Brisbane, QLD


Monday, May 30, 2011

THE VEGGIE PATCH

The chef picking silverbeet.
We have been trying to establish a veggie patch for a couple of years now, but without much success.
However, last summer things improved a little and we were able to harvest some veggies for the cooking pot.

Now that winter is almost here some veggies are coming to an end. As we are going away soon we are going to dig in the beans and pull up the lettuce for eating instead of just taking the leaves as usual.


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Fresh lettuce for lunch.                       Wash and.........

spin.

There is something very satisfying about growing your own. (especially when you're new at it)

Chef will make his famous salad sauce with these ingredients. (notice there are 3 Swiss ingredients in the middle). But wait there is something missing.......

out to the garden again


Now the sauce is done.

Silly me didn't take a pic of the final meal of quiche (sweet potato, leek, zucchini and mushroom) with ham, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot, cheese, beetroot, asparagus, avocado, gornichons, pickled onions and olives. (We had a visitor for lunch)
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37 comments:

  1. CherylMay 30, 2011 at 10:07 PM

    Diane, inviting you and Bill to lunch. Only one catc! You get to do the cooking! I really miss my gardening and cooking.

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  2. MadSnapperMay 30, 2011 at 10:11 PM

    beautiful lettuce, have not had any fresh picked like this since daddy died, no one plants and he always had fresh greens growing year round. i will have to see if hubby can grow leaf lettuce in his bucket garden. your meal sounds wonderful

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  3. RoeHMay 30, 2011 at 10:44 PM

    Oh you've got one of those neat spinners! I've been going to buy one for years but never have yet. Gardens are wonderful. I like to go up to Utah in the summertime and stay at my cousin's house. She cooks nearly everything out of that garden of hers. I'm envious that you are going into wintertime. But you already knew that. :(

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  4. yevishaMay 30, 2011 at 10:49 PM

    they all look lovely esp. the lemons. :)

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  5. eileeninmdMay 30, 2011 at 11:11 PM

    Diane, i think it is wonderful you have a veggie garden and are able to reap the benefits. I love salads. I am sure you are looking forward to your trip to see your cute grandson too.

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  6. JoMay 30, 2011 at 11:20 PM

    You taught me something today: that Maggi sauce is Swiss. I love your crisp lettuce and WOW to lose lemons (I saw the tree in the second photo) you and Bill have green thumbs indeed. Have a great day. Jo

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  7. JoMay 30, 2011 at 11:21 PM

    Sorry, typos not lose but those lemons!

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  8. JulieMay 31, 2011 at 12:19 AM

    What is a gornichon? Email coming in the morning ...

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  9. Lori SkoogMay 31, 2011 at 12:24 AM

    Yum. Your garden is beautiful. We still have a long way to go to harvest anything other than spinach and rhubarb.

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  10. DesireeMay 31, 2011 at 12:27 AM

    Your lunch sounded delicious...the kind of meal I really enjoy :) Next time, please invite me ;)

    The lemons looks so juicy...all flesh, few pips. Yum! Nothing beats homegrown and homemade.

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  11. biebkriebelsMay 31, 2011 at 12:47 AM

    Your're doing very good, very healthy, everything looks good. The "maggi" we have here too,always thought it was dutch.It is not so much used anymore. When I was young, people did it in their soup or gravy. It was always on the dining table.
    You ar leaving pretty soon to USA, we are going to Scandinavia, the North-cape and the Polar circle!

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  12. GeorgeMay 31, 2011 at 12:53 AM

    I agree that there is nothing better than vegetables fresh from the garden. I think your garden has done very well. The lettuce looks wonderful.

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  13. Come Away With MeMay 31, 2011 at 1:25 AM

    It's breakfast time here at the moment, but your delicious (and partly home grown) meal of salad and quiche makes my oatmeal seem a little lacking!

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  14. GattinaMay 31, 2011 at 1:37 AM

    That at least is real "Bio" food ! coming freshly out of the garden. I am too lazy for that !

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  15. The Southern Mint JulepMay 31, 2011 at 1:38 AM

    Absolutely delicious sounding and beautiful too. Enjoy, I sure would.

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  16. Kay L. DaviesMay 31, 2011 at 1:56 AM

    Gorgeous garden, and I love the size of that lemon.
    I bought some zucchini bedding plants yesterday and have to plant them today. Our dog loves zucchini, and her veterinarian has said she shouldn't eat as much cucumber as she's been getting. She would have loved your salad ingredients (except for the leeks and the sauce). Silly old dog.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  17. MTWagginMay 31, 2011 at 2:08 AM

    Nothing beats fresh garden lettuce in a salad - nothing! Those lemons look so yummy!

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  18. Betsy Banks AdamsMay 31, 2011 at 2:58 AM

    Hi Diane, there's just nothing better than veggies from the garden. Your lettuce looks yummy --and that dressing I'll bet is delicious.

