September Menu

Lasagna

Layers of silky homemade pasta, rich beef and tomato sauce, creamy Bechamel and three types of cheese;)

Garden Boom!

Remember this tiny plot from last year? I had sweet corn, bell peppers, eggplant, tarragon, cherry tomatoes and a few spindly marigold plants. 

I was happy with my plot. 

Well, it's been growing ever since...and now I'm deliriously happy with my garden!

I get to go out early in the morning, still in my pj's, with a steaming cup of coffee. Look at what's growing, watch the bees fly from one flower to another, brush against the fragrant herb bushes and pick off a few flowers to brighten up my kitchen as I go through a busy day of baking.

I have bushes of bright cosmos, marigolds, zinnias and hydrangeas intermingled with cherry tomatoes and spinach. We converted an old slide into a large herb bed, now housing flat leaf parsley, curly parsley, Thai basil, purple basil, sweet basil, lemon basil, thyme, cilantro, rosemary and oregano. The old tiny plot has been overrun with tarragon and large fennel bulbs. Old wine bottles are used as a partition between more cherry tomatoes, sunflowers and bunching onions. Chocolate mint, peppermint and spearmint crawl out of half a dozen pots on the stairs while a very determined squash plant is trying to invade the cosmos and hibiscus. Five hard working calamansi trees line the edge of the garden but my lone lemon tree is still shy about producing more fruit. 

Yes, I am ecstatic about my simple garden:) Now, if only I could keep those pesky snails away from my lettuce!

Busy in the Garden

The sunflowers are finally blooming, scattered patches of yellow and orange cosmos are in abundance and every day I'm harvesting baskets of organic cherry tomatoes, fragrant herbs and crisp leafy greens! 

Happy days...

 Isn't this amazing?! Such a happy looking sunflower;)

 After much waiting...they're here!!!

 

Sunflower bud taken 4 days ago...

 2 days ago, nearly there...

 

 In full bloom, gorgeous!

 

marigold patch and a stray pechay

 

 

pechay, ready to be harvested for lunch!

green tomatoes

liliput zinnias

A mixed plot! 

Yellow and orange cosmos towering over pink santans and hydrangea...

Lots of ripe red cherry tomatoes on the right side, peeking though the greens...

Greek Salad

Fresh and plump organic tomatoes, crisp cucumber, salty feta marinated in herbs, sliced black and green olives all doused with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, sprinkling of sea salt and finished off with fresh parlsey from the garden torn right on top...

Happy days;)

Roasted Chicken BLT Sandwich

layers of slow roasted chicken, Canadian bacon, melted vintage cheddar, plump tomatoes, crisp apple, mixed lettuce and a slathering of grain mustard on homemade whole wheat bread

 

 this is going to be an awesome day.....

Chicken and Spinach Lasagne

layers of silky homemade pasta

leisurely simmered fresh tomato and basil sauce

chunks of chicken, mushroom and spinach

three types of cheese melting into one

all gloriously draped with creamy bechamel sauce! 

i need alone time...

yummm.....

Pizza Margherita

on homemade crust with tomatoes and basil fresh from the garden

Tomato Basil Soup

warm, smooth and comforting - perfect for breezy afternoons and foggy nights...