Our garden lite

Well, two weekends ago, before the torrential rain came, we managed to get out for some supplies and set up our little garden to hopefully get us through winter.

I am sick of buying sad looking lettuces from the supermarket so planted some new cos and butter crunch lettuces (although I was tempted to go for the "drunken woman" variety - hold all jokes about only needing one drunken woman in the house) in some big pots.

I planted three in each of the pots - if you wanted full size lettuces you would need to give them a bit more space but I just like using the outside leaves as they are ready so are fine planting them closer in pots - and you don't have to wait for a full size lettuce to grow and then use it all before it goes bad - you can just pick what you need, when you need.

Plus I find cos lettuces a lot nicer when you use them as they grow as when left too long can go a bit woody (and Elliot assures me they were tasty in his weekend BLTs).

I also replanted the wheelbarrow with some thyme and oregano and put some chives in too (the herbs will come in handy for those slow cooker meals).

Asian greens are always good in the colder months to chuck in stirfries or steamed with dumplings (and it grows extremely quickly) so I planted some pak choy in pots too. Everything was planted with a 50/50 mix of potting mix and compost and a bit of blood and bone.

Elliot pruned all the chillies back and they are, well, shadows of their former selves. We will see what lasts over winter; last year we over wintered some very successfully but they were kept in the conservatory so will see what happens. Bar some extreme frosts, some may get through it ok.

We did manage a last decent harvest from the plants so they will be dried and added to the other batches to be used while we don't have any fresh ones.

We also pruned all the dead heads off the lavender and it seems to be doing well and will hopefully grow back lovely and purple and fragrant-y.

The spring onions that came with us from Sunset Road brought with them some horrible little black bugs. After some internet research I learnt these were onion aphids (they look exactly like aphids but are black and turn into a lovely purple liquid when you squash them) and they love spring onions and chives.

There are a hundred and one different sprays and methods of dealing with them and I kept on top of them for a while by the pinch them off or spray the crap out of them with the hose method which worked for a while but they multiplied a bit too fast so this weekend we got some new ones and planted them in a big tub. Once they are a bit bigger I will separate them so they grow to a decent size.

So after a a good two and a half weeks of decent rain everything is growing well. A couple of the chilli plants needed staking to withstand the wind and there was a rescue mission of a wayward watering can and bucket or two from the deck but we are now set up with a well stocked cupboard of chillies and some herbs and greens to get us through the next couple of months.

Pak choy and lettuces after a couple of weeks

This weekend we also picked up a lime tree and a lemon tree. We had some potting mix to use so thought why not give them a go. I have always wanted some and these ones are ok for big pots at the mo (as opposed to being in the ground). While they do need shelter and sun, we hope them being up under the sheltered part of the deck and with a fingers crossed not too brutal winter, they'll do alright.

A little cool thing about our house is the rain water tanks under the house. Elliot hooked the hose up to them so now we use the rain water reserves to water the garden when needed.

Elliot has a couple of days off this week and we have more potting mix and pots and there's been mention of carrots and how many more pots the deck could fit... Watch this space...

Pork larb

Pork mince in the fridge, red onion from the garden, coriander on the window sill and an almost past it lime needing to be used - only one thing to make... larb.

You will find larb on the menu of most Thai restaurants (although it is actually the national dish of Laos) and it is basically a mince salad dish (with either pork, chicken or beef mince used) with herbs, chilli, lime, fish sauce and usually served on lettuce and with rice.

The recipe below serves one person (yes, I made Elliot pork burgers with his portion of the mince as despite him actually inquiring what larb was, the explanation did not seem to meet with much approval and when I said "or burgers.." well, we all know what happened).

UPDATE: I made this again and this time was not so generous with the alternative - it was larb or a frozen pizza (personally I am shocked the latter was not chosen). It went down surprisingly well so alternatives will not be offered in the future.

