Monday 19 August 2013

Harvest Monday - 19th Aug '13

It's been a busy week and I can't quite believe that it has been a week since I  last blogged. I've been weeding, counting  lambs, doing a sheep handling course, meeting strange alpacas, making cheese, hosting visitors AND picking vegetables. Here is what I picked this last week - it's been a big harvest.

I picked the last of the womboks, some spring onions and the flowering stalks from my red pak choi, which, when combined with some tofu and an egg fried rice, made a great dinner  -  chef was the Lad.


I picked two fennel bulbs which went with potato, and bacon one of my favourite fennel dishes.


Lots of broccoli side shoots,


a handsome Savoy cabbage,


a stash of small but oh so tasty parsnips (they are a bit hairy aren't they?).


There has been loads of rosemary, but I didn't pick it, a flock of sulphur crested cockatoos flew in and pruned off a huge number of stems! They also destroyed several parsley plants...must make a scare cockatoo!


There has been a bizarre purple tinged Romanesco broccoli  and a 'usual' lime green coloured one. The purple one looks a little like a coral doesn't it? Almost a bit  too scary to eat...



 And to finish the week's pick - loads of celery stalks.


But before I refer you off to Daphne's to see what others have picked over the last week, I want to show you a picture of the strange alpaca I met at a farm called Evandale in the Southern Highlands.


He was staunchly defending his sheep from my prying eye and was a little cranky! Thankfully he didn't spit !

18 comments:

  1. That purple tinged Romanesco is weird. The same thing could probably be said for the expression on the Alpaca's face.

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    1. I now have three purple tinged ones, all a bit to wierd to eat but I just close my eyes and they taste like cauli. That was the crankiest 'paca I'd ever seen!

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  2. That alpaca is the stuff of nightmares. Your post should really have a PG rating :)
    Your harvests look to pristine - I can never seem to get to a wombok before the slugs.

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    1. Tee Hee! Here I don't seem to have slugs or snails... not sure why really, But I DO have very aggressive cockatoos that flock in and destroy.

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  3. I have always been fond of llamas - alpacas are a related camelid. My avatar in the laboratory at university is a llama (not chosen by me BTW), because I had a picture of a llama with a nasty look on his face (much like the one above) and its caption read "I want your soul". I put the picture at my research bench and it is my 'Demon Llama'. My Demon Llama protects my bench from filthy fingers (other people not cleaning up there messes) and to keep sticky fingers off my reagents that I have slaved over for a whole day to make. :) - works quite well mind you ;) - must be the ominous teeth-look thing...

    [Pic available from Deviantart.com - http://dogzilla.deviantart.com/art/I-WANT-YOUR-SOUL-15261000]

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    1. Ahh! That's a pretty scary looking 'paca! I am so glad it disciplines your work colleagues!

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  4. ...and I thought alpacas were cute!!

    My carrots are hairy! Google tells me that the soil is probably too rich. They are a little pale, as well, but I think the colour will deepen when they are fully matured. They taste fine, though. At first I thought it might be a disease called 'aster yellow' but I don't think so - I think they are just waiting for a bit of sun (like me!).

    You are getting lots of produce, Louise. Well done!

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    1. I thought so too untill o saw this scary monster!

      Thanks for the hairy root tip! Probably too much sheep manure.

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  5. I can't believe that there's a bird that munches rosemary! That's one plant that is seemingly impervious to critters in my garden. The tits and goldfinches descend on them at times, but they're after the seeds. Weird romanesco, sometimes I get purple ones but they are alway runts, I've never seen a full sized purple one. It is weirdly beautiful. Was it tasty, or have you even harvestedmit yet? On first glance I thought the alpaca was a dog, but then I saw the teeth.

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    1. Cockatoos will destroy anything! Haven't tasted the purple one yet, too much earlier picked brassicas to get thru.

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  6. very lovely greens and romanesca and purple broccoli are really something. thanks for the picture of alpaca - it's very cute.

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  7. Your broccoli and cabbage are gorgeous! And a rosemary munching cockatoo? I've never heard of such a thing!

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    1. Cockatoos are big white parrotty birds which given an opportunity will destroy almost anything. They don't even eat rosemary or parsley, they just cut branches off! They are very naughty! My neighbour has a walnut tree and he hasn't yet harvested a walnut as the cockies get in while they are green.

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  8. Hopefully counting lambs didn't put you to sleep... :-) Looks like a lovely harvest this week!

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    1. When ever I count my flock I think of the same thing!

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  9. I've been meaning to ask - how's the pancetta and bacon coming on?

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    1. Good! But both are a little too salty for me really. Not sure how to get the salt down and still maintain the preservation...

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