Real World Gardener-Horticulture, Gardening, Learning to Grow

Grow, Harvest, Eat Yacon on Real World Gardener

 THE GOOD EARTH

How to Grow and Use Yacon: Peruvian Ground Apple

Scientific Name: Smallanthus sonchifolius

Common Name: Yacon, Peruvian ground apple

Family: Asteraceae-same as daisies and sunflowers.

Plant Height & Width: 1.5m x 0.5m

 

If you look at the flowers they are like much smaller versions of sunflowers.

Here’s a tuber that tastes similar to a nashi pear, looks something like sweet potato on the outside, and the sugars from it aren’t absorbed by the body.

Not only that, the tubers contain a lot of juice, and the sugars that make it sweet is not absorbed by the body so you can't put on the kilos! How good is that?  

Then there’s the fact that it’s easy to grow, and has small flowers that resemble sunflowers and you just can’t buy it from the supermarket or fruit and veg store.

 

Yacon plant growing in Margaret's garden

How to Grow Yacon from Tubers?

Yacon has two types of tubers unlike ginger or turmeric.

• The tubers that you plant are attached to the main stem and are much smaller and pinkish in colour. I planted mine in early September and October was the time that it sprouted in my Sydney garden.
• If you were to receive some brown tubers that look like a brown sweet potato, that's what you eat and not what you plant. 
• The edible tubers spread from the clump sideways meaning you need at least 1/2 metre  of space to produce sizeable clumps.
• Can be planted in any district as they can withstand frost.

When to Harvest?

Yacon is a herbaceous perennial meaning it has a dormant period that starts when the leaves die down in late autumn. 

This is the time when the tubers are ready to harvest. Simply fork up the entire crop, and harvest the large brown tubers to eat fresh, and use the small reddish rhizomes at the top to replant for next year’s crop.

What Can You Do With Yacon?

Eat it of course but how,  is the thing so here are some of Margaret's tips.

• Yacon is sweet and crunchy and is great eaten fresh.
• Ever heard of Yacon chips? That's right you can make chips out of this tubber.
• Just cut up into chip sizes and drizzle some oil over the top and bake in the oven.
• Try using it in salads like Waldorf salad and wherever you would use fresh pears.
• Use it in stir fries.
• You can also juice it or cook down the juice to make syrup and use it as a sweetener.

Fun Tip from Margaret

• Running short of toilet paper, try large soft fluffy leaves like those of the Yacon plant.

But there's more uses, have a listen to the podcast.

I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska of www.mosshouse.com.au

If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Spice Up Food with Furikake on Real World Gardener

 SPICE IT UP

Furikake: Japanese seasoning

Isn't it time you enlivened your tastes buds with something you've never tried before?

This next spice isn’t just one spice on it’s on but several spices or a blend of spices that are just right for Japanese food or any other food for that matter.

Furikake is a traditional Japanese seasoning that is sprinkled on cooked food.

In some ways like shichimi togarashi seasoning, furikake seasoning has not only toasted sesame seeds in it but also black sesame seeds that combine to give you a delectable nutty flavour.

But wait, will it have monosodium glutamate I hear you ask as so often spice blends in Asian cuisine do?

Well, here’s the thing, with 50 years of sourcing and mixing spice blends, Ian Hemphill is just the man to find a substitute for MSG without compromising the flavour of just such a spice blend

Fuikake also has the combination of  salt, nori flakes or nagi, to add that classic Japanese profile when it comes to flavour. Also orange peel, Sichuan pepper and Australian lemon myrtle.

Furikake goes well with rice, on top of eggs, seafood and on top of white or red meat.

 

Miso soup with furikake eggs. photo courtesy www.herbies.com.au

Let’s find out more bout this fabulous spice.

I'm talking with Ian Hempill, owner of www.herbies.com.au

Ian has been a regular on RWG for many years but never has he admitted to carrying emergency spices in his pocket before.

Ian carries Furikake spice in his pocket in the off-chance he’s going to snack on some sushi.

How good is that? If you have any questions about spices why not email us at realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville

Leaf Celery in the Kitchen Garden

 KITCHEN GARDEN

Leaf Celery

Scientific Name:Apium graveolens var. secalinum

Plant family: Apiaceae

Common Name: Parcel

 

A relatively uncommon or even unkown herb or vegetable. Parcel stems from the idea that it looks like parsley but tastes like celery.

• Leaf celery is a biennial plant growing to 60cm in height.

Biennial simply means that leaf celery grows vegetatively during the first year and fruits (seeds) and dies  at the end of the second year.

Leaf celery could be classified as a herb because the leaves are used just as much as the stalks in cooking.

 

Personally I wouldn't be without my leaf celery because it's a great substitute for the harder to grow culinary celery. 

