All posts by Rose

Roasted Tomato Sauce

26 September, 2018 Rose Leave a comment

Its been a fantastic summer here for tomatoes and my first year of growing them in a greenhouse has been far more successful than I had anticipated – we have so many! There’s a limit to how many fresh tomatoes one family can eat and friends and neighbours have had their fill. Even though we are now well into autumn, the plants keep on providing. Not wanting to waste any of these delicious fruits we have been finding new ways of cooking them.

This is our favourite recipe (so far) for our glut of tomatoes. The sauce can be eaten straight away and also freezes well for a future meal.

• Slice the tomatoes in half and place them in a layer at the bottom of an oven proof pan. You can make several layers, depending on the amount of tomatoes you have and the size of your pan.

• Add several cloves of garlic to each layer, along with some chunks of butter and sprinkle salt over. If you have some fresh basil leaves, they can be added too.

• Place in oven at about 180ºC for about an hour (or longer) until they start to caramelise. It is a good idea to open the oven door occasionally to let moisture out and to give the tomatoes an occasional stir.

• When you think that they are roasted enough, remove from oven and allow to cool a little.

• Using a blender (I have a hand one) blitz the tomato mixture. If there are tough skins still present then you can pass it through a sieve to create a smooth sauce.

Note: this sauce is fairly concentrated – a little goes a long way.

• Serve over your favourite pasta with a sprinkling of cheese.

Yum.

Compost

Composting Continues

30 June, 2018 Rose Leave a comment

Once we had moved into our new house, I couldn’t bear to throw away any vegetable peelings etc., so I automatically started a compost bowl in the kitchen. As it was summer and keeping an open bowl in the kitchen indefinitely wasn’t going to be a good idea, I quickly had to sort out somewhere to put compost in the garden. I kept checking the local ‘Freecycle’ group and eBay in the hope someone would have a compost bin they no longer wanted – but initially had no luck. I looked at compost bins for sale in local hardware shops, but they weren’t what I wanted and were also rather pricy.

I decided to try something new (and cheaper) by buying a plastic rubbish bin, with a tight fitting lid, then drilled several holes in the bottom and around the lower edges, and I had a new homemade compost bin! I really had no idea what I was doing – I’d looked up some ideas on-line and seen differing ideas and opinions on whether holes were required. I decided it was worth a go.

I don’t know whether it was because the weather is wetter in England than Australia, or because of the nature and shape of the bin, but to start with my compost was very wet and cloggy and formed ‘lumps’; it was nothing like the texture I had in Australia. Perhaps, not having the wider bottom design (as on most commercial compost bins) may have caused the problem.

I added some compost worms, used my trusty turner and muddled on. In the meantime I found a second hand compost bin for sale nearby. When I went to collect it was rather larger than I had realised or wanted (I just managed to fit it in the car) but I was pleased to have it and started putting the compost in that one, while l continued to turn the compost in the ‘bin’. It did eventually, after the winter, resemble an acceptable ‘compost’ which I used in the garden.

I now have three identical compost bins on the go (Christmas present – thank you Granny and Grandpa Rambles!) which are working brilliantly. I still have the ‘bin’ as a back up extra, and although it is a little small and not quite the right shape, it did seem to work as an alternative compost bin.

If you would like to discover what I put in my compost bins, have a look at twitter #thingsIputinmycompost

Life, Out and About

Bluebells at Enys

31 May, 2018 Rose Leave a comment

Last week I visited Enys Gardens here in Cornwall and saw a spectacular display of bluebells.

I had heard that this was an amazing place to view a ‘carpet’ of bluebells and it didn’t disappoint. Whilst living in Australia I have missed the spring flowers of the UK countryside (although Aus. has its own fair share of flora delights) – perhaps bluebells most of all. I was lucky with the weather – the sun shone for my entire visit. I am so glad I went as I discovered a really interesting place.

Enys House and the Gardens have a fascinating history (which you can read about here:- www.enysgardens.org.uk) . The house has not been lived in for many years and has seen a lot of neglect. Now, along with the gardens, it is in need of care and restoration which is slowly being achieved by its current owners.

My visit was primarily to see the bluebells but the rest of the garden was just as interesting, seeing both the cleared areas under restoration and the slightly wilder areas still to be tamed. I wandered into the flower garden where amongst a wide variety of plants there were beautiful magnolias and many types of wisteria in flower.

There is a recently planted orchard, where Cornish varieties of apples are being grown and a New Zealand garden (with plants brought over by a previous family member who had been living in New Zealand before inheriting the property).

Ambling down a hillside path took me to the ponds where I saw masses of bright pink primulas and watched as a robin caught a dragonfly.

