Food From My Garden

I have discoverd a very satisfying past time - growing veggies, picking and then cooking them. I never thought this would give me so much pleasure and motivate me to consider and try different ways of presenting them!

I have zucchini enough to feed the town, so many leeks that I don't know what to do with them and have discovered that baked beetroot is absolutely delicious and the leftovers are great processed with some hommus and made into a beetroot dip. I could go on forever.

I have successfully grown beans, onions, snow peas, broccholi, capsicum, zucchini, beetroot, celery and leeks. There is the promise of sweetcorn, aubergine, tomatoes, spring onions and lettuce. I am pretty pleased with myself seeing that I am a novice vegetable grower.

There have been a few set backs, the caterpillars on the broccoli did get more of the young shoots than I did and overnight devastated the plants. I am not keen on pesticides and even less keen to get outside with a magnifying glass and pick the little critters off by hand (as was suggested to me by the future daughter in laws father) so out came the plants and next year I will try again. I couldn't eat the lettuce quickly enough as I planted 2 punnets at once, a row at a time I have learnt. The celery was prolific but a waste of time as I am not actually all that keen on it! Lessons learnt!

I am marking time at the moment waiting to celebrate the wedding of the year and then off on my first overseas trip of 2012. Of course, anticipating the opportunity to get into the amazing markets in Siem Reap and to try and wheedle my way into some kitchens. Hoping of course that some of the amazing people I met last year will make me welcome!