2015 Seed Draw / Give Away / Lucky Dip. Chilli, Carrot & Tomatoes.

Hi Folks.
Thought this might interest a few folks that still read my poor neglected blog ;-)
I'm holding a bit of a seed give away through our YouTube channel.
Please check out the description below the clip if you're interested in participating.

Good luck to those that enter.

Rob.




                    

Lemongrass & Ginger Veggies. The fresh flavours of Spring.

Lemongrass and Ginger Veggies. 

Finally got around to harvest the ginger from the aquaponics yesterday. It smelt so sweet and fragrant I had to use some in dinner last night so made up a quick veggie dish on the spot. 

Posted a picture of the meal to our Facebook page where a friend ask for the recipe (Cheers Sarah) so thought I'd share it here too.

The dish was made using all home grown ingredients except for the oil, garlic, sugar and mountain sauce.
The rest of the ingredients included some freshly picked snap peas from the aquaponics as well as a carrot and a lemongrass stalk from wicking barrels. Some leftover cauliflower and broccoli harvested on the weekend were also used.




Some of the measurements and cooking times are just guesstimates as I tend to add things as I go but am sure they're fairly close to the mark ;-)  It was enough to give us 3 adult and one child serves. 

1 lemongrass stalk, chopped VERY finely as it can be very stringy

1 thumb size piece of ginger, chopped finely

3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/3 head of cauliflower, broken into small florets and stems sliced

1 large carrot, sliced 3mm thick
2 Tbsp Thai Golden mountain sauce (soy or Ketjap manis would work well too)
1/4 - 1/3  cup of chicken stock

About 1 tsp of raw sugar or honey (I find a bit of sweetness helps to bring out the flavour of the lemongrass)
1/3 head of broccoli, broken into medium florets and stems sliced

A few small handfuls of snap/snow peas

• Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in hot wok then add garlic, ginger and lemongrass, stir for 2 minutes
• Add in cauliflower, carrot and sliced stems, stir fry for 2-3 minutes
• Add in sauce and ½ the stock and cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring
• Taste sauce in bottom of wok (careful not to burn yourself) and if it needs sweetening add sugar/honey to taste (probably won't need any if using  Ketjap manis)
• Add in in broccoli and peas, Stir and add in more stock if wok is drying out
• Cover for a few minutes to lightly steam broccoli and peas
• Toss veggies through the sauce in the base of the wok and serve.

The fresh flavours of the lemongrass and ginger together make a fantastic combination. Must say that I impressed myself with this one and will be making it again very soon. The one stand out flavour that was missing for me was Thai basil. The girls have suggested that I add some finely sliced beef and chopped green onion stems to the next batch too.  





Would love to know what you think if you have a crack at making this yourself.
Cheers and have a great one.
Rob.

  

Front Yard Veggie Patch. Feeding the wicking beds & a small harvest.

It's mid Winter here in the patch so last weekend I knocked over a few jobs that needed doing before the weather starts to warm up.
The asparagus plants got a good trim & the beds were feed some home made compost & aged horse manure. Also planted out a few extra broccoli to see if we can squeeze in another crop before summer.




This weekend it will be a few beds out the back that get the same treatment. Also have some ginger & turmeric to harvest so am looking forward to that.
Cheers all.

Aquaponic update vlog with lazy fish & winter tomatoes.

Has been nearly 3 months since the last aquaponic vlog update so here you go folks.
Winter has struck here & the fish are starting to get a tad lazy due to the cold water but the plants are still growing strong.

The tomatoes have had another trim today with a few branches strung up due to the weight of the new fruit forming.
Have noticed that the water level is dropping a bit more than normal so shall be investigating to see if there are any leaks developing on the pipe work. I'm hoping that it's just just the growth spurt we've seen over the past week or so that is causing the increased water usage.

Best be off & start working in the patch.
Cheers & all the best folks.

A wander through our Subtropical Veggie Patch. The early Winter edition 2015.

Hi folks. 
Had a few people ask how things are going in the veggie patch & finally managed to do a "quick" clip on the hoop house section of our veggie patch. Funnily enough our Winter veggie patch here in the Subtropics looks very similar to many friends that are growing in North America, the UK & Europe at the moment.





Am looking forward to harvesting the first of our winter veg like cauliflower & broccoli. Still have a few summer crops that need to be harvested like the yacon, turmeric & ginger as they take a bit longer to mature in our climate.  Hope to post some harvest clips on them soon.
Hope everyone else is having a great season,
Rob.