I found walking around Enys a very ‘uplifting’ experience; especially after such a long, wet winter. It has inspired me to get out and about more and inspired me to write more on my website.

Life

I’m Back

24 May, 2018 Rose Leave a comment

After two recent and huge life changes for my family – which have involved the big upheaval of a move back to the UK from Australia, followed by a year of dealing with serious health issues for Dr Rambles, we are all beginning to settle into and adjust to our new lives in Cornwall. I now feel ready to start rambling again.

Our home is now a small terraced house in a village near the south Cornish coast and we have realised that the garden is, sadly, too small for chickens. We miss our ‘girls’ who gave us so much pleasure (and eggs) in our garden in Sydney. When we moved in, the garden was rather uninspiring, mostly a small lawn and fence with a few oversized shrubs; but, Dr Rambles and I are currently in the process of transforming it into a backyard of raised beds for growing food and flowers – ramblings on that to follow soon.

Cornwall is a beautiful county to live in with stunning beaches and landscapes to explore as well as many historic houses and gardens to visit. I am looking forward to sharing some of my ‘out and about’ adventures.

I am still loving cooking and baking and have recently been enjoying experimenting and learning how to make different types of pastry. I am also ‘back’ on Twitter and often ‘tweet’ as I bake. More recipes to follow soon.

Recipes

Muesli Slices

Image 21 May, 2015 Rose 1 Comment

As most muesli bars contain nuts and I have an anaphylactic (a severe allergy to nuts) son, Master Rambles sometimes feels left out when other children have muesli bar ‘treats’ in their lunch boxes. Recently he saw an advert for a new range of ‘nut free’ muesli bars and asked if I could buy some for him. I saw them in the supermarket and, without really thinking it through, bought them. It was only when I got home that I read the ingredients and discovered that these ‘healthy’ bars were full of preservatives (which is another ingredient Master Rambles has to avoid). Junior Rambles and I tried them, and they were fairly tasteless anyway, and I wasn’t too impressed with the excessive amount of packaging.

To try to alleviate Master Rambles’ disappointment I decided to make some of our own and, slightly to my surprise, my first attempt was a success. While it would be fine to use supermarket ingredients, I bought organic and preservative-free ingredients from a local health shop – slightly more expensive than the supermarket but all the ingredients together still cost less than the packaged muesli bars!

So here is my, very simple, recipe for nut-free, preservative-free and packaging-free muesli slices.

Melt 100g butter in a small pan with 75g of golden syrup and 50g of brown sugar.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine 100g wholemeal self-raising flour, 80g of rolled oats, 50g of sulphite-free dried apricots (chopped), and 25g each of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and preservative-free shredded coconut.
When the butter and sugar mixture has melted and dissolved, stir through the dry ingredients.

Transfer the mixture into a baking pan (mine is 8″x8″) and cook at 170C for about 20 minutes.
Once out of the oven let the mixture cool for about 10 mins before turning out onto a cooling rack.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into desired shapes and sizes. It is difficult to cut when hot as it is very crumbly (I have tried, and failed).

Perfect in a lunch box, or enjoyed anytime with a cuppa!

Chickens

Dome Sweet Dome

20 April, 2015 Rose Leave a comment

Despite being happy in the dome (they don’t know how lucky they are to have so much room), the chickens love being allowed out to roam and forage in the garden. This is fine when we are around to keep an eye on them, but our garden isn’t completely fenced in, and they don’t understand the difference between our garden and the nature strip along the side of the road. They love wandering out alongside the road where they find all sorts of goodies to eat in the long grass and overgrown weeds.

There are always people walking up and down the road and they often comment on the chooks. However, some people walk past with their dogs, and sadly not all are on leads; we do have to be careful and keep an eye on the hens and generally keep them locked up and safe from predators. Keeping them safe and giving them space was the main reason for building the dome; we wanted them to be able to to flap their wings and explore. When they are shut in the dome, I sometimes tie up some ‘green treats’ hung from the upper struts, to provide some entertainment and make them work for their food. It’s also entertaining for us – watching them jump up for mouthfuls!

The local farmer’s market has a friendly fruit and vegetable seller who lets me take green leaves from the ‘bin’. It is usually full of imperfect vegetables and outer leaves of lettuce, cabbage, and cauliflower along with other ‘rubbish’, (takeaway coffee cups etc.) headed for landfill. I have occasionally been known to sneak some of my reclaimed chook food into our fridge once I get it home (does this make me a dumpster diver?) – one week I scored a bunch of beautiful beetroot leaves which were far too good for the chooks. But don’t worry – the girls do get plenty!

