Citrus in September

The garden at Towerwater is returning to normal. All the outstanding tasks are slowly but surely being completed. Our focus can shift to the abundant citrus fruit waiting to be turned into marmalades, cordials and liqueurs.

With the naartjie peels macerating on brandy in the cellar, soon to be turned into homemade Van der Hum liqueur, it was time to start making marmalade.

Ginger and Seville marmalade

The first batch of marmalade was made of Seville and ginger and the second batch, just good old fashioned Seville marmalade.

Seville marmalade

The citrus trees are bursting into blossom, as if to hurry us up to pick the remaining fruit. The garden seems to be colour coding the fruit and flowers currently on display.

The yellow lemons and orange oranges and naartjies echo the yellow and orange of the clivias in the herbaceous border that is in turn, echoing the yellow and orange nasturtiums in the orchard.

Yellow Clivia

Orange Clivia

On a cold rainy Sunday morning in September, the garden was warm with bursts of orange and yellow from the orchard to the vegetable garden. Even the dandelions decided to brighten up the lawn with their yellow faces.

The orchard bursting with nasturtiums

With the citrus trees eager to start their crop for next year, we have our work cut out for us to use up the current citrus crop in September.

Karoo Sky Martini

With approximately 21 000 species of flora, South Africa is well known for its plant diversity. The Cape Floral Region is recognised as one of the six floral kingdoms of the world. Source:   http://www.sanbi.org

It is no wonder therefore that South Africans have seen an increase in craft gins of late. The selection on the shelves of specialist liquor stores is mind-blowing. I suppose that with a spirit that is distilled from botanicals, South Africa must be one of the best places to craft gin. From rooibos, fynbos, buchu and many more indigenous botanicals to choose from, the possibilities must be endless.

Having tried many of the new South African gins, from Salt River to the Overberg and beyond, I am keen to taste the next combination of South African botanicals to be captured by a creative distiller.

When I saw Six Dogs Blue Gin for the first time, I was firstly fascinated by the packaging. The velvet-blue box is decorated with blue pea and rose pelargonium flowers. On seeing the colour of the gin, I was convinced to buy it. It is a blue that spells adventure in cocktails. I love a blue cocktail.

My ideas for combining cocktail mixes for this gin were endless, and this was before I had even tasted it. The familiar taste of rose pelargonium in the gin is unmistakable. I do not know if it is the natural antidepressant qualities of the blue pea flowers or just the sheer pleasure of standing under our Karoo blue sky, but I could feel my spirits soar after one sip.

I wanted to preserve the flavour of the gin intact in my first cocktail. I decided to go with a straight gin martini. I enjoy extra-dry vermouth and my martini needs to be shaken with lots of ice.To add to the celebration of blue, I garnished the blue martini with a blue maraschino cherry.

Looking at the cold blue drink in my hand and enjoying the lingering botanicals on my tongue, the experience was more than just a martini. It was dry and fragrant like a cold winter’s morning at Towerwater. The blue reminded me of the endless Karoo sky above me. I decided to call this cocktail Karoo Sky Martini.

Towerwater kumquat jelly

The four kumquat trees that we planted as a decorative feature in four large terracotta pots in front of the house, have consistently produced large amounts of fruit. In doing so, they have effectively become part of the productive garden.

The green trees with their tiny orange fruits are not only pretty, but also useful. That is, if you know what to do with the tiny fruit. Most of them being the size of a large grape berry, does not make it any easier to remove the pips. This task can become rather labour intensive.

We had no time to spend on jam-making until the garden was ready for spring and summer. So I gave most of the fruit to friends and neighbours to either preserve or eat.

After handing out much of the fruit, I was still left with a box-full after the final harvest. The harvest had to happen before I could re-shape the trees again.

I decided to put them through the juicer and use the liquid to make a kumquat jelly. I was left with nearly 2 litres of liquid. I noted that all the recipes I consulted for kumquat jelly, called for the fruit to be cooked in water, then drained and the sugar added to the remaining liquid, after the fruit had been removed.

Well this was definitely a new approach that I was willing to try because it saved me a lot of time. The jelly turned out to be very good. It will be a great accompaniment served with strong cheeses and in glazing for roast duck and pork.

Towerwater kumquat jelly

1,75 l of kumquat juice/pulp (I used a juice-maker for this part)

7 cups of sugar

1 lemon chopped and tied in muslin cloth

Place the kumquat juice in a large heavy based pot and add the sugar. Tie the muslin bag to the side of the pot to allow the lemon to be covered by the juice. Dissolve the sugar by stirring regularly. When the sugar has been dissolved stop the stirring. Boil the syrup at high temperature until it has reached gelling stage. Do the gelling test by placing a saucer in the freezer when you start making the jam and place a teaspoon of jelly on the cold saucer when you think it is ready. If the jelly keeps its shape, it is ready to go. If the gel does not set, keep boiling until the jelly reaches the required consistency.

Bottle the hot liquid into sterilized jars leaving a 3mm space from the top. Fasten the lids and set aside to cool.

Remembering the pleasures of gardening

The amount of work in the garden that awaited us on our return from Europe seemed overwhelming at times. But with the beautiful summer gardens of France fresh in our memories, we had some extra motivation to get it done.

The final look of the rosarium

On our return, the pea plants were rather small and I was concerned that I should not have planted them as late as I had. The garlic is growing nicely; the onion seedlings were ready to be transplanted into their beds; the last of the carrots and beetroots from the previous season were ready to be harvested and the potato plants looked rather sad after a bad case of snails, prompting us to take them up. I needed to clean as many beds as possible to plant the new summer vegetables.

