Parmesan Bean Recipe

Growing our own produce has encouraged us to eat foods we wouldn't usually eat, just because homegrown tastes so good.  This winter we planted brussel sprouts and were left wondering why they have such a bad reputation - we thought they were OK. 

This summer we planted green beans.  My husband likes them, but I didn't.  Until now...

After picking a handful of dwarf green beans we wondered what to do with them.  So we had a look through a couple of recipe books for ideas and then I came up with this.  I'm sure it isn't a new idea - but it is definitely a tasty one!

Boil the beans for a few minutes.
Remove the beans from the water and drain on paper towel.
Toss the drained beans with chopped garlic and chili in oil in a hot frying pan - for about 10-20 seconds, take it off the heat before the garlic turns brown.
Place beans and garlic and chili onto a serving plate, season with salt and pepper and then grate fresh parmesan on top.

It is a wonderful side dish, but I could probably eat this as a main meal if we had enough beans!

The continuing berry story

This summer has seen our best raspberry harvest yet.  We haven't weighed all of the raspberries we harvested, but I would estimate there has been at least 600g so far.  That doesn't sound like much, but 600g of raspberries go a long way! 

Sadly they are reaching the end of their season, but...  the boysenberries are just starting.  Boysenberries are so juicy and zingy, but the thorns on the canes are very spiteful!

Preserving

Two summers ago we made lots of chutneys and jams.  We are down to our last bottle of chutney (roast peach), so today we (well, mostly my husband) made some more chutney.  Two different types - nectarine and lemon balm; and peach and tomato.  Nine jars in all.

Hunting in the dark

Warning - this blog may gross out squeamish readers...

As part of establishing a sustainable garden we are trying to avoid chemicals, poisons and pollutants.  There are various natural methods for controlling snails and slugs, but I prefer to go outside on rainy nights to hunt for them. 

I don't mind hunting for snails, they have a nice hard, dry shell that is perfect for human hands to pick up.  But slugs really gross me out.  I've tried several methods of picking them up without having to touch them, but nothing really seems to work - they curl up and fall off sticks and other implements.  I'm wondering if maybe a small pair of tongs would work, so I will look for some next time I am in a kitchenware shop.  If anyone out there has any good ideas or any tried and tested methods, please let me know because I hate picking slugs up and then having to spend ages washing my hands to get the slime off!

We used to kill the snails and slugs, which made me feel terrible because there were often so many, but since we bought the chooks they take care of that job for us.  We keep the slugs and snails in a little bucket until morning and then give them to Butter and Phili who peck them up and eventually turn them into eggs. 

When Tansy came to live with us, she would follow me into the rain on my snail hunting expeditions and once she understood what I was looking for, she started to help.  We nurtured her willingness to please, and her enjoyment of snuffling for snails and crunching them in her mouth (then spitting them out!), by encouraging her to hunt for snails.  She will often hunt for them even when we aren't, and some wet evenings we will find several large snails and slugs deposited on the mat by the backdoor!  She has proven to be an excellent snail hunter, and sees it as wonderful family bonding time when we are all there.  So last night when a light shower of rain passed overhead we went outside with her to see what we could find. 

It turned out to be an excellent night and we reaped a bumper harvest - our little slug bucket was full in hardly any time at all. 

Last night's haul.

I did say this wasn't for the squeamish!

Knitted gifts

My two knitted gifts have been received by their new owners - so here they are for you to see.

The Checkerboard Scarf, made using 70% merino wool 30% silk blend bought from the Old Bus Depot Markets.  Knit over (what seemed like) millions of hours, but admired and appreciated by the recipient.  It is a lovely soft yarn that drapes beautifully.  It can be worn as a scarf, but is also wide enough to be worn as a wrap.

 The Horizontal Rib Scarf (from One More Skein by Leigh Radford - borrowed from the A.C.T library), made using Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 8 ply 100% wool.  To fit the almost 400 stitches, I knit this on circular needles.  The casting on and off seemed never-ending, but only 25 rows were needed so really it knit up very quickly. 

Christmas Cheer from the Puppy-Deer

This year was Tansy's first Christmas with us (she was a tiny puppy still with her mum last Christmas).  To help get into the festive spirit my husband bought some puppy-sized kitsch reindeer antlers for her.  She didn't like them on her head, but was quite happy to wander around with them on her back.  So they became her Puppy-Deer wings instead of antlers.  Yesterday we went to the dog park for Tansy to run around and then we had a picnic in the nearby park.  I hope her 'wings' made other picnic goers smile, especially when she started bounding through the grass, and I hope they make you smile.

Ready for presents!

The one with the waggily tail.

Sitting nicely at the picnic.

The Puppy-Deer and her Esky-Sleigh.

Last hurrah

The prolific sweetpeas started to die a few weeks ago, so you can imagine my surprise when they suddenly sent out another burst of flowers.  Not as many blooms as during their peak, but still enough to waft a delightful scent across the garden.

Starting to collapse and turning yellow, but still some splashes of colour.