For the pruning NOVEMBER

its late.

So late, in fact, I feel the urge to just not do it, but I am digging deep and trying to scratch together some plan and just post.

In all due haste.

Much too late.

My appologies November, you are so full of promise and I have been slack.

Thankfully not too much has been missed in the way of vege gardening by the moon.

The short lived productive sowing time on the first few days this month have already gone, as have the first couple of days for root crops, but fret not, your root crops can go in again on the 17th and 18th as the moon wanes and the new moon approaches (23rd marks its arrival)

Before and after that it's all about weeding, watering and hoeing.

Spring is a prolific growing time for everything and the easiest way to keep your vege plot weed free is to plant and/or mulch any bare patch of dirt you have. The weeds will have nowhere to grow if you beat them to the vacant ground.

I have gained rather a bit of growth from my agria potatoes that I popped in last month and have already mounded two seperate last of dirt atop their shoots and I am planning on at least three goes at plopping dirt on top of the shoots, aiming for a huge crop this year. Hopefully my best yet.
From the twenty fifth until the second of December get more sowing done of any above ground cropping plants. The water tables are ideal at this time to give them the best start in life.
Also, any strawberry plants should be up and fruiting starting now. I was told last year from a reliable source that you should pluck off the first set of flowers from a plant and they will continue to fruit harder, sweeter and longer. This year I have done just that I half of my robust patch and will wait to see how they fare and re post later about it. I am aiming for a bumper crop of these too. We have a massive stack of plants and they are all flowering profusely.
Fingers crossed. I love a good strawberry or 65.

That's all folks.

Keep watering. A long deep water makes for strong roots and healthy plants!

For the pruning OCTOBER

These sunny days whipped with the chill of the mountains breath are amazing.
This month is a busy one in the garden, especially if you didn't get the most out of september with your prep, sow and weeding goals like me.
Gulp.
Best get stuck in then!

The start of October is all about getting leafy crops into the ground team! From late September until the 5th get as much as you can in. Think variety not quantity though and you will avoid having all your lettuce ready for harvest at the same time. Best to pop a few in every phase and insure that you have an abundant supply all season rather than feast to famine style harvesting.
This month in canterbury I am sowing peas, beans, lettuce, zucchini, a handful of various brassicias and basil galore indoors.
I also rather neglected my rhubarb crowns in August and September and they are really beginning to start a growth phase so I will split any yet un sprouted crown off at this time too. Be sure to lay down a rich bed of manure for them to go nicely back into. They love rich soil, I have mine In a very shaded spot in our current house and expected them to hate it but they have really thrived, throwing up the fattest sweetest stalks. The variety I have currently is missing that lovely rhubarb ruby blush and the stalks remain on the greener side but the flavour more than makes up for it, plus I have been given some skinny red stalk variety crowns which will be mingling in the patch and hopefully coming up just as happy and delicious as the tasty green ones.

From the 6th til the 11th weed and prep any up and coming beds. Lay down compost, plenty of manure and dig in any mulch that you have left from holding the weeds at bay over winter. If you have leafy crops awaiting some liquid feed between the 6th and the 9th is the perfect time to give it to em!

Root veges have the best chance for success if you sow them either side of the last quarter of the moon phase, so pops em in on the 12th and 13th and again on the 19th and 20th. If you mix carrot and radish you maximise space in the beds as your radish will be ready to eat earlier and harvesting them will act as a thinning out process for your slower growing carrots.

Sowing take centre stage again at the end of the month and from the 27th up through to early November it is again time to get and leafy of above ground harvesting seeds in.

Happy planting for summer

xx
Jes

Awaiting the new little

Hi all, apologies for the delay, but I will not being doing any posts for the next month or two. Freya Bo and I are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our second child who will If all goes to plan, grace us with his presence in the next week. Needless to say I will not be heading out to the garden for a bit and have given myself permission to not feel guilty about it, which is a lovely feeling indeed. With a tyke under two and another on the way I have my usual concerns as to how my brain and emotional health will adjust, but I am happy to say that with one child kept alive for just over nineteen months, I have a bit more faith in my ability to successfully mother than I did last time!
Anyway, I am off the get Freya ready for her morning at Montessori - see you guys in a wee while, take care, plant some winter vege and stay warm xx

for the pruning APRIL

bah! another month bites the dust and i am still behind on my cooking updates.

weiner!

ok folks, here is a quick update for your gardening list this coming month.

from the 3rd until the 12th is the time you want to get any fruit bearing or leafy crops sown. this month i will be adding to my already planted seed some silverbeet in both the regular white stalk and rainbow colored varieties - this is a go to on our table over winter and i have been remiss not to have planted some already. i thought the stash we had would replenish itself as it usually does but i seem to have managed to dig over it rather too vigorously and it has yet to show is face above soil. (as soon as i plant though, i bet all those dormant seeds will be springing up all over the show....oh well, more to share around the neighborhood i guess...
and, i have digressed, back on track.... so, silverbeet, more peas (i have been having the worst luck with remembering to water the seeds i sow lately and am putting the lack of germinated plants down to pregnant-slash-baby brain) mustard and/or cress can go in any as yet to be assigned bare patches of dirt to replenish nitrogen content in the soil for spring, spinach by the tonne and broad beans ( because they also bring up great things in the soil, but i just love to eat them on sushi nights, freshly podded, lightly steamed then saulted with a hint of butter, salt and rice vinegar. yummo.

liquid feed your plants from the 12th until the 15th and get your spade and fork out on the 15th and dig deep down in the dirt to  prepare any beds you have still remaining for planting ( great time to pay extra attention to where your soon to be sown rot crops will go, dig deep and rake well, the less clumps and stones in your soil the better your drops will be!)

root crops go in on the 18th and 19th and again on the 25th and 26th when water tables are at the best place for them to take off and if you have any bulbs waiting to go in, the 25th and 26t will do the job well for them too, though i will leave mine till next month and give them a good week in the refrigerator first to get them really gunning for success.

thats it for this month, the new moon strikes on the 29th, so get digging again over that time and if you intend to leave any beds bare fro the winter try covering them in pea straw or dead leaves, then a layer of manure, more pea straw and/or dead leaves and water in well. pop large sheets of plastic over this and weigh down wit rocks or stakes to gather heat and compost - i hear it will all be worth it in a couple of months when you find it wonderfully ready to dig through and plant in - i am gonna give this a try if i can manage to have spare un-planted areas in our patch.

