Basil Pesto

At this time of year, the basil in the garden really starts to get going so it is a good time to stock up on pesto for the year. I make a pesto base of basil, olive oil and walnuts which I mush up in the food processor. I then store this in the freezer until I need it and then finish it off with grated parmesan and some minced garlic. I add these 2 ingredients later as I read somewhere that they spoil the flavour of the final product when frozen.

It probably took me less than 10 minutes to make 3 small pots of pesto base for the freezer. And pruning the basil to pick these leaves will just make it sprout more.

Plums, plums and yes ...more plums.

The Japanese blood plums (Satsuma I think) have had an amazing crop this year. This photo was taken  after I had picked at least a couple of buckets. The blackbirds have developed a bit of a taste for them despite the CDs hanging in the branches to frighten them off. Last weekend I made a very attractive scarecrow to put near the tree and each day I have been putting a transistor radio tuned to a very annoying station under the tree as well to try to deter them.

A very scary scarecrow

 At least I have been able to give the plums an extra week to ripen. But when I heard some parrots in the garden on Saturday, I decided to pick the bulk of the crop. So it has been plums, plums and more plums this weekend.   I have bottled, made jam, made plum sauce, and for the first time, a Blood Plum cordial.

This is a photo of the resulting cordial mixed with some soda water.
 Very refreshing on a warm evening. It is made from plums stewed with a little orange juice and lemon juice and then strained through muslin. The liquid is then mixed with an equal amount of sugar and simmered for a few minutes. The pulp came in useful to make some plum leather.

Plum leather

The zucchinis are starting to go crazy as well so I have started making my favourite zucchini pickle recipe. As well as onion and zucchini salted overnight, you also salt some lemon rind and add them to the mix......gives the pickle a lovely lemony edge.

No not more plums but my zucchini pickle

Raspberry vinegar and the garlic harvest.

Time for an update on activity in the Flowerdale patch now.  The raspberries have been fruiting for several weeks and we are still getting a few now although the peak has past. Last weekend, I decided to make some raspberry vinegar to mix into a salad dressing. This is a fairly simple operation. Mix equal quantities of raspberries and vinegar in a bowl and let them sit for a week. Strain. Then add sugar and bring to a simmer for a couple of minutes.  That’s it.  The amount of sugar depends on how sweet you like the vinegar. My recipe says to for a cup of vinegar add a cup of sugar but in the past I found this was way too sweet for my taste. I only use a third of that and it is just nice.

Raspberry Vinegar

My garlic planted last March April was also ready for harvest around Christmas time. I thought I would have a go at plaiting it, European style. It is not the best, but at least it looks better than the lot I did last year so my technique must be improving. It is now hanging in the storeroom ready  for use. I really love it roasted whole with a whole lot of other veges in winter.

My (poor) attempt at garlic plaiting!

Food Adventures in Nepal Part 3

terraced paddies

 The slow pace of trekking is a great way to observe the self sufficient lifestyle of the villagers in Nepal. We were there for late autumn harvests so got to see quite a bit of activity.

rice ready for harvest

Harvesting on the lower lands of the Annapurna panorama circuit

The main crops in evidence were rice in various stages of growth and harvest, mustard in flower or being winnowed, corn drying under the eaves of buildings, curry leaves drying on the roof of our guest house in Ghandruk.

Curry leaves drying on the roof in Ghandruk

Yellow flowers of mustard in fields near Nagarcot

Grain harvest at Hille

Winnowing mustard seed in Ghandruk

working with the harvest on a rooftop in Thimi

Corn cobs drying in Mulkarka

But now it is back to the Preserving Patch summer activities. Stay tuned, the harvest has begun in Flowerdale too.

Dal bhaat and momos. Food Adventures in Nepal Part 2

Dal bhaat is a staple of Nepali food. When we were living at the school we had it every day for lunch and dinner. Being used to an extremely varied diet at home, I thought I would get sick of it very quickly but surprisingly I really enjoyed it. I learnt to appreciate the subtle variations of vegetables used in the curry, whether or not it came with pappadums or pickle and whether it was followed by curds and fruit. One feature of ordering dal bhaat is that you are offered top ups of rice, dal or vegetables so it is a great way of making sure you refuel sufficiently when trekking. At this time of the year the curry is mostly made with cauliflower and potatoes.  The whole lot is served on a steel platter divided into compartments for each of the components.

Momos originate in Tibet but as there are a lot of Tibetans living in Nepal, they have become widespread on restaurant menus but you also see them steaming away in big pots in little roadside shops where locals buy them for a snack. They are basically a steamed dumpling similar to ravioli, filled with vegetables or meat. 

Food Adventures in Nepal Part 1

I haven't written a new post for my blog for almost 2 months now. Christmas is always a busy time but my big excuse is that I have been in Nepal for the past month. What a beautiful country. My daughter Jennie and I went together, first trekking on 2 four days treks in Annapurna and then the Helambu regions. We then spent almost 10 days volunteering in a school just outside Kathmandu and feeling very much part of the school community. It was a great way to experience the real Nepal rather than just the tourist version....more on that in another post though. 

As I expected, the treks were hard work, either uphill or downhill for long stints but all my pre-trip exercising paid off in that I had no problems with my knees. I just got blisters from sweaty socks on particularly long days of walking and especially trying to keep up to Jennie's speedy pace. I really enjoyed the quiet of the treks, getting a glimpse of the self sufficient life that the villagers live and of course the fantastic views. You really learnt to appreciate good energy giving carbohydrate rich foods and plenty of fluids on route. Chai masala was our favourite tea and we would order a big pot to rehydrate when we arrived at our tea or guest house. Another little tip that Jennie learnt from her previous visit to Nepal was to take a mini bottle of Khukuri rum with us to add a dash in the tea. Very warming on cold winters night! The pots came in various sizes but this one was the best. 

A little guest house (not often patronised if the kid staring at us eating breakfast was an indication of how many Westerners actually stayed there) at Chipling in the Helambu region served us up this thermos which by my reckoning held about 2 litres of tea.

 My favourite food on the treks was Gurung or Tibetan bread .

 Apologies that this is not my photo but I was usually so hungry or exhausted and this always tasted so good that I didn't think about taking photos, only eating it! It is a fried bread that had a doughnut like texture and maybe there might have even been a hint of cinnamon in there as well. Main meal menus were pretty much the same wherever we trekked – a choice of dhal bhat (the dish of rice, curry and dhal that many Nepalis eat for lunch and dinner) or various versions of more exotic foods such as pizza, macaroni, chop suey or chow mein.

And how about this for a restaurant with a view.

Midwifery and more planting in the Patch

While I was working in the vege patch this morning, I noticed one of the cows in the next paddock seemed to be having a bit of trouble giving birth. I climbed over the fence and after a bit of a tug on the legs of the calf that was half out, I helped this little calf into the world. Then I discovered he was a twin. I guess the mum was getting a bit too weary to push anymore so was probably grateful for a helping hand.

The little calf I helped deliver and his mummy

Then I got back to planting all my tomatoes, pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, melons, squash, and basil. If any more chilly nights or mornings are predicted by the weatherman, I will just have to make sure I cover them all up before bedtime.  The last week or so has been pretty warm though so I am hoping we have had the last of the frosts for the year.  And as it is 2 days off  November, I feel I can chance it.

In the patch this morning

First of the tomatoes go in