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Pesto Is the Besto!

Pesto is a super healthy food which is full of green nutrients, omega acids, and fibre.It is extremely satisfying to make my own pesto using ingredients from my garden. This means that it is 1 less thing to buy from the supermarket. I can also guarantee that the pesto is full of nutrient-dense ingredients, free from sugar and artificial ingredients, and has a zero carbon footprint. That is a good step towards self-sufficiency, in my opinion. ...

The Joys of Juicing!

I have been delving into the medicinal benefits of juicing in the past couple of weeks. My current favourite recipe is Cucumber, Pear and Ginger Juice. It is super-refreshing, great for detox and skin health, helping you glow from the inside out. ...

Off Grid Living

Off-grid living has long been a dream of mine. I appreciate the independence, the self-sufficiency, and the ability to create my own destiny, on the canvas of my home.However, although it is a romantic concept, off-grid living is definitely not for the faint-hearted! The romance is the image of a brightly burning log fire, with a delicious hot meal cooking over the flames, and stars twinkling in the clear night sky above a cosy hut. Or spending long idyllic days in the garden, chopping a leaf he...

It’s Getting Festive and Fruity!

It is getting very festive here at Harmony Gardens! Mocktails are the next big thing for the holiday season, especially if you have multiple food sensitivities / allergies.These little babies bring together garden produce & superfood ingredients, to create a delicious, vegan, healthy mocktail.You can now join the party in style, as well as in comfort, with these spiffy beveraginos.You will be able to drive yourself home without fear of the Booze Bus - and you won't have to worry about yukky...

When Life Gives You Lemons Part 4

It has been an amazingly abundant time with lemons! I am totally surprised at how many different dishes I have made, as well as bases and comestibles.Total tally so far is:fresh lemon juice, super handy to keep in the fridgelemon gummieslemon honeylemon, honey, ginger cordiallemon, honey and sage throat wash / tonic for sore throatslemon pepper mayonnaiselemon salsa verdeupside down lemon cakelemon juice ice blocksThat is quite a collection, and it is a good list of so many things that I don’t...

When Life Gives You Lemons Part 3

The Lemon Adventure continues, with a delicious Lemon Upside-Down Cake! ...

When Life Gives You Lemons Part 2

When Life Gives You Lemons Part 2...There is so much abundance out there in gardens, even at this time of year.After last week's Lemon Day, I was extremely grateful to receive another harvest of lemons, straight from a huge tree! I collected a whole box-ful, and I did not even scratch the surface, it was so full of fruit.Lemons are full of zesty vitamin C, which is great for preventing and alleviating ills and chills, especially at this time of year.In the Harmony Gardens kitchen, I made some Le...

When Life Gives You Lemons….

It has been a beautiful sunny spring day, and the perfect opportunity for some fun with lemons! We got some peeps together, picked some beautiful fresh lemons from a laden lemon tree, and into the kitchen we went. We made fresh lemon juice, to be frozen/refrigerated and used whenever you need a squeeze of lemon juice. It came out a stunning yellow colour - just like sunshine in the kitchen! We made lemon juice gummies - sweet home-made treats, packed full of vitamin C, with the healing powers of...

Going bananas….. and avocadoes…

Happy Tuesday out there 🌊 it's a perfect day to begin with a quiet beach walk, then back to the Harmony Gardens kitchen for some more recipe development.Today's recipe is perfect for using up any bananas and avocadoes that may be coming up to their use-by date.This recipe has lots of variations, so you can make your own unique, preferred flavour.It is full of:✅️ anti-oxidants✅️ potassium ✅️ B vitamins✅️ omega acids✅️ vitamin EIt is quick, easy, delicious and very cost-effe...

Bliss On A Stick

It's a beautiful day out there after a frosty start ❄️🌞 it's a great day to get out and about! It's also been a great day for recipe development in the Harmony Gardens kitchen. Today's treat is a Bliss Ball Pop - a delicious bliss ball encased in a fruity chocolate coating. ...

Food as Medicine for Extra Brain Power!