take care all, and please feel free to comment.
xx

autumn splendor and baking with the little

dont look at it.
just ease yourself back onto the sofa and, purposefully choose not to look it.
ignore the laundry pile
there
piled high on the chair
silently accusing you
crinkled and tangled into a chaotic mess of you-are-not-domestic-enough heckles and taunts
look at your book
look at your computer screen
look at the floor you vacuumed yesterday and the load of laundry you folded yesterday and have yet to put away
sigh loudly
at least loudly enough for the clothes to hear and feel ashamed for draggin your pregnant ass of the couch to fold it
fold it
put it all away (except for the little's stuff cos she is sleeping)
feel much more brilliant and bliss-filled as you smell caramel slice in the oven
realize a split second later that you in fact, smell burnt caramel slice in the oven
swear a few times to make yourself feel better and make a cup of tea
go back to the couch to drink it and nibble on some elderflower loaf and relax a while, waiting for the rain to ease enough for you to make a dash to the garden for peas, beans and spinach for dinner.


i found this recipe in a book called 'french children dont throw food'
i was visiting friends who were getting ready to welcome their first child and picked it up off the coffee table - i found it a rather interesting read. it is all about the differences between french children and their american or english counterparts. the authur tells us how french children have a certain calmness and manage to control themselves better than most other children she has come into contact with in both the usa and uk.
as with most books however that advocate various fool proof methods for raising children, i found it a little lacking when it came to applying it to our household, and, as with most self help books i took it with a grain of salt and used what i wanted, ignoring the other parts that didnt really mesh with my parenting technique.
what i have applied again and again from the book was a recipe that she included for kids to make.
it is a basic yoghurt muffin recipe, but i find it works really well as a loaf and is rather tasty when coconut and elderflower cordial (which i make myself every spring) are added to it. the relatively low sugar content means it is not too much sweet for the little to have as an occasional treat and the better she gets at the baking process the more involved she becomes at helping put it together. we have made this loaf together about 4 times and so far each time she gets better at not creating a huge mess and gets a little more responsibility. this time she did all the stirring without my cautionary hands fluttering near by, next time i think she will even be able to help with the scooping of the dry ingredients!

so, if you leave out the elderflower cordial and coconut threads you can keep it plain or add what ever else you fancy to this wee gem of a recipe.

and so, here it is.....



COCONUT AND ELDERFLOWER YOGHURT LOAF

turn oven onto 180'C

3/4 cup of yoghurt (or milk kefir)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup oil
3 Tblsp elderflower cordial

1  1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup coconut thread

mix together wet ingrediants

in a seperate bowl sift flour nad baking powder and add sugar and coconut thread. mixing well.

add wet ingrediants to dry and gently fold though until just mixed.

pour into pre-greased loaf tin and bake at 180'C for 45 minutes or until skewer comes out just clean.

head outside to enjoy the last of the sun for the day and watch little show the visiting cat how to catch bugs.... or was that the other way around....

cool, cut and eat for afternoon tea with some fresh milk from the farmer down the road.
bliss.

thansk for reading - please feel free to comment and come visit again

xx
jes

for the pruning MARCH

it catches and whips back and forth. smashing the wall with its arms and sending fragments of branch and leaf away from itself, mustered up onto a wild ride over the yards and beyond into the vast space of canterbury.
from my warm shelter i spy letters sweeping by, borne on unseen arms to rest in unexpected places never to be read. i witness the tops of mighty gums trees, thrust back and forth like river weed and my cup of tea warms my scratchy throat as i watch a long gummy arm in the distance come loose and swing its way to the ground.
last time there was a childs paddling pool held aloft in that same tree, maybe even by that same arm and i am reminded when, as a child, i was told during a visit to malaysia that repeat offenders had their hands removed for stealing.
i remember to secure the trampoline, so i pregnant waddle out into the wild, fumble and grunt and flip it upside down in some effort to keep it in our yard for the next 24 hours.
bo is away in the field on army drill - he was away in the last wind storm too. that one scattered tiles from the roofs and uprooted trees from almost everywhere, sending them careening through houses and over fence and power lines in a fierce display of natures strength and brutality.  i hope this one leaves us unharmed and with power once it has passed, though i do feel secure in the knowledge that there is a newly replenished emergency supply kit at hand, enough fire wood for the wet back and plenty of kind hearted neighbors close by.
a bucket careens down the street and March continues its steady pace towards April.

if the weather allows you get your gloves on, head out doors and start planting today, now even.
it is time to get yourself set up for winter in the southern hemisphere, before it gets too cold for seed to germinate properly.
from the 3rd until the 10th of march it is planting time for leafy or fruit bearing crops.
sow celery, leeks, spinach, cabbage, lettuce, peas, broad beans, silver beet, and of course get your bulbs in too so you can have a nice array of spring colour once winter begins to fade away.
i dontt hink i can be bothered with brassicas this year. every time i decide to plant them the white butterflies decend and my aversion to pesticides provide ample opportunity for their wee, green offspring to eat their merry way through my crops, making themselves fat before cacooning up in the crevice of a leaf to begin the cycle all over again. i dont have the grit (or the time) to pop out there and pick the little bastards off and squish them one by one, so this year, i think i have given up on them. with the exception of kale. i will always plant that, and it seems to prosper year round so will wait until the white bombers have eased off before getting a fresh lot in.

with the full moon coming on the 17th get your hoe out and strike down any weeds that may be taking hold, before applying liquid or other fertilizer to your plants on the 14th and 15th.

any root crops for winter can go in on the 20th and 21st, along with another round of liquid feed, and if your lawn is looking a little patchy or worse for wear grass will take really well if you sow it now too. but really, you cant eat grass, so it takes a back seat on my books and our patches will likely stay exactly where they are, year in year out til long after we have moved on.

i will be bringing the last of my spuds up on the 22nd-26th as the tops have almost died down and those skins should be hardened off micley. this means they can be better stored in a dark cool place for use over winter - though i am not expecting a huge crop, i didnt plant as much as i should have and we have been steadily raiding them for new potatoes to go with our salad and steak dinners over summer. hopefully the last late ones i planted will help out as they look to be thriving! i have already mounded them up with a mixture of wood ash and manure 3-4 times already and now they are looking lush and healthy with flowers aplenty beginning to open, along with the promise of a late run of new potatoes to come to the table soon.

