Reading a great book

Chef, Dan Barber wrote "The Third Plate"
It is a long discussion of the pursuit of flavor in the food.  It looks firstly, at eating local.  He discusses the culture of the place.  
He looks at heirloom varieties  of plants like rice and corn,  he looks at sustainable fishing, and at the relationship between Spanish oak tree acorns the geese, the pigs etc. 

The third plate, however, goes further , looking at the whole ecosystem and it signifies caring for the soil in the production of food.  For example,  finding delicious ways of serving the grains the we grow in crop rotation, grains like triticale. 
The Japanese undertake this when they make soba noodles from the buckwheat that they grow after the rice crop.  Perfectly harmonious.
Our land is so marginal here, we should take better care.  

Bush Turkey Blues

The guy with the tractor came and we had him shift a big mound of compost around the back to spread around the veggie gardens.  However the bush turkey got to it first.  He has raked up every piece of straw, mulch, bark, lucerne.  His mound is now the size of a small car and is still going.  Grrrrrr

Miner's leaf - what a great winter green

We took a chance and bought some of these strange little  seedlings at the local market.  They had tiny leaves as small as moss. They grew profusely during our winter.  The leaves grew bigger and the plant grew bigger The leaves are very tender and delicious .  We snipped off huge handfuls every day.  It's really easy to grow, one clump would feed a family.  It started with a small cluster the size of a soup spoon. ....bad news....the market guy says that they are winter only.
I'll be very happy to put them in again next year. Great value.