We have fabulous beaches within 20 traffic free minutes of our house. We try to make good use of every lovely day. A fresh baked foccaccia and some coffee for lunch and went to the beach. Usually we have the whole thing to ourselves – clear blue water, clear pollution free skies, clean sand, champagne quality air to breathe – another day in paradise! ( I have to rave now before winter sets in 😉 )
I harvested celery, leeks, fennel and potatoes this week. As usual the question is how to put my harvest to good use without using the same recipe twice. I have a picky household that does not tolerate the same dish twice in one week so here are my efforts so far:
Crunchy Celery, Fennel and Apple Salad
1 bunch of celery chopped in to bite sized pieces. Keep the leaves for stock making.
1 apple cut in small pieces
1 fennel bulb shaved thinly
1 orange – 1/2 juiced and 1/2 cut in bite sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything in together. You can change the quantities to suit your taste as it is hard to get this one wrong. You will have a pale looking salad so liven it up by sprinkling the dark green fennel fronds, cut decoratively, over. The trick is to prepare and assemble this salad just before serving, any delay causes the apple to discolor a bit.
Celery, Leek and Potato
8 tablespoons of olive oil
500 g peeled potatoes cut in pieces
1 head of celery, stems only, keep the leaves for stock making
1/2 lemon juiced
salt
Use a heavy pot with a lid. Put the olive oil and celery in and add water until the celery is covered. Cover the pot and boil until the celery is softened about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and cover the mix with water again. Add salt and lemon juice. Cover the pot and boil until everything is tender and no liquid barring the oil is left (this is important). Serve hot or at room temperature. I used it as a side with the week end barbecue but the dish is robust enough to eat as a main with some bread.
The face cream and the furniture polish have the same basic recipe. I quite like the thought of that! I did add vitamin E oil to the face cream and broke some lavender flowers in to the polish though.
The jury is still out regarding the moisturiser – some people in the family are allergic to all store bought creams and break out in rashes, pimples and is some cases small weeping sores from them – and it takes about 2 weeks of consistent use before the problems start. The product feels lovely on the skin and I, for one, ( no allergies) shall be using it during the winter on hands, feet, face and especially lips while working outdoors in the cold.
The furniture polish worked very well on my wood wardrobes, and one can use it for dining tables and all wood food prep surfaces since it does not contain any toxins.
Face Cream and Furniture Polish
1 part beeswax. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on honey combs you can clarify your own wax or you can buy some from beeswax suppliers.
3 or 4 parts olive oil depending on how soft you want the end product
Create a double boiler from two pots, the bottom one with water and a small spacer, I used a saucer, place the beeswax and olive oil in the top pot and heat. When clear and melted remove from the heat and add vitamin E oil or lavender flowers. Pour in to containers while hot and stir while cooling.
Apply the mix containing the vitamin E oil to your skin and the lavender scented mix to the furniture 😉
Back Yard Farmer 