Green Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes.

This is the perfect dish for summer, especially as Beans and Tomatoes are in abundance this time of year! Runner Beans work very well in this salad.

You will need:

Green Beans (Runner Beans)
Cherry Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Balsamic dressing
Grated Cheese
1 Onion (finely sliced)

Method:

Heat a small amount of Olive Oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped Onion. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the sliced green beans. Stir fry for a few minutes, then add a little water and put the lid on the saucepan and simmer for ten or so minutes, or until the beans are tender. Add the whole cherry tomatoes on top of the beans, turn the heat right down and leave for a few minutes. Mix in the balsamic dressing and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Yum!

Purchasing Seeds

Sowing seeds is much more cost effective than purchasing each plant individually. Packets of seeds can be purchased from any garden centre and most DIY stores like Mitre10, Bunnings and Placemakers. The Warehouse also sells seeds at reasonable prices.

There are various online seed stores such as:
www.kingsseeds.co.nz
www.yates.co.nz/products/seeds/
http://gstuff.co.nz

I recently spent $60 on seeds at Kings Seeds online seed store, and they give 3 free packets of seeds with a $60 order. I also found that some Mitre10 stores sell the Watkins seed range for only $1.96 per packet which is the cheapest I have seen for seed packets sell for. They also include native plants in their range.

When comparing prices for packets of seeds, it is important to check how many seeds each packet contains. One brand may be a little cheaper but might contain half the seeds of another brand, so it is worth checking how many you are getting for your money.

A packet of lettuce seeds is very cost effective because lettuces will go to seed at the end of the summer and put out hundreds of seeds. If you collect these in a zip lock sandwich bag at the end of summer, you will never have to buy more lettuce seeds. Asparagus plants should last for 10-15 years, so this is another plant that will not need replacing for a long time.

Button Quail (Chinese Painted Quail)

Button Quail are 12cm long as adults and come in brown and silver colours. They eat about a teaspoon of food per day each, so they are very cheap pets to keep. Their favourite food is protein crumble which is avaalilable from pet stores for about $18 for 1.5kg of dry crumble powder, and then an equal amount of water is added to make a moist crumble. A 1.5kg bag lasts about 6 months for a pair of button quail. They also eat millet seed, but much prefer the crumble.
I keep native grass plants planted in a soil floor in their aviary for them to run and hide in, and also a sand pit which they enjoy using as a dust bath. They love to scratch around in the soil searching for food also.

The chicks in the photo are 1 day old and are about 2.5-3cm long. There are seven altogether; four brown and 3 yellow (the yellow ones will turn silver like their mother). The eggs take 16-18 days to hatch. Generally the female quail will only sit on the eggs herself if she was parent-raised. Incubated quail tend to lose out on the necessary nesting experience to raise their own chicks. Both of my adult quail were parent-raised. I purchased them off Trademe for $5 each when they were 6 weeks old.

Roast Pumpkin Soup

1 medium pumpkin
1 medium onion
2 cups of stock
1 cup milk or cream
butter or oil
optional seasonings: nutmeg, sage, salt/pepper, garlic.

1. Cut up the pumpkin and roast at 200 C for about 45mins (or until cooked).
2. Dice the onion and saute in butter in a medium sized saucepan.
3. Add the stock, garlic and the cooked pumpkin, removing the skins. Bring to boil then simmer.
4. Stir in the nutmeg, sage, salt/pepper and the milk. Puree or blend.

Serve with chives and a dollop of sour cream.

Leek, Potato & Parsnip Soup

1 onion
3 medium potatoes
1 parsnip
1 leek
2 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable)
2 cloves garlic
1 cup milk or cream (optional)
butter or oil
salt/pepper
chives

1. In a medium sized saucepan, saute the chopped onion and leek in the butter or oil.
2. Add the stock, cubed potatoes and parsnip, and garlic. Bring to boil and let simmer until the potato and parsnip are cooked (about 45 mins).
3. Add the milk or cream and the salt and pepper before blending to a smooth consistency.
4. Serve with chives and dollop of sour cream.

Note: to reduce the cooking time and save power, cook the cubed potato and parsnip in the microwave before adding.

Double Delight

One of the most fragrant roses in the world. It is listed in the 'All America Rose Selections' as being one of the top ten fragrant roses in the world. The fragrance is sweet and spicy.

It is a hybrid tea rose with a long season of bloom. The double blossoms have a rich, creamy white to pink centre with deep, ruby edging.

They have a good disease resistance, although less so in wet weather.

Tomato Sauce

It's summertime, and what to do with all those delicious ripe tomatoes? well, here is one idea:

Pizza/Pasta Sauce
This sauce can be used either as a Pizza Sauce, or as a Pasta Sauce. Delicious and very easy to make!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
400 grams tomatoes, chopped and blended
1/4 cup Tomato Paste
Fresh Basil and Thyme
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Pepper

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped Onion and crushed garlic. Simmer on a low heat until Onion is transparent.
2. Add the Tomatoes, brown sugar, salt, pepper, tomato paste, and herbs. Mix well together, then simmer on a low heat for half an hour.
3. Stir for a few mintues until the mixture thickens to a sauce-like consistency.
4. Your Tomato Sauce is now ready to use! enjoy!