In my kitchen in February was produce from the garden. Of course, being home grown, there is an abundance of the same ingredient. While it is lovely to have, you do have to be inventive to come up with different ideas!
Firstly there has been corn. I am amazed at how easy it was to grow. My vegetables grow in the front yard and I planted the corn by the side fence. It must have been the perfect spot ~ that and the Fella, who loves to make sure the area is well watered. (We call him the Undergardener, but lately he has been the one keeping everything going!)
Of course, when you have super fresh corn you only have to boil it for a few minutes, add butter and a sprinkling of salt and enjoy. A favourite of children as well!
I have made chicken and corn soup, which would have been better with proper stock, and corn fritters. These worked well. I cut the corn off the cob, added some finely chopped capsicum and chopped roquette, which is also growing well in the garden. Then I mixed in flour and an egg to bind, and fried lightly.
I am going to try a herbed corn soup tonight with the last few cobs.
After they have been pulled out the corn plants go on giving. They make great compost and I have used a couple of the stalks to stake the begonia. Gotta love a plant that gives so much!
There is an abundance of beans, super tasty when young and fresh and a treat as I picked them. Now they are becoming more fibrous. So I have been shelling them like peas, instead of cooking the pods. I have been tossing them into lots of things. I am thinking of making a dip. Any thoughts on how I would go about it?
Some of the pods are drying on the plants and I am collecting those seeds for dried beans in soups and stews.
There are eggplants too. One bush is rich, glossy and purple and the other is a heirloom variety that produces sensational stripy fruit.
Eggplant = ratatouille, of course. It’s a great dish, because it includes so many of the vegetables currently in season. I cooked up the eggplant, onion, garlic, a potato, capsicum, beans (of course!) with a tin of tomatoes and extra tomato paste. It was delicious just with a piece of toast.
Then I used the mixture the next night mixed with some cooked mince meat, added to a halved eggplant and roasted in the oven for a while. I do love these sorts of dishes, where I can just throw in a bit of this and an extra bit of that; no precision required!
Yesterday a little pot of sunshine was given to me. EllaDee, Kate and I (and the G.O. too. of course!) met up at the Botanic Gardens. We had such a lovely natter, and it was as delightful to meet these interesting, vivacious women as I hoped. EllaDee gave me a pot of honey that came from the area of NSW where she now lives. Doesn’t honey just sum up warmth and sweetness? Just like these wonderful bloggers ~ and the G.O. 🙂
I am going to leave you with photos of the rampant beans and sweet potatoes. If the bean plants had been able to reach the sky I am sure that Jack, followed by a giant, would have come skidding down. Th plants had to be satisfied with wandering here on earth. The sweet potato is growing from remnants of last year’s crop. It will be interesting to see how many tubers, if any, are being produced. The strawberry plants have stopped producing, but are still flourishing.
A big thank you to Maureen from Orgasmic Chef. She has had a horror time lately, and yet still hosts the In My Kitchen series with such dedication. I wish her all good things over the next while.
What’s happening in your kitchen this month ~ or indeed in your garden?
27 replies on “In my kitchen”
I’m in awe of that corn. I’m going to try growing some on my postage stamp sized block next year. I grew some a couple of years ago and it was wonderful. Everything in your garden looks fantastic. You and the undergardener have very green thumbs!
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For the eggplant, my favourite recipe is Imam Bayildi and the best one I’ve tried is here:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/10/aubergine-recipes-turkish-imam-bayildi-hungkar-begendi-roast-with-tarator-yotam-ottolenghi
Your corn is absolutely beautiful – I tend to wrap my cobs in paper towel and do them on full in the microwave for 2 minutes, a much quicker result for greedy husbands… And how about something hummus-y with your beans: once cooked till tender, blitz them with some olive oil, garlic, cumin and perhaps a touch of garam masala for a bit of zing? So… dinner’s round at yours, then?