The new mulch in the rosarium

We decided to mulch the roses with a woodchip and bark mix to help the garden retain more moisture. We have to think differently about gardening in a country where water is scarce. After seeing the rosarium at Parc de Bagatelle and the success they had with a deep mulching, we did not need any further convincing.

The Bougainvillea hedge was cut lower to allow more sun into the orchard. The effect has been that the whole space seems more open and spacious.

The lawn was scarified and a top dressing applied where it was uneven. The entire lawn got a good feeding and watering. It looks a bit scary at the moment and I wondered if that is why the procedure is called “scarifying”. Come summer, the lawn will have a nice texture and will allow for many a relaxing lunch or a wild run about and chase for the boys.

With the garden nearly under control, it is time to shift focus to preserving and enjoying the many pleasant surprises that awaits us through spring and summer.

The vegetable garden ready for planting

The first surprise arriving on Friday was seeing the flowers of the purple peas. In contrast to the white flowers of the green peas, these flowers were in shades of purple and lilac. I cannot wait to see the purple peas.

Green pea flowers

Purple pea flowers

Walking past the herbaceous border behind the cottage, I was struck by the fragrance of the Portwine magnolia. It has a heavy sweet scent to match the burgundy flowers that cover the tree at the moment. My mom would be surprised by the size of the tree that she nurtured for me.

Portwine magnolia flowers

The orchard is a feast of flowers. From blossoms in the air, to nasturtiums on the ground. Exhausted but happy, we were reminded why we enjoy gardening. The joy of gardening definitely is the biggest reward. Whether it be spending time in your garden at work, or in relaxation, it remains a satisfying experience.

Towerwater Violette liqueur

I tried to get some Benoit Serres Liqueur de Violette while we were in France but unfortunately I did not find any of the dark purple liqueur. I did not want to go down to Toulouse to secure a bottle of Violette liqueur.

Towerwater Violette Liqueur

When I came home I decided to make some Violette liqueur from the violets in the Towerwater garden. The floral liqueur has the most beautiful colour and flavour.

My search for violet liqueur started after I came across the Aviation cocktail and liked the shocking blue of the drink.  The recipe includes Crème de Violette which gives the drink its blue colour. And so my search for violet liqueur started.

My philosophy in life is if you cannot find an ingredient, make it yourself. I think I needed more violets to get a deeper purple/blue liqueur that will give the Aviation cocktail its blue hue.

It was my first attempt to make liqueur from violets and I am determined to make it again and hopefully get the colour intensity that will give me the right hue of blue in my Aviation cocktail.

Looking for the Goewerneursboontjie

My friend Susan, reminded me of the “Goewerneursboontjie” (Governor’s bean) as described in the cookbook “Polfyntjies vir die proe” by C Louis Leipoldt (1880 -1947). One hardly hears the bean mentioned today.

Hereboontjies

Susan knows of my passion for authenticity and traditional South African foods and plants. I needed no encouragement to start a search for the elusive Governor’s bean. The problem at the outset was that I could find no image of the bean.
  

The only description at my disposal, that gave any idea of how the bean looked, was Leipoldt’s own description. He describes it, “And how splendid are the colours they display, subtle hues of red, black-brown, white and yellow? They lie there like fragments of the finest Amandola marble.”

In “Polfyntjies vir die proe”, published in 1963 (the fifty-five essays/columns of “Polfyntjies vir die Proe” were written by Leipoldt between 1942 and 1947 under the pseudonym K A R Bonadie, and published in “Die Huisgenoot” under the heading “Kelder en Kombuis”), he writes, “It’s true that we rarely see the goewerneursboontjie in all its old-fashioned glory these days, and it seems as if the species has become smaller, more wrinkled and less colourful.” Well, I am sure that if that were the case in Leipoldt’s time, the colourful bean might have completely disappeared by now.

Hereboontjies

Leipoldt described it as a true Afrikaans bean. He continues that, “This is not something you’re likely to find discussed in any overseas cookbook. Take for instance the Larousse Gastronomique, that comprehensive manual for the modern chef. It doesn’t even mention our admirable goewerneursboontjie, which is even overlooked in Afrikaans cookbooks”. I would argue that perhaps the lack of a wider audience was the demise of the Governor’s bean.

Leipoldt also mentions that the bean was called a “hereboontjie”. With my research of the Hereboontjie I was more fortunate. I found more information on this true South African heirloom.

Hereboontjies

I was quite excited to find them for sale in the Sandveld and even at a shop in Onrus. But before I could shout, “Eureka”, I discovered that the Hereboontjie under discussion is in fact, a large white bean with black markings above the place where the bean is attached to the pod.

Although this bean is called a Hereboontjie it does not match Leipoldt’s description of the Goewerneursboontjie or Hereboontjie. Other recorded forms of the name of this bean are Heerenboontjie (Pannevis - 1880) and Heerboontjie (Patriotwoordeboek - 1902). Source: http://www.selfsustainable.co.za/the-hereboontjie-a-true-south-african-heirloom/

The only similarities that I find in the different descriptions from the different sources, is that the bean is large with a superior taste and considered to be among the royalty of dried beans.

Hereboontjies

My interest was piqued. However the Hereboontjie looked, I was keen to plant a true South African heirloom bean. To get a hold of this bean, I made sure that my family and friends knew that I was on the search for it before leaving for Europe. On my return, I received a message from my sister that she had sourced two packets of the beans for me to plant.

I am so excited to have my own “Hereboontjies” that I cannot wait to plant them. I suppose I will not stop looking for the “Goewerneursboontjies”. Is it possible for a bean cultivar to disappear completely or is it just going by another name!