November in the garden with Anna

Flowers and vegetables are popping everywhere. So now is the time to prepare the soil against the heat with a light cover like lucerne or hay. Just keep an eye out that the ground cover doesn’t choke the growing plant. It is good to use a dried material like a hay or sugarcane around the root base
and a hand-width’s circumference. There are still several plants that you can put directly into the soil. Remember that attentiveness and watering every two days, is the best way to show kindness to your garden…….nature will repay you.

November planting

• Basil and most herbs
• Lettuce
• Silverbeet
• Zucchini  
• Pumpkin
• Watermelons (just spit the seeds into an open area)

Anna’s Boiled Greens and Potato Salad (for four people)

My Yiayia (greek grandmother) Dimitra ran her kitchen like a small greek taverna, always having the freshest of ingredients from the garden on call.  One of my favourite meals was her Hot Salad.

Ingredients

• ¼ orange pumpkin
• 2 zucchinis
• 8 small potatoes (the smaller the tastier)
• 2 roasted eggplant (cut into thin chips)
• 2 carrots
• 1 sweet potato
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 bunches spinach/silverbeet
• 2 teaspoons fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon capers (according to taste)
• 2 pinches rock salt

Method

1. Clean the pumpkin, the potato, sweet potato and carrots and bake for  20 mins in 2 fingers of lemon,  fresh rosemary and 2tsp of olive oil.
2. Slice the eggplant into thin chips, salt and fry till lightly coloured.
3.  Place eggplant on plate with kitchen paper to remove oiliness.
4. Take veggies out of oven and let cool.
5. Wash spinach and fresh basil and slice to width of little finger.
6. Dices onions and sauté with greens in 1 teaspoon butter in saucepan with herbs, and add salt and 1 tablespoon capers.

To Assemble

1. Add 1 teaspoon butter to large (heat resistant) salad bowl.
2. Add potatoes and sautéed spinach and basil.
3. Then add sliced baked carrots and sweet potato.
4. Then add zucchinis and thin eggplant chips.
5. Add pumpkin and mix with salad spoons for 60 seconds.
6. Season accordingly adding salt, capers etc (this is also a wonderful time to add crumbled feta)

Serve while still warm.  

Great with chips!