    Hope you two have a wonderful day. We have Memorial Day here today...
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  19. GardenOfDaisiesMay 31, 2011 at 3:49 AM

    Diane, Your quiche and fresh-from-the-garden, end of the season salad supper sounds yummylicious! Two of my favorites!! Your garden looks just perfect for the two of you! (Wish I was there to use up all your lemons for you.) I usually make my own salad dressing too... so much better than the stuff in the bottle from the store.
    We have a wonderful little Confiserie Suisse (and tea room) here in town that we enjoy. (The owners came from Basel) I'll have to take pictures next time we go. The last time I had quiche, beets, carrot salad and linzer for dessert. Yum!

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  20. Jenny WoolfMay 31, 2011 at 5:47 AM

    Oh, that sounds like a really lovely meal just the kind I like. I don't know what gornichons are, though. I'll look 'em up!

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  21. Deb from WhatsInMyAtticMay 31, 2011 at 8:24 AM

    Looks wonderful...what a beautiful lemon! I wish I could grow lettuce...it's always too bitter to eat. I don't know for sure, but suspect it's something to do with the soil.

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  22. DianneMay 31, 2011 at 9:03 AM

    Delightful salad dressing and that dash of lemon always makes a difference - I must buy one of those spinners!

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  23. africanaussieMay 31, 2011 at 9:50 AM

    well i think your vegetable garden looks very successful. we just picked a cucumber out of the garden and the flesh was green - so yummy - it makes you wonder what is missing from the vegetables we buy, besides the colour!

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  24. SusanMay 31, 2011 at 10:53 AM

    Such a delight eating your home-growns. I like the sound of the salad sauce too.
    Thank goodness you had a lemon on hand ;-) !!

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  25. diane bMay 31, 2011 at 1:58 PM

    Gornichons are baby pickled cucumbers. Teeny tiny ones.

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  26. UnknownMay 31, 2011 at 5:24 PM

    Yes, I agree that it's very satisfying about growing your own and just walking out the door and picking your veg :). Those lemons look gorgeous.

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  27. Joan ElizabethMay 31, 2011 at 7:15 PM

    Wish I was the visitor for that lunch. The vege patch IS very exciting but we didn't try this year ... maybe we will give it a go again next summer.

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  28. AnonymousMay 31, 2011 at 8:02 PM

    It is beginning to get hotter up here in Ohio where we live. I will be married to Patty for 56 years this coming July. We are two old farts and learned recently that old people don't use computers. LOL

    I will be 77 in October and Patty will be 75. We have five adult children and the oldest just turned 55 or will on June 1st.

    My real name is "Abraham Lincoln" and I am a third cousin, three times removed from President Abraham Lincoln. My wife is a fourth cousin to General George Armstrong Custer the famous loser at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

    That is our or my introduction to you. I am not a spammer and I do read blog and I do follow blogs that appeal to me. I am now following your blog.

    Your blog appealed and I enjoyed the photos and stories with Down Our Street post and The Veggie Patch. I noted your Canon DSLR camera crashed and it reminded me to tell you that I use Canon Rebels - an ATi and an SXi with a Canon 70-200mm zoom lens that I just listed on Amazon to sell. It is the stabilized one.

    Now, I am using that new Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5 lens which I like very much.

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  29. Betty ManousosMay 31, 2011 at 8:11 PM

    i couldn't agree more!
    there's nothing better than vegetables/fruits fresh from the garden.

    your garden looks amazing!

    lovely pictures, too.

    betty xx

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  30. Red Nomad OZMay 31, 2011 at 9:51 PM

    Wow! All the produce looks amazing, but that lemon is sensational!!

    Hope it tasted as good as it looked!!

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  31. SheilaMay 31, 2011 at 10:54 PM

    the meal sounded wonderful and I was thinking your end of May cleaning up the garden, translates to our end of November. You have such a long growing season. Our gardens are just going in now or in the past couple of weeks. A friends lettuce was just peeking up a few days ago but we had frost and she lost two tomato plants. We will be worried about frost again in late August and the gardens will be empty again by mid September. Our days are so long our gardens grow well for 3 months though. Enjoy your winter days of making wonderful meals and sharing them with friends.

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  32. BarbaraJune 1, 2011 at 3:19 AM

    It all looks and sounds delicious, especially that fresh lettuce. Can imagine it being quite hard growing in your climate.

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  33. DeniseinVAJune 1, 2011 at 4:34 AM

    It must be very rewarding to be able to eat your own home-grown produce. All sounds delicious.

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  34. Callie BradyJune 1, 2011 at 8:24 AM

    Wow! That lettuce looks so good. It must have been a wonderful lunch! Hope your camera is fixed quickly.

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  35. Pat @ Mille Fiori FavoritiJune 3, 2011 at 1:38 AM

    Your garden looks so abundant! I imagine all the rain you had in your summer helped. Your lunch sounds kike it was very delcious--I love quiche!

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  36. jennyfrecklesJune 3, 2011 at 6:05 AM

    I'm envious that you can pick your own lemons! Lettuce I might manage, but lemons...

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  37. UnknownJune 17, 2011 at 4:41 AM

    Those lemons look marvelous!

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