The hens are also partial to plain yoghurt; I guess that they find it refreshing on a hot day. I make yoghurt (kept warm next to the sourdough bread starter) and usually make extra batches during the summer so the chooks can have some as a regular treat. The calcium should help them with their egg production too.

At one edge of the dome there is a pile of loose earth, which I regularly top up with compost and sometimes grass clippings. This provides a good area for the girls to scratch around and to have dust baths. They get very excited when I add fresh compost, as it usually comes with a good snack of worms for them!

I found (saved) an old, slightly rotting, garden bench tossed out beside the road of a neighbour’s house (ready for a rubbish collection) and have put it in the dome for the chooks. It is a perfect spot for them to roost during the day as they like to be able to perch off the ground. I often look out of my window and see all three of them perching there in the late afternoon sunshine, surveying the scenery and looking very content. I haven’t managed to get a photo of them sitting there, as every time I approach the dome they jump down and rush to the door, expecting food or to be let out into the garden. – but, I’ll keep trying.

Compost

A Rubbish Conversation turns to Compost

13 March, 2015 Rose 4 Comments

While chatting to some friends recently, over a post paddle boarding coffee and muffin, the conversation somehow turned to what we do/don’t put into our rubbish bins. I have read several articles lately on people who are managing to live almost or completely waste free. Although I can’t claim to have anything like that lifestyle, I have noticed that since my composting habits changed last year (Click here to read ‘The Art of Composting’) we are putting very little in our ‘general rubbish’ wheelie bin and, as any rubbish we do have is dry, we no longer need to use plastic bags. (The recycling bins, however, are always full – despite trying to re-use things first – but that’s another story.)

One friend said she had been inspired to start composting but she still had a full rubbish bin at the end of every week. Without (I hope) sounding too cheeky, I asked her what was going in her rubbish bin; when she started listing a few things, I said, “Oh, I put most of those in the compost”. There was a little gasp of surprise around the table and the conversation steered onto what you do and don’t or can and can’t put into a compost bin. There seems to be a debate on whether some items can be composted, but when I am asked what I compost, the answer is simple – everything that I think is biodegradable goes into my compost bin. I am no expert here, and if other people want to tell me I am doing something wrong then I am prepared to listen, but I appear to make great compost and have a lot less waste. I have read that, amongst other things, you shouldn’t put citrus, onion skins, cooked food or meat in the compost. It all goes in mine. I imagine that if you have an open compost ‘pile’ then cooked food and meat would attract rats but, I have a sealed bin placed on a tiled base so no rodents can get in. I have read that citrus is poisonous to worms; I have also read that this is a myth. I put citrus in my compost bin and the worms are still there and the citrus turns to compost.

With so much conflicting information out there I am happy to just continue with my methods and self-discover what does and doesn’t ‘work’ in my compost bin.

When the waste breaks down into compost I often find some things that need longer to decompose, e.g. bones and fruit stones; I simply toss them into the ‘new’ compost bin (ideally you should have three bins on the go in rotation). I also occasionally find things that are not biodegradable and have found their way into the compost by accident, such as some plastic packaging or other man-made materials, and I simply remove them before using the compost in the garden.

Inspired by reactions to my composting ways, I have decided to start tweeting a list of “things I put in my compost” (#thingsIputinmycompost). Follow me on Twitter (@rose_rambles) to see how many I come up with!

What do you/don’t you put in your compost? – Comments are welcome.

Edible Garden

Ripening up for Summer

9 December, 2014 Rose Leave a comment

I had so many plans for planting and clearing and learning in the kitchen garden this spring, most of which are still not done. With the official start of summer this week I thought it was time to take stock. Despite not being as organised as hoped, there is some produce appearing in the veggie patch – some intentional, some accidental, and some seeds planted which never appeared. Last year, after a disastrous crop the year before, I decided not to plant tomatoes. But several plants appeared anyway and the (cherry) tomatoes they produced were delicious and prolific.

This year I didn’t need to think about planting tomatoes; seedlings have been sprouting up everywhere – too many for my small kitchen garden patch to cope with! I have moved and potted up many of them and given some away to friends, but others have had to be pulled up and put on the compost; I just don’t have the space to grow them all. I planted basil seeds in one large pot, but only tomatoes have appeared! So it looks like we are in for a bumper crop again this year. They are beginning to turn red; it will soon be time to pick and enjoy them.

Also in the edible garden I have planted beetroot seeds. Most of them appeared, only to be attacked by the chooks who found their way into the back garden when someone (probably me!) left the gate open. Several of them needed replanting after being scratched up, but most survived, and the chooks had a fun adventure! We have been enjoying beetroot leaves in salads and sandwiches; it is probably time to dig some up and enjoy the ‘roots’. I must plant some more seeds soon (along with a second attempt at basil!).