your last lot of root crop sowing for the month is on the 27th and 28th. i will be planting turnips (if my seeds arrive in time, along with another run of radishes and some onion (lots of red this month i think as the brown ones are always so cheap at the supermarket and i will give the space i would have used for them to shallots next month.

the full moon hits on the 31st, so after your root crops are in take a well deserved break (or just a regular break if you got too busy with other things to do much this time around)

if you havent already got your fire wood sorted, now is defiantly the time to be getting it delivered. anything you decide to ring or split now will likely not be dry until later in the winter. (we were super lucky on this front as the last massive wind storm in september smashed trees down all over the place and bo got right to work on the carnage in and around the horse paddocks, clearing, ringing and splitting the lot of it. what we didnt need we left ringed and gave away, and i am resting easy in the knowledge that we have ample supply of dry wood to keep the new baby and the rest of us warm 24-7 over the frosty months. ah, he is such a good provider that man!) we are still collecting pine cones that came down then. every few days we get another couple of sack fulls to use to light the chippy and heat our how water cylinder. so far we havent had to use electricity at all to keep our water toasty hot since we moved in over a year ago. this saves us anywhere from $30 to $60 a month on the power bill if my reckoning is correct, and all it takes is a sack full of pine cones every other day, which freya and i collect when feeding the horses, or freya and bo collect on the weeeknds, while i pick up the copious masses of horse crap (bloody animals wont stop shitting, no matter how much i beg them too)
keeping up with the poo from 2 horses is starting to get difficult, and as my belly grown ever bigger and my hips and back grow ever more fragile i find it more and more of a chore! if there is anyone in caterbury after free manure, get in touch as i have a HUGE pile of it in the paddock just waiting to make its way to your vege patch, just bring a trailer and take as much of it as you want away for FREE!!)

anyway - thats it for the month folks.
still attempting to sort out my new camera hick-ups, but i do have a delightful rhubarb and dark chocolate meringue recipe to come, hopefully very soon along with a post on kefir, both water and milk varieties (amazing stuff if you havent heard about it already get your google on and find out about the benefits!)

happy winter preperation and thanks for taking the time to stop by

xx
jes

for the pruning FEBRUARY

another month rolls by and the grass here continues its golden fade into the dust.
i drive past my neighbours house and look in envy at her green lawns.
watering the grass is the last thing on my priority list, and so, the grass that is not lucky enough to abide near the raised garden beds within range of the sprinklers, is pretty much on borrowed time.

this month hurls us right into it with the moon approaching the first quarter on friday 7th its time to sow and transplant seedlings to try get a little more in before summer has faded and set up your winter supplies.
i am sowing more peas (god i LOVE them!) dwarf green beans along with leeks, cabbage, a small amount of bok choy, silverbeet, spinach and kale. the sowing period starts from monday 3rd (yeah, yesterday. i was too busy in the garden doing stuff to give you a heads up yo!) and continues through until the 10th.

fertilize your garden on the 12th and 13th to give your crops a much deserved boost.

the full moon is on the rise on the 15th so stop sowing, and get the old hoe down on any weeds that may be sticking there heads up. adding a bit of mulch after this will help your garden keep the moisture in and weeds somewhat subdued as well and, if you put in spuds last month, be sure to start adding more soil to the top of them once the sprouts start pushing up. doing this will insure you get a more bountiful crop, allowing the potato tubers more shoots to grow from under ground. i have been pushing dirt uphill over mine every few days and am hoping my second go at potatoes will give me more gold than the ones i had previously planted. i only have enough to dig up for dinner as new season potatoes and nothing left for storing. hopefully this way i will be able to actually have some left over to let the skin harden off and squirrel away for later....fingers crossed....

get root crops in over the 18th and 19th along with another run of liquid fertilizer. i will be sowing beetroot, swede, carrot, parsnip and onion (the onion will go into the same section i have just dug my new season potatoes out of as they should go rather well there i am told. the potatoes bring up something that the love out of the earth, and your onions should thrive. sorry, i forget exactly what nutrient this is, but i did read this somewhere, so i am giving it a go.)

thats pretty much us for the rest of the month folks. february ends on a rather chilled note, though you can get your spade and fork out over the 26th-28th to dig and prepare a section for sowing at the start of next month.

happy digging friends

xx

green grass and fresh salmon

its still green here.
this time last year everywhere you looked was a golden brown and the heat rose in waves from the pavement by ten in the morning, voiding any ideas of getting up to anything outdoors. for most of the day we would all, in our individual houses sit, windows open, fly swat never far from hand, just biding time until the onslaught eased off and then, around 3, we would emerge from our prospective shelter and head to the pools attempting to bring the body temperature down to a cope-able level before dinner time arrived.
this year there is still green grass on our front lawn. i imagine it would turn yellow in a heart beat, if only it was given half the chance, but the rain cannot seem to stay away for more than a few days at a time and so, the grass persists in living for now.


in new zealand, for most families, christmas is a beach, lake, or river clad, sun fueled holiday where we do anything possible to keep ourselves cooled while making the most of wandering around in the great outdoors. this year only a few patches of the country managed to see the sun on december 25th. we were lucky enough to be visiting family in the west coast to my brother josh's family home (check out his goose hunting video at josh james kiwi bushman) and did in fact get a bit of a break. christmas day came around and the sun mustered up the energy to get a slight shine on, which we were all most grateful for. we spent the day, as usual, eating, snoozing, cooking and eating some more. i also spent a hilarious but rather disgusting hour or so re-plucking some pre-brined christmas geese on the porch with my two sister in laws before roasting the bloody things - needless to say grasping at the fatty carcasses while plucking the bristle and feather off, rather took a bit of the shine off eating said bird later. goose adventure aside, it was a lovely day being with family and watching the little enjoy her first christmas as a more responsive human being rather than last years way less interesting boob, burp, bed type.

once we returned home to canturbury, bo set off for a bit of a fish at one of the lakes around these ways and much to my delight came back with a wee salmon for us to have for dinner.
the bright coral pink flesh muted to a soft blush as it cooked and we had it with some fresh foccocia bread spread with sage butter and a chick pea, mushroom and kale ragout.

