The FastDay Forum

What have you done with the old rawkaren? 5:2 seems even more effective than I thought!

Ha! Thanks @CreakyPete. A combo of a retro lens on the hipstamatic app, a very dark restaurant so you can't see me very well and also having had too many glasses of vino

A friend told me about gingered rhubarb marmalade this year. I modified her recipe by combining it with another. I really like how it turned out.

Rhubarb Ginger Marmalade
Makes approx. 3 ½ pints
8 cups rhubarb - chopped in ½” or less pieces
4 ½ cups sugar
Rind of 2 oranges and 1 lemon – sliced into small strips
Fresh ginger – minced – about the size of your thumb (more or less to taste)
Mix together. Let it sit all day or overnight.
Add the juice from the 2 oranges and 1 lemon. Cook. Bring to a boil then cook to jam stage. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Need to make this! I have a load of quince to do something with, I'm wondering whether to turn this into a jelly too. If anyone has any recipes, let me know!

I guess we've become gardeners over time. Started with artichokes, tomatoes and cucumbers. Have added herbs, carrots, beets, kale, peaches, nectarine, pears, apples, pluots, figs, black berries and quince (the trees were here already). It's great to be able to make your side dishes simply by going outside.

yep going outside even for 1/4 of your plate is a great feeling

in the relationship between gardening and good eating, you cant go past this book from one of my fave celebrities Jamie Oliver
http://www.amazon.com/Jamie-Home-Cook-Y ... 1401322425

recipes from it are here
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/cate ... ie-at-home

good gardening tips too.

i didnt realise how many books Jamie has produced.. wow. http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/books busy man. .and he is Australia as the face of Woolworths partly in a bid to remove Cage Eggs completely from the shelves over a few years.

I guess we've become gardeners over time. Started with artichokes, tomatoes and cucumbers. Have added herbs, carrots, beets, kale, peaches, nectarine, pears, apples, pluots, figs, black berries and quince (the trees were here already). It's great to be able to make your side dishes simply by going outside.

yep going outside even for 1/4 of your plate is a great feeling

in the relationship between gardening and good eating, you cant go past this book from one of my fave celebrities Jamie Oliver
http://www.amazon.com/Jamie-Home-Cook-Y ... 1401322425

recipes from it are here
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/cate ... ie-at-home

good gardening tips too.

i didnt realise how many books Jamie has produced.. wow. http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/books busy man. .and he is Australia as the face of Woolworths partly in a bid to remove Cage Eggs completely from the shelves over a few years.

I have Nigel Slater's 'Tender' where each chapter is about a specific vegetable, what to do in the garden and what to do with said vegetable in the kitchen. It's genius, beautifully presented and he has some great little tips for the garden that have been invaluable to a beginner like me http://www.nigelslater.com/tender.asp. I need to invest in the fruit one now so I have the pair.

Battening down the hatches here because of the predicted storms. So I have been on top of my shed roof sticking down the the tar paper overlap as it was letting in water.
I really MUST remember to wear a bar next time as the low cut top, on top of a shed, overlooking the main road, bent over, caused a few wobbles, especially for the bikers. There was no way I was getting down to put a bra on, it was hairy enough getting up there the once.

I also did my hanging baskets, adding a small conifer or tiny shrub, ivy and some pansies to them for the winter. The little shrubs will be transplanted in the spring.

Battening down the hatches here because of the predicted storms. So I have been on top of my shed roof sticking down the the tar paper overlap as it was letting in water.
I really MUST remember to wear a bar next time as the low cut top, on top of a shed, overlooking the main road, bent over, caused a few wobbles, especially for the bikers. There was no way I was getting down to put a bra on, it was hairy enough getting up there the once.

I also did my hanging baskets, adding a small conifer or tiny shrub, ivy and some pansies to them for the winter. The little shrubs will be transplanted in the spring.

Very worried about whether my purple sprouting broccoli will survive the weekend

Hello gardeners and foodies. I have been doing a bit of garden tidying today and found I have some radicchio I had completely forgotten about. Ideas for what to do with it please would be lovely, especially hot dishes

Zucchini finally giving up but I managed to find another 3 today. Cavolo Nero looking great and purple sprouting broc needs bigger canes. Thought the garden was looking a bit bleak today, feels like winter is around the corner.....

A friend who runs a smallholders forum has just been given 10lbs of grapes and has made them into fruit leather. Now, that is something I must try one day.

A friend who runs a smallholders forum has just been given 10lbs of grapes and has made them into fruit leather. Now, that is something I must try one day.

What a great idea. Someone gave me a load of grapes but they are too high in sugar for my taste. OH will love them though. I think I need to get the dehydrator out. Will report back

I made fruit leathers with blended grapes, raspberries with cinnamon


My cavolo Nero is going well. What's happening with you guys?

My early cherry tomatoes

(accidentals.. as in i never actually planted them and seeds from last season took hold - actually decided to just stick with the accidentals in the garden and ripping out heaps as no room.)

They look like they are going to be very nice indeed.

They look like they are going to be very nice indeed.

Yeah have ripened since that picture. I find i cant grow the larger tomatoes in Sydney due to the dreaded fruitfly and viruses.. Cherrys are much quicker and less prone to attack.

Have previously tried putting nets around tomatoes and that has worked in the past but its a bit of effort

My new potato plants and my harvest a few weeks ago. Amazingly good they were. Still have about 4 harvests to go!.

ooooo, they look lovely. Especially with butter