Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and this Spanish frittata is worth getting up for on the cooler winter mornings. The first time I ever ate a frittata was for my birthday when I was 19 and a friend cooked me breakfast before I had to dash off to work.

After an upbringing of a diet of meat and vegetables and the odd Chinese dinner night. I had no idea what my friend put before me that cool winter morning. It was not scrambled eggs or muesli? This was another step for me to start exploring different breakfast options after this day. I asked ‘what is this, some sort of omelette. why does it have potato? How did you turn it over so perfectly?’ So many questions. Ahhh frittata  - its Spanish.

Years later I worked in a cafe in down town Brisvegas and a young Greek girl use to do some cooking for us and one day she bought in a frittata that was piled high like a cake and it blew my mind. It was super tasty too, by this stage in my life I learnt to master frittatas and make my own recipe that now becomes a staple in the cooler months of the year.

Also these days my breakfasts are not just eggs or muesli anymore. Things like noodle soup exist, Japanese gyudon and corn fritters are all options. Tell me what are your favourite meals for breakfast?

 Monette & Nelson Mellon

Moving to Queensland from Melbourne in search of a warmer climate Nelson and Monette Mellon changed careers to live a better life. Just outside of Nambour living on a one acre block they grow vegetable and herb seedlings to sell to their wholesale customers and for their markets stalls on the weekends. It is amazing how this couple use their land to produce their own vegetables and run a business.

Originally they are from Seychelles Island which is a tiny island off the east coast of Africa and above Madagascar. Both love food from their homeland and in their yard they have a thriving vegetable patch of exotic vegetables and edible plants. Nelson tells me that they are strong believers of making food from the earth and that it is important to eat both vegetables that grow above ground (leafy greens)  and those that live below ground ( tubers, potatoes and carrots).

 Above and below seedlings ready for sale.

Nelson overseeing and Monette collecting seedlings for a contract job I have.

 The first week of the seedling raising process

Nelson has finally worked out his method of growing seedlings and they are the healthiest I have seen on the coast. Starting in the first shade house the seed are planted into large trays and set with a sprinkler system. They stay here for a week while Nelson observes them daily and nurtures them when need be. Once they have reached the desired height they are moved on to the second shade house which has more sunlight and again a sprinkler system. Week three the seedlings are moved out from the shade house to get sun hardened before they are ready to sell.

Making your seedlings sun hard is one of the most vital part of raising seedlings. This ensures the buyer who takes them home and then plants them in to their gardens that they will endure the sun when planted. Seedlings that are not sun hardened usually don’t last more than a few days in your veggie patch.

Week 2 of the seed raising process.

Mammoth bok choi in the veggie patch.

For wholesale orders and bulk purchases you can contact them directly on (07) 5476 0206

or you can find them at the following weekend Markets

SATURDAY: Yandina Market, 6am – Midday, North street, Yandina, Queensland 4561

SUNDAY: Gympie Markets, alternates fortnightly, 6am – Midday, Gympie Duckpond 1st, 3rd and 5th weekend – 215 Brisbane Rd and Gympie Southside School 2nd and 4th weekend - Exhibition Rd.

We are fortunate to have a few mushroom farms of the Sunshine Coast. Last week I picked up some mushrooms from the Montville market which were grown in Palmwoods. These mushroom wellingtons will please your vegetarian friends while satisfy the hungriest carnivore.

Working the markets I hope each week to sell out of produce. Though I can ‘t help myself and buy goodies from other stall holders and it seems I bring back just as much home with me. I am a sucker for markets, I can’t help but buy loads of goodies. I am lucky that my closest market is only on once a month so I have plenty of time to eat my purchases. I have noticed that there are a lot of people who are vegetarian on the coast. That lifestyle is not for me – I have a guilty pleasure of cooking with lashings of butter. However I had to entertain a vego, I wanted to make something they would enjoy as well as keep Roy satisfied. Most vego’s I know they seem to love cheese like it is going out of fashion, so I made an exception and bought a block of vintage cheddar for this recipe. Though I am still wondering what to do with the rest of the block. Maybe toasted cheese sandwiches.

Are you a vegetarian or do you love the meat stuff?

Yes you can see onions and citrus in there!

