Winter greens are in abundance and it is the perfect time of year to enjoy warm, nourishing soups. This garden green soup is full of greens that are only lightly cooked, so they retain as much of their nutrients as possible. This soup will make the perfect winter starter or lunch and can be made using any greens you have growing in the garden.
Nourishing Garden Green Soup
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Packed full of fresh nutritious greens from the garden, this soup is delicious served both warm and cold.
Ingredients
1 medium Brown Onion
2 cloves of Garlic
4-5 Rainbow chard leaves
10 Sweet Potato leaves
2 Broccoli or Cauliflower leaves
1 Sprig of Mint (10 leaves)
3 Sprigs of Fennel Frond leaves
2 Sprigs of Parsley (1/2 cup)
2-3 Nasturtium leaves
1 Tbsp Tamari (or soy sauce)
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 tsp ground Cumin
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
1 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Cooking Oil
3/4 cup Water
Instructions
1. Finely dice the onion. Add oil to a frypan on medium-low heat and cook the onion for 10 minutes or until slightly golden.
2. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add in the cumin and cinnamon and stir to mix, cooking for a further 1 minute.
3. Add in the coconut milk, Tamari, and 3/4 cup of water. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
4. Rinse your greens and remove the stems.
5. Fill a wide bowl with cold water and ice and place it beside the stove. Place a wide pan, (or wok) on medium heat with 3-4 inches of water. Heat until the water is simmering.
6. Blanch your leaves in the simmering water and then add to the iced water to cool. This will lightly cook the leaves and help them remain bright vibrant green. Do this in stages with each type of leaf. Blanch the thicker leaves such as Rainbow chard, Broccoli, Cauliflower leaves, and Sweet Potato leaves for 45 seconds. The more delicate leaves such as Mint, Nasturtium, and fennel for 20-30seconds.
7. Strain off the green from the water.
8. Blitz up the cooled onion mixture and greens in a blender or similar (stick mixer, Nutribullet).
9. Transfer the mix to a saucepan and add salt (to taste) and reheat to serve or enjoy cold.
OPTIONAL: Top with mixed seeds (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower), edible flowers, and baby mint and nasturtium leaves. Serve with buttered Toast.
Notes
The Sweet potato and Broccoli leaves can be substituted with other garden greens you have growing in the garden such as Spinach, SilverBeet, Asian greens.
The darker the greens are in colour, the more vibrant green the soup will be.
Nasturtium Bread Rolls are bright, vibrant and all-natural colouring. Create WOW factor food with this garden-inspired bread recipe. Nasturtiums are the plant that keeps on giving! Nasturtiums make a beautiful lush living ground cover and are so easy to grow! Once you have them in your garden they will pop up every year without any effort on your behalf. They have so many uses and integrated relationships within your garden which makes them one of my favourite permaculture plants. You can read more about growing Nasturtium and uses here.
I love trying to get the most out of the things I have growing in my Urban Permaculture garden and that means lots of kitchen experiments! These Nasturtium bread rolls do have a nasturtium flavour once cooked but once I added ingredients for a burger it was not very noticeable. Just beautiful lush green tasty burgers!
This recipe would be great for a garden party, high tea, or just for something fun and interesting! I am a big believer in making everyday special. Make your own magic!
Nasturtium Bread Roll Recipe
Yield: 8 Burger Buns or 10-12 Rolls
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours20 minutes
These Nasturtium bread rolls were a fun kitchen experiment to make vibrant green bread naturally. These Nasturtium bread rolls were a fun kitchen experiment to make vibrant green bread naturally. They have a mild nasturtium flavour when eaten on their own but served with chutney or as a burger, the flavour is very subtle.
Ingredients
4 cups flour
2 cups lukewarm water
3 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbs oil
2 cups greens (i used Nasturtium leaves and fennel fronds)
Instructions
1. Blend greens in 1/2 cup of lukewarm water using a Nutribullet or blender. Then add the remaining water and mix.
2. Pour greens and water into a bowl and add sugar and yeast. Whisk to combine. Set aside for 5 - 10 mins to activate.
3. In a large bowl mix flour, oil and salt. Add in your green mixture half at a time and mix. It may need more water to form a dough so add water to your green bowl to mix and use up any of the residual greens. Add to the mixture as needed to form a dough. Knead for 1-2 mins.
