how to make a vertical pallet garden

For a lot of us, the urban existence we choose means that there's less real estate for gardens and greenery. Over the past year or so, I've been fascinated with the popularity of vertical gardens and while there are quite a few ready made solutions that are more affordable than the original trailblazers, it isn't too hard to make one yourself. It's a perfect solution for getting rid of pots and creating more ground space, and takes just a couple of hours to assemble. Using a salvaged wooden pallet, some weed mat, a staple gun and a few simple bits and pieces, you can create vertical greenery to turn a balcony or small courtyard into a low maintenance oasis. My pallet garden above, consists of edibles above (sage, oregano, creeping thyme, variegated garlic, plus some pyrethium to discourage pests, a row of grass, and some succulents I've been growing in pots. Here's how you can make your own:

You will need:

• 1 wooden pallet - make sure it's not chemically treated if you're going to plant edibles
• 1 piece of MDF cut to the dimensions of the pallet. Your hardware store should be able to do this for you.
• Roll of weed mat, a 5m roll is plenty
• 100kg of potting mix
• Small potted plants (enough to compact them in to stop the dirt falling out)
• Nails
• A box of staples for your staple gun. Longer staples are better.

A basic tool kit:

• Hammer
• Staple Gun
• Sandpaper

1. Use sandpaper to smooth any rough edges, particularly between the spaces where you'll be planting. Nothing worse than splinter rage.

2. Measure a length of weed mat that will cover the back and three sides of the pallet, leaving the top open. Ensuring the mat is pulled taut, staple the edges to seal the mat to the pallet. Trim the edges so everything looks neat.

3. Nail the MDF to the back, over the top of the weed mat, to reinforce the structure.

4. Cut an additional piece of weed mat and staple to the open side, which will be the top of your garden. This will prevent soil from falling out while the pallet is flat on the ground. You'll remove it later, once the pallet is mounted on the wall.

5. Fill the pallet with soil, ensuring it is evenly distributed.

6. Plan the design of your plants and carefully place them into the gaps, making sure that they're densely compacted enough to stop the soil from falling out once you've mounted it.

7. Water everything in with seaweed solution and leave your plants to take root for a few days before you go vertical.

8. Once your plants have had a chance to settle in, carefully mount your pallet garden, using the appropriate fastenings for your situation (remember you're dealing with about 120kgs of weight, so be careful!

9. When the pallet is mounted, remove the weed mat from the top of the structure and you can choose to plant additional greenery on top.

10. That's it! The beauty of a vertical garden is that gravity will feed the water down to all the plants, meaning less water is wasted.

P.s. If you end up making your own, post a picture - I'd love to see what you did!

unusual things to do with usual food

Occasionally, I like to seek suggestions from friends as to what to talk about on The Friday Delicious. This generally happens when I am a) hungover b) overworked or c) did I say hungover? This week, my friend Danielle, a gal about town who loves to eat out, but is only just getting around to discovering cooking, told me about (in her mind) a strange combination she had been told to try- caramelised balsamic vinegar and vanilla ice cream. It's true, it's great! So this week is dedicated to unusual food combinations that work.

Balsamic vinegar

Balsamic vinegar is one of those magical ingredients you should always have in your cupboard. It's great on salads and gives great depth of flavour to marinades, too. Made from a concoction of cooked down (usually Trebbiano) grapes, rather than vinegar, it has a rich, tangy, sweet flavour. Oddly, it does an amazing thing when paired with strawberries - the flavours become more zingy and delicious than the two taste separately. Macerate strawberries in balsamic vinegar by chopping the strawberries into pieces, drizzling with the vinegar, a sprinkle of raw sugar and chopped mint and allow to sit for an hour. And don't forget  to try caramelised balsamic on vanilla ice cream... it's a bit like treacle.

Star Anise

While start anise is often thought of as an Asian ingredient, it has the property of being able to intensify the flavour of meat, something Fat Duck chef slash science boffin Heston Blumenthal widely attests to.  When braising or stewing meat, use a combination of lightly caramelised onions and star anise as the base and be prepared for rave reviews. Great for Bolognaise or stews. Read more about it here.

Sugar 

I was once cooking spaghetti Bolognaise at home with a friend. When I went to put in a teaspoon of sugar into the sauce, he freaked out, thinking I had mistook the sugar for the salt. Fair point, but I did do it on purpose. Sugar and tomatoes are best friends - in fact, sugar brings out and balances the flavour and acidity of tomato, so next time you're making a tomato-based sauce, sprinkle a little sugar and be amazed at the difference.

new generation wine competition

On Friday 21 October at 6pm, the New Generation Hunter Valley wine guys will be dropping into Sydney and setting up a gigantic pop up bar in a secret location (hint: it's somewhere in the east of the city). Not your usual wine tasting, it's more like the kind of party you wish you were invited to more often.

When: 6pm – 9pm, Friday 21 October 2011
Where: Secret inner Sydney location
How: Location revealed only to registrants in week prior to event
Cost: $30

Thanks to the New Generation guys, there are two double passes up for grabs, worth $60 each.

