Balcony Garden: Harvest Monday #34

Last year I dipped my toes into the world of growing beans and I think it went pretty well. The caterpillars certainly loved the beans - they thought they were very tasty thank you very much.  I um'd and ah'd this year about growing beans again. After all I really only get one meal out of my crop and I have to pick them before they get too large otherwise the caterpillars get to enjoy them instead of me.

In the end I thought "why not Miss Piggy, why not"! I still had seeds left over from last year and they had to be used. Seeds, just like all other perishable foods have a used by date and I didn't want these to go to waste.  I popped them into a pot and within about a month, voila - I had beans!

Once again I had to harvest my entire crop before most of the beans were at their full fighting weight. The caterpillars had found their way to my crop and had started munching away.

Firstly, let me apologize to any of my Malaysian readers out there as I'm sure what I'm about to do to your Beef Rendang is totally NOT kosher in Malaysian cooking.

Also, I'm sure that many people frown at packet mixes but let's be honest. I am NEVER going to make a curry paste from scratch, EVER, so this is just how I roll. I started buying this rendang mix when I lived in Broken Hill (where there is basically NO exotic food available let alone an Asian supermarket).  On my Sydney trips I'd stock up on this stuff - buying boxes at a time.  Surprisingly there doesn't seem to be any nasty or weirdly processed ingredients in this packet mix. It's basically health food, right?

I really do love this Beef Rendang Mix. It's so simple to make and I feel like a bit of a mad scientist as I mix Part A and add Part B and chuck in a bit of Part C at the end! There is also a chicken mix available but it's nowhere near as good as ye olde beef.  Trust me, go the beef. Apart from Rendang out of a box I suppose the other very unorthodox thing about this meal is my use of green beans.  I like adding a bit of greenery to an otherwise all meat dinner -- it makes it feel a bit healthier to me.

The Boy + I have a bit of an obsession with Jackie M's roti canai. We usually stock up on the stuff when we visit her stall at the markets (whilst stuffing out faces with her tasty CKT that is). We always have a packet in the freezer and it's The Boy's job to cook up whenever the Rendang urge hits. It looks almost a good as what you'd get in a restaurant I'd say. Well done Boy!

Et Voila! Rendang from a box with roti from the freezer and beans from the balcony.  Sorry Malaysia, but it was darn tasty!

You can view more Harvest Monday posts on Daphne's Dandelions blog.