Cob in foil on the fire

Posted on November 12, 2013 by thecompletebook

A friend of ours rang us up the other day and offered us a fish which he had just caught. How can one refuse such a generous offer. Even better was the gift of it being scaled, gutted and filleted. BONUS! Thanks Bernie, you are a star.

All ready to be wrapped up an put on the coals

With having Pete home the last while and the weather being so lovely in the evenings, it is no surprise that we braai (barbecue) just about every other night and enjoy dining al fresco.

This cob was so moreish that we have enjoyed it twice in one week. Now to wait for another kind offer of more fish or get on the river and catch one ourselves. You can substitute the cob with any other fish – the simple flavours will compliment anything from sole to stock fish.

There really is no recipe for this, more a guideline, a un-recipe if you like.

Fish in Foil

Ingredients

Fish fillet of choice
Butter
Olive oil
Coarse salt
Black pepper
Lemon zest
Fresh Dill

Method

Place the fish on a piece of tin foil.
Place all of the ingredients over the fish.
Wrap the fish in the foil tightly.
Hand the package to your husband to cook over the coals.

No prizes for this pic but the fish was delicious!

Angled Potted Herbs

Posted on August 13, 2013 by thecompletebook

Remember a while back we all got the awesome idea from my clever friend Des to stack pots in our gardens. Well I just couldn’t wait for Spring so scrummaged through our spider infested shed (I was so brave all on my own – John, I know you will appreciate this fact) and found a few pots – all a bit battered but still very functional and some steel poles (hope Pete doesn’t need them for something) and set to work in my little cordoned off herb garden which I have spoken about before. Once I saw what Des did in her garden, I was sold and changed my entire idea to follow in her foot steps. Thanks again Des!

Winter isn’t the best time for herbs but I have persevered and at least have some spinach, lettuce (not herbs I know), oregano, rocket, thyme, parsley – moss curled and flat leaf, spring onions, dill, garlic chives and birds eye chillies.

I could supply all foodies bloggers with bay leaves from our bay tree which you can see sticking out behind the centre row of pots – it is trying to do a Jack and the Bean Stalk number and keeps getting taller and taller. I am continually hacking away at it to keep it from taking over the herb garden.

Now I cannot wait to fill in the open spots with a few more pots and plant basil, coriander, sorrel, sage and rosemary.

Out of view in the photo are two free standing ceramic pots on either side of the herb garden. The one pot has mint in it and the other has baby tomatoes. There is one more ceramic bowl type pot which currently has a peppadew plant in it – I want to add some strawberries when they are in season too.

Bring on Spring! 😀

Herb Garden

Posted on April 25, 2013 by thecompletebook

It’s no secret that I REALLY dislike winter so to wish it away even faster (it hasn’t even officially started yet – we are still in Autumn) , I sat down and redesigned my herb garden for in our courtyard area, so by the time Spring shows it’s beautiful face, I will be ready to rock and roll. We have a designated triangular area which is pretty bare at the moment except for a ever thriving bay tree which is smack bang in the middle. In hindsight, it was probably not the best place to plant it.

The only “open” piece of the triangle is the bottom, both sides are walls so no moving the herb garden to a better position; only remedy is to keep the herbs in pots and move them around.

I have tried to work around companion planting, perennial versus annual herbs and which plants want a little less sunlight and below is a rough sketch of what I have in mind.