An abundance of Basil

Slowly but surely the herb and vegetable gardens are filling out. The excitement of a new season of herbs and vegetables is mounting in the Towerwater garden. The basil seedlings are competing for space. This means picking out the tender young seedlings to provide space for the others to grow, making for happy seedlings and humans alike.

The seedlings are happy about having more space while the humans are happy about the delicate taste that baby basil adds to a salad.

The vegetable garden is bursting at the seams. The boerpampoen (pumpkin) in the bottom bed has escaped the bed. It is happily putting pumpkins down in the pathways. The bees love the pumpkin flowers with up to 4 at a time per flower. Watching them at first I thought they were fighting, but then I realised they were helping each other by cleaning off the pollen from each other’s bodies. They resembled little yellow furry bees with all the pollen stuck over them.

The bee garden next to the pumpkin bed is just as busy. But somehow the bees collecting pollen from the delicate flowers seem more graceful, as they fly from flower to flower collecting pollen and nectar. The bees on the pumpkin flowers behave as though they are visiting an ‘all-you-can-eat’ buffet with a time limit.

When Carel arrived with sweet potato runners, I decided that I can manage without the peppers this year and allocated the sweet pepper bed to the sweet potato. It will be my first sweet potatoes and I cannot wait.

One of the beds in the herb garden

Vegetable gardening is always exciting for me. The simple act of pulling out a carrot never loses its appeal. Meals are so much more satisfying knowing that you planted the vegetables on your plate.

With the onions harvested and cured it was time to bag and store them. I am a bit disappointed with the height of the mealie plants. Although they are very healthy, their tops only reach under my chin. I love it when mealies grow so high that I have to look up at them.

The brinjals are looking good. I look forward to the white brinjals that will be nicely contrasted with the purple brinjals this year.

Brinjals and mealies

With two beds of tomatoes in colours of green, yellow, orange, black and red; summer salads will be a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.

The bush beans are covered in young beans. My garden is already dictating the side dishes to be served for Christmas lunch. It is the best gift to walk into your garden on Christmas morning and gather the vegetables for lunch.

With an abundance of basil, I will be able to experiment freely with a basil sorbet in a chilled courgette soup as a course for Christmas lunch.

My baby marrows are growing up

Baby marrow is such a versatile vegetable that is actually a fruit. In culinary terms the marrow, zucchini or courgette, is treated as a savoury dish but botanically it is a fruit.

I suppose what you call them depends on one’s country of origin. It originates from the Americas but the cylindrical and harvested immature “zucchini” were developed in northern Italy. This was after the introduction of cucurbits from the Americas. Zucca is the Italian word for pumpkin or squash and ‘ina’ is ‘little’, so together it is ‘little squash’.

As its name suggests, the baby marrow can be prepared in many ways. For this reason, it is a standard fruit/vegetable in the Towerwater garden. The speed at which the fruit develops is astounding. It is as if the fruit develops overnight. In the space of one week, the fruit gets quite big and I end up with teenage marrows.

It is still a luxury to harvest the dark-green beautiful fruit. In their more mature state they remain soft and buttery- delicious. Roasted, they add a soft buttery smokiness to a Sunday salad enjoyed under the oaks at Towerwater.

I might not always be able to harvest the marrows as babies but grown-up they are still delicious, roasted or any other way…

Son en Saffier vir my

Die somer in die Klein Karoo is helder en duidelik. Lyne afgeëts teen ‘n saffier blou hemel. Ek voel meer werklik met my sintuie wat op aandag staan vir die reuke van die tuin en veld. Selfs die teerpad ruik in die hitte.

Hooggelegen se tuin en huis 

Die kleure in die tuin by Towerwater is helder, selfs in die skadu kolle van die tuin. Waar ek soms Hooggelegen toe stap om te kyk hoe vorder die tuine en onderhoud by ons vriende se eiendom aan die anderkant van dorp, is die reuk van die lusern velde langs die pad oorweldigend. Ek moet ‘n oomblik stilstaan om die bloupers blomme te ruik waar hul geur in die lug hang. Ek wonder soms of dit is hoe blou ruik.

