Microgreens Kit Instructions

We are super pleased to let you know that we can now supply you with a special kit for growing microgreens at home! It is now available on our website HERE!

In the the Microgreens Kit you get:  2 x Growing Trays, 5 x Growing Pads, A Starter Seed Pack and Instructions.

The unique growing pads have been sourced from the USA and are specifically designed for growing microgreens, they are super absorbent and you can throw them in the recycling bin when you have finished. Once you buy our kit you can buy the growing pads from us separately which makes this super economical.  One growing pad grows an awful amount of microgreens in one hit! You can also cut them into strips and grow different seeds side by side in the same tray.

Microgreens are super expensive to buy so get cracking with this kit and grow them at home cheaply and experience the taste sensation of growing your own.

The instructions are simple, check out how to grow them below!

Place your growing pad in the tray.
Saturate your growing pad and sprinkle seeds on top.
Mist the surface of the mat to ensure that the seeds
settle into the growing media.
Place cover over your tray.
Ensure growing media is kept super moist until germination,
this can be achieved by misting the seeds and mat 2-3 times
a day until germination.

3 days - Seeds Germinating.
Remove Tray Lid and expose to sunlight.
Keep growing pad saturated (not swimming!) at all times.

7 days - Seeds fully sprouted and growing!
Continue to mist your microgreens and keep moist.

At 7 Days.

This was a little experiment, growing microgreens in pure Vermiculite
in cheap flower bulb trays, placed in a tray with a little water in
the bottom.  The seeds sprouted well and this is the result!
You can buy Vermiculite from Mitre 10, Bunnings, etc and
the bulb trays come from any of the above or nursery.

Dont forget to visit our website for more great home harvesting products!

www.urbancheese.co.nz

Elderflower Cordial!

Our gorgeous Elderflower Cordial ready to leave for 48 hrs!

My girls watch out each year for the Elderflower to spring into bloom along the river. They get excited about going picking as they know the result is a delicious summer drink that they love.

Yesterday I prepared the sugar syrup and allowed it to cool and today was the day to go down and pick the flowers.

The best time of the day to pick your Elderflowers is when the sun is shining, this is supposed to be when it is at its best for flavour.  Sadly today was the only day we have been able to go and storm clouds gathered so we made a dash to the river to quickly pick what we needed.  My youngest was first to the door with a pair of scissors ready to pick. We use scissors so as to cause as little damage to the flower head as possible, cutting just below where the flowers fork out from the flower stem.  You want as little stem as possible as the stems may alter the flavour.

An Elderflower Head

We managed to get more than we needed and made a run for it as the clouds burst upon us. My daughter made an interesting little comment as we gathered the flower heads by saying her hands were sticky..... this is exactly what happens as if you look really closely at each flower it has a nice little dollop of nectar sitting on top. This of course gets on your hands as you are picking.

On return to the kitchen my daughter went to pick 4 big fat juicy lemons off our tree and continued to grate the rind off each lemon gently. We then cut up all of the lemons into wedges and popped them into the sugar syrup along with the rind.  This was followed by the citric acid and the Elderflowers.

Then a good stir, cover the pot and leave for 48 hours.  You can stir from time to time of course and check to see how it is going.

She loves to pick!

Here is our recipe, super simple and super delicious!

Elderflower Cordial

30-40 Small Elderflower Heads (or 20-30 large)
1.3 kg white sugar
2 litres of water
60 grams Citric Acid
3 lemons

Day 1: Place your 1.3 kg sugar in a pot or glass bowl and cover with 2 litres of boiling water: Stir and dissolve all of the sugar - allow to cool.

Day 2: Grate the rind of 5 lemons and cut the remainder of the lemons into wedges, popping both into the sugary syrup: Stir.  Add the citric acid and then the Elderflowers: Stir again. Cover your creation with a cloth and stir from time to time over the next 48 hours.

Day 4: Strain your liquid through a muslin cloth into cold STERLIZED jars or bottles.  Seal the bottles and drink your cordial within 3 months, best kept refrigerated. Great for a Christmas gift!

Added extra: WE made ours with added Rose Water to see what it will taste like... we simmered fragrant rose petals in water from our garden the day before and strained the liquid out from the petals.  The result was a "tea-stained" looking water but smelled divine.  Will keep you posted on what the end result it!

Some people prefer to pop their flowers in the hot sugar syrup but I have done some research and the cordial ends up a very dark colour and not as pretty as the light coloured cordial we are all used to drinking.  Might be worth a try though to see what the flavour is like, it may be more intense?

My wee cherub super happy with her picking!

8 more cheese makers in the world!

Today Eve and I hosted yet another of our cheese an bread making courses. I thoroughly enjoyed my day, thanks to the keen group we had around the table!

Just remember that cheese making is super easy and a great skill to share with your friends once you have mastered the basics.

Cool treats

With children hot and thirsty after school today we made lemon and honey icy treats!

The girls picked the lemons off the tree and with the addition of some honey and a little water to the freshly squeezed lemon it was delicious! The girls love to get involved and come up with ideas on new taste sensations. I bought one of those iceblock makers by "Zoku" last summer and we dug it out of the cupboard yesterday to pop in the freezer ready for some summer action. They really are awesome, making an iceblock in 5 mins out of almost anything you can squeeze, juice or blend. Our favorite is fresh strawberries and yoghurt or bubbly lemonade!

I'll post more pics as we make them through the summer and some other ideas on healthy treats!