Recipes

Vanilla Sponge Cake with Pear and Cream Filling

22 October, 2014 Rose Leave a comment

This is not actually my own original recipe, I ‘borrowed’ it from Mr Rambles. I have had several requests for the recipe recently, so here it is, reproduced by kind permission. Thank you Mr R.

When Master Rambles was on his strict elimination diet he couldn’t enjoy Mr Rambles’ lemon sponge cake, so I changed it to a vanilla sponge and filled it with cream and the only fruit he was allowed, pears. It was an instant hit, and has now become our family’s favourite cake. For a special occasion, for a not so special occasion, or for when it just feels like a cake sort of day!

Cream together 125g softened butter and 220g castor sugar with a teaspoon of vanilla essence
Add 2 eggs to the mixture and beat
Add 75g of self-raising flour and mix until smooth
Add another 150g of self-raising flour and a pinch of baking powder
Mix until smooth
Pour in 125mls of milk and mix until smooth
Divide into two lined 8″ cake tins and cook at 150C for about 40 mins (until a knife comes out clean)
Carefully remove from tins and place on a cooling rack
When the cakes are cool enough, add some whipped fresh cream to one half, and top with sliced pears. I use very ripe or tinned ones.
Place the other half on top
Enjoy. Goes down exceptionally well with a cup of tea!

Edible Garden, Life, Out and About

Garden Inspiration

12 September, 2014 Rose Leave a comment

Last year I went to the inaugural Australian Garden Show in Centennial Park, Sydney and really enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to going again this year. It was all planned; Mr Rambles kindly agreed to work from home on Friday so I could go. This also meant I could head off early and not have to rush home in time for school pick up.

Annoyingly, on Thursday, I came down with a cold. I was still determined to go, so dosed myself up and headed off, in the rain, (we’ve had a lot of rain recently), wearing my new full length rain coat.

After arriving at the show I had a quick look at the feature gardens. There were plenty of umbrellas around, the rain hadn’t scared everyone away, but it was far from being crowded, which meant I could get a close up look at the plants. Then I wandered around the Inspiration Gardens, which showcased a selection of horticultural and landscape designers.

A sign caught my eye (Costa ‘Rambles’ too!) For those of you who don’t know him, Costa Georgiadis is a landscape architect and tv presenter on the ABC’s ‘Gardening Australia‘. He is passionate about sustainable living, and has his own chickens and veggie patch. I couldn’t resist a chance to meet him, so waited near the sign in the rain. There were only a few of us; I thought we were about to get a really personalised tour, but then the rain stopped and hoards of people appeared out of nowhere. By the time Costa arrived quite a crowd had formed.

His 25 minute tour of the Inspirational Gardens lasted for nearly an hour and the sun stayed out the whole time. He was very entertaining and full of energy and enthusiasm and pointed out things about the gardens which helped us to view them from different perspectives. At the end of the tour Costa was answering questions and posing for photos, but I was fading fast, so slipped off and found somewhere to eat my lunch and drink a coffee.

Feeling fortified I went to have another look at the Inspirational Gardens. I spent some time looking at, and photographing, details to help get ideas for my own garden.

A couple of years ago, we had an extension put onto the house and the main garden still hasn’t recovered from the builders who treated it like a rubbish tip. I am slowly turning it back into a garden, and trying to establish new plants, but still find lumps of dumped concrete and old drink cans as I dig. It really needs some more landscaping and redesigning.

The gardens at the show were all very different from each other. Some were concerned with their environmental impact, others with affordability in mind, some fun and playful, and some stunning architecture. There were a few pavilions and some with quiet ‘hide away’ places. I would love to try and make a space like that in the Rambles’ garden. I would like to incorporate some fun places in the garden for the children and for the chickens!

As I walked around I found myself chatting to some of the gardens’ creators who were all very friendly and happy, despite the fact they had to prepare their gardens during a week of heavy rain.

Another section of the show featured city and balcony gardens, with creative ideas for gardening in small spaces, and inspiring ideas for edible gardens.

There weren’t as many reusing/upcycling ideas as last year’s show. It would have been great to see a veggie patch incorporated in one of the Feature or Inspirational Gardens; maybe next year!

There were many plants for sale at the show, including the edible variety but, as I was travelling by bus, it wasn’t practical to buy any. Instead, I stocked up on a few packets of organic seeds and some elephant garlic which I am looking forward to planting!

Rose Rambles