Dibber & Boots

25/05/2026

23/05/2026

🍂 Nettles are Nutritious ...
.. so the readings say.

We have an abundance of stinging nettles around our property, and we were taken with the inspiration of pickin' and processin' some for our vittles.

The idea of cleanin' and cookin' weeds seems a bit backwards for some, given the advanced state of our society and first-world lifestyle, but here's the tip:
.. fresh is best, and some plants are superfoods.

Read
Research
Cook

23/05/2026

🧅 not as serious as he looks (the sun was a bit bright!) ... talking about maintenance and use of Walking Onions.

Simple to plant, easy to grow, and prolific.

We'll hopefully have bulbs for sale in Summer.

21/05/2026

🥕 what would you do with a glut of fruit?

This overly long vid is about mucking around with a bucket full of rhubarb and sugar, and conspiring to make plonk from the juice.

We stock Kilner hardware, and use some of them in our own kitchen. Their fermentation kits come in several sizes and configurations, and this is the largest- five litres. Very easy to use.

21/05/2026

🥔 this is our new Tater Tower ...

Older Kipfler Potatoes going soft and developing eyes, and an abundance of soft material (Autumn leaves and rhubarb leaves) is an opportunity to try a new approach (for us) of composting and growing spuds.

Started with a leftover length of chicken wire, then a barrow-load of high-quality soil, then another on top of the bucket of taters, then loads of leaves.

The idea is that as the leaves break down, the potatoes will grow through, and more leafy material can be added to increase the depth of what the spuds are growing through, to increase the length of their stems, to increase the growth points, to increase the yield!

How's that sound?

If it doesn't work and they rot, we should have a nice compost pile by Christmas...

20/05/2026

🫙 as far as food waste in our house goes, and as conscious as we are of it, we’re not perfect.

To have finally ticked this chore off the list has been a relief, as the pantry is now less-cluttered, and we’re back in touch with what's actually in there.

Best Before sometime in 2005 was the oldest, with many more having expired or become rancid during the 20-teens. They're now at peace with the worms in our current Trenching Bed in our vegetable garden.

There were oils (we now use mainly only olive oil), grains, seasoning powders, marinades, and fruits ... we just don't use that huge variety any more.

When Sonya was mobile and capable, she was creating and cooking, and she was magnificent in the way she kept our menu interesting and diverse. We eat cleaner since her surgery, with almost zero sugar, and fewer dishes, but we miss the diversity she made normal, and her great enthusiasm and the love she brought to the table.

Next steps are to continue bulk-buying our staples, and decanting them into our neatly labelled vintage Agee pyrex jars.

10/05/2026

🫙 we now have several litres of dried rosemary in the pantry, but have worked out a few things …

- the staino drying trays make drying the leaves so easy
- the ThermoMix is less productive than the 20yo smoothie machine
- at $40/kg in 90g jars, its probably cheaper from a supermarket

09/05/2026

🍁 come and buy some of our rhubarb! It’s a great all-rounder in your diet, and should be in every kitchen ….

Rhubarb is a good source of antioxidants, and vitamin K1, which is important for blood clotting and bone health. Half a cup of cooked rhubarb provides more than one-third of the (USA) recommended dietary intake of vitamin K1, along with two grams of dietary fibre (which helps prevent colorectal cancer), some calcium and vitamin C.

Rhubarb stalks are fleshy, fibrous, sour, and acidic, so not overly sweet when eaten raw. It’s the bitterness and fibrous nature of the stems that give it many of its health benefits. It’s also rich in calcium oxalate, so if you’re prone to kidney stones, it might be best to avoid. Importantly, the leaves are toxic and should never be eaten.

We’ve grown up eating stewed rhubarb with fresh-made custard, and ice cream, but rhubarb can be used in jams, sauces, pies and preserves as well. This weekend, we’re going to take off all the mature stems to get enough to make rhubarb wine 🍷 just have to get some Wine Yeast, then we’ll enageg a Kilner glass fermentation set to do the hard work!

https://dibberandboots.com.au/product/kilner-glass-fermentation-set-3l-in-store-only/

08/05/2026

Rough Sleepers Sleeping Bag and Swag Drive is only 3 weeks away.

We would love to hand over as many warm blankets, sleeping bags, tents and swags as we can get our hands on to make this winter a little warmer for those doing it tough.