What to put in your compost is a much debated question. I have a large three bay system which takes a long time to break down.  We don’t eat a lot of citrus so a couple of  lemons, mandarins or oranges a month wont hurt our compost heap. If you are a mad juicer and use a lot of citrus I would not put all the scraps in your compost. Onions are another casualty that cause a lot of discussion, if you have a large compost system then I am sure it will be able to handle them. We are only a family of two and don’t use much of either citrus or onions – though I do know they take a very long time to break down, so if you have a small compost maybe best avoid putting them in all together.

Compost is made up of a combination of brown (carbon) and green (nitrogen) organic material that was once living. Layering your compost heap with brown and green waste will help it to decompose. You should always cover you kitchen scraps with brown material – grass, leaves, shredded paper or cardboard. Doing this will discourage those fruit fly from hovering around.

If you cut up the pieces of green and brown waste to a smaller size it will also take less time to decompose.

Green Organic Waste: Vegetable scraps, kitchen scraps (left-overs, bread, cereal, grains), green, lawn trimming, tea bags, coffee grinds, chicken manure,

Brown Organic Waste: small twigs and branches, dried leaves, dried grass, dried weeds, cardboard, paper, newspaper, toilet rolls, vacuum cleaner waste, dust from the floor, dried flowers, hay, lint from the washing machine

Neutralizers: Eggshells, dolomite, lime

Activators: Comfrey, arrowroot, yarrow and manure

Most people don’t put meat in their compost due to the smell and it may also attract wild dogs and other pests. I recently lost a young guinea fowl, call me mean, but he went into the compost heap – what was once living can go in. Mind you I would not put a full-grown chicken or guinea fowl in the compost. I surrounded the guinea with manure, mushroom compost and then covered it with plenty of brown waste and in my case lots of elephant grass. I am sure this is a topic that people will debate – I have a very large compost heap and it’s not a graveyard for all my dead animals. Only one in six months as I don’t wont to encourage bad bacteria in my compost and it is a trial to see if he does really decompose.

So no meat goes into my compost from our kitchen.

Spoiled milk also goes into our compost, I have heard good things about sour milk being an activator for the compost heap. After experimenting with fermenting, I have also used my kiffir grains, water to aid in the decay of the other green material.

I would not put any chemicals, sprayed vegetation, infected foliage into the heap. Your pile of organic waste should be kept happy. By putting in man-made products this will only slow down the process or completely kill your compost.

What don’t you put into your compost? Do you think milk and meat products should stay out of the compost?

Standing on the back of the old International tractor hanging on with both hands to the back wheel guards balancing with both feet on the single ripper. Riding down to the paddock to access where my first crop of garlic and potatoes is to be planted. My driver is Rod who lives only 3 doors up the road from us he has lived here most of his life and went to school here and tells me how he use to walk through our paddock and down the valley to get to the small school building. Rod is a wealth of information of our local land and history of the area. He has put in his order for a bag of garlic for his wife Loma and a bag of spuds as payment for the help today.

McCormick International Tractor

Rod

Watching Rod with curious eyes as he lowered the single ripper to the soil and driving away I watched the weeds and grass part to the sides with the soil revealed. The ripper only skimmed the surface to begin with as there was not enough weight to push the ripper into the ground. I made myself useful and jumped back on to the ripper and thought heavy thoughts to get the ripper deeper into the ground.

Starting at one end of the marked off section we went back and forth creating parallel lines clearing off the grass and weeds that collected on the ripper. Rod suggested that we go across the parallel lines to really wake up the soil and make it easier for when he comes back next week with the seven tine plough. After cross hatching the area my legs were jelly after balancing for an hour and half on the back of the single ripper. Our job was complete with a shower of rain to join the sweat beads on my face.

Being one step closer to planting garlic and potatoes is really exciting. I have planned the planting date for the 24th of May according to the Moon Calender. Roy will be home to give me hand too. In the mean time the area will be ploughed again next week and then again the day before we plant making it easier to hill up the rows by hand. 

My shaky legs balancing on the ripper

Last week I found my first broccoli head and yesterday I picked it ready to use in the kitchen but first I have to skype with Roy and show him my homegrown broccoli. As broccoli is one of my favourite vegetables and it has grown with ease here I will be planting more very soon.

Do you have friendly neighbours in your area who are willing to lend a hand?