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I’ve never tried growing corn, mainly because of the amount of water needed, but I might give it a try next year. At the moment I’m fighting off the beasts that are trying to strip my quince tree of every single quince there. I’m also watching the two mature feijoa bushes which are covered in fruit. Just hope the beasts don’t discover them before we can harvest a few. I swear, everything that creeps, crawls, climbs or flies seems to find my garden. I should just put out a sign ‘Free Food’. I don’t mind sharing but something [maybe the cockies] just eats everything…green. I had a beautiful crop of clingstone peaches but only managed to save ONE. It really is war out here. 😦
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Oh I hear your pain! Just that one bite and then drop the fruit to the ground. If only they understood the concept of sharing. I was eying off the first of the ripening tomatoes, only to find that the grubs had wormed their way in from the underneath. Grrr.
I think corn is like most veggies, the more water you give them the better they taste. It was one of my grips during water restrictions, that they made no allowances for veggie gardens, even though they produce worthwhile products.
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Yeah, my wild neighbours have no concept of sharing. 😦 And water is a big issue up here, very expensive. Ah well, maybe one day.
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Lovely corn crop Anne. Very jealous as I didn’t get any in this year. The bean crop looks fab too- great for lovely beany soups. It’s an impressive crop for a suburban garden and it’s nice to know that the front yard is being used too.
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The other spin off of using the front yard is that you get to meet so many people as they walk past. Adults and children are intrigued by what’s growing. Some have even told me that they were inspired to grow their own veggies. That’s nice 🙂
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[…] it. This month’s kitchen round up, thanks to inspiration from Celia, Maureen, Jen, Anne and other friends I’m yet to meet. Here’s hoping it’ll become a beautiful […]
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Fresh picked corn on the cob is a gustatory joy, fabulous use of that narrow strip of garden bed. Congrats to the Undergardener for ensuring the corn to flourished
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Once the Undergardener gets the bit between his teeth there is no stopping him! And yes, the corn has been heavenly. I will definitely sow more seeds next year.
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There’s nothing like just picked corn. What a luxury.
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Certainly is. I was blown away by the first delicious mouthfuls of the first cob I picked. It was so sweet I could have eaten it raw.
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Anne, your garden looks amazing. I’m really impressed with your corn. Summer corn straight from the garden is the best. Your photos are wonderful, too.
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Thanks Alys. I really have to give credit to the Fella, because I think it was his dedicated watering that made the difference this year. It has been the best crop of tomatoes for many years.
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Please extend my appreciation to the Fella.
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Wow Anne, that all looks amazing. I planted our corn early his year and had good results. I now just want to grab some cobs, boil them up and munch away. Good work ‘under gardener’! I’ve heard of beans being used similarly to basil in a pesto style dish. Nothing to lose by trying 🙂
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Enjoy that corn ~ there is nothing quite like it! Interesting idea with the beans too. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Wow what gorgeous corn. We tried to grow it one year but the deer got it, maybe we need to try again sometime. The beans and eggplant a,so look quite delicious. I’m just waiting to plant my seedlings and watch them grow.
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I can’t imagine deer being a problem (although I know they are) as I always think of Bambi whenever I hear the word “deer”! Good luck with your seedlings.
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You have the most wonderful, prolific garden Anne! It’s the kind of property that I dream of having one day… when we finally move out of our tiny apartment! Although I have very few of my own plants, I had the privilege of raiding my friend Erin’s garden yesterday for chillies and mangoes. So amazed that a domestic mango can produce such wonderful fruit! Your corn looks divine… as do the fritters 🙂
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I would love a mango tree, but I don’t think we are in the right climate. How lucky you are to be able to raid your friend’s tree! It is amazing what you can grow in a small area. My veggie patch is the area in front of the house, about 3 x 3 metre, so not very big.
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you sure have a flourishing vegetable garden there…I haven’t grown anything this year that is edible.
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I have been amazed at the produce we have from our little patch. It is coming to the end now, so I am piling lots of end-of-season-brush into the compost.
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WOW Anne, you have lots of amazing produce in your garden! Everything looks amazing and delicious. Great to meet you for #IMK 🙂
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It has been a really good year for produce. I only hope we can keep it up through the winter. We never really have much luck with brassicas especially.
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look at all your gorgeous produce. how marvellous. one day i must build myself a green house to do the same. too many bugs and critters here!
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We often have things that munch, but they seem to have stayed away this year ~ how lucky was that! A green house would be the perfect answer.
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