Recipe: Green Vegetable Bake.

The half demolished Bake

I am always looking for recipes that utilise our abundant garden greens. The accompanying picture looks unappetising but the leftovers were refridgerated


 1. Collect your greens and any other vegetables. I prefer to use tomatoes in a salad rather than a bake but I use any of the following in a mix of greens :

• Small chokoes  • pumpkin leaves, • Katuk • Okinawa Spinach, • Ceylon Spinach, spinach • silver beet or beet leaves • Surinam Spinach • Brazil Spinach  •sweet potato leaves  • some chili or capsicum leaves • capsicum • various herbs • spring onions • Moringa leaves and flowers • cooked Chaya Spinach Tree leaves • cooked Warrigal Greens •mustard • rocket • zucchini 

2. Rinse well if required.

3. Fry some garlic and onion in oil (I prefer olive oil but coconut oil also works) .

4. In a 'kitchen whizz' chop a layer of hard vegetables such as pumpkin and carrot with the cooked onion and garlic. Add an egg or two and some cream or a little milk or yoghurt. Season. Also add some tasty cheese or feta cheese.

5. Layer the chopped vegetables in an oiled or buttered oven proof dish.

6.  'Whizz"/chop the green vegetables along with some seasoning,  eggs and a little milk or cream and add as another layer to the ovenproof dish. Keep the amounts of liquids small because the greens generate plenty of liquid. If you like you can just mix everything into one layer.

7. Bake for close to an hour in a moderate oven until dry on top.

8. Optional: Top with cheese (feta, tasty or parmesan) and bake for another 5 minutes.

9. Serve warm or cold with a salad.

See also:

Eat your Pumpkin leaves and links to vegetable recipes using indigenous plants

Permaculture ideas: Visit to Nick's garden in October

Nick has two gardens to show us, his first garden in Repton and his new garden in Repton. The first was on lower land and more humid and the second was on a hill and drier. We visited in October but what should have been early Spring was more like early Summer. Climate change is taking effect relentlessly.

Here is a link to Nick's site with descriptions of the plants he grows.

A Guide to Crops for the Bellinger Valley and their ... - ecoliving design

Nick says:

"The first garden is 20 years old with permaculture planning on a flat, alluvial site. It includes an owner built passive solar house, vegies, fruit trees, clumping bamboo and rainforest restoration. The other garden is 6 years old, on a hilltop close by but very different – more windy, drier and with poorer soil. Climate change is making things tougher still, so I’ve learnt a lot about water conservation and regenerative gardening."

Nick's first vegetable garden is in Zone 1. The drums contain compost tea.

Nick's first vegetable garden is in Zone 1

Nick grows many perennial vegetables.

Nick's bamboo grove has building and eating bamboos.

Nick has a cotton plant now a 2m woody shrub.

These flowers on one of Nick's mangoes belong to an Asian variety

Nick's mulberry is heavy with fruit.

Nick in front of his garden

As usual Seedsavers enjoyed an early afternoon tea

Asparagus seedling

A pond for edibles is sited near Nick's roof.

A native Hop Bush in the front garden.

Nick demonstrates his levelling device for creating swales.

Nick has new Lotus Plant that will need a larger pond.

Growing seedlings in a warm spot.

A pile of tree lopping mulch used around vegetables.

Is this Celtuce?

A raised garden uses water run off from the first catch water filter.

The shadehouse

Swales make the steep block usable.

Another raised garden near the house in Zone 1.

Raised bed with annual and perennial vegetables

Warrigal Greens

This is a homemade first run off filter.

Papayas

Papayas are usually called Paw Paws in Australia and are not to be confused with North American Paw Paws which are a different genus.

Member Jeff has added some more pics for you.

River forest adjacent to Nick's first garden

Native Staghorns adorn the trees.

 Platycerium is a genus of about 18 fern species in the polypod family, Polypodiaceae. Ferns in this genus are widely known as staghorn or elkhorn ferns due to their uniquely shaped fronds. Wikipedia

So we made a rhubarb slice!

Rhubarb is growing strongly in our gardens because of the extra rain and warmth. Rhubarb will require shading in Summer.

Afternoon tea. The closest table holds our sign on register and name labels.

Entering Nicks Bamboo grove.

Dragonfruit (Pitaya) and Pineapples

Spinach/Silverbeet Pie Recipe: Georgie's version of a Stephanie Alexander recipe

Okinawa Spinach

Note: This is a great way to use edible weeds and most greens.

Ingredients to make a pie the size of large pizza tray.

Pastry

2 cups plain flour (wholemeal if you like)

pinch of salt

1meagre cup of water

4 tbsp olive oil

Method:  Sift flour and salt into large bowl. Add water slowly and oil and mix with hands.  Make a good dough mixture that you can knead.  So all water may not be used as that depends on flour.  Knead it in the bowl or tip onto surface and knead for 10 minutes.  Put in bowl, cover (I put my bowl into plastic bag) and put in frig whilst you do the mixture.  

Carole's subtropical/warm temperate garden at Gleniffer

Carole and Phil live in a beautiful part of Gleniffer with spectacular views of the Dorrigo rainforest.

Their north facing solar passive house with the expansive edible gardens out front is a great example of a self-sustaining household for two. Their intention is to not have to bring anything in for their garden/home and to not take any waste out, and they have almost achieved this. 

The edible gardens are inspiring, we all walked away with many ideas.

Pineapple

Here are some highlights.

The pineapples are planted from the tops of pineapples they've eaten and are in a hot sunny spot close to the house. This creates a beautiful bank of structural plants with grey greens and reds and a seasonal abundance of fruit, though there is some fighting with the local bush rats to who gets the ripe pineapples first…

Kale, possibly 'Cavallo Nero' kale, in the netted vegetable garden

In a carefully netted section of the garden the blueberries were abundant. The different varieties grown spread the times at which they ripen, a strategy applied to other fruits as well. 

There were peanuts aplenty at Carole and Phil's.

We saw lot's of tips and practical ideas as well such as the way small birds, that take care of bugs, are allowed into the netted areas with vegetables (but not the berry plot) while big birds were kept out. 

Thanks Carole and Phil. It was inspiring!

Text mostly by Erik.

Here are some more pics.

Fig

Grapes

Netted vegetable garden

Salad vegetables often need shade under our intense subtropical summer sun.

Warrigal Greens and Row Beans

Persimmon

Netted garden

Macadamias

Garlic drying on the verandah

Chili

Peanuts

Our afternoon teas are always a highlight and often showcase the edibles we grow.

Warrigal Greens (Tetragonia tetragonioides) grows like a weed in our climate

Warrigal Greens plants are always popping up and spreading around and in my garden beds. It loves our climate. It loves well drained soil, water, heat and humidity but also grows well in dry weather. When you have this growing you will never be short of a useful green vegetable. BUT....you must cook it because of its high Oxalic Acid content.

Link to Milkwood with loads of information on foraging, growing and eating Warrigal Greens.