The melt-in-your-mouth texture of a sorbet is all the more delicious when you’ve made it from fresh home-grown fruit. Pretty enough for a dinner party and good enough for every day, this dragonfruit and finger lime sorbet makes a great guilt-free snack. Quick and easy to whip up after school, it’s a nice summer treat
Welcome to winter in the humid subtropics- all three weeks of it. Okay that’s a local joke where I live (Brisbane, Australia), but it’s not far from the truth. The subtropics give us a specialised climate- one unlike any other. Most gardening information found online and in books is written for cool or temperate climates,
While okra isn’t exactly the new kid on the block, most Australians are only fairly recently learning to grow and cook with it. Okra is versatile in the kitchen and can be cooked as a side dish, a main, or a snack. Here we give you a recipe for each of these options. Okra has
One of the best gardening problems you can have is too many plants. Sometimes, when you grow from seed, germination can be better than you expect & the garden quickly becomes overcrowded. When this happens, your plants can suffer and fail to thrive because they simply don’t have enough space & resources to reach their
Now, in early 2023, there’s a worldwide egg shortage in supermarkets. Yet somehow, there’s no shortage of articles & news reports telling us that keeping backyard chickens is a bad idea. This media negativity, despite the shortages, raises serious questions on a number of levels. I believe that the argument against keeping chickens is misguided
What is Okra? Technically, okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is a fruit, but is perceived and eaten as a vegetable. The colour changes with the variety, and ranges from pale green to pink to dark maroon. A heat-loving, low-care crop that thrives in strong sun and humidity, okra does best in subtropical and tropical gardens (if you’re
So many of us have come to live in subtropical climate areas from colder, more mild regions. Naturally, we have grown up eating traditional European vegetables, so when we become gardeners, those are what we try to grow. We soon realise that those veggies aren’t so compatible with humid subtropical conditions, and that we need
Eggplant parmigiana is a classic Italian dish my Sicilian grandmother used to regularly make for my father (because apparently, no-one else made it just right). Regions of Italy such as Parma, Campania and Sicily all claim parmigiana as their own. In truth, the origins of this dish are decisively uncertain– either way, it is now
Lovage needs to make a comeback! There, I’ve said it. But I won’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of lovage- we don’t see it in grocery stores, we rarely see it in recipes, and the plants are hard to find. To me, plants that are low-care perennials which put a lot of food on
There are certain foods eaten while on holiday overseas that were so good, we never forget them. For me, it’s chicken skewers with peanut satay sauce. A mainstay of my street food-based diet on numerous trips to Thailand, the punchy flavours never disappointed. Or, if I’m honest, it was more like me fist-pumping the air
Yarrow is native to temperate regions of Europe and Western Asia, and has been grown for many centuries as a medicinal and ornamental herb. While I’d heard the name ‘yarrow’ long ago, it wasn’t until I really got into gardening that I sat up and took notice. I then discovered that yarrow is not only
No matter where you live, as a gardener you always have some sort of constraints. Whether it’s climate, space, time, energy or just plain personal preference, we can’t do everything. There are literally hundreds of different herbs you can try growing, but realistically we all have to make choices about what to grow and what
This traditional Sicilian chickpea and spinach braise is a resourceful meal derived partly through tradition and partly through need. My grandparents came to Australia in the early 1950s armed with gardening knowledge but little else. While they quickly established a productive vegetable garden, grandads fledgling fishing business didn’t always bring home the catch of the
Chokos (aka chayote) are amongst the most prolific, versatile and healthful vegetables you can grow. Rarely available commercially, chokos are a traditional staple in many warm temperate and subtropical home gardens. The fruits’ crisp texture and mild flavour lends itself to roasting whole or adding to soups and stews, where it will take on the
A great new way with pumpkin which is ideal at a dinner party or on a festive table! This appetising dish is easy to make, and will work as a side or a main. Sure to please vegans and vegetarians too, honey roasted hasselback pumpkin with blueberries and toasted coconut has just 7 ingredients which
Finger limes are an unusual citrus fruit which are native to subtropical Australia. They taste just like regular limes yet are unique in their texture and presentation; the insides look just like fruity caviar. Even in Australia, this is a gourmet fruit which can be hard to find & fetches high prices in retail markets.
There’s nothing like a big Christmas dinner with all the trimmings- and stuffing is always high on the trimmings list! Whether it’s vegan, vegetarian or contains meat, is cooked inside meat or on its own, there’s a stuffing to please everyone. Here are 3 of my favourites; sage & onion, thyme & parsley, and cranberry
It’s no news to any of us that subtropical and tropical climates have extremely hot summers. Add to that some punishing humidity & daily downpours, and you’ve got the potential for some vegetable gardening disasters. Anyone who has tried to grow traditional European crops through a QLD summer has learnt the hard way that hot
There’s nothing like growing your own basil. Inhaling the lush scent when you brush past it in the garden. Watching its flowers attract essential pollinators. Picking leaves for salads, pesto and pasta sauce. Using it as a companion plant that improves the flavour of tomatoes. Sadly these are usually only seasonal pleasures, because annual basil
This traditional lemon & passionfruit butter tastes like nostalgia- and don’t we all love a bit of that?! Many of us remember our grandmothers making these sorts of spreads, and there’s no reason not to continue the tradition. And don’t think that there’s magic or trickery involved because Nana made it- it’s really very simple!
Self Sufficient Me is a blog about self-sustainment by growing our own produce (plant/animal), and self-fulfilment by looking after our health (physical/mental) through exercise and slowing life down a little.
