From the Garden to the Table

When I decided to improve our garden here, so that we could grow some of our own food, one of my goals was to be able to use a vegetable, fruit or herb from the garden in every homemade meal.  So, when I wander out to the garden each morning now, with my little harvest basket tucked under my arm, I am not only looking at what's ripe or ready, but I'm thinking of how I can use that freshest of foods in our day's meals.

A small harvest of the freshest foods picked from just outside my back door.

In my little basket of homegrown goodness, picked yesterday morning, there was ...

... little ripe & red capsicums ...

... small and sweet baby zucchinis...

... bright green lettuce leaves ...

... cucumbers that are as crunchy as apples...

 ...  fresh & crisp '"Blue Lake Beans" ...

... long, chili-shaped yellow capsicums

In that basket, which also included a bunch of Italian flat-leaf parsley and some fragrant basil, I had something I could use in every meal I made yesterday. I used the herbs in delicious breakfast omelets. The lettuce, cucumber and beans went into a healthy garden salad for lunch which we had with zucchini "bread", made with some of those small and sweet zucchinis. In the evening, the sauce of our spaghetti bolognese was made using our capsicums, zucchini and more basil that I picked from just outside my back door. Something from the garden in every meal!

Zucchini "bread" made with our own zucchinis.

There is something so wonderful and satisfying about growing, harvesting and eating food that you have grown yourself. 

Have a lovely weekend. 

Meg

p.s. Don't grow any of your own food yet? Why not start by planting a herb, like thyme or parsley or oregano, in a little pot for your windowsill or balcony or verandah. Nurture it and in no time at all you'll be picking some leaves to add to a meal of your own.

Here & Now 8

The Summer is in full swing now. Here it is hot, scorchingly so some days, and thus my thoughts turn continually to cool escapes and daydreams. I spend my early mornings in the garden listening to the bees as they work among the flowers we are both visiting. Before the hot sun chases me back inside, I love to turn the spray of the hose skywards, tilt my face just so too, and close my eyes as the droplets fall in a refreshing shower upon my face and a patter upon the ground. Like rain!

A gorgeous hibiscus flower tucked in amongst glossy green leaves.

Colourful  zinnias brighten our garden.

A glorious and golden Grevillia.

Loving //  The bright colours of  beautiful zinnias and other Summer blooms.
Eating //  Simple, homemade meals to eat with salads on warm evenings.
Drinking //  Sparkling spring water, chilled in the fridge, with ice cubes in my glass.
Feeling //  Contented at home.
Making //  A new, midnight blue dress in fabric covered with tiny flora. 
Thinking //  That these school holidays are almost gone and I'm not ready yet to give them up!
Dreaming //  Of deep oceans, shady glades, balmy breezes and drenching rain.

Whatever the season where you live, I hope there are simple joys, like flowers, that brighten your Here & Now days. 

Meg

Midnight Flora Dress

Scattered all over the midnight blue fabric of my first home-sewn dress are tiny flowers, twigs, seedpods, mushrooms and leaves. Blue is my most favourite of colours and I love the sweet flora printed all over it. Very me!

My new "Midnight Flora" dress.

I chose the simple Quilting Bee Dress pattern from the book, Just for You - Selfish Sewing Projects from Your Favourite Sew Can She Bloggers:  24 Simply Stylish Projects by Caroline Fairbanks-Critchfield and Sarah Markos. I borrowed it from my local library and just traced the pieces (of which there are only two, that then go together to form just one pattern piece:) While simple, it still challenged me somewhat and thus, extended my almost-beginner sewing skills. I made a drawstring, practised buttonholes, made a simple casing and sewed co-ordinating bias trim. While learning all that, I managed to stick iron-on interfacing to my iron, sewed the casing on so it was inside out and had to unpick the bias trim around the neckline no less than three times. These were, of course, rookie errors and I know that next time I sew up this dress it will all be easier. I'll have done it before!

I am planning to sew another one of these dresses in a heavier fabric so as to make a tunic to wear with leggings for the cooler months. For Summer now though, I am very happy to have a new dress, in this beautiful Midnight Flora fabric I love, that fits and that I made myself.

Are you learning a new skill at the moment? What is it and how did you begin?

Meg