Showing posts with label Thyme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thyme. Show all posts

Monday, 27 January 2014

Dinner From The Garden...

 I left my friend's house with my fridge full of veges and salad
from her garden... An abundance of all sorts of things.
Another friend had recently put a recipe on Facebook - What to
do with the glut of courgettes in the garden. It's really quick
and easy... Served with salad. This is a bit or a variation!
Slice courgettes into a little oil or butter in a pan.
Cook briefly till golden on both sides. Pour over 1 egg
whisked with a fork. Mix grated Parmesan cheese with some fresh
rosemary and thyme. Sprinkle over the top of the courgettes
cook till egg set and cheese melted.


And here's dinner with a glass of cold white wine.
Fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate for desert...
All eaten sitting outside round the lake watching the sunset.

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

My Garden Is Blooming...

On the back of my bus. It's amazing how it survives... But it does.
My bus, because it's different, attracts a lot of attention.
People stop to chat and often ask where I put all my pots
when I'm travelling. Well they stay right there... And no
they don't fall off and yes they do grow.


I re-potted them all recently. Kept all the plants but filled
the pots with new compost. The mint has gone mad... I mostly
make tea with it... Delicious fresh mint tea. I love it.
The next pot has new coriander plants. It's hard to grow
as it immediately goes to seed. I've decided I am going to
let one seed head grow, stake it down so the seeds fall into the
pot then I should have continual new little plants.
The other side of the pot is thyme. The pot in the middle curly
 leaf parsley. Same with the parsley when it seeds.
One seed head will supply plenty of new plants.


From the other end... I have sage which has taken a while to decide
to grow. It also makes lovely tea. There is a little rosemary plant,
in a pot it will only grow to a small size, but it will be enough
to put sprigs into a bottle of oil for salads and to cook with
and enough to put into a spray bottle of water to spray
on my hair after washing it. In between there are some
calendula and nasturtium seedlings. In any garden in New
Zealand they both grow like weeds but they are
reluctant to grow in my pots... but I keep trying!
Next pot along is chives. I have just cut all the seed heads
off and left one for seed.


These are my tomatoes. Last year I successfully grew one in
a smaller pot. This year I got a bigger pot, planted the seed
from a 'sweet 100' tomato I had and lots of them grew. I
gave lots away and kept four. When they are a bit bigger
I will make a bamboo frame for them then let them ramble.


And this years basil. I bought small plants as soon as they
came into the shops. They sat for a while as they
like really hot conditions to grow well... Hence them
living in the front of my bus where they get a lot of sun and
light. Also when I'm driving they are treated to under
root heating as they are sitting on the engine cover!
My shells keep them company and on the left is my
 blue sun chair and because I now have a fire...
A bag of firewood. The silver 'thing' in the front I
scored from the Bedford rally. There was a gift swapping
time, put in a Bedford related gift, take one out. It comes
off the front bonnet of another old Bedford. It's got the Bedford
lion and eagle symbol and Bedford written underneath. I don't know
yet what I am going to do with it... So meanwhile it sits there.

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Thursday, 13 September 2012

Growing Basil... And My Garden Is Growing...


This is a basket I have had for years.
It belonged to my mother before me...
It has had various uses...
But in my bus I decided I would grow basil in it...
So I repainted it...
Lined it with plastic...
And planted the seeds...
If you look very carefully you can just see them coming up after 2 weeks.

Now they are 6 weeks old and growing well.
The best basil I have ever grown was when I had a house and hot house.
It loves the heat... That's why I decided inside was the place.



What my basil will be like very soon...
I read that basil is native to India and other tropical regions of Asia,
it's been cultivated there for 5000 years!
In some english speaking countries it's sometimes known as Saint Joseph's Wort.



In June I planted an edible garden...
 In the pots that live on top of my cargo box...
On the back of my bus.
These are my viola's.
They are part of the Violet family.
The flowers and young leaves are edible being rich in vitamins A &
 C and having an anti-oxidant, Anthocyanin, in them.
Viola flowers are used in Chinese herbal medicine having
 uterotonic, anti HIV, atomicrobial and insecticidal activities...
Why are they not grown as a common commercial crop?


My coriander has just gone to seed...
So I've cut that back and eaten lots of it...
Both of the parsley's are doing well, the chives are slow
also the calendula...
The mint and thyme are just sitting waiting for the warmer weather.
The nasturtiums are just surviving, they don't like the cold and rain...
Which we have had so much of during the winter.


 
Parsley and more viola's...
I make delicious salads... And more to come...


Early beginnings in June...