The rapidly rising price of food, especially fresh produce, isn’t news to any of us these days. Basic living is getting tougher everywhere: inflation is up, interest rates are higher, and supply chains are stretched to breaking point. Being scared won’t help, because it doesn’t lead us to safety or rational thought. But there are
‘As easy as shelling peas’- well that’s how the saying goes- but is growing snow peas really that easy? Well yes, it can be easy, if you follow my 5 top tips on how to grow a ton of snow peas! Snow peas are usually grown to eat whole, and they’re remarkably similar to sugar
Turmeric belongs to to the ginger plant family, and is one of the most famous foods in the world. This is due to its versatility in cooking and its medicinal qualities. I grow a ton of turmeric every year, and you can too- just follow these key points. Scientific tests have shown that turmeric stimulates
Frozen peas are good, but fresh peas are even better! The same goes for sugarsnaps. And they are so good for you too.It is one of our quickest-growing crops here in the Netherlands, and they are so yummy when eaten fresh. So when we can harvest, we do so immediately to make this pea and
Hot sauce truly fires me up! They provide the spice of life we sometimes need. My children are still young and don’t yet appreciate hot sauce, but they always ask me, “Daddy, why do you put hot sauce on everything?” I answer “Because hot sauce makes things exciting!” I really can’t describe it any other
I love to grow onions at home. Even though they’re cheap to buy, there is just something special about a freshly harvested, crisp onion. They are so versatile in the kitchen, being useful in everything from sauces, curries, soups to pickles and ferments. I grow them without any chemicals at all so they’re organic, which
There are so many interesting varieties of vegetables to tempt us- many more than we have garden space for. It can be really hard to narrow it down, especially when you’re a beginner gardener. This is my top ten list of vegetables you should always grow. I have chosen these 10 veggies based on a
I was going to create a YouTube video to thank my subscribers for their wonderful and generous support over 2021 but I thought that this year I would write a short article on Christmas Eve instead. I’ll be 53 early next year and I often (during a quiet pondering moment) think about how I’m now
So, you are thinking of taking that idealistic step away from the modern mainstream, and moving towards self sufficiency. It’s a term we’ve heard a lot this past year, but it’s not always clear what it really means. And is it realistic these days? We all have work, families, responsibilities, vehicles and modern technology that
Most of us can benefit from a little more vegetables in our lives, and growing them at home is the best way to ensure those dinner plates are stacked with a heap of greens every time. But what if you don't have much space outside to grow your favourite vegetables or you live in a
Make a winner out of your kitchen dinner by adding some easy to grow Asian herbs and spices and turn bland into YUM. In this article, I'm going to give you seven of my favourite easy to grow herbs and spices we grow at home and you can as well to use in your own
Don't go out for Christmas dinner that's such a millennial thing to do. Instead, stay in, prepare, cook, serve, have fun, and be merry! I've heard all the modern excuses about how good and easy it is to go out for Christmas dinner and I don't buy any of them. As far as I'm concerned, if
Humans fermenting food to change/improve the taste, preserve it, or make it healthier is not a 1000 years old… it's more like 1000's of years old. Indeed, over 2000 years ago Jesus would have eaten his fair share of olives. These delicious fruits would have been fermented in brine for several months to remove the
This grilled antipasto eggplant recipe is easy to make, full of flavour and a great way to preserve a glut of eggplants.
I ended up buying a Harvest Fiesta 5L fermentation crock (also called a Decorative crock) but there are several good brands to choose from and this just happened to be my personal pick when I was searching at the time. I based my decision to buy this particular fermentation crock on where the product was actually manufactured,
Most cucumbers sold in the supermarket are small to medium size, even though they can grow much bigger, so why aren't more larger sized cucumbers sold? Is it because the flavour of the cucumber decreases as the fruit gets bigger? Burpless cucumber variety (image above) The truth is, yes, sometimes older and larger cucumbers can taste awful
Preserving jars (the really good ones) are expensive to buy; however, if you keep an eye out you can still find excellent quality preserving jars for "free" scavenged from products we use. The pic (above) shows this free jar in action used to preserve cucumber, Jerusalem artichoke root, and mustard stems Now, most standard jars
If you've never really pondered growing Asian style greens in your garden before then I hope this mini article inspires you to have a go at some! In particular, I would like to sound out five special types of Asian food plants, which are equally great raw in salads or indeed cooked up in stir-fries, and they
There are plenty of things you can do with a glut of eggs, here's 10: 1. Mayonnaise – It uses eggs as the base for the recipe so make a big batch! 2. Custard – Make your own custard from scratch (so much better and healthier than pre-made junk). 3. Cheese cake – Some cheese
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.