So double this recipe for two people:

• 150g pork mince
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp vege oil
• 1/8 red onion, finely sliced
• Handful of coriander leaves and stalks, chopped
• 1 tsp lemongrass, finely chopped
• 2 Tb mint, finely chopped (I had some yummy Vietnamese mint from Mams)
• Small clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 big red chilli, finely chopped (I used one of our pickled ones)
• 1 1/2 Tb toasted peanuts, cut up roughly
• 1 Tb fish sauce
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• Sprinkle of sesame seeds

• Heat both oils over a medium heat.
• Add the garlic, chillies and onion and saute for a couple of minutes
• Add the mince, breaking it up and cook until brown.

• In the meantime mix the lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar together until the sugar dissolves.
• Add the coriander,mint, lemongrass and peanuts to the mince and stir through.

• Pour over half of the lime/fish sauce/sugar mix, mix through and cook for a couple of minutes.
• All done! Well after I tasted it it wasn't spicy enough so I added a few drops of habanero sauce.
• You can serve it as you please - with rice, in lettuce cups with grated carrot, you could put it in a wrap for a yummy Asian pork burrito.
• Once served up pour over the second half of the lime sauce mix.

I chose to serve mine in a big bowl with lots of salad so I finely sliced some lettuce and raw cabbage, grated some carrot, added mung beans and a bit of cucumber and put the larb on top.

Cut some spring onions over the top and sprinkle the sesame seeds over and you've got yourself a very tasty, very quick and easy and rather healthy meal.

Salt and pepper squid with habanero lime mayo

After paying $19.50 for a salt and pepper squid salad in a bar recently I was pretty sure I could make a version for much cheaper (and not drenched in dressing!... I think the chef must have worked at Subway in a former life).

Squid, I have found, is something people are a little scared of buying and cooking but LOVE eating. A plate of salt and pepper squid in a restaurant or bar does not last long with most of my friends and family but is rarely recreated at home.

It is super easy to make and unbelievably cheap. I bought a bag of five frozen squid tubes for about $6.50 and you only need one tube per person.

Salt and pepper squid

• 2 squid tubes
• 2 Tb plain flour
• 2 Tb cornflour
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp black peppercorns

• Wash tube inside and out and pat dry.
• Cut the squid tube in half so it opens flat and then cut down the middle.
• Cut into wide strips and score both sides using a sharp knife and scoring a couple of diagonal lines on each piece.

• Put the salt and pepper in a pestle and mortar and crush a bit but not until completely fine.

• Mix the two flours and salt and pepper together.
• Coat the squid pieces in the flour mix.

• Heat oil in frying pan until hot (can deep fry but shallow frying is fine - although need a bit of oil as the flour soaks it up).
• Place squid in pan - will have to do a couple of batches as you don't want to crowd the pan and make the oil temperature drop.
• Fry for 30 seconds then turn and fry for a further 30 seconds. At this point they should be golden brown but the squid won't be overcooked.
• Drain on paper towels.

The mayo needs to be made a couple of hours in advance so it can sit in the fridge for a bit. It is spicy and zingy and delish and can be used to accompany a variety of things.

Surprisingly I didn't just add habaneros and lime to Best Foods Mayonnaise as is probably expected, but made the mayo from scratch (albeit a nice easy blender version).

Habanero and lime mayo

• 1 egg
• 1/2 Tb white vinegar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp habanero powder
• 1/2 cup oil
• Juice of 1 lime
• Zest of 1 lime

The first thing I needed to do was grind some dried habaneros for the powder.

• Put the egg, vinegar, salt and habanero powder into a blender (I just use a stick blender) and blitz until combined.

• Turn the blender onto a low speed and pour the oil in in a steady stream.
• Blend until thick (it will also thicken in the fridge a bit).
• Add the lime juice and zest and blend to mix it in.
• Put in fridge for a couple of hours before use.

The salad I had at the pub was served in a tortilla basket so I thought, why not?

