Boldly tangy, with home-made ranch dip & fried in bacon fat, American-style fried green tomatoes are a crunchy savoury with a true wow factor! Long-perceived as a staple of the American south, fried green tomatoes are in fact from north-east USA but popularised by their namesake 1991 movie. What’s more, the dish is thought to
An African native that thrives in subtropical gardens, cranberry hibiscus is showy, edible, easy-care and quick to establish. A valuable plant in any type of garden, cranberry hibiscus will appeal to ornamental and food gardeners alike. What is Cranberry Hibiscus? Thought to be a hybrid of two wild species, the exact origin of cranberry hibiscus
What is Choko? Chokos (aka chayote) are amongst the most prolific, versatile and healthful vegetables you can grow. Uncommon in shops and stores, 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, stews and sweet dishes,
With a spicy ginger taste & a texture that melts in your mouth, these best-ever ginger biscuits really are the best you’ll ever make! These are quick & easy to make, and you’ll get at least 20 biscuits from a batch. This means there’ll be enough for morning teas, afternoon teas plus school and work
Ginger & walnut cake with vanilla buttercream seamlessly blends gingers spicy warmth with the satisfying crunch of walnuts…and it may well become your next classic. Each slice is a celebration of flavours—warm ginger, earthy walnuts, and creamy vanilla. Ideal for parties or morning teas, this recipe is both simple and indulgent, catering to bakers of
Growing up, I vividly recall Mum’s remedy for our childhood stomachaches—homemade ginger ale. Inspired by those memories, I ventured into creating my own homemade ginger syrup, perfect for mixing with sparkling water for a refreshing vitamin boost. Homemade ginger syrup is essentially a bunch of fresh ginger infused into a sugar syrup. The syrup itself
There’s nothing so comforting as the delightful combination of salt, spice & warmth, and our potato, paprika and choko soup fits the bill perfectly. Chokos can be a little difficult to know how to use. Even if you grew up with a choko vine in the backyard, those vintage recipes can be a little ho-hum.
A traditional Australian favourite yet rarely seen on restaurant menus, the humble backyard choko is experiencing a resurgence. No-one is surprised. This classic vegetable is at once unique, nutritious and filling. Its mild, buttery flavour means it can be adapted to a wide variety of sweet and savoury dishes (apple pie with choko, anyone?), and
Kosho is a (traditionally Japanese) condiment or spicy paste that is used to liven up & add flavour to a wide variety of meals. Combining the double whammy of citrus and chilli, this fermented blend usually features the north Asian fruit Yuzu. Here, we’ve swapped the yuzu out for makrut lime, better known as kaffir
Long prized for its health-boosting and purported medicinal properties, turmeric (curcuma longa) is a flowering plant in the ginger family. This heat-loving perennial is easy to grow at home if you can provide the right growing conditions. But beware- growing turmeric is addictive, and the harvests can be huge! Turmeric is a natural source of
Being able to preserve your harvest for later use is just as big a part of self-sufficiency as growing the produce. Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in such a way as to stop or greatly slow its spoilage, and prevent foodborne illness while maintaining nutritional value, texture and flavour. When crops
Nasturtiums are an easy delight in any type of garden. They suit a variety of climates, and are easy to grow. They make a lovely ground cover, sprawl out quickly, and look attractive. But there’s much more to nasturtiums than simply filling up space, and they’re definitely more than a basic ornamental. Read on to
Whether you’re looking for a light meal, an unusual side dish or something different to make from your own produce, these roast zucchini w/nasturtium leaf pesto fit the bill! Tasty yet vitamin-rich, this neat little dish packs a serious punch of greens. Sure to be a crowd-pleaser for vegetarians, roast zucchini w/nasturtium leaf pesto showcases
Discover the delightful taste of a homemade warm passionfruit soufflé! This classic dessert is fairly bursting with tropical flavour- and it’s all the sweeter when made with fresh fruit from your own backyard. Enjoy the satisfaction of using your own passionfruit while creating a treat that’s both sweet and tangy. It’s a simple way to
Citrus leaf miner (phyllocnistris citrella) is a very common pest to all types of citrus trees. No matter where in the world you live, this tiny, insidious pest is likely to appear on your citrus during summer. Its distribution is close to worldwide, so whether you grow limes, lemons, oranges, finger limes or hybrids, this
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,
It’s all very fun to grow a ton of food…until you don’t know what to do with it all. Produce gluts can be difficult, if not impossible, to avoid when you have fruit trees. There’s nothing a food gardener likes more than a big harvest, but it can be overwhelming when it comes all at
Gall wasp is a problem to all types of citrus trees in many parts of Australia. Whether you grow limes, lemons, oranges, finger limes or hybrids, this common pest can infiltrate and damage your precious fruit trees without you even realising it. Originating in the subtropical northern NSW-seQLD area, this is a pest that you
Dogbane (Plectranthus caninus) is a semi-succulent perennial herb from the mint family which is native to South Africa. Despite not being edible, dogbane has numerous uses in a home food garden and is considered a valuable pioneer support plant by permaculturists. Tough, low-maintenance, fast-growing yet not invasive, dogbane might just be your newest garden go-to!
With the ever-changing retail landscape and growth of online shopping, local nurseries are no longer omnipresent. So for beginner gardeners in particular, the path to a glorious home orchard might not be clear. It can be hard to know where to buy from and which varieties will be best for you. The visual appeal of
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.
