In a back garden in Kambah a vast planting of pumpkins has created a field of 50 butternuts. Sarah Hinde is a novice gardener so, when it came to purchasing seedlings, she somewhat enthusiastically bought six pumpkin plants. The vines have thrived in a raised area with good soil and lots of mulch and, as the pumpkins cure, each has been placed on a folded bed of cardboard to stop them rotting by sitting on the ground. The beds receive plenty of water running off Mt Taylor.
Sarah grew up in Canberra, lived in Melbourne, did a PhD in population health and returned to Canberra six years ago when she moved in with her partner, Heath Molloy, and to be closer to her family. Heath had been living in a house in Kambah for 18 years and, seven years ago, he did a knockdown/rebuild so the garden had to be established from scratch.
Sarah doesn't have a green thumb but is a bit of a foodie so when Jackie and Bret Warburton from Terra Solaris started looking after the garden, Jackie suggested planting pumpkins to manage the weeds. They also planted golden squash, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, corn, tomatoes, capsicums and purple and green beans that have covered a purpose-built frame.
Large pots filled with herbs surround the outdoor dining area near the kitchen door.
Jackie knew what Sarah has now learnt, that with the crops flourishing it is a challenge to stay on top of harvesting. However, the pleasure of spending time outdoors and having so much food to cook, freeze and share with family and work colleagues has been a great reward. She has reconciled with the fact that a garden is a process not an outcome, with wins and losses, and that it needs structure and planning.
The autumn harvest has provided many of the ingredients for vegetable lasagne. The originator of the recipe (below) was Sarah's friend Karen Gardner. It has evolved since Karen cooked it for Sarah 10 years ago.
Note: The organic tips winner of Matt's Kitchen Garden Cookbook (Food & Wine, April 8) is Tracey Ryall of Ainslie and copies of Canberra Organic magazine go to Jenny Horsfield of Kambah and Libby Ingham of Narrabundah.
Vegetable lasagne
Serves 8
1kg mushrooms, roughly chopped
1-2 tbsp butter or margarine
3 cups dry red wine, shiraz or cabernet recommended
1 tbsp oil
3 carrots, thickly sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
Handful of green beans, chopped
1 large golden squash, skin on, thickly sliced
800g chopped tomatoes
140g tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
Fresh herbs – large handful basil leaves, 2 sprigs rosemary leaves chopped finely, 2 tsp chopped chives, 1 tbsp parsley (alternatively 1 tbsp mixed dried Italian herbs)
Half butternut pumpkin, thinly sliced
2 zucchini, thinly sliced
6 tbsp butter/margarine
4 tbsp plain flour (can use gluten free)
2-3 cups light milk/soy milk
1 cup grated cheese (mozzarella and tasty)
200g dried lasagne sheets (can use gluten free)
Salt and pepper to taste
Mushroom mixture
In a large flat pan, melt 1-2 tbsp butter/margarine and lightly sauté mushrooms. Add two cups red wine, season with salt and pepper and simmer until mushrooms are soft and liquid has reduced slightly. Set aside.
Tomato/vegetable mixture
In a large saucepan, add 1 tbsp oil, celery and carrot, stir to coat the vegetables in oil. Cook at medium heat with lid on, sweat the vegetables for about five minutes until they look bright in colour. Add beans, squash, tomatoes, tomato paste, half a cup of red wine, one cup of chicken stock. Simmer with lid off for ten minutes until vegetables are soft and liquid reduced a bit. Add fresh herbs and stir through. Set aside.
White sauce
In a medium saucepan, melt four tbsp butter over low heat. Add four tbsp flour and keep stirring, cook for two minutes until golden and bubbling, add a splash of milk, stir quickly until smooth. Keep adding milk in splashes, stirring continually, until white sauce thickens. Keep progressively adding milk until sauce is thin enough to be poured. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Use immediately.
Assembly
Coat the base of a large lasagne dish (at least 22cm x 22cm x 5cm) with a layer of white sauce. Alternate layers – lasagne sheet, single layer of tomato/vegetable mixture, pumpkin slices, single layer of mushroom mixture, zucchini slices, white sauce, etc. There should be plenty of fluid to cook the pumpkin, zucchini and pasta – add an extra splash of red wine if desired. Fill to no less than 2cm from top of dish, with the final layer white sauce. Spread grated cheese on top of white sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 45-60 minutes at 180C. Test if it is cooked, it should be soft enough for a butter knife to stick through easily. Remove foil and cook for another 15-30 minutes at 210C until cheese on top is golden.
Susan Parsons is a Canberra writer.