the foccocia bread is a regular in our house as it is so easy to whip up - see this earlier link here for the recipe, and if you havent already tried it, give it a go, it really is worth it and i swear you will love it and use it again and again - it is so easy to impress guests with this trick up your sleeve!

sage butter is simple to make (no garlic mincing required - yay!) and its presence adds in another complementary flavour to the whole dish.

the mushroom and bean ragout is mildly adapted from a recipe made by laura of THE FIRST MESS found here - the blog is a veritable feast of delishness and a genuine love of fresh that i was lucky enough to stumble upon whilst meandering on pintrest. something to aspire to!

the salmon is as simple as it comes - its much better that way as it really is the star of the show, so let it shine folks, let it shine.

oh, and get it out of the fridge now before you start the ragout this will get it to room temperature before you cook it.
also give it a season so it has twenty to thirty minutes to sit with this on before cooking (see instructions  below)

SAGE BUTTER

75g butter softened
6-10 leaves of fresh sage, finely chopped
combine butter and sage and mix well. return to the fridge to cool and for the flavour to develop.
the more sage you add the stronger the flavour. i like my butter nice and sage-y but let your personal preferences tell you how much to add. i usually make a big load of this at a time and then roll it out on some cling wrap into a sausage like tube to freeze. that way you always have flavored butter on hand, and you can do this with pretty much any fresh herb. minted butter to add to fresh cooked peas or, a personal favorite that my ma turned me onto, lemon balm butter on new potatoes. total yum-o.

MUSHROOM AND BEAN RAGOUT

1 Tblsp olive oil
1 med red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
bunch of fresh thyme
sprig of fresh rosemary, de-stalked and finely chopped
dash balsamic vinegar
glob butter
1-2 tsp smoked paprika
mushrooms aprox 300g, sliced
1 Tblsp tomato relish
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
chick peas 400g, cooked (i used the tinned variety - TOTAL CHEAT - and rinsed them well)
1 cup stock, chicken or vegetable
3-4 kale leaves, de-stalked and roughly chopped
1 Tblsp cornflour
salt and pepper to taste

place oil in a heavy pan over medium to low heat and saulte onion until it starts to turn translucent. add garlic, thyme and rosemary and continue to heat until it becomes aromatic. add in the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook slowly for another 5 minutes. 
add the butter, smoked paprika and mushrooms, stir to coat mushrooms and continue to cook at medium heat until they become just slightly tender.
add tomato relish, worcestershire sauce, chickpeas and stock.
simmer gently and stir through kale.
scoop out a little of the sauce and mix it with the cornflour. return a little at a time to the pot, stirring while it thickens until you have the desired thickness.
add salt and pepper to season just before serving (NOTE - if you add salt to legumes or beans early on in the cooking process it can make them get a little tough, so its best to always leave it right until you are ready to plate to season anything with these protein punchers in them)


                  PAN FRIED SALMON WITH THYME

once your salmon is out of the fridge or, if you are super lucky to have it fresh off the line and have just gutted and filleted it, insure it is clean and dry and give it a good drizzle of  olive oil and season with fresh ground salt and pepper. throw on a few sprigs of thyme rub it all in and let sit for 20-30 minutes before cooking.
remember to remove any little bones if you can feel them with tweezers. just run your finger along the ridges and valleys in the fillet to feel them and pluck them out.
i prefer to keep the skin on for cooking and, once finished, the tender flesh just flakes right off it onto your fork as you eat it.
next make sure your pan is oiled and nice and hot before you go near it with the fish. it should not be smoking but you should have definite aggressive sizzle when you shake a couple of drops of water in there.
pop the fillets in, skin side down. i put two into our pan as the fillets were smaller but dont over crowd them. if you have large fillets cook them individually and trim if needed. if you put too much on at one time the pan temperature will drop and your salmon wont cook as well as you want it to.
once you see the flesh start to lighten up on the edges (only a couple of minutes) gently turn fillet with a fish slice onto flesh side with the thyme sprigs still there between it and the pan. continue cooking until done, the flesh should be a glorious shade of genuine soft salmon pink.

while cooking the fish, toast and then butter your bread and plate with the ragout, add salmon fillet and lemon wedges and serve right away garnished with rosemary.

for the pruning JANUARY

i cannot quite seem to get my head around the fact that the previous 3 months have simply flown by.
i am sitting in the lounge in the soft golden glow of the lamp light. it is nearing eleven o'clock at night and i am listening to iron and wine and updating my calendar for januarys gardening.

i have the desire to get more from my garden this winter, not to mention getting more done in my kitchen which has been a busy place lately (and all without any photo documentation or note taking of course).
i have begun gardening with the little now. she has always joined me outside when i wander to the garden, in fact we are lucky to get out of the house un-escorted at all, such a love of the out doors has she developed. if i pop out for a quick grab of something fresh to garnish dinner with, she will be keen to dash out the second the door is open and is completely broken-hearted when, at times, she is not permitted to escape. last month when the sowing cycle began i waited until after her nap time and we wandered out together. she diligently popped seeds in to the holes i left with my finger in the soil and (at times rather too fiercely,) helped me ease the dirt over them, encasing them in the earth. most days of course she has been sparrow eating strawberries and peas as we wander around the back yard checking how everything is progressing together


so, into the gardening jobs for january, following the moon cycles here in new zealand to maximize our harvest.....

2nd of january is the new moon so we will be digging our soil to prepare it for sowing from new years day until the fourth (if anyone is up for a wee bit of work to help burn off that hangover this is where it is all at!) 2 spade depths is the best way to go if you can. this will allow you to get more bang for your buck when growing. the well turned soil will allow for your plants to reach their roots further down instead of outward and you will be able to fit more plants into a smaller space. turning your soil lets air into it and also helps to mix in any fertilizers you have put on and spread them more evenly throughout, giving your plants a better go of it. in the next few days i will be digging in some lime and a small amount of blood and bone, coffee grounds, plus a bit of chopped up seaweed will go into the area i have laid aside for the brassicas to go into (if possible pop them in after you pull out your silver beet as they will be loving the nutrients that silver beet brings out of the earth.)