I use it for making sugo, the tradition Italian tomato base for a lot of traditional dishes such as lasagne and bolognese.

Sugo For Sure-How to Make it

Sugo is made by first finely chopping onion, celery and carrot that frying for a few minutes until softer. 

Then adding the garlic and tomatoes to make a tomato base for any Italian dish.

However, if you like munching on celery stalks, or using them in Waldorf salads, it's not a substitute in that instance. 

The stalks of leaf celery are much thinner and hollow and have a more pungent taste ( to my liking) that normal culinary celery.

This winter I have practically depleted my supply of leaf celery because of the number of soups, and slow co

oked meals I have been preparing. It’s just a great flavouring herb.

Leaf celery stalks in my garden (pictured right)

 

Easy Peasy Celery Salt

Celery salt can also be made from the seeds. Simply let one plant go to flower and set seed. Then once dried in situ, collect the seeds and crush them.

• Corinne suggests dehydrating the leaves to make celery leaf salt.

• Chop the stems and leaves and make a compound celery butter.

We both recommend growing leaf celery as a cut and come again herb or vegetable and an alternative to the larger stalked celery.
Much easier to grow too.

Corinne Mossati, founder of www.thegourmanticgarden.com has further suggestions.

So let’s find out more by listening to the podcast.

If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Cardamom in Cooking on Real World Gardener

 SPICE IT UP

Know Your Cardamoms.

There are many budding chefs and cooks that use heaps of spices in their recipes going by the success of cooking shows on television.

Green and brown cardamom pods

Indian, Asian and Mexican cooking particularly calls for a wide selection of these different spices.

 

Some spices though come in a variety of  grades, colours and uses making it possible for the unsuspecting cook to make a blunder.

This may not necessarily result in a vast difference in the final flavour, but it can make your creation not as 'flavoursome' as it should be.

Brown Chinese Cardamom

Brown (black) Indian cardamom (right)

 

Would you say you ever used cardamom pods or cardamom?

Did you know that there are different coloured cardamoms?

Cardamom pods are one such spice that comes a variety of colours and suit different cuisines.

 

 

So if you think there’s just the one, you may have been doing your recipes and cooking a disservice.

• So which one should you use?

Ian Hemphill says the default cardamom is the green cardamom pod. Inside are little black to brown seeds which is the important part of the pod.

There are a couple of other cardamoms. 

Brown cardamom-Indian and Chinese

• The brown Indian cardamom is a much larger pod than the green cardamom by 4-5 times the size. This cardamom has a smoky aroma and is especially used in tandoori dishes.
• Chinese cardamom is usually used whole.

White Cardamom-be careful that you are actually get the real deal white cardamom and not bleached old cardamoms.

Thai cardamom is the genuine white cardamom.

White cardamom is hard to source.

If you are cooking Thai dishes that call for this cardamom you may substitute green cardamom but half the quantity.

 

NOTE: Cardamom is also used in sweet dishes such as this cardamom scented rice pudding (pictured), cardamom cake and cardamom biscuits. Definitely use the sweet or green cardamom and not the brown cardamom!

 

* Ian’s big tip is never grind the pods and seeds together.*

Let’s find out more by listening to the podcast.

Marianne (host of Real World Gardener radio show) is Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au

Hopefully that’s set you on the right path to using the correct coloured cardamoms in your cooking.

 

If you have any questions you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

 

Drinks and tricks with Horseradish on Real World Gardener

 KITCHEN GARDEN

Tricks with Horseradish

My father was a big fan of this vegetable or perhaps it should be called a herb?
He loved it grated on various meats, ‘clears out the sinuses' he always exclaimed.

Not too many gardeners are familiar with horseradish and even though it's a perennial vegetable that's easy to grow.

• Perhaps because gardeners and others aren't too familiar with what you do with this, ahem root vegetable. 
• Well that's right,  horseradish is actually classified as a root vegetable even though you can use it as a seasoning and in drinks.

In drinks I hear you exclaim, what is it?

Growing horseradish

• Firstly, to grow horseradish, get yourself a crown or a plant from the herb section of your garden centre.
• Planting in late winter is perfect.
• Choose a sunny but permanent spot.
• Dig in plenty of of well rotted manures and compost.

TIP: Horseradish can takeover a garden bed left unattended for a few months. 

Grow it in a very large pot or keep it in a spot where it can't spread too easily.

USES

If you're grating horseradish, it loses its pungency fairly quickly, you can store it by making a horseradish cream or in vinegar.

• TIP: Corinne freezes the root in pieces. Then grate as needed.

Cocktails with horseradish.

If you’re into experimenting try grated horseradish in white sauce or in a savoury martini or even a bloody mary.
Infuse it in vodka to make a savoury gibson style martina.
Just flavor a cup of vodka with a small amount of grated horseradish for a few days to give it that extra kick.

