From Plant to pot in 1 minute..all delivery Photos UP

I am often asked why I picked the name GOOD LIFE for my company, one of the underlying ideas is from a  1970's BBC TV Sit com of the same name, where a couple turned their suburban home and garden into a self-sufficient small holding, growing their own fruits and vegetables and even having live stock, well before the main stream took over the idea, in the late  90's.
When I moved to my small house,in 2005 the first thing I did before bringing in any of my belongings was to "fix up the gardens"..I have gardens front ( Flowers and herbs) and back, and a small front porch which is where my orchids and ferns are growing happily under shade from a large camphor tree.
I brought in good top soil, compost and chicken and steer manure, and lots of organic fertilizers..everyone thought I was crazy ..now I am the envy of the neighborhood as I have tomatoes almost year round, bell and spicy peppers everywhere, and this year actually grew and ate broccoli, &  will be having eggplants and beans very soon.
 All the herbs I use in my recipes are home grown and are actually growing up to the minute they go into the pot, the same goes for any tomatoes, peppers and soon, eggplants..this IS The GOOD LIFE...being able to "farm" in a massive city and grow veggies and fruit ( I have a dwarf satsuma kumquat..great for marmalade's & sweet & sour sauces) under my controlled conditions.
 I have been going organic now for about 5 years..using marigold plants to control bugs on tomatoes & some herbs, planting flowers to attract pollinating bugs.....I love cooking, and looking out to all my happy plants...
For tomorrow I am making the following, (mostly from my garden)...


Tomato-basil soup...a very tasty blend of fresh and canned tomatoes, fresh basil, tempeh bakon, celery, carrots, onions, garlic...and made with org. rice milk, unlike most of my soups it is best cooked for a long time so the flavors develop a depth of their own.


A cool, chunky cucumber-mint finished with lemon zest.I love the flavor of mint and lemon especially on a warm summer day, we are heating up now and it is going to be in the low 80's by the weekend...this soup also has onion, zucchini and a bit of celery to add a natural saltiness


Then I am making a Moroccan-French infusion of baked eggplants with tomatoes ( home grown) and whole wheat couscous..again using flavors of cumin and garlic, with ground turmeric (great for the memory), and finishing off with a cinnamon-mint scented couscous




The 2 great sides;
sauteed org. "baby" carrots with Spanish smoked paprika and pine nuts..these are really delicious and taste like they were cooked over and open fire.

 Sauteed mixed greens ( I wish more people would use collards, mustard, turnip and kale in their menus..once blanched in sea salted water ( drain but don't squeeze as you lose a lot of nutrition in the water) and sauteed in hot olive or canola oil they are fantastic, very high in natural calcium and vitamins and minerals and I know most of my clients just eat them as is without warming through) with garlic and also pine nuts( orig. was almonds but my client can't eat them)

"Perpetual Basil" grows and flowers all year, attracts bees

"English Thyme"

Rosemary...folk lore insists you are given the plant do not buy it yourself or it promotes bad luck

These 2 Italian Peppers, normally cooked small..I prefer them medium sized as they are sweeter

Cucumber-mint-lemon zest soup

Home grown tomato mix for the couscous to be stuffed in eggplant shells and baked

the eggplant mix..off heat and now "mellows" over night

A View from my kitchen door

to the right of my kitchen door..sages, lavenders, dragon lilies, and white ginger, with aloes & peppermint in pots

Eggplants in pots in foreground, in front of cactus and yucca, pepper & tomato plants raised bench, far left in garden, more tomato plants & Lemon Verbena tree

Steamed collards & kale

Drained &sauteed in grape seed oil  with garlic and pine nuts

Steam/saute the carrots..cook first in boiling water and allow to evaporate, add grape seed oil and saute, adding smoked paprika,  sea salt & pine nuts

Eggplants stuffed with Moroccan-French couscous ( with own grown tomatoes and green peppers). Cook the hollowed out eggplant halves in boiling salted water for 15 mins., drain and fill with the veggie-couscous mix, add chopped fresh mint and basil..to be baked at client's home

The tomato basil soup simmering..to be blended with rice milk..(coconut milk may solidify as it is far richer than rice milk)