The long, hot and dry Summer has ended…

The long, hot and dry summer has ended, autumn is slowly nudging in, and with the cooler weather here in Sydney we have finally had rain, and quite a bit of it.

The rain has had dramatic effect on the vegie patches. The rocket, parsley, lettuce, coriander and fennel which had all gone to seed over summer have produced lots of little seedlings ready for thinning out, re-planting and sharing with friends.  And it is not just the edibles that have self-seeded, the marigolds and borage have as well, and for the first time I will be able to have a border of borage and which when they eventually flower will attract more bees to the garden, and as an added bonus, I will have blooms for lavish garnishing.

The wet weather has brought its share of problems to the garden as well. Snails, slugs, mildew, rot and fungal infestations have taken their toll and created extra work keeping diseases at bay. But I am not complaining, my vegie patches are continuing to produce an abundance of food to cook and enjoy eating.

Autumn also is time to renovate the vegie patch, get rid of the summer produce and plant winter crops. Time to rejuvenate the soil, clear the spent crops, rethink and replant. The tomatoes are almost coming to the end of their season; I have removed all but the one cherry tomato plant, which is still producing fruit. The leeks are ready for harvesting, as is the chard.  Picking the last of the basil for making pesto, I notice that there are some basil seedlings popping up. For the first time the basil has self seeded and I am thrilled. I planted some garlic and hope that this time they will grow. Last year, I succeeded in getting the garlic to sprout and grow well and unfortunately when we went away to England for 4 weeks they were not watered and didn’t survive. So fingers crossed this time.

It is such a sense of achievement to see all the seedlings thrive, and it also means that I have to be ruthless with getting rid of things that are spent or on their way out. I enjoy the process of planning what I want to grow next and where. What will grow well during the cooler months and if I will grow from seed or buy seedlings. Not having the luxury of space this decision-making is even more difficult. But I love a challenge.

I am enjoying cooking with the leeks and chard. The rainbow chard has almost come to the end. I can’t get over how much it produced and the variety of things I have cooked with it. As I get rid of the spent plants, I am replacing them with kale, which again is a favourite in our home. Kale is a very easy to grow and nutritious green, which thrives in cooler weather. It has now become very popular and is available in quite a few varieties: Tuscan kale or Cavolo Nero, curly kale, flat leafed kale, red kale and purple kale. Kale is very versatile and wonderful as an accompaniment to meats or fish, in stir-fries, soups or stews and the tender young leaves are a great addition to salads. I love making kale chips to snack on!

As with chard, kale has a tough mid rib and stem. When I cook kale I tend to cut off the stem and mid rib and discard [compost bin], but with chard I keep the stems. I usually cut off the stems of chard, chop them into small lengths [about 6cm] and some of the thick mid rib as well and braise these in a little olive oil and water first for about 5-7 minutes until they are just tender but still retain a little crunch. I then add the shredded leaves and cook until wilted. With rainbow chard, the red, green, yellow and white stems retain their colour and look really lovely alongside the cooked glossy dark green leaves. This is great seasoned with salt & pepper, sprinkled over with some extra virgin olive oil and the addition of some crumbled fetta cheese to make a delicious filling for a tart made with sour cream pastry.

I recently used the last few leaves of my rainbow chard, cooked as above with the addition of some chicken, tomatoes and cannelloni beans – A quick, easy and delicious dinner that we loved.  You can use left over roasted chicken if you have it or poach a chicken breast, if you don’t. Recipe follows:

Braised rainbow chard with chicken and cannelloni beans

Ingredients

1. 4 – 5 leaves of rainbow chard, washed
2. 1 chicken breast [skinless, boneless]
3. or about 4 cups of left over shredded roasted chicken, [about 350 gms]
4. 1 onion sliced
5. 1 can cannelloni beans rinsed and drained
6. 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
7. 1 garlic clove sliced
8. ½ red chilli sliced finely [optional]
9. 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
10. ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
11. 4 tbsp olive oil
12. Salt & pepper

Method

1. For poaching chicken breast, cover the chicken breast with stock and bring to the boil. Turn off heat and leave covered for 10 minutes.  Check that breast has firmed up. Allow to cool, and tear into pieces. If you don’t have stock add any chopped herbs you have along with a bay leaf, a few pepper corns, a bay leaf and a tsp of salt to 500 ml water and use this to poach the chicken.
2. Drain the can of beans and rinse, and drain. Halve the cherry tomatoes.
3. Braise the chard – stems first, then add the shredded leaves, cook uncovered until tender, season to taste.
4. Fry the onion in a little olive oil and when translucent add the garlic and chilli [if using chilli] Add the cooked onions and garlic to the chard, add the shredded chicken, tomatoes and drained cannelloni beans and warm through. Adjust seasonings.
5. Add a drizzle of olive oil and stir, sprinkle over with grated parmesan.

What’s your favourite vegetable or herb in your garden? Tell us in the comments below…