Uitsig vanaf Hooggelegen

Die lewe kan partykeer baie gekompliseerd voel. Maar ek glo dat die lewe eintlik baie maklik kan wees. Indien mense die lewe en ander mense eerlik, opreg en met respek behandel.

Towerwater is ons asemhaal plek. Waar elke dag gevul is met klein verassings in die tuin, maar om die balans te handhaaf, is daar ook die teleurstellings. Die verassings is daar om ons te herinner hoe goed die lewe kan wees, en die teleurstellings is daar om ons te herinner dat daar altyd ‘n les in die lewe is.

Indien mens ‘n lewe lei wat jou die geleentheid gee om naby die natuur te lewe, jou eie kos te kweek en ‘n boontjie bredie met die plant van ‘n boontjie te beplan, kry jy die geleentheid om meer intens te lewe.

My voorliefde vir C Louis Leipoldt se benadering tot die lewe, kos en woorde, spruit uit die feit dat ek voel ek verstaan sy passie vir die lewe op soveel vlakke. So waar ek onder die akkerboom sit en op kyk na die saffier blou met die soel hitte om my, voel ek een met sy gedig, “die beste”.

Die beste - C. Louis Leipoldt

Geil lusern in die laagste landjie;

Geil groen blare en blomme blou;

Aalwyn rooi op die voorste randjie,

Rooi soos bloed teen die rotse grou;

Somer en son en saffier daarbowe;

Ruik van die keurbos rondgesprei;

Kort klein skadu's oor die klowe;

Somer en son en saffier vir my!

Wonder van kleure uitgesprei -

Wat is daar meer deur die dood te rowe?

Somer en son en saffier vir my!

Hoog oor die water skommel die vinkies,

Vol van die vreug van die somerdag;

Bly die gekwetter van bruin tinktinkies;

Blyer die son wat goudgeel lag.

Algar wat lewe, algar tevrede,

Hoog op die heuwel en laag op die vlei;

So was dit gister, en so is dit hede -

Somer en son en saffier vir my!

Heer, wat die hemel oor my sprei,

Dit is my eerste en laaste bede:

‘Somer en son en saffier vir my!’

Het jy 'n vrind wat jou hand kan vashou?

Vrinde vergaan en faal in nood!

Het jy 'n vyand, jou grootste las nou?

Vyande, vrinde gaan algar dood!

Wat's dit vir my as die gras vergrys word?

Somer sal kom met sy groen daarby;

Wat as in winter die water ys word?

Somer en son en saffier sal bly.

Boetie, ek vra jou, wat sê jy?

Wat's dit vir ons as die gras vergrys word?

Somer en son en saffier sal bly.

Roem van mense, rykdomme, pragte -

Alles vergaan soos die mis op die vlei:

Sterre wat skiet in pikdonker nagte,

Het langer lewe as roem kan kry.

Boetie, as ons nou 'n keus moet wae,

Hier op die wêreld, wat vra jy?

Roemryke lewe en lengte van dae?

Somer en son en saffier vir my!

Boetie, as jy nou jou keus kan kry,

Wat is die wens wat jou hart sal wae? -

Somer en son en saffier vir my!

(Uit drie wêrelddele – 1923)

Sorbet season at Towerwater

I love sorbets, but never have had the time to make them. A fortnight ago I bought an ice-cream maker and summers at Towerwater will never be the same.

Rose geranium sorbet

As a young boy I loved frozen sorbet. My favourite was a granadilla sorbet that came in the shape of a granadilla and it contained real pips. On a hot summer’s day it was the best treat. Everything around me was hot but my mouth was cold as I licked the sorbet as fast as it was melting. I was careful not to eat a big piece of sorbet because ‘brain-freeze’ must be one of the most uncomfortable experiences, I always thought.

Rose geranium

The most delicious sorbets I have tasted were in Venice, where I particularly enjoyed a variety of berry sorbets. I would always order sorbets, if on the menu, just to explore the restaurant’s approach to their sorbet. All sorbets are not created equal. Even the run-of-the-mill lemon sorbet will taste different from one restaurant to another.

