Pickles & Chooks n' Stuff

First up - greetings from Annie Claire and The Big Fella.




My favorite sandwich in the whole wide world is Pate, Dill Cucumber and Mayonnaise. This is because my BFF at primary school (Sutton Primary if you ask) was Amelia Salmon and this is the extravagant concoction her Mum put on my school sandwiches on morning after a sleep over.

Well. It was a taste sensation and I get all drooly just thinking about it. You can imagine the reaction from my cheese and tomato, devon and tomato sauce, left over sausages and tomato sauce or Vegemite and lettuce (this was my suggestion, not my Mums) sandwich filling parents when next asked what I wanted on my sandwiches.

Anyway, this early experience led to an off again on again life long search for the perfect dill cucumber. Like most things, the mass produced version is inevitably disappointing, and really, you have to make your own. It wasn't until yesterday I realised that the perfect dill cucumber is actually a weird zucchini and it is pickled in a brine not a vinegar. It is also embarrassingly easy to make. Just sliced veggies and salt and dill seeds and a weight to hold it all down. This one is cabbage, turnip (or is it a swede - I really should put more tags on my seedlings) zucchini and the unidentified zucchini thing that is growing on a vine. And it is YUM. And it is apparently also very good for your digestion being full of lactic acid bacteria thingies. (Well according to the Wild Fermentation book it is)

Amelia Salmon's mum - I salute you!


In other news, here we have some lovely summer/Autumn lettuce seedlings coming up. From memory they are red ice, little gem and crisp mint. See, LABELS.



And greetings from Chu Chu the coolest, hottest, fattest cat in town.


And "hssssssssss - get away from my nest" from Amelia who if all goes well, and one shouldn't count one's ducklings before they hatch and all, should hatch next week.