Capers are an unusual fruit, this year my parents grew their first commercial crop. Stored in salt, when washed they are a great addition to many dishes. This simple dish is easy to make and can be cooked in less than half an hour.

My folks have asked me to concoct a few recipes with only a few ingredients in it to share on their website with other caper lovers. This is a much under-rated ingredient and now that I have tried them fresh after the season the flavour is stronger and fruitier than most dried out or brined variety. I may be a little biased when I say this – but seriously they are the best capers I have ever eaten and I have eaten plenty in my time. I have to add that I also helped plant, mulch and pick these capers so I have seen them grow into the bushes that they are today producing their crop.

My Mum is going through a phase of ‘I love Italian food’, which is good – exploring new foods from meat and three veg is always encouraged. However I asked my mum what her favourite Italian dishes were, she replied with pizza & pasta (bless). I have made an effort to supply her with new recipes of traditional italian origin where possible so she can try something new. Fingers crossed she will actually try this recipe. A few key ingredients for Italian cooking to me are olive oil and garlic, though this recipe I did not use the garlic. I left it simple so the capers would really shine.

Tell me is your mum an adventurous cook?

This week I will be selling my folks capers at the Montville Market on Saturday 7.30am – 12.30.

Like me I am sure you have composted at least once in your life from your left over school lunch box sitting in your bedroom for a week* to throwing veggie scraps out the window of a rental to feeding your chooks left over food scraps. Composting is a great way to reduce your household waste and the benefits of using your own compost in your garden is very rewarding.

So what is compost exactly you ask? Compost is natural organic material that is decomposed and broken down in a state that you no longer recognise.  By putting leaves, grass clippings, veggie scraps into your compost and after some time the final product is a soil like substance that can be used around your garden to promote a healthy living environment for your plants.  Composting has been happening naturally around us since trees first existed on the earth. The leaves, bark and other organic matter that fall to the forest floor from the plant eventually break-down and enriches the soil surrounding the base of the plant. This is creating a healthy environment for the plant to grow stronger and get the nourishment it needs. Living organisms that live around plants like insects, birds and other animals also produce waste to contribute to the decaying leaves and beneath the leaves living in the soil are worms and micro-organisms that break down that waste above. Its a small natural eco-system surrounding a plant.

If you are wanting to be sustainable or self-sufficient composting is the best way to reduce your household waste. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics our landfill in Australia is 50% organic waste this could be halved simply by composting. Now that is making an impact on our future. The next installment I will look at items that can be put into your compost or worm farm from your house.

Another great reason to get into composting is to enrich your soil in your own backyard. It doesn’t matter if you only have 6 large pots, 2 raised garden beds or a veggie patch 3m x 3m, compost can be used through your veggie patch, flower beds and around your fruit trees – it is versatile for all plants. Composting also helps prevent weeds and reduces the amount you need to water your garden. If your soil is happy your plants will be happy and if your using compost on your veggies they absorb the nutrients around it to promote healthier plants that fight off disease and pests. Which then provides healthy clean food for you.

COMPOSTING PART 2: What goes into a compost

COMPOSTING PART 3: Hot, Cold the best system for your backyard

COMPOSTING PART 4: Using compost in the garden & problem solving.

This week is International Compost Awareness Week starting yesterday 6th May 2013.

*That wasn’t me it was my sister. Her lunch all was squashed together and found two weeks later in a rather stinky mess but it did decompose.

 Raven Guinea Sitting

Roy and I left to Cambodia for his mums 60th birthday for ten days and in that time it is amazing to see what can happen to a garden & what bad habits the guineas can pick up. First the garden, I needed it to be looking its best for next weeks market and to my disappointment and complete astonishment it did not rain once while we were away – I am not sure how this is possible due to it raining pretty much every day this year. The rain decided to stop while I was away and the sun came out with some heat. What is with that? After checking the forecast daily before my departure I felt reassured that possible showers and rain were predicted for the coming week.

Arriving home to find that all the seedlings I had planted before I left had not even grown an inch, well not even a centimeter made me sad. At least most of them are still kind of alive (not photo worthy). Today we have scattered showers and I am going out to apply some liquid fertilizer this afternoon to give them a push. The tomatoes have doubled in size while we were away they were probably dancing in their roots because they were over being soggy from the rain.  80% of them have fruit on them which I will look forward to being able to harvest for the upcoming markets over the next few months. My cucumbers  gherkins, silverbeet, zucchini and okra have been munched on by numerous pests while I was away. From cabbage moth, hungry caterpillars, grasshoppers, leaf eating lady beetles, fury looking things and I just found aphids eating my beans. Gardens do need daily monitoring it will be the last time I leave it left unattended while I am away even if the weather is looking good.