4. Rub some oil in a bowl and add the dough ball. Cover and set aside somewhere warm to rise for 1-2 hours.
5. Cut and lightly roll dough into round buns. 8 large or 10-12 regular size. Cover and allow to rise again for 30mins - 1hr.
6. Whisk an egg and brush a light coat on top of the bread rolls. This is just to make them shiny and is optional. Place them on a lightly greased or non-stick tray. Bake at 180 degrees Celcius for 20mins or until slightly golden.
Notes
Best served fresh with butter. I rolled butter into a ball and coated with edible flowers (calendula and cornflower petals) for added WOW! Delicious on their own or as I have in this video make your favourite burgers using lots of salad and veggies from the garden!
There are so many ways to use Nasturtiums and I have plenty more ideas to try out. The most common way to use Nasturtium is in a salad. The leaves, flowers and seed pods are all edible. The flowers have a mild peppery taste and the leaves are a lot stronger in flavour. It is so important to learn how to use your edible plants so that you can get the most out of them! Especially in small space gardening. Below is a list of Nasturtium Recipes I have made so far:
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If you have any questions please leave me a comment below.
Happy Gardening!
Holly
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
My nasturtiums are abundant again for the Autumn/ Winter season and are popping up everywhere! They make a beautiful lush ground cover and are so easy to grow! Once you have them in your garden they will pop up every year without any effort on your behalf. They have so many uses and integrated relationships within your garden which makes them one of my favourite permaculture plants. Their lily pad-like leaves also give all the magical fairy vibes.
Growing Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums seem to thrive well in most soil types and you will often see them spilling out onto the street from gardens or popping up in the wild. They have quite a weed-like growth because they are so easy to grow and self-seed. They come in a few different varieties and range in colours from yellow, red, orange, peach, white, and a beautiful scarlet red that I have my eye on.
They can also make a companion plant as they keep the soil protected and create a great space for beneficial insects to live. They are a great addition to any garden and one of my top permaculture plants due to the number of beneficial uses and positive relationships with other plants and animals.
Medicinal
Nasturtiums have many medicinal and healing qualities. They are rich in vitamin C, boost your immune system, as well as a natural aid to antibacterial and fungal infections. Plus most of the plant is edible which I love! Please note it is best to try things in moderation and I am by no means a medical professional. I did read that you should possibly avoid Nasturtium if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or have kidney disease.
Chickens
Growing Nasturtiums can also attract snails, aphids, and other bugs which keeps them away from your sensitive crops and then you can just harvest patches of affected plants and feed them to your chickens. The chickens will love the snails/bugs and the Nasturtium itself is a great natural medicine for the chickens. Nasturtium can improve reproductive health and immunity and help as a natural antibiotic.
Ways to Eat Nasturtiums
There are so many ways to use this plant and I have only tried a few so far. It is so important to learn how to use your edible plants so that you can get the most out of them! Here is a list of ways along with links to any recipes I have on my blog.
Are you growing Nasturtiums? Do you use Nasturtium in any other ways? I would love to know, please leave a comment below.
Holly🌱
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MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
Garden toast is something I created one day when I was scraping together something for lunch and all I had was a crust and some cottage cheese in the fridge. I didn’t have any avocado, eggs or anything special to have with it. So I went out into the garden and found some inspiration! I picked two small tomatoes, herbs and edible flowers. It looked like a mini garden on toast and now I can’t stop making these beautiful, tasty creations!
Here are the creations I have made so far..
Original Garden Toast
My first addition with the last piece of bread I had left! I had fun making this and it definitely tasted delicious! Ingredients: Rye Multigrain toast, Cottage Cheese, Fresh tomato, Parsley, Rosemary, Rosemary flowers, Zinnia Petals and Basil leaves.
Fairy Garden Toast
It’s amazing what a little bit of Beetroot juice can do! Natural colouring and plenty of beneficial nutrients with an array of micro herbs and greens. You may even be able to convince your kids to eat more greens with this Fairy Garden toast. Get them involved in the process by having a bowl each to go outside and collect herbs. Ingredients: White Multigrain Toast, Cottage Cheese mixed with beetroot juice or fresh grated Beetroot, Baby Nasturtium leaves, Parsley leaves, Basil leaves, Sweet Violet flowers, Rosemary Flowers, Baby Pink chard leaves, Pink Zinnia Flower petals and Dill Flowers.
