Garden Love

Every morn I dutifully take out the recycling and inspect my garden.  The Perth morning air can range from warm or incredibly frosty but, either way, there is nothing like a quiet moment spent in the garden upon waking.  

I find the early hours are the best time to catch those pesky garden critters that wreak havoc on my garden greens.  Those little fuzzy caterpillars are so very cute but they sure make a mess of my kale, cauliflower leaves, and silverbeet!

Enjoy the pictorial of a few of such morning moments in my little winter garden ~ remember to eat green, feed your beneficial gut microbes, and LOVE your veggies!  Here's to garden love!

The Egger BLT Salad

I have to say, we have been completely off our routine of late and my eating has been less than desirable to keep my gut microbiome a happy camper.  A few nights ago, I decided we were having our favourite BLT (Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato) Salad with egg to mark the beginning of getting back on track to our regular healthy eating habits.

The salad itself comprises of any combination of greens, veggies, tomatoes, a bit of bacon, and topped with a boiled egg or two.  I recognize this might not suit the purest interpretation of BLT but it sure is delicious and my eleven year old, who loves her junk food, squealed with delight when she saw what was on her plate.

It is hard to stand between a kid and her salad and ultimately the extra salad that I had made for my next day lunch was gobbled up, by said child, as seconds that very night.  So please give this salad a try as it is delicious as a stand alone meal or use the dressing for a green side salad or even a marinade for chicken. Whatever you decide, it is definitely both a yummy and filling meal.

For the salad:

• Mixed greens, washed
• Shaved cabbage, any colour
• Grated carrot
• Yellow capsicum, cut in strips
• Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1-2 strips of bacon per person, chopped
• 1-2 hardboiled eggs per person, sliced

Toss salad; top with bacon and egg; and then dress with salad dressing.







For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup of grapeseed oil
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsps. apple cider vinegar, preferably with mother
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced

Whisk ingredients together to combine.

Cauliflower Garden Love

The weather is weird here in Perth as we have recently come off a cold spell and are now experiencing temperatures upwards of 18C degrees despite it being winter.  It rained long and hard last night so I had a peek at my garden this morning and was greeted by the baby beginnings of cauliflower.  The plants themselves have been huge for a long time but it is exciting to see a cauliflower or two finally making an appearance.

I have never grown this vegetable before but I look forward to seeing how big they will grow.  We don't eat a ton of cauliflower as it isn't a favourite vegetable of any member of the family.  I prefer to eat it raw but everyone else in my family likes it cooked so I compromise and use it raw for my Cauliflower Tabbouleh and cooked for cauliflower rice.

To make the rice simply cut the cauliflower in small pieces and pulse in a food processor until you achieve rice sized pieces.  I stir-fry the cauliflower rice with a bit of coconut oil, a tablespoon or so of soy sauce or tamari, and some finely chopped parsley or coriander.  Cook for about a minute just before serving.  It is a great rice substitute or even mix it with cooked rice if you want to up your veggie serves and hide it in the meal for the kids.

The Sourdough Journey Continues...

The kids have been on school holidays over the last couple of weeks so my posts have slowed considerably.  Despite the hustle and bustle of having kids at home twenty-four seven, I have been making sourdough with a focus especially on white sourdough. My bread making has taken a turn for the better as I have moved into the realm of weighing my ingredients now instead of using cup measures.  I felt like too much of a beginner to weigh things early on and stuck to cup measures but as my starter takes strength, I am ready for the next stage of my sourdough journey.

Here are some pictures of my latest efforts using the same recipe but shaping a little differently each time. While not my recipe, these loaves were made all by my hands.  Yay me!  New recipes will be up soon for the blog especially since hubby is away on business and I hope he will use this website to keep to healthy eating.  Until then, enjoy the pics!

Alaskan Sourdough 66% hydration.

Sourdough white in bread tins.  So fluffy and amazing!