Allow me please to introduce my friend, fellow cook and food blogger, Kyrstie Barcak a.k.a. A Fresh Legacy. Kyrstie's blog is about what she and her partner, Mr Fresh, grow in the garden, what they cook with their delicious home grown produce and the simple pleasures they enjoy and share with their friends. Kyrstie and I share the same food philosophies in that she also loves to explore her region and support local farmers and producers, and spread the word via Twitter and our web sites. Kyrstie cooks as much as she can from scratch and buys only a small number of items from the supermarket. So, let's take a stroll around the vegetable garden with Kyrstie and learn how her garden grows. Kyrstie says... 'Thank you, Lizzy for the opportunity to visit Bizzy Lizzy’s Good Things as a guest. I always feel like I have learnt something when I visit here and the pictures are truly drool-worthy. We share a keen interest in supporting local producers of fine quality produce by spreading the word to our friends online, and offline. Like Lizzy, I am also passionate about growing fresh produce in my vegetable garden. What motivates you to grow certain vegetables or fruit? For me, the motivation is to feed my two boys (and of course Mr Fresh and I) home-grown, fresh produce from our garden throughout the year. We do not purchase many food items from the supermarket. The vegetables and fruits that we do not grow are purchased from our local farmers market, or local fruit store; and our meat is purchased and delivered from a local farm. My vegetable garden began as three raised beds and a herb patch. The three beds now have no space between them, as I have claimed the area for more planting. I have also been slowly taking over the back yard! In short, I strive to have as many fresh vegetables as possible travel from my garden to my kitchen. The food from my garden is primarily grown to take pride of place on our dinner table each night. In addition to that, I have been honing my skills at preserving and now plant extra produce to have available for use in chutney, relish and jams. The main things coming from my garden to our table right now include tomatoes, zucchinis, fresh herbs and lettuce greens. As this produce finishes up for the season I will be: Maintaining my vegetable garden in Autumn:
Lizzy invited me to share one of my favourite preserves recipes. This one, my end of summer chutney has previously been my secret recipe and has remained unpublished. It is included, along with my other favourites, in my new e- book, Preserving from my Garden. KYRSTIE'S END OF SUMMER CHUTNEY Cooking time: 1hr 40 minutes Preparation Time: 15 minutes 1 tablespoon cooking oil 200 grams onion – diced 3 cloves garlic – finely sliced 1cm fresh turmeric* – finely sliced 1cm fresh ginger – finely sliced 1 teaspoon mustard seeds ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns – pounded in a mortar and pestle (not a fine powder) 2 bay leaves 1kg zucchini – peeled and grated 500 grams eggplant –peeled and grated 300 grams tomatoes – diced 10 whole fresh parsley stems, including leaves 500 ml white vinegar 100 ml malt vinegar 500 grams sugar Add the oil to a pan and when it is warm add the onion, garlic, turmeric, ginger, mustard seeds, peppercorns and bay leaf and cook until the onion is starting to soften. Add all remaining ingredients except the sugar Simmer gently for one hour, stir occasionally. Remove the bay leaves and the parsley stalks. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Cook for another 30 minutes until the mixture thickens and darkens in colour. Pot into warm sterilised jars. Leave for 6-8 weeks prior to eating to allow flavours to develop and soften. Store in a cool location and use in 4-6 months. Makes1200 ml. *If unavailable, fresh turmeric may be replaced with dried turmeric (1 teaspoon). Preserving – from my garden is an easy guide to bottling the goodness of a season. It contains recipes for sauces, jams, chutney and relish, plus instructions on sterilising, equipment, and all of the information, hints and tips to get you started, including jar labels. You can read more about the book here. Thanks for inviting me to visit Lizzy!' - Kyrstie Lizzy says... 'Wow, Kyrstie, thank you ever so much for sharing one of your most treasured (and secret) recipes. It's my pleasure to showcase your work on Good Things. We do indeed share a passion for supporting local producers, cooking as much as possible from scratch and also growing our own fresh produce.' NB: All of the above images appear with the kind courtesy of Kyrstie Barcak and are copyright to Kyrstie and A Fresh Legacy blog. Tell me, like Kyrstie and myself, do you grow your own vegetables and fruit? What are your best producers? And how do you preserve the produce you've grown?
5/4/2013 11:09:01 pm
Hello Lizzy and Kyrstie, how lovely to see you both! Kyrstie, your vegetable garden is beautiful...it looks so productive and healthy. Those tomatoes are perfection. Your chutney sounds delicious, I am imagining it served on a' biccy' with some good cheese. Heaven! Happy gardening to you both.
Lizzy
8/4/2013 06:18:03 am
Hi Jane, thanks so much for stopping by. I'm sure Kyrstie will be delighted to read your kind words. Happy gardening too xo
Lizzy
8/4/2013 06:18:42 am
Thank you Elizabeth, Kyrstie will be happy to hear your kind words. Thank you stopping by. 6/4/2013 01:33:04 am
What a bumper crop of tomatoes! I only started my veggie patch 3 weeks ago and I can't wait to see where it leads! I have high hopes :)
Lizzy
8/4/2013 06:19:11 am
What an exciting journey for you, Lisa. Happy growing and harvesting!
Lizzy
8/4/2013 06:19:34 am
Isn't it just! Thanks for visiting, Muppy.
Lizzy
8/4/2013 06:20:12 am
A pleasure, Amanda. It's lovely to preserve summer in a jar, isn't it! 6/4/2013 11:21:36 am
Thanks so much for inviting me to visit Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things. I am thrilled to be featured on your beautiful and inspiring site.
Lizzy
8/4/2013 06:20:51 am
Once again Kyrstie, an absolute delight and pleasure. Love your work and glad to showcase it on Good Things ; )
Lizzy
8/4/2013 06:21:31 am
Now that sounds like a great match, Maureen! Glad you popped in to meet Kyrstie! 6/4/2013 07:57:58 pm
What a lovely garden and delicious chutney indeed. Perfect for a cold lamb sandwich!
Lizzy
8/4/2013 06:21:58 am
Ah yes, another great sandwich combo! 7/4/2013 09:13:46 pm
Dear Lizzy,
Lizzy
8/4/2013 06:23:18 am
Hello Chopinand, long time no see! Actually I tried to visit your web site the other day, but couldn't get in. Will try again shortly. I am envious of Kyrstie's trussing technique, I can never quite get mine to tie up neatly! 8/4/2013 11:30:08 am
I'm sad that summer has gone but the new f&v is still quite tempting. Great interview Lizzy and she has a great garden! :)
Lizzy
8/4/2013 11:07:06 pm
Hi Lorraine, every seasons brings a bounty of fresh produce methinks. Years of working on site at a fresh food market taught me that ; ) 9/4/2013 05:46:16 am
Well, I am at the other end of the world over here in Scotland and can only look on in envy at the wealth of produce that you and Kyristie grow! Our growing season is yet to kick-off as we are still experiencing unseasonably cold weather. But the images, information and super chutney recipe are psyching me up for things to come. Lovely post and great to meet someone new through you Lizzy.
Lizzy
9/4/2013 09:41:00 am
Hello Kellie, we are having unseasonably warm weather, not that I'm complaining mind you. Happy growing and cooking, and thanks so much for stopping by xo Comments are closed.
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Welcome...Üdvözölöm
Cooking and writing have been a lifelong passion. Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes; postcards and morsels from my travels; conversations with cookery writers and chefs; and news on food, cookbooks and cooking. - Liz Posmyk
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NB: I use Australian standard measuring cups and spoons in my recipes.
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