Jungle Garden Toast
Packed full of herbs and flavour! Ingredients: Country Grain Toast, Basil Pesto, Orange Nasturtium petals, Tiger Eye Viola Petals, Strawberry Flowers, Parsley leaves, Rosemary Flowers, Pea tendrils, Burgundy Marigold Petals and Purple basil leaves.
Summer Garden Toast
Summer on toast! Homegrown tomatoes are so sweet and delicious and tomato on toast is one of my favourite ways to eat them! Ingredients: Rye Multigrain toast, Red, yellow, orange cherry tomatoes, Purslane, Red basil leaves, Strawberry Flower, Sweet Violet Flower, Dill flowers, Rosemary Flowers, chopped Purple Kale, baby Nasturtium leaves and Fresh Chilli.
Botanical Garden Toast
Pest on toast is so delicious! I made extra pesto and if you follow me on Instagram you would have seen that I ate this for breakfast for an entire week! It was also so good with a poached egg on top. Ingredients: Sourdough toast, Basil pesto, Cottage Cheese, Chopped walnuts, Fresh Chilli, Basil Leaves, Fennel Flowers, Pink and White Dianthus, Baby Pumpkin Tendrils, Parsley Leaves and Strawberry Flowers.
Unicorn Garden Toast
My latest creation and maybe my favourite yet! Purple sweet potato spread is a vibe! Ingredients: Sourdough Toast, Mashed Purple Sweet Potato and Cottage Cheese, Overnight Pickled Red Cabbage and Red Onion (1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar heated to dissolve. Pour cooled liquid over Cabbage and Onion), Purple Kale, Grilled Baby Eggplant, Purple Pansy, Multicoloured Dianthus, Rosemary Flowers and Red Basil.
Get Inspired by your Garden
There is always something in my garden to make a toast topping and I love how easy and creative it is! Each piece is so unique and full of fresh garden nutrients! Having these ideas tried and tested means I know I can always whip up something even when my fridge is looking very lean.
Get creative and inspired by your own garden. There is something so satisfying about being able to walk outside and make a meal from your own fresh, homegrown veggies. This is a great meal idea for beginner gardeners who don’t have many established edibles. Just look out for baby leaves and edible flowers (make sure you research and clearly identify they are edible). Baby leaves and flowers can add subtle flavours and turn any dish into a work of art!
Be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can see your creations!
Holly 🌱
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
If you have been following me for a bit you will know I have been on a Nasturtium recipe craze! One of the things I am trying to do is learn as many recipes as I can for things that I grow in my garden. It turns out Nasturtiums have a lot more uses than just a pretty edible flower!! My plants were getting a bit wild and overtaking the garden so I picked all the flowers and collected a whole bunch of seed pods to make Nasturtium Capers. This is a two-part process where I soaked the seed pods for 5 days before pickling.
INGREDIENTS
Jar of Nasturtium Seed pods
White Vinegar
Sugar
Mustard seeds
Dill leaves
METHOD
Part 1: Soaking – Wash the seed pods well with water and place in a jar filled with water. Leave to soak in the fridge for 2 days. Then rinse again and refill the jar with water and add a teaspoon of salt to make a brine. Leave to soak for another day or so. This process should help remove some of the bitterness from the seeds. After a few days in the brine rinse and leave in plain water while you prepare the vinegar.
Part 2: Pickling liquid – In a saucepan on a low heat add a jar (whatever one you are going to be pickling in) of white vinegar and then about 1/4 of the jar of water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and I like my pickles sweet so I added 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Taste and add more sugar or salt depending on your liking. Set aside to cool.
Wash your jar well with hot water to sterilise and add your seed pods and pick out any that don’t look the best or any leaves etc. I added a teaspoon of mustard seeds, small dill leaf and a sprinkle of chilli flakes. You could mix this up with whatever flavours you like.
Once the pickling liquid has cooled down add it to your jar and place in the fridge. I noticed from my research that they go brown once pickled so tried one batch with Nasturtium flowers added to it (on top pushed down into the liquid) and this turned out great with an orange pickling liquid. I removed the flowers at the end when I opened them to eat. I waited two weeks to try mine because I got busy but I’m sure after a few days to a week you could try them.
As these Nasturtium Capers are just a refrigerated pickle I would eat them within 3 months.
How to eat Nasturtium Capers?
These are a delicious accompaniment to most meals! Try served on an omelette, pizza, salad or with a fish dish.
Lettuce wraps with Avocado, Haloumi, Basil and Nasturtium Capers.
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
