harvest | carrots

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
When freshly picked, the small leaves from carrots can be used in salads. They have a mild spicy flavor and are best the day of picking. Carrots should be rinsed of any dirt, packed in a vegetable storage bag and refrigerated for up to 1 week before using.

What to do with glut

• Preserve

Carrot & ginger relish

Serve with burgers, chicken schnitzel and roast pork

1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp grated ginger
7 carrots, peeled, finely diced
2 long red chillies, chopped
¼ cup sultanas
1¼ cups apple cider vinegar
¾ cup caster sugar

1. Heat oil in a saucepan on medium. Cook onion for 5 mins, until softened. Add ginger and cook for 1 min, until fragrant. Add carrot, chilli and sultanas and cook for 5 mins, until well coated.
2. Add vinegar and sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45-50 mins, until carrots are tender and relish is thick.
3. Spoon into sterilised jars and seal. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

• To Freeze

Chop, blanch, freeze.
Carrots freeze well. Simply peel, chop and blanch in boiling water for 5 mins. Drain and refresh under cold water. Store in clip lock bags and freeze for up to 2 months.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | asparagus

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
Asparagus deteriorates quickly once picked. Store asparagus in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

What to do with glut

• Preserve

Asparagus, cauliflower & onion pickle

350g asparagus, trimmed
150g cauliflower florets
6 small eschalots, peeled
2 rosemary sprigs
3 cups white wine vinegar
¼ cup caster sugar
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds

1. Pack asparagus, cauliflower, eschalots and rosemary in sterilized jars.
2. Heat vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds and fennel seeds in a pan until boiling. Pour over vegetables, making sure they are covered with vinegar mixture. Seal. Store in a cool dark place for up to 1 month. Refrigerate after opening. Serve with sliced ham, chicken, corned beef.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | cauliflower

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
Once picked cauliflower should be stored, leaves attached, in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

What to do with glut

• Freeze

Cut cauliflower into florets. Blanch in a pan of boiling salted water for 2 min. drain and refresh under cold water to cool. Pack into freezer bags and freeze for up to 3months.

Spicy cauliflower patties

1 small head cauliflower, florets chopped
1 potato, diced
½ cup frozen peas
1 green onion (shallot), chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp turmeric
1 egg, lightly beaten
few drops Tabasco
1 cup breadcrumbs, plus extra to cook

1. Cook cauliflower and potato in a pan of boiling water for 10-12 mins, until tender. Drain and mash. Place in a bowl and set aside to cool.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Shape mixture into patties. Stack in an airtight container, placing baking paper between each layer. Cover and freeze until ready to use.
3. Thaw fritters. Roll in extra breadcrumbs to coat. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan on medium. Cook for 2-3 mins, each side, until crisp and golden. Serve with natural yoghurt.

Makes 14

• Preserve

Cauliflower pickles

Place 3 cups chopped cauliflower, 1 sliced onion, 5 cups white wine vinegar, ¾ cup white sugar, 1 tbsp mustard seeds,1 tsp turmeric and 1 chopped red chilli in a saucepan. Heat on low until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Cook for 10 mins, until cauliflower is tender, but not soft. Pack into sterilized jars and seal.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | olives

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Nothing says “Mediterranean” quite like an olive.  These fruits have been used as a source of oil and flesh (once pickled) for Millennium, and these days are no less popular throughout the whole world.  As a garden specimen they are also very adaptable and ornamental.  The foliage is a beautiful silvery grey and very drought resistant once established and the plants themselves are also quite tolerant of cold.

Plants can grow in a number of ways, from espalier or “flat packed” against a wall, to standardized specimens or into trees, where they are normally kept pruned to about 4m tall.  They need a well drained soil or pot to perform well, with adequate moisture over winter and spring when they are in blossom.  Feed once a year with complete plant food.  Cropping will normally take about 5 years to produce decent quantities.  Olives are normally either for oil or fruit/pickling types, so be sure to choose a suitable variety that suits your need.  Kalamata is probably the most popular.

Olives appear on the trees in Australia at Christmas time and are large enough to pick by about February for green olives and March/April for black olives.  Of course, olives straight from the tree are totally inedible.  At some point thousands of years back people realised however that soaking them in the sea for a few weeks washed out the bitterness and rendered them delicious.

Commercially olives are treated with caustic soda, and other numbered ingredients!  If you’d rather replicate the Ancient Greeks and Romans and have salt brined olives, it’s easy, but does take some weeks.

