Winter Two Weeks In

The most beautiful white billowing clouds are hanging low beneath the Grampians Ranges on this crisp winter morning looking like a thick blanket trying to keep the earth warm. Winter is upon us and some mornings it is difficult to get outside due to fine misty rain and occasional frost, or maybe the weather just makes you want to stay inside in the warm. This morning was spent planting out a few more little Welsh Onion bulbs. My Mother grew them when I was a child at ‘Allanvale’ and she always called them tree onions, as they grow little clusters of small onions at the end of season on the top of their stems. I also managed to plant some Florence Fennel seeds. I have wanted to do some drawings of some fennel but as usual you have to grow them yourself, as what is available in the shops is so drastically trimmed they seldom look like much more than a white bulb. I planted some ‘Turks Turbans’ pumpkin seeds last spring but had no success with them at all. A friend gave me a small one that she had grown but one pumpkin in a composition for a painting looks a bit lonely so you may as well eat it and keep the seeds to plant next year. Although that may be a bit of a risk as Helga had three different varieties of pumpkins so there is not guarantee that they have not cross pollinated. Although a cross between a Turks Turban and something else could be interesting? I was invited to a BBQ birthday party for a friend but they are vegetarian. I don’t have that much of a problem with vegetarian food as I have cooked a lot of vegetarian food in the past and meat is not always on the menu here, but the definition of what is a vegetarian is so board it is difficult some times to know what to take. Some people who call themselves vegetarian eat fish and chicken, some do or do not eat dairy or eggs and one thing that most vegetarians in my experience don’t like to give up eating is bacon! If I think that someone is a strict vegetarian I would never add dairy or eggs, it is safest to go with vegan food. This salad is great to make at this time of the year with the end of seasons produce that you may have left.

ROCKET WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES AND FETA SALAD

Pumpkin
Eggplant
Red and Yellow capsicums
Roma tomatoes
Spanish red onion
Sweet potato
Zucchini
Garlic
Kalamata olives
Rocket
Basil
Feta
Balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Cut the onion into quarters, tomatoes in half capsicums into slices and all the other vegetables into about 3cm cubes.Place in a large bowl and add enough olive oil to lightly coat the vegetables, tossing them with your hands. Place the vegetables in a baking pan making certain that they don’t overlap too much. Roast in a moderate oven until they are cooked and beginning to just brown around the edges.Wash the rocket and dry in a clean tea towel. Place in a large serving bowl, add cooled roasted vegetables, torn basil, feta, olives and salt and pepper to taste. Make a vinaigrette dressing from the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and gently mix through with your hands, taking care not to break up the vegetables.

Without the addition of the vinaigrette this makes a wonderful pizza topping, is a good addition to a risotto and a good pasta sauce with the inclusion of some crushed tomatoes.