from january 5th until the 11th  it is sowing time. (first quarter is jan 8th)
pop in any peas that you have left ( mine didnt go as winningly as i would have liked them to and i will be putting another packet and a half in if i can find the room for them as i adore picking and chomping on fresh peas whenever i wander past them.
along with the peas, pop in beans, zucchini, basil, coriander, parsley, celery, leeks, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and silver beet. if you have any seedling of tomatoes give them a hurl, though you may be lucky to get them to a harvest able stage in the more southern parts of the country, but i always hope for the best and would chuck them in just in case.

from the 9th of january until the 18th take a break and run a hoe over any weeds that may be trying to get their grubby little roots in. (full moon is on the 16th)

19th and 20th is for planting any root crops and giving everything a good dose of liquid feeding (we use worm wease tea - that stuff is magic for your plants!) i will be putting in radish, turnips and having my first attempt at celeric. it takes an age to grow i am told, but they say the delicious, delicate flavour makes it all worth the effort. fingers crossed it goes well....

jan 21st through to the 25th are good for harvesting( 3rd quarter hits on the 24th )
i will be digging up be garlic around here ( i bent the leaves down on mine a few days ago and am hoping to get bigger bulbs because of it). potatoes are good to be dug out if the leaves are starting to brown. we have been smuggling new potatoes out around the edges for the past week or so to add to the table at dinner time too, so if they are not quite there leave them be for a little longer before removing - they store for the winter much better if the plant is left to die down a little anyway. other than that harvest your summer crops daily if you can as it encourages more flowers and fruit. if a plant thinks it has gotten its seed out there it will give up and finish itself very soon after, so, once they are ripe and juicy, pick, pick, pick and encourage more to grow.

pop in more root crops on the 27th and 28th

full moon arrives again on the 31st so get those spades out and get your dig on again from the 29th.

thats all for now - get your hands dirty.... and happy new year

xx
jes

for the pruning december

balls.

another month and i am about 3 posts down....well, two posts if i stick to my absolute minimum rule of one a fortnight.
still, this is a fast (late) but easy one...
december in the garden can be super busy, or, if you are like me, rather a last minute run around.

if you have been keeping up with your vege planting in the southern hemisphere you should be fine to let things slip a little at this time, as long as you remember to water every evening. (if you are heading away get the lovely next door neighbours kid to water for you. i pay ours $5 a week and as many ripe strawberries as she can pick and we always return to an amazing oasis. our front lawn is a crispy, brownish-gold, but the back yard is a lush green jungle. it takes me a day or two to tie things up and down, and pull the odd weed but its always great to come home to fresh, healthy produce after a week or two away.

so this month (or whats left of it) has in store for you a few things;

thanks to my two week holiday at my good friend tom and janeys wedding in the beautiful rangitieki, fulfilling head bridesmaid duties, (though somewhat sparsely - a sick baby takes the brunt of the blame for that) i have missed the sowing and fertilizing session for this months second quarter of the waxing moon. tomorrow, is the last chance to do this, so make like me and dig in your seed box to get them ready for planting.
i will be planting yet more peas ( i love them all, but i have some pearl-er sugar snaps at the moment which the little is loving for her first course at dinner time) along with some more basil (my last 2 seeding packets have been very un-successful and i have about 5 seedlings surviving which totally blows as i adore this herb in just about everything, from a savory dish, to a sweet treat for dessert.) rocket and coriander (both of which bolted while i was gone. i must find a more shaded spot for them....perhaps next to the rhubarb...?) another round of zucchini, and any other seeds i can find in my stash that may seem appropriate.
pop in your root vegetables on the 20th and 21st and hoe up any stray weeds on these days too.
from the 22nd until the 30th just dig and add manure or compost to any empty patches for the next lot of planting.

feel free to do all this with a glass of bubbles in your hand (, or if pregnant like me, some delicious homemade elderflower cordial or ginger ale). twilight is my favorite time for just about everything, be it swimming, horse riding or gardening, and having a treat of something bubbly before, during or after makes this magical time even more indulgent and glorious!

happy holiday gardening guys.

xx
jes

for the pruning november

sweet louise, another month has dashed past. where does time go?
already 2 days into november and the garden is in a state of relaxation, well, to be honest it is me who is relaxing. we found out a little while ago that i am brewing baby number two so i am taking full advantage of freyas nap times and getting a little shut eye myself, which has been much needed, but means i spend a little less time in the dirt as nap time is my usual garden break.

this is what we have on the the month folks, according to the moon phase;

pull weeds until the 6th and do a general tidy up around the place.

planting frenzy begins from the 7th to the 14th, starting with all your leafy crops, such as bok-choi, spinach, lettuce varieties galore and any herbs you may fancy. i will be popping in plenty of basil and coriander and also re-energizing my mint with some new seedlings from a friends patch (yet to find said friend out these ways with mint that looks tasty, or for that fact, any mint at all, but my eyes are wide open all the time!) this busy planting period ends with any fruit producing crops going in around the 11th, such as peas, beans, cucumber and zucchini. i have yet to attempt capsicum again though i am getting rather pissed at the prices i have to pay for a nice sweet crunchy red, so maybe this is the time to try. oh, and dont forget any tomato seedling that are sturdy enough (at least 10-15 cm can also go in)

liquid fertilize your plants on the 15th and 16th, then get the hoe out from the 17th til the 20th and chop any of those nasty weeds off before they get a chance to grow and steal needed sunlight and nutrients from your beloved veg.

smash your root crops in on the 21st and 22nd - again i am loving radishes of any variety and carrots- though i do seem to be having trouble remembering to water diligently once seeds are in and the carrots are rather holding the lack of fluids against me.

for the rest of the month, take a break - water well and in the evenings ( this is better than in the morning as it means that there will not be beads of water on the plants leaves to catch the sun during the day and burn the leaves) and dont sprinkle your tomatoes, water them at the root - this will help to stop the leaves developing a mold like disease on the leaves, insuring optimum health to your plant and optimum tomato for the table.

thats all for now
happy gardening ya'll

xx

lemon cookies

the hair on my forearms bristles as the skin puckers itself into little goose bumps.
i huddle my woolen cardigan closer and step out into the damp to get another armful of firewood, checking for puddles to jump along the way.
i look nervously at the quickly dwindling wood pile and make promises to gather more pine cones once the weather clears again.
i hope this is the last cold snap.
knocking each piece of wood to loosen and bugs or chips - an attempt to vacuum less - i pile one arm dangerously high, then add one more log to the top, using my other hand to balance the load somewhat before careening back towards the house and the warmth.
we have had a rather mild winter, i am told, and though i hoped and prayed and dreamed for a snow storm to settle on the ground, all that happened was a twice scattering of beautiful flakes, with neither occasion staying long enough to fulfill my dreams.
you let me down canterbury winter (though all the farmers and lambs are thrilled i am sure) lets get it on next year and roll on with the end of spring with a little more warmth.

now for the cookies

these are bo's favourite and though i will always be a ginger or chocolate chip and a glass of milk kind of girl, all my friends down here prefer these ones.
i came across the recipe on pintrest and you can find the link here and lauren brennan from hood river, oregon is the creator.
they are a delicious drop and go rather well with some earl grey, and, if you are anything like me, one is never enough.

