Herb vinegar

Herb vinegar is my favourite salad dressing and it takes just a few minutes to make. All you need are herbs, white vinegar and an old glass sauce or oil bottle. I used an old sesame oil bottle.

Store it in a dark place when made. It's ready to use in about 2 weeks - when it smells "herby" it's ready to use and will develop more "herbiness" over time.

I now have enough herbs on the balcony to make a bottle.

Wash and dry the herbs

Pick a few different herbs - any combination is fine.

For this batch I used:
- oregano
- thyme
- rosemary
- vietnamese mint
- basil
- a piece of green onion (shallot)

Pack the herbs into the bottle

Fill with white vinegar

Extracting aloe vera gel

Aloe vera is a hardy succulent that has a long history of being used for medicinal purposes. It's easy to grow and has many uses in our homes.

The large Aloe vera on my balcony

A quick search on the internet will give you many uses for aloe and many things that it supposedly will cure. I can't vouch for all of them, but I do like it in my smoothies (aids digestion), for soothing skin and I've been experimenting with it in hand sanitiser

WARNING: Not all Aloe Vera varieties are considered edible, so check that you have a plant that is safe to eat. Edible Aloe vera is referred to as either Aloe vera barbadensis, Aloe barbadensis or Aloe vera barbadensis var. miller. It's the plain green one with thick, juicy leaves.

Growing

Aloe vera happily grows in poor soil and in hot, dry, sunny locations, but it can also be grown as an indoor plant as long as it's near a window with bright natural light. As a succulent it doesn't need a lot of water. I've had some pulled out of their pot and sitting in an empty bucket for 2 weeks and they still look succulent!

In the ground or a large pot they can grow rather large - I have one on the balcony that has leaves 45cm long and 10cm wide at the base.

 

Extracting the gel

Aloe vera has a sticky gel inside the long, spiky leaves that can be applied directly to your skin (great for relieving burns and sunburn), used to make homemade beauty products or added to food or drinks.

The easiest way I've found to extract it is to slice the spiky bits off then run your knife along under the skin - a bit like filleting a fish. Once you've lifted the top green layer off, run your knife under the gel to loosen it from the other side of the leaf.

Then it's just a matter of lifting the gel up and into a container. The video below shows how I go about it.

 

Storing the gel

If you have a lot of Aloe vera to process at one time, the easiest way to store it is in the freezer.

I whizz it up with the stick blender then pour into ice cube trays. Once frozen, I tip the ice blocks into another container to store in the freezer.

It's easy to add one to a smoothie, or your cooking, or to defrost however many you need for skin products.

Eat your leafy greens

Photo by Pille-Riin Priske on Unsplash

Leafy greens are quick and easy to grow. Plant seeds today and you'll be picking in 5-6 weeks, plant seedlings and you'll be picking in 3-4 weeks.

Leafy greens include things such as rocket, spinach, warrigal greens, bok/pak choy, mustard greens, chard and kale. Other greens you can include with your leafy greens when you cook are the leaves from a variety of vegetables eg sweet potato, nasturtium

Here are a few of my favourite leafy greens recipes.

Steamed/Wilted greens

This is one of my favourite ways to have leafy greens. I usually have it as an entree as it's a bit too flavoursome as part of your mains.

Wilt (in the microwave) or steam some greens. Top with sesame oil and soy sauce to taste.

Spinach Pie (Serves 2)

      Olive oil
      1 large onion, finely chopped
      1 clove garlic, finely chopped
      2 tablespoons lemon juice
      Bunch of fresh spinach or mix 2/3 spinach with 1/3 leafy greens
      1/4 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
      50g feta, crumbled
      1/4 cup chopped continental parsley (I often don’t put this in)
      1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
      1 egg, lightly whisked
      Pepper to taste
      1 sheet puff pastry
      Poppy seeds (optional)

 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Brush a small ovenproof dish with oil and drape the sheet of pastry over it to thaw.
2. Combine onions, garlic and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
3.  Add spinach and cook 4-5 minutes.
4.  Cool. Stir in ricotta/cottage cheese, feta, parsley, mustard, pepper & mix until combined.
5. Add egg & fold through.
6. Cut pastry to fit your dish and keep the excess for the top of the pie.
7.  Spoon spinach mixture into dish. Cover with pastry, seal edges.
8. Lightly brush top with oil and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
9. Bake in pre-heated oven until top is golden (around 30 minutes).

Pesto

Pesto is usually made with basil but you can use any leafy greens. I actually prefer to not use basil as basil pesto discolours once the air gets to it. My favourite is nasturtium leaves - they give a nice peppery flavour. I also usually use peanuts as they're cheaper but you can use any nuts - with pine nuts being traditional.

I make a largish batch, bottle some and freeze the rest in ice cube trays - which are later popped into containers in the freezer. Pop a cube or two into stirfry or over pasta for a quick meal.

Here's a basic recipe, but I usually do it by feel and taste.

      4 cups of basil (or parsley or nasturtium) leaves firmly packed
      3 cloves of garlic
      1 cup peanuts, pine nuts or macadamias or a mix
      ¾ cup fresh Parmesan (grated or thinly sliced)
      ¾ cup olive oil
      ½ teas salt (or to taste)

1. Combine everything in a food processor and pulse for about 2 minutes until it becomes a paste of the consistency you like.
2. Spoon into sterilised jars that have a tight seal. (Soak in boiled water or baby bottle steriliser.) Or freeze in ice cube trays.

 

Buttery Rocket Pasta

Melt some butter in a saucepan. Add a couple of handfuls of rocket and wilt. Pour over pasta of your choice. Top with parmesan cheese.

Make your own deodorant

A few people have asked me for my deodorant recipe so here it is. 

After trying a few recipes I came up with the following which I’ve been using for a couple of years. I make small batches – just multiply the quantities if you need more. 

In warm weather (25C+) the coconut oil is liquid. I suggest you gently warm the oil to a liquid state if you’re in a cold climate. In winter I pour the mix into an old stick deodorant case. You could do this in the hot weather but you'd have to keep it in the fridge. I keep it in a small glass jar during summer. 

INGREDIENTS 
2 tablespoons bicarb soda 
4 tablespoons arrowroot powder 
4 tablespoons coconut oil (in a liquid state)
10-20 drops essential oil (I like a mix of peppermint and lavender) 

METHOD
- In a small glass container with a wide opening, stir bicarb soda and arrowroot powder together. 
- Pour in the coconut oil and essential oils. 
 - Stir well to mix. 
- Screw the top on the bottle and store in a cool place. 
- To use - scoop out a small amount and rub it in your underarm area.