I have just ordered James Wong's book: Homegrown Revolution and am excitedly awaiting its arrival. James Wong is an ethnobotanist, TV presenter and garden designer in the UK. Probably best known for presenting the award winning TV series: Grow Your Own Drugs, Wong demonstrated a number of natural remedies sourced from plants.
Renowned for thinking outside the box, Wong transformed his mother's south London garden into a test lab. Brought up in Singapore and Malaysia, Wong decided to experiment with tropical plants to see if they could be grown in colder climates. His mission is to inspire a whole new generation of grow-your-own enthusiasts, his book is bursting with exotic fruits, spices, roots and veggies that you can grow with ease on your patio, balcony or garden.
Herbs provide a myriad of health benefits, they contain unique anti oxidants, essential oils, vitamins and phyto steroids. They add deliciousness to our food and, particularly when flowering, look beautiful amongst flower beds. Even the most reluctant gardener should have a kitchen herb garden, one of the easiest and most useful gardens you can grow. Herbs require little in the way of maintenance and you can grow a generous supply in a surprisingly small space.
As a child it was always my job to pick the mint for mint sauce to go with our Sunday roast lamb or sage to go with roast pork, there is something very rewarding about growing and picking your own produce even if it's just a bit of fresh mint, I urge you to try it
Fresh sage is a lovely accompaniment to pork and this next recipe really was delicious, you could add sliced apples to the onions for extra sweet contrast!
Pork fillet with onions and fresh sage
Recipe
1 piece pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon mustard, you can use either English or dijon
1 tablespoon chopped sage
1 cup stock
Preheat oven 190c-gas 5
Rub tenderloin with oil and sprinkle with salt
Heat a little oil in a pan, add pork and cook, turning occasionally until evenly browned around edges
Remove from pan and set aside
In the same pan sauté onions for 5 minutes until evenly browned
Rub pork with mustard and sprinkle with sage
In a roasting tray nestle pork on top of onions and place in oven
Cook for 15 minutes
Remove pork, cover and leave to rest
Meanwhile add stock to onions, transfer back to pan and simmer until stock is slightly reduced
Slice pork
Serve with roast potatoes and vegetables and your delicious onion gravy
'The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago! Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, the food was in gardens, local fields and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, in the pantry, the cellar, the back yard.'
-Joel Salatin
Love Donna xxxxxxxx
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