LEMON COOKIES

1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg
1 tsp lemon zest
1 Tblsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup icing sugar

first, pre heat your oven to 180 'C and get your baking trays buttered

now, add butter, sugar and vanilla to the mixed and cream well.

next add in your egg, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. mix well again

now sift in the baking powder, baking soda and flour,
at this stage i usually mix bu hand until the flour is somewhat incorporated them use the mixer to finish the job off. this stops the flour becoming air-born and flying out of the mixing bowl and all over the bench, also ensuring you have the correct amount of flour in your cookies.

using a dessert spoon, form into even sized balls and roll in the icing sugar. place on your pre-greased trays and bake for 9-12 minutes until just coloured.... well really, just before they colour is best, but on your first go, a little tan on the edges will be just fine and dandy.

leave to cool for a few minutes on the tray then move to a cooling rack and try not to gobble them all up at once.



thanks for reading

xx

for the pruning OCTOBER

hi all,
september has run away and we are now into october already. e-gads! time flies!
so, the wee gardeneing speel is a few days late, but better late than never (christine if you read this tonight run out to the garden and chuck some root vege in. quick hurry!) the past two days where the perfect time to plant root crops according to the moon cycle calendar. the next lot can go in later this month on the 22nd and 23rd, so dont fret too much if you missed out this time around.
today i planted more carrots, beetroot and my seed potato that i had been sprouting not all that successfully for the past two months. much to my dismay freya and bo found them sitting on the window sill and thought it was a rather nice activity to snap the young shoots off the main potatoes. so, i am not too optimistic as to how my crop will fare. fingers crossed though. nothing like new potatoes fresh from the garden, boiled in minted water and served with butter, chopped mint and a sprinkle of salt! to get a good go for your potatoes, dig a 30cm deep hole and pop said sprouted potato in, cover with about 10 cm dirt. once the shoots come up out of the dirt, add another 10 cm, and keep piling it up. i will go until it is about 20 cm above the start level and hope for bountiful crops of tender treats to feast on. handy hint from nz gardener - they like a little seaweed, so make yourself the nice seaweed concoction from below and add it to the mix come liquid feeding time.
i also put in some purple potato a few months back. i hear this variety tries to turn the others, so if you are planting them be sure to keep them WELL away from your other crops. i have mine in a big pot about fifteen meters distance away in the flower garden, so hopefully this is far enough. i do love the colour of purple potatoes but find the flavour is not as grand so a few in a roast salad brings a bit of party colour while the other veges pack the taste punch quota.

from the 3rd onward leave off the sowing and start preparing your soil. dig in manure, compost and any other goodies that you may have waiting to get into your dirt to give your plants a good heaping of nutrients.i have added nitra-phoska blue to give a little extra pep but if you are going strictly organic leave it off.

from october 8th it gets busy, plant leafy vege such as silver beet and spinach, lettuce (i have about 4 different varieties that i will be planting out once a month from now on to insure a constant supply of fresh green over summer) then from the tenth pop in any fruiting vege that you desire. i will be going mad on peas this year as i love nothing better than snacking in the garden, especially on peas. and strawberries. and raspberries. well.... pretty much anything, but last year my ma had a rather impressive amount of peas in her garden and i was outside every 30 minutes scoffing another hand full while we were there over christmas leave. peas. the. best. ever.
so, i am planting peas of a few varieties, sweetcorn, beans of  different varieties, pottin up my 4 different varieties of heritage tomato seed in a nice snug place so that any lingering frost wont nail them and leave me in tears and having a general hunt around for any other vege that my heart fancies to plonk in the dirt.
stop your mad sowing on the 14th.

15th - 17th is time to liquid feed everything. worm farms are amazing, so is seaweed tea. just collect a bunch form a beach near you, rinse the salty water off and shove it in a covered container to permeate. this year is my first time trying this but i am expecting big things from that stinky bin!

as stated before, get more root crops in on the 22nd and 23rd.

grab a hoe and stop those pesky weeds from the 24th til the 27th, then kick back and relax for a while.

sorry - no pictures.
i am camera-less for a wee while. sob.

happy gardening all.

xx

thai pumpkin soup

it isnt winter and it isnt spring.
oh, they say its spring.
the calendar shows clearly that it is late september, but it is not spring.
at least not here, not today.
today falls into one of those in-between season days.
its cold enough for a fire, but only just, so you kind of feel bad using the wood. there may be a cold snap around the corner and there isnt really all that much wood left. you know you probably shouldnt, but you do anyway.
its clear enough to put the washing on the line, but even if it doesnt rain, that by no means guarantees dry clothes at the end of the day. the morning mist has cleared but the air still feels damp and cold. well, cold-ish.
i think it may be too 'meh' to even do laundry.
it is definitely a soup for lunch kind of day.
 

this warm thai pumpkin soup can be as mild or spicy as you want it.
when i make ours i leave out the chilli so that the little (who just turned one over the weekend! sheesh time flies!) can eat her share too. the bo and i just sprinkle chilli flakes on top, and though it lacks the punch i used to put into everything before breeding began, it is still perfect for a day like today.
i wish i could remember where i first got this recipe so i could give full credit to its owner. since i found it i have made it countless time. i used to be one of those gals who only liked the traditional pumpkin soup. this recipe has changed that and now thai pumpkin soup is my all time hands down favorite!
this is my first post that contains a recipe that i didnt create and i have been trying a few others from various recipe places lately that are also very good, i will likely be sharing them too (with full credit to the chef in the future)


