Okonomiyaki is a delicious cabbage dish similar to a fritter or hash brown (although referred to as a pancake). They make a great base to build any toppings you like! Add a fresh salad, pickles, or anything really! As the dish translates to “how you like it”.
Cabbage Pancake - Okonomiyaki
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Delicious and easy cabbage meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
Ingredients
3 cups of tightly packed finely sliced cabbage
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
pinch chilli flakes
To serve
Japanese Mayo
Tonkatsu Sauce
Fresh chilli
Sesame seeds
Salad
Instructions
Finely slice the cabbage. A mandoline is a great way to do this quickly. The finer the cabbage the easier it will stick together. Add to a large mixing bowl.
In a small bowl whisk eggs and add the remaining ingredients. Whisk to form a batter.
Add the batter to the cabbage and stir until the cabbage is fully coated in the batter.
Heat a frypan to medium heat. Drizzle with a little oil (or butter for a browner crust).
Add the cabbage and press to form one large fritter or make two smaller ones.
Cook for 5mins and flip onto a plate. Carefully transfer the uncooked side back to the pan (push off the plate.
Cook for a further 4-5mins.
Top with sauces and sesame seeds. Add a fresh garden salad.
Notes
For a vegan alternative replace the eggs with 2 TBSP Sushi seasoning and allow the full cabbage mix to sit for 5 minutes before cooking. This will make the pancakes a pack more vinegary flavour so balance with a creamy salad.
Homemade Mint and Rosemary Sauce is so fresh and delicious. With just a few ingredients and fresh herbs from the garden, you can whip this flavour-packed sauce to serve with any Sunday Roast.
Mint and Rosemary Sauce
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 12 minutes
Fresh and zingy Mint and Rosemary Sauce.
Ingredients
1 Cup chopped Mint Leaves (3-4 Sprigs)
1 TBSP Roughly Chopped Rosemary Leaves (1 Sprig)
1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar (or white vinegar)
2 TBSP Water
1 Pinch Sea Salt Flakes
2 tsp Raw Sugar
Instructions
Rinse off the Mint and Rosemary and remove the leaves from the stems. Roughly Chop.
In a saucepan add the vinegar and sugar. Heat until sugar is dissolved. Add the herbs and remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Lightly blitz using a stick mixer or blender.
Serve hot or cold.
Notes
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight jar for 1 week.
Mint Extract is a great way to preserve your abundant mint harvests. This recipe works well with chocolate mint or any type of mint you have growing in the garden. With two simple ingredients, you can create a flavour-enhancing extract to use in your cooking and baking. No need for the fake store-bought Mint extracts! This homemade mint extract is a great addition to your homestead.
Chocolate Mint Extract
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Additional Time: 1 month
Total Time: 1 month5 minutes
Capture and store the delicious minty flavours straight from your garden. Great for baking and cooking.
Ingredients
1 cup Mint
1 1/2 cups Vodka
Instructions
Wash the mint and pat dry to remove excess moisture.
Roughly chop the mint and add to a clean, sterilized jar.
Pour over the vodka and secure the lid.
Allow to steep for 1-2 months in a dark place. Shake the jar every few days to help infuse until the vodka smell is replaced by Mint.
Remove and strain off the Mint leaves and store in a clean, sterilized jar.
Notes
The ratios can be a little rough with this just make sure the leaves are covered with the vodka.
Will keep for a long time but I suggest using it within a year.
The leaves and mixture will go brown as they infuse. Dried leaves may hold their colour better.
Green salads are a staple in any homegrown, garden-to-plate lifestyle — but that doesn’t mean they have to be boring. This simple green salad is fresh, vibrant, and packed with flavour, using ingredients that grow during the spring months. It’s the kind of salad you throw together in five minutes, but it tastes like something you’ve put real effort into. The secret is in the sauce! What I love most is how adaptable it is. Rocket brings a peppery bite, zucchini adds sweetness and crunch, peas bring that soft pop of freshness, and the mint ties everything together with a cooling lift. It’s the perfect side dish for spring and summer meals, or an easy way to use up handfuls of garden produce when everything is growing at once.
Try this delicious mint sauce recipe to dress potatoes or roast veggies!
Green Living
This is also a great recipe for anyone trying to reduce food waste — baby zucchinis, slightly overgrown rocket, or peas that aren’t “pretty” enough for a pod-and-eat moment all shine beautifully in this salad. Serve it alongside grilled veggies, roast chicken, a simple pasta, or enjoy it as a refreshing lunch on its own. And if you want to take it to the next level, try dressing it with my fresh mint sauce — it’s unbelievably good drizzled over potatoes, tossed through greens, or spooned onto roasted vegetables.
Growing your own food is all about keeping things simple, seasonal, and flavourful — and this salad does exactly that. Fresh, light, nourishing… and straight from the garden.
Rocket, Zucchini, Pea and Mint Green Salad
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Simple and packed full of flavour this green salad is sure to impress!