For more details listen to the podcast.

I'm talking with Corinne Mossati founder of the gourmantic garden website 

If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Lemon Verbena in the Kitchen Garden

KITCHEN GARDEN  

LEMON VERBENA

Did you think that herbs were just for making tea?

Maybe not, but some herbs have endless uses, and this week I’m featuring the herb lemon verbena (Aloysia citriodora) that’s larger than you would expect to find in a herb garden so probably could fit into the back of a border but in a sunny location.

Lemon verbena photo M Cannon

• How would I describe the scent of lemon verbena?

I would say that lemon verbena has a bright, slightly sweet flavour with a strong hint of lemon.

The strong lemon scent of this herb is far less overpowering than the lemon flavor and fragrance of lemon balm, lemon thyme, lemon mint, and lemongrass.

What does it look like?

Lemon verbena is a vigorous growing deciduous shrub to 3 metres tall by 3 metres wide. 

The leaves are a lime green and lanceolate, and flowers appear in late spring until the end of summer almost. 

The flowers are white, quite small and appear in a panicle.

• My plant is quite an old plant that I prune each winter to about 1 metre off the ground.

How to use lemon verbena?

• As a flavouring in kombucha
• Add leaves to a sorbet or ice-cream when making
• Poach stone fruit in a sugar syrup with lemon verbena leaves
• Infuse lemon verbena leaves in olive oil or vinegar-250 ml of olive oil with 6 leaves or to taste
• Fish en papiotte with lemon verbena leaves

Corinne's Top Tip: 

Why not try  a gin and sonic with muddled lemon verbena. Made with half soda water and half tonic so less calories. 

Listen to the podcast.

Marianne is talking  Corinne Mossati, founder of  www.thegourmanticgarden.com

Gourmantic garden website. You can also follow Corinne for more delightful ideas on Instagram.

What is Mixed Spice in Spice it Up

 SPICE IT UP

MIXED SPICE

The name 'mixed spice,' sounds 'oldie worldie' to me because it's not something that comes up in too many recipes these days. 

Perhaps if your flicking through an old  Woman's Weekly recipe book, or the cookbook you used at school in home economics class, you might find it in the cakes and buns section.

 

What is mixed spice?

Mixed Spice is a sweet spice blend and is used in a variety of cakes, puddings, pies, breads and buns, biscuits, pancakes, cupcakes, gingerbreads, and even fruit salads.

Mixed spice has actually the following ground spices.

• Cinnamon-two types, Sri Lankan cinnamon and cassia cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Ginger-to add brightness and freshness
• Cloves-a very small amount.
• Allspice-a spice all on its own which is actually a berry.
• Coriander seeds, ground of course. Coriander is an amalgamating spice.

But what do you use if you can find it on the supermarket shelves?

Melting Moment biscuits

Mixed spice quick alternative:

• Cinnamon 1 tablespoon
• Nutmeg     1 teaspoon
• Ginger       1 teaspoon
• Cloves       1/2 cloves
• Coriander  2 teaspoons

 

With the predominant flavor of cinnamon, it also makes a nice change to substitute this spice blend for anything calling for cinnamon for an added flavour boost.
Marianne is talking with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au
If you have any questions you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

Lacto Fermented Vegetables in the Kitchen Garden

 KITCHEN GARDEN

LACTO-FERMENTATION

There are several ways to preserve food, these include freezing, drying, pickling and fermenting.

You may think that fermented foods are a recent trend, but in fact, fermenting food has been carried out for thousands of years.

Fermenting food is one way of preserving your ample supply of produce that's growing in your garden.

There are a few ways to ferment foods but lacto-fermentation is one of the easiest.

• The term lacto-fermentation is a scary one and belies how simple it really is. It's unbelievably quick and easy.

So what is it?

Firstly the term wasn't derived for having to use milk in the process.

Lacto refers to the lactobacillus bacteria that does all the breaking down of the food.

Did you know that all vegetables are covered in the various strains of the good bacteria lactobacillus?

It does involve lactic acid in the process which is a good thing because lactic acid is a natural preservative.

• What about the bad bacteria?

No problem, the brine that you submerge your vegetables in kill them off, while the lactobacillus survives to do the preserving work.

Using the correct salt to water ratio in your brine will ensure the safety of your lacto-fermentation.

How do you do it?

You can lacto-ferment most produce in yur garden.

 Beans, carrots, beetroot, and Corinne's favourite is using stalks of chard, nasturtium seeds.

You need salt but not iodised or table salt. Table salt will make the ferment go bad because of it's additives.

• Use high quality sea-salt.

