Edible Wall Update

As March draws to a close I thought I would give you an update on the Junglefy ecoVert herb wall that was installed in late January.

As you can see the plants are enjoying the direct winter sun that is now drenching this wall in the morning.

The top section has lush warrigal greens, feverfew, some mignonette lettuce, sorrel, vietnamese mint, and marigolds

The bottom section has some mustard greens, catnip, more mustard greens, chives, mint julep and coral lettuce and some dead zatar!

The zatar needed more direct sunlight and couldn’t hang in there. I’m going to have to pull it out and replace it with maybe some Asian greens.

The warrigal greens seem to be thriving in these vertical conditions

And the chives are doing well too..

I’m harvesting the sorrel regularly in salads and steamed with main courses

The mignonette is really tasty and I have to control my culling to give it a chance to thicken up.

I bought these mustard greens as seedlings from the herb stall at the Sydney Fox Studio Farmers Markets.

They’re pungent and crunchy.

All in all they’re all looking so much happier. Bring on the sun!

Recipe: Risotto with edible balcony zucchini flowers, peas and fresh pistachio nuts

I have been looking forward to this moment since my zucchini seeds went in on February 10th. Today I get to eat my first zucchini flowers from the balcony. I wanted to feature them in a dish where their true colours and flavours would still shine through. It had to be this risotto.

Recipe: Risotto with zucchini flowers, peas and fresh pistachio nuts

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

2 1/2 cups good quality chicken stock

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup fresh peas, blanched and refreshed in iced water

4- 5 zucchini flowers with stems attached sliced lengthways

1/4 cup fresh pistachio nuts, roughly chopped

salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Method:

Heat olive oil and half the butter in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add the garlic until aromatic. Add the rice and stir for 30 seconds until grains are well-coated with the oil and onions and slightly opaque. Pour in the white wine and stir until it is aborbed. Lower the heat slightly and proceed to add the hot stock a little at a time until it has all been aborbed. Keep stirring gently. This action will break down the outer starchy layer of the raice grains creating the creamy texture you’re after. This should take 15-20 minutes. Add the zucchini stems reserving the  flowers and cook for 3-5 minutes.Add the peas and the pistachios and stir through . Turn off the heat and add the flowers, butter and parmesan and mix through. The risotto should be slightly sloppy. Serve immediately with a grating of parmesan.

delicate flavours and wonderful textures….

Indian summer in a bowl. This dish will knock the socks off your family and friends.

I came across these fresh, raw pistachio nuts at the Fox Studio Farmers Markets yesterday. Having only ever had pistachios roasted and salted they were a taste revelation.

Still subtley pistachio-flavoured but with the delicate texture of a cooked broad bean.

Look out for them! You will be amazed.

First Car Share Space On My Street

This post is not to do with food but it is to do with urban sustainability which I’m equally passionate about.

My street in Potts Point has just got its first City of Sydney-approved car share space. The green and white striped space is used to park a GoGet car. 

I’m a GoGet member so this is really exciting and wonderfully convenient.

Australia’s city councils have been woefully slow in supporting car share schemes. These schemes have been running successfully in Canada, the US and Europe for decades.

Maybe with fewer cars on the road my balcony zucchini will breathe a little easier!

Edible Balcony – Colour Snap-shot

I get almost as much pleasure from the colours of my edible balcony as I do from its taste.

Here’s an autumn Sunday morning snap-shot….

male bud of a zucchini flower

just opened and ready to pollinate

red oak lettuce

thai silk chillies

spicy turbans of colour

crunchy warrigal greens on the wall

soft petalled nasturtiums

red horn peppers

a candy cane forest of rainbow silverbeet

long black purple eggplant

compact marigold

refreshing mint

tiny mauve petals of a basil flower

he-loves-me he-loves-me-not feverfew

Edible Balcony – Winter Plantings

Well it’s time to get the winter crop in. But first I needed to sort out my seed packets. They looked worse than the jumble in my make-up drawer!

I used an old black and white-striped gift box…

… cut out some month dividers using a cardboard box….

…..so all my wayward seed packets had a place to live that was dry and cool.

Et viola! Order and clarity.

Now for the planting. I decided to trial these fabric potato planters I ordered online. They’re made from recycled materials, have drainage holes, handles and can be folded away and reused – music to a balcony gardeners ears!

I’ve used seeds from my Diggers collection to plant some Waltham Broccoli because it reputedly has a high yield and long harvest.