In my sorbet research, I discovered that it is one of the earliest of frozen desserts. I was surprised to find that sorbet was one of the most popular frozen desserts of Renaissance Europe.

Rose geranium

Apparently it was created in the 1st century BC by Romans and Persians. The name and recipe survived the centuries. With new technology, like temperature controlled freezers, it became possible to make sorbets containing alcohol. Such sorbets need to be frozen at a lower temperature.

Sorbet is a frozen dessert made from sweetened water flavoured with fruit, wine or liquor. It has a soft texture.

Lavender

While I was picking the elderflowers for cordial-making, I enjoyed other fragrances of the herb garden as I brushed against the lavender and rose-geraniums. Always looking for more ways to incorporate my edible garden in meals, I decided to make a Rose-geranium sorbet and a lavender sorbet.

Lavender sorbet in progress

Sunday lunch was enjoyed under the oak nearest the herb garden. When I served the sorbets, it was like an enchantment as the fragrance of the herbs transforms into the flavours of the sorbets. Eating the cold treat with its tiny crystals was like eating bits of the herb garden, and even more refreshing than a morning walk through it.

It was a confusion of my senses, experiencing this perfect complement between taste and smell. I have discovered a new way of enjoying my herb garden. The joy of gardening is all over my taste buds, and I love it.

Lavender sorbet

There we were sitting under the oak on a balmy summer’s day enjoying Prosecco and sorbet with fond memories of Venice and Italy. Perhaps I should try making Prosecco sorbet to find out what further memories might be triggered by my taste buds.

Rose geranium sorbet 

There is no doubt in my mind that it is sorbet season at Towerwater, and my garden will be the inspiration. I wonder how lemon verbena, elderflower, pomegranate or quince sorbet will taste. I cannot wait to experiment.

Elderflower kisses

The elder tree in the herb garden is covered in a haze of lacelike flowers. The sweet white fragrance fills the air on a balmy summer’s day.

I enjoy elderflower cordial. But I struggle to find it and when I do, it is very expensive. My philosophy is if you cannot find it, make it. If you do not have the ingredients on hand, plant it.

I looked up at the elderflowers and realised that I had enough flowers to make a couple of bottles of elderflower cordial.

Elderflower cordial is a favourite summertime drink. It conjures up images of Victorian ladies sipping cold cordials in conservatories filled with palms.

Picking the fine lacy flowers, that reminded me of the doilies on the side-tables in my grandmother’s house, is an experience in itself. The sweet fragrance of the flowers sticks to your hands as you place them in the basket.

I am competing with the bees that try to get all the nectar from the millions of little flowers before I can pick them.

I used a British recipe, since they have been making Elderflower cordials since Victorian times. It was a popular drink to serve at every summer tea-party. They clearly never had my problem of having too few flowers. Their elder flowers grow in hedges along country roads.

The experienced cordial maker says that the best time to pick the flowers is on a dry, warm day when the blooms are newly opened and white. Well, in December we never lack warm dry days at Towerwater. One also needs to pick them before noon, as the aroma fades once the afternoon sun hits the flowers.

The elder's properties are not only good for making cordials. Since the days of the druids, the plant has been used for its medicinal worth.

Elderflowers are rich in Vitamin C. Its healing properties have for centuries been used as a herbal remedy for coughs, colds, hay fever and even rheumatism.

The Elderflower harvest turned the kitchen into a magical place of white lace. Like metres and metres of a bunched up bridal veil. I prepared the first stage by adding all the ingredients and letting it steep for 24 hours.

On Sunday, 24 hours later, I could bottle the cordial. I was happy to find that I could nearly fill nine 750ml bottles. As one serves the cordial by diluting one part of cordial with 10 parts of water, about 67 litres should see us through summer.

I made a jug of refreshing elderflower cordial to serve with lunch. Sitting under the oaks in the balmy shade sipping this floral drink, it was as though the garden was kissing me with elderflower kisses.