THAI PUMPKIN SOUP

1 Tbls oil
1 med onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large thumb sized section ginger, grated
root and stem of coriander, finely chopped
1-2 red chilli de-seeded and finely chopped (heat to taste)
1 large stalk of lemon grass, smashed
600-900g pumpkin, peeled, de-seeded and cubed
2 ltrs vege or chicken stock

1 400 ml can coconut milk or cream
2-3 Tbls fish oil (more or less to taste)
1 Tblsp palm sugar
large bunch fresh coriander leaves roughly chopped to garnish
yoghurt to garnish
chili flakes to garnish

in a large saucepan on medium to low heat, saulte onion, garlic and ginger until translucent and fragrant. add corriander root and stem, chilli and lemon grass and continue to stir for about 2 minutes.
add your pumpkin and stock, turn the heat up and bring to the boil.
once boiling lower heat and let simmer until the pumpkin is well cooked and completely soft.
remove lemon grass stalk and bend or whiz stick until the desired consistency is reached. i usually like to leave a couple of pumpkin lumps for the little to munch on.
return to low heat, add coconut milk or cream, fish sauce to taste and palm sugar. stir well and add more stock if you want a thinner version of the soup, if you want it thicker, let it reduce for a wee bit.

this soup is awsome served fresh with fococcia bread - see here for the recipe ( its the tastiest, easiest bread to make and there are never left overs!)

thanks for stopping by - keep warm and enjoy.
xx
jes

for the pruning

i am going to do a wee garden write up at the start of each month. so, for anyone who wants to get in the garden and grow some of your own produce, come along and play....

spring is upon us in the southern hemisphere with a vengeance after such a mild short winter. so it is,once again time to tend and then plant your gardens, ensuring you and your loved ones have a summer full of fresh food and seasonal cooking.

i was always of the belief that if you just put a seed in the dirt and watered it stuff grew. the only issue is it didnt always work for me. because of this, i assumed i was rather toxic to plants, often not getting a peep out of seeds that i planted. i would see other peoples patches thrive and squirm in envy, longing for the ability to live more naturally, but knowing, if i had to survive on my own gardening skill, i would likely succumb to scurvy.
now i know better, and fear of scurvy is a thing of the past.
it takes a bit of attention and work to get the garden off to a good start, but once it is in, a bit of faffing, watering and weeding here and there will keep you on a roll.
i read around and got a bit of an idea about how to approach it all and after a natter with my ma i got stuck in. for a while there at the start i was not so keen on all that work, but, once my garden started showering me with gifts, my mind changed and i found it very therapeutic to get outside and play in the dirt, not to mention how great it feels to pop outside and pick most of what you need to cook with for a meal.

its not too late for you to climb aboard and get your own garden off to a cracking start. we are 3 days into spring and now is the perfect time to be preparing the soil that your vegetables will be grown in. the better your soil, the more you will be rewarded with in the end, so manure, mulch and dig, dig, dig. i have been outside on and off for the past two days with the little, getting to work, turning the used pea straw from the stables into the dirt, mixing in extra horse manure and some great top soil and the castings from our worm farm. i have grand ambitions for this summers garden. i hope i do not end up disappointed.

when we arrived last december, there was no garden, just a square patch of dirt left by the previous tenant. bo and i got stuck in, adding rotted down manure from another horse owner who was giving it away (so we took 3 ute loads of the stuff.) another family here were moving away and gave us their only just touched top soil, which we gladly removed and added to the manure. another great help was my mother, who at the time was looking into the benefits of seaweed on the garden - i got some of that from the beach to throw in to the mix as well.
a few sprinkler hoses and bunch of seed packets later, plus of course, growing time, and we were eating fresh produce from the garden and giving away the excess, which we could not get through fast enough!

when i tried gardening using the moons tidal cycles and realized the benefits it has on growth, i added that to my schedule and am now an avid, if slightly un-educated, follower of gardening by the moon.
(see here for your very own calendar thanks to the team at nz gardener)
this week the new moon hits on the 5th (tomorrow night) so now is the perfect time to be sowing seed for leafy greens, with your root crop going in on thursday and friday and peas and beans being planted the following week.
up until thursday this week i am planting my leafy vege - spinach, kale, lettuce, bok choi, and corriander. thursday and friday, as the moon is waxing moon, so in go the root crops. i am sowing radish, potato, carrots, beetroot and parsnip, and also re-planting my old rhubarb root stock which i divided into 2, plus another variety i dung up and cut off a friends plant.
early next week it is fruiting veg, so the beans, peas and brussel sprouts (which i have yet to have any success with) go in.
with the possibility of a few frosts still to come i am leaving anything that will not survive them until it is more reliably warm.
a few days before the next full moon (16th and 17th) get some liquid fertilizer in on anything you have planted or already have growing. i use worm wease tea from our worm farm and a seaweed and banana peel soup that is 'steeping' in a covered bucket in the back yard.
once that is all done continue digging in your dirt to get it well mixed and worked for the rest of the week in preparation for next months sowing. oh, and any weeds you see, yank them out before the bloody things get too comfortable and take over!
if you miss out on the root crop sowing day, after the full moon on the 22nd and 23rd you get another chance.


if you have found something new to grow and eat, please let me know. i am always keen to extend my patch with new things.
now i am off to play in the garden - happy growing

xx

apple spice cake with salted walnuts and caramel drizzle

some days are a real gift and you know it.
you feel it in your bones and in every breath you take.
other days - not so much.
on those days you burn your toast.
twice.
the honey jar smashes on the floor.
the fire doesnt seem to stay alight. once finally alight it goes out again because you forgot to top up the wood.
twice.
the computer has a nervous breakdown - causing you to begin to have one as well.

take a deep breath.

go out side and play in the garden with the little for a while.
wash the dirt from both your hands and the little's face, mouth and tongue.
go back inside and take another deep breath.
get your apples, chopping board and grater and begin to make the most delicious cake.
the sweet aroma of fresh apple will begin to sooth you as they leak their juice. shred and chop at them, working out the last of your issues, then, pour the excess juice from the chopping board into a cup and save it to sip with the little once the cake is in the oven.
out the music on.
feel her sticky hand holding your cheek as her other hand tries to puck your eyeball out with her thumb.
smell the apple and spice fill the kitchen as the cake starts to cook.
anything left of the anger will dissipate as you crack the walnuts.
hear the shell creak to crack inside the metal brace and crunch it until you have it just how you like it. prod and wriggle it apart, placing the old broken pieces of shell into the bowl as you work the nuts free, moving them to your right.
turn the music up.
crunch a few of the walnuts. 
laugh out loud as the little bangs on the kitchen window, scaring chester, the neighbors cat.