Did you know that you can improve your brain power just by eating yummy Harmony Gardens foods? It's true (imho...!) Our brains are amazing things. They require certain fuels in order to function well. Those fuels include: * fresh air* sunlight* good sleep* good hydration * and yes, you've guessed it.... good nutrition!...

Winter chills….Not for me!

As winter progresses, I am enjoying the season without any bothersome ills, chills, colds, flu or viral invaders.I am a firm believer in the philosophy “Food as Medicine, Medicine as Food”, and I have been using my Harmony Gardens Golden Paste to deter any unwanted illnesses, nourish my body, and boost my immune system.Harmony Gardens Golden Paste is a delicious blend of turmeric, black pepper, and other healing spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger.It is:✅ anti-inflammatory...

On the road again…..

Good morning, Te Whanganui a Tara, Wellington!...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a safe, happy and celebratory time. I was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to appear at a 3-day festival over New Year, which was a great place to be for the festivities! It was a local eco-friendly music festival, with additional healing spaces, arts spaces, kids spaces, and camping. ...

Summer Mocktails

Happy Summertime! It is almost Summer Solstice, and almost Christmas. Here in the Harmony Gardens kitchen, it has also been Mocktail Time.I have been developing alcohol-free, allergy-friendly recipes for delicious summertime party drinks. These mocktails were inspired by the very tasty-looking Pina Colada. Unfortunately, the original contains lots of rum, but the rum is definitely not missed in this version! I used whole fruit, and I made a strawberry version as well as a pineappl...

Summer holidays and Road Trips

Hi everybody, I hope you are well and enjoying the run-up to the end of the year.I have been continuing with my road-tripping. I have been catching up with customers; talking to new people about the  benefits of nutritional medicine, and taking bookings for workshops. Watch this space in the New Year for information about:Garden-to-table workshops and cooking classesNutritional medicine workshops and cooking classesI have just returned from Christchurch. It was amazing to see the difference...

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Flowers!

It is almost summer here at Harmony Gardens and Grub. The gardens are growing thick and fast, and I have now achieved my mission of having flowers popping out, and colour in the garden, year-round.It is now quite a rainbow… 🌈...

Garden Salad

It has been beautiful weather here in the Bay.Today I have been prepping for a working bee tomorrow. The gardens are quite overgrown, and we will be trimming back, making structures for plants to grow up (as opposed to across the pathways…!), and adding to the compost pile. One of the joys of a garden is the harvest. I have been making a chicken soup, and also a bone broth, and it is lovely to add fresh garden produce to the mix. Today I harvested SpinachSorrelNasturtiumsBaby ge...

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Sunflower Season!

It is almost spring here in the Southern Hemisphere, and the returning signs of life are very welcome. There are lots of lovely magnolias blooming in the parks, the daffodils are all out, and the willow trees are already showing lots of green leaves. We hope you are enjoying spring weather in your corner of the world!My sunflowers are popping up already, and I have potted up the first batch. I have planted a bulk load this year, as I want to make sunflower teepees - they are so much fun! I also ...

From the garden….

It has been an extremely rainy winter here in the Hawkes Bay, and the gardens are looking a bit swampy and soggy. My original plan for the gardens was to have flowers all year round, and I am very pleased to say that I have achieved that so far. At the moment I have beautiful blue cornflowers growing and flourishing. They are the most vivid blue, in all kinds of weather, even when it is very rainy and the rest of the garden looks washed out.As well as being beautiful, cornflowers are a...

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Persimmon Season!

For those of you who know me, you will know that persimmons are one of my very favourite fruit. They are particularly special because they are in season around the time of my birthday, which makes them a bit more celebratory for me personally. Persimmons were not available in the UK, where I grew up before I moved to New Zealand, so that makes them even more special, as well as being totally delicious!...

Off Grid Living

It is a beautiful autumn here in the Hawkes Bay, and the changing colours of the trees and orchards are stunning. Here at Harmony Gardens and Grub Ltd, we have been blessed with a permanent spot to live and build our gardens, and we have been extra-blessed with a transition into off-grid living!. Off grid living can mean many different things for people, and it doesn’t have to be totally off grid all at once. There are many ways to incorporate off-grid principles into your lifestyle, no m...