  Photo: Corinne Mossati of Gourmantic Garden

  Non-chlorinated water, and no fluoride so will need to be filtered water.
• Kilner jar or a glass jar with a lid.
• Weights to submerge your ferment.
• BASIC RULE: Brine solution is 2-3% salt.  
• 2% brine:1 litre of water needs 20 grams of salt: 
  

Step by Step

1. Collect your dry ingredients and add them to a dry sterile fermentation jar.
2. Pour in the brine solution to cover the vegetables.
3. Add a ceramic weight on top to keep the vegetables below the liquid.
4. Burp the jar daily: this releases the gas.
5. It will take 2-3 weeks during the summer months.
6. Once it's ready, place it in the fridge to slow the ferment process.

Are you a chilli aficionado?

Perhaps you’re growing the world’s hottest chilli, Carolina Reaper or the second hottest, Ghost chilli?

But did you know that Carolina Reaper chilli is 200x hotter than a Jalapeno pepper?
But what do you do with all those chillies other than freeze them?

• Why not make a chilli lacto-fermeneted sauce?

Follow the above steps then once you think the chillies are done, drain the brine and add other flavouring ingredients.

Blitz in a food processor.

 

To find out more, listen to the podcast.

I'm talking with Corinne Mossati, founder of the www.gourmanticgarden.com.au website.

If you have any questions you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com 

Rose Geranium Based Drinks in the Kitchen Garden

KITCHEN GARDEN

Rose Geranium 

Scientific name: Pelargonium graveolens

Family: Geraniaceae

Rose geranium leaves (photo Corinne Mossati)

 

Personally I’m a fan of scented plants whether it’s the flowers or the leaves.
I just love to inhale their perfume either by sniffing the flowers or touching the leaves.

This next plant, the rose geranium, is not just your ordinary scented geranium because of its many uses.

Sure you can get by just inhaling the perfume after crushing the leaves but why not think about it’s culinary uses, especially in festive drinks. 

First let's talk about the plant.

Rose geraniums are quick growing especially in the warmest months of the year.

Expect this to be a small bush of 1-2-1.5meters with leaves that are soft to the touch, slight hairy and deeply incised as pictured on the right. 

Rose geraniums grow best in full sun but can tolerate part shade. Also frost and drought tolerant.

Rose Geranium spritzer (photo Corinne Mossati)

Keep pruning the leaves to make your rose geranium plant into a tidy compact form, otherwise it will tend to flop over and sprawl a bit.

Don't throw away the cuttings or prunings as all geraniums root easily and quickly. 

Just cut a piece or stem of about 5cm long, first removing the bottom two-thirds of leaves. Pop this piece into seed raising mix in a small pot or you can even place cuttings in water.

Rooted cuttings soon grow into plants that make great gifts to give to friends.

But don't waste those leaves, because what better way to use them, than making a rose geranium syrup to pour over ice-cream or a rose geranium spritzer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Start off with making a rose geranium syrup.

All you need is 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of chopped rose geranium leaves.

I'm talking with Corinne Mossati, founder and editor of Gourmantic Garden and Cocktails and Bars  Corinne has provided the links to the recipes below.

Rose Geranium Syrup recipe http://www.cocktailsandbars.com/rose-geranium-syrup-recipe/

Rose Geranium Spritzer http://www.cocktailsandbars.com/rose-geranium-spritzer/

Let’s find out more by listening to the podcast.
If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Indian Cooking Class in Spice It Up

 SPICE IT UP

Indian Cooking Class

Forget those jar sauces and ready- made pastes that you can buy in supermarkets.
If you want a real curry, you’ll need to make it yourself but aren’t they complicated?

Well they can be but that’s why you need an Indian cooking class.

• Ian's spice kit is named after Christine Manfield's new cookbook called 'Indian Cooking Class.'

If you're a bit daunted by Indian recipes then would be chefs would find this very useful.
In this segment Ian takes us through what some of the most often used spices are in Indian cooking and why they are so important to Indian cuisine. 

Some of these are:

Ajowan seed

Methi or Fenugreek leaves.

Panch phora- a spice blend

Chaat masala is a spice blend containing cumin, black salt, fennel seed, amchur or green mango powder, and garam masala-(fennel,caraway, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and pepper) and Asafeotida..

Gunpowder spice blend.

• I have now tried the 'butter chicken recipe twice for this book and give a 5 star rating. As good as if not better than restaurant butter chicken.

You start off making a roux with chick pea powder and canola oil

Then marinate chicken pieces in a spice blend that is made from a ginger/garlic paste, kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, sea salt flakes, methi, and cardamom ground. Add the spices to yoghurt and coat the chicken, then marinate for at least 4 hours.

Butter Chicken-photos M Cannopn

Let’s find out more by listening to the podcast.
I'm talking with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au

Well now you know what some of those weird sounding spices are that are used in Indian curries.

You don’t have to buy the book and the spice kit, but it’s a way to kickstart your armchair journey to the spices and curries of India.

If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675