may in my garden

i don't think i'd fully appreciated how much work i actually do in my garden until i came back from a recent two week trip..nettles, flanders poppies and borage plants had literally taken over my front garden as well as the degraded and in need of resurfacing gravel paths..most of the seeds i'd planted a week or two prior to leaving hadn't come up..kikuyu was sprouting long tentacles from next door's lawn and from my own lawn into my various garden beds..and my broccoli seedlings had a sporty polka dot look from being eaten by cabbage moth larvae..but my neighbour's father had mown my lawns..they'd well and truly needed mowing before i went away but i'd not had time..thanks ray..you're a legend!

the hard yakka

planted

~ broad beans, radish, onion, oak leaf lettuce, carrot and sweet pea seeds directly in soil (only the broad beans and radish survived my trip away)

~ ruby chard, dill and mustard greens in a seed raising box (the chard survived)

~ broccoli and pansy seedlings

~ relocated self sown cornflower seedlings

pruned

~ lemon verbena

removed

~ eggplant bushes even though they were still producing flowers

~ parsley and rainbow chard

~ lots of the ever over abundant nettles, flanders poppy and borage 

~ invasive kikuyu from my next door neighbour and from around vegetable garden beds that threaten to take over my hard won vegetable garden beds

~ carnations from the window box 

dug

~ vegetable garden bed where parsley and rainbow chard were removed and a section of the same garden bed that i have been trying to rehabilitate with compost and manure (it was covered in concrete up until a few years ago)

composted/manured

~ continue to compost all kitchen scraps and to cut up and compost all garden waste apart from invasive bulbs such as oxalis
~ composted and manured window box for resowing

extended new vegetable garden bed

~ i covered the remaining area in another op shop purchased woollen blanket ($4) and started adding kitchen waste and cut up garden material

the rewards

picked/picking

~ green beans (blue lake)..the plants are still producing a handful of beans every few days, radishes, egg plant, spring onions, chilli and rainbow chard

~ parsley, basil, celery, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, mint, sage, chives, lemon balm, comfrey, pineapple sage, lavender, nettles, borage flowers, lilac flowers, marigold petals, violets, roses, hollyhock flowers, nasturtium leaves and flowers

~ rhubarb, the last of the pomegranate, cumquat and alpine strawberries

more hard yakka

need to

~ pick chillies for drying

~ plant peas, spinach, coriander, beetroot, mustard greens and potatoes (check seasonal suitability first)

~ plant a manure crop on bed where parsley and rainbow chard were removed and in the area being rehabilitated

~ replant onion, lettuce, carrot and sweet pea seeds 

_ replant carnations in window boxes

~ finish tidying garden edges

~ stay on top of weeding

~ remove bean plants when production ceases

~ pick crabapples

~ transplant lemon verbena and black currant bush
~ mow lawn (i use a hand mower)

rainbow chard, rice and lemon soup*

tea with hazel

ingredients**

1-2 bunches of young rainbow chard well washed

6 spring onions cut fine

3 celery stalks cut fine

6 cloves garlic cut fine

1/2 cup chopped parsley 

1/2 cup chopped celery leaves

1/4 cup torn mint leaves

1 cup arborio rice

2 litres stock (i used homemade)

juice of 1/2 lemon per serve

olive oil

salt and pepper

method

~ remove stalks from chard and cut into approximately 2 cms pieces and cut leaves to desired size

~ in a large saucepan heat a few tablespoons of olive oil, add chard stalks, celery stalks, and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes

~ add rice and cook for a few more minutes

~ add stock and bring to the boil and cook until the rice is al dente

~ add chard and celery leaves and mint and parsley and cook until the leaves are softened

~ add salt and pepper to taste

serving

~ drizzle each bowl with lemon juice and a little oil

rainbow chard coloured broth

notes

* this soup was inspired by a greek dish called spanakorizo (spinach rice)..i love the flavour of dill but i didn't have any growing so i added mint instead
** all the greens were from my garden

see you next month for 'june in my garden'

alpine strawberry salad dressing

a few alpine strawberries, oak leaf lettuce, dandelion, nasturtium, baby beetroot and baby rainbow
chard leaves, nasturtium flowers and buds, pansies, marigold petals and carnation petals

sprinkle a large pinch of sugar over a small handful of alpine strawberries 

and crush roughly with a fork

add the juice of half of a lemon

a glug of macadamia oil

and some salt flakes 

and pepper

then drizzle over salad

talking turkey

have you seen the size of turkey legs in the supermarket? they're so huge that i usually only use them to make stock and soup..but this week i found some that were smaller and i bought them with a view to mincing the meat to make turkey burgers..i avoid buying prepackaged ready minced turkey and sliced breast because i've only ever found these products with added flavour enhancers and preservatives..

preparing turkey legs for mincing is not for the faint hearted because it took me ages to remove all the tendons, sinews and pointy bones..but it was worth it because the minced meat was so pure looking (bit like the mincee!)

turkey burgers

tea with hazel

ingredients

750 gms minced turkey

1/2 medium onion minced

2-3 slices minced bacon (depending on size of bacon rasher)

1/4-1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped sage

1/2 -1 teaspoon (tsp) chilli flakes

2 spring onions cut fine

2 eggs beaten

1/4 cup bread crumbs

2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 tsp or more finely grated orange rind

2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt (or according to preference)

thin bacon rashers extra

cranberry and onion jam

small sage leaves

olive oil for frying

method

~mix all ingredients except for the last four

~shape into burgers according to preferred size and shape

~cook in oil until browned on each side

~place burgers on a lined baking tray and drape each one with a half slice of bacon

~top the bacon with 1/2 tsp of cranberry and onion jam and a sage leaf

~grill for 5 minutes or until bacon is slightly crisped and the jam is bubbling

serving

i served my burgers with extra cranberry and onion jam,  a cauliflower puree with added lemon juice and grated cheddar and a green salad with edible flowers..i also had a couple in a roll the next day for lunch with the jam and salad..

the flowers in the salad are home grown
bellis perennis petals,  carnation petals, marigold petals and whole violets

have a safe and happy weekend..x

this week..

i picked my crabapples which was a bit late in the
season and many had rotted on the tree and
so i only had enough for one jar of jelly

i bought these tulips for $5 from a roadside stall
in the dandenongs on the way home from a very
muddy bushwalk 

i picked these violets which are growing profusely
along my drive..they smell divine 

i picked lavender

i decided to pick all of my chillies and i will now dry them

i made a new soap with oats and lemon myrtle

i bought  a t2 teacup at the op shop for $1

i hope your week was a happy and productive one too..x