Sweet Peas Ramblings . . .: Veggie Patch in FULL Glory!

all about my love for gardening and cooking! (are you hungry?)

I am finally getting my act together to create this page. I am such an unorganised person, sending bits here and there - whether it is on Facebook or Twitter or Flickr to my friends and my family in America. Thought this would be a great way to be able to combine everything I want to share into one page that is easy to navigate (well, that is the idea anyway!) I am a Gemini and we are notorious for never finishing a task, however I will just aim to keep this up-to-date and will take it as it comes! Wish me luck and hope you will follow me on my adventures in the garden & in the kitchen!
~Oh, and my dad used to call me "Sweet Pea".

Friday, 1 July 2011

Veggie Patch in FULL Glory!

Just thought I would share the progress going on in our veggie patch. At the moment I am picking loads of lettuce, cucumbers, courgettes, yellow courgettes, spring onions, runner beans, french beans and beetroot. Spaghetti squash are coming along as well as everything else - tomatoes, aubergines (eggplant) sweet potatoes, leeks, chilli's, fennel, globe artichokes, onions, the list goes on!!!!

Oh and our lavender and other flowers/plants are in their prime as well!!

(as usual, click on any pic for an enlargement)

Bay tree in foreground

Runner Beans

Spaghetti Squash and French Beans

French Beans

Courgettes

Leeks and Cherry Tomatoes

Yellow Courgettes

Beetroot, aubergines, lettuce, rocket, sweet peas

Massive Beetroots

Rocket and Lettuce

Yellow Courgettes and nasturtiums

Peas, nasturtums, tarragon and chives

sunflowers and nasturtiums

Sweet potatoes

tarragon, nasturtiums and peas

sunflowers and tarragon, potatoes in the background

View from back of veggie patch looking into our back garden

Runner Beans

French Beans, Spaghetti Squash and lavender

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Cooking Tips

Please send me any of your cooking tips and I will add to the list!

* Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

*Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating... Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

*Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

*Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste
of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

* Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

* To make roast meat super-tender never cook it straight from the fridge. A large joint of beef will need at least half an hour at room temp before going into the oven.

*After squeezing juice from a lemon, put the two halves in the cutlrey basket of your dishwasher next time you use it to freshen it.

* Get yourself a bunch of fresh coriander, wash and trim the stems. Dry on paper towels then put in individual freezer snack bags. Freeze. When you need some fresh coriander just get a pack from the freezer, crush or chop and add to your recipe.

* To test to see if an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cold, salted water. If it sinks, it's fresh. If it floats, throw it away!!

* Use a pizza cutter to cut bars or tray bakes into nice, smooth squares.

* To keep cauliflower white while cooking - add a little milk to the water.

* Microwave a lemon for 15 seconds and double the juice you get before squeezing.

* To remove egg shells from a batter, use the remaining shell to attract the piece.

* If you need only 1/2 an onion, save the root half. It will last longer.

* One pound of all purpose flour is the equivalent to 4 cups.

* When using rice, remember that 1 cup of uncooked long-grain white rice makes 3 cups cooked.

Little Gems and Pearls of Wisdom

Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum
To clean behind the radiator or behind the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your skirt and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with trousers that cling when wearing tights. Place pin in seam of trousers and ... ta da! ... static is gone.

Reopening envelopes
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Freshen your washing machine
Fill the detergent dispenser with vinegar and run a wash cycle on an empty machine. This cleans, deodorises and removes limescale.

Get hydrangeas to flower blue
Plant them beneath or near a large conifer: the ground will be the right pH for blue flowers.

Get rid of bobbles from wool
Shave them off with a dry disposable razor.

Survive hay fever
Have a bath or shower before you go to bed, and leave the clothes you've worn that day outside your bedroom. This will get rid of the pollen you've picked up on skin, clothes and hair.

Deal with office bitching
Hear and see all; repeat nothing.

Look younger
Stand up straight. You can take ten years off your age by pulling your shoulders down and your stomach in.

Workout to get fit
Not to lose weight. Change your diet instead. To lose weight, you must consume less calories than you burn.

all about my love for gardening and cooking! (are you hungry?)

I am also a Pampered Chef Consultant and love my job!

Friday, 1 July 2011

Veggie Patch in FULL Glory!

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