Pumpkin Fritters

 The weather is playing along today and I managed to hang a basket of washing on the line. Having damp washing drying all over the place is messy and distracting and I don't like it so it is good to have it caught up. We do have a clothes dryer but it is a last resort and believe me I would have used it yesterday but some rubber band type of thing in it has snapped and it is out of commission. Doesn't matter now.

I'm not just grateful to have the wet washing sorted but also to be able to go outside and actually enjoy it. I never buy pumpkins and it is easy to see why. We grow enough to last most of the year and besides when there are none left, there is always something that is in season and abundant to take its place. Up until now I have been picking the pumpkins as I wanted or needed plus a few to give away. Today however I harvested two wheelbarrows full. So we have plenty to share and enough to keep us going until we are tired of them.

Last night I made pumpkin fritters for dinner. The fritters do need something with them or they border on being bland. I had left over fritters for lunch today along with a poached  egg , lettuce and a little mayonnaise. It was good.

Pumpkin Fritters

Ingredients

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 cup grated pumpkin

1 cup grated zucchini

1 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon bi carb

olive oil for frying

Method

In a large bowl combine the milk, sour cream and egg.

Stir in the pumpkin and zucchini.

Mix in the flour and bi carb well.

Heat the oil in a frying pan.

Place tablespoons of the batter in the hot oil and  cook until golden then turn to cook the other side.

Allow to cook until they are cooked all the way through.

I use two forks for turning, it works for me. The zucchini I used was frozen from the summer glut. I defrosted it in the microwave and drained the excess liquid in a colander. I don't like salt at all but some might find the mixture benefits from it.

Tracy

Seedy

The past two days I have been harvesting seeds. Sunflowers yesterday which were earmarked for the poultry and today fennel.

The fennel seeds are being shared between us and the birds.Not all of the poultry like them but those that do tuck in and make up for those that do not. Grace, Hope and I have been snacking on them today too. We all like the liquorice/aniseed taste. Whatever is left will go into the spice jar for use in cooking until the next batch are ready to harvest.

Slowly but surely I am getting the garden back in order. Cool season crops planted in spots as they become vacant and weeding, weeding, weeding.
Tracy

Surprise winter vegetables

I don't have some magic trick to grow tomatoes throughout a frosty winter. This basketful of tomatoes and a few chillies was picked towards the end of autumn and have ripened up nicely on the verandah. The tomatoes are firm and just the thing for tonights pizza dinner. I have the spelt pizza dough rising by the fire and everything else prepared for a laid-back dinner. So here I am writing a blog post which is apparently number 200.

I will save what else I was going to share for another day. As it is the 200th post, I will have a wee giveaway. If you would like to be in the running to receive a small surprise parcel from Sunny Corner Farm, just leave a comment on this post. I will draw the lucky name on Sunday, 17th July.
Tracy

Harvest Monday-16 March, 2011

Daphne hosts Harvest Monday for anyone who wants to share what they have harvested and what they are doing with it.

Basil Pesto

This week has been about harvesting the remnants of the summer garden. There have been fresh harvests daily for our meals but the focus is definitely on gathering what is frost sensitive in the garden and putting it by for later. I made pesto from the basil. It is frozen now in single use amounts. The pumpkins have had a frost on them now which apparently helps with the flavour. I'm not sure if this fact or fancy as we have been eating pumkins untouched by the frost and they were delicious nonetheless.

The harvest total for the week is 4.773kg/ 10.5 pounds. This includes butternut pumpkin, jap pumpkin, basil, other herbs, spring onion, climbing princess beans,lettuce and rocket. We also 'harvested' 4.5kg/9.9 pounds of turkey on Saturday too which is in the freezer for a winter meal or two.

Coconut and Lime Cake

I used some of my many, many limes in a lime and coconut cake. This cake is quite delicious and moist.

Coconut and Lime Cake

Ingredients

150 grams butter

1 cup sugar

zest and juice of 2 limes

2 eggs

quarter cup of milk

half a cup dessicated coconut

200g grams self-raising flour

Method

Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees. Grease and line 20 cm round baking tin.

Cream butter, sugar and zest until thick and creamy.

Add eggs and combine well. Add juice, flour, coconut and milk.

Pour batter into prepared baking tin and bake for about 50 minutes or unti la skewer comes out clean.

Leave in tin for 5 minutes then turn out onto rack to cool. Or even better, enjoy a piece warm from the oven.

Usually I leave this cake unfrosted and just dust it with icing sugar. This time however, I iced it with a cream cheese and lime frosting and added a few snapdragons as decoration. A little more decadent but worth the effort. I've been trying to use flowers in my cooking a little more of late. I'm still unconvinced about their taste value but they are pleasing to the eye.

Tracy

Small Victories

There have been some small successes in the garden. The pests which have been causing us so much disappointment seem to be under control.They haven't disappearded but they are in numbers that seem more like a natural balance. It is once again a joy to head down to the vegetable patch and potter for a moment or an hour or two.

Today I harvested the first thing from the vegetable garden for the year.A lovely,crisp and tasty lemon cucumber.It was on the small side and probably should have grown for a couple more days but I was impatient for something homegrown to eat with our evening meal.

This brown,messy bunch of sticks is what was left of my Southernwood in the herb garden at the beginning of January after the grasshopper plague.I decided to leave it in the garden along with a lot of the other 'skeletons' of plants.I was hoping that maybe just maybe they might revive when the problem passed and guess what...

there are signs of life.Thank goodness.

Til next time,

Tracy