today is a gift.

this really is a bloody good bite.

moist and comforting - perfect for those not quiet right days and even better with yoghurt for a warm treat by the fire after dinner.

apple spice cake

75 grams butter, melted

1/2 cup white sugar

1  1/2 cups soft brown sugar

1 Tblsp cream cheese

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1  1/2 cups finely diced apple

2  1/2 cups grated apple

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1  1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1  1/2 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp salt

put butter, sugars, cream cheese, vanilla and eggs into a bowl and cream until light.

mix the diced and grated apple into the butter sugar mixture.

add remaining ingredients and fold in until combined. 

place in to a greased cake tin and bake at 180'C for 60-75 minutes (you will know the cake is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.)

let cool slightly in the pan then, carefully turn out onto a cake rack to cool and top with salted walnuts and drizzle caramel sauce over top.

salted walnuts

1 - 2 dozen walnuts
1 Tblsp oil

ground rock salt

crack, de-shell and place walnuts. place in a roasting dish and toss with oil until evenly coated.
grate on salt to taste and roast in a pre heated oven at 200'C until golden.

caramel sauce

1/2 c melted butter
3/4 cup soft brown sugar

3/4 cup cream

place butter and sugar into a small saucepan and heat at a moderate to high heat untill it is boiling and begins to look like bubbling lava.
remove from heat and pour in cream, whisk frantically until well combined and smooth (if you fancy butterscotch now is the time to add vanilla aprox. 1 tsp)

the perfect weather for creamy lemon polenta

what shit weather.

i was planning on a sleep in.
i was planning on a horse ride.
i was planning on a sunny day.

instead of all these things i make creamy lemon polenta for breakfast, an attempt to get my day back on track.

it works.

one spoonful and i feel much better.

today is the last day for planting fruiting plants until the next moon phase in september. because of this i was planning on adding ten new strawberry plants into my patch and showering them with love and affection in the form of worm wease. once again the weather has stomped on my plans.

two spoonfuls and i have forgotten all about strawberries.

i am out for flour, and i need cream, cream cheese and brown sugar. i realize that today i will need to drive into town, to go the the supermarket, for just these 4 things.
total ball sack.

three spoonfuls and i think a trip into town sounds like a nice change of pace.

get your winter morning (or afternoon) off to a good start with some of this stuff.

it may just lift your spirits.


























CREAMY LEMON POLENTA

2 medium apples, peeled and diced
root ginger, about a small walnut sized section finely grated
1/2 cup water

zest of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup milk (almond or soy milk if dairy free food is required)

1/3 cup polenta

1-2 tablespoons honey (sweetness to taste)
1/2 cup yoghurt or kefir (omit for dairy free)
extra yoghurt and lemon zest for garnishing

put apples, ginger and water into a saucepan. bring to the boil.
pop on the lid and boil for 5 minutes until apple is cooked.
puree with a whiz stick (very handy gadgets!) or in the blender and return to saucepan.
add milk, lemon zest and lemon juice, stir and return to boil (the milk will curdle as a result of the lemon juice, but do not fret, all good with the world and everything will turn out just fine!
grab a whisk and slowly pour in the polenta, whisking all the while to avoid lumps.
keep stirring for around 5 minutes to ensure the polenta cooks through and thickens. while doing this step be sure to avoid burning yourself on any exploding bubbles the may attempt to escape. they burn like a mother.
remove from heat and stir through honey, taste and add more if desired.
once sweetened sufficiently fold through yoghurt and serve with an extra dollop of yoghurt and a sprinkling of zest.

frosty mornings and ginger crushes

once green fields are lovingly coated in white, as ol' jack frost holds the earth in a wintery embrace. 
my old brown leather riding boots show our trail as the blades crunch beneath, like brittle sugar candy. i inhale and it burns the inside of my nostrils and top half of my lungs before shooting its way out past my lips like cigarette smoke, only without the stench. i am surrounded by icy air and the vast blue of a cloudless canterbury sky.
such a splendid feeling of fresh freedom is growing within me as i whistle for the horses and watch them trot up to the gate.
this is the coldest of morning so far.
after the ride i will go home and warm my toes by the fire, drink a hot cup of tea and chew on some delicious ginger cookies.

this is one of the first recipes i made while i was working at a top place called river valley lodge. 
it took me a few attempts to get them just how i wanted and i have to admit, i was rather smitten with them.
my first ginger crush. (followed by my second ginger crush on a boy that i met briefly while living in auckland helping out a friend on a look book shoot... but i digress, back to the cookies...) 
unfortunately, as i am so often doing, i continued 'tweeking'said recipe until the cookie that i so loved had changed into a very average bite indeed. it has taken me a while to get it back to its early and awsome glory, but i do believe i have finally done it! these darling treats are moist, chewy (or crunchy) and packed full of flavor. 
for an extra ginger kick i sometimes up the 2 tablespoons of ground ginger to 3, but i would recommend that you try the original first before doing this, as it may be a little too much ginger for you. 
i hope you like them as much as i do.

GINGER COOKIES

100g butter, melted
1 cups soft brown sugar
1 1/2 Tblsp molasses

1 tsp baking soda
1 Tblsp boiling water

75 g crystallized ginger, roughly chopped
2 Tblsp ground ginger
1 cup plain flour

preheat oven to 180'C

beat together butter, sugar and molasses until well combined.
dissolve baking soda in the boiling water and add to the butter mixture and beat.
add crystallized ginger and mix.
sift in the flour and powdered ginger, mixing until well combined. this may be easy, or, if the butter is beginning to harden you may have to work a little harder. sometimes the mixture looks very dry, but just keep mixing and it will absorb the flour and take on the usual cookie dough texture.

form into balls and flatten slightly once on the greased or paper lined tray.
bake these treats for 10-18 minutes.
if you want a more chewy cookie (which is my personal favourite for this recipe) you will want bake them for about 10-13 minutes. take them out of the oven just a fraction before they look completely done and leave them to cool on the tray before removing them. 
if you want a crunchy cookie, leave them in until they are just ever so slightly beginning to brown up around the edges then remove to a wire rack to cool.


happy indulging!

xx
jes