ugly veg!

i am getting quite excited.

i'm growing ugly veg this year ..... even have seeds on order for a tomato named Mr. Ugly.  how cool is that!  i reckon there is something intrinsically beautiful about ugly veg.  oxymoron maybe .... but you have to believe, that in spite of the ugliness of what it looks like on the outside ... on the inside it just has to be full of all sorts of great yumminess!

so i have Mr Ugly tomato's on order, and am currently growing celeriac and kohlrabi.  my kohlrabi haven't sprouted yet, but i have celeriac that are in varying states of readiness and i expect will be ready to go out into the garden in the next few weeks.  here is what the most developed ones look like at the moment.

i am expecting that after a bit of tlc and being planted out in our new, u-beaut veggie patch, that this is what they will eventually look like.

U - G - L - Y!!!!

these things are supposed to be very diverse in how they are used.  if you dice it up raw or grate it .... you can use it like celery.  on the other side .... if you roast it or boil it .... you can use it like potato.  it would appear to be another very versatile veg to be used in a plethora of ways.

and here are a couple of recipes .... they are winter oriented, simply because it feels like winter outside!  however, i have also seen recipes for grated celeriac and fennel salads and a variety of other  more spring time / summery recipes.

Here is a recipe from Hugh @ River Cottage that i intend to try this winter.  i'll let you know how it goes!

INGREDIENTS

1 large celeriac, peeled
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1/2 - 1 large red chili, de-seeded and finely sliced
salt and black pepper to taste
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
150 ml whole milk
350 ml double cream

METHOD

1. preheat oven to 190C.  using a mandolin, food processor or knife, slice the celeriac to the thickness of a 10p coin.  place the  celeriac, garlic, chili, salt and plenty of black pepper in a large bowl and toss to coat.  add enough oil to coat and toss again.  
2. in a jug, mix the milk and cream together, add 3/4 to the bowl and give everything a good mix to coat.  butter a gratin dish and pour in half the creamy celeriac mix.  arrange the celeriac evenly then add the rest of the celeriac and arrange in the dish and top up with the remaining cream.
3. bake for 45 minutes, or until brown on top and bubbling.

and another for Celeriac, Potato and Leek Soup, again from River Cottage.

INGREDIENTS

50g Butter
1 Celeriac, peeled and cubed
1 Potato, peeled and cubed
1 Leek, trimmed, washed and roughly sliced
1 Onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Garlic clove, sliced
1 litre stock (veg, chicken ... whatever suits you!)
Parsley and Walnut pesto to serve

METHOD

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based pot over a medium-low heat.  Add the celeriac, leek, potato, garlic and onion, season generously, and gently sweat the vegetables until they're all starting to soften (should take about 10 minutes).

Add the stock, bring the soup to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the celeriac is completely tender.  Liquidise until smooth, return to the pan and reheat over a medium flame.  just before serving,m check the soup for seasoning and serve with a drizzle of pesto.

winter time blues

... it's been raining since saturday afternoon.  thursday now.  i'm about to go stir crazy .... this is cabin fever and it is driving me insane!  with a sick family .... the coughs and hacks and sniffles abound, it is only the rare dash for this or that supply that takes me away from home.

i keep trying to remind myself that this is good for the new no-dig beds we just put in.  they are well and truly starting the decomposition process.

but impatient me would rather be planting those beds than watching them settle.  <sigh>

so i have to think of those things that will keep me inspired ... to see winter as a time of bedding in and preparing, rather than twiddling my thumbs.

• there are seedlings to tend -- cabbage, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, and yes, i am daring to get into bean territory already.
• placed an order with Diggers the other day ... ahhh .... that felt good.  ordered comfrey, chives, sorrel, amaranth, broccoli romanesco, capsicum, eggplant, sweet corn, kohlrabi, cavolo nero black tuscan kale, deer tongue lettuce, malabar climbing spinach, purple tomatillo and new water bottle tops.  
• my Gardenate reminder came.  if you don't belong to this, you should.  a global site that allows you to enter your location and it sends you monthly reminders of what should be planted that month (and also sends you what to prep for the following month).
• the peas (both green feast and snow) are looking fantastic, not to mention the scarlet broad beans!  this dead branch idea from hugh of River Cottage has worked a treat as something to grow the peas on.  
• went to the nursery yesterday to pick up some rooting medium to encourage bare roots for my lavender propagation.  and saw a few acacia's and trees i wanted.  come next pay day i think i'll have to get a kafir lime and a fig tree .... 
• perfect weather to plan an attack on slugs.  turn a bucket or two upside down in the garden bed and they'll congregate inside the warm, dark dampness and make a great treat for the chooks.
• hubby is going to an DIY aquaponics course this weekend.... way cool  (i can taste the smoked trout already!).  and next weekend i will be attending a mushroom workshop .... how to grow exotics, use them for composting and decomposing in the yard.  who would've thot that mushrooms were such a versatile food!

... in the midst of these winter blues i look at the weather forecast.  says it's supposed to be sunny today ... oh cool.  i'll be able to get that laundry on the line.  but then i look outside .... and, well .... it's still raining .... 

here in australia we are one week away from the shortest day of the year ... june 23rd.  it only gets better after that, right?