While not the height of culinary sophistication (I mean, Denny's has one), the tortilla salad bowl it is actually a great idea to add carbs to a salad for a boyfriend who "can't just eat salad for dinner" and is actually rather tasty and fun to eat.

It is also something that is really easy to make (well, if you remember to oil the bowl which I may or may not have done).

Just preheat the oven to 200°C, turn a dessert bowl upside and put a little oil on the bottom of it and press a tortilla/wrap of your choice over it. Bake for 20 minutes until brown and crispy.
Remove from bowl and voilà!

Put it all together by chucking a bit of lettuce, tomato, red onion, cucumber or whatever salad bits take your fancy, top with the hot squid, drizzle some mayo on the top and serve with a lime cheek.

Pay no attention to the missing chunk which was a result of
trying to pry it off the bowl with a knife

The squid was salty and peppery and tender and scrumptious. The mayo was spicy and provides the citrus for the squid.

It is an easy meal which will impress and for about $4 per serve you can't really go wrong.

I'm moving on up, you're moving on out, moving on up, nothing can stop me... (sorry, whenever I talk about moving I just hear M People)

Well upon our departure of Sunset Road the garden looked great, well despite there being no fence, yes that was a lovely surprise upon returning home one day, thanks landlord, oh it will be done within two days you say? Oh no wait, that was a three and a half ago...Anyway...

The chosen few (and pile o' fence)

We had only just planted our new bits and pieces when we were told we had to move so our lettuces are still growing (and grew like magic with the couple of downpours we had) and the broccoli are only just starting out, although growing very well. I will put the fence fiasco behind me and hope the landlord likes broccoli.

Oh yeah, and the garlic is sprouting

The lettuces were very lucky to survive as the three or four days post planting were SCORCHING hot and with a rescue water or three in the evening managed to pull through. The spinach wasn't so lucky. The spring onions were solid and will be awesome in a few weeks.

Herbs were all going well (oregano insanely well) but I decided the wheelbarrow was probably easier to move empty so will replant those.

The move was all done this weekend and we took with us about 10 chilli plants in pots which we will try and over winter (about one of each variety), the two tubs of garlic, the rosemary, the lavender in desperate need of resuscitation, the wheelbarrow and the many other empty pots for lettuces, asian greens etc, oh and the trellis off the planter beds ("cost a bleedin' fortune that did" - Elliot).

The moving of said items added a trip or two but we have built up quite the stash of pots and gardening equipment which will be handy wherever we go.

I wish I could say that was Elliot's pink car

The chillies in the planter bed stayed there but our lovely neighbour did come and ask what the hottest plant was and proceeded to dig up the habanero and replant it in a pot so am stoked we could pay the chilli love forward.

The new house has plenty of room for many pots of veg, chilli and herb goodness and is nice and sunny which will help a lot.

It also has a lovely kitchen ready for some new and spicy creations.

In other chilli-related news, the NZ Chilli Eating Champs starts this week. It is a fantastic night out if you can get to a round or two. Lots of fun (not for those participating) but not for the faint-hearted. I think the fact that they give you a spew bucket in anticipation demonstrates how brutal the food participants have to eat is. It's usually about 10 rounds and the food varies from hot wings to chilli con carne to chilli vodka and just whole mentally hot chillies. Good times. And the final is at Hallertau at a Chilli and Hop Festival. Doesn't get much better than that.

Also, Fire Dragon Chillies, who run the event, sell some awesome sauces and stuff at the comp if you're brave enough...

For more details check out http://nzchillieatingchamps.org.nz/

Oh and my Mams has made use of chillies she had and made Nigella Lawson's chilli jam/jelly (or "chelly") which is basically chillies, sugar and vinegar and is AWESOME with cheese and crackers.

Recipe can be found here http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chilli-jam-2692
Looks super easy and is super delish!

And for those of you wanting a bit of a treat... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqwborlxOwo