Winter veggies on the table

Dear Family & Friends

Although not vegetarians, our family are geared to eating more vegetables in our daily diet. As you know, I grow all our veggies in our garden, but comes winter, many plants either go into hibernation or they slow down a lot in their growth. 

This is a simple garlic prawn dish...but overkilled with lots of parsley:)

Yet, I can tell you that we still eat fresh greens from the garden such as parsley and coriander, (other herbs are now looking a bit sad and sorry). There's lots of brassica plants like: kale, sprouts, cabbage, broccoli...the leaves of these plants taste sweeter as they increase their sugar production within their system to withstand winter cold.  (Yes, you can eat the leaves/stems of brocoli & cauliflower...not just the flower part of the plant.)

Chopped up brassica plants leaves..quickly stir fried with garlic = YUM

I planted a lot of these winter hardy veggies but it seems it's never enough as my girls just love their fresh greens. I must remember to use the other frozen veggies in the freezer at this time too:) 

leafy greens sprouts sown from seeds

So, my mission to keep sowing - is a must. Ice cream tub comes very handy for sowing leafy greens. I use the lid to cover it at night to protect it from extreme cold. Once bigger, they will be transplanted out in the garden. Leafy greens like pak choi, mustard, argula, lettuces... prefer cooler climate...but on extreme winter cold, it needs some form of protection cover to survive.

Started to redesign the garden lawn early in the winter...more to be done in Spring. 

At the beginning of winter, we transplanted around fifteen lavender plants which I propagated early last year, and lined it up on the grass lawn to form as hedge for a new garden pathway. I'm not a fan of grass lawn. By spring, I'm hoping to turn the rest of the lawn into a mini fruit orchard. We'll see:)

For now, I exercise patience as I wait for the season when I can escape to the garden...It's getting colder as expected...but virtue is a goal to aim for the moment:) Hope you do the same in everything that comes your way. Happy a happy day for the rest of the week:)

Yours

Purslane Pancake Makes A Comeback

Dear Family & Friends

A couple of days ago, we had very heavy rain accompanied with full blasting wind... a typhoon sort of thing! Very unusual and it was frightening! At least it only lasted less than an hour, but a lot of my corn and other tall plants got pushed a bit...so I have to fix them upright!

Just mix:flour, egg, water, a bit of salt like you would do for pancake batter, then, add the purslane!

With all the rain, the purslane love the moisture and are doing very well and are growing everywhere! We have been picking them and have been eating them as salad with homemade dressing or as purslane fritters or pancake!

Purslane fritters cooking in the pan, one has yet to be flipped over:)

We eat food in season...whatever comes our way during the course of the year, all from our garden. It's so fresh and delicious that I don't need to add any seasoning for they have their own special taste.

Although there's a lot of work involved to produce natural garden food...but it is all worth it! There's really no comparision..so if you could grow food, by all means go for it...it's fun and very beneficial.

I have to get back to my garden..still a lot of work to finish out there...Hope you have a beautiful day too:)

Yours,

Foraging Mulberry

Dear Family & Friends

It's Mulberry time once again. Our village is actually named Chernichevo (meaning Mulberry). True to it's name, we have plenty of mulberry trees along road sides.

Fruiting Mulberry tree

We used to have a big mulberry tree in our own garden, but we had to chop it down because it was diseased and it was such a big tree that shaded up a big portion of our garden too.

Foraging for mulberry while on cycling route

Now, we just have to harvest some mulberry from outside our garden. The two girls normally gather some during their afternoon bike ride.

Sometimes I get some 'take-home-mulberries' from them...Oh, they are really nice (my girls and mulberries ;P)...I have frozen some fruits for later use or consumption. They freezes well too:)

Mulberry fruits can be messy...see how they stain the road?

One afternoon, my little girl came home and announced: "Tragic news Mummy! A man is chopping down all the fruits and leaves of our favourite Mulberry tree!" Tragic indeed. But they found another tree down the road for a few more mulberries to enjoy:)

Back in our garden, the raspberry that we were so desperate to grow have finally taken on this year...but as it's the first year, there's not many fruits available just yet...perhaps next year would be the year to enjoy it. For the moment, we just got a couple of berries...and this is the first one!. No, can't share this...just one person was lucky that day and it was me:)

Hope you have a lucky day too!

Yours

Promises From The Kitchen Garden

Dear Family & Friends

Gardening season is on full swing once again. Everything looks so promising at this time of the year. Lots of new growth, fruit tree blossoms, bird noises, bees and butterflies in the garden! Our garden ambition seems to soar higher and higher each year too. I'm going to fill up the garden and it will be a food forest that could feed an army battalion...then, my next problem is to go find the army!

This is our kitchen garden. It is the place closest to our kitchen and I have a daily routine of staring at it - my odd way of mentally pre-planning our menu of the day before I start the day's harvest. For the moment, there's a lot of fresh salad leaves to go for.

A kitchen garden is never filled the same way...

We still dig into our freezer stash of last year's harvest collection. You wouldn't believe how much we've actually eaten over the past winter months!! There was a point when I had to literally put all my weight down to close that big freezer...but now it's just less than half full!!

Fresh edible mushroom in our lawn....?!

As for the garden lawn, with the abundance of spring rain..I've noticed some food growing there too!! Mushrooms?? I'm not sure whether it's edible or not...so I better leave it there. If not human food, it will end up food for the soil.

So far, there's still a lot of gardening I had to do...sowing and planting...it's that time of the year. Hope you are enjoying your gardening where you are and that it will all be productive and enjoyable too:)


Yours

Harvesting Herbs

Dear Family & Friends

As summer is coming to a close...I know that the fresh herbs available from the garden to snip now and again as I need it, won't be there when cold months arrive.

So, before its too late, I try and save some for winter's stew meal...I started snipping extras, to store in the freezer.

I just clean the thyme, place them in a freezer bag and freeze them for future use.

We could also collect and make use some of the herb seeds from the garden for meal flavouring. 

These are coriander seeds

I must admit I'm not really good in making spectacular dishes. Every recipe I come up with is usually done with just plain imagination..no measurements to go by either!!  I think using lots of herbs, fresh garden produce contributes to delicious meals! It's proven because we never have leftovers and my family eats everything with joy.... :P

Yours

Edible Plant as Food

Dear Family & Friends

I'm not sure if you are familiar with this type of edible plant....it's called wild garlic! The leaves have a very strong garlic odour that can be used to flavour meals, but it does not form any bulbs like the garlic. This plant normally grow wild in woodlands.

This is a dock leaves. We used to know this plant as weeds...but in Bulgaria, it's sold in the market as food! It's actually delicious...Our neighbour cooked a risotto sort of rice dish and used this dock leaves to wrap the rice and steam/baked afterwards.... I'm all for this dish! I'm now letting this weed grow in my garden too...normally you can find them in woodland/forest area...but I think it is better when you collect it from your own garden...so do let some weeds the chance to grow in your garden too:)

At this time, my coriander leaves from last year's sowing is still going strong...soon it will start bolting to seeds...so I must make the most of the leaves while it is in abundance...

As I was collecting herbs for kitchen use...I just realized that this other plant although very similar to coriander in looks, the Parsley actually got completely different taste and smell. The leaves texture is coarser too! Hmmm...I prefer the stronger smell of the parsley!

Slowly, I'm getting more acquainted with various herbs and even wild edible food...it's something to be enjoyed!

Yours,