I found the following recipe on http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/531660/homemade-elderflower-cordial

Homemade elderflower cordial

Ingredients:

2½ kg white sugar, either

granulated or caster

2 un-waxed lemons

20 fresh elderflower heads, stalks

trimmed

85g citric acid (available from chemists)

Method

1.       Pour the sugar and 1.5 litres/2¾ pints of water into the largest

saucepan you have. Gently heat, without boiling, until the sugar has

dissolved. Give it a stir every now and again. Pare the zest from the

lemons using a potato peeler, then slice the lemons into rounds.

2.       Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan of syrup to the boil,

and then turn off the heat. Fill a rinsing bowl with cold water. Give

the flowers a gentle swish around to loosen any dirt or insects. Lift

flowers out, gently shake, and transfer to the syrup along with the

lemons, zest and citric acid, then stir well. Cover the saucepan and leave

to infuse for 24 hrs.

3.       Line a colander with a clean tea towel, then sit it over a large

bowl or pan. Ladle in the syrup letting it drip slowly through. Discard

the bits left in the towel. Use a funnel and a ladle to fill sterilised

bottles. (Sterilising can be achieved by running the glass bottles through the

dishwasher, or washing well with soapy water. Rinse, then leave to dry

in a low oven).

The cordial is ready to drink straight away and will keep in the fridge for

up to 6 weeks. Or freeze it in plastic containers or ice cube trays and

defrost as needed.

Traditional Towerwater Apricot Chutney

With ripe apricots lying under the trees, it was evident that all my efforts with the fruit-fly bait stations were not completely successful. It was clear that we would have to preserve the apricots if we wanted to rescue some of this year‘s crop.

A basket of homemade apricot chutney

With Saturday dedicated to the bottling of olives, we only had Sunday to devote to the apricots. We do not use a lot of apricot jam and decided instead to make apricot chutney.

The apricot harvest

Apricot chutney is more versatile. It can be enjoyed with curries, on braaied (BBQ) snoek, in stews and roast chicken to name a few. It also makes a great marinade for meat.

On Sunday morning we got up early to harvest the cool fruit before preparing the kitchen for cooking the chutney. We decided to make two batches, using a ‘100 apricot traditional chutney recipe’.

With my tendency of not sticking to a recipe, I decided to use the recipe as a point of departure and to add my own flavours. This would make it an authentic Towerwater apricot chutney. I decided to add sultanas, ginger, fresh chillies and bell-peppers.

The new season organic onions and garlic from the garden ensured that it was going to be a true Towerwater creation. One pot had added chillies to make it a more spicy chutney, while the other had more ginger to make it a ginger and apricot chutney.

Towerwater  apricot and chilli chutney

As with most organic fruit and vegetables, the apricots did not escape the fruit-flies. But we managed to salvage more than the required 200 apricots. It left us with delicious fresh apricots to enjoy while stirring the fruity and spicy deliciousness in the pots.

Towerwater apricot and ginger chutney

We managed to bottle 21 bottles of chutney. Proof of the chutney will be in the eating, and we can’t wait. I will have to start working on some innovative and traditional recipes that will incorporate this bright orange condiment. It is a condiment that captures a summers day in the orchard.

Traditional Towerwater 100 apricots chutney

100 fresh organic apricots (halved)

1 large onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

3 green or red chillies (chopped)

2 bell-peppers of your choice (green, red or yellow) (chopped)

750 ml (3 cups) white vinegar

1,25 kg sugar

15 ml (1 Tablespoon) salt

250 ml (1 cup) pale sultanas

45 ml (3 Tablespoons) finely chopped fresh ginger

5 ml (1 t) fine coriander

Halve the 100 apricots into a large jam cook pot.

Add the chopped onion, garlic, bell-peppers, chillies and ginger.

Add the sultanas, sugar, salt and spices to the apricots and cook in the vinegar mixture for 30 minutes to 1 hour until the mixture is thick enough. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

Pour the mixture into hot, sterilised dry jars and seal immediately.

Apart from the pot itself, do not allow metal to come into contact with the chutney while cooking or when storing.