Funky Frontyard Farmers Challenge: Day 2

FUNKY FRONTYARD FARMERS CHALLENGE

DAY 2



G with some cherry tomatoes and carrots



Jo and I awoke this morning still feeling full as a bull from last nights ravioli. A coffee and some toast was enough for us this morning, while the kids had toast and boiled eggs. If you have ever woken feeling bloated or backed up, perhaps a cup of chamomile tea may be just the ticket. Here's why.

Tea for two

drying German chamomile

Earlier in spring, we planted some German chamomile in the garden. With pretty bouquets of small white flowers it makes a nice addition to the garden, and could also be easily grown in pots. Better still, the flowers can be hung and dried, then picked to make chamomile tea, which is our tea for today.



our German chamomile tea

German Chamomile tea is one of the poster boys for herbal teas. It is said to remedy a variety of ailments from stomach aches to arthritic pains, teething, insomnia, gas and lets not forget it is a fantastic but effective mild laxative. What more could you ask for in a cup of tea?

Grow some in your garden next season, or plant some in a pot and keep on your window sill.  

 Lunch: Turks Turban and Purple Dragon Soup.

With the relentless drizzle and wintery whips of raindrops on the window pain, and the children playing quietly in the corner as they always do on rainy days...not, one could be excused for dreaming up the notion that we were living in the Scottish highlands, overlooking a muddy bog, or marsh, perhaps sporting a tweed vest and leggings... what better weather for some pumpkin soup and toasty bread.

Alright, maybe the kids weren't playing quietly in the corner, maybe they were climbing the walls, and maybe outdoors resembled nothing like the Scottish highlands, maybe it just looked muddy, but all the same pumpkin soup in the middle of summer was what we were having for lunch.

While it was sad to farewell one of our Turk's turban pumpkins, it made for a delicious soup. We also added some purple dragon carrots, roasting them first in the oven, then blending with some stock made from rosemary, onion, garlic and nasturtium pods, for a bit of spice.

It tasted delicious. The Turk's turban had a subtle taste, and the carrots added a nice texture and flavour. The nasturtium pods added a mild peppery tang. The kids loved it too.

 



ingredients for the soup

lunch day 2

7pm

Finally the kids are asleep, the rain has stopped falling and its time for dinner.. ready to spice things up with some of the chillies from our chilli bush.

Dinner: A spicy ommlette, with nasturtium flowers, basil, garlic, onion and chilli is on the menu. The chilli will be the first one we have used this season from our beautiful chilli bush. She is really one of the family, having been with us now for 3 years. If you like your chilli's, the next time you buy some, germinate the seeds from one of the fruit and transplant into pots once their second set of leaves appear. We harvest around 200 chillies from our bush each season, and they are super hot!

End of day 2, and despite the trying weather and lack of red tomatoes, we remain quietly confident and a little bit chuffed. The ommlette was delicious by the way, give it a try.