Growing Challenge (Month 1) from The Little Veggie Patch Co on Vimeo.

One of the reasons I don’t tend to try harder at growing veggies in my garden is that I usually get an extremely small yield – a tomato here, a spring onion there, a worm eaten beetroot or a bitter little radish. (Possibly this is due to the fact that my garden is mostly concrete but still). I have loved The Little Veggie Patch Co for a good while now – their determination in helping us suburban folks in growing our own foods is endlessly enthusiastic, plus my heart always swells a little when I see their cute little van driving around my hood, with the guys wearing their straw hats.

But for the more economically minded among us, their Growing Challenge is a pretty rad idea – tracking how much in financial value their little veggie patch is growing for them, month by month. Take a look! And you can visit the garden at Fed Square in Melbourne too.

Follow Little Veggie Patch Co on Facebook for all the veggie growing gossip. xx

Angle Clutch in Rose.

Nancybird is absolutely one of Melbourne’s most loved independent brands. Although the styles and fabrics used in Nancybird bags and accessories change each season, they’re so recognisable, you can spot a Nancybird bag a mile off. The bags and purses are made to last (yay!) and I only ever hear the loveliest things about Nancybird’s creator, Emily. You can read an interview with Emily over on The Design Files. The bags and purses are stitched by workers who’re paid fairly (excellent!) and they try and act environmentally responsibly.

PLUS Nancybird bags and purses are just so very beautiful!!!

1. Scarf Bag in Chocolate. Love the watercolour print, and this bag is so versatile and roomy!

2. Pearl Wallet in Black. I have a Pearl Wallet from a previous season, and it’s really the perfect size for me. Two zip pouches, lots of card slots, one section for notes and one for receipts – love it.

3. Poppy Clutch in Crosshatch. This one is just so pretty.

Hope you enjoy the new collection as much as me!

Hey there March! So far you’ve been pretty awesome, even though you are the start of Autumn! I’ve been working way more than usual at my ‘part time’ job these past few weeks, so these last few days of weekend have been fantastic. So far I’ve wrapped gifts, made vegan chocolate chip cookies and visited new babies. I’ve been to the farmers’ market, bought all kinds of amazing locally grown things, and remembered to use my reusable coffee cup. And of course I’ve made all kinds of yummy foods.

I love farmers’ markets as they’re a great opportunity to purchase from and support independent and small produce growers and artisan food companies. It’s so nice to give my money directly to the people that grow my food, rather than buying through a big supermarket! Amazing. Plus you can ask all sorts of questions about the food you buy, get recipe ideas, eat samples, and go shopping in an amazing atmosphere. The best.

St Kilda Farmers’ Market has a chai tent – they make delicious soy chai and sell lots of raw food sweets too. There’s also a coffee stall if you prefer! Lots of food stalls too, my favourite thing is gozleme, a type of Turkish flat bread stuffed with spinach and feta. Yum.

One of my must-buys at the market is Primasoy tempeh. You might’ve seen tempeh around, usually it’s a pretty unappetising grey colour and doesn’t taste so nice. Primasoy is a tiny little family run company making tempeh in the traditional Indonesian style. Basically tempeh is a fermented soybean product. It’s covered in the same white mycelium (or white mould) as soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert are covered in. In my opinion the easiest way to ease yourself into tempeh is to fry it and then to coat it in a sweetened soy sauce (kecap manis is ideal!)

Read more about tempeh here, and check out a delicious recipe here.

I fried my tempeh in a non-stick pan and then chucked in some garlic, chilli and kecap manis.

Separately I sauteed some onion, baby corn, zucchini and snow peas with some soy sauce and lemon juice. Delicious!

Usually I go to the market with my mama who loves farmers markets too, and she always buys me flowers there. And today nectarines. Thanks Mum!