And in the other planter I popped in some Delicata Pumpkin seeds, from Diggers Space Saver Collection.They are a non-running bush that give small green and yellow-striped fruit in about 3 months’ time.

And thankfully the lower winter sun has finally started to move onto my western wall, giving my vertical edibles some much needed direct sunlight! Hopefully they’ll really start bushing up now.

Edible Balcony – Look what I woke up to!

My first zucchini flower opened as the morning sun touched its petals. And what a beauty! Easily the size of a saucer and glowing a deep burnished yellow of a Van Gogh painting…

Edible Balcony – First Zucchini Flower

Apologies for my week-long absence from the blogosphere. I have been spending way too much time in the ‘real’ world tackling a lengthy writing assignment.

I’ve emerged briefly to update you on the zucchini plants which are taking over the balcony like triffids.

From tiny sprouts on February 17th the 3 zucchini plants have now filled the eastern corner of the balcony

I will move them to the roomy western end when I’ve cleared out the two tomato pots later this week.

I can see why zucchinis have an easy-to-grow reputation

With no problems so far from pests or mildew there are already dozens of flower stalks

In fact this one may be ready to pick by Friday

softly wrapped orange-tinged petals sitting on a tiny zucchini stalk 

Even the large papery leaves seem to grow as you watch them.

These definitely get my vote for the vegetable any dummy can grow!

Edible Balcony – Evolution of an Eggplant

December 1st : I plant four long black eggplant seeds in quality potting mix with a little blood and bone mixed through. I shield the young seedlings from the wind with a plastic milk container with the top cut off.

January 26: I’ve culled the seedlings to two which may still be a little cramped for this container. The leaves are broad and healthy. I’m watering every day.

February 9th : the eggplants are clearly going to be much bigger than I anticipated and their root system has quickly filled the pot. I’m noticing little black bugs on the leaves which I later discover are flea beetles that can quickly suck an eggplant to death. I try to squish as many as I can.

February 13th: Despite a flea beetle attack and rear guard action from some chomping caterpillars I get my first flower.

February 13th: It makes all the angst and sleepless nights worth it.

Feb 15th: The caterpillar and flea beetles attacks look bad but the plants seem to be soldiering on

February 23rd: I think I spy my first fruit

February 23rd: Yes, that is unmistakedly the beginnings of an eggplant in all its glossy purple glory.

I’m now adding a little liquid fruit fertilizer in my watering can to give the fruit a boost.

February 26th: Just when I think I’ve survived the pest attacks I notice colonies of aphids on all the buds and new leaf growth.

February 26th: I mail order some green lacewing larvae which hatch and hoover up all the aphids in about 6 days. The eggplants start getting their mojo back.(And so do I !)

March 3rd: This little beauty somehow made it through the dramas and should be ready to pick and eat next week.

Phew…. that was exhausting…..

Recipe: Grilled Peppers stuffed with Fetta, Lemon Zest and Oregano

voluptuous curves many women would kill for

Yesterday I picked the 4 lone peppers from my balcony pepper bushes. There are several flowers opening so hopefully I’ll get a few more peppers to add to my meagre crop. But where they lack in numbers they certainly make up for in size. These babies were as long as my hand.

I wanted to enjoy their full sweet flavour so I thought I’d cook them Macedonian style – grilled and stuffed with fetta. This recipe is adapted from the one given to me by my Macedonian friend Rosa.

Recipe: Grilled Peppers stuffed with fetta, lemon zest and oregano

Ingredients:

8 green peppers

300g sharp fetta (greek, bulgarian or a good Australian one)

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon fresh oregano

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method:

Heat a BBQ plate or grill or use a gas flame on your stove. Grill the peppers until the skins are a little charred and the peppers are softening. Put the peppers in a plastic bag so the steam loosens the skins. After ten minutes peel off the blackened skins. Don’t be tempted to wash them with water or you will lose all the pepper’s wonderful flavours. Make an incision along one side of each pepper and carefully remove all the internal membranes and seeds.

Sprinkle the inside of each pepper with a little sea salt and pepper. Now stuff each pepper with fetta, some oregano and a sprinkling of lemon zest. Fold the peppers back into a pepper shape, arrange on a platter, sprinkle with a little more fetta, zest and oregano and a good splash of olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

Verdict:

A glorious way to enjoy your homegrown peppers. The grilling intensifies the sweetness of the peppers and the sharpness of the fetta and lemon zest balance the flavours magically.