My green beans started off SO well, beautiful little buds that promised to turn into a plethora of beans that I had earmarked for a tasty Green Beans + Pork Mince dinner. The beans were dripping off the plants like tears, ripe for the picking...
...and then the caterpillars moved in. At first they were chomping on the leaves - which is fine really as I don't want to eat the leaves. I'd still pick the caterpillars off though and toss them (gently) off the balcony to the lawn below.
I don't know if they were climbing back up to our second floor apartment to seek their revenge on me, or if their reinforcements were already laying in wait in the mint bush - but it wasn't long before those darn little green caterpillars from hell stared to eat MY beans! MY BEANS!
Panicked that I'd miss out on my long awaited (homegrown) Green Beans + Pork I harvested ALL my beans...which only gave me about 100 grams. So, it was off to the store to buy another 400 grams for dinner.
The free-range pork for this recipe came from Pete's sister-in-laws
farm - Foxground, was sent to the Wollondilly abattoir (which has a very
good reputation for treating their livestock well before/during processing) and then butchered for us at the wonderful ethical butcher, Feather and Bone. I
can even tell you the pigs name - P1, he was 73kgs and liked milk (and raiding vegetable patches - you can see him here). P1 is the furthest thing from a factory farmed meat experience
that I've had in a VERY long time...and I'm so grateful to everyone involved as they've allowed this city-slicker to have a direct connection with the meat she's eating...and thanks P1.
Ta-da! There we have it - (mostly) balcony-grown Green Beans + Pork. Massive thanks also to the lovely Shez from One Bite More who sent me her super easy recipe. Bloggers are always so generous in sharing their recipes. I did receive quite a few different recipes from bloggers (thanks Julie, Mary and YYGAL) but Shez's was the most simple for this tragic cook!
You can view more Harvest Monday posts on Daphne's Dandelions blog.
argh, evil caterpillars! Glad they didn't get all the beans!
ReplyDeleteYeah, damn all those little critters! I guess it's part and parcel of growing your own veg and herbs. I gave up a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteThose damned pesky bugs and insects! But the ones you salvaged look wicked fresh!
ReplyDeleteAt least you shared the goodness of your homegrown beans with the caterpillars :) Nice looking dish!
ReplyDeleteOne of my fave dishes! If it's not caterpillars, it's ants or aphids or this or that *sigh*
ReplyDeleteYum! So great to be able to make fabulous dishes with your own produce!
ReplyDeleteFantastic, Mel. Love it.
ReplyDeleteOh no the caterpillas strike back. Thankfully you did get some beans before they chowed through.
ReplyDeletevery nice! just started my little balcony garden too, hope there are no creepy crawlies waiting to feast on them!
ReplyDeleteYum love green beans ;) Bad bad caterpillar!
ReplyDeleteYum.
ReplyDeleteWe've given up on vegetables -- too hard.
Oh Mel, those pesky caterpillars!! I understand your pain - they are attacking my borage and tomatoes! I;ve been using a homemade spray of about 5 red chillies soaked overnight, with oil and salt - in a spray bottle. Seems to be keeping them at bay! Delicious recipe too by the way!!
ReplyDeleteI dropped by home after a week of working in Melbourne to find caterpillars have been eating my broccoli, so I know exactly how you feel. I was definitely more unceremonious about showing them the door though.
ReplyDelete