Cool or uncool? — Kandy Shepherd

Is it dreadfully uncool of me to admit to how much pleasure my vegetable garden gives me?

Not so much the back-breaking work of weeding, digging, and—decidedly uncool—fertilising. Although fresh air, exercise and communing with nature do play their part in those past-times. (And, if I’m being honest, much of the hard work is done by my darling hubby.)

 I’m thinking more of the ongoing pleasure in seeing things grow. Then there’s the harvest—the joy of organic produce eaten just minutes from being picked from the garden. It surely must be good for us! Then it all seems worthwhile. Even the less-than-supermarket-perfect produce seems to taste so much better.

Right now in the heat of summer Down Under, my garden is overflowing with abundance. (A bit too overflowing—I never seem to allow enough distance between plants). We’ve been eating lettuce, green beans, cucumbers, and zucchini (courgette) for months, with the tomatoes, eggplant (aubergine), capsicums (peppers) and chili now coming into full force. Herbs too are flourishing.

 Some years are more successful at our little farm than others. We’re at the mercy of nature as to how well our tomatoes grow, some years we have none. And I’m a gardening incompetent when it comes to small seeds like lettuce, spinach and carrots. I have friends who are very good at saving seed from crop to crop, whereas I’m of the buying seedlings wherever possible persuasion.

For this reason I sometimes wonder whether growing our own is actually cost effective, though the water (we collect our own) and fertiliser (thank you chickens and horses) is “free”. But the taste and satisfaction it gives us is priceless. For the rest of the time we’re lucky to have a good fruit and vegetable market not too far away.

 I’ve been interested in vegetable gardening since I was eleven years old when I first grew a crop of green beans and radishes (which I didn’t even like!) Over the years I’ve grown them when possible.  However for many years even a pot of herbs on the windowsill was impossible because of where we lived and other demands on time.

 In my upcoming May release for Harlequin Romance Conveniently Wed to the Greek I have the opportunity of planting a fictional veggie garden in an upmarket spa resort on a gorgeous Greek island. Now that was fun!

Do you have “green thumbs” when it comes to vegetable gardening? Any disasters? Or do you find it so much easier to shop at the market! I’d love to see your comments.

In the swim – Kandy Shepherd

They say an author reveals more about her or himself in what they write than they might realise. I have to say that I find this true of myself. For example, it surprises me how often my love of water and swimming seems to sneak into my stories. I’m not doing this on purpose—it just happens!

Curl Curl beach in Sydney on a flat surf day

 My first three books for Harlequin Romance are set in the fictional beachside town of Dolphin Bay (to be published together as an anthology Heart of the Bay by Harlequin Australia on December 12 in Australia and New Zealand.) Beaches and swimming pools, Sydney Harbour, the Yarra River, a fountain and even a bathtub have been significant in other stories, too, whether set in Australia, Indonesia, Greece or a fictional European principality. That the hero and heroine are usually not wearing much in the way of clothing while they’re in the water or on the beach adds to the sensuality of the story too!

North Sydney Pool, a favourite place to swim laps

 I’m not long back from enjoying a fabulous swimming holiday in Crete—my second with a company specialising in Greek open water swimming holidays. It’s an organised tour where you swim with a fully supervised group, divided into smaller ability groups, in the most glorious blue seas. The swim averages five kilometres a day, divided into two swims before and after lunches in Greek tavernas reached only by sea. (The group is The Big BlueSwim if anyone is interested.)

The beautiful blue waters of Crete

 People tend to react with shock when they hear this as I tend to be a somewhat indolent person, happy to loll about reading at any opportunity. Then they wonder if I’m a fantastic swimmer. I’m not. But I’m competent, can stay in the water a long time and am not frightened of deep water. On both the swims I’ve been in the slowest of the groups and very happy with that.

I swam with other swimmers from the US and Israel but mostly British folk where the swim holiday seems to be very popular. Why would an Australian want to swim in Greece they ask? No sharks or other scary creatures is one reply—another is that swimming in such a history soaked country as Greece is something special. I can’t wait to go again!

I couldn't stay out of this hotel pool on the Gold Coast, Queensland

But in the meantime the weather is heating up Down Under and there is no shortage of wonderful places to swim here at home.

How about you? Do you like swimming? Or have another favourite summer activity? Or winter activities? I’d love to hear your comments!

Talking about tomatoes - Kandy Shepherd

When I was editor of a gardening magazine I found everyone wanted to talk to me about their tomatoes.  In summer, they become almost a national obsession with gardeners.

There’s no doubt vine-ripened, freshly picked tomatoes taste fantastic. And in most places Down Under they’re easy to grow. In our part of the country there’s a local rule that decrees no planting out before Melbourne Cup Day (first Tuesday of November) because of the danger of late frost. But apart from that it’s just plant them, give them fertilizer (in our case courtesy of our hens and horses), water them and wait for tomatoes. Oh, and protect them from hungry birds.

I'd be happy to share with the local bird-life
but they'd scoff the lot if I didn't net my tomatoes!

But for the last three years our crops have been useless: too much rain, not enough rain, whatever the reason the result has been the same—no tomatoes.

That’s why we’re loving the bumper crops this year. The tomatoes have been so abundant we’ve had to look at ways not to waste them. I’ve recently made passata—fresh tomato sauce—and just yesterday tried making semi-dried tomatoes.

Best Romas I've every grown!

I picked the Roma tomatoes—egg shaped, not as juicy as other varieties. 

Roma's ready to go!

Then I cut them in half, sprinkled with salt, olive oil and thyme from the garden, and cooked them in a slow oven for about three hours until they were crisp around the edges but still soft in the middle. 

They don't look very pretty but the semi-dried tomatoes taste wonderful! 

Packed in oil and kept in the fridge they’ll keep for about a month—though I doubt they’ll last that long at our house!

These will be great in sandwiches, salads, pasta and pizza!

There’s a certain satisfaction in preserving crops from our garden. I’ve made pesto from the basil as well as plum jam this year  (for some reason none of our other fruit trees produced anything, unseasonal weather patterns I suspect.)

 

But I think of our forebears and am so thankful we don’t have to rely on my labour to keep us in fruit and vegetables throughout the year. Harvest time is the hottest time of the year and preserving in a sweltering kitchen isn’t something I’d want to do as anything other than an occasional hobby!

Of course my husband, while enjoying the fruits of my labour, reminds me that with a looming deadline, I should be working on my novel. And that all this tomato preserving is just another form of procrastination!

My next Harlequin Romance Crown Prince’s Chosen Bride is out on March 1. The heroine is a chef turned party planner—and she doesn’t make tomato sauce or plum jam in the story though she does make a wicked white chocolate mud cake…

Do you grow vegetables and/or make preserves or are you quite happy to buy them? Any successes or disasters to recount? I’d love to read your comments!