To enter, simply answer in 25 words or less what your favourite Hunter Valley wine varietal is and why. Leave your answer as a comment on this blog post and you'll be contacted if you're a winner!

sunday night dining in sydney

People are forever asking me what mid-high end restaurants are open on Sundays, so this post is dedicated to them. Obviously there are others (so don't get your knickers in a knot), but you'd do worse than to start here:

Four in Hand Dining Room
105 Sutherland Street
Paddington New South Wales 2021
(02) 9326 2254
www.fourinhand.com.au

The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay
Ferry Road
Glebe NSW 2037
(02) 9518 9011
Hours: Sun, Thu-Sat 12:00-10:00pm; Mon Closed; Tue-Wed 6:00-10:00pm
www.boathouse.net.au

Bistro Moncur
116 Queen Street
Woollahra NSW 2025
(02) 9363 2519
www.woollahrahotel.com.au

Glass Brasserie
2/488 George Street, Sydney
(02) 9265 6068
www.glassbrasserie.com.au

Icebergs Dining Room
1 Notts Ave
Bondi Beach NSW 2026
(02) 9365 9000
Hours: Sun 12:00-3:00pm, 6:30-9:00pm; Mon Closed; Tue-Sat 12:00-3:00pm, 6:30-10:30pm
www.icebergs.com.au

Ms. G's
155 Victoria Street
Potts Point NSW 2011
(02) 9240 3000
www.merivale.com

Otto Ristorante
8/6 Cowper Wharf Rd
Woolloomooloo NSW 2011
(02)9368 7488
www.ottoristorant.com.au

Quay
Upper Level, Overseas Passenger Terminal, 5 Hickson Road
The Rocks New South Wales 2000
(02)9251 5600Hours: Sun-Mon, Sat 6:00-10:00pm; Tue-Fri 12:00-2:30pm, 6:00-10:00pm
www.quay.com.au

Red Lantern
545 Crown Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
(02)9698 4355
www.redlantern.com.au

China Doll
6 Cowper Wharf Rd
Woolloomooloo New South Wales 2011
(02) 9380 6744
www.chinadoll.com.au

Aria
1 Macquarie Street
Sydney
(02)9252 2555
www.aria.com.au

North Bondi Italian Food
118-120 Ramsgate Avenue
North Bondi NSW 2026
http://www.idrb.com/northbondi/

SIFF BBQ Madness

Last week's BBQ Madness event at Pyrmont Growers Markets for the Crave Sydney International Food Festival was epic. In case you were wondering what $20 gets you, here's a taste. Thanks to Lauren Murdoch for letting me play on her BBQ stall.

Lamb on the spit by David Tanis, Chez Panisse

Alex Herbert (Bird Cow Fish)'s vegetarian converting lamb-ingtons

by Jowett Yu (Ms G's) 

Martin Boetz (Longrain) Veal shin in coconut broth

Lauren Murdoch (Felix)'s slow roasted lamb shoulder with mixed grains 

sydney in season: october

"There's no produce like spring produce"...isn't that how the song goes? While it's true that all seasonal vegetables are special in their own right, there's something about supple green tasty things sprouting out of the slowly warming earth that's pretty darn special. Over the past few weeks, we've looked at new bars, tours and restaurants, so this week, it's time to pay homage to Sydney seasonal produce in October. Here are three in season ingredients and how to choose and use them.

1. Artichokes

Globe artichokes can look a little intimidating in their whole, fresh form - it all looks a little hospitable on the outside..and often (unless they're seriously tiny and fresh), they are. A member of the thistle family, the part of the artichoke you're actually eating is the flower.

Look for: small to medium bulbs with tight 'petals'.

How to cook: 1. Peel away most of the outer petals, until you start to reach the paler centre. 2. Chop off the tips of the petals at the top. 3. Halve the artichoke and use a teaspoon to scoop out the hairy looking bit in the middle (the choke). 4. Rub all cut surfaces with lemon juice to prevent discolouration and pop them in a bowl of water until you're ready to cook them. Make sure they don't touch aluminium or iron surfaces as these can make them discolour too. 5. Boil for 20-30 minutes in water, until they become tender.

How to eat them: Great tossed in a frypan with garlic and bacon, and they can also be preserved in jars in brine to be added later to salads.

Stefano Manfredi's tomatos with white bean puree and artichokes at Bell's at Killcare

2. Broadbeans

Like many beans, these little guys have received such a bad wrap over the years for being soggy and tasteless, purely because people tend to overcook them. Prolific through this time of the year, they're a cheap and tasty way of adding colour and interest to pastas, salads and more. And they're super easy to grow, so pop some in your garden!

Look for: Bright green pods that are intact and undamaged.

How to cook: Peel open the pod with your fingers and pop the beans out. If they're young, you can even leave the skin on and just cook the whole thing. Older broad beans, once removed from the pod need to be shelled by using your fingernail to break open the outer skin and discarding. Blanch in boiling water for thirty seconds and refresh in cold water. Add to a pasta or salad.

How to eat: Try a broad bean bruschetta: 1. Rub slices of sourdough bread with garlic and pop them under the grill. 2. Once golden, remove and top with broad beans, mixed with olive oil, salt and pepper and some shaved pecorino (you can add some truffle oil for something a bit luxe).

3. Kaffir lime leaves

Image sourced from here: http://www.uni-graz.at/

Used a lot in Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai cooking, Kaffir lime leaves are brilliant for imparting a unique aromatic citrus zest to savoury foods. The fruit is characteristically bumpy and warty looking and the leaves grown in doubles, making them look like little green hour glasses. Like any aromatic, you can finely chop them when cooking, or leave them whole to impart flavour (just remember to remove them before serving!)

Look for: Bright green leaves with no marks or imperfections. You will be able to find them in most fruit and veg grocers already washed and packed into bunches.

How to: Remove the centre vein from the leaf (too tough to eat) and the finely slice, tear or add whole into soups, stews, curries or sauces for a tasty citrus kick.

Eat it: They're great when steaming fish (pop on in the parcel) and in fish cakes to balance the seafood flavour.