Child of the Planet

Heat up the fitter in the microwave and it makes a nice lunch. I like to wilt the zucchini and onion before incorporating into the blue cheese batter. Have been experimenting with adding a dollop of sour cream. Smear of aioli last of the years tomatoes Splash of lemon juice instead of salt. Some purple basil.

It looks like we might start getting some frosty mornings so this week I wrapped up the lemon hedge. Their foliage is beginning to fill in between the individual plants, so this year I ran a continuous cover around the whole line. If you're wondering why all the effort, click here to read the background on the hedge... Click here to see the difference the summer made… Cleaned the plants up with a bit of pruning. Also lifted their skirts up a bit to improve air flow around their feet. Before and after  pruning      The tree out the back also got a winter blanket I found four lemons while cutting the bushes back so made a cheesecake. I've started using home made oat biscuits for the crust and the creamy bit has extra cheese.   

Last winter the dreaded ‘rust’ spread an orange patina through the robust green leaves of my first garlic crop. It was a pretty epic planting, filling out most of two, seven meter beds.    Though the bulbs were nice and plump, all of them eventually succumbed to the rust. I couldn’t use any of it for seed. This year I'm planning in a new crop out the back to get some environmental separation. This spot between the banksias will be a second saffron plot next year... … But this year I'm going to plant garlic This square on the other side of the path was going to be asparagus, but I’ll fill it with garlic, and continue to develop the permanent asparagus bed for next year. As soon as I plant something out the back, the neighbours chickens want to dig it up to have a look. I’ve laid down boards and covered the naked dirt with ash to discourage their excavations. The fungus hit most of New Zealand pretty hard. Some seed outlets have been forc...

Made with local bits… Woodys nitrate free bacon.  woodysfarm.co.nz Bread purchased from the factory door. kapitiartisanbread.co.nz Aunt ruby tomatoes (they’re supposed to be green), and lettuce from garden. Aioli made in an immersion blender with local backyard sourced apple cider vinegar. Apple from local orchard