Little Wanganui

Tom and I just moved to Little Wanganui on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand

We have a nice house on a couple of acres surrounded by temperate rainforest, that has a cow, chickens, and some raised beds for planting herbs and greens safe from the marauding weka birds.

It has been sunny and we can see the mountains of the Radiant Range in Kahurangi National Park, from our bedroom window.

Collection of kitchen ideas

I love to establish a kitchen and good pantry with minimal waste. I like a welcoming, good smelling kitchen with spicy sections and a view out a window to living things; a garden. I like the smell of drying chillies and garlic on the windowsill, the everpresent infusion of tea to the air, the smell of fresh baked bread coming from the oven often!  Really good sharp knives are oiled in their home; a knife rack specially handmade. The are used every day and kept sharp to cut beautiful home-or locally grown organic vegetables. A sink is outside to wash and cut vegies and feed extras to the chickens. Beneath everything; there is also a slight hint of the raw smell of uncooked meat, the compost almost ready to be taken out to the chickens, pig or compost heap, piquant red wine residue still in the bottom of a glass, lemon rind and honey, and gentle cinnamon lingering. Honeycomb from the bees would sit in containers ready to be cut onto fresh bread as a tea break from work outside.

I love home made furniture, places to do craft, home-made cushions, rugs, natural bush colours, tea mugs, pots hanging on hooks, I like to see them. Other useful items like pottery and cookbooks lining the underside of benches. On winter mornings sun streaming in through north facing windows like in my childhood home, and on winter nights an aromatic stew would slowly braise on the stove. In spring, rain is comforting on the roof at night, maybe sleep in for once and have a tea then read in bed a bit longer... The smell of fresh cut grass and nectar would enter through the windows or beneath doors once the sun came out. During summer there will be pottery bowls full of fruit ripening and smelling, there will be baskets and jars full of berries. Warm sourdough often rests on a wooden chopping board many nice mornings of the year, each time I like making it a little different. Things are tidy and well organized but still, herbs hang and tea ingredients dry, prosciutto and bresaola are curing hung from the ceiling, and its a kitchen where no-one is worrying about 'mess', just living and being connected with the land outside and being deeply content in this.

New Zealand and Purukanui Farm

I just moved to New Zealand to the town of Dunedin. I am staying at a beautiful farm looking over Purukanui Inlet and Blueskin Bay in Mihiwaka. Its about an hour bikeride from town, and the views are amazing riding around the hills, and up and down the hills.

These are some photos of the farm and the animals.

 The inlet

The farm

 The apple tree in the back garden with some cabbage and celery

The apiary site where I am taking care od three Warré beehives, skillfully built by Nick Holmes, near Mount Mopanui.

The cobbles

 the bath

Some local hills I have been riding around.

View from near swampy summit looking south towards Pineapple and Nichols MTB tracks

The view from Swampy Summit west (above) and east (below)

Mac n Cheese with fresh Garden Vegies!

Ingredients
250g Macaroni
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp butter
handful of grated Colby easy melt cheese
salt and pepper
From the garden:
6 baby leeks, white parts only, sliced thinly two fresh garlic cloves
1 cup blanched and hulled bread beans
1 cup hulled sugar snap peas
handful of lettuce, sliced
1/2 avocado diced

Method
Boil the pasta
Meanwhile, saute the leeks and garlic in the butter and oil.
Add the lettuce, beans and peas.
When pasta is done, strain and add to pan with the vegies.
Add the cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Garnish with avocado

Pumpkins from the patch

January in the Garden

The garden has grown into a jungle of fennel, thai basil, tomatoes, sweet basil, lemongrass, dill, french tarragon, golden beetroot, yellow squash, red beetroot, purple carrots, orange carrots, cos lettuce, mesculun and rocket, parsley and chives, thyme, mint, lemon thyme, an abundance of sage, rosemary, garlic, jap and butternut pumpkin, many more tomatoes and celery! It is difficult to harvest because there are various layers of tomatoes and the walkways have been overgrown. I have learnt a lesson from this - I have overplanted the tomatoes and they are taking over everything. The other thing taking over is the butternut pumpkin. Here are the pics....see December pictures for a 1 month comparison!

Gardening January 2012

Manuka is scared of the mower.

The fennel and tomatoes have really grown well in the warmer weather. The strawberries taste great because I have had cold nights and hot days - this makes them produce two different chemicals that make them taste sweet as well as flavoursome. Good things to note during the year of observation...still so much to learn for me.

December in the Garden

The Garden in December 2011. Note the Large green shaded area at the back : the tomato jungle.

Garden bed 2 with Beets ready to harvest, red cabbage and brussells sprouts.

 

Garden Bed 1 cleared of winter veg, with the seeds from Kale, Broccoli, Romanesco and purple Kale are hanging to dry under the carport. The Golden Oregano (front right) now has some sun so is happy. New plantings here include (from front) Fennel, Lemongrass, Rocket, Purple Lettuce, lots of tomatoes (many in pots to give away) second batch of yellow and red Beetroot, rocket seedlings, Basil (lots) and carrots.

The tomato jungle up close.

Up to four corn cobs on each stalk.

First Time - Home Grown Vegies

My first home grown red cabbage

First home grown purple carrots

First home grown parsnip! Parsnips in fact need well drained soil with little or no fertiliser or manure otherwise they form octopus parsnips (above) where they send out many roots instead of just one.

First Broad Beans, and Cos Lettuce

First Californian Red and Brown Onions!

First Zucchini and flowers! Also one of the first batch of beetroot and more basil.

Change in the Garden: Before/After Winter

Garden Bed 1

April 2011: Making the garden beds

July 2011: Plants growing and worm farms working well

November 2011: Winter Vegies going to seed, time for a makeover.

Garden Bed 2

August 2011

November 2011

Vegetable Garden Jungle

Spring has woken the spirits of the garden fairies and the summer warmth has brought astounding growth to the multitude of vegetables I have planted in our patches. A month has gone by since I left, and the tomatoes alone have grown at a rate of 15cm per week here in Dubbo.

The Silverbeet (!) is higher than my head. Same with the Fennel (unfortunately...I wasnt here to pick it while it was low and plump) and the broccoli which have gone to seed in a very big way. See pics below.

First bed - winter vegies going to seed - from front: purple Kale, Onions, Fennel, Silverbeet, Baby Spinach, Parsnips.

Yellow zucchini with flower still attached from second bed.

Second bed has on the left from front: Yellow and Green Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Rocket, Cos Lettuce, Mesculun Lettuce, Frisee Lettuce, Red Beetroot, Golden Beetroot. On right from front: Butternut pumpkin, Japanese Pumpkin, Corn and String beans as runners, Broccoli, Red Cabbage and Alfalfa Sprouts as well as Garlic.

Third Bed - Tomatoes, Carrots and Green Manure.

Ten types of Tomatoes - these were a mere 5-10cm tall a month ago. Varieties include Beams Yellow Pear, Red Currant (smallest in world), Red grape, Red Roma, Red Cherry, Spanish Cherry, Green Tiger, Tigerella, Yellow Drop, and Black Russian. Basil and Nasturtium seeds have sprouted amongst the tomatoes to deter fruit fly and aphids.  

I picked these for dinner as well as 6 leeks, 1 spring onion and some varieties of lettuce. Zucchini, Purple and Orange Carrots. I made fettucini with zucchini, lemon, chicken and caramelised leeks. We had a salad of roasted carrots and spring onion mixed with fresh lettuce. I ate another slug.