To Pickle, soak olives in water for 10 days, changing water daily. Make a brine solution of 1 cup salt to 4 litres of water. Soak olives in brine for about 4 weeks, changing the brine solution every week. The time it takes varies greatly depending upon the olive variety. Weight the fruit under the water with a clean plate and you can speed the process up by cutting the skin, this will allow the brine soak into the olive more.

Some people prefer to make “sultana olives” which just uses straight rock salt instead of brine to draw out the bitter juices.  They layer olives and rock salt alternatively in a plastic container, punch holes in the lid and the base and turn the container daily allowing the juices to escape.  After about 10 days the olives should not be bitter and should look wrinkled.

With either method, when you are happy with the taste, store them in sterilised jars with fresh brine and a little olive oil to help keep them fresh.  You can add herbs etc 24 hours before use by pouring off the brine, adding oil and herbs and then enjoying these flavours imbued the next day.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | olives

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
Pick green olives when they are pale green or yellow and black olives when dark purple. Once picked refrigerate until pickled.

What to do with glut

Pickle:
Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander are the experts when it comes to olives – so I have adapted this pickling method from them.

Soak olives in water for 10 days, changing water daily. Make a brine solution of 1 cup salt to 4 litres of water. Soak olives in brine for about 4 weeks, changing the brine solution every week. The time it takes varies greatly depending upon the olive variety. Some olives take months to lose their bitterness, so just keep trying them until they develop that delicious olivey flavour.

Drain olives and store in a weak brine solution or a mix of olive oil and white wine vinegar in a cool dark place.

Olive pate

350g pitted black olives
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
goats cheese, to serve

1. Place olives, parsley and garlic in a food processor. Process until chopped. Add oil and process until smooth. Spoon into sterilised jars. Seal. Store refrigerate for up to 1 month.
2. To serve, spread onto warm crostini and top with crumbled goats cheese.

Makes 1 cup

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | cabbage

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
Cabbages should be firm and heavy for their size. Tight leaf varieties, such as green and red cabbage, should be stored in a plastic bag and refrigerated for up to 1 week and are known to store better than loose leaf cabbages. Savoy, wombok and cavalo nero should have crisp firm leaves with no discolouration and should only be refrigerated for 2-3 days before use.

What to do with glut

The most successful way to preserve a glut of cabbage is to pickle it. This can be done using a vinegar based pickling solution or made into sauerkraut as in the recipe below.

• Preserve:

Sauerkraut

½ medium cabbage
1 tbsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp black peppercorns
¼ cup warm water

1. Remove any tough outer leaves from cabbage and finely shred. Spread cabbage onto bench top and sprinkle over salt. Using your hands, mix salt into cabbage, squeezing cabbage as you go to loosen and start releasing water.
2. Place one-third of the cabbage in a large saucepan, pressing down as you go. Top with a little garlic and a few peppercorns. Repeat layers twice more, pressing down firmly with your fist as you go. Pour over water. Cover the cabbage with a plate and top with another smaller pot or cans to weigh down.
3. Place the pot of cabbage in the pantry or leave on bench top for 5-7 days to pickle. Transfer to sterilized jars and refrigerate until ready to use.

Makes 4 cups

Note – the pickling process is most efficient at around 20C. Colder and it will take longer, warmer and the process will be reduced to about 3 days. Check daily, when the cabbage has softened and the bubbles have ceased the pickling process is complete.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | zucchini & squash

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
Zucchini and squash should be firm and have a shiny, unblemished skin. The delicate sweet flavour deteriorates when stored. Once picked, store in a ventilated bag in the refrigerator for 2-3days.

What to do with glut

• Freeze:

Freezing vegetables with a high water content, like zucchini isn’t very successful, even if blanched first. The freezing process breaks down the structure leaving a watery, limp mess.

• Preserve:

Pickled zucchini & squash

250g green zucchini, cut into batons
250g yellow zucchini, cut into batons
250g baby squash, quartered
4 cups white vinegar
½ cup white sugar
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 bay leaves
2 small red chillies, chopped
1tsp black peppercorns
¼ cup olive oil

1. Layer vegetables in sterilized jars, packing tightly.
2. Place vinegar, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, chilli, peppercorns and 4 cups of water in a large saucepan. Bring to boil. Pour over vegetables to completely cover. Drizzle over a little oil. Seal with lid. Turn jars upside down every 30 mins or so, until cool.
3. Store in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks before using. Refrigerate once opened.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS