Open your Mind ...

There is something intrinsically honest about growing your own food.  Be it a simple pots of parsley and chives, a tomato in a bucket or a full blown vegetable garden the joy of the harvest is undeniable.

For those with hunter’s eyes, we spot food in all sorts of locations in the world beyond our front gates.  Nature strips, parks and highways are all teeming with possibilities.  Many of the salad leaf mixes on the market contain a high percentage of leaves from common weeds!  Yet people happily pay $13 +  per kilogram (loose) or almost $30 per kilogram prepackaged for these tasty little treats.

A keen eye will spot many varieties of fruit tress growing along our highways and freeways.  Apples, cherries, apricots, plums and citrus to name but a few.  What a wonderful bounty!  Our public parks and cemeteries are often planted with fruiting trees.  Aside from classic stone and pome fruits, we may also harvest pine nuts (yum!), dates, salad greens and innumerable berry fruits and herbs.

In Australia, there are so many native bushfoods literally at our doorsteps. Lemon myrtle, acacia seed, bush tomatoes, kangaroo apples, lilly pilly, yams, berries, seeds and greens.  But I shall talk more about these later.

I am a firm believer in the value of eating food in season.  Not only do we gain the benefit of eating foods at their peak, we also consume the vitamins and minerals our bodies need to get us through the season.

Those of us in cooler zones have an advantage over our tropical cousins in that we can readily simulate the kind of growing climate that more “tropical” plants prefer.  We may not be able to mass produce bananas, coffee or pineapples down south, but we can extend our growing season and delay buying fruits and vegetables grown thousands of kilometres away!

I invite you to open your mind to opportunity and walk with me a while on my continuing journey towards a more authentic and self sufficient life.

AJ

Welcome to Zucchini Martini!

The most simple of dishes can whet the appetite when given a appealing or intriguing name.  It's zucchini season and so many of us are scratching for new and interesting ways to serve up this prolific vegetable meal after meal.  There's only so much pureed zucchini soup one can stomach beofre you want to scream!

I adore Autumn.  Crisp, clear mornings.  Sun filled afternoons.  Dusk falling as nature intends :) 
We pick the last of our summer fruits and begin to harvest the late season crops.  Lovely golden apples, nectarines, pears, apricots quinces.  The flavour in tomatoes intensified by the cooler temperatures.  Brave lettuce and spinach seedlings go about their business with an enviable determination.

Autumn food is the best of all.  We can still enjoy a crunchy salad but a heartwarming "comfort" returns to our meals.  On even the most meagre budget, we can eat like kings.  The meals I present will be made from produce harvested from my own garden, bartered or swapped with friends, collected from the wild or purchased very cheaply. 

Welcome to Zucchini Martini!

Autmn warmer

Zucchini Martini #1

Miso broth

Shredded zucchini

Shredded carrot

Rice or bean vermicelli

Seasonings to taste (chives, garlic slithers, slithers of bruised ginger, chilli paste, lemon zest, roasted kombu, finely diced tofu)

1. Prepare vermicelli according to packet directions.

2. Use 350mls of water and one miso sachet (paste or dried) per serve.

3. A handful each of grated zucchini and carrot per serve. Simmer until vegies reach

    desired “doneness”  Seasonings can be added now or when served.

4. Divide the vermicelli into warmed serving bowls.  Ladle broth over the noodles. Diners can then adjust the seasonings according to their taste.

Shaved zucchini and carrot strips make an interesting variation.