Zucchini (left) & Silverbeet eaten while I was away.

Caterpillars eating my cucumbers.

Some hairy creature still to be identified eating away merrily.

Meanwhile the garden was getting munched on the guinea fowl were learning some bad tricks from the four boys who live next door. The four guinea fowl who live next door have just realised that I have some girls in my flock and are leading them astray – a mothers worst nightmare right? Michelle & Raven my two trusted guinea fowl and chook sitters realised that the older boys were hanging around my flock each morning and afternoon. During the days they started to get adventurous and the boys lead them up to the road (300meters away) to hang out. Not a good spot. We do live practically at the end of the road only another 5 houses past us but still not a good idea.

Only 5-6 weeks to go before these fat chooks will be laying eggs  - can’t wait

Haven’t they grown. Below the guinea fowl taking off for a quick fly towards our humble shed, its exciting being out of the pen – spread those wings.

For those of you who have ever had them or thinking about getting some here is one piece of realistic information – they are the Stupidest Birds Ever (yes capitals are required). From now on I am sticking to chooks. The neighbours have been chasing my guineas back down to the pen during the day to keep them off the road. They are not street smart, they will just stand their and look at you and not move, so raod kill guinea fowl could of been on the menu while I was away. I did count them on my return to find that I still had 17, so they made it through hanging out with the wrong crowd and hawks swooping at them to grab a quick eat.

This past week I have been training them that I am boss and they are not to hang out with the four boys who come over. The boys now only go down in the morning to check that they are there still then leave. I am winning against the stupidity of the guinea fowl.

Next week I will be at the market on Saturday the 11th May at Montville Hall.

Today is the first day of International Compost Awarness week, this month I will be writing several posts about composting to celebrate.

Who would like to do a monthly garden visit around the web? I would like to share what other bloggers are doing in their backyard veggie patch. The first installment will be for the start of June and will be published on the first Monday of the month from their own. Let me know if you want to take part.

Today in the garden I also discovered a few surprises take a peek below.

Tomatoes getting bigger.

My first broccoli floret

Two zucchini’s on one bush – that has never happened before.

Cos lettuce seed self seeding in the garden & heirloom tomatoes looking good.

Okra and okra flower.

Yesterday was our two year anniversary Roy and I. Today we are in two different countries working away towards our dream life. Keeping in touch via the telephone each night and soon hopefully Skype - as soon as I buy a webcam. Life is changing and always improving. This soup is a standard in our house, it is one of Roy’s favourites and he knows how to make it which is even better. We always have disputes over food, he likes his pea & ham soup runny and watery while I argue that it is better thick and when you dunk your toast in, it grabs on and doesn’t immediately make your toast soggy. Nothing like a food argument between two foodies, well what can I say we have been with each other for just over six years.

Like every relationship between you and friends, family or food, you will find differences. I would love to know how you prefer your soups. I may be a little bit of a snob with soups because I still love watery Asian style soups. I just like thick pea & ham, potato and leek and roast veggie soup. A night in front of the telly hugging a warm bowl of soup is satisfy my need to get warm and cozy.

Do tell me what is your favourite soup and is it watery or thick?

When I don’t get a chance to eat all the bananas on the bench I like to leave them to go black and gooey. They may look disgusting to most but they make the best flavour for cakes and smoothies. Baking banana bread with a banana that has just turned ripe, just doesn’t cut it. The flavour is not there, when they start going black and the insides caramelise they are perfect – I can’t stress that enough.

A couple of months ago my neighbour popped his head over the fence and offered us some bananas it was the last of the seasons and he didn’t have enough to sell at the markets. They were so tasty as is, but I let a few go  and then popped them into the fridge to discover three weeks later they were ready to be made into banana bread. I forgot that they were there, so to my surprise I instantly thought about baking. We also had some friends around for morning tea to help eat the bread – perfect planning. YUM.

Accidental cooking at its finest. Have you ever stumbled upon an ingredient that inspired you to cook something, I would love to hear about it.