In the Garden – April 2021

April saw the leaves turning and beginning to fall, carpets forming and palletes changing.  I just love Autumn, the vivid colours, the crisp air, the falling leaves…

 

We had a very special visitor in April, our grandson, Cooper visited again.  During his visit, we baked cakes and biscuits, he played chess with his papa, we read stories and we took a train ride in nearby Walhalla.  We also enjoyed lunches outdoors.  One lunch time we started collecting sweet pea seeds, it was such a great source of fun and entertainment as you can see from the pics below.  He told me that we would fill the cup with seeds, and we almost did!

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A little project I took on was to convert some sad old baking tray into something bright and colourful for the garden.  Armed witha couple of cans of spray paint, some sample pots from the mark down table at our local hardware, and some simple little terracotta pots, I got to work, painting, waiting, painting, waiting, and finally the end result placed out in the garden.  I am now eagerly waiting to see if the bulbs that I have planted will reward me with beautiful flowers.

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The chives were dug from the garden and potted into a large pot, they were then relocated up to the house to ensure that we have fresh chives right through winter.

 

On this day I was supposed to be weeding, who can weed when confronted by such majestic beauty…  The first beautiful butterfly caught my eye from the kitchen window, and I wasted so much time running around trying to photograph it, it was so vibrant.  The second landed right in front of me while I was actually weeding, so the weeding stopped and the photos began…

 

These beautiful nerines make me so happy.  The bulbs have traveled with me for years, in the original old paint pot that my late Gran planted them in.  They are such a delicate pretty nerine that never fail to flower no matter how much they are neglected.

 

Finally there was a little produce from the veggie patch, some of which has already appeared in a previous post, that being, Rosehips from the Garden.  The zucchini plant rewarded us right through to May, resulting in pots of homemade Zucchini Velouté being made and frozen.

 

Zucchini Velouté (Velouté de courgettes)
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
 

A creamy zucchini soup made with zucchini fresh from the garden.

Category: Entree, Soup, Starter
Style: Australian, French, Gluten Free, Vegan Option, Vegetarian
Keyword: Courgette, Soup, Velouté, Velouté de Courgettes, zucchini, Zucchini Soup, Zucchini Velouté
Quantity: 8 serves (1.6 litres)
Author: sbaskitchen
Ingredients
  • 600 g courgette/zucchini chopped
  • 200 g potato peeled and chopped
  • 145 g carrot washed and chopped
  • 75 g onion chopped
  • 75 g tomato chopped
  • 1 garlic clove crushed
  • 20 g butter
  • 600 ml vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp fine ground white pepper
To Serve
  • Greek yoghurt
  • chives finely chopped
Instructions
  1. Place a stockpot over medium head and add the butter and all the vegetables. Sauté for 5 minutes.
  2. Add the vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are cooked.
  3. Allow the soup to cool a little and then either using a stick blender, blender, or food processor, puree to a smooth creamy consistency.
  4. Serve hot with a dollop of Greek Yoghurt.

Notes

Instead of Greek yoghurt you can serve with a drizzle of cream.
Substitue the butter with olive oil for a vegan option.

 

Until next time…

Until next time happy gardening and bon appétit!

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