Ingredients
3 cups of Rocket and mixed greens*
1/2 Zucchini
6-8 Sugar Snap Peas
5-6 Mint Leaves for serving
1/2 cup Mint Dressing (see recipe below)
Instructions
Add Rocket and Greens to a mixing bowl and drizzle with 1/2 the mint sauce. Mix lightly to coat.
Add greens to the Serving dish.
Using a wide peeler, peel long strips of zucchini lengthwise. Add to mixing bowl and coat with a little extra dressing. Add on top of the salad mix.
Cut the Peas in half-length ways and place them throughout the salad.
Place mint leaves throughout the salad and top with edible flowers. (I used Mint flowers and white Alyssum). Drizzle over the remaining mint sauce to serve.
Notes
* Use seasonal salad greens such as Mizuno, Lettuce, Nasturtium, and Baby Spinach
Mint Sauce/ Dressing
Yield: 1/2 cup
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1/2 cup Mint leaves (Spearmint or common mint)
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp ACV
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Water
Salt to season
1/2 tsp Honey
Instructions
Roughly chop up the Mint leaves and add to a Mortar and Pestle
Add in the remaining ingredients and grind to a combined dressing.
Taste and add more lemon, honey, or salt to balance if needed.
This Creamy Roast Pumpkin Pasta is the ultimate comfort food. The crispy pumpkin leaves make a delicious crunchy addition. The perfect Autumn and Winter meal. Make extra sauce and freeze for quick and easy meals.
Creamy Roast Pumpkin Pasta with Crispy Pumpkin Leaves
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour15 minutes
Ingredients
Pumpkin (approx 600grams)
1 Spring onion
3 Garlic cloves
5-6 Sage leaves
2 sprigs Rosemary
1/2 cup walnuts or Pumpkin seeds
2 servings of spaghetti pasta
3 tbsp Coconut Cream
1 tsp Tamari or soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika
5 young pumpkin leaves
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celsius.
Slice the pumpkin into 1-inch wedges. In a roasting dish add the pumpkin, unpeeled garlic, rosemary, sage, and spring onion ( sliced into 1-inch pieces). Drizzle with olive oil and mix to coat.
Sprinkle over paprika and cinnamon and cook for 45min or until the pumpkin is cooked and slightly caramelized.
Cook the spaghetti as per instructions. Strain but do not discard the pasta water.
Once the pumpkin is cooked, remove and allow to cool.
Place the washed pumpkin leaves and walnuts on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake at 190 degrees celsius for 5 minutes or until crispy.
In a mixer add the pumpkin flesh, roast garlic, coconut cream, tamari, and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Season with salt and blitz until creamy.
Return the pasta and creamy pasta sauce to the saucepan and heat until warm. Taste and season with salt and pepper as required.
Place the pasta in a bowl and top with roasted seeds or nuts, crispy pumpkin leaves, crispy spring onion, and sage leaves.
Enjoy!
Notes
Freeze extra pasta sauce for quick and easy future meals.
Roasted Salt and Vinegar Pumpkin Seeds make a delicious snack that once you start you won’t be able to stop! Below are three delicious flavours: Salt and Vinegar, Cinnamon and Honey and Lime and Cracked Pepper. Get more from your harvests by using the whole pumpkin. After harvesting your pumpkins save the seeds from the best ones – select for the best flavour, biggest size, or whatever traits you desire. With the remaining pumpkins and seeds, you can make these snacks to add crunch to salads, soups, or just enjoy them on their own.
Roasted Salt and Vinegar Pumpkin Seeds
Reduce your food waste and turn extra pumpkin seeds into delicious snacks.
Ingredients
white vinegar
pumpkin seeds
sea salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Rinse your pumpkin seeds to remove any extra pumpkin flesh.
Coat the seeds in white vinegar and sprinkle with sea salt.
Roast until slightly golden. Approx 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. They will get crunchier as they cool.
For extra flavour splash with a little vinegar as you serve them.
Enjoy!
Honey and Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Turn your leftover pumpkin seeds into a delicious sweet treat.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Seeds
Honey
Cinnamon
Sea salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
Wash the pumpkin seeds to remove any flesh.
Drizzle enough honey to coat the seeds and sprinkle with cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt.
Spread the seeds out on a roasting tray and separate them. Roast for 4-5 mins check regularly the honey will caramelize quickly. Remove the seeds from the tray while they are still hot.
Enjoy!
Notes
Add on top of ice cream, and cakes, or enjoy them as they are.
Lime and Cracked Pepper Pumpkin Seeds
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Delicious and full of flavour!
Ingredients
Pumpkin Seeds
1 lime
Cracked Pepper
Sea salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
Wash the pumpkin seeds to remove any flesh.
Grate lime zest over the pumpkin seeds and squeeze enough lime juice to coat the seeds. Season with a pinch of sea salt and grind over crack pepper.
Spread the seeds out on a roasting tray and separate them. Roast for 4-5 mins check regularly. Remove the seeds from the tray while they are still hot and allow them to cool on a plate.
