delicious!!! Unfortunately there were still some red tomatoes but lots of green tomatoes on the plants. I decided to pick them and put them aside before I ripped out the plants.....I was sure there was something I might be able to do with them. A quick google and I came up with a recipe for Green Cherry Tomato Chutney.
So let the preparation begin. Turns out I had nearly 2.5kg of tomatoes!
The recipe was pretty easy but called for a few basic spices which I happed to have in the pantry. It also incorporated a few 'Granny Smith' apples chopped and lots of chopped onions. www.goodfood.com.au/good-food/cook/recipe/green-tomato-chutney-20111018-29w9q.html This is the link if you think you'd like to give it a try. It's a recipe by Jeremy and Jane Strode.
The ingredients called for yellow mustard seeds, fennel seeds and coriander seeds as well as cloves, bay leaves, chilli flakes and a cinnamon stick (I had some cinnamon sticks in a jar but I had a feeling that I'd plucked them from a potpourri at some time in the past but they still smelled nice and fragrant so I popped one in anyway! There was also garlic and fresh grated ginger which added a lovely fresh smell to the pot.
Of course with most chutneys and relishes there is always a bit of vinegar, in this case I used organic apple cider vinegar and a fair whack of brown sugar. Sugar is needed as a preserving agent if you plan to store your chutney for any length of time out of refrigeration.
So then I let it bubble away for a bit and I have to say the colour was not really great....hardly the lovely fresh green that the tomatoes had started out as.
But I guess that's the result of all those spices and herbs infusing together and of course all the ingredients were fresh or dried and there is nothing artificial in it so you get what you get!
After picking out the bay leaves and cloves it was ready for bottling. I'm pretty new to this preserving business and I need to do a lot more research and get the right equipment but a few empty jam jars would work for now. I washed the jars and lids in warm soapy water and rinsed in hot water, then boiled them in a soup pot for 10 minutes. I then put them in a pre-heated 160 degree C oven to dry out completely. Using metal tongs I placed the hot jars on the marble slab and used a spoon to fill up the jars completely, ensuring that there were no air bubbles. I filled the jars right to the top then screwed on the lids and turned the jars upside down to cool. Ces't fini
The chilli gave it a bit of a kick. I was using some dried chilli I bought in Thailand and I used just under the amount stated in the recipe and I'm glad I did. It's hot but just enough. This chutney could be served with a crumbly cheddar cheese and crusty bread or with cold meats for a sandwich or a ploughman's lunch! I think I'd leave it a month before opening for the flavours to develop and then make sure you pop it in the fridge after it's opened.
So this is a bit of groundedGARDENS meets gardenKITCHEN. Since moving to the Highlands and having the opportunity to start a kitchen garden this has been my goal; to bring my two passions of growing things and cooking together. It will be a long process though. I've got plum and cherry trees waiting to go in the ground. The Genoa Black Fig which is an heirloom variety purchased through The Diggers Club is now about 15cm high; it was decimated a day after I planted it by a hail storm but has really started to shoot up and in a few years there will be figs stuffed with goats cheese, wrapped in proscuitto and grilled...drizzled with a balsamic glaze. The pomegranate has been planted in the front flower garden because it's beautiful foliage turns bright yellow in autumn before falling so it's as much as pleasure to look at as it will be to harvest the fruit. The rhubarb is going great guns...only planted 3 weeks ago and it's already doubled in size!!!
What could be better than jars of preserved peaches and quinces, bowls of figs and pomegranates, plums and cherries......but that's a few years away yet. For now I can content myself with a chutney simmering on the stove. And I've gone a bit overboard planting roses in the front garden so there should be plenty of flowers to cut for the house.
If you have a passion for growing whether it be flowers, fruit or vegetables there is always a small place you can use to get yourself started. No matter if it's a small patch in the courtyard or a few pots on the balcony you'll be able to get a crop of cherry tomatoes and some basil growing (imagine those 'insalata caprese' on a warm summer night), fresh mint for 'mojitos' or even a sprig of rosemary for the roast lamb. You might not have the space to grow everything you would like but you will have the satisfaction of eating something you've grown yourself.
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