Monday 20 July 2009

Of food and delicious things ...

As anyone knows who knows me well, I love food. I love pretty much all sorts of food (except sushi). I love cooking, but I don't seem to have as much time/energy for it of late - well, not for the last six months.

And I'm not all *that* fond of packet food.

Are there any good resources for from-scratch, relatively brisk (eg, an hour or less from start to on the table) recipes, that use fresh ingredients?

While I'm on the topic, I've been thinking of starting up some sort of herb garden, but I have no idea where to start. I'm sure I want to grow coriander (for seeds and for leaves); galangal; ginger; garlic; lemongrass; basil; chillies; thyme; rosemary; lavender; peppermint; and kaffir lime (for leaves).

This list is mostly assembled from the list of fresh herbs I frequently buy (or wish I could). My only real option is in pots, in a courtyard that gets sun for perhaps 1/3 of the day. Can any green thumbs out there suggest what arrangement/s would work well, and which of the named herbs are likely to be a complete failure? Links to general care such as pruning, feeding, watering frequency etc would also be appreciated - gardening is something I am highly inexperienced with.

4 comments:

  1. Coriander and basil will probably do OK with that much sun. They're annuals so you'll have to replant occasionally anyway.

    Re fast recipes I've had pretty good luck with cookbooks entitled things like "Quick and Easy" or "Workday". Also, I don't think I've ever met a Thai recipe that takes more than an hour from beginning to table, have a look through http://thaitable.com/

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  2. Oh, and coriander and basil need to be watered about as often as you can possibly remember to do so.

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  3. Thanks Mary :) I'll have to tell you how my herbacious adventures go.

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  4. I have a cookbook called Fast and Fabulous (a Women's Weekly collection) which suits your needs. And look, it's on eBay - item # 120454739508

    You're welcome to borrow for a few weeks.

    http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Women%27s-Weekly-Fast-and-Fabulous-Meals-for-Busy-People_W0QQitemZ120454739508QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090